Haven Witches

by Emma Watts

  “Nice vehicle. I considered getting one myself but Porsches are not my thing. A little too flashy. I prefer a Bentley or Rolls.”

  Oh and they’re not flashy? I wanted to roll my eyes but instead I smiled and greeted him. “How are you, Liam? Things okay since the whole death?”

  “It’s going to take some time for this all to blow over but we’ll be fine. It’s not like it’s the first murder in this town.”

  “Murder? Who told you that?”

  Of course I knew how Tobias had heard but unless Liam had been pulled in by the police surely he would have still viewed it as an accident.

  “Oh. It’s the rumors that are going around.”

  Realizing he’d just put his foot in his mouth or feeling uncomfortable discussing Daniel, he turned his attention to Tobias. “I would appreciate it if you didn’t chat to my workers while they’re working. A few minutes here, a few minutes there, it all adds up in the end.”

  “I was just leaving,” I replied.

  Without saying another word he turned and walked away. I got a strong sense that he didn’t like me or that he didn’t wish to discuss a matter that placed him or his business in a negative light. It was becoming obvious that not everyone was friendly in Haven.

  Chapter 13

  Murder cases were tough to crack. People tried to conceal the truth, lie and pass the blame. Sifting through the secrets, the lies, and the truth required looking below the surface, catching people off-guard or placing them in situations that would force them to confess. As I drove through the streets of Haven, I wondered how my mother had gone about it. Had she grown tired of solving mysteries or had something else driven her away?

  I was on my way over to see Gloria when I encountered the roadblock. There were two sets of police cars and several officers stopping vehicles and speaking with drivers. I pulled out my license and registration and got them ready. Scott wasn’t among the police officers present. As the vehicle ahead of me was allowed to go on, I pressed my foot against the accelerator and moved up next to a burly officer who had a white shirt on. His appearance looked different to the others. He had a thick beard and was older. He was close to six foot three and had a scar on the side of his face that was slightly hidden by the beard. He tapped on the window and I brought it down.

  The man was so tall, he had to bend down to look directly at me.

  “License and registration.”

  I handed them to him and waited as he walked back to his vehicle. Watching him in my side mirror, I noticed he stopped halfway and paused for a second before turning back towards me. When he returned he leaned down and squinted.

  “Kelly Winters. Diana’s daughter?”

  “That’s right.”

  “You are the spitting image of her.”

  “Seems so. You knew her?”

  I glanced at his name tag and that’s when it all fell into place. William Hunter, the chief of police. What was he doing out here? This kind of work was left to officers not the chief.

  “You’re Scott’s father?”

  “That’s right. Welcome to Haven.” He eyed the vehicle I was in suspiciously. “So you are working for your brother?”

  “Actually, no. I’m working with Ivy Finkle.”

  The expression on his face changed. “Oh her. A word of advice, Kelly. Don’t listen to everything she tells you. She has been a thorn in the department’s side for many years.”

  “Really?”

  “She tends to meddle. Much like your mother did before she was able to see the truth about Ivy.”

  I was about to ask him what he meant when he glanced off down the road towards the car coming up the rear. He handed back my license and registration and patted the top of the vehicle. “Drive safely.”

  I brought my window up and slowly drove away, glancing back in my mirror at William who was now speaking with the driver. He cut me a glance one final time before continuing what he was doing before. Strange. I made a mental note to speak to Ivy about it. As I continued on my way down Main Street, I drove past the wedding store again and spotted Sylvia inside looking at dresses. For someone that had just lost her father, she looked awfully happy. I veered off to the side of the road, parked and headed down to the store. With so many folks against her father, I thought it would be interesting to hear her side of the story and find out why she accused her mother and perhaps even learn what her conversation with Liam had been about.

  The store was called the Perfect Day. Inside, it had a hip feel to the place. There were mirrors on both sides of the walls and small wooden platforms that customers could stand on once inside a dress to get a better look at a gown in all its glory. One staff member was discussing with Sylvia the different options available. As the bell above the door rang, the sales assistant glanced my way.

  “I’ll be right with you.”

  I nodded, and I heard her say to Sylvia to take her time and if she had any questions, she would come right over. The assistant was an older woman in her late fifties with black hair pulled back tight into a bun. She wore ’60s style glasses and sensible shoes with a tight-fitting blue dress.

  “How may I help?” The words rolled off her tongue showing how many times she had said it to others before.

  “Actually I was hoping to speak with Sylvia.”

  “Oh?” She bristled. “Not getting married?”

  “Just got divorced.”

  “How awful. Did you consider counseling?”

  “I considered shooting him.”

  Her eyes flared, and I chuckled. “Just joking. Actually, yes but it never worked out.”

  “Strange. Perhaps you didn’t try hard enough,” She turned up her nose as if she was above me. An expression spread across her face that made it clear she wasn’t impressed. There would always be folks in the world that didn’t believe in divorce no matter how bad the situation was. Of course everyone was entitled to an opinion, I just wished they kept it to themselves. I crossed over to where Sylvia was. She was holding a gown up to her and turning from side to side.

