The Trouble With Witches (39 page)
"Okay, let me get this straight." I glanced over at Rick. "Juliet was behind all of this the whole time?"
Darci
, Abby, Rick, and I had stepped out of
Tink's
room while the doctor checked her over. We sat in the waiting room, drinking what seemed our tenth cup of coffee. The sheriff had already taken our statements, and Brandi's grateful parents had arrived. After spending the night at the hospital with
Tink
, I felt punchy and unable to comprehend the simplest of ideas. And God only knew
,
there had been nothing simple about the past few days.
"That's right. She held Brandi down in the boat-house, with the help of Winnie. Where, by the way, the sheriff found an axe with blood on it and some hair. They won't know for sure until the forensics comes back, but they're reasonably certain the axe was used to kill Duane Hobbs."
"Juliet?"
He nodded. "Walks
Quietly
identified the axe as his. My guess is Juliet stole it and intended to frame him for it, but things happened too fast. She didn't have time."
"Will they get fingerprints?" I asked.
"Sure."
"And she killed her sister?"
"Yeah.
Tink
still doesn't remember that day clearly, but Jason has already talked to the sheriff about it. They're going to reopen the investigation into the fire that killed Violet, and Mona, too."
My mouth dropped open. "You're kidding me."
"Nope."
Rick scratched his beard. "The arson investigator always thought there was something not quite right about the fire, but couldn't prove anything."
"But now they can?" I asked.
"Maybe.
It's been a long time. We'll see." Rick let his head fall back against the couch. "Even if they don't, Juliet's going to be locked away for a long time. Either in a mental institution or prison," he said, and closed his eyes.
I zeroed in on Abby. "What do you think her plans for Brandi were?"
"Human sacrifice—"
Darci
made a gargled sound.
"Afraid so," she said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Evil demands evil."
"But it's gone now, right?" I tried to keep the desperate note out of my voice.
She smiled reassuringly and patted my knee. "This evil is, but there's always more out there."
I didn't like the sound of that.
"Oh, don't worry about it." She wiggled back in her chair. "Whatever happens, we'll deal with it."
Darci
nudged Rick. "Is the sheriff going to charge Jason?"
"Don't know," Rick replied in a weary voice. "He's in custody now. He swears he didn't know what Juliet was doing, and he has proof he was in Brainerd yesterday afternoon. He did admit he knew Juliet wasn't well, that she'd been acting strange. That's why he disbanded the group a couple of nights ago and told them all to leave. The sheriff is rounding them up for questioning, too." He exhaled slowly. "Too bad Winnie slipped away during all the commotion. She knows the answers to a lot of these questions."
I shuddered, remembering Winnie and her beady little eyes staring at me down the barrel of her gun. "I don't care if they do find her. I certainly hope I never see her again."
A smile flickered across Abby's face, and she patted my knee again.
"What?" I narrowed my eyes at her. "Do you know something I don't?"
Abby radiated calm. "I said we'll deal with it."
"Oh peachy," I muttered to myself. "More circles to be closed."
Abby sat forward. "There's one question you haven't asked, Ophelia."
"What's that?" I asked, puzzled.
"What's going to happen to
Tink
?"
"Oh man," I groaned. "Her guardians are both locked up. Will they put her in foster care?"
"They'll have to," Rick said, his head still tipped back.
Sadness squeezed my heart.
"With people who don't have a clue how to help her with her talents."
"We could help her," Abby said in a soft voice.
I jerked forward.
"Us?
Foster parents?"
Abby chuckled. "Not me, dear, I'm too old. But you could do it. Take
Tink
back to
Momentarily robbed of speech, I searched my mind for something, anything, to say. I thought about Brandi. From what Rick had told me at the beginning, Brandi never belonged, never fit in. And look where those feeling had led her. As
Tink
grew older, she'd feel the same way. Without those around her who understood her special gifts, she'd always be an outsider. I'd been lucky—I'd had Abby to help me. Could I help
Tink
?
I sighed. "Even if I thought I could do it, Social Services wouldn't let us take her out of state."
Rick sat up. "I could put in a good word for you, and I can see if my editor might pull a few strings. Get you some recommendations they can't ignore. He has friends in high places," he said with a wink. "Stranger things have happened."
I snorted. He had that right.
Moving my eyes from face to face, I looked at these wonderful people. Each one had a place in my heart, but for different reasons.
