“What?” I set my mug of coffee down on the table a little too hard.
“It wasn’t murder that time per se.”
“But he has killed someone?” I asked.
“As a surgeon he’s probably killed a lot of people. He’s talented, but he doesn’t have the temperament to have people’s lives in his hands. That being said, I know of one particular case where his negligence killed someone. He doesn’t know that I know, but my father knew that Brittany had overheard him talking to his lawyer about it. That was when I left home. I knew my parents were toxic, and I had to go. I offered to take Brittany with me, but she didn’t want to give up the lifestyle my parent’s wealth afforded her. She didn’t want to give it all up for this,” Clarissa said and waved her hand around the living room. “But all this is freedom to me. It’s far more important than a fancy education. I refused to spend any more of my life under my father’s thumb for financial gain.”
“So you think that your father could have killed Brittany because he thought she was going to expose him?” Brody asked.
“I don’t want to level that kind of accusation, but I can’t say no. I’ve seen him when he’s flown into a rage. I know he’s capable of it.”
“Thank you for talking with us and for being so open,” I said.
“I hope it helps,” Clarissa said. “In the end, I wasn’t able to help her. I wish there had been more that I could do.”
“You’ll be there for your little sister,” Brody said. “That’s what matters now.”
“I am sorry for your loss,” Clarissa said and stood up. “But Keisha hired me to wash dishes at the diner. I’ve got to get into my evening shift.”
“We’ll get out of your hair then,” I said and stood up too. “Thank you again.”
After we rounded up Meri, Brody and I left. Once we were in the car, a single tear rolled down Brody’s face. He swiped it away quickly.
“I had no idea things were so bad for her. I wish I’d done more, but she wouldn’t let me,” he said.
“It sounds like Brittany had a hard life and it caused her to have a lot of demons,” I said. “I’m so sorry you’re going through this. I wish I could have protected you.”
“You’re really different than what I expected,” Brody said. “I’m sorry that I let mom come between us.”
“I’m glad you realized what was happening. We could have ended up estranged for the rest of our lives.” I offered him a smile. “But we can move forward now. No reason to dwell on the past.”
“You’re not mad at me?”
“Not at all. You were just a kid.”
Chapter Ten
When we pulled up in front of the house, Brody and I found Remy and Grey squared off in the front yard like they were about to exchange blows. Without thinking, I jumped out of the car and ran over to the spot where they stood attempting to stare each other down.
“What is going on here?” I practically shouted when I reached them.
I hadn’t seen any more than them staring at each other, but I could feel the tension in the air. You could have cut it with a knife.
“I caught this one trying to sneak into your house. I came by to bring you some paperwork and caught him opening your side window,” Grey said and shoved his finger into Remy’s chest hard. “I was going to call the police, but he said he was your friend. What I want to know is why someone who is your friend is trying to creep into your window?”
“That’s absolutely not true, Brighton,” Remy growled. “I came by to see you. I rang your doorbell, and while I was waiting for someone to answer, this guy comes up and starts getting in my face. Asking all of these questions about who I am and what I want with you. He was acting like you belong to him or something.”
Had it not been for Remy previously admitting to watching me, I never would have believed Grey’s story. But because of what Remy had done and the darkness taking over him, I had serious doubts. Plus, I had no reason to doubt Grey. Why would he lie to me? Why would he make up stories about Remy? They didn’t even know each other.
“Brighton, who is this guy?” Brody asked as he approached us.
“This is Remy. He is a friend of mine,” I said and looked at Grey. “Though, I don’t know why he would be climbing in my window.”
“Brighton, you can’t seriously believe this guy? Over me? What? Throwing me over for Thorn wasn’t enough? Now you’re going to what? Ditch us both? For this guy?”
“Watch it,” Grey said in an icy voice.
“Maybe we should all just take a breather,” Brody said. He obviously had some experience breaking up fights between guys. “Brighton and I have had a long day. She’s expecting Thorn soon, so why don’t we all go our separate ways for now.”
“That’s a good idea,” I said and rubbed my temples. “Remy, I’ll call you soon.”
“Brighton, I’m sorry,” Remy said.
“For what?” I demanded a little more harshly than I meant.
“For ever making you doubt me. I’ll go.”
“I’ll see you bright and early in the morning,” Grey said.
They both left, and Brody and I went inside. “He forgot to give you the paperwork,” Brody said.
“What?”
“Grey. The contractor. He said he came by to bring you paperwork, but he didn’t give you any. In fact, I don’t think he had any in his hand.”
“He probably left it in the van. He’s forgetful, but the garage is looking good. He does good work.”
“Yeah, that’s probably it. I got a bad vibe off of one of them. Something dark.”
“Yeah, Remy isn’t the same,” I said. “He went a little too far with self-serving and dark magic, and it’s like it’s infected him. It’s not really him, though, Brody. He was good and kind and sweet before.”
“Maybe you’re just a terrible judge of character,” Brody teased. “I mean you did marry that Donnie guy.”
“Don’t remind me,” I said with a huff. “But what about Thorn? Or are you saying he might not be good either?”
