I still had to find Scarlett. Soon there would be another Witches’ Council meeting, and so far I had nothing of significance to tell them. Even more importantly, I simply wanted to find Scarlett for her grandmother’s sake.
We all settled in and passed food around. Charlie grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around her shoulders when the wind coming off the water brought a slight chill. Between the blanket and the fire we all stayed warm enough.
It was a beautiful starry night, and there was a lot of laughter. Jasper had brought food of his own, a plate of veggies and cheeses with crackers galore. When I filled my plate just from that tray, he laughed. “Dinner and snacks?”
“Of course,” I said.
“Since work is off limits, what shall we talk about? Should we play a game? Maybe salad bowl?” Deacon proposed.
“I don’t know what salad bowl is,” said Hansen.
“Liam will play games with me when he gets here,” said Greer. “I don’t want him to feel left out if we start without him.”
“Penny was just telling me about her work,” said Jasper, settling in and throwing another log on the fire.
Penny looked down and blushed. “It’s just marketing. It’s nothing as exciting as what Hansen does.”
“How did you two meet, anyway? I know you said it was high school, but is there a story there?” I asked.
They glanced at each other. “We became friends when we were twelve. Our older brothers played on the same baseball team,” said Penny.
Charlie dropped the cup she was holding and Hansen picked it up, wiped it off with one of his napkins, and handed it back to her, all without looking at her. Charlie took the cup and muttered a thank you.
“I guess you could say Hansen and I made up a group of friends in high school like you guys make up a group,” said Penny.
Deacon coughed, trying not to laugh. Greer gave him a hard elbow to the ribs.
“We weren’t exactly friends in high school,” I responded to Penny’s confused look.
“But you seem like the best of friends now,” she said.
“The three of us were friends,” I pointed at Charlie and Greer. “We sort of ran in different circles from the guys. We weren’t that close with Liam then either.”
“Greer and I started dating in high school, but that was about it. My mother wasn’t exactly supportive,” said Deacon.
“I’m sure that’s changed now that she’s gotten to know Greer,” said Penny.
“My mother is about as likely to change as . . . well, she isn’t likely to change,” said Deacon, shaking his head.
Mrs. Grate was a terrifying individual; she looked down on Greer almost as much as Greer’s mother, Mrs. Dice, looked down on Deacon.
I hated to think about the two of them in the same room together. I wondered if Greer had ever imagined it. If her facial expression at that moment could be believed, she had indeed imagined it in the past and was remembering it now—and it was bad.
“Well, at least you’re all friends now,” said Penny.
There was the slightest awkward pause before Hansen said, “And Lemmi and Jasper just started dating.”
And before the awkwardness could spill over and break the dam walls . . .
“Pity there wasn’t a really hot third guy from Mintwood High School for me,” said Charlie with a smile.
Jasper was flushing slightly, while I longed for a bird to fly overhead so I could have the excuse of staring at that.
“Real pity,” Hansen muttered.
“What was that you said?” said Charlie, leaning forward.
“Rug bitty,” said Hansen, his face erupting in flames.
“Huh?” said Charlie.
“Don’t worry about it,” he said.
“Sooo you two aren’t . . .” Given how confusing they were both being, I was glad that Greer was just going to ask the question outright.
“Aren’t what?” Penny fluttered her long eyelashes.
“Dating,” I said.
“Oh, no way,” laughed Penny. “No, actually I’m here . . . just to visit.”
She didn’t finish whatever it was she’d been about to say. I wondered if she was visiting in order to confess her real feelings for Hansen but couldn’t bring herself to do it, either alone with him or in front of people she barely knew. I really had no idea, and I couldn’t worry about it. I had more important puzzles to solve.
The awkward moment passed, and we spent a really fun and relaxed evening just chatting. When Liam arrived we started playing I Spy.
It was late into the night and we were still playing, but getting sleepy.
“I spy . . .” Penny yawned. “Oh, I spy a strange light on the water!”
Sure enough, across the lake a purple light sparkled, winking in and out in a mesmerizing rhythm.
“It looks like it’s coming from one of the other cottages over there,” I said, trying to get a better look.
“Let’s go check it out,” whispered Penny. Her eyes had suddenly lighted up in a way I hadn’t seen before; it made her looked excited and alive. Hansen also noticed, and he looked happy. If they weren’t dating, they surely were the best of friends.
“I’m in,” said Deacon.
“Of course you are,” Greer groaned. She braced her hands on her knees and stood up. “Okay, I’m in too. Let’s get lost in the woods. Again.”
“What do you mean again?” Deacon said.
Jasper gave me a sharp look.
I tried to look innocent.
Jasper turned to Hansen and said, “Have you ever noticed that people trying to look innocent always look more guilty?”
“Yup. Makes writing stories that much easier.” Hansen, who never missed anything, snuck a glance at me and smirked.
We headed out of Jasper’s back yard in single file and snaked around the lake.
“Do you think it’s Paws?” whispered Charlie, who had fallen into step next to me.
Sad to say, I had forgotten all about my erstwhile cat. He could take care of himself, of course, to the extent that a ghost cat needed to take care of himself in the first place. But I still felt sheepish to realize that he was on Charlie’s mind but not on mine.
