CHAPTER 18

C HAPTER 18

B y the time Mia got home from work, she'd forgotten about seeing Melody on the road. Grans's car was in the parking lot, as was Mark Baldwin's truck. "That can't be good," Mia muttered as she got out of her car.

Mark, Abigail, and Grans were all in the reception area drinking coffee, and it looked like Mark had devoured a plate of cookies. They looked up as she walked into the school.

"There's our girl." Grans waved her over. "And before you asked, I fixed the security system."

"There was something wrong with your security system?" Mark frowned at Mia. "You should have called the company. They will come out and make repairs."

"It wasn't anything big. A bird had moved the parking lot camera, and it just needed adjusting." Grans lifted the empty plate. "Mark, can I get more cookies?"

"I really shouldn't," he said, but even Mia could see he wanted some more.

"Abigail and I will go grab some more and put them into a bag so you can take them home to Sarah. She needs all the energy she can get." Grans patted Mark's arm as she and Abigail left the room.

Mia sat down next to Mark. "How are things going? How's the baby? And Sarah?"

"They're good. And expecting me home for dinner soon. I just wanted to stop by and update you on Mrs. Carter. She's been sent home, and the doctor says she's doing well." He paused and then just shrugged. "Okay, the weird thing is she had five gift-wrapped lipsticks in her purse that were all tainted with enough botulism to make someone violently ill. Not enough to kill anyone, thank goodness, but they'd be feeling like they were dying."

"Five?" Mia sighed. First, Carla had been trying to eliminate the competition and had died from it. Now Marnie must have been trying the same thing.

"That's an odd number, isn't it? Of course, she's not talking, and her husband has told us to go through her lawyer, but I suspect that she wanted her daughter to win this contest. No matter what." Mark sipped his coffee as he watched her.

"I think you're right." Mia didn't know how to stop this, but it needed to end.

Mark stood and adjusted his hat. "If I could without it coming from me, I'd tell those stage moms to stop trying to manipulate the results of this contest, for their own sake. I'd hate to see anyone else get hurt, or worse, die."

Mia nodded. Now she understood why Mark had come by. He didn't want to ask what she knew—he wanted to send a message. And Mia was the one who had to deliver it. There was no way Mark would even acknowledge the existence of a Magic Springs coven, much less talk about magic. He'd recently found out that his wife and baby daughter were both witches, but he still wanted the idea to be a random occurrence. Not half the town.

"I'll pass on the warning." She stood as well. Coffee klatch was over. Mia had her assignment.

"Thanks, Mia. I appreciate your help with all this mumbo jumbo." He smiled as Grans and Abigail came out of the kitchen. Right on time. "Ladies, thank you for your hospitality."

"Mark, you know you're welcome anytime." Grans handed him a bag with a dozen more cookies. "These are for you and Sarah. Although if you kept them in your truck, I'm not going to be mentioning their existence to your wife."

"Oh, I'll share, but there might not be a dozen in there when I get home." He tipped his hat to all three women, then left through the front door. The women sat back down at the table.

Grans looked at Mia. "How bad is the news?"

"Marnie was attacked because she was trying to poison the other contestants so Rachel could win." Mia rubbed her face with her hands. "And Carla was trying to make it so her daughter could win. We have a karma dealer."

"This is serious, Mia. Magic is flying wild around here. People could get hurt." Abigail twisted her wedding ring. "This is why I didn't want Thomas to be a judge. When you have the power to crown the new queen, you can get hurt."

"Nothing's going to happen to Thomas," Mia promised. She just hoped she could back up that pledge. "When everyone gets here, I'm pulling them all in a room and telling them to knock it off. Is Bambi a coven member?"

Abigail shook her head. "No, she's not. She's open-minded, but not that open-minded. I hadn't wanted to mention it, but the coven is wondering if you'll take over as the event planner next year. They pay handsomely. Maybe even enough not to have to do the Lodge job, or you could negotiate at least that high. They need someone who understands the problems that having a beauty contest with magical contestants can cause."

"I'm ignoring what you just told me and focusing on the first part. I'll invite just the moms into a room for a quick chat and tell them to knock it off." Mia stood and went toward the stairs, where Mr. Darcy was watching her. "Two more days, Mr. Darcy. Or one day, two evenings. And then we'll be done with this."

The look he gave her made her think that maybe the cat knew about the job offer from the coven. And worse, maybe he thought she should take the job.

When Bambi and the contestants arrived, Mia met them in the prep room. She asked for all the guardians to follow her into the next empty classroom. The one where Carla had been killed.

