Outcast

Outcast, Virginia. Population: no more than 5,000 people. It was quaint, though, with its historic downtown buildings and the smiling people who greeted me with much more warmth than I’d become accustomed to in the larger cities I found myself bouncing around to. I took another look at the address I’d hastily scribbled down during my call with Professor Cal — whose husky-voiced explanation of my aunt’s demise still played in my mind — and walked down past the shops until I found the garden path tucked up behind the shrubs and yard trees. Just like Cal (and Benedict) had described.

When I’d gotten off the phone with the professor, Benedict corroborated what she’d told me, adding just a few details she hadn’t. For instance, I learned that Astrid had been arguing with someone just a few days before she’d mysteriously ended up dead. And yet, he couldn’t tell me her cause of death or the motive or even the suspect. It was only after he’d flown off that I remembered learning about a dead aunt from her enchanted bird wasn’t normal and that maybe I’d managed to send myself into a weird sleep-deprived psychosis.

The only thing that had kept me from checking myself in was the fact that I was able to look up the alleged Apothecary shop, finding not only the location but also a picture of (who I assumed was) my Aunt Astrid and her pet raven, Benedict, from a local piece written about them a couple of years before.

So, fine, it was all real. But I didn’t make any changes to my life until I heard from the lawyer who was handling my aunt’s estate. Only then did I tell Samantha where I was going, though I didn’t give her the specifics.

“You’re leaving?” Samantha had seemed deflated — more than I expected after the last fight we had. Maybe I’d been quick to think things weren’t going to go well. Maybe some space would actually make us miss what we liked about the other. That night, Samantha fucked me in a way she hadn’t in months, desperately, thirstily. But by morning, when I was set to leave, she’d become stone again, even as she promised we’d stay in touch while I made sense of my new inheritance.

As I followed the hidden path toward the cottage-like house, I noticed there were fairy lights all along the path that led the way. However, only when I got close enough did I see the wooden sign with “Astrid’s Apothecary & Perfumery” painted in lilac with more fairy lights hanging around it. It was cute, artsy. Something in my chest squeezed as I thought about this person I didn’t know painting her sign by hand, excited about having her own shop. That was one thing we had in common — the desire to be independent. Only, it looked like she had attained it.

After taking a steadying breath, I reached forward and opened the front door, the sound of the tiny bell above the threshold underwhelming for such a momentous event.

The shop was dimly lit, with all the little cubbies with products lit by more fairy lights. Astrid really liked those little things. Though, I couldn’t fault her — I did too. I stood in the doorway for a few moments, letting my eyes adjust to the lack of light before I made my way through. Cal had insisted on meeting me here so she could give me a tour and help me figure out where everything was, but I didn’t see her anywhere. So, I followed the pathway through the shop, sniffing candles and smoke bundles displayed on tables throughout the room. Maybe this was where I’d gotten my “witchy” habits…

“Savannah?” Cal ventured from behind me somewhere. I whirled around to find her standing in a shadowed doorway I’d missed during my exploration, hands in the pockets of her black slacks. The ghost of a smile on her lips told me she’d noticed me startle at her voice, but then it disappeared, replaced by a somber nod as she took her right hand out of her pocket and crossed the room to shake mine.

From a distance, she seemed average height, her black turtleneck making it difficult to get a feel for her build. But up close, Cal Donahue was anything but average. Her shoulders were broad, and she had at least nine inches on my five-three stature, making me look up into her penetrating gray eyes as her hand engulfed mine. Her short blond hair was styled with what looked like a quick swipe of gel, and I felt a sudden urge to outline her sharp jaw with a finger before snapping back to myself.

“Hi, my friends call me Savvy.” I wasn’t sure where to look, so I pointed to the door behind me and said, “Your directions were spot on; I’m not sure I would have found this place without them. How did she ever get enough visitors to stay open if they couldn’t find it?” If Cal noticed my nervousness, she didn’t point it out. She only nodded politely, humming an acknowledgment.

“Astrid’s was designed to be found by…the right clientèle at the right time.” She responded, a cryptic air settling around her. “If you want to go through there, I’ve got a kettle on the stove for us.” Cal stood back and pointed me toward the door she’d come through, and I followed her directions with a self-conscious effort to not look back at the serious woman close behind me.

The dark hallway was short, just a throughway that opened up into a cozy cottage-style kitchen with dusty pink walls and white counters. One wall had a whole row of hanging herbs drying against it, and the open window was framed with gauzy curtains and (you guessed it) more fairy lights. Cal pointed at a cushioned barstool tucked up into the kitchen island in a way I took as an order to sit while she went around to the stove, taking the steaming kettle off the burner and pouring the scalding water into two cups I didn’t notice sitting next to the stove.

“I hope you like peppermint,” she said firmly. I wasn’t sure it would have mattered if I liked it or not; she’d chosen it for us. Luckily, I did like peppermint tea when I was most anxious. “Honey?”

“Hmmm? Oh, yes, please.” My cheeks warmed as I watched her move about the kitchen as if she lived here. Did she? “So, uh, what was your relationship to my, ah, aunt?”

