Miss Hawthorne Sits for a Spell

by Katherine Hayton

  “You what?” Slim stared at her with a puzzled expression.

  “She means quick,” Gary called out from the floor.

  “Don’t threaten me,” Slim said, taking a menacing step forward. “From what you’ve just said, you’re here alone and you haven’t told the police anything about us. If you like, I could ask Pig here to take care of you and I could go back into my room to sleep in peace.”

  “I’m live streaming.”

  “Eh?” Slim’s eyes flicked over to Gary, who shrugged this time. “You’re what?”

  “This entire encounter is being recorded live and streamed on Facebook. If you hurt me, the police’ll take about five minutes to piece it all together, then they’ll be knocking down your door.”

  “It’s not legal to record a video without consent,” Gary called out.

  “And it’s not legal to threaten someone’s life. Didn’t stop you.”

  Slim held up a finger. “Wait, a minute. I didn’t say that. I said they’d take care of you. It could mean anything.”

  “Like a day at the spa?” Emily stared at him, her face an expressionless mask.

  “Exactly.”

  “We’ve got two men missing in Pinetar and you’re the only lead I’ve got. How about you stop spouting rubbish and start telling me what you know?”

  “Who’s missing?”

  “Terrence Salem and Jake the Snake.”

  “Downtime is missing?” Slim stared at her, raising his finger as he half-closed his eyes.

  “Nice nickname.” Cynthia moved to the wall and stared at Emily’s mobile phone. “You forgot to press record, Scarface.”

  Emily bit her lip, thankful she was the only one who could hear Cynthia’s helpful pointer.

  “Look, we drove out to Pinetar, the night before last, sure. Terrence phoned us and asked if we could give this man a little scare. We revved the engines and beeped and stuff, enough to wake the neighbours up so they could give him grief. We would’ve torn up his lawn with our bikes, too, except the whole thing looked like a death trap.”

  “What then?”

  “Then nothing. That’s all we did. We didn’t even see Terrence that night, just talked to him on the phone.”

  “Who’s taken him?” Pig asked, grunting loudly as he stood up from the floor and walked over to join them. “Our boy didn’t say he was in any trouble, did he?”

  Slim shook his head. “Just that someone was messing around with his plans and it would help if he had some encouragement to back off. We thought it was done and dusted with the drive by.”

  “Wait. You’re not saying we had anything to do with it, are you?” Pig looked appalled at the thought. “We didn’t even see Jake. He was just a shadow behind the curtains.”

  “It would’ve taken a lot more than a phone call to arrange a kidnapping,” Slim said.

  The calm delivery made Emily feel inexplicably better, despite the subject matter.

  “Too right,” Pig agreed.

  Emily looked from one man to the other. “What plans were being messed with?”

  Slim shuffled his feet, hands on his hips. “I don’t think that’s relevant.”

  Help came from an unexpected source as Pig stepped forward. “Hey, man. Our boy’s missing. Maybe it’s time to lighten up on the secret squirrel.”

  “How much do you know about Terrence’s family?”

  “Not much,” Emily admitted. “I only met him for the first time on Saturday.”

  Slim pulled Pig away, and they talked together in low voices, their tones urgent.

  Taking a punt, Emily called out, “Is this to do with his sister being the leader of the local coven? I know that much.”

  With a narrowed glance, Slim took a step closer to her again. “You believe in that stuff?”

  She exchanged an amused glance with Cynthia. “Yeah. I’ve been forced to believe in a lot of stuff since moving to Pinetar. I might not understand what you’re about to tell me, but I can promise you I’ll listen with an open mind.”

  “These witches, they have rules, yeah?”

  Emily thought of Agnetha’s warning about messing with matters of life and death. “Sure, I can see why they’d need to have guidelines in place.”

  “One of them is they’re not allowed to cast love spells or sell romantic potions.” Slim gave her a wink. “On account of all the ‘female rights’ and stuff the media pays attention to nowadays.”

