She only wished she had a plan B. Jamming her fist into her stomach, she fought another raging bolt of pain and asked, “What was Plan B? Kill Mr. Rush?”
She attempted to make the question come off as bored, knowing he’d find that disappointing.
“Don’t be silly, Poppet. That was too risky, too obvious. I’d only been here a dozen times trying to buy the building from him. We even had a heated conversation about it. If he turned up dead, surely suspicion would be cast upon me.”
“That’s very cover-your-bases smart of you. So what did you do next, Avis?”
“Went to Disneyland.” Then he laughed at his joke, a full-blown batch of hysterical giggles. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding,” he gasped out, shaking off his laughter and sobering. “I simply found a spell to cast on him to make him agree with everything I say—it proved quite useful, actually. I used it on everyone here.”
Ahhhh. All the pieces clicked into place then. The reason everyone at Littleton was so excited about moving. The reason Mr. Rush was so dead-eyed when he’d nodded yes to her question about selling. The crazy response Arnie had given about being an adult who could make his own decisions.
“So you cast a spell, attacking their free will and coercing them into giving up their homes?” The son of a bitch. If she lived to see Rick again, she was going to so rub his face in this.
“I did!” he shouted with glee. “I was sorry to see what that did to Mr. Rush. I think I got a little heavy-handed with the do-as-I-say spin I put on it, but he’s still alive, right?’
“The spell was what made Mr. Rush have the stroke?” Damn him.
“Alas, ’twas. And I worried something fierce when you went to visit him. I thought surely he’d find a way to tap out his distress, write it on a piece of paper, but it seems I’m better than I thought.”
Oh God. Avis was sick. So sick.
Sucking in a breath of air, Poppy said, “Which brings us back to this moment. Why are you doing this, Avis? What does Avis Mackland gain from all of this?”
Avis jammed his hands into the pockets of his pants. “Well, like I said, I made a deal. I give these spirits the freedom they so crave at just the right time, when the blood moon is at its peak on Samhain, and summon them by pushing all four of these pretty cornerstones together. Then I offer them your soul, and I become the most powerful wizard of all. No one will ever mock my lack of power again. No one.”
Mock his power? So he was just power hungry? What motivated that greed? What could he prove with this power? Who did he want to impress?
Yeah, Poppy. Who do men like Avis usually want to impress with their power?
A woman.
“Who made fun of poor Avis’s lack of power? Was it your girlfriend?” she antagonized as a surge of relief flowed through her. She didn’t know where it came from or why, but it was like someone had injected life back into her.
And now, she wanted his balls.
“Don’t speak of things you don’t know, Poppet. They’ll only bring you grief,” he warned.
Straightening, Poppy rolled her head on her neck, easing the tense muscles and taking another deep, pain-free breath.
“How much more grief-ish does it get if my soul’s going to be sacrificed? So c’mon, Avis. Just tell me, what brought this on—this desire to be a wizard? This need for the ultimate power? What does a wizard do anyway but wear robes and pointy hats? And by the way, you didn’t answer my question. Was it a woman? Someone you loved who didn’t love poor little Avis back?”
As she peered around the corner, she noted he was definitely becoming angry. The lines on his face were harsh as he stepped from the shadows, the purse of his lips tight. “I said, leave it alone, Poppy. Leave. It. Alone.”
Fat chance. She tested her knees, bending them, flexing them for her planned steamroll—until Avis stopped her preparation in its tracks.
“You know, you didn’t ask me about Yash.”
“But I did ask you about Yash. At the diner, Avis.” The moment she said the words was the moment her heart picked up, kicking into overdrive. Why was Yash such a big deal?
And then she remembered the picture of the three of them in front of Littleton, and how pained Yash’s eyes had looked.
“But you didn’t ask me why I’d seek his spirit when he betrayed Rick so callously. I mean, surely you’d ask yourself why he’d help Rick’s friend if he didn’t help Rick. You didn’t even ask why he’d toy with fate to help Rick. That’s a significant part of this story.”
Closing her eyes, she already knew the answer, but she was going to ask the question as she continued to limber up with a silent ballet plie squat. “I don’t want to steal your thunder, Avis. You go ahead and shine on, Superstar.”
He chuckled. “You’ve been a peach about indulging me. Thank you for that, Poppy.” Shaking his arms out, much in the way she was doing, he said, “Yash found out what I was up to. He knew what those stones meant. He intuitively sensed the spell I placed on everyone here. He was going to blow the whistle. I couldn’t have that.”