Disclaimer: All previous disclaimers apply. Also, I made up the spells.
Chapter 10: The Halloween Murder
Gabriel Knox Elementary School
2081 Derby Lane
San Francisco, CA, USA
October 15, 2031
9:30am
Three days after the trial, news of Mr. Cole Turner's victory in the Young case is still a popular topic and is spreading like wildfire. Every major news station still carries the story. Apparently, one of the people in Courtroom 08 on the day of James' Young's trial had filmed the events in the courtroom, including James Young's pensieve memory, and is selling multiple copies of the original tape to any news station who wants it for a fee. The events are also being discussed in every restaurant, hair salon and school.
However, Laura O'Keeffe has not heard the news, yet. Like everyday, she enters her little windowless air conditioned classroom at Gabriel Knox Elementary School and looks around. She sees the neat little rows of wooden desks and chairs. Next, her eyes fall on the students' artwork of mountains and waterfalls and puppies hanging on the wall facing her as she enters the doorway. Under the artwork there is a shelf that houses a container full of Lincoln logs, a container full of Legos' building blocks, puzzles, books, games like Twister and Scrabble and a doll house. There is also a small toy kitchenette in front of the shelf. To the left of the artwork, there is a banner that shows all of the letters of the alphabet in various colors. For instance, A is red and B is blue. Underneath the banner is a calendar that shows the birthdays of every student and any school events like the annual Halloween party. Next to the calendar is a list that states who is line leader and who is door holder. In front of the adjacent wall is a sink and wooden cabinet for storing paper towels and art supplies.
When the footage of the Young case airs on the news stations, Laura O'Keeffe is teaching a group of kindergarteners. She writes "A" on the white dry erase board behind her with a red marker and tells the class, "Repeat after me. A is for apple," as she points to the letter A on the whiteboard with a finger, writes apple on the dry erase board and shows the class the apple Little Timmy, one of her students, had given her that morning.
Before the students can repeat "A is for apple," Mrs. Jones knocks on the door to Laura's classroom and beckons her to the door.
"Excuse me, class," Laura says as she approaches Mrs. Jones.
"Laura!" Turn on the television right now," Mrs. Jones, the elderly teacher who teaches another group of kindergarteners across the hall from Laura's classroom, says.
Laura turns on the television and looks at the footage of the pensieve memory. Then, she looks at the fluffy white haired, brown-eyed Miss Calloway and faints.
Laura's students run over to her prone body and crowd around her. They shake her to see if she will wake up. Violet, a brown-haired, violet-eyed girl who wears her hair in pigtails runs over to the sink in the classroom, cups her hands and lets the water pour into her hands. Then, she places her cupped hands over Laura's face and spreads her fingers wide enough apart so that water can trickle onto Laura's face. Laura opens her eyes only to discover a sea of eyes gazing down at her, little hands shaking her and a throbbing pain in her head.
"What happened?" Laura asks.
"You saw a picture of old lady on the television and then you fainted," Peter, a little boy with blond curls that hang over blue eyes, says.
"Now I remember," Laura says as the image of Miss Calloway's death pops into her mind.
"Are you okay, Mrs. O'Keeffe?" Violet asks.
"Would you like a cup of water?" Little Timmy asks.
"I will be okay, Violet. Thanks for the offer, Timmy, but I don't need it," Laura says as she tries to stand up to prove that she is fine to her students, but her legs feel like jelly and she falls back down again.
"On second thought, maybe I need some help," Laura says.
"Peter, would you hand me a piece of paper and a pen," Laura asks.
Peter rummages through Laura's messy desk until he finds a notepad and a ballpoint pen. He hands the items to Laura.
Laura writes:
Mrs. Jones, I have fallen down and I can't stand up. The students say that I fainted. I don't think that I can teach in this condition. Can you teach my students and your students until I recover? I will make this up to you.
Laura O'Keeffe
"Timmy, please deliver this note to Mrs. Jones who is across the hall from us and wait until she sends a reply," Laura says.
"Timmy, who is happy to be of help, grabs the note and runs over to Mrs. Jones class.
Mrs. Jones reads the note and under Laura's note writes:
Yes.
Timmy walks back to Mrs. O'Keefe's class and hands her the note. Laura reads Mrs. Jones reply and says, "Class, Mrs. Jones has agreed for you to join her class until I can stand up and teach again," Laura says.
"Now form a straight line and walk over to Mrs. Jones' classroom and close the door behind you please," Laura says.
The students do as she says.
When the last student in line closes the door, Laura shouts, "Chris!"
Little white and blue lights form and materialize into Chris.
"How may I help you, Mom?" Chris asks Laura.
He is already calling me Mom, Laura thinks.
