Chapter 2

TWO

We arrived at a wide street, where a group of onlookers had gathered as the crew was finishing setting things up for a night shoot. A couple of trailers and trucks occupied a nearby side street, and tents were set up on the main one. A big camera crane was being assembled and people rushed around like busy bees.

Gone by Morning , a Lily Hale suspense mystery was the thrilling adventures of one Lily Hale , psychic and esoteric shop owner, as she investigated the strange death of one of her frequent clients with the help of Jack Larson , a PI who’d fallen onto hard times and was looking for redemption. A tale as old as time.

“ Hope , are you serious?”

“ Exciting , right?” Joining my fellow onlookers, I took out my phone and began snapping photos and a video to send my sister. She was going to be so excited! Unfortunately , the main actors didn’t seem to be around yet.

“ They’re such a nuisance,” grumbled a familiar voice next to me.

I looked up from my phone to find Jim from the Haunted House scowling at the film crew. “ Nuisance ?” I parroted, startled by his presence.

He waved angrily toward the crane and the tent. “ Stopping traffic, bothering people.”

“ Are they in the way of one of your attractions?” The shops in the buildings were normal enough for Olmeda —a mix of tourist traps, local treasures, and the ever-present restaurants—and nothing screamed someone died horribly here and now we charge to recreate the crime , which was Jim’s usual fare.

Although , to be fair, in Olmeda appearances could be deceiving.

Jim looked almost affronted at my question. “ Of course not.”

“ Why are you complaining, then?” Dru asked from behind us, Rufus and Fluffy crowded by her side. She sounded irritated and bored but lifted her phone to take photos, anyway.

I fought a grin, then brightened as a new thought came to mind. “ Jim , are you a fan of the books too?” Who would’ve thought Jim and I would have something in common beyond Halloween ?

“ What books?”

I pointed at the crew. “ The books the movie is based on.”

“ I didn’t know the movie was based on anything.”

“ Never go to bed without learning something new.”

He grunted and returned to glare at the set.

“ Did they steal one of your actors?” Dru asked.

Jim could get slightly territorial where his people were concerned.

“ Few of them signed up as extras.” He shook his head in irritation. “ Such a waste of time. It’s all for nothing.”

“ All for nothing?” Jim usually was a lot more direct than this. “ What do you mean?”

“ The curse is going to shut them down.”

Was that another movie or TV show trying to film in Olmeda ? I searched my brain but the only movie I had seen mentioned online was Gone by Morning . “ What’s ‘ The Curse ’?” I glanced at Dru , but she was busy filming something above the onlookers to pay me any attention.

Jim let out a sound of irritation. “ How should I know? Go ask a witch or something.”

Considering Jim was a human and had no idea about the paranormal world, I chose not to feel insulted he didn’t consider me one. Then the meaning of his words registered. “ You mean a curse-curse?” I studied the crew with renewed interest. “ The movie is cursed?”

“ Olmeda has been cursed for years.”

“ Interesting ,” I murmured. “ How ?”

Of course, curses weren’t actually a thing. Bad luck, sure, but curses? There was no magic or spell that could curse something. Curses were just excuses for things that didn’t work out the way people wanted.

“ How would I know?” Jim said in annoyance. “ All I know is that some years ago someone cursed Olmeda , and nobody wants to film here now.”

“ Cursed as in, if you film here, your movie will be a disaster?”

“ I guess? Hey , isn’t that one of yours?” Jim asked, pointing at the crew.

I followed the direction of his finger and gasped. Key was standing there in black jeans and a black windbreaker jacket, talking with someone. When she moved away, I saw Fairy Circle Cakes ’ logo printed on the back. Mouth hanging open, I watched her progress along the street until she stopped by a white van with Fairy Circle’s logo on the side and began talking to… Shane ?

“ Sucks to see them working for someone else, doesn’t it?” Jim said with a touch of malicious amusement.

I snapped my mouth shut. “ I’m not their mom. They can do whatever they want.” Straightening , I gave him a superior look and smiled sweetly. “ I’m happy if they found a side job that pays them well.” Even if it was for the competition.

