by Neely Powell
“Tyler,” he said into the phone, his gaze traveling in equal appreciation over her.
As Brenna smiled at him, his face grew serious. “We’ll be right there.”
She sat up. “What is it?”
“There’s been a break-in at Eva Grace’s shop,” he said, pulling on his jeans. “Brian said it’s bad. He found it during routine patrol. The alarm didn’t go off, but he said somebody really messed up the place.”
Brenna got up and retrieved her underwear from the side of the bed. “This is terrible. Eva Grace doesn’t need more trouble right now.”
“Well, there’s going to be a lot more,” Jake said.
His grim tone startled Brenna. “What do you mean?”
“Brian says there’s a body in the shop. Somebody else is dead.”
Chapter Fifteen
The parking lot at Siren’s Call was bright with the flashing lights of two patrol cars. By the time Jake pulled his cruiser to a halt in front of the renovated old house, the police were already hard at work. Brenna was out of the car and racing toward the shop before he could stop her.
“Dammit, Brenna, wait a minute,” he yelled as he wrenched open his door. Thankfully, Brian stopped her at the shop’s entrance.
Fiona’s van pulled in with a screech of tires. She flew out of the vehicle in a flash, but Jake caught her as she started after Brenna. “Slow down. You’re going to hurt yourself or someone else.”
Fiona pulled away. “Is Eva Grace okay? Brian called me and told me what happened.”
Jake followed her to the door where Brian was holding Brenna back. The younger deputy looked shaken. “I couldn’t stop Eva Grace,” he told Jake. “She did something magic to me, made me let her in.”
“Smart witch,” Brenna said as she snapped her fingers in front of her cousin’s eyes. Brian released her and stumbled backward.
“Hold it.” Jake reached for the sisters, but they were in the shop faster than he could react. “This is a crime scene,” he called after them. He traded frustrated glances with Brian and trailed after them.
Glittering sparkles topped everything in the store’s front room. Every crystal and piece of glass and pottery appeared to be in shards covering the floor and all of the merchandise. The devastation was thorough. The work of countless local artisans was in pieces. Dozens of candles were no more than colorful blobs. Ritual athames were embedded in the walls and the ceiling.
Jake pointed to the knives and told Brian, “None of those were sharp enough to stick like that in the plaster. What happened here?”
Herbs dumped from bins and baskets crunched underfoot as Jake and the younger man made their way deeper into the shop. Oils leaked from broken glass vessels. The combination of aromas was pungent.
In the corner where Eva Grace kept a display of local Native American art and totems, Jake saw only splintered wood and stone with shredded feathers on top. Like a pile of broken dreams, he thought.
He could apply the same description to Eva Grace. With Fiona and Brenna on either side of her, she knelt beside a body near the shop’s counter.
As Brian said when he called Jake, the dead person was Sandy Murphy, one of Eva Grace’s shop assistants. The corpse’s unblinking eyes stared up at the ceiling. Her arms and legs were outstretched. Her long, dark hair spread under her head. Blood spotted her arms and face from countless small nicks. No doubt caused by flying glass. Jake couldn’t see any other obvious wounds or any other blood, but she was unmoving, pale and very clearly dead.
Eyes glassy with shock, Eva Grace looked up at Jake. “She was only twenty,” she whispered. “She was working here to learn more about Wicca. She was helping her parents pay for her college. Since we stay open until nine during the tourist season, I made her the night manager.”
Eva Grace drew in a deep, shuddering breath. “I relied on Sandy more than anyone. More than Lauren or Maggie, even. She had an eye for display and a way of upselling that was natural. She’s been working so much since Garth died, picking up the slack for me.”
Fiona took Eva Grace’s hand in her own. Brenna’s arm went around her shoulders.
“I killed her,” Eva Grace said as tears slid down her cheeks.
“You did not,” Fiona said.
“You couldn’t have known this was going to happen,” Brenna added. “The only person at fault is the one who killed her.”
“No, it’s me who put her here,” Eva Grace said. “I put Sandy in the path of death. Everyone around me dies.”
