“Drew isn’t like his father, Mom,” Izzy said hotly, totally giving herself away.
“You are dating him!” Raine bent over her phone, frantically typing a message.
Em leaned over and glanced at the screen. “So the first person you turn to when you’re upset is Quinn.”
“I don’t have to tell Cal. Bri’s here.” She looked at Bri. “Feel free to step in at any time.”
“Izzy is seventeen, Raine. And you know as well as I do, she’s smart and responsible and an excellent judge of character.”
Izzy gave Bri a grateful smile. “Bri’s right. I am seventeen, and I can date whomever I like.” She shrugged. “I like Drew, and trust me, I thought he was a jerk too. Hot, but a jerk.”
Raine groaned, and Bri and Em laughed. “Don’t worry, Raine,” Em said. “Drew is a good kid. A really good kid. I’m glad he has Izzy to talk to. The campaign hasn’t been easy for him either.”
“Thanks, Aunt Em. Drew hates his stepfather. He’s horrible to him, and he doesn’t want him to win the election. He spent all day Sunday putting out Gran’s flyers with me.”
“I hope his stepfather doesn’t find out,” Em murmured.
“He wore a hoodie and shades.” Izzy said with a smile that indicated he’d looked hot in his disguise, which Raine obviously noticed because she said, “I think we need to have another of our mother-daughter chats.”
“Thanks, Mom. But we had the birds-and-the-bees conversation when I was twelve, and you and Dad had the sex chat with me when I was fifteen, so I’ve got this.”
“I’m sure you do, but if ever you have any questions about anything, you know you can talk to the three of us, individually or as a group,” Bri said.
“Group chat works for me,” Em said, holding up her phone. “We’re all on WhatsApp together.”
Izzy’s grin faded. “Aunt Em, don’t tell Uncle Josh, but Drew doesn’t want to play football. He loves being on the team because of his friends, and he thinks Uncle Josh is the bomb. He really likes you too. But the only reason he plays is because his stepfather makes him. Mr. O’Brien hired Assistant Coach Delaney to practice with Drew every day after school. He’s nasty to Drew. I think he’s jealous because Drew is such a good quarterback but doesn’t want to play. Coach Delaney wanted to play but he wasn’t good enough. He doesn’t like Uncle Josh or you, and when Drew stands up for you guys, he works him twice as hard. He makes Drew do full-contact drills with some of his friends, and they’re big guys. I’m afraid he’s going to get hurt, Auntie Em.” She chewed on her thumbnail. “Is there anything you can do?”
There were plenty of things she’d like to do, but they were illegal. “I’m glad you told me, Izzy. And trust me, one way or another, I’ll make sure Delaney doesn’t get near Drew again,” she said and stood up.
“Em, where are you going?” Bri asked.
“To have a chat with Delaney and O’Brien.”
“Aunt Em, you can’t go now. You’re dressed like a witch.”
“And you’re supposed to be going to the All Hallows’ Eve Party,” Bri said.
Em checked her phone. “It’s only six. The party doesn’t start until seven.”
Em drove to the O’Briens’ house in the Bragg Creek subdivision. The homes were large and nestled among the trees on one-acre lots. Several of the homes on O’Brien’s street would give Em and Josh a run for the money for Best Decorated Halloween House. Not O’Brien’s though. He’d doubled down on his attack on the Sisterhood and earlier in the week had started a war against Halloween so it wasn’t like he could decorate his house for the holiday.
Em felt bad for his little girl. She’d been as excited for Halloween as the rest of the kids in her class. Although no one in the kindergarten class was as excited for the holiday as Charlotte. The family were going as Darrin, Samantha, and Tabitha, characters from the sixties’ sitcom Bewitched.
Em had been keeping a close eye on Steve, and there’d been no more threatening letters, calls, or swatting incidents. Steve was probably resigned to the fact that he couldn’t change his wife’s mind. As Jenny had proven, she wasn’t easily scared away.
Em sympathized with Steve. If he was behind the letters and swatting, she understood why he’d resort to extreme measures he never would’ve considered in the past. After all, the family had nearly drowned, and the man was clearly terrified of wildlife and ghosts. But lately, he seemed to be doing better. They’d been at Josh’s birthday party, hanging out with a few couples from the neighborhood, and Steve had begun teaching classes at the community center.
But while it looked like Em no longer had to worry about Steve, Peter O’Brien was another story. She couldn’t rule out that he’d been behind the letters, call, and swatting, and the election was still a few days away. And if he won, Em might be looking for another job. Josh might also lose his head coach position.
Em glanced at herself in the rearview mirror and considered going home to change but by the time she got re-dressed and redid her makeup, she’d be late for the party, and Josh might go home early. She wanted to do this tonight. She didn’t think he’d say no, but if he did, she had the perfect cover. Between the music and the lights from the disco balls, she could easily get away with pretending he’d misheard her.
The front door opened, and Drew came out, yelling something over his shoulder. Em got out of the car, and he stared at her.
“It’s Em,” she said, closing the car door.
“Cool costume.” He jerked his thumb at the house. “But we’re not giving out candy this year.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m not trick-or-treating, Drew. I’ve come to talk to your mom and dad about your after-hours football practices with Coach Delaney.”
“I told Izzy not to say anything.” He looked away, hitching his backpack higher up his shoulder. “It’s no big deal, Em. I can handle it. It’s not for much longer anyway.”
“Does your mom know how you feel about football, Drew? Has she seen the note Josh sent home with you guys?” Em knew Josh had laid out the reasons why he was decreasing practices and contact drills in the message to the parents.
“Peter took it from me before my mom saw it, and he told me that I’d be sorry if I mentioned it to her.”
There were those three words again. Maybe her initial suspicions had been correct and O’Brien, not Steve, had been behind the letter writing, calls, and swatting.
Drew continued. “I can’t tell my mom I don’t want to play ball. She’d stand up for me, and it’d get ugly. I can’t put her in the middle of it.”
The front door opened. “Drew, who are you talking to?” O’Brien called out.
Drew got a panicked look on his face. “Don’t say anything about the practices with Delaney, please, Em.”
She nodded and stepped away from him. “Officer Scott, Mr. O’Brien. I’m responding to a call that someone’s being murdered on your property. Maybe a couple of witches?” She winked. “Don’t worry, I figured it was a prank. Lucky for you I did or you would’ve had twenty cops and the media showing up at your door. Not a great look with the election a few days away.