Page 26 of Last Witch Attempt
I pointed at her to shut her up but kept my eyes on Landon. “You can’t just eat your weight in bacon every day that your boss is here.”
“Watch me.” Landon grabbed another slice of bacon and then quickly scampered to the swinging door that separated the kitchen from the dining room. His eyes gleamed with triumph as he shoved the slice into his mouth.
“Oh, that’s a face only a deluded witch could love,” Aunt Tillie complained.
“Don’t forget that she danced naked on Clove’s boat last night,” I said to Mom as I followed Landon. “Don’t let her off the hook no matter how she tries to distract you.”
“You’re definitely on my list,” Aunt Tillie barked at my back.
I pushed her out of my mind—it made no sense for her to deny torturing Clove, because she was more than happy to admit it most days. I had other things to worry about.
Steve and Spencer were just making their way into the dining room when I walked through the door. Landon was already in his usual chair, pouring himself a glass of juice. There was a challenge in his eyes.Go ahead and make a big deal about bacon when my boss is here to talk about witchcraft,his glare said.
I pursed my lips, debating, then headed toward our guests. “This is a surprise.” I forced a smile I didn’t feel as I shook Steve’s hand. “I didn’t realize you guys were planning on staying here.”
“It wasn’t our original plan,” Steve hedged. “I probably should’ve called to make sure it was okay, but Spencer and I got to talking during the ride back last night—there was an accident, so traffic was backed up for miles—and we agreed that for this case it’s better if we’re close. We don’t want anything to go sideways.”
I was a Winchester.Allof our cases went sideways at some point. Now probably wasn’t the time to bring that up. “That’s smart.” I didn’t mean it. Life would be easier if Landon’s boss wasn’t breathing down my neck. “Do you have information for us?” I sat between Landon and Chief Terry, giving all my attention to my surrogate father because my husband was on my list today.
“Tomato juice?” Chief Terry asked, correctly reading my mood. I was ready to spill blood at this point.
I nodded in thanks.
“I do have information,” Steve replied. He looked around cautiously. “Do you want to wait until after breakfast? I don’t want to ruin anybody’s appetite.”
We always talked about whatever we were working on over meals. Nobody in the family was squeamish. “Um…”
“You can talk about it now,” Landon assured his boss as Steve and Spencer sat at the far end of the table.
Steve picked up his phone. “So, we’ve identified our victims. Hal Weaver, Ben Mason, and Matt Pope. They’re all in their late twenties and from the Detroit suburbs.”
I took a sip of my juice before responding. “Why were they here?” I asked.
“It seems they rented a cabin on something called Beaver Hollow Road.” Steve made a face. “I’ve never heard of that road.”
“It’s a dirt road,” I replied. “About three miles past the inn that way.” I made a vague gesture. “The truck was facing in the opposite direction, so they were going from the cabin to town for some reason. Or likely to town. I guess it’s possible they were going to a different town, but they would’ve had to drive through Hemlock Cove to get anywhere.”
“Okay.” Steve pressed his lips together and nodded. “I have an agent in Detroit trying to track down friends and family. Notification will be made then. It will probably take all day to getany information about what they were doing, or when they last talked to any family member.”
“I’m not sure that matters,” I replied without thinking.
“We have to know if they had enemies,” Steve argued.
“Yeah, but they weren’t followed up here and killed by an annoyed girlfriend.” Now that I was on this path it was best to finish it. “Whatever killed them was paranormal in origin.”
“It certainly looks that way,” Steve agreed. “We still have to rule out human suspects. We can’t move forward without due diligence.” He looked to Landon for confirmation. “Right?”
Landon leaned back in his chair, allowing his arm to fall on the back of my chair in the process. He was telling me he was on my side, while also searching for the best way to move forward with the conversation. “If Bay believes we’re dealing with something supernatural, I tend to agree with her.”
“Yes, but we don’t have proof of that yet,” Steve persisted.
“How did a human manage to string three men up in trees?” I challenged. “One person couldn’t have done that. At least not if they were really human.”
“It could be a group of humans,” Steve argued. “One could’ve held the three victims at gunpoint while the other lifted the bodies.”
I couldn’t see that. Not even a little. Arguing with Steve was going to get me nowhere, however. “Well, let us know when you question the families.” I turned as the swinging door opened to allow a sulking Aunt Tillie entrance. “What are you doing today?” I asked her.
“I’m not telling you,” Aunt Tillie sniffed. “In case you’ve forgotten, you’re on my list.”
