A Cold Case in Spell

by J L Collins

  “It was a nice walk. It’s weird to have the sun still out this late when there’s a bunch of snow on the ground. In the real winter, it’s dark by now.” I pulled off my coat, scarf, hat and slipped out of the boots. “What’s that?”

  “I’m looking through magical mishappenings in Charming Springs’ history. I thought it might shed some light on your powers. All three of them.” He gave me a pointed look.

  “I see Fatima told you.”

  “Someone had to. If you want my help you have to be honest with me about what’s going on with your magic, and really anything that would be important to know.”

  I scooped up the boots by the laces. “I didn’t know you needed a detailed report. Guess I’ll have to type one up for you since I’m such a good writer and all.” It felt good to be the one with the smug look.

  Hanging up everything in the guest room to warm up and dry by the fireplace, I looked into the blaze. It was funny how the dance of the flames meant more to me now than it did barely two weeks ago. I changed into some less soggy clothes and scrubbed a towel over my head until my hair didn’t resemble a blue mop so much.

  There was a knock at the door.

  I sighed. “What’s up?”

  Ash cracked the door open. “You didn’t really give me much of a chance to tell you the news, but we need to talk.”

  Uh-oh. That didn’t sound good. What if it’s about the murder case? What if the police found some more planted evidence that pointed to me? I tried to clear the thoughts—worrying about it made no sense when I could just let him explain.

  “Okay. Have a seat,” I said, gesturing to the desk as I sat down on the side of the bed. “What’s this news that’s got your underwear in a bunch?”

  “Interesting euphemism there. I just though you should know what the Special Council is wanting to do. About you, specifically,” he said as he pulled the chair around to sit in it backward.

  “Oh fun. I’m sure this won’t be alarming news whatsoever.” I crossed my legs. “Let’s hear it.”

  “They’re looking to bring you in and test you as a true witch. This isn’t a test they administer often, it’s mainly used in cases where they’re trying to determine if someone is a halfling—born with magical powers on top of—”

  “I know what it means. What happens in this test?”

  “I haven’t seen one myself, but as far as I’ve read, they test your power and which direction calls to you. Which doesn’t bode well for someone who wants to keep their multiple powers to themselves. Calling the directions will be the key. When they do that then north, south, and west will all bend to you. It’ll be a dead giveaway.”

  I tried to swallow but my throat was too dry. “I don’t like the sound of that.”

  “And understandably so. They already know you’re an earth witch, so they’ll want to see that firsthand. I’m not sure what they’ll think of your… interesting results with that one in particular.” Ash was up pacing now.

  All of it slowly sunk in. If they saw that I was able to command three elements then they’d for sure think I was to blame for the time spell and probably for Beatrice’s death just because. But…

  My stomach knotted in on itself.

  “Ash,” I said slowly. “The one power I can’t control is air. And Beatrice is the—was the air elder. I don’t know about you but that would look oddly suspicious from an outside point of view.”

  His dark ochre eyes widened. “I did not think about that. But you’re right, it would be an easy reach to connect strings there.”

  All I could do was drop my head in my hands. “This is great. Just great. I’ve got the Special Council breathing down my neck while I’m trying to get these stupid powers in working order and now they’re going to find out and all of my hard work will be for nothing. They’ll probably lock me up just for this alone, then they’ll slap the cuffs on me for good once they pin the murder on me. I’ll never see—”

  The bed squeaked as Ash came to sit next to me. “Stop. We need to think clearly here. You can’t afford to go down the rabbit hole just yet.”

