Bewitched and Bewildered Read online

  Gramma took down the good plates and Mary topped them with drained chicken pieces, mashed potatoes, gravy, and seared brussel sprouts.

  “That tracks with Zuri’s nightmares,” Echo said, taking a plate of dark meat.

  “And another case I’m working on,” Quinn added. She told them about the big prints in the mud while Echo talked shadow monster.

  Harvest took a plate with breasts and wings. “Gotta be connected. What do you think, Dad?”

  Dad had a distant look in his eye. He didn’t say anything.

  “Well, if it’s going after cops, why is it appearing to little kids?” Echo asked.

  Mary turned off the electric fryer and sat down with her own plate. “Children and magic go together like hotdogs and mustard. Maybe because they don’t have a lot of notions and facts drilled into their heads yet.”

  “Well, we know that magic stuff is attracted to Zuri. But she’s like us—half Twih witch,” Quinn said.

  “Most children have an innate sense of magic,” Gramma said. “Unfortunately, it fades with age.”

  They were all silent for a moment as they tucked in. Everyone except Dad. He stood up. “If it’s okay, I need to use your phone, Ma.”

  “Well, yes it’s okay, but in the middle of dinner?”

  “This sounds a lot like the magic I’ve encountered in Central Africa. I need to set up a couple appointments.”

  Chapter 8

  “Don’t wait for me,” Dad called from the living room. “Eat.”

  “Central African magic? What the what?” Echo bit into a chicken breast and rolled her eyes. “So good.”

  Harvest gestured with her fork. “It’s because the cop who was attacked was the one who accidentally killed Barif Zambo, Chelby’s husband. Chelby was arrested for witchcraft in the Central African Republic.”

  “So, what, she’s using some kind of big magic monster for revenge?” Quinn asked.

  “Well, it’s no wonder she was arrested, then,” Aunt Mary said. “That kind of behavior is beyond the pale, even for witches.”

  “Oh, that horrible thing with the gangsters and the shooting.” Gramma put down the wing she was nibbling. “Terrible! I’ve been following the story. Three gangsters from Detroit were heading east to buy drugs. Four gangsters from Pittsburgh were heading west to sell drugs. By total coincidence, they saw each other in the McDonald’s parking lot.”

  “They were rivals,” Mary added.

  “They started shooting, and the State Troopers were just leaving the Tim Horton's coffee shop.”

  Mary nodded. “It was a Saturday, lots of people out.”

  “I heard a little bit about it,” Harvest said. “I think I was transporting that kid back from Philly when it happened. Somehow, the Troopers pinned them down in the grocery store parking lot, by the car wash.”

  “A few people coming from the store got shot, and one got killed.” Gramma said.

  “Barif Zambo.” Harvest looked at her sisters. “Friendly fire.”

  “Two of the Detroit guys got away, and one of the them from Pittsburgh,” Gramma went on. “Their still in the wind.”

  Harvest hid a smile. Gramma was watching too many TV mysteries.

  “Such a sad thing. Nothing like that ever happens around here,” Aunt Mary said. She sounded suspiciously wistful. Mary always liked it when things got stirred up.

  “We were at that grocery no more than an hour and a half before that,” Gramma said. “That could’ve been us.”

  “Quit being dramatic, Em. Nothing exciting ever happens to us.”

  “I have seen it on the news, but I was at the conference in Pittsburgh when it went down. It’s all anybody talks about at the office. Maybe the monster is a vendetta thing. We’ve got sightings miles apart.” Quinn forked some sprouts. “Detroit is north, and Pittsburgh is south. Maybe the monster is looking for those gangsters.”

  “Except both cities are west of here,” Harvest pointed out.

  “Sure, but Cora’s house is only a few hundred yards from the state line. And if you’re in that part of Warren, the only way out of town, across the river, is Route 6.” Quinn shrugged. “It’s likely that the gangsters fled in those directions.”

  “And they were on foot,” Gramma said. “They probably couldn’t get too far away.”

  Mary dismissed her with a wave of a chicken leg. “They’re criminals, Em. They’d just steal a car.”

