Wicked Witches of the Midwest Mystery Box Set Read online

  “Yes, your Aunt Tillie is quite the welcoming soul.”

  “Oddly enough, she has a good heart,” I countered. “I would never pretend that she’s perfect. She has plenty of faults. I mean ... a lot. She’s headstrong and mean when she wants to be. She goes out of her way to tick people off. She’s a master at revenge.

  “She’s also loyal to a fault,” I continued. “She would die for any one of us. She listens when we talk, even though she doesn’t always agree. She tries to help when we’re in trouble, although sometimes her solutions are out there. That doesn’t change the fact that she’s a good woman.”

  “I guess I’ll have to take your word for that,” Melanie said dryly as she added coconut water to the blender. “She’s been nothing but rude to me.”

  “Maybe that’s because you tried to get her arrested, too.”

  “Maybe.” Melanie hit the puree button before I could say anything else, so I bided my time and watched her mix the concoction. When she was finished, she poured it into two glasses and shoved one in my direction. “No sugar. Totally healthy and organic. It’s going to be the drink of the future.”

  I preferred a chocolate malt or a good old-fashioned Slurpee. Still, I forced a smile and sipped the drink. It tasted like icy pieces of grit thanks to the strawberry seeds, but I feigned delight anyway. “Awesome.”

  Melanie’s expression darkened. “You hate it.”

  “It’s fine. I’m just used to richer food.”

  “Because that’s what your mother cooks?”

  And there it was. I wondered if Melanie would bring her up. If she was as innocent as she pretended, she would’ve avoided the topic. She was manipulative, no matter how she played things. She was about to see what buttons she could push by mentioning my mother.

  That wouldn’t end well ... for either of us.

  “My mother and aunts are the best cooks I know,” I offered honestly. “I’ve never tasted a bad dish that they’ve cooked. Okay, Twila once got it in her head to make Indian food, and that tasted like curry-flavored turds, but that’s the only meal I’ve ever wanted to send back.”

  “You love your mother.”

  “Doesn’t everyone love their mother?”

  “I didn’t like my mother, but I guess I loved her.” Melanie sipped her smoothie. “You’re upset because you want Terry to be with your mother. Don’t bother denying it. He told me the whole sad tale.”

  I had no intention of denying it. “I always wanted him to marry my mother,” I agreed. “It started when I was a kid. I stopped thinking about it as an adult, though, so I’m not sure it was exactly an active wish.”

  “It was active enough that you didn’t like it when he told you he was dating me.”

  “I ... well ... .” I wasn’t sure how to answer.

  “You can say it,” she prodded. “You don’t want me in Terry’s life because you know that means there’s no room for your mother. I had hoped there would be room for you and me to share space in his heart together, but I don’t think that’s going to be the case.”

  And just what did she mean by that? “Excuse me?”

  “You heard me.” She refused to back down. “I tried to be nice to you. I wanted us to get along for Terry’s sake. But after yesterday, it’s abundantly clear that’s not going to happen. We can’t share the same space ... which means one of us must go.”

  I could tell from her tone that she thought I would be the one saying goodbye. “Have you mentioned this to Chief Terry?”

  “I have.” She bobbed her head. “He was obviously upset, but he sees the truth. We can’t have a future if he clings to you and the past. It might be different if you were the same little girl who stole his heart, but you’re an adult. You have a man of your own. You don’t need Terry to coddle you any longer.”

  That might be true, but I certainly didn’t need her pointing it out to me. “You can’t just dictate to him. He has a choice of who he includes in his life.”

  “And I understand that you’ll be around to some degree because of your relationship with Agent Michaels,” she said. “But you’re not his child. You have a father. I’m sure Terry will be friendly when you cross paths, but there’s no reason for him to have dinner at the inn ... or race to your aid when you have something that needs to be taken care of around your house. That’s what Agent Michaels is for, right?”

  “I like to keep him around because he always smells like bacon, but I’m sure he can handle home repairs.”

