by K. M. Waller
I made it to the far edge when my fingers bumped into a package. I pulled down a pack of cigarettes with a lighter tucked into the transparent plastic film. Several were missing. My mom had had this brand sticking out behind her ear.
Bursts of giggles came from the direction of the back door. Even before I could see them, I knew the giggling coming my way belonged to my mom and her two friends.
I only had moments to decide how to play it, so I went with being the cool new teacher. Rebecca could continue to be the authoritarian. I mean, Jennifer was my mom after all. We would have to have something in common on a genetic level. I leaned against the side of the shed and tapped the bottom of the cigarette pack until the girls came into view.
“Those are ours,” she said.
“Oh, yeah?” I bounced the bottom of the package until a single cigarette popped up and grasped it between my lips. I held back a gag. “Aren’t you a little young to be smoking?”
Jennifer put her hand out. “Aren’t you a little old to be a physical fitness teacher?”
I bit down hard on the cigarette.
The girl beside her who snickered had a hairstyle that matched mine almost identically. Poor thing. I nicknamed her Frick. The one with short ringlets framing her face could be Frack.
“No,” I answered, coming across more lame than cool. The cigarette I didn’t want bobbed between my lips as I spoke.
Frack grabbed Jennifer’s arm. “Jen, come on, let’s get out of here. I don’t want her telling Ms. Rebecca we’re out here smoking.”
Jennifer shrugged her off and moved closer to me. “I think she’s cool. Isn’t that right, Ms. Netty-petty? You’re cool?”
Trying to be and failing miserably.
Frick and Frack came farther into the shed with her and the teenage angst and emotions swirled in the surrounding air. My stomach churned. This why I didn’t enjoy working with kids. I didn’t even have to touch them to be affected by what they were feeling. And these girls were feeling a heavy dose of emotions. I took a calming breath and focused.
I circled round to try flattery. “Hey, awesome necklaces. Do you guys practice Wiccan?”
“What is Wiccan?” Jennifer asked.
I narrowed my eyes. Was she playing dumb? “Wiccan, you know…” I really wanted to say the word witchcraft but held back for fear of being too obvious. “You know, celebrating the magic of the earth and the trees and stuff like that.”
Frick sat on the riding lawn mower’s seat. “Jennifer’s boyfriend, Hector, bought them for us. His mom sells this stuff in the back of the hair salon. She’s literally the town witch.”
“Shut up,” Jennifer snapped.
Town witch? While the girl had said literally, I doubted if she knew for a fact if old Grams practiced witchcraft. I thought back to the initial meeting with my grandmother in the hair salon. She’d given off some powerful vibes, plus she’d worn gloves. Had I been wrong about the origin of my witch ancestry being maternal? Were the gloves to create a barrier for Gram’s empath powers?
The girls stared at me like I’d dropped into weirdo-ville. I put the thoughts on witchcraft aside and moved straight into questions about Sarah. “That’s really gnarly what happened to the headmistress.” I lifted the cigarette pack and handed one to each of them. I lit mine first and tried not to inhale but I choked a little and broke out into a coughing fit.
The girls laughed.
“Not much of a smoker, huh?” Jennifer blew smoke circles, the ringlets heading for my face.
I quickly gave up the ruse as it was just too obvious. I crushed the cigarette into the ground and tossed the pack to her. “Not really my thing, I’ll be honest. So, about the headmistress, Sarah. I hear she was kind of like a demon.”
Frick snorted a laugh. “She was literally the biggest jerk.”
Not to be outdone, Frack joined in. “Even if they’re all crying in there, everyone at school is glad she’s gone. She wasn’t just mean, she was hateful mean.”
“Any one particular girl that she bullied?” I didn’t know if I’d be able to have enough tree branches to map out every girl in the school with a possible motive.
Jennifer narrowed her eyes. “Are you, like, suggesting that one of us killed Ms. Sarah? Because we might skip school and stuff, but this isn’t juvie.”
The atmosphere shifted and Frick and Frack fed off of Jennifer’s burst of irritation. I backpedaled. “You know that’s cool or whatever. I’m just glad to have a job, you know what I mean?” I didn’t even know what I meant.
The three of them eyed me with more distrust than before. I thought back to my acronym sentence and what other information I needed from the mean teen mob. The matching statements and the mention of a blue truck. I’d already concluded the statements matched so well because Frick and Frack did whatever Jennifer told them.
“Have you guys given your statements to the cops yet?”
Jennifer took another long drag. I mentally counted the months to my birthday hoping she wasn’t pregnant with me yet.
She tilted her head and blew out the smoke. “Nope.”
I addressed the other two girls. “Did you guys see anything?”
Frick and Frack exchanged glances but only shrugged.
I dove in with what I really wanted to know. “So, I saw this creepy blue truck near the entrance earlier. Do you guys know who it belongs to?”
“We don’t know anyone with a blue truck,” Frack said.
I twisted my bottom lip and considered the repercussions of mentioning the truck. Had I given them something to add to their statement they hadn’t already thought of?
