A Witch Before Dying

by Amanda M. Lee

  “But you need to fight with Thistle or you’ll go crazy,” I finished. “I get it.”

  “You usually do.” Landon rested his cheek against my forehead. “She’s trying to drive me insane. Like ‘I should be committed’ insane. You know that, right? I’m not imagining it.”

  “She gets that trait from Aunt Tillie. She can’t help herself.”

  “She’s very good at it.”

  I smiled. “It’ll be okay. We can survive a few weeks of this.”

  “Oh, sweetie, we can survive anything.” Landon tipped up my chin. “Now, brush your teeth. There’s something I want to show you in the bedroom.”

  “I already told you that size doesn’t matter.”

  Landon’s eyes flashed. “Keep it up.”

  “I plan to.”

  “And that’s why I love you.”

  Five

  We woke in the middle of the night to a ringing phone. I knew right away it was Landon’s because mine rang with Cat Stevens’ “If You Want to Sing Out” and his was the boring tone the phone came with. Landon made a muffled groaning as he rolled away from me and reached for the phone, his voice slurry with sleep when he answered.

  “Hello.”

  I shifted closer, curious. He got the occasional late-night call on important cases, but they were few and far between.

  “Wait … what are you saying?” Landon struggled to a sitting position, whatever the caller told him bad enough to help him shake off the doldrums of sleep almost instantaneously. Landon is a heavy sleeper, so it had to be big.

  “Ritual? As in witch ritual?” Landon’s eyes drifted to me and my stomach churned.

  I sat up, narrowing my eyes and opening my ears. Landon switched hands with his phone so he could reassuringly rub my back as he listened.

  “I’ll be there in twenty minutes,” Landon said after a beat. “Do you want me to bring Bay?”

  Bring me? Since when was that an option?

  “Okay. We’ll see you in a few.” Landon disconnected and met my gaze. “We have a problem.”

  “I figured that out myself.” I worked overtime to tamp down my anxiety. “What’s going on?”

  “It seems there’s a dead body downtown.”

  “Downtown? Here?”

  Landon nodded. “A woman has been strung up in the town square,” Landon explained. “She’s been exsanguinated. Do you know what that means?”

  “All of her blood was drained from her body.”

  “And it was used to create some sort of … symbols, for lack of a better word … on the ground,” Landon said. “Terry says it looks ritual.”

  That wasn’t good. It was one thing for Hemlock Cove to be a friendly paranormal vacation destination. It was quite another for tourists to start believing we had dark witches at work. “You want me to come with you, don’t you?”

  “Not if you’re uncomfortable with it,” Landon replied. “It’s brutal, Bay. If you don’t want to see … in fact, I shouldn’t have suggested you come. I don’t want you to see it.”

  We both knew it was too late for that. “Do you know who it is?”

  “Terry didn’t say.”

  I made up my mind on the spot. “I’ll get dressed.”

  Landon grabbed my hand before I could escape the bed. “If you don’t want to go, I understand. I should’ve thought things through before I volunteered your services.”

  “You need to know if those symbols mean anything,” I pointed out. “You need a real witch for that. Hopefully I’ll be able to recognize them.”

  “I can go wake up Aunt Tillie.”

  It was a lame offer. He didn’t mean it.

  “I’m going.” I forced a smile. “I need to see what we’re dealing with.”

  “Okay.” Landon ran his fingers through my hair to smooth it. “You don’t have to see the body, though. You can wait until it’s gone and just look at the symbols if you want.”

  “I need to see the body,” I argued. “I might see something you miss.”

  “Like a ghost?”

  I hadn’t even considered that. Seeing and talking to ghosts wasn’t my most comfortable gift. It came in handy a time or two the previous year, though. “I guess we’ll have to wait to see.”

  “I guess we will.”

  IT WAS COLD SO I bundled up, dragging out my winter coat and hat. Landon grabbed my gloves for me so I wouldn’t forget and turned his truck heater on full blast, pointing the vents in my direction as he headed toward town.

