“Where are you from Sweets,” I asked her.
“Georgia, why?” she asked.
“No reason, I just thought I heard a bit of a southern accent.”
“Yes, ma’am, Witch by birth, Southern by the grace of God,” she smiled at me.
“You’ve never said that before, have you?” I laughed as I rolled my eyes at her little saying.
“You know I think my parents sent me to college in Pennsylvania to escape all the crime and murders in the city,” Alba said. Her dark eyes glowed as she watched the crime scene investigation underway. “Who would have thought, little old Aspen Falls, would have a murder and on the first day of class to boot!”
“And she’s only a teenager!” Holly said nervously. “I’m only 18, it could have been me!”
“If only,” Alba sighed and shot Holly an evil look.
“Alba!” Jax admonished. “That’s not very nice.”
Alba shrugged and crossed her muscular arms across her chest. “I never claimed to be very nice,” she whispered under her breath.
“We’re supposed to be watching what’s going on,” Jax insisted. “In case we can help.”
“Sorceress Stone said she doesn’t need our help,” I said shaking my head. She had been perfectly clear there. Anything we might notice, she would surely notice. I looked up and saw her looking at us. She motioned for us to come to her next to the body.
I felt strange nearing the girl’s lifeless corpse. I had never seen a dead body in real life before. I mean, I’d seen them on television, but not a real one. “Come on, she wants us,” I said. Quietly I ducked my head in reverence to the deceased and the group of us stepped over the police tape and took a spot next to our teacher. Detective Whitman had gone on to talk to a few of the other officers.
“Ladies,” Sorceress Stone said in a hushed voice. “She’s been stabbed. Her name is Morgan Hartford. She’s 17 years old. She goes to school at St. Michael’s the Catholic school up the road. She was last seen by her boyfriend and the school administrative office staff. She had just gotten to school, but then realized she’d forgotten her homework at her house. She lives just a half a mile down the road from the school, that house over there apparently.” She pointed to a house just beyond the trees. “It doesn’t look like she made it that far.”
“Do they have any suspects?” Holly asked, nervously biting at her fingernails.
“Not yet, we’re going to follow the officers as they do a bit of questioning and maybe ask a few questions ourselves, see if we can get a read on anyone or spark any spirits. But first, we’re going to have to look at her. Prepare yourselves; it won’t be a pretty sight.”
“But…” Sweets began.
“Do we have to?” Jax asked anxiously.
I turned around and bit my lip, I was also hoping that we would get out of that gruesome requirement.
“Why do we have to look at her?” Alba asked pointedly and suddenly I was thankful that Alba’s attitude had come along for the ride.
“Spirits haunt us in a variety of ways. Sometimes they come to us in our dreams. You need to know who we are looking for, don’t you?”
Jax looked at the helpless outline of the corpse on the ground. “Couldn’t you just show us a picture or something?”
“Oh for goodness sake, if you can’t stand and look at a dead body, how can you possibly handle being a witch?” she hissed at us. “There are all sorts of loathsome things that come with being a witch! You must grow a thick skin and a tough stomach.”
“Fine,” Jax grumbled.
“Detective,” the Sorceress called out. “We’re ready.”
He nodded at her and then motioned to one of his officers who was standing guard next to the body. The officer peeled back the tarp.
I could hear the girls’ breaths being sucked in around me. I kept a firm hold of the inside of my lip, to keep from tossing my breakfast onto the crime scene. Somehow I didn’t think the Sorceress would look upon that too kindly.
She was a pretty girl, small features, blonde hair. Despite the blue tone to her skin, she looked peaceful. She had a small gold cross hanging around her neck. I silently wondered if she’d fought off her attacker and why had he picked her? Why grab her just to stab her and end her beautiful life? What a sad thing. The energy around me was palpable, everyone was thinking the same things. It could have been any of us.
“Thank you, Officer,” Sorceress Stone nodded to the man kindly and then held her hands up to the sky, chanting quietly to herself. I didn’t want to open my mouth and risk her wrath to ask her what she was doing.
