by Vella Day
Once we said our goodbyes, we headed back to Morgana’s house. “Does anyone think we need to stay another day?” No one said a word. “Then what do you think about leaving tomorrow morning?”
“Sounds good,” Rihanna said. Gavin and Jaxson agreed.
As Gavin pulled into the driveway, Mauricio was getting out of his car—a car I thought belonged to Morgana. It only now occurred to me that her car was in Witch’s Cove.
This Mercedes was a high-end vehicle for a gardener, though it might have been a going away gift from Morgana for basically dumping him. If that had been the case, I imagine it would have upset Daniel, assuming he knew.
“We need to tell Mauricio we won’t be staying much longer,” Gavin said.
“Sounds good,” Jaxson said.
The four of us piled out of the car. As we headed toward Mauricio, Jaxson stepped in front of me and spun me around so that my back was to the gardener. Jaxson then leaned over and kissed me.
While pleasant, I wasn’t sure why he did that, especially when I wanted to hear how Mauricio responded when Gavin told him about our change of plans.
Jaxson broke the kiss and pressed his lips to my ear. “Your necklace is pulsing a bright yellow,” he whispered.
Every muscle in my body froze. Once I recovered somewhat, I glanced down. The pulses were there all right, but they were slowing down. I leaned back and stuffed my necklace down my shirt. Why was it doing that? I’d never seen it glow without reason. The only thing that might have caused it was that we were close to Mauricio. But why now?
I sucked in a breath once I realized I hadn’t been wearing my necklace when we first met, because I’d been in my bathing suit.
“I’m good.” I painted on a smile and stepped to the side.
Gavin waved goodbye to Mauricio and then motioned us inside. Clearly, he had no idea what had just happened. As soon as we were behind closed doors, I faced them.
“Mauricio is the warlock,” I announced.
Rihanna looked at Gavin and then at me. “How do you know?”
“Glinda’s pendant pulsed a bright yellow,” Jaxson said, answering for me.
“It has never ever done anything like that before. The only time it changes color is when I’m holding it over a dead body.”
“I could smell the scent of death on Mauricio. He probably just came from the morgue, despite it being pretty late,” Rihanna said.
“That’s not unusual,” Gavin said. “People die at all hours. The cops could have asked the medical examiner to put a rush on the autopsy, and he might have called Mauricio for help.”
“Are you suggesting the necklace was reacting to the smell of death?” Rihanna asked.
“I don’t know.”
“It never lights up when I’m at the mortuary working on a body.” I wanted him to have all of the facts.
Iggy poked his head out of my purse. “I could even smell him from inside the purse.”
I hadn’t been paying attention. Either I was too far away from Mauricio or kissing Jaxson distracted me too much. “Are you thinking that Mauricio might have been helping autopsy a body killed with magic that somehow, what, rubbed off on him?”
“That, or his evil nature caused your necklace to pulse yellow,” Jaxson said.
“Those are two very different scenarios. We can’t really draw a conclusion without knowing more.” Too often I’d speculate without the facts, but I was trying not to do that anymore.
“Do you think Gertrude might know?” Rihanna asked.
I had to think for a moment. “I have no idea if she would or not, but our grandmother would. It was her necklace.”
“But Nana is dead,” she said.
“I know, but maybe when we get back to Witch’s Cove, I can contact her—with your help of course.”
“Sure,” my cousin said.
“Do you think we should call Levy and tell him about Mauricio?” Gavin asked.
“Not yet. We need to know for certain what the pulsing yellow means.”
Before we could continue the discussion, Gavin’s phone rang. “It’s Nash.” He sounded surprised and a bit confused. “Hey, Nash. No, I haven’t spoken with her.” He turned his back and walked toward the living room window.
Gavin didn’t say much, but from the way his shoulders sagged, something bad had happened. I didn’t dare speculate what, but since Nash had called, it might have something to do with his mother.
When Gavin disconnected, he faced us, his cheeks pale. He planted his palms over his face and bent over. Rihanna rushed over to him. “Gavin, what is it?”