  “Good.” Melanie wrapped both her hands around the glass and rested her elbows on the counter. “You don’t need him. We’re happy ... at least when you’re not around muddying the waters. I think that settles things.”

  She was nuts if she thought I would simply agree to her erecting an invisible fence to keep me out of Chief Terry’s life. “That settles nothing.”

  “You’re wrong.”

  “And you’re wrong if you think I’m simply going to allow you to boss me around and dictate how things are going to go.” I rolled off the stool, leaving my smoothie barely touched on the counter. “You’re not going to tell me who I can and can’t spend my time with.”

  “That was never my intention. You have a family. Terry is quickly becoming my family. There’s no need for you to take over his life.”

  “I don’t take over his life.”

  “No? Last time I checked, everything was about you where your relationship is concerned. He was so upset over something you did the other night that he sat in the dark with a glass of bourbon for an hour. I could hear him muttering to himself about annoying witches. He doesn’t swear. I like that about him, but he was calling you a witch and I don’t think it’s because of your charming personality.”

  I had news for her. He wasn’t complaining about witches simply because he wouldn’t say the B-word. That was hardly important right now. “You’re not cutting him out of my life.” I was firm. “I don’t know what game you think you’re playing — although I’m guessing it has something to do with Mrs. Little and that’s why you’ve smoothly sidestepped telling me why you were at her store yesterday — but you won’t win.”

  “It’s not about winning.” Melanie looked tired. “It’s about doing the right thing.”

  “Oh, no.” I wagged a finger. “I grew up with Aunt Tillie. It’s about winning ... and you’re going to lose.”

  “How do you figure that?”

  “Just you wait. I’m nowhere near done with you yet.”

  And the gauntlet was officially thrown. I felt both good and bad about it. It was too late to take back, so I rode the wave.

  War was officially here.

  Twenty-Seven

  After leaving the yoga studio I considered going to The Whistler to work. I went as far as to park in the lot and haul out my laptop. I never made it through the front door. I was far too unsettled.

  Instead, I headed toward Hypnotic, where I marched through the door without greeting anyone and threw myself on the couch with a dramatic sigh.

  “Oh, and it’s lovely to see you, too,” Thistle deadpanned, shaking her head as she looked up from the catalog she perused. “I’m so glad you stopped by to brighten our place of business.”

  Clove snorted and moved from behind the counter. “I don’t want to encourage Thistle ... like ever ... but she has a point. Why are you making that noise?”

  I made a show of picking at the fuzzy balls on my sweater. “What noise? I didn’t make a noise.”

  “Oh, puh-leez.” Thistle rolled her eyes and mimicked my earlier sigh. “If that wasn’t a cry for help, I don’t know what is.”

  She had a point. “I talked to Melanie Adams.”

  Clove’s eyes widened to the size of saucers and Thistle abandoned the catalog and scurried toward me.

  “You don’t look bloody.” Thistle looked me up and down with a studied gaze. “Did she punch you in the kidneys or anything?”

  Clove made an exaggerated face. “Why would she punch her in th
e kidneys?”

  “Because that’s where people punch one another when they want to hide the evidence. Like ... abusive husbands. They punch their wives in the kidneys so it’s easier to hide.”

  “That is horrible.” Clove planted her hands on her hips and snagged my gaze. “Did you know that?”

  Honestly, I didn’t. “No. I think we should create a spell that punishes men who beat their wives, though. In fact, we can set it up so they punch themselves in the kidneys. Maybe we shouldn’t limit it to just men. Maybe we should do women abusers, too.”

  “While it’s not unheard of for women to beat their mates, they’re more likely to abuse other women and children,” Thistle offered.

  “Wow. You’re a real downer today.” I gave her a smile before shaking my head. “I simply meant that maybe we could come up with a spell to punish all abusers.”

  “Sounds great,” Clove enthused.

  “It does,” Thistle agreed. “I’ll bet that if it could be done Aunt Tillie would’ve already done it.”

  “That’s a fair point.” I rolled my head back to stare at the ceiling, my energy level flagging with each passing moment. “Maybe I can use my new necromancer power to put together a pack of punching ghosts that can roam town to protect the innocent.”