  I grasped for straws, thinking of all the faces and people I’d met on the Special Council. “Some of them might be more lenient toward me. Maybe I could try and appeal to their better nature somehow? I've met Prince, Gallows, and Natalia since that day, and they were nice enough to me. And I know for a fact that Gallows believes me—he said so himself,” I said, drumming my fingers in my lap. “Maybe if I talked to him he could somehow put off this test. He could give a testimony. Or maybe he could pretend to be the one to administer it. I don’t know that he’d do that of course, but it wouldn’t hurt to ask, right? No, scratch that. He might actually be offended and I don’t want to—”

  “Indie!” Ash grabbed my hands to hold them still. “You’re spiraling. You can’t play games with the council—not even those who might hold you in higher regard than the others. Keep in mind what’s at stake here. You want to find a way out, and we need to keep you free of the Special Council’s watchful eye if we want a shot at that.”

  I nodded. “I know. But how else can I make them see I’m innocent while not showing off my powers?” Everything in me felt heavier than it had been in the past week. Here I was, back to square one. And in even more potential danger. Lucky me.

  Ash let go of my fidgety hands and leaned over, elbows on knees with his chin in his hands. “That’s what we need to figure out.”

  I was already losing the battle of trying to find Beatrice’s killer. I wasn’t any closer to tracking them down aside from knowing who didn’t kill her. It wasn’t exactly the evidence I’d been hoping for. And I still needed to figure out a way to talk to Geraldine and Maude without them giving me the silent treatment.

  So all in all, I was pretty much screwed.

  22

  Gilded Lake

  I rushed out of the room, down the short hallway, and into the main library. “Ash! Ash!”

  You’d think that I would be used to his teleporting, but he still managed to sneak up on me. The lighter in my hand blew out.

  “You’ve got to stop doing that,” I groaned. “But look, I think I can do it again.” I ran my thumb over the lighter to strike it back up, and when I removed my thumb the flame stayed lit, burning even brighter. I snapped the lighter top closed and opened it back up and did it again. “Pretty cool right? I can keep it going even without the lighter fluid!”

  “This is what you screamed bloody murder for? A fire trick? Unbelievable.”

  “Hey! It’s proof that I’m getting a better handle on my powers. Not just a fire trick,” I said as I snapped the lighter shut again. Ash would find a way to rain on my parade here. “And I wasn’t screaming bloody murder, by the way.”

  The library doors swung open and in between them stood a small figure contrasting against the snow with its patchy fur.

  Gallows.

  Ash went from leaning against the table to standing straight up in an instant. “Gallows. What brings you into the library? I don’t suppose you’ve come for some more poetry, have you?” he asked, wearing a polite smile. I was glad to see there was no animosity there. Gallows was blunt but seemed to be a good guy as far as I knew.

  “I wish I were here for pleasure but unfortunately this is a business matter.” He walked closer, with his furry tail flicking back and forth. When he came to stand in front of me, he plopped down. “The Special Council sent me to bring you in to speak with them.”

  My blood ran cold. “Really? How come?”

  “We’re just checking in on your progress with your magic. Ash informed us that you’ve learned that you’re an earth witch. Suitable, if you ask me. It would be my choice if I had the ability, personally.”

  I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. I barely had a moment to get over my pity party from last night and it was already time to face the music. Without a working plan in place, no less.

  Luckily Ash picked that moment to step in. “Already? She’s bar
ely had time to really work on it. Surely they can wait a little while longer?” he said, pretty much repeating what I was thinking.

  Gallows shrugged. “The majority of us feel she’s had enough time. Although I can understand wanting more.” He looked at me again. “I will go to the Special Council and let them know that I’m personally granting you some more time to work on your powers. A week ought to do. In the meantime, I would do exactly that. We aren’t looking at the strength in it, just the inherent ability to perform it. It should be a breeze for you.”

  My mouth worked itself into an awkward smile. “Sure, of course. Shouldn’t be an issue. Thanks for the extension.”

  He bowed his head.

  My luck was ready to run out. The lighter I’d been holding on tightly to slipped between my clammy fingers and thudded against the floor. My cheeks grew hot as both Ash and Gallows looked at one another.

  He raised a furry brow, his whiskers twitching as he looked at what fell to the floor. The fluorescent lighting glinted off the silver lighter, but Gallows chose not to say anything about it before walking back out the front doors.

