A Cold Case in Spell

by J L Collins

  She nodded, pulling off one glove at a time. “I believe you because I did it.”

  My blood ran cold. My gut instincts had been right this time. And here I was, stuck in the same exact spot that Beatrice had been before Maude had somehow killed her.

  It was so stupid of me not to simply wait until I had Goldie with me. At least then she could get help. I was on my own now.

  “I… I don’t understand what you mean?” I said slowly, wracking my brain for a way out. Maude was clearly powerful enough with her earth powers to do who knows what. I was outgunned for sure.

  “Don’t move.” She saw me shifting my hand in my pocket as I tried reaching for the lighter.

  She twisted her hand and dirt and rocky debris exploded behind her everywhere as part of the sheer side of the hill wrenched away from the rest of it, easily enough rock to not only kill me but crush Big Ben.

  I held up my hands. “Whoa, whoa. What are you doing? Are you saying… are you telling me you killed Beatrice?” I had to feign surprise if I was going to get out of here alive.

  Dirt clung to the massive piece of earth, dropping here and there into the snow. I couldn’t fake how surprised I was to see just how strong Maude was. She really has been playing us all.

  “Are you dumb or something? That’s exactly what I’m saying. I wasn’t the only one thinking about it, I’m sure. But I’m the only one with the guts to do it. Gerri’s a big ol’ wuss and couldn’t even perform some silly spell to help us with the old crone. I had to take matters into my own hands. They’re very capable, you see.” She flashed me a dingy and deranged smile as she held the heap of earth even higher.

  “But I thought she was your friend!”

  She cackled. “Beatrice? Heavens no, that woman deserved everything I gave her that night. And more, really. But I was running out of time, so I had to make it quick. Unfortunately.”

  “Why did you try to pin it on me? You don’t even know me,” I said, fed up with her callousness.

  Maude stared at me. “So? You were an easy scapegoat. No one knows what to think of you and I remembered seeing your crowbar when you were at Bea’s meeting that day. It wasn’t hard to summon it. Apparently you just leave your things lying around.”

  Summoned it? How could she possibly summon it? But it hit me just as soon as I thought about it. “Iron. You can control any kind of organic material that comes from the ground.”

  She gave me another nasty smile. “That’s right. Including metals and other fun things like priceless gems. You should see the stash I’ve got back in my house. Not that you’ll get the chance.”

  “Wait!”

  Shaking her head, she summoned the earth over me, blocking out the little bit of sunlight dipping into the horizon. “I’ll have to destroy your little RV too, of course, just in case. Hm. What to do about this truck though? I could simply bury it into the ground and no one would ever find it…” she trailed off, looking up at the earth over me. “I’m sure I’ll think of something.”

  “No!”

  There was nothing but dirt and I only had one choice.

  I dove over the guardrail and out of the way.

  I screamed, airborne and hurtling to my death. My arms and legs flailed, and I was sure I’d seen the last of the ground underneath me as it rushed up. I closed my eyes.

  And my body softly fell against the first treetop, not hard enough to kill me by any means, but I was sure I might have a bruise or two.

  I blinked. What the…? I swore under my breath. How? Why didn’t I hit it harder? And how was I just sitting here in a treetop nearly five-hundred feet down from the road above? I wiggled my fingers and my toes. They were all still accounted for. My head ached a little, but I wasn’t seeing things.

  I gasped, realizing there was nothing under me holding me up in the tree. No branch, nothing. I grappled for the nearest one, shocked. How was that possible?

  I’d slowed down in the air. And hovered in the air.

  Oh my god. Air.

  Part of me wanted to revel in this newsbreak, but there were way more important things at hand.

  Like getting back to the camper before Maude did something terrible to it. I couldn’t very well climb up the ravine—she might still be up there plotting as evil villains do. I tried not to even think of what she might be doing to poor old Big Ben.

  And panic sliced through me as I looked further down. Goldie was still sleeping! My heart pounded, and I took in a deep breath, not giving myself time to think about it.

