Chapter 20
”Are you sure Sheriff White isn”t here?” Fiona glanced around the police department parking lot to make sure one of the two town cruisers was gone.
”Relax, Fi,” Jake reassured her, a lopsided grin on his face. ”I called Tony. Sheriff White”s out on a call, so we”re in the clear.”
The duo dashed across the parking lot and through the station”s double doors, the overhead fluorescent lights illuminating the familiar sight of Deb sitting behind the glass at the front desk. Her eyes brightened at the sight of the pastry box Jake and Fiona had picked up on the way.
”Well, if it isn”t my favorite baker,” she quipped, dusting powdered sugar off her uniform. ”You sure know how to make a gal feel special, Jake. But I gotta ask, why the bribe? Cells are empty.”
Jake”s brows furrowed in confusion. ”What do you mean? What about Alex Summers?”
Debra shook her head, swallowing the last bite of her donut. ”Bailed out this morning.”
Fiona”s heart skipped a beat as she exchanged a worried glance with Jake. Who would bail out Alex?
”Do you know who bailed him out?” Jake asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
Deb scrolled through her computer, fingernails clacking on the keys, eyes squinting at the screen. Finally, she looked up. ”It says here that someone named Sofie Dove bailed him out.”
Jake and Fiona stood frozen, mirroring one another’s disbelief. ”Sofie Dove?” Fiona repeated, her voice a quiet echo in the empty police station.
Deb, still sitting behind her desk, looked between the two of them, an eyebrow arched. ”Yeah,” she responded, leaning back in her chair. ”That”s what it says here.” She jabbed a finger at her computer screen, her mouth forming a thin line.
Jake and Fiona exchanged another glance, their minds whirling with questions. Alex Summers and Sofie Dove—how did they fit together? Jake had grilled Alex in the jail cell just days before, and not once had Alex mentioned any connection to Sofie Dove.
”Are you sure about this, Deb?” Jake asked again, his voice carrying a hint of desperation.
Deb rolled her eyes at him, her hands moving away from the keyboard to cross over her chest defensively. ”I”m not blind yet, Jake Cooper,” she retorted, the usual twinkle in her eyes replaced by a steely glare. ”That”s what it says right here.”
With a final shared look of bewilderment, Jake and Fiona thanked Deb for the information and made their way back outside into the crisp afternoon air of Noquitt.
”Something”s not right,” Jake muttered as they walked down the sidewalk. His hand slipped into his pocket to pull out his phone. ”I knew Alex was holding something back when I talked to him.”
Fiona nodded in agreement. ”Why would Alex keep quiet about knowing Sofie? And why would she bail him out?”
As they spoke, their eyes swept over their surroundings. Noquitt was as peaceful as ever with people milling about their day-to-day activities, completely oblivious to the brewing storm hidden within the nearby woods.
The strange occurrences that had been happening around them—the unusually fast-growing herbs in Morgan”s garden, the portals, the strange animals in the woods—were confined to the Blackmoore property for now. But for how long?
”We need to let the others know,” Jake said, breaking Fiona”s train of thought. He was already dialing a number on his phone—most likely Morgan”s.
Fiona sighed, looking back at the police station. The mundane building suddenly seemed a lot more sinister.
”Yeah,” she agreed, her mind racing with possible scenarios and outcomes. ”Now more than ever, we need to find Sofie Dove.”
* * *
Morgan endedthe call with Jake and set her phone on the kitchen table with a contemplative look. Johanna, Jolene, Luke, Mateo, and Calvin were gathered around, having just heard the unsettling news about Sofie Dove”s involvement with Alex Summers.
”I can”t believe Sofie bailed Alex out of jail,” Morgan said. ”She acted like she didn”t even know him when she came to the shop.”
Johanna shook her head. ”This changes things. Maybe Maynard is the one we should be trusting. If Alex stole the lumiscope for Sofie, they must be working together.”
”But that doesn”t make sense,” Jolene argued. ”If they were working together, why would Alex pawn the stones instead of giving them directly to Sofie?”
Mateo nodded. ”There”s more going on here than we realize. I think we need to talk to Sofie directly and get some answers.”
”And for that, we need to know where she lives.” Jolene turned to the computer, her fingers flying over the keyboard as she dove through digital archives and databases. The glow of the screen illuminated her intense expression as she searched.
”Got it!” she declared. ”I found Sofie”s address.”
”Maynard said that he didn”t think Sofie would be out in the field somewhere, bending the ley lines to her will,” Morgan said.
”Yes, but since we don”t know where she would be, her house is a good start.” Jolene picked up her phone. ”I”ll let Jake and Fiona know.”