Jim gave me the evil eye, then resumed glaring at the filming preparations. Abandoning his side, I retreated from the front lines and allowed another curious onlooker to fill my spot. Fluffy immediately stuck to my side, Rufus behind.

Dru followed. “ You didn’t know about Key and Shane ?”

“ Nope . I’m not her mom. She doesn’t have to tell me everything.” The truth was that while I was a little crestfallen Key hadn’t told me about her new job, our relationship was still on shaky ground after the events during Halloween , when I had accepted Shane and Alex’s help to deal with Crane’s murder but had insisted on keeping it a secret from her “for her own good.”

I cringed at the reminder. What had I been thinking involving Shane and Alex from the start and not her?

No , I couldn’t blame her for not telling me about this job.

“ I’m happy that she’s found a job while Ian is away.” In a movie set! For Gone by Morning ! Honestly , I was awed by her cunning. That girl was going places.

Luckily , those places were still in Olmeda .

Hannah hadn’t killed Crane during Halloween , then stolen his corpse on her own. An earth mage had helped her. We didn’t know who this mage was exactly, but he had quite the reputation for being a bad ass in the underbelly of the paranormal world. It fit the profile of Key’s missing older brother.

At first I’d prepared myself to beg her not to go after this earth mage in the hopes it might be her brother, but it hadn’t been necessary. Key hadn’t shown any inclination to follow, and I wondered if she was hoping Ian could look into it once he was back from the guild.

Or maybe she was hiding her plans from me, like this new job.

I brought out my phone, intending to send her a text, but stopped at the last moment. I shouldn’t bother her while she was working. If I wanted her to trust me, I needed to keep my curiosity to myself and allow her to confide in me in her own time.

Curiosity might be a tough beast to tame, but friendships always had your back.

“ Did you know someone supposedly cursed Olmeda so no movies can be filmed here?” I asked Dru as we resumed our walk.

“ No .” She pursed her lips. “ Maybe . I think I heard something a while back. Jim probably made it up to stop people from filming stuff here and stealing his thunder.”

That was a distinct possibility. “ What if he’s right, though?”

“ I thought curses weren’t a thing.”

“ They aren’t, but what if something’s going on?” It was a reach to assume Key and Shane working at the set had something to do with any supposed curse, but coincidences were for people who hadn’t gotten back stabbed repeatedly. Curses might not exist as such, but there was no shortage of people willing to use a tale as an excuse for their own nefarious needs.

“ Don’t worry,” Dru said philosophically. “ I’m sure if something’s wrong, it’ll somehow involve you too.”

“ Hey ! What’s that supposed to mean?”

She gave me an angelic smile, then focused ahead and rubbed her hands gleefully. “ Get ready. We’re here.”

Bosko’s shop stood a few paces away, his garish apparel hanging on the old-fashioned open wooden doors and spilling onto the street. A couple of tourists stood by the entrance trying to decide between a neon green T -shirt proclaiming Put me on your tree because I’m pining for you , and a cheap-quality sweater with a goofy Santa head and a line of deer.

I definitely was running late in decorations if even Bosko had Christmas stuff out already.

“ Should I do Christmas decorations?” I asked, stopping by a group of car fresheners with Old Olmeda wrapping around the silhouette of the statue in Bolton Square . “ Or should I decorate for witchgiving first?”

“ Decorate for what ?”

“ No stealing!” thundered a voice from inside the shop.

I let the freshener drop. “ I’m not doing anything!”

Fluffy let out a happy bark and strained against her leash.

“ Fluffy , no.”

“ Oh , good,” Dru said, licking her lips. “ He’s here. Let’s go.”

She stalked through the narrow aisle that made the shop, and I had no other option but to follow. I eyed Fluffy and Rufus warily. “ No drooling or peeing on anything,” I whispered sternly. “ Mommy can’t afford to buy Bosko’s whole inventory.”

I braced myself for Bosko’s fury at the presence of two furry animals of the four-legged variety inside his shop, but to my surprise, he came around the counter and crouched to pet Fluffy and Rufus . Fluffy lapped at his hand enthusiastically while Rufus let out a dignified woof of greeting.