  “You mean sexually assaulting people by using a drug to alter their consciousness? I’m pretty sure that’s nothing new. Check out the crimes act.”

  “Yeah. Well, Downtime thought Jake might be messing around with that stuff.”

  “Ugh.” Emily shivered and wished she could step into the shower. “He forced someone to fall in love with him? That’s so gross.”

  “I don’t understand all the ins and outs of it, but we were more than happy to give the man a scare since he didn’t really count as a man.”

  Emily nodded. “But you really don’t know what’s happened to Terrence, or who might’ve taken him?”

  “Not a clue.”

  “Perhaps, then, you’d like to explain why he had a hundred thousand dollars sitting in his account. I know that came from you.”

  Chapter Twenty

  “I swear, there’s no way we ever gave that amount of money to Downtime.” Slim’s expression changed from astonished to amused in one blink. “Even if I’d wanted to dump a load on the little man, that kind of wad is out of our reach.”

  Emily tipped her head back, eyeing the two men down the length of her nose. A gesture that had only made it into her repertoire courtesy of long hours in the company of Cynthia Pettigrew.

  “Where else would he get it from, then?”

  “The same place he always got his money.” Pig gave a snorting laugh, hinting at the reason for his nickname. “Downtime’s lucky. It sounds like a joke but that’s the truth. There’s never been a spin he couldn’t ace or a hand he couldn’t bluff.”

  “You’re saying he made his money at the casino?”

  Slim shrugged. “I can’t say for sure. His sister got her knickers in a knot about it a few years ago, said it wasn’t any different from casting a love spell.”

  “She equates love with money?”

  “He explained if you take money from the casino, they have to source it from somewhere. That means a lot of people who otherwise would’ve won, lose.”

  At the face she pulled, Slim laughed and held up his hands. “I didn’t make the rules. Just passing them on.”

  “So you think he came up to Christchurch to gamble and win on occasion?”

  “If he’s got unexplained money in his bank account, that’s my best guess. Unless you think he was selling his body?”

  “Ugh. Enough.” Emily held her hands up in a gesture of surrender. “Why would he need all that money? He must’ve been planning something.”

  “Planning to get away from his sister, is what I’d guess. She talked up a sob story to get him to go back home but a fool could see it wouldn’t last. He wanted to go back there just long enough to sort it out with his girl, then split.”

  “He doesn’t get on with his sister?” Emily was starting to believe Agnetha didn’t mesh with anybody. She frowned at the floor, squinting her eyes as she tried to think. “But the money is untouched. He wouldn’t build it up just to leave it there when he moved on. Is there anything else you can think of that might point to where he’s gone?”

  Pig stepped forward. “There’s nobody here would ever wish Downtime harm.” He socked a fist into his other hand. “If you do find him and want to teach somebody a lesson, you remember we’re here.”

  The car journey back to Pinetar passed without incident and Emily was soon pulling up outside her home. The door was locked, Harvey gone somewhere without leaving a note. She lay on the sofa, stretching her legs out and massaging her thighs.

  “What now?” Wanda shoved her face close. “Perhaps we should pay Agnetha
another visit?”

  “And ask her what?” Emily sighed. “If it’s true her brother disliked her? That sounds like a great way to get kicked out. Until something more happens, we won’t get anywhere.”

  “You can’t just lie there!”

  Emily rubbed her eyes and sat up. Wanda was right about that. If she did nothing, she’d drive herself around the bend by the end of the day.

  “I might check back at the shop and see if they’re willing to let me work there again.”

  “But how will that help?” Wanda floated back and forth in front of Emily, a ghostly version of pacing.

  “It will help take my mind off everything and pass the time until there’s something new to go on.”

  She let herself out of the house and walked to the shop, turning a deaf ear to Wanda’s pleas. The gang had been her last best hope. She couldn’t even think of where to go next.

  “Knock, knock,” she said, walking into the store and waving to Pete. “Am I forgiven?”

  Gregory poked his head out of the back corridor. “Were you in here last night? Everything upstairs looks a lot better organised than I left it.”

