by Tegan Maher
Bobbie Sue lifted a shoulder. "That'd prolly be a good place to start, then."
Before I could reply, another text came in from Hunter. He'd apparently read my mind, because he reminded me that I'd promised not to go anywhere alone.
I growled in frustration, then explained the situation to Earl and Bobbie Sue. They both took it personally when anybody they cared about was threatened, and if the thunderous expressions on their faces were any indication, the guy who made the threat better hope he was struck by lightning before any of my crew managed to lay hands on him.
Even Justin was wearing a death glare. "You need me to stay at the farm with you tonight?"
He was at that sensitive age where I had to tread carefully, because if somebody really was set to do me harm, I didn't want him in the line of fire, but I also didn't want to damage his ego.
"I thought you had to help get ready for the fishin' tournament?" I said.
He looked back and forth between Earl and me, torn.
"Hunter's stayin' at the house tonight," I said, "and Shelby and Gabi will be there too. If something changes, I'll call. That way, you're not leavin' these two shorthanded."
After thinking it through for a few seconds, he gave a brisk nod. "But you call if you need somebody to be there."
Bobbie Sue seconded it. "I know you've got serious mojo, but if you'll remember, it doesn't work when somebody knocks you in the head, right?"
Earl laid his mitt of a hand on my shoulder, and I looked up at him. "Don't go off half-cocked, Noe," he said, his voice soft. "This ain't nothin' to mess with. One girl's already dead. If you don't think of yourself, think of the people that love ya."
Huge words from him, a man who usually expressed affection by cuffing me on the shoulder with enough gusto to almost knock me over.
For the second time that day, I found myself promising to chain myself to somebody else, but truth be told, I was a little worried myself.
CHAPTER NINE
I DECIDED TO POP OVER to Rae's to grab a Lively Latte, her version of energy in a cup. On my way out, I stopped to chat with Sarah and Louise, the backbone of Bobbie Sue's front-of-house. It was in between lunch and dinner, so there were only a couple of tables in the place, and they were laughing while cleaning up and restocking the waitress station.
"Hey ladies!" I said, setting the ketchup and barbecue sauce bottles to marrying themselves so they could turn and talk.
Looking at the bottles suspended in midair as the sauce in them drained into the bottle under it, Sarah grinned. "Girl, if there's one thing I miss most besides your sunny personality, it's that."
Sarah and I had worked together for nearly four years, and she'd found out for sure about my witchy side within just a few months. After I outed myself by doing exactly what I'd just done, side work didn't take nearly as long. With the hours the two of us put in, anything that allowed us to get off our feet sooner was okay with her.
I gave her a half smile. "Thanks. Nice to know my personality comes first, anyway." While I was at it, I went ahead and flicked a wrist toward the empty tea containers and set them to brewing so we could talk.
"So how are the kids?" Her uncle had gone missing, and everybody had assumed he'd just taken off, leaving her stuck raising her four-year-old niece along with her small son. That hadn't been the case, though.
"They're doin' great. It's so nice to have him back, and he helps me a ton with Sean so I don't have to spend half what I make paying a sitter."
"Good," I said, then turned to Louise. "How's the baby?"
Louise had moved back to Keyhole Lake several months before to be with her mom when her dad died and had just given Emily her first grandbaby. "He's growin' like a weed. Sittin' up already, if you can believe it!"
I shook my head. It seemed like just yesterday she'd had him. Since she'd moved back, we'd become friends, and I realized we'd all been so busy we hadn't had a good get-together in a long time.
"What are y'all doing this weekend?" I asked.
Louise snorted. "You're lookin' at it. The tournament's this weekend, remember?"
Actually, I hadn't, with everything else going on. "Well then Monday, when everything's gone back to normal, let's do a cookout at the farm. That way, nobody has to mess with sitters, and everybody can come."
Sarah beamed. “That would be amazing. Sean's been pesterin' me to bring him to see the horses, anyway. If you're throwin' in food and grown-up company, I'm not turnin' that down."