  “You would look beautiful in that.”

  She jerked her head sideways. “Oh, hello. Yeah, it’s a nice one, I only wish the price tag was better.” She flashed it before putting it back on the rack. It was on the high end. It was to be expected in a small town. Prices were jacked higher than in the city. Less choice, more demand, and whatnot.

  I glanced at her hand and noticed a ring on her finger.

  “So Tobias popped the question?”

  She frowned as if confused. I leaned forward and tried to act like I was interested in the dresses. “Last month, yeah, we are planning on getting married in a few months.”

  “Was that why he fired Tobias, I mean your father?”

  Again her brow furrowed. “Excuse me, but how is that your business?”

  Oh she was a feisty one, and she had a point. It wasn’t my business. However, Ivy would have said it was debatable. I was reminded of Ivy’s words in that moment. “You will experience resistance, if so, use your magic.” All well and good but whipping out that black book and searching for a spell would just make me look like some visitor in a foreign country who didn’t know the language.

  “I was speaking with Tobias today.”

  “Oh, you were?”

  “Yeah, sorry, I should have said.”

  I don’t know whether she thought that meant she could let her guard down but the tension in her shoulders left and she replied, “It was partly to do with that. My father was the last one to learn about our engagement. He heard about it from my mother and both of them didn’t get along, so he just saw it as another way for her to dig the knife in deeper.”

  “You don’t get along with your mother?”

  “I love her. But what she did to my father wasn’t right. He didn’t deserve to have her cheating on him.”

  “But was that any different than Nina cheating on her husband?”

  “They are two very different situations. Besides, my da
d broke up with Nina a day before he died.”

  “The day before?”

  I thought back to the conversation I’d had with Nina when she came into the bookstore. He’d mentioned a map of the shipwreck’s location being drawn up the day before. Why hadn’t she said anything?

  “Yes, didn’t you know about it?”

  “No. In fact I spoke with Nina after his death and she didn’t mention it.”

  “Well maybe he didn’t break up with her. But he told me he was going to. Something to do with he found out something about Nina. Anyway, it doesn’t matter now. Look, if you don’t mind I have a lot of dresses to get through right now.”

  I backed up. “Sure, by all means.”

  The needle-nosed assistant eyed me and came over guiding Sylvia away from me as if I was going to jinx her marriage. After leaving the store I headed back to my car and drove out to where Gloria lived. She had a beautiful home on the west side of Haven. It was a two-story clapboard residence with a wraparound porch that overlooked the ocean. She didn’t exactly look hard-pressed for cash. As I pulled into the driveway, I noticed she was outside working in her yard. She had a mountain of weeds beside her and was on her hands and knees planting some marigolds. The noise of the engine caused her to turn her head. She got up and brushed off the dirt from her hands using a cloth slung over her shoulder. Her eyes narrowed as I got out of the vehicle.

  “Gloria. What an amazing yard you have. I was thinking about doing something similar with my brother’s. His place looks like a jungle. Do you recommend anything?”

  I know, a crazy question to ask when her ex-husband had just been murdered, but I needed a way to break the ice.

  “What can I do for you?”

  I was about to speak when Matt came out the front door holding two tall glasses of iced tea. “I thought I heard voices. Kelly Winters, right?”

  “You know this woman?” Gloria asked as he handed her a drink.

  “She works for Ivy. I’m a big book buff. Read about five a week and Ivy tends to carry a lot of books that I can’t seem to get at the library or any other store for that matter. I’ve always found that a little peculiar. Anyway. She had mentioned you were starting there. You’ll see me drop in at least once a week so I can stock up on a few thrillers. So what brings you out here?”

  “Doing a few favors for the police department.”

  It was a complete lie, but Ivy told me to do whatever I could to get them to open up.

  “We’ve already spoken to the department.”

  “I know you have. There were just a few things that didn’t seem to add up.”

  “Like?”

  “Well you were both on board on the day he died, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you recall him heading to the surface to fix his dive computer?”

  Gloria shot Matt a sideways glance.

  “Why would you ask that?”

  “We received word that there was an issue with the dive computer.”

  “Rick went to the surface with him,” Matt said. The smile on his face was gone and now fine lines appeared on his brow. Both of them didn’t look too impressed by the questioning.

  “You wouldn’t by any chance have a list of who was diving that day, would you?”

  “Like I said, we have already done this with Detective Hunter. He has the list.”

  “Would you mind showing me?”

  “Certainly. Right after I phone the police to confirm you were sent here by them,” Gloria said tossing the rag on the ground and heading towards the door.

  “I don’t think that will be necessary,” I said.

  “I think it will,” she replied before disappearing inside.

  “Would you like to come in?” Matt asked motioning towards their home. “It’s a little hot out here.”

  I nodded, and he led me inside. Once I was in, I watched Gloria head over to a landline phone and dial the number for the police. Oh no, this was it. Seconds from now they would confirm that I hadn’t been sent and not only would I have to explain myself but I would probably be hauled into the station. Or… the cogs in my head began spinning. I knew the spell for moving objects. I muttered it under my breath and made the cord that went into the wall unplug.