  “With all that heat? No, they’d have to hide out until things cooled off enough. Maybe by now they’d have a vehicle. Unless they got lost in the woods.” Gramma eyed the girls. “Pretty likely for a bunch of city guys.”

  Dad returned to the table.

  “What was so important that you couldn’t wait until we finished eating, Cade?”

  “I had to get hold of Ava Taylor before she went home, Ma. Tomorrow afternoon, I have an appointment with Taka and Chelby Zambo.”

  “You should take Harvest with you.” Echo swirled the gravy into her potatoes. “She’s got mad intuition.”

  Harvest chewed and swallowed. “I have a few people to serve in the morning.”

  “We’ll meet Taka after lunch. Chelby comes in after school.”

  “Cool beans,” Echo said. “I’ll talk to Zuri more about the shadow monster.”

  Quinn nodded. “I’ll go back to the Cochran house and see if I can learn more from George.”

  IN THE MORNING, QUINN filed several custody case reports for family court while Danielle Park was on a teleconference. She called the Cochran home while she waited.

  “Don’t tell me he’s not at school,” his father moaned. “I walked him to the bus stop this morning.”

  “Oh, no, he’s at school as far as I know. In fact, it sounds like he’s making progress.” Quinn deflected his angst. “I would like to talk with him more. We can probably resolve this without having to involve any counseling.”

  “Counseling sounds expensive, so yes, please come talk to him. Today’s a half-day, y’know. He’ll be home early.”

  “I have to okay it with the boss, but unless something changes, I’ll see you around one.”

  “Great. Sounds great. Counseling, though. You don’t think we screwed George up somehow, do you?”

  “Nope.” She cobbled together a quick explanation. “I think it’s his love of horror movies, coupled with minor stress at school. You shouldn’t have anything to worry about. Kids are tougher than you think.”

  Quinn didn’t like lying to George’s dad. Still, it was better than saying a monster conjured from Central African magic was poking around the house. In truth, she did believe she could alleviate George’s fear of the bus shelter.

  After finally getting the go-ahead from Dr. Park, she headed to the McDonald’s for lunch. Gazing at the parking lot, she found it hard to believe that such a violent act had taken place in this boring corner of the world. She knew it could happen anywhere. Still, she worried that the magic she and her sisters performed might be drawing things here, pulling negativity like a magnet. It was something she would ask Dad about later.

  George was sitting at the kitchen table doing homework when she arrived. His younger brother was running through the house with a toy spaceship.

  “Dave! Go fly your spaceship in your room,” Mr. Cochran ordered. Dave flew up the stairs, but not before zapping them all with laser beam noises.

  “Hey, Georgie, I thought it would be okay for you to talk with Miss Hutchinson again.”

  George smiled. “Sounds good to me. She’s pretty hot.”

  “George Joseph Cochran!”

  The boy’s face took on a shocked look of pure puzzlement. “What?”

  Quinn felt her cheeks heat up. She took a breath. “It’s not too cold out. You want to take a walk?”

  “Oh, heck, yeah. Let me get my coat.”

  When George ran to the mud room, Quinn eyed the dad. “He really is ten, right?”

  The father’s only response was to turn his eyes to the ceiling and mouth
a silent prayer.

  George’s excitement faded once they left the house. He eyed her. “Are we going to the shelter?”

  “Not if you don’t want.”

  “Great. I want to walk by Paul’s house. I hope he sees us together.”

  Quinn let it go. “I want you to tell me about your dreams.”

  George kicked a rock. “I don’t know. I either want to be a game designer, or an artist. Paint naked ladies. Nudes, they’re called.”

  She sighed. “I mean the nightmares you’ve been having.”

  “Oh. That. They’re really weird. It’s like a movie. I’m a guy with a gun, but I’m afraid and running.”

  Quinn asked, “What are you running from? Is it a monster?”

  George snorted. “Monster? Monsters aren’t real. I’m running from a tiger. Or is it a lion? Which one has the big hair?”

  “Lion.”

  “So this lion is chasing me. I shoot it, but it keeps chasing me. It chases me to the bus stop, and I hide inside. But it can smell me, I guess. It jumps in the shelter, and I wake up.”