Louise nodded in agreement. "I'm in, too. For the past month, I've either been covered in barbecue sauce or spit-up. The one good thing about havin' a baby around here is that when you get us all together, there's no lack of open arms waitin' to hold him. What should we bring?"
"Just yourselves," I answered, knowing good and well they'd bring something despite telling them that. It just wasn't the way we were raised.
"Dessert or side?" Sarah asked, one brow cocked.
I laughed. "Make that marshmallow ambrosia salad. I love it and haven't had it in forever."
"I'll bring the deviled eggs, then," Louise said. "And chips."
We set a time and talked about the murder a little bit, then I decided to go to Rae's, almost forgetting my promise to Hunter. Brew was diagonal from BSB, across the street and a couple stores down.
"Can one of y'all watch me cross the street?" I asked, frustrated but not willing to go back on my word.
Louise smiled. "As long as you promise to look both ways before you cross."
I pulled a face at her and turned toward the doors. Stepping out into the heat, I realized the wear and tear of the day was catching up with me.
I glanced at my phone and was surprised to see it was almost three. That meant Shelby should be done with her SATs. In case something was delayed, I decided to text her rather than use our mental connection. We had a psychic door—with Rae, too—that we all kept pushed closed unless we really needed it, but we didn't use it often.
I pulled the door to Brew open, and the smells of coffee and hot chocolate melded together to draw me in like one of those floaty cartoon characters. The only thing better than the smell of coffee was the smell of coffee and chocolate combined.
I was a little surprised to see Shelby sitting at the bar sipping an iced coffee—she hadn't been hanging out with us much. Rae and Levana, the lead barista and a fellow witch with a crazy odd back-story, were laughing as Shelby told some outrageous story, waving her hands and rolling her eyes.
"Hey y'all," I said. "What's shakin'? How'd the test go, Shel?"
She took a huge breath and let it out. "Much better than I was afraid it would." She furrowed her brow. "That usually worries me, but not this time. I'm dead certain I nailed it. Or most of it, anyway."
"That's awesome, sister! I knew you had it, but I'm glad you feel good about it now, too."
She smiled. "Thanks. I'm glad one of us had faith. How's your day been?"
"Odd," I said.
I showed them the flyers, then ran through events, including the phone call to Hunter and the odd warning from Mel.
Levana wrinkled her brow, concern etched on her face. "I know they're not as common today, but back in my day, seers were taken seriously, at least in our community."
She was over two hundred years old but had lived most of those years in confinement. She hadn't had those couple of centuries to adapt, and four months wasn't enough time for her to get her footing catch up with the times.
"Oh, we still take them seriously," I said, "or at least I do now. Believe me—there's not a whole lot of magic that I don't believe in anymore."
Between the magic I'd been raised with and the various forms of magic I'd encountered over the last couple of years, there wasn't much I wouldn't believe in. That didn't make me gullible, though. Just practical.
"Still," Rae said, making me a Lively Latte, "we don't know her from Adam, sugar. She could be some old fraud. For that matter, you said her husband was kinda creepin' on you. They could
be the killers for all we know."
I'd entertained the thought, but the expression on her face seemed awful genuine. I was a solid judge of character and a skeptic to boot. It was hard to pull something over on me.
"Mmhm," I said, shaking my head. "Whatever she was, I'm almost certain she was sincere."
"Yes," Levana said, "but that doesn't mean she wasn't—what's the expression you use—on the up and up. Or else maybe she knows something and gave you the clue and the warning because of that."
I was impressed—I hadn't even thought of that. The man drifted back through my mind, and I could see him being some kind of con. I didn't trust anybody in a suit that cost more than I made in a month.
I shook my head. "I'm more interested in learning what the real Kasey Ball has to say. I don't know why, but I feel like she's somebody we should look at closer."
"Well," Rae said, picking up her purse, "if your gut's tellin' you to check her out, then let's go check her out."
