A Hillcrest Witch Mystery Collection Read online

  The door flies open.

  Wow! I could get used to this. Free from the closet, I move swiftly to my gun, which Ralph has left on a side table.

  I feel like a million bucks as I run towards the cabin door, gun in one hand and handcuffs in my back pocket. Nothing can stop me now! I’m coming, Melanie!

  It’s darker outside then when I entered the cabin. The sun has settled behind one of the rocky peaks. In the dim lighting, I see Ralph’s figure, sixty feet away. It looks like he has just barely managed to get Melanie into the rowboat, and is now turning to return to the cabin, for me.

  I wish I could see his face, as he sees me running towards him, my hair flying.

  I bet I’m a sight to behold.

  I bet I look crazy. I think I’m smiling.

  Yes. I’m definitely smiling.

  Then I hear myself laugh.

  Maybe I am crazy! That doesn’t even bother me now.

  As I run, I reach into my back pocket. My fingers close around the hard, curved steel of the handcuffs. I pull them out.

  Ralph doesn’t have a chance. When I reach him, I snap one cuff around one hand, and then quickly secure the other. I do all this single handedly. I feel like a superhero!

  “What the—?” he sputters. “How did you—where did you—this is impossible!”

  Everything that Chris told me is coming back to me now. I know that Ralph is still dangerous, even though he’s handcuffed.

  “On your knees!” I say, aiming the gun at him. My voice booms out with authority. Ralph does exactly as I say and sinks down to his knees.

  I was right; his expression is priceless. I wish I had a camera. I could take a picture of this look of utter surprise on him and look at it when I need a confidence boost. The man can’t believe that I’ve freed myself, and his shock is making him completely submissive. That and I have a gun pointed at him.

  “Stay there!” I say. I keep the gun pointed at him as I walk backwards towards the boat.

  “Melanie! Are you alright?” I ask, as I reach her.

  I’m happy to see her eyes, though wide and full of fear, are bright with life. I set my gun down, within reach, and with half of my attention on the now whimpering Ralph and half on Melanie, I begin untying the ropes that bind her.

  When I pull the tape off her mouth, she begins speaking softly. “Thank you—oh, Penny, thank you, thank you!” She begins to weep.

  I want to comfort her, but I have to keep a close eye on Ralph, so I resist. “It’s okay,” I say, as I return to my gun. My eyes are still on Ralph. “We’re going to be okay,” I repeat.

  I aim the gun at Ralph, just so that he doesn’t get any ideas.

  What in the world am I going to do now? Send Melanie down the mountain for help? My mind begins turning over my options, but I’m interrupted by the sound of voices.

  My eyes swivel to the place where the Rainbow Lake trail meets the clearing.

  I see figures emerge.

  “Penny? Penny!” I hear Chris call out.

  “Over here!” I respond.

  I see Chris clearly now. He’s in his police uniform, and there’s something in his arms.

  Turkey?

  Yes! He’s holding my cat! Turkey must have run down the trail to get help!

  There are two other officers just behind Chris, along with the Police Chief, Mayor Haywater, and Hiroku Itsu.

  Hiroku is cradling Blueberry Muffin in her arms. I wave.

  Blueberry gives a happy yip.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “They’re just bruises,” I say, as Chris takes the bag of melted ice from my hands. “I think I’ll be fine.”

  “You should keep ice on it,” Chris says, getting up from the couch. “I’ll get you some more.”

  We’re in his apartment, and I’m nestled onto his couch with a fleece blanket around me, and a cup of hot tea an arm’s length away, on the coffee table.

  Law and Order is playing on the television, and my belly is full of take out Chinese food.

  “Could you get me my fortune cookie, while you’re up?” I ask.

  “What’s the magic word?” Chris asks.

  “Reserare” I whisper, under my breath. Then, louder, I say, “Please?”

  Chris returns with a fresh bag of ice, and two cookies. He hands them to me. I set the bag of ice on the table, so that I can open my fortune cookie.

  As I begin unwrapping it, he looks at me lovingly.

  “What?” I ask.

