A Breath of Witchy Air

by Amanda M. Lee

  I immediately started shaking my head. “No. You didn’t do anything wrong. I don’t think Laura did either. I think the only thing she did wrong was cross paths with a bad person. The way you make it sound, you have no idea how she might’ve gotten on anyone’s radar, right?”

  “She was a good worker and put in the hours,” Russell answered. “She went to the library to study. She helped her grandmother. She only went out with friends when she returned home on the weekends. I don’t know how she managed to find trouble.”

  “Maybe she had a study group or something,” I asked, my mind kicking into overdrive. “Maybe it was someone at the library? If she didn’t go out for any reason that seems to be the most obvious answer?”

  “She did go out for one thing,” Helen clarified. “She was social with one group of people that we know of.”

  I arched an eyebrow, my interest piqued, and watched as Russell made a face and rolled his eyes. He clearly didn’t like whatever his wife was about to say. “Who was she social with?”

  “She played this game,” Helen volunteered. “We didn’t understand it – computer games were something we never had in the house – but Laura was kind of obsessed with it.”

  My stomach did an inadvertent somersault and the agitation I’d been feeling whenever someone brought up Infinity Echo the past two days settled into place. “A phone game? Infinity Echo?”

  “It was a phone game,” Helen confirmed. “I have no idea what it was called. That might be it.”

  “I’ve seen a bunch of students playing it the last few days,” I said. “I know what game you’re talking about. Do you happen to know if Laura met people in person to play this game?”

  “She did.” Helen nodded. “Big groups of students would meet at parks and malls to work together. She tried explaining it to me once, but I couldn’t grasp what she was saying.”

  “Trust me. You’re not missing much.” I considered the new wrinkle. “How long had Laura been playing the game?”

  “A few months,” Russell replied. “Why? Do you think the game has something to do with her death?”

  That was the question of the hour. “I don’t know.” I saw no reason to lie. “But I’m going to find out. You can trust me on that.”

  Sixteen

  Landon found me still standing on the front walk five minutes later. He pulled up short, Chief Terry so close on his heels the bigger man almost careened into Landon’s back.

  “What’s wrong?” Landon asked, instantly alert. “Did something happen?”

  I shook my head and forced what I was sure was a wan smile onto my face. “I’m fine.”

  Landon met my gaze without flinching. “You’re not fine. Tell me what’s wrong.”

  I exhaled heavily. “I’m mostly fine. I just … I ran into the Pattersons when they were leaving and they asked me a few questions.”

  Landon’s eyebrows winged up. “They asked you a few questions about what?”

  “Finding the bodies.”

  “But how did they know?”

  “Apparently they recognized me from a photo on Chief Terry’s shelf or something. The father claimed Chief Terry looked at it when discussing the individual who discovered their daughter’s body.”

  “That’s entirely possible,” Chief Terry mused, rubbing his chin. “I was nervous when they asked because I didn’t want to make a big deal about the discovery in case they wanted specifics about Bay. I probably did look at the photo.”

  Landon shook his head. “It’s not your fault. It was an uncomfortable situation.” He ran his hands up and down my arms, as if warding off the cold. “Did they say anything that made you uncomfortable?”

  Pretty much everything they said made me uncomfortable. “No. They’re grieving. They thanked me for finding their daughter and asked me how I did it.”

  Landon pursed his lips. “They’re good people and they have no idea how their daughter ended up where she did. That’s basically the pattern on all four girls. We’re at a standstill when it comes to figuring out why they were selected.”

  “Have you checked to see if they were playing the game?”

  Landon didn’t hold back his surprise. “What do you mean?”

  I related what the Pattersons told me about their daughter. “She was playing it. She picked up and ran out to collect stuff on a whim between work shifts and classwork assignments.”

  Landon blinked several times, but didn’t say a word. Ultimately Chief Terry was the one to comment.

  “Are you saying you think someone used the game to hunt and kill these girls?”

  I shrugged. “It’s possible, isn’t it?”

