Luck of the Witchy

by Ani Gonzalez

  She'd even found a pine green candle for the scavenger hunt. She refused to use the pillow, as the grimacing leprechaun face embroidered on it was more creepy than festive. The candle was a Christmas leftover, but green was green and the tourists could now take their selfies and fulfill the scavenger hunt requirement without posting ugly elf pics all over social media.

  The shop looked appropriately festive now. She drew the line at shamrocks, though. They reminded her of the green Hexalife logo. She couldn't bear to put them up after seeing those letters.

  She'd also avoided the donuts Gavin had brought. Maybe Flora would want some once she woke up. Her cousin had slept most of the morning, an indication of how exhausted she'd been after last night. Maybe she should go upstairs and check on her?

  But then the door opened, and Kat stepped in. She had dressed for the holiday in a deep green sweater with an asymmetrical edge and black pants. An impressive jade necklace completed the striking outfit. Kat Ramos knew how to make a first impression.

  "How are you?" Kat asked. "I'm sorry I couldn't come earlier. Luanne cancelled today's readings, and I was alone in the botánica all morning." She made a face. "Well, not alone. I was dealing with unpleasant cold-calls." She looked around the store and grinned. "You decorated. And you got the pillow!"

  Fiona glanced at the horrid creation and winced. "Yes, thank you for that."

  Kat laughed. "I'm not sure I did you a favor. It's one of the ugliest things I've ever seen."

  "But it matches the theme," Fiona said. "Without it, no one would be able to tell the rainbows are meant for St. Patrick's Day."

  "You're too kind to that thing," Kat said with a smile. "Where's your cousin? I hope the pillow didn't scare her away."

  "Still asleep," Fiona replied. "She had a tough night."

  "So I've heard," Kat said. "If there's anything you need, I'll be next door."

  "Thanks." Fiona jerked as she heard the backdoor's bell ring. "I think that's Flora. Maybe she has heard—"

  "Hello?" a throaty voice shouted from the back.

  Fiona frowned. That did not sound like Flora.

  "It's Leslie, from the Mangy Owl," Kat whispered while grimacing. "Oh, boy, you're in for a treat."

  Flora glanced at Kat questioningly. That was the waitress who left that job to sell Hexalife products.

  "Come in," she shouted.

  Kat leaned forward. "She was in the botánica this morning, trying to get me to sign up for the cult, and I could not get her to leave. I think she needs to meet a recruitment quota before their big meeting."

  "I see," Fiona said.

  What she saw was an alternate source of information on Hexalife. Flora was not being very forthcoming, but Leslie was a chatterbox.

  "Do you need help getting rid of her?" Kat whispered as Leslie entered the room.

  Fiona shook her head. The last thing she wanted was to scare Leslie away.

  She waved to the Mangy Owl waitress. "Hi, Les. Long time no see."

  "Hey, Leslie," Kat drawled, taking a step back. "Oh, look at the time. I should go back to my store." She scurried toward the front door and left, the door slamming behind her.

  Leslie's distinctive, raspy laugh rang out. "That was fast. I think she broke the speed of light getting away from me."

  The ex-waitress was wearing her trademark ripped skinny jeans, black leather jacket, and stiletto boots, but the Mangy Owl t-shirt had been replaced by a green shirt bearing the legend "Ask Me About Hexalife's Zodiac Fitness System" and she carried a bag with the green hexagram logo. Caine was right, Leslie had gone all in.

  And she was serious about her recruiting. The bag was huge and full of merchandise. Leslie carried it easily. Her muscular frame was a fantastic advertising for the company's fitness regime. Leslie looked like she could lift an ox.

  "Kat's just busy," Fiona said, unable to think of a better excuse for her friend's behavior.

  Leslie pushed her curly red hair behind her ear. Her mouth twisted into a half-smirk. "Everyone seems to be busy when I come by." The smirk turned into a self-deprecating smile. "In fact, I think, after a few minutes in my presence, you will probably remember an urgent matter that will need your immediate attention. These days, I have that effect on people."

  Fiona laughed. "Actually, I'd love to talk to you about Hexalife. However, my cousin, Flora, works for them, so I may have to purchase through her."

  Leslie's razor-sharp brows went up as she put her bag on the counter. "Flora Hart? Their botanical researcher is your cousin?" Leslie's eyes widened. "Is she okay? I heard the corporate team had a bad car accident last night."

  "She's fine, just a little shaken up," Fiona replied. "She's staying with me."

  "Then she was lucky," Leslie said. "I heard Stella is doing well, but Violet is in bad shape." Her voice lowered to a whisper. "They say she may not make it."

  "Oh, I hope that's not true," Fiona said.

  "Me too," Leslie said, her eyes clouding. "Violet recruited me into Hexalife." She laid her fingers on her bag gently, her eyes tearing up. "This business saved my life, you know. I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't met Violet."

  Fiona didn't know what to say. Leslie was not the crying type. She was a tough motorcycle chick who had lived in Banshee Creek all her life. She hadn't been just the Mangy Owl's waitress. She had been its most popular comedy act, cracking jokes about the town's paranormal happenings with the help of a pretend ghost sidekick called Edgar. She was foul-mouthed and funny, and hard as brass tacks.

  But she was now on the verge of tears.

  "I'm so sorry, Leslie," Fiona said. "I'm sure they're doing everything they can."

  Leslie nodded. "There are lots of rumors going around. Supposedly, some big drama has been going on for weeks. I try to ignore the gossip and just keep on working, but it's getting hard to do that now. People are freaking out. They don't know how the business can go on without Violet."

  "I'm sure it won't come to that," Fiona said. "Someone will step in."

