Chapter 18

EIGHTEEN

“ Let’s go,” Dru said the moment we split from the others.

“ Where ?”

“ To Dorsey’s , of course.”

“ Right now? Shouldn’t we wait for later while they’re filming? Lee might be in her room now.”

“ Get the lay of the land now, return later if needed. Besides , Dorsey might not be around if we come later.”

I wanted to say that was the point, but thought better of it. Looking down at Fluffy and Rufus , I asked, “ You guys ready for another excursion?”

Fluffy barked in ecstatic happiness. Rufus looked like he was so done with this day.

“ The dogs don’t care where they’re going, Hope .”

“ Of course they do! Watch .” I crouched to be more on their eye-level. “ Do you guys want to see Ian ?”

Fluffy immediately put her paws on my knee and huffed expectantly, wagging her curly tail at supersonic speed. Rufus let out a low woof of approval.

Vindicated , I gave Dru a superior look. “ See ?”

She rolled her eyes and kept walking.

As we made our way across Old Olmeda , I brought out my phone and checked on my crystal order.

Preparing for shipment.

Seriously ? How long did it take to put a piece of rock in a box with some padding, slap a label on it, and send it out? It wasn’t exactly nuclear physics.

Only a delay in reporting, I reminded myself. Even the best employee sometimes forgot to scan the shipping label and update the system.

“ Did your meeting go well yesterday?” I asked to distract myself.

Dru rubbed her hands in gleeful anticipation. “ Everything is ready. Just waiting for Thursday’s PBOA . As soon as Sonia approves me, I’ll be ready to start renovating the inside.”

“ You know nobody in the PBOA is going to say no, right?”

“ You know there are a lot of unpleasant people in the PBOA , right?”

Images of Mr . Lewis and Crane at the meetings flashed through my mind. Dru might be right, but since they were dropping like flies, they were definitely in the minority. “ Nobody has a beef with you. You don’t have to campaign this hard for the shop.”

“ What if it were your shop on the line?”

She got me there. “ Say no more. We’ll campaign every day until Thursday .”

Dru appeared mollified.

“ Preston came by two days ago.”

Her eye twitched. “ What did the bastard want?”

“ He was asking about where you got the money for the shop.”

A slow smiled curved her lips. “ What did you tell him?”

“ That it was none of his business.”

“ Good .” She let out a short, wicked chuckle. “ Bet it’s going to drive him up the wall trying to figure out how I can afford it.”

Recalling the way he’d been not-so-subtly asking about it, I nodded. “ Yep .”

“ Perfect . I wonder if he’s called Mom about it yet.”

Dru’s parents owned Tabbies , a nation-wide stationary chain that was about to open their first Olmeda store under Preston’s supervision.

It was within family tradition that Dru was calling her store Sharp Claws , but I’d never tell her that. “ What did you tell your mom about opening the shop?”

“ Only that an opportunity had come up, and I was in the position to act on it.” Her laughter this time was downright diabolical. “ They’ve probably been calling all their contacts in the region to figure out how I pulled off this miracle.”

“ Bet this witchgiving dinner is going to be fun.”

“ You know what? I’m going to let you get away with that this time because I’m in an excellent mood.”

“ Nothing like using Bagley’s evil earnings in another shop to raise the spirits, huh?”

We fist bumped and returned our attention to the slightly more important matter of dark witches sabotaging movie sets and putting shifters in hospitals.

Once at the bed and breakfast, I left Fluffy and Rufus leashed to the mailbox right inside the small front yard, and we went up the steps into the three-story white and pastel-blue house. It was a lovely, quaint place, and you’d expect a young couple or a doting granny to be in charge rather than a shoplifting crone who conned seance participants with air magic on the side.

The inside was as cozy as the outside, with a foyer and a sitting room opening off the front door, and a rack of leaflets for the town’s tourist attractions on the wall. I’d wanted to ask her to put an advertisement for the Tea Cauldron there, but between catching her buying dark magic potions and her unwarranted dislike of my person, there hadn’t been much time.

Dorsey herself sat behind the wooden counter in the small reception area. Her spine was extra curved today as she pored over something hidden from view. Dru checked the parlor and peeked into the stairs and hallway, then gave me a nod and an exaggerated roll of her head toward Dorsey , not only indicating that the coast was clear of people, but that it fell on me to initiate the conversation.

I put on my fakest smile. “ Hello , Ms . Dorsey .”

Dorsey narrowed her vicious little eyes that reminded me of Janet’s devil dog but didn’t lift her attention from whatever she was doing.

A ding sounded. Then , “ Le chien n'aime pas la nourriture.”

French ?

Dorsey snorted, muttered something, then concentrated again. After a few seconds, the phone dinged again. A few seconds after that, she said something in an atrocious French accent.

Unable to stand it anymore, I approached the counter and leaned over. Dorsey’s clawlike hands were gripping her phone while a cartoon character pointed at another row of French .

“ Uhh …” I said.

Dorsey shushed me. “ Be silent, Avery . I need to keep up my streak.”

I glanced at Dru , who shrugged. Nothing to do but wait.

After about five more minutes of the worst French pronunciation I’d ever witnessed, Dorsey put her phone away and looked up. Her frown intensified.

“ Is that Cavalier’s demon dog outside?” she asked.

I followed her gaze to the window, where Rufus’s head could be seen by the mailbox.

“ You know,” I said, turning back to her, “people who don’t like dogs often turn out to be untrustworthy.”

“ Why the heck would I want your trust?” Dorsey snapped.

“ Us paranormals must trust each other, don’t you think? We only have each other to count on.”

She snorted.

“ Which brings me to Dru ,” I continued smoothly.