  “What is going on with this, Matt? It’s not working,” she said.

  “Try again,” I said before muttering one more spell that I had pulled from my little black book. As I gazed down at the book and back at her, I waited for her to dial. I placed a hand over my mouth and began to mouth the words she would hear over the phone. I had no idea if it would work but according to the book it was a spell that could make a person hear someone else’s voice. All that was required was to form an image of that person in the mind. Don’t begin to ask me how the mechanics of it worked as I was still trying to wrap my head around it. While I could see the plug was still out of the wall, I could hear her having a conversation with… the chief of police. Of course it wasn’t him. I turned slightly as Matt looked my way. With every question Gloria asked, I mouthed the reply she would hear over the phone. Satisfied, she hung up.

  “Well I guess you are here from the police. I will get you that list. Please wait here.”

  I locked my hands behind my back and the corner of my lip curled up. Okay, I could get used to using this magic. I could see the appeal of it now, and yet on the other hand it only raised more questions as to why my mother would have walked away from it all. I glanced around at the photos they had on the wall. Some were of the family, Sylvia and Rick, some were of Gloria and Matt scuba diving in some tropical destination.

  “Here you go,” Gloria said, returning and jabbing the paper out in front of me.

  I eyed it and noticed that it was a small group that day. Only seven people, most were tourists. Besides Gloria, Matt and Rick there was no one else from the town or Daniel’s family that was on board that day. I handed it back to her.

  “So Matt, Rick returned to the surface because Daniel’s dive computer wasn’t working. Why did he come up?”

  “He was his dive buddy. You have to stay together.”

  “And what was the problem with the computer?”

  “The battery was around the wrong way.”

  “Common problem?” I asked.

  “Not really.”

  “Was Daniel drinking that day?”

  “No. Liam came down on him heavy that morning. Told him if he discovered he was still bringing alcohol on board he would fire him.”

  “But it was Daniel’s business, was it not?”

  “Technically yes. That’s where things get a little gray. You ever heard of the saying… borrow from Peter to pay Paul?”

  I nodded.

  “Well, Daniel got into some serious debt and instead of losing everything, he worked out a deal with Liam whereby Liam would hold on to all his assets, lend him the money upfront to pay off his debt and then turn around and charge him a high interest. Kind of like the way a bank might own your house until you pay it off. Except no money was exchanged up front. Daniel knew that Liam needed him down at the marina. He was his best fisherman. Anyway, they drew up some kind of legal written agreement whereby Daniel would pay Liam a certain amount of money each month until he had paid off the debt then everything would belong to him again.”

  “And both of you were on board about this?”

  “No,” Gloria snapped. “We had no choice. He made the arrangement without our consent. That was the final straw in our relationship. He would say it was because of Matt but he just wouldn’t admit that he was the problem.”

  “So those were all the conditions of the agreement?”

  Gloria snarled, “He just told you, a portion of the profits from fishing, chartering and scuba diving would go to Liam until he’d paid off his debt. “

  Matt raised a hand to calm her down. “Gloria. It’s okay.” He turned back to me. “There was more to it. Liam is a smart man, and he knew eventually Daniel would stumble across a good shipwreck
and turn a tidy profit, so he included in the agreement that if any gold was discovered on a wreck, he would receive the full amount and in turn, everything that belonged to the company would once again belong to Daniel.”

  So that’s why he was keeping the shipwreck a secret.

  “That’s not exactly a good deal,” I said.

  “Most financial agreements aren’t. That’s what fine print is for, and lawyers.”

  “So he was aware of this?”

  Again Gloria snapped. “No. That’s what I’m saying. He agreed to an agreement without getting it checked out with a lawyer.”

  “And?” I probed deeper.

  “What do you mean, and?” Gloria snapped.

  “There is usually some stipulation, an alternative.”

  “What are you, a lawyer?”

  “I studied law.”

  Their eyebrows shot up. “Alternatively he could purchase it all back at the full price including interest. This would include the boat, the equipment and so on. Essentially Liam owned his livelihood. Either way Liam would win. If he found gold that would belong to Liam so he couldn’t pay him back that way. That’s why folks said Daniel and the two of us work for Liam but we don’t. Well, we do in some ways but that’s all changed now.”

  “How so?”

  “With Daniel being dead the agreement has become null and void.”

  “And the business and all the equipment go back to… you two?”

  He nodded. Gloria had her arms folded and was scowling at me.

  “That works out well for you both then, doesn’t it?”

  “I guess. I miss him, to be honest,” Matt said. “He was a pain but a good friend. It’s just unfortunate the way things turned out.”

  “I think that’s all.”

  They led me towards the door. Just before they let me out, I turned back to them. “Did Daniel ever mention that he’d discovered a shipwreck?”

  “Yes, many times but he was full of hot air. Every month he thought he had a bead on a new discovery.”

  I pursed my lips and nodded. “Well, thank you for your time. Oh one last thing, what’s the name of Daniel’s lawyer?”