Deacon hooked a thumb over his shoulder. “I’ll just go. There’s no need for me to—”
Amelia’s voice rang out. “Who’s at the door?”
Beckett sighed. “I told you.” Then he turned and nearly shouted, “Mr. Evermore is here.”
Amelia walked into the foyer, dressed in a satin robe, her hair around her shoulders. “What’s going on? What’s happened? Is Emeranth all right?”
Deacon frowned. “I should go.”
Amelia pinned him with a hard stare. “Not until you explain what’s brought you here at such an hour.”
There was no point in saying nothing. She’d know he was lying. “It’s about Emeranth.”
Amelia’s hard stare softened, replaced by one of concern. “What happened?”
“She accidentally touched Gracie last night.”
Amelia’s brows lifted slightly. She understood what that meant. “I see. And now you want to talk to her. So what did Gracie find out that brought you here? Because it must be important for you to be on my doorstep this early.”
“It is important. And because of what happened, I ran a background check on Emeranth. The reports came in this morning.” He raked a hand through his hair. “They’re…not good.”
Amelia lifted her chin and sighed. “Beckett, coffee in the sitting room, please. Deacon, follow me.”
He did, and Beckett left them to get the coffee, presumably.
As they entered the room, Amelia brought the lights and the fireplace to life with a wave of a hand. She took the seat nearest the flames, positioning herself to see him. “Out with it.”
“Her mother—”
“Manda Greer.”
“Yes.”
“I thought this was about Emeranth.”
“It is, but her mother’s involved. She’s in jail, by the way.”
Amelia didn’t seem surprised by that. “Again? No wonder Emeranth didn’t want to talk about her. That woman has been a constant disappointment as a mother.”
That made Deacon pause. He knew what it was like to have a disappointing parent.
Amelia gestured toward him. “Go on. What else has Manda done?”
“First-degree felony, for one thing. Scheming to defraud, for another. She’s a grifter. A con artist. And apparently, she took someone for half a million dollars.”
Amelia leaned back. “Are you sure? I know what she is, but that’s quite a sum. She’s never been that successful in anything she’s done.”
He wasn’t that surprised at Amelia’s cool reaction. “She had help. From Emeranth. In fact, the money is in accounts that are in Emeranth’s name, which is why there’s a warrant for her arrest and extradition back to Oklahoma.”
Amelia’s eyes narrowed. “Emeranth wasn’t involved in this.”
Deacon tried to be patient. “I know you want to protect your niece, but those accounts say otherwise.”
“You don’t know Manda. She’s the worst kind of person. Beyond just being a con artist. She’s willing to use her own child for whatever means necessary. Always has been. I don’t know why things would have changed now. And I have no doubt she’s behind those accounts, not Emeranth. Dig deeper. I want to see evidence.”
“Amelia, I have dug deeper. I’ve read the reports, the case files. Everything points to them being in on this together. If you want to see evidence, I’ll have to get Gracie to hack into the police department’s files in Oklahoma.”
“Then do it. Find out what they have exactly.”
“But it’s clear, isn’t it?” He spread his hands. “Why else would Em come here? She knew the hammer was about to fall, and she needed a safe place to hide out. What better place than the invisible town of Shadowvale?”
“Except she knew nothing about this place until she got here. And if she and her mother made off with that much money, why wouldn’t Emeranth have used those funds to disappear? At the very least, she would have come here with money. But she came here destitute. Nearly penniless.”
“Maybe she was too afraid to touch it. Too worried the paper trail would lead the feds to her.”
Amelia shook her head. “This was all Manda. I promise you.” She exhaled a frustrated breath and glanced at the fire for a moment. “Manda came here once, years ago. Emeranth couldn’t have been more than five or six then, although Manda left the child home.”
Deacon sat back, listening.
“Manda was never one of the more gifted Marchand witches. The greatest bestowment of power tends to skip a generation. But she understood that. Understood that her daughter was the one who’d have the kind of magic that would be life-changing. If only Manda could get her hands on it.”
Deacon got a sense where this was going.
Amelia twisted the large ruby ring on her finger. “She wanted me to transfer Emeranth’s power into her. She said it was the only way she could give her daughter the kind of life she really deserved.”
Amelia snorted. “What she meant was it would be the only way she could ever effectively run her scams. She didn’t have the magic to do it. Couldn’t muster up the kind of real power needed to pull off those long cons. But Emeranth could.”
Amelia leaned forward, eyes dark with memory. “Emeranth has the kind of power in her that, if wielded without conscience, could do great damage.”
He strummed his fingers on the arm of the couch. “You realize you’re not making a great case for her innocence.”
She frowned at him. “But you have to know by now that Emeranth isn’t that kind of person. She’s not her mother’s child. Not at all. She has a good heart. A giving spirit. And a deep desire to leave that life behind her. That’s why she came here. It wasn’t to hide. It was to escape. And I don’t mean from the law. From the life her mother saddled her with.”