  Thistle, always good at picking up on the emotions of others, recognized my melancholy attitude and pursed her lips. “What’s your deal?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Oh, you can’t come in here and do the sigh thing without answering the question. You want to talk, and you know it.”

  She was right. I did want to share my misery. “Melanie Adams is just the worst. Do you know what she said to me? She said I was an adult and that it was time for Chief Terry to break from me and spend more time with her. She said she was going to force him to choose.”

  Thistle didn’t react as I’d expected. There was no stomping of feet or swearing to warn the room. Instead, she merely shrugged. “Then she’s going to have a rude awakening in her future. He won’t choose to cut you out of his life.”

  “He won’t.” Clove was solemn as she sat on the couch and patted my knee. “I know you can’t help but be worried because ... well, you’re you and that’s what you do ... but Chief Terry won’t simply walk away from us.”

  “And it’s not because he’s too loyal for his own good,” Thistle added. “He loves us. Sure, he loves you best — something you rubbed in all the time when we were kids — but he loves all of us. I’m including Aunt Tillie in that statement, which should tell you how far gone he is.”

  I turned sheepish. “I really shouldn’t have told you guys I was his favorite when I was a kid. That wasn’t fair. He loved us all equally.”

  Thistle screwed up her face into a scowl. “Don’t turn into a martyr. It doesn’t work. You were his favorite. We came to grips with it a long time ago.”

  “It was only because he thought I needed him most,” I said hurriedly.

  “That’s true, but it doesn’t matter. He spent time with all of us. He listened to all of us. He loved all of us. You needed more attention because your struggle was more profound and he was determined to help you learn to keep your secret. It is what it is.”

  “What’s important is that he’ll never be out of our lives,” Clove stressed. “He loves us way too much. When Melanie tries to force him to make a choice, I have news for her: She won’t be it.”

  I knew she was right, but remained unsettled. “I hope so.” I rocked back and forth as a wave of nausea rolled through me. “I shouldn’t have said some of the things I said to her. I was pretty mean. What if she tells Chief Terry how mean I was?”

  “He won’t believe it,” Clove replied automatically. “He thinks you’re an angel.”

  “He does,” Thistle agreed. “It was totally annoying when we were kids.”

  I shot her a grin that faded quickly when my stomach did an exaggerated somersault. “Ugh.”

  Clove frowned as she leaned closer and pressed her hand to my forehead. “You’re sweating like crazy. Do you feel all right?”

  “I think I might be getting sick,” I admitted, rolling my neck. “I’m not sure what’s going on, but I feel shaky ... and like maybe I should go to bed.”

  “I’m always a fan of spending the day in bed, but I’m not sure we shouldn’t take you to the hospital.” Thistle sat on the coffee table in front of me and stared hard into my eyes. “What are you feeling?”

  “I want to puke.”

  “Maybe you should,” Clove suggested. “I always feel better after I puke.”

  “I haven’t eaten anything to puke up. Landon made breakfast sandwiches before we left the guesthouse, but I didn’t eat mine. He ended up having two.”

  “He’s going to get fat, and I’ll never stop laughing when he does,” Thistle supplied.

  “Then, when I was at the yoga studio, Melanie offered me a smoothie,” I said. “It was just strawberries and ice, a little coconut water.”

  “Did you drink it?”

  “I took one sip and then forgot about it.”

  Thistle’s hand was back on my forehead. “Clove, get some mugwort from the herb rack. Grab some nettle and mayweed, too.”

  I was caught off guard. “What are you doing?”

  “Making you feel better.”

  “But ... I don’t understand. Those aren’t the normal herbs to soothe an upset stomach.”

  “No, but they could stop poison,” Thistle pointed out.

  “Poison? You don’t think ... .” I trailed off, uncertain. There was something about Melanie’s demeanor that had set me off the second I’d walked through the studio door. I’d felt something bubbling beneath her veneer, and I’d doubted very much it was hurt feelings.

