Witches and Whatnots: An Izzy Cooper Novel Read Free Page A

She’s not dead, I know it.”
    At first, Aaron had been hopeful when I’d insisted Granny wasn’t dead, but I could tell that hope was starting to fade.
    “Maybe you’re right.” He shrugged. “But maybe you’re wrong too. Not every spirit contacts the living after passing over.”
    He wasn’t telling me anything I didn’t know better than he did. Still, I knew Granny, and she would have gotten a message to us.
    “Have you heard anything about Moonlight Dell?” I asked. “Elias claims there was some activity over there this morning. He thinks there might be some people living at the Dell now.”
    Aaron’s meaty face grew pale. “That’s not good. No one goes to the Dell.”
    “I know that, but I still can’t figure out why the Dell is such a red zone.”
    Granny, and pretty much everyone else had always warned us to stay away from the Dell, and for the most part we had. Every once in a while kids from town would go up there and snoop around, but not too often. There was something about the place that seemed to ward off even the most curious.
    Sitting in Granny’s old wooden rocker, Aaron pulled on his black motorcycle boots. I could never understand why he wore riding boots when the closest thing he had to a motorcycle was a bullet bike.
    “It’s the history of the place like it is with most things here.”  He was purposely being evasive.
    At the moment, I didn’t have the time or patience to pry info out of him.
    “We have another suspicious death on our hands, and if there are new people on the island, it is probably something I should check out.”
    “If there are people living there, they are either crazy as loons, or they’re dangerous. Either way you’ll want to stay clear of the Dell.”
    Uncle Aaron was the biggest chicken butt warlock I’d ever known. Not for the first time, I wondered if he actually had any witchy power.
    Come to think of it. I’d never actually seen my uncle cast any kind of spell.
    I gave him a tolerant, but subtly sarcastic smile. “Thanks for the advice, Uncle Aaron.”
     
    * * *
     
    Lady Luck was sputtering a little, but I attributed her health problems to the dusty dirt road. Mustangs just weren’t meant to traverse the wild, at least not the yellow, automobile variety of Mustang.
    In spite of the fact that it was nearly midday, the road was dark, shadowed by tall pines on both sides.
    Another reason Moonlight Dell hadn’t gotten too many intruders over the years was due to the fact that it was so out of the way and secluded. The Dell was located near the northern end of the island and was surrounded by woods.
    I’d only ventured to the Dell once before. It was just after Annabelle got her driver’s license and new ride. With my sister being naturally curious and wayward, the Dell seemed like the perfect place to try out the four-wheel drive on her Jeep.
    Truthfully, I’d been a little disappointed. With all the warnings to keep away from the Dell, I’d been expecting monsters or something. All we found were some derelict cottages and a lot of overgrowth.
    Annabelle’s Jeep had done a great job negotiated the road, much better than Lady Luck was doing.
    The Dell got its name for the fact that it was located in a little valley, surrounded by hills. Clearly, its location had been chosen for privacy. The little village was even more isolated than Roseland. Whoever the original settlers had been, they definitely hadn’t wanted to be bothered by the outside world.
    Suddenly the trees thinned and I entered a clearing, which meant I had reached the outskirts of the village.
    The change wasn’t just stunning, but miraculous. Weeds and overgrowth had been cut back and replaced with just about every kind of flower imaginable. The gardens of Moonlight Dell were a rainbow of color, and perfect.
    The entire village looked like a meticulously manicured botanical garden.
    Bringing Lady Luck to a stop, I stared at the beauty before me as if I were looking at a freak