Eva Grace crumpled between her cousins. Jake stepped forward and caught her. He pulled her gently to her feet and wrapped his arms around her. “Stop it, now,” he said. “This isn’t your fault. This had nothing to do with you.”
The redhead pushed him away. “Of course it does. It had to do with all of us. We saw today in our family book how people have died in this town for over two centuries because of us, because of something our ancestor did. If the Woman wasn’t coming for me, why would she come here and destroy my shop? Sandy died in my place.”
“We don’t know if this was the Woman in White.” Brenna put her arm around Eva Grace again. She looked at Jake, as if asking him to show them that this couldn’t have been their family’s enemy in action.
He couldn’t do that, of course. The inside of the shop looked like a bomb had detonated. If that had happened, Sandy’s body should have had more damage. An explosion like that would’ve been felt by half the town. The windows would have been shattered, the roof possibly blown off. Instead, the alarm in the shop hadn’t even activated. If Brian hadn’t driven by and seen lights on where there should have been none, no one would have discovered this until morning.
“There’s been evil here.” Fiona’s gaze traveled around the shop. “It’s black. Can’t you feel it, Brenna?”
Brenna nodded. “There’s heat, too. And a distinct charred odor. Like there’s been a fire.”
“Damn,” Jake muttered, turning to Brian. “Go through the place. Make sure we don’t have anything smoldering in here.”
“That’s not necessary,” Brenna said, countering Jake’s command. “It’s not smoke in the normal sense. It’s unnatural.”
The devastation in her face pulled at Jake. Only an hour ago she had been in his arms, and the grim reality of her family’s curse seemed far distant. Now evidence of it was all around them.
Fiona turned in a circle, her face ashen against her dark hair. “Even the ghost who lives in the shop is gone. She’s been in this old house since the Civil War. Only something terrible would force her away from her home. It’s the only place she’s ever wanted to be.”
“Are you sure she’s gone?” Jake’s gaze drifted toward the staircase that split the shop in two. He had heard about the resident ghost from many people, including Garth and Eva Grace. They said she often glided down that staircase as if coming down to receive guests. He had never seen her himself, but he didn’t doubt for moment she existed.
“She’s gone,” Fiona insisted. “I’ll need to find her, to help her come back.”
“Is Sandy here?” Eva Grace asked Fiona through tears. “Can you feel her?”
Fiona once more looked around the shop, and then closed her eyes. The only sound was Eva Grace’s ragged breathing. Finally, Fiona looked at Eva Grace and shook her head. “She’s not available to me. She may have simply crossed over.”
“I need to get to Sandy’s parents before they hear this from someone else,” Eva Grace said.
“We’ll tell them. It’ll be better coming from us,” Jake assured her. “You can call them tomorrow.”
“Don’t put that on yourself tonight,” Brenna murmured.
A voice called from the front of the store. In silent agreement, Brian, the Connelly witches and Jake worked their way with care to the entrance again. Red ambulance lights had joined the blue strobes of the sheriff’s cruisers in the parking lot.
The sheriff’s deputy standing guard at the door said the crime scene technician
s and coroner had arrived, and the state crime lab also had someone en route.
Jake called them while he and Brenna drove here. Two murders in his county in under two weeks were too much for his small team to process.
“We need to clear the scene,” he told the others.
“I think we know what caused this,” Brenna murmured to him.
Jake agreed, but he had to follow procedure. “On the off chance that this wasn’t connected to your family’s curse, we have to go through the motions of an investigation.”
“I don’t want to leave Sandy alone,” Eva Grace protested.
Brian patted her on the shoulder. “We’ll take care of her for you. I promise you that.” With a jerk of his chin, he gestured for the other deputy to follow him back into the store.
As Jake herded Brenna and her family outside, the amateur crime scene techs began collecting evidence and taking photos. Jake asked them to concentrate on the paranormal element, to leave most of the physical evidence collection to the state men.
The GP who was also the county’s coroner greeted them as he slipped white booties over his shoes. At least one person was following protocol. EMTs stood by the ambulance.
