Witches of Palmetto Point Series Boxset Books 1 - 3: Haunting Charlie, Wayward Spirits and Devil's Snare

by Wendy Wang

  “Is Daphne coming tonight?” Charlie asked.

  “She’s gonna be late,” Lisa said, referring to their youngest cousin. “Mary Grace Whitten’s daughter is getting married tomorrow. Daphne’s making sure the mother of the bride’s hair is absolutely perfect.”

  “Well, of course she is.” Charlie gave her oldest cousin a knowing look. Daphne was in high demand in their little town for her unique ability to make just about anyone look beautiful. Daphne liked to call it her super power, but it was just one more thing on a long list that fell into the category of witchy ways, and all her cousins had something about them that put their unique abilities on that list.

  Charlie took the stack of dishes into the dining room, laid out the plates on the long cherry table that Evangeline had covered with a pale blue and white striped tablecloth. Charlie completed each setting with forks, knives, spoons, and iced tea glasses. Even though it was just Friday night dinner, Evangeline had also laid out blue linen napkins. Charlie glanced at the china closet and headed back into the kitchen.

  “Do you think anyone will want a glass of wine – ” Charlie stopped and stared at the screen door.

  Jason Tate was standing with his hand up about to knock. Their eyes met and his fist opened into a wave.

  “Hi,” he said offering up a charming smile.

  Lisa glanced at the door. She picked up the large wooden salad bowl and flashed Charlie an I-told-you-so smirk. Charlie ignored her cousin and pushed open the screen. “Hey, what are you doing here?”

  “Manners, Charlie.” Evangeline scolded from her post by the stove.

  “I'm sorry. I meant, hi, Jason. What the hell are you doing here?” Charlie used an exaggerated tone that she knew would irritate her aunt.

  Jason chuckled. “Good to see you too.”

  “Jason, don't pay her any mind. She's been ornery ever since she picked up Evan. You come on in.”

  Evangeline motioned him inside. For whatever reason, Evangeline had taken a shine to Jason. Maybe her aunt hoped somewhere deep in her heart that he and Charlie’s relationship would bloom into something less professional and more romantic. Charlie kept a vigilant watch on her aunt’s behavior when Jason was around, just to make sure the old woman didn’t try anything, like slip a love potion into their drinks or cast a binding spell to bind them together.

  “Thank you, Ms. Ferebee, I appreciate that. I can't stay long. I just needed to talk to Charlie for a minute.”

  “Well, according to the broom, you’re staying for dinner, so you may as well just get comfortable,” Charlie quipped

  “Huh?” Jason's eyebrows rose halfway up his forehead and his gaze bounced from Charlie to her aunt.

  Charlie rolled her eyes and shook her head. Her lips tugged into the first smile she’d worn since leaving Scott’s house. “Nothing. Come on in.”

  “Jason, you’re certainly welcome to stay. We have plenty,” Evangeline said.

  “Yes, and I don't think you've ever had my aunt's pork chops. They’ve been voted the best in the state by Foodie Magazine,” Lisa chimed in.

  “I don't know if I can pass up best in the state.” Jason wiped his feet and stepped into the kitchen.

  Evangeline gave him a wide smile. “I hope you brought your appetite. I've got lemon meringue pie for dessert.”

  “Ms. Ferebee, you’re gonna make me fat.” Jason’s nostrils flared as he took a deep breath. “Smells delicious.”

  Evangeline winked at him and went back to tending the pork chops.

  Jason touched Charlie's elbow and she leaned in close. “S’there someplace private we can talk?”

  Charlie nodded and pointed to the door. “Come on. I don't think you've ever seen my uncle's dock. Evangeline, we’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  “Well, don't be long. Dinner will be served in less than ten minutes.”

  “Yes ma'am.” Jason gave her a nod and followed Charlie out onto the back porch.

  Charlie settled on the bottom step and Jason sat down next to her.

  “So much for seeing the dock,” Jason teased.

