Barking up the Wrong Tree: Willow Bay Witches #2

by Silver, Samantha

  “To be fair to me,” I said, “I didn’t actually go in the house willingly. I was outside it when Gareth pulled a gun on me and forced me inside.” I shuddered at the memory.

  Charlotte’s face softened. “Oh, Angela. I’m so sorry.”

  “It’s ok,” I replied, waving away her apology. “You had no way of knowing.”

  “Still, I’m really glad you’re not hurt. When Sophie called me and said you were in trouble, I thought the worst. I was so worried, I didn’t want to lose my older sister.”

  I smiled at Charlotte’s worried face, took her hand in mine and squeezed.

  “Thanks, Char,” I told her. As much as we made fun of each other, I really, really loved my sister, and I knew the feeling was mutual.

  Suddenly, Sophie came bursting in the door with Sprinkles.

  “Ahhhh, you’re awake!” she said, practically jumping on the bed to give me a big hug.

  “Sophie!” Charlotte scolded. “You’re not supposed to greet hospital patients like that.”

  “It’s ok, it’s not like there’s anything really wrong with me,” I laughed, hugging Sophie back. “How did you know what was happening, though?”

  Sophie looked at Sprinkles. “It’s funny. I was walking up to the movie theatre with Taylor. We saw Chief Gary, he was there with his wife, about ten yards in front of us. Not gonna lie, we were definitely hanging back so he wouldn’t see us. Then Sprinkles came running out of nowhere, with his leash hanging down, and I was like uh oh, this isn’t good.”

  She ruffled his hair. “Then Sprinkles spoke to me.”

  My mouth dropped open. “Like, you understood him?”

  “Yeah. It was so weird. I had no idea at all what was happening. But he told me, clear as day, that the man who hurt Andrea had taken me and was going to hurt me too.”

  “So you came to help.”

  “Yeah.” Sophie laughed a little bit. “It’s funny, I kind of have a bit of an appreciation for what you go through now. I mean, I couldn’t exactly tell Taylor that the dog said my best friend had been kidnapped. So I told him that you were supposed to have him, and that you must be in trouble. I figured he’d take Sprinkles’ barking as a call for help. Taylor was amazing. He yelled at Chief Gary that there was a situation. Chief Gary’s car was like, thirty feet away, so we all hopped in and sped over.”

  I shook my head. “I’m so glad. Thank you. And thank you, Sprinkles.”

  I looked over at Charlotte. “Well, I think if any one of us knows why Sophie can magically talk to animals now, it’s going to be you.”

  “That’s the thing,” Sophie continued. “It’s not all animals. I tried talking to some of the animals outside, but they just chirped back at me. It’s only Sprinkles.”

  “Weird,” I said, looking over at Charlotte, who looked desperate to teach Sophie and I something.

  “Magic isn’t this black and white thing,” Charlotte explained to us. “Especially in a case like Sophie’s, where her mom’s a full-on witch and her dad’s as human as they come. While we previously thought Sophie had no magical powers whatsoever, it seems that was wrong. But while Angela and I have the full spectrum of witch abilities, Sophie’s powers are quite a bit more limited. It seems a connection with her favourite dog was what was needed to trigger one of those abilities.”

  “You are my favourite doggy, aren’t you Sprinkles? Yes you are!” Sophie said, scratching him behind the ears.

  “Thank you, Sprinkles,” I told him, looking down at the happy dog. “You saved my life.”

  “And you found the person who hurt Andrea,” Sprinkles told me. “I need to thank you for that.”

  “Did you recognize him when he opened the door?”

  “Yes. As soon as I saw the face, everything came flooding back. I ran out of fear, and then I remembered that Sophie was going to the movies, and I had to get her. I had to get her to save you.”

  “And you did very well to do that,” Sophie said, gazing at him.

  “Well, Kelly Dottory’s not going to be happy,” I said as I watched the two of them.

  “Why’s that?” Sophie asked.

  “Because it’s obvious who’s the best suited to adopt Sprinkles now, and it sure isn’t her!”

  “You hear that Sprinkles? You’re going to live with us forever now!” Sophie announced, and Sprinkles nudged his head under her arm.

  “I’m really, really glad,” Sprinkles said.

  “Good. Bee, on the other hand, is not going to be happy,” I said, thinking of my already grouchy cat. I had a feeling I was going to have to start adding a line item for sushi in my monthly budget.

  Charlotte looked over at us. “Now I know how Sophie’s felt all these years, I’m the only one who can’t understand Sprinkles. But all the same he’s wormed himself into my heart as well. I’m glad he’s going to be living with us for good. I had an inkling though, it was obvious from the start that Sophie had completely fallen in love with him.”

  Sprinkles sat on the ground, wagging his tail along the floor, thrilled with all the attention he was getting, when a nurse came in, a bouncy blonde haired woman in her 40s who you just knew was the type who was still as friendly and amazing after a 20-hour shift than when she first got to work.

  “Oh good, you’re awake,” she said, grabbing my chart off the front of the bed. “How are you feeling, Angela?” she asked.

