Witch Raising Situation (Witch of Mintwood Book 5)

by Addison Creek

  People went on those all the time, of course. Just because I didn’t, did not mean I couldn’t. I was totally capable of doing something so wild and crazy. I kept telling myself so, in hopes that it could turn out to be true, especially now that my hair was transitioning away from sea monster color back to normal dull brown.

  The upshot of all my pondering was that after I went to check on Cesar (he was happy and licking up a storm as usual), I made my way to Jasper’s office at the Babbling Brook Barn. He had clearly had a function there the night before; half the tables were still set up, and the boxes that held supplies still lined the walls of the big hall where he hosted gatherings.

  Luckily, for the past hour or so there’d been no sign of thunder and rain, so I didn’t have to meet him soaking wet.

  “Lemmi, this is a surprise,” he said, greeting me at the big door on the ground floor. His had been the only vehicle in the parking lot, so I could be reasonably sure he was alone.

  Jasper Wolf was many things, including really good-looking. At the moment his green eyes reflected the sun, looking brighter than usual. In the summer they were greener than ever, with the grass providing a nice offset.

  “What happened here?” I asked, lazily waving my hand to take in the mess.

  Japer looked around, a frown puckering his forehead.

  “Engagement party. Only thing was it ended in tears,” he said.

  “Oh, no,” I said.

  “Yeah,” he said.

  I covered my mouth with my hand, trying to imagine the scene.

  “The bride was throwing stuff at the groom. The wedding is supposed to be here, too, but I’m not sure how that’s going to go after last night.” Jasper shook his head and shrugged.

  “You’re here for other people’s engagement parties?” I asked.

  “Sometimes I’m working late. I like to be here, though, because then I can deal with problems personally,” he explained.

  “How did you know there was a problem last night?”

  “Yelling,” he said matter-of-factly.

  “Do you think they’ll still have the wedding?” I asked.

  “I have no idea,” he said. “I can let you know.” A slight grin blossomed.

  “Yes, please,” I said.

  Gossip was one of my favorite things, even if I didn’t know the people involved. Jasper was clearly about to read my mind, because he said, “They’re out-of-staters, wanted a rustic Maine wedding on a lake, you know the type.”

  There sure was a type. A lot more people visited Maine – and in some cases, got married in Maine – than actually lived there, which was just fine with me.

  “Give me your money and get out,” I grinned, and Jasper smiled.

  “Come in?” He stepped backwards and allowed me access to the barn, and I followed him into the now familiar space.

  I’d managed to put off being incredibly nervous by making jokes and small talk, but the time for avoidance was over. Jasper was dodging the issue between us, yes there was one, and I planned to set him straight.

  This was a terrible idea.

  But no, I wasn’t going to get cold feet now.

  “I’m actually really glad you’re here,” said Jasper. He moved over to a tall counter on one side of the wall and started uselessly shifting papers around. I watched his movements for a few moments until he gave me a sideways glance.

  “We need to talk,” I said tentatively.

  “I totally agree,” he said, totally throwing me off balance.

  “About us,” I said pointedly.

  My, that was a pretty lake. Might as well look there!

  “That’s what I’ve wanted to talk about too,” he assured me.

  “You’ve wanted to talk?” I asked, dumbfounded.

  “Of course. Dinner Friday night was very frustrating,” he replied.

  “How so?” I asked. He was the one who’d turned it into a group activity, not me!

  “It was supposed to be a date. I thought you might feel like I was tricking you into it, since you aren’t into me. But I just had to try.”

  Huh?

  Out loud now, Lemmi, I scolded myself.

  “Huh?” I was now wearing my confused face, so it really should have been enough, but just in case it wasn’t I used my words too, even though his green eyes were very green and I was having trouble concentrating.

  “Let’s have that date,” he breathed. He looked like he was making himself say it before he lost his nerve. “I’ve been waiting for it like I can’t even tell you.”