It took him at least thirty seconds before he stood and faced us. “Mom’s…missing.”
“What?” Fear streaked through my body. Poor Gavin. First his father and now his mother? “Tell us exactly what Nash said. Maybe you misunderstood him.”
Rihanna wrapped an arm around his waist and told him to sit on the sofa. Jaxson and I rushed over to the seats across from him.
Gavin swallowed hard. “Nash was very clear. He was supposed to go to dinner with Mom. When he arrived at her house to pick her up, the door was ajar. He went inside, but everything looked in place, and when Nash called her name, she didn’t answer.”
“Was your mom’s car in the driveway?” Rihanna asked, with a very matter-of-fact tone.
“It was parked in the garage, and her purse and keys were on the kitchen table. Where could she be?” Panic ripped through his voice.
“Is Nash thinking she was kidnapped?” Jaxson asked.
“Maybe. He doesn’t know, but he asked that I, or rather we, return to Witch’s Cove as soon as we can.”
“Then we should pack and leave right away.” We had to get to the bottom of this.
Since we hadn’t planned on staying long, there wasn’t much to pack. We all reconvened in the living room less than fifteen minutes later.
Jaxson held out his hand to Gavin. “I’m driving.”
“I can do it.”
“I know, but you’re worried about your mom. Besides, you need to be able to talk to Nash if he calls.”
He nodded and handed over the keys.
“I take it we aren’t letting Mauricio know of our second change in plans?” If he was responsible for Gavin’s father’s death, it was best if we didn’t tangle with him.
“No, we shouldn’t,” Jaxson said, clearly answering for the rest of them. “We should just leave.”
Without further conversation, we snuck out of the house. I would have suggested leaving on some lights so Mauricio wouldn’t suspect anything, but he’d hear us drive away. The big question was what would Mauricio do once he found out we had no intention of returning?
We said little until Jaxson had reached the highway. He probably thought he was being sneaky, but I noticed him glancing in the rear view mirror several times.
“Do you think Mauricio will come after us?” I asked.
“I have no idea what he plans to do. Since we don’t know if he killed Gavin’s dad or not, we need to remain vigilant.”
“Do you think he had anything to do with my mom’s disappearance?” Gavin’s voice almost cracked.
I turned around in the seat to face him. “Not personally, but if he is the warlock, maybe he feared we’d already caught onto him. Mauricio could have asked someone to take her.”
“Why? What did my mom ever do to him? They’ve never met—as far as I know.”
“It could have been a warning for us to keep our noses out of his affairs. Besides, your mom believed magic was involved. Why else would she contact her medical examiner friends if she didn’t? That could have been enough to trigger her capture,” I said.
“Mom consults with other MEs from time to time when she’s stumped. Regardless, how did he know we’d found him out? Your necklace didn’t start glowing until after we got back to the house from dinner. By then, my mom had gone missing.”
“Oh. When was the last time Nash spoke with her?”
“About an ho
ur before he went to pick her up. That would have been while we were on our way to dinner.”
“You’re right. The timing doesn’t match. I’m sure Nash is doing everything he can to find her, but we should warn him that he needs to be careful.”
“Why?” Gavin said.
“I’m not sure why I said that. Maybe there are other warlocks as powerful as Mauricio in Witch’s Cove or in a neighboring town who your dad’s killer contacted.”
Jaxson reached out and lightly clasped my arm. “Gavin has enough to deal with.”
“You’re right. Sorry.” I turned back around again.
For the next hour, we kept the conversation to a minimum. Anything we could say at this point would be speculation. I snapped my fingers. “Gavin, do you know which medical examiners your mom called about whether or not they had ever seen another heart like your dad’s?”
“No, just that they were friends of hers from Miami.”
“Where did she work when she lived there?”
“At the city morgue.”
My body sagged.
“What are you thinking, Glinda?” Jaxson asked.
