Son of a Witch: A Witch Squad Cozy Mystery #2

by M. Z. Andrews

  “Well, I was adopted by a nice couple. My adopted mom was a lunch lady at the school and my adopted father worked at the bank. I didn’t have any siblings, just me and mom and dad. It was a great life. I had a ton of friends and played on the high school football team.”

  I was surprised Reign was a football player. He looked too rebellious to be a star quarterback or something else as innocuous as that. “What did you do after high school?”

  “I moved to the city to go to college. But I had to put off college and work for the first year to be able to afford to go. You know how that goes. One year becomes two years and two years becomes four years and then well, you realize you probably won’t ever go by that point.”

  “When did you find out that you were adopted?” I asked him.

  “I was twelve. I found my birth certificate in a box of mementos my mother had stored under her bed and it had our mother’s name on it as my biological mother,” he told me. “I knew I’d have to go find her someday, but I wanted to wait until I was an adult.”

  Something about Reign’s story was making me incredibly wary of him. My sensors were going off like crazy. I was sure that he wasn’t being completely honest with me, but I couldn’t put my finger on what exactly he wasn’t being honest about. “You’re 24, you’ve been an adult for six years, why come find Mom and I now?” I asked suspiciously.

  “I hadn’t wanted to search out my mother because I was always afraid I’d hurt my adopted mother. Then she died about three years ago and it took me awhile – I was grieving. And … I don’t know, the time just finally felt right. I was in between jobs and I just decided now was the time.”

  “I’m sorry about your adopted mother,” I said quietly.

  He looked down at his hands in his lap. “Yeah. Now, enough about me. Tell me all about you,” he insisted and leaned Jax’s desk chair backwards so he was rocking on only two of its two metal feet.

  I shrugged as I stretched out on my side across my bed, leaning on my elbow. “Not much to tell. I grew up with a single witch mom. I got in a bit of trouble in high school and then I graduated. I was out for a year, and then I started getting in bigger trouble so people, mostly the law, you know, thought it might be a good idea for me to get some “specialized help”. Mom shipped me off to witch college. And here I am.”

  “Witch college, that’s really interesting,” he began. “So, you’re, like a witch.”

  I nodded. I had just assumed that was something that he already knew. “You knew that, right?”

  “Oh, yeah, yeah, of course,” he assured me.

  “And you’re…” I began.

  “Paranormal?” he finished.

  I gave him a half smirk. “Yeah.”

  “Yeah, I suppose you could call me paranormal,” he said. His onyx eyes twinkled darkly as his mouth curled up into a grin.

  “Do you know anything about your real father?” I asked him. I was totally curious who that was, who my mother could have possibly fallen in love with that my granny didn’t approve of.

  He shrugged. “I don’t know much. I know I look like him,” he said. “At least I did when he was younger. Our mom told me that.”

  “So he was handsome too?” I said with a little chuckle.

  He chuckled back. “Maybe.”

  “Do you know who he is?” I asked. I was dying to Google him and see what I could find out about the man my mother had loved before she met my father.

  “Do we have to talk about this now?” he asked. He shifted about uncomfortably in his seat.

  “I guess not,” I said quietly. I didn’t know my father either. I hated to make Reign uncomfortable by talking about his biological father. I assumed he didn’t know who his was either. The awkward silence that followed made me change the topic of discussion. “So what did you think of Linda?”

  “Linda’s awesome. She’s really really awesome. I’m only upset that I didn’t get to meet her earlier in my life.”

  “Yeah, that’s a real bummer. I’m really sorry our granny took you away from her. Gran’s nosy, but she isn’t a bad woman.”

  Reign grimaced. I could feel the tense energy radiating off of him. “It is what it is. There’s nothing we can do about it now.”

  “Yeah.” My heart hung heavily in my chest. I loved my grandmother, but I hated what she had done to our family. I hated the fact that I could have had a big brother growing up and I never got to know him.

  The two of us sat together for several long moments of awkward silence.