Finally she lowered her arms and looked at us. “Let’s go girls. We’ll start at her school.”
We loaded back up into the white van we’d come in and as we drove away, I noticed a small blonde girl on the side of the road, standing there unnoticed, watching the investigation curiously. She had tiny small features and just as we drove away, I noticed a tiny gold cross hanging around her neck. My blood ran cold. I was sure it was the ghost of Morgan Hartford.
***
St. Michael’s was a small Catholic school just up the road. I was surprised that The Sorceress thought all of us witches could just barge right on into a Catholic school, but as we marched in single file, behind Detective Whitman, no one seemed to stop us. “Are the girl’s parents here yet?” she asked the detective. He nodded, jerking his head to the side in a quiet suggestion to follow him into the school office where the rest of the people who had last seen her were gathered.
A young man with shaggy brown hair was sobbing on a chair next to the front desk. A teacher was rubbing his back, trying to soothe him. It was obvious that he must be the boyfriend. His anguish was intense and my heart sank for the boy. I had never been in love before, but his response was what I thought love would do to you if you ever had to say goodbye too soon.
“Sam?” Sorceress asked him.
He looked up at her and then looked to all the rest of us. I was sure we seemed like quite the motley bunch, but he seemed to not even pay us any mind.
“Sam, I’m Miss Stone, we’re here to help find out what happened to Morgan. May we ask you a few questions?”
He nodded sadly and ground his eyes with his fists. She sat down in the chair across from him. “Sam, when was the last time you saw Morgan?” she asked him.
“It was right before 8:00 this morning. The first bell hadn’t rung yet, and she realized she’d forgotten her English lit assignment at home on the kitchen table. I told her that I’d just drive her home quick, since she didn’t have a car, it would only take a second, but the office said they’d count us both tardy if we weren’t back by the first bell. Morgan insisted I go to class, I wouldn’t have been eligible for football practice tonight if I got the tardy,” he broke down in tears as he choked out the rest of the words. “I should have driven her. I shouldn’t have cared about the dumb tardy and about football practice. If I had just driven her, Morgan would still be alive right now.”
My heart pumped faster as I listened to his story of regret.
“Now, son, you mustn’t blame yourself, you had no idea this would happen,” she assured him.
“But Morgan is gone and it’s all my fault,” he cried, tears soaked his face.
“Did you do this to her Sam?” she patiently asked him.
He looked up at her, his dark eyes blazed, shocked that she could even ask him such a question. I was equally as shocked that she would straight out ask him. Obviously he hadn’t, the kid was destroyed. “No, I would never do such a horrible thing to Morgan. I loved Morgan.”
“Then it isn’t your fault. And you cannot blame yourself for this. Do you understand,” she spoke to him in such a cool, even tone, that I was impressed by her ability to counsel him in such a way.
“Sam, do you have any idea who might have wanted to hurt Morgan?” she asked him.
Sam shook his head. “No, none! Morgan is an amazing girl. Sweet, loving, pure. She would never hurt a fly. I
don’t understand why someone would want to hurt her!”
“That’s what we’re trying to figure out, Sam. Did you happen to see anyone follow her out of the building?”
Sam shook his head. “No, when she left, I went to my first class. I thought she’d be back in fifteen minutes. It never occurred to me that she would be in any danger.”
“Thank you Sam, I’m so sorry for your loss.” She touched his arm gently. Then quietly, she pushed herself out of the chair and stood, she cocked her head to the side, motioning for us to follow her.
We went into the principal’s office where Morgan’s parents were inside waiting. Her mother was sobbing on a small settee with a graying man sitting next to her comforting her while another man with his back to us was crying while talking to the detective.
“What are you doing to find my daughter’s killer, Detective?” Morgan’s father demanded of Detective Whitman.
“Mr. Hartford, we are doing everything we possibly can to get a lead on this case. There was very little evidence at the scene, but I’ve contacted a local medium to assist. We have had success working with The Institute in the past with cases like these. I think Miss Stone can really help us once again,” the Detective said and nodded his head towards our teacher.