Deacon dropped his gaze to the table between them. He had seen firsthand what kind of person Em was, but if she really was a con artist like her mother, she could make him believe anything. He wasn’t convinced he knew the real Emeranth. Not now that he’d seen the reports. Those facts in black and white made it hard to think otherwise. But if Amelia needed to see the police evidence, he’d get that, too.
“You don’t believe me.”
He made eye contact with Amelia. “I believe that you believe the story she’s fed you.”
Anger sparked in her eyes, and the flames in the fireplace jumped, snapping at the logs with new energy. “You’re wrong.”
“I hope I am. But Gracie’s curse never is.”
“Emeranth is not her mother. Just because Manda has done wrong, doesn’t mean Emeranth should be punished, too.”
“Pretty sure the police are after her for her part in this, not her mother’s.” He shook his head. “I’m sorry, Amelia. I don’t want any of this to be true. I like Em. Or at least the Em I thought I knew. But we cannot knowingly harbor a fugitive.”
Amelia practically vibrated with anger now. “The gates let her in. Would they let a criminal into this place? Would they give safe harbor to someone who could bring the law down on us? Think, Deacon. Who knows better? The outside world? Or the magic that protects us here?”
He didn’t want to argue with her anymore. He understood why she was so upset. She’d been alone for so long that to suddenly have family at her side again must be such a gift, but he also knew she was blinded by that love.
He stood. “I don’t disagree with you. But the magic that protects us is your magic. That makes it biased. And I’m the law in Shadowvale, which means I have to do what is right.”
Her bottom lip trembled. She didn’t look at him as she spoke. “What are you going to do?”
“To start with, I’m going to talk to her.”
“Just talk?”
He couldn’t promise that. “For now.”
She got to her feet. “You’re heading down a path you may not come back from.”
He let that roll over him. He knew she was upset. “You put me in this job. Asked me to be the one to persuade Em not to
stay here. Why me?”
She sighed. “Because I know how much you hate it here. How much you want a different life for you and your sister.”
“And I tried, didn’t I?”
She nodded.
“And now it looks like I’m going to get her out of here after all. So the job will be done. Just not in the manner you wanted.”
“At least let her finish out the day at the bakery. Is that so much to ask?”
He hesitated. “I can do that. But if you use that time to hide her away or—”
“I won’t. I swear on Thoreau’s life.”
“All right. End of shift. I’ll give you that.”
Chapter Thirty-four
The strong scent of coffee—and the lighter scent of baked goods—lingered in Em’s hair and clothes, but she walked out of Black Horse a happy woman. Tired, but happy. There were worse things to smell like, that was for sure. And there wasn’t much better than an honest day’s work completed.
Now she just had to sort out what had actually happened at Gracie’s party. She hadn’t heard from her or Deacon today, but then, they’d known this was her first day on the job. So had they not reached out because of that? Or was everything okay? Or was it still a big mess?
Em was done not knowing. She wanted less drama, not more. Actually, she wanted no drama, but life probably wasn’t going to let that happen.
As she headed for her car, she pulled out her phone and dialed Deacon. She figured she’d start with him and see what he would tell her.
The sound of ringing brought her head up.
Deacon was leaning against her car.
She smiled and hung up, then tucked her phone back in her purse. “Hey.”
He didn’t smile back. “Hey.”
Was that all he had to say? “Is that it?”
He frowned. “We need to talk.”
“Yeah, I’d say so.” She stopped a few feet away. “Also, my first day was great, Deacon, thanks for asking.”
His frown deepened, and he looked away.
She put her hands on her hips, a little peeved by his cool reception. “What on earth happened last night? I’ve spent every spare moment trying to figure it out, and I can’t. All I can come up with is something to do with Gracie’s curse. But you know, since it’s not polite to ask and no one volunteered that information, I have no idea what that something might be.”
He glanced down the street. “Yes, it has something to do with her curse. We should go somewhere more private—”
“Really? Is it that big of a secret?”
He looked at her again. “I’m not talking about Gracie’s curse, I’m—can we just go somewhere?”
“Like?” She shrugged. “I don’t know that many places.”
“How about the park down the street?”
She crossed her arms. There weren’t that many people walking around, and they were partially blocked by one of the big trees that lined the streets. It was private enough to her. “How about right here?”
He didn’t seem happy with that, but he straightened and pointed to a bench one parking spot away. “Let’s sit.”
“Okay.”
Once they were settled, she didn’t say a word. Just waited for him.
He didn’t disappoint. “Tell me about your mother.”
That made her inhale a little sharper than normal. “She’s, uh…not a very good person, to be honest. What does this have to do with last night?”
He sat with his elbows on his knees, but he turned his head to look at her. “You and Gracie collided in the hall last night.”
She nodded. “I know. I apologized. It was an accident.”
“I understand. And so does she. It’s not about the collision, it’s about the contact that happened because of it.”
“Contact?”
“You touched Gracie. Long enough to activate her curse.”
Em just stared at him. “Which is?”
He let out a breath. “With contact, she sees a person’s deepest, darkest secret.”
