How to Stone a Crow (Witch Like a Boss Book 2) by Willow Mason (great novels txt) 📕

Hardy, you spit that out right now. You don’t know where it’s been!”

Wendy shrugged. “It’s been on the wall, Dad. And in that bottle.”

I followed her pointing finger to a container discarded in the hall rubbish bin. A supermarket brand of raspberry sauce with twenty-five percent extra free, according to the label.

An idea slunk into the back of my brain. “Are you sure this was the work of a poltergeist?” I whispered to Gareth. “Could somebody inside the house have done it?”

“No, Desdemona.” His eyes sparked with anger. “Wendy didn’t write all over the walls and neither did I.”

I’d been thinking more along the lines of the disappeared woman being responsible, but a quick scan told me that theory wouldn’t be any more welcome.

“You’re the only two families here, then?” The house was so large, I imagined another four family groups could reside there without ever bumping into each other. “There’s no one staying with you?”

“There’s obviously something staying with us.” Gareth swept his arm out. “And since the words appeared as I was standing here, watching the wall, it’s not a guest I want to retain.”

I held my hands up, taking a step back as I examined the dripping handiwork. “Wait a minute, you left your daughter alone in the house while you drove Carson and Sara to safety?”

Gareth’s expression turned from anger to downright fury. “No, I did not. Wendy’s meant to be with our neighbour.” He switched his glare to his daughter. “Not eating syrup off the walls. I suppose Mrs Prendergast still thinks you’re playing in her backyard.”

Wendy pulled her mouth down at the corners. “I’m not responsible for what Mrs Prendergast thinks is happening.”

Gareth gestured at the words again. “Can’t you do something about this rather than standing here, questioning us? Isn’t there a witchy potion to get rid of unwanted tenants?”

Patrick took a photograph with the flash on, making us all jump. “Just want to record this before it changes too much,” he said, tipping a wink to Wendy. “And stop eating the evidence, okay?”

“Okay.” Wendy suddenly turned shy, stepping into the shadows behind her father.

“Is it safe to come inside?”

I rolled my eyes at Patrick before I could stop myself, then hid a grin as Genevieve hustled through the entrance. “Oh, my.” She pressed a hand to her chest. “This doesn’t look good.”

“Great words of encouragement from our leader.” Gareth shook his head. “I hope you keep your composure better when Carson is around.”

“Has your machine picked up anything?” the supreme asked, ignoring him as she turned to Patrick.

“I haven’t run it yet.” He stepped back, frowning as the words dribbled farther down the walls. “Do you think this means she’s an evil witch or an incompetent one?”

“I think this means, we should stop witch-shaming of either kind until we can find Violet, alive and well, and ask her opinion. Hm?”

“Actually,” a female voice called from the doorway. “You can all stop doing anything at all, right this minute.”

“Evelyn.” Gareth took a step towards her before a spark of fire in her eyes melted his confidence. “Shouldn’t you be at home with Carson and Sara? They need you at a time like this.”

“They need the police at a time like this and that’s exactly who I’ve called.” Evelyn’s nostrils flared and her cheekbones burned with colour. “I’m not having some slipshod coven investigation put my sister-in-law’s life in danger when we can have trained officers scouring the area for her.”

“But…” Gareth’s mouth fell open as Evelyn turned the full force of her rage on him, the words falling out unused.

“That’s a great idea.” Genevieve slapped the woman on her shoulder, then turned to me and Patrick. “And our investigators can help out at any time. Don’t hesitate to ask.”

“Can they help rehouse me and my daughter?” Gareth asked. He waved a hand at the staircase, leading to his rooms. “Only I don’t feel safe staying here and we don’t have any family or friends in Briarton with spare rooms.”

“Of course.” The supreme beamed and pushed me forward. “Desdemona has plenty of room for you in her house. Just grab whatever you want to bring, and we’ll take you there right now.”

“We… What?”

Before I could protest, Wendy beamed a smile at me and skipped upstairs.

“It’s probably just as well,” Genevieve said, standing back and surveying the jammy graffiti with a sigh. “With Paisley as the prime suspect, you don’t want to become entangled in the investigation.”

“Paisley?” I shook my head. “How could an upset cat engineer a whole person disappearing?”

“Well, up until five minutes ago I’d say it’s your job to find out but now…” She patted my arm. “Just concentrate your energy on the other case. Who was it? Pru and Andrew?”

“Yes, but—”

“No buts, dear. Evelyn, it was good to see you again. Maybe one day, when this is all sorted out, you could try to attend a coven meeting. It’s been a while.”

She swept out the door and had the engine turned over before I remembered the supreme had given us a ride. “Wait.”

Patrick and I sprinted to catch her, with me managing to hook an arm through her open window before she got halfway down the drive. “Yes. What is it?”

Now out of earshot of Violet’s sister-in-law, I leant my entire upper body into the car. “Are you serious? There’s two—maybe three—poltergeists at work in Briarton all of a sudden, but we’re not allowed to investigate?”

“I didn’t say that. You can investigate Andrew all you like and if it turns out to be connected, which it almost assuredly will, then you can solve the mystery before Violet comes to any harm.”

Genevieve looked over her shoulder as Gareth and Wendy exited the house, appearing as confused as I felt. “It’ll be especially easy since you have two eye-witnesses living with you—or as close to an eyewitness as this case will get. And you have the prime suspect kipping on your sofa. How much more do you need to get started with?”

“But didn’t