  “I don’t think so.” Chief Terry looked to Landon for confirmation. “You don’t think it’s possible, do you?”

  “I don’t know.” Landon’s eyes never moved from my face. “I don’t want to encourage her, but it’s not a bad hypothesis to at least check. There has to be a way to check participants in the game.”

  “You don’t want to encourage me?”

  Landon’s lips curved, genuine amusement lighting his face. “You tend to go overboard on things. You can’t help yourself. I thought that’s what you were doing with the game, but it turns out that maybe you were doing something else all along.”

  The invisible fist that wrapped itself around my heart eased its tight grip. “So … you believe me.”

  “I believe it’s a possibility,” Landon cautioned. “You’re intent on it, and I trust your instincts. Tell me why you’re so worked up about this game.”

  I wasn’t sure I had a reason. “I don’t know.” I licked my lips as I considered how best to respond. “It’s just a feeling I get. I’ve been uneasy since I first saw people playing the game.”

  “That was the day before yesterday at the coffee shop,” Landon said. “You didn’t like it from the beginning. You were staring and glaring constantly when you caught people playing it. You didn’t have fun at Call of the Wild because you were irritated by people playing the game.”

  “I had fun at Call of the Wild,” I protested.

  “I bought a fake raccoon hat, Bay. You barely cracked a smile.”

  I made a face. “I tried to have fun at Call of the Wild,” I corrected. “I just didn’t feel … up to having fun.”

  “Because you were obsessed with watching the kids play the game.” Landon dragged a restless hand through his hair. “I think we should dig deep on the game and see if we can tie our other victims to it.”

  Chief Terry didn’t put up a disagreement. “If that’s what you want, I don’t see why we can’t follow through. It should be as simple as placing a phone call to the parents.”

  “We already know Patterson was playing the game,” Landon noted. “If the other three were, that gives us something we didn’t have before.”

  “A common thread,” Chief Terry confirmed. “It’s as good a place to start as anywhere. I mean, well, we’ve come up empty on tying the girls together otherwise.”

  Landon smiled as I visibly relaxed. “You got your way again.”

  “It wasn’t about getting my way.”

  “I know. We’ll check to see if we can find the other girls in the game. We’re heading to have lunch right now. Do you want to join us?”

  “I already ate. We had soup and sandwiches at Hypnotic.”

  “Okay. I just thought you might want to spend time with me. If you don’t, I’ll try to find a way to soothe the edges of my broken heart.”

  Landon’s expression was mischievous, which caused me to roll my eyes. “You’re very manipulative.”

  “I know.”

  “I could stomach some dessert, maybe some pie.”

  “Who doesn’t like pie?” Landon enthused, slinging an arm around my shoulders. “See, this worked out for everyone.”

  “It did,” I agreed. “I … .” The sight of Aunt Tillie walking the street parallel to us, phone in hand, was enough to set my teeth on edge. “Go in and order. You know what I lik
e. Make them heat up the pie and add ice cream.”

  “I love it when you have an afternoon sugar buzz,” Landon teased, his eyes following mine. “What are you going to do about that situation?”

  “Lay down the law.”

  Landon and Chief Terry snorted in unison.

  “Good luck with that,” Chief Terry countered. “I’ve been laying down the law with her for thirty years. She doesn’t care.”

  “Maybe you don’t have the right touch.”

  “And maybe you’re deluding yourself. Good luck. I’m rooting for you to finally be the one to make Tillie behave.”

  He said it in such a manner that I couldn’t help but bristle. “She might listen to me.”

  “You’re so cute.” Landon flicked my ear, genuinely amused. “I’ll have your pie ready so you can make yourself feel better when you get back.”

  “Does that mean you think I’ll fail?”

  “That means I think Aunt Tillie will make sure she’s the only one to win. That’s her way.”

  I didn’t like the sound of that. “She could surprise you.”

  “She could.”

  “I’ll make sure she surprises you.” I was feeling bold. “Just you wait.”