"I was watching the footage of Mr. Turner's victory on the Young case on the television when I saw a picture of Miss Calloway and fainted and now I can't get up. Will you heal me?" Laura asks.
"Where does it hurt?" Chris asks.
"My legs feel like jelly and my head hurts," Laura says.
Chris imagines the love he feels for Aisling and places his hands on Laura's knee. A golden light comes from his hands. Two minutes later, Chris takes his hands off Laura's knee. Laura stands up and runs a lap around the classroom.
"Thank you, Chris," Laura says.
"Mom, can you tell me about Miss Calloway?" Chris asks.
"What makes you sure that I know something?" Laura asks.
"You would not have fainted if you did not recognize her," Chris replies.
"Miss Calloway and I are part of the same coven. She is like a mother to me. When I was a little girl, she would read to me in the evenings. She would also teach me how to make potions and write spells that would not backfire as personal gain. She also would teach me how to fight. It is hard to believe that she is gone," Laura says.
"You might be next on the list. Be careful, Mom" Chris says and he chants:
When danger comes
From anywhere and anyone
In any place and any time
To the lady in this room and this time,
Love is blind
So show it to me in my mind
Then, he orbs back to the Charmed Restaurant.
After Chris leaves, Laura goes home and returns to work in three days to avoid suspicion.
Gabriel Knox Elementary School
2081 Derby Lane
San Francisco, CA, USA
October 29, 2031
2:00 pm
Laura loves Halloween because it is the only time of year that she can show her true identity of being a witch and nobody bats an eye. Every year, she dresses up in black robes and wears a tall hat on her head. She also carries a broomstick and pretends to fly with it. To add to the effect, she brings a real pewter cauldron to class and fills it with chocolates. She asks questions about that day's material and tosses the chocolates to the students who answer the questions correctly.
However, this year, Mrs. Jones' class is joining her class and she wants to change the celebration a little bit. So, after lots of pleading, Piper has agreed to lend Laura the disco ball and the smoke machine from P3. Laura has also been busy creating cobwebs out of silly putty and decorating her classroom with orange and black streamers. She has also been negotiating with a funeral home to lend her a casket for Halloween and pleading with Mark to dress up as Frankenstein and pop up out of the casket whenever someone touches it.
So, it is finally Halloween and time for the celebrations.
"Guess what time it is," Laura says to her students.
"Party time!" the students shout.
"Does everyone have a costume?" Laura asks.
"Yes," everyone shouts.
"Okay, then go to Mrs. Jones class and wait for me to shout that you can return," Laura says.
The students form a line and walk over to Mrs. Jones' class.
Laura goes to the restroom and quickly changes into her witch costume. She quickly screws in the disco ball and turns on the smoke machine. Next, she hangs the cobwebs in the corner of the classroom and makes sure that the Frankenstein dummy will pop up when the casket is touched since Mark refused to be Frankenstein. Then, she plays spooky music on the MP3 player. Afterwards, she places a chair outside of the class room door and sits in it.
Then, she shouts, "Class, you can return."
She is expecting to see a group of little ghosts or vampires approach her.
Instead she hears a creepy voice say in her ear, "I wouldn't move another inch if I were you."
Laura elbows the attacker in the groin. The attacker groans. At the same time, a poisoned dart whose tip is dipped in a poison that comes from a rare tree frog that lives in the Amazon Rainforest sails through the air and pierces Laura's chest.
"Chris!" Laura shouts with her dying breath and collapses with her eyes open.
Stay awake. Don't close your eyes! Laura thinks.
Chris hears Laura's call for help. He orbs to Aisling's office, grabs Aisling and orbs both of them to Laura's body.
Chris isn't the only one who hears Laura's shout for Chris. Mrs. Jones hears Laura's shout for Chris and the desperation behind the shout. So, she puts one of the students in charge of the other students and rushes out of her classroom to find out if she can help Laura. Then, another poisoned dart sails through the air and pierces Mrs. Jones' chest.
Chris and Aisling arrive in orbs to discover two dying ladies. Laura's attacker blends in with the shadows.
He recognizes Chris and thinks, The Halliwell boy has arrived. He is Charmed. I better go. Tackling the Charmed Ones is suicide and it is not my cup of tea.
Then, he disappears.
"Who do I help first?" Chris asks.
"I don't know. Just hurry!" Aisling says as she studies her Mom's face.
Chris approaches Mrs. Jones' body, places his hands on her chest, thinks of his love for Aisling and waits for the golden light to appear. He tries again and again, but the golden light doesn't come.
"The Elders won't let me heal this teacher," Chris says.
"Then, try Mom," Aisling says.
