Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen

The pawnshop was dark when I parked on the street.

None of the lights, inside or out, were on. It made the place definitely appear closed, but the metal grate hadn't been pulled down. And what was the point in having a big, awkward security measure, if you didn't bother using it?

Something was off. It made my nose tingle.

There might have been the teeniest, tiniest chance that I didn't know exactly what I was walking into. What if the situation was bigger than some two-bit magic user amusing himself by pulling nasty, dangerous pranks? If I walked in there and something went wrong, I knew I'd never, ever hear the end of it. So, with a huge, put-upon sigh, I picked up my phone and called Taliyah.

It actually got to the third ring, and I was suddenly in the awkward position of deciding whether or not to shrug it off and figure I'd tried to call her or leave her a message to cover my rear. But before I could make that decision, she picked up with a breathless hello.

I paused, hoping I wasn't interrupting anything of a sexual nature between Maverick and her, but also alive with curiosity if I was. But then I heard children laughing and shrieking in the background and realized that Taliyah was just at home with her sons. She probably wasn't going to be happy with me interrupting, even with police business, but those were the breaks for a town's Chief of Police.

Besides, as much as I hated to admit it, after the past couple of years I'd had, the idea of having backup in a magical fight wasn't exactly an unpleasant one.

"Taliyah, sorry to interrupt your evening," I started with cloying sweetness.

Static filled the line as Taliyah let out a sigh that I didn't think was deserved. At least, not before I'd even started explaining.

"What's wrong?"

I wanted to make a comment about her assuming the worst, but that was some pretty thin ice for me to stand on, considering why I was calling, so I held back. "I wouldn't say ‘wrong' necessarily," I hedged. My fingers drummed against the steering wheel as I stared at the dark pawnshop, waiting for any sign of movement inside.

"What have you done, or what are you doing?"

"I just thought I'd call and let you know that there was another incident with a cursed object."

"Okay."

"And, oh yes, I've figured out how it is that the curses are being triggered." I kept my voice casual for the last bit, like it was no big deal at all that I'd just solved this enormous part of the mystery. There were steps to this particular dance, after all.

Taliyah fumbled for something, and the sound of childish enthusiasm faded on the line. She'd probably moved somewhere a little quieter in search of her notebook. "Tell me."

I rolled my eyes. Taliyah was never exactly chatty, and normally I appreciated that. But tonight it was like she was counting verbal change from the handful of words she had leftover for the day. Was there a syllable shortage I hadn't heard about?

Feeling on edge, I decided to get right to it and laid out what I'd figured out back in Nosh's exploding dining room. I told her how the curses were linked to old superstitions, each waiting to trigger until certain events were met. I spoke in short, terse sentences, like I was sending a telegram instead of having a phone call.

Taliyah didn't notice. Or else she was trying to be the bigger person and ignoring me which, ugh, boring.

"Anything else?"

"Well." I tapped my finger against my lip in an exaggerated motion so Taliyah would be able to hear it over the phone. "Louie did say that some of his salt and pepper shakers came from a pawnshop, and the pewter number that kicked off the entire mess looked like something someone might have turned in for a quick buck."

Taliyah grunted, offering no commentary. I could hear the scratch of her pen.

"So, I was thinking." Better to slide it in while she was distracted. "Now that we know the howof it, even if not the why,that maybe we could use our newfound information to put the thumb screws to Mr. Pawnshop Owner—to see if we can shake anything else out of him."

The scratching actually paused. "Thumb screws," Taliyah murmured, like someone who hadn't spent a summer researching medieval torture devices.

I tossed my hair back over my shoulder and leaned back in my seat. "Figurativethumb screws, of course. I just thought it would be interesting to find out what he might spill, if he thought we were on to him."

Taliyah started writing again. I could hear the scratch of her pen faintly over the line, and when she spoke, her voice was a little absent, like she wasn't fully paying attention but just going through the motions.

"There's no ‘we', Wanda. Iwill speak to Mr. Hughes (that's right—that was Mr. Pawnshop Owner's name) tomorrow when his store opens. I brought youin as a consultant for the magical aspects, not the investigation itself."

I barely managed to hold in a snort, but my lips did curl up into a pretty smug smile. Like a cat with canary feathers peeking out from between her lips. That was just about what I'd imagined she'd say. Really, she was so predictable.

"I see, I see." I hummed, considering. "So, did I forget to mention the fact that I'm parked in front of the pawnshop right now?"

"Wanda—"

"—and I'm about to go inside and have a chat with Mr. Hughes?"

Dead silence on the line. When Taliyah finally spoke again, her voice was sharp and cold enough that I was half surprised ice didn't crawl across the screen of my cell phone. "What."

The word was too flat to be a question, but I answered it anyway.

