“I don’t specifically remember any fights between them,” Edith said, screwing up her face in concentration. “Oh, wait. It might be about Victor Donahue.”
I stilled. That name meant absolutely nothing to me. “Who is Victor Donahue?”
“He went to school with us,” Edith replied. “He was kind of the big jock on campus, a real superstar, if you know what I mean.”
Since Hemlock Cove – or Walkerville, back in the day – didn’t really breed stellar athletes I had trouble picturing anything akin to a “superstar.” Still, I was willing to take any lead I could get at this point. “Was he in the same grade as you?”
“He was a year ahead of me,” Edith answered. “He was very popular, and very handsome. He looked like Clark Gable.”
“Is that a good thing?”
Edith rolled her eyes. “No one was better looking than Clark Gable.”
“I guess you haven’t seen the guy who plays Thor,” I muttered.
Edith didn’t respond to the comment because she was distracted by her stroll down memory lane. “He was almost breathtaking to look at,” she said. “Everyone had a crush on him, especially Tillie.”
“Where was Uncle Calvin for this?”
“He was very shy and didn’t approach Tillie until she was a senior,” Edith explained. “By then, Calvin had been out of school for three years or so. Tillie was still playing games when Calvin came on the scene. She gave up the games – well, at least some of them – not long after they started courting. Because Calvin was older, he forced Tillie to mature.”
“That’s kind of … pervy.”
“Those were different times,” Edith chided. “That age difference was perfectly acceptable back then. Anyway, I was in the same class as Tillie, but Patty was a few years ahead of us. She was already working at the diner. That didn’t stop her from going after Victor.”
“Did she get him?”
Edith shook her head. “No one really got him,” she said. “It’s hard for me to remember exactly what happened, but I lost track of him soon after graduation. That was after Tillie and Patty got in a fight over him, though. They both had crushes on him. Patty thought she was prettier, so she should have him.”
“That’s all well and good, but I have a hard time believing a high school fight over a boy who probably left town was enough to cause Aunt Tillie to kill Patty sixty years later. Besides, Aunt Tillie went on to marry Uncle Calvin, and by all reports, they were very happy.”
“Maybe something else happened between them,” Edith said. “I’m simply telling you what I remember.”
Unfortunately, it was all I had to go on. “Thanks. I didn’t mean to bite your head off.”
“It’s okay,” Edith said. “I understand you’re upset. I hate your aunt, but you love her.”
“Sometimes I’m not so sure.”
“You love her,” Edith said, shaking her head. “She’s mean and nasty, but you still wouldn’t trade her for anything because she’s colorful.”
I couldn’t argue with that. “I … .” I lost my train of thought when I glanced out my office window and caught sight of Noah. He was talking to Brian next to the front desk, both of them utilizing big hand gestures as they conversed. They seemed to be enjoying each other’s company. “What is he doing here?”
Edith glanced over her shoulder. “Is that the new FBI guy? If so, I think he’s better looking than the one you’re dating. He doesn’t have that long hair.”
Well, now I was officially insulted on Landon’s behalf. “That guy looks like an ear of corn.”
“I think he’s handsome.”
I sucked in a breath to calm myself. “Well, if he’s here it’s to question Brian,” I said. “I can’t control what Brian says, but I can control myself. I’m out of here until I’m sure he’s gone.”
“I’ll watch him for you,” Edith said, completely losing interest in our previous conversation and floating toward the door. “If he’s up to something, I’ll find out what it is.”
“Thanks, Edith. That will be a real help,” I said dryly.
“Don’t mention it.”
Sixteen
“You’re dead to me!”
Thistle didn’t even bother hiding her smile when I strode into Hypnotic. Clove, who was happily dusting shelves with a peaceful smile on her face, widened her eyes when I stormed in.
“Oh, don’t be that way,” Thistle chided. “I’m your favorite roommate. There’s no way you can deny it.”
“I’m going to make you eat a pile of dirt as soon as I find the time,” I shot back. “I’m actually going to schedule it in my day planner so I don’t forget.”
