A Witch Before Dying

by Amanda M. Lee

  “Exactly.” Tess made a face as she scuffed her foot against the floor and then sat in the wooden chair next to the nearby wall. I couldn’t escape through the door given her location, but I could run down the hallway. It led to Brian’s office, and the windows inside were big enough to escape through. It probably wasn’t my best plan, but it was a backup should I need it. My biggest problem was that Landon would be wide open should he choose to walk through the front door. Tess could shoot him before he even had a chance to draw his weapon. I couldn’t risk that. I had to get her away from the door.

  “How long did it take you to seduce Arthur?” I asked.

  “Not long. He was still upset from losing his last girlfriend. She got pregnant and Adele fired her. I’m not sure Adele realized the baby was Arthur’s, but she was definitely suspicious that Laurie Walker and Arthur were getting it on.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “Celeste told me. She’s another troupe member. She’s Greg’s fake sister and my fake cousin. She loves spreading gossip. We figured that out when we met her, so we cozied up to her right away.”

  “Why did you decide to kill Adele in Hemlock Cove?” I asked. “You had to pick this location for a reason.”

  “Yes and no,” Tess replied. “Adele was on my last nerve. I knew she was aware of my relationship with Arthur. She thought it was real, and I think she was worried that I would steal Arthur away and he would marry me.”

  “Wasn’t that the ultimate plan?”

  “Yes, but in Adele’s head my feelings for Arthur were real,” Tess explained. “She thought I was in love with him. She recognized that I wanted to take over control of the troupe, but she honestly thought I loved that old fool.”

  “She was blind to Arthur’s faults,” I surmised. “They married as a business arrangement, but she fell in love with him over the years. She thought he’d eventually feel the same about her, but she didn’t realize he was only attracted to younger women.”

  “Yeah, he’s a real piece of work,” Tess agreed. “He’s terrible in bed, but he expects you to fake it and pretend he’s great. Apparently that’s how it worked for him with all the women he dated before me. I hate faking it, but his ego couldn’t take it if I didn’t. Even with the Viagra he’s flat-out terrible.”

  I definitely didn’t need that much information. “You still haven’t told me why you picked Hemlock Cove.”

  “I didn’t,” Tess clarified. “I’ve been working Arthur for a long time, and he refused to divorce Adele. I thought it would be easy once I slept with him a few times, but he was more rational than I realized.”

  “He knew that he would be out a lot of money if he divorced Adele, right?”

  Tess nodded. “He could’ve survived the storm and we could’ve built the troupe back up together,” she said. “Greg and I had a long-term plan. Arthur was going to divorce Adele and marry me. I was going to get pregnant to trap him. The kid would really belong to Greg. Then poor Arthur would die in his sleep and leave everything to me. It wasn’t something that was going to happen overnight, but we could make it a reality in a few years. It was exactly the sort of life we dreamed about for ourselves.”

  “But Arthur wouldn’t get with the program,” I deduced. “You couldn’t marry him and lay claim to the troupe while he was still married to Adele.”

  “And he refused to divorce her.” Tess’s expression was sour. “He said that she was the brains behind the operation – which was ridiculous, because she was a horrible person. He wouldn’t divorce her. He said he would arrange for us to always be together, but we could never marry. He thought that would be enough for me.”

  “That’s because he didn’t recognize the fact that you were only interested in him because of the money,” I said. “He thought you really loved him. Eventually, he would’ve gotten over the love when you grew older.”

  “Yeah. He kept saying that love was enough and we would be happy even though he was married to Adele.”

  “So you had no choice but to kill Adele.” In a weird way, it made sense. Tess was determined to bring her plan to fruition. When Arthur wouldn’t follow the path she laid out for him, Tess decided to force the issue. “Did you fight with Adele before it happened?”

  “Yes,” Tess confirmed. “The plan was to kill Adele right after Christmas. We were going to make it look like a suicide. But Adele had other plans. She saw Arthur and me in his truck after the meeting. She knew what we were doing.

