by Vella Day
A brief flicker appeared in the corner. Iggy wasn’t facing in that direction, so I was sure I was the only one to see the light. I walked over to the row of chairs where Nash was leading Elissa.
Gavin’s mom was dirty, seemingly disoriented, and probably really scared.
Nash knelt in front of her and clasped her hands in his. “What happened?”
She looked down at Nash and then at the rest of us. Elissa wet her lips. “I don’t know.”
I rushed over to the water cooler in the corner, filled up a cup, and took it over to her. “Drink this.”
Elissa looked up. “Thank you.”
We all pulled around our chairs in a circle. “What happened, Mom? You had us so worried.”
“All I remember was answering the door to these two men. I asked what they wanted, but before I could stop them, they put a cloth that smelled like chloroform over my face. I have no idea how long I was out, but when I woke up, no one was in the room, or rather the warehouse.”
“Which warehouse, Elissa?” Nash asked. “That might help us figure out who is behind all of this.”
“The lights were off, so it was hard to see. But it was off State Road 21.”
“How did you get here?” Nash asked.
“I walked.”
I sucked in a breath. In her condition, that had to have been very hard. “Why didn’t you flag someone down and ask for a ride or at the very least, ask them to call Nash?”
“I didn’t trust anyone enough to stop them. I knew I couldn’t put up much of a fight since I was still woozy from the chloroform.”
“You were smart to be cautious.” Nash looked over at Gavin. “There’s probably not much more we can do tonight. Your mom is safe, and that is all that matters. Why don’t you take her home? She’s been through a lot.”
“Nash, since we haven’t found the person behind this, if a warlock is involved, Rihanna should stay at the house with Gavin. And you, too.” I wasn’t about to ask him if he loved Elissa. I wouldn’t embarrass him like that, but his feelings for her seemed to be strong.
“Sure. That’s a good idea,” Nash said. “Glinda and Jaxson, why don’t you escort Rihanna back to her place so she can grab a few things? I’ll do the same and meet everyone back here.”
“That will leave Rihanna, Gavin, and Elissa vulnerable for a few minutes. Since I doubt Elissa is up for going with us, how about Jaxson and I throw a few things in a case for Rihanna? It won’t take but a sec.”
Rihanna nodded. “I’m okay with that.”
While Gavin and Rihanna waited with his mom, the three of us, along with Iggy, left.
“Gavin, to be safe, lock the front door,” Nash said. “No telling what the goons will do if they find your mom has escaped.”
“Will do.”
Ten minutes later, we were back, and Nash wasn’t far behind.
Now that Rihanna would be staying at Elissa’s with Nash and Gavin, I knew she’d be okay. I, however, had no intention of being by myself. For starters, I’d announced that I was a witch. Secondly, I was wearing the necklace that had pulsed yellow.
I hugged my cousin. “We’ll see you tomorrow.”
“You two be careful,” Rihanna said. “Elissa isn’t the only one who might be in danger.”
“I know.”
On the way out, we grabbed our suitcases from the back of Gavin’s car, and then watched them help Elissa into his backseat. He took off with Nash right behind them.
Jaxson looked around. “Ready to head back to your place?”
“Yes. You’re staying with me, right?”
“I wouldn’t even consider letting you be by yourself. I’d suggest my place since it has two bedrooms, but my house is more isolated. Your apartment is probably safer. You do have the magic powder ready just in case, right?”
“I do.”
Even though we were crossing the deserted street for the third time tonight, I kept expecting someone to jump out at us. “How is your martial arts training coming?”
Jaxson chuckled. “You don’t need to worry, pink lady. I might not be able to take down more than a couple of thugs at once, but I can protect you. As soon as this case is solved though, I plan to increase my practice hours.”
“You do realize that no amount of fighting skills will help if a warlock is involved.”
“I know.”
The moment I stepped into my apartment, my anxiety level dropped. Jaxson locked the door behind us, and Iggy crawled out of my purse.
