Page 22 of Rise of the Witch (Witches of Keating Hollow #17)

Melissa loaded the back of her Audi with a couple of cases of her favorite wine and then climbed into her vehicle to make the trip back to Keating Hollow.

It was Sunday afternoon, and she’d managed to see all her clients ahead of schedule.

She was hoping to get back into town before dinner so that she could spend the evening with Briggs.

In fact, she planned to go straight to his house, because if she had to deal with Kassie, she wasn’t sure she could keep her cool. The audacity of that woman to hit on Briggs while staying at Melissa’s house—for free no less—was mind-boggling.

Who did that?

Entitled trash. That’s who.

She knew that the other woman had some life issues, but that didn’t excuse her behavior, and Melissa wasn’t inclined to give her any sort of pass.

The afternoon sun was glinting off the Pacific Ocean when a call rang through the Bluetooth on her vehicle’s dash. Sadie’s name flashed across the screen, making Melissa smile. She hadn’t talked to her friend since she and Briggs had made things official, and she couldn’t wait to share the news.

Melissa hit Accept and said, “Hey, bestie. How’s your Sunday?”

“Where are you?” Sadie asked, sounding stressed.

“On 101, headed home. Why? Where are you?”

“At the sheriff’s station.” Sadie’s voice caught when she said, “Briggs has been arrested.”

Melissa was so distracted she almost ran right off the road. She quickly corrected her steering and then pulled off to the side of the road and slammed the car into Park. “What do you mean he’s been arrested? Why? What did he do?”

“They think he abducted Kassie.”

Ringing sounded in Melissa’s ears, and she was certain that she hadn’t heard her friend right. “Say that again?”

“Kassie is missing, and they think that Briggs did it. Melissa, you have to get back here. King and I are very worried. It doesn’t look good.”

“Tell me everything,” Melissa demanded as she pulled back onto the highway and laid into the gas pedal.

“Well, so far all we know is that there was a small explosion at the studio earlier this morning. There’s a partial video of Kassie being hauled off by someone taller than her. They found your bike and a credit card with Briggs’s name on it at the scene.”

Melissa’s heart got caught in her throat. “That’s…”

“Not good,” Sadie finished for her.

“What does Briggs say?” There had to be a reasonable explanation. There just had to be. Kassie could have taken Briggs’s credit card. She was struggling, after all.

“We don’t know. King hasn’t been able to talk to him. He’s working on getting him a lawyer, but with it being Sunday, he’s having a hard time finding someone.” Sadie sniffed. “King is taking this really hard.”

“I can imagine.” Tears stung Melissa’s eyes, but she did her best to swallow her emotions.

This was no time to panic. Until she knew more, she was going to assume that the law had the wrong guy.

“What about Kassie? Do we know anything? Why she was at the studio, who she was with, when she went missing?”

“No. I went to your house. All her stuff is still there. And I found a full cup of tea that still had the tea bag in it with the honey pot sitting next to it. Plus there is toast sitting in the toaster. If I had to guess, I’d say she took off in a hurry.”

That likely meant she went to town to meet someone she knew at the studio. Where she’d been the previous day with Briggs and King. But Briggs had been upset with her the night before, and his solution to dealing with her was to ignore her or stay away from her.

A voice in Melissa’s head chimed in with , What if she convinced him to work on another song and he lost control?

Unfortunately, that was a very real possibility.

“Just hang tight. I’m on my way,” Melissa said. “And Sadie?”

“Yes?”

“Call me if you learn anything new. Anything at all.”

“I will,” Sadie promised.

Melissa ended the call and sped up, praying that she wouldn’t run into any highway patrol on the way.

The drive back to Keating Hollow had been excruciating. Thankfully, Melissa had managed to avoid being pulled over, but it had been a close call a couple of times. As soon as she got back into town, she headed straight for the sheriff’s office.

“Can I help you?” a pretty redhead named Clarissa asked from behind the receptionist’s desk.

Melissa knew who the clerk was just because she’d grown up in Keating Hollow, but the two weren’t close. “Yes, Clarissa, I’m here to see Briggs Williams.”

Clarissa frowned as she tapped on her computer keys. “Your name is Melissa, right?”

“Yes. Melissa Bensen.”

The receptionist nodded. “I thought so. I’m sorry, Melissa, but Briggs isn’t allowed visitors yet. I can put your name on the list and let you know when you’re approved.”