  She pursed her lips, thinking. “Is it the same dream every time?”

  “Pretty much.”

  “Does your father own any guns?”

  “A thirty-ought-six. When I turn twelve, he’s going to buy me a .22.”

  “Do you have a rifle in your dreams?”

  “I wish!” He flapped his arms in frustration. “But it’s a little pistol. Why would you shoot a lion with a pistol? It’s dumb.”

  They walked on, apparently past Paul’s house, because George craned his neck at the windows. “What does the lion look like?”

  “Like a big, scary lion. Except it’s kinda hard to see. It’s just a shadow. But I can see its eyes, and I know it’s looking at me.” George turned around to walk past Paul’s house again.

  “Listen, George. I want to tell you something, if you promise to keep it a secret.”

  He gazed up at her, and Quinn could almost hear the gears turning in his head.

  “Shoot.”

  “I’m going after that lion from your dreams.”

  His features screwed down in doubt. “How can you do that? It’s a dream.”

  “Because it’s my job. I have... degrees in psychology.”

  “Oh.” He frowned deeply, apparently impressed.

  “The lion isn’t going to hurt you. I’m guessing you have a little bit of psychic ability. Do you know what that means?”

  “That I can set stuff on fire with my brain? That I can make peoples’ heads explode? That I can see dead people?”

  “Not quite.” Why was the kid allowed to watch horror movies? “It means that you can sense things that most other people can’t. It’s probably something you’ll grow out of. For now, I just want you to know that these things can’t hurt you, okay?”

  He gave her a serious nod. “Okay. Thanks.”

  “The dreams might continue for a while, but I’m on your side. I’ll be working this case until the nightmares go away. Then, you won’t have to be scared of that bus shelter.”

  George laughed. “I’m not scared of the bus shelter.”

  “Don’t bullshit me, George.”

  He smirked at the curse word. “Yeah, okay, you got me.”

  “Let’s get you home.”

  They started walking again, George eyeing Paul’s house. At the Cochrans’ driveway, he turned toward her. “There is one thing I want to ask you.”

  “Sure. Anything.”

  His features set in a serious cast, eyebrows lowered. “Do you have a boyfriend?”

  Chapter 9

  Cora was thrilled that Echo took Zuri at the end of the half-day. “I can actually get some work done without being asked why bees are yellow and black but flies are shiny green.”

  Echo drove Zuri home. “You have homework?”

  “Fractions,” Zuri dragged out without enthusiasm. “And I have to read a chapter from the Great Lakes unit.”

  She parked in the driveway and the two of them walked into the house. “You can do that stuff later. You wanna go to your room and play zoo school bus?”

  “I’m in fifth grade now, Echo. Don’t you think zoo school bus is a little immature?”

  Echo didn’t know whether to laugh, feel hurt, or be amazed that her little cousin was growing up. “I don’t think you’re ever too old for zoo school bus.” They walked upstairs, and Echo noted that all the stuffed animals they played zoo school bus with in the past still occupied the bed. Maybe she wasn’t growing up too fast. A small tabby cat occupied the middle of the bed.

  “Hi, Giles. You want to meet Echo?”

  Giles got up, yawned, and hopped off the bed, heading down the hall.

  “He’s friendlier when he’s hungry. Or when Mom turns down the heat to save on the gas bill.”

  Echo sat in the spot vacated by Giles. She picked up a stuffed lion. “I want to ask you more about the shadow monster.”

  The girl sat next to her, grabbing a stuffed stegosaurus. “You think it’s like Blue Rodrigo?”

  “Pretty sure.”

  “I thought Blue Rodrigo was nice. He showed me where to find treasure. Then he wanted to eat Giles. I don’t think that was very nice.”

  Echo stared into the lion’s eyes. “No.”

  “Giles doesn’t like the shadow monster. He gets all growly when it’s outside.”

  She put the lion aside. “Really?”

  Zuri nodded. “He does that when raccoons are outside. Or the neighbor’s cats. When I look out the window, I see him look back. Then he goes into the woods.” She pointed.

