by Raven Snow
It was Peony who got the number. Rowen asked for her help and, within the hour, Peony called out with news from Liam. As it turned out, his brother was crashing with some friends in a house near the edge of town. Peony gave Rowen the address and told her to be careful. Danny was friends with some paranoid types apparently.
Rowen had Eric with her. That would have to be protection enough. He wasn’t the biggest or strongest fellow, but she trusted him completely. That man would lay down his life for her. She seriously doubted that would be necessary, though.
Rowen began to have some second thoughts once they actually reached the house. It was in about the same state the trailer had been. If possible, it was even worse. The lawn was littered with beer cans. There were pieces of scrapped cars littered all about. The screen door on the front porch was almost completely off its hinges.
There were a few junky cars out front, but Rowen couldn’t hear anyone inside. She exchanged a look with Eric before heading for the front door. “Are you sure about this?” he asked. Rowen just nodded. They had come this far—it would be silly to turn back now.
Rowen pulled back the screen door which came off in her hands. Eric helped her ease it to the porch. Rowen hoped that wouldn’t earn her a bad first impression. She knocked. There was no answer, so she knocked again. Rowen was about to see if there was a back door she might have more luck at when she saw movement near the blinds. Someone in there was looking out at them.
She and Eric must have looked friendly enough because someone finally opened the door. A scrawny man wearing a tank top looked out at them from the threshold. He was frowning. “Who are you?” he asked, giving both Eric and Rowen a critical once-over.
“I’m Rowen Greensmith, and this is my husband, Eric,” said Rowen. “We’re here looking for Danny Woodward. Is he in?”
The man raised an eyebrow at that but seemed to decide their reasons for being there weren’t any of his business. He turned and called back into the house, “Danny! You’ve got visitors.”
“What?” a tired-sounding voice called back.
“Visitors!” the man called again, even louder. He turned back to Rowen and Eric, pointedly blocking their entry into the house.
Rowen didn’t want to go inside. She had a feeling that at least one or two things of an illegal nature were going on in there. It wasn’t anything she was going to mention to Ben. Well, not yet anyway.
Danny appeared at the door after several long and awkward moments. He looked a lot like his brother. His hair was darker and more unkempt. He had a couple days’ worth of beard growth, and his t-shirt and jeans looked like they had been slept in. “Yeah?” he said, looking Rowen and Eric over the way the first guy had. “Can I help you?”
“Do you mind if we have a word?” asked Rowen. She nodded in the direction of her car. Obviously, they weren’t allowed to come inside.
Danny seemed wary, but apparently she had piqued his curiosity. He stepped outside, glancing down at the screen door as he passed it. “You’re putting that back on,” his friend called after him from the threshold. Danny waved a hand and kept going. He stopped when Rowen and Eric did.
“Sorry to just show up unannounced like this,” said Rowen once they were all standing together off in the lawn. “We tried to call you with the number you had listed, but it didn’t work so…”
“I don’t even know who you are,” said Danny. He fished a cigarette from the box in his pocket and lit it. “So, who are you?”
“Greensmiths. Eric and Rowen. We moved into your old house just recently,” Rowen explained.
Danny raised an eyebrow. “What? The trailer? Look, I don’t have anything to do with renting that place, so I don’t know what−”
“No,” said Rowen, cutting him off. “The house you lived in as a kid with your parents. You know. The place on Dollcrest Street.”
Danny raised his eyebrows again. He nodded. “I didn’t know the place had been sold. Well…That’s nice, I guess. What does this have to do with me?”
“Well, for starters, we found your old dog,” said Rowen. “Chester?”
That seemed to catch Danny by surprise. “You’re kidding.” he said. His annoyed expression eased up just a bit. “Seriously? You’re not kidding me, here? Geez, how old would he even be by now? That’s absolutely insane.”
Rowen pulled up a picture on her phone to show him that she was serious. “See?” she said, holding it out to him. “Took that one just last night.”
Danny leaned in to get a better look at the picture. “That sure looks like him.” He gave a low whistle. “That’s…Wow, I mean, wait until Liam hears about this.”
“I already told him,” said Rowen.
Danny frowned at that. “Well, he didn’t tell me,” he grumbled. “Of course, he never tells me anything.”
“He seems like a busy guy,” said Eric. “Working for the city and all.”
Rowen glanced back at Eric. She could tell he was prodding at Danny, hoping to get some sort of reaction from him. He didn’t have to prod hard. Danny spat in the dirt. “Sure, he is,” he said. “Busy, busy, busy. That’s Liam.”
“A good guy, though,” said Eric. “I only met him the one time, but he seemed friendly enough.”
Danny gave a sigh. “Sure,” he said. “He’s all right. Most people like him.” He crossed his arms over his chest and nodded at Rowen. “I can’t imagine this was all you came out here for.”
“You’re right.” Rowen had thought some about what she was going to say. Seeing Danny now, after getting a feel for him, it seemed best to come out with a bit of the truth. “You know my family, right?”
“The Greensmiths?” Danny looked from Rowen to Eric then back again. He had a guarded sort of expression on his face, like he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to say in this situation. “I know your family by reputation, sure.”
