Prelude to a Witch by Amanda Lee (free novel reading sites TXT) 📕

“You rarely do,” I shot back.

“I don’t feel the need. If people were stupid in life, they’re going to be stupid in death. That’s simply how it is ... and you can tell that idiot Viola I said so.”

“Who is Viola?” Hannah asked.

“She’s the ghost that lives at the newspaper office,” I said. “She can’t help with this.”

“Because she’s an idiot,” Aunt Tillie reiterated.

“Because she’s outside of this,” I corrected. “I don’t know that any ghosts can help us. If I can’t see the enemy, they might not be able to either.”

“You could still try,” Landon suggested as he sat in his chair and collected my hand. “I know you’re uncomfortable bossing them around, but it’s worth a shot.”

“I don’t think I understand,” Hannah said, glancing between us. “What do you want her to do?”

Landon held my gaze rather than respond.

“I’m more than a witch,” I replied. “My ghostly abilities are ... enhanced.”

“Enhanced how?”

“She’s a necromancer,” Aunt Tillie said. “She can control ghosts. She wasn’t always able to — or maybe she was and didn’t realize it — but now she can amass a ghost army to fight for us. It has come in handy.”

“For what?”

“We like to fight.” Aunt Tillie sent her a wink. “That’s a conversation for another time, though. If you want stories, I’ve got them.”

“And she’s good at telling them,” Landon said. “Some of them are even true.”

“Keep it up,” Aunt Tillie warned. “I’ll put you on my list.”

“If you make me smell like bacon, it’s not a hardship. Then I’ll just molest myself.”

Aunt Tillie rolled her eyes. “I’ll make you smell like liver and onions. Then Bay won’t come within twenty feet of you.”

“Yeah, I don’t want that.”

“I’ll hit you up for the stories later,” Hannah promised. “For now, we need to talk about what we’re going to do today.”

“What did you have in mind?” Landon asked as he pushed my glass of tomato juice toward me.

“You’re part of the team,” Chief Terry said. “Now that Agent Waters is in on the big secret, there’s no reason you can’t openly help us.”

“I was pretty sure there was something weird going on when you took her back to the scene with us yesterday,” Hannah said. “I’ve never known an FBI agent to take his girlfriend to a crime scene. I was curious enough that I read through some of Landon’s field reports from the last two years. Do you know how many times Bay’s name is mentioned?”

Landon shrugged. “It’s better to include her than get caught in a lie. Besides, it’s a small town and she’s a newspaper reporter. She’s with me all the time.”

“And she actually helps you,” Hannah agreed. “I don’t have a problem with it. A smart agent uses the weapons at his disposal. It sounds like Bay is a weapon.”

“She is,” Landon agreed. “She’s more than that, though. She’s my heart. I’m glad you’re on board, but I’ll still protect her with everything I have.”

“You won’t need to. I have no intention of hurting her.”

“That’s good.”

“It is,” Aunt Tillie agreed. “What’s the plan to figure out who’s doing this? We have to put our heads together if we want answers.”

“We?” Landon shot her a dubious look. “Since when are you part of the team?”

“Since I don’t want to be around Winnie the Whiner today. The best way to punish her is to deprive her of my company.”

I very much doubted my mother would consider that punishment. “You should stay out of it. You have revenge to dole out to Aunt Willa and Mrs. Little. Focus on that.”

“I can multitask. Besides, you might need me.”

I pressed my lips together, debating, and then nodded. “Okay, but only because I still don’t know what we’re dealing with.”

“Do you really think she can help?” Chief Terry asked.

“She is sitting right here,” Aunt Tillie snapped.

I ignored her. “She’s been around the block a few times. She can’t possibly hurt anything.”

“I believe the entire course of my career proves that wrong,” Chief Terry said dryly. “Still, if you want her on the team, given what happened last night ... .” He trailed off.

“What happened last night coincided with the storm. They could only attack when it turned dark. I don’t know why, but that has to be at the top of our list of things to figure out. Until we do, we’re stuck.”

“Then she’s in.” Chief Terry smiled for my benefit. “If we can stop you from getting hurt, that’s good enough for me.”

“And me.” Landon rubbed my back and focused on Aunt Tillie. “You have to do what you’re told for a change.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Aunt Tillie leaned to her left far enough that her bottom came off the cushion. That’s when I realized the leggings weren’t as harmless as I originally thought.

“Is that a clown’s face on your butt?” I asked.

She quickly sat back down and extended a finger in my direction. “Don’t even think about telling your mother.”

“But ... .”

“Don’t bother,” Landon said. “She’s going to do what she wants. If she wears those leggings, we’ll just tell anybody she weirds out that she’s senile. The leggings will sell it.”

He had a point. “Mom is still going to kill you when she finds out,” I warned.

Aunt Tillie’s smile was sly. “I’m actually looking forward to that.”

16

Sixteen

“I want to talk to Paisley’s friends,” Hannah said from her spot next to me in the backseat of Chief Terry’s vehicle. We’d gorged on eggs, hash browns and bacon, and were ready to hit the investigation hard.

“I don’t have a problem with that,” Chief Terry said. “I don’t know that they can offer anything.” He met my eyes in the rearview mirror. We hadn’t told Hannah about our previous run-in with the girls. It wasn’t by design, but her mentioning wanting to talk to them made me uncomfortable.

“Teenagers usually confide in friends, not parents. If Paisley really did have a boyfriend, it’s likely the