My mind flashed to the pearls, but I kept quiet. All this mess was over. There was no point in mentioning them now.
“She admitted to the murder officially?” Lowe asked.
“She did, and even if she hadn’t, we have proof. She’s going to prison, and there she will stay,” said Joy.
“What does that mean for my granddaughter?” Bethel had clearly tired of waiting for an answer. The question had been hanging over our heads for far too long.
Bethel was giving Quinn a look that I had never seen before.
The sheriff sighed. “She is exonerated from the murder charge, as well as the charge we had pending after Nancy accused her of attacking her in the parking lot,” he said carefully.
“But?” I said.
Everyone looked at me. It was so clear that there was a “but” coming that I could nearly taste it.
“But the Vixens were trying to set her up. They may well still be. From my own perception, I thought Nancy looked delighted at the idea of Ethel returning to Twinkleford sometime soon,” he said. Joy nodded in agreement.
Bethel sucked in her breath. This was a blow.
“So you’re saying you don’t think she should come back?” I said, incredulous.
“At this point, having her stay in hiding is probably safest. If Vixens are looking for you, it’s best not to stick around,” said Joy.
“Because you haven’t caught them yet. You’ve just been looking into my cousin, so none of the rest of it was a concern for you,” Lowe snapped.
“Lowe,” Bethel murmured.
“No, I won’t hush. Why should our family suffer? You’re one of the only witches who has had the courage to denounce the Vixens! The Rhinestones have been targeted ever since, and the sheriff’s office does nothing.” Lowe slammed her chair backwards and stood up.
I hadn’t known my cousin for very long, but I certainly hadn’t seen such a display of emotion from her before.
“I’m going to sleep!” she yelled, and stormed out of the room.
“I’ve asked for funding to hire another sheriff,” said Quinn with a sigh. “He or she will be dedicated to nothing else but finding out what happened with Jonathan and what the Vixens are up to. Lowe is right, the Vixens have been a thorn in our side for far too long.”
“They’ve been begging you to move against them, and you haven’t,” said Bethel quietly. “Ever since my daughter.”
My head snapped up at that. Had she just connected my mom and the Vixens? Joy shifted uneasily.
“We’re going to get to the bottom of this. Your family won’t be left unsupported any longer,” said Joy.
“I certainly hope not,” said Bethel. Then she too pushed her chair back. Once she was standing, the sheriffs hastened to rise as well. “It’s been a very long day. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to celebrate the family achievement as I would have liked,” Bethel went on, casting a small smile in my direction.
I tried to smile back. The cape was now dragging heavily at my neck. All I wanted to do was fall into bed and sleep for days.
“Thank you for your time,” said Joy. “We’ll be going now.”
She got up and walked toward the door, but Quinn looked uncertain. I couldn’t blame him. After a pause, he turned to me and asked, “Can I speak with you for a moment?”
“It’s probably best if I just go to sleep,” I told him. No speaking to married men after witch rituals or at bedtime: a good rule of thumb, I decided right then and there.
Bethel had said it would all make sense if he explained it to me, but I was in no mood. Let my little heart suffer, if indeed that was what was happening. We were never anything anyway, and my heart certainly had not fluttered whenever I’d caught his eye.
Epilogue
Sleep came easily that night. I punched the pillow a couple of times, then was out like a quelling unicorn glare. After what seemed like far too short a time to be a good night’s sleep, a hand on my shoulder shook me awake. I’d been half expecting this visit, just not so soon.
I opened my eyes to see a face very much like my own leaning over me. I sat up, suddenly wide awake.
My sister had awakened me in the early hours of the morning.
We hugged, and I found myself smiling. Though her expression was serious, Ethel again looked cool. She was wearing a black leather top with several long necklaces. I took note of the fact that one of them was a pair of shoes. Bracelets covered her wrists, and her hair was pulled up into a ponytail.
“Sorry to wake you! Are you all right?” she asked, sitting on the edge of my bed.
I drew my feet up to my chest and rolled my eyes. “I’m fine! How are you?”
She shrugged. “Same. Fine. Getting used to being on the run. I never thought I’d say that.”
I shook my head. “You shouldn’t have to! The mystery was solved!”
“That isn’t the whole story, though, is it?” she asked.
I sighed and told her what the sheriffs had said. She didn’t look surprised. “I expected as much. We were clearly a target as a family. I’m more worried about all of you now than about myself. You’re here and out in the open.”
I had been so focused on other distractions that the thought of our own exposure hadn’t even occurred to me. “We’ll be fine,” I said.
“Do you know anything else about the murder?” she asked.
“It definitely had something to do with pearls. They’re apparently very important in potions,” I explained.
“Jonathan did seem to be involved in something shady like that. He always had more money than he should have. His family wasn’t rich and he didn’t make a lot as our teacher. I’m not surprised,” she said. “Where are the pearls now?”
I pulled them out from under my mattress. “Maybe you should take them. If you’re in hiding, no one will find them—or you.”
She held up her hand. “No, you keep them. If I take them I’ll be tempted to use them, and that would end up badly for . . . something.” She gave me a crooked smile.
“Okay,” I said, reluctantly tucking the pearls back under my pillow. I supposed it was for the best.
“Use them for what?” I asked, quirking an eyebrow at her.
She shrugged, her grin only widening. “You never know what potions might come in handy.”
“Are you going to be okay? This isn’t the news I was hoping for,” I told her softly.
My sister paused, considering what to say next.
“Mom was murdered, blown up, in fact,” said Ethel, her eyes burning. “We all know that’s what happened, even if there was never an official charge.”
I reached out to hug her. All these years I hadn’t had my mom, but what had happened to Ethel was also terrible. She’d had our mom every day, until one day she’d been ripped away.
We hugged again and I begged her to be careful. She pulled away and said, “You really are the one in more danger. Now you're here and everyone knows it. Take care of Bethel, won’t you?”
“She doesn’t like the idea of anyone taking care of her,” I muttered.
Ethel laughed. “Very true. Try to do it secretly, then.”
I laughed and nodded. We both knew that was easier said than done.
Ethel made her way to the window and disappeared. She had promised to return soon, but we both knew she shouldn’t make promises that would be difficult to keep. I lay back down and stared at the ceiling for a long time. Sleep had been washed from my consciousness. I felt alert, awake, and determined.
Outside my window, the unicorns made soft noises of protest as the rain began to splatter onto the roof and windows. We were here in this strange town of Twinkleford, the place my family was from and that I now called home.
From the darkness I heard Ethel’s voice whisper, “You’ll have to carry the Rhinestone torch for now. It’s the Rhinestone Way.”
The End
~
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By Addison Creek
Witch of Mintwood Mysteries
Witch Way to Mintwood
Witch Some Win Some
Spell by Midnight
A Witch on Mintwood Mountain
Witch Raising Situation
Witch Way Round
Witch Wish Way
White Witch Wonder
Muddled Mintwood Murderer
Wonder Wand Way
Miraculous Mintwood Magic
Witch of Mintwood Mysteries 1-3
Witch of Mintwood Mysteries 4-6
Witch of Mintwood Mysteries 7-9
Witchy Minter Wonderland
The Jane Garbo Mysteries
Spooky Business
Spooky Spells
Spooky Spider
Spooky Spindle
Spooky Skeleton
Pointy Hats and Witchy Cats Page 24