Witch of Mintwood Mysteries Box Set 4, page 45
part #10 of Witch of Mintwood Series
The next several hours passed in a blur. We had to call the police, and Detective Cutter was not pleased. Tom came as well now that the crime scene had been discovered.
Lucky for me, Gracie defended me when Detective Cutter demanded to know what I was doing there. She insisted that she had every right to employ a private investigator.
I had the feeling that Detective Cutter would have argued with anyone else in town, but he was so at a loss about how to deal with someone like Gracie that he didn’t bother. Instead he merely agreed with her and asked if she wanted him to inform her grandmother that the gardener’s body had been discovered, or was she going to do it herself. Gracie informed him that of course he was supposed to do his job, but she would be on hand. As would Mrs. Smith’s assistants.
I decided as we left that it had helped me that Gracie was the one who had actually discovered the body. It would have been a bit much for the detective to swallow if I had made the crucial discovery, besides being on the scene in the first place. When Gracie said that I had been looking out at the water when she found the shoe sticking out, some of the detective’s hackles had come down. He still wasn’t pleased, but he was at least a little less hostile.
Charlie was now desperate to get to work on her story. Hansen also needed to get back to his life in Caedmon. I was sure our couch was comfortable, but no couch was that comfortable. With the assurances from Josephine and Scarlett that he wouldn’t be harmed, we all felt much better about letting him return to his own house. I was still a little worried, but Hansen tried to reassure me.
“I’ll be okay. I promise,” he said.
We decided to drop him off first, even though it was out of the way, so Charlie could say goodbye. “Just call me tonight. We can see each other tomorrow,” she said.
Hansen looked at her for a long moment, as if trying to divine whether she meant more than she was saying. He appeared to have enough sense to know that because she was female, she probably did.
“I’ll keep you posted,” he said. “I’ll check my house before I go in, and if anything looks fishy I’ll drive straight back to your place. Are you sure Rosalie is fine with all of this?”
“I doubt it,” I said. “I just think she has other things to worry about now. She didn’t realize that the dark witches were going to be such a problem. Now she understands.” At least I hoped she did. Realistically, that was not yet clear to me at all, but I didn’t want to dump my worries onto Charlie and Hansen right at the moment.
Hansen got out of the car after saying his goodbyes, and Charlie and I drove away in silence. I kept glancing at Charlie to see if I could figure out how she was feeling. She had clearly liked having Hansen around the house, and I wondered what she would do now that he was going back to his own life. She looked lost in thought, and I finally asked her what she was thinking.
She snorted. “I was just thinking that he isn’t even going home to shower first.”
I laughed until I nearly cried.
Greer had said she’d pick Charlie up later, so I didn’t have to worry about that after I dropped her off at work. But before I could actually go home, I checked on the rabbit. Then I was going to back the farmhouse, and when evening came I was going to have a long chat with Paws.
I got home, had a late lunch, and showered. Then I grabbed a couple of my grandmother’s spell books off the shelves in the kitchen and studied them until the tea I had made for myself went cold. I was looking for any spells that might help with dark witches. I knew I’d need more defensive spells if we were to fight against Puddlewood, since I had finally faced the fact that they weren’t going to disappear and leave me alone. After I had done about as much of that as I could tolerate, I wrote a quick note to Harriet, addressing it to her post office box and hoping it would find her soon. It was becoming ever clearer that we needed her in Mintwood, the sooner the better.
By this time it was dark enough so that I’d be able to see Paws clearly. I made myself more tea, grabbed a light jacket, and headed for the porch.
As soon as Paws saw me, his face filled with questions. Apparently he wanted to talk to me as badly as I wanted to talk to him, but I decided it would be best not to point that out, lest he think I liked him. Or worse, that I had noticed that he liked me.
“How goes the new mystery?” he asked.
“The body was found today. It was buried in a garden, so we know it was murder. We don’t know who did it yet. Nor do we have a motive. I’m hoping Detective Cutter will tell us in the next couple of days how the man was killed,” I said.
