Some Like It Witchy (24 page)

T
he following Wednesday evening, it was standing room only in the meeting room at the Enchanted Village Public Library.

Villagers were sandwiched into the small space to witness the first vote under the guidance of the brand-new village council president.

Ve sat dead center at a long table on the dais, banging a gavel and looking like she was loving every second of it. Two council members sat on her left, and two to her right. A brand-new nameplate in front of her read V
ELMA
D
EVANY,
C
HAIRWOMAN
.

Sylar thumbed his white mustache as he pouted in the back row, and Dorothy had skipped the meeting altogether. Starla and Vince sat together at the far end of the room, and I was happy to see he wasn't still wearing the neck collar.

Ve glowed with happiness, but her ebullience belied the fact that she'd barely slept the past few days.

None of us had, really.

The whole village was on edge, because there was a manhunt under way. For Finn Reardon.

“Is it me,” Mimi whispered, “or is she banging that gavel more than necessary?”

We were leaning against the wall at the back of the room. “Definitely more than necessary.” If Ve had followed
protocol, there would be only one bang. One single solitary bang. Not seven.

The room quieted, and the meeting began. Fifteen minutes in, and it felt interminable due to the numerous recitations of committee reports. Harper had been dismayed that she couldn't make the meeting—she didn't have anyone to cover the shop—but right at this moment, I thought she was the lucky one.

I fought a yawn as my gaze skipped over the faces in the room. Looking, looking, looking for red hair and deceptive blue eyes.

Finn Reardon was the grandson of Lawcrafter Felix “Flip” Blackburn.

He'd been more than willing to speak to Nick when he believed it was just to help clear Calliope's name.

He'd become fidgety when Nick asked him about his grandfather, but his answers corroborated what we'd learned from searching online databases.

Felix Blackburn had left the village a few months after the heist, taking a job offer from a law firm in the western part of the state. In a matter of years, he was a shell of a man, falling victim to paranoid delusions and alcohol. He committed suicide long before Finn was born. His family fell on hard times, barely making ends meet and having to rely on state assistance.

Mrs. P and Pepe had filled in some blanks as well. Like the fact that Felix had been married to a mortal and hadn't told her of his powers. It was entirely possible that Finn had no idea he was a Crafter.

“I call for a vote on the motion of the proposed neighborhood on the northeast tract of the Enchanted Woods,” one of the council members said, continuing to read particulars from a piece of paper in front of him.

“Seconded,” another chimed in.

Finn had bolted when Nick asked him about his grandfather's link to the heist. He managed to escape into the
Enchanted Woods. Nick recognized Finn's gait as the intruder he'd chased the night Harper and I had stumbled across a Vaporcrafting Scott Abramson.

It had been four days and the police force had been scouring the woods for any trace of him.

So far, nothing had been found, but none of us believed he'd gone far. He wanted the diamonds. I could only imagine how it had been growing up knowing his grandfather had participated in the biggest diamond heist in the country and had come away with nothing more than mental issues and an alcohol problem.

And Finn had to have known. There was no other explanation for how he'd ended up with Calliope, here in the village. Nick speculated that Finn kept his true identity secret while looking for the diamonds—and so that he could collect the reward for finding them.

“Let's vote,” Ve said. “Councilwoman Merrell?”

“This is so exciting,” Mimi said, her eyes bright.

“For,” the councilwoman said.

A boo rippled through the crowd, the loudest one coming from next to me.

“Sorry,” Mimi said when I raised my eyebrows at her. “I got carried away.”

It was easy to do.

Ve called on a councilman to her left.

“Against,” he said.

Clapping filled the air, which Ve quieted with more banging from her gavel.

I was beginning to hate that thing.

The door opened, and someone edged into the room, looking for a place to stand. Glinda.

“Councilwoman Crane?” Ve said.

“Against,” she said.

More clapping.

Ve looked to the man on her left. “Councilman Pallotta?”

“For,” he said.

More booing.

“Chairwoman Devany?” Councilwoman Crane asked.

Ve smiled. “Against.”