“What if Mauricio is volunteering at the same morgue where Elissa worked? If he learned about someone asking questions about this spell, he might have freaked out—assuming he’s guilty.”
“Nora said Mauricio worked with a Dr. Chris Williams,” Rihanna said.
“I’ll call him tomorrow,” Jaxson said.
Gavin’s cell rang. “It’s Nash…. Did you find her?… Can I put you on speaker?”
Chapter Thirteen
“I’ve not located your mom, but the day you left for Miami I installed security cameras around your house,” Nash said. “With what happened to your dad, I wanted to take extra precautions.”
“Mom said you were going to help her with that, and I really appreciate it,” Gavin said.
“Did the cameras capture anything?” I asked.
“They did. In fact, I just downloaded the feed. Two men showed up at Elissa’s house and knocked on the front door. As soon as she answered, one of the men pulled her outside, and the other placed a cloth over her face. She passed out quickly.”
Gavin sucked in a breath. “Did you identify them?”
“Yes. They are two lowlifes from Miami, but I don’t know where they are now. I’ve alerted the Miami PD to put a BOLO out on them.”
“Could you see the type of car they were driving?” I hadn’t meant to act like he wasn’t competent.
“Yes, Glinda. It was a black Ford Fusion. This isn’t my first rodeo, you know. Unfortunately, the license plate was out of frame.”
I had no idea what that car looked like, but it didn’t really matter. “Any guesses why they took Gavin’s mom?”
“Not really, but she told me she spoke to a couple of her medical examiner friends in Miami. Maybe someone found out about the inquiry, and it scared him,” Nash said.
It was good to know we’d drawn the same conclusion. I told him that the man we thought could be the evil warlock volunteered at a morgue in Miami. “If it is the same place, maybe he believed Elissa was getting a bit too close to the truth.”
“It’s a good theory, but why draw attention to the fact he’s worried? Wouldn’t he be better off leaving well enough alone?” Nash asked.
Gavin nodded. “It’s possible Mauricio just wanted us to leave Miami after he found Glinda and Jaxson snooping in his room.”
Darn. “That could be it.”
Gavin then told him about my necklace glowing yellow. “I didn’t see it since I was facing away from Glinda, but Mauricio could have caught sight of it. Or else he sensed it.”
I hadn’t thought that the warlock might have felt the pulses coming off the stone. “That’s possible.”
“When you get back to town, call me,” Nash said. “I don’t care what time it is.”
It would be late, but I understood that worry kept no hours.
Jaxson drove the whole way home even though I offered to take a shift. Gavin wasn’t fit to negotiate the traffic, and Rihanna needed to keep him company.
When we were close to town, Gavin spoke with Nash who said to meet him at the sheriff’s office. Once we arrived, Jaxson parked in front where Nash was waiting for us. He wrapped an arm around Gavin’s shoulder. “We’ll find her.”
Gavin dipped his head. “I know. Any news on the guys who took her?”
“Nothing new.” He escorted us inside.
I turned to Rihanna. “We should try to contact Nana.”
“Now?”
“Why not?” I asked. “I don’t think ghosts keep regular hours.”
“I’m not sure I can do it by myself. I mean, I talked to my dad a few times, but this is different. We need Gertrude.”
“It’s too late to disturb her.”
“Ladies,” Nash said. “What’s going on?”
“Remember I said that my necklace glowed yellow when we returned to Morgana’s house?”
“Yes, and you think it had to do with the gardener, Mauricio.”
“I do.” I explained again that while Mauricio might not have spotted my necklace glowing, he could have sensed it. “He might believe we know he’s a warlock—like the one who killed Daniel.”
“What does this have to do with this Nana person?” Nash asked.
I should have explained better. “Nana is Rihanna and my grandmother. She is the one I inherited the necklace from.”
Nash’s eyes widened. “I see, and you think she can tell you whether or not it means Mauricio is the warlock who used magic to kill Daniel?”
“Yes.”
“Do you believe she’s been chatting with Daniel, assuming they are in the same spot?”