“No, Thorn seems like a good guy. He seems like the type that always does the right thing,” Brody said.
“Well, Remy said that Thorn would break my heart.”
“Remy is strange. I think you overlooked it because you have a good heart. You should be careful.”
“Well, I’m going to go carefully make dinner. Can you let Thorn in when he gets here?”
“Oh, are you making something intense?”
“If the house is willing, I was thinking of making homemade pizza,” I said.
The house wasn’t willing. Once again, the fridge was empty and the pantry was as well. Okay, there was one thing in the pantry. One can of tuna.
“Brody,” I called from the kitchen. “How about we go out for pizza?”
“What’s going on?” he said as he walked into the kitchen.
“Once again, the house has emptied out the food. This happened the other day when I went to the store.”
“The day you found Brittany?”
“Yeah.”
“Maybe we should go out then,” he said and looked around nervously.
“Why are you looking around like that?”
“I don’t know. I just got a bad feeling. It’s like we’re being watched.”
I’d seen Remy pull out of the driveway in his car, but it was possible that he’d just gone around the block and come back. He’d promised me that the wasn’t going to do anything like that anymore, but maybe Brody was right. Maybe I was just a bad judge of character.
“Well, let’s go,” I said. “I don’t think the diner has pizza, though. There’s a pizza place, but I haven’t been there. I’ll need to look it up.”
“How do you live in Coventry and not know how to get to the pizza place? I’ve only been here a few times and I know it.”
“I haven’t been here that long, and I haven’t been everywhere in town yet. Come on. I’ll drive. I think I remember how to get there.”<
br />
Easy as Pie was in one of the neighborhoods I hadn’t had the chance to visit yet. It was on the outskirts of town but on the opposite side from the church, the new cemetery, and from me.
It wasn’t as busy as Dumbledore’s Diner, but there were a few cars in the parking lot. One of them was a big black SUV that looked like it probably belonged to an FBI agent.
I’d called Thorn and told him we were going out for pizza, and he agreed to meet us there. We went in and got a table. I knew what kind of pizza Thorn liked, so we ordered as soon as we could. I knew from experience that he’d be hungry when he showed up, so it was best to try and have the food waiting.
We got three pizzas. Not that the three of us would eat three whole large pizzas, but I figured it was no fun getting pizza at all if there weren’t leftovers in the morning for breakfast.
“We’ll have one extra pepperoni, one black and green olives with mushrooms on half, and one ham and pineapple.”
“I’ll get that order right in,” the waitress said.
When she walked away, Brody’s expression was horrified. “Oh, no. Please don’t tell me that pineapple pizza is for Thorn.”
“It is,” I said with a chuckle.
“Whelp, I was wrong about him after all,” Brody said. “You should pick creepy dude. At least he doesn’t eat pineapple on pizza.”
“Brody.”
“I’m serious. What kind of deviant eats fruit on pizza?”
“The kind that is madly and deeply in love with your sister,” Thorn said from behind me, and I realized that he’d been standing there the whole time.
I scooted over and let him into the booth. “Sorry about my brother,” I said and stuck my tongue out at Brody.
“He’s okay. What kind of pizza does he like?” Thorn asked. “You can tell a lot about a man by his pizza toppings.”
“He’s double pepperoni all the way,” I said. “At least, that used to be your favorite. I hope it’s okay that I ordered it.”
“Of course,” Brody said. “I take my pizza very seriously, and I would have told you if I wanted something different. But you have to tell me what’s up with the olive and half mushroom?”
“Brighton is a mostly vegetarian,” Thorn said.
“Yep, and I get mushroom on half because I like it, but I don’t want it on the whole pizza. I like it with just the olives too.”
“I see. So is being… uh… what we are going to turn me into a tree hugger too?” Brody asked.
“Probably,” I retorted.
The waitress brought us drinks, and we made small talk until the pizza arrived. I wasn’t sure about bringing up the letter and going to the FBI over dinner, but I wasn’t sure if there would be a good time for it.
Agent Anna Pennhurst was in the pizza joint with us, but she wasn’t seated anywhere near our booth. I’d seen her on the way in, but she’d ignored me. I’d been grateful for that because I hadn’t wanted to make fake polite conversation.
“Something’s on your mind,” Thorn said as I finished off my first slice.
“We don’t have to talk about it over dinner,” I said.
“No better time than the present,” Thorn said.
He waved down the waitress and ordered a beer. It was as if he knew I was about to tell him something he didn’t want to hear. I wondered if I was that easy to read, or if we were just in sync. After I’d told him that I loved him, my hair had turned completely red. I had no idea what my love for Thorn had to do with my powers, but that was a topic for another day.
“Brody and I went to Brittany’s dorm room today to look for… uh… we went to look for clues.”
“Brighton.” Thorn’s voice had that I’m the sheriff edge to it, and I knew the rest of the conversation would be rough.
But there wasn’t anything to do except just tell him the truth, so that’s what I did. I told him about the letter and our conversation with Clarissa. When I was finished telling him, Thorn let out a harsh breath through his nose.