  To say that I was bowled over was to say that Paws was mildly grumpy and pessimistic, a grave understatement.

  “Okay, sounds good.”

  My ears were ringing.

  Jasper’s cheeks were pink.

  We were both so happy!

  “Great, I’ll pick you up on Friday after work,” he said, his smile beaming out toward me as if the sun had come back.

  “Pick me up?” I repeated stupidly.

  Jasper’s rich chocolate chuckle bubbled out of him. “We’ve had enough hang-out sessions in my fancy barn, I think. This space will always hold a place in my heart as where we first met again after your years away, but I think it’s time I took you out for a real dinner.”

  “You mean that time we met again when I was protesting the barn project?” I felt the embarrassment creep up at the memory. Jasper had been trying to save the barn and turn the property into something Mintwood could be proud of, and I’d come out and protested corporate construction. Part of me still didn’t feel bad about it, but once I’d seen Jasper, my insides had melted like a slab of butter on a warm wooden dock in the summer.

  “We have hung out here a lot,” I said shyly.

  “It’s been great,” he assured me.

  For a split second a cloud passed over my happiness. Neither of us had talked about his grandfather, and I sure wasn’t going to bring up a difficult topic like that. I much preferred to get what I wanted than to be practical, thank you very much. But we had all the time in the world to talk about his grandfather’s disapproval of me, we didn’t have to cast a shadow over this special evening by addressing the subject now.

  Quickly, before he could change his mind or I could wake up from such a lovely dream, I hurried out of the barn so fast that I bumped into the doorjamb as I waved goodbye. Jasper smiled and called out that he’d see me Friday.

  Suddenly, this day was awesome.

  I hurried back to my car, so covered in rain that my hand slipped off the door handle as I tried to open it. Breathlessly, I got inside. For a few seconds I just sat there, staring through the windshield at the barn. Even though I couldn’t see him anymore, I was acutely aware that Jasper was there.

  A crackling filled the air and I glanced out the window. There was no sign of lightning, just the drip drip of the rainwater. Shaking my head at my foolishness, I turned the ignition key and told myself I was hearing things.

  I couldn’t quite believe what had just happened. For the better part of my life, Jasper Wolf had been the ideal. In high school there was actually a saying, “He’s cute, but he’s no Jasper.” It was said about basically every guy around except maybe Deacon, because it was true.

  Now, not only were we going on a date, but I had basically asked him.

  I scarcely dared to breathe in case I might blow my luck away.

  And he had seemed happy!

  I had to get back to the farmhouse, because we were planning to go in search of Jackie Morris that night, taking with us all the new information we had about her murder. When I got home I’d have to give Liam a call, to make sure he was okay and to see if there was news about Gerry. Given that she was a witch, if she was released from prison I had better be her first stop.

  This was a big problem.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Our plan for that night was to track down Jackie the ghost and see if she’d remembered anything else that might help us in our investigation. At some point I also needed
to tell my friends about my world shift: I was going on a date with Jasper.

  Gerry didn’t have an alibi for the night Jackie Morris had gone missing. When questioned about her whereabouts later, Gerry had said that she’d just decided to stay home alone, but there was no one who could corroborate her story.

  It was late by the time dinner was over. The timing was perfect, because there wouldn’t be a lot of witnesses around when we went looking for Jackie’s ghost.

  “Where do you think Gerry was that night, and why do you think she doesn’t want anyone to know?” Greer asked as we walked to the car.

  Paws watched us, his tail swishing. When I motioned for him to come, he very deliberately put his head on his front paws and didn’t move, infuriating animal ghost that he was.

  Then, just as we were about to drive away, he shot off his crate and came racing for us.

  “I think she was doing something witchy,” said Charlie. “It would make sense. Maybe something came up and she had to be there, something so secret that even in the face of a murder charge she wouldn’t be able to reveal who she was with or what she was doing.”

  I agreed, but that only made it more urgent than ever that we find a way to talk to her.