  “I wasn’t ready to put our plan in motion, so I tried to evade her. But she caught up with me on the other side of the library,” she continued. “She accused me of having an affair with Arthur. I denied it at first because … well, because I wasn’t ready. Then she started calling me names – slut. Whore. Homewrecker. She wouldn’t shut up.”

  “And you lost it,” I said. “You didn’t like being called names and you were already planning to kill her … .”

  “It was easier than I thought,” Tess admitted, taking on a far-off expression. “I thought it would be hard. In fact, I was going to make Greg do it. But it was easy. And she deserved it. Even at the end, when she realized what was happening and there was no way to stop it, Adele kept calling me names and trying to hurt me. I guess I showed her, huh?”

  The simple statement was enough to cause my stomach to twist. “I guess so,” I gritted out. “Where did you get the idea for the witch symbols?”

  “Adele showed me a book she bought before we came to Hemlock Cove,” Tess replied. “She told me the history of the town. She wanted ideas for introducing a witch bit into our act. It wouldn’t be anything major, but she was excited at the prospect.”

  “That’s where you found the symbols,” I said. “That’s where you found the Theban alphabet and you used it to write the word ‘witch.’”

  Tess smirked. “I’m impressed. I wasn’t sure the cops would figure that out.”

  “The cops didn’t figure it out. We did.”

  “Because you’re witches?” Tess was back to looking amused. “I thought all the witch stuff in this town was for show. Isn’t that the reason Margaret Little brought in this chick?” She jerked her thumb in Scarlet’s direction. I’d almost forgotten the other woman was there. She was so quiet, working so hard to make herself small that she almost became invisible during Tess’s confession. “I thought they wanted to pretend they had stronger witches coming in and that’s why they brought the new face to town.”

  I pressed the heel of my hand to my forehead as I tried to work out the final bit of the mystery. “You tried to make it look like witches because you thought they’d focus on someone in town. But Chief Terry and Landon kept questioning you guys, and you didn’t like it.”

  “It’s not just that,” Tess said. “Arthur was starting to get suspicious. He didn’t come right out and say it, but I saw the way he looked at me. He refuses to spend time with me now because he thinks everyone is watching. That doesn’t work for the new plan.”

  The new plan? “You were going to get pregnant right away,” I surmised. “You needed to have sex with Arthur to make sure the timing worked out.”

  “I’m already pregnant,” Tess corrected. “But you’re right about the timing. I need Arthur to get with the program. I’m afraid he won’t do it if he believes I’m responsible for Adele’s death. Plus, well, I think he’s suspicious about Greg and me now thanks to you people. He never even asked about my relationship with Greg before. I told him we grew up together and were best friends. Arthur was fine with that until you started poking around and caught us.”

  “So you’re pregnant and need Arthur to believe he’s the father so he’ll marry you.” I slid a sidelong gaze to Scarlet, things finally coming in to focus. “You knew Scarlet was the newbie and the rest of us were likely to close ranks and have alibis. You needed someone who didn’t have an alibi for the time Adele was killed.”

  “I also needed a witch to explain all of the symbols,” Tess confirmed. “That had to be Sc
arlet. I’ve seen the way you’ve been watching her. Your boyfriend was focused on us, but you’ve been focused on her.”

  “Not because I think she’s a murderer,” I protested. That was mostly true. I could never fully shake the idea that Scarlet was to blame, but that didn’t mean I suspected her of being the real culprit.

  “No, but your suspicions were enough that your boyfriend would turn on Scarlet if he believed she killed you.” Tess’s smile was enigmatic. “Why else do you think we’re here?”

  I was dumbfounded. “You kidnapped Scarlet last night.”

  “They knocked me out,” Scarlet volunteered, speaking for the first time. “I was about to leave my shop for the festival when they came in. I didn’t realize what they were doing until … well, until it was too late. When I woke up, I was tied up in a van. They left me there overnight. It was terrible.”

  I tried to muster some sympathy for her – I was sure it was a trying ordeal, after all – but I couldn’t come up with more than a passing moment. “We know what you are … and what you’ve done. You’re done in this town. It was actually smart for Tess to focus on you.”

