Life's a Witch

by Amanda M. Lee

  “Why? I’m going to jail no matter what.” Chloe was back to being morose. That’s another thing I hate about teenagers. They think the universe revolves around them. “What can it possibly matter at this point?”

  “I need to know if I’m going to help you,” I replied honestly.

  “Help her? She killed me!”

  “Shut up, Nathaniel,” I ordered. “You’re not helping matters. I’ve offered you what I can at every turn and you’ve been nothing but a spoiled brat. I’m focusing on your sister now. Be quiet.”

  Nathaniel was taken aback. Thankfully he clamped his mouth shut and let me focus on his sister.

  I turned back to Chloe. “Did you come out to Hollow Creek to party that night?”

  “I wasn’t supposed to,” Chloe admitted, resigned. “Nathaniel told me to stay away from here after … what happened. He said I was being a bitch and he didn’t like me around. He didn’t care about what happened, though. He only cared about himself.”

  Huh. What happened? I filed that away to pursue later and let her talk at her own pace.

  “I was so … angry with him,” Chloe said, her eyes taking on a far-off quality. “He didn’t see it. Either he was too stupid to see it, or he was too self-involved to see it. The more he ignored the situation, though, the more I wanted to make him pay.

  “I didn’t come out here to kill him that night,” she continued. “I don’t want you to think I did, because it’s not true.”

  “Okay.”

  “When I got to the party, Stephen and Dakota were being jerks,” Chloe explained. “I wasn’t surprised, because they’re always jerks. They think they’re kings, even though Hemlock Cove is too small to have kings.”

  Nathaniel snickered. “She’s not wrong about Stephen and Dakota,” he said. “Those guys are idiots.”

  “What happened next?” I pressed.

  “Stephen started making comments about me being a slut and wanting to take me into the woods,” Chloe replied. “He … touched my hair and face. I told him to knock it off, but he wouldn’t listen. After what happened that first time … I couldn’t stand it. I kicked him in the nuts and ran.”

  A chill washed over me. I was starting to get an inkling of what happened to Chloe, and it wasn’t something I wanted to entertain. I didn’t think I would get a choice in the matter, though. Chloe needed to unload. I was her only option.

  “I was crying and I got turned around,” Chloe said. “I knew where the pot field was because I followed Nathaniel once when he was in charge. I wanted to see where he was getting his money. When I saw him … it finally all made sense.”

  “Did Nathaniel know you were aware of the pot field?”

  Chloe nodded. “He yelled and screamed at me for hours,” she said. “I tried to apologize. I told him I wouldn’t tell anyone. I thought that he would be nicer to me once I knew his secret. I was wrong.”

  “I was trying to protect you, you idiot,” Nathaniel muttered.

  “Did you find Nathaniel in the field that night?” I asked.

  “He was stealing,” Chloe said. “He had a knife and he was hacking parts of the plants down and sticking them in a bag. I surprised him when I showed up, but he couldn’t risk screaming at me in case someone at the party heard him.”

  “How did you get out to the field without anyone noticing?” I asked Nathaniel.

  “I hiked in from the road,” Nathaniel replied dully. “I parked out there and made the long walk. I knew there was no way Stephen and Dakota would allow me out there. I needed money.”

  “What about the money you stole from them?” I pressed. “Why did you bury it in the cave?”

  “I was going to use it to start my own business,” Nathaniel replied. “I knew they kept a can buried out here. I knew where it was, and I moved it. I needed product first. I was going to pay them back when I got on my feet.”

  I was pretty sure that was a lie. Whether he was lying to himself or me, though, I couldn’t be sure. “So Chloe found you in the field and you were stealing,” I said, rolling my neck until it cracked. “I’m assuming there was some sort of scuffle. Did she kill you with your own knife?”

  “She went crazy,” Nathaniel said, his voice gaining strength. “She started slapping and hitting me. I tried to stop her, but before I even realized what was happening she grabbed the knife and … it was over.”

  “Why did you stab him, Chloe?” I asked. “More importantly, why did you stab him so many times? That indicates rage.”

