Be Careful What You Witch For (A Family Fortune Mystery) (17 page)

28

The sound of breaking glass caught everyone’s attention. Someone had thrown a rock through the front window of the Reading Room. I spun around, ignoring the protestors for the moment, to focus on the gang of drinkers.

Lucan Reed pushed his way through the crowd, shoving people out of the way if they didn’t move fast enough. He approached the clot of rowdy twenty-somethings. Vi, Seth, and I moved closer to them to hear what they were saying. I clutched Diana’s hand in my own and dragged her with us.

“That’s going to cost you, son,” Lucan said to a lanky kid with sandy brown hair that fell into his eyes. He grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and the rest of his friends backed away.

“Owen! What are you doing here?” Skye left the protestors, circled the crowd, and ran up to Lucan and his prisoner.

“Why do you have to hang around with these freaks?” Owen said to Skye. Lucan gave him a little shake.

“Lucan, you can let him go. He’s not dangerous,” Skye said.

“Oh, is this your
new
boyfriend?” Owen slurred his words and stumbled a bit when Lucan let go of him. “The old guy kicked off so you’ve moved on already.” He flung his arm in Lucan’s direction. “I know you’ve been meeting him in secret.”

“Owen, go home. We’ll talk later.” Skye had her hands up and was trying to calm him down, but Owen was on a roll.

“I’m not afraid of him, Skye. Everything was cool until you got into this . . .
group
.” Owen stepped forward and took a wild swing at Lucan, who easily sidestepped him and placed him in a headlock as the kid spun around.

“Wicked,” Seth whispered next to me.

“Oh, no,” Diana said.

I heard muttering from the small group of activists and turned to see Charla approaching from the police station.

“All right, that’s enough.” Charla pushed her way through the throng and approached Owen and Lucan.

I noticed some of Owen’s confederates on the outer edges of the crowd peel away and walk back down the street, the way they came.

“What’s going on here?” Charla directed her question at Lucan.

“Thish guy attacked me, offisher,” Owen said to Charla.

Lucan rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his wide chest. He pulled himself to his full six-foot-plus height and glowered at Owen. Owen slid behind Charla.

The signs had disappeared, and the anti-Wiccan activists murmured amongst themselves. Charla walked toward them and said, “Move along now. Unless you’re here to pay your respects, you can just keep moving.”

Bea’s lips pressed into a thin line but she turned away with the rest of her group and within a minute only Owen and Lucan remained.

“Someone threw a rock through the window and it looks like there may have been a demonstration planned,” Lucan said.

“No. I had nothing to do with them,” Owen said. He waved his arm toward the retreating group of demonstrators. “I came here for Skye.”

“Okay, no one’s been hurt, that I can see,” Charla said. She pulled out her pad of tickets. “I’m giving you a citation for disorderly conduct.” She ripped it off and handed it to Owen. “And you can pay for the window.”

“Oh, man,” Owen whined.

“Is there anyone here who can get you home?” Charla asked. “I better not catch you driving yourself or you’ll spend the night at the jail.”

“I’ll take him.” Skye stepped forward.

“Are you sure?” Lucan asked her.

“Dude, she said she’d take me. Back off,” Owen said over Skye’s shoulder.

Lucan narrowed his eyes, but didn’t respond.

Diana stepped forward, took Lucan’s hand, and steered him away from Owen. “Let’s go inside.”

He turned toward the Reading Room with Diana and didn’t spare another glance at Owen.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” I said to Skye.

She nodded. “He’s harmless. I’ll get him home and come back in a little while.” She lowered her voice. “We broke up a few months ago. He’s not taking it well.”

I noticed that Seth’s phone had been intermittently buzzing during this whole altercation and he was currently typing furiously with his thumbs.

“What is Faith up to?”

“Hmm? Oh, nothing. She knew her mom would be here.” He slipped the phone into his pocket.

I lifted an eyebrow at him. He shrugged and turned to head into the reception.