  “That’s what I thought.” Tess was smug. “I was worried that you weren’t going to come to the office today. I knew you worked here, but separating you from your cousins and boyfriend isn’t easy. You’re almost never alone.”

  “It worked out for you this time,” I noted. “You’ve got all the pieces in place. I’m here. You can kill me. Then you can kill Scarlet and make it look like we both struggled and killed each other. That’s the plan, right?”

  “Yup.”

  My stomach rolled. She had it all figured out, which meant there was nothing I could do to force her to back down. I needed to stretch the conversation a bit longer if I wanted to survive. “What about Greg? Where is he?”

  “He’s at the festival watching your boyfriend,” Tess replied. “He wanted to be here, but we needed to make sure that the FBI agent was kept far away. Greg will make sure he stays there while I finish things up.”

  “You can’t kill us,” Scarlet whined. “I haven’t done anything. This is all a mistake. Kill her. She’s the one you want.”

  “I need both of you.” Tess was calm. “The FBI agent and chief won’t believe that Bay killed Adele. They will believe you killed Bay, though. They’ll also believe you killed Adele. That allows us to walk free and clear.

  “It’s nothing personal,” she continued. “I just need both of you to make this happen. I won’t say I’m sorry – because I’m not – but this is the way it has to be.”

  I opened my mouth to say something, but a hint of movement in the hallway caught my attention – Viola was watching the scene unfold with impassioned eyes.

  “Tillie is coming,” Viola announced. I was the only one who could see or hear her, so it didn’t matter how loud she was. “I saw what was happening and got her. I didn’t know she was at Hypnotic, but I thought there was a chance Thistle and Clove could hear me. I lucked out.”

  I pressed my lips together and nodded.

  “She’s ticked off, by the way,” Viola added. “I wouldn’t want to be this one when Tillie gets a hold of her.” She floated to Tess and made a face. “I’ve been working on moving things like I told you, but I’m not there yet. I can’t knock the gun out of her hand.”

  “It’s okay,” I murmured, forgetting for a moment that Tess would find my reaction odd.

  “Who are you talking to?” Tess asked, glancing around.

  “The newspaper has a ghost,” I replied, opting for honesty. “Her name is Viola. She was just telling me something interesting.”

  “A ghost, huh?” Tess snorted. “I have to give it to you guys. You go all out with this witch stuff.”

  “We do,” I agreed, rubbing my sweating palms against my jeans. “That’s how I found out about you and Arthur. Adele’s ghost is still hanging around. She told me.”

  “She told you about Arthur and me, but not that I killed her?” Tess was understandably dubious. “It doesn’t sound like she’s much of a ghost.”

  “Yes, well, you’re not much of a human being,” I said, lifting my eyes to the ceiling when the light flickered. “I think you’re about to learn a little something about real witches, though.”

  “Oh, yeah?” Tess followed my gaze. “What’s that?”

  “Real witches are something to be feared. Some of them are even wicked,” I answered, instinctively covering my face as the lightbulb exploded. “And here comes the wickedest witch of them all. Scarlet, get down and cover your head!”

  “What’s going on?” Scarlet shrieked.

  I didn’t get a chance to answer because the front door blew open, revealing Aunt Tillie, her combat helmet firmly in place and her coat billowing in the wind she summoned.

  “Here she comes,” I shouted, dropping to my knees as Tess flew to a standing position. “You’re in a heckuva lot of trouble now.”

  Thirty

  “What the … ?”

  Tess’s face went slack as Aunt Tillie strode into the room. Most women in their eighties wouldn’t seem imposing. Aunt Tillie was the exact opposite. She was a vision of fury and rage.

  “Drop the gun,” Aunt Tillie ordered.

  “Gun?” Tess looked confused.

  “What’s happening?” Scarlet screeched.

  “Shut up,” I ordered, wiping small bits of glass from my face as I focused on Aunt Tillie. “It was Tess and Greg all along.”

  “I figured that out when Viola came to visit.” Aunt Tillie didn’t look away from Tess. “She’s as scattered as ever, and I still hate talking to her. Occasionally, though, she has good information.”