“Do you have any suspects?” Paws asked.
“His family has been ruled out. There’s a chance that one of his assistants wanted his job, but to commit murder over that seems unlikely. One thing I want to know is whether Burbank’s employer was intending to leave him any of her fortune in her will. That might be a motive for murder on the part someone in her family,” I explained.
Paws didn’t say anything for a few minutes, then he said something very out of character. “How are you doing?”
I frowned at the grass beyond the porch. “Better than I expected I’d be. I’m glad Hansen is safe. Standing up for him and performing spells feels good,” I said.
“Do you have more spells you’d like to practice?” he asked.
“I was actually just looking through some of Evenlyn’s spell books,” I explained.
“Oh, no. The whole house is gonna come down,” groaned Mrs. Goodkeep, who had wandered over and was listening in. As usual she was dressed in a voluminous fur coat. She also carried a broom over her shoulder as if she wanted to be ready to swat at the mice at any moment.
“Maybe I’ll practice now,” I said. “I have a bit of time.”
“Time before what?” Paws asked.
“I’m seeing Jasper tonight,” I told him.
“Darn. I had hopes that we were done with him for good,” he said.
I crinkled my nose at him. “I don’t know why you’d think that.”
“Me neither,” said Mrs. Goodkeep. “True love knows no bounds.”
Ignoring both of them, I walked out onto the grass and pulled my wand out of my sleeve. It felt warm in my hands as I started to wave it around, practicing simple spells. A stream of green sparkles spewed from the end of it, then Paws told me to practice a basic shield spell. Although I knew the spell, I had rarely tried to use it.
Now I performed it over and over again. It wasn’t long before Tank saw the sparkling green shield surrounding me and came over to offer his own help and advice.
At first he just watched, but after a while he said, “Let me help you with that. You need to know how sturdy that shield is.” Indeed, the green sparkles were flimsy. I could see right through them to the ghosts who were scattered around the yard watching.
“Right as he hits your shield,” said Paws, “please turn him into water.”
I sighed. “Don’t be ridiculous! There’s no need for anything like that. Besides, how am I supposed to practice if I turn him into water?”
“Maybe ghosts don’t like water. It would be good to find out,” said Paws.
“Probably just cat ghosts,” I told him.
I started putting up the sparkling green shield again and Tank tried to get through it. At first he hopped through easily.
“See, you need to make your shield stronger, sturdier. We shouldn’t be able to see through it,” said Paws.
“Why didn’t you point that out before I came over?” Tank said.
“I don’t want to destroy her confidence,” Paws said sagely.
Just then the sound of a car turning into the driveway had me whirling around. I had been so preoccupied with practicing spells that I had forgotten that Jasper was coming over.
I raced for the house, stuffing my wand into my sleeve. I at least wanted to run a brush through my hair before he saw me, and maybe put on a bit of makeup. Jasper could wait on the porch with Paws. The ghost cat was likely to give him a piece of his mind, and at this point I was perfectly content to let that happen.
When I emerged from the farmhouse ten minutes later, Jasper was indeed sitting on the porch. He looked calm and relaxed. For once he was not examining the structural integrity of the boards underneath the building. I supposed I should be grateful.
“Evening,” I said.
Paws looked up at me and glared. “What are you doing here?” he demanded.
I frowned at him. “I live here. I had . . . plans . . . with Jasper,” I said. I nearly said that Jasper and I had a date, but I managed to stop myself at the last moment. As usual with Jasper, I didn’t know what this was. I also knew deep down that I was tired of that.
“Hey. You look great,” said Jasper, standing up. He wore dark jeans, a light-colored shirt, and a leather jacket. His hair was perfectly tousled as usual.
“Thank you. You do as well,” I said. I stood on the threshold of the door, unsure. “Why do you want me gone?” I asked Paws.