Darci
and Rick for their friendship in spite of my prickly ways. And my beloved grandmother, whose unconditional love I'd relied on all of my life. I knew I could count on them, anytime, anywhere. And deep inside, it felt right to want to give back some of that caring and love to a young girl as alone as
Tink
.
I lifted my chin and looked Abby
square
in the eye. "Let's go for it."
"I'm proud of you, Ophelia Jensen," a voice behind me said.
I whipped around to see Walks Quietly standing in the corridor. "What do you mean?"
"I talked to your grandmother, and she said you want to take the little one home with you."
A hot blush crept up my neck. "Yeah, I think Abby and I can help her."
"I think she can help
you
, Ophelia. It is not right for people to be alone."
"Oh yeah," I said, cocking my head at him. "What about you? You've been alone."
"You're right." He nodded, his brown eyes twinkling. "I might have to reconsider some things."
I laid a hand on his arm. "Does that mean you might visit us in
He placed his hand on his heart and gave his head a slight bow. "Thank you. That will be one of the things I consider."
He turned to walk away, but I stopped him.
"I do have one question for you. I saw you in the clearing yesterday, and you had a wolf, a badger, and a snow owl with you. I didn't know you had any wild animals as pets."
"I don't. A wolf, a badger, and a snow owl are my spirit guides."
"I saw you, and them," I said, pointing a finger at him. "But
Darci
didn't. How did that happen?"
He twitched his shoulder. "I wasn't there."
My eyes narrowed. "Yes, you were."
A smile played at the corner of his mouth. "When, you return home, Ophelia, read about spirit walks." He turned on his heel and walked a few paces down the hallway. Turning around, he faced me again. "One last thing—when you are troubled, look to the sky and a hawk will guide you."
I sat on the edge of
Tink's
bed and watched her. She plucked at the blanket with her bandaged hands.
"Am I going to like
"I hope so. You'll have Lady and
Queenie
around all the time—"
"And you," she said with a shy glance at me.
I chuckled.
"Yeah, and me.
But there might be some people who would argue that's not such a great deal." I paused. "Listen, kid, I've never raised a child, so I don't know much about being a parent. But I think we can both figure things out as we go along. Are you okay with that?"
"Sure." She smiled. "This is going to be kind of cool. Since my mom died, I've never really had a family." Her smile vanished. "With Juliet and Jason, I always felt like I was in their way. Hey," she said, her face lightening, "can I have friends?"
"Sure," I said with a grin. "Friends are a great thing to have. Just no wild parties, okay?"
She rolled her eyes. "Okay."
"And," I said, smoothing her hair, "I've already invited Walks Quietly to come to
She threw her arms around my neck. "You're the best, Ophelia."
"Yeah, well, we'll see how long you think that," I said with a smile, and hugged her back.
Just like Abby had hugged me so many times when I was growing up.
This felt right. Everything was going to work out.
Setting
Tink
back against the pillows, I tucked her blankets around her.
"When we get back,
Darci's
going to take you shopping for clothes.
No more white stuff. And—"
The door swung open and Abby stuck her head in the room. "Excuse me, but Mrs. Sanford from Social Services wants to talk with us, Ophelia. She's waiting down the hall with Rick."
A look of fear crossed
Tink's
face.
"Don't worry," I said, standing. "Abby and I can be pretty persuasive. And with Rick there, too…" I threw my hand in the air. "He can charm the socks off somebody without even taking off their shoes." I gave her a wink. "Mrs. Sanford doesn't stand a chance."
I moved to the door, but paused. Turning around, I looked at
Tink
. "One thing I should probably know, before I talk to her—just in case she asks. What kind of name is
Tink
'?"
"It stands for
Tinkes
Belle," she said with a grin.
Oh my God, her mother had named her
Tinkes
Belle. What kind of a name is that to stick on a poor kid?
She saw the shocked look on my face, and her grin turned to a smile. "It's not my real name. It's a nickname."
"So what is your real name?"
Tink
inched her way up in the bed. "I've always been small for my age, so my mom told me that she decided she'd have to call me something else till I grew into my wings."
She folded her hands in her lap and lifted her head. A look of pride filled her incredible violet eyes, and I saw a glimpse of the woman she would one day be.
"My name is
Titania
."
Of course.
Her mother had named her well. I could think of no other for this child who, from the first moment I saw her, reminded me of a wood sprite.
Titania
—Queen of the Fairies.
