by J L Collins
I pursed my lips. Oh, I was sure they were working a specific angle. “Did it ever occur to anyone that maybe Beatrice was caught up in the avalanche that nearly wiped my camper out? Because that makes the most logical sense.”
I’d been thinking about Beatrice myself, trying to crack why she wound up where she did. Even if it was the avalanche, that didn’t explain her getting knocked out.
“That does make some sense but telling that to Chief Putnam has been difficult. And he’s not the only one who’s suspecting your involvement. Like I said, I’ve been around town listening in and talking to people. There’s that and then there’s the issue of your sudden appearance. I’ve been trying to figure out why you showing up broke the time spell on everyone.”
“What? You think I did that?” This was the first time he’d actually said it, though I thought he was keeping me around for a reason. “I had nothing to do with either of those things.”
“Oh, but you did. I told you I’ve been researching everything for the past eleven years. And then you turn up and everyone wakes? There’s more than just a correlation there.”
I pushed my way past him, tired of being confined in the room with him. “There is no causation here, if that’s what you’re going for,” I said. “I do have a master’s degree in writing education and I double-majored in creative writing and digital communications, believe it or not. I’m not an idiot. Just because I happened to show up right before everyone woke up does not mean—”
“It does. I can feel it. Something pulled you here, I’m sure of it. And you were somehow the key to breaking the time spell. The question really is why?”
The truth was that I didn’t one hundred percent disagree with him. My timing was a pretty big coincidence and I’m a Taurus—I don’t believe in coincidences. But admittedly I was a little freaked out. Something calling to me, pulling me here? And my presence breaks some gnarly spell put in place by who knows who?
I wasn’t here for some ‘chosen one’ bullcrap. I didn’t have the one ring, or a magical scar, or flying dragons. I wasn’t that girl. All I wanted to do was see some trees and mountains, maybe some waterfalls, maybe check out a festival or two and live in my camper for a little while. Why was that such a big thing to ask for?
“And I don’t know the answer.” I looked around the library basement, found the shelf I’d seen earlier and plucked A Demon in My View from its space. “I’m exhausted. I think I’ll go lie down and read. Maybe that will help me escape the nightmare.”
I left Ash downstairs and headed right for my makeshift room.
9
Evidence
The faded yellow snowplow shoveled its way down what I learned was Ravens Road, thanks to the map Ash had tossed on my bed last night.
Snow piled up all along the curb, encouraging a handful of kids running out to jump into the piles. One of them in particular caught my eye—a kid who went from wearing a snowsuit to wearing the fur of a bright orange fox in the time it took to blink. He jumped into the pile and disappeared for a moment before jumping back out and shaking his thick fur off.
It was strange, mesmerizing, and adorable all at once.
Too bad I didn’t have convenient pawed feet. Heck, I’d even take a pair of snowshoes at this point.
When Deputy Police Chief Putnam came to the library wanting to let me know that they were ready to talk to me at the police station, I wasn’t exactly thrilled. Nor was I dressed. I was still hanging out in my pajamas since Ash was out doing whatever you do when you’re probably a five-hundred-year-old vampire who mysteriously doesn’t explode into flames in the sunlight.
The library’s back office was where both Ash’s room and my guest room were located, along with the small kitchen/break room. My room was also used as an office.
So imagine my surprise when a tall man stood in the doorway of the kitchen, flashing his badge while I was busy hunting down breakfast.
I may or may not have thrown the large frying pan at him. Luckily for him and me, the throw was just awkward enough to lose momentum right before it dropped in front of his feet.
Deputy Putnam took his hat off, none too pleased. “Miss Warren. I apologize for interrupting your… meal. But the chief has asked me to let you know that we’re expecting you at the station at noon today. We’d like to have the chance to talk to you about the investigation behind Beatrice Wimberly’s death.”
It didn’t sound quite as ominous as his father would’ve probably put it, but I still wasn’t crazy about being interrogated. Because at the end of the day, that’s what this was. Something about being trapped in a small room with only a bare table and a chair had a funny way of making you feel like you’d done something wrong even when you hadn’t.
Since Ash wasn’t there for a quick drop-off, I shuffled down the steps of the library in my oversized boots, careful not to slip and fall. Again.
It didn’t take long for Goldie to swoop by trilling out a way too eager good morning.
“Hi, Goldie.”
“Where are you headed?”
“Police station.”
She let out a soft hoot. “Really? They’ve finally decided to talk to you?”
“What do you mean finally? I’d honestly prefer if they’d just leave me alone,” I said with a frown.
“Pfft. That’s not happening. Everyone’s been all in a tizzy not only with Beatrice but with everything else. Plus there’s you.”
“There’s me,” I repeated. “I guess it’s better to just get this all over with then.”
Goldie flew further ahead before dive-bombing the snow and coming back up with something brown and furry between her beak.
Gross.
I kept going, determined to get to the station before noon. I hadn’t taken into consideration how long I would be hoofing it out in the snow, though.
Goldie was back, clean as a whistle without a feather out of place. She was a better eater than Gavin ever was.