  “It was his fault,” Chloe said, her voice cracking. “Everything was his fault. He left me alone with … him. He ruined my life.”

  “What is she talking about?” I asked Nathaniel, shooting him a sidelong look. “Who did you leave her with?”

  “How should I know?” Nathaniel asked, nonplussed. “She’s crazy. She’s the murderer.”

  “And you’re a thief who obviously did something to your sister,” I shot back. “Who did you leave her with?”

  “I think that would be me.”

  I froze when I heard the new voice, dumbfounded. Apparently it was Crazy Criminal Day at Hollow Creek, and things were about to get a whole lot worse.

  Thirty-Two

  Andrew Brooks stood about ten feet away from us, his mailman uniform – shorts included – wrinkled from the hike to the creek. His face didn’t reflect the kind man I thought I knew.

  I guess it shouldn’t have surprised me. Stephen worried about what “they” would do. I knew at least one adult was involved. Discovering that adult was Hemlock Cove’s lone mailman, though, was surreal.

  “You’re a long way off your route,” I said finally, going for levity. “Did you come out to see where they burned the pot field? Everyone has been curious about it. It’s on the other side of the creek. You should check it out.”

  I hoped he would take my airhead routine as an easy out.

  “Yeah, that’s exactly why I’m here,” Andrew deadpanned. “I’m here to take a look at all my plans after they went up in smoke.”

  I wanted to cry – or tell him he was a moron. I couldn’t, though. I had to keep Chloe safe. “You know what? I’m not going to play dumb. It belittles us both.” I opted to change tactics. “Why didn’t you run after the pot field was discovered? You had to know it was only a matter of time before it would come back on you.”

  “Run where?” Andrew challenged. “I’m a mailman. Where could I go that the authorities wouldn’t find me?”

  Despite the fact that I knew Andrew was dangerous, I had trouble reconciling the man I thought I knew with the notion of an imminent threat. He wore linen shorts with socks, for crying out loud. That’s cause for mocking, not concern.

  “Why are you out here now?”

  “I was looking for Chloe,” Andrew replied. “I followed her from town. I wanted to … talk to her.”

  I risked a glance at Chloe. She cowered at my side, her hands shaking. I knew what happened to her. I knew Andrew was the culprit.

  “How did you get involved with Chloe?” I asked, hoping my questions would keep Andrew talking long enough to figure a way out of this. “Did Nathaniel give her to you as some sort of payment?”

  Nathaniel balked. “What are you talking about? I … oh.” His eyes shifted to Chloe and her overt reaction to Andrew. For some reason – maybe it was wishful thinking – I didn’t think Nathaniel was aware of what Andrew did to Chloe. Now her resentment and anger started to make sense.

  “Chloe and I had a fling,” Andrew replied. “She wanted it.”

  “I didn’t,” Chloe whimpered.

  “How did you … hook up?” My stomach turned at the distasteful implication, but I didn’t want to set Andrew off.

  “Nathaniel brought her by one day when we were divvying up the proceeds,” Andrew replied. “She was so cute in her little skirt, and she kept smiling at me. I knew what she wanted, and she was sad because her brother was mean to her. Nathaniel left her at my house while he ran an errand. She seduc
ed me.”

  “That’s not true,” Chloe protested. “He … .”

  “I know what he did, Chloe,” I said, my voice low. Playing Andrew’s game was one thing. Blaming Chloe for an adult raping her was quite another. I would never stoop that low. “He’s not going to touch you again. I promise.”

  “I didn’t know,” Nathaniel said, his face drawn. “I … she acted funny when I picked her up that day. I just thought she was stoned. I … oh, man. I … .”

  I didn’t have time to deal with Nathaniel’s ghostly meltdown when I was almost positive Andrew was about to get violent. “You can still run, Andrew,” I suggested. “You have a few hours in which you can get away from town. Your kid is in custody, but you can still get away. You’re wasting time here.”

  “That’s pretty funny, Bay,” Andrew replied. “We both know that your boyfriend will hunt me down. I knew the minute they hauled those boys in this morning that it was over.”

