“Bubble, bubble, spark and flame,” the witch chants. “Whisper softly the cursed name. Ashes fall and shadows creep. Bind the secret, dark and deep.” The witch points her wand at us. “Hark! Who goes there? Speak, evil demons!”
“Um…” Willow holds up her hands. “We’re just here to check that you have an adequate amount of Christmas cheer.”
“Are you fuckers from the homeowners association? I swear to God—” The witch pulls her hood back, and Lenore glares at us. “My husband just died, and there’s snow all over everything. You can’t even see the grass. Oh, Willow, you work for the HOA now? Sold your soul, I see.”
“Er, no, just here trying to figure out what happened to Taylor Grace.” Willow grimaces. “The cops are all over me.”
“You too? Yeah, they’re after me as well. I’m like, you all waste so much taxpayer money, and yet the coroner still hasn’t actually done an autopsy on Jonah. It’s a scam they’re running down at city hall,” Lenore complains.
“Yeah, so we just wanted to see if Maris was here?”
“Now, why would she be here?” Lenore taps her wand on the cauldron.
“Well, you said she was a family friend.”
“Yeah, she’s at her grandmother’s house. She’s helping manage her Airbnb guests. I should probably rent this house out,” Lenore muses. “Jonah hated the Airbnb-ing. He wasconstantly calling the Christmas committee on people. It was so obnoxious.”
“Where does her grandmother live?” I ask.
“What, is he on something?” Lenore asks Willow, jerking her wand in my direction. “You dropped off Christmas treats at Mrs. Locke’s house earlier this week. I had one of your granny’s chocolate tarts. Amazing. I’d ask for the recipe, but I’m the worst cook.”
Back out on the street, Willow is deep in thought.
“Guess we’re going to Mrs. Locke’s house,” I say uncertainly.
Willow makes a noncommittal noise. She’s scrolling on her phone.
My stomach sinks. I thought what we’d shared earlier was the best thing ever, better than seeing the eight-figure number in my bank account, better than when one of my supervisors tried to call me out in a meeting and I got to correct that asshole in front of everyone. Does she regret it? Is she trying to communicate subtly that she made a mistake?
The sun is rising as we make our way to Mrs. Locke’s house. Willow knocks on the door.
“I don’t think she’s awake yet—”
“Willow, what a surprise!” Mrs. Locke beams. “And Hughes! Did you come to bring more Christmas goodies?”
“Actually,” Willow says, “we were looking for Maris.”
“Oh! She’s not been here tonight. I’m hoping that she was out with a boy. Her last marriage ended in divorce, poor thing. And no babies. I’m sure there’s a nice man in Harrogate for her.” The elderly woman beams at us. “I was hoping to gently nudge her in your direction, Hughes, but I see Beryl has beaten me to the punch. Invite me to the wedding, you two!” She pats my chest. “Maris should be back later. She texted and said she was going to try and bag a turkey for my snow garden party. She’s by the old Harrogate Estate, the one the Svenssons took over. Nowthere’s where she needs to find her future husband! I think they all come in for Christmas. A billionaire grandson-in-law. I could have a boat!”
“Willow,”I say as we drive silently out to where the industry titans of old built massive country estates with hundreds of acres of forested land. “Do you want to talk about—”
“Mrs. Locke’s name is on the list,” Willow interjects.
“What?”
“The list I got from the jeweler of who had earrings like these made.” She pulls it out of her pocket.
“The earring you found in your stall?” I blow out a breath. “Damn. Did we solve it?”
“I think we did.” Willow is grim.
“Shouldn’t we call the police?” I slow the car as I approach the trailhead.
“Maris knows how to hunt. She’s been gone for a while. She has the motive to kill Dr. Merriweather and Taylor Grace. She’s been on the lam since yesterday,” Willow reminds me. “She could be halfway to Australia by now. If we call the police and, for some reason, she hasn’t bolted yet, they’re just going to fumble it and spook her.”
She turns to me. “Do you have your recording device ready?”
I nod.