Well , look at that. Even the jerkiest of men had a nugget of friendliness inside of him. Grandma would approve.

Bosko straightened and crossed his arms. He acknowledged my existence with a curt nod, then glanced at Dru .

“ Hello , Druscilla .”

Dru’s eye twitched. I took one step sideways in case the claws came out to play.

“ Arthur ,” she answered coolly, then she stared at me.

Bosko also stared at me.

Right . I cleared my throat. “ How’s business?”

He scratched his chin. “ Eh . Can’t complain.”

“ I noticed you’re already selling Christmas stuff.”

“ Can’t start too early.”

I could feel Dru’s glare digging a hole in the side of my head. “ So true. Say , will you be going to the next PBOA meeting?”

“ Why ? What’s it to you?”

“ We were hoping to have your full support for Dru’s new shop when it comes up for approval.” I fixed him with an earnest smile. “ A positive recommendation from you would go a long way. Everyone respects your opinion.”

Never skimp on butter, in cooking or trying to get people to do things for you.

He relaxed and scratched his chin, glancing at Dru . “ You got the deal finalized?”

She gave him a haughty look. “ Signing as soon as the inspection is done and I have the PBOA’s permission.”

“ The seasonal restaurant will finally be in season,” I chirped.

They stared at me like my brain was made of spaghetti with meatballs.

“ Anyway ,” I continued smoothly, “we’d love to have your support. As I said, a yes from you will go a long way.”

A faint smirk played with his mouth, and he glanced at the ugly Christmas sweaters and cheap neon-colored sweatshirts hanging on either side of us. “ Oh , yeah? How long exactly?”

Was he really going to make us buy half the shop in exchange for his vote? I narrowed my eyes. “ Long enough to keep you in good standing with the local witch shop.”

He and Dru snorted in unison.

I snapped my outraged attention to Dru , who looked slightly taken aback by her horrible show of disloyalty. Hmph .

Turning back to Bosko , I decided to play hardball. “ I’m not buying half your shop to buy your vote. We’ll appreciate your yes, but it’s not the end of the world if you disagree on giving Dru the opportunity to open her dream shop. A dream that was stolen from her when Mr . Lewis turned out to be buried in debt.” I shook my head. “ If your pettiness stops you from allowing someone who’s done nothing but contribute to the excellent health of the community in Olmeda , there’s nothing I can do. No amount of magic will ever be able to help.”

Fluffy underscored my words with a sharp bark, and I stared at Bosko , daring him to say no to all that .

He clapped slowly. “ You should have gone into movies.”

“ Oh ,” exclaimed eagerly. “ Is it true there’s supposedly a curse on movies filmed in Olmeda ?”

“ Hope ,” Dru hissed.

I waved her concerns aside. One had to give people time to recover after being on the receiving end of such a magnificent speech.

“ A curse?” Bosko grunted. “ Yeah , I heard about that.”

Wonderful news. “ Oh , really? Did something happen to make people think Olmeda’s cursed?”

He scratched his chin again. “ Can’t say I remember anything actually happening. Reckon it’s just a rumor that’s stuck. Jim probably started it.”

Dru nodded solemnly by my side.

“ So nobody comes to film in Olmeda because of a rumor?”

“ I don’t know why they don’t come. Sonia and the mayor have been trying to get people to make movies here for a couple of years to help with tourism, though.”

“ Sonia knows the mayor?” I asked in surprise. “ Is the mayor a…” I checked nobody was near enough to hear. “ A paranormal?”

Bosko shrugged, which of course told me nothing. From the malevolent gleam in his eyes, he knew it too.

Too bad for him. He wasn’t going to make me buy one of his ugly sweaters to get the answer, because I was simply going to ask Ian later when I called him. So there.

My phone chose that moment to ring.

Half -expecting the universe to bestow upon me the gift of asking Ian in front of Bosko , it took me a couple of moments to realize it was Key calling and not my boyfriend.

“ Key ? What’s up?” I asked into the phone.

“ Hope , I need your help!”