I felt that Paws would act as a good buffer until I felt less awkward with Jasper; it had been a while since I had felt so uncertain around him. Whatever he had been angry about earlier, he seemed to have gotten a handle on it and was his cool and placid self again. I wondered if it had been something work-related. I wondered if he would tell me.
“We were having a nice conversation. Then you appeared and ruined it,” said Paws.
“What were you talking about?” I asked.
“Guy stuff,” said the cat.
I raised my eyebrows and looked at Jasper. He let out a chuckle and said, “Have to agree. I can’t tell you. Guy stuff.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and said, “You are both ridiculous. I hope you know that.”
“Thank you,” said Paws.
“We should probably get going,” said Jasper.
“Maybe you can come around some time and just hang out with me,” Paws suggested.
I tried not to roll my eyes, but Jasper merely grinned. “I’d like that.”
Paws started washing himself with satisfaction.
I let Jasper walk me down the stairs. I started to head toward his truck, but he shook his head. “We’re actually close enough to walk. I’ll just leave the truck here if you don’t mind.”
I didn’t mind, but I was certainly surprised, since there was really nowhere to walk to from my house. Nevertheless, Jasper started strolling down the driveway, and I had no choice but to follow.
It was a beautiful night, and I found myself looking up at a million stars. This really was a beautiful town. I couldn’t imagine living somewhere where I couldn’t see the night sky. I couldn’t imagine living anywhere but Mintwood. Lastly, I couldn’t imagine going out for an evening stroll like this with anyone but him.
Chapter Fifteen
When I caught up with Jasper and felt his presence next to me, some tightness in my chest eased. It meant the world to me to have him walking at my side. For his part, he seemed content to merely stroll and not say a word. He was in no hurry to tell me where we were going.
When we reached the road, I understood. Across the street, there were lights on inside the Manor Portrait House. I frowned. “Is that where we’re going?”
“I thought it would be an original date,” said Jasper.
He glanced sideways at me, and I wondered if he had used that word intentionally. Did he want to know if this was a date too? I didn’t dispute what he had said, nor did I confirm it. I wasn’t in the mood to make it easy for him.
“What do you plan to do with the house?” I asked.
“Fix it up. Maybe sell it. Maybe keep it and have a place closer to town than the cottage,” he said. “I don’t want to be weird, though. Having a place right across from you. I guess you could say I’m open to ideas on what to do with it. Until we got going on it, I didn’t realize how much beauty and solid structure there was to the place.”
I wondered how the ghosts who had been cooking in the kitchen felt about it being used as house again. They probably hadn’t been thrilled to have workers appear. But I kept quiet about that as I tried to process the information Jasper was giving me.
“What do you think?” he asked. We had crossed the road and were now making our way up the driveway. There were still lots of signs of the construction out front.
“I’m sure that if your company is working on it, it’s going to end up being a beautiful house. As far as who is going to live there, I’m picky about my neighbors, so just keep that in mind,” I warned him.
“I most certainly will. Somehow I knew that. I also think that Paws would cause a lot of trouble if he didn’t like them,” said Jasper. Instead of sounding annoyed, he sounded amused. And I had to agree with him. Paws was difficult to deal with at the best of times. Annoying neighbors would never be the best of times.
“What about Hayview?” I asked. The old mall was another development that everyone in town was dying to know more about. The Wolf Corporation had purchased it, but no one had said what they planned to use it for. Various organizations were concerned.
Jasper cleared his throat. “It’s really for my grandfather to decide when he wants to make that information public. I’m overseeing the construction, but the project is his. His choices. I don’t think he’s ready to announce anything yet.”
Jasper led me into the house and I gasped. The large front room had a table set for two, with a white cloth and a couple of candles on it. Candles and lanterns were set artfully around the room as well.
I could smell delicious food, and when I glanced at the side table I saw chicken, a side of carrots and broccoli, some fresh bread, and a bottle of wine.
