The Time Witch - Part 11

Recap: The more Evangeline discovers, the less she knows, especially when it comes to her family. Bad Samuel leads her to her mother’s locket, but Evangeline fails to notice when it breaks and her parents’ photographs move, as if they are alive inside.

LINKS: The Beginning, Last Part (#10), Time Witch page

Short on time? Scan the story and just read the Bold parts to get the gist of the story. Then come back later and read the whole thing!

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Fear the coven!

Evangeline jerked awake, slamming her favorite recliner shut. She sat and gulped air for a second, heart fluttering, willing calm, blocking out the haunting words. A pang throbbed in time to her pulse. What was that? The source of the cryptic warning evaded her. It sounded equally like sage advice as much as a juicy nightmare.

“Oh, good, you’re awake!” Danna’s voice was audible, but her body was nowhere in sight.

Evangeline grabbed the arms of the chair, half relieved and half disappointed that a ghost wasn’t waiting for her to wake up.

Danna came out of the stacks. She had a book in each hand. “I have good news!”

They’d found over two dozen boxes full of books in the basement and the ones already on the shelves. Unpacking them had started a vast cataloging process, but the work was filled with glorious discoveries. Some of the novels dated back to the beginning of the library.

“Sorry if I surprised you. I let myself in.” Danna waved a book at her. “I’ve been working, but that’s not the good news.”

With muted yellows streaming down from the windows, it was easy to imagine last night had never happened. It was all some mistake, and the library held no magic. Evangeline knew better. She felt the books waiting for her to figure it all out. Anticipation clung to the air, already heady with scents of old glue, aging paper, and a hint of vanilla. Whatever Danna had to share couldn’t compare.

“Chief Cole called me this morning,” Danna said, clueless to the undercurrent. “Well, he called you at my house, but I covered. He said we can continue to set up the B&B as long as we don’t tear down any walls, dig up the foundation, or welcome any guests.”

Evangeline got to her feet and stretched. The ache made her regret sleeping in the chair. “And what are we waiting for?”

Danna’s smile tightened. “They’ve called in someone to investigate.”

“Oh.” It felt like one step forward and two back—right off a cliff. “I just assumed that Chief Cole would investigate.”

Danna laughed. “You’re adorable. They had to call in an expert. Some kind of historical know-it-all, but he’s on another job.”

The delay and timeframe made sense. However, being at the whim of others wasn’t good for business.

“Everyone is sorry,” Danna said. “I updated the contractor. He wasn’t surprised. He and Cole golf together.”

The fact that Evangeline didn’t even need to call her contractor was so small town. Word had traveled, and there was nothing left to do but accept.

“Luckily, we can still sort and clean.” Danna snorted.

Since there was plenty of that to do, Evangeline nodded. “But once we’ve got a handle on the books and the dust, we’ll just sit here, watching money fly out the window.”

Danna peered up at the high windows. They didn’t open. “Are you glass half-empty, half-full or spilling all over your shoes?”

Evangeline huffed, certain she was more of a glass broken kinda girl, but her nose perked up, smelling coffee. The smell guided her to a percolator in the planned cafe part of the library. “You made coffee! Everything else can wait.”

Danna set the books on a shelf with a pleased smile and followed her. “I know how you love coffee, or is it just our local cream?”

“Both.”

“And, maybe, you’ll spill more about your Baxter Creek Welcome? What was all that sneaking back into the library about? I can’t believe they left you in here all night.”

“Well… they didn’t know they left me.”

The statement took Danna by surprise. “We have a safe room or something in one of these walls?”

“Something like that.” Evangeline winked. She grabbed two clean mugs from their mix-matched collection and filled them with steaming coffee. The little pot made just enough for two. “I know you said anyone who lives here long enough has a story to tell, but I’ve never read anywhere that Baxter Creek is known for ghosts.”

Danna took one of the mugs, adding sugar. “We have a history that’s only shared by word-of-mouth. Keeps it from appearing where it don’t belong, so whatever you’ve experienced wouldn’t surprise anyone who grew up here. Might make ’em jealous.” 

Evangeline turned her attention to the coffee and a carton of cream from a tiny bar fridge. She added a healthy portion to her cup.

“What happened in the library last night?” Danna asked with a sideways glance.

“Ummm.” Evangeline breathed in, the smell wafting around her mug. She took a sip. The robust and creamy brew triggered happy hormones. “I want to tell you everything, but it’s a lot.”

“I get it. What do you really know about me? You’ve seen I’m a hard worker with style and flair.” Danna pirouetted to show off her outfit: denim overalls hand-painted with butterflies and an orange head wrap. “I also hum to myself when no one’s around, secretly crave marshmallows, and struggle to make my family happy.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Evangeline said. “Is your family in town?”

“Some of ’em.”

