by Simon Archer
“Your boredom doesn’t count as a reason to expose magic,” Andi scolded.
Vila just nodded her head and took it. She was in the wrong.
“I’m sorry you guys, I just—”
“Why the hell is he going in our house?” I shouted, interrupting Vila as I just watched Tobin Keene duck under the yellow caution tape by the front door and slid into the house. I ran to the edge of the tape and started to duck under when two large bouncer-looking men stepped in front of me, blocking my way.
“No entry, sir,” they bellowed.
“You just let a stranger into my house,” I yelled in their faces. “Get John over here now, or I will make it through this barrier regardless of you standing here, or not.” The two men looked at each other and shrugged, and then one sauntered off to get John. It seemed like an agonizingly long time before he returned.
“What’s the problem, Mr. Anders?” John asked politely.
“Tobin Keene just walked into my house like he owns the place, and nobody did a damn thing about it!” I was still yelling, but John didn’t flinch. He was used to being yelled at, and instantly, a pang of guilt shot through me.
“My apologies, I didn’t see anyone other than our workers enter your home,” John answered plainly.
“Well, I did,” I responded, much calmer. “I want him out of there, or I will call the police right now and turn this whole morning into even more of a shit-show than it already is. In fact, I think I will call them anyway to press charges on him for trespassing.” I reached my hand in my pocket and pulled out my phone.
“If you would, please reconsider,” John said quickly. “I really would like for you to get into your house as quickly as possible. If you involve the police, this whole ordeal could be extended for hours.”
I watched a weariness creep across John’s face before it dawned on me what he would be facing if I called the cops. The gas company would be in trouble for letting unauthorized personnel on the property. I wanted nothing more than to bust Tobin, but my sympathy went out to John, so I tucked my phone back in my pocket.
“Get him out of there now,” I growled, making sure to keep my tone directed at the house, instead of John.
“Right away,” he answered as he spun around to head for the house. He was only two steps away when one of the large men that had been banging on the door pushed Tobin out onto the front patio.
“Stay out, or next time, I throw you out,” the worker barked at him. They had discovered Tobin sneaking around, and the worker wasn’t too happy about it.
John looked back over his shoulder at me to make sure I was paying attention, then broke into a slow jog to catch up with Tobin before he could take off. One of the large men guarding the caution tape followed. When they approached Tobin, he turned to head off in the opposite direction, but the large man reached out and grabbed him by the arm. John spoke a few words to him, then stepped to the side. That gave Tobin a clear view of Andi, Vila, and me standing on the beach just on the other side of the tape. He tried to get free of the big man’s grip but failed, and soon, the worker marched Tobin over to me. When he arrived, John held the caution tape up, and the large man pushed Tobin to my side of it.
“What happens to you next is Mr. Anders’s decision,” John told Tobin, then turned and walked away. It seems John had been lecturing Tobin on the consequences of interfering with gas-company business and left the trespassing portion to me.
“I’m not easily surprised, Tobin, but I’ve got to give it to you, this is quite the shocker,” I said sarcastically while Tobin made a show of brushing imaginary dust off himself. “What exactly were you doing in our house?” I kept my voice even regardless of everything in me wanting to pull my fist back and pummel him in the face. Andi and Vila could feel the fury radiating from me, so each slid a hand into mine to assist with my self-control.
“Looking for something that is mine,” Tobin replied haughtily. He stuck his nose up in the air and acted as if it offended him that I would ask him such a question.
I was so stunned, and it took me a moment to recover.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I spat out finally. “You just trespassed into my house, and you believe some psycho notion that I have something that belongs to you justifies you in doing so”
“I don’t think, I know you have something of mine,” Tobin replied, maintaining his air of entitlement. Still astonished at his attitude, my curiosity grew.
“Exactly what do you think I have that belongs to you?” I asked.
“The spellbook, of course,” Tobin piped back without hesitation.
