The Witch's Christmas Wish

by Rebecca Lovell

  “Just a moment, Sis. Do either of you gentlemen know how we might be able to get to the Margolis Hotel?” Tommy was still wearing his engineer’s uniform and Terra could tell he was tired.

  “Sure,” Gardner said. “I was heading back to the precinct anyway, I can drop you off there on my way. It’s supposed to start snowing again soon, I wouldn’t want you to get stuck out in it.”

  “Thanks.” Tommy grinned at his sister and backed out of the now-crowded office. “I really appreciate this,” he said to Gardner. “Saves us a lot of aimless wandering.”

  “I definitely don’t want that.” Gardner held out a hand to Terra. “That looks heavy, Miss Rendon. Would you like me to carry it for you?”

  “Oh no, I—-” Terra’s eyes widened and she looked at her brother for a moment before turning back to Gardner. “I’m used to carrying my baggage by myself.”

  “I’ll be putting it in the car anyway, right? What’s a few more feet?” There was something about Gardner’s grin that made her feel more at ease with him than any of the porters or taxi drivers she’d met before and she surrendered her suitcase to him. “It’s lighter than it looks.” He held it out to her. “You can have it back.”

  “Hmph. Typical man.” Terra reached for the suitcase and he pulled it out of her reach.

  “Just kidding. You’re pretty serious, aren’t you?” Not waiting for her reply, he motioned for the Rendons to follow him to the front doors. Terra’s cheeks were on fire and she stalked after Gardner while her brother laughed.

  “He’s right, you know. You never laugh at my jokes.” Terra gave him an annoyed look and he stifled a laugh.

  “Look at that,” Gardner said as they walked out of the train station. Snow was fluttering out of the sky and making piles on the ground. “I had a feeling it was going to look like this once we got out here. My car is this way.”

  He led them to the parking lot while Terra looked around at the city. It was a fraction of the size of New York but there was a warmth about it that she was fond of already. It was a shame she would only be staying there a few days at best. They reached a car that looked as if it were several years old and Gardner unlocked the doors. It was a four-seater, which more than made up for its dated appearance, and had room for both Terra and Tommy’s suitcases as well as a seat in the back that Terra assumed would be hers.

  “Would you like to sit in the front, Miss Rendon?” Gardner opened the door for her and she blinked at him. “Unless you’re more comfortable in the back.”

  “I’ll sit in the back,” Terra replied quickly, opening the door and hopping in the back before Gardner or her brother could see that she was blushing. She realized that she might not have been fast enough when Tommy slid into the front seat and grinned slyly at her over his shoulder. Damn. She pretended to ignore her brother while Gardner turned the crank on the front of the car to bring it to life, then got into the driver’s seat.

  “The Margolis isn’t far from here,” he said, rubbing his gloved hands together to warm them. “You’ll only have to suffer the cold a few minutes instead of a few blocks.”

  “We appreciate it,” Tommy said. “I didn’t expect it to be snowing in the South.”

  “We get our share of it, especially around Christmas and New Year’s.” Gardner kept his eyes on the road and Terra halfway wished she was sitting in the front seat after all. As much as she loved her brother, she was looking forward to talking to Gardner in private.

  True to his word, Gardner had them in the parking lot of the Margolis Hotel in just a few minutes. He turned off the car and got out to open the door for Terra while Tommy got out and opened the back door where their baggage was sitting.

  “Want me to help you up with your suitcases?” Gardner looked at the twins, and Terra was about to tell him no but Tommy cut her off.

  “Sure,” he said, giving Terra another knowing look. As soon as Gardner turned around, she slapped her brother on the arm, which made his grin wider. “You’ll thank me later,” he muttered just as Gardner turned around. “I’ll go check us in.” Before his sister could protest, he hurried to the front counter and tapped the bell on the counter.

  “I hope you won’t hold the weather against us.” With a smile, Gardner looked down at her. He was a full head taller than Terra and she wondered what it would be like to dance with someone as tall as he was.

