Life's a Witch by Amanda M. Lee Page B

his location, so she didn’t report him missing.”
    “Are you sure it’s him?”
    “The clothing description matches and Frank Tobin is over there with the dental records right now,” Chief Terry said. “It’s him, though.”
    “How did his mother take it?” I asked, my heart rolling. I didn’t know Patty Jamison well, but no one deserved to lose a child.
    “She was … upset,” Landon said. “She kept it together, though. I think she was in shock. She’ll probably hold it together through the funeral and then break down afterward. I’ve seen it before.”
    “That’s too bad,” I said. “She seems like a nice woman.”
    “Do you know her well?” Chief Terry asked.
    I shook my head. “She’s come into the newspaper office a few times to place garage sale ads,” I answered. “I can’t really remember ever talking to her otherwise.”
    “She’s never been a problem,” Chief Terry said.
    “What about Nathaniel?”
    “He got in a few scrapes when he was in high school. Nothing big,” Chief Terry replied. “I think I busted him drinking down at Hollow Creek a few times, too. Most of those things just ended with warnings and calls to his mother, though.”
    “What about you?” Landon asked. “Did you come up with anything?”
    “Well, I ran into Jim Welby behind the school,” I answered. “He’s teaching summer school this year. He said that Nathaniel had problems adjusting to the realities of college because he wasn’t a stud on campus at Central.”
    “Meaning?”
    “Meaning that he was used to girls falling at his feet because he was a jock in Hemlock Cove,” I said. “Apparently he didn’t realize that being good at football in Hemlock Cove wasn’t the same as being good at football everywhere else.”
    “I hate to say it, but I’ve seen that from more than one kid around here,” Chief Terry said. “Hemlock Cove is small enough that even a modicum of athletic talent can put you on top. That popularity fades, though. Did Welby say anything else?”
    “Just that he’s seen me around with Landon and was wondering if we were still together.”
    “See,” Landon said. “I told you she would get hit on.”
    “Jim Welby is harmless,” Chief Terry said. “He’s a nice guy. You don’t have anything to worry about.”
    “You don’t,” I agreed, patting Landon’s knee. “No matter how big my ego grew after talking to Jim, the teenage boys put me in my place and told me that if I was thinking of hanging around Hollow Creek I might be able to pick up a guy if he was really drunk.”
    Chief Terry made a face. “What is that supposed to mean?”
    “They said I was old.”
    Landon barked out a coarse laugh. “Oh, my poor girl,” he said. “Did they hurt your feelings? It’s okay. I don’t think you look old.”
    I rolled my eyes. “They had a few things to say about you, too. Do you want to hear?”
    “I guess,” Landon said. “Wait … does this involve them hitting on you?”
    “They’re teenage boys,” I countered. “To them I look like their mothers.”
    “Okay, go ahead,” Landon said, grinning at my discomfort. “I’m just glad you don’t look like my mother.”
    “Apparently Aunt Tillie has been explaining a few things to them,” I said. “Dakota Evans, for example, really does believe he’s a horny beast, and he’s perfectly fine with Aunt Tillie telling all the girls that he’s only after their virtue.”
    “Now that kid is a pain,” Chief Terry interjected. “I keep expecting to get a call about him being a date rapist or something.”
    “He’s full of himself,” I agreed. “He thinks Aunt Tillie likes him, though. I have to remember to ask her about him.”
    “Well, I definitely don’t like him,” Landon said dryly.
    “Little Charlie Johnson Jr. inherited his father’s inability to think before he speaks,” I said. “He was a fountain of useless information.”
    “He makes me laugh,” Chief Terry said. “He told me last week