“I’m afraid it’s dark ghosts,” I told her.
“It can’t be,” she said. “They aren’t purple.”
That much at least was true.
Deacon had taken the lead, with Penny not far behind him. Greer was walking next to Jasper, talking quietly about what it was like to date unreasonable people.
“I wouldn’t know.” Jasper looked over his shoulder and winked at me.
Bringing up the rear were Liam and Hansen. Liam was telling Hansen all about what it was like to own a shop. Hansen was responding with how thankful he was that he did not.
“It’s not so bad once you get the hang of it,” Liam said. “It’s good to be your own boss.”
“I feel like I’m my own boss, plus there aren’t any customers to answer to,” said Hansen.
“You have readers, don’t you?” said Liam.
“Yes, but they love me universally,” said Hansen.
Next to me, Charlie snorted.
“Eavesdropping much?” Greer asked.
“I can’t help it if I can hear them,” Charlie muttered.
Something swooshed over my head and I fought the urge to scream. “Get it together,” I silently ordered myself. I was a witch.
There were no other cottages very near Jasper’s, and I had always assumed that was part of why he had picked the lot he had. He owned a lot of the land on either side of the cottage, and I was sure he planned to keep it undeveloped.
Or maybe that was just wishful thinking.
There were plenty of other houses on the lake, in any case. In fact, there was a house set back from the water right behind where the purple light had appeared. I held my breath as we approached it.
In their excitement, Deacon and Penny had rushed ahead. Greer, suddenly worried about her boyfrien
d, hurried to catch up, and Hansen and Liam in turn started trotting to catch up with the rest of us.
“What do you think the light is?” Liam asked.
“Probably just the moon reflecting through a purple decoration or something that was left there by mistake,” I shrugged.
“If that’s all it is, I want it for my shop,” said Liam. “That’s a beautiful shade of purple.”
Jasper fell into step next to me and took my hand. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to.
“Jasper, if something bad happens are you going to protect me?” Liam asked.
“I have to protect Lemmi first, but then I’ll protect you,” Jasper said.
“I guess I can’t argue with that,” said Liam.
“We’ll be fine,” said Charlie. “I think.”
Deacon and Penny had now disappeared from view.
“Let’s go,” I said, hurrying forward and dragging my boyfriend along with me. Nimbly I stepped over a log and came around a huge tree that drooped over the water.
When we finally saw Deacon, Penny, and Greer, Penny was bending over something, while Deacon and Greer stood by and watched.
My heart beat wildly. Penny was frozen in place.
“It’s just a witch,” she said, looking over her shoulder in confusion.
“A witch?” I started forward, releasing Jasper’s hand.
Sure enough, on the ground leaning against the stump of a fallen tree was a witch with bright red hair. My mouth went dry. Even in doll form the witch looked very familiar. It was also glowing eerily from within.
“I can’t see where the light is coming from,” Penny complained, reaching out as if to touch it.
I lunged forward, but before I could say anything Jasper’s commanding voice rang out. “Let’s just leave it alone. Who knows what it’s doing out here. If it’s warding off ghosts, I want it to keep doing good work.”
“What do you have against ghosts?” Paws asked, appearing out of nowhere and scaring me half to death.
I glared at the ghost cat. Jasper, who I didn’t think could hear or see ghosts, turned to look in the cat’s direction. It was exactly what his grandfather had done when he’d had the misfortune of encountering Paws, only his grandfather looked more sure of what he’d heard than Jasper did.
The witch looked an awful lot like Scarlett.
Chapter Twenty
As we walked back to Jasper’s I thought about how no one else knew of the similarity between the witch doll and Scarlett because no one else had seen a picture of Scarlett.
“That was a waste of time,” said Penny, disappointed. She thrust out her lower lip and pouted as the rest of us settled around the fire to enjoy the lovely evening for a few more minutes.
I glanced up at the starry sky. We needed a break in the case. Both cases. As soon as possible. Otherwise Scarlett might never come home and I might never get my séance.
Taking a deep breath, I settled back into the blanket that Jasper had dropped around my shoulders. The cozy fabric was closely followed by his warm arm. I snuggled deeper into the crook of his body and told myself to relax. I would figure everything out. Tomorrow.
“This is all a fishy business,” said Charlie the next morning.
We were sitting in the living room with the door and the windows open wide. The sun was blasting and it was a beautiful summer day. I had the Caedmon Chronicle stretched out on my lap while Charlie had her own paper. We had agreed to scour the pages for any information and then trade stories.
“Did someone say fish?” Paws asked from his crate. He was barely visible, especially in the sun. He opened one droopy eye to speak but then quickly let it slide shut again.
“You could probably find some in the stream,” said Charlie. Out back near my grandmother’s grave there was a small stream running along the edge of the property.
“Mice,” Paws muttered.
“Is he saying that in his sleep or is he awake?” Charlie wondered.
I shrugged. “Just as likely to be one as the other,” I mused.
Hansen had implied that there would be information in today’s Chronicle that we’d find interesting. Charlie hadn’t wanted to look herself, so she had directed me to find it.
