by Emma Watts
I nodded. “I am now. The older I get, the more I care less for the drama and lies.”
He took a sip of his wine and put the glass down. “In all honesty I’m looking for the woman who doesn’t care what I drive, or what I bring to the table and who is actually interested in asking me about my day outside of the video work I do instead of asking if she can be in the next video.”
I stopped chewing and eyed him. “I’m sure she’s out there.”
He chuckled. “I’m sure she is.”
He handed me some more of the boxes and I opened them and fished inside bringing out spaghetti and some soup that Ivy had been harping on about from Adele’s place. I poured some of it into a bowl and grabbed up a spoon, eager to taste it. What was all the fuss over? The second that delicious soup touched my taste buds I understood.
“Oh wow! That is out of this world.”
“Good, right? That’s why no other soup place has opened up in Haven. A few have tried, but she blows them out of the water. She’s even worked out a few deals with the Marina and Grill and several other restaurants to provide them with her soup.” He poured himself some and then continued. “So Jamie was telling me you attended police college.”
“I did. I was hoping to become a cop in Jersey.”
“So what’s your interest in it?”
“I think I’m curious about people. Why they do things. More specifically why people kill.”
“Speaking of killing. I guess by now you’ve heard the rumors that they think Daniel Moon was killed. What’s your thought on it?”
“Hard to know right now without seeing the evidence in the case. I’m sure the detectives will figure it out.”
“So you’re not going to get involved?”
I chuckled. “River, just because I went to police academy it doesn’t mean I’m any good at tracking down killers.”
“But you’re a Winters.”
I paused with my spoon near my mouth. “You say that as if you know something about my family. Do you?”
“I know enough. Like your family, mine has been around here for many years too. Hundreds to be exact.” He glanced down at his rice and picked at it with his fork. “You seen anything strange in this town yet?” he asked. He looked at me and for a second I thought I saw a flicker of gold in his eyes, as if his eyes changed color. I blinked and they were normal again.
“Now you mention it. Yes. Yes, I have.”
“And?”
I shook my head but decided not to share what I’d seen Ivy do. After what she’d said about dark forces at work, who knew who was listening.
“So hat about sisters and brothers?” I asked.
“One sister, no brothers. She lives out of the country. My father wanted her in the business but she had a different idea to travel the world.”
“So the pressure must be on you.”
“At first yes but after I showed him what I’d been able to achieve he backed off.”
“Your father and mother. They live here in town?”
“They do.”
“What do they do for a living?”
“They run a Hudson Hotel and a chain of them down through California.”
I stopped chewing. “Wasn’t that the hotel chain that was in the news a while back? Something to do with missing people?”
“So you do read the news.”
“I never said I didn’t.”
“You just strike me as someone who doesn’t have time for drama. The papers are full of it. Especially the Haven Times. They are always digging up dirt on someone.”
“Don’t dodge the question,” I said with a smirk on my face.
He scooped some more food into his mouth, chewed and washed it down with wine. “People go missing all the time, Kelly. Most come to these parts to either find themselves or lose themselves. The question is… which is it for you?”
“I’m still deciding.”
I decided to not continue probing him about the disappearances. The police weren’t able to prove anything and bodies were never found. No body. No evidence. No case.
“I’m sorry about your parents.”
“Why? You weren’t responsible. It was an accident.”
“Right. An accident.”
He said it in a way that made me wonder if he knew more about them.
“So with your parents living in town, they must have known my mother?”
“I imagine. What you have to know about this town, Kelly, is that it has a rich history. There are stories circulating around this town that would make you question everything you know about reality but if you stick around long enough, I think you’ll find that out.”
“Do you know much about Tobias and Sylvia?”
“Seen them around. I know they’ve been dating.”
“Do you think Tobias is capable of killing Daniel?”
“Everyone is capable of killing, Kelly, when pushed into a corner.”
His eyes flickered a different color and then returned to normal.
“What was that?”
“What?”
“Your eyes, they changed to a golden color.”
“No. It was probably the reflection of the candle’s flame.”
I frowned and then looked at my glass of wine. I’d only had a few drinks, so I knew it wasn’t that. And I didn’t wear glasses, so that wasn’t a factor. After everything I’d seen Ivy do, I was starting to wonder what other magic was present in town. What other paranormal types lived among the residents of Haven?
“Anyway, in answer to your question, no, I don’t think Tobias would kill him. I know his family and they are good folks. Besides, he doesn’t have an evil bone in his body. The kid was bullied growing up. Daniel took him under his wing and was hoping to train him up to work as a diving instructor. Guess he didn’t have it in him. Anyway, eat up before it goes cold.”
We spent the next thirty minutes discussing some of the history of the town. He steered clear of anything related to the paranormal when I brought it up, which made me think he was either holding back or thought I was stupid to even ask. At the end of the meal, I gave him a hand cleaning up. He took whatever we hadn’t eaten and said he was going to drop it off at one of the women’s shelters in town. Waste not, want not, he said. I thought the gesture was kind.
