I bit down into my lip to keep myself from crying. “Harvey, please, it’s harmless—”
“Enough!” he snapped. “I’m taking you back to the Seattle haven and I’m leaving you there. I’m in the middle of an investigation here and don’t have time to debate this with you. Now, let’s go.”
Boots sprang into action, leaping for Harvey, but he blocked him with a shield. Boots hissed and stood between Harvey and me. “Bootsie, it’s okay,” I said, no longer able to keep the tears back. They coursed down my cheeks as I looked down at Boots. He swiveled his amber eyes up to me and blinked slowly. He understood. The bond between a witch and her familiar was a powerful thing. He would fight to the death for me, if needed, but he understood when I was beyond his help. “I’ll be all right. You stay here. Adam will take care of you.” At the thought of Adam, my tears quickened. I closed my eyes and drew in a deep breath. I rarely cried, and breaking down in front of Harvey was the last thing I wanted to do. I had to get it together and be strong. For myself. For Boots.
But it was impossible. The thought of being dragged out of the manor and never coming back was too much for me to take. I couldn’t leave. Adam, Posy, Lacey, Evangeline, and Cassie were all my family now. And Nick. My heart twisted painfully at the thought of Nick. I’d wrecked the case and potentially damaged his business. What would happen to him? The only small consolation was that if Georgia really fired him, he’d stay out of the investigation and be out of the path of danger.
“Let’s go, Boldt.” Harvey demanded. “We’ll use the SPA portal to get back to the city. I can get you booked in time to make it back before bed.”
“How nice for you,” I replied, glaring down at him.
He shrugged, unruffled by my sharp tone.
Boots rubbed against my legs and I whispered, “Be good, Bootsie.”
As Harvey walked ahead, I felt a tug at my wrists. The invisible bonds around my wrists would pinch until I took a step if Harvey got too far ahead of me. It was like a magically enforced leash. I followed him out of the kitchen and through the living room. I looked around, wishing Posy would appear so that I could tell her what was happening. I still had no idea when Adam was coming back, but she could explain to the others and make sure Boots was looked after. But there was no sign of her. She was likely in the attic, listening to her favorite record over and over again.
Harvey opened the door and a blast of cold air swelled inside the entry way. I was about to demand that he release the spell long enough for me to put a coat on, but the words died on my lips as I realized voices were filtering up the walk. Adam!
Wait.
Two other voices. One deep and masculine. The other high and fast.
My stomach plummeted. “No,” I whispered. “No, it can’t be …”
Adam appeared, a huge smile on his face, completely overlooking the goblin lurking by the door. “There she is! Gorgeous, look who decided to come a few days early.” He turned and I squeezed my eyes closed, wishing myself away. If I could have gotten a hold of the Larkspur, I would have vanished to some far away island. Anywhere would be better than the humiliation of what was happening right in front of me. “Holly, this is—”
I forced my eyes open and saw Adam standing next to a man who looked exactly like him, except he was a few inches shorter and a few pounds heavier, with salt and pepper hair and far better taste in clothing. In front of him was a woman in a posh red coat, black dress, and cherry-red heels that perfectly matched her coat. She had shiny, raven hair, deep green eyes, and rosy cheeks.
“—my dad, Mort, and my mother, Bella.”
“What a lovely little introduction,” Harvey’s gravelly voice interjected. Adam and his parents all swiveled to face Harvey, obviously just seeing him for the first time, as he came out from behind the door. “Unfortunately, Holly is a little too busy for a family reunion right now.”
Adam looked at me, concern etched in his face. His eyes dropped to my wrists and went wide as he realized they were pinned together. “What’s going on, Holly?”
“Harvey found some vials—”
Adam’s shoulders tensed and he rounded on Harvey. “You little—”
“Adam! Don’t!” I said.
Mort stepped forward. “I’m sorry, but who are you?”