  We made the drive in silence, Landon’s mind clearly busy with a variety of scenarios. He would be involved in the investigation from the beginning, which was different from what he was used to. Chief Terry trusted him, though, and he must feel he needed Landon right from the start. It seemed Landon’s move to Hemlock Cove would put him in the thick of things going forward. There would be no departmental jockeying. Chief Terry and Landon would work together to solve this. They were often a team, but now it would happen regularly.

  The town square blazed with police lights. Landon parked in front of the police station, making sure I pulled on my gloves before exiting the vehicle. He tried one more time as we approached to get me to wait until the body was cleared from the scene, but it was already too late for that.

  “I can handle it.” They were bold words given the scene. I sucked in a breath when I saw the body, my mind momentarily going blank. Landon took a step in my direction to steady me, perhaps thinking I would do the chick thing and faint or something, but I regrouped quickly. “This is unbelievable.”

  “Bay, you don’t need to see this,” Chief Terry said, hurrying in my direction. The look he shot Landon was pure venom. “I thought you were only bringing her to look at the symbols.”

  “She wanted to come,” Landon said. “I couldn’t very well stop her.”

  “Of course you could stop her. You could’ve locked her out of your truck.”

  “And then she would’ve simply driven down here alone,” Landon argued. “Do you really want her out on the roads in the middle of the night when we know someone did … this … in town?” Landon gestured toward the body, his eyes lighting with fury.

  “I guess I didn’t think of that.” Chief Terry rubbed his chin. “Still, sweetheart, you don’t need to see this.”

  I leveled my gaze on him. “I’ve seen dead bodies before.”

  “I know, but … .”

  “Go ahead and look,” Landon said. “You won’t be able to stop yourself, so you might as well look.”

  I sucked in a breath and flicked my eyes to the left, widening them when I saw the garish tableau. I recognized the dead woman right away. I’d met her only once, and very briefly, at the festival meeting a few hours before. Adele Twigg. She ran the renaissance group. I hadn’t taken the time to talk to her other than offering a polite “hello” – figuring I could interview her later – and now she was dead in the middle of town.

  The woman’s face was unnaturally pale. The fact that someone had shoved a tube in her arm to withdraw blood, and then used that blood to paint symbols on the pavement probably accounted for her ashen features. I swallowed hard as I stared, the woman’s sightless eyes seemingly boring into me.

  “How did she die?”

  “We don’t know yet,” Chief Terry replied, his voice soft. “The medical examiner is on the way. He should be here any second.”

  “Hmm.” I wasn’t sure what to say. I insisted on seeing the body, and now that I had I wanted to forget everything about the terrible scene. “Where are the renaissance people staying? I forgot to ask earlier.”

  “They’re spread out among a few inns,” Chief Terry replied. “I think you even have a few at The Overlook. There’s some at The Dragonfly, too. I’m not sure where Mrs. Twigg was staying.”

  My father and uncles owned The Dragonfly. They moved back to town several months ago. Reconnecting with them was an ongoing process for Thistle, Clove and me. It was hard work, but we were slowly getting through it.
/>   “What was she doing down here in the middle of the night?” I asked.

  “We’re not sure, Bay,” Chief Terry never moved his gaze from my face. “We don’t know that she chose to come down here. You know Hemlock Cove. Town was deserted by nine. It’s cold, so there’s no reason for people to hang out.”

  “Right.” I managed to drag my eyes away from the body when I heard a vehicle park at the edge of the square. I recognized the county medical examiner’s van right away. “I guess the first thing is finding out how she died and where she was right before it happened.”

  “That’s our job,” Chief Terry said. “Your job is to look at the other stuff.”

  The other stuff. Right.