  “Really? I would’ve thought you realized it was over when they discovered Nathaniel’s body.”

  “I thought Stephen or Dakota killed Nathaniel at first,” Andrew admitted. “When I questioned them about it, though, they both denied it. I knew it couldn’t be Charlie. That kid … he’s an idiot. I told Stephen not to bring him in on this. It looks like I was right, doesn’t it?”

  “I have no idea.” I rubbed soothing circles across Chloe’s back. She looked like an animal caught in a trap. I worried she would bolt.

  “Do you really think Charlie isn’t serving me up to Chief Terry and your fed right now?” Andrew asked. “Come on, Bay. You’re smarter than that. Isn’t that why you’re here?”

  “I came out here to … look around,” I said. “I knew we were missing a piece of the puzzle. I had no idea you were that piece.”

  “I thought you were here because you were going to do something witchy.”

  Andrew was testing me. I remained quiet.

  “That’s the rumor about your family,” Andrew continued, taking a predatory step in my direction. “People whisper about the Winchester witches every time they see one of you. People say Tillie can even control the weather.” Andrew laughed, the sound full of evil mirth. “Can you believe that?”

  I guess that meant he’d never heard the story about Aunt Tillie bringing down a lightning storm on a former classmate who tried to kill me a few weeks ago. “Aunt Tillie can do pretty much anything she sets her mind to,” I said. “If she wants to control the weather, she’ll do it.”

  “And yet she used a shotgun to scare my boys away the other night,” Andrew said. “Oh, you didn’t think I knew about that? I sent them. I know she has a field out there. Our only shot of getting any money out of this season is that field. It’s my next stop.”

  I had no idea whether Aunt Tillie’s diarrhea curse would work on a mailman, but if anyone deserved it, Andrew Brooks was that person. It would be doubly funny in those stupid shorts. “You can’t find that field,” I replied, not bothering to deny its existence. A plan was starting to form. If I could get him to leave Chloe at Hollow Creek and go with me to The Overlook, I could save the girl and level the playing field. “It’s warded.”

  Andrew furrowed his brow. “What does that mean?”

  “It’s magically hidden,” I explained. “No one can find it. In fact, the more you think about it, the more likely you are to get diarrhea.” Huh. That sounded more threatening in my head.

  Nathaniel snorted. “That is awesome! I’ve always liked Ms. Tillie. She’s funny.”

  “I’ll tell her you said so,” I muttered.

  Andrew glanced around, confused. “Who are you talking to?”

  “No one.”

  He didn’t believe me. “You just said something to … someone. It didn’t look like you were talking to Chloe.”

  “She was talking to Nathaniel,” Chloe whispered. “He’s here.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Andrew chortled. “You told her you were talking to her dead brother? That’s just priceless. You Winchesters are pretty keen on everyone thinking you’re witches, aren’t you?”

  I ignored the dig. “You’re in a bad place here, Andrew,” I said. “The drugs are going to send you away for a long time. The rape … is going to make you very popular in prison. You should run now.”

  “Rape? I didn’t rape anyone,” Andrew argued. “She wanted it. She shouldn’t have been wearing that short skirt if she didn’t want me to take notice.”

  He was truly sick. “She’s a teenage girl and you’re an adult,” I countered. “Trust me. No one who has ever seen you in those shorts wants to have sex with you, especially a teenage girl.”

  “She wanted it!”

  “I kept telling him ‘no,’” Chloe protested. “I was screaming and crying.”

  “This is all my fault,” Nathaniel said. “I … I don’t know what to do.”

  I had a few ideas. Unfortunately, I couldn’t give them voice without Andrew overhearing. If I thought he was unarmed, I could force Chloe to run and fight him on my own. If he had a knife – or worse, a gun – things would go badly. I needed to give Chloe her best chance at escape.

  “Was this your idea or did you stumble on the kids already doing it?” I asked, drawing Andrew back to the original conversation and playing for time.

  “Actually, I found Josh Baldwin hiking into the woods with a huge bag one day,” Andrew replied. “Do you remember Josh?”