  “I’m alright,” I replied. “Just a little bit weary, I think. You know, the excitement of it all.”

  “Of course, you poor dear. Well I’m glad to hear it. We ran a few tests just to make sure nothing was wrong. Your sister here’s going to make an excellent doctor,” she added, beaming at Charlotte, who smiled and blushed slightly. “You’ve got the all-clear, so we’re just going to keep you here overnight, just to be safe, and Charlotte and Sophie here can come and take you home tomorrow afternoon.”

  “Thanks,” I told the nurse with a smile.

  “Can I get you anything?” she asked me kindly as she re-adjusted my pillow. I shook my head.

  “No, I’m good, thanks.”

  “Alright! Well, I’ll just remind Sophie and Charlotte not to tire you out, so they should probably leave in the next half hour or so.”

  “We will, thanks Nicky,” Charlotte told her, and she got another smile in reply.

  When the nurse left, Charlotte grabbed my hand. “Everyone’s really worried about you. We should go though. As the nurse says, we don’t want to overstress you.”

  “I’ll sneak you in some Chipotle before we go,” Sophie told me.

  “Have I ever told you you’re my favourite person?” I asked her.

  “A few times, but I never tire of hearing it.”

  The two of them left to get me Chipotle, and after they snuck my veggie burrito bowl back into my room, I found myself alone with only my thoughts – and my phone – to entertain me.

  I played Candy Crush for a while as I ate my food, and tried not to think too hard about what had happened. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to hold off for too long, as I got a visit from Chief Gary about an hour after Sophie and Charlotte left.

  “Hey, Chief Gary,” I said, greeting him with a smile.

  “Hi, Angela. How are you feeling?”

  “Great, thanks to you,” I replied. “Thanks for, you know, saving my life. I mean it.”

  Chief Gary waved away my thanks, but I did notice a bit of a blush creeping up his face.

  “Not a problem. All part of the job, after all. But speaking of the job, I do need to take your statement. Gareth Sims has lawyered up, one of those big cartel lawyers from LA, and I wanted to get your statement as soon as possible.”

  “Of course,” I answered, although deep down my heart sunk a little bit. The last thing I wanted to do was relive that experience right now, but I knew it was what I had to do.

  For forty minutes I told Chief Gary exactly what had happened and answered his numerous questions. When he was finished, which was helped along by Nicky comin
g back and shooing him out for tiring me out too much, I fell back into a deep, deep sleep which thankfully didn’t involve any dreams.

  Chapter 21

  When I woke up again, I saw Lisa and Ken sitting in the chairs next to my bed.

  “Oh, Angela. I’m really glad you’re fine,” Lisa told me. “Ken and I had a date after work and we thought we’d stop by and see how you were doing.”

  “Thanks, Lisa,” I told her. “And Ken. I appreciate you guys coming.”

  “We won’t stay long,” Ken told me. “We got yelled at by a nurse saying that you needed rest, and there’s someone else waiting outside who wants to see you. I did bring you this though,” he told me, handing me over a small square package wrapped in wax paper. I didn’t get halfway through unwrapping it before the familiar smell wafted up to me, and I leaned back and inhaled.

  “One of Betty’s veggie BLTs. Thank you, Ken.”

  He smiled at me. “I might not appreciate them – or understand your vegetarianism – but I know you love them, so I snuck it in for you.”

  “Thanks,” I said again, looking at him appreciatively. Ok, so maybe he wasn’t a total jerk.

  “We’re going to get going,” Lisa said, standing up and kissing me on the cheek. “You take care of yourself, ok? I’m going to come over there tomorrow and make sure you girls have enough food.”

  “It’s ok, Lisa, we’re almost thirty, we can make our own food.”

  “I’ve seen your fridge, sweetie. I’m amazed you’re not skin and bones. Don’t argue, I am going to come over there, and I am going to make sure you don’t have to worry about anything for a while.”

  I leaned back in the bed. “Ok, fine.”

  “Good. Now you rest up. Take care of yourself.”

  I said goodbye to Lisa and Ken, and waited to see who the person outside was. I expected to see Charlotte or Sophie back, but I was completely taken aback when instead, Antonia deLucca walked through the door.

  “Hi,” I greeted her, looking a little bit confused. I wasn’t entire sure why she was here.

  Antonia looked around, and then sat down gingerly on the chair next to my bed. She looked older somehow, like the last few weeks had aged her by ten years. She had always been quite sprightly for a woman of her age, but now she looked like, well, she looked her age.

  “Hello, Angela,” she told me formally. I waited for her to continue, and after about a minute, she did. “I wanted to thank you for finding the person responsible for killing Andrea.”

  I honestly had no idea what to say. “Thank you,” I finally started. “It was more of an accident than anything though. But, I thought you hated each other?”

  Antonia shook her head.

  “No. No, Andrea hated me. She hated me for what I did.”

  “When you told her daughter her true origins?”

  Antonia’s head snapped up. “How did you know about that?”

  “I was sworn to secrecy by the person who told me, I’m sorry,” I replied. “But you don’t have to worry, the secret is safe with me.”