  “So now what?” I asked him nervously. I didn’t know what kind of a relationship we would have now and I wasn’t the most demonstrative of people. Was I, like, supposed to hug him or something? That would be too weird.

  “What do you mean?”

  I splayed my hands out in front of me and widened my eyes. “I don’t know. What kind of a relationship do we have now? We’re not kids, we can’t just go out and play together now and everything will be normal. This is strange. I don’t know how to be.”

  Reign stood up and walked over to the side of the bed. I sat up and allowed him to sit down next to me. “Just be you, Mercy. You seem like a pretty cool chick. I’m proud to have you as a sister.”

  My heart swelled up at his words. Secretly, I’d always dreamed of having a big brother. And to find out that I had one and he was proud to have me for a sister made me feel good. “You are?”

  “Yeah! Of course I am. And I feel horrible about this whole dumb situation I got myself into. I should have never gotten involved with that woman when I knew she had a boyfriend. Women and I have a love-hate relationship,” he said, rolling his eyes as he sighed. “I love them and they love to hate me.”

  “So you’re saying you’re a big flirt?”

  He laughed hard. “They flirt with me too. It’s a two-way street, ya know.”

  “But you initiate the flirting?”

  He laughed and wiped the corners of his mouth with his thumb. “Something like that. Anyway. I really appreciate that you and your friends are going to help me. Have you talked to Linda about all of this yet?”

  “Yeah, I told her this morning. She’s totally freaking out. I knew she would be.”

  “Oh, geez,” he leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees he let his head fall into his cupped hands. “This is all so screwed up. I feel horrible.”

  “Don’t worry, the girls and I will figure it all out. Do you want to go with us when we go back to Jimmy’s?”

  Reign stood up and walked towards the door. “Absolutely. I need to go back there anyway. All of my stuff is still there. When I got out of the police station I got in my car and came straight here.”

  “Are you going to stay there tonight?”

  He shook his head and shot me a crazy look. “Are you kidding me? There was a dead girl in my bed last night. That’s a little morbid, don’t you think? I believe I’ll pass on that. Are there other places to stay in town?”

  “We can ask around. We aren’t allowed to have men overnight in our rooms or I’d just let you stay here. I’m sure there is another bed & breakfast in town.”

  “Ok, we’ll figure it out. Let’s go. I’m anxious to get myself off the hook.”

  { Chapter Seven}

  Jimmy’s Bed & Brew looked far different in the daylight hours than it did in the wee hours of the morning. In the dark and with the presence of the entire Aspen Falls police force, it felt like a seedy ramshackle little dive. In the daytime hours, with light streaming in from two open windows, it just looked like a quaint little hometown café.

  The girls and I filed into the bar, one by one. Reign had driven himself and was right behind us as we entered the bar. A gangly fellow with long wavy brown hair was working behind the counter.

  “That’s Jimmy,” Reign whispered in my ear as we all approached the bar.

  “You’re back,” Jimmy grunted at Reign. “You need to just get your stuff and go.”

  Reign held up his hands in defeat. “Y
eah, yeah, man. I’m going. I didn’t do it, ya know.”

  “Cops think ya did,” Jimmy snarled back.

  “Of course they do. Convict the last guy to see her alive, that makes their jobs much easier, now doesn’t it?”

  “Look, I got no interest in you, that girl or her boyfriend, or the cops. I just don’t want my bar to be associated with a murder. It’s not going to be good for business. So just get your stuff and hit the road.”

  “Yeah, I told you, I’m going,” Reign shot back. “Come on ladies, up here.”

  “I’ll be right up,” I said to my brother.

  He nodded and led the girls up to his room. When they were out of earshot I looked at Jimmy. He had one side of his hair tucked behind an ear, but the other side hung in front of his face like a shield. “So. What can you tell me about last night?” I asked him bluntly.

  He snorted at me. “What’s it to you, Red?”

  “Just trying to get to the bottom of all of this. Sort out the facts.”