  I flung myself away from the tree, stumbling off the branch but gliding down to the ground below. I didn’t have time to think, and rushed down the rest of the hill, slipping and sliding left and right. The trees’ branches whipped at me, thorny brambles tore at my brand-new coat, but I didn’t stop. The icy snow was both a blessing and a curse as it helped propel me down but also into everything on the way.

  The camper was in sight and I jumped, relief and an odd flurry of nerves and joy jolting through me as I took off like someone walking on the moon. I hit the ground and did it again, this time pushing faster past the trees.

  I nearly slid under the camper, and slammed into it, wincing.

  I huffed as I pulled myself out of the drift of snow and scrambled around to the front. Maude was nowhere in sight.

  “Oh thank god.”

  I didn’t have the key to the camper with me, so I banged on the door, screaming at Goldie to wake up.

  There was movement behind the blinds and her big gold eyes peeked out.

  “Let me in! Hurry! We don’t have much time!”

  She looked confused and tapped at the window. “How? Where’s your key?”

  “Can you try unlocking it?” I shouted.

  She pulled away and I heard scratching at the door from the inside. I kept checking all around us, watching.

  The door latch clicked, and I yanked it open, quickly tugging it closed behind me. “I need you to get Ash. NOW.”

  “Whoa, what’s happening?” Flustered, she hopped up to the bench seat and hooted at me.

  “It’s Maude—she’s the killer! And she just tried to kill me too! She almost did, but I sort of flew out of the way and then somehow I—”

  “You flew? You can fly now?”

  “Focus! We need to get out of here. She said something about destroying the camper… I don’t know if she did something to my truck or not but she’s on her way here, I know that for sure.”

  Goldie nudged my hand. “I’ll go get Ash. You head over to Fatima’s. You’ll be safer there than here.”

  I shook my head. “I can’t just let her destroy this! This is my home—this is my Nan’s. I’m not going to run from that crazy b—”

  “Okay, okay. I’ll be back with him ASAP. Be careful, okay?”

  I threw open the door, took one quick look around and signaled for her to take off. “Yes. I’ll do my best.”

  I didn’t have much to defend myself or the camper with, but I was going to do it somehow.

  “What to use…. What to use,” I muttered, rifling through my things in a hurry. I tore through everything blindly, trying to think.

  The crowbar! They’d returned it to the camper, and it was poking out from behind the pull-out couch. I grabbed it, patted my pocket to make sure I still had the lighter, and left.

  I’d only managed to take a few steps forward when a mudslide crashed through the trees too close for comfort, and riding it as if she were surfing, was Maude. If I weren’t absolutely terrified of what she was able to do, I would’ve laughed at the sight of a little old lady riding a wave of mud down a hill.

  She growled at me as she saw I was still alive. With another flick of her bony wrists, the ground under our feet buckled, snow shifting to make way for a small sinkhole between the two of us. The edges gaped and widened slowly, opening to reveal more and more. I held on tightly to my crowbar, my feet slipping.

  Maude laughed at me as the sludge of mud rose up, holding her on its dirty p
edestal. “Coming back for more? That was a mistake.”

  In one moment, everything became clear. My thoughts quieted. My headache was a distant memory. I clutched the crowbar in my hand.

  It was my only hope. I closed my eyes, kissed the crowbar and I flung it, using the wind current and sending the crowbar flying end over end, whizzing through the air and right at Maude’s chest. It thunked against her and she dropped like a stone.

  I rushed over, holding a small fire ball blazing above my hand to see in the darkness that was swallowing everything up. If she tried something, she was burnt granny.

  It seemed I didn’t need to worry, as she was knocked out cold. I leaned over her to check for a pulse. I really didn’t care if she was dead, but it would certainly be harder to explain. Only a small part of me was disappointed when I felt the slow beat of her heart.

  I stood back over her. “Coming for my friend and my house? Now that was a mistake.”

  I kicked at her arm as I picked up the crowbar. For good measure.

