Over the Broom

by Sara Bourgeois

She held her hands a few inches above me and moved them in small circles from my head down to my toes. Once she’d completed one pass, she moved back up again. I could sort of feel a little pull in the area she was scanning. It was an interesting, but not uncomfortable, sensation.

  “Okay, you can sit up,” Brigid said.

  She helped me up after putting the table extension at my feet back. “Is everything okay?”

  “Everything is great, Brighton. I’m going to have you come back once a month until the month before you’re due. After that, you’ll come in weekly.”

  “So I just come back in a month then? No other instructions?” I asked.

  “Call me if you need me. No matter what. Even if you’re worried that you’re being silly or overreacting, you call me,” Brigid said. “Make sure you get plenty of nutritious food, sunshine, and some exercise.”

  “We will. Thank you so much,” Remy said.

  Brigid put us in her calendar for another early morning appointment one month from that day, and then we headed out. I was feeling so happy that everything with the pregnancy was confirmed to be fine that it had settled my stomach, and I found myself starving.

  “So, I’m starving,” I said as Remy slid into the driver’s seat. “I know we can’t go to the diner, but I really want pancakes and bacon. Oh, and sausage.”

  “I’m sorry we can’t go to the diner, baby.” Remy took my hand and kissed my knuckles. “Let’s go home and check the fridge. If we’re lucky, the house will have everything we need, and I’ll make you pancakes and bacon.”

  “And sausage?”

  “Yes, and sausage too.”

  As Remy was backing out of the parking space, I noticed a woman standing next to an old gray sedan. She was just staring at us.

  “Remy, who is that?” I asked and tried to subtly point at the woman.

  Not like I had to. She was still standing there watching us back out of the parking space. Her eyes were dark and narrowed like she was studying something she disdained. It sent a shiver down my spine.

  “Probably someone who is going into the clinic. She’s watching to make sure she doesn’t step out behind the car,” he said, and I realized he wasn’t paying close attention.

  “No, Remy. Look at her. She’s glaring at us.”

  “Oh, that’s Sally Skeenbauer.”

  I breathed a sigh of relief. “She’s related to us then?”

  “Well, only by marriage. She’s married to one of my uncles.”

  “She’s a regular person.”

  “Nope, she’s a witch. Just from a different family. Kind of like you except she’s not a Tuttlesmith. She might not be glaring at you. Sally is partially blind from a magic accident when she was younger.”

  “And she drove herself here.”

  As I said it, a man emerged from the car. She’d been waiting for him, and probably staring off into the distance.

  “See,” Remy said.

  I let out a strangled laugh. “Okay, now I’m even getting paranoid.”

  As we drove home, I couldn’t stop thinking about what I could do to find the killer. I know I should stay out of it for my safety, but I was a mother. I would do anything to protect my baby, and if no one else could find the witch killer, I would do it.

  “Are you going to be okay if I go into work?” Remy asked as we walked into the house.

  “Yes, of course. I’m pregnant, not a baby myself. I think the best thing we can do is try to live as normal a life as possible,” I said.

  “Okay, if you’re sure.”

  “I’m sure,” I said and kissed him goodbye.

  Once Remy was gone, I pulled out the family address book to confirm Aunt Coraline’s address. The person who tried to kill us at the wedding had to have had access to the food before it was served. I needed to see if I could figure out who had been in her house that day because either the poison was added there or it was added at my home.

  If the poison was put on the food at Hangman’s House, I’d have to figure out who was in the kitchen with Coraline besides me and a few very close family members.

  I knew where she lived, but I wanted to confirm the street number anyway. Most of the houses on her block looked very similar, and the last thing I needed was to walk into some surprised stranger’s house because I had baby brain.

  “I’m going to go break into Aunt Coraline’s house and look for clues,” I said to Meri. “You want to come?”

  “Not particularly, but seeing as how it’s my duty to protect you and the little one, I’ll go.”