  “Look at the symbols, Bay,” Landon prodded, forcing my attention away from the medical examiner as he let out a low whistle and stopped in front of the body. “Call out what you see. Don’t look at her. Don’t look at the medical examiner. Look at the symbols and tell me what they mean.”

  That was easier said than done, but I was determined to make it work. “Okay.” I rubbed my gloved hands over my face as I stepped to the nearest symbol.

  “This is the labyrinth.”

  “And what does that mean?” Landon asked, warily keeping his eyes on me.

  “It’s generally meant to signify twists and turns, but there’s only one way through the maze. One right way.”

  “Okay. What else?”

  I exhaled heavily as I moved to the next symbol, forcing myself to be strong. It was a simple X with a circle at the top. “This is the deadly symbol.”

  “I think we can guess why they used that,” Landon muttered.

  I nodded. “This box here.” I pointed. “It has an X through it, as you can see. This is the pagan witch symbol.”

  “So someone is either trying to come out as a witch or point the finger at witches,” Chief Terry noted. “Can you tell which?”

  I shook my head. “I have no idea. The way these symbols are used, they don’t seem to have any rhyme or reason. Like … those triangles.” I pointed again. “Those are the four symbols for earth, air, fire and water.”

  Landon glanced around to make sure no one was listening. “Those are the elements you use when you do your big spells, right?”

  “Yeah, but the four elements are common in all pagan circles,” I replied. “It’s not just a witch thing.”

  “It still looks ritual,” Chief Terry pointed out.

  “Yes, but is it really part of a ritual or did someone come to a witch town and try to cover up a murder by painting pagan symbols everywhere?” I challenged.

  “That’s a very good question,” Chief Terry noted. “What else have you got?”

  “See this here?” I pointed to what looked to be a fancy cross. “This is a witch’s knot. It’s a protective charm that was sometimes used to protect people from witches centuries ago. It was initially meant to protect witches from bad spells and then stolen by people who didn’t grasp the power of the symbol and co-opted it for something else. They didn’t understand what it was really for.”

  “Okay. What else?” Landon followed my progression around the circle. “That’s a pentagram next, right?”

  I shook my head. “Pentacle. A pentacle is a pentagram enclosed in a circle.”

  “And what does that mean?”

  “It’s supposed to mean peace and unity, but it’s also been stolen at times for other uses.”

  “What else, Bay?” Landon was determined to keep me on task as the medical examiner focused on the body. It wouldn’t work. I’d already seen the horror. I didn’t want to needlessly upset him, though, so I did my best to refrain from looking in that direction.

  “The rest of these symbols don’t seem to mean anything in any context I can understand,” I said. “You have the Elven Star, the horned god, the triple crescent, the triple goddess, the triquetra and then … whatever these are.” I knelt next to what looked to be chicken scratch. It was purposely done, although I had no idea what the squiggles and lines were supposed to represent. “I don’t know these.”

  “That’s okay.” Landon moved to my side. “Good job.”

  I ignored the compliment and dug for my phone.

  “What are you doing?” Chief Terry asked, lifting his hand. “This is a crime scene, Bay. I can’t let you take photos.”

  “I need to take photos of this,” I argued. “I need to compare it to the books we have at home.”

  Chief Terry opened his mouth to argue, but Landon shook his head to still him.

  “Let her take the photos,” Landon said. “She’ll be able to figure out what these symbols mean a lot faster than we can.”

  “Okay, but … I don’t want that photo in the newspaper, Bay,” Chief Terry said. “If it shows up in The Whistler I’m going to be angry.”

  I shot him a dark look. “Do you really think I’m going to splash a photo of bloody symbols on the front page of the newspaper?”

  Chief Terry balked. “I … that’s not what I meant.”

  “Whatever.” I couldn’t hold back my irritation as I snapped several photographs. “I’ll see what I can find in the books.”

  “That sounds like a good idea.” Landon moved closer. “You should probably be done here.”