Harvey snapped his fingers and like a slight-of-hand trick, a silver card appeared. He handed it to Adam’s father. “Harvey Colepepper. SPA. And as I said, Ms. Boldt and I have somewhere to be. If you want to see her, you can all come visit her at the Seattle Haven Prison once I get her booked for illegal potion work. Goodnight.”
Adam raced to me and wrapped his arms around me. I melted into him and started to cry again. “Take care of Boots,” I whispered. “He’s terrified.”
“Of course.” Adam nodded. “I’ll get you out, Holly. Don’t say anything to anyone.”
“Get Evangeline to call her friend. Teddy something or other.”
“I will.”
“Mr. St. James,” Harvey said.
Adam squeezed me tight and kissed me before releasing me. I found myself staring at his open-mouthed parents and felt my cheeks warm. Great first impression, Holly.
Harvey moved quickly considering that his legs were less than half the length of my own. He barreled down the sidewalk and I dragged behind, only taking steps when the tension around my wrists became unbearable or he barked out an order. He stopped at the corner and I craned around to take one last long look at the manor.
Then, with a snap of his fingers, it was gone.
****
“Harvey, you have to listen to me.”
We were still in Beechwood Harbor, but with a click on his fingers, we’d landed on the other side of town. Harvey wasted no time barreling toward his destination, not stopping to address my pleas or answer any of my questions. We walked for a few minutes in cold silence through a neighborhood, staying in the shadows between street lights. Harvey walked up to an older home, bypassing the front door entirely, and went to a cellar door on the side.
“Where are we? Whose house is this?”
Harvey sighed. “Enough questions, Holly. This is happening. Whether you like it or not, or think it’s fair.” He stopped to square off against me and folded his arms. “Back in Seattle, I stuck my neck out for you, against my better judgment. You swore to me that you were done playing potion master and I believed you. I wanted to believe you. For whatever reason, I have a soft spot for you.”
I blinked rapidly. Soft spot? I shuddered to think how this night would play out if he didn’t claim some affection for me.
“I can’t let this slide, Holly. There are laws put in place by the council. And those laws are meant to help and protect. Why couldn’t you just petition the council for your potion master license and go through the process like every other potion master? Why do you insist on making things so difficult for yourself and everyone else?”
I frowned down at him. “Are you actually being serious right now?”
He didn’t reply.
“Harvey, you know that there is no way in this world or the Other that the council would grant me my potions master license. Not with my connection to Gabriel. Not to mention my last name. When was the last time a Boldt woman ever held a position of power?”
“Your aunt has done well for herself,” he pointed out.
“That’s because she married that awful SPA councilman. If not for that, she’d be back in the house she had when I was growing up, doing side jobs to make ends meet, and doing her best to scrape together enough money to take care of me.”
Harvey sighed and dropped his arms. The motion reminded me of a deflating balloon. Maybe I was finally getting through to him. Just maybe.
“Harvey, you know I’m not hurting people. My potions help people. Supernaturals. Potions that help grandfathers ignore their back pain to play on the floor with their grandchildren, potions to help students remember the things they read in their textbooks so they can do well in school, even a
potion to help keep a telepath from killing her nasty mother-in-law! Surely those things all earn me some small level of grace here.”
My heart pounded so loud I could hear it in my ears as a long moment spanned between us. But finally, Harvey reached for the cellar door. “It’s too late, Holly. I have to do my job. This is a portal that will take us to the SPA station inside the Seattle haven. I’ll make sure to put in a good word for you so that maybe you won’t spend the rest of your life in a windowless cell. But that’s all I can do. Then I’m done. I have my own career to worry about.”
He tugged the handle and opened the door. Instead of a dank cellar, a flood of purple shone from the other side. I’d never used this type of portal before—they were usually reserved for government officials—but I imagined it wasn’t much different than the gateway between the human version of Seattle and the paranormal community that lay just under the surface.
“Wait! Harvey, you’re here about the Molders aren’t you?” The question flew from my mouth before I could reconsider it. It was a desperate move. “You know they’re turning humans. That’s why you’re in Beechwood Harbor!”
