High hopes, p.14
High Hopes, page 14
Quiet sounded perfect.
The stress of the night’s events had taken more out of me than I realized. When I woke again, it was almost noon. Maggie had laid out lunch for me and I greedily scarfed it down before grabbing a quick shower. I’d have to change when I got back to the B&B.
“You know, if you’re going to be spending more time at my place, you should leave a few changes of clothes here, too,” Maggie said from the doorway to the bathroom as I towel dried my hair.
“That feels like a big step,” I admitted. “I’m not sure I’m quite ready for that yet.”
“Well, the offer stands.”
“Thank you for being the best girlfriend I could ask for.”
“What are your plans for the rest of the day?”
“I was going to head back to the B&B to see what I can do to help Tania calm the mess that’s been left behind and get everyone to the vigil. Hopefully, we’ll be able to catch Benji and get him to admit to what he did.”
“And if not?”
“Well, we’ve at least got enough evidence to convince Chief Hayes to bring him in for questioning.”
“Go get ‘em.”
The B&B was in far better shape than I’d anticipated. The police tape was gone. Tania had already submitted the police report and charges were pending against Levi for the breaking and entering. She had taped off the broken window in the dining room and everyone appeared to be in relatively good spirits.
“How is Piper?” Tania asked after I’d changed my clothes to something more befitting a vigil.
“Hanging in there, I think. I’m not sure she was the intended target for what happened,” I explained. “I think she just got hit by the side effects of the magic that Levi was slinging, and she had been in a heightened emotional state earlier in the night. It might have just messed with her head more than it had before.”
“I didn’t sense anything magical about him though,” she noted.
“What do you mean? It’s how he killed Janice. Didn’t I tell you that?”
“It might be true that she was killed with magic. But that young man didn’t do it.”
“You can’t know that for sure. Or … Can you?”
“Over the years, I’ve learned to sense the difference between people with magic and those without. Those with magic tend to have stronger emotions, especially when they are using their abilities.”
“And you didn’t pick up on anything like that from Levi?”
“Not at all.”
“But you weren’t even in the same room as him. How could you really know?”
“I could feel his desperation and his sorrow. His grief was palpable. But he had no desire to harm anyone else. Only himself. And if he was using magic, I doubt he would need a weapon to achieve self-harm.”
“So, you’re saying what, Benji was the one with magic?”
“He was hard to read. Maybe that was intentional on his part. Or possibly he just never actively used his abilities while he was here. But if magic was indeed the reason Janice died, then it would have had to be him.”
If he hadn’t intended to use his magic, especially toward Piper, I could use that to push his buttons. It was a risky move, but I owed it to my cousin to get answers.
A little before five o’clock, the rest of the troupe with Tania and I headed back to the theater. I’d made a short trip over there earlier after getting changed to work a little of my own magic. I’d taken a few of the flowers we’d had growing around the house and encouraged them to replant themselves outside the theater. I’d gotten them to grow into the shape of Janice’s name with a heart. It felt like the least I could do to honor the woman. And maybe I needed a little confidence boost before taking on Benji, too. Lucy and Celia set about organizing the rest of the troupe, ensuring everyone had candles with holders to avoid wax burns. Several townspeople arrived, as did strangers who shared that they’d come from neighboring towns where the show had passed through previously to pay their respects.
As the crowd grew, I scanned faces, hoping to spot Benji. There was every chance he’d bail on the gathering to go sit at Piper’s side in the hospital. But that felt like something Audrey would warn me about. Especially as she was trying to assuage her own guilt in all of this. Finally, as Celia stepped up to the microphone to begin the vigil in earnest, I spotted him at the very back of the group. I picked up a candle and carried it around the perimeter of the throng. I caught Ginny’s eye as I did and she mirrored my path, so we ended up on either side of Benji.
“How are you feeling?” I said, handing him the candle.
“Fine,” he answered, accepting it without making eye contact.
“Have you seen Piper?”
“They wouldn’t let me in to see her since I’m not family,” he answered, a note of disgust in his voice.
“You know, I don’t think you meant for her to get hurt.”
That was enough to draw his attention. He turned his intense gaze on me. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means, I think you were hoping Levi would take himself out and you’d be able to support Piper while she stepped into the role you thought she deserved all along.” There was no reason to pull punches now.
“You think you’re so smart!” he shouted, drawing the attention of the assembled crowd, including Vinnie and Chief Hayes who stood off to one side.
“I think you were trying to impress her. You determined that getting her the chance to be in the spotlight instead of being the one directing was the way to do it. I’m not sure you meant to kill Janice either. I think you just wanted her out of the way, right?”
I watched as Ginny moved just a fraction of an inch closer. It was enough for her to place a hand on his wrist, making contact with the pulse point there. Benji’s eyes went wide, and words tumbled out of his mouth.
“I didn’t care if she died or not. She was pompous and stuck up. She thought everyone should worship the ground she walked on. Piper, she was the real talent. But no one was ever going to see that, not with Janice in the way.”
“How’d you do it?” I pressed.