The Sorceress stepped forward as we hung quietly just inside the doorway. “I’m Miss Stone, I’m so sorry for your loss Mr. Hartford.” Without turning around, he nodded at our teacher, and then covered his face with his hands as another sob racked his body.
“Miss Stone, this is Mary Hartford, Morgan’s mother, and this is Oliver Bushwhack, the Guidance Counselor here at the school,” Detective Whitman introduced.
Miss Stone nodded, “Mr. Bushwhack, yes, I believe we’ve met before. Mrs. Hartford, I’m so very sorry for your loss.”
As she spoke, Mr. Hartford finally turned around to face us. He was a dark haired man, with a receding hair line, a bushy black beard and dark graphite eyes. The hairs on my arms immediately stood on end and I realized that something about his face looked familiar to me. I searched my memory for a match, but I just couldn’t pull it up. It was like it was on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn’t spit it out.
“Do you mind if we ask you a few questions?” The Sorceress sat down gently on the other side of Morgan’s mother and lightly touched her hand. The small gesture completely changed Mrs. Hartford’s body language. Her shoulders, which had seemed tense, loosened up slightly and she seemed very at ease with Miss Stone.
“No, I don’t mind,” Mrs. Hartford said as she sniffed back her tears.
“Mrs. Hartford, did your daughter have any friends that didn’t go to this school?”
She shook her head, “No, Morgan really didn’t. Everyone that she hung out with went to St. Michael’s. She was on the cheerleading squad here and had lots of friends. She was a member of the tennis team and the youth group, and then she had Sam. Everyone in her world was part of St. Michael’s.”
“Was there anything unusual about her getting ready for school this morning?” she asked.
Mrs. Hartford thought for a moment before shaking her head. “Nothing,” she said splaying her hands out in front of her. “I wish I had seen something, anything to have given me a clue that this was about to happen. I would have prevented it!”
She began sobbing again and Mr. Bushwhack hugged her lightly. “It might be too soon for some of these questions Miss Stone,” he said lightly, looking between the detective and Mr. Hartford. “Morgan was a good girl. This had to be some random act of violence. Everyone here at the school loved her. She was a good student. She had a lot of friends and she was never in any trouble.”
Miss Stone nodded her head. “I see. Well perhaps we can visit Mr. and Mrs. Hartford another time when things have settled down a bit.” Detective Whitman nodded and Mr. Bushwhack smiled kindly at Miss Stone.
My spidey senses however, were tingling like crazy and I was sure it was Mr. Hartford that was setting them off. I could only wonder what it was that I was seeing and not recognizing.
{ Chapter Six}
Even though all I wanted to do was go back to my room and try and figure out where I knew Mr. Hartford’s face from and why he was setting off every warning signal in my body – I was too starving to think. The adrenaline rush from the morning’s events had bottomed out my blood sugar and left me incredibly famished. I filled my plate in the lunchroom with a heaping pile of fried foods and carb rich delectables and took a seat at one of the marble picnic tables in the courtyard.
The sun was finally out and heating up the September day nicely and yet my heart still hung limply in my chest as I recounted the pain that mother and father and Morgan’s boyfriend were feeling right now. It made me incredibly sad to think about, so I tried to focus more on the details of the case than the heartbreak of the family.
Jax followed me to the cafeteria, and as I figured she would, she plopped down next to me with her tray. Apparently sitting by me wasn’t even a question at this point, we were now apparently joined at the hip. I guess a dead body before lunch will do that to ya.
Holly was next to join our table, then Sweets, then finally Alba wandered out of the lunch line and into the courtyard. I wondered if she’d sit with us despite herself. I didn’t have to wonder long, when she got within twenty feet of our table, Jax hollered at her. “Hey Alba, over here!”
I rolled my eyes and silently cursed at Jax.
Alba strutted over to our table. “What do you want, Shorty?” she growled.
“Sit with us,” Jax begged cheerfully.