  “I just came in for a few minutes. I hope that’s okay.”

  Pete sighed. “Of course, it’s okay. I’m sorry we chased you out of here yesterday. Did you hear the news about Terrence?”

  “That he’s disappeared? Yes.” Emily nodded, not willing to add her own involvement in that discovery to the conversation. “Have you heard any news?”

  “No. His sister’s absolutely frantic and the police have been around here twice to ask questions.” Pete leaned his elbows on the counter. “I think they’re at a loss.”

  “Did they think you were hiding him in a back room or something?”

  “Probably. I made a mistake the first time and told them he hadn’t ever been in the store, then I remembered he came along with me on Saturday and met you here.”

  “That’s right.” Emily hugged herself. “I bumped into him coming down the stairs.”

  At the prompt, Pete frowned, tapping his fingernail on the bench.

  “What is it?” Emily asked after a few minutes. “You’ve obviously thought of something.”

  “He had a bag with him when he came in,” Pete said. “I thought it was full of his skating gear but when he got into the car, it was empty, and he stuffed it under the seat.”

  “It wasn’t his skating gear,” Gregory said, joining them at the counter. “He keeps all of that at the community hall because Agnetha used to get upset when she saw it around the house. She goes mental when she thinks he’s in danger of being hurt, so he got a locker.”

  Emily made her way out the back of the shop, her heart beating harder. “You thought he’d lost his way to the bathroom,” she said, exploring the memory and hoping she wasn’t embellishing it. “But when I asked him what he was doing upstairs, he didn’t say a word.” She climbed up the stairs, eagle eyes scanning in all directions.

  “He didn’t leave anything in the attic room,” Gregory said. “It was empty except for the new boxes we dragged up yesterday.”

  “I’d cleared it out on Friday,” Emily agreed. “I got sick of opening things up that I’d already searched through.”

  At the top of the stairs was an alcove. It held a stack of rugs, which had originally adorned the floor in the attic room, but she’d moved outside because the boxes kept snagging them.

  She knelt down, ignoring the warning from her knees that they wouldn’t enjoy standing up again. With Gregory’s help, they lifted aside the top rugs and exposed a thick book. The cover made from engraved leather. The leaves held shut with a gold chain.

  As Emily gasped, Wanda sobbed in relief.

  The spell book.

  Under her nose all the time.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  As Emily shuffled downstairs, cradling the tome in her arms like a delicate child, Pete followed close behind her.

  “We should take that to the police,” he said. “They might be able to tie it into Terrence’s disappearance.”

  “Not likely, since he hid it here on Saturday.” Emily laid it on the counter, out of the direct sunlight. The engravings marked into the leather were picked out in differing shades of gold, appearing to shift. “It’s beautiful.”

  “It doesn’t belong to you.” Pete moved to take hold of the volume and Emily slapped his hands away.

  “No, but it belongs to Jake, and he was happy to let me use it, considering we both wanted the same thing. Unless you have some evidence revoking his permission, then I think my needs trump yours.”

  “But he’s right,” Gregory said in a low voice. “If Terrence stole this book, his disappearance might be connected.”

  “I’ve already told the police all about Terrence and Jake.” Emily kept her hands firmly pressed against the book, feeling its strange warmth. “If there’s anything connecting the two of them, they already have that information.”

  “Don’t you think—”

  “I think that I need this book in order to help someone who’s close to death.” Emily stared at her colleagues, feeling like they were strangers. “Once it’s served its purpose, I’m happy to take it directly to the police. I’m not sure Terrence will be happy about that since it implicates him in a burglary, but I’ll let them decide how to treat the information. Until I’ve saved Sheryl Hawthorne, I’m not handing it to anyone.”

  Wanda clapped her hands. “You go, girl. Tell them how it is.”

  Emily tried to place the book in her bag, alongside the puzzle, but it was too large to fit. She lifted it up, hugging it tightly. “I’ll bring it back tomorrow at the latest.”