“And you know we’re sort of…We have a kind of sense for stuff,” she prompted.
Danny hesitated. After a moment, he nodded again. “The town says you’re a bunch of witches,” he said, being blunt.
Rowen forced a smile at that and pressed on. “Well, I chose your old house because there were a bunch of good memories in it. It was nice, kind of warm-feeling, you know? It had good energy.”
“I’m glad,” said Danny, not sounding like he much meant those words. He was staring her down warily.
“After we were there for a while, I began to notice something different.” Rowen kept her eyes fixed on Danny’s expression, looking for any changes there. Already, she could sense that he was a bit nervous. He knew something. He was afraid that she knew it too. “It feels like something bad happened there. It feels like there’s a kind of darkness.”
Danny shook his head. “I don’t believe in any of this stuff.”
“That’s fine,” said Rowen. “You don’t have to believe in it. I was just wondering if anything happened? I don’t mean to pry, it’s just…It feels like, maybe, there’s someone trying to communicate with me.”
Danny took a step back at that. He drew his eyebrows together. “Who?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” said Rowen, even though she had a pretty good idea. “My uncle thinks it might be your parents.”
Danny shook his head. “That’s impossible,” he said. “My parents live in Florida. I’m not sure what you’re implying here.”
“That’s what I heard,” said Rowen, offering him a smile. This felt terribly awkward. “Sometimes, certain feelings just linger. I was wondering if anything traumatic might have happened.”
“I don’t see how that would be any of your business,” said Danny.
He had her there. Rowen wasn’t sure what to say to that. “Sorry. I know it’s none of my business. I just wanted to…clear the air, so to speak.”
“Sorry, man,” said Eric, adopting a more informal, guy to guy tone of voice. “I know it comes off as kind of weird. I don’t sense any of this stuff, but she gets hung up on it.”
&nb
sp; Rowen would have been annoyed had she not known that Eric was just trying to help. “Still not any of your business,” said Danny. “If you have buyer’s remorse, that’s not something you need to be taking up with me. As I understand it, Liam hired someone to take care of all that. Bring it up with her.”
“It’s no big deal,” said Rowen, backpedaling. “I knew it was a shot in the dark. I just thought it couldn’t hurt to ask.” She changed the subject before Danny could say anything on the matter. “Maybe you’d like to come over and join us for dinner sometime?”
Danny took a step away from her. He looked like he wanted to go back inside. He wasn’t enjoying their little conversation out here in the least. “I’m not sure I can find the time,” he said, his tone far from apologetic on the matter.
“Are you sure?” asked Rowen. “I know Chester would love seeing you again.”
That coaxed a slight smile from Danny. “Maybe I’ll swing by some time,” he said “No promises, though.”
Rowen nodded. “Sounds good.” They all said their goodbyes after that. Danny probably enjoyed seeing them go. Rowen knew she was thankful once she was back in the car.
“That could have gone better,” said Eric.
“Ya think?” Rowen gave a long sigh and put the car into drive. She pulled out of the driveway and began to head for home. “What was your impression?”
“He seems like kind of a mess, doesn’t he?” Eric asked, stating the obvious.
“I know that,” said Rowen. “But what did you think about him beyond that? Do you think he murdered his parents? Do you think he had a motive?”
Eric snorted at that. “I think you’re getting ahead of yourself. We don’t really know the guy. I think it’s a little early to be accusing him of murder, don’t you?”
Rowen knew what she had seen. “Something happened at that house. Uncle Norman sensed it too. It’s not just me.”
“I didn’t say you were imagining it,” Eric assured her. “I believe there’s something going on. I just don’t think you have nearly all the facts yet. Be careful before you go accusing anyone or making any assumptions. That’s all I’m saying. Just be careful.”
He was right, and Rowen knew it. She also knew that she needed to get to the bottom of this. She was on to something big.
“Where are we going now?” Eric asked, sounding like he perhaps regretted tagging along with his wife on this particular outing. Rowen couldn’t imagine that he would have done anything else. He was far too concerned with her safety.
“Now, we talk to the other brother,” Rowen said. He knew something too; she was sure of that.
Chapter Eight
Liam was out with Peony. It took a little over an hour to track them down. In the end, it was Tina who pointed her in the right direction. “They’re headed to the park,” she said with a wink. “I would have gone with them, but I figured they could use some alone time, if you know what I mean.”
Liam and Peony were hardly alone. There were quite a few joggers at the park in the afternoon. Rowen was plowed into by a couple as she walked the track looking for her cousin. They were the ones who found her. “Rowen!” Peony called from somewhere behind her.
Rowen turned to find her cousin approaching at a brisk jog. Liam wasn’t far behind. He looked less out of breath than she was, though Peony looked like she was still enjoying herself. Maybe it was just the company. “There you are,” said Rowen. “I’ve been looking for you two. Why didn’t you answer your phone?”
Peony looked a bit sheepish. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell. “Sorry,” she said as she unlocked the screen. “I had all the sound and vibration turned off.”
“It’s better to run when there are no distractions,” Liam explained.
