I dashed away without looking back. I was certain if I stayed a moment longer, I’d tell him the truth, and I couldn’t do that. I didn’t know why Maureen wanted to keep it a secret, but I had promised her I wouldn’t tell, and for all I knew, she was in danger.

I rushed up the steps of the fire hall, hurried inside, and found my way over to my aunts.

“What was that about?” Izzy asked under her breath.

“I’ll tell you later.”

The hall, normally empty, except for the antique firefighting equipment roped off in the corner, was filled with foldout chairs and a table stocked with homemade cookies, coffee, and tea. Izzy had brought her own special treats to add to the mix. They were made with the intention of heightening feelings of community, so hopefully everyone was hungry.

My eyes trailed over the robust crowd. All the usual people were there. Many of them were smiling when they saw us looking at them, but casting sneaking looks in our direction when they thought we weren’t. The tension, however, was clearly getting to some. Poor Birdie Cline, head of the Women’s Society, went quite pale when I caught her looking at Nora. Thankfully, our neighbor Minnie Abernathy was in the process of handing her a cookie, so there was a good chance she’d recover.

I wasn’t at all surprised to see Rip Graves and his wife, Maureen, in the front row. Beside them sat Mary and her daughter. A cold feeling settled in the pit of my stomach when I spotted the thick file Liz had on the seat beside her. She certainly looked prepared.

I had just begun to wonder if John had gone home, when he stepped inside, hat gripped in his hands, face flushed with emotion. He must have tucked the letter away because I couldn’t see any sign of it. He took a seat at the back of the room, away from his family.

Also in the back row sat an attendee I hadn’t been expecting to see, Nixie from Charmed Treasures. The flash of bright pink hair pulled up in a ponytail made her hard to miss, along with the giant earrings she had on. They were black hats. Black witches’ hats, to be precise.

Wasn’t that just terrific.

When she spotted us, she shot her hand up in greeting. I lifted mine in return, while Nora let out an exasperated sigh.

Just then, I noticed Beatty making his way through the chairs to get over to us.

“Ladies,” he said in a tight whisper, “I’m not going to lie. I had been hoping you all would stay home tonight.”

“And miss the show?” Nora asked with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

“Look, I realize I’m not your lawyer when it comes to this particular issue, but I’d like to offer you all some advice I sincerely hope you’ll take.”

“Of course, Beatty,” Izzy said. “You know we respect your opinion.”