  26

  The Road Ahead

  “Attention, attention.” Verity McGuiness stood tall and proud at the podium. Her voice boomed through the huge room. I bit my lip, nervously picking at a string hanging from the hem of my shirt.

  Ash, Goldie, and Fatima all assured me that it wouldn’t be a big deal. Hardly anyone comes to town hall meetings to begin with, and this should be no different.

  Well, they were wrong.

  The entire Special Council’s Great Hall was packed with the residents of Charming Springs. Rows upon rows of seats had been added to the several rows already in here. Some were standing against walls. There were even fairies hovering above everyone else.

  Being an assistant professor, I was used to speaking in front of large classes. But this wasn’t a lecture on Early 20th Century Fiction. This was a special, emergency meeting of the town where I would be a main topic of interest. In the same town of people who have been apprehensive about me to begin with.

  “Thank you all for this… robust turnout. We have only a few things on this evening’s agenda, so we should get right into it so you lovely folk can get home in time for dinner,” Verity spoke clearly, gesturing to all of us.

  Sitting in the front row in between Fatima and Ash, I was sweating. I knew they were going to call on Chief Putnam and his son to come up first to speak to everyone regarding the murder case. And then they in turn, would call me up to exonerate me in front of the whole town, as promised by Deputy Chief Putnam.

  If we could just hurry up and get through it, that’d be great, thanks.

  “As you all know, we have been facing a whirlwind of news. Being woken up after an eleven year sleep will do that to you,” Verity went on, sweeping her gaze across the audience. “We’ve gained our very first visitor to Charming Springs since the barrier curse was cast.” She gestured to me, and I sunk low into my seat, my whole body in hot sweats.

  “We tragically lost one of our own, Beatrice Wimberly. She was an honorable woman who served her Air faction well. She will be respectfully missed.” To Verity’s right was the rest of the Special Council sitting at a long table covered in a white cloth. To the left of her was a large gold photo easel with a photo of Beatrice that resembled an awkwardly taken yearbook picture propped up on it.

  “And now we have news for you all. Chief Putnam, would please come up and speak?”

  Pulling off his hat, Chief Putnam wobbled up the stage steps and took his place in front of the podium as she stepped away. Deputy Chief Putnam wasn’t far behind.

  “Thank you, Verity. Thanks to our department’s hard work and long hours, we have managed to put away the one responsible for Mrs. Wimberly’s death. We were shocked to learn that it was her own friend, Maude Hackney. We’re still working to collect her testimony, but she’s been properly apprehended, and is in a blank cell, which as you all know, is a jail cell where the prisoner is not able to perform any kind of magic.”

  I fought the urge to roll my eyes. Thanks to their hard work? So he was really going to take the credit for it, was he? I took in a deep breath. It didn’t matter—at least it took the blame off of me. It was probably better this way. I didn’t want a bunch of people accosting me for more details anyway.

  Fatima squeezed my hand. “Don’t worry about them,” she whispered.

  “I’m not. I just want to get this over with,” I whispered back.

  “Sh!” Ash whispered, leaning forward to shush both of us.

  Leave a guy in a library for eleven years…

  Chief Putnam droned on about their efforts in hunting down Beatrice’s killer, conveniently forgetting to mention suspecting me as public enemy number one for most of the time.

  I kept quiet until he finally asked me to come up. Taking in one more deep breath, I straightened up, smoothed down my pants, and walked up on stage.

  Do not trip. Do not trip. Do not trip.

  “Miss Warren. We made a promise to you and I always keep my promises. We welcome you to Charming Springs with open arms, and I would like to officially apologize for you being put in danger under our watch. On behalf of the entire police department, I am very sorry for any inconvenience or distress this investigation may have caused you.” He bowed toward me slightly.

  “Yes. I think we can all agree that passing judgment on a stranger is not what Charming Springs is about. Please do your best to welcome her here with open arms,” Deputy Chief Putnam spoke into the podium mic.