As he drove back through the streets of Haven, he eased off the gas as we came around a turn because there was a man walking in the middle of the road. He had a bottle in his hand. The headlights lit him up. River brought the window down and told him to get out of the road but he just became belligerent and tossed the bottle. It hit the front of the hood, bounced and shattered on the ground, leaving behind a huge dent in the front of the Ferrari.
“Oh you have got to be kidding,” River said. He stopped the car and got out.
“River.” I followed him out and watched as he got close to the man who was dressed in a white shirt and dark jeans. There was pasta all down the front of his top and he looked like he hadn’t shaved in weeks. I thought River was going to punch him but he didn’t, he just got out to examine the front of the vehicle before heading over and talking to him.
“Go home, Gary, before I call the cops.”
He apologized and told him he would pay for the damage. River returned shaking his head.
“Who was that?”
“You know Nina?”
“Yeah. I met her today.”
“It’s her ex-husband. She kicked him out to start a relationship with Daniel. He hasn’t been the same since.”
“She was married?”
“Was, is the word. Come on, I’ll take you home.”
“What about your car?” I asked.
“It’s just a dent, Kelly. It can be fixed.” He turned back to make sure that Gary had stepped off the road before he got back inside. He drove in silence on the way home as if his mind was occupied. When the car pulled up in front of the house, he tapped his watch. “Ten o’clock, just as I promised.”
“Th
ank you, River.” I went to get out and before I did, I leaned across and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “It was very sweet what you did tonight. I hope you didn’t misunderstand what I was saying.”
He shrugged. “It’s all good.” He revved the engine as if he was eager to go. I closed the door and waved as he pulled away. I watched the red taillights disappear down the driveway. I felt like I had only begun to uncover some of the secrets of the town and its residents.
Chapter 11
Curious about my mother’s past involvement in cases that had plagued the town, I visited the Haven Library hoping to dig up something from the archives. It wasn’t that I didn’t believe what Ivy was telling me, I just had to learn about this for myself. I’d always been that way. Maybe that’s why I wanted to be a cop. I didn’t buy into everything someone said. Call it trust issues or a gut instinct that was made for investigating but I liked to double-check.
It was Saturday morning and after grabbing a coffee from Logan’s Café, I entered the library. The place was buzzing with families bringing their kids in. There were two floors. Several people were on computers. About ten people were browsing the aisles.
A beady-eyed lady with glasses that sat on the end of her nose looked at me as she carried a stack of books in her arm.
“Excuse me, would you know how I can gain access to the archives to do with town history?”
“We are still in the process of taking everything that is in the basement and loading it into the computer. You can take the elevator down and speak to Barb. She’ll help you from there.”
I thanked her and crossed the room and entered the elevator. A few seconds later the elevator dinged, and the doors slid open into a large underground room that had over twenty aisles of shelves, all of them stacked with boxes. A large lady sat drinking her coffee and watching some morning TV show. She had her feet up on the table and a cigarette in hand. The second she saw me she stubbed the cigarette out and waved away the smoke. I noticed a NO SMOKING sign on the wall and smirked.
“Yes, young lady, how can I help?” She looked at me and squinted.
“Searching for information on a lady by the name of Diana Winters.”
She pulled down the pair of specs resting on the top of her head and stared at the scrap of paper that had my mother’s name on it. “Winters, you say?” She looked at me for a second and nodded. “Umm. Come along with me.”
She guided me down a dimly lit aisle while mumbling under her breath. It felt like I was in the catacombs of Paris. The walls were roughly hewn and several of the fluorescent lights above kept flickering as if there was some electrical problem. The farther back she took me, the more moldy it smelled. When we reached the back of the room, she glanced to her left and right and over her shoulder as if checking to see if anyone was looking.
“What’s the code?” she asked matter-of-factly as if I knew.
“What code?”
“The code to the archive.”
“I was hoping you would know that.”
She turned around and glanced at me, this time pushing me into the light. “You are a Winters, are you not?”
My eyebrow arched. “Yes.”
“Then you should know the code.”
“Look, I think there has been some mistake. I was hoping to…”
“Find out information on your mother?”
“Yes. You knew her?”
“Dear. Many people around here knew her. It was a sad day when she left. So what are you? Her daughter? Granddaughter?”
“Daughter.”
“Still learning, I see? Hasn’t Ivy brought you up to speed?”
Oh there we go again. Ivy had her fingers in everything. Was there anyone who didn’t know this woman?
“Yes,” I said hoping that was the magic word to get me into whatever she was requesting a code for.
“Then why are you here? You should be out there solving the latest murder.”
I shook my head. “Okay, I think there has been a mistake.” I turned to leave.
“Kelly. I’m kidding. Of course I know who you are. I’m guessing Diana never spoke about me.”
“And you are?”
