Ax to Grind Read Free Page B

her mother showed up at the shop.  
    Beth Walton had a habit of waking up on the grumpy side of the bed.   The first rule of a happy life was to never cross a witch.  So if Meg’s mom refused to believe that the day started earlier than ten in the morning, Meg wasn’t going to risk getting on her bad side.  It was wise not to mess with a witch that didn’t know what the phrase “morning person” meant.  
    Even given her crabby history with the morning, Beth came in looking more bothered than usual that morning. 
    Beth shook her head and ranted with an exasperated look on her face. “What’s this town coming to?”
    “Uh oh.  Sounds like someone has a serious case of the grumps,” Meg joked. 
    “This is no laughing matter,” Beth replied. 
    Meg looked into her mom’s eyes.  She could tell immediately that it wasn’t just the usual “there goes the neighborhood” rant, which her mother used for occasions as trivial as people leaving their Christmas lights up until June.  No, this was serious.  Meg gulped.  She wasn’t sure she wanted the answer to her next question. 
    “What’s the matter?” Meg wondered. 
    “I saw a half dozen police cars in front of Ethan Wakefield’s house,” Beth revealed. 
    Meg’s eyes opened wide.  “Ethan?”
    The mention of his name stopped Meg dead in her tracks.  After what Liz had told her earlier, Ethan managed to make a slew of enemies last night when he shut down “Enchanted Nights.” 
    Meg continued.  “What happened?”
    Beth shrugged her shoulders.  “I don’t know for sure.  I wasn’t about to get out of my car and ask the police what had happened.  It sure looked like a crime scene to me.  What’s happening to our town?”
    “A crime scene like someone robbed the place, or--”
    “I just said I don’t know.”
    That only made Meg panic even more.  “Mom, this is really important.  Did you see the police talking to Ethan?”
    “I didn’t see Ethan at all, just the police.”
    This was just what Meg feared.
    Beth continued ranting.  “This used to be such a quiet town.  A happy place, peaceful.  I miss the days when the biggest problem were raccoons knocking over our neighbor’s garbage cans in the middle of the night.”
    Meg’s heart started beating out of her chest.  She could sense trouble.  Before her anxiety grew out of control, she decided to take a step back. 
    Beth stopped ranting when she saw her daughter’s face turn white.  “Honey, are you ok?”
    “Mom, I need to take a break,” Meg insisted. 
    “Was it something I said?”
    “I just need to get some air.”
    “Meg, tell me, what is it?”
    “That’s the thing.  I’m getting a really bad feeling,” Meg explained. 
     
     
     
     
     
     
    ***
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Meg stepped out back to get some air.  Her emotions had a tendency to get the better of her in the heat of the moment.  In those cases, she found it helped to stare out at the horizon.  Sometimes, a little perspective was all she needed.
    This wasn’t one of those times.  All her usual tricks didn’t work.  Meg had a terrible feeling that she just couldn’t shake.  She listened to her instincts and gave Connor a call.  Unfortunately, he didn’t pick up. 
    She tried texting him instead.  Sometimes Connor was too busy to take a call, but could shoot back a quick text message.  She got nothing back from him. 
    How frustrating. 
    Meg’s thoughts then turned to Liz Donnelly.  She was really on edge this morning—all due to Ethan Wakefield’s actions the night before.
    Meg called up Liz and waited impatiently as the phone rang three times.  She groaned.  Not voice mail again.  Like Connor, Liz wasn’t always able to answer a call, but she was usually lightning fast responding to texts. 
    Meg shot one her way.  She didn’t receive anything back.  Waiting did no favors to her anxiety level.  She was already a highly impatient person, but during a time like