"I'd like to go, as well," Levana said. Though she didn't have the level of power we had, she had a knack for reading people. It wasn't so much that she was psychic than that she could put her finger on the pulse of somebody's emotions no matter how good the poker face was. That made her great at reading between the lines.
In this situation, I had a feeling it could be a useful skill.
I Googled the number for the local Piggly Wiggly and asked if Kasey was working, keeping my fingers crossed because I had no idea where she lived. Luck was on my side—they said she was.
I hung up, then turned to the girls. "Anybody need anything from the grocery store?"
"Sure do," Rae said. "I'm fresh outta butter and Fruit Loops. We'll take my car."
Shelby waved us off. "I'm meeting Emma and Becki"—her two best friends—"for cheese fries at the diner. Let me know what you find out."
CHAPTER TEN
"SO WHAT'S THE PLAN?" Levana asked as we drove.
Rae, ever the one to cut to the chase, said, "I say we just show her the flyer and ask if she knows who it is."
As far as plans went, it worked for me. I couldn't think of a reason to beat around the bush, so we agreed we'd grab what Rae needed—and some milk for the farm—then just show her the flyer as we were checking out.
There were two checkers working—Kasey and Annie Sotheby, a sweetheart who came into Brew when she wanted to escape her three kids.
"Hey, girls!" she said. "How y'all doin'?"
I smiled and waved. "Hey Annie. Doin' good. We just needed to pick up a couple things. How are the kids?"
"Noisy," she said, "but good. C'mon over. I'll get y'all checked out in a jiff."
"Actually, we need to ask Kasey something," I said, "but thanks. See ya at Brew?"
"You bet!"
There was nobody in line behind us, so as soon as Rae paid, I introduced myself.
"I know who you are," she said, curling her nose as if she caught a whiff of rotten eggs, then lowered her voice and hissed, "and what you are."
I sighed. The world was full of haters, and it seemed we'd found one. The Flynns had been around Keyhole Lake for generations, and there'd always been speculation and suspicion, but few knew for a fact. This happened to us sometimes; people either feared what they didn't understand or were intolerant of those who were different.
Annie shot us an eyeroll and mouthed sorry. I just smiled and waved her off.
That type of thing was water off a duck's back to Rae and me, but Levana gasped. She came from a time—which still felt like only several months ago to her—when suspected witches were burned at the stake or drowned, so it was no wonder such a statement got her all atwitter. Rae, however, took the mean girl by the horns.
"Well then," she said, the corners of her mouth curling into a witchy smile. "You understand there could be ... repercussions ... for lying. Or for just bein' a jerk, so you already have one strike."
I handed her the flyer, pretending she wasn't looking at it like it was dirty toilet paper. "I don't know if your mama told you or not, but the sheriff found a fake ID on the girl we found in the lake. It was your info, and we need to know if you recognize her."
She glanced at it, then back and forth between us. Something flickered across her face but was gone before I could recognize it. "Never seen her before in my life."
"Are you sure?" Rae asked, narrowing her eyes.
"No, I'm lying," she smart-mouthed, reaching for the phone by her register. "Get out of my store before I call security."
I yawned. Pigs's security consisted of Ralph McDermitt, an eighty-year-old man who used to be the school crossing guard 'til his knees got too bad for him to stand that long. Now he mostly sat in a chair by the door, reading the paper and doing crosswords.
Levana, who'd done a fine job of growing a pair since she'd gained her freedom, had recovered from her initial reaction and followed our lead. She flicked a finger, and the receiver fell toward the floor, bouncing when it hit the end of the curly line. Kasey's hand snapped to her side, and though she made an obvious effort to raise it, it remained there.
"At least you told the truth that time," Levana said, leaning on the check-writing platform like she hadn't a care in the world. "You are lying. Perhaps you'd like to revise your answer so we can go. I hear there's a healthy toad population around here." She cocked her brow. "Surely one more wouldn't hurt."