Harvey’s beady eyes went so wide I thought they would pop out of his head, and my heart flipped. I was right. “How do you know about that?”
I extended my cuffed hands. “Let me out of these and I’ll tell you all about it.”
“Holly, I—”
“Harvey, who does the council want more? Me, or the vampires responsible for turning humans? Which is more dangerous? I can help you solve your case. In exchange for my information, you let me go. Don’t turn me in.”
To my surprise, Harvey let the door handle slip from his hand and I flinched as it slammed back into place. “And your potion business?”
I chewed my lower lip. I couldn’t lie to him again. He’d be watching me even closer if he let me return to the manor. I swallowed hard and ignored the stinging in my eyes. “If you let me fill the orders I have open, then I’ll tell my customers that I’m going out of business.”
Harvey studied me, as though he had the power of being a human—err, goblin—lie detector test. After a moment, he gave a solemn nod. “You have a deal, Holly. But if you cross me again, I’ll make sure you spend the rest of your days inside a cell.”
I swallowed. “I understand.”
Harvey clicked his fingers and my cuffs fell away. I rubbed my wrists as he reopened the portal. “Come on, we’ll discuss this at my office in the haven. There will be fewer distractions.”
Thinking of Adam and his parents back at the manor made my stomach flop. I was thankful I wasn’t going to jail. At least, not tonight. But the thought of going back and facing them again was more than I could bear. Harvey didn’t give me long to wallow in self-pity, though. He guided me through the portal and we arrived in a long hallway inside a building I’d never seen before. Harvey didn’t explain anything along the way, but it didn’t take me long to piece together that we were inside the Seattle Haven SPA headquarters.
He led the way to his office; a large, sprawling room that boasted a fantastic view of the supernatural city below. The space had an old-world charm that I never would have associated with the seemingly cold SPA agent. It was decorated with dark woods, rich tapestries, and books that looked older than both of us combined, though, to be fair, I didn’t have a clue whether Harvey was 50 or 500. Harvey called his assistant to get us tea and once we’d been served and his assistant was gone, he waved a hand at the door, shutting and locking it.
Once we were alone, he leaned forward and braced his arms on his desk. He must have been seated on a pillow because he appeared far taller than usual and almost stately behind his large antique-looking desk. “All right, tell me everything you know from the beginning,” he said before slipping on a pair or horn rimmed glasses.
I took a long sip from the chamomile tea and then launched into the whole sordid story; everything from the stakeout with Nick, to the confrontation with Georgia. I relayed what Lacey had told me about the Raven and the Vampire Council. None of it seemed to shock or startle Harvey. He listened carefully, only interjecting to ask a couple of follow-up questions along the way. When I finished, he leaned back in his chair and laced his fingers together in front of him. “We’ve known about the Vampire Council for some time. Regarding your friend, may I assume it was Lacey Vaughn?”
I frowned. “I said no names.”
He shrugged as though it didn’t concern him. “In any case, not all vampires prefer the ruling of the Vampire Council. However, there are enough of them that it does create problems from time to time. What interests me more is the medallion you saw on this woman, Georgia Banks. Do you think you could describe it to a crafter?”
My brow furrowed but I nodded. “Sure.”
“Good. I’ll set that up right away.”
“Then I can go back home? My friends will be worried about me.”
Harvey gave me an impatient look. “You’ll go back when I’m good and ready to take you back.”
I sighed. “Great.”
Harvey leapt down from his place behind the desk and left the office. Once he was gone, I let out a frustrated growl. I didn’t have my phone on me and I didn’t have anyone’s phone numbers memorized, so I couldn’t use Harvey’s phone. Knowing him, he had it charmed to lash out and attack anyone else who attempted to use it anyway, so maybe it was for the best.
I didn’t have to wait for long. Harvey came back a few minutes later with a man in royal blue robes. He looked like he was a thousand years old and spoke in a voice so soft I had to practically embrace him to hear what he was saying. “Holly, this is Mr. Willows. he’s the Seattle haven’s best crafter. I need you to describe the medallion in detail and he will conjure a reproduction.”