“I can do things … make people’s fears feel real. It’s like magic. I knew she was terrified of peanuts. Threw a fit once when we walked past a candy store selling them. She wasn’t anywhere near them, and she freaked out, like the whole world had to abide by what she needed.”
“So, you put a spell on something you knew she’d have to touch,” I prodded. “You wanted it to be a spectacle.”
“It was easy. But those idiots in props were being overzealous and they broke it. I didn’t mean for Piper to get mixed up in it.”
“And did you reach out to Mr. Sanders?” Chief Hayes’ voice entered the conversation.
“We met online. I knew he was obsessed with her. She was all he ever talked about. It made me sick. But I knew he would make the perfect fall guy. So, I let him in the theater. I gave him the idea for the disguises. Anything to make it more plausible to get him to be there when she collapsed.”
“You probably would have gotten away with it if you hadn’t been texting Piper’s mum about having feelings for her daughter,” I pointed out. I conveniently didn’t bother mentioning that Piper and I had discovered the messages between the two men in Levi’s camper.
“Piper will forgive me. Everything I did was for her, to make her great. I’ve given her the chance to shine for everyone to see. Levi hated sharing Janice with anyone, but that’s all I wanted for Piper. Her talent was wasted languishing behind the scenes. She deserved the spotlight. I love her!”
Ginny pulled her hand from his wrist as Chief Hayes and Vinnie closed ranks. There was no need for me to bind his hands in vines, even if I had the strong urge strong to punish this man for hurting my family. They took Benji away. I turned back to the vigil, making eye contact with Celia, hoping to convey my apology for interrupting. The smile and small head nod she offered in return appeared to acknowledge that she was grateful to be able to put all of this behind us.
“I want to thank everyone who came to help us celebrate Janice. She was something special and we will miss her,” Celia said, holding her candle aloft. “Let’s give her one last standing ovation.”
The assembled crowd erupted into cheers and applause at Celia’s urging. I offered a small clap as Ginny settled in beside me. “You know, you aren’t half bad at this whole detective thing. Maybe your talents are being wasted with Sage at High Time.”
“Oh, no ... I’m not a detective. I’ll stick to growing plants.”
“If you say so.”
Just then, my phone buzzed with an incoming call from an unknown number. “Hello?”
“Darcy, it’s Audrey.”
“Is everything okay with Piper?”
“Yes. The fever’s broken and she seems to be responding to the medication. They can’t explain it, but they think she’s going to make a full recovery.”
Had Benji’s arrest triggered something? Or maybe his confession? Could he have tried to see her earlier to fix what he’d done? “Benji is in custody. It’s over.”
“Thank God.” There was static on the line for a moment and then she added, “I think I’m going to need to have a long talk with Piper when this is all over.”
“I think she’d appreciate that. She loves you and wants to make you proud.”
It was a sentiment I, too, struggled with when it came to my own parents. But I was starting to learn that sometimes the people whose love mattered the most weren’t the ones we were born from. Sometimes love had to come from farther down the family tree.
18
The town gossip mill died down remarkably fast in the wake of Benji’s arrest. I suspected Ginny had something to do with that, given she basically was the rumor mill in town. I still couldn’t get the heartbroken look on Benji’s face out of my head as Chief Hayes took him away. He really thought he’d had a chance with Piper.
Speaking of my cousin, I currently sat in the lobby of the hospital, waiting for her to be discharged as the clock ticked past six in the evening. It was still a marvel to me that even unconscious she’d been able to get a handle on her fire magic and keep that anxiety from doing her in. And maybe I hoped our connection had accounted for some of that strength.
Then again, maybe there was something to be said for our magic working in tandem. I’d used my magic with someone else before, but Doing it with family felt different. Stronger; almost like we had a sisterly bond . It was a feeling I wasn’t going to forget any time soon. And one I already longed to find a way to repeat. I was building a community here in Brookhaven with Tania, Maggie, Beau, and Sam, but having Piper in the mix had filled a hole in my heart I never thought would mend.
After what felt like ages, the elevator dinged, and the doors parted to reveal Piper moving under her own power as Audrey fussed over her.
“I wish you hadn’t told them you didn’t need the wheelchair,” Audrey said, trying to control the speed at which her daughter made a beeline for the exit.
“Mom, I can walk,” Piper insisted, dismissing her mother’s worries and waving her help off.
“Hey,” I called to get my cousin’s attention.
Piper halted her forward momentum and pivoted toward me. She offered a smile. “Hi, Darcy. You didn’t have to come meet us. We can get back to the B&B ourselves.”
“I know, but I wanted to be sure you were doing better.”
“The doctors said I was lucky, but I’ve got a clean bill of health now.”
“They wouldn’t be releasing her otherwise,” Audrey said, fiddling with her phone. “I’ll get us a ride.”
“Mom, it’s literally two blocks away. I can walk.”
With that declaration, Piper strode to the exit, leaving Audrey and I to trail behind her. I had to take a couple of large strides to reach Piper’s side. “I’m honestly surprised you wanted to talk to me even after everything that just happened,” I told her.