“That has to suck. No wonder she—what did she get from me? This is why you’re asking about my mother? So you know, then, don’t you?” She swallowed hard. Everything she’d fought to put behind her was staring her in the face once again.
“She saw your mother and she saw you. In trouble. Arrested. Saw the other names you’ve used. Knows you’ve conned people out of a lot of money.”
Every word was a dagger in her heart, but she couldn’t let the last statement lie. “Wait a second, I have never knowingly conned anyone out of anything. And those other names of mine? All my mother’s doing. Just like the arrests.”
She blinked back angry tears. Some because her mother’s awful influence still persisted, some because her fresh start had gone stale so soon. “She’s a con artist. A decent one. Good enough that I didn’t realize how elaborate a story she’d woven to get me to go along with her games.”
“Like what? How do you explain all those names?”
“For years, she led me to believe that my father was an angry, abusive, manipulative man hunting for us. That he wanted to take me away from her. That he would punish her because she’d gotten me away from him. She told me those names were to protect me. Used the same story for why we had to move so often.”
He didn’t say anything at first. Then he nodded. “Pretty good story.”
“It was. She even came home once with bruises. Said he’d found her at her job and almost killed her. Told me to pack whatever I could. We left almost immediately with only the things we could fit in the car.”
One of many memories that haunted her. “I know now that she’d probably been made by the mark she was conning. And either got those bruises from him or gave them to herself to sell her story to me.” Em shrugged and looked away. “Whichever. It worked.”
“Okay, I’ll accept that. The names weren’t your doing. What about the two arrests?”
Boy, he’d really done his homework. “Wrong place at the wrong time. And I did something she asked me to, only to find out after the fact it wasn’t kosher. She conned me into a lot of stuff when I was younger. I’m not proud of that. Makes me look like a fool.” She grimaced. “So much for a sealed juvi record.”
He looked away then. “Nothing stays secret for long.”
“Apparently not. Is that enough to convince you that I’m not a criminal? Or do you need more proof? My mother’s in jail, you know.”
“I know.”
“Well, there’s a reason for that. She’s the one who’s made a career out of bilking people. All I wanted to do was get away from her and her lies. Her getting arrested finally made that possible. Sad when that’s the best shot you’ve had for an independent life in a long time.”
“Just one more question.” He sat up, staring straight at her. “How do you explain the half million dollars? The security cam footage of you walking into the bank?”
She stared right back. “What half million dollars? What bank? What footage?”
He shook his head. “Don’t start with the games now.”
“This isn’t a game. I have no idea what you’re talking about, and trust me, that’s not a sum of money I’d soon forget.”
His mouth bent like he was disgusted. “Stop lying, Em. It’s over. I ran reports on you. I know about your warrant. I know you came here to save your skin. And today Gracie hacked into the Bethany, Oklahoma, police department’s files on you. We saw the footage of you walking into the bank where you set up the accounts for the money.”
She gaped at him. “I’m not lying. I don’t know anything about any of this. And who gave you the right to go digging into my past? Or to hack into the police department?”
“Your aunt did when she made me peacekeeper of Shadowvale.”
Em jumped up, beyond angry and not sure what else to do but get away from him. Her aunt couldn’t have possibly been behind this, could she?
He stood and went after her, grabbing her arm. “Hey, wait a sec
—”
She turned, flinging her hands up. And with the movement, she sent out a burst of magic that surprised both of them.
It knocked Deacon off his feet and onto his back a couple yards away.
She gasped. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to do that.”
Slowly, he pushed up to a sitting position, his expression a little dazed. The few people who were out had started to gather. Apparently, there were a few things in Shadowvale that could still draw a crowd.
She inched toward him. “Are you okay?”
He nodded. “I’m okay.”
But he didn’t get up either. Like he was waiting to see if she was going to strike again.
“Crap. I really am sorry. I don’t know how I did that. I’m sure I couldn’t do it again if I tried.”
“Well, don’t.” He finally stood up and brushed himself off. “That’s quite a punch you’re packing.” He glanced toward the people who were watching, giving them a nod and a wave. “All good here, carry on. Just practicing a little magic.”
As they dispersed, she moved closer.
“Listen, I don’t know what your reports told you, and I don’t care what footage you saw, but I am not lying. I don’t know anything about a warrant, or this money you’re talking about, or setting up accounts in some bank. Nothing. If I did, I would say so. Remember?” She pointed back and forth between them. “Honesty?”
“I’ll show you the reports. And the footage.”
She thought about that. “Okay. Then I’ll show you I have no money.”
* * *
Asking Em to drive was an uncomfortable request, but since Deacon had flown here, he didn’t have much choice. He also didn’t want to let her out of his sight. Not until this was all sorted.
Or he’d taken her into custody.
Something he had no desire to do. It weighed heavy on him. On his heart. He couldn’t imagine doing that to her. And yet, if she really was guilty of these things…he’d have no choice.
He’d taken an oath when he’d become peacekeeper. If he broke it for her, what would that say about his integrity? About his own moral compass?
“You’re awfully quiet for someone who had so much to say a few minutes ago.”
The Trouble With Witches Page 23