Detective Whitman nodded. “I’ve got an interview set up with Elena later today.”
Alba returned with a small paper cone filled with water. She handed it to me and I swallowed it down in one big gulp. “Thanks,” I said to her with a tight little smile. “How are Harper’s parents doing?”
“Not good. They have a lot of regrets. I guess their relationship hasn’t been the best these past few years. And now that she’s gone and it’s too late they are really upset. Which is to be expected.”
“I’ll talk to Harper about that, maybe she can offer some solace for her family in regards to their relationship.”
“I’m sure they’d like that,” he said quietly. He rearranged the files on his desk. A picture of a man was paper clipped to one of the files.
“Who is that?” I asked and pointed to the picture.
“That’s Vaughn Carlisle, Harper’s boyfriend.”
“You’ve got a file on him too. Does he have a record?” I asked.
Detective Whitman gave me a nod of approval. “Good question. He does have a record. Again, I’m not going to share his record either, but let’s just say he and Reign are still in the running for best bad guy in town.”
I glanced down at my watch. It was getting late. “Ok, well, we have to get back to the dorms. We have a lot to do. Thanks for the information.”
***
I paced my dorm room uneasily, wearing a path in the plush grey carpeting. Holly, Alba, and Sweets had gone back to their rooms after we shared with them that Harper had been poisoned. Jax and Reign remained. I knew Sneaks would be back at any moment and I’d have to tell my mother what Detective Whitman had told me about Reign. How would I do that with him standing right there?
As I paced I noticed the sun was reflecting off of an object on the windowsill in front of Jax’s desk. “What’s this?” I asked Jax, lifting the object which turned out to be a small shot glass that said Jimmy’s on it.
Jax lunged off of the top bunk in a panic to snatch the glass from my hand. “Oh, that, I – uh,” she stammered.
Her reaction coupled with the name Jimmy’s on it made me stomp a foot at her. “JaclynRose Stone! Did you steal this from Jimmy’s?”
Reign raised his eyebrows and snorted. “JaclynRose Stone? Seriously sis?”
Sis? Since when was I, sis? I ignored Reign’s response and Jax ignored my question.
“Jax! Did you steal this from Jimmy’s?” I asked her again.
She stashed the glass on the top shelf of her closet. “It was a memento.”
“A memento? Of a murder?” I asked her in disbelief. “Who does that?”
“No, not a memento of a murder,” she said shyly. “Perhaps I neglected to tell you that I might be a bit of a kleptomaniac.”
Reign laughed again. “How are you a bit of a klepto?”
Jax smiled shyly at him. “Fine, I’m not a bit of a klepto, I am a klepto. I’ve been to the doctors. It has something to do with my OCD,” she confided.
When I wouldn’t toss a smile her way, she crumbled. “Whaaat? I can’t control it. Sometimes when I’m in a stressful situation I take something. I’m sorry! I can’t help it!”
“Ugh,” I grunted. My friends were just so weird! My life was just so weird. It made me wish again that I’d never been born with the gift of being a witch. If I hadn’t been born a witch I’d be normal right now and I would never have gotten in trouble back in Dubbsburg and I’d be home right now with my mom or I’d have a boyfriend and we’d be hanging out together like a normal couple.
That made me think of Hugh. Hugh was the first person in a long time to actually make me feel normal. I suddenly wished I was with him. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and shot him a quick message. “Hey Hugh, want to hang out later?”
“Who are you texting?” Reign asked, looking over my shoulder.
I pulled my arms away from him and shoved my phone back in my pocket. “None of your beeswax, brother.”
“Oh!” he sang. “You’re texting the cowboy. What do you see in that jerk anyway?”
“Hugh’s not a jerk,” I told him angrily. The walls suddenly felt like they were closing in on me and I couldn’t breathe. “Who shut the windows?” I asked in a panic.
Reign looked at me like I was crazy. “I did. It looked like it was going to rain.”
I sprinted over to them and slid them open with a grunt. The brisk fall air poured in and I sucked in a deep cleansing breath. That felt so much better.
