and what he did to that dog makes me ill, but I don’t see him killing Ariel. He had it bad for her.”
I noticed R.J.’s face was creased with a tight-lipped frown, and he appeared to be stewing. With every word that came out of her mouth, his temperature seemed to rise.
“Anyone else?” Ben asked. “What about you two?” He motioned to the twins, Shari and Jennifer.
“He was in love with Ariel all right…” Shari told us.
“…You didn’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure it out,” Jennifer chimed in.
“So you don’t think he was capable of killing her?” I questioned.
“Maybe,” Jennifer answered.
“I don’t know,” stated Shari.
“He was a little weird if you ask me,” Randy spoke up.
“I’m askin’ you,” Ben told him. “You wanna elaborate on that?”
“I dunno,” Randy proceeded nervously. “He just struck me as kinda odd. He didn’t talk much, but he was really into the whole ritual thing, you know?”
“Go on,” I prodded.
“Well,” Randy continued, “I’ve been practicing for about six years now, and I don’t know about you,” he focused on Felicity then me, “but I was under the impression that Wicca is really about ‘deeds not words’ you know? Like, the ritual is just a tool and not the main focus of the religion.”
“That’s how we look at it,” Felicity told him.
“Well, not Devon,” he told us. “The ritual was it for him. If it wasn’t exactly perfect, then as far as he was concerned it wasn’t worth doing.”
“Randy’s right about that,” Cally said. “He spent all kinds of time rehearsing rituals for Sabbats.”
“He even got real upset with me at a circle once…” Shari intoned.
“…Because she didn’t recite something exactly like he wrote it,” Jennifer added.
“See!” R.J. finally burst. “You all agree that something was wrong with the guy. And Rowan just said that whoever did this was into rituals.”
“You’re just jealous, R.J.” Jennifer spat.
“What have I got to be jealous of?!” He was practically out of his chair now.
“Come off it, R.J.,” Shari told him. “Everyone knows you had the hots for Ariel too.”
“Sure we do,” Cally interjected. “You followed her around like a lost puppy.”
“Shut up, Cally!” R.J. shouted.
“Or what?” she baited.
“Stop it all of you!” Felicity was on her feet. “This is ridiculous. Your friend… Your sister in The Craft has been murdered, and you’re sitting here arguing like school children! Rowan and I studied with Ariel. I know damn well she thought better of you, or she never would have stood in circle with you then!”
The room fell silent. Each member of the group looked self-consciously about the room as the gravity of Felicity’s words set in. Chairs made shuffling noises as they shifted in their seats and shamefully realized she was correct.
“Okay,” Ben inserted his voice into the silence. “Now that that is finished… Did Miz Tanner happen ta’ mention to any of ya’ that she may have a reason to fear for her life?”
Heads swiveled back and forth indicating the negative amidst soberly mumbled “No’s” and “Not to me’s.”
“Out of curiosity,” I queried, “do you have any other former members, and have you had trouble with any of them getting involved in things they shouldn’t?”
“Not really,” Cally expressed. “At least I don’t think so.”
“You haven’t kicked anyone else out?” Ben posed.
“No,” she replied.
“How about members leaving of their own accord?” Felicity interjected. “Has that happened recently?”
“There was Stacey and Roger,” Shari piped up.
“And Will,” Jennifer added. “But they all left a few months ago.”
Ben noted the names with his quick scribbling. “Did they leave on good terms?”
“Pretty much so, I guess,” Randy, answered. “Will moved to Florida for his job, or I’m sure he’d still be with us.”
Nods of agreement circled the table at his comment.
“What about the other two?” I pressed. “Stacey and Roger was it?”
“Yeah,” he answered. “They just stopped showing up.”
“Ariel said Stacey was just a poser,” Cally explained. “Once she found out that she wasn’t going to learn how to cast a spell on her ex-boyfriend, she lost interest. We figured Roger was just there because of her, because as soon as she stopped coming, so did he.”
There was nothing unusual about having a poser enter and leave a coven. Some individuals would attempt to embrace the Wiccan religion based entirely upon their misconceptions about it. When they discovered that The Craft was about a harmonious existence with nature and NOT about “casting spells upon your enemies,” they would become almost instantly disenchanted. Just like the two individuals that had just been described, a poser would simply and harmlessly go away.
As if on cue, the end of Cally’s statement was punctuated by a quiet, evenly spaced, electronic beep that became increasingly louder with each pulse.
“Can I use your phone?” Ben asked me, switching off his pager.
“Sure,” I replied. “You want to use the one in the bedroom?”
“If you don’t mind.”
“You know where it is.”
The tension had ebbed once again, and Felicity took her seat at the table once more. The group started muttering apologies to one another, and faces were starting to break back into weak smiles.
“Hey, Rowan,” Ben called from the bedroom down the hall. “Can I talk to ya’ for a minute?”
I excused myself and made my way back to where he was. We spoke in hushed tones, and he explained to me what the phone call had been all about. After listening attentively to what he had to say, I called for Felicity to come back and join us. I heard her excuse herself and tell the group she would only be gone a moment, then seconds later she entered the room and shut the door behind her.
“What’s going on?” she whispered, leaning against the doorframe.
“Do you think you can take over here and get these kids to comprehend what it means for a Witch to cross over?” I asked her gravely. “I need to go with Ben.”
“Why?” She bolted up from her relaxed position. “What’s wrong?”
“That page was from my lieutenant,” Ben answered. “The Major Case Squad is taking over the investigation… Rowan was right, it looks like this psycho hit again.”
CHAPTER 6
A predicted weather system had been moving in throughout the afternoon and evening, and before Ben and I left for the crime scene, a warm, gentle rain had begun to fall. Felicity, though not happy about being left behind, realized the importance of looking after the spiritual well being of the group seated at our dining table and immediately shifted into a nurturing maternal mode. Six pairs of questioning eyes fell upon us as Ben donned his sport coat and announced that we were leaving.
“Who is it?” Cally asked.
“We don’t know yet,” he told her. “I just got the call.”
“Where did it happen?” Randy intoned.
“The body was found in a park here in the county,” Ben stated irritably. “That’s all I know until we get there. You ready yet Rowan?” He gave me an anxious look.
“In a sec…” I answered.
Felicity was stuffing a small camera bag with various pieces of equipment and film I had requested. The fact