"Yeah, I was really just calling you as a courtesy. But I'm about to pop in to pay a visit to our culprit to see if he happens to have any other gorgeous satin shoes for sale. You're free to join me, of course, if you'd like to, but I'm pretty sure I can handle one old man if it comes down to it."

The words came rapid fire as she barked, "I'm the Chief of Police and you need to listen to me very closely, Wanda. I've warned you about interfering with a police investigation. Do not–"

"—I mean, as I pointed out before, it's a business that's open to the public. We've established that, right?" I said breezily, flipping down my visor so I could check my lipstick in the mirror. Sometimes the darker reds bled into the corners of my mouth if I wasn't careful. And you always had to be careful to make sure you didn't have red all over your teeth—not a good look.

"Wanda…"

"There's no legal reason for me not to go inside and take a look around, if I want to. And if I happen to fall into a conversation with the owner about his store, or about, say, a shared talent for magic, well… I hardly see how that could land me in any trouble."

"Wanda, I am warning you. Do not–"

I grabbed up a gas station receipt that I'd forgotten to toss in the trash earlier and started crumpling it close to my phone. "What's that? I can't hear you, Taliyah. There's some kind of interference with the phone lines—so much for Verizon having the best service."

"Wanda, I can tell you're just crumpling paper!"

I was pretty sure I'd never heard Taliyah yell before. I was almost impressed with myself.

"Can't… cutting out… talk… you."

I hung up before she had a chance to respond. My head fell back, and I laughed at the roof of my car for a few seconds. Oh, Taliyah was absolutely going to make me pay for that one, but it was so worth it. I hadn't had that much fun in months. Maybe even longer.

It didn't help that my phone immediately began ringing, with Taliyah's name flashing up on the screen. Even the ringing sounded furious. I hit ignore. When it rang again, I set it to ‘do not disturb' and tucked it back into my pocket.

When I had myself back under control, I dabbed at the corner of my eyes and checked to make sure my mascara hadn't run. Everything seemed to be in place, so I slipped out of my car and into the rainy night.

I hurried down the sidewalk with my jacket held over my head as cover for the spell I was using to keep my hair from getting wet. It was a little too obvious if the rain simply didn't fall on me, but I also wasn't walking into a confrontation with a potentially hostile magic user, looking like I was half-drowned.

Puddles reflected back the blurry glow of the streetlights as I headed for the suspiciously dark pawnshop. Had Hughes been freaked out by our earlier visit? Had he closed shop in response? Or maybe even fled town? I wasn't sure why he would have—I mean, Taliyah had barely asked him any questions, too busy dancing around the magic angle because we'd thought he was human.

With any luck, I'd also be able to get the truth regarding how he'd hidden himself so well out of him. I'd totally bought the old, grungy human disguise and I was ashamed with myself for not digging deeper—for allowing myself to be fooled by whatever fa?ade he'd cast over himself.

But if he hadn't fled, why did the place look closed? And why weren't the very obvious security measures being used? Something was up, that was obvious.

I reached for the door, figuring that if it was locked, I could always just blast it off its hinges. Of course, if the store was closed, there was no promise that Hughes would even be here. And I had no idea where else to look for him. Oh, I was going to be so mad if Taliyah ended up getting to him first...

Hmm, I could always scry in order to detect his location. But was I really willing to scry a stranger to track him down, just to prove a point?

… I might have been. I crossed my fingers that it wouldn't be necessary, though. Especially because scrying took time that I didn't really have. I mean, it was probably a matter of ten to twenty minutes before Taliyah arrived.

I'd been expecting the door to be locked—I mean, the lights were out, the store was darker than the night outside, stuffed full with looming shadows. So, when the doorknob turned easily under my hand, I almost tumbled backwards onto my flawless behind.

Not locked.

In the brief time I'd been near him, Hughes hadn't really struck me as the kind of man who would leave his store and livelihood unlocked and then go gallivanting off into the night like he didn't have a care in the world. Hmm. Something was wrong, here. That much was obvious.

Had the curses just been a distraction then? Was Hughes building up to something even bigger? What kind of problem had I stumbled onto?

The store was quiet. Far too quiet. More than that, though, was the fact that even though it was jammed to the rafters with stuff, it felt strangely empty. Abandoned in the way that old houses can feel.

For a second, I thought about holding back and waiting for the backup I was sure was already on its way. Whatever Hughes had planned, there was no way he could face down a Blood Witch, a faerie princess, and a vampire. All I had to do was go back to the Escalade and hang tight for a few minutes.

I snorted. I was the High Witch of Circle Scapegrace. A two-bit curse slinger wasn't anything I needed to worry about. And the day I needed backup for one old man with a grudge was the day I hung up my broomstick for good. I wanted to know what was going on, and I was going to find out.

So, I slipped into the store and let the door fall shut behind me.