“We leave the windows open. For Sneaks,” Jax confided in Reign.
“Who is Sneaks?” Reign asked.
“My cat,” I told him quickly. I didn’t need him knowing about Mom’s charming little party trick. I’d save that for another day when I wasn’t feeling so uneasy about my brother.
“Listen, Reign, I’m getting really tired. I need a nap. Have you found a place to stay yet?” I asked him.
He pulled his smartphone out of his back pocket. “Yes, I just made online reservations at a bed and breakfast across from the police station.”
“Nice, Detective Whitman will love that,” I assured him grouchily.
“Someone definitely needs a nap,” he said to Jax as he pointed at me.
“Quit!” I hollered.
“I’ll go so you can unwind. She’s all yours, JaclynRose,” Reign hollered as he left the room.
Jax shot me an evil look. “It’s Jax!”
{ Chapter Nine}
Seven o’clock couldn’t come fast enough. Dressed in a pair of skinny jeans, my high-tops and what I considered to be my “nice sweater” – a rust colored duster over my ‘Keep Calm and Witch On’ t-shirt – I skipped out the door and down the stairs to meet Hugh. Someone had left the front doors and the doors to the quad open and a perfect fall breeze was zipping through Winston Hall’s lobby.
I had managed to take a nap and between that and the idea of getting to see Hugh again, I felt lighter than I had all day. I let one finger sneak out of the extra long sleeves where I had my hands buried and used it to push my glasses up the bridge of my nose. Then I tucked a strand of red hair that had escaped my braid behind my ear.
Hugh was in the courtyard waiting. I had the urge to run towards him and plant myself snuggly in his arms. I could use those big cowboy muscles wrapped around me right about now. It had been a tough day and a tough couple of weeks. My problem was that I had a hard time convincing myself to do such a thing. Public displays of affection came easily to girls like Holly and Jax, but to me, hugging Hugh would have shown vulnerability and I wasn’t very good at doing that.
Instead, I saddled up to him and bumped his hip with mine. “Hey,” I said with a shy smile.
“Hey, yourself,” he drawled back. Gosh, I’d missed that drawl. Something about it comforted me. “I’m awful glad you texted. I wanted to hang out with you again, but I know you been busy as a one-legged man at an ass-kicking convention.”
I chuckled. “All out of ass-kicking’s tonight,” I said honestly. “I just need a night to relax a little.”
“So, what would you like to do Miss Mercy Mae? You want to go into town and have some supper?” he asked. “I’m hungry as a poor man grocery shoppin’ on pay day.”
“Yeah, I’m pretty hungry too,” I said rubbing my stomach. Hugh threw one of his thick arms around my shoulder and together we ambled towards his pickup in the men’s parking lot. “Tonight, let’s not go somewhere all ‘date fancy’, let’s just go somewhere we can relax and be ourselves like a café or diner or something,” I suggested.
Hugh squeezed my shoulder a little closer to him. “That sounds like my idea of the perfect night.”
Downtown Aspen Falls was quite the thriving kitschy community. The big waterfall in the middle of the town square was the epicenter of all the activity. With cute little boutiques, shops, bakeries, restaurants, and bars radiating out from it, it was easy to find a simple little diner to hunker down in.
We chose a booth in the back where n
o one really seemed to notice us except the frumpy waitress, but even she seemed eager to forget we were there. There was a window across from us that faced the alley and let in just enough light to remind us that it was still daytime outside.
We both ordered a burger, basket of fries and a soda then we settled into the booth, getting comfortable with our backs against the wall and our legs and feet up on the fake leather seats. Hugh had hung his cowboy hat up on the coat hook on the side of the table so I was able to really get a good look at him.
“I like the way your hair curls up around your ears when you take your hat off,” I told him with a little smile.
“When I was younger I used to hate the curls. I always had my mom cut them off.” He smiled, flashing his perfectly straight teeth.
I yawned and leaned my head back against the wood paneling on the walls. “It feels so good to just sit here and relax.”
I could feel his eyes on me, but I didn’t move. “You’re awfully pretty when you’re relaxed.”