  “Like I said, I’ll have your pie ready.”

  AUNT TILLIE DID HER best to avoid me as I chased her along the sidewalk. She only stopped moving when I threatened to call AT&T and have her phone service shut off and even then she looked annoyed that I would dare interrupt her gaming session.

  “I’m busy, Bay.” Aunt Tillie’s tone was clipped. “There’s a Sword of Reckoning that keeps popping up around here and I want to get it.”

  It took everything I had not to roll my eyes and slap the phone out of her hand. “Since when are you a video game fan?”

  “Since I found out how easy this game makes it to mess with people. I can see who is close, who is collecting what, and then slip in and steal from them. Who wouldn’t like that?”

  Well, at least she was honest. “Aunt Tillie … .”

  “Bay, I’m seriously busy and you’re on my last nerve. I’m instituting a new rule. Whoever interrupts me when I’m winning ends up at the top of my list for the day.”

  “Do you really think you’ll be able to jerk your attention away from the phone long enough to follow through on that threat?”

  Aunt Tillie nodded without hesitation. “I have to stop at least four times a day to charge my phone.”

  That was a sobering thought. “Right. Good point.” I wiped under my nose and tried to pretend I wasn’t freezing. “There’s a chance – and I stress the word ‘chance’ – that all four dead girls were playing this game. I want you to keep your eyes and ears open.”

  Aunt Tillie finally dragged her eyes from the screen and focused on me. “What do you mean?”

  I told her about my conversation with Laura Patterson’s parents. “It’s only one out of four right now, but Landon and Chief Terry are going to check on the other three. I simply want you to be careful.”

  “And why would you think the game was involved?”

  That was a difficult question to answer. “It’s just a feeling.”

  “What kind of feeling?”

  “The kind that makes me sick to my stomach.”

  Instead of laughing, Aunt Tillie merely looked contemplative. “I’ll keep my eyes open.”

  “I want you to do more than that. I want you to quit playing the game if anything at all feels out of sorts.”

  Aunt Tillie balked. “No way! I’m freaking winning!”

  “Maybe those girls thought they were winning until they started losing.”

  Aunt Tillie opened her mouth, what I’m sure was a hot retort on the tip of her tongue, but changed course quickly. “I’ll take care, Bay. I’m not exactly in the target age group, so you have nothing to worry about.”

  I wanted to argue the point but I knew it would be fruitless. “Just … keep your eyes open.”

  “I always do.”

  “Don’t rush headlong into danger.”

  “I never do that.”

  I made a rueful face. “Now I know how Landon feels when I promise to do something he feels is an exaggeration.”

  “Just give him some bacon and he’ll shut up.” Aunt Tillie flicked off her screen and pocketed her phone as she inclined her chin in the direction of four figures walking the sidewalk. “Do you recognize them?”

  It took me a moment to focus on the newcomers. When I did – and I recognized them – I couldn’t help being suspicious. “Those are the four boys from the coffee shop.”

  “They are,” Aunt Tillie agreed, smirking. “They’ve been hanging around for the past hour.”

  I was intrigued. “Do you know why?”

  “No. I thought we might ask them together.”

  That seemed a good idea. We crossed the street and stopped several feet in front of the young men, who appeared intent on their phone screens. It took them a few moments to realize they weren’t alone, and when they did lift their heads they didn’t seem thrilled to see us.

  “Oh, geez! It’s you again.”

  I recognized the speaker as the sarcastic one. “Danny, right? I think I should introduce you to my cousin Thistle. You have a lot in common.”

  “Is she hot?”

  “People think so.”

  “Is she as old as you?”

  I narrowed my eyes. “I’m not old. I’m in the prime of my life.”

  Aunt Tillie patted my arm. The movement would appear soothing to the boys, but I knew it was anything but. She was essentially warning me to stop whining because it was a waste of time.

  “You’re hot for your age,” Danny conceded. “That’s all I can give you.”