Jennifer tossed her cigarette into the dirt and ground the burning ember out with her shoe. Frick and Frack followed her actions. When Jennifer moved past me to put her cigarette pack back in the hiding spot, her skin touched mine. A static electricity shock bounced between us and she recoiled. Her eyes widened a little, and it saddened me I wouldn’t be able to tell her about our true connection.
One thing I knew for certain from our touch. My mom was not a witch.
She backed away from me and dropped the lighter. “Oh, can you get that?”
I turned to bend over to pick up the lighter and as soon as I did, the shed door slammed closed.
“Whoa! Wait a second.” I heard the outside door being fiddled with. Teenagers.
If I’d ever been that annoying I needed to make a point to apologize to Momma Carla and Chuck the very next time we had dinner. Maybe Mariana too.
A round of giggles drifted away from the shed’s door. “Open this door right now!” I slapped the side of the shed with frustration. I didn’t have time for pranks. I could use my magic powers and blast the door with a spell but unable to see who stood on the other side meant giving away my secret. Not on day one, I wouldn’t. The Agency’s clean-up crew would never forgive me if they had to come back and erase a school full of memories.
If Lily Rose were here, she’d be laughing her butt off.
If I banged loud enough eventually someone would come outside to look for me. I hoped.
I hit the metal door over and over calling out, “Hey! Hey! Somebody let me out. I’m stuck in here.”
Obviously.
What could they have possibly locked it with? I hadn’t noticed a padlock when I’d come inside. Sunlight streamed through several rusted cracks. I glanced around looking for a crowbar or something to pry the door open. I sat on the riding lawnmower and considered the damage it would cause if I rode it into the shed’s door.
“Hey somebody in there?” I heard a voice call out. It sounded like Officer Mike who’d been guarding the parking lot.
“Yeah, I locked myself in, I guess.” How embarrassing. I was usually ten times more on top of my game. While my mom might not be a true-born witch with powers, she certainly had the characteristics of a certain fantasy witch with green skin. Wicked.
Officer Mike pulled the door open and removed his sunglasses. “You accidentally locked you
rself in by putting a stick through the door handles?”
I didn’t answer with the obvious. “Could you hear me yelling all the way in the front parking lot?”
“No, I was doing a perimeter check, and I noticed that the shed door was closed. An hour ago it was open.” His lips twitched into a half smile. “The yelling helped though.”
Perimeter check. Like I was supposed to be doing. Now seemed a good time to be introduced to the crime scene while the local and state cops still argued jurisdiction.
I shook off the humiliation and focused on how to approach the crime scene. I had questions for Officer Mike too. Where was I with the Head of M.B.A. is a dish water B.A.G.? I’d met the headmistress and mean teen mob. Next on the list would be the discrepancies in police statements and the question of less than stellar police work. Officer Mike would most likely be able to help with why the coroner’s reports hadn’t matched too.
I twisted my hands in front of me and shifted my expression to one of fake worry. “Truthfully, I think the girls locked me in because they planned on going into the woods to check out the crime scene. Maybe you could walk me back there so we can make sure.”
A look of horror twisted his features. “Do you think they’d do that? Do you think they’d go to where Ms. Sarah was murdered?”
“You have to check back there anyway right? It wouldn’t hurt to look.”
He settled his sunglasses back into place. “I don’t think I should take you back there though.”
“It’s okay,” I said. “I’m made of pretty stern stuff, plus they already moved the body, right?”
“Oh yeah, the county CSI took her to the coroner’s office this morning.”
“And who found her body exactly?”
“Two of the girls.”
“Do you know which girls they were?” I asked.
“The sobbing ones in the office earlier this morning. I think they’d come back to smoke or just hang out.”
“Right. They said something about it being a possible animal attack.”
“The Chief mentioned the animal connection to the coroner but honestly, I wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference with all the blood.”
I let the information settle and didn’t press further. If the chief of police had suggested an animal attack that might be why the county coroner noted it in his paperwork on the scene. The state coroner might have been more thorough and determined the wounds as stabbing.
We walked a worn path into the woods about a quarter of a mile. I couldn’t be sure of the exact distance but when I looked back, I couldn’t see the school.
Officer Mike walked with one hand on the butt of his 9mm positioned on the gun belt around his waist. I could tell without even touching him he was anxious. I was too the first time I had a big case that involved a violent death.
We came to a clearing big enough for a car. The thick brush surrounded it on all sides. Someone would have cornered Sarah here.
I stopped at the edge. “Why isn’t anyone guarding the crime scene now?”
“Chief said we didn’t need to after the county guys came through and removed the body.”
“Has the state detective been in yet?”
He shook his head and gestured over his shoulder. “The Chief will keep fighting his interference. We need to be the ones to solve this.”
But they don’t. I kept the comment to myself.
The ground in front of me had several shoe prints trampled into the soft dirt. I squatted down and caught sight of the supposed vigil. One candle had been thrown into the bushes and beside it sat a little poppet doll made of straw. No bigger than the size of my hand. How had the locals missed this before? The state detective would find it when the Chief finally allowed him to walk through, but he’d never understand the implications of the magic connected to a doll like that.
