A Fistful of Demons

by Lily Harper Hart

  Lindsey’s mouth dropped open as shocked horror washed over her features. “How could you say that?”

  “He disappeared right before we were supposed to get on the chairlift,” Patrick protested. “We were looking for him. You told him to stick close and he disappeared. Dad was supposed to be right behind us, but he never made it.

  “Logan was angry at him before that,” he continued. “Dad kept yelling at us — he was always yelling at us — and Logan didn’t like it. He said right before he disappeared that we would be better without Dad.”

  “You take that back!” Lindsey jabbed a finger in her oldest son’s direction, fury evident. “Your father was a good man.”

  “Not really.” Patrick was morose. “He yelled all the time. He blamed Logan for everything that happened in the house. Have you forgotten that? He blamed him for the headaches.”

  Lindsey shook her head. “Stop talking,” she hissed. Hannah noted she’d yet to kneel next to her son, check on him. Logan remained on the floor. He looked to be dazed and confused and yet his mother never as much as looked at him.

  “You’re just saying all this because these people got to you,” she continued. “They came here to convince you to talk to me, get me to drop the lawsuit. Admit it.”

  “I haven’t talked to them, Mom,” Patrick argued. “I didn’t even see them until I opened the door. I could hear them trying to talk to Logan, but he didn’t care. He kept threatening them, said he was going to kill her.” He gestured toward Hannah. “There’s something wrong with him. How can you not see that?”

  “There’s nothing wrong with him.” Lindsey was practically growling now. “He’s just a boy who is ... grieving.”

  “Then why won’t you look at him?” Hannah asked finally. She couldn’t ignore what she was seeing. “You’ve avoided eye contact with him since you got here. You haven’t even asked him if he’s okay.”

  “He’s obviously okay,” Lindsey shot back. “I mean ... look at him.” She finally forced her gaze to the boy on the floor. “No thanks to you, of course. I’ll take him to the doctor after the police come to arrest these ... cretins.”

  “They saved me, Mom,” Patrick repeated, firmer this time. “If the police question me, that’s exactly what I’m going to tell them.”

  “And I’ll explain how these people have brainwashed you. I’m not listening to another second of this.” She pulled out her phone and stared at the screen. She seemed to be momentarily lost.

  The sound of pounding feet on the stairs was enough to draw her attention. It was Boone joining the party ... and he wasn’t alone. He had several police officers with him, and they were all dressed in uniforms.

  “What’s going on?” Cooper asked, confused.

  “Yeah, what’s going on?” Tyler intoned. “A heads-up that we were about to be invaded might’ve been nice.”

  Boone pretended he didn’t hear him and focused his full attention on Cooper. “I got a call on the road. The locals wanted to inform me that they’d come to a conclusion on Todd Lincoln.”

  Hannah’s stomach clenched. “What did they find?”

  “They haven’t technically found anything yet, but they’re testing for poison,” Boone replied, his expression unreadable. “The thing is ... you’re no longer a suspect, Hannah. You never really were. The state pathologist, in conjunction with the Cedar Spring Police Department, were always looking at a different suspect.”

  Lindsey shook her head at the news. “No. She’s to blame.” She jutted her chin in Hannah’s direction. “She killed my husband. Sure, maybe she didn’t do it with her own hands, but she’s definitely to blame. It was either her or her people.”

  “It wasn’t.” Boone was firm. “Ma’am, why didn’t you tell us about Eleanor Rich?”

  Lindsey furrowed her brow, confused. “Eleanor? You mean the old woman who lived on the corner?”

  Boone bobbed his head. “She was your neighbor for ten years ... and she’s dead.”

  “What does that have to do with me?”

  “Technically, it doesn’t have anything to do with you.” Boone moved to the side as the officers piled into the small space. It was only then that Hannah realized their attention was fixated on Logan. They weren’t looking at anyone else.

  “I don’t understand,” Lindsey argued. “What is going on?”