  “Whatever.” I folded my arms over my chest and worked overtime to ignore the way Steven – the one I spent the most time speaking with over my previous visit before – grinned at me. “So … what are you guys doing here?” I found them and their stupid game annoying, but I wanted answers and figured the best way to get them was to engage the talkative one.

  “We’re here to scope out the place before the big festival,” one of the other boys replied before Steven could. I didn’t remember his name, and he wasn’t good at making eye contact. “It’s important to know the layout of a town if you want to win a big battle.”

  I had no idea what that meant. “What’s your name again?”

  “Eric. Um, Eric Masterson.”

  “Right.” I forced a smile even though I didn’t feel it went with my mood. “What kind of battle are you guys talking about?”

  “There’s going to be a battle in Hemlock Cove?” Aunt Tillie turned from suspicious to curious. “Are you serious? There’s going to be a big battle here?”

  “A regional battle,” Steven clarified. “The state battles only happen in really big cities like Detroit and Lansing. I don’t think they’ll ever have one of those up here.”

  Aunt Tillie made a disgusted sound in the back of her throat. “That doesn’t seem quite fair.”

  “No, it doesn’t.”

  “It’s regional racism, quite frankly.”

  “Good term.” Steven beamed. “I like the way you think … and I’m equally upset about the lack of state battles in our area.”

  “Yes, I’m completely broken up about it,” I said, shaking my head. “I’m not sure I understand what you mean about a battle, though.”

  “It’s a big deal,” Aunt Tillie volunteered. “It means there will be thousands of items to collect in Hemlock Cove before the big event, and then everyone will join together to win various creatures and rewards during the battle. I’ve been waiting my entire life for something like this to happen.”

  I made a face. “You didn’t even know the game existed until two days ago.”

  “That doesn’t mean I’m not excited to wage a battle in my own hometown.”

  “Yes, well … .” I had no idea what to even say to that. “So … you guys are going to be
hanging around because of this big battle?” I forced a smile for Steven’s benefit. He seemed to be the most eager to answer my questions. Sure, I had a feeling it was because he had a small crush on me – at least someone didn’t think I was old – but I wasn’t above using that crush to get what I wanted.

  “We’ll be around a lot,” Steven confirmed, his smile so wide it practically swallowed his face. “I didn’t know you were from Hemlock Cove when we ran into you at the coffee shop yesterday. This is kind of a neat coincidence, huh?”

  “Neat” was not the word I would use. Still, I didn’t want to discourage him from feeling comfortable enough to talk freely in front of me. “It definitely sounds cool,” I lied. “Aunt Tillie is a huge fan of the game, so I know she’ll be excited.”

  “Excited?” Aunt Tillie cocked an eyebrow. “I’m not going to be excited. I’m going to dominate.”

  The other boy I didn’t recognize offered up a fist bump at her words. “Definitely!”

  “That’s Michael Kutcher,” Steven reminded me when he caught my stare. “You met him the other day, too.”

  “Yeah. I remember.” That wasn’t a total lie. I had a memory of his face but not his name. “You guys seem to spend a lot of time together.”

  “We’re best friends. We have been since middle school.”

  “That’s convenient,” I supplied. “Most guys your age are forced to make new friends when it comes to attending college. You’re lucky it didn’t work out that way for you.”

  “Very lucky,” Steven agreed. He seemed much more intent on me than the conversation. “So … do you have a coffee shop here? I’d love to buy you a cup and get to know you better.”

  His stare made me uncomfortable. “I have an appointment to meet someone.”

  Steven didn’t bother to hide his disappointment. “You do?”

  “She lives with a man, kid.” Aunt Tillie clapped Steven’s arm and offered him a sympathetic smile. “She’s taken. You don’t have a shot.”

  I was uncomfortable with Aunt Tillie’s choice of words, but I didn’t argue with her. “I simply have someplace to be. I look forward to seeing you around town.”

  Steven brightened considerably. “Do you spend a lot of time in town?”