  “I knew you’d see it my way,” I said.

  I parked two blocks away from Coraline’s house and we walked. The last thing I needed was someone calling Gunner because I was parked in the driveway or in front of the house on the street.

  Speaking of the driveway, it was long, narrow and extended all the way to a garage behind the house. Meri and I walked up it quickly and around to the two-story Victorian’s back door.

  I made quick work of the lock with a little magic, and Meri and I stepped inside. The back door was in a little mudroom addition of the kitchen. I waited for a few seconds once we were inside the mudroom before walking into the kitchen. I would have heard if the house had been sold or another family member had moved in, but I wanted to be absolutely sure.

  When I heard nothing, we went in. Most Victorian houses I’d been in had narrow kitchens, but Coraline’s had been completely remodeled. The wall between the kitchen and the old dining room had been torn down so that the kitchen could expand into that space. It was huge.

  “What are we looking for?” Meri asked.

  “I need to know who was in her house that day,” I said.

  “Well, that ought to be easy. It was only like, what, six months ago?” Meri asked.

  “Maybe she had an appointment book,” I said. “If she did her cooking for her catering business here in this house, she probably has an office too.”

  She did have an office, and it was on the first floor next to the room that served as the parlor. There were glass French doors between the two rooms, and I remember meeting with her in that parlor to discuss food before the wedding. The French doors must have been closed with the curtains drawn, because I didn’t remember paying much attention to those.

  The doors were open, though, and Meri and I walked into her office. She had a laptop open on her desk, and I hit the space bar. It must have only been in sleep mode because it came to life.

  Her appointment book wasn’t hard to find. It was the first icon on the laptop’s desktop. I clicked on it and went back to the day she died. My wedding day.

  It would forever be one of the best and worst days of my life. I’d married the love of my life, but I’d also almost watched my entire family die.

  The keyword there was almost. Everything had turned out okay. Except for Coraline. I wasn’t able to save her, but at least I could find out who killed her and bring them to justice.

  It probably wouldn’t be human justice, though. Whoever it was had tried to kill the Skeenbauer coven and prevent me from having the child they were waiting for all those years.

  I almost felt pity on the killer. When Amelda got ahold of them, she and the Aunties would make them pay in the old ways.

  But, they’d brought it upon themselves. Any trace of empathy I had for them faded away when I thought of the box of poison cupcakes from the bakery.

  It took me a minute to scroll back through Coraline’s calendar and find the day I was searching for. When I did, I found that she had three appointments that day. The biggest was mine, but there were two others.

  One was soup and sandwiches for a luncheon at the bank. The contact’s name was Jenny Mueller, and she was listed as the branch assistant manager. I didn’t know Jenny well. She didn’t live in Coventry. She and her husband had a house a few miles outside of town in the country.

  The other appointment was a consultation. A woman named Linda Farmer had an appointment to discuss catering for
a teacher appreciation banquet at the elementary school. It was listed as a twenty-minute appointment right before Coraline had scheduled herself to begin cooking for the wedding.

  Linda Farmer worked as a secretary at the elementary school, so the appointment itself wasn’t suspect. But, the timing did give me pause.

  I wrote down both of their names and clicked out of the scheduling program. “I think I’ve got what I need,” I said and stood up from the desk.

  Suddenly there was a pounding on the front door. I froze in place, and so did Meri.

  “What the heck?” I whispered.

  “You want me to go look?” Meri asked.

  “Don’t get caught. Don’t let them see you.”

  “That’s not an issue,” Meri said.

  The pounding started again, and it was enough to make me jump halfway out of my skin. It went on for at least a full minute, and it sounded like there was a huge man on the other side of the door trying to beat it down.

  “Maybe we should just go,” I whispered. “We’ll sneak out through the back and cut through a neighbor’s yard.”

  “I know you’re in there!” A scratchy, female voice shouted through the door. “I’ll call the sheriff!”