  “Sorry,” she said. “We'll be late for dinner.” Charlie wrapped her arms around her knees and turned her face to Jason. She could tell by the lines in his forehead, his visit was serious and not a social call. Of course, with Jason it was never really a social call, unless food was involved. “What's going on?”

  “I've got a case. You up for it?”

  “Another missing kid?” she asked. “So soon? We haven't even really solved the last one.”

  “No, this isn’t a missing kid. It’s a murder. Or a suicide. Or an accident. Nobody's really sure exactly what happened.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Jason glanced up the steps to the back porch. He hesitated, pressing his mouth into a thin line. His hazel eyes darkened.

  “You don't want to say.” It wasn't a question. She knew Jason had sensed something about her cousins and aunt even though the word “witch” had never been uttered to him. He was always a little on guard when they were around. “You know they can’t hear you, right? Even if they could, they wouldn’t be listening.”

  “I know. It's just — ” He sighed as if he didn't know how to finish his thought.

  She patted his knee and gave him an understanding smile. “They can’t do what I do. And I can’t do what they do.”

  “What exactly is it they do?” Jason fixed his stare on her. Not too long ago the intensity of his gaze would have made her squirm, but now she didn't let it get to her.

  “You really want to know?” Charlie quirked one eyebrow and lowered her chin.

  Jason narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth but then closed it. “Maybe not tonight. So, will you help me?”

  “Sure. When?”

  “Now would be good.”

  “How ‘bout you fill me in on the way over after dinner. My son is here.”

  Jason nodded and shrugged. “Sounds good.”

  Chapter 3

  Charlie had never been to a fresh crime scene before. Most of the time when Jason brought her in, it was long after the forensics team had moved on to other cases and the yellow tape had been taken down.

  The imposing iron fence surrounding the property had been cut, and the sharp spikes of bent metal reminded her of splintered bones. “Is that where she was?”

  Jason nodded. “Yeah. It was the only way to remove the body.” He gave her a supportive glance. “You ready for this?” Jason asked.

  Charlie folded her arms across her chest and squinted one eye at the roofline. “So, this girl was on the roof during a thunderstorm? What was she doing up there?”

  “Well, that's where it gets weird. I've got one neighbor telling me he saw someone on the roof with her. And I have another neighbor who said he saw her on the roof by herself.”

  “Who do you believe?”

  “I don’t know. Neither has any reason to lie, and they both seemed credible when I talked to them,” he said.

  “Okay. Well, which one was closer?”

  “Mr. Baker.” Jason pointed to the next-door neighbor’s house and led her up to the victim’s porch. He pulled a couple pairs of latex gloves from his front pocket and handed a pair to her. “It’s still a crime scene.”

  “They didn’t dust it already?” Charlie asked.

  “They did. I’m just being cautious.”

  “So, you believe him?” She took the gloves and slipped them on more easily than Jason.

  Jason sighed and rested his hand on the fancy bronze door handle. “I don't know who to believe honestly. The next-door neighbor said he saw someone on the roof with the victim and that the person disappeared after charging the vic and falling from the roof with her.”

  “Is that why you think it was a spirit?”

  “Maybe. We didn’t find any hard evidence that there was someone. We did find a couple of weird things though, and when it’s weird, I defer to you.”

  “Great.” Charlie's hand drifted to her nec
k and grabbed the round pendant hanging at the base of her throat. She brushed her thumb over the silver pentacle. “So, maybe we should make this quick. If it is a murderous spirit, I don't really want to be here if it comes back.”

  “Uh — ” Jason's mouth twisted and his tan face paled. “What?”

  Charlie chuckled. “Come on, I’ll protect you.”

  “This way,” Jason said.

  Charlie followed Jason up the polished hardwood steps to the second floor. Nothing about the trendy decor and new furniture said haunted to her. In fact, the house looked more for show than everyday use. The rich cream and gold colors of the runner in the hallway and the subtle gold shimmer of the paint on the walls reminded Charlie of Scott's mother's house. Everything in its place and impeccably decorated. It all gave off the same do-not-touch vibe. The only thing out of place was the splintered door and jamb at the end of the hallway.

