All Too Familiar Page 3
“I see.” He was quiet for a minute, looking deep into my eyes. “If I leave tonight, do you think Opal would invite me to one of your regular meetings?”
Good question. “You think I know what my aunt would do? That’s never been the case. But I can promise I’ll put in a good word for you, for whatever that’s worth.” I glanced back in the direction of the group. “But you really need to leave now.”
“He’s staying.” I jumped as the voice came from directly behind me. I whirled to find Valerie standing there. Dang, those cloaks served some sort of purpose after all. They made the wearers practically invisible in the twilight.
“And I say he’s going.” Opal had joined the party. My heart started racing even more than it had been from Val’s sudden appearance. This was so what I’d been hoping to avoid.
“Tommy Hill is a guest of the Windsong Coven, and I say he stays.” Val paused. “You do realize that he will make the thirteenth person here, right?”
“Thirteen is a powerful number, yes, but only if all thirteen are witches. He is not.” Opal jerked her head toward Tommy, and he flinched. “Having that number of dancers would by no means appease the Goddess for having a non-believer at a sacred meeting.”
Val made a face and took a step toward Opal. “And who are you to speak for what the Goddess wants?”
I swallowed and took a step back, dragging Tommy with me. That was the absolute wrong question to ask. Val was on her own now.
Opal swelled in stature. I could recognize a spell at work, but I heard Tommy’s sudden intake of breath. Yeah, we pretty much try to keep our magical abilities out of the public eye. But right now, Opal was far too pissed to care about little things like that.
“I am the Goddess’ High Priestess of the Gemstone Coven. As such, I am her disciple and her spokeswoman.” Opal’s voice had a ringing quality that made it sound not quite human. The words echoed among the trees. Definitely a spell.
Val must be a brave woman, because she stood her ground. Even if she did look a bit unsure about it. “And I am the Goddess’ High Priestess of the Windsong Coven.” She glanced over at me. “And my coven has substantially more members than yours.”
Opal gave a hollow laugh. “Numbers don’t equate to power. If they did, you wouldn’t have been so eager to join with us tonight. Which I now realize was a vast mistake. I think you all should leave.” She stressed the word all.
But High Priestess number two just dug her heels in. Big mistake. Big, big mistake.
Tommy took a deep breath and stepped in between the two high ranking witches. “Look, I had no idea my presence here tonight would cause such hostility. I’m leaving.” He looked at Opal. “I truly hope you don’t allow this to disrupt your celebration of the Goddess.”
And he left.
I was beginning to think Tommy Hill, or the Hot Geek as I also thought of him, was a very good man. Smart one, too, and with more than just computers.
It would be nice if I could say that Tommy’s actions brought peace to the hillside, but that isn’t what happened. When Opal gets riled, it isn’t a matter of flipping a simple switch to return everything to normal again. It’s a lengthy and time-consuming process.
Val’s aggression and demands didn’t help.
“Look,” I said, trying out the role of peacemaker. “Why don’t we go back and show the Goddess our appreciation now. Nothing that has happened here tonight has changed how we feel about Her, right?” Then I held my breath.
It took a solid minute but finally Opal nodded, and I could breathe again.
The rest of the meeting wasn’t nearly as heartwarming and spontaneous as usual, but the power still flowed down upon us as we danced. It’s weird, actually. I mean, I have like almost no magic in my entire body, and yet I can feel the power. As I said, that’s weird, right? I’ve asked so many times why the Goddess would give me power and no way to use it.
She hasn’t answered me yet, though.
I could tell from the questioning and ecstatic faces of the visiting witches that this wasn’t the norm for them. Not that I was surprised by that. Opal had true magic. Val, I was beginning to think, had none.
Afterward, we sat hand in hand around the dwindling fire. I made sure I was between Opal and Val. Our numbers had dwindled by yet another by that time. Misty Rhodes, Val’s second in command, had to leave early to relieve her babysitter. Too bad for her. This was my favorite time of the night. Sitting there, letting my heart rate return to normal and just breathing in the glorious remaining power.
It was a little piece of heaven.
Everything was right with the world. Right up until Valerie Kimble opened her mouth and ruined it. Obviously, she didn’t get the whole sitting in the glory of the Goddess’s blessings thing.
“That was amazing!” Her face was flushed with ecstasy, and she stretched and twisted, reveling in her newfound power. “When can we do this again?”
Opal laughed. “How’s the twelfth of never work for you?”
“What?”
Opal’s eyes were still closed. She wasn’t going to grace Val with the entirety of her presence. “This was a onetime deal. Next month Ruby will be here, and we’ll be back to our trinity.” One eye opened and glanced over at Val. “Three’s a pretty powerful number too, you know.”
Val dropped my hand and for a minute I thought she was going to go for Opal’s throat. Like I’d let that happen.
“It isn’t right for your coven to keep all this power to yourselves. The Goddess would want it shared.”
That got another laugh. “If the Goddess wants to share her blessings with you, she will. It doesn’t matter if you’re here or on your own bloody hillside.”
