Brayden, Mom, and I stood on the front porch and watched the Shady Creek police van disappear from view. Dominic and Gail were safely in transit to the Shady Creek jail, both charged with Merlinda’s murder.
The roads had reopened an hour ago. Our parking lot was full of police vehicles. The Shady Creek coroner and crime scene techs remained on site processing the crime scene for the next few hours at least. Tyler was debriefing them.
What had started as a crime of opportunity had morphed into a crime of passion. I was never good at geometry, but the intersecting love triangles were obvious now in hindsight. I just wished we had figured things out sooner and possibly saved Merlinda from such a tragic end.
One thing still confused me. Merlinda was anything but ordinary. She was a powerful witch, yet she failed to see Dominic’s true intentions. I guess love is blind, even for accomplished witches. Even Merlinda had been fooled when her heart was involved.
Aunt Pearl had a faraway look in her eyes. “Merlinda was such a powerful witch. Such raw talent. We’ll never see that potential again. Unless…” She turned to me, a hopeful look in her eyes.
“Forget it, Aunt Pearl.” I stepped back and shook my head. “You know I don’t function well under pressure. Spellcasting won’t earn me a living either. I don’t want the weight of the witch world on my shoulders like Merlinda had.”
Aunt Amber sighed. “Even Merlinda couldn’t handle it in the end, now could she? I agree with Cen. So sad. She was such a talented witch but a poor judge of character. You need both to be successful.”
Mom nodded in agreement. “That poor girl. I really thought Merlinda had it all. Yet, it seems she really didn’t have much at all.”
The last few hours had been very telling as we learned of Merlinda’s sad existence. It seemed that everyone had taken advantage of her for their own personal gain.
Aunt Amber shook her head. “I can’t believe Merlinda’s father used her magic to pretend that he had resurrected John Frum and the cargo cult.”
Merlinda had merely been a pawn in her father’s hands. No wonder she had fled to the relative sanctuary of Pearl’s Charm School and Westwick Corners. Maybe she had even delayed her flight home on purpose, hoping to be snowbound.
Dominic had married her for his own benefit too. The very things that gave her power also spelled her demise. Her ultimate cost was her life.
“She made life very profitable for her father,” Aunt Pearl added. “Her witchcraft enriched him and made him a big shot on Vanuatu. I’m going to track him down and lock him up in a cargo container. It’s time I took a little South Pacific vacation.”
As if on cue, Tyler entered the living room. He held up his hand in protest. “Don’t interfere, Pearl. I’ve already been in touch with the Vanuatu police. They’re arresting Merlinda’s father as we speak. He’ll see justice.”
“But he’s the chief of police,” Aunt Pearl protested.
“Not anymore,” Tyler said. “He’s been fired and replaced by a subordinate who was already conducting a secret investigation of his own. Our findings corroborate his. Merlinda’s father won’t see freedom anytime soon.”
“For what? Murder?” Aunt Amber asked.
“No,” Tyler said. “For extortion, fraud, and a few other things.”
“He’s getting off way too easy,” Aunt Pearl protested.
“Don’t count on that,” Tyler said. “I’ve been told he’s got a lot of enemies that were too afraid to speak up before. Now that he’s arrested and fired as police chief, a whole bunch of accusers are coming forward. That probably means more charges.”
It turned out that the locals never really bought into the cargo cult scam. Some went along with it because they got free stuff. Others just turned a blind eye and enjoyed the annual celebrations, though many thought Merlinda’s father made a farce out of their history and traditions.
Aunt Pearl’s eyes twinkled. “I still wouldn’t mind a tropical vacation. I sense a business opportunity.”
I sighed. “You are not taking over Merlinda’s cargo cult, Aunt Pearl. That’s better left to history. It certainly won’t be well-received by the locals after everything that’s happened.”
“You can come with me, Cen.” Aunt Pearl winked at me. “Consider it an off-campus field trip. Once you see the potential, maybe you’ll change your mind. You know, re-enroll in Pearl’s Charm School.”
“Not a chance.” The primary reason Merlinda was such a talented witch was simply because she had put in more hours of spellcraft than anyone else. I had no desire to follow in her footsteps.
Aunt Pearl suddenly grew wistful. “Poor Merlinda wanted nothing more than to use her powers for good, not just to enrich her father. How ironic that he wanted people to think of him as their benefactor rather than the criminal he actually was. He totally took advantage of her. Whatever goods he didn’t use himself or for bribes, he sold at a profit. That’s how he got rich in the first place.”
“I guess he needed to control Merlinda, otherwise his whole plan and power would have gone up in smoke,” Aunt Amber said. “Merlinda was the key to his success. Even John Frum couldn’t conjure stuff up out of thin air. She was probably relieved when her flight got canceled. She could delay her return.”
“She did miss Vanuatu, though,” Aunt Pearl said. “I warned her not to go back, but she wouldn’t listen. She missed Dominic and said she would just go home for the holidays. I had to act quickly.”
“Oh my god, Pearl,” Aunt Amber exclaimed. “You really did poison her with that tea. I just knew it!”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Amber! How many times do I have to tell you? There was absolutely nothing wrong with my tea. I did not make a mistake, so just give it a rest, okay? That’s not how I stopped her from going home. I got her flight canceled instead.”
I frowned. “You can’t just call up the airline and—wait a minute. Do you mean that you changed the weather? You brought the storm?” I had always thought that conjuring up a blizzard was beyond any witch’s ability. “You canceled Christmas for planeloads of people just to keep Merlinda here?”
“You should try it sometime, Cen. All that power over people is mighty intoxicating. You could even outdo Merlinda if you put in a little effort. First, master the snow globe spell, and then…” Aunt Pearl stared wistfully into space.
“I don’t want to—oh, never mind.” No point arguing. “I still think you should have let Merlinda go home. Trapping her here is kind of obsessive, don’t you think?”
“I didn’t do it for selfish reasons, Cen. I had to save Merlinda from her father.” Aunt Pearl’s eyes suddenly grew misty. “I never expected trouble to come here instead. Her father called here day and night, demanding that Merlinda return home. Poor Merlinda felt she had no choice. So I made the choice for her.”
Was this really Aunt Pearl? She was sharing her feelings about someone she cared about. I had never known her to do that, ever. “She never told you about the secret wedding?”
Aunt Pearl shook her head. “No. If I had known, I would have stopped it. She confided to me about everything else, so either Dominic’s marriage claim was a lie, or else Merlinda was afraid to mention it in case her father found out.”
“I guess the truth finally came out,” I said. “Poor Merlinda. Too bad fate had plans of its own.”