  “This is Detective Shoemaker,” Boone replied. “He has some things to discuss with you.” Boone calmly drew Hannah away from Cooper and Logan and secured her along the wall with him. His gaze never left the boy.

  “I’m Aaron Shoemaker,” the detective introduced himself with grim resolve. “We’ve met once before, ma’am. Do you remember?”

  Lindsey was clearly bewildered. “I think I remember. You were asking questions right after Eleanor’s body was found. I assumed that was because she was in the house so long without anyone realizing she’d passed.”

  “It’s more than that, ma’am.” Shoemaker was the picture of professionalism. “There’s no easy way to put this so I’m just going to lay it out for you. For the past three months, we’ve been investigating Ms. Rich’s death. We expected to find that she’d died of natural causes. That was not, however, the case.

  “After an extensive medical investigation, we found that she was poisoned,” he continued. “It was a homemade concoction, complete with hemlock and some other herbs that when mixed together, caused death. The thing is, the poison had to be administered over the course of several days. Do you know why that’s important?”

  Lindsey blankly shook her head. “Should I?”

  “When we talked to neighbors, they said your son was often seen at her house,” Shoemaker continued. “They said he was a frequent visitor.”

  “So what?” Lindsey’s temper was back on display. “He volunteered his time to help her. He’s a good boy. That’s what he does.”

  “No one else in the neighborhood seems to think he’s a good boy,” Shoemaker countered. “Your neighbors across the street, the Fredricks, believe he killed their cat.”

  “Oh, that’s preposterous. Their cat ran away.”

  “And the dog one block over? Did he run away, too?”

  “How should I know? It’s not my dog.”

  Shoemaker looked as if he was at the end of his rope. “Ma’am, the one thing everyone in this neighborhood could agree on is that your son is odd. They say he’s mean to the other kids, bullies them, and kids three times his size are terrified of him.”

  “That is nonsense.” Even as she said the words, Lindsey’s expression changed. It was as if she was thinking ... and thinking hard. “My son is not capable of what you’re accusing him of.”

  “We don’t happen to believe that’s true. He’ll have the opportunity to defend himself in court, however.”

  “Court?” Lindsey’s eyes went wide. “You can’t be serious.”

  “I’m serious.”

  “And what are you charging him with, killing a dog and a cat?”

  “No, he’s being charged with first-degree murder for Eleanor Rich’s death.”

  “But ... no.”

  “I’m sorry.” Shoemaker withdrew a set of cuffs from his belt and focused on the child. “Logan Lincoln, you’re under arrest. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. Do you understand your rights as they’ve been explained to you?”

  And just like that, things got worse. Hannah wasn’t even sure that was possible.

  AFTER ANSWERING A SERIES OF QUESTIONS about what they were doing inside the Lincoln house — and with some serious backup on Boone’s account — the Casper Creek group was released and admonished to stay away from the family. The coven members opted to stop for dinner on their way home, which left Tyler, Cooper, and Hannah when it was time to head back.

  Hannah opted to sit in the backseat, her mind busy. She couldn’t believe what had transpired.

  “Do you want to order pizza or something?” Cooper
asked when he parked at the saloon.

  It took a few minutes for the words to penetrate the haze invading Hannah’s mind. “What?” She looked confused when she finally focused on Cooper’s face.

  “Dinner,” he prodded. “You should really have something to eat.”

  “I’m not hungry.” In fact, she felt sick to her stomach. “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to eat again after this.”

  “Oh, good. Drama.” Cooper forced a wan smile. “I think that’s exactly what we need to make this night complete.”

  She managed to muster a scowl. “I’m not being dramatic. This is ... unbelievable. They took that little boy to prison.”

  “It sounds like he had it coming,” Tyler noted as Cooper helped Hannah down from the truck. “I mean ... who kills a dog? He deserves to rot in prison for the rest of his life.”

  “Yes, because the dog’s death is more troublesome than the old woman he poisoned,” Cooper drawled.

  “At least she had a good life,” Tyler objected.

