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"All right, women to one side. Men to the other," Sheriff Knoxx barked. His large frame moved around the room at a slow and steady pace, eying each individual as if we were all responsible for Campbell's sudden death. He was attempting to separate the men and the women who'd been at the party. As if the different sexes might conspire together if left alone.
He stopped and looked at me longer than anyone. His nostrils flared. I could feel his hot breath from two feet away. It had the unpleasant smell of boiled cabbage.
"This is dumb," Sheriff Maxwell muttered a little too loudly.
Knoxx snapped his head around, his dark eyes blazing. Since Lincoln had been the only officer at the party when Campbell's death occurred, he'd automatically assumed control. Now that Knoxx was here, a turf war had broken out.
"My town, my rules," Sheriff Knoxx said. His voice was like an out-of-tune bass—grungy yet oddly musical.
"I was the first officer on the scene," Lincoln said.
"You were off duty. At a party." Knoxx spat out the last word as if parties were akin to eating garbage.
"Still," Lincoln said. "Seeing that I was the first officer here, I think I should—"
"This isn't Mistmoor Point," Sheriff Knoxx said. His face was turning violent shades of purple. "Your way of doing things won't work here. You're out of your element."
Lincoln opened his mouth to protest. Felicity put a restraining hand on his arm. He glanced at her and sighed. I could tell he hated to admit that Sheriff Knoxx was right. He had no jurisdiction.
Too bad. I thought we'd all have been a lot better off in Lincoln's hands.
I wondered if the rivalry between the sheriffs stemmed merely from the competition that came between law enforcement units, or if it ran deeper. Although Felicity and Lincoln had shown up to my party, they were the only two from Mistmoor—other than the mayor and his wife, who gave me the impression they went anywhere free food was offered—to be here. No one else from Mistmoor had bothered to come.
Trixie and Eleanor had told me not to be offended. The rivalry between Mistmoor and Sweetland went back twelve hundred years, when Sara Sweetland married Patrick Mistmoor. One of them cheated on the other shortly after their wedding, though the accounts differed depending on which side of town you lived on.
There was supposed to be a cliff somewhere on the island where you could hear Sara's cries as she threw herself off it after her marriage dissolved. Or was thrown off. Depending which version you believed.
I scanned the room for my aunts. They had disappeared just after Campbell's collapse and were nowhere to be seen.
"There you are," Lucy Lockwood said. She appeared at my side from out of nowhere and grabbed my elbow, spinning me toward the patio door. "We've gotta get out of here."
"Why?" I whispered. "I didn't do anything. There's no way anyone can blame me for Campbell. I wasn't even in the room when it happened."
"Are you kidding me?" Lucy screeched. "Everyone saw you two dancing together. I can just see tomorrow's headline for the Witches Herald." She held her hand up in the air, writing on imaginary paper. "Bakery Reaper strikes again."
"Bakery Reaper!" Now it was my turn to screech. "You made that up. No one's calling me that."
"Everyone's calling you that. Now grab your purse and let's go."
We were almost to the door when Sheriff Knoxx's loud voice boomed across the room.
"Hold it! You two. Ava Rose and Lucy Lockwood. Get over here."
We turned slowly toward the sheriff.
"Yes?" I asked in what I hoped was a calm, measured tone.
"Let me see your wand," Sheriff Knoxx said, holding out his hand. It was an order.
I instinctively stepped back from him, holding my purse with both hands like it was filled with money instead of makeup. Aunt Eleanor had taught me the expando spell. Inside my purse, I'd been able to store not just makeup, but shoes, a change of clothes, and Lucy's loaner wand.
I saw Lucy glance sideways at me. I hadn't used her wand for anything since she'd given it to me a few days ago at Coffee Cove—I'd been too scared. The only thing I'd done with it was make sure Aunt Eleanor and Trixie saw it so they wouldn't question me further about my own wand. From a distance, our wands looked identical. Most wands did.
"I didn't do anything," I told Sheriff Knoxx. He grunted and I could have sworn blue smoke erupted from his nostrils. What was he? Part dragon?
"Until we know precisely how Campbell Price died tonight, I am checking all wands. Starting with yours."
His hand hovered in the air. I felt Lucy stiffen beside me. I waited for her to say something. To give me up and tell everyone I had her wand, not my own. But she kept quiet. I had no idea how much trouble I could get into for using a wand that wasn't mine. I didn't think it was illegal, but I had the feeling it wasn't considered proper.
Lucy was the only friend I'd made in Sweetland Cove. The only one who didn't seem convinced that I was a murderer. I couldn't give the sheriff her wand. What if it got her into trouble?
"Sheriff," I said, clearing my throat. "I, um, don't think... I can." It sounded lame, but I really didn't know what else to say.
"Ava!" Aunt Eleanor cried running toward me. Trixie nipped at her heels. They were waving frantically at me. I wasn't sure whether they were telling me to make a run for it or eat more lemon peppy bars. Where had they disappeared to, anyway?
Eleanor arrived at my side, breathless. "Sheriff Knoxx," she breathed. "Ava has nothing to hide. Do you?" she asked, turning to me.
"No," I said. Eleanor nodded, as if that settled everything.
"If that's true, then the girl should have no problem handing over her wand for inspection," Knoxx said. "But so far, she's resisting."
I hated the way he'd referred to me as 'the girl' like I wasn't even standing here.
"Oh, just give it to him," Trixie said. I gaped at her, shaking my head. I realized Lucy was no longer at my side. She was watching from the sidelines, with the rest of the party.
"I can't," I told Trixie.
"Why not?" Trixie asked.
"Because." I could feel every eye in the room on me. I was positive they were all whispering Bakery Reaper over and over again.
"You can give it to me here," Sheriff Knoxx said, his voice had dropped an octave. His growl was so deep it almost hurt my ears. "Or I can take you down to the station, throw you in a jail cell, and take it from you."
My heart was racing. In the corner, Damon was still as a statue, his face ashen. I'd forgotten all about him. Campbell had been his friend. That made two of Damon's friends who'd died since my arrival on the island.
"What about the humans?" I whispered. "I can't pull out my wand in front of them, can I?" I asked, thinking for a second that I'd beaten the sheriff at his own game.
Sheriff Knoxx looked around, then snapped his fingers in the air. "Perplexio unami," he said. I saw Damon's eyes glaze over.
"A confusion charm," Knoxx told me. "The humans won't know what's going on now. You're out of excuses."
I could see Lucy lingering by the patio door, watching me.
"Just give him your wand, Ava," Eleanor said.
"Come on," Trixie chimed in. "You don't want to be arrested."
I bit my lip and pulled Lucy's wand from my purse. Sheriff Knoxx grabbed it from me.
"Was that so hard?" he asked.
Lucy's face turned red. She stormed from the room. I had the horrible feeling I'd just lost the only friend I had in Sweetland Cove.
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