Chapter 10

I wanted to take Bee-Bee, but Dru refused to get on what she called the lovely piece of human leftovers (paraphrasing), which was very unfair since she’d had no problem using the Vespa when it was time to follow her ex, so we went on foot.

Itwas early night on the Friday before Halloween, and the streets were beyond crowded. I got a few appreciative comments about my hat and green makeup on the way, and a concerned drunken woman asking me if I needed a tissue to wipe the puke off my face.

Youcouldn’t win them all.

TheModernCabinet of Curiosities was bustling. A couple of groups hovered outside, and there was a small line to take photos with a creepy old animatronic butler standing by the door. The pentagram was still there on the back alleyway in all its bloody gore, but someone had added a smiley face to the middle space.

Beforegoing inside, I gave Crane another call and wasn’t surprised when nobody in his office picked up. I left another voice message and joined Dru at the ticket booth. The vendor was a young woman of about Key’s age, looking as if boredom was all life had to offer.

“Hi,” I said, projecting maturity and confidence.

Sheglanced at the top of my head and rolled her eyes. “Nice hat.”

“Thanks. HappyHalloween!”

Theyoung woman sighed. “How many tickets?”

“Actually, I’d like to talk to your manager.”

Anotherlong sigh followed. “We don’t provide refunds.”

“Oh, no, don’t worry. We don’t have a problem with the Cabinet.”

“If you say so.” With languid movements, she brought out her phone and texted someone. “He’ll be out in a moment.”

Iwidened my smile. “Thank you.”

Afew minutes later, a tall, thin, bald man in a shirt and slacks showed up from the depths of the darkened hallway opening next to the ticket counter.

Hestrode up to us, his attention narrowing on me. “I’mLaurence. We’re not responsible for your kids having nightmares or damaging your eardrums with their screaming, and we won’t be giving any compensation.”

Strangeopening salvo, but okay. “Hello, I’mHopeAvery. I run a tea and coffee shop in?—”

“We don’t allow refreshments inside.”

“Carpet hard to clean, huh?” I said.

“Damn nuisance,” he agreed.

“We’re not here about drinks. We?—”

“What then?”

Ifhe thought this attitude would shoo me off, he was in for a shock. I hadn’t survived this long in the service industry by letting rudeness affect me.

Iamped up my smile to sugary-drip levels, the fake, syrupy kind full of artificial sugar extracts, guaranteed to induce the zoomies. “A friend of ours found a pentagram drawn on her shop this morning. We were wondering if it might be related to the one on your wall.”

Hisscowl lightened. “You know who did it?”

“That’s what we’re trying to find out. Can you think of anyone who would target you specifically?”

“No. We’re a tourist attraction.”

“Nobody suspicious lately?”

“I don’t usually see the visitors.”

“Do you have security cameras we could check?” A cursory check of the corners of the entrance gave me a negative, but I hadn’t gotten this far in life by accepting things at face value.

“Are you the police?”

SinceI’d just introduced myself, I didn’t dignify this with a response. “If we could check, we might see anyone who might’ve also stopped by my friend’s place and?—”

“Even if we had cameras, I wouldn’t show them to the first person who asks.”

“Of course.” I nodded in understanding. “Have to protect your visitors’ privacy.”

“Exactly.”

“Is she your usual ticket seller?” I inclined my head toward the young woman.

“Sarah’s here most evenings.”

“Can we talk to her?”

“We’re pretty busy.”

“It won’t take a minute.”

“Fine.” He turned on his heel and stalked back into the darkened corridor.

Iwaited for a giggling couple to purchase their tickets and approached the woman.

“Hi, Sarah. Laurence said we could ask you a couple of questions.”

Sheanswered with a shrug. “Okay.”

“Have you noticed anyone suspicious lately?”

“Not really.”

“Anyone who gave you the creeps?”

“Everything here gives me the creeps.”

Iglanced at the Handkerchief embroidered with the hair of H.H. Holme’s victims framed on the wall behind her. Fair. “You’ve seen the pentagram outside?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you have any idea who might’ve drawn it?”

“Some kid?”

Druedged closer to the thick glass partition. “You have any exes in town? Anyone you broke up with recently?”

Sarahblinked at Dru. “I hooked up with someone last weekend, but they were in town only for a few days.”

“Could they have stuck around, mad it was only a hookup?”

“I don’t think so.”

Drutsked and returned the field to me.

“If you think of anyone, will you give me a call?” I produced a card with the shop’s logo on the front and our contact information on the back.

Shetook it and the edge of a smile curved her mouth. “TheTeaCauldron? Cool.”

“Best teas in town. I’m thinking of expanding to hot chocolate too.” She seemed like the cozy cocoa type.

“With marshmallows?”

“Duh.” Dru dug her elbow into my side, and I tried not to wince. “Who else works here?”

“There’sLaurie and Cathy and Hiro. Why?”