Dorsey looked at Dru . “ What do you want, Druscilla ?”

I slipped between them before Dru’s horns could sprout out. “ We would love to have your support for her new shop.”

Dorsey’s mouth curved slyly, revealing some very white, very artificial teeth. “ What’s in it for me?”

“ The relief of knowing you voted with your heart?”

“ I lost my heart years ago, girl.” She curled her hand, either to show how she’d torn it out of her chest herself, or as a payment-demand gesture. “ If you want my support, you’re going to have to give me a good reason .”

“ What’s a better reason than being a good friend?”

“ Good friends help with the retirement fund.”

I leaned my elbows on the counter. “ Good friends don’t tell the bounty hunters about buying dark magic potions on the dark marketplace.”

She made a sound of dismissal. “ Cavalier promised not to tell.”

“ There are more bounty hunters than him.” I sweetened my voice. “ C’mon , Ms . Dorsey . A little tit for tat?”

She barked a laugh. “ I don’t want your boobs.”

Okay , that one was on me. “ I’ll make you some potions, even ward your place, and in return, you’ll do your neighborly duty to support a local paranormal. That doesn’t sound too bad, does it?”

“ I’ve looked you up, Avery . Your wards are useless and your potions leave much to be desired.”

I straightened abruptly. “ Says who?”

She shrugged. “ That’s what I heard.”

I rounded on Dru . “ Do people say my potions suck?”

Dru glared.

Right . Not the time. Addressing Dorsey again, I said, “ My potions work, and so will my wards when I put them on the street outside to deter guests.”

She opened her mouth in outrage. “ Of all the things to do…!”

“ We don’t need to be enemies, Ms . Dorsey . I’m just suggesting?—”

“ Blackmail !”

“ Cooperation .”

“ Fine . I’ll vote for the demon. Now leave me alone.”

I gave Dru a thumbs up before returning my attention to the evil crone. “ Say , Ms . Dorsey , is it true an actress from the movie is staying here?”

“ I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

I waggled my eyebrows. “ I think we both know Lydia Lee is a guest. Is she as much of a diva as rumored?”

“ She’s a perfectly nice woman,” Dorsey said primly.

“ Found anything interesting in her room?”

Dorsey let out a gasp that would’ve made her Madame Mystique persona proud. “ What are you insinuating?”

I leaned in. “ Come now, Ms . Dorsey , we both know you like to nose around your guests’ rooms. What did you find?”

“ I would never encroach on the privacy of my guests.”

She sounded very convincing. If not for the fact that her encroaching on the privacy of her guests had solved our mystery man’s identity problems a few weeks back. “ But if you happened to go inside the room to change sheets or drop a package or something… Well , I’m sure someone as perceptive as you might’ve noticed if something was amiss.”

“ I don’t like what you’re implying, Avery .” She discreetly checked our surroundings, then leaned forward. “ But I heard she uses dark magic to keep herself looking so young,” she said in a whisper that went down my ears like rusted nails on a chalkboard.

Fighting a shudder, I nodded encouragingly. “ You checked her makeup bag?”

“ I made sure her belongings hadn’t been tampered with,” she corrected in a chiding tone.

“ And ?”

“ She has some unmarked bottles with her.”

Dark magic potions? “ Herbs and crystals too?”

“ I don’t go through all my guests’ belongings, Avery .”

More like she hadn’t had the opportunity yet without making it too obvious. “ Of course not.”

“ We done here now?” She brandished her phone. “ I need to get my Korean streak done.”

“ Sure . Thank you so much. We’ll see you on Thursday ?”

Dorsey grumbled something unintelligible that I took to mean of course, wouldn’t miss it for the world, Dru’s shop will be the best thing ever , and waved us away.

Once outside, Dru eyed the bed and breakfast thoughtfully. “ What do you think?”

“ I hate to admit it, but learning languages during the lulls is a lot smarter than playing games on my phone.”

Dru harrumphed. “ About Lee .”

“ Unmarked bottles are never not suspicious.”

“ Worth checking out.”

Lydia Lee had just become our number one suspect. I studied the blue-and-white facade and the front windows. “ Tonight ?”

“ When else? You gave Key one day.”

“ Tonight , then.”

“ Now that that’s settled, let’s go over to Tanya’s .” She gestured toward Rufus , who was sitting stoically, and Fluffy , who was straining to get to me. “ Grab the dogs.”

I crouched to pet Fluffy , then unwound their leashes from the mailbox. “ Tanya’s ?”

“ She works at the insurance office by Balton Square . Her parents are mages, but she hasn’t gotten much power. I haven’t talked to her in months.”

“ What makes you think she’ll give you her vote if I’m the one who talks to her? I’ve never met her.”

“ She doesn’t like me very much.” Dru looked me up and down. “ But she’s into the whole positivity stuff. She’ll like you.”

I brightened. “ Really ?” I’d yet to meet someone here who truly understood the power of positivity and affirmations. Olmeda’s citizens tended to be on the sour side. Present company excluded, of course.

“ Yep . Chop , chop, get a move on. I’m getting hungry.”

Now that she mentioned it… I rubbed my stomach. “ Should we get something on the go?”

“ Tanya first.”

“ I need to get back to the Tea Cauldron soon,” I warned.

“ After Tanya .”

The buildings grew crowded together and the street traffic increased as we approached the heart of Old Olmeda . As always, the lively atmosphere recharged me like nothing else could. There was power in being among people enjoying their vacations and listening to the mismatch of music pouring out of the different establishments. Here , it wasn’t as bad as on Guiles and Romary but?—

My gaze fell on a figure walking our way and I froze in place.

The Council witch.

And I was, once again, not in my shop.