"Mia, we really don't have time tonight for chitchat. We've got to get ready for the main event tomorrow." Bambi tried to stop the moms from gathering.

"Bambi, this will just take a second and needs to be done." She glanced at the five women. There were three moms. In addition, Marnie's sister had come with Rachel, and Kristin's grandmother was here. Only Melody didn't have anyone with her to help get her ready. After meeting Elly Sellers, that didn't surprise Mia. She stood at the door and pointed to the next room. "Please meet me in there."

Melody followed the women.

"Oh, Melody, I don't need you," Mia said as she reached the door. "Go get ready for your first event."

Melody looked at Tatiana, who was just leaving the room. "Are you sure?"

"If there's anything you need to know, I'll come tell you after tonight's event. Don't worry, you won't be left out." Mia put a hand on Melody's shoulder. "I've got to deal with this."

Mia closed the door after her, and she heard Bambi call out to the girls, "Okay, let's get ready. The judges will all be at their stations, but don't let that worry you. Tonight's just for fun. No judging allowed from them tonight, even if you fall off the stage."

That sounded oddly specific. As Mia went into the other classroom and shut the door, she saw anger on the faces of the mothers and confusion on the other two women's faces.

"Why are we here? We need to be getting our daughters ready for tonight. This contest is very important." Tatiana was the group's spokesperson. Or more likely, she always thought she was in charge.

"Police Chief Baldwin wanted me to pass on something to all of you. And you need to listen and understand what I'm saying. Both Carla's death and Marnie's accident were because they were trying to affect the outcome of the contest."

"I knew it." Elizabeth Martin, Amie's mom, turned toward the others. "I told you Carla and Marnie were up to something."

"Well, that's not the only thing I need to say." Mia met everyone's gaze, one by one. "There's a rebound on the spell. If you push it, it's going to push back—hard. So, please, no more magic. Just let the girls compete and let the chips fall where they may."

"That's easy for you to say—you don't have a child or a chance at winning the contest." Carla's mother stood next to the spot where her daughter's body had been found. "Carla did this for Kristin. Her effort needs to be honored."

"And Carla's dead because of what she did," Mia reminded the group. "Look, I know you want to help your daughters and loved ones. Everyone wants to help their children. But you have to be alive to do that. I don't know who's doing it or even how the rebounds are being cast. But I do know this building needs to be a magic-free zone through tomorrow night."

The women looked at each other and nodded. Carla's mother spoke again. "You're right, of course. We'll honor our commitment."

As they filed out of the room and toward the prep room, Mia watched and had the sinking feeling that someone was lying when they'd agreed to stop. She just hoped she was wrong.

When the judges gathered at their table, Mia went over to talk to them. Zeus and Thomas were sitting together.

"Well, if it isn't the lovely Mia Malone. What can I help you with today? Do you want to know our process? It's been a secret for years, but I could give you a hint." Zeus leaned closer, and Mia could smell alcohol on his breath.

Mia held her hands out in front of her like a shield. "Oh, no. Don't put that kind of pressure on me. I'm just the caterer. I just wanted to know if you wanted something to drink. We have coffee, iced tea, and sodas. Nothing alcoholic, I'm afraid. We don't have a liquor license."

This was why Mia contracted with the Lodge to provide bar services at events held here, but the coven had handled the bar for tomorrow night. The coven probably hadn't wanted to make it easy on Zeus to get a drink. Every night besides Friday, he'd have to go to his car in the parking lot to sneak a drink. And people would be here on Friday to watch him.

Which could have been why the security camera had been put on a magical loop last night. Maybe he wanted the cover from prying eyes.

It was only a guess about why the security system was targeted. Mia didn't know, and Grans hadn't told her if she could track down the spell caster. She sent a mental thank-you note to her grandmother for the help and got the feeling of a warm hug in exchange. The Goddess was happy with her communication, at least.

Mia still wore her protection charm so Grans could watch out for her. Even tonight in the midst of the storm. A feeling she never forgot.

Thomas chuckled and stood. "I'd love a soda. What about the rest of you guys?"

He took their orders, then walked away with Mia.

She tried to protest. "You don't have to help. I can get five sodas."

"True, but Zeus is showing way too much interest in my son's girlfriend, so I think I'll just walk with you to keep him from helping you out and putting you in a bad spot. He can be a problem." He leaned closer. "How's Abigail?"

"You could ask her yourself," Mia reminded him. "And maybe take her home tonight. She's been at the apartment for way too long."

"I didn't ask her to leave." He held up his hand. "No, we're not doing this. I know you mean well. But I won't use you as a go-between. I'm sorry I started the discussion. Just tell her I said hi."