“Wanna talk about it?” Evangeline couldn’t tell if the topic was open for discussion.

Danna sipped her coffee. “One day. It’s a bit too typical to be interesting. They’re kinda stuck in the past.”

Hmm, Evangeline thought, could say the same about me.

“Tell me everything,” Danna said.

Not everything!

The ghostly order shocked Evangeline’s skin like a defibrillator paddle. She sucked in air, realizing she’d let her guard down. Bad Samuel had only spoken to her at night. She hadn’t expected him to make an appearance during the day.

“You okay?” Danna asked.

“Oh, sure, I was just thinking.” Evangeline was thinking how the ghost’s words had taken on a hard edge, almost like a reprimand, and that was before she’d even decided what to tell Danna. She had a strong urge to spill everything.

Fighting an urge to address Bad Samuel directly—yikes, is that what I’m calling him—Evangeline focused on Danna instead. “I need someone on my side,” she admitted. “Can’t count on anyone else, can I?”

A hush fell over the library, but the pointed question sounded like a yes to Danna. She beamed. “I am on your side,” she promised, a hand to her heart.

Evangeline knew she couldn’t dump everything on Danna despite her unfriendly ghost. The tunnel, the past… even something as simple as the tintype photograph… all seemed too complicated, too murky with unknown meaning. “I learned the ghost’s name,” she said, settling on one positive. “It’s Samuel Covington-York.”

“That’s a good name,” Danna said. “It’s an old Baxter Creek family. We could start there, but what do you want to do first?”

“Research. Talk to some locals. Dig up some town records.” Evangeline didn’t favor any of the options over the other. “I’m open to anything that clues me into Baxter Creek’s past.”

Danna thought it over. “Couple of guys—grandpa-types—always hang out at the pub. I could set something up. They are true town historians. Grumpy, but they might have some answers.”

“I’m up for buying them a round. Let’s do it this afternoon,” Evangeline said, quickly pressing on with a bigger reveal, “but I kinda heard Baxter Creek might have a coven.”

Danna squinted. “Who told you about the coven?”

“The ghost.”

Liar. That was him.

Evangeline ignored the correction, noticing that Danna wasn’t surprised, not even a little.

“Maybe we should try to make contact with the coven,” Evangeline said.

Danna frowned. “Oh, no, let’s put that off as long as possible. They would just complicate things.”

“You have experience with them?” Evangeline asked.

Danna made a rude sound.

Rubbing at a crick in her back, Evangeline knew she needed movement to help her muscles relax. The tightness would only get worse if she ignored it. Who knew that time travel is murder on your body! Evangeline thought.

Noticing, Danna hooked her arm with her boss’s. “Let’s stretch your legs.”

Getting out of the library made sense. Evangeline knew she had spent too much time inside. “Fresh air would be nice,” she said, looking around the library. “It’s a bit of a stuffed shirt in here.” She hoped Bad Samuel took the hint.

 They put away the coffee mugs and headed toward the door, but Evangeline caught sight of the spot where she’d thrown her mother’s locket. It was gone. She looked for it, but the floor held no sign of the locket.

Pointing, Evangeline asked, “Did you find a locket over there on the floor?”

Danna glanced in the direction, no recognition on her face. “A locket?”

“I, uh, dropped it. My mother’s locket.”

“No, I didn’t see it,” Danna said. “I’m sure it’ll turn up.”

Evangeline wasn’t so sure. The locket had gone missing while she slept a few feet away.  

“Odd,” Danna admitted. “Should we look for it?”

“No, I’m sure it will turn up.” Her words rang hollow, laced with doubt. She listened for a ghostly comment, but none came. Evangeline wondered if Bad Samuel had taken the locket. He’d moved bigger things.

Letting Danna head out first, Evangeline hung back to lock the door. “We will talk,” she muttered to the library, firmly closing the door.

They cut across Founder’s Square. Evangeline scanned the buildings, noting where they’d sprouted since her 1910 visit. They framed a third of Founder’s Square, the library making up the fourth side. The buildings were two-story high structures with businesses on the bottom floor. 

They showed signs of starting their day. The shop owners pulled out colorful signs and wares to entice tourists. Flowers, candles, and local crafts caught her eye. Not that she’d have time to stroll along the sidewalk, buy some fudge, or let the tantalizing incense from one shop fill her senses.

“Where are we going?” Evangeline asked.

“To meet one of the nastiest people I know,” Danna said, “and the only living descendant of the Covington-Yorks.”

“Samuel’s family?”

“When you mentioned your new boyfriend—”

“Boyfriend?” Evangeline interrupted as they crossed the street, entering an older residential part of Baxter Creek.

The whole neighborhood spoke of a different era. The estates sat a good twenty yards back from the street with long stretches of lawn to welcome guests. Curved driveways, now paved, had once allowed carriages to drop off passengers and quickly move onward. The porches wrapping around the first floors looked ideal for a chair swing and a sweating pitcher of cold lemonade.