Crafters were a specific class of wizards who had the ability to spin their magic into any physical item. Large parts of the havens were in existence because of crafters’ work. “All right. But, Harvey, what’s so special about the medallion? Why does it matter?”
Harvey narrowed his eyes at me. “That’s none of your concern, Holly. You just help Mr. Willows and then I’ll take you home.”
It rankled that he wouldn’t tell me anything, even after I’d been so candid with him. Harvey helped Mr. Willows into a chair and I took the one opposite him. After we began, Harvey slipped from the room. I described the necklace to Mr. Willow, who used his fingers to spin thin air into a gleaming replica of the necklace I’d last seen around Georgia Banks’ neck. He handed it to me and I turned it over, inspecting it. “It’s perfect.”
As we were finishing, Harvey returned and snatched the medallion from me. He gave it a once over, then turned to the ancient crafter. “All right. Thank you, Mr. Willows.” He pocketed the necklace and then turned back toward me. “Holly, let’s go.”
“You don’t have to ask me twice.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
True to his word, Harvey took me back through the portal. We arrived back at the manor at half past midnight and he walked beside me up to the front door. He stopped short of opening it and turned to me. “Holly?”
“Yes?”
“Everything we discussed tonight needs to be kept completely confidential,” he started. His expression and tone were so grave that I was taken aback. “This investigation is bigger than I can even begin to explain. Any leaks of information could bring the whole thing crashing down.”
“I understand.”
He eyed me skeptically. “Good, because months—years—of hard work are at stake.”
I turned the handle and Harvey took a few steps backward. “Aren’t you coming inside?” I asked.
He shook his head. “No. I won’t be staying here anymore. I need to be back at headquarters, working from the inside to see what I can track down. I’ll have my assistant drop by tomorrow to collect my belongings.”
“Oh. Okay.” I shifted, unsure what else to say.
“Finish your orders and notify your customers
that they will need to find alternate arrangements for their potion needs.”
I gave a miserable nod. “I will.”
“Good.” He nodded and pocketed his hands, burrowing them deep inside his coat. “You’ll keep an eye out for any other oddities?”
“You’ll be my first call.”
“See to it that I am.” He turned away and I pushed open the front door. Harvey stopped short and spun back around. My heart sank. He’d changed his mind. He was going to cuff me and drag me off again. Instead, he said, “Holly, when this is all done, I think you should go to the Haven Council and seek your potion master license.”
“Harvey, I told you—”
“I’ll testify on your behalf.”
For the second time that night, I was rendered completely speechless.
“I know some of the council members personally, and can put in a good word for you. If what you said is true, about the good you’re doing here, I don’t think they will have a problem issuing a license.”
“Wow. Uh … thank … thank you, Harvey. I don’t know what to say,” I stammered.
He held up a hand. “Don’t thank me yet. This isn’t over. Not by a long shot.”
“Right.”
He turned and continued down the walk and seconds later, a snap cracked through the night and he was gone.
I hesitated on the porch, one hand on the door knob, as I stared out into the night. My breath made little plumes in the cold air and I was bone tired, but I couldn’t slow my racing thoughts. What was Harvey going to do back at the SPA office that he couldn’t do here in Beechwood Harbor? What was going on with the Molder family? Why did he want a replica of Georgia’s necklace? And, possibly most pressing, would I really have a shot at getting my potions license with his recommendation?
An icy wind kicked up and drove me inside. Suddenly all thoughts of the case and the strange conversation at Harvey’s office fell away as I recalled that Adam’s parents had seen me dragged out of the manor in SPA cuffs just a few hours earlier. Nick was furious with me and possibly in danger of losing his business, and my poor familiar was probably worried sick about me.
Witch Slapped: A Beechwood Harbor Magic Mystery (Beechwood Harbor Magic Mysteries Book 3) Page 9