The Witch Is Back Chapter Four
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CHAPTER FOUR
“HOW DARE YOU show up at my door?” Gigi screeched. “Hide the guns, hide my broom, and poison. The fuzz is here.” She bellowed over her shoulder.
I saw Jake, well, Sheriff Montgomery, standing at the front door. I regarded him as I came to stand next to Gigi. I hadn’t seen him in his uniform before, and it did not disappoint.
He made the old saying ‘women love a man in a uniform’ true. Jake was always ruggedly handsome, but something changed over the years. He was still tall, of course, about six feet three, but now he probably weighed around two hundred twenty pounds, and it was pure muscle. His skin was more bronzed than before, he had tiny lines around his eyes, and his dark hair was now cropped short. But it was more than his looks. His brooding demeanor, while annoying, was somehow sexy too.
“Should I turn around?” Jake interrupted my thoughts. It wasn’t until then that it hit me; I had been eyeing him from head to toe with what I could only imagine was a lustful look on my face.
“Why are you here?” I snapped, pulling myself out of my wanton filled thoughts.
He lifted his hands in surrender. “I’m not here to fight.”
“Nice shiner.” Gigi snorted.
“Yeah, a crazy old bat flew into my eye.” Jake deadpanned.
“Who are you calling old?” She asked in faux shock.
“I see you don’t deny crazy.” He smirked.
“Watch it copper, or you’ll have more than a blackeye to worry about.” Gigi goaded.
Jake rolled his eyes, cracking his neck. “Look, I came to talk to your daughter; I have some questions. I need her help since we saw how well it turned out, asking you for help.”
“Let him in, Gigi.” Moving around her, I opened the screen door. “Come in; Aunt Endora is at the café, though.”
“You’re tied at the top of the curse list, missy.” She snapped. Her bright blue eyes looked particularly icy.
“Great,” I muttered. Gigi was so going to curse me because of this. Just freaking awesome.
“Are your sisters here?” Jake asked, looking around.
“No, everyone is at Lore and More. It’s just Gigi and me this morning.” I replied, leading him to the kitchen.
He exhaled. “Since I’m here, mind if I ask you a couple of questions?”
Gigi ignored him and started to veer off to the stairs, but I snatched her by the cuff of her sleeve. “We are having tea in the kitchen, Gigi, and you are joining us.”
“Do you see how I’m treated? I’m an old woman and look at her manhandling me.” Gigi wrenched her arm from me. “You should lock her up.” She pleaded with Jake.
“Maybe I should.” He chuckled.
I glared over my shoulder at him.
Gigi nodded profusely. “Cuff her, Dano.”
“I’ve tried that before. She never really liked it.” He replied straight-faced.
“What, are you into that MSBD?” she asked, completely serious.
“You mean BDSM.” He sighed.
Gigi scoffed at him. “Whatever that Fifty Shades movie was about? Are you into that?” She looked over at me. “How about you, missy, you into the kink?”
Thank goodness Jake was behind me, so he could not see my face. I’m sure it turned fifty shades of red.
“Good question. How about it Tabby, are you into the kink now?” He chuckled.
“Lord help me,” I whined, dragging her down the hall until we made it to the kitchen. “Have a seat, and I’ll make a pot of tea.”
“Mrs. Ashworth, I was told Mrs. Peterson was seen at the café on the morning of her death, and the two of you had words. What did you two argue about?” Jake asked, incredibly professional.
“Boy, you’ve called me Gigi since you started dating that one.” She waved her hand in my direction.
“We’re not dating,” I denied a bit too quickly. Great, that made me look stupid.
“No one said you were. Not everything is about you, girly.” Shaking her head, she explained. “She was always the self-absorbed one. Anyway, like I was saying, no reason to stop now. It’s not like you had me arrested for tapping your eye or anything.” Gigi stated, blasé.
Jake’s eyes flashed with irritation and maybe a hint of embarrassment. “For the millionth time, I did not have you arrested.”
I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing. “She is never letting that go.”
Jake sighed. “I know.”
“Gigi, just answer his questions so that he can go.” That came out way bitchier than I meant it to, but Jake had me feeling like I was seventeen again. It was throwing me off balance.
His face dropped, and a bit of guilt crept into my stomach, but not enough to apologize. Besides, he was dating Natalie, my mortal enemy. He was lucky I let him through the door.
“Gigi, what did you argue about with Mrs. Peterson?” He tried again.
Ignoring his question, she turned to me. “See, he is accusing me.”
I’m not going to lie; it seems like he thinks she had something to do with the murder or at least thought she had a motive. “I thought you had questions about the symbols?” I asked.
Gigi interrupted, “Why isn’t Barney Fife here?”
Jake rolled his eyes. “Deputy White is looking into other leads. I thought it would be easier for everyone if I talked to you.” He looked up at me when I handed him a cup of tea.
Not easier for everyone. Not easier for me. Of course, Gigi had to make this even more awkward by adding her two cents. “You just wanted to see Tabitha.”
“Gigi, this is his job. Jake knows our family, knows our secrets, and he needs your help.” I swiftly corrected her.
It was better for Gigi to have Jake here talking to her than Deputy White; the last thing we needed was for him to piss her off. When she felt attacked, Gigi becomes defensive, meaning she would strike before Deputy White did more than ask a couple of questions. Which would not be good being, as she tended to use a little magic when under attack.
Jake and Gigi always had a bond, and he knows we are real witches. He wouldn’t freak out if a little magic happened. He’d be annoyed, but he would keep our secret.
“Hmph,” She snorted.
“Once again, what did you two argue about?” Jake asked. He swiped his hand through his dark hair with visible agitation. Let’s hope the third time was a charm.