The room erupted in cheers. Mimi grabbed me and we jumped up and down, spinning around.

Ve quickly called an end to the meeting, and I noticed Sylar stand up and start shaking hands. I had a feeling he was already planting seeds for the next election.

“I'm going to go see Ve,” Mimi said.

“Go, go,” I said, but she'd already threaded her way into the crowd.

I glanced at Glinda and moseyed over to her. She flicked a glance at me, sighed.

“It's good to see you, too,” I said. If she was still following me around, she was doing a better job at staying hidden. “I was just wondering how Calliope's doing.”

“About as well as you'd expect after finding out that the man you love stalked you, pretended to love you, used you . . . We just found out that Finn didn't start out at Boston College. He applied to transfer there shortly after Calliope started grad school.”

I recalled the way Finn had looked at Calliope. I didn't think the love was pretend. Oh, maybe it started that way, but at some point it became real. Andreus would scoff at me for thinking so, but I knew what I'd seen.

“Andreus tracked down Finn's mother earlier today,” Glinda said.

She was talking to me, but she was watching Mimi.

“Turns out the hatred for the Woodshall family runs deep,” she continued. “Finn's mother was more than happy to tell the sad tale of Felix Blackburn and how he'd moved away in fear that his role in the heist would be uncovered. Not long after, he started believing people were watching him, spying on him. He turned to the bottle that ultimately led to his demise. The family kept tabs on the Woodshalls—all of them, including Zara—in hopes that one day they
would lead them to the diamonds so they could collect their fair share. It was Finn's idea to get closer to Calliope to keep personal tabs. He waited until Zara died because he thought she might recognize him as a Blackburn.”

“Yikes,” I said.

“I believe that's the PG version of Andreus's reaction. Finn's mother chased him out of her house with a frying pan. Cussing him out the whole time.”

I would've liked to have seen that.

“Finn had access to Calliope's smartphone, which held the lockbox code and Raina's schedule.” She glanced at me. “He knew Calliope had given Raina the Myrian charm, though she had told him it was nothing more than a good luck charm of her mother's. He's probably been slipping in and out of the Tavistock house since it went on sale. If Raina hadn't shown up extra early that day . . .”

“Nick confirmed yesterday that Finn bought a pry bar at a hardware store in Peabody a few weeks ago. He's hoping Finn left some sort of DNA on it to definitively tie him to the crime.”

Glinda nodded. “I hope so, too. Because even if he hadn't planned on killing Raina, he certainly used the opportunity to blame Andreus for the crime. He wanted him to go to jail.” She glanced at her watch. “I'll see you around.”

She turned to go, and I touched her shoulder. “Andreus isn't going to stop looking for those diamonds, is he?”

Giving me a small smile, she said, “Not as long as he's breathing.”

I watched her walk out. I felt for the new homeowners of the Tavistock house and wondered how Andreus planned to insinuate himself into their lives.

When I turned back around, I found Starla and Vince headed my way. Her eyebrow was lifted. “What was that all about?”

“Andreus,” I said.

Vince shuddered. “He's creepy.”

“Oh yeah.” I waved a hand. “It was nothing, though.”

Nothing I could talk about in front of Vince at least.

Starla's eyes widened with understanding. “That's good. We're just about to head to dinner. That cute little Italian place on the waterfront. Do you guys want to come with us?”

I glanced over her shoulder at Ve and Mimi. They were chatting with everyone and anyone. “I don't know how long we'll be here, so we better pass.” Plus, I didn't want to risk that she'd be the one driving. “But thanks. Have fun.”

Starla gave my arm a squeeze and said, “I'll call you later.”

It took another half hour for the room to finally clear. I glanced at my watch. Almost seven. My stomach rumbled and I debated what to have for dinner. Something I could order in . . . “What do you think?” I asked as Ve turned off the lights behind us. “Chinese food? Pizza?”

“Pizza, definitely,” Mimi said. “Pepperoni. I'm
starving
.”

I dug my phone out of my pocket. “Is that okay with you, Aunt Ve? I can call . . .”

