No one invited me to the meeting between my mother, Mx. Cardoso, and Rowen, but I knew it was going down Monday night. I spent my school day juggling between distractions—pretending not to notice that Char wasn’t there, sending my potential buyer everything I had on Silphium and the town meetings up to this point, hyping up this option to my mother, trading messages with Sly about nothing important.
This time it was Sly feeding unexpected treats to Mx. Cardoso’s mouse familiar Arcie, while I was the one explaining that magic was real, the animated glass cat had to be enchanted, Hugh was a vampire, and he’d just hit Sly with some kind of charm.
In which Kerry tracks down the glass cat while Sly handles a vampire lawyer customer
In which Kerry and Sly open a secret compartment and discover a surprise inside.
I gave Rowen a rundown of everything I knew, all the intel I’d been gathering on Silphium for my mother, a play-by-play of the city council meetings regarding the sale of Paxwood House. She took it all in stride, jotting down notes in a small personal journal as I spoke. I wanted Mx. Cardoso to pipe up and contribute anything about the actual magic around Paxwood House and its ghostly residents, but they just ate their strawberry rhubarb pie and let me drive the info session.
Sunday, 19 May 2019, AfternoonPaxwood, Whatcom County, Washington, USAEyewitness: Kerry Maisey’s Diner had been a Paxwood staple since it opened in the fifties. Local, fresh, and classic—the menu hadn’t changed much, and neither had the decor. There was something novel
Sunday, 19 May 2019, Early AfternoonPaxwood, Whatcom County, Washington, USAEyewitness: Kerry Through the open repair bay door at Cardoso Auto, I spotted Dominic Cardoso working on a car. I moved close to the wall before he could spot me. Active
Sunday, 19 May 2019, MorningPaxwood, Whatcom County, Washington, USAEyewitness: Kerry The thing about the phrase “butterflies in your stomach” is that, yes, it connects to a churning nervous feeling, something uncertain or nerve-wracking in the world, but it’s also that
This is one of those memories where emotion overshadows detail for all eyewitnesses present and willing to provide their perspective. Char, driven down the hallway by the massive black dog that had emerged from the cellar stairs. Me, in pursuit,
Saturday, 18 May 2019, EveningPaxwood, Whatcom County, Washington, USAEyewitness: Kerry The massive double doors parted silently, an open invitation. Weren’t haunted house doors supposed to creak like the voices of cursed souls? I stopped before I crossed the threshold and