In the Company of Witches by Auralee Wallace

Author:Auralee Wallace [Wallace, Auralee]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2021-10-04T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 21

I walked over to the woman hidden in the shadow of the tree. I almost lost sight of her when yet another cloud racing across the sky cut off the brilliance of the sun.

“I’m sorry if I startled you. I should have introduced myself when you came by the orchard the other day. I apologize for my rudeness.”

“There’s no need. The circumstances weren’t the best.”

The muscles flexed in her jaw. “And I’m afraid my husband is particularly gifted at taking any set of circumstances and making them worse.”

I waited, not sure how to respond.

“I’ve made you uncomfortable. I’m sorry.”

“Please don’t apologize.”

“You must be wondering why I’ve tracked you down.”

I blinked in surprise.

“Don’t worry. I haven’t been following you. I was just at the gift shop.” She looked over to Charmed Treasures. “I was chatting with the clerk. She is quite the fan of the Warren women.”

“I’m starting to realize that.”

“Anyway, she told me you had just stopped in, and I saw you talking with Ben.” She looked down at her purse. “But, in all honesty, I have been hoping I would run into you.”

“You must know I live at the B&B. You could have stopped by.”

She stiffened and retreated deeper into the shadows. “I couldn’t do that. Rip might find out.”

“Would you like to go somewhere more private to talk?”

“No, that won’t be necessary.” She opened the latch on her handbag. “This won’t take long.” She pulled out a faded envelope. “I was hoping you could give this to Rip’s brother. He does the lawn work for the town. It wouldn’t be difficult to find him.”

“I know John,” I said, not yet reaching to take the envelope from her. “Why do you need me to give it to him? Why not give it to him yourself?”

“I’m taking a risk by talking to you. If Rip found out I went to see John.” She shook her head. “I need a little more time. When things are settled, I’ll talk to John myself. Apologize for not getting this to him sooner.”

I took the letter from her. I wasn’t surprised to see it addressed to John Graves. I was, however, quite shocked to see who it was from. Constance. My gaze snapped back up to hers.

She held up a hand as though to hold me off. “I know.”

“How old is this letter?”

“Several years.”

“Why do you have it?”

“Rip stole it. Probably took it right out of her mailbox. She would have thought the mail carrier had delivered it.”

I suddenly remembered what John had said about Dog bringing him other people’s mail. Maybe the crow had been trying to tell John about this letter. A messenger for the dead indeed.

I brought myself back to the moment. “Your husband told me he didn’t see much of Constance.”

“My husband is a liar, Ms. Warren. It comes as easily to him as breathing. He doesn’t even think his lies through. He visited his sister several times a year trying to convince her to give him Graves House. I’m sure he wasn’t nice about it either.

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