  “The weather is taking a turn for the worse, I’m afraid. Not just yet, but I can feel it coming. Make sure to keep your fires burning.” There was no denying the way his gaze lingered on me for a moment before the doors opened up and he disappeared behind them.

  Gallows was even smarter than he looked.

  There wasn’t much to be said after Gallows’ impromptu drop-by, other than a shared relief that he was able to push off the power testing for a week.

  Ash however, seemed in a tizzy over something else.

  “What’s going on with you?” I asked, watching with interest as he soaked up a spilled glass of water and threw the dishtowel across the kitchen counter.

  Without looking at me, he shook his head. “I keep hitting these dead-ends with what I’m looking for.” He was quiet for a moment before lifting his head up. “It doesn’t matter. I have other things to worry about, anyway.”

  I sighed. “I hate seeing you getting yourself so worked up. I get wanting to do as much research as you can to find whatever answers you’re looking for, but when that’s all you do, you miss out on the life that’s going on around you. Having a good work ethic is admirable but you need to have some down time, too.”

  Ash looked at me with nothing but surprise. “And when you were busy working, grading your students and the like, did you make space for down time?”

  “Not at first, no. But then I realized that I was miserable doing a job I’d been looking forward to for years, and something about that wasn’t right. I was burning out and it was totally on me—I couldn’t blame anyone else but me. My Nan says I put too much pressure on myself, and she was absolutely right about it this time. So I learned to give myself a break when I needed to. It’s simple enough in theory but in practice it can take some getting used to. Especially when you’re a workaholic,” I said, nodding to him.

  “I’ll… give it some thought.”

  I spotted the hint of a smile on his face before he mumbled a quick thanks and disappeared. Progress is progress, no matter how small.

  Goldie convinced me to let her take me on a tour of some of the less ‘touristy’ places, that weren’t so full of people. And it was so lovely being out without seeing the looks on others’ faces when they recognized me that I was willing to kick myself for not asking her to do this sooner.

  Gilded Lake was at the top of the list. It wasn’t what I pictured a lake here would look like. It was larger than I imagined, with the banks of the other side just visible from where I was standing.

  “It’s about thirty square miles. And the deepest point is over two-thousand feet deep, thanks to the merfolk. They used their magic to enlarge and deepen it once they found Charming Springs. That was a wild time right there,” Goldie chuckled, wiping at her eyes. “They throw amazing parties.”

  We strolled along the bank. I imagined what it would look like in the summertime—the real summertime. I imagined mermaids wouldn’t like living in sludgy water, so maybe it was sparkling clear. The five year-old in me thought of different colored water, the sun touching the top of the surface as it slowly sunk. And a ton of glowing fish and sea creatures living underneath, sort of like those bioluminescent fish I’d read about.

  “Hello? Earth to Indie?” Goldie waved her big white wing in front of my face. “Did you hear anything I just said?”

  “Mermaids are excellent beer pong players?” I guessed.

  “I was saying that I see Geraldine and Maude up ahead, not far up the walking path.”

  “What, really? This is perfect!” Excitement flared up inside me—this was the first real opportunity I had to get the dirt on Beatrice like I wanted to. “How are we going to get them to talk to me?”

  “I don’t know. When I saw them on my way to the park, I stopped them to have a little chat about Beatrice. They were very close-lipped,” she said, circling around me.

  “Goldie,” I said slowly, my hands firmly on my hips. “Are you telling me you tried to interview them and didn’t even think to tell me about it afterward? When was this? We could’ve already been working our next angle on this!”

  She squawked and landed on a nearby bench. “I’m not a professional, thank you very much! I thought I was helping.”

  “Ugh. I know, I know. Okay, so what did you say to them?” I asked, shielding the sun from my eyes to see if I could spot the women yet.

