Beatrice Twiggs cannot tell a lie. It is not in her. Even at the risk of incriminating herself, she stared at Detective Willows. “What is this about, Butch?”
“There was an incident at the county morgue last night. We checked the traffic camera on the street, and your car was parked out in front of the morgue. Were you driving it?”
“Yes, I was, Butch.”
“Why were you at the morgue last night?”
“I went to see Mrs. Lund’s body.”
“Why did you do that?”
I held my breath waiting to hear Mrs. Twiggs’ response.
“Because she was killed with a silver sword. I thought she might be a witch,” Mrs. Twiggs said.
Detective Willows burst out laughing. “Oh, Beatrice, you are a card.”
“Butch, look around you. I’ve spent the past ten years collecting vintage books, tales of the occult, spell books. I have healing stones, special herbs, and love potions. When June Loblolly told me the colonel’s sword was pure silver, I thought that whoever killed Mrs. Lund believed she was a witch and that was the only way to end her existence.”
“Beatrice, I don’t believe the witch part, but I do believe she was murdered. I don’t think a mannequin would just accidentally fall over and land on top of her, stabbing a sword through her heart. However, without a body, I can’t prove murder.”
“What are you saying?” Mrs. Twiggs asked, hiding her knowledge of the missing Mrs. Lund.
“I’m saying Mrs. Lund’s body is missing from the morgue. The security guard has no record of anyone entering the building. I checked the surveillance tapes, and nobody came in or out last night. And I checked back several days, and Mrs. Lund certainly did not walk out of the building. I had to ask you why you were in the area.” He paused for a moment. “Beatrice, it’s more than Mrs. Lund. There been a lot of unusual activity.”
“What do you mean, Butch?”
“At the cemetery by the River Arts District, headstones have been knocked over and graves dug up,” Butch said. This was new to me. I hadn’t known any of this was happening. He continued, “I wrote it off as kids getting into mischief but then the 911 calls started coming in reporting floating orbs in the woods, flickering lights, and whispers at city hall.”
“Is there something you’re not telling me, Butch?”
“Beatrice, I wouldn’t say this to anyone else but you. But I could have sworn I saw Annabelle. It was a flash of her out of the corner of my eye. I was walking down Biltmore Avenue in broad daylight, and I swore I saw her walking in the crowd.”
“Butch, that’s not so unusual. You miss her and think about her.” Mrs. Twiggs reached over and took his hand.
“No, it’s more than that. It was her. She didn’t turn around, but I know that profile. I know the back of her head. I know the way she walks. It was her, Beatrice. I haven’t told anyone else because they would think I was crazy or senile, but I knew you would understand with all the books you’ve read on the paranormal.”
Mrs. Twiggs released his hand and sat back. “Butch, there’s a lot more unnatural in this world than the natural. I believe our spirit moves on but also leaves traces of who we were. It’s possible that your wife wasn’t ready to move on. She misses you and is looking for you.”
Butch stared at the empty frame over the cash register. “Where’s your picture of Albert?”
“It fell and broke.”
“Do you ever have the feeling like he’s watching over you?”
“Yes, all the time.”
“That’s all I came to say.” He slid the chair back from the table and stood.
“Hold on just a minute.” She walked over to the counter that was filled with healing stones. She handed him a milky light green stone. “This is apophyllite. It will connect you with spirits.” She then handed him a clear stone. “This is clear quartz. It is the ultimate amplifier. It boosts the energy of any crystal you use. When you see Annabelle, even a glimpse of her, hold up the quartz. You’ll be able to look at her directly through the stone. She’ll be drawn to it. It will help lift the veil between you two.”
“I’m not buying into this.” He shook his head and then grabbed the stones, putting them in his pocket.
Mrs. Twiggs interrupted. “You miss her deeply. I know, Butch. Keep the stones in your pocket. No one has to know.”
He gave her a half smile. As he walked out, he reached over and petted my head. His plump big fingers nearly knocked me over, but I could tell he was a kind soul. Still I pulled away. I leaped up on the end table and said, “Mrs. Twiggs.”
“I know, Terra. How do we stop the black magic that’s awakening? What creatures are coming? What creatures are real? I’ve read every book on the supernatural and on monsters and myth. What is true, Terra?”
“There’s a little bit of truth in all those books. The monsters are the ones we create from our dark sides. They feed off our jealousies, our anger. They feed off those emotions. We put that negative energy out into the universe, and then it comes back to destroy us, but just as that negative energy comes back so does the good energy. We have to find our army, Mrs. Twiggs. The battle is coming.”
The silver bell above the door jingled. We both glanced toward the door to see Abigail and Charlotte come in. They were both wearing green army jackets. Abigail was carrying Pixel, Tracker by her side. “Mrs. Twiggs, check out what Char and I picked up at the thrift store. Pretty authentic, what do you think?” Abigail spun around, showing off her jacket.
Chapter 28
Fahrenheit 451
It was suppertime, and Mrs. Twiggs had once again made honey-baked ham, Pixel’s favorite. He was on his second, no, third helping. Charlotte and Abigail chattered throughout dinner while Mrs. Twiggs sat in contemplation. I also pondered the recent events and maintained my own counsel.
“So, Mrs. Twiggs, Abigail told me about Albert. Is it true that he’s a ghost?” Charlotte asked.
Mrs. Twiggs picked up the serving platter with the remaining ham. Without saying a word, she carried it into the kitchen.
“Terra, what’s wrong?” Abigail asked.
“Albert’s missing.”
“What do you mean missing?”
“He was taken.”
“Taken by whom, Terra?”
“By the same apparitions that tried to kill Mrs. Lund.”
“What do you mean tried to kill? She had a saber plunged through her heart,” Abigail said.
“Mrs. Twiggs and I went to examine her body at the morgue, and it was gone.”
“What happened to it?”
“Mrs. Lund was neither a witch nor a human.”
“What does that leave, Terra?”
“That’s what we’re trying to find out tonight. Don’t speak of Albert. Mrs. Twiggs is very worried about him as am I.”
Abigail sat back in her chair. She put her iPhone down on the table. In a matter of a few minutes I saw her turn from a carefree teenager into the adult witch. The gravity of my words settled hard upon her. She had been avoiding the inevitable. She was the leader of us all; only she could protect us from what was coming. She had been running from that responsibility. “Terra, what can I do?”
“You can get back to studying your spell books and concentrate on sharpening your powers.”
“Yes of course. What about Albert? What can we do for him?”
“Help Mrs. Twiggs make the premonition potion and be careful with the hogweed. I don’t trust the dependability of Mrs. Owen’s wares. They are more powerful than she lets on,” I cautioned her.
“Yes of course.”
“Abigail what’s going on? It sounds serious,” Charlotte said. It was then I realized that she had been listening to half the conversation. I had forgotten she couldn’t understand me.
“Charlotte, maybe you should go stay at the estate,” Abigail said.
“I’m not going back there.”