“What’s going on?” Clove asked, confused. “Are you guys already fighting without me?” She almost looked hopeful.
“We’re going to be,” I said. “I’m going to kill her, and then I’m going to claim the guesthouse as my own private domain.”
“Only if you get rid of Aunt Tillie,” Thistle said. “How was her first night in the guesthouse?”
“Oh,” Clove intoned, realization dawning. “That’s why you’re in such a good mood today, Thistle. I wondered. You’re usually crabby in the morning, but you were downright giddy today.”
“That’s because she’s evil,” I said.
“I never denied being evil,” Thistle said. “If it makes you feel better, I really did plan on going back to the guesthouse after dinner. Marcus and I were really comfortable watching television, though, and I fell asleep.”
“Yeah, if you dry that lie out you could fertilize the lawn,” I snapped. “I’m not stupid. Do you have any idea what my last twenty-four hours have been like?”
“I don’t,” Clove said. “I’ve missed you terribly, and no one called me. It was hurtful.”
“It’s been a day, Clove,” Thistle said, shaking her head. “Give us time to work up to rampant grief and crying.”
“I haven’t missed either of you,” I charged. “Of course, I spent part of yesterday in police custody, so I had other things on my mind.”
Clove’s mouth dropped open as Thistle arched an eyebrow. One of my cousins was genuinely worried and the other was amused. Of course, Thistle already knew about part of my day because I stopped in to complain when I was freaking out about Landon. She’s going to turn into Aunt Tillie’s clone one day. I just know it.
“What happened?” Clove asked.
“Well, I snuck out to Patty Grimes’ house to see whether her ghost was there, and when I arrived, guess who I found?”
“Aunt Tillie,” Thistle said, smiling broadly. “Of course she would go out there to do the same thing. She wants to pretend she’s not bothered by the murder rumors, but she really is.”
“Yes, you’re so smart,” I said, scorching her with a dark look. “You already knew the answer, though, because I stopped in here after it happened. Do you mind if I tell Clove the story, or would you rather revel in your genius?”
“I prefer reveling in my genius.”
Clove slapped Thistle’s arm and shook her dark head. “Don’t be mean,” she ordered. “Bay is obviously upset. I want to hear all about your terrible day. I’m a good cousin.”
“You only want her to say she misses you,” Thistle said. “Admit it.”
“A few tears would make me feel better,” Clove conceded.
“Maybe later,” I muttered. “Do you want to hear about my day or not?”
“I’m already bored with the story because I’ve heard it,” Thistle replied.
I ignored her. “So I go to Patty Grimes’ house and Aunt Tillie is breaking in,” I said. “We argued. She won. We went inside. Patty Grimes’ ghost appeared, and she and Aunt Tillie started spewing insults at one another. Patty said Aunt Tillie killed her, by the way.”
“Holy crap,” Thistle said, leaning forward. All pretense of disinterest evaporated from her face. “What did Aunt Tillie say? You didn’t tell me that part yesterday.”
“That’s because Aunt T
illie was with me, and I was distracted by my fight with Landon. I was going to tell you, but it slipped my mind … and then I was really comfortable and fell asleep.”
Thistle frowned. “I get it. You’re ticked. Move on.”
“Oh, you had a fight with Landon?” Clove’s face flooded with sympathy. “Did you make up?”
“I just want to tell my story,” I groused. “Can’t I do that without fifty interruptions?”
“You have met me before, right?” Thistle challenged.
I pretended I didn’t hear the question. “So Aunt Tillie and Patty are screeching at each other when Noah shows up. He questions us, and Aunt Tillie lies about having an imaginary friend who she thought lived in the house. She said the heat confused her. Noah didn’t believe her, and he arrested us.”
“Where was Landon?” Clove asked.
“With Noah.”
“Landon arrested you?” Clove was beside herself. “We need to curse him right now. Did you break up?”
“No, we didn’t break up,” I snapped, irritated. “Landon had no choice. He could’ve lost his job over that. He was a mess.”