  “The door was locked from the inside. We had to use force to get in,” Jason explained. “This was her room.”

  Charlie stepped into the master bedroom, and all the warmth from the rest of the house melted away. A chill settled around her shoulders, and the hair on her arms prickled. Something dead had been here and had left a tiny piece of itself from what she sensed.

  Charlie stood in the middle of the room and slowly turned in a circle, taking it all in. The linen-covered duvet was wrinkled and pushed back to one side. Charlie closed her eyes and let the energy wash over and through her. For a moment, she could see Hayley Miller waking suddenly. Her chest heaving, frightened as she glanced around the room. Charlie saw Haley in her mind's eye fixing her stare off to the right toward the open door. Charlie's eyes opened and she glanced over her shoulder at the bathroom.

  “What’s happened in the bathroom?”

  “Take a look.” Jason walked into the master bath and flipped on the light.

  In the spacious and spa-like master bathroom, cream and gold travertine surrounded the shower and extended behind the freestanding tub. The modern zebra wood cabinets floated above the stone floors, and all the fixtures had straight lines and a polished nickel finish. The whole room looked as if a decorator had lifted it from a page in a magazine.

  “What did the victim do for a living?”

  “Pharmaceutical sales.”

  “Well, she certainly had expensive tastes,” Charlie muttered. Her gaze settled on the large mirror extending over the cabinetry. A single handprint and the words Sisters Forever were still visible in the reflective glass over one of the sinks.

  Charlie walked over and leaned in close. “Can I touch it?”

  “Sure. It's not going anywhere.”

  “What do you mean?” Her eyes met his in the reflection.

  “The hand print isn’t on the outside of the mirror.”

  “Where is it?”

  Jason shrugged one shoulder. “Forensics guy couldn’t exactly find it. He had to scan it electronically.”

  Charlie hunched over the sink to get a better look. “You know sometimes spirits can get trapped inside a mirror. They can use them to move from place to place.” She touched the handprint and closed her eyes. Flashes of light filled her mind, but no specific image formed. She put her hands flat on the counter and frowned. “Weird.”

  “What?”

  “I don’t see anything useful.”

  “So, you think a spirit could have left an actual handprint?”

  “Sure.” Charlie nodded. “I’ve seen it happen before. Usually though, that's within the spirit’s boundaries. “

  “What does that mean exactly?”

  “Well, some spirits bind themselves to the place where they died. That’s how most sentient hauntings occur.”

  “This whole neighborhood is new. I mean I guess I can check for deaths in the area — ” he said, focusing his gaze on the handprint.

  “I don’t think you need to do that.” Charlie leaned against the counter.

  “Why not?” Jason’s gaze shifted to her, his eyes full of curiosity.

  “I don’t think the spirit is bound to this house. I think she was bound to the victim.”

  “Why?”

  “That’s what we’re gonna have to figure out. It could be Haley wronged the spirit in some way when she was alive.”

  “She?”

  “Yeah, I definitely sense a she.” Charlie pointed to the shadowy palm print.

  “It's interesting that you can actually see the fingerprints.”

  “Yeah, we’re gonna run it against our databases, but I'm not holding my breath. It's not like we can fingerprint ghosts.”

  “No, but maybe there's a Jane Doe out there stuck in some morgue drawer with no identity.”

  “We can hope, right? Are you getting anything else?”

  Charlie pushed off from the counter and walked back into the bedroom. She made her way to the window. The carpet beneath it squished underneath her shoes, still wet from the rain. She glanced over her shoulder at him. “Don't worry, okay?”

  “About what?” He gave her a puzzled look.

  Charlie grinned and scrambled out the window before Jason could stop her.

  The metal roof still radiated heat from the day, and any water from the rain had long since evaporated. The rubber soles of her shoes gripped the tin and she stood up straight, just out of reach of the window.

