Chapter 20

TWENTY

After detouring to introduce myself to Tanya and secure her tentative approval for Dru’s shop, I hurried back to the Tea Cauldron . Luckily , the Council witch hadn’t come in while I was out—if Brimstone was to be trusted, which I kind of had to—so it was with some relief that I texted Key about our visit to Dorsey’s bed and breakfast and Lydia Lee’s jump into number-one suspect position.

Still , we couldn’t put all our muffins in one basket. Was there a way to interrogate our other suspects without them realizing? Maybe lure them into complacency with a delivery of tea and cookies?

First , though, we needed to wait to see what Key and Shane found in our other suspects’ rooms later.

The thought of Key putting herself in danger like that unsettled me on some deep level. What if she got caught? Key was smart and more than capable, but I’d caught her breaking into Bagley’s cabinet of horrors, hadn’t I ? The next person who caught her nosing where she shouldn’t might not be as understanding as I’d been.

I wished Ian was here to talk it over with.

Bringing my phone out, I texted him that I missed him. When he didn’t reply after a couple of minutes, I assumed he was busy and got a little sad.

No time to delve into my misery, though—there was a shop to be run.

“ Jeremy ,” I said during a small lull. “ Do you know of any paranormal working at the movie set?”

He gave me one of his imperious looks. “ I know many people.”

“ That’s why I’m asking you.” About that and not the whole vlog and possible boy band situation. What if he didn’t want anyone to know? I didn’t want to get set on fire, so it’d stay secret. “ You know everyone in Olmeda …and beyond.” I made sure to intone those last words in a proper ominous tone.

He puffed out his chest. “ Indeed .”

“ I’m just curious about who works at these kinds of things. Does it attract some paranormals more than others?”

He was thoughtful for a moment. “ I don’t think it attracts any specific kind of paranormal more than others. Shifters enjoy the manual labor of moving things around.”

“ Have you visited the film set yet?”

His chin lifted in a haughty way. “ I’m not interested in that .”

“ More of a theater man, huh?”

“ My rendition of Oberon was very well received in high school,” he said with pride.

“ Do you still act?” I asked, curious now. I’d wondered about his acting abilities since watching him do the Halloween tour, but hadn’t thought to delve further until now.

He shrugged. “ Sometimes .”

“ I’d love to see you next time,” I said with genuine enthusiasm. I wondered if he did one of those one-man shows with self-made pyrotechnics. Maybe a reading of Poe’s poetry with thunder for crow cries?

Besides , the more friendly we became, the fewer chances he’d burn the shop down if he discovered the dark-magic potions I made for him were simply energy drinks on steroids.

He turned around as a new customer entered the shop. “ We’ll see.”

I decided to take my lunch break while the shop was relatively empty. I made sure Fluffy and Rufus were still comfortable, heated Italian leftovers, and moved into the first-floor kitchen with Bagley .

“ About time,” she complained. “ Do you know how boring it is to watch the closed door of a locker?”

“ About as boring as being in jail, I assume, which is where you should be.”

The evil spawn cackled. “ They would’ve never caught me, child.”

“ Too bad you didn’t catch yourself when your protégé”—that would be my ex- BFF , Vicky —“shoved you down the stairs.” I speared some cheesy macaroni and popped it in my mouth. Hmm , delicious.

“ It isn’t polite to bring up our murders when talking to ghosts, young lady,” she chided.

“ But it’s such a great example of karma.”

“ Not everything is about a lesson, Hope Avery .”

I shuddered at her use of my full name. She had a way of saying it in a mix of grandmotherly chastisement and gleeful hopes for my horrible demise that induced nightmares.

“ Have you found out anything new about the movie curse?” Bagley asked eagerly.

“ That there’s a dark witch involved.” I narrowed my eyes at the locket, which I had placed on the counter rather than hanging from the faucet. Over at the sink, Tiny Kraken had popped its small head out and was staring longingly at it. Feeling like a horrible ghost-pet owner, I put a small spoon in the sink for it to play with.

Tiny Kraken immediately grew a long tentacle and began poking and moving the spoon around.

“ You should exorcise the squid,” Bagley said.

“ Do you want to go back to being a kraken toy?”

She sniffed. “ Nobody wants to be a toy, child.”

Still , would Tiny Kraken be happier if it wasn’t a ghost anymore? My spell had freed the man in the bathtub, so if Tiny Kraken had wanted to go, it should’ve made him disappear as well. I’d try to ask later when Bagley wasn’t around, just to make sure.