  “Harriet didn’t pick a good week to leave, did she?” Greer mused.

  “You can say that again,” I muttered.

  Greer shrugged. “Once was enough.”

  I laughed and rolled my eyes.

  “Maybe when Gerry was questioned she couldn’t reveal where she’d been because it would have meant admitting she was a witch,” I said.

  “It makes sense. Maybe that’s also why Keith is mad at her. He’s spent all these years thinking that her behavior was suspicious,” said Charlie.

  “People can behave suspiciously while not committing murder,” said Greer. “Just because she likes the color purple doesn’t mean she’s done anything else wrong.”

  “Anything else?” Charlie didn’t understand.

  “Besides liking the color,” Greer explained.

  “I like that color purple too,” said Charlie.

  “You’re more proving my point than disproving it,” said Greer.

  Declining to take Greer’s bait, I pulled up the Beetle in downtown Mintwood. It was time to do some ghost finding.

  In the end, we didn’t even have to go searching for Jackie. She was standing outside city hall, clearly waiting for us to show up.

  “Where have you been! I’ve been so bored! I thought getting out of the wall would suddenly make each day more exciting, but nope,” Jackie said.

  She was floating and shaking her head in annoyance. The second she’d caught sight of us she floated over and started yelling.

  “We’ve been trying to solve a murder,” Greer said dryly.

  “Oh, that,” Jackie said, rolling her eyes.

  The three of us were doing our best to make it look like we were talking to each other and not a fourth, invisible ghost hovering next to us on the sidewalk. Jackie was very conscious of the fact that we were meeting her out in the open, but there was just no way we could sneak into the morgue.

  “We’ve been busy interviewing your friends from the old days,” said Charlie.

  “Oh! Did you find Gerry? She was my best friend! I’m sure she’d know what I was up to that night, if she’s still around here. I guess it’s been a long time,” Jackie mused.

  When none of us said anything, she raised her eyebrows. “What is it?” she demanded. “Gerry didn’t die too, did she? I guess if she did our ghosts could hang out together, which would be nice, since I’ve always hoped to talk to Gerry again.” She looked back and forth amongst our three faces as she talked. When we still didn’t say anything, she got even more concerned.

  “You’re a talkative bunch, aren’t you,” she said, rolling her eyes and clearly getting frustrated. “I’ve been waiting a long time to have people to talk to, but let me tell you it’s kind of disappointing.”

  “She’s still around,” said Greer carefully, glancing at me. Given that I was the other witch, it was apparently up to me to break the news to Jackie about her high school best friend. But before I could explain, Charlie did the honors.

  “Gerry was arrested for your murder last night,” said Charlie. We watched Jackie closely as she said it.

  For a split second, nothing happened, then her face lit up and she burst out laughing. She laughed for a long time. After she realized that we weren’t joining her she tried to stop, but she couldn’t, so she laughed some more. Eventually, that boisterous noise subsided and her face took on a serious expression.

  “Wait, are you serious? GERRY killed me?” Jackie cried. “The nerve!”

  I thought that was a very strange reaction to being murdered.

  “We’re trying to prove her innocent,” I countered.

  “Oh, yeah, sure, I can’t imagine she killed me,” said Jackie, the cloud her face starting to clear as she actually thought over the implications.

  “You’re sure she didn’t?” I asked.

  Jackie paused.

  “You need to be sure,” Charlie told her seriously.

  “I’m sure,” said Jackie. “She’s seriously the last person who would kill me. Best friends are supposed to accept all of your annoying bits, laugh, and like you more. That’s Gerry,” she said.

  “She sounds really profound all of a sudden,” said Greer, giving Jackie a confused look. Until that moment Greer had clearly disliked the ghost. Despite having been cooped up in a wall for decades, she didn’t seem to be as concerned as she should be with the question of who had killed her or how she’d ended up in the wall.

  “Gerry was my best friend. I would never believe such a thing of her,” said Jackie. “You have to clear her name.”

