Any Witch Way You Can by Amanda Lee[murder]

spending time with,” he said warningly.
    “I told you – three times now – I just met him,” I snapped. “I’m not spending time with him.”
    “Just keep it that way,” Chief Terry grumbled. “I don’t think your family would like him.”
    “Who do they like?”
    “They like you,” he replied quickly. “And they don’t want to see you get hurt.”
    I wasn’t sure about Aunt Tillie, but he was right about the rest of them. “What makes you think I’m going to get hurt?”
    Chief Terry opened his mouth to explain but he was interrupted by a contingent of state police who were suddenly descending on the area. I wanted to stay and see what they found, but I was ushered out of the area quickly.
    Once I was back at the front of the maze, I found myself surrounded by the townspeople that usually made a point of shunning me.
    “Who was it?” Mrs. Little asked in alarm.
    “I don’t know,” I admitted. “I didn’t see his face.”
    “You’re sure it’s a body, though?”
    “I’m sure.”
    One of the teenage boys that had been in the maze earlier brought me a cup of cider. I thanked him and sipped it mindlessly. I don’t even like cider – and yet it tasted good.
    The police questioned everyone in the area. Most people were released quickly. After about an hour, only a handful of people were left. One of them was Landon. I watched as he made his way over to me.
    “How are you?” He seemed genuinely concerned – and that puzzled me.
    “I’m fine.” I glanced around the front of the maze and realized that his friends were gone. “Where are you little buddies?”
    “They didn’t like all the police, so they left,” he said.
    “Why don’t they like police?”
    Landon shrugged. “Lots of people don’t like the police.”
    “And how do you feel about the police?”
    Landon looked down on me and smiled despite himself. “I think that police serve a purpose.”
    “Have they had to serve a purpose with you before?”
    Landon chuckled. “I get the feeling you don’t trust me.”
    “Why would I?”
    “Why wouldn’t you? Because I drink beer at nine in the morning?”
    That’s as good of a reason as any. “No. I just don’t know you.”
    “So you’re suspicious of everyone you don’t know? You only trust family?” Landon was baiting me. He was trying to get a reaction.
    “Oh, I’m suspicious of my family, too. That’s because I know what they’re capable of, though. I have no idea what you’re capable of.”
    “Maybe you’ll find out?”
    I realized he was flirting with me and felt a rush of warmth wash over me. Then I remembered where I was.
    I turned to see Chief Terry exiting the corn maze. He made his way over to me. “It’s a teenage boy,” he said heavily.
    “One of ours?” I felt as if the air had been knocked out of me.
    “I don’t recognize him.”
    That was a small relief. Not for his family, though.
    “They’re going to get dental records and see if they can identify him.”
    “He didn’t have any identification on him?” Landon asked the question, but Chief Terry directed the answer to me.
    “He didn’t have a wallet on him. They’re still looking around the maze to see if they can find any of his belongings.”
    I swallowed hard. “How was he killed?”
    “He was stabbed in the heart and it was . . . removed.”
    “Removed?” My eyebrows practically shot off my head. “Why would someone remove a heart?”
    “I don’t know,” Chief Terry admitted. “It’s sick. They state boys say it’s ritualistic.”
    “Like a cult?”
    Chief Terry shrugged. “I don’t know. We’ll have to wait and see what they find out. I know about as much as you do right now.”
    “Where will they take him now?”
    “The state lab.”
    We lapsed into silence for a few minutes and watched as the state police wheeled a body bag on a gurney out of the maze. I felt sad for the unidentified boy inside. What a horrible way to die. I could only hope he’d been dead