“ Are you sure this dark witch isn’t one of your cronies?” I asked.

“ How can I be sure? I’m stuck here,” she drawled.

“ You would’ve known if they were in the movie business.”

“ Perhaps . Perhaps not. People like to keep their secrets.”

She had a point. “ I have a proposal for you.”

“ Oh , my. I can’t wait to hear this.”

Ignoring her sarcasm, I continued, “ One good deed for an extra day out of the locker.”

“ What kind of proposal is that? I’m already out of the locker.”

I put my container of pasta on the counter and grabbed the locket.

“ Wait . I’m listening.”

“ I already gave you the deal: one good deed, one extra day.”

“ What are we counting as a good deed? Feeding the poor? Helping at the library?”

Oh , so we were playing that game.

Without a word, I went to the back door and wrenched it open. Fluffy began barking from upstairs.

“ Sorry , Fluffy , no walk yet,” I called up. The barking turned into a disappointed yip.

“ When are you returning the beasts?” Bagley grumbled. “ So nosy. So destructive. Look at the state of my beautiful backyard!”

The backyard didn’t look any worse than the first day I’d walked in. In fact, it looked way more inviting and cozy. “ You’re making this difficult for yourself for no reason.”

“ Nobody likes being talked down to, child.”

I opened the rusty locker. It had a couple of shelves and a selection of tools lying on the bottom. “ I’m simply suggesting a fair trade.”

“ You don’t have the heart to leave me in here forever.”

“ Not forever,” I admitted. “ But for a few weeks at a time? I think so, Ms . Bagley .”

“ Fine . One deed, I’m out for a month.”

As if! “ Two days.”

“ A week.”

“ Three days.”

“ Deal .”

I placed the locket on the shelf.

“ Hey . We have a deal!”

“ It starts when you do a good deed,” I reminded her and closed the door.

Looking up at the windows on the second floor, I imagined Grandma’s spellbook as it lay on top of my dresser. Most people might not approve of what I was trying to do, deeming Bagley unredeemable, but I knew Grandma would’ve approved.

Once back inside, I finished my lunch fast and checked on my crystal order.

Preparing for shipment.

My chest grew tight, and the reminder that software glitched and workers forgot to scan labels didn’t do much to ease it. I tried the number on their webpage again but got their voice mail. This time, I made sure my request for them to check my order was enunciated in a much sterner tone.

It wasn’t the first time I’d had to deal with late suppliers, but I wished they weren’t being late for this particular order.

As I stared at my phone, another option popped into my head. I glanced at Tiny Kraken , who was still clinkering the spoon around.

“ Should I use the dark marketplace, Tiny Kraken ?”

Tiny Kraken looked at me, gurgled, then went back to playing.

It was temping. So far, my batting average with anything related to the dark marketplace was zero, but perhaps this time…?

I worried my lower lip. I hated giving the illegal side of the paranormal world my money, but it wouldn’t be the first time. And you could find anything there, not just dark magic or requests for assassinations.

My gaze drifted to the window into the backyard and found Bee - Bee parked by the iron gate.

Or maybe I didn’t need the dark marketplace; I already knew someone who could produce things out of nowhere.

Eagerly , I brought up Alex’s number and sent him a text:

Know anyone who deals with charged crystals for spells?

He didn’t take long to answer: What kind of crystal?

A charged blank jake.

What ?

Stupid auto-correct. Black jade. For spells.

Have you asked Mr . Preston ?

I blinked at the text. The name as well as he had used “ Mr .” with it. Oh , but Alex had it bad for the man. Was it because Preston was giving him the chance to direct his first renovation, or because he was tall and handsome? If the latter, I hope it stayed as an innocent crush. Preston was too old for Alex .

Preston ? I texted back.

Saw a boxed collection of crystals when I was taking measurements at his place. I’ll ask around, though.

Thank you.

Alex sent me a thumbs up, and I stared at the conversation, feeling sweat pour out of me in buckets.

If I asked Preston for help, Dru might never forgive me.

But if I didn’t, would I be able to make the potion in time for the Council witch? And if I failed the Council’s test, how badly would it affect the final decision over keeping the shop?

After a few minutes of weighing the pros and cons, I closed the text conversation with a determined swipe.

I couldn’t build my shop on the ashes of my friendships.

Vicky not included.

I was basking in my sense of loyalty when my phone rang in my hands. Key . Had she found anything new?

I hurried to answer. “ Yes ?”

“ Brett called.”