“That was intense,” Iggy said. “Why did those guys just let Dr. Sanchez go?”
“That’s an excellent question. When we catch them, we’ll ask them,” I said.
“Iggy,” Jaxson said. “The more important question is who hired these guys and why?”
“I’m voting for Mauricio,” my familiar said.
“Darn. We should have asked Elissa which medical examiner she called to find out whether there were any other hearts like Daniel’s.”
“And if it turns out to be Dr. Chris Williams, will that be enough evidence to point a finger at Mauricio?”
“Point a finger? Maybe. Prove anything. No.”
Chapter Fourteen
The next morning after a very restless night of sleep, I decided to take a much-needed shower. Before I ducked into the bathroom, I listened to see if Jackson might be up, but only light snoring came from the outer room. Good. He needed his rest.
Even after tossing and turning for hours, I’d not been able to come up with a solid reason why anyone would take Dr. Sanchez if they didn’t mean to harm her. And what had happened to the two men guarding her? Were they told to leave her at a warehouse? If so, why? And then there was the issue of my blinking necklace. What did it really mean? Ugh. I had so many unanswered questions.
Not wanting to keep Jackson waiting, should he need to use the only bathroom, I jumped in the shower and quickly washed.
Once done, I grabbed my pink towel from over the shower rod and dried off. After dressing, I opened the bedroom door and found him awake. His eyes might have been closed, but he was stretching and making some cute grunting sounds.
When I inadvertently made some noise, he opened his eyes and smiled. “Good morning.”
“Good morning to you. Did you sleep well?”
“Not really. You?”
“No. I had too much on my mind.”
“Same.”
He eased off the sofa and stood. Jackson was still dressed, but he looked totally adorable with his hair all mussed.
“The shower is free,” I announced.
He dragged a hand over his head. “Is that a hint?”
He was being funny. “No.”
“I could use a good rinse.”
“While you clean up, I’ll make us some coffee.”
“Sounds divine.” He picked up his suitcase and entered the bedroom.
I hadn’t even made it to the kitchen when he called my name. I spun around and returned to the bedroom, not imagining what he needed. I’d already set out a fresh towel for him.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Did you see this?” Jackson pointed to the steamed-up mirror.
On it was a message that read: Believe in the Magic—N. “No, I didn’t. I must not have looked at it after I showered.”
“Do you think N stands for Nana?”
“It has to be, but come on. She’s not alive. How could she have written this?”
“Well, I didn’t write it,” he said.
“Clearly this had just been written. Even now, it’s fading. It must be magic. After all, we summoned my grandmother last night, and while she didn’t show, I saw some lights flicker in the corner just as Elissa walked into the sheriff’s office.”
“Do you think it was your grandmother trying to contact you?”
“I do. She might not have shown up right away because she was out looking for Gavin’s mom. And if she had been searching, it would have caused Nana to run a little late.” Okay,
that kind of sounded lame even to me, but it was the best explanation I could come up with.
“Let’s suppose it was your grandmother who penned the message. Do you think it means that the flickering yellow light on your pendant is what you thought it meant?” Jaxson asked. “That Mauricio is the warlock we are looking for?”
“The only way to know is to ask her.”
“Are you proposing another séance?” he asked.
“Possibly.” My cell rang in the kitchen. “I need to get that.”
I ran out of the bedroom and grabbed my cell. It was Steve. Okay, that was a surprise. “Hey.”
“Glinda, can you and Jaxson come to the station now? We’re assembling a task force to figure out what happened to Elissa and Daniel.”
“That’s a great idea. Jaxson’s taking a shower, but we’ll come over right after that.”
That meant we’d have to grab some coffee at the sheriff’s office, even though it wouldn’t be nearly as good as what we could get downstairs or at the Bubbling Cauldron.
“See you in a few then,” he said.