“Ghost, boyfriend.” Danna winked. “He’s only kinda dead.”

Evangeline knew one version of Samuel was very much alive. He’d offered heat and longing and tenderness… those lips! It made her blush. Not just because they’d had a moment but because it had all gone wrong. Wrong and hotter. Bad Samuel’s words practically licked her with flames, making them more intimate. Even when he was being a jerk, giving her commands, the words lingered in her body like a burning caress that sunk down to her heart.

“What triggered that smile?” Danna asked with a teasing tone. “You imagining a ghostly interlude?”

“Doesn’t sound like me,” Evangeline blushed. “Let’s not go there.”

“Not without champagne and edible underwear,” Danna joked.

Evangeline wiped at the glistening sweat along the back of her neck. “Doubt that would interest a ghost.”

“Hmm… you’d be surprised,” Danna said, a knowing look in her eyes. “You okay?”

“Fine, completely fine.”

Danna cleared her throat. “We’ll just table that for now, but I’ll need more deets as they develop, please. I doubt you’ll have as much success with his descendant, but I immediately thought of her. Mabel knows Baxter Creek inside and out, and if you can get inside the mansion… who knows what secrets she’s hiding in that mausoleum.”

“The mansion?” Evangeline asked. She’d love to explore any of the houses on the block.

“No promises,” Danna said. “You’ll see what I mean in about two minutes. We’re almost there.” She let go of Evangeline’s arm to jump off the sidewalk into the street. “Can’t you feel the history?” She raised her arms, indicating the tree-lined street. 

The branches arched over the road, meeting in the middle like a canopy. They created a grand entry to the stately Victorian homes dominating the area, built back when size and style were exclusively for the wealthy. The stunning homes belonged to the past.

Evangeline took in the majestic trees, wondering if Samuel had planted any of them or walked by them as saplings. They stood so proud, like ancient ambassadors, and just like that, her tension eased a bit. Smiling, she silently thanked the block for connecting her to Samuel.

Danna nodded. “Fair warning, Mabel is nuts. Full-on cray-cray.” For emphasis, she twirled her index fingers around her temples like gears out of sync. “We’re talking out there. She dresses like she’s over a hundred, although she’s only in her seventies and rude!”

They stopped in front of an estate with a wrought iron gate.

Danna paused a moment before pulling up the latch, but Evangeline didn’t hesitate. With a creaking sigh, the gate pushed inward, and they headed up the path to the faded yellow exterior. The whimsical beauty of the three-story Victorian was lost on Danna, but Evangeline took it in with a sigh. The front steps were whitewashed, and a trellis allowed wisteria to climb to the second floor. 

“Gorgeous,” Evangeline whispered under her breath.

“You sure about this? You can’t undo meeting Mabel.”

Evangeline enjoyed each creek of the front steps, feeling like she was walking in Samuel’s footsteps. She shot a look at her friend, hoping it conveyed her thanks for the warning, but at this point, she was all in.

“Whatever you do,” Danna whispered, “don’t say anything about the cats.”

“The cats?”

The front bell rang a little tune, echoing from inside. A soft chorus of meows followed. A sharp voice from inside demanded, “Clear a path,” as footsteps and the thump of a cane headed toward the door. When it opened inward, a thin, petite lady—no more than four feet six inches tall—glared at them. Her gray hair was pulled into a bun. It came across as a little severe but seemed entirely correct for the age of the estate and the woman’s vintage floor-length, black brocade dress.

“Who is it?” She squinted, clearly not recognizing anyone she knew.

“Hi, Miss Patteson. It’s Danna who went to school with your grand-niece on your first brother’s side of the family.” She smiled, thoroughly expecting the lady to remember. 

She didn’t. “Nope,” she said dismissively with a thud of her cane. She turned to scrutinize Evangeline. “How about you?”

“I’m the Library Lady.” Evangeline tried for a smile, but the smell of cat wafted out the door and almost made her sneeze. She saw a tabby and a black cat dash across the entry hall, and when she glanced down at Mabel’s dress hem, a cute-faced kitten peeked out from under the heavy material.

“Oh, I know you,” Mabel said.

“You’ve never even met her before,” Danna complained. “I was at your seventieth birthday party. I cut the cake into little squares for everyone.”

“Nope,” Mabel repeated. “You can go, but the Library Lady can come inside.”

The decree given, Mabel turned away from the door.

Evangeline and Danna shared an uneasy look.

All of the Good Samuel vibes evaporated with the smell of cat, replaced with the mystery of what awaited inside the mansion. Help, Evangeline silently mouthed, but Danna stepped back with a shrug. Her fate sealed, Evangeline entered the Covington-York mansion… alone.