My mouth dropped open, as did Andi’s and Vila’s.
“What?” Andi asked, more automatically than to get an actual repeat of his statement.
“Oh, close your mouths,” Tobin sniped. “I don’t know how you could be that surprised.”
I had zero clues about what to say to the man. He knew about an ancient spellbook that had come there with me from the States, which I kept hidden the entire time, and he seemed in awe of why it shocked us to learn that he knew about it. He stood next to me, arms folded across his chest, suddenly acting as though he was waiting to get back in the house with us. I was torn between whether to find out what else he knew or play dumb about the book.
“I have an old book or two in my collection, Tobin, but I don’t have any spellbook,” I deflected.
“Really, Bennett? Lame try,” Tobin replied calmly. “Just give me the book, and I’ll be on my way. I’ll even leave the island.”
“If you think you are getting your hands on that book, you’ve got a magical kick in the ass headed your way, Tobin!” Vila burst out. She apparently was over his snotty, entitled attitude.
“Oh, yeah?” Tobin chuckled. “How’s that? You have a fairy in your pocket that will turn me into a toad?” He rolled his eyes and looked back at the house.
Vila, Andi, and I looked at each other, and the girls silently let out a deep breath. He obviously didn’t know about them. Tobin’s mere presence tired me, and I decided it was time to get rid of him. I didn’t care what else he could tell me about the book or not.
“So, you think you have the right to just waltz into my house and take the book?” I asked as quietly as I could without whispering. I circled from his right side to his left, which caused him to look over one shoulder then the other. Anything to make him a wee bit more uncomfortable in his position.
“Actually, yes,” he spat back.
“Well, let me clue you in on a couple of things,” I sneered. I was inches from his face, and I could see the vein in his neck jumping faster than before. I was getting to him. “That house is older than most people think it is, which means there are lots of places that most don’t know about. Finding the book will be next to impossible for you.”
“I’ll take my chances. As far as you know, I’ve been in that house dozens of times. Remember, you just moved here. I’ve been here for most of my life,” Tobin shot back.
“True, true.” I nodded my agreement. “That is why I had a state-of-the-art security system installed before we even flew down to move into the house.” I took a step back, crossed my arms, and stared at him.
He looked out of the side of his eye at me for a moment before turning to me. “Oh, is that right?” he asked, trying to maintain his ‘holier-than-thou’ attitude.
“Yes, that’s right,” I answered. “It just happens to include recorded camera footage of every inch of the property, inside and out. I wonder how your face would look on the news as the photo of the ‘Have you seen this man?’ segment.” I smiled slowly at him, then looked over to the girls. “Don’t you think he’d look good?”
“No doubt!” Andi agreed dramatically.
“A little dumpy but in the right time-slot for sure,” Vila hissed.
Tobin unfolded his arms and sucked in a breath, offended to the core. “I’m going to get that book from you, one way or another, Bennett,” he huffed.
“Wh
y the hell do you want it?” I shouted without meaning to.
“To keep good magic from perpetuating, duh!” Tobin laughed as though I should’ve known the answer to my own question.
“You have twenty seconds to get the hell out of here, Tobin,” I said firmly. “You sound as crazy as you act. If I see you here again, you’re going to be pining away for the book from a prison cell.”
“You think you’re so—”
“Tobin,” Vila yelled at him, stepping up in his face. “Fuck off already! Do I need to broadcast the fact that you aren’t welcome here to shut you up and get you to leave?”
Tobin stumbled backward, not expecting such powerful words at such a loud volume to come from such a small woman. When he recovered his balance, he sneered at the three of us and finally turned and walked away, this time keeping on the outside of the caution tape. When he was out of sight on the other side of the house, I turned to Vila.
“A little over-the-top?” I commented, smiling. “I loved it!” I wrapped my arms around her, picked her up, and twirled her around. Andi hugged her tight the moment I set her down.
