Page 30 of Last Witch Attempt
“These cabins have been here a long time,” I said. “They’re cheap. If our guys were here—and I don’t know why else they would be up here, especially at this time of year—they weren’t spending much money.”
“You seem adamant that this isn’t a good time of year to camp,” Steve noted. “Do you know something we don’t?”
“I know the seasons up here. We’re still weeks away from peak tourist season. I don’t see any fishing gear.” I looked around again. “Was there any in the truck?”
Steve shrugged. “I have no idea. I didn’t think to look for it.”
“They could be morel hunting,” Chief Terry offered.
I stilled. “I didn’t think of that.” I nodded. “It’s early in the season, but a dedicated hunter would be able to find enough to sell.”
“Morels?” Steve’s forehead creased. “You’re talking about mushrooms?”
I had to hide my smile. “The sort people up here go crazy for,” I replied. “They sell for like sixty bucks a pound. You have to be good at hunting them to be able to make a profit. They’re hard to find.”
“You sound like you’re speaking from experience.”
“Aunt Tillie.” My grin widened. “Every year she spent three weeks forcing us into the woods to find enough mushrooms to sell. She likes them for her spells, too.” I added the second part before thinking it through. “I mean … she likes to use the morels for various things.” I shot a worried look at Landon.
His smirk told me it would be fine. “Aunt Tillie makes tons of potions. I’m sure you have heard the rumors,” he explained to his boss.
“Frankly, I try not to listen to those stories,” Steve said. “If half the things said about her are true, I’m going to get an ulcer.”
“She’s her own hype person,” I offered. “She exaggerates sometimes.”And hides what she’s doing at others,I silently added. “Don’t worry about Aunt Tillie. Most of the stuff she does is meant to thwart her enemies, not cause big issues.”
“Didn’t she just make a bunch of clown dolls sentient and set them loose on the town?” Steve challenged.
He would remember that part of the story. “Yes … and no. That’s not exactly how it worked.” I scratched my cheek. “Aunt Tillie is not our major concern right now. Whatever was in this cabin is. I think it was arachnids.”
Puzzled looks appeared on multiple faces.
“Spiders?” Steve asked.
“Yes.” This was the part of the conversation that worried me. “Recently, there was an arachnid infestation in Hawthorne Hollow. Most of them were eradicated. Some were run out of town. They’re not great thinkers. They’re minions.”
“Meaning?” Steve crossed his arms over his chest, adopting a defensive position that suggested he was uncomfortable.Great.
“Meaning that usually a greater threat, a more powerful creature, forced them into doing its bidding.”
“Like a witch?”
“Maybe.” I nodded. “I don’t feel as if we’re dealing with a witch, though. I think it’s something else.”
“What?”
“If I knew that I would already be fashioning a trap to draw in the enemy.” I had to work overtime to keep my tone even. “I’m not sure what it is. I am fairly certain that arachnids were in this cabin, though.”
“Did they kill those men?” Spencer asked.
I shrugged. “Do we have a cause of death yet?”
“No,” Steve replied. “We’ll have to go to the medical examiner’s office and have a sit down with them to get that information.”
“Okay.” I rolled my neck. “Let’s head outside.”
Steve’s eyebrows practically hopped off his forehead. “If you’re about to tell me that we’re going on a giant spider hunt, I’m not going to be happy.”
“You can stay here.” I tried to be as kind as possible saying it. “That’s fine.” I started for the door.