  “Did you get Landon?”

  “Clove is getting him.”

  “He needs to know about Greg,” I argued. “He’ll run when he realizes that we’ve got Tess.”

  “Don’t worry about that. Clove has all the pertinent information. I’m pretty sure Landon and Terry are taking down Greg right now.”

  Despite the surreal nature of the situation, Tess managed to collect herself and raise the gun. This time she pointed it at Aunt Tillie. “I don’t know what you think you’re doing, old lady, but I am not in the mood to play games.”

  “Who are you calling old?” Aunt Tillie challenged. “I’m middle-aged.”

  “Only if we lived in an alien world where people live to be two-hundred,” Tess snapped.

  “That would totally be cool.” Aunt Tillie’s smile was evil. “I would want to be the queen of the aliens, of course, but I’m up for it. They would look upon me as a benevolent ruler and build statues to worship me.”

  Tess was flustered. “I … what does that have to do with anything?”

  “You brought up aliens,” I pointed out, shuffling closer to Tess. If I could grab the hand that held the gun I could take control of the situation. Tess could still hurt Aunt Tillie if she fired. The odds of her being able to get all three of us were slim, but I wouldn’t risk Aunt Tillie. Sure, she’s a pain in the posterior, but she’s still family.

  “What are you doing?” Tess jolted back at my approach, whipping the gun in my direction.

  Aunt Tillie didn’t give her a chance to fire, lashing out with a muttered curse and causing the gun to fly out of Tess’s hand. It skittered across the floor, sliding underneath the chair Tess had sat in moments before.

  “What was that?” Tess’s voice quavered. She was finally starting to understand exactly what she was up against.

  “That was witchcraft,” Aunt Tillie replied. “Some of it is real. The redheaded wonder hiding under the desk doesn’t have real magic, but others do.”

  “And you’re one of the others?”

  “You could say that.” Aunt Tillie’s lips curved. “Now, I believe you’re out of options, girlie. You can put your hands out and wait or I’ll knock you out. Which do you prefer?”

  Tess was caught. She had to know it. The expression on her face told me she wasn’t quite read
y to give up, though. She remained desperate to get away.

  “Screw you!” Tess grabbed Aunt Tillie by the shoulders and shoved her to the side, making a break for the open door.

  I caught Aunt Tillie before she hit the floor. She’s powerful, but even she isn’t immune to a broken hip.

  Tess was down the stairs and running along the sidewalk before Aunt Tillie regrouped and followed. Much like a killer in a horror movie, Aunt Tillie didn’t bother increasing her pace. Instead she narrowed her eyes and whispered, magic lashing out and racing down the pathway. The bolt – which I’m sure only Aunt Tillie and I could see – caught Tess at her feet and caused her to pitch forward. The renaissance worker landed face first on the pavement, her shoulders rising once before falling a second time.

  “Is she dead?” Scarlet asked, her head popping up from behind the desk.

  “No,” Aunt Tillie answered. “She only wishes she was.”

  I hurried down the steps, intent on making sure Tess wasn’t a threat, but Landon reached the fallen woman first. He glanced down at her, then up at me, and merely shook his head.

  “Do I even want to know?”

  “Probably not.” I let loose with a shaky breath. “Holy crap! We solved it.”

  Landon cocked an eyebrow. “We did. You’re still in big trouble. You know that, right?”

  “I didn’t do anything,” I protested. “They were waiting in the office for me. How could I know that?”

  “I have no idea.” Landon grabbed the cuffs at his waist and lowered them to Tess’s wrists. “But I’m worked up enough that I feel you need to be in trouble. I can’t explain it, but … you’re grounded.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Whatever.”

  “You’re definitely grounded,” Landon muttered. “As soon as she’s cuffed, you’re also getting a big hug. You scared the crap out of me.”

  “Isn’t that normal for your relationship at this point?” Aunt Tillie challenged. She hadn’t so much as broken a sweat.

  “That doesn’t mean I like it.”

  “Oh, suck it up, Fed. Everyone is fine and we solved the case. There’s nothing to complain about.”