Chris places his hands on Laura's chest, thinks of his love for Aisling and waits for the golden light of healing to come, but it doesn't.
"Hang in there, Mom," Aisling says.
"I wish Uncle Harry was here. He would know what to do," Chris says.
"Why don't you ask him?" Aisling asks.
Chris summons the mirror Harry gave to Wyatt for Wyatt's 18th birthday and says, "Harry!" into the mirror.
"How may I help you, Munchkin?" Harry asks.
"Aisling's mom, Laura has been poisoned with a poison dart. The Elders won't let me heal her and another teacher. Is there any healing potion in the wizarding world I can administer?" Chris asks.
"I am sorry, Munchkin, but there isn't," Harry sadly replies.
"Thanks for your help, Uncle Harry," Chris says and banishes the mirror back to Wyatt's sock drawer.
"What do we do now?" Aisling asks.
"We wait and we make Mom and the other teacher feel comfortable until Clarence comes for them," Chris replies.
"Clarence?" Aisling asks.
"Clarence is an Angel of Death and he has a very good sense of humor," Chris says.
"How do you know that?" Aisling asks.
"Which part are you referring to: The Angel of Death part or the humor part?" Chris asks.
"Both," Aisling replies.
"I almost died before I was even born. Mom and Dad were stuck in the astral plane with a dark-lighter chasing them. Aunt Phoebe and Aunt Paige had to find them and pull them out of the astral plane. During the search, Clarence came for me, but I stubbornly told him that I had time. I hadn't found out who had turned Wyatt, yet and I was willing to fight tooth and nail to save Wyatt. Clarence let it go, but he assured me that the next time he saw me he was going to take me, even if he had to take me kicking and screaming the entire way. Clarence returned to talk with me after Aunt Phoebe and Aunt Paige had pulled Mom and Dad out of the astral plane. I asked him why he had given me a choice as to whether or not I wanted to come with him and he shrugged his shoulders and told me he wanted to see what I would say and something about the fact that I was a special case. Then, he told me that I had been given a second chance and not to waste it and then he disappeared," Chris says.
Aisling goes over to Mrs. Jones and asks, "Do you want to say goobye to someone?"
The other teacher replies, "My granddaughter, Emily."
"What is her last name?" Aisling asks.
"Blake," Mrs. Jones replies.
"Does she have red hair and green eyes?" Aisling asks.
"Yes," Mrs. Jones replies.
"Chris, orb Emily Blake here. She is probably in her last class or heading over to your Uncle Cole's office," Aisling says.
Chester University
San Francisco, CA, USA
October 29, 2031
2:15 pm
"Excuse me, Professor, but I have a message for Miss Blake," Chris says as he enters the auditorium where Emily's last class is held before she goes to Cole's office.
Emily quickly packs her bag and quietly exits the classroom with Chris. Chris drags Emily into an empty classroom and orbs her to her grandmother.
Gabriel Knox Elementary School
2081 Derby Lane
San Francisco, CA, USA
October 29, 2031
2:20 pm
"Grammy," Emily says as she runs over to Mrs. Jones' body.
"Emily, honey, it is time for me to go. I have lived a happy life and I hope you live a long, happy life. I love you!" Mrs. Jones says and she closes her eyes.
Emily cries over her dead body.
While Emily is with Mrs. Jones, Chris and Aisling are with Laura. "Chris, you have done all you can. Let it go and don't feel guilty. Take care of my little girl. Help her master her powers. Love her and keep her happy. I love you!" Laura says.
Then, she turns to Aisling who is sitting next to Chris. "Darling, it was my time. I love you!" Laura says and she dies.
Clarence arrives and Mrs. Jones' soul and Laura's soul take his hands.
"Blessed be," Laura says to Chris, Emily and Aisling.
With that, Clarence, Laura and Mrs. Jones disappear.
"Wy! Get a team down to Gabriel Knox Elementary School. Laura, Aisling's mother, and Emily Blake's grandmother have been murdered. Emily, Aisling and I are not responsible. I tried to heal Laura and Emily's grandmother, but the Elders wouldn't let me and Uncle Harry said that there wasn't a wizarding world cure. Laura and Emily's grandmother died. Emily, Aisling and I will not be here at the murder scene. I will orb them to the Halliwell Manor," Chris says to Wyatt through his bond with Wyatt.
Then, Chris remembers that he tried to heal both ladies.
He chants:
Let our fingerprints
From our efforts of healing and caring
For Aisling's mom and Emily's Grams
Not be seen by investigators and others
Who would cause harm
To Aisling, Emily and me
After chanting, he grabs Aisling and Emily and orbs them to the Halliwell Manor. Just as Chris' orbs disappear, the bell rings and the students run out of their classrooms.