  “Nothing,” he says. He sits back down on the couch and begins unwrapping his own cookie. “I’m just glad you’re okay, that’s all,” he says, over the crinkling of plastic wrap.

  “Me too,” I say. “What do you think the Haywaters are doing right now?” I ask.

  Chris thinks this over, and then says, “Having a good, long, honest discussion. It’s about time, too.”

  I nod.

  A few hours earlier, up at Trout lake, the police arrested Ralph. Cliff’s happiness at finding his wife, safe and alive, was compromised when she tearfully began admitting her love for Joe.

  “Cliff seemed so crushed when Melanie said she had been in love with Joe for years,” I say.

  “I don’t blame him,” Chris says, looking down at his unopened cookie. “Cliff and Melanie were married for over thirty years.”

  “At least she never cheated on him,” I say. “She and Joe loved each other, but they never acted on it. Instead, they were going to wait until Melanie was divorced.”

  Melanie had admitted this, as well, when she’d made her tearful confession. Apparently, she had been waiting until Joe was no longer Cliff’s employee before officially asking for a divorce so that she could confess her love to Joe.

  “How do you think they booked their flights to Hawaii?” Chris asks.

  “It must have all been done in secret,” I say. “Each knew about the other’s feelings. All it would have taken would be a few conversations. She’d mention the divorce, and her trip, and say that if Joe happened to be on the same flight, wouldn’t it be great, or something like that.”

  “You’ve really thought this through,” Chris says, raising a brow.

  “I know, I know... I have a good imagination,” I say, with a grin. “Do you think Cliff and Melanie will break up?”

  Chris nods. “And it’s for the best. If she doesn’t love him, they shouldn’t be together.”

  “It’s so sad,” I say. Then, before I can get too down about this, I crack open my fortune cookie. “Okay, let’s see... I hope it’s a good one. No!” I burst into a laugh as I read the one-word fortune on the little slip of paper within my cookie.

  “It just says: Meh,” I say.

  “No way!” Chris says, laughing also. “That’s all it says?”

  “Yep.” I place the slip of paper on my knee, and then pop one half of the cookie in my mouth. “What does yours say?” I ask, with my mouth full.

  Chris opens his cookie. His face turns bright red.

  “What is it?” I ask.

  “Marriage will let you annoy one special person for the rest of your life,” he reads aloud.

  I burst out into laughter. Crumbs fly from my mouth. “You’re kidding me!” I say, once I can speak. “It doesn’t really say that, does it?”

  “It does!” Chris starts laughing a little bit too. His laughter grows, until he’s cracking up just as hard as I am.

  By the time we stop, tears are streaming from the corner of my eyes. My abs and cheeks ache.

  “That is too funny,” I say, leaning forward and wiping my eyes. When I settle back onto the couch, I sink into the cushions, closer to Chris.

  He scooches over, closer to me, and wraps his arm around my shoulder.

  “Chris?” I say, as I curl up next to him.

  “Hm?” he responds. He sounds as relaxed and happy as I feel.

  “There’s something I need to tell you.”

  “Anything, Penny,” He says, giving me a little squeeze. “You can tell me anyth
ing.”

  “I’ve been... well, I’m reading a book. It’s called the Art and Science of Becoming a Witch. Claudine Terra gave it to me.”

  “Oh yeah?” he says. “That’s great.”

  “It’s really changing my life. I think I’m—no, I know I’m becoming a witch.”

  “A witch, hm?” Chris says.

  “I can do all these things that I couldn’t before,” I say. “Like this evening, up at the lake. I was able to break free from the ropes and open the closet door, and I wasn’t scared at all.”

  “You were really brave, Penny,” he says, kissing the top of my head.

  I sigh. Bravery doesn’t even begin to describe what occurred at the cabin, but I’m too relaxed, happy, and exhausted to try to explain myself further.

  “Don’t forget about your ice,” Chris says, reaching for the little plastic baggy of ice cubes.

  I accept it and press it to my cheek.

  Well. That went well. Very well. Too well. Chris has no clue what I really mean, when I say I’m becoming a witch.