She had a point. But not one Val was willing to accept. It was far easier to gather in the blessings of a powerful witch than to call down those blessings yourself. I felt her glance at me.
“Can’t you talk some sense into her? We’re all witches, and we can only grow stronger by banding together.”
True for them, not for us. I kept my mouth shut. No way was I getting in the middle of this.
“Come, Windsong Coven. We’re leaving.”
They all stood up as one, which was actually kind of creepy. Then they followed her out toward the small path leading back down to the farmhouse and their cars. Val stopped just short of the path and doubled back to the small table I had set up to the side to hold the plate of donuts and a couple large thermos flasks of hot coffee and cocoa. I watched as she surveyed the table’s offerings and then reached down, grabbed a donut, and left.
My heart sank. I had a funny feeling I knew exactly which donut she had chosen. And why.
Chapter 4
IT WAS AFTER THREE o’clock before I’d finally gotten to bed. Sleep didn’t come for a while, either. The night had gone pretty much as I’d expected it to. My mind was still racing even if my body was trying to rest.
So, when my phone chirped at six, I wasn’t exactly a happy camper. I mean who calls a witch this early on the morning after a full moon? Surely the normals have a clue about those kinds of things. Even Opal and Ruby’s shop opens late on these mornings.
I wouldn’t have answered it at all, but the distinctive ring tone told me it was most likely a job. I really couldn’t afford to turn down the opportunity for some side money. Especially as the gigs coming from newspaper editor Rolly were a whole lot easier than the ones from Boswell Bonds. Safer too.
“This better be a job.” My voice sounded a bit like sandpaper but only a c
ouple hours of sleep and not enough hydration will do that to you.
“It is. Get dressed, grab your camera, and get your cute little red-headed behind over to Val Kimble’s house.”
Val’s house? I started wondering if this phone call was a dream or something. Why would he be sending me there? My brain just couldn’t come up with an answer to that.
“Are you moving yet? I need you there to get some pictures before they remove the body.”
Swallowing the sudden lump out of one’s throat is even harder when said throat is bone dry. “Body?”
“That’s right. Her neighbor found her when she went to let out her dog. Still sitting in her car out in front of her house. So get a move on.” The call ended, and I stared at the phone in horror.
Crap on toast. Val Kimble was dead? Heaven help me but the first thing I did was check to make sure Opal’s car was still parked on the street. It was, thank the Goddess. Even more importantly, I could tell it hadn’t been moved since yesterday afternoon. Of course, with Opal’s power, that really didn’t mean as much as it should. If anyone could kill someone miles away from the comfort of their own home, it was Opal Ravenswind.
I threw on a pair of black jeans and pulled a flannel shirt over the T-shirt I normally slept in. No time for the niceties like a bra. After a quick round in the bathroom to take care of a sudden pressing need, I grabbed my camera and hightailed my cute little red-headed behind over to Val’s.
The Challenger really came in handy. I’m not sure at all that I could have made it on my bike. Not today. My balance wasn’t all that good when I didn’t get enough sleep. It was nice having the car doing the whole balancing thing for me. Of course, it had it much easier as it had four wheels, versus my bike’s two.
My brain was reeling the entire way. Last night had been pretty ugly between Opal and Val. Now Val was dead?
That just so couldn’t be good.
Please don’t let Opal be involved. That was my new mantra as I drove the short distance into town and back out the other side towards Val’s house. She lived out in the country too. About five miles the other side of town from us. She had married well, and her husband was one of our town’s few attorneys. It was enough of a boost to give them a very nice home.
Unlike my family, who had opted for a little acreage to go with their home, her manor house was in a very upscale housing addition. Far too good to be found inside city limits, but no real green space to speak of, either. Rather odd for someone who called themselves a witch.
As I got closer, I wondered why her husband hadn’t been the one to find her. Didn’t he miss her when she didn’t go to bed last night? Or maybe she had and just got up super early to run errands?
Even as tired as I was, I couldn’t convince myself that was the case, no matter how much I wanted it to be. So my mantra changed. “Please let there be lots and lots of blood.”
It might sound like an odd mantra, but if there was a lot of blood loss, that would rule out Opal in my eyes. I had absolutely no doubt in my mind that Opal could kill someone from a distance with magic. She was an extremely powerful witch. Even if our coven had a thousand members, I had no doubt that Opal would still be the most skilled, and thus the High Priestess. She was that good.
But magic would kill from the inside out. I couldn’t see where that would lead to a lot of blood. Unless of course, a witch got inventive and tried to make it look like an accident.
Dang, maybe I couldn’t rule out Opal after all, even if there was a river of the red stuff. I had a terrible feeling about all of this. The timing was just too convenient.
I turned into the housing addition and was immediately signaled to pull over by a sheriff’s deputy. He came up to my driver’s side window. “I’m sorry, ma’am, but you need to leave. This is a crime scene, and we need to keep the general public back.”
Popping open my glove box, I pulled out the press pass badge the local paper had given me. “Does this help?”
“Sorry, ma’am, but it doesn’t. No one gets in until we’ve processed the scene.”
Luckily, that was when Opie showed up. I figured he’d give me the old heave-ho too, but he didn’t. After he parked, he joined the officer at my window.