“How would I know? Sorry. It’s been a long day. Regardless of where we think spirits go, I don’t believe Daniel knows anything. Curses, as you should recall, aren’t always obvious.”
Nash held up a hand. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have said anything. By all means, contact your Nana. It can’t hurt. Hey, maybe she can give us a clue where the kidnappers are holding Elissa.”
I inwardly smiled. “I’ll ask her, though I’m not sure that’s how the spirit world works.” But did anyone really know the inner workings of the afterlife—other than people who were already dead?
“Do you think you can give summoning Nana a try?” I asked Rihanna.
She glanced at Gavin and then shrugged. “I guess we have nothing to lose.”
“No, we don’t.” I rarely saw Rihanna unsure of herself. I turned to Nash. “Can we use the conference room?”
“Of course.”
“You don’t have any candles by chance, do you? If not, I can run across the street and get some of mine.”
“Surprisingly, we do. The electricity goes off frequently enough that we began to stock them as well as flashlights.”
“Great.” We moved into the conference room while Nash retrieved the candles. I mentally rehearsed what I wanted to ask my grandmother. She’d appeared as a ghost once before and then just showed up twice more without me prompting her, which meant I had no idea what she’d do now. I was hoping that by having her talented granddaughter ask her to appear that she would.
We sat around the table, but it became instantly clear that we wouldn’t be able to reach each other’s fingers in order to complete the loop, which was a must. “Darn it.”
Nash came in with the candles, and I explained our dilemma.
“No problem. I’ll clear off my desk and move all of the chairs around it. It will be cozy with the five of us, but we can fit.”
“Six of us,” piped up Iggy.
He’d helped in the past, so I was happy he wanted to participate this time. “Iggy will be joining us. Don’t worry, he’s an old pro.”
“Who are you calling old?” my familiar shot back.
I didn’t answer him.
Once we arranged our chairs around Nash’s cleared-off desk and lit the candles, I nodded to Rih
anna.
“The rules are simple,” she said, sounding like a pro. “First, touch your fingertips to the person next to you, and whatever you do, don’t break the contact, or the connection to the afterlife will be lost.”
Everyone nodded. Well, almost everyone. Iggy was too good for that. “What’s next?” I asked. We had two newbies who needed to be brought up to speed.
“If possible, refrain from asking questions unless it’s highly relevant. I know what Glinda needs to know, so I’ll be the one to ask Nana about it.”
While the few other séances I’d done had been important—okay, the one to bring back Jaxson, Rihanna, and Iggy might have been the most important—a woman’s life was at stake here.
“Close your eyes,” Rihanna said.
I followed her instructions even though I wanted to see if our non-believers obliged. I hope for everyone’s sake they did.
“I call upon my grandmother Amelia. We need your help, Nana.” Rihanna briefly explained about the murdered man and the powerful magic that was used to take him down. “When Glinda was near the person who we believe is the bad warlock, her necklace started flashing yellow. What does it mean?”
I held my breath awaiting her answer. Knowing my grandmother, she’d make some kind of grand entrance. After waiting what seemed like an interminable time, I dared to open my eyes, hoping her ghost had appeared. Only she wasn’t there.
If she wasn’t coming, then I had nothing to lose by asking about Gavin’s mother. “Do you know where Elissa Sanchez might be or who took her?”
Once more, I waited and waited. Just as I was about to give up, the front door to the sheriff’s department opened, and we all looked up.
“Mom?”
The disbelief and pure joy in Gavin’s voice caused excitement and relief to pour through me. I was sure everyone else was feeling the same emotion. They instantly shoved back their chairs and rushed to greet our missing person, clearly no longer caring that we had been in the middle of a séance. While I had no idea why Nana didn’t show, I was sure she had her reasons. Or did she have something to do with finding Elissa? I wouldn’t put it past the crafty witch.
When I clasped my pink diamond necklace, it was hot to the touch. “Nana?” I whispered. “Did you find Elissa and bring her here?”