Imade a mental note of the names to send Ian later. Maybe one of them was a paranormal. “Maybe they saw something.”

“I don’t think so.”

“But you’ll never know until you ask, right?”

“I guess?”

“Can we have two adult tickets?”

“Sure. That’ll be twenty.”

Ipaid, gave Sarah our thanks, and dragged Dru into the black maw of horrors.

“Why are we going inside?” she asked in a whisper.

“I want to check the collection. See if there are any traces of magic.”

“Are you going to test every surface? ’CauseI don’t see any chairs for your post-magic noodle legs.”

“Ha-ha. No, I just want to see if anything gives me a bad feeling, or if it’s changed from the last time I visited.”

“You’ve visited before?”

Ilooked at her in surprise. “You’ve never been here?”

“What exactly makes you think I’d visit this place?”

“You did visit my tea shop, and that’s not your style either.”

“Under duress.”

Iblew her a kiss, although I wasn’t sure if she saw it in the complete darkness surrounding us. “I love you too.”

Tinyyellow markers on the floor led us around a sharp corner and into a small room filled with illuminated shelves behind glass displays. A human brain floated in a yellowed jar next to a huge tarantula pinned inside a frame. Ugh.

“What do you think about Sarah and Laurence?” I asked. “You think they’re involved?”

“Nope. Strictly business. She’s not that desperate.”

“In the pentagrams!”

Drugrinned. “Nah. They looked normal.”

Butthen, everyone looked normal until they dragged you into an empty street and attempted to kidnap and murder you, didn’t they?

“Look,” Dru said. “Your clone!”

Ifollowed her pointing finger to find a golden chicken with a green head sewed on.

“Hah. You’re hilarious today.”

“It comes naturally.”

Wecrossed the room, took another dark corner, and entered a long space with bigger items lining the sides and hanging on the walls, mostly consisting of taxidermy horrors and a few weapons marred with dark-red splatter. A big wooden spear supposedly still carrying the blood of VladDracula’s first victim had a place of honor on top of the world’s first two-headed goat and the head of the alligator that ate Elvis. A trio of visitors hovered near the room’s exit, reading items’ labels aloud and shivering theatrically.

“Not very modern, is it?” Dru asked dryly, also reading some of the information.

“It’s very modern compared to the dinosaurs.”

Shepointed at a fossil on top of a stand.

“It’s very modern compared to the birth of the universe,” I amended smoothly.

“Uh-huh.”

Westopped by a huge wolf’s head, waiting for the trio to leave us alone in the room. The original Garreth the Hound’s head, according to the label.

Ireally hoped this wasn’t someone’s shifter ancestor.

“Have you ever heard of a shifter mating a non-shifter?” I asked in a whisper.

“Sure. Doesn’t it happen all the time?”

Iwas startled by the fast, easy answer. “It does? I thought it was rare.”

“Sure. It’s like a serious significant other kind of deal.”

Mycheeks heated up with embarrassment, remembering all my panicked thoughts when talking to Madeleine. “I see.”

“Or do you mean real mating?”

“I’m not sure. How can you tell which is which?”

“I don’t know. Why don’t you ask Ian?”

Mygaze snapped from Garreth the Hound’s fake wolf’s head to her to find her shaking with silent laughter.

“You’ve heard something?” I demanded.

“Absolutely nothing,” she said, but her lips were still twitching.

Iwanted to stomp my foot. “This is not funny.”

“Says you.”

Sweatgathered on my lower back. “Will… Will you tell me if you hear anything about us?”

“You do realize I don’t go out of my way to hear about your love life, right?”

Thethumbs down emoji she’d sent to my latest text about having dinner with Ian had told me as much. “I know, but this is important.”

“No, world peace is important. This is your own telenovela.”

Ifrowned. Ian and I weren’t that bad.

“Feeling any bad mojo?” Dru asked as the trio ahead of us moved into the hallway.

Concentrating, I breathed in and opened myself to all the magical possibilities. AllI got was dusty, stale air and a slightly unpleasant smell. “Nope.”

Iwalked up to the closest bit of open wall and set my hand on the black wallpaper. My magic tinkled down my arm and against the wall, but I got no feedback back. If the building had been used for magic, it hadn’t been done often enough to leave any kind of impression.

“Nothing,” I told Dru, wiping my hand on my jeans. “Let’s try the next room.”

Druscrunched her nose. “There’s more?”

“Wait until you see the doll with the growing hair and the human heart with an ear.”

“I see why they don’t allow food in here.” She covered her mouth with mock shock. “Uh-oh, my pizza is coming back. I think it wants to walk back into the oven.”

Loudlaughter erupted from behind us, so we moved into the next room. Unfortunately, there were still visitors milling around, so I couldn’t test more than a couple of walls without calling attention on myself. Nothing screamed magic, and nothing had been changed since my previous visit.

TheModernCabinet of Curiosities’ role in the pentagram scheme remained a mystery.

Amystery I would solve, no matter what.