“He must have been talking about this bit about the arrest,” I said.
“I can’t believe Skip was ever arrested,” said Charlie.
“It was just for stealing a car, though,” I said. “And it was a long time ago. He didn’t strike me as the criminal type, no matter what he did in his wild youth.”
“Maybe Isabel caught him trying to steal something more important and he killed her to keep her quiet,” Charlie theorized.
“Maybe,” I said. “There’s nothing else in here of note.”
“I bet Detective Cutter is going to re-interview him now that that’s come out,” said Charlie.
“Probably,” I agreed.
Greer had stayed the night at Deacon’s, so it was just the two of us. Even if Greer had been home, it would still have been several hours before she was likely to get out of bed.
“Should we go to the Daily Brew?” said Charlie.
“Great idea,” I said.
First, though, I took Charger out for a bit of a walk, which I always did when Greer stayed away from the farmhouse overnight. Then I went for a drive to check on Cesar, who was getting bored. I promised him I’d bring him to the farmhouse to make friends with Charger, so long as Cesar promised to keep it a secret from his cantankerous owner. After that, I returned home to pick up Charlie so we could drive into town together.
Downtown Mintwood was strangely quiet, but some days were like that, where it seemed like everyone had gone on a camping trip without us. Not that I minded too much; I was not a fan of camping.
Charlie and I strolled into the empty coffee shop; the weekly senior citizens’ chess group was just leaving. The group consisted of four old guys who were better at chess than I would ever be.
“Two coffees, please, Mrs. Barnett,” said Charlie.
“Coming right up,” said the woman behind the counter.
“Say, Mrs. Barnett, I don’t suppose you’ve heard anything interesting about the Isabel Gray case,” said Charlie.
“What would I have heard that you haven’t?” the woman asked, giving Charlie a sharp look.
“People must stand here all day and chat. I bet you’ve heard all sorts of interesting things over the years,” said Charlie.
“Sure have,” said Mrs. Barnett, her face suddenly breaking into a wide grin. Then she seemed to remember who she was speaking with.
“Not that I’m going to tell you any of it, mind. I would never break the confidence of my customers.”
“Right, of course not. I wouldn’t ask you to,” said Charlie.
“Sure you would if it meant a good story,” said Mrs. Barnett. She knew the games Charlie played, but she didn’t mind. Mrs. Barnett fancied herself able to keep up with anyone. And she was probably right.
“But about the Gray case specifically,” said Charlie.
“Heard her family’s a nightmare. Even more so since they’re trying to plan a funeral together,” said Mrs. Barnett.
“Wouldn’t they have a funeral back where Isabel is from? Down south?” This was news to Charlie and me.
“I guess they want to bury her here. Her daughters think Mintwood was her favorite place in the world,” said Mrs. Barnett.
Charlie and I exchanged looks. Mrs. Barnett didn’t know it, of course, but this news meant that Isabel might be sticking around here a lot longer. Maybe even forever.
“Does the family ever come in here?” Charlie asked. Now that we’d met some of them I had started to wonder. I couldn’t remember ever seeing them in the Daily Brew, but I did usually get there rather early in the day.
“Everyone comes in here eventually,” said Mrs. Barnett.
Just as we were finishing our coffees and gathering our things to leave, the bell on the shop door tinkled. Given
that the place was so empty, I couldn’t help but turn around to see who had come in.
A young adult dressed all in black came through from the blinding sunlight into the comparatively dark interior of the coffee shop.
“Anna,” said Charlie, before realizing that Anna didn’t really know us. The girl gave Charlie a dirty look and made her way to the counter. Mrs. Barnett’s sharp eye took it all in, and she hastened to get Anna’s order.
“Smooth,” I muttered to Charlie. In her friendliness she had probably just ruined any chance we had of getting Anna to talk to us.
Charlie hunkered down at the table with her coffee cup to wait out Anna’s departure, but Anna didn’t depart. Instead she came stomping over and demanded, “You’re that reporter, aren’t you?”
Charlie was so surprised she nearly spilled what remained of her coffee. But we both managed to sit up straight and look at the young woman.
“I’m Charlie Silver,” said my friend. “This is Lemmi.”
“Right, yeah, do you know who killed my grandmother?” she asked.
“No, not yet. We’re trying to find out,” said Charlie.
“I thought that was the police’s job,” said Anna. She looked more curious than angry. But it was hard to tell under the pound of black makeup.
“I like to help out,” said Charlie.
“Does that mean you help even though they don’t want you to?” Anna looked amused. She had been prepared not to like Charlie, but it was very hard not to like Charlie. Greer had been trying for years.
“I’m sure they don’t really mind,” said Charlie.
“Right,” said Anna.
“Is there anything you can tell us about your grandmother’s death?” Charlie asked.
“Someone in my family definitely did it,” said Anna. “Grandmother Isabel was as strong as an ox. She didn’t just keel over and die.”
“Why would someone in the family want to kill your grandmother?” I asked, taken aback by the girl’s bluntness.
“Isn’t it always about money? I watch a lot of crime shows. I’m pretty sure it’s money,” said Anna.
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