  “Let’s just agree that they’re both traumatic deaths and leave it at that,” Cooper suggested,. “I just can’t believe the cops have been looking at that kid for months. If they’d moved faster, his father would still be alive.”

  “You guys are missing the point,” Hannah said finally, finding her voice. “The boy didn’t do any of those things. It was the demon inside of him that did. Now he’s free of the demon, but he’s going to be locked up forever for things he didn’t do.”

  “That’s a fair point,” Tyler muttered.

  “You can’t worry about that,” Cooper insisted, reaching for her so they could share a hug. “We did what we could for him. He’s free. Besides ... he’s a kid. At ten, there’s no way they’ll manage to lock him up forever. It’s far more likely he’ll go to a home until he’s twenty-one and then be released back into society.”

  Hannah frowned. “That doesn’t make me feel better.”

  “Me either but there’s literally nothing we can do about it. What are we supposed to do? We can’t go in front of a judge and tell him it was a demon. We’ll get laughed out of court ... or perhaps locked up ourselves. We can’t intervene.”

  “Boone knows the truth,” Tyler added. “Maybe there’s something he can do. He is the sheriff, after all.”

  Hannah wasn’t nearly as placated by the thought as the two men. “I guess.” She rubbed her forehead, weariness taking over. “I’m exhausted.”

  “You didn’t sleep,” Cooper reminded her. “You had a busy day on top of everything else, a lot of emotions to deal with. We should go to bed.”

  The unintended slip made Hannah smile. “We?”

  “Oh, snap.” Tyler made a hilarious face as he danced around.

  Cooper glared at him and then held up his hand to symbolically shut Tyler out of the conversation. “I just meant that we’re both tired. You need rest ... and I need rest ... and we should probably do it separately.”

  Hannah pursed her lips in amusement. “That’s probably a very good idea. Sleep, I mean. Separately.”

  “Shot down again,” Tyler intoned.

  Cooper made a hysterical face. “How about I walk with you to collect Jinx at Arnie’s place? Then I’ll make sure you’re tucked in tight for the night. I’ll even come back tomorrow morning with a big breakfast. I’m sure you’ll be hungry then.”

  Something occurred to Hannah. “Will the park open again tomorrow?”

  “It should. I’ll handle calling the employees.”

  “I’ll handle calling the employees,” Tyler corrected. “You two need sleep ... and to prepare for what I assume will be an adorable breakfast date. I suggest Hannah wear blue because it will bring out her eyes and Coop can practice flexing in the mirror tonight so he looks extra good.”

  Cooper flicked his friend’s ear. “You are, without a doubt, the biggest pain in the behind. I just can’t deal with you.”

  The interaction was enough to pull a legitimate smile from Hannah. “Oh, you guys are so cute. Have you ever considered that you’re the couple to watch at Casper Creek?”

  Cooper snickered. “It’s been mentioned a time or two.” He put his hand to the small of her back and prodded her toward Main Street. “Come on. We’ll collect Jinx and get you settled. I think a good ten hours of sleep is exactly what the doctor ordered.”

  Hannah offered Tyler a half-wave and then fell into step with Cooper. She wasn’t quite ready to let her woe go. “I know you don’t want to hear it, but we really need to think of a way to help Logan. It’s not his fault he was possessed.”

  “No,” Cooper agreed. “It’s not his fault. I don’t see how we have a say in the matter, though. This is beyond our scope.”

  “Do you think it’s beyond Boone’s scope?”

  “Probably not, but we need to be smart about it. There’s nothing we can do tonight. That includes Boone. We’ll do our best to talk to him tomorrow. That’s all we can do.”

  It wasn’t much, but it was something. Hannah reluctantly bobbed her head. “I really am exhausted. I had no idea it was possible to be this tired.”

  “Are you sure you’re okay staying alone?” The look on her face was enough to have him scrambling. “I just mean that I could stay with you if you’re feeling uneasy over what happened last night. I would stay on the couch or something.”