  I knew I must have been beet red with all eyes on me. He moved for me to say a few words, but that wasn’t happening. I gave a little awkward wave at everyone, then rushed back to my seat, glad to be finished.

  Fatima giggled, nudging me as I plopped back into my seat. “That wasn’t so bad.”

  I wiped at my forehead. “Mmhm.”

  Luckily the meeting didn’t take much longer, once the police department and the Special Council answered some questions. I tried to ignore the ones that still seemed judgey toward me, reminding myself that sometimes it took people a little while to get a certain idea out of their heads. Sometimes they needed to be persuaded.

  “Man, I never thought I’d say I was happy to be outside,” I said, pulling the scarf from around my neck. “That was too many people for me. And what happened to ‘Oh, hardly anyone ever shows up to these things?”’ I looked between Fatima and Ash.

  “It wasn’t a lie,” he said. “They don’t.”

  “I think it might have had something to do with them wanting to know more about the investigation.”

  “Or they just wanted to ogle Indie,” Goldie called out with a hoot, gliding down to land on the ground beside us. “Just a theory.”

  “At least she gets it,” I mumbled. “I’m good with going and locking myself in the camper for the next week or so.”

  Ash flipped up the collar of his cloak as the wind whipped harshly at us. “Did Verity tell you about your truck?”

  I nodded. After I’d fallen down the ravine, Maude had made good on her promise to bury it right there in the hill. Luckily Verity had a crew of earth witches and wizards who were like a local excavator team. They had my poor truck out of there easily, but I was going to have to clean everything, and the windows had all been busted thanks to the pressure of the ground surrounding it.

  “I thanked her for the help. I still can’t believe that old hag did that to Big Ben.”

  Ash blinked. “Every time you say that name, I’m expecting you to speak about an actual person and not an inanimate object.”

  “Oh, you’re hardly one to talk about feelings for inanimate objects! I don’t have a whole shrine dedicated to my truck. Just saying,” I said with a shrug, catching Goldie chuckling out of the corner of my eye.

  “That’s not at all what—”

  “Will you two please? Save the quarreling for some other time.” Fatima moved between us.

  Ash bowed his head for a moment, listening to her.

  At least someone could get t
hrough his thick skull.

  “I was going to talk to you about something else as well, if you’re finished,” he said, his eyes flickering to me. “Verity and I talked a bit more and she didn’t mention anything about the true power test. I don’t know that they’ve necessarily called things off, but it’s been put on hold it seems. For now.”

  “That is definitely good news.” Fatima flashed me a quick grin. “Especially since we know our girl is working with all of the elements now.”

  “Sh! Keep it down,” he hissed. “We can’t have the Special Council knowing before we’re prepared. We’ll have to take the time we’re given and come up with… well, something.”

  “As long as I don’t get pulled from my camper all over again.” I sighed. “I’m glad that they aren’t calling for my head anymore… but I’m not sure they’re all hunky dory with me just yet.”

  Both of them nodded, but it was Goldie who piped up. “Everything’s fine for now. And I don’t know about you three, but I could go for a couple of lemmings. It’s about half past hunting time.”

  “I could go for some food…” Fatima agreed. “In fact, why don’t you come over and have some celebratory ‘you’re not a murder suspect’ shawarma with me?” she said, threading her arm through mine.

  I nodded. “That sounds delicious. I haven’t had any good shawarma since I worked by this little place called Yafa Cafe.”

  Ash went to turn away from us but I caught as his arm. “I’m sure we can make some room for you, too. If you promise not to be a buzzkill while we finish Fatima’s bottle of wine she has tucked away for safekeeping…”

  It was a rarely earned thing to see a true, genuine smile spread across Ash’s sharp features. It made him look less serious, more open and human. And handsome.

  “I think I can manage that.”

  “Let’s hear it for the three musketeers then,” Goldie said, hopping along the ground. “I’ll swing by after I eat the good stuff. Hopefully I can find a fat juicy lemming hiding in the woods.

  All three of us groaned.