  Jimmy slung a towel over his shoulder and put both hands on his bar. “Listen. I told everything I know to the cops. Spent the entire night over there getting grilled. I’d just like to get my place cleaned up. Look at it, it’s a mess. All those cops tracking in and out all night, making messes all over the place.”

  I looked around, aside from dirty floors, it didn’t look that messy. “I see. Well. Just tell me this. Did you see Reign leave with Harper?”

  “Leave?”

  “Did you see him take her to his room?” I asked.

  Jimmy shrugged and began wiping off his bar top. “It was a busy night. People coming and going. Hard to keep track of who went where and when.”

  “So you didn’t see them leave together?” I asked.

  “Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t. What’s it to you?”

  “Like I said, I’m just trying to get to the bottom of all of this. You realize you’re probably a suspect too.”

  Jimmy stopped cleaning and glanced up at me. “How do you figure that? Because I was here? That’s a load of B.S. if I ever heard it.”

  “Well, Reign’s a suspect and all he did was be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

  “And take that girl to bed with him. Don’t forget that. Of course he killed that girl. Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out. She was alive when they left, and dead when they found her, that’s all I know.”

  “So you did see them leave together?”

  “Listen. They were all pretty toasted last night. Her, him, and the boyfriend. I saw him flirting with her. I saw the boyfriend getting jealous. I saw him and the boyfriend go outside to settle the score and only one came back in. Your friend and the girl hung out for a little while and next thing I know, everyone’s gone.”

  “And so Reign and the boyfriend went out to settle the score and yet you don’t think it was the boyfriend that did this? You think it was Reign?”

  “Look, I really don’t know. And I really don’t care. All I know, is that it wasn’t me.”

  “Did you know either Harper or her boyfriend?” I asked.

  “I met them both last night.”

  I shook my head as I leaned against the bar. “I mean before last night. Did you know either one of them?”

  “They were from out of town, how would I know them?”

  “I hear Harper came from an established family in town. Henry and Louise Bradshaw.”

  He avoided my gaze as he went back to cleaning his counter. “I’d never met the broad before in my life. Now, listen. I’ve got a lot of work to do, why don’t you go help your boyfriend get his stuff out of my place.”

  I laughed out loud while I jogged up the stairs. “He’s not my boyfriend, he’s my brother!”

  Upstairs Reign had just finished shoving the rest of his stuff into his backpack. Holly was lying on her stomach on his bed with her boobs mashed against the comforter, nearly causing a wardrobe malfunction. Sweets, who couldn’t control a single thought in her head around my brother, sat next to Holly on the bed giggling like a mad woman. Between them and Jax, who continually left the Institute in her ridiculous witchy ensemble and Alba who was a reincarnation of Oscar the Grouch lately, I was absolutely mortified. I rolled my eyes as I entered. Sometimes my friends were just so embarrassing.

  Frustrated, I groaned at the girls. “Holly, you realize there was a dead girl lying right there about 8 hours ago.”

  Her eyes widened and she shot out of bed like a cheating wife in the middle of the day. “What? No! I hadn’t even thought…I…ewwww,” she squealed.

  Sweets jumped off the bed too. “Omigosh,” she said and when Reign looked at her with one raised eyebrow she giggled again.

  I palmed my forehead, mashing it into my brain. It had been a long night and a long day and I had no idea how we were going to get Reign out of the situation he was in. Alba and Jax, who were seated at the little round table in front of his bedroom window, looked bored. “Did the two of you even look for clues?” I asked them. I had expected little from Holly and Sweets in the way of sleuthing, but I was counting on Jax and Alba to keep the show rolling while Reign packed.

  Jax leaned on the table. “We looked. What’s to find?”

  Alba nodded in agreement. “Yeah, ditto. We looked around. I don’t see anything.”

  “Ugh, I groaned. How are we supposed to solve this case? The bartender thinks Reign did it. Did you guys check the clos—et?” I asked, opening the closet. I was stunned to find a blonde girl curled up on the floor of Reign’s closet. Her face swiveled up, frightened, the second the door opened and the bright light hit her.