  When she walked to the door, Pete hovered but didn’t stop her leaving. Emily kept her head down as she got into her car, only then looking around her before placing the precious volume on the passenger seat.

  “Don’t crash, whatever you do,” Wanda warned her. “That’s how this entire mess got started.”

  “I’ll be careful. Where do I need to go now? Do I take it to the hospital?”

  When Wanda didn’t immediately answer, Emily shot her a sidelong glance. The ghost witch was chewing on her bottom lip, staring at her hands.

  “What is it?”

  “You’ll need someone to help you out. Usually, it wouldn’t matter but with my sister unable to participate, someone needs to hold the book and recite the spell, while another aligns the puzzle to set her soul free.”

  “Sounds like voodoo to me.”

  Wanda turned a furious glare on Cynthia. “That’s because you have no respect for things outside of what you see and hear. I bet you didn’t believe you were a ghost until someone proved it to you!”

  Emily sniggered inwardly, remembering exactly the struggle she’d gone through. “Harvey will be the best shot. He already knows more about you two than I’d like.”

  Luckily, this time Harvey was home. Emily had just started to explain his help was required when her phone beeped.

  “Invoice attached. I reduced the total due to the latest developments. I’m so sorry,” the robotic voice relayed.

  Emily frowned and passed the phone across to Harvey for inspection.

  “It’s a lawyer named Gareth. He’s billed you one dollar,” he said, flipping back to the home screen. “Oh, no.”

  “What is it?”

  “There’s been a court order issued.” Harvey gave her a look so dripping with sympathy that Emily wanted to slap him. “They’ve agreed to withdraw life support from Sheryl Hawthorne. They’ve unplugged her machines today.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  You were too slow.

  Emily staggered backwards, her legs giving way. She cast her arm out to try to catch herself but only managed to crack her knuckles on the dining table. The spell book—the thing she’d fought so hard to find—slid out of her grasp.

  “Sis, are you all right?”

  Harvey swam in and out of focus. A pulse beat through Emily’s hea
d, far too consuming to focus on anything else.

  This is it. The bone fragments have slipped. You’re dying.

  Her brother’s hand grabbed hold of her shoulder but the only sensation she recorded was pressure. He might as well have been touching somebody else.

  “Snap out of it, Scarface. I don’t mind you on occasion but it’s far too early to put up with you twenty-four seven.”

  As though a bucket of ice water had been thrown in her face, Emily snapped out of her shock. She sat up, pressing a hand to her chest as her heart stuttered, then returned to its usual steady beat. The book lay awkwardly underneath her leg, a bruise where she’d fallen on top of it already forming.

  “Stay down. I’m calling an ambulance.”

  “Don’t,” Emily called out, trying to catch the phone out of Harvey’s hand.

  He jerked away, out of reach, but his thumb stopped pressing the keypad. His right eyebrow arched up, nearly disappearing into his hairline. “Are you sure?”

  “Of course, I’m sure. I feel foolish enough about fainting without calling in the cavalry to witness my shame.” Emily brushed down her skirt and pulled the book out to one side. “Just give me a minute to catch my breath.”

  “I’ll get the car out, then. We need to go to the hospital.”

  “It’s already out.” Emily waved a hand towards the driveway. “And I was just picking you up to take you there.”

  Except it doesn’t matter now.

  A wave of tears overwhelmed her, and Emily buried her face in her hands. She couldn’t bring herself to glance at Wanda. Her emotions were raw—they wouldn’t be able to absorb the ghost’s on top of them.

  “I have to go,” Wanda said, her voice a thin shadow of itself. “I need to check.”

  “No, you don’t.” Cynthia sounded as firm as a nineteen-fifties school ma’am. “You stay here, Witchy-poo and keep Scarface company. I’ll be back in a jiffy.”

  “Don’t stand up!” Harvey yelled as Emily struggled to her feet.

  When she managed to stand unaided, he hovered around her, his hands opened to catch her if she fell.