“Unless there was an emergency,” Rowen said with a frown. She didn’t like the idea of not being able to reach her when she needed to. That seemed like a recipe for disaster.
“Sorry,” said Peony, though she didn’t say anything about not doing it again. “What’s up?” she asked instead, looking from Rowen to Eric. “What did you need me for?”
“It’s Liam we came to have a word with actually,” said Rowen.
“Is this about Danny?” Liam asked. “Peony never told me what you guys needed him for.”
“They never told me,” Peony said in her defense.
“So, what’s up?” asked Liam. “Did you tell him about Chester?”
Rowen wondered why he had given them the address so freely. It had seemed a bit odd to just give out that sort of information without knowing why someone had asked for it. Rowen pushed that to the back of her mind to think on later. “We told him,” she said instead. “He was even more surprised than you were.”
Liam chuckled. “Yeah, I bet he would be. He really loved that dog when we were kids.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t tell him yourself,” said Rowen.
Liam’s smiled faded. “Yeah, well, we don’t get along that well anymore.” He took a deep breath, hesitating as if he was deciding whether to elaborate on that or not. “He’s run into some trouble with the law. He’s had addiction problems in the past and, well, at some point, you just have to know when to stand back and let family deal with their own lives, you know?”
Rowen supposed she didn’t really know. All things considered, she had been pretty lucky in the family department. The worst you could really say about them was that they were weird. She nodded anyway. “It’s because of his history that I went to him first,” said Rowen. “There’s…Well, I guess I’ll just come right out with it. There’s something weird in the house.”
“Weird?” Liam repeated, raising an eyebrow. “How so?”
“My family and I, sometimes we sense things,” Rowen explained. “When I’m at home—your old home—sometimes, I sense something…not right.”
“Seriously?” Peony asked. This was the first she was hearing of the strangeness at the house and she looked concerned.
Liam laughed. When no one else so much as cracked a smile, he stopped. “You’re serious?” Maybe he thought the things people in Lainswich said about the Greensmiths were just a bunch of unfounded rumors. Rowen couldn’t imagine that many people actually believed in this sort of thing.
Rowen nodded. “It’s mostly in the shed out back.”
Liam spread his hands like he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to say to all of this. “That…sucks, I guess?”
“Do you know anything it might be related to?” asked Rowen, not backing down. Just for once, she wanted the straight-forward approach to be the easiest. It would be nice if there was a nice, totally harmless explanation for things for once.
“I’m not sure what to tell you,” said Liam. “Our family had our share of problems, I guess. A lot of them were because of Danny. I can’t think of any single traumatic moments, if that’s what you mean.”
“Sorry,” Rowen added quickly. “I know it’s personal. It just makes it easier to remove the bad energy when you know it’s source, you know.”
Liam smiled, but it was strained. No, of course he didn’t know. This all just sounded like crazy talk to him. It couldn’t not. “I don’t know what to tell you,” he said. “Sorry. I haven’t really had much to do with that house since I lived in it as a teenager. If you’re having second thoughts about owning it, I guess you’d have to have a word with Samantha. She takes care of things on that end.”
“No,” said Rowen quickly. “We love the house. I just…I thought it was worth asking about. It was just a shot in the dark. Sorry to bother you.”
Liam raised an eyebrow but nodded. He didn’t look like he really believed her, but she had gone to a lot of trouble to find him and his brother today. “Sorry I couldn’t be much help,” he said.
“Anyway,” Rowen began taking a deep breath. “I was hoping to catch you today because I was wondering if you would be willing to help with a story.”
“A story?” Liam repeated. Peony was already smili
ng, clearly fond of this idea already.
“For the marathon,” said Rowen. “We’ve run a few stories on it already, but you know how Lainswich is. They eat this stuff up. Can’t have enough points of view on it, you know?”
“Sure,” said Liam with a shrug. “Anything that helps bring attention to it.”
“I can write it,” said Peony, grinning. “We’re spending so much time together lately that it’d be no trouble. I should totally write it.”
“That sounds fun,” said Liam, giving Peony a smile and a sidelong look, like they were sharing some sort of inside joke.
“We both can,” said Rowen. She had hoped to set up a meeting for later, so that she could talk to Liam more without it looking too suspicious. Peony taking over the story would kill that plan, even though Liam liked her a heck of a lot more than he liked Rowen. “It’ll be a big story. I like having more than one person on those.”
“Oh,” said Peony, looking just a little disappointed. “Sure.”
Rowen and Liam shook on it. They all said their goodbyes and Rowen and Eric headed back to their car. “That was awkward,” said Eric, stating the obvious once they were out of earshot.
“You think?” Rowen gave a groan. “How am I supposed to solve a mystery if I don’t know any of the details?”
“Maybe you need to let this one go,” suggested Eric, speaking a little sheepishly. “At least until you know more.”
“I know Pete and Mildred Woodward were murdered,” said Rowen, feeling the frustration swell in her chest. “Just ignoring that is wrong. I have to make this right—or as right as it can be made, anyway.”
“Do you, though?” asked Eric. “Know they were murdered, I mean.”