Life's a Witch (26 page)

“We’ve been out here for five minutes,” I argued.

“It feels longer.”

“It does,” Aunt Tillie agreed. “We need to cast a spell to find what we’re looking for.”

Clove knit her eyebrows together. “A locator spell? Isn’t that dangerous if someone sees us out here and we have a ball of light zipping around?”

“If someone sees us out here they’re probably looking for something illegal – or remnants of the pot field to smoke – so they wouldn’t be able to tell anyone without looking like a creepy drug addict, would they?” Aunt Tillie challenged.

“I guess I never thought about it that way.”

“And that’s why I’m the brains of the operation,” Aunt Tillie said, causing Thistle to snort. “You’re still on my list, missy. See what happens if you push me. I’m out here to keep Bay safe. I can restore that curse with a snap of my fingers.”

Thistle waited until Aunt Tillie looked in another direction to stick out her tongue.

“I saw that,” Aunt Tillie said.

“Let’s cast the spell,” Clove suggested. “I don’t like being out here. Ever since we found that cave with the dead body inside, this place gives me the creeps.”

I stilled.
It’s right in front of your eyes.
“The cave.”

“That would make sense,” Aunt Tillie said. “What happened out here was all over town. People probably figured if no one found that cave for decades, there’s probably no reason for anyone else to find it now.”

“Do you remember where it is?” Thistle asked.

I tapped my lip as I scanned the tree line. “It’s over there.”

We trudged in that direction, forming a line with me taking up the front and Thistle keeping a watchful eye at the rear. After a series of missteps – each one causing Aunt Tillie to grumble something about “idiots” and “couldn’t find their butts with two hands and no place to move” – I found the entrance.

“We need a light,” Clove said. “I’m not going in that dark hole again without a light. You can’t make me.”

“Why are you such a baby?” Aunt Tillie sniped, pressing her eyes shut briefly and then snapping her fingers to conjure a small ball of light. “Do you think I would let you go in that hole without a light?”

“Bay did.”

“Yes, well, Bay approached three boys who may be murderers on her own this afternoon,” Aunt Tillie shot back. “She’s an idiot.”

“I love you, too,” I muttered, following Aunt Tillie’s ball of light into the cave. Given its size, I didn’t expect much illumination. Once we were inside, though, it expanded and gave off an almost homey vibe – well, for a cave.

“Someone needs to clean this place,” Clove muttered, stepping around a large rock.

“Oh, yeah,” Thistle deadpanned. “We should place an ad. Do you want to clean a dark and dank hole? Well, we’ve got just the place. It’s next to Hollow Creek, the former home of a dead body, and the occasional spot for murderers. Fill out an application here.”

“It must be a relief for you to be mean again,” I said, something clicking in the back of my mind and making me turn around.

“You have no idea,” Thistle said. “I told the mailman I loved him.”

“I was there,” Clove said. “He thought she was coming on to him. He asked what color her underwear was and she had to tell him. Sometimes I think Mr. Brooks is creepy. If he didn’t wear those stupid shorts to deliver the mail, he would freak me out. I … do you see something?”

Everyone moved in behind me as I knelt, the clicking getting louder in my brain. I lifted a piece of discarded wood and tossed it to the side, revealing a small tin box – one of those tins that once contained expensive tea sold at the grocery store. It looked relatively new.

“What’s inside?” Clove asked.

“She hasn’t looked inside yet, you ninny,” Thistle snapped.

“Good grief. I’m already missing that curse,” Aunt Tillie muttered, causing my cousins to clam up. “Be careful opening it. There might be a snake inside.”

The suggestion was ludicrous, and also made me internally shudder. “Why would you say that?”

“I saw a movie where someone found a tin can like that in a cave and it was filled with snakes.”

“What movie?”

“Open it,” Aunt Tillie hissed.

I pried the lid off and peered inside as the ball of light moved lower. I slipped my fingers into the narrow opening and pulled out a huge wad of money.

“Holy crap,” Thistle said. “How much is that?”

I counted it, going over it twice to make sure, and whistled. “Five thousand bucks!”

“I think you should give that to me for safe keeping,” Aunt Tillie instructed. “I’m the most responsible one here.”

“I’m not giving you this money,” I said. “We have to turn it over to Landon and Chief Terry.”