“I love it when you get all pissy like that!” she told Vila. “Kick ass, lady!”
Vila blushed a little and let out a giggle. “He was just really grating on my nerves. I would’ve done it sooner, but I needed to be certain he didn’t know about us.”
“He doesn’t know anything about you,” I assured her. “He was so brazen about letting me know that he had knowledge of the book that if he knew anything else, he would’ve rushed to brag about it, no doubt.”
“Good point,” Andi and Vila agreed together.
“Now that we are rid of him, we are back to our original problem. What do we do with ourselves while we wait to get back into the house?” Andi pointed out.
“I’ll call Glen and have him come back to get us after he drops Lottie off,” I said, glancing at my watch. “Which should be right about now.” I pulled my phone out once more and dialed.
“Where is he going to take us?” Vila asked.
“If I can’t work, I’m going to take you girls shopping,” I answered nonchalantly.
“Really?” both girls squealed simultaneously.
“Why not? Isn’t that why I earn money in the first place?” I joked.
“Aren’t you worried about Tobin trying to come back?” Andi asked, truly concerned.
“Nah,” I answered. “Even if he did, there is no way he’s going to find that book. I’ve stashed it pretty well.”
“As long as you are sure,” she added.
“I am.” My phone dinged, and I looked at it. “Glen will be here in five minutes.”
“Where should we go? How about one of the small neighboring towns?” Vila jumped up and down.
“We need to make sure that John Carrington knows how to reach us when they allow us back in,” Andi reminded us.
“Not a problem. Now, let’s go wait for Glen on the other side,” I told them as I started walking along the caution tape line. “Maybe while we are waiting, we should clue John in that it was most likely Tobin that phoned in the false gas leak report.”
It had just occurred to me that the entire event had most likely been staged, so Tobin could try to gain access to the house. Thank goodness his plan had failed.
16
Lottie
It had been difficult to focus on the meetings I had scheduled, knowing Bennett was dealing with being kicked out of the house first thing in the morning. Glen had dropped me off just in time for my first one, thank goodness. He had left and then returned with a large coffee that made me want to give him a Christmas bonus early. I just finished up my last meeting before lunch and was arranging the papers on my desk when the bell on my front door signaled someone entering the office. I put the papers down and went to the front counter to see who it was.
“What on earth are you doing here?” I hollered as I stared across the desk at Jack and Lorraine Richards.
“We wanted to slink around and throw ourselves at your mercy for accommodations before announcing our arrival,” Jack joked. I went out from behind the counter and hugged them both.
“Bennett is going to be so happy! Of course, you’ll stay with us,” I told them. “When did you get in?”
“We’ve been here a few hours,” Lorraine answered. “We had lunch, checked out a shop or two that we missed last time we were here, and went for a stroll through the Main Street park.”
“Sounds like you’ve done half a day’s worth of touristy-fun already,” I laughed.
“I called Bennett a couple of times, but he hasn’t answered yet,” Jack informed me. “Any idea where he is?”
“I’m not positive,” I told them. “We got ousted from the house first thing this morning. The gas company showed up and told us someone had reported a gas leak, and we had to leave. Glen barely got me here and left Bennett and the girls at home. If he’s not there, I have no idea where he is. You know what? I’ll call Glen and see what he knows.” I walked back and got my phone from my desk, dialed Glen, and waited.
“Hello,” Glen answered after the second ring.
“Glen, hey, it’s Lottie. Look, do you have any idea where Bennett is? He has some visitors that are trying to locate him.”
“Locate me?” I heard Bennett’s voice behind me. I flipped around to see Bennett, Andi, and Vila standing behind Jack and Lorraine.
Lorraine jumped when she heard him and turned. She instantly smiled and threw her arms around him for a hug.
“Sounds like you’ve found him,” Glen said, laughing into the phone which I’d forgotten I was on.
“Yes, I found him,” I said distractedly. “Thank you.” I hung up and joined the group in the front of the office.