  But at least I told him.

  It feels good.

  I’m here, with Chris, and we’re happy together. My cheeks are still sore from laughing.

  “I like this,” he says. “Just hanging out and laughing with you.”

  “Me too,” I say, letting my head rest against his shoulder.

  I’m filled with a feeling of content and happiness. Everything feels right, in this exact moment.

  Which, I’m coming to understand, is all there is.

  “Chris?” I say, softly.

  “Yeah, Penny?” he responds.

  “What if time really doesn’t exist. What if it’s just something that humans believe in, but it isn’t real. Like what if there really isn’t a past or a future, we just think there is.”

  Chris is quiet for a minute, and then he says. “You’re weird.”

  I laugh a little. “Really, Chris,” I say. “Something happened to me up at the cabin, in that closet. It was like time stopped being linear. There was only the exact moment that I was in—nothing before it and nothing after it. I can’t shake that feeling. I really like it.”

  I wait for Chris to respond. I can feel his breath, soft and warm against the top of my head. After a moment, he says, “I guess I don’t really understand what you mean.”

  “What I mean is—” I bite my lip. Am I really going to do this? Yes. It feels right. “What I’m trying to say, Chris, is that I love you. Right now, in this moment, I love you.”

  I feel his lips kiss the top of my head. His warm, strong hand rubs my upper arm, up and down. “I love you too, Penny,” he whispers. “I didn’t want to tell you, because I thought you’d freak out. But I’ve loved you for a long, long time”

  I nestle in closer to him. It feels so good to be held. A commercial comes on, and for a moment I zone out, watching little chocolate candies dance across the screen. The commercials end, and the show comes back on. Chris pulls me in closer, and I feel myself smile.

  Chris didn’t exactly take my confession of witchcraft seriously, but he didn’t get upset, either. He doesn’t understand what magic is, but is that really a problem? In this comfortable state that I’m in, in which the past and the future seem unreal, and now is the only moment that exists, I realize that it isn’t a problem at all.

  The next morning, I’m standing in Chris’s apartment. I’m wearing one of his oversized tee shirts, and I’m mixing up waffle batter. Chris is standing at the coffee pot. It strikes me that the situation is almost exactly like the one I imagined, when I thought about telling Chris I was a witch.

  I even need a measuring cup.

  I know they’re in the cupboard above Chris’s head. Before I can give this another thought, my phone rings.

  I reach for it, feeling relieved. What a timely interruption! Then I see that it’s Cliff Haywater. For a minute, I feel a twinge of anxiety. Is he calling to yell at me for ruining his marriage? I reach for my necklace and give it a little squeeze. Warmth bursts through my chest, and my sense of calm returns.

  I love the Power Spell!

  I pick up the phone. “Hello?” I say, cheerfully.

  “Hi, Penny? This is Cliff Haywater.”

  “Hi Cliff,” I say. “What can I do for you?”

  I hear Cliff clear his throat.

  Chris reaches to the shelf filled with coffee mugs, and as he pulls one down, he holds it out towards me. He raises his brow and wiggles the cup.

  I give a nod. I definitely want coffee.

  As Cliff begins to speak, I turn away from Chris, so that I can give my full attention to the phone call.

  “I wanted to thank you,” Cliff says. “For all that you did last night. You showed a great deal of intelligence, courage, and valor.”

  “I don’t know if I’d say valor,” I say

  “Well, I would,” Cliff says. “You saved Melanie’s life.”

  “How is Melanie doing?” I ask.

  Again, Cliff clears his throat. “She’s doing fine,” he says. “She’s happier, actually, than I’ve seen her in weeks. Last night we had quite a long talk. That’s part of the reason I’m calling, actually.”

  “Oh?” I say.

  “Melanie and I are parting ways,” Cliff says. “We’re going to remain friends, but our marriage is ending. Needless to say, I won’t be using the plane tickets that I purchased yesterday morning.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that,” I say. “But it sounds like it’s for the best.”