Cal’s head turned slightly to look at me over her shoulder, her brow lifting curiously as she said, “Relationship? We were…friends.” She turned to me fully, putting both cups of tea on the counter side by side and stood back, letting me choose which cup I wanted. This stood out to me, and I couldn’t place whether it was common practice for her or if she knew I had trust issues.

“You sound hesitant,” I pointed out as I slid the burnt orange cup toward me, leaving her with the pink and green one. She smirked a little at the remaining choice before picking it up and blowing the steam off the top.

“Not many people knew we were close. She wanted to keep it that way. It feels odd saying it out loud after all this time,” Cal confessed. I searched her face for more, but she only stared back, unreadable. With an exasperated sigh, I set my cup down and folded my hands together, leaning forward.

“I really need someone to be forthright with me, Cal.” A small shift in her expression when I said her name caught my eye before she smoothed it out again. “It’s really hard to decide what to do with a place I just inherited when no one will tell me the truth about anything.” I wasn’t used to speaking my mind about things, and I could sense a warble coming up my throat before I paused, hoping she wouldn’t notice.

Cal’s eyebrows cinched as she sat up straighter, lowering her cup from her mouth. “What do you mean, decide what to do with the place?”

“I mean, I need to speak with Astrid’s solicitor and figure out what I should do with the property. I have a life somewhere else,” I reminded her. The information troubled Cal; that was for sure. But why? She didn’t know me, and neither had Astrid, for that matter. I didn’t owe anything to someone I didn’t have a relationship with.

“This place was your aunt’s dream,” Cal pointed out with a glare as though I’d personally offended her.

“And it’s a beautiful place, but I don’t know anything about running a shop. Let alone an apothecary shop. I know nothing about plants or teas or perfumes…” I stopped, realizing I was arguing with a stranger over something I’d already decided on. Cal and I stared at each other for a few seconds before she exhaled.

“I’m sorry, you’re right. What time do you meet with Harris?” Warily, I let my shoulders down and took another sip of tea.

“You know Mr. Sullivan? I meet with him around four.” Cal nodded as she listened to my plans, then she leaned forward, elbows on the counter. Her eyes traced my face as she seemed to internally battle with something.

“You asked for answers,” she finally said. “I don’t have a lot yet, we’re waiting on the autopsy report. But I can give you an outline of what I know before your meeting with Harris. And yes,” she continued. “You’ll find that most people know each other around here. You just have to watch out for the ones that come from outside the town border.”

“Like me?” I asked before I could stop myself. Cal’s mouth quirked up darkly as she nodded, gray eyes dipping down and back up to my face.

“Like you,” Cal agreed. Then, she told me what she knew.

Aunt Astrid was in the middle of a dispute with the mayor over his unwillingness to protect the town folk from an incoming construction project. What was the project? Only the mayor and Astrid seemed to know. Cal could see Astrid was distraught, though, and it made her worry about how bad it was going to be and why she felt the need to keep it secret.

“Why would she and the mayor be in such close confidence?” I squinted at her in confusion.

“Astrid was on the citizen protection committee that was established quite a few years ago. First of its kind, and Astrid was elected a few years ago to head it.” Cal’s gaze softened as she continued, “People really trusted her to protect them. Er, to protect the township.”

So, Astrid and this mysterious mayor were having a hard time seeing eye to eye about something Astrid was sure would be bad for the town’s inhabitants. I could already feel myself being sucked in to the mystery, my brain itching for a puzzle to solve. Cal watched me curiously, expectantly, before I shook my head a little.

“I’m sure whatever really happened will come to light once the investigation is over. It’s sad, and I’m really sorry for your loss. But it could have been a terrible, accidental coincidence.” I leveled her with a sympathetic look, fighting the urge to reach over the counter separating us and putting a consoling hand on her arm. She struck me as the type who didn’t want to be touched without permission. Cal’s gaze fell to my hands that were folded in front of me, as though she could sense I was holding them still. Then, she let out a deflated breath.

“Time will tell, I guess. Do you want me to call you when we know something?” Was that disappointment in her tone? Did I want her to? I remembered the way her raspy voice had sounded on the other side of the phone when she’d called about Astrid in the first place, the way I had almost wanted her to call me again.

“I’m not sure,” I admitted. “This is all really new, and kind of confusing.”

“Of course, I…I should have known you’d be overwhelmed.” Cal looked at the time, then at me, hesitating over something. “I know you’re ready to get back home. But your meeting is going to be late. Do you want to get dinner after, and I can tell you a little about your aunt that doesn’t involve her death?”

A lump formed in my throat at her offer to give me a less grim version of my aunt’s story, and I found that I wanted that very much.

“I’d like that, actually. Also, could you point me in the direction of the closest hotel?” Cal smiled at my acceptance, her face seeming younger with the change. Then, she pulled a key out of her pocket and slid it across to me.

“No need,” she announced. “You can stay in Astrid’s studio around the back.”