  “Not at all. I’m used to getting around in the snow in New York.” She tried to think of something to say that didn’t sound silly. “Have you ever been there?”

  “The only place I’ve been outside of Virginia is Baltimore, and I think I spent the entire time eating crab.” He shrugged as best he could with a suitcase in each hand. “It’s not that I wouldn’t like to go, more that I haven’t had occasion to. Not to mention the fact that I haven’t had too many days off since I got promoted to detective.”

  “You’re new at this?” As nice as he was, Terra was a little concerned about his ability to help her. She had no idea what she was doing, and if he didn’t either they were in trouble.

  “Sort of. I did a lot of work helping the detectives when I was a patrol officer, that’s how I ended up getting promoted so early. Don’t worry, I’m capable of solving this case. I guess your brother got things in order,” he said, nodding toward Tommy, who was coming toward them with a pair of keys in each hand.

  “Your choice, room 356 or 357.”

  “357 seems like a lucky number.” Taking the key from her brother, Terra tucked it into the pocket of her coat and held out a hand. “I’ll be glad to take my suitcase if you have somewhere else you need to be, Detective Lewis.”

  “I’m already here, I may as well take these upstairs for you.” He led the way to the elevator and looked over at Terra while they waited. “If you don’t mind, you can feel free to call me Gard. That’s what everyone does at the precinct.”

  “Sounds fine to me,” Tommy said as the elevator doors open. “My sister’s a little more formal than me, though. She’ll probably say it would be rude to call you by your first name.”

  “Forgive me for being the polite one.” Terra folded her arms over her chest. “I can be every bit as casual as you men, I just choose not to be.” The elevator dinged above their heads and the doors opened onto the third floor hallway. Terra looked around and tried to determine where their rooms were, then turned back to her brother. “It seems to be this way.”

  “Here we are, 356 and 357.” Gardner set the suitcases down and looked between the siblings. “How long are you two staying?”

  “I have a train that leaves in the morning. Not sure how long Terra is staying.” Tommy yawned widely. “I plan to get as much sleep as possible between now and then.”

  “To tell the truth, I’m not sure myself. I suppose I’ll be staying until the case is finished if I’m to be helping with it.” She hadn’t planned on being in Roanoke indefinitely, but she supposed she could spend some time exploring the city when the snow let up.

  “We could get started early tomorrow if you want,” Gard said. “Want to meet up at the conductor’s office tomorrow at 9 AM?”

  “That sounds like a good idea. I’d like to take the rest of the evening to relax. There’s something about a long train ride that makes me even more tired.” Terra fought back a yawn of her own, not wanting to be too much like her brother. “Nine o’clock sounds just perfect.”

  “You’ve got a good assistant when it comes to my sister,” Tommy said to Gard, unlocking his door. Terra didn’t reply to what was almost certainly intended to bait her, instead she unlocked her own door and reached for her suitcase. “It was nice to meet you, Gard, even if it was just for a ride. Take care of my little sister for me, would you?” It was the last straw for Terra, who snatched her suitcase and wrenched open the door to her hotel room.

  “I don’t need anyone to take care of me! Not you and certainly not you, Gard.” She stomped through the door and slammed it behind her hard enough to make the picture frames on
the walls rattle. She grabbed her hat from her head and threw it on the vanity, then flopped back on the bed and looked up at the ceiling with annoyance.

  Just when she thought she’d found someone who would treat her like an equal, her brother had to go and ruin it. She put her arm over her face and sighed. It occurred to her that Gardner had been nothing but kind to her and she’d been the rude one for once. He was most definitely the man from her vision but she wondered what it meant. Maybe it was that she was here to help him, or that they would solve the case, or maybe just alerting her to the fact that he was here. Sometimes she didn’t know what her visions meant until they’d already come to be.

  “I should apologize to Detective Lewis tomorrow,” Terra said, fully aware that she was talking to an empty room. Lying on the bed was comfortable, even in her coat, so she found herself dozing in only a few minutes. She decided to stop fighting it and let sleep overtake her, hoping against hope that if she dreamed of Tommy, he would be all right this time.