“Charla, where’s Mac?” He had a gift for showing up just when things were getting interesting.

“He took Neila Whittle home.”

“What?”

“Neila Whittle. She lives on Rowan Street, at the top of the hill,” Charla said. “I’m sure you’ve noticed her house. I think I ran you off of the place a few years ago with the rest of the kids.”

Charla had a corrupt sense of time. It had been at least fifteen years since I’d been up there with anyone else, and at least ten since I’d been called a kid.

“I know
who
she is,” I said, scowling. “Why is Mac taking her home?”

“I was walking back to the police station when I saw that crew headed this way with signs.” She tilted her head in the direction that Bea’s group had gone. “I could tell trouble was brewing so I went and got Mac to help out. We found Neila cowering in the doorway of the bead shop, watching the gang go by.”

“Does Mac know her?” It seemed everyone knew Neila except for me.

Charla shook her head. “Not really, he just decided to get her home quickly. She was pretty upset. We didn’t know Owen and his buddies were here as well. Mac figured I could deal with a few angry churchgoers on my own.”

“What do you mean?”

“The people with the signs. Didn’t you get a look at them?”

I shook my head. “Not really. I assumed it was the usual ‘Wicca is evil’ type of thing that crops up here and there.”

Charla nodded. “Yeah, that’s about it. Devil worship and sin, that’s what they claim. It’s that group from Covenant of Grace Church in Grand Rapids. But it wasn’t the Wiccans looking like an angry mob.” She
tsk
ed, and shook her head.

“Was Neila okay?”

Charla studied me for a moment. “I’m not sure. She seemed confused and she was crying. I haven’t seen her in town in years. Maybe she’s starting to have some dementia. . . .”

“I don’t think so.”

Charla shrugged. “You can ask Mac about it next time you see him.”

“Thanks, Charla.”

She nodded. “I’ll just stick around out here for a while to discourage any further shenanigans.”

I followed the remaining mourners toward the Reading Room.

*   *   *

As soon as
Charla turned her back, I veered off to the left around the side of the building. I peeked in the windows to see if I could spot Seth or my dad in the crowd. Seth, because he had a cell phone, and Dad, because I needed his car.

The place was crowded and it was clear that the food was at the far end of the room based on the huge number of people gathered there. Finally, I saw the two of them leaning against the wall with full plates. I called Seth and watched while I waited for him to answer. One ring. He didn’t even pause in his shoveling movements. Second ring. The food must be fantastic because he was ignoring his phone. After the fourth ring, it went to voice mail and I glared at Seth through the window even though he couldn’t see me.

I dialed again. This time I saw him pat his pocket. He handed his almost-empty plate to my dad and pulled out his phone.

“Herro?” His mouth was full and he crunched chips in my ear.

“Seth, it’s me, Clyde.”

He turned and scanned the room, clearly trying to find me in the crowd.

“Where are you?”

“I’m outside. I need to borrow Papa’s car without anyone knowing. Can you ask him for me and bring me the keys?”

I saw Seth put the phone against his shoulder and talk to my dad. Dad reached into his pocket and scanned the room at the same time. Seth came back on the line.

“I’ve got them but he wants to know how long you’ll be. He doesn’t want to get stuck here all night.”

“I won’t be more than a half hour.” Maybe less, if I couldn’t find Mac.

“’Kay. Should I come outside now?”

“Yeah, I’m around the side of the building. Don’t let Charla see you.”

He clicked off the phone and I saw him make his way through the crowd to the door. A few minutes later I heard him crunching through the leaves and coming toward me. It had gotten fully dark in the time since we first arrived.

“Clyde?” Seth whispered.

“I’m here.” I stepped forward so he could see me in the light from the windows.

“Here’re the keys.” He dropped them into my hand. “Want me to come with you? What are you doing, anyway?”

“I’m just following up on a lead. You go ahead in. I need you to run interference for me with Vi and Nana Rose. Keep telling them you just saw me across the room or something. That will keep them occupied until I get back.”