Jolene shot off a text, and her phone pinged immediately. ”They”re not far from the address. Jake said he”ll check it out and let us know.”
”So I guess we wait.” Johanna reached into the fridge and pulled out a Tupperware container. ”Good thing I have cookies.”
They moved into the sitting room, nibbling chocolate cookies and pacing as they waited for Jake”s response.
The muted roars of the ocean, normally soothing, only added to the uneasy atmosphere. Belladonna wove between their legs, her purring a sharp contrast to the anxiety in the room. Morgan knelt to pet her, hoping for some measure of calm from her furry companion.
”I just hope Jake and Fiona are careful,” Johanna said, staring out at the darkening sky through the big picture windows. ”Sofie might not be very friendly.”
Luke glanced at his watch. ”They should be there by now. Let”s hope they find something useful.”
Out on the lawn, dandelions were springing up at an unnatural pace. The usually green expanse was quickly turning into a sea of yellow heads bobbing in the wind. It was a clear sign that magic was getting stronger in the area.
Suddenly, a zap of energy lit up the forest edge bordering their property. They all turned to look at it—an electrifying display that lasted only seconds but left an afterimage on their retinas.
Morgan”s heart pounded in her chest. ”We can”t just sit here,” she said. ”We need that lumiscope.”
Jolene nodded, subconsciously reaching for her protective amulet. ”We need to find Sofie or Alex. And we need to do it fast.”
But with no leads and no idea where to start, they could do nothing but wait for Jake and Fiona”s report from Sofie”s place and hope they would bring back answers and not more questions.
”Let”s not waste time. If Jake doesn”t find anything at Sophie’s, what”s our next plan?” Luke asked.
”We need to figure out where she is,” Morgan said.
”Meow!” Belladonna leapt onto the back of the tallest chair in the room. Her ice-blue eyes were locked on something unseen in the distance, her tail flicking restlessly.
”Easier said than done.” Jolene wiped cookie crumbs from her mouth.
”Yeah, but if anyone can figure it out, you can.” Mateo smiled at Jolene.
”Patterns of behavior are important,” Jolene added, her professional experience as a private investigator lending weight to her words. ”If she consistently does the opposite of what Maynard expects, then that”s a pattern we can work with.”
Before anyone could respond to Jolene”s comment, Celeste entered the room, a thoughtful expression on her face.
”I talked to some dead ancestors, but I couldn”t find anything concrete about ley lines or how to control them,” Celeste admitted, a hint of frustration coloring her voice. ”But Rebekah did mention something interesting about Maynard and Sofie.”
The room fell silent as they waited for Celeste to continue.
”She said that those two have always been at odds,” Celeste said slowly. ”Maynard always tried to control things with brute force, while Sofie preferred a more natural approach. And no matter what Maynard suggested or believed in, Sofie would invariably do the exact opposite.”
Morgan exchanged glances with Jolene. The pieces were starting to fall into place.
Belladonna made another agile leap, her body arcing high before landing gracefully on the top shelf of the bookcase. Miraculously, she didn”t knock over any books. As Morgan watched her, a connection sparked in her mind.
She turned to look at her sisters, their faces filled with determination and worry. Celeste”s revelation about the Dove siblings” dynamics was starting to make sense in a whole new way.
”If Maynard is drawn to the sea”s level at the beach,” she began slowly, voicing the thought that was forming in her mind, ”then Sofie... she”d go high. The cliffs!”
Jolene, Fiona, and Celeste blinked at Morgan, their expressions blank as they digested her words. A ripple of understanding swept over them, and their faces lit up with recognition. Celeste nodded, her blond hair bobbing with the movement, while Fiona”s fingers drummed thoughtfully on the table.
”Give me a sec,” Jolene said, her voice full of determination. She pulled the laptop toward her, her fingers nimbly typing. “We have a couple of high clings, but I’ll get the coordinates for the highest cliff peak in Noquitt.”
As Jolene was engrossed with the computer, the shrill ring of Morgan”s cell sliced through the air. Jake”s name flashed on the screen, and she snatched it up, pressing it to her ear.
”Sofie”s not at her place.” Jake”s voice echoed through the line, sounding frustrated.
”I think we”ve got a lead on where she might be,” Morgan responded. She glanced over at Jolene, who nodded and rattled off some coordinates that Morgan relayed to Jake. ”Meet you guys there in twenty minutes.”
With their destination deduced and a plan forming, it was time to act. Mateo, Luke, and Calvin quickly gathered ropes and hiking gear from around the house—tools they might need depending on what they found at the cliffs.