“There’s no obvious cause of death,” Jake murmured to the doctor. “If you and the state guys could get that for me soon, I’d appreciate it.”
The doctor nodded. Jake turned back to the three women. “You should all go home now. Leave this to us, and we’ll talk tomorrow.”
“I want to stay,” Eva Grace said. “Maybe we can start cleaning up as soon as the doctor is finished.”
“That’s going to take a while,” Jake demurred, looking to Brenna for help. The best thing they could all do for Eva Grace was get her out of here. She didn’t need to be here when they brought Sandy’s body out.
Brenna nodded as if she understood. “Let’s go now,” she suggested to Eva Grace. “Tomorrow is soon enough to begin sorting through the mess.”
“I need to put up the closed sign. Sandy hadn’t done that yet.”
“That may help us fix a time of death. The front door was open, so this happened before she closed.” On the off chance this murder had not been a supernatural act, evidence like that would help. Jake patted Eva Grace’s arm. “We’ll put the sign in place. Where are your keys so I can lock up?”
“Use mine.” Fiona pulled a key off her key ring and gave it to Jake.
Eva Grace sighed as she pushed her hair back from her pale features. “How did any human or super get through the wards I had set on the store?”
“And if anyone—or anything—can get through those, we’re in trouble,” Fiona said. “We’ve set the same kind of wards all over the county, to keep evil away. The Connellys have been setting charms and casting spells of peace for as long as we’ve been here.”
“Only they don’t seem to work when it’s time for the Woman in White to come,” Brenna observed.
A black SUV pulled into the parking lot. Sarah and Marcus got out of the front. Two other people emerged from the passenger seats.
Jake heard a sharp intake of breath and looked at Brenna. “What’s wrong?”
“They’re here.”
Who “they” were was instantly apparent as Fiona darted forward. “Mom. Dad,” Fiona cried, opening her arms to the couple who trailed Sarah and Marcus.
A slender redhead who looked like an older version of Eva Grace grabbed Fiona in a fierce hug.
“Your parents.” Jake turned again to Brenna. “Looks like they got on a plane right after Sarah called them.”
“Sarah and Marcus must have picked them up in Atlanta.” Brenna’s expression went blank as Eva Grace also moved forward to be wrapped in a hearty embrace by a tall, handsome man with dark hair.
Jake stayed with Brenna as she hesitated.
Brenna’s mother was now greeting Eva Grace. “Oh, my girl,” she said, pulling her niece close in her arms. “My sweet, dear girl. What a terrible time you’re going through.”
“We came straight here,” said the man who was clearly Brenna’s father. He was looking toward Brenna now, over Fiona’s head.
Brenna stopped a couple of feet in front of her parents. Everyone fell silent. To Jake, the locking of Brenna and Delia’s gazes was more a standoff than a mother-daughter reunion.
Her father slipped around his wife and went to his oldest daughter. He gave her a one-armed hug and left his arm draped around her shoulders. He looked awkward, but Jake noted that he made an effort. On the other hand, Brenna’s mother made no move toward her.
“Do you have any idea what happened here tonight?” her father asked.
Brenna shook her head. “Not yet.”
Jake stepped forward and put out his hand. “Sheriff Jake Tyler.”
“Aiden Burns,” Brenna’s father said. “And this is my wife, Delia.”
Delia broke away from Brenna’s regard long enough to greet Jake.
Sarah said, “We were on our way from the airport when Doris called to tell us about the break-in.” She clasped Eva Grace to her side. “We’ll clean it up, dear. I promise we’ll fix it.”
“We’ll all help,” Aiden said.
“Right,” Brenna said with sarcasm. “That’s what family is for, isn’t it, to be there when they’re needed?”
She stepped away from Aiden’s hold, moving closer to Jake. It was the first time she had ever looked at him like she truly wanted his help.
“Can we get Eva Grace home?” she said.
“The entire coven is gathering at the home place,” Sarah replied before Jake could answer her.
