Plopping onto one of the two beds, Kenzie stretched out and gaped at the ceiling. This case had hardly started and already it was turning into complete bedlam. Ghosts, ghost hunters, voodoo, and witches? What next? As if her life wasn’t already complicated enough with her best friend dating a vampire (unknowingly).
Guilt began to wash over Kenzie like a tidal wave. She was in Barnacle Bay to solve a case, but her own skepticism was preventing her from doing it. Had her life really become so tedious? She was trying so hard to get her PI permit, and yet sometimes it felt like a lost cause. She’d solved several cases before, but crime didn’t stop. Miscreants still showed up all the time, and now they weren’t even human. Maybe she wasn’t cut out to be a detective.
Before she could ponder this any further, however, Kenzie decided to check with an actual supernatural source to get some information. Pulling herself off the bed, she traipsed over to her laptop, brought it back to the bed, and logged into the instant messenger. Austin and Jillian were online, but unfortunately her supernatural source wasn’t.
Her first instinct was to ask Jillian where the hell her boyfriend was, but that would sound way too suspicious. Plus, she was automatically added to a chat with Jillian and Austin. So instead of her first idea, she took a more subtle approach.
WolfKen: Hey!
LifesABeach: Hi, girl! What’s up? Did you solve the case yet?
WolfKen: I wish. It’s driving me nuts. First I hear about a ghost haunting some girl’s house. Now, she and some other girl who were both involved with the same guy are accusing each other of being witches and putting spells on him or some crap.
LifesABeach: Witches? Right…someone’s getting ready for Spooky Day early.
WolfKen: That’s about what it sounds like. But I don’t know, they sounded really serious. This whole thing is starting to boil down to one big love triangle and two angry girls who both had motives to kill this guy.
LifesABeach: That doesn’t explain a ghost.
WordToTheNerd: If I may contribute, ladies, has anyone considered the fact that the ghost is haunting one or both women to seek vengeance for a probable wrongful death?
WolfKen: Hello to you too, Austin. And yeah, that’s actually what this ghost hunter suggested.
LifesABeach: Ghost hunter? What? They seriously believe that?
WolfKen: Yeah, I guess even the chief believes in ghosts because he’s got this guy named Rafe who’s a “professional” ghost hunter. But apparently they need me so I can find the damn thing. Yeah, right. Even they said ghosts don’t leave physical evidence. This case is going to kick my ass.
WordToTheNerd: I highly doubt that. There hasn’t been a case you couldn’t solve, Kenzie. Besides, you want to get your PI permit, right?
WolfKen: Of course I do.
Kenzie didn’t mention that she was unwillingly starting to have second thoughts about her career decision. She had enough to contend with without that.
LifesABeach: Kenzie, why don’t you talk to Alexis? She’s an expert on the pirates in Barnacle Bay, but maybe she found out other stuff too. Like witches and voodoo that you mentioned.
WolfKen: That’s not a bad idea. I think I will. I know I can trust her; I’m not even completely sure about the chief at this point.
LifesABeach: She still lives in the same place. I never pictured her being a big historian when we were kids, but I bet she’d be thrilled to help you out here.
WolfKen: I hope so. Thanks, guys. It’s nice to know that some people still have faith in me.
WordToTheNerd: It would be pretty unfaithful if we didn’t. But don’t worry, Kenzie. I know you can solve this case.
LifesABeach: Me, too!
WolfKen: Great. Well, I’m tired now, so I think I’ll just have some supper, take a shower, and call it a night. I’ll start fresh in the morning.
LifesABeach: I’ll call Alexis and let her know you’re coming.
WolfKen: Thanks. Talk to you guys later.
WordToTheNerd: Bye!
LifesABeach: See you!
Kenzie transferred her laptop back to the desk and then headed for the shower. As she let the warm water roll down her body, her subconscious played images of hovering furniture, transparent people, and two young women battling it out with magic wands. She knew vampires existed, and so did unicorns. What other creatures were real? Did witches truly exist? Or was it just voodoo? What was the difference?
Determined to find out, Kenzie hastily dried her hair and began to do research on her computer. Sage, loyal as ever, watched her from the second twin bed, her ears perked up in alert.
Kenzie typed “voodoo vs. witchcraft” into a search engine and came up with several results. Some of them were fictional articles and mythical legends, but some focused on more of the proven historical facts. According to one website, voodoo required some sort of physical object like a strand of hair or vial of blood to cause an event to occur.
Witchcraft, on the other hand, was originally established for someone to become one with nature and use the earth’s gifts for good. It later became standard for practicing witches to use incantations with the earth to make things occur as they pleased. More recent articles stated that witches could use a spell book rather than any elements to do their bidding. Dark magic was also mentioned, but briefly. The most interesting fact was that witchcraft wasn’t something that one just learned – it was hereditary. Not everyone possessed the gift of being able to cast spells or to become one with nature on a spiritual level. Kenzie remembered Morgan stating that Audra’s grandmother had been into voodoo; perhaps she was also a witch and Audra inherited her powers.
Finally, with a sigh of resignation, Kenzie closed her laptop and crawled into bed. She was physically and mentally spent for the day. Tomorrow, she’d go see Alexis and find out more information. She only hoped the pieces of the puzzle fell into place soon and at least started to make some sense.
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