“You got your camera with you?”
I patted the bag on the seat next to me. “Right here. Rolly called and asked me to get some pictures for the front page.”
He nodded. “Figured as much.” Then he turned to the other deputy. “I’ll take it from here. We’re going to let her in under one condition.” He eyes found mine and held on. “You run your pictures by us before you give them to Rolly. If we don’t approve of one, you delete it—or give it to us for our use only.”
My head tilted. “You need a crime scene photographer, don’t you?”
He gave me a half-smile. “You always could see right through me.”
After parking where he told me to, I walked over to the front of Val’s house. About a half dozen law enforcement vehicles were lined up on the street, their lights flashing. The officers themselves were spread out, gathering evidence and taking photos with their phones. Yeah, they wouldn’t get near the detail I could with my setup.
Sheriff Taylor, Opie’s dad, saw me and nodded his approval. “Opie said you offered to help us out. I appreciate it. Your equipment is a lot better than anything we have here.” He gestured to the car. “Can you handle this?”
I took a deep breath and nodded. “Is there a lot of blood?”
He shook his head. “Not a drop that we can see. We still aren’t sure quite what’s happened here. But for now, we aren’t ruling anything out. Could have been a freak heart attack, but I want some good pictures before we move the body out for the coroner to take. I really appreciate your help here.”
From the sound of it, Opie had left out the whole part about me being there to get pictures for the paper. That was more than fine by me. Two birds, one stone, the way I saw it.
Glancing around, there was one person I'd expected to see there that wasn't. "Um, sheriff? Where's Mr. Kimble? Is he going to be okay with me doing this?" I didn't want to have to deal with a grieving husband too.
"Haven't you heard? Mr. Kimble is in Bermuda with his secretary. I thought that little piece of gossip had made the full rounds by now. Guess not." A deputy came up with a question, and the sheriff gave me a final nod before walking away with him.
Things kind of made more sense to me now. Witches tend to lean on magic when things aren't going right in their life. Sounds like that was the case for Val. No wonder she wanted all the blessings she could get. Probably had a nice little revenge spell in mind.
Starting from where I was on the street, I began snapping photos. Of the ground, the sidewalk, the driveway, and the outside of her car. Her driver’s side door was open, but I went all the way around the car before I got there. The photos would have meant more if I’d been able to take them before dozens of people’s footprints littered the yard and area, but we’d have to make do with what we could get.
Once I got to the driver’s side door, I took another deep breath. Then I changed out the lens for something a little more suited to close up work and captured the inside of the vehicle and the body in as much fine detail as I could.
I’ve been rumored to have a little magic when it comes to my photography. I don’t really believe that, though. I’ve worked hard to gain my skills. It’s just easier for people to think I use magic than to admit I’m really good at something. A lot of that probably has to do with my inability to keep a day job.
I started with the car itself. Front seat and back. If there was a killer that had been present, and they’d left anything behind, I definitely wanted it on virtual film. Especially as that would prove it wasn’t Opal. My aunt wasn’t the type to walk that far, no matter how upset she was.
Once I got everything but the body, I steeled myself and started in. The thing that was freaking me out the most was the fact that her eyes were still open, as if they we
re staring at me, begging me to save her. Only that wasn’t a possibility now. The strongest magic in the world couldn’t give life back to the dead. And that was probably a very good thing.
As I snapped, I found my eyes searching for Opal’s mark. Magic always left a mark. The problem was, the mark didn’t always show up in a visible place. As she was still wearing her all-encompassing cloak, only a very small part of her was visible. I was sure the sheriff didn’t want me actually touching the body so that left a lot of skin open to being marked.
I was really regretting telling Opie about the whole spell mark thing. But as he was a dear and close friend, I had thought it important for him to know in his line of work. Hopefully, he had forgotten all about it. Or, at the very least, he wouldn’t recognize the mark as Opal’s.
Was that the right thought to have, though? Was I seriously thinking Opal had done this? And if so, did I really want her to get away with it? Murder was murder, even if a close family member did it.
Either way, I wasn’t finding out this morning. The only odd thing about the body was a small amount of red at the corner of her mouth. It didn’t really look like blood. I zoomed in on it and then took another glance at the passenger seat.
There was the raspberry donut she had taken from the treat table last night. It had a few bites taken from it, and the raspberry filling was showing. That was probably the red on her lip. Raspberry.
Crap. Had Opal cursed the donut? She hadn’t said a word when she’d found out Val had taken it, but I had seen her face. That one little thing had probably been the final straw as far as Opal was concerned.
Had she killed Val Kimble over a single raspberry filled donut from the Flour Shop? Talk about your food to die for.
When Sheriff Taylor saw I was done, he came over to stand beside me.
“Heard there was a bit of a ruckus at that coven meeting of yours last night.”
I nodded. Here we go. “There was. Mostly Val’s fault, too, if I can say that.”
He glanced inside the vehicle, then he motioned for his men to let the coroner in to start the process of removing the body. One look at all the men still milling around, and he pulled me to one side, out of earshot.