“Barb Watson. At your service. Whatever information you need, I can probably find it for you, or I know someone who knows someone who can get it for you. Though those kinds of favors require…” She held out her hand.
I leaned in waiting for her to tell me but she didn’t. “For me to cross your hand with silver?”
“No! It requires a bottle of bubbly.” She laughed again. “Oh you are just like your mother. What a hoot this is going to be.” She turned and went back to the wall. She pushed her hand against a stone and it went in, then shifted to the side. “We’ll need to do this manually for now. Be sure to ask Ivy for the code. Goodness’ sakes.” She tapped in a code on a keypad and the wall in front of us started to shimmer like it was water. Barb stepped inside and disappeared out of view. I stood there looking dumbfounded.
Her head poked out of the watery wall.
“Well come on!”
She reached out and grabbed my hand and pulled me in.
Suddenly I was inside a massive room full of large arches. It was lit up by light orbs that floated round the room almost having a life of their own. The walls were made from pine, steel and concrete. As I stepped inside, it was like entering a huge library but nothing like the one upstairs. It was magnificent. There was a well-polished spiral staircase that went up to three floors full of books.
“You know, I wondered when you would show up. Didn’t Ivy mention me?”
“No.”
“I will give her a swat around the head the next time I see her. I’m your aunt Barb.”
My jaw dropped. “I have an auntie?”
Okay this was news. Things were just getting weirder and weirder by the minute.
“And an uncle…” She paused for reflection. “Though he’s in the grave. God rest his soul!” With that said she charged ahead taking each stride with purpose.
At the heart of the room was a single round table, five leather chairs encircling it. “Right, all you need to do is perform the spell and the screen will turn on at the center of the table. So let’s have it. What is the spell?”
“Spell?”
She slapped a hand on her forehead. “Please tell me you know the spell?”
I grimaced. “Sorry.”
“Oh my, Ivy and I are going to have words. Okay, for now, we’ll have to do this manually.” She crossed the room and popped open a steel cupboard on the wall and pressed a few buttons. Suddenly a large screen appeared before us showing a huge number of places around the town.
“What on earth is this?”
“Well it’s not Netflix, that’s for sure. It’s CCTV of the entire town. It will aid you in your job. You did want to see this, right?”
“Um yes. I mean no. But my job is to man the register at the bookstore.”
Barb moved around me and leaned forward to press a few buttons on a tablet that magically appeared in front of us the moment she waved her hand over an area of the table.
“Of course it is, my dear.” She tapped the side of her nose to indicate that was just a front for what she was really meant to do. “Now take a seat. Just speak loudly and ask for what you want, and it will bring it up. When you are done, be sure to turn the lights out, oh and for goodness’ sakes find out from Ivy what the code and spell are. All this manual business drives me nuts.”
With that said she reached under the table, grunting and groaning as she felt around for something. “Come on. Where is it? Ah there it is.”
Suddenly a large screen appeared hovering off the table. I took a seat and watched Barb walk straight back through the blue shimmering wall. I sat there for a second unsure of what to say or do. I took in the sight of the place and then I spotted something on the wall across the room. I got up and walked over and my eyes widened.
“Mom?”
There on the wall were port
raits of sixteen women, above, it had the words: The Winters Society. The last portrait was of my mother. I touched her face and for a second all the portraits came to life. My mother smiled, and I heard her voice. I could even hear them as if I was witnessing the day they had to stand still to pose for the portrait.
“Welcome to the Winters Society, Kelly,” a voice behind me said. I turned to find Ivy. “I had a feeling you would eventually be drawn to this place. This was what I was talking about. It’s in your blood to do this.”
“Who are all these people?”
“Your family tree. Your mother, your grandmother and her mother before that and so on. All of you at one time have stepped inside this room and taken up the cause to which you were given many thousands of years ago.”
“Which is?”
“To hold back the darkness. Every single woman that is on that wall dedicated her life to doing it. Even your mother. She wasn’t the first to become jaded, her problem was she fell in love and love… well, that can make things tricky in our line of business.”
“But you said my father helped her.”
“And he did for a time but once she became pregnant, she wanted a different life for you but what she didn’t realize is that by stepping away from her role, she allowed the darkness to take root and many have died since without finding peace. We are now even closer to the rising of Kilara. God help us if that day ever arrives.” She sighed. “Anyway, one day your face will be on the board.”
She turned back to the screen where the video cameras showed different places around the town. “Well let’s get down to business, shall we, we have a murder to solve.”
“Hold on a minute,” I said walking away from the wall. “I spoke with Detective Hunter and he recognized me. I mean he didn’t know my name but he…”
“Knew Diana?”
“Well, not her name but he said I looked like a woman he’d seen in a photo that his father had.”
“The chief of police. William Hunter. I know.”
“And?”
“It’s complicated, Kelly.”
“No, I think it’s pretty simple. We leave the mystery solving to the police and we continue to sell books.”