“You’ve put me in a bad position,” he said. “I should take that letter and what you’ve told me to the FBI, but how can I do that? How could I do that to you? But this is my career, Brighton.”
“I know,” I said and patted his thigh. “And I don’t expect you to put your career on the line to cover for me, Thorn. Agent Pennhurst is here in the restaurant. I’m going to take her the letter and tell her how I got it.”
“Let me do it, Brighton,” Brody said. “Brittany was my responsibility.”
“No, Brody. I’m not going to let you take the fall for me. Going to her dorm was my idea.”
“If you get arrested, I’ll get Meri and we’ll find a way to get you out of it,” Brody said.
“Yeah, we’ll get the cat and do a jailbreak,” Thorn said with a soft smile.
He kissed me on the head, and then got up to let me out of the booth. When I started to walk toward Agent Pennhurst’s table, I realized Thorn was right by my side.
“Can you get the food boxed up?” he asked Brody.
Brody gave him a head nod yes, so Thorn and I made our way to Anna’s table. Their food was already in boxes, and it looked as though she and another agent were having a post-dinner glass of wine and chatting.
“Sheriff Wilson and Brighton Longfield, what can I do for you?”
“I need to talk to you about something,” I said. “Thorn is just along for the ride.”
“Please sit,” she said. “Unless you think we need to go to our temporary office for this?”
“No, it’s fine. I don’t mind talking here,” I said. “After I’m finished, if we need to go into your office, I’ll understand.”
“Well, this sounds interesting. Please, unburden yourself.”
I told her about going to Brittany’s dorm room and the letter. After I handed her the letter, I repeated the story that Clarissa had shared with me about Gregory Hargraves’ medical mistake and his threatening relationship with Brittany.
“Thank you for bringing this to me,” Anna said as she handed the letter off to the other agent.
“That’s it?” I asked. “I’m not in trouble for going into her dorm?”
“Normally you would be, Brighton, but we hadn’t secured a search warrant for the dorm yet. It wasn’t a crime scene, and your brother had a key and permission to enter the room. We haven’t been able to secure a search warrant because the college is stonewalling us. Mr. Hargrave is one of their big money donors. So you might have actually helped the case by finding this. It probably won’t be admissible in court, but that doesn’t mean it won’t help us.”
We left Easy as Pie, and my relief was tangible. I couldn’t help but think that some of Coventry’s magic was responsible for me escaping the situation without being arrested, and I was thankful for it.
It was a good thing Thorn had only had half of his beer, because as soon as we left the pizzeria, he got a call that he was needed for an altercation occurring at the tavern. More of our dates than I liked to count were interrupted by those calls, but I was getting used to it.
Brody and I went back to Hangman’s House, and of course, when I went to put the pizzas in the fridge, it was fully stocked again. The pantry was as well.
“What are you trying to tell me?” I asked no one in particular but the house.
“Brighton!” Brody called from the living room a moment later. “I need your help, please!”
I ran into the living room at the same time that Meri descended the stairs. We met in the middle. What we found was the ghost of a young woman grotesquely covered in stab wounds had Brody cornered.
She was pointing wildly out the window but had not made any actual move to hurt him. I had to wonder why she would appear covered in the wounds that killed her. Was she still obsessed with her own death, or was she trying tell us something?
I had to decide if I was going to do something about her presence or run outside to get a look at what she was pointing at. As if he could read my mind, Meri urged
me to do neither.
“Don’t you even think about going out there,” Meri said. “Just look out the window. They’re made of glass. You can see through them without putting yourself in mortal peril, Brighton.”
“Right,” I said.
The specter didn’t make a move to stop me as I walked to the window. I braced myself for what was out there. Not only was I afraid that I’d be face to face with the killer, I was even more terrified that I’d find Remy. The last thing I wanted was to be wrong about him.
When I found when I pulled back the curtain was nothing. There was nothing out there but the driveway and garage.
I turned back around and put myself between the ghost and Brody. Before I had the chance to use magic to dispel the spirit, she screamed so loud that it made me dizzy, and then disappeared.
Chapter Eleven
The next morning, I awoke to the smell of bacon and coffee. I pulled the earplugs from my ears and put them in the nightstand drawer. They were the best defense I had against Grey’s early morning banging. Earplugs combined with a touch of magic ensured that I didn’t have to wake up at the butt crack of dawn every day until he finished building the garage.
Not entirely sure what was going on, I threw on a t-shirt and jeans before making my way down to the kitchen. There I discovered Brody making breakfast. He was whistling and flipping bacon in a pan.
“You’re in a good mood. I figured you’d be a little more shaken up by your second encounter with one of the ghosts of Hangman’s House,” I said before pouring myself a cup of coffee.
“Before I came here, I never knew what was missing in my life, but I could always tell that there was something off,” Brody said. “I just feel better here. Even if the circumstances around me coming here were terrible, I don’t know… I feel bad because I don’t feel worse.”
“It sounds like your relationship wasn’t healthy.” I offered. “I know you never wanted her to die, but if you were living under the strain of an abusive relationship, it’s only natural that you would feel better when it’s over.”
Wicked Witches of Coventry- The Collection Page 31