“Why? You didn’t do anything,” Piper answered.
“Well, I put you in danger almost immediately after we met.”
She stopped walking. “I’m actually glad we went through this whole thing together.”
“You are?”
“Yeah. If we could survive me nearly dying and being framed for murder on our very first family outing, we can get through anything.”
We both burst out laughing. I bent over double, trying to catch my breath before I found words to speak. “It does seem to be something of a family trait. The getting accused of murder bit.”
Piper cocked her head to the side. “Uh-huh, I’m going to need more than that.”
“Oh, so after I moved here, there was this girl called Vera who was killed. Her body was left in the boot of Tania’s car. I was driving it at the time, and I was the one who’d found her. So naturally, Chief Hayes thought I’d done it.”
“You were innocent though, right?”
“Yes. Turned out she was running from her drug dealer boyfriend. She’d stolen some money from him. He caught up to her and killed her trying to find it.”
“I don’t feel so bad now,” she replied with a smirk.
“Can I ask you something?” We approached the sidewalk leading up to Tania’s B&B. There were far fewer vehicles than there’d been even a couple of days ago. Most of the troupe had moved on to the next town. I hadn’t asked what would become of the Juliet role with the lead dead and the understudy convalescing in hospital.
“Ask away.” Piper fiddled with the zipper on her jacket.
“Did you ever think Benji was behind it? I mean right after Janice’s attack.”
Piper hung her head. “Not at first. He acted as surprised as the rest of us. And he defended me when everyone else started saying I must have done it to get the part. We’d been friends for a while, but I never thought of him as anything more than that. He’s not my type.” Unshed tears sparkled in her eyes. “I feel like such an idiot for missing the signs for so long.”
“People can be really good at hiding the darkness inside … and their feelings, too,” I said. “Did you know he had magic?”
She shook her head. “It never even occurred to me. Though I guess looking back, there might have been a couple times he was using magic and I just wasn’t aware.”
“Or he ensured you didn’t notice. It seems that people who can control other people’s reactions and emotions are sometimes stronger than those of us with more elemental magic.”
From behind us, I heard Audrey huffing and puffing as she powerwalked to catch up to us. I hadn’t realized we’d been keeping such a quick pace. But as she hurried past us, I could see her cheeks were rosy from exertion and there were beads of sweat pooling on her upper lip. “I’m going to get our things, Piper and then we need to head out.”
Piper and I sat on the front steps while Audrey went inside to gather their belongings. “Your mum must be happy that you get to be the lead actress in the play now.”
“That’s one of the things I was thinking about. I was happy being behind the scenes and I liked it. Being on stage, that was her dream. I think I let her push it on me, because I wanted to make her happy. And maybe Benji gave me a magical push along the way, too. For all I know he heard her talking about it so much that he orchestrated the whole thing.”
“You can turn down the part, can’t you?”
“We’ve only got a few more tour stops before we wrap. No one else has learned the lines and I know for a fact we’ve sold out shows up north. I don’t really have a choice.”
“Well, maybe once the tour is over, you and your mum can have a sit down talk and you can tell her how you really feel.”
“I want to, but I’m scared of upsetting her. It’s just been the two of us for so long. What if I lose her?”
“I know it’s really hard not living up to what your parents expected of you. I don’t think mine ever thought I’d be living in another country, doing plant magic. And I understand the fear of losing your mum more than you’d think. I’m pretty certain moving here cost me that relationship.”
“At least you’ve gotten the chance to decide what you want to do with your life on your own terms.”
“Stand up to her, then. Tell your mum that you’re a grown woman and you can do what you want. You should be done living out her dream.”
She offered a soft laugh. “I’m not sure I’m quite as brave as you.”
I shook my head. “I think you missed the part where I literally ran to a different country an ocean apart to get away from my parents.”
I sensed a presence behind me and turned to find Sam hovering halfway out of the front door. Piper craned her neck and gave a little start. “There’s a guy … uh, in the door.”
“Yeah, that’s Sam,” I answered. “You’re one of the first people to see him besides me and Tania. Well and Maggie.”
“Did you just show up?” Piper addressed the ghost as he transitioned to be fully hovering on the porch.
“Oh, darling, I’ve been here for ages,” he replied dramatically.
“I guess I didn’t notice you before.”
“I’m choosy about who I talk to,” he said with a smirk. “And you were with so many boring mundane people it wasn’t worth giving a headache to poor Tania from having to deal with people claiming the place is haunted.”
“But it is haunted,” Piper pointed out flatly.
He waved off the comment and then added, “And since you’re Darcy’s family, that makes you someone I should know.”
“I’m touched you care,” I said with a laugh.
He offered me a wink and disappeared back into the house. Piper and I sat side by side on the front steps for a few moments longer in silence before the door opened behind us and Audrey appeared with their suitcases.
Piper stood and I followed suit. She pulled me into a fierce embrace. “Thank you for everything, cousin,” she whispered in my ear.
“Message me when you get where you’re going, so I know you both made it safely,” I said.
“I promise.”
I turned to Audrey. “It was nice to meet you, too.”