Ve had leaned against the wall in the hallway, suddenly looking very deflated, all traces of her earlier happiness gone. “Actually, Darcy dear, can we hold off on supper for a bit? There's something I need to do.
We
need to do.”

“What's wrong?” I asked, instantly alarmed by the look in her eye. “Are you okay?”

She smiled wanly. “I'm fine. My heart is heavy, is all.”

“Why?” Mimi asked. “Because of Finn?”

“Good God, no. A pox on him.
Patooey.
”

I smiled despite myself. “Then why?”

“Because doing the right thing is sometimes the hardest thing to do. And as much as I want to keep putting this off, I can't. It's time.” Ve pulled herself off the wall and took a deep breath. “So, hup, hup, let's go.”

“I'm confused,” Mimi said.

Was this about the conversation I'd overheard between her and the Elder the other day? The conversation I believed to be about me? Ve's somber tone was the same. My heart started to race.

“Come with me,” Ve said, herding us along.

“What's going on?” I asked.

“You'll see soon enough,” she said evasively.

Mimi was staring at me. I shrugged.

Now that Ve had apparently made up her mind to get whatever this was over with, she walked like a woman on a mission.

We followed her like two ducklings behind their mama across the green. It was a beautiful night. Sunset wasn't for another half hour or so, and the sky was the most beautiful mix of blue and pink. I heard the call of the mourning dove mixed in with the
chick-chick
s of the cardinals and the shriek of the blue jays. We crossed the street near As You Wish, marched past Terry's, and up the pathway to the Tavistock house.

A breeze rustled the leaves of the big oak tree and the soffits groaned. “Why are we here?” I asked.

Ve pulled a set of keys from her pocket. “Because, Darcy, darling, it's time for you to have a home of your own. It's what your mom would have wanted. For you to be settled.”

Tears suddenly filled my eyes as she placed the keys into
the palm of my hand and curled my fingers around them. “I don't understand. Why? How? I'm settled.”

Mimi looked between us, blinking owlishly.

Ve's voice was strained as she said, “Once upon a time, your mother started a business right here in the village. It became very successful, and she was very happy here until she met the most wonderful man, a man who swept her off her feet. She followed her heart, taking her away from the only home she ever knew, and she left the care of her precious company in my charge. When she died, as per the wishes in her will, As You Wish was placed into a trust to be held until its trustee deemed it time to turn it over to its rightful owner. The time has come to turn it over to you. Where it belongs. Where it's always belonged.”

Admittedly, I had wanted information about my mother's past but this all felt . . . too much. I wasn't sure I was ready to hear all Ve had to say.

Tears spilled down my cheeks. “As You Wish is
mine
? What about Harper?”

Ve said, “Your mother died before she could change her will to include Harper, but I know you'll do what's right by her. You always have. This,” she said, sweeping a hand toward the Tavistock house, “will be the new location for As You Wish. As your trustee, I signed papers Saturday morning. It's yours.”

Mimi grabbed my hand, squeezed it tight.

Suddenly, Andreus not being worried about the new owner looking for the diamonds made perfect sense. Calliope had told him Ve bought the house. He'd probably done a happy dance.

And, oh! It also explained why Ve hadn't been worried about Dorothy suing her and taking As You Wish—it hadn't been Ve's to give.

“What about you?” I asked, feeling oddly panicked instead of happy. “You're As You Wish. Not me. I just work there. I can't do this alone.”

She cupped my face. “Such lies. For the past year, your heart has been in that company more than mine. As it should be. It was always your mother's company. I was just its keeper until you were ready.”

Looking at the house through my tears, I could hardly believe what was happening.

It was mine.

Home.

Ve smiled at me with such love that I nearly crumpled. “I
was
As You Wish. You
are
As You Wish.”

I swiped tears from my face.

“Besides, we both know that I won't have the time to put into the business now that I've been elected. I've been half-assing my duties since I announced I was running.” She glanced at Mimi. “Pardon my language. You've done an amazing job on your own, Darcy.”