“Do you think it’s Nathaniel’s money?” Thistle asked.

I glanced around, hoping he would make an appearance if that was the case. He didn’t. “I have no idea. I think it’s too much of a coincidence for it not to be tied to the pot, though.”

“Is this what you were looking for?” Aunt Tillie asked.

I nodded.

“Does that mean I can curse them again? Thistle is really bugging me.”

“I will lock you in this cave and forget where you are,” Thistle threatened.

“Let’s get out of here,” I said, ignoring both of them. “I don’t like it in here. This means something. I just don’t know what. We’re missing something big … and I hate that feeling.”

Twenty-Six

I found Aunt Tillie loitering around her greenhouse when I got back to The Overlook a few hours later. She was messing around with an empty pot, and she appeared lost in thought. I cleared my throat to announce myself.

“Did Landon decide to give me that money after all?”

I shook my head and smiled. “Landon and Chief Terry were surprised and made me go back and show them exactly where I found it. They’re not sure how they’re going to write it up in the report.”

“What do they think it means?”

“They’re as stumped as we are,” I said, moving further into the greenhouse. “Can I ask you something?”

“No, I don’t plan to curse you guys with the nice spell again,” Aunt Tillie replied. “It wasn’t nearly as much fun as I thought it would be. I think I might be slipping in my old age.”

“That’s not what I was going to ask … and thank you. Landon asked me to tell him how great he was for what felt like forever because of that spell. I’m not interested in that right now, though.”

Aunt Tillie stilled. “You want to know why I lifted the curse early, don’t you?”

I shook my head. “That’s also not what I was going to ask,” I said. “Now that you’ve brought it up, though, why did you?”

Aunt Tillie shrugged. “I’m not really angry with you guys,” she said finally. “Don’t get me wrong, wrestling me to the ground like that was undignified, and I’m still going to get you back, but you’re not my problem right now.”

“Is Aunt Willa your problem?”

“She’s the Devil.”

I tugged on my limited patience and leaned against her potting bench, crossing my arms over my chest as I studied her. “What’s the real deal with you and Aunt Willa? You don’t even act as if you’re from the same family.”

Aunt Tillie sighed and tossed her trowel into the pot. “I don’t ever remember getting along with her,” she said. “I always got along with Ginger. We were … close. We were close like your mothers are close. I still miss her.”

“I wish I could’ve met her.”

“She would’ve hated you,” Aunt Tillie said, although her eyes twinkled as she shuffled over to the shelf next to the wall. “Actually, she would’ve loved all three of you. She would’ve gotten a kick out of Thistle’s mouth. She would’ve enjoyed Clove’s whiny quality. She would’ve loved your ambition and the way you hold things together in a crisis. I think she missed out on a lot because she didn’t get to know you three.”

I was dumbfounded. That was one of the nicest things Aunt Tillie had ever said to me. “Why didn’t you just agree to stay out of your pot field when I first asked you? You said you would that first day, so why was it such a big deal when I asked you the second time? We could’ve avoided all of that … melodrama … if you had.”

“Maybe I didn’t want to stay out of my field. Did you ever consider that?”

“That’s the first thing I considered,” I conceded. “You may be stubborn and set in your ways, but you’re also unfailingly kind when it’s important. You’re the most loyal person I know.

“I realized today when you went to Hollow Creek with us that you didn’t do it out of boredom or because you were yearning for adventure,” I continued. “You were doing it because you were legitimately worried about us. If we were going to get in trouble, you wanted to be there to get us out of it.”

“I think you’re delusional,” Aunt Tillie said. “I thought nothing of the sort.”

I didn’t believe her. “You would never purposely put us at risk,” I said. “You were never going to go back to that pot field even before I asked, were you?”

Aunt Tillie sighed. “Do you know your biggest problem?”

“I think it’s this nagging voice in the back of my head that keeps telling me the bottom is going to drop out because I’m really happy these days,” I answered honestly.

“Oh, good grief,” Aunt Tillie muttered, rolling her eyes. “Is this about Landon? The boy is smitten. He’s not going anywhere. I know you’re worried because he walked away the first time, but I knew he would come back. He needed time to think.”