  Chapter Three

  A few hours after Terra fell asleep, Gard Lewis was sitting at his desk in the Garden City police station. He was rubbing his temples, trying to massage away the throbbing that had settled behind his eyes. He found himself wishing that he had some of Tilly Pierce’s headache tea. She was Jacob’s wife and an amazing herbalist, owing in part to the fact that she was a witch.

  “Don’t tell me you’re falling asleep already,” a voice over his shoulder said and Gard turned around to see Jacob standing over him with his arms over his chest.

  “No, I just have a headache. You have any more of that tea Tilly makes?”

  “Sure, I’ve got a tin of it in my desk.” Jacob Pierce nodded over at the desk beside them, then leaned on Gard’s. “It’s only your second day on the case, is it already getting to be too much for you? I can talk to the Chief of Detectives and tell him you need some help.”

  “It’s not getting to be too much for me, it’s been too much for me from the start. I’m basically working this case by myself because there’s no one else there. They’ve set me up with an engineer to act as a fresh pair of eyes and to explain the structural damage to me.” Gard leaned back in his chair. “She’s a woman.”

  “Is she smart?”

  “I’m sure she is. She seems to be pretty capable and kind of proud.” He knew what Jacob was going to say and closed his eyes.

  “That’s all that matters.” Jacob slapped Gard on the back. “They wouldn’t have sent her if she wasn’t good.” With his history as a member by marriage of a family of strong women, Jacob was intimately aware of how important an intelligent woman could be to an investigation.

  “She’s also beautiful.”

  “Now you’re getting yourself into trouble. I’m going to get you that tea.” Jacob got up and went to search through his drawers for his wife’s tin, leaving Gard to think about Terra.

  She really was beautiful, that much was true. Sparkling blue eyes that were the same color as sapphires, ivory skin, and from what he could see beneath her hat, her hair was a brown that seemed tinged with gold. She and her brother looked so much alike that he guessed her hair was probably the same color as his. There was something else, though. When she’d looked at him for the first time, she seemed surprised, as if they’d met before. Since Gard spent most of his time in Garden City, the easternmost part of Roanoke, he didn’t know where that might have been.

  “Here you go, kid.” A tin of tea came flying at him and Gard caught it with one hand. “You want me to make you a cup?”

  “No thanks. I’m actually going to save it for someone who needs to relax a lot more than I do.” He slipped the tin into his pocket and patted it.

  “Are you sure you don’t need any help? They really dumped a big one on you for your first solo case, and they’re expecting you to drive back and forth across Roanoke every day. I can’t believe they’re so short on detectives that they can’t work on this themselves.” Jacob’s jaw was clenched and while Gard was glad that he wanted to stick up for him, he also didn’t want to rely on Jacob all the time.

  “No, I want to do this on my own and prove I can. Besides, like you said, I’ve got someone to give me a hand that’ll probably be a big help. She’ll certainly be able to explain trains a lot better to me than another detective.” Gard looked at his watch, then stood up and put his jacket on. “I said I would meet Miss Rendon at the train station at nine o’clock so I’d best get driving if I’m going to be on time.”

  “Good luck,” Jacob said as Gard put his hat on over his fiery hair. “I’ll make sure Tilly sends some more of that headache tea.”

  “I appreciate it.” Gard picked up his files and put them in a case, then took his coat from the rack and started out the door to the parking lot.

  As he walked, he thought about Terra. She really did seem a lot more capable than a lot of women he met, but he knew that only time would tell if she was or wasn’t the right one for the job. He would find out for sure whether or not she was easy to work with this morning when they met to go over the evidence for the first time. He would also apologize for being rude to her, though he wasn’t sure how he had been. If he was going to get along with her, he would be as polite as possible.

  The drive from Garden City to Roanoke City, the largest neighborhood and the one where the main train station was located, felt like it was interminably long on cold mornings. His car was old enough where it didn’t want to turn over in the cold but new enough to drink gasoline like it was water. Gard suspected that they had picked him for the case because he was junior enough to push around and had his own vehicle. He breathed a sigh of relief when he got to the parking lot of the train station, wondering after he’d shut off the engine whether he should have gone to the hotel and offered her a ride so she wouldn’t have to walk. Knowing it was likely too late, he pulled the lapels of his coat up higher and made for the front doors.