I noticed several strands of hair tied around the edge. Dark brown hair. The same as Sarah’s yet also the same as several women and girls from the school.
Finally. I’d wondered how the paranormal connected to this mystery and it looked like I’d found it.
Chapter Seven
Even though I had a solid hunch that the hair wrapped around the doll belonged to Sarah, I planned to use a scrying spell to change my theory to fact. With no other options, I stuffed the doll up my dress and tucked it into my underwear so it wouldn’t fall out. I’d switch it to my bag later when it’d be less obvious.
It’s possible the altar had been set up before the attack and could have been used to lure out Sarah to begin with. I’d never personally known any witch that used a poppet. That kind of magic usually led down a darker path.
“We should get back.” Officer Mike couldn’t take his eyes off the patch of torn up ground where they’d found the body. The county CSI had taken most of the dirt beneath her and it’d left an odd-shaped rectangle.
I made a wide circle around the area, checking for were-animal prints or any other pieces of missed evidence.
“Yeah, it doesn’t look like the girls came this way.” I shook out my dress, hoping the poofy material would cover the item I’d snatched. “Is this your first murder investigation?”
A light blush started at his neck. “The rumors about me puking hit town already, didn’t they?”
“I would worry more about you if finding a dead body didn’t affect you.” Sort of like how some grownups inside acted unaffected.
We walked the path toward the school and from the edge of the yard, we could see the Chief still arguing with the state police detective.
I shook my head. “All that’s missing is the sheriff to add to the squabble.”
“The sheriff’s happy to leave it to us since it’s within city limits.” He frowned as the two men raised their voices. “I guess Chief Everett is a bit territorial. He doesn’t want the state guy to come in and show him up. But I’m serious when I say we’ve got this handled.”
The arguing and wasting of time alone could have been the biggest slowdown in the solving of this case. I still wouldn’t rule out the newfound paranormal connection, but I could see how this case had become cold. Too many generals and not enough soldiers. “The extra resources would be nice though, right? Shouldn’t it be about the safety of the women in the community?”
Mike’s jaw tensed. I’d pushed him a little too far. I should know from experience that law enforcement were fiercely loyal to their own. I changed the direction of the conversation. I needed him to stay friendly. “Anyway, do you mind giving me a lift into town when your shift is over? I need some personal items and I don’t think walking is a good idea with a murderer on the loose.”
“I might be here a while, but it looks like the Chief is leaving. Let’s ask him.”
Even better. I needed an introduction.
We approached the chief as he squeezed his bulky body into the patrol car.
“Sir, this is the new P.E. teacher for the school. She needs a ride into town.”
“If it’s not too much trouble,” I added, crossing my arms over the spot where I hid the doll. I’d have to be careful it didn’t slip out onto the ground or things would get very awkward, very fast.
He looked put out by the request but he nodded. “I can drop you near the IGA.”
“I appreciate it.” I offered a small smile.
Michelle stuck her head out the front door. “The toilet?”
That dang toilet.
“Plunge it yourself,” I hollered back.
Officer Mike opened the passenger door for me and I slid onto the cloth seat. I decided not to make a branch on my mind tree for him. His emotions were true and straightforward. He had the right amount of empathy and sympathy for the situation. Also, I didn’t think he botched any of the investigation on purpose from his duties. He was young and simply didn’t know any better than to let a nosy witch traipse all over the place.
The Chief, however, deserved his own branch. His reluctance to assist the state police with tracking
down the murderer bothered me. Did his pride really stop this case from moving forward?
He dug around the console and pulled out a pack of Marlboros. Yuck. I’d forgotten how many people had smoked before the big lawsuits began the first settlements for millions in 2000.
I licked my lips, the stale taste of the cigarette I’d tried to smoke still present. Lily Rose would get a kick out of that story. So would the other time traveling witches when we had our debrief in a few months.
At least the chief opened his window and blew most of the smoke in that direction. He appeared distracted, the events of the morning showing on his lined brow.
“I’m so sorry to hear about the death that occurred this morning,” I started.
He grunted.
I continued on, unsure how to work my line of questioning. Mostly, I needed to know about the animal bite marks on the neck. “I was getting my hair done when we all heard about the murder. The girl that told us said maybe it was an animal attack instead.”
His head jerked in my direction. “Which girl said that?”
That got his attention. “I don’t remember her name. But now I’m really scared to walk back and forth from town to the school. The girls aren’t safe either if there’s a rabid animal out there attacking people.”
“What happened to Sarah wasn’t an animal attack. You need to tell the next girl that gossips to shut her mouth.” He pointed his cigarette at me. “Don’t you be spreading that nonsense either. A flesh and blood man took that woman’s life.”
Interesting choice of words—flesh and blood man.
He pulled into a parking space in front of the grocery store and waved his hand at the store. I put the final touches on his branch—distracted and defensive.
The hairdresser Missy bounded out of the salon and over to the driver’s window. “Hi, Daddy!” She smiled at me. “You’re back in town rather quick. I hope you’re not in trouble with the law already?”