  Hannah laughed at his discomfort, delighted. “Oh, you really are cute.” She planted a warm kiss on his cheek. “As for the offer, I appreciate it. The demon is gone, though. We exorcised it.”

  “From the boy. I don’t necessarily know that you killed the demon. He could still be alive ... just without a body for the time being.”

  Hannah hadn’t considered that. Ultimately, she shook her head. “No, I’ll be fine. Even if the demon managed to escape, he’s weak. He won’t come back here. He’ll run.”

  Cooper could only hope she was right.

  15

  Fifteen

  Hannah found herself on edge when it came time to wind down. Even though she had Jinx at her side — and he seemed perfectly normal — she couldn’t stop herself from turning on every light the entire apartment. She didn’t want to leave any shadows behind for the demon to hide in should he return.

  She’d spoken the truth to Cooper. She was convinced that the demon had either fled or was so seriously hurt he couldn’t possibly regroup this fast. That didn’t soothe her frazzled nerves, though. She was jumpy.

  In an effort to relax, she filled the tub with steaming water and dropped in a relaxing bath bomb before sinking into the water to her chin and closing her eyes. The exhaustion overwhelming her was profound, matching by the sadness she felt when thinking about Logan.

  Life wasn’t fair. She told herself that daily. Other people told her that, too. If anyone should know about the unfair nature of life, it was her. She’d done everything she could to make a man happy, only to have it blow up in her face.

  She lost her job, the future she envisioned, and her pride. On top of that, she found she had a grandmother she was unfairly kept away from who was desperate to get to know her and had secrets to share. None of that could be fixed. She could only move forward and not look back.

  Still, it bothered her. Thinking of Logan being punished for things he hadn’t done, that some creature from another world had perpetuated while wearing his face, was another crushing blow.

  Even though her mind was busy, Hannah managed to eventually shut down. She was floating on fatigue and regret when the water cooled to the point she could no longer tolerate it. She let loose a heavy sigh before exiting the tub, wrapping herself in the robe she kept hanging on the back of the bathroom door.

  She paused in the hallway long enough to look into her bedroom. Jinx was already spread out on the center of the bed, his head on a pillow. She would have to move him to make enough room for herself. Still, the sight of him snoring away made her happy.

  She was safe, she reminded herself. Nothing was going to happe
n. The odds were astronomical against the demon returning.

  She believed that right up until the point she strolled into the living room, determined to shut off the lights, and came face to face with a shadow.

  “Oh, my ... .” She veered hard to her right to avoid the creature, careening into the hallway wall as she fought to keep her footing. She was stunned, her heart pounding so hard she thought she might pass out, and her voice was nothing but a whiny screech.

  “You,” the demon hissed. “This is your doing.”

  Hannah’s eyelids fluttered, but she managed to keep from passing out through sheer force of will. If she lost consciousness now, she would die. She was certain of that. Whatever this thing was — a remnant of a more powerful creature, the black soul of the demon who turned Logan into a murderer, something else entirely — it could still kill her. It looked weak, drained, but there was death in its murderous red eyes.

  “What are you?” she asked when she finally managed to control her breathing enough to speak. Her voice cracked as she leaned against the wall, keeping as much distance between her and the creature as possible.

  “Shouldn’t you have asked that question before you performed your little ritual?”

  “You were possessing that boy. You made him do things ... horrible things.”

  “You don’t even know what you’re talking about,” the creature raged, blowing out enough power to send a vase spinning across the room. It smacked into the wall behind the couch and shattered into a million pieces.

  The noise was enough to rouse Jinx in the other room and the dog rushed out, his jaws snapping. Hannah, on instinct, wrapped her arms around his neck before he could attack the creature. The thought of the demon doing anything to hurt her beloved canine companion was more than she could take.

  “Don’t hurt him,” she yelled as she used all of her body weight to keep Jinx in the hallway. “You just surprised him. He won’t hurt you.”

  The demon was incredulous. “He looks as if he wants to eat me for dinner.”