  Gard hoped that Terra was already in the head conductor’s office when he got there. He would feel guilty for sure if he walked in and she was still fighting her way through the slush and wind to get there from the hotel.

  “Hello?” Gard stuck his head into the office, and to his relief, Terra was sitting in one of the chairs across from the Alvin Keats’ desk. The man himself wasn’t anywhere in sight but she had made herself at home.

  “Good morning,” Terra said pleasantly. “I got here a bit early and the janitor let me in. I’ve been looking through these files he left me.” Her smile was radiant when she looked at him, and Gard wondered if this meant she had forgiven him.

  “Finding anything good?” He leaned over the desk, careful not to get too close to her and lose the fragile connection that they had regained.

  “Just some scenes of the tracks after an accident. What can you tell me about it? Why are the police involved anyhow?” Terra opened the folder and took out a picture of a crushed train. “This is what they’ve given me to work with.”

  “Doesn’t look like it’s much help,” Gard said. “As for the reason the police are involved, it’s because there were casualties in the accident. Two people died, as well as the conductor, and it happened right in the middle of the station.”

  “Oh my God.” Terra put a hand over her mouth. “I don’t think I’m the right person for this job. I’ve never investigated a crash, much less a death.”

  “I’ll help you any way I can.” Gard saw her fingers tighten into fists and he smiled at her, hoping he could relieve a little of her tension. Something clicked in his head and he reached in his pocket. “Would you like a cup of herbal tea?” Gard took the tin Jacob had given him and held it up. “It’s a special blend my friend’s wife makes.”

  “Oh? Yes, please. That sounds lovely.” She met his eyes. “On one condition. You have to have a cup with me. And could you please add a little honey if you can find it?”

  “My pleasure. I’m always ready for a cup of Tilly’s tea. Let me go figure out where to make this and I’ll
be right back.” Gard took off his coat, then went in search of a pot of hot water. He was glad Terra seemed happier that morning, even if her brother had to drive further south.

  He found a banged-up kettle in what appeared to be a break room and while he waited for the water to heat up, he dug through the cabinets until he found some coffee mugs. The tea had a wonderful aroma, and just breathing in the steam made his head feel a little better. Gard put a dollop of honey into the tea, then hurried as best he could down the hall with the mugs in his hands and opened the door with his hip.

  “Here you are, Miss Rendon. One cup of tea with honey.” As he handed it to her, Gard noticed that her eyes widened for a moment and she stiffened as she looked up at him. Then she seemed to catch herself and wrapped her hands around the mug.

  “This smells heavenly.” Terra breathed deeply and sighed with contentment. “Mm, I can smell chamomile and lavender, and something else.” She frowned a little and closed her eyes. “Rosemary too, and a touch of ginger. Is this tea meant to help with headaches?”

  “You’re pretty knowledgeable about herbs,” Gard said, blinking at her in surprise. “I’m sure you and Tilly would have a lot to talk about.”

  “Tilly? Who’s that?” Blowing on the tea slightly, Terra turned her blue eyes on him and he laughed.

  “Sorry, here I am talking like you know everybody here in Virginia. She’s my friend’s wife and she runs an herbalist shop in Garden City.” He looked around to make sure no one was listening, then lowered his voice. “She’s a witch.”

  “A what?” At first Terra looked alarmed, but it quickly resolved into interest. “She’s really a witch?”

  “Not the kind that casts spells, but she does have powers.” Gard leaned on the desk. “I’m only telling you this because you don’t live here. People still are kind of backward about it, but I have a feeling that since you’re from New York you’ve seen a lot more than some people around here.”

  “I won’t tell a soul,” promised Terra. “I would love to meet her, though. It would be nice to talk to someone who knows about, um, herbs and such.” She stumbled over her words and Gard had the sudden feeling that she was hiding something from him.