Page 3 of Wicked Witch of the Wolf

Ida set down her mug to pour another and leaned in as she handed it to me. “Not a human spirit.”

I appreciated the necromancer confirmation, but I’d already figured that out. Human spirits have a certain presence—an air of dignity. This thing had all the gravitas of a three-day-old dead fish.

“Do you have any creamer?” I asked the mayor.

“In the refrigerator.” She fiddled with the volume of a small radio on the counter. The local oldies station, KLXX, played the stunningly appropriate “Ebony Eyes” by Bob Welch, a seventies rock hit from when my mom was in junior high school.

“Starting to think that radio station is run by an empath,” Ida said.

“That’s an interesting theory.” The mayor smiled mysteriously over the rim of her coffee cup. Ooo, she definitely knew something.

The creature floated from the stove to the fridge. I stepped right through it to grab the creamer. It was cold and a little damp—the creature, not the creamer—and when I shut the fridge, it let out a squeal of pain at my retreat.

I poured creamer into my coffee and leaned against the counter. Stared directly into the being’s eyes. “All right, who are you?”

The creature let out a humming sound.

“Was that a boo?” Ida asked. “It’s hard to tell.”

“Die,” it booed.

“Lame,” I said.

The creature rushed me, coming close enough for me to peer into its cavernous eyes. There was something familiar about the shape of those eyes, the twist of that mouth…

“You had a contentious mayoral race,” I said to the mayor without taking my eyes off the creature.

“Yes. I ran against former mayor Felicia Juarez.”

“And you beat her, fair and square,” I said, still watching the being. One of the eyes pinched slightly. A reaction.

“Well, yes.” The mayor eyed me curiously. “Or I wouldn’t be mayor.”

“But you didn’t only beat the old mayor. Youhumiliatedher by garnering ninety percent of the vote. A veritable landslide victory. Historical.”

“I heard even Juarez’s kids didn’t vote for her.” Ida instantly picked up on what I was doing. “Is that what you heard, Betty?”

“Yep.”

The being’s gaping mouth sewed itself shut, but not before a whisper-quiet, “Lies,” floated out.

“I’m certain that’s untrue,” Mayor Derecho said. “Felicia and I had differing political views, but she ran a professional race, and I’m sure her family was in full support of her.”

“Someone printed campaign signs withBye Feliciaon them.” Ida snickered.

The “ghost’s” mouth cinched until I could barely see it.

“That was you,” I said. “I was with you when you ordered them.”

The ghostly being bobbled up and down. If steam could’ve erupted from its ears, it surely would’ve.

“Trini, Jaq, and Xandra helped me put them up,” Ida said.

“Bitches,” the creature screamed.

“Mayor Derecho, I present former Mayor Juarez.” I took a sip of my coffee. It had undertones of chocolate and was a little acidic. Guatemalan blend, I’d bet. Delicious.

“Felicia?” The mayor sounded shocked, but I’d bet she’d suspected her former opponent all along. She was too smart not to.

---