Page 43 of Last Witch Attempt
“Is she doing costume changes?” Susan Helms asked as she appeared at the edge of the table, order pad in hand.
“It certainly seems so,” Steve said. “Is she gearing up for something good?” He was excited at the prospect.
“If you think this is going to end well, then you haven’t been listening to the stories,” I replied as I got to my feet and moved to the window. I had to press myself against it, a silent apology for whoever was going to have to clean the windows later going through me, but I didn’t see Aunt Tillie. I waited for a full two minutes before returning to the table.
“You’re all I have left, Bay,” Susan said. “Do you know what you want?”
“Give me a grilled cheese and chili, please.”
Susan winked. “You got it. Iced tea to drink?”
“That will be fine.” My head felt heavy as I sat. “What is she doing?” I asked nobody in particular.
“Perhaps it’s Millie,” Steve said with a laugh. “I’ve still yet to figure out how she pulled that one off.”
“We should form a club.” I went back to staring at the window. “I have questions about a lot of things.”
“Like the autopsies?” Steve turned to business, the intrigue regarding Aunt Tillie’s costume changes going out the window. “I’m sure you want that information.”
I had to force my attention back to him. “Of course I do. I’m sorry.” I felt like a moron. “Aunt Tillie does stuff like this all the time. It’s not a big deal.”
“It’s fine.” Steve’s smile was warm. “If I had a great-aunt, I would watch her all the time too. Older people can fall prey to predators far too often.”
“Yes, that’s what I worry about with Aunt Tillie,” I drawled.
Landon squeezed my knee under the table. I had to swallow a giggle when he shot me a quick, mischievous smile.
Steve was focused on his phone, where he had his notes app open. “The medical examiner really couldn’t tell which died first,” he started.
“Which means they all died within minutes of each other,” I said before I realized I was going to speak at all.
Steve’s eyebrows hopped. “You know police procedure well.” His gaze flitted to Landon.
“Don’t look at me.” Landon shook his head. “I would like to take credit for what a little genius she is, but she was that way before I came along.”
“You have to remember that Bay was a reporter in the Detroit area for years before she moved back home,” Chief Terry volunteered. “She knows a lot about criminal forensics.” He beamed with pride.
“Of course.” Steve went back to looking at his phone. “They were asphyxiated. There were bruises around their throats, suggesting it was done manually.”
“How does that work?” I asked. “Did two of them stand there and watch the other get choked to death? Were they strung up in the trees first?”
“The medical examiner believes they were put in the trees after they were dead. He said it likely took a few minutes for each of them to die.”
I slid my eyes to Landon. “What about toxicology results? Were they poisoned beforehand?”
“Nothing stands out in their bloodwork,” Landon replied. “Obviously, full toxicology reports take weeks.”
“We don’t have weeks.”
“Even if we manage to put a rush on them, we’re still looking at four weeks instead of eight.”
“How long were they out there before we found them?”
“Best guess is thirty minutes before you stumbled upon them,” Steve replied. He watched me closely for my reaction.
“They happened to drive past that spot after we went to Mrs. Little’s house and were immediately lured into the woods?” That was a tight window. “What would that look like?” I addressed the question to Landon. Protocol might’ve dictated that I focus my energy on Steve, but I was used to working these things out with Chief Terry and Landon, and that wasn’t going to change anytime soon.
“I think you’re the one who will have an easier time figuring that out,” Landon replied.