Jaxson came out of the bathroom moments later with his hair wet. “Who was that?”
“Steve.” I explained about the task force. “Ready to brainstorm?”
“Absolutely.”
My cute pink iguana waddled over and looked at me. “I want to come.”
“I wouldn’t think of leaving you behind.” Who cared if half the people there couldn’t understand him? I lifted Iggy and slipped him into my purse.
As soon as we entered the station, Pearl greeted us. “I heard you had quite the adventure in Miami.”
The conference room, whose walls were glass, was quite full, which meant we didn’t have time to give her the full lowdown. “It was interesting to say the least.” I nodded to the room. “Jaxson and I seem to be the last to arrive.”
She pushed a plate of cookies at me. “Take a few.”
I grabbed some for the others. “You are a lifesaver.”
We both entered the room, and I was totally surprised to find not only Rihanna and Gavin, Nash and Elissa, but Misty, Levy, and Camila.
Jaxson and I took the seats to the left of Levy. “Did Steve call you in?” I mumbled to my fellow sorcerer.
“He did.”
Steve tapped the table. “Now that we are all here, we need to find out who this warlock is and if his agenda includes any more black-heart deaths.”
Even though most of us were immune because we were with the person we loved, Levy and Camila were exposed.
“I saw something this morning,” I announced.
Everyone turned toward me. “What was it?” Steve asked.
I explained about the message on the steamy glass mirror.
“How is that possible?” Rihanna asked. “I’ve never heard of a ghost having any kind of corporeal form.”
“Me neither, but when I brushed my teeth before I showered, the mirror was clean. The only time the mirror was left unattended was when I was in the shower, and this person would have needed to get by Jaxson who was on the sofa, and then write the note, while I didn’t see him—or her.”
“I wasn’t really asleep,” he said. “I would have heard this person come in the door.” He turned to Levy. “Or can some warlocks walk through walls?”
“Not that I’m aware of,” Levy said.
That was a relief. Iggy crawled out of my purse and climbed onto the table. “I was up about an hour before you two sleepy heads awoke. No one came in. Trust me.”
I had to translate to the few who couldn’t hear him.
“Let’s go with the concept that Rihanna and Glinda’s grandmother managed to convey the message on the mirror. Do you think believing in the magic means that the yellow pulsing implies Mauricio is our guy?” Steve asked.
“That would be my guess.” I looked around at the others. They either nodded or shrugged.
“Mauricio was last seen in Miami. Any suggestion on how we proceed?” Steve asked. “Witchcraft is not my forte.”
“If my coven and I can find him, we can do a spell to take away his magic, but note: that is very dangerous,” Levy said. “If he sees us, he could kill us.”
I placed a hand on his arm. “You’re right. It is too dangerous. You and your coven have done so much for us already. You shouldn’t jeopardize your lives. We need to figure out a way to lure Mauricio here, so that your coven can stay out of sight while you guys do your spell.”
Steve pulled out his yellow pad. “Any ideas how we do that exactly?”
“If he knew that Elissa was now free, would he come to Witch’s Cove to take care of her himself?” I asked.
Nash shook his head. “Even if he would, I won’t chance Elissa’s life again. We need to find another way.”
“How about asking Morgana to help us?” Gavin asked.
I hadn’t thought of her. “If she called Mauricio, what would she say?”
Gavin looked over at Rihanna who shrugged, and then he dragged his gaze around the room looking for suggestions.
“Let’s ask Morgana her opinion on how to get him here. She’s the most familiar with him,” I offered.
Jaxson clasped my hand. “I didn’t think you trusted her.”
“I don’t, but she is our best bet. If she is innocent, she’ll be a great asset. If she is in cahoots with Mauricio, we’ll have to make sure someone is with her at all times so she doesn’t warn him of our plan to trap him.”
Nash snapped his fingers. “I’ll ask Hunter to help out.”