  “What’s this?” I asked Alba pointedly and motioned towards the girl.

  Alba shot out of her chair and looked in the closet. “What’s what?”

  I peered at the girl again before it dawned on me. “Harper?”

  Her eyes opened wide as she heard her name. She turned to look at the rest of the people in the room who had all gathered in front of the closet. “You – you can see me?” she asked nervously.

  “Mmhmm,” I murmured nodding.

  “You see Harper?” Jax asked excitedly.

  “Yup.”

  “How can you see me?” Harper asked, holding her arms out on either side of her and looking at them. “No one could see me last night when the police were here. I’m – dead, you know,” she whispered the word dead as if it were a secret.

  I gave her a tight little smile. “Yeah, I know. I see dead people,” I said plainly. “You can come on out of the closet.” I took a step back, accidentally stepping on Sweet’s foot who was crowded around behind me.

  “Ouch!” Sweets hollered.

  I waved my arms back and forth at everyone. “Guys, give her some space, go sit back down,” I ordered. Reign looked at me nervously. I couldn’t tell if he was freaked out by me being able to see Harper’s ghost or if he was freaked out because I was able to see Harper’s ghost and she might reveal something he didn’t want to be revealed.

  “You can see ghosts?” he asked.

  “Yup. Come on out Harper.”

  Harper reached back and pushed herself off of the floor. I would have offered her a hand up, but I hadn’t learned how to touch ghosts yet. It was a skill that I had wished I’d had during the last murder investigation. Morgan Hartford had been a very scared 17-year-old and I had wished I’d been able to comfort her, even just a little.

  Standing there in her tight red dress, with her eyes cast downward, she looked like a sad, wet puppy and understandably devastated.

  “Are you alright?” I asked her.

  Without making eye contact she shook her head from side to side, mashing her lips shut like a stubborn little girl who refused to eat her broccoli. I looked around the room. All eyes were on her, even though no one else could see her they were staring into the empty closet. To her, I was sure it felt like they were staring at her. I could see how that would be intimidating.

  “Guys, can Harper and I have
a minute alone?” I asked the group.

  “Of course,” Jax chirped as she bounded off her seat. “Let’s go everyone.”

  Alba grudgingly got up off of her chair, and led Holly, Jax, and Sweets out the door with Reign following them. “We’ll wait downstairs for you,” he said quietly.

  When everyone had gone, I shut the door behind them and sat down on the bed. “I’m sorry, Harper. I didn’t introduce myself. I’m Mercy and those are my friends. We are all here for you,” I told her gently. “We came to try and solve the mystery of your death.”

  That made her peer up at me. “You are? I don’t even know you. Why would you be here to do that?”

  “Because. You died under suspicious circumstances. We need to know if someone hurt you. Do you remember what happened last night?”

  Harper rubbed her head as if she had a lingering headache from the night before. “I was here with Vaughny,” she began.

  “Who’s Vaughny?” I asked her.

  “Oh, he’s my boyfriend. Or he – was my boyfriend. I guess he’s not anymore,” she sniffed and suddenly she was crying dry tears. “Why can’t I cry real tears?” she cried. Her absence of tears seemed to cause her to sob harder yet. She pounded her balled fists into the sides of her legs.

  I tried not to make light of Harper’s situation, but her disappointment in not being able to shed tears was a tad on the funny side, but I held it in. “Because you’re a ghost, Harper.”

  She sniffed harder and wiped her nose with the back of her hand. “I am, huh.”

  “Yeah, you are.”

  “Can I walk through walls?” she asked me with a tiny bit of a smile.

  I gave her an encouraging smile back. “Some ghosts can,” I told her. “Have you tried yet?”

  She shook her head. “No. I’ve been too scared to leave this room. The police were here forever. They’ve only been gone for a few hours. And I didn’t want to leave my body, but then they took it and I didn’t know what to do then. I’ve just been hiding in the closet all night.”

  “I was here last night and I didn’t see you. You must have been hiding in the closet then.”