  Antonia sighed. “What’s the point of secrets? I knew. I knew Janice had been kidnapped. And I argued with Andrea about whether or not to tell her. We argued about it for ages. She didn’t want the girl to know, and I thought she had to.”

  “Was that why you were arrested in Las Vegas?” I asked. Antonia laughed, a cold, hard laugh.

  “Why they should hire you down at the police station. You’re better than all those so-called detectives that barely look like they can shave yet. Yes, that was why. I got into an argument with Andrea after a few too many drinks on the strip. I tried to punch her, but her husband got in the way.”

  “And yet you told Janice anyway.”

  “I did. Eventually, I just couldn’t live with myself. I couldn’t live knowing that girl didn’t know her real family. I don’t know. Maybe I was wrong.” Antonia sighed. “Now Janice has no family. When I told her, she left Andrea and Robert. She just couldn’t handle it. I know she went to find her birth family, but it turned out her mother died of a heroin overdose when Janice was a teenager. So she moved to London, and she never came back. Sometimes I wonder if I didn’t ruin all those lives by telling her.”

  “You were just trying to do the right thing,” I said softly. For the first time in my life, I actually felt bad for Antonia. It was obvious she harboured a lot of guilt.

  “All the same. Although some good has come out of it, today was the will reading, and while everyone assumed that Andrea had left everything to her niece, it turned out Andrea was still a mother at heart, and left everything to her. I spoke to Janice this morning; she’s going to donate everything to the ASPCA.”

  I smiled to myself. Sophie was going to be thrilled that Kelly Dottory wasn’t getting anything from that will. And I had to admit, I felt a bit of satisfaction knowing that as well.

  “Oh,” I said. “That’s good.”

  “It is good. I never liked that Kelly girl. Too big for her britches, that’s what she is. Anyway, I must be off. I just wanted to thank you.”

  Antonia left the room quickly, and if I wasn’t mistaken, she wiped away a tear as she left. So that answered the question about why Antonia was arrested in Las Vegas. I couldn’t help but feel bad for the woman. She really did try and do what she thought was right.

  I looked down at the half unwrapped BLT Ken had brought me. Suddenly, my stomach growled. I wasn’t sure how long I’d napped for, but I knew it couldn’t have been that long since my Chipotle. Still, I felt ravenously hungry. I unwrapped the sandwich and inhaled before taking a big, juicy bite of the world’s most perfect sandwich.

  I had my mouth full of sandwich, barely able to close my mouth fully I’d taken such a big bite of the sandwich, when suddenly Jason Black walked in.

  My eyes widened as I saw him, and I desperately started chewing. Why did he have to come in just then?

  “Hoooovnnnnntyyeeerdanooookii?” I asked through the sandwich.

  “I’m sorry,” Jason replied, a smile on his face. “I didn’t quite get that.” He sat down on the chair and waited while I finished chewing. It felt like I was taking an eternity. I knew I looked like a chipmunk. I was half tempted to just grab the sheet and pull it over my face so Jason didn’t see me like this.

  Of course, while I looked like a gluttonous chipmunk in my sexy hospital gown, Jason was wearing slacks and a light blue polo shirt that was tight enough to make it obvious just how much time he must have spent at the gym. His hair had that just-got-out-of-bed look it always seemed to, and that casual attitude that was so infuriating just made him seem cooler.

  Grrrrr.

  Finally, I swallowed.

  “Haven’t you ever heard of knocking?” I tried again.

  “I was like, eighty percent sure that at some point you were going to choke trying to swallow that bite,” Jason replied. “If you had, then I would have saved your life. Again.”

  “Yeah, speaking of that, where were you this time?” I asked. Jason laughed.

  “I guess I can’t really call myself a journalist when a vet cracked open the case I was working, can I?”

  “What are you doing here, anyway?”

  “Being a journalist. I love this state. In New York there’s no way they’d just let me in to see you just by asking and saying I was a friend.”

  “Oh, so you’re here to grill me about what happened, then?” I asked.

  “Well, not exactly. I was wondering if when you get out of here you wanted to tell me all about it – or about anything else – over dinner.”

  Wait, was Jason Black seriously asking me out to dinner? Like, as in, on a date? But he was so… infuriating.

  “Yes,” I heard my mouth say. “Yeah, sure.”

  What on earth was wrong with me? I’d just agreed to go on a date with Jason Black. Oh, boy.

  Also by Samantha Silver

  First of all, I wanted to thank you for reading my book. I well and truly hope you enjoyed reading t
his book as much as I loved writing it.

  If you did enjoy Barking up the Wrong Tree I’d really appreciate it if you could take a moment and leave a review for the book on Amazon, to help other readers find the book as well.

  The third book in the Willow Bay Witches is coming soon! Being released on September 30th, it’s now available for pre-order by clicking here now.

  About the Author

  Samantha Silver lives in Oregon with her long-time boyfriend, her Jack Russell terrier named Kilo, two cats who like to help her type by lying across the keyboard, and the occasional foster. When she’s not playing mom to all these animals, Samantha is either writing the mysteries she loves, volunteering at the local animal shelter, or watching Netflix.

  You can connect with Samantha online here:

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