“You’re leaving part of the story out,” Thistle said, smirking. “Landon refused to handcuff Bay, so Noah did it. Landon did handcuff Aunt Tillie, though.”
“Well, she probably deserved it,” Clove said. “What happened when you got to the station?”
“Chief Terry refused to bring charges, and Noah had a fit. Then Landon and I got in a big fight, and I worked from home all afternoon. I fell asleep, and when I got up to the inn everyone thought I was sick because I slept in my makeup.”
“Did you cry?” Clove asked knowingly.
“No.”
Thistle crossed her arms over her chest. “Not even a little?”
“Fine, I cried a little bit,” I admitted. “It was, like, one tear.”
“Which means it was about a hundred tears,” Thistle said. “Continue. I’m listening.”
“We had a big showdown at dinner, and Noah questioned our mothers about Sally’s existence. Sally is the imaginary friend who was really supposed to be a dead girl from Aunt Tillie’s childhood, mind you. In case he asks, that’s the lie.”
“Uh-oh,” Clove said. “Did our moms rat you out?”
“No. They all lied. Twila even knew her name, which still has me confused.”
“That’s interesting,” Thistle said. “What did Landon do?”
“He picked another fight on the way back to the guesthouse, and then gave up because I couldn’t stop myself from crying,” I replied. “We made up and went to bed because we were both exhausted. Aunt Tillie stayed up watching HBO.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad,” Clove said.
“Wait for it,” Thistle said.
“This morning we were talking in bed, and Aunt Tillie just wandered in and invited herself to breakfast with us,” I said.
“And there it is,” Thistle said, a devilish grin splitting her face. “How was your breakfast?”
“Well, Landon insists Aunt Tillie follow rules, and Aunt Tillie pretends she can’t hear Landon when he says something she doesn’t like, which is pretty much every word he utters,” I answered. “It’s going to blow up.”
“That sounds absolutely delightful,” Thistle said. “I’m so sorry I missed it.”
“I’m going to throw you in a hole and shovel dirt on top of you if you do it again,” I warned.
“Yeah, that’s big talk for a pathetic crier,” Thistle said, unmoved by the threat. “What else is going on?”
I told her about my conversation with Mrs. Little and Edith’s tidbit about Victor Donahue. When I was done, my cousins were even more confused than when we started.
“I don’t get it,” Clove said. “I can see Mrs. Little convincing herself Aunt Tillie is a menace. Aunt Tillie is never anything but mean to her. But I don’t understand why she would go after Chief Terry.”
“I think his potential professional trouble is just a byproduct of Mrs. Little’s hate for Aunt Tillie. She’s willing to risk Chief Terry’s future to win,” I replied. “My bigger problem is the fact that she called the FBI’s main office and told them Patty Grimes was murdered long before a cause of death – or a rumor of a murder – started circulating.”
“Do you think it’s her?” Thistle asked, intrigued. “Maybe she’s trying to point the finger at Aunt Tillie to distract people from her own guilt.”
I would’ve been lying if I said the thought never crossed my mind. Her husband was a murderer, after all. I wouldn’t put it past her. “What would her motive be?”
“Maybe Patty and Mrs. Little have a past we don’t know about,” Thistle suggested. “You asked Edith about Aunt Tillie’s history with Patty, not Mrs. Little’s past with Patty. We might only be getting part of the story.”
That was a good point. “I’ll ask Edith about Mrs. Little when I see her again,” I said. “I can’t go back to the office now because Noah is there questioning Brian.”
“About what?” Thistle asked.
“I’m sure it’s about me … and possibly Sally,” I said. “There’s nothing I can do about it so I’m ignoring it unless directly asked.”
“That’s probably wise, but Brian is a weasel,” Thistle said. “I would be worried about him making stuff up.”
“I can’t stop him, so I’m choosing to ignore him,” I said. “Things have been rough lately between us as it is.”
“Was Landon with Noah?” Clove asked.
I shook my head. “I’m sure Landon didn’t want to question Brian. They hate each other.”
Clove inclined her head toward the front window, causing me to swivel. “Landon is coming this way. Hopefully we shouldn’t have to worry about Noah following if they’re not together right now.”