  “I’m on it.” Clove snapped to attention and rushed to the herb rack. “We need to brew some tea so we can mix everything together.”

  “I’m on that.” Thistle’s expression was serious as she stood. “You stay right there. It’s probably nothing — maybe a delayed case of the flu or something — but better to be safe than sorry.”

  I nodded and swallowed hard. “Okay. I don’t want to die from being poisoned, so I’m all for drinking the herbs no matter how much they stink.”

  Thistle’s smile didn’t make it all the way to her eyes. “Good idea.”

  TEN MINUTES LATER, the tea was ready and I wasn’t feeling better. Instead, the sweating was worse and I was forced to lie on my side to keep from getting dizzy. That, of course, is when Landon decided to pay a visit.

  “Hey.” He seemed distracted and didn’t so much as look in my direction. “Have you guys seen Bay? She’s not at the office. I have to talk to her.”

  “She’s right there, dingbat,” Thistle snapped as she stirred the tea. “Are you blind?”

  Landon followed her gaze and met my eyes. “I didn’t see her.” Concern replaced whatever he’d been previously feeling. “What’s wrong with her?”

  “Do you want me to lie or tell the truth?” Thistle asked as she skirted around the counter.

  “The truth.”

  “There’s a very small chance that Melanie Adams might have poisoned her.”

  “What?” Landon’s eyebrows flew up his forehead as he rushed to the side of the couch and dropped to his knees. My body was on fire, and when he touched me the shakes returned with a vengeance. “Why haven’t you called an ambulance?”

  “We made this instead.” Thistle attempted to nudge Landon away with her hip. “I need her to drink this, so ... get out of my way.”

  “Give me that.” Landon snagged the mug and sniffed. “What is this?”

  “An old remedy we learned from Aunt Tillie when we were kids,” Clove volunteered. “It’s supposed to be really strong and fast.”

  “Wouldn’t a hospital be faster?”

  “No.” Thistle vehemently shook her head. “They would lose half the day doing tests. We don’t know what she was poisoned with, and it couldn’t have been a
large dose because Bay only had one sip of the smoothie Melanie gave her. The tea should knock whatever it is right out of her.”

  “Then I’ll give it to her.” Landon was grim as he propped my head and moved the mug to my lips. “I want you to drink every drop. If you’re not feeling better in five minutes I’m taking you to the hospital.”

  I opened my mouth to protest, but he stilled me with a dark look.

  “I will not lose you. On this one, you’re going to do as I say.”

  I nodded and closed my eyes as the tea hit my lips and I began to drink. It was hot enough that it took me a full three minutes to get it down, but when I did my stomach immediately began to settle.

  “How do you feel?” Landon placed the empty cup on the coffee table before pressing his hand to my forehead. “Sweetie, you’re hot.”

  “The tea will make that worse,” Clove provided. “It’ll burn through her fast.”

  “That’s how it heals,” Thistle added. “It burns out all the toxins.”

  “Right.” Landon’s eyes filled with concern as he leaned down and wrapped his arms around me. “Five minutes, Bay. If this isn’t better in five minutes, I’m getting you help.”

  “It’s going to be okay.” My eyes remained closed as I stroked the back of his head. “I feel better already.”

  “I think you’re just saying that to get me off your case. It won’t work.”

  “No, I honestly do feel better.” That was the truth. My body felt as if I was floating, and even though my stomach remained upset it wasn’t an altogether bad feeling. “I’ll be fine. It was just one drink.”

  “Yeah.” Landon’s lips brushed my cheek. “Tell me how this happened, Thistle,” he ordered, his hands busy as they moved over me. He was constantly checking my temperature and for injuries. “How did she get like this?”

  “She showed up like this,” Thistle replied. “She had some sort of showdown with Melanie Adams. She didn’t go into a lot of detail other than to say that Melanie threatened to force Chief Terry to choose between them.”

  “Melanie won’t have much luck with that.” Landon’s lips landed on my forehead. “I don’t know if this is wishful thinking, but she’s cooling off.”