  I nodded.

  “I parked on the road and followed him,” Andrew recounted. “The field was a lot smaller then. It was really seven plants, and it was hidden well. I didn’t approach him that day. I wanted to think things over.

  “My first thought was to sneak back out here and steal all of his product,” he continued. “I knew I could sell it in certain circles. The more I thought about that, though, the more I realized I was opening myself to trouble. If one of those people was an undercover informant, I would lose everything. That didn’t seem worth it for a couple of bags of pot.

  “That’s when I realized I had a prime opportunity in front of me,” Andrew said, relishing being the center of attention. “I followed Josh again a few days later. He was terrified when I found him. We made a deal: He did all the work and he split the profits with me in exchange for me keeping my mouth shut. I even made up an imaginary partner who was violent to threaten him. It worked like a charm.”

  That explained who “they” was. “If it was only seven plants, that couldn’t have been much profit,” I pointed out.

  “Not that first year, no,” Andrew agreed. “Josh was happy to get out from under my thumb when he left for college the next year. That first summer’s money kept me in beer for the entire year. I wanted to expand on it.

  “I picked one kid to run the field each year,” he continued. “It was the easiest way. They never got greedy because it was for a short period and I never had to worry about getting in trouble with the kids were taking all the risks. My imaginary friend served as an appropriate threat to keep them in line. It was perfect.”

  “How did you pick them?”

  “You’d be surprised what a mailman knows about the people in a community,” Andrew replied. “While you were all dismissing me, I was getting a peek into all of your lives. For example, did you know Tillie has been getting catalogs because she’s shopping for an off-road vehicle?”

  “She told us. She wants a Polaris Ranger. A red one.”

  Andrew faltered. He clearly thought he was telling me something I didn’t already know. “Well, did you know that Sam and Clove are going to move in together? They’ve already been making plans, including getting catalogs to order furniture.”

  “She’s not moving until we deal with a domestic issue,” I replied, nonplussed. I enjoyed deflating him. “We have a few things to get settled before she can go.”

  Andrew frowned. “Did you know that Marcus hopes Thistle will move in with him once he gets the stable renovated?”

  “Not reall
y,” I admitted. “It’s not a surprise, though. He’s been whispering about his plans with Landon when he thinks no one is looking.”

  Andrew was becoming frustrated. “Did you know your boss is trying to figure out a way to get you to quit? I heard him talking with some chick about it yesterday.”

  “It came up at dinner.”

  “Well, your family is an anomaly,” Andrew snapped. “You’re all co-dependent and tell each other everything. The rest of the town has secrets. I picked kids who were trying to keep secrets.”

  I snorted. He thought he was smart. I had my doubts. “I’m guessing you went after kids who had a subscription to Playboy. Am I right?”

  “How did you know that?” Nathaniel asked.

  “My brother had a subscription to Playboy,” Chloe offered. “He thought my mom didn’t know, but she did. She said ‘boys will be boys’ and left it at that.”

  “Oh, man,” Nathaniel said, making a face. “I can’t believe Mom saw my … .”

  “No one cares about your spank magazines,” I hissed.

  “Who are you talking to?” Andrew yelled. “That’s the second time you’ve done that.”

  “She’s talking to Nathaniel,” Chloe answered. “I already told you that.” Her courage was growing. That meant she was probably getting ready to do something stupid. Great. That was one thing I didn’t need.

  “Are you honestly saying that you believe Nathaniel is here?” Andrew asked.

  I glanced at the ghost in question. “I think that there are probably a lot of things about this life – and the next – that you don’t know,” I said. “Your brain is too small to grasp certain things. After all, you’re the smart guy who utilized teenage kids with big mouths to run your pot empire. How smart can you be?”

  “You had better watch your mouth, Bay,” Andrew threatened. “I’ve always liked you. Things are going to go badly for you either way today. It doesn’t have to hurt, though.”

  I swallowed hard. “Well, if we’re being honest with one another, I guess I should tell you that I’m not going to let you hurt Chloe or me,” I countered. “You should probably leave now.”