Page 19 of One Cry Too Loud (Coastal Crime Unit #9)

“ Y ou seem surprised,” the woman motioning us into the Masters’ house said.

She had a glint in her eye and a smirk on her face that told me she was enjoying the idea of us finding what she had just said strange.

I had to admit, when I pulled up to this home today, I wasn’t expecting to hear the words ‘coven’ or ‘spell’.

I was a professional, though, and I wasn’t going to let any of that shake me.

Holly, on the other hand, didn’t share the same sentiment.

“Obviously we’re surprised. You just told us she’s a bloody witch!” The Englishwoman said, her face growing more red with each passing word.

“Not just her. All of us,” the woman said as she settled into the sizable living room, spreading her arms out as if to soak in the attention. “You’re looking at the Sisters of the Southern Moon; the premiere coven in-not only Miami, but the entire Southeast if you don’t count Atlanta or Mobile.”

“Mobile, Alabama?” Kat asked.

“You would not believe all the witchy goodness going on in Mobile. It really is quite impressive,” the woman said.

“I’m sure that’s one word for it,” I answered. “You’ll have to forgive Holly, ma’am. She’s not what you might call a believer in the supernatural.”

“I get the feeling none of you are,” she answered. “At least, that’s the vibe I got from my dream last night.” Her smile widened. “The three of clubs.”

“You got me there. I’ve never been much into magic or anything. It seems a bit fanciful if you ask me,” I admitted.

“More fanciful than praying for what you want or what your family might need?” The woman asked, her smile shrinking into that self satisfied smirk again.

“Wicca is a religion, just as is whatever religion I assume you practice. Is praying to God for the things you wish for not a form of magic? Is it different somehow?”

“Yes. It is. Or, at least, I believe it is,” I said confidently. “But I’m not here to talk about religion; yours, mine, or anyone else’s. I’m here to talk to Alice Masters about what happened to her daughter.”

“All business. That’s not as interesting as I’d have hoped,” the woman said.

“The spell should be done within the next few minutes. You’re welcome to wait in the living room until such a time that Alice can see you.

There are refreshments in the kitchen if you find yourselves feeling peckish.

” She pointed to the back wall of the house, precisely at the large window.

Through it, we could see a circle of people sitting cross-legged on the grass.

They had their hands held high in the air and their eyes were closed.

“If any of you feel the urge to join in on our ceremony, don’t be shy. ”

“I can’t imagine that happening, but thank you for the invitation,” I said as the woman began to walk away. “I assume you’re going out there with them.”

“But of course,” the woman said, spinning around on her heels. “After all, they couldn’t finish the ceremony without me. I’m High Priestess Montella Moonlight.”

“Can I assume that’s not your given name?” I asked.

“My given name is Carla,” she said. “You may call me High Priestess Montella Moonlight.”

“Whatever you say,” I replied.

She nodded at me, spun back around, and headed out the back door into the yard.

“Oh my God,” Holly said, her eyes wide and distraught as the High priestess left the room. “I gave my daughter to witches.”

“Holly, “I said. “You couldn-”

“You’re the birth mother,” a voice said from behind, startling me. Turning around quickly, I saw a man in his late thirties standing in the doorway of what looked to be a kitchen. He had a spoon in one hand and a pint of cherry vanilla ice cream in the other.

I stood. “Who are you?”

“I’m Eli. Who are you?” The man asked.

“I’m Jack Harrington. My team and I are-”

“Jack Harrington? Why does that name sound familiar?” Eli asked.

“He was held prisoner last year, sparking a media blitz that turned him into a semi household name,” Kat replied, also standing.

“Oh, okay,” Elis said, sounding neither amazed nor curious about the situation. “I assume you’re here about Cindy.”

“You knew her?” Holly asked. She scrambled to her feet.

Eli smiled. “Since she was swaddled in her momma’s arms,” he said. “Well, her other momma.”

“Are you part of the coven here?” I asked, staring at the man.

“God no!” He chuckled. “Those people are lunatics. I told Alice to send them packing years ago, but she didn’t listen to me. She never does. All those people are bad news. They always have been if you ask me. I think they’re a big part of the reason Harrison left.”

“Harrison?” Kat asked.

“Alice’s husband,” Eli said. “He bolted a few years ago. Alice thinks it happened because he didn’t like the strain of being a father to someone with the kinds of needs that Cindy has, but I honestly think it was because of the witches.” He shook his head. “What an insane sentence to have to say.”

“Needs?” Holly asked, swallowing hard. “What kind of needs?”

“Cindy has ADHD,” Eli said. “It’s not terrible, but she can be overactive and impulsive. I like to say that she’s a handful.”

“I didn’t know that,” Holly replied.

“How could you? Have you ever even met Cindy?” Eli asked.

“No I haven’t,” Holly said somberly, shaking her head.

“Anyway, that’s half of the reason that coven is here anyway,” Eli continued. “Alice never was one for pills.”

“Cindy isn’t being medicated?” Holly asked, her body tensing beside me.

“She is. I make sure of that. It’s just happening reluctantly,” Eli said.

“Alice thinks she can heal Cindy with energy and crystal and all that garbage. Of course, this coven is more than happy to allow her to believe that so long as they can have a cushy place to hold their meetings and a nice place to crash whenever they need it.”

“Crash?” I asked, narrowing my eyes. “Were any of the coven members here the night of the break in? The night Cindy was taken?”

“No. No one was there except for Cindy, Alice, and me,” Eli said.

“And what were you doing here that night?” I asked.

“You’re a grown man. I think you can figure that out for yourself,” he said.

“You and Alice are romantically involved?” Kat asked.

“We are,” he confirmed.

“Sorry. When you told us that you’ve known Cindy her entire life, I just assumed you were a longtime friend.”

“I was. I am ,” Eli said. “I was Harrison’s best friend until he left, and after that, Alice and I remained close.

I was attracted to her for years before anything happened.

I think she was attracted to me too. We both, I believe, just felt like being more than friends would be disrespectful to Harrison. ”

“To the man who left her on her own with a baby to raise?” Kat asked. “Heaven forbid.”

“It’s complicated,”Eli said. “Everything is complicated, but feelings especially are.” He shrugged.

“Anyway, a couple of months ago, we were able to move past it for whatever reason. We’ve been building something beautiful ever since.

” His eyes seemed to look past me. “All three of us. I really hope you can bring Cindy back to us.”

“As do I,” a voice sounded from the other side of the room.

Like lemmings, we all turned to look. A slender woman with long, sandy hair and pronounced cheek bones was standing by the back door.

Her face held the sort of spent, tired look that only a parent worried about the welfare of their child could achieve.

I had no doubt it was Alice. Her eyes zeroed in on Holly.

“My God. You look just like her.” Tears began to form in her eyes.

I could tell she was used to that. “Same mouth, same noise, same hair. God, you have the same everything.” She rushed toward her and slammed into Holly, scooping her into a hug.

When Alice pulled away, her face was red and wet with tears.

“You are her, aren’t you? You’re Cindy’s birth mother? ”

“I am,” Holly replied, shaking. “I heard about what happened. I want to-I came to help.”

Alice looked at her for a long moment. “Okay,” she finally replied. “Then let me tell you what happened to my-to our daughter.”