Wind from the west whipped the treetops into a breathy susurrus, driving the three women faster. Katharine and Laine had been in the twilit back yard garden shed, pulling out two spades, when they heard the shrill scream from inside the house. Suzette had arrived from Sydney and let herself in to discover what was left of Garnock pinned to the floorboards, rotting at a rate too fast for nature and buzzing with flies. Explanations were brief. Soon, armed with pitchfork and spades, they were on their way to Carmichael Road.
“What a trio we make,” said Katharine as they strode side by side. Three women: one stern-eyed and pretty, one lean and quite beautiful, the other sliding into attractive late middle age, all with hair pulled back sensibly as they trotted with a fork or spade in hand and grim purpose on their faces.
Laine smiled. “Are we mad?”
Katharine slid a sure eye back. “Oh, yes. It’s good, isn’t it?”
Suzette recalled Nicholas’s words from days ago—days that felt like weeks. I thought you just liked gardening, he’d said. That was … what? Hemlock and mandrake and double-double-toil-and-trouble shit?
“Fire burn and cauldron bubble,” said Suzette. She looked at her mother. Katharine held her gaze and gave a small nod. It made Suzette smile.
“That’s us,” said Katharine. “Three witches armed by Target.”
Laine let out a small laugh, but her smile soon evaporated.
The word “witch” seemed to scare them all. They were silent, perhaps sharing the same thoughts. Where was Nicholas? Still in the woods? Had he found Quill? Had she found him?
The night was young but cold, and something was shifting on the air. Suzette noticed Katharine watching the sky and followed her mother’s gaze upward. Clouds, heavy as slate and swollen like the underbellies of diseased beasts, were rolling across the sky. Rain was coming. Heavy rain. By the time they reached Carmichael Road, their faces were toneless shadows.
“What are those cars parked there?”
Suzette and Katharine followed Laine’s gray eyes.
On the dark strip of grass bordering the black trees were several white vehicles.
“I don’t know—”
Red and blue lights flashed on, dazzling the women, and a siren hoo-hooed once in warning.
“Ladies?” called a man’s voice. “Please step over here.”