Prelude to a Witch, Amanda Lee [ebook reader web txt] 📗

girls know more than they told you the first go-around. I’ve been trained in how to talk to teenagers.”

I shifted on my seat but said nothing.

“These girls have been mentioned in two case files in the past few weeks,” Hannah noted. “One of them was kidnapped, correct?”

“Actually, that’s not correct,” Landon replied. “The girl who disappeared showed up after a few days. It was all a plan that they cooked up together because they wanted Amelia’s parents to pay a ransom so they could run away together.”

“All the more reason to question them,” Hannah insisted. “If they were plotting that, maybe something else happened. Maybe they had another plan and it somehow went wrong.”

“That’s possible,” I said, “but I don’t know how probable it is. They don’t really remember their last plan, other than the basics.”

“Why is that?”

“I modified their memories.”

“I helped,” Aunt Tillie added. “In fact, I wanted to saddle them with a few nightmares along the way as payback, but Bay vetoed that.”

“You modified their memories?” Hannah looked perplexed. “May I ask why you did that?”

“They were collecting magic fragments from Hollow Creek and using them against us,” Aunt Tillie replied. “It was all borrowed magic, nothing to frighten us, but they could’ve terrorized the town with it.”

“That wasn’t in the report.” Hannah stared at her legs and shook her head. “How many of the cases Bay is mentioned in have magical ties, Landon?”

“Almost all of them,” Landon said. “Does it matter?”

“I’m just curious. It seems that Hemlock Cove is more magical than I realized.”

“Hemlock Cove is crawling with magic,” Aunt Tillie agreed.

“I wonder why.”

“Because we’re here.”

“The magic is attracted to you?”

“Magical beings are drawn to other magical beings. Bay’s abilities draw in ghosts. It’s not a big deal.”

“It feels like a big deal,” Hannah insisted. “You modified four teenagers’ memories.”

“And a perverted kissing booth owner,” I added.

“What?”

Landon sighed. “Thank you, Bay. I hadn’t included that part in my report.”

Whoops. “I ... didn’t know that.”

He glanced over his shoulder and offered me a half-smile. “It’s not the end of the world. All sorts of truths are coming out here.”

“Apparently so.” Hannah folded her arms across her chest. “Who is the perverted guy? And what is a kissing booth?”

Landon perked up markedly. “A kissing booth is the greatest invention this side of bacon. They have it at all the festivals. You get to take your significant other into a dark booth that smells like cinnamon rolls and make out with her.”

“That’s ... lovely. What do you do after that?”

“Get snacks,” Landon replied. “After you work up an appetite in the kissing booth you need to bolster yourself with elephant ears and chocolate.”

“Todd Lipscomb runs the kissing booth in Hemlock Cove,” I explained. “He was working with the girls on their plan.”

“Because he’s a pervert?”

“And he wanted money.”

“His part in the plot was harder to explain away,” Landon said. “That’s why I didn’t mention him in my report.”

“But he’s still running free,” Hannah prodded. “That can’t be safe with teenaged girls running around.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that.” Aunt Tillie was back to looking smug. “Bay did let me give him nightmares. If he even thinks about an underaged girl, he has dreams about giant spiders eating his sausage link.”

I shrugged when Hannah turned her questioning expression to me. “I don’t feel guilty about it, if that’s what you’re wondering. He had it coming. He claimed the girls terrorized him into helping, but I didn’t believe him.”

“Nobody believed him,” Landon said as we pulled into the driveway of Amelia’s house. “If you want to talk to the girls, they’re likely all here. Just be forewarned, they don’t remember everything that happened a few weeks ago. Bay left some of their memories purposely fuzzy.”

“Okay, well, I guess we’ll take it one step at a time.”

“These girls are manipulative,” I warned as Hannah unfastened her seatbelt. “They might not remember everything that happened — we wanted to carve the magical memories out of their heads and leave as much of the rest as possible — but that doesn’t mean they won’t try to bamboozle you.”

“I’ve dealt with teenagers before,” Hannah reassured me. “Once we’re done talking to the girls, I wouldn’t mind seeing this spot with the magical fragments you mentioned.”

“Sure.” Landon opened my door and helped me out. “I don’t know how Hollow Creek can help us on this case, but I’m willing to try anything at this point.”

AMELIA, SOPHIE AND EMMA WERE GATHERED around the television. Tina showed us into the living room and then left, which I found strange. She hadn’t even asked why we wanted to talk to the girls this time. One look at Hannah told me she found it equally interesting.

“Girls, this is Agent Hannah Waters,” Chief Terry began. “She’s with the FBI. She’s here to help us with Paisley’s case.”

“Another FBI agent?” Emma’s eyes widened. “I didn’t know two could be on the same case.”

“I’m a different type of FBI agent,” Hannah explained as she sat at the table across from them. “I’m a profiler. Do you know what that is?”

“It’s like that show,” Amelia replied, her eyes glued to the television. Some reality show I didn’t recognize was airing, and she seemed completely disinterested in the conversation. “That one with the hot guy on it.”

“Shemar Moore,” I supplied.

Amelia shrugged. “If you say so.”

Chief Terry leaned over and snagged the remote from Amelia before she could protest and killed the television. “Focus on Agent Waters,” he ordered. “She’s a professional here to help us figure out who murdered your friend. Show some respect.”

If he’d pinned me with that same look when I was the girls’ age I would’ve burst into tears and begged his forgiveness. Amelia and her cohorts were different.

“You’re not my father,” Amelia challenged. “This is my house.”

“Paisley is dead,” Chief Terry shot back. “Don’t you want to help us figure out who killed her?”

“We don’t know who killed her,” Sophie insisted. She, at least, showed a modicum of emotion. I had a feeling,