I watched as Landon let himself in the store. He didn’t look particularly upset or worried, but he didn’t look happy either. “Is something wrong?”
“Nothing is wrong, Bay,” Landon said, cupping the back of my head and giving me a quick kiss. “I only wanted to touch base and see what your plans were for the day. Noah is off talking to Brian, and I decided to take the opportunity to talk strategy with Chief Terry without prying ears horning in on the conversation. Then I had a few free moments and wanted to check in with you.”
“How did you know I wasn’t at the newspaper office?” I asked.
“Because I knew you would run the second you saw Noah, and I was right,” Landon replied. “I saw you scurrying toward Hypnotic five minutes after Noah left. Did you speak to him at all?”
“He was in the hallway with Brian. I left right away without saying a thing,” I said. “I did talk to Edith a little bit. She told me Aunt Tillie and Patty had a spat in high school over a boy named Victor Donahue. She seems to think it was a big deal.”
“A high school crush?” Landon didn’t look convinced. “I have trouble believing that would cause Aunt Tillie to murder someone.”
“I also had words with Mrs. Little.” I wasn’t keen on admitting it, but I didn’t want to keep anything from Landon given our argument the previous day.
“I figured you would,” Landon said, not missing a beat. “Did she say anything?”
“Just that Aunt Tillie was evil and she was trying to protect the town,” I said. “It wasn’t pretty. She said I had to buy a porcelain unicorn for Clove as a housewarming gift or leave, so I left.”
“Thank the Goddess for small favors,” Clove said. “I would rather have nothing than a unicorn.”
“That’s good to know,” Thistle said, smirking. “I shall therefore give you nothing.”
“I’m going to help Bay feed you dirt,” Clove said, scowling. “I hope you know that.”
“I’m going to help, too,” Landon said. “After what you pulled abandoning us with that woman last night, you deserve it.”
“You obviously survived.” Thistle is one of those people who will only apologize if her back is to the wall and someone
has a knife at her throat. So, pretty much never.
“Yes, but we needed time together because we were dealing with some personal stuff,” Landon argued. “You obviously don’t care about that, but we do. Bay almost made herself sick she was so worked up.”
“Don’t tell people that,” I said. “It makes me look weak.”
“You weren’t weak, sweetie,” Landon countered. “You were upset. You were in cuffs. Your cousin didn’t care enough about you to take that into consideration, though. She knew we were arguing, but helping you was out of her wheelhouse. I think there’s a lesson in there.”
Why do people keep trying to teach me lessons these days? “It’s fine.”
“It’s not fine,” Clove said. “Thistle was wrong. She should admit it.”
“I definitely don’t miss you now,” Thistle said, crossing her arms over her chest. “For the record, I’m not sorry. I really did fall asleep by accident. If it helps, I promise to spend the night at the guesthouse this evening to … lighten your load.”
It was as close to an apology as I would get. “That’s great,” I said. “I’m also going to need your help tracking down Victor Donahue. That can be your penance.”
“You can’t honestly believe this feud between Aunt Tillie and Patty has something to do with some random guy from sixty years ago” Thistle scoffed. “Aunt Tillie is mean and diabolical, but she’s not letting a high school fight fuel her rage.”
“No, but anyone who has information on why they hated each other is someone I want to talk to if I can,” I replied. “Edith said she lost track of him. I have to think that’s because he moved. I can’t be sure, though.”
“He could be dead,” Clove pointed out. “We might not be able to find him.”
“I have to try.”
“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that name because I would have to share it with Noah,” Landon said. “He’s already gung-ho to prove Aunt Tillie is lying about Sally.”
“That seems like a terrific waste of time,” Thistle said. “She’s lying but she’ll never admit it. She’s not the type to give in. She’ll go to the grave pretending there’s a Sally now rather than owning up to lying. In fact, her need to win is so great she’ll start shopping for Sally and adopt a pet for her or something.”
Charms & Witchdemeanors (Wicked Witches of the Midwest Book 8) Page 15