Brenna frowned. “It’s after midnight, and Eva Grace is exhausted.”
“And another person is dead,” Sarah snapped. “We have to make a plan.”
Jake could feel anger simmering just underneath the surface in Brenna.
She said to Sarah, “I guess now that our two saviors are here, you feel somehow empowered. Are you expecting them to put our family book back together? We already started on that without you or them.”
“I knew when you found the book this morning,” Sarah replied. “I could have stopped you, but I didn’t.”
“You could have done a lot of things that you didn’t,” Brenna said. “Like spending the last twenty-eight years trying to stop this madness from happening again. Isn’t it a little late to be calling in the expert help?”
Delia stepped in between her mother and her oldest daughter.
“Aren’t we beyond this kind of adolescent bickering?” Delia sent Sarah a reproving look as she turned to Brenna. “We’re here to help end the ‘madness’ as you call it. We’re so happy your grandmother has asked for our help.”
Brenna stepped back. “And as long as you’re happy, that’s all that matters, right?” Then she walked to Fiona’s van, got in the passenger side and slammed the door.
Jake looked from her to her family, feeling helpless. He thought Brenna had good reason for the disdain she had for her parents. However, this family needed to unite if they were going to defeat the sinister forces that had just claimed another life in their town.
Or would the next death be one of the Connelly witches?
Chapter Sixteen
Though it was nearly one in the morning, Brenna wasn’t surprised that the rest of the coven waited for them at the home place. The house was lit up like All Hallow’s Eve.
Brenna noted that elders, aunts and cousins were all in attendance as she followed her sister, parents and grandparents into the house. Tears were shed and embraces exchanged as Delia and Aiden were welcomed back into the fold.
So simple for them all to laugh and cry and pretend like there’s nothing amiss, Brenna thought as she paused in the doorway to the dining room. She had never been able to understand how the whole family overlooked that her parents abandoned their children. Though she knew there was little to be achieved by fighting with anyone about it tonight, she still resented how everyone welcomed Delia home like a heroine.
“Please try.”
Brenna turned at the sound of Fiona’s voice. Her younger sister threaded her arm through Brenna’s, clasped her hand and leaned close. “Please just let it go for tonight.”
When they were young and Brenna had been arguing with Sarah, this was the tactic Fiona always used to get Brenna to back down. A simple plea. Naked entreaty in her green eyes. And much like she’d done for most of her life, if Fiona asked, Brenna found it tough to resist. “I’ll try,” she told her.
“Let’s help them get the food together.”
“Because of course we have to have a table full of food before we do anything else.” Brenna shook her head at the bounty spread in front of them. The relatives had arrived with a truckload of Southern “comfort.”
From the elder aunts there was homemade bread and strawberry jam, cinnamon rolls and sliced ham. Lauren’s mother, Aunt Estelle, was carrying in a blackberry cobbler, hot from the oven. Maggie had retrieved peaches from Sarah’s canning cellar and was emptying them into a large glass bowl, while Aunt Diane sliced a pound cake that Brenna knew contained a pound of butter and almost as much sugar. Lauren set out cups, plates and silverware.
“I brought you a couple dozen eggs,” Aunt Estelle said to Marcus from the open kitchen door. “Get in here and do what you do best.”
Marcus was famous for his eggs scrambled with cheese, fresh basil and sour cream. He turned to Brenna. “Come help me crack some eggs. Next to me, you do it best.”
Brenna smiled for the first time since the phone call had summoned her to Eva Grace’s shop. Trust Marcus to pull her into to the family again, to give her something to do. Content to let the rest of the coven buzz around them, she broke eggs, tore basil leaves and shredded cheese at her stepfather’s direction.
By the time two huge skillets of eggs were ready, an urn of coffee was made. The family gathered around the table, passed platters of food and ate.
Sarah sat at the head with Aiden and Delia on either side. Frances and Doris were next, with Estelle, Diane, and Brenna’s sister and three cousins filling in next to them. Marcus took the chair opposite Sarah and Brenna sat down beside him.