  I knew what he was getting at, but his tone – that “I’m going to protect you whether you want me to or not” tinge to his voice – grated. “Fine. Whatever you want.”

  “Bay, I didn’t mean I thought you would print the photos in the newspaper,” Chief Terry said. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

  “I know.” I kept my voice even. “I’m going to head over to the newspaper office to see if I can start tracking down some information.”

  Landon balked. “It’s the middle of the night, sweetie. You should go home, get some sleep.”

  “Are you going home to sleep?”

  “No, I’m on this now. It’s different for you, though.”

  Of course he would think that. “I’m going to the newspaper office. I’ll be fine.” I pulled away from him, shifting my attention to the curious shadows watching from the sidewalk. Hemlock Cove was a small town and it was only a matter of time before the crime scene drew a crowd. Already I recognized three faces – all of whom worked in bakeries, which meant they were up early. A fourth face, though, watched from the corner, her arms crossed over her chest. Even though I’d met her only once, I recognized Scarlet Darksbane immediately.

  I could’ve been mistaken – I was tired, after all – but she looked beyond interested in the scene. No, she wasn’t a curious onlooker. She wasn’t horrified by what was happening. She looked … smug. That was the only description I could come up with.

  “I’ll come over and get you for breakfast in a few hours,” Landon called to my back as I trudged toward The Whistler. “You have a couch in your office, Bay. Try to use it.”

  “I’ll get right on that.”

  “Crap,” Landon muttered. “This is going to turn into a thing.”

  I wasn’t sure if he knew I could hear him, but I opted not to comment. This had already turned into a thing. He simply didn’t realize it yet.

  Six

  I was numb when I got to the newspaper building, my fingers shaking as I unlocked the front door and headed toward my office. The automated environmental controls kept the building cold overnight, not warming until shortly before eight in the morning. I manually overrode the thermostat and started the heat flowing. It would be a while before the building felt cozy. Thankfully I had a small space heater in my office, which I immediately turned on before using my teeth to yank off my gloves.

  I jolted when Landon walked into the room, briefly shutting my eyes and pressing my lips together to collect myself. I knew why he was here. He didn’t deserve to be yelled at because I was on edge.

  “I don’t need a babysitter.”

  “That’s good because that’s not why I’m here.” Landon knelt in front of the heater, grabbing my hands
and pressing them lower to make sure I got most of the blast. “I came to make sure you’re all right.”

  “You mean babysit me, right?”

  Landon growled, the fierceness in his eyes causing me to flash a genuine smile.

  “I’m sorry.” I was. “I didn’t mean to worry you. I just … wasn’t expecting that.”

  “I don’t think anyone can ever expect that,” Landon noted. “You’re okay, right?”

  “Yes. I’m a little weirded out, but I’m okay. You have a job to do. I’m not here to take you away from that.”

  “Oh, I’m not here because of that.” Landon leaned closer to the heater. “I just want to warm up for a bit, and you just happen to be inside the only open building.”

  I snorted. “I see where I rank in your priorities this morning.”

  “At the top. You’re always at the top. It’s cold, though, and we can’t do anything until the medical examiner is done. Besides that, I wanted to make sure you locked the door behind you.”

  I chewed my bottom lip. “I think I might’ve forgotten to do that.”

  “I figured you probably would. I’ll lock it on my way out. You need to be careful.”

  “Because we have a murderer running around?”

  Landon nodded. “We have a murderer running around who either believes in the occult or wants everyone to believe that pagan enthusiasts are to blame. That could mean trouble for you, and because you’re an important part of the team – the most important member of my team – that means I want you safe.”

  “Don’t you say I’m always in trouble?”

  “Yes, but whoever did this is a monster,” Landon replied. “You need to be careful. I’ll keep in touch and tell you what we find. You watch your back.”

  “I always do.”

  Landon shot me an amused look. “Do a better job than usual, okay? I don’t want you to end up alone with whoever did this. As resourceful as you are, this guy means business.”