  “What are we doing?” I asked. “This is Coraline’s house. It belongs to the family. I’m just going to answer the door. It’s not like we’re going to be in trouble for being here. Not real trouble, anyway. Amelda can handle it.”

  “Amelda will be ticked that you’re out investigating the murder,” Meri said.

  “It’s fine.”

  “Whatever. You’re the one who’ll have to deal with her.”

  Chapter Seven

  I went to the door, took a big breath, and opened it cautiously. Standing on the other side was a hunched little old woman who looked to be at least in her nineties. She did not match the picture in my head of the giant I thought had been knocking on the door. Instead she had a perfect coif of gray curls and was dressed in a blue cotton dress and pink cardigan. A rope of thick pearls hung around her neck, and she was just about the least intimidating person I’d ever seen.

  Except for the steely look in her narrowed eyes. The woman looked like she could cut glass with her disapproving gaze.

  “Who are you?” she demanded before I could say anything.

  “I’m Brighton. This is my aunt’s house. Who are you?” I stood my ground.

  “If you’re Coraline’s niece, then why I have I never seen you before?”

  “I’m married to her nephew, Remy. We were here a few months ago to plan for our wedding.”

  “You’re the one who had the wedding where she died,” the woman said through eyes so narrow they were practically slits. “What are you doing in her house?”

  “You still haven’t told me who you are,” I said.

  “I’m Gerty. I live across the street,” she said and thumbed over her shoulder. “Do I need to call the sheriff?”

  “No, Gerty. I’m here because I wanted to know who came to see Coraline the day she died,” I said with a sigh.

  “Oh, well, why didn’t you say so?” Gerty said with a smile. “I see everything that goes on in this neighborhood.”

  I should have figured that out given that she’d seen me go into Coraline’s house despite my attempts to be stealthy. “Can you tell me what you saw?” I asked.

  “Be a dear and come have a cup of coffee with an old woman. I don’t get much company these days,” she said.

  “I have my cat with me,” I said.

  “Oh, I don’t mind him either. Used to have one of my own, but he passed a few years ago. I’m too old to get another.”

  “Sure, we can come over for a bit,” I said.

  I picked up Meri and we followed Gerty out. Her back was to me, so I used a little magic to lock the front door behind us.

  Gerty’s house was right across the street but a little to the right. It was another two-story Victorian that looked very similar to Coraline’s house. The main difference was that Gerty’s house was painted bright orange and red. I’d seen it when we walked to Coraline’s house, but I had no idea who it belonged to.

  “Your house is very bright,” I said as we crossed the street. “I like it. So cheerful.”

  “Thank you, dear,” Gerty said. “I did it myself earlier this year.”

  “You painted your house?”

  “Yes. Why do you seem so shocked?” She looked over her shoulder at me as we stepped up over the curb.

  “It’s just rare for people to do that kind of work themselves,” I said. “Most people seem to hire someone else these days.”

  “Ah, I see. I thought perhaps you were shocked because I’m old.” Gerty chuckled.

  We walked up the front steps to the porch and then into the house. There was a small entry area and a parlor off to the side. Gerty walked into the parlor and I followed her.

  “Have a seat, dear,” Gerty said. “I’ve got coffee and tea.”

  “I think I’ll just have water,” I said.

  It occurred to me after I’d sat down that I couldn’t actually drink anything Gerty served. There was just about zero chance that Gerty was the killer, but I still couldn’t risk it.

  “You don’t want any coffee?”

  “No, thank you,” I said. “I’m trying to stay away from caffeine as much as possible. So, no tea either, but I can drink water while you have coffee.”

  “All right,” Gerty said with a shrug. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

  I couldn’t drink the water either, but at least I wouldn’t feel bad about it. If I let her make me coffee or tea, I would have felt guilty for not touching it.

  Gerty reappeared a couple of minutes later with a mug in one hand and a glass of water in the other. I had to chuckle at the mug. It was white, but there was a drawing of a cat giving the middle finger on it. Under the cat was written I do what I want.