“Where did you get off to?” I asked Bennett after Lorraine let go of him. He kissed me on my forehead and smiled down at me.
“We went shopping,” Bennett announced as though everyone had asked. He was such a goofball sometimes. It was one of the things I loved about him: his sense of humor.
“There was the most adorable little candle shop just down the street from where we got your centerpieces, Lottie,” Andi chimed in. She held up a bag I hadn’t seen in her hand. She knew I loved candles and wouldn’t be able to resist going through her purchases with her.
“I’ll help you unwrap them as soon as we get home,” I assured her. “Speaking of home, what’s going on with the house?” Bennett turned from shaking Jack’s hand and rolled his eyes.
“You aren’t going to believe what all that was about!” he said, chuckling like he was telling some sort of inside joke. “Tobin Keene called in a false alarm so he could try to sneak in the house and steal the spellbook.”
“What?” Jack, Lorraine, and I all said at the same time.
“Oh, yeah. He’s quite the brazen character!” Bennett looked to Jack and Lorraine. “I’ll tell you all about it over dinner later.” Then he turned to me, and his eyes softened the way they always did when he looked at me. “What time are you out of here?”
“Anytime I’d like, really. I’ll put the forwarding sign up so people can get ahold of me when they need to. Can we get back in the house yet?” I loved owning the office instead of working with my father, who never would approve early departures.
“John Carrington, the gas company man, called me just before we got here and told me it was clear for us to go back in,” he told me.
“Early dinner by the pool?” I suggested, looking at Jack and Lorraine.
“Hey, we are on your mercy,” Jack joked. “If you are sentencing us to a pool and food, then we’ll take what we get.” He laughed and winked at me.
“Plans are made, then!” Bennett said loudly. “Jack, you and I are going to stay here while the girls head to the house. Glen doesn’t have the limo today, so all six of us won’t fit. We can talk some shop so that we don’t bore them with it later.”
“Deal. I saw a bar around the corner. Beer?” Jack propos
ed.
“Good for me,” Bennett answered. Andi, Vila, Lorraine, and I headed for the door. I flipped the ‘Open’ sign to the ‘Closed’ side, turned, and tossed my keys to Bennett.
“Lock up, would ya, please?” I smiled sweetly at him.
“As though I could say no!” he joked, winking back at me. The girls and I left, and moments later, Glen was driving us through the city streets, navigating us back to the house.
“Glen, would you like to stay for dinner and a dip in the pool?” I asked him. He glanced in the rearview mirror and smiled.
“I’m going to have to take a raincheck on that, Ms. Lottie. The wife and I have our cooking class tonight,” he told me.
“You take cooking classes?” I asked, shocked. I never would’ve guessed.
“Yeah. Darlene wanted to get to know more about the local food, so she signed us up for some classes. I bitched and moaned about it for a few weeks but, to be honest, I actually look forward to them now.” Glen laughed, shrugged his shoulders, and turned his attention back to the road.
“Well, if you’d permit it, perhaps Bennett and I will accompany you to a class one night,” I suggested.
“Darlene would love that!” Glen replied. “She hasn’t made as many new friends here yet as she thought she would.”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake, Glen! Why didn’t you say something? We don’t want her to feel alone down here! We’d get her out and about. She knows we all adore her, right?” It horrified me that his wife was having a tough time adjusting to the move when Andi, Vila, and I had plenty of time to keep her company and get her acclimated.
“She’s just fine, Ms. Lottie, I promise you. I made it sound worse than it is. She was just such a social butterfly in the States, and here, she has had to transition to the more one-on-one relationships with people. It’s simply an adjustment, not a disaster!” Glen smiled at me in the mirror, and I realized my over-reaction. Of course, Darlene was fine. The woman could woo a room in under five minutes if given a chance. I’d even suggested once that Jack and Bennett make her their PR representative. She’s that good.