“Whatever,” Alba said grudgingly. She dropped her plate on the table with a loud smack, sat her glass of water down next to her plate and then slid in next to Holly. I wondered if she were secretly relieved that she had been invited to join us.
“Can you believe the morning that we’ve had?” Holly asked excitedly as she unwrapped her silverware from its paper napkin holder.
“No kidding, who knew witch college could be so exciting?” Jax added. Her eyes shone with excitement as she plowed into the huge pile of food in front of her.
“Do you guys always eat like that?” Alba asked as she eyed all of our overflowing plates of food.
I choked on my rice as I inhaled the first bite.
“Apparently you don’t,” Alba laughed.
“Aren’t you starving? Adrenaline spikes make me hungry!” Sweets said as she began attacking her food with her fork.
Alba shrugged. “Not any more hungry than normal. Haven’t you ever heard of the freshman fifteen?”
“That’s a myth,” I said with my mouth full of a big bite of egg roll.
“It’s not a myth,” Holly said sadly. “But that doesn’t mean that I’m not starving. I’ll watch the figure tomorrow. Today, I need carbs.”
“And caffeine,” I agreed as I took a huge swallow of the double caramel macchiato that I was excited to have found at the Paranormally Delicious coffee shop next to the Winston Hall cafeteria.
“Ooh, that smells yummy,” Sweets cooed. Her face dimpled when she smiled and something about her really made me actually like her. “Do they have Pumpkin Spice Latte’s? They’re my favorite!”
“Mine too,” Jax agreed.
“Have you tried their Cinnamon Dolce Frappuccino’s? Oh, my gosh, they are literally amazing,” Holly gushed.
“Are you guys serious right now? You’re talking about caffeinated beverages after what we just saw?” cried Alba.
Sweets shook her head seriously, and waved a finger in the air. “Oh, no. Pumpkin Spice Latte’s don’t have caffeine in them.”
“Ugh!” Alba growled and slammed both of her palms down on the table on either side of her tray.
We all stopped eating and looked at her.
“What do you want us to say?” I asked her curiously. “I mean, I’m just as upset about the situation as I’m sure the rest of you are, but what are we supposed to do?”
Alba shook her head. “I don’t know! Bu
t we’re witches. We have powers. We should be solving this case and helping that family!”
I looked around the table. Alba’s words had shamed the girls we were sitting with and it enraged something deep inside of me. I’d been the victim of shame my entire life. Everyone looked down at their food, except me and Alba. I looked her squarely in the eye. “I want to solve this case Alba. Just like you do. I get that we’re witches, but were your powers of telekinesis helping you back there?” I demanded.
When she didn’t answer I continued. “Yes, I felt like I was being drawn to her body. Like she wanted us to help her. And yes, I felt an energy when I was in the principal’s office and felt like I sort of recognized her father, but Morgan’s ghost didn’t appear to me. Did Morgan’s ghost appear to you?”
Alba sat silently for a long moment, then she looked around the table. The girls had all gotten brave and were staring at her now, challenging her in their own quiet ways. “No,” she said quietly and looked down sullenly at her food.
“Alright then. We weren’t the ones that died. We still have the ability to enjoy our food. So let’s just eat. Maybe something will come to us and we can help in some way, but for now, all we can do is move forward.”
The table went silent after that. We each chewed quietly while lost in our own thoughts. I thought about the fact that I had probably seen Morgan’s ghost at the accident sight. I didn’t feel too bad for lying to Alba and the rest of the table about seeing Morgan’s ghost, because I wasn’t 100% sure it was Morgan, plus I truly didn’t know what to do with that information. Stone didn’t seem to want our help. And really, what would we be able to do on our own? Seeing ghosts had never amounted to anything good back in Illinois, and I certainly had no reason to believe it would help anyone now. If anything, it’d cause waves for me here and I just wanted to get through the next two years undisturbed.
Two older girls approached us and asked if they could join our table. One had incredibly white hair and the other had hair almost the color of Jax’s fake reddish-orange hair. Other than their hair colors they looked identical.
The Witch Squad: A Witch Squad Cozy Mystery #1 Page 4