  “You like the mug?” Gerty asked when she saw me laugh.

  “I do. It’s cute and sassy. Reminds me of Meri here,” I said.

  “He seems like a nice cat,” she said.

  “He can be,” I said and fought the urge to roll my eyes.

  As if to make me look bad, and I knew that’s exactly what he was doing, Meri curled up at my feet and began to purr loudly.

  “So, when is the baby due?” Gerty asked.

  “We actually just found out,” I said, and it occurred to me that I hadn’t told her I was pregnant. All I’d said was that I was avoiding caffeine. “But I didn’t tell you I was pregnant.”

  “I’ve been around long enough to know,” Gerty said. “But, you did tell me you were avoiding caffeine, and while I don’t get out much, I have heard rumors. I’d say most people around town know.”

  “Oh, right,” I said. “I’ve been in Coventry for a while, and sometimes, I still forget that word travels to every corner.”

  “It’s exciting news,” Gerty said with a smile.

  “We are definitely very excited.” What I had to do was figure out how to steer the conversation back to what Gerty had seen that day. “So, you were telling me that you saw the people coming and going from Coraline’s house that day?”

  “I did,” she said. “Coraline had four visitors that day.”

  “Four? Her schedule only had me and two others,” I said.

  “Well, that’s because the other was me, silly,” Gerty said with a laugh. “I didn’t go inside, of course. Coraline let me borrow a rake, and I returned it. She was busy, so we had a chat on the porch and then I left her to do her work.”

  “Ah, I see,” I said. “So were the other two people Jenny Mueller from the bank and Linda Farmer from the school?”

  “Yes, I saw them both come and go,” Gerty said before taking a sip from her mug.

  “Anything out of the ordinary?” I asked.

  “Nothing that I could see. I tend to watch out my window a lot. Coraline was smiling when both of them left,” Gerty said.

  I almo
st let out a huge sigh, but I stifled it as best I could. I’d thought Gerty had invited me over because she had some information for me, but all she’d actually done was confirm what I already knew. I couldn’t let myself be annoyed, though. She seemed like a lonely old woman, and my guess was that she’d just wanted the company.

  “Thank you, Gerty,” I said. “I do have to be going, but it was lovely meeting you.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want some tea? Perhaps I have some chamomile stashed in the pantry. I think I’ve got a fresh box of ginger snaps in there as well,” she said hopefully.

  “Maybe another time,” I said. “Meri and I will come back and see you.”

  “Oh, that would make this old woman very happy,” she said. “You didn’t touch your water, though. Would you like any of it before you go?”

  “No, thank you. I actually do need to use the bathroom, though.” And I suddenly did. Quite urgently.

  I’d heard that happened, and boy, had it come out of nowhere. If Gerty didn’t tell me where her bathroom was, I was going to need to make a run for Coraline’s house.

  “The bathroom is the first door on the left,” she said and pointed toward a hallway that was off the parlor.

  I walked down the hall a few feet and found the door. Inside was a small bathroom that looked to have been lovingly preserved since the fifties.

  The toilet, sink, and bathtub were all baby blue. Matching blue tiles covered the bottom half of the walls, and above that was wallpaper with tiny pink roses. It was really something to behold. I’d only ever been in one bathroom like it before, but it was wasn’t so nicely preserved.

  When I was done, I went back out to the parlor and told Gerty thank you for everything. I said I’d be in touch with her soon to get together again.

  “What now?” Meri asked as soon as we were out of Gerty’s house and back in the car.

  “I think we’re going to go to the bank to get some money,” I said.

  “You mean like you’re going to rob the place?” Meri asked.

  “No, Meri. I’m not going to rob the bank. I’m going to make a withdrawal from the account.”

  “But there’s plenty of cash at home,” he said. “Do you need a nap or maybe some food?”