  “I said hello, re-introduced myself. Asked them if they’ve seen any rabbits nearby. You know, the usual pleasantries.”

  I rolled my eyes.

  “What? I was hungry. Anyway, they were nice enough until I mentioned Beatrice. I asked them how they were holding up. Geraldine got irritated with me and said something about not bringing up their dead friend so soon after, and they made a break for it. For a couple of old ladies, they got out of that conversation quick.”

  I frowned. “Man, I was really hoping they’d at least talk to you about it. Maybe we’re going about it all wrong. Who else would they talk to about her? I bet Chief Putnam got some answers from them,” I said, shaking my head. Say what you will about the integrity of the chief, but as the head of the police department, he had all of the pull.

  “It might just be a bust. If they don’t want to willingly give us the scoop, then maybe we’ll have to resort to something else. I can track them down, maybe listen in, see what they say. It’s not as good as asking them but if they start talking about the case we might get—”

  “Shut your beak, they’re coming this way!” I hissed, scrambling behind the bench. I yanked on her foot to join me.

  Peeking through the slats of the bench, we watched them get closer.

  “Keep up, Maudey. You don’t need a Jazzy just yet, do you?”

  Maude scuttled on behind her, wincing as she tried to catch up. “Which one of us has the wings, you old bird?”

  Geraldine cackled and touched back down to the ground. “Can you blame me for using them in this kind of weather? I may be part fairy, but my feet are colder than the dead in the ground.”

  “Colder than the woman, herself,” Maude said, nudging at her friend’s arm.

  “Especially after getting knocked out and turned into a popsicle!” Geraldine crowed, throwing an arm around Maude and putting her off balance. Maude quickly righted herself, laughing along.

  Whoa. They were talking about Beatrice? Goldie’s eyes flashed. Giggling and pleased with themselves, they slowly walked past. Waiting until they were out of earshot, we both popped back up.

  “Is it just me or—”

  “Did they sound cheerful about Beatrice being dead? Yeah, it wasn’t just you, I noticed it too. For two women who were friends with her, they sure aren’t shedding any tears over it. And here they are just enjoying a nice walk around the lake.” I stared out across it, shaking my head.

  The glassy surface of the lake triggered something in my memory. “You
told me Geraldine was a halfling. Half witch, half fairy?”

  “Mmhm.”

  “Do you remember the notes we took on the first day of our investigation? About the evidence? We determined that the avalanche would’ve been caused by a water witch…”

  It didn’t take her but a second to catch my drift. “And Geraldine’s a water witch! That’s it! It could be her—she might have killed Beatrice!”

  “It’s a long shot, and I don’t really know if I believe it or not. No offense, but Geraldine is sort of ditzy. But it’s a good place to check. What do you think? Should we do some more sneaking?”

  “This was not what I had in mind.”

  Goldie perched very uncomfortably on my shoulder, peering into the window on Copper Street. We’d been waiting for almost half an hour nearby, pretending to shovel the sidewalk with a shovel that was conveniently lying in someone’s yard.

  After the car pulled up, a woman who looked like she was in her early forties got out and went inside the house. Something had stuck out about her but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.

  Speaking of, Goldie was just a thread or two away from severing my shoulder tendon with her talons, even through the thick layers.

  “Are you sure you can’t just flap your wings and hover?” I said, wincing as she moved an inch closer to the window.

  “Do I look like a hummingbird to you? Just stay put. I’m not that heavy.”

  “Just don’t slice me with those things. I don’t think it would be a good look if they found me bleeding out back here.”

  “Sh!”

  Inside, the light to the room flickered on and Goldie paused.

  “Can you hear them?”

  “Shush! I can hear them and I can see them. But they’ll see me if you don’t keep quiet,” she whispered, glaring down at me. Her talons flexed as if to prove a point. I stood stock-still.

  I will never agitate her while she’s on my shoulder ever again.

  “She’s her daughter, Christine. They’ve just sat down at the dining room table.”