  Echo thought about it. Really, that was all she needed to know. The shadow monster was more than a young girl’s nightmare. “So, you wanna have a dinosaur fight before you do your homework?”

  “Don’t you think dinosaur fights are for babies?”

  Echo felt a pang of disappointment. Dinosaur fights were their favorite thing. She gave it another shot. “What if it’s a Jurassic-era dinosaur fight?”

  “I am Torvosaurus, the largest predator in Jurassic Europe!” Zuri jumped off the bed.

  “Oo. Good one.” Echo smiled, then roared. “I am Yangchuanosarus, the largest predator of Jurassic Asia!”

  “No fair, I don’t know that one!”

  “Even though we are from different continents, we are fighting over the carcass of this stegosaurus.” She grabbed the stuffed toy from Zuri.

  “Ha! Even though the stegosaurus is anatomically incorrect, I will still battle you over his delicious meat!”

  Zuri roared like a dinosaur.

  Echo roared back.

  WITH TIME TO KILL, Harvest and Dad ate an early lunch at the sisters’ favorite ribs joint out on Jackson Run Road. They liked it because it was pretty far from anywhere, and there were times they needed to hide out. What better place than one that featured barbecue?

  “So, they gave Taka and Chelby Zambo jobs here in PA?” Harvest asked as they drove back to town.

  Dad shook his head. “Taka is still involved in oil prospecting, even though he’s here in the states. Chelby works in the day care as a volunteer and takes part in the company’s Americanization program. The Zambos have a leg up. They speak fluent English as well as other languages. But neither has encountered a furnace, for example, or been bombarded by labels in a supermarket.”

  “I guess I never thought about it.”

  “The Zambo family was comparatively wealthy back in Africa. Taka and Barif were employed by an oil company, after all. Still, their money couldn’t protect them.” Dad folded his arms.

  “I got involved when Taka’s wife, Uzochi, was arrested for practicing charlatanism and sorcery. PCS, it’s called there. I arrived in time to plan her defense. Before the trial, rebels raided the jail and dragged the accused witches into the streets of Birao. The five women were butchered with machetes to the screams of an angry mob, their bodies set on fire...

  Dad paused a moment, as if to let the horrible
image fade from his mind.

  “After that, the Zambos relocated to Bangui, the capitol. Taka and Barif remained in Birao, capitol of the Vakaga prefecture. That’s where the oil is. Barif’s wife Chelby lived with the extended family in Bangui. Following a very wet season, the area was struck by an outbreak of dengue hemorrhagic fever. Chelby, being from Vakaga, was one of the women accused and charged with PCS.

  “Unlike Birao, which is isolated, the company had a lot of pull in Bangui. Palms were greased, political pressure applied, and the accused were released. Given that this was the second attack on a wife of one of the area’s most successful oil prospectors, United International took no chances. The Zambo family was moved here. Taka’s adult sons and the family members with no ties to the oil company remained behind.”

  Harvest listened to the story. “That must be tough.”

  “If the government stabilizes after the next elections, they may return. That’s a few years away.”

  “But why here?” Harvest asked. “Why not some other African nation that needs oil prospectors?”

  Dad gazed at her for a moment. He smiled. “That was my doing. The thing is, while nearly all accused witches are just unfortunate victims—”

  “The Zambos are witches.” Harvest got it.

  “For generations, the Zambo men have been more accurate in finding drilling locales than satellite imaging or geological surveys.”

  Harvest side-eyed Dad. “And Chelby?”

  He sat back in his seat. “Call it a strong hunch.”

  Chapter 10

  Quinn returned George home, but the bus shelter down the hill called to her. Hands in her coat pockets, she walked across the street and behind the structure. Tracks she’d seen before were even less identifiable now, overnight showers wiping the mud nearly clean.

  Trees had overgrown the path, and though still leafless, she couldn’t see any house or farm where the track might lead. Wind picked up, spitting a little rain, rattling naked limbs above. A few feet in, and Quinn couldn’t make out the road behind. Trampled grass and broken twigs drew her on. Even to her untrained eye, she could tell that something large had passed.