“Don’t get any ideas about me making this food. I ordered it. The closest I came was buying the chicken,” said Jasper, standing behind me and watching me closely.
I felt heat rising my cheeks. “What is all of this?” I asked.
He sighed. “You want to talk first or eat?”
“Maybe we should do both at once,” I suggested.
We spent the next few minutes sorting out the food and filling our plates. Everything smelled delicious, and I took extra helpings of each dish so I wouldn’t have to get up in the middle of our conversation. Jasper clearly had something important to say, and I couldn’t help but think it was about time.
Once we were settled into our chairs, he poured us each some wine.
I looked around and said, “I have to admit, I’m impressed. This is some date.”
I said the word more like a question. Jasper paused in the task of cutting his chicken and looked up at me. Apparently that gave him all the incentive he needed to put his fork down. “I was mad this morning. I’m sorry I was rude,” he said.
I swallowed. That wasn’t what I’d been expecting him to say. “I noticed. We both noticed. I figured it had something to do with the work. Did it?”
He sighed. “No. It didn’t. In fact, it had something to do with you. You see, I had heard what happened with Hansen. I knew about the dark witches. I knew that you had been in danger. I knew I hadn’t been there. We hadn’t even been talking. I could have helped,” he said.
There was a long pause.
“My heritage said that I could. I know, because I went to a Witch Hunter meeting recently. I can’t say I liked it very much. I went because my grandfather wanted me to. He seemed to think it would be good for me. He’s . . . done a lot over the years. I can’t say that he’s usually wrong. I respect his judgment, I respect his opinion. I always have, and that has been my guiding principle since I was young. But I’m starting to think that that’s my problem now. In this case, I do think he’s wrong.” Jasper was speaking quickly. I tried to follow, but the fact that he wasn’t looking at me made it difficult. It was if he was too nervous to look me in the eye, and that distracted me from his actual words. A touch of surprise went through me when he said he'd been to a Witch Hunter meeting, but now wasn’t the time.
“I think,” he went on, “that the Witch Hunters could do some good. I think that if they turned their attention to the Dark Witches, it would help you fight them. They talked about it. I’m not even supposed to be telling you that. Anyway, after I went to that meeting, I got to thinking more and more. I’ve been trying to make these decisions. I suppose you should know that I miss you so much I have a hard time breathing sometimes. When I’m busy it’s okay, but in moments of quiet, when I’m just at work and there’s nothing challenging going on, I find myself simply staring out the window wishing you were there.”
He glanced at me and then looked away. I found I didn’t want to speak or breathe or move. I did not want him to stop talking.
“My sister noticed. She’s always had an excellent sense of when something was off with me. It’s downright annoying. I told her so. I’ve always been perfectly happy when she goes back to the city and leaves me in peace. This time, I didn’t feel comfortable telling her everything that was wrong. She doesn’t know about you. She doesn’t know who you really are. I thought that was your story to tell. To be perfectly honest, though, I think she might suspect. She’s not an idiot. And she grew up with my grandfather. Anyway, I heard about what happened at the coven meeting. I heard that you were there, and that you saved Hansen. The whole story made me furious. It was so unexpected. I don’t know what I’ve been thinking this whole time. Maybe that your position never puts you in danger. I don’t really know. Maybe I thought that if I knew everything, it would go away. The solution would simply appear to me.”
“And it hasn’t?” I asked, my voice soft.
He ran his fingers through his dark hair. “On the contrary, you know the solution. That’s the problem. I have known the solution this whole time. It has been staring me in the face and I have just not wanted to see it. You should know, though, that I see it now. It is crystal clear. I always knew that I wanted to make you happy. No, that’s not right. I knew that I wanted you to be happy. It was so important to me. What I didn’t know was whether I was the one who should be making you happy.”
I cleared my throat and sat on my hands. Somehow that felt like a good way to keep myself from talking or telling him outright that no one else could make me happy but him. I simply kept staring at him.