  “Charlie! What the hell are you doing? Come back in here,” Jason ordered, sounding panicked.

  “It’s okay, Jace –just give me a minute. She was found on the fence separating the two yards. She climbed out through this window, right?”

  Jason leaned out the window, holding his hand out. “Come on, Charlie, please – you’re making me nervous.”

  “Well, answer my question then,” she said.

  “Yes. We think she did.”

  “All right then.” Charlie followed the narrow roof past a dormer and peered over the edge. She could see the fence and the empty hole where the victim had landed. There was no way she just slipped and fell and hit that fence. Something with strength had to have pushed her. The real question was it human or spirit?

  Charlie turned back and headed toward the window where Jason's head protruded, carefully watching her. She flashed him a smile. “You said the neighbor saw her fall? Do you think I could talk to him?”

  “Sure. I think I can arrange that. Now will you please come back inside before something happens and I have to explain why I let you out on the roof of an active crime scene?”

  Charlie laughed and rolled her eyes. “Fine.”

  Chapter 4

  Charlie sat across the round aluminum patio table watching Don Baker peel the label of his beer bottle. Two empty bottles stood next to the silvery pile of scraped paper. He picked up the bottle he was nursing and took a long swallow. Heavy dark circles punctuated the skin beneath his eyes. He looked almost as if he'd been punched. His dark brown eyes stared at the table, vacant.

  “I really appreciate you meeting with us like this, Mr. Baker.”

  “You sure I can’t get you folks something to drink. Water maybe? Iced tea?” he offered.

  “We're fine. Thank you.” Charlie gave him a reassuring smile. “I know you've probably told this story a hundred times already, but it would be really helpful if you could tell me what you saw.”

  Don put the bottle down in front of him and leaned forward with his elbows on the table. He wrapped his meaty hands around the base of the green glass bottle.

  “Well, it was raining really hard and it was late. Well after midnight.” His eyes shifted toward the light streaming out through the patio doors of his house. “My wife likes to sleep with the windows open when it rains. Drives me, nuts especially when it’s so hot. It just makes the house muggier, but happy wife, happy life, right?”

  Charlie leaned forward and rested a hand on his wrist. The image of Don Baker standing at his window, watching Haley Miller on the roof popped into her head. “Can you tell me about the woman on the roof with Haley?
Something about her eyes bothered you.”

  Don Baker stared at her for a long moment. He took a few carefully measured breaths and sat back pulling his hands onto his lap, out of her reach. He didn’t look at her. “I don't know what you mean.”

  Charlie steadied her gaze on him. “I think you do, Mr. Baker. I think you know exactly what I mean.”

  He laughed but there was no humor in it. His hand scrubbed his chin, sounding like sandpaper, and he met her unwavering gaze. “It's gonna sound crazy.”

  “Not to me it won't. I promise.” Charlie folded her hands in front of her and leaned toward him. “I’m all ears.”

  His eyes shifted from her face to Jason's and back to hers again. He let out a heavy sigh. “I heard a scream. I don't know how I heard it because it was thundering like a bitch the other night. At first I thought it was one of my kids. But then I realized it came from outside. That's when I looked out the window and saw her on the roof.”

  Charlie’s head bobbed, to encourage him, but the motion also mesmerized her a little, allowing her to slip into his words and view the scene inside his head.

  “I saw something crawl out of the window after her.” Don’s smooth southern accent lulled her even more, and Charlie could see the shape of the woman emerge from the shadows. Not quite solid.

  Don rubbed the back of his neck. “It followed her. And at one point Haley turned back around to look at it. To confront it, I guess, and I swear to God it threw its head back and laughed at her. Then it looked over at me, and I could see its eyes. Glowing red like fire. I know it sounds nuts . . . ”

  Charlie saw it in her head before he said the words. Saw the spirit snap its head in his direction. Felt him recoil.

  “A minute later it charged her. I thought for sure they both went off that roof. But when I went downstairs to check there was only Haley. Hanging there.” His voice trailed off.