It didn’t matter. There was no time to think about that. What I needed to focus on was the fact that the killer or killers stood only feet away.
My gaze flickered around the room. In one corner a baseball bat leaned against the wall. Trying to be as silent as possible, I tiptoed over, snatched it and sneaked back to the door.
Scratching came from the other side. It was almost like a tapping, as if the person whose shadow cut across the glass was ticking their nail against the knob to see how it worked.
My heart jacked up, and sweat sprouted on my forehead. I inhaled a deep breath and waited for the door to open.
Yes, I know that I held a baseball bat and that I could use magic to attack instead, but I wasn’t comfortable with that. After all, my magic worked by charging up. It would be risky to just throw my arm out and touch whoever stepped over the threshold. What if they sliced my arm with a knife? What if they shot me with a gun?
Those were not good future events.
The baseball bat felt slick in my hands. Great. I was sweating so badly that when the killer entered, the bat would probably fly right out of my grasp and go through a window.
So I tightened my grip and held my breath as the knob turned. They moved slowly, whoever they were, taking their time to open the door wide.
More whispers sounded from the porch. Oh no, it was probably the entire unionized wizard mafia come to the house. How could I fight so many folks? Georgie had magic, and I was certain Sykes Laffoon did, too.
The shadow stepped forward, and a head popped into view. I saw a flash of blue hair and glasses and exhaled sharply.
Malene heard me exhale, and her head snapped in my direction. She took one look at me holding the bat and screamed.
The look on her face shocked me, and I yelled, too, dropping the bat, which then hit me on the foot. My toes throbbed in pain and I kept yelling. Then suddenly the entire quilting bee appeared in Sadie’s house with knitting needles raised and pointed at me, as if they were about to gouge out my eyes.
I screeched and stumbled back, falling onto the floor. My rear end connected painfully and sharp pain flared up my back.
Malene threw her hands out. “Everyone stop screaming!”
The room quieted. Norma Ray and Urleen dropped the needles back into their purses.
Malene glared at me, both fists on her hips. “Clementine Cooke, what in the world are you doing snooping around Sadie’s place?”
I slowly rose, my foot and back throbbing. “I came by to see if Sadie had stashed any loot here.” I pointed to them. “What are y’all doing, and why were you aiming knitting needles at me?”
Urleen sniffed. “We keep them for protection. You can’t expect us not to protect ourselves.”
“No, I suppose not.” My gaze cut to Malene. “What’re y’all doing here, anyway?”
“We were walking by and saw a shadow in the house. We figured somebody was in here and up to no good, so we decided to investigate.”
“You almost gouged out my eyes,” I said sharply.
Malene smirked. “You’re being dramatic. No one almost did that.” She surveyed the house. “Why’re you looking for money?”
“Because I’m broke and Sadie stole it. All of it.”
Norma Ray patted my hand before brushing past me. “Come on into the kitchen. I’ll put on a pot of coffee, and you can tell us all about it.”
A few minutes and an empty pot of coffee later, the women had the entire story about the money and Sadie’s lies.
“What I can’t figure out is why she was still stealing,” I said. “Her mother was well and had been.”
Malene’s mouth pinched into an expression that I wouldn’t quite call a frown, but it was definitely more than a thin line. “Like mother, like daughter.”
I scowled. “I really don’t think Sadie was stealing for her own evil purposes.”
Malene pointed toward the house. “Then where’s the money?”
“That’s why we have to find the killer.” I took another sip of coffee, trying to find a way to gently raise a subject that I wasn’t sure Malene would talk about. “I met Sadie’s mom, Hannah, and found out why folks hate her.”