I about choked to keep from laughing. At that moment, she moved herself right into my heart. Smart, loyal, and willing to face down evil when it came to it. I couldn't wait for her to meet Olivia and crew and found myself hoping they showed up for girls' night.
Kasey's face turned mottled as she tried to pull her hand away from her thigh. Rae drummed her fingers on the conveyor belt, and I bagged the few groceries we'd bought.
"We can do this all day, sugar," Rae said. "What do you know about the girl?"
"All right," Kasey growled. "I swear I don't know her name, but she used to hang out down at the lake sometimes. Party girl who showed up with rich dudes. I saw her there more 'n once when I took the kids. Ask the lifeguard, maybe."
That last was a little too bitter for the average stranger, but we already knew she was a bigot, so maybe not so bitter for her if she painted women who weren't just like her with the same brush.
"How'd she end up with your ID?" I asked.
"How should I know?" she sneered. "Probably stole it from me when I was in the water with my kids."
I studied her for a moment; the answer rolled off a little too easy, in my opinion.
"And that's it?" I asked.
"Yes," she said between gritted teeth. "That's it. Now turn me loose and get out."
"No need to be rude," Levana said, releasing the spell. "Had you been civil to begin with, such actions wouldn't have been necessary." She narrowed her eyes. "And it would serve you well to remember your manners."
Kasey jerked her hand up and shook her fingers out as I picked up the groceries and we left. If looks could kill, we'da all been goners.
Once we were outside the store, Levana giggled. "Oh, that was fun! I hate the time spent locked away, but I do love the time we landed in! I can't wait to tell Rory!"
"All right there, Glenda, Just remember we do still have to keep it discreet. She can tell people what happened, but most folks'll think she's makin' it up. Some won't though, so we have to reserve that for special occasions."
"Glenda?" she asked.
Sometimes I forgot she wasn't up on her pop culture. "She was the good witch in the movie The Wizard of Oz."
"Oh yes," she said. "We started watching that, but the wicked witch reminded me too much of my mother-in-law and we turned it off."
Her husband Rory, it turned out, had a little witch in him too, though he hadn't known it until Camille had tested them when they arrived in our time. It wasn't enough to do anything, but it did clear up some issues Levana'd had with her in-laws.
Rae unlocked the doors, and we climbed in, grateful when col
d air blasted from the vents. We were having a hot spell that happened sometimes in late spring, but I was hopeful we had some more temperate weather before full summer set in. No luck that day, though.
"So," Rae said once we were back on the road, "at least now we know she was a local."
"Not necessarily," Levana said. "We know she accompanied rich men to parties. From what I've seen, plenty of wealthy people are starting to come to the lake."
I chewed on that for a minute. "Yeah, but she said she'd seen her more than once. I think for now, we should focus on locals, then throw the net wider if we need to."
"As you wish," Levana said. "It would be easier if she was a Keyhole resident. I do have to add, she had a flush of shame mixed with anger, or perhaps bitterness, when you asked how the girl came by her information."
Ahh. I'd thought she wasn't straight with us about that part.
"Shame?" said Rae, confused. "That's odd."
"Not so much," I said. "At least not under certain conditions. Tell me—what usually breeds the level of contempt she has?"
Rae shrugged, but understanding crossed Levana's face. "Envy."
"Exactly," I said. "How much you wanna bet Kasey tried to get in good with the big kids?"
"Then she lied to us. She does know the girl," Rae said.
"Perhaps," Levana said, "but I didn't detect any deception at that point."
I texted Hunter with the information we'd picked up, and he said he'd talk to some of the lifeguards. That was a long shot because there was only one on duty in the most populated swimming sectionsg and then only during set hours. Still, it was more than we had before.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
BY THE TIME I MADE it back to the farm, Shelby and Gabi were bringing the horses in. I felt a little guilty because I hadn't done the chores that morning, so I jumped in and helped by slinging a couple flakes of hay into each stall.