“How?” He wasn’t even a deputy. “He might be a werewolf, but I don’t think we want that information to leak out beyond the people in this room.”
“It doesn’t have to,” Nash said. “We’ll ask Morgana to come to the station. Since what we are suggesting could be dangerous, we’ll tell her we’ve hired Hunter to protect her. He can make sure she doesn’t warn Mauricio.”
I shook my head. “What will prevent Mauricio from killing both of them when he finds out?” We sat in silence for a bit.
“Animals are immune to Mauricio’s powers,” Levy said. “We could have Hunter and Morgana be at the station. We could tell Morgana there’s a caged wolf in one of the holding cells who will tear Mauricio to bits if Morgana gives a particular command.”
Nash chuckled. “If Mauricio shows up, how do you even know he plans to put a death spell on them? And if he tries one, do you envision Hunter running off to the cell to get this werewolf? Then, out of sight of Morgana and Mauricio, he’ll strip, shift, and return?”
“Why not?” Levy said.
Steve held up a hand. “Let’s keep that idea on the back burner for now. We first need to decide if we want Mauricio here. I admit it seems the safest way for Levy and his coven to strip him of his ability to destroy a person’s heart without being in jeopardy themselves.”
“I know what will work!” Even I surprised myself at some of my ideas. “We’ll have Morgana call Mauricio. She can say that someone has been following her. She thinks it’s one or two men. Being vague will be best. Morgana will have to be an excellent actress to sell herself as a damsel in distress though.”
Gavin rolled his eyes. “I’ll say.”
“If she is innocent, she’ll do anything to stay alive,” I said.
He shrugged. “Agreed, and she is a survivor.”
“Next, Morgana will beg Mauricio to drive up here to protect her. She could even say she heard about Elissa being kidnapped and didn’t want the same thing happening to her. If Mauricio asks her how she heard about that, Morgana can say you, Nash, caught the kidnapping on camera.”
“We’ll have to hide Elissa someplace very safe then,” Nash said.
“She can stay at my parents’ funeral home. Mauricio won’t think to look there.”
“That’s a good idea.”
“You do realize your plan will take at least six hours to execute?” Steve threw in. “Miami is a long drive away.”
“I know. We just
drove it, but that’s okay. We’ll need every minute for the second part of the plan.”
“The second part of the plan?” the sheriff asked.
“Yes. I have an idea, but let’s see if Morgana will go for the first part before I lay out the rest. Gavin, do you want to call and ask her to meet you here?”
“Not particularly,” he said without hesitation.
“I’ll call,” Steve said. “I’m running the investigation from the Witch’s Cove end. I think she’ll come in, whether she is guilty or not.”
“Good.”
Steve sounded very professional when he asked Morgana to join us, though he didn’t give her much choice. He disconnected and faced us. “In case she is in cahoots with Mauricio, we’ll tell her as little as possible.”
That worked for me.
It wasn’t long before Morgana arrived. She looked around and froze. “What is everyone doing here?”
Steve explained our plan—or at least a watered-down version of it.
“You want me to convince Mauricio to come here so he can protect me from the two men who I believe kidnapped Elissa?”
“You were both Daniel’s former wives. Maybe there is a connection.” I shrugged. “Can you think of something better?”
“No, but why are you eager to have him here at all?”
We had to tell her something. “We think, or rather I think, he might have killed Daniel. Even you thought that, remember?”
She nodded. “Okay. But why have him come here? He could harm someone else.”
“We’re hoping Levy, Camila, and some other coven members will be able to perform a magical spell that will prevent Mauricio from doing just that—ever again.” I inhaled. “That would require us to lure him to a room at the Magic Wand Hotel. We’ll say it’s your room, only Jaxson and I will be there instead. That’s when Levy and his group will do their magic.”
So much for only sharing a watered-down version of the plan. That was the whole plan!
Morgana just stared at me. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”
“What part is so hard to believe?”
“The part about the spell.”