I could feel heat rising up to my cheeks. “You’re awfully sweet when you want to be,” I laughed.
“I’m not trying to be sweet, Mercy Mae, I’m being honest.”
I turned my head to look at him. His hazel eyes were trained on me causing me to fidget in my seat. “How was your day?” I asked him awkwardly, changing the conversation.
He took the hint that he was making me uncomfortable and leaned his head back against the wall. “It was long. I worried about you mostly.”
“You did?” I asked in surprise.
“Mmhmm,” he murmured with his eyes closed.
“Why were you worried about me?” I asked. Besides my mother, I’d really never had anyone worrying about me. It was a new feeling.
He shrugged. “Oh, just because of everything happening with your brother.” He sat up in the booth and put his feet back down on the floor. “How was your day?”
I sat up too, curling my legs up underneath me in the booth as I faced him. “Oh, it was a day. I found Harper’s ghost,” I revealed carefully.
“Ahh, the ghost appeared, that’s gotta be mighty helpful.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Eh, she didn’t know much. She was poisoned. Detective Whitman told me that. She really didn’t know what hit her.”
“What else did Detective Whitman know?” Hugh asked.
I pulled my legs up underneath me tighter and leaned forward onto my elbows. “Ugh,” I groaned.
Hugh tilted his head sideways. “What happened?”
“He just doesn’t have much nice to say about Reign.”
“Like what?”
“He’s got a record.”
Hugh nodded. “I guessed as much. What kind of record?”
I didn’t want to say it, but I knew I had to be honest. “A violent one.”
Hugh’s eyes opened wide as he gave me a single nod. “Yup. I never felt right about that kid.”
“Kid,” I nearly snorted soda out my nose. “He’s older than you are by a year.”
That did nothing to impress Hugh. “Listen, a guy like that ain’t worth the price of the shoes he’s wearing.”
My head snapped back. “Hugh! That’s my brother.”
Hugh hung his head. “I’m sorry darlin’, but he’s shady as an oak tree. He’s got secrets, I can read a guy like that. He’s trouble. And I don’t want you gettin’ caught up in his trouble.”
My stomach began to churn. Why did this have to be happening? Why was my stupid brother ruining a date with Hugh again?
“Can we talk about something else?” I lamented.
Hugh reached across the table to take my hands in his. “I’m sorry Mercy Mae, what would you like to talk about?”
“I don’t know. Movies?” I muttered.
Hugh chuckled. “I haven’t watched a movie in probably well over a year.”
Suddenly, from the window, I caught a glimpse of a man in the alley behind the restaurant. The discovery gave me renewed life and I sat up straight in my chair. “That’s Vaughn Carlisle!” I told Hugh.
“Who’s Vaughn Carlisle?”
“He’s the boyfriend. Harper’s boyfriend. Detective Whitman says he’s got a record too.”
Hugh spun around in his seat to follow my gaze. “I don’t see anyone in the alley.”
“Well, he’s not there now, but he was. I saw him. I know it was him. Detective Whitman had a picture of him on his desk. Maybe we should go see what he’s up to – skulking around in a back alleyway. That’s pretty suspicious.”
“He was skulking? How exactly does one skulk?” Hugh asked me with a mischievous smile.
“I don’t know, you know, he sneaks around in alleyways and acts all suspicious. Like Vaughn was just doing. Come on, we should go check it out.”
Hugh gestured towards the empty table. “But we haven’t even had supper yet! And I’m starving!”
“We’ll come back!” I promised as I scooted out of the booth.
Hugh hung his head, but scooted out too and stood next to me, grabbing his cowboy hat. “You owe me one, darlin’.”
“Fine, I owe you another one,” I smiled.
He chucked me under the chin as his hazel eyes met mine squarely. “You remember that, now.”
I gave him a happy little smile and he threw his arm over my shoulder. “We’ll be right back,” he hollered at our waitress as we breezed out the door.
“Now what do we do?” I asked him.
“Oh, I have to have the plan for this stakeout?”
“Well you’re a cowboy, don’t you know what to do?”