“When will that be?” Melissa asked, feeling as if she were going to come right out of her skin.

“Honestly, likely not until tomorrow. Nothing really happens around here on Sundays. I’m only working because of all the commotion. They needed someone to man the desk. I tell ya, I was not ready to come back to work. I had plans to?—”

Impatient, Melissa cut her off. “I’m sorry your Sunday was ruined. Can I talk to the sheriff?”

“Sheriff Baker is busy right now, but I can let him know you’re waiting,” she said.

“Please. It’s important,” Melissa said and then went to sit in one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs. While she was waiting, she texted Sadie. Where are you?

No reply.

Melissa rose from the chair and dialed Sadie’s number.

It went straight to voice mail.

She wanted to scream in frustration, but she kept her cool and tapped out another message to her friend. I’m at the sheriff’s station. Call me as soon as you get this.

“Ms. Benson?” a male voice asked from behind her.

Melissa spun around to find Sheriff Baker standing there in plain clothes. “Sheriff,” she said. “I need to talk to Briggs Williams.”

“Visiting hours are over,” he said matter-of-factly. “But even if they weren’t, he’s still being processed. After his arraignment tomorrow, if he doesn’t make bail, you can set up a time to see him them.”

“If he doesn’t make bail?” she parroted. “ If ?”

“He’s been arrested for a serious crime, Ms. Benson. I can’t predict what the judge will decide.”

“What evidence do you have that Briggs abducted Kassie?” she demanded. “I know him. He’d never do anything like that. I’m telling you there’s been a mistake.”

He gave her a look of pity. One that said he’d heard it all before.

Melissa was so frustrated that her eyes began to burn with tears again. “You have to tell me something. Anything to help me understand.”

“Why don’t we go talk in my office,” he said as he placed his hand on her elbow and started to guide her through the station.

The unease in her gut only intensified as they made their way down the hall.

When they got to a small windowless office that was as sterile and generic as she could imagine, he gestured for her to enter before him. He followed and shut the door, leaving them in the small room with florescent lighting glaring in her eyes.

“This isn’t your office, is it?” she asked.

“No, but it affords us some privacy.” He opened a drawer and took out a yellow legal pad and a pen. “Before we get started, can you tell me what your relationship to Briggs Williams is?”

“I’m his girlfriend,” she said.

He wrote that down and asked, “How long have you been dating?”

Melissa frowned. “I’m not sure why that matters.”

“I’m just trying to get a clear picture of who Briggs Williams is and who he spends time with. That’s all.”

“I thought you were going to give me some insight on what’s going on with Briggs, not interrogate me,” Melissa said, ready to get up and leave.

“I promise you, this isn’t an interrogation,” he said, not unkindly. “I really do want to make sure we have the right person in custody. And if it turns out we don’t, I’d like to get him released as soon as possible.”

When he put it that way, Melissa supposed she could cooperate a little. “We’ve only been dating for about a week, but I’ve known him for much longer. Briggs is King McGrath’s best friend. King dates my best friend, Sadie Lewis, so I’ve spent a lot of time with all of them over the past few months.”

It felt weird to say that she’d only been with Briggs for a week. In her heart, it felt like much longer. That was probably because she’d been crushing on him for ages. She just hadn’t let herself act on it because she didn’t want to get hurt if he wasn’t willing to commit.

“Were you aware of any hard feelings or conflict between Mr. Williams and Ms. Kinny?”

Melissa stared at him for a long moment. “I think we’re done here.”

He raised his eyebrows curiously. “Is that a yes?”

“It’s a no comment. And I really don’t appreciate you pretending like you’re going to answer some of my questions and then treating me like I’m a suspect or witness to something.

I’ve been out of town the last two days.

I don’t know anything.” Melissa got up and swept out of the room with her chest aching and a sob caught in her throat.

She hurried past Clarissa and ran outside, gasping for breath.

“Melissa!” Sadie called as she ran forward and wrapped her arms around her. “Are you okay? What happened?”

“The sheriff. Questions. I can’t?—”

“It’s okay,” Sadie soothed. “Come on. Let’s get you out of here.”

“But Briggs…”

“King found a lawyer. Lorna White is already working on the fastest way to get him out of here. Apparently she has a judge friend who can expedite the arraignment. Come on. King will keep us updated. Let’s go.”

Melissa let herself be led away by her friend, but with each step away from the sheriff’s department, she felt like she was leaving a piece of herself behind.