Seth shrugged. “Okay, but the food will be gone pretty soon.”

“I’ll take my chances.”

He turned and melted into the shadows at the side of the building. To avoid being seen by Charla, I walked the long way around the block and down the street to where Dad had parked. I didn’t want Mac and Neila spending time together. And I didn’t want to be delayed by anyone at the Reading Room.

I pulled out of the parking space and headed to the north end of town and Neila’s house. The streetlights only went as far as the bottom of her gravel road and then it was dark forest. This was another reason why the teenagers of Crystal Haven frequented her house on their more daring escapades. It was a sign of true bravery to walk into the woods alone and get as far as the edge of her yard. I was pretty sure most of them just hid behind a tree for ten minutes and then came strolling back out. This time of year, the trees were skeletal and my headlights cast menacing shadows as I bounced the car along the road. I got to the house and saw that Mac’s cruiser was still there.

Once I arrived I wasn’t sure what I planned to do. I was concerned about Neila, and I really wanted to see Mac. As I sat debating my plan, the door opened. Mac was backlit in the doorway and I saw Neila holding the door and waving him out. I rolled down the window to hear what they were saying.

“Call if you . . .” I heard Mac say.

“Thank . . . ,” came a muffled reply.

She swung the door closed and Mac turned on the porch and stopped when he saw me. His face was in shadow and I couldn’t tell what kind of reception to expect until he got right up to the car.

He leaned down with a huge grin on his face and rested his arm on the open window.

“Well, hi. Are you here on a dare, or are you here for me?”

He opened the door and put out a hand to help me out.

“To see you, of course.”

“That’s a great answer.” He pulled me toward him and a few minutes later I started to get embarrassed thinking Neila might be able to see us acting like a couple of overheated teenagers right there in her yard.

I pulled away, and caught the look of confusion on Mac’s face.

“Sorry, this place kind of spooks me.”

He nodded. “Yeah, I proved my bravery several times over the years just by walking up here. It was a little humiliating when I met her later and she remembered me from those days.”

I smiled, but it was so dark he probably couldn’t tell.

“I’ve missed you,” I said into his chest and inhaled the scent of pine trees and cool air.

He pulled me closer again and we forgot for a moment that we were standing right outside the Crystal Haven witch’s house. This was one thing I hadn’t done while a teenager on a dare.

“So, when can I see you?” Mac said into my hair.

“I think you’re doing a pretty good job right now.”

He laughed and shook his head.

“Let’s go do something, just the two of us. I could really use a break from this Rafe Godwin thing. Can you get Seth to hang with your parents for an evening?”

“How about tomorrow night?”

“Great. What do you want to do?” he murmured against my neck.

“Um, dinner?”

“Sure, we should eat.” He kissed me and I started to worry I wouldn’t be meeting my half-hour deadline.

Then we heard a click and the yard was flooded with light. We jumped apart just as the door swung open.

“Oh, it’s you,” Neila said from the porch. “I thought it was the kids again. I didn’t have the patience for it tonight, after the trouble down at the Reading Room. Lu—a friend installed this floodlight so I can scare them away if they get too loud or come too close.”

“Sorry, Ms. Whittle. I was just . . . talking to Clyde Fortune.” He grinned at me. “I think someone dared her to come up here to your house.”

Neila flapped her hand at him. “Oh, now don’t start that. I know what you were doing. At least that’s what I hope you were doing, with your faces so red.”

I smoothed my hair and zipped my jacket. Now Neila knew our secret as well. At least she was a recluse and never spoke to my family. I didn’t know how much longer we could keep up the cloak-and-dagger stuff.

“We’ll be on our way, then,” Mac said. “I’ll call you later,” he whispered to me as he brushed a kiss across my cheek.

I waved to Neila and waited until she had closed her door before I got in the Buick and followed Mac back down the driveway. It wasn’t until I was halfway back to the reception that I remembered I had gone there to find out what Neila was doing in town. And why Mac had decided to rescue her.