With his hands on his hips, he shook his head and raised his eyebrows at me. “I’m a cowboy. I ride horses and tend to cattle, I don’t sneak around in alleyways after criminal types.”
I sighed. “Fine, follow me.” I led us around the building on the sidewalk until we got to the back alley. I flattened myself against the brick wall and then carefully poked my head around the corner. The alley was empty. “All clear,” I whispered to Hugh.
“Ok, Stephanie Plum,” Hugh whispered back.
My head snapped around to catch him winking at me. “Stephanie Pl…? I thought you said you didn’t watch movies,” I snapped and playfully swatted his arms.
“I might have a thing for Katherine Heigl,” he shrugged as I swatted at him again. He laughed but followed me around the corner as I led us into the alleyway.
The alley was empty. Together we searched every nook and cranny and parked car between the businesses. There were several back doors though and it was entirely possible that Vaughn had gone into one of them. “Do we wait for him to come out or do we not?” I gnawed on my lip as I looked in both directions.
“We give up. Come on darlin’, I’m starving. Let’s go eat. It might not have even been him anyway.”
Suddenly a door slammed somewhere in the alley. I shoved Hugh backwards into a shallow doorway and stuffed the two of us into it. His hat toppled off his head and he caught it with the tip of his boot and held lifted it to his side. With our bodies smashed together so tightly I could feel Hugh’s heart pounding against my cheek. It was the closest physical contact we’d ever had, which made me a bit uneasy. I looked up and our eyes met. For a split second I thought he was going to lean down to kiss me, but then we heard a voice break the silence.
“No, I won’t be back for a few days,” said the man and then silence followed.
“Cut me a break, my girlfriend just died,” he said again. It was pretty obvious we were hearing one side of a phone conversation.
“I don’t know, maybe next Tuesday.”
I looked up at Hugh and pointed towards the voice. I really wanted to peek out and make sure it was Vaughn. He shook his head at me as if to say ‘No, don’t do it.’
“With her sister.”
My eyes opened wide and my head cocked to the side.
“They are pretty upset….yeah, I know….ok….yup, I’ll call you when I leave town….later.”
I heard fe
et shuffling away from us so I held my breath and poked my head out of the doorway just a fragment. A stocky man was walking towards one of the doorways we’d passed in the alley. He opened the door and went inside, slamming it shut behind him.
I lurched out of the doorway with enthusiasm. “That was him!” I whisper yelled at Hugh. I threw a fist into the air. “Yes!”
Hugh chuckled. “So it was him? What does that mean?”
“He’s staying with Harper’s sister, Elena,” I said.
“He didn’t say that?” Hugh questioned.
“Fine, his exact words were, ‘with her sister’. What else would he be doing with her sister?”
Hugh took off his hat and rubbed the top of his head and then put his hat back on again. “Ok, it could have been what he meant, but you don’t know for sure.”
“I will!” I hollered and picked up my phone.
Hugh looked at me curiously. “What are you doing?”
“Googling Elena Bradshaw’s address.”
“Why?”
“There are apartments up there,” I said and pointed to the top of the building that Vaughn had just disappeared inside.
I did a quick Google search and found exactly what I was looking for. “Elena Bradshaw lives at 420 W. Orange Street, Apt. 2B.”
“Geez, you found that on Google?” Hugh asked with surprise.
I laughed. “You can find anything on Google.”
“Maybe you should Google that brother of yours,” Hugh suggested, only half joking.
I gave it only a second of thought. “Maybe sometime, but right now, we need to find out what our address is.”
Hugh nodded and the two of us walked back towards the sidewalk. The building Vaughn went in was on the opposite side of the alley than the restaurant was on, so we walked around to the front of that building. The apartments were over Quick Copy, a small copy and office supply store. The street sign on the corner of the block read Orange St.
“Ha!” I said excitedly and pointed to the sign. “Orange!”
Hugh walked up to the front of the office supply store. “420. You called it, darlin’!”
Son of a Witch: A Witch Squad Cozy Mystery #2 Page 9