“Do you have a prepared statement?”
“Uh… nope.”
“Do you have any witnesses to claim as an alibi?”
“No, Goldie. No one was in the camper with me, obviously. And I have no idea why Beatrice was there, or whether she was there at all… I’m still not convinced she wasn’t either placed there or—”
She squawked. “Have you thought about asking for a jury in case you get indicted?”
“Okay, okay, Judge Judy. Let’s leave the twenty questions for when I’m not outside freezing my buns off, okay?” I looked up at her flying overhead. She looked pretty majestic when she wasn’t busy squeaking her beak.
“I’m just trying to help you shake some nerves off. But never mind,” she said, taking off higher into the air before I had a chance to stop and thank her. For a bird that refused to stop talking, she wasn’t so bad.
Finally I reached the Charming Springs Police Station, centered right in front of the frozen fountain in the middle of downtown. It was a simple enough building, with hardly anyone hanging around in the front. To the side though, I could make out five or six squad cars that look like they were fresh out of the ‘80s.
I smirked. Had I just walked into a Police Academy movie?
Behind the long curved desk marked ‘Information’ in black letters was a petite woman in a police uniform. Her hair was a cloud of brown underneath her cap, and she eyed me warily as she took my name down.
I sat in the small waiting room, taking in the scenery. It was pretty plain but at least it was kept spotless. From what I could tell the police force comprised of six or seven officers that were probably witches and wizards, one officer that wore the uniform with holes cut out for his gossamer wings in the back, and another officer who was incredibly hairy for a woman and must’ve been a werewolf.
Wait… someone had mentioned those before. So, not a werewolf. Whoops.
The officers were in and out of the waiting room that only had one door leading back to the rest of the station.
It
was hard not to notice the attention I was drawing from everyone, and I intentionally sat up straight, legs crossed. Despite the whispering and whatever rumors had been concocted about me, I wasn’t going to cower in embarrassment. I may be a lot of things but ashamed isn’t one of them.
“Ah there she is! Miss Warren,” Chief Putnam boomed, exiting from the door that led out of the waiting room behind the information desk. “Pleased to see you came by on time.”
“I’m always on time, sir.” If you weren’t early, you were late, as Nan always said.
And if you wanted to get on the good side of the local law enforcement, always aim to be polite and somewhat dim. That will play to their expectations of any young woman strolling in.
He gestured for me to follow him back. “Trudy, please call for Andrew to come into the interrogation room, too.”
Why did I have the feeling they were going to try and do the good cop/bad cop thing on me? Or was that just something someone came up with to look good on film? I’ll have to add it to the list of things to research for potential scenes in my book…
Just as I imagined, the room was small with greige walls and a single wood table paired with two wooden chairs. He dragged one across the floor for me to take a seat.
“Just out of curiosity, Chief Putnam, but how long does this sort of thing usually last?”
He narrowed his eyes down at me. “Are you in some kind of a hurry?”
I quickly shook my head. “No, sir. Just curious.” I was going to have to try a little harder than that if I wanted to appeal to his better nature. If he even had any.
“Well, it depends on you. If we find you to be cooperative then it shouldn’t take so long. It’ll be best for everyone if you are,” he said, adjusting his belt so he could fit his round gut behind the other side of the table.
The urge to ask for representation was rising up like a sickness I wanted to keep at bay, so I swallowed and pasted on my best smile to keep myself quiet. In a place like Charming Springs I was lucky not to be tossed into a cell for no good reason.
There was a knock at the door and in came his son, Deputy Putnam. He closed the door behind him and went to stand in the corner of the room with a little notebook and pencil steady in his hand. “Good afternoon, Miss Warren.”
“Good afternoon.”
“Now. I suppose you’re wondering why we brought you in here,” the chief asked.
“I am.”
“We’re questioning everyone that was close with Mrs. Wimberly as well as those who were nearby where her body was found,” Deputy Putnam said, taking over.
“Were there many who were close by?” I asked. There couldn’t have been many considering where I’d parked the camper.
“Nope. Only you.” I didn’t like the smarmy way he looked at me.
“What he means is that we’ve not found any other potential witnesses who were near enough to have seen anything happen. Let’s get started with your statement here. Just to let you know, it will be recorded.” He pulled out a small digital recorder with a tiny tape in it and placed it on the table. “Why don’t you take us through the night before Beatrice Wimberly was found outside your camper?”
“Okay. Ah, I fell asleep somewhere around—”
“Before that, please.”
I nodded, flattening my now-clammy palms on my thighs. “After I left the meeting that the Special Council had called and asked me to attend, I went to visit Fatima. The witch who lives along the edge of the forest there… um, I don’t really know where exactly.”
“Fatima Rahal?” Deputy Putnam said.
“Yes.”
“And what were you and Miss Rahal doing?”
I bit my lip. “Talking. We were… discussing the potential of my being a witch. And she was giving me a little background information on how magic works here.” Now that I was here being questioned, I kicked myself for not better preparing what to say. I wasn’t even sure if I was unknowingly putting Fatima at risk. If something I’d said ended up making her look bad I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself.