“He said the other day that he envisions us having our own home one day,” I said. “He thought it would freak me out – and it did, well, kind of. When I thought about it more, though, I realized I wanted that. The problem is … .”

“Our family,” Aunt Tillie supplied. “We’re joined at the hip and lip – not in a gross way, so don’t get some weird lesbian fantasy.”

I fought the urge to shake her. We were having a moment, even if she insisted on being belligerent during it. “Clove is going to move in with Sam. She’s going to do it soon.”

“I figured that,” Aunt Tillie said. “She’s always been the one who needs stability. Sam gives her that. I wasn’t sure I liked him at first.”

“And now?”

“He saved your life and he dotes on Clove,” Aunt Tillie answered. “I have no reason not to like him.”

“And you love Marcus,” I pressed.

“He’s a good boy.” Aunt Tillie’s smile was genuine. “He’s funnier than he realizes, too. He makes me laugh.”

“No matter what you say, I know you like Landon, too.”

“I never said I didn’t like him,” Aunt Tillie shot back. “He’s just a bossy pain in the ass. That’s why he’s good for you. You need someone to occasionally kick you to get you moving. You’ve always been the most sensitive one in some ways.”

“You’re the one who says Clove is a baby all the time,” I reminded her.

“Clove is a baby. You’re sensitive in other ways. You can’t help it. The sensitivity comes with your gifts. Landon helps that. He accepts you for who you are and encourages you to spread your wings. That’s what you need.”

“Tell me about your relationship with Aunt Willa,” I prodded, bringing the conversation full circle. “I think you know why she’s here.”

“You’re giving me too much credit,” Aunt Tillie countered. “I’ve never understood a single thing that woman does. You’re mistaking my relationship with Willa for the one you share with Clove and Thistle. You may not be sisters by birth, but you are in your hearts.

“I had that relationship with Ginger, and I miss it every single day,” she continued. “I can’t say the same for Willa.”

“Do you think she wants that type of relationship with you?”

Aunt Tillie snorted. “No. She doesn’t like me any more than I like her. She’s here for a different reason … and before you ask, no, I don’t know what it is. I’ve been racking my brain trying to figure out what her endgame is here. It’s … beyond me.”

“She has to want something,” I said. “No one would put up with the shenanigans she’s seen unless they had a specific reason. I’m worried. I’m worried about Mom and you most of all.”

“Don’t worry about me,” Aunt Tillie lightly scolded. “I made a promise many years ago that I would outlive Willa and dance on her grave. She’ll never beat me.”

“I hope not,” I said. “We need to figure out what she wants. She’s been here for almost a week now. She’s seen Marnie’s boobs, us wrestle you down in the kitchen, and all of us be mean to her. We need to know why she’s here. I don’t like her being so close when we don’t know what she’s up to.”

“I agree with that,” Aunt Tillie said. “I … .” She broke off when the daisy in the corner started wailing. I looked closer and realized it was an actual flower and it was … making a screeching noise.

“What the … ?”

“Someone tripped the wards in the field,” Aunt Tillie said, moving toward the window and narrowing her eyes. “Someone is trying to steal my stash! That’s just despicable. Don’t these people realize I need that pot for my glaucoma?”

“Do you think it’s the police?”

“It’s not dark yet, but it will be soon,” Aunt Tillie replied, pointing toward the sky. “There’s a storm coming. I don’t care how inept I think the police are. They wouldn’t come out here looking for my field right before a storm.”

“Then who?” I already knew the answer before I finished asking the question. “It’s the kids. They need product to replace what’s lost.”

“We’d better get out there,” Aunt Tillie muttered. “They can’t find it, but I don’t want them traipsing around my property. Now, where is my gun?”

BY THE
time we got to the field the storm was moving in. Aunt Tillie insisted on collecting her combat helmet and shotgun before departing. I thought about arguing, but the gun might be a welcome distraction if we ran into someone.

We opted to remain away from the field in case someone was watching from the trees. We didn’t want to tip anyone off about the entrance.

“Do you see anything?”

I shook my head. “I can feel someone, though. I … the storm is going to be a big one.”

“Yeah, we’re definitely due for one,” Aunt Tillie replied. “The humidity has been cranking up for days. “I … there!” She extended her arm to the line of trees to our left. I narrowed my eyes, frowning when I recognized the trio of figures.