  “We’re trying to,” I said. “We’re good friends with her son.”

  “She has a son? Of course she has a son. Everyone I ever knew grew up except for me,” said Jackie.

  Greer gave her a scrutinizing look to see if she was looking for sympathy. No, she was just sad.

  “We should be getting home,” said Paws, suddenly nervous.

  “Why?” I asked.

  “Just because.” He was already trotting toward the car.

  “Fine, leave me. Just figure out who really killed me,” she said.

  “Do you have any idea where Gerry was that night?” I asked Jackie.

  “Like I told you, it’s not really as if I remember the day,” said Jackie irritably.

  “Gerry wasn’t with you, and we don’t know where she was. We think that part of the reason she’s a suspect is that she doesn’t have an alibi for that night,” I explained.

  This made Jackie instantly less hostile.

  “Gerry was always going off doing strange things,” she said. “She was on her own a lot. But she was my best friend, and I know she would never have hurt me.”

  “You’ve given us something to think about,” I said. “We’ll let you know how the investigation progresses.”

  Jackie gave a slight wave and drifted away.

  Once we were back in the Beetle Paws said, “Can’t you drive any faster?”

  “What has gotten into you?” I demanded. It was now late evening, and I was too tired to be arguing with a nervous ghost cat.

  “We have to get home,” the cat insisted again. “My crate gets lonely without my furry and wonderful presence.”

  For a ghost cat who had so desperately wanted a mystery, he was suddenly very anxious.

  “That’s where we’re going,” I told him.

  As soon as we turned into the driveway I knew something was wrong. Judging from the way Charlie and Greer were shifting in their seats, they did as well. Paws’ concern was about to be vindicated, that much was clear. I just couldn’t figure out how.

  The cat had leapt up to the dashboard and was staring intently out the window. I looked around in bewilderment to see if I could figure out what was happening.

  The far
mhouse looked dark, but instead of not finding any ghosts in sight, I could see all of them at once.

  “What’s going on?” I demanded. All the ghosts were standing a circle, staring at the house.

  “There’s a dark ghost here,” said Paws, his voice low and filled with foreboding.

  “What?” I demanded.

  “The car, let’s get out,” Greer whispered, as if the dark ghost could hear her. I quickly pulled the Beetle to the side of the drive and the four of us got out as quickly as we could.

  Without words, once we were out of the car we all seemed to know that we should creep toward the house as stealthily as possible. As we went, I pulled my wand out of the folds of my jacket and held it aloft. The ghosts hadn’t turned around to look at me yet, so I scanned the windows of the farmhouse to see if the dark ghost was visible.

  I didn’t see anything inside, but that didn’t mean anything. “Of all the nights we decide to leave and close the drapes,” muttered Charlie.

  “We’re so irresponsible,” said Greer.

  I said nothing, but my heart was pounding in my chest. My farmhouse was under attack.

  Paws trotted in front of us and went directly to Gary. “Where’s Tank?”

  Gary was another ghost who resided on the property. For a while after I’d moved back to the farmhouse I had thought that he was secretly protecting my grandmother’s wand. Turned out he was just shy.

  “He went inside. There’s a dark ghost in there!” said Gary fearfully. He glanced over his shoulder and saw that we’d come home, and the other ghosts started to notice our presence as well.

  “Took you long enough,” Karen sniffed.

  “Well, excuse me for ever leaving the house,” I muttered.

  “It’s a good thing she leaves. I don’t want to put up with her all the time,” said Mrs. Goodkeep.

  “I feel so loved,” I muttered.

  “Stop being so dramatic and go in there and deal with that ghost,” ordered Karen.

  I started toward the farmhouse, then stopped when I realized that I had two shadows. I turned around and glared at my friends.

  “We’re going with you,” Charlie whispered.

  “No way,” I said.

  “Way,” Greer said. “Haven’t you realized by now that you can’t keep us out of the fun?”