“Oh my, that would be stunning, wouldn’t it?” Tilly said, brightening. “I think I’ll give her a call right now.” She headed back to her shop with a lighter step than when she’d arrived.
“All’s well that ends well,” Merlin declared triumphantly. But he didn’t seem to be in any hurry to follow her back to Tea and Empathy. He ambled around my shop for a few minutes, picking up this and looking at that without any apparent interest.
“Everything okay?” I asked, though it didn’t take a psychic to figure out what was bothering him.
“Ah…do you think…I mean… Dear child, might I impose on your good graces to remain here a while longer?”
I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing. “Is it my aunt?”
“There is a chance, a wee chance, that sweet Matilda may harbor some lingering resentment.”
“In that case,” I said, “you may want to hang out here until the new muumuu arrives.”
Chapter 5
When I opened Abracadabra the next morning, I still hadn’t heard from Travis. By then I was better rested, but starved for information. It wasn’t likely that Duggan threw him in jail without probable cause. And although Travis had to be fifty miles past exhausted, how long could he sleep? If he didn’t call or answer my texts by noon, I intended to call him.
I was helping my elderly neighbor, Maddy Nelson, find a cure for her indigestion, when the door chimes jingled. I poked my head out of the aisle to tell the newcomer I’d be right with them. Seeing Travis there did more to lift my spirits than St. John’s Wort or Golden Root ever could. “I’ll be with you in a minute,” I called as if he were just another customer. I preferred to keep my private life private. It made me a troglodyte of sorts in the age of uncensored social media, but through the millennia, my family has always needed to conduct their lives differently from the rank and file of society. Our ancestors learned the hard way to stay in the background and exercise caution in order to survive.
I went back to Maddy and her indigestion. She was squinting at the label on one of the jars I’d pointed out, looking overwhelmed. “There are too many choices,” she said, turning to me. “Ginger, chamomile, peppermint. I don’t even know what fennel is. How’s a body to choose? Maybe you could just choose one for me?” she asked with a hopeful smile.
“I have a better idea. I have samples of them. Brew one at a time into a tea. If the first one doesn’t work or you don’t like it, go on to another one, until you find the one that’s right for you.”
Maddy’s eyebrows drew together. “I’m afraid buying the three samples would be too costly. Like those travel size toiletries that always seem to cost more. I’m on a fixed income, you know.”
“The samples are free,” I told her. “How else can I expect my customers to decide what to buy?”
“Well, aren’t you a thoughtful young woman,” she said. “Morgana and Bronwen would be proud. What a pity they’re gone.”
Not as gone as you might think, I said to myself. “Give me a minute and I’ll grab those samples for you.” I’d been spending the shop’s slow hours making up sample packets of the various products and remedies I sold. The idea had immediately caught on. Everyone loved being able to try things out before purchasing a larger amount. As word of my sample policy spread through town and into surrounding areas, I’d noticed a definite uptick in business. People I’d never seen in my shop were venturing in, taking samples and, in most cases, coming back to buy more.
I found Maddy at the counter, making small talk with Travis. She thanked me again and slipped the sample packets into her purse. “This is the place to come if anything ails you,” she said to Travis. “Don’t be put off by the magicky decor and stuff. It’s just for show.” I saw her glance down at Travis’s hand before adding, “And if you happen to be in the market for a lady friend, you won’t find a finer one than Kailyn Wilde.” I felt the heat rise from my neck to my cheeks. I hadn’t blushed like that since my early teens. Maddy’s remark made me wonder what I’d done with the spell my mother created for the problem back then.
“I promise to keep that in mind,” Travis said, escorting her to the door and holding it open for her.
“I was going to call,” he said, coming back to me, “but then I decided I’d rather see you up close and personal.”
“It happens I’m a big fan of up close and personal.”
“I’m glad we agree.” He put his hands on my waist and kissed me, but it seemed perfunctory, as if his mind was somewhere else.
I pulled back. “I know you’ve got a lot going on with your friend’s sudden death, but I get the feeling it’s more than that. What am I missing?”
“Can the Q and A wait until later?” he asked. I was taken aback by his tone. He’d never been so short and dismissive with me. My reaction must have been written on my face, because he immediately tried to make amends. “Sorry. I didn’t mean it to sound like that. I swear I’ll answer all your questions, but there’s something I need to take care of first and it can’t wait. To be honest, I came to ask for your help.”
Not the best way to go about it, I thought, but I held my tongue until I could figure out what was going on with him. In any case, I didn’t want to be excluded from whatever he was up to. “Sure,” I said, “count me in.”
“Once you hear what I want you to do, you may change your mind.”
“Okay then, talk me out of it.”
“Ryan was renting a month by month in Watkins Glen to investigate some story in the area that had him all revved up. He was like a blood hound that’s picked up the scent of trouble. After Duggan let me go, I ran by his place. Unfortunately there was already yellow tape across the door and a cop on duty.”
“If Ryan’s death was accidental, do they have a right to search his home?” I asked.
“No. All they can do at this point is protect the scene in case the ME finds evidence of criminal involvement. If he does, Duggan can get a court order to tear the place apart for clues and the first thing his guys will take is Ryan’s laptop. I need to get in there before that happens and find his thumb drive.”
“In order to do some investigating of our own?” I asked soberly. Although I’d never met Ryan, he’d clearly meant a lot to Travis. And that meant a lot to me. I wanted to respect his loss, which meant no overt enthusiasm over a new case.
“We’ve already collared two killers before Duggan could—which brings me to my request. I need a diversion if I’m going to get past the cop on duty there.”
“I’m your girl,” I said, turning the shop’s OPEN sign to CLOSED before the words were out of my mouth. I glanced at Sashki on the window ledge. He was snoring away on his pillow, blissfully unaware of the woes that afflict humankind. If he wanted for anything while I was gone, Tilly and Merlin were a mere yowl away.
We drove the 45 minutes to Watkins Glen lost in our own thoughts. I spent the time working on a way to distract the officer. Breaking the law came with real consequences, so it required the most foolproof plan I could devise. I considered the spell of invisibility, but quickly discarded it. The spell only worked for the person casting it. I thought of and rejected half a dozen other spells for the same reason. I’d never realized how many spells worked that way. By the time we reached the outskirts of the county seat, I’d finally come up with one that could work. Hardly the sure thing I’d been aiming for, but at least it gave us a shot. Maybe we should have taken Merlin along. He could have made Travis appear to be someone else, maybe even Duggan. Then again, he might have changed him into another species entirely. And forgotten how to change him back. For better or worse, my magick would have