The both of them exchanged a look. Deputy Putnam scribbled something down in his notebook and leaned against the wall. “So you were visiting Miss Rahal. Did she mention Mrs. Wimberly at any point in your conversation?”
“No, sir. Neither of us did.”
More writing. More grilling me about my visit with Fatima and the rest of my night.
“And you woke up because… you felt the camper move? And you didn’t think to check things out?”
I sighed. “No. To be fair though, sir, I was mostly asleep when I woke up. I thought I imagined it and went back to sleep.”
He gave me a nod.
This time Chief Putnam took over. “Miss Warren, do you have any idea how Mrs. Wimberly wound up so close by that night?”
“None. “
“You hadn’t seen her around?”
“Not since the meeting that afternoon.”
He scratched at his red mustache, reminding of one of those old-time villains from a western. “The evidence shows that an avalanche came down the side of Byers Hill and slid through the trees which luckily stopped it in time from really hitting the camper,” he began, standing up so he could start pacing the length of the room.
Out of the corner of my eye his son was looking up at the ceiling.
“I figured it was something like that,” I finally said, giving up on waiting for Chief Dummy here to continue.
“Hm. Yes, but it doesn’t explain Beatrice. After all, there was blunt-force trauma to the back of the head. Someone hit her hard with something before she ended up in the snow.”
I raised a brow. “And that couldn’t be from her hitting a tree or something?”
“Hitting a tree? I’m not following.” Yeah, that was easy to see.
“The velocity of an avalanche, especially one from that high and far back would have to be great in order to push through all of the trees and clear through the other side. I’m just saying that maybe Mrs. Wimberly got caught up in it and hit her head along the way. It wouldn’t be unheard of.”
Why was I having to explain basic science to this guy?
He bristled as if he heard what I was thinking. “But the evidence says otherwise, Miss Warren! In fact…” He held up his hand and opened the door, bending down and reaching around the corner to grab something. He pulled back and shut the door again.
In his hands was a clear plastic bag that contained something long and heavy-looking. A gasp escaped on its own. It was like the air had been knocked out of me the moment I realized what it was.
My crowbar.
Why did they have it? And how did they get it? I was well-aware of the absolutely jubilant face the Chief didn’t bother to hide.
“You look as though you recognize this,” he said, sliding it across the table to me.
“I—uh, I do. It’s mine.” I didn’t want to lie, though I was confused about why they even thought to ask me about it. That was, until I recalled hauling it around the first time everyone saw me. It probably left a lasting impression.
“Ah. You claim you did not see Mrs. Wimberly after the council meeting, nor did you see or hear anything that would’ve suggested her presence that night at your camper. Then why, Miss Warren, was this found in the snow roughly two hundred feet behind it?”
I hadn’t even known it was missing. The last place I remembered having it was in the church. And I definitely didn’t venture into the woods with it.
A coldness washed over me as if I’d stepped outside. But what if someone else did?
“I have no idea. Someone must have taken it from the camper somehow…”
“Do you have evidence of someone breaking into it?” Deputy Putnam asked.
I shook my head. “Not that I know of. I didn’t realize it was missing until you just showed it to me.”
“So you admit you had it!” Chief Dummy said, smacking his fist down on the table.
“No, I admit that I didn�
��t have it. I didn’t know it was gone,” I repeated, this time much slower. Just in case he didn’t understand the first time.
“Did you have any ill wishes toward Mrs. Wimberly? We heard she went pretty harshly on you in the meeting earlier that day,” he countered.
I rubbed at my temples. Geez, this guy really did think he was Dirty Harry. “No. I’d only just met her. I didn’t feel any which way toward her particularly. She was the head of the council—that’s all I know.”
The Chief narrowed his watery eyes at me again. “I see, I see. And you just happened to wander into Charming Springs, Beatrice Wimberly dies that very night, found right next to your place of dwelling, no less. But you don’t know about any of it.”
Lava flowed through my veins and it took every ounce of effort not to scream. “That’s right. Everything I’ve said is the truth, no matter how much you’d like to think otherwise.”
“Excuse me, Miss—”
“Ahem! Chief, I think that’s all the questions we had for her today regarding the case. I believe Verity McGuiness did say they would handle all of the questioning surrounding the curse,” his son quickly said, giving him a knowing look.
Chief Putnam barely looked at him. “Very well. Miss Warren you are free to leave. But I will say this; we are keeping a close watch on you. If I notice so much as one thing wrong at the library or someone else mysteriously vanishing or worse… the questioning won’t be quite so easy.”
It was not even a veiled threat. He was going to blame me for whatever else went awry in this town whether I liked it or not. And I didn’t exactly have any recourse. My blood was boiling, and I was sure I would catch on fire if I didn’t try and calm down.
“If you say so, Chief. If you don’t mind, I’d like to get a head start on making lunch.”
10
Stealth
I thanked the receptionist for returning my phone and purse and turned to get the heck out of the police station.
Who should I run into but Ash himself? “Whoa. What are you doing here?”