"Okay, I will." Mia had a few things to do before the evening ended, so she gave the tray of sodas to Thomas to take back to the judges' table. As he started to leave, she put a basket of rolls on the tray. "Maybe Zeus would like something to eat as well."

"You noticed?"

Mia snorted. "How could you not?"

She went back into the kitchen where Abigail was working on trays to put out on the side tables for the girls and judges to snack on. "Thomas says hi, and Zeus is drunk."

" Drunk drunk, or just drinking?" Abigail asked.

Mia shrugged. "Is there a difference?"

"For the coven, yes. He knows he can't be drunk at these events." Abigail shook her head. "Don't worry about it. I'll go check. If he's over the limit, I'll call Malcolm and have him removed. It sends a bad message to the girls."

"Thanks. I don't know what's already handled and what's out of the norm with this whole thing. I'll be glad when I'm back at the Lodge just handling normal events." Mia took a mini stuffed croissant off a tray and ate it. "I should have eaten before we started. Now I'm starved and grumpy."

"There's clam chowder and warm rolls upstairs if you want to take a break. You can send Christina down to cover you while you eat." Abigail glanced at her watch. "It's about time for her dinner break to be over anyway."

"Sounds perfect." Mia grabbed two trays of treats and headed out of the kitchen. "I'll drop these off and then run upstairs."

"Tell Christina to hurry. The girls are eating like there's no tomorrow."

Mia hurried and dropped off the trays on her way upstairs. When she reached the second floor, she ran into the girls coming down to start the practice.

Bambi caught her after everyone had cleared the stairwell. "What did you say to the parents?"

"Why? Are they being awful again?" Mia knew this job wasn't what she was meant for. She decided not to take the gig next year. Gloria giggled in the apartment. She ignored her.

Bambi looked at her strangely. "No, they're being amazing. They're being supportive and nice. Did you threaten them with bodily harm?"

Mia laughed. "Nothing that serious. We just needed to clear up something. I'm running upstairs to eat. I'll be back down in about thirty minutes."

Bambi held up her phone. "I'll call if I need you."

The rest of the night went like clockwork. And by the time everyone had cleared out, Mia thought that just maybe her message from Mark had taken hold. Maybe everyone would be positive and let the contest go on without any more interference. At least that was her hope.

* * *

Mia was up early the next morning. She had made a strada, a breakfast casserole with eggs, cheese, and bacon that used up the day-old bread too, for anyone who was hungry, and she had written out several lists. One was about work at the Lodge and the things she needed to deal with on Monday. The next was the list of upcoming classes she was committed to teaching for Mia's Morsels for the next three months.

January was coming fast, and she needed to refocus her goals. Would she return to Mia's Morsels, based on the date when Frank pulled back his requirement that any event set at the Lodge had to use the hotel's catering department? She knew it would happen, but when was another story. Or would she just bite the bullet and set her own return date, hoping she could live on what the delivery and classes brought in?

Only one of those put control of her fate in her own hands. And that was a requirement in any goal-setting plans. Plan what you could control. Okay, with that premise set, would she go back to running her business next year or the year after?

Mia scrolled through the profit-and-loss statements and the projections for next year. And came to one conclusion. She needed to wait another year. If she hadn't burned any bridges with Frank.

Now she was depressed, so she went to shower and dress for the day. She wanted just to get back in bed, throw the covers over her head, and sink back into sleep. Instead, she decided to go for a run on the greenbelt. Like Melody had said yesterday, time to enjoy the warm, Idaho late fall was running out. And as much as she liked winter, she loved fall.

Mr. Darcy followed her out of the house, but he stayed on the dais while she moved around the fence to the greenbelt. Instead of going east toward town, she turned to go west to the end of the greenbelt. She'd get there, stretch again, then run into town and back to the house. That would be just under five miles. And if that didn't wake up some endorphins, nothing would.

When she came back from the run, her head was clear, and she felt like she could continue to slay the dragons in her life. As she walked through the parking lot, she noticed a line in the school's concrete foundation. She rarely walked this way since she typically parked closer to the front door.

"Great, right when I was feeling better, the school shows me that it has a foundation issue," Mia muttered as she walked over through the shrubs that grew next to the building. She shook the thought away and put a smile on as she repeated her mantra. "I know gratitude in all things."

As she came around the bushes, she realized the line wasn't a crack. There was a door here. A door she didn't know about. She pulled open the door and stared into the pitch-black interior. Then she heard a sound, and all of a sudden, something furry rushed at her.