Gigi must have taken pity on him, or she was ready to move on with her day. Most likely, the latter. “She claimed she was the best winemaker in the county; she also claimed my blackberry moonshine was her recipe. Like I would ever steal anything from that talentless hack. Of course, I had to set her straight. She only started making wine because I won the wine tasting contest at last month’s harvest festival, and her blackberry moonshine tasted like horse piss.” She huffed. “She was always jealous of me. I didn’t even want to be at the café that day, but my daughter forces me to work. I should be retired, not slaving away, serving strangers.” Gigi complained.
I rolled my eyes at ‘the serving strangers’ comment. No one forced Gigi to work; she enjoyed scaring the townspeople, and if there were tourists around, it was an added bonus.
“Sam mentioned her blood was drained from her body, and ritual symbols were found on her body. Is that true, or just a Groveton rumor?” I asked, not understanding how Jake would let that information leak out.
He sighed. “Sam’s right, her blood was drained from her body. As you can guess, I’m not thrilled this information was leaked.”
“No, I guess you wouldn’t be happy about it. Any idea who spread the rumor?” I asked.
“I have an idea.” He narrowed his eyes at Gigi.
“I have no idea why you’re staring at me, copper,” Gigi smirked.
I looked over at my grandmother. “Gigi, did you spread the rumor?”
Before she could answer, Jake interrupted. “I don’t really want to know the answer to that question.” He raked his hand through his hair. “We believe she was poisoned first. There was a combination of opioids, alcohol, and belladonna in her system and an unknown substance.” Jake continued.
“What? Mrs. Peterson had all of that in her system?” I asked, shocked that just seemed unreal.
“A normal blood scan was taken, resulting in alcohol and drugs. The belladonna was found in the basement in a teacup at the scene. It will be a few days before all the results are back from the medical examiner.” He said quietly.
“Oh,” That didn’t sound good, and it all did point to it being a witch.
Jake gave me a small smile, trying to reassure me. “You can see why we are at a bit of a loss? It does all point to being some sort of ritual.”
I nodded. “I get it.”
“Well, I don’t. Anyone could have Belladonna. Why would a real witch make it so obvious?” Gigi said.
“No one sells belladonna in town. Don’t you grow it in your greenhouse?” Jake asked before sipping his tea.
“Of course, I do, along with a multitude of other herbs and plants. Belladonna is used for lots of things; I’m a naturalist.” Gigi huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. “I use lots of herbs and plants. What I do is much better than any of that crap big Pharma, and the government regulates. They’re the real murderers. You should be looking into all the deaths they have caused over the years, pushing their pills. Our state is in crisis because of them, but yes, I can see why my plants would be of concern to you.” She rambled in an animated tantrum consisting of her hands flying wildly.
Jake stared at Gigi speechless, I’ve heard this rant numerous times, and truthfully, I didn’t disagree, but this was not the time to have this conversation. “Well, that would just be plain stupid of Gigi to kill Mrs. Peterson with her own belladonna, a well-known witch herb that apparently even the sheriff knows she grows?” I cocked my head, questioning Jake, shifting gears.
“Exactly and everyone knows I am not stupid, I am a genius. I would not use belladonna to kill someone anyway.” Gigi fumed, placing her hands on the counter as she rose. “Well, this was nice, but I have a busy day.”
Jake’s hand reached out and covered Gigi’s. “We’re not done.”
“Yes, we are.”
“No, we are not.”
“Yes, we are.”
“No, we are not.”
“Yes.”
“No.”
And today’s kindergarten class has now begun. I tried very hard not to laugh, but I lost that battle and laughed so hard I thought I would cry. Both Gigi and Jake just stared at me, like I lost my mind.
“I think you have this handled, Jake. I am going to town.” I said once I could stop laughing.
Jake stood quickly, releasing Gigi’s hand. Dumb move because she was on the move and out the back door. “Damn.” He cursed, realizing what he had done.
“I’ll talk to her about Mrs. Peterson. I’ll call you later with what I find out; you might want to talk to Aunt Endora about the symbols, though. It would undoubtedly be easier than going through Gigi to get any answers.” I said, taking pity on him.
He nodded. “You’re probably right.” His eyes softened. “I don’t think she did anything to Mrs. Peterson, but I did need to talk to her about the argument. I should have waited for Endora before I tried, I should have just called a specialist in to study the symbols. I just thought it would be faster if I talked to Gigi. Kind of kill two birds with one stone.” He shook his head in frustration. “I don’t know why I thought she would cooperate; I know how she feels about law enforcement. I guess I assumed if it were me, she would help.”
“She is all wound up, she was just released from jail yesterday; she is crazy on a normal day, but you know the jail thing is going to stay around awhile. She will use it to make you feel guilty. Your best bet is to talk to Endora.” I explained. I wanted him gone. I couldn’t be this close to him without feeling off-balance.
“I’ll go see Endora.” He started to walk out of the kitchen. “Meet me for dinner tonight?” His lips curved into a sexy grin, highlighting his dimples. Damn him and those dimples.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I whispered.
“Avoiding me won’t work. We can meet for dinner at Howlers around seven.”
“How would Natalie feel about that?” Damn it, did I say that out loud. I could tell by his smirk he was not letting that go.
“Is that what the attitude was about last night?” Tilting his head, he asked.
“You manhandled me and dragged me outside. I think you should be grateful; I have been as polite and welcoming as I have been today.” I rambled. “Jealous of Natalie, you are an idiot if you think that woman has any power over me.”
“Who said you were jealous?” Jake asked, with a full grin.
Motherfudger. “I, I,” words would not form in my mouth. What could I say? Anything I said now made me look jealous.
“See you at seven.” He smirked, leaving me standing in my kitchen, dumbfounded.
Author’s Note
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