  “It is,” Cliff said. “I think we’re both going to be happier. As for the two tickets that I bought—I don’t know if I told you this, but they’re both non-refundable. And, seeing as you have been such a help to us, I wanted to see if...”

  I hold my breath.

  He continues. “If you wanted them. You could also have the hotel room that I booked,” he says. “That will go to waste too, if no one uses it.”

  “Thank you!” I say.

  “There’s one more thing,” he adds. “I want to give you a bonus. Two thousand dollars.”

  “Mayor Haywater, you don’t have to do that.”

  “I know I don’t have to, Penny. I want to. You risked your life last night, for Melanie. We’re both beyond grateful. Words can’t begin to express our gratitude. Neither can money, of course, but at least it’s a start.”

  I’m speechless.

  After a beat of silence, Cliff says, “I hope I haven’t put you on the spot? You don’t need to take the tickets, I just thought—”

  “No!” I say. “I’ll take them! Thank you, this is amazing!”

  Cliff laughs.

  “Thank you, Penny.”

  I hang up, grinning from ear to ear.

  Two tickets to Hawaii! A hotel room! Two thousand dollars!

  I know exactly who I’m going to give the other ticket to. I also know exactly what I’m going to do with the two thousand dollars.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “You’re going to have to switch to the six millimeter circular needles now,” Annie says, when I hold up the blue neckband I’ve been working on to show her my progress.

  “Six millimeters,” I say, as I set my knitting in my lap so that I can search through my carry-on suitcase, which is propped between my feet.

  “I don’t think I brought mine,” I say.

  “Don’t worry, I have a pair you can use,” Annie says.

  As she reaches into her own carry-on bag, Marley and Cora approach us. Marley is carrying a plastic bag bursting with goodies.

  “Who wants a snack?” Marley asks, in a sing song voice, as she sashays towards her waiting seat.

  The Melrose airport is bustling with activity, but my friends stand apart from the crowd, due to their beachy attire. Marley is wearing a sleeveless pink blouse, printed with flamingos. Cora has a colorful sundress on. The tropical flowers splashed across it are hard to overlook.

  Annie is also decked out in beach-ready clothing, thanks to t
he fact that Melanie generously allowed us to raid her closet for this trip.

  I’m the only one who doesn’t look ready to step off a plane into the Hawaiian airport. I wanted to wear all black. It’s habit now, and plus, Hawaiian prints wouldn’t go well with my new hand-painted cowboy boots. I’ll change when we get there.

  That’s right—my knitting circle is taking a field trip! In just a few moments, we’re going to board a plane that will whisk us away to the sandy beaches of Oahu.

  I used the bonus from Cliff to purchase two more tickets and a second hotel room, and now the four of us are in for the trip of a lifetime.

  Marley has taken her seat, and is now passing bags of dried fruit, pretzels, and candy out to the rest of us. I hold onto Annie’s package of chocolate covered raisins while she continues searching for knitting needles for me to use.

  When she finds them, she uprights herself. “Here they are!” she says. “You know, just now as I was looking, I started to feel my satchel light up.”

  “You must have activated the Power Spell,” I say, trading her the needles for the chocolates.

  “I love it when that happens,” Cora says. Instead of sitting, she’s doing lunges in front of us, sipping her water bottle whenever she straightens her knee. Leave it to Cora to sneak in a bit of exercise while we wait for our flight.

  “Me too,” Marley says. “I wonder why yours is activating now, Annie?”

  “Must be because my secret key ingredient is available,” Annie says, with a pleased smile.

  “Chocolate covered raisins?” I guess.

  “Knitting needles?” guesses Cora.

  Annie shakes her head.

  We’ve been so busy preparing for the trip, over the past few days, that we’ve barely talked about our progress with the first cycle of ASBW. Now I wonder aloud, “Do you think that since it’s called a secret ingredient, we have to keep it to ourselves?”

  Marley shakes her head. “I don’t think so. We’re a coven. We’re supposed to share things with each other, right?”

  I think back to Azure’s words about privacy. “Right,” I say. “Annie, will you tell us, then? What’s your secret key ingredient?”

  Annie smiles even wider. “Good company,” she says.