Page 88 of Last Witch Attempt
I held out my hands. “From everything we’ve learned, naiads are aggressive when it comes to protecting their homes.”
“As well they should be,” Aunt Tillie volunteered. She had soup on both cheeks and was going to town on a turkey sandwich. “This is good,” she said to Mom.
“Why are you acting so surprised?” Mom challenged. “Of course it’s good. I made it.”
“Hey!” Marnie’s nostrils flared. “I made the soup. You just slapped some meat on bread.”
“It’s my recipe,” Mom shot back.
“It’s good regardless.” Aunt Tillie rolled her eyes. “Take a chill pill. You two are acting like twelve-year-olds. I thought you outgrew that phase.”
She almost seemed amused. Given her mood this morning, I didn’t think there was much to be happy about.
“Why are you on the side of the naiads?” I asked.
“They’re just trying to protect their homes,” Aunt Tillie replied. “They deserve a place to live.”
“They do,” I readily agreed. “My problem is that the people issuing permits for resorts and other developments have no idea that they’re infringing on the naiads when they go in and start a new project.”
“Then maybe you should start a new job as a land deed negotiator,” Aunt Tillie suggested. “They were there first.”
“Three people are dead. More are on the way.”
“Don’t forget the dead naiad,” Scout interjected. “She died first.”
I deflated a bit. “I wish we knew how it went down.”
“Would that change your approach?” Landon asked. “Say the construction workers were jackholes about the whole thing and taunted the naiad. What if they did something else to her? Something sexual and bad?”
I gripped my spoon tightly. “Then I would suggest the naiad had the right idea.”
“What if it wasn’t all of them?” Landon continued. “What if one of them did it before the others realized? Who gets to decide guilt, Bay?”
I didn’t like his tone. “I guess I do.” I pinned him with a glare. “Do you have a problem with that?”
“I don’t have a problem with you.” Landon’s voice turned soft. “You know that. I’m just worried that you won’t get over it if another human dies.”
“She probably won’t get over it if the naiad dies,” Scout offered. “That’s the problem. We’re trying to come up with a solution that stops the killing.”
Landon flicked his eyes to her—Scout often rubbed people the wrong way—then nodded. “I get it. I’m sorry. I’m not in the best mood today, and I’m taking it out on the wrong people.” He kissed my cheek. “I don’t mean to be a jerk.”
“You’re going through sugar withdrawal,” Gunner offered. “You should probably have a cookie.”
“You don’t want me to regain my eight-pack,” Landon complained. “You know I’m hotter than you.”
“There is no universe in which you’re hotter than me.”
“I think you both look like whiny girls,” Aunt Tillie announced. She’d plowed through her lunch. “As for the naiad, she has a right to avenge her sister.”
I gave her a peculiar look. “You seem to have a pretty concrete opinion on this.”
“Why wouldn’t I?” Aunt Tillie’s gaze was even when it landed on me. “The naiads were protecting their homes. Then one of them was killed. Are you telling me you wouldn’t protect your family under the same circumstances?”
It was rare for Aunt Tillie to be this serious. “I would want revenge if someone went after my family,” I agreed after a few seconds. “I wouldn’t be able to help myself. This situation is fraught, though.”
“What situation isn’t? There’s right and there’s wrong. You can’t just take someone’s home and try to shove them in a box after the fact.”
“Nobody is talking about shoving her in a box.” The assertion grated. “Who said anything about a box?”