  Leslie shook her head. "Flora and Stella are talented at what they do, but they aren't business types." She gave Fiona an apologetic glance. "Don't take this badly, but your cousin can't even do math. She did a blog post with measurement conversions and got them all wrong."

  Fiona smiled. "I wasn't thinking of Flora. Surely there are other candidates."

  Leslie scrunched up her nose. "Stella could do it, but she doesn't like that work. She says she's more the big picture type. However, her zodiac deliverables are fantastic. I know Luanne doesn't like her work because it's not technical, but there is something to be said for pure intuition." Leslie shook her head. "But I can't visualize her taking over Hexalife."

  Fiona couldn't either. Fortune-tellers, in her experience, didn't work well with others.

  "There's Bella," Fiona suggested.

  Leslie shrugged, her face sad. "She's a fine manager as far as the numbers as concerned, but she hates dealing with people. You don't understand. Violet is..." her voice trailed off as if reconsidering the verb tense. "Violet is a force of nature. When she tells you something, you want to believe, you want to follow her."

  Leslie's voice trembled with passion. Her description of Violet sounded faintly disturbing. People with that level of charisma could be scary. They could make you do things you would later regret.

  "I was lost before I found Violet," Leslie went on. "My stand-up Vegas tour failed, and I thought I'd be stuck serving drinks at the pub forever. I had charged all the costs for the tour on credit cards and didn't know how I would pay that back. I didn't know what to do."

  "I know how that feels," Fiona replied, her eyes scanning her store.

  Her bank account now had a healthy balance, but she remembered how it felt to have zero money after sinking everything into a business venture. Luckily, Wicked Wicks had been a success. Leslie hadn't been so lucky.

  "Then one day, Violet dropped by the pub and told me about Hexalife," Leslie continued. "I fell in lov
e with the exercise plans instantly. Who could resist an astrological aerobic routine, am I right?"

  Fiona tried to contain a giggle. She could resist any kind of exercise. Her will was strong.

  Fortunately, Leslie didn't notice her amusement. "At first, I thought bringing new sales people in and making money off them was shady," she continued, "but Violet made it sound like a real business opportunity. And the way she talked about the products was very convincing. She really believed in creating a unified and coherent magical system to help people live their best lives."

  "It's a very attractive concept," Fiona admitted, recalling the glossy brochures she'd read the prior night about the personalized blend of recipes, rituals, exercise and beauty regimes.

  "I didn't really buy it at first," Leslie said. "I'm a skeptical Scorpio. But the diet of dark foods like lentils, beets, blackberries, black cherries, and brown breads sounded interesting, and then I did some readings with the free tarot deck they gave me, and I saw a path for myself." She laughed. "It just made sense, you know."

  "I understand," Fiona said, remembering the brochures on her desk. "It's a very attractive package."

  "Flora and Stella did an amazing job," Leslie said. "Everyone did. I know the part where you bring in other salespeople is not for everyone, but the products are so good, it's worth it."

  Leslie sounded like a true believer, but one aspect seemed out of place. "What do you mean that it's not for everyone?"

  Leslie rolled her eyes. "Oh, just something Caine said. He was upset when I quit, and he investigated the company. He discovered that people have sued the company, claiming they were pressured to buy inventory that they then couldn't sell. He said people went bankrupt." Her voice dropped to a hoarse whisper. "And someone may have committed suicide."

  Fiona gasped. "Who?"

  "He couldn't tell me." Leslie's eyes narrowed. "I think he was making it up to get me to quit Hexalife. I just don't see how people could be in over their heads like that. We have various inventory packages and installment plans, so you can grow your business at your own pace. No one should go into bankruptcy over Hexalife." She paused, her eyes clouding. "Well, unless the whole business goes under, which is not unimaginable after the car accident."

  Fiona nodded. Someone may have dealt Hexalife a fatal blow, and it seemed Caine may know the person's identity. All she had to do was get rid of Leslie and go ask him.

  But Leslie was now taking brochures out of her bag.

  "Can I talk to you about our introductory package?" she asked, a mischievous glint in her eye.

  CHAPTER TEN

  "BUT HOW did the person who delivered the letters know that Flora was staying with her cousin?" Sean asked, swirling a French fry into the Mangy Owl's trademark spicy ketchup. The pub was bustling with activity.

  "Maybe the person followed them home?" Gavin asked, ignoring his turkey sandwich.

  "There was no one at the crash site," Olivia said, diving into her salad. "We would have noticed anyone following the Volvo."

  Olivia had inspected the letter with a crime scene kit, but had found nothing but an obvious resemblance to the other anonymous correspondence. Faced with a dead end—several, actually—they'd adjourned for a working lunch. Olivia had her notebook, and Gavin had his tablet as they were brainstorming.

  "Fiona dropped Ms. Donna at the Monster Hunter Motel," Gavin noted. "Anyone could have followed them from there."

  "But they would have had to wait in the parking lot." Sean grabbed the bottle for more ketchup. "Who knew that the Hexalife group was staying at the motel?"

  Olivia grimaced. "Just about everyone in town. The motel had a welcome poster, and the meeting was on their weekly schedule, which they post on all floors." Her eyes narrowed. "It may have been on their website and social media too. I'll look."

  "Check the vehicles, too," Sean said, opening the bottle.

  "Whoever hit Violet's car would have suffered significant damage to his or her vehicle," Gavin noted.

  "Fairfax County is examining the accident debris for us," Olivia continued, checking her notebook. "We should have a report in a couple of days."

  "That slow?" Sean asked, trying to pour ketchup onto his plate. The bottle didn't cooperate. No matter how hard he shook it, nothing came out.

  Olivia threw up her hands. "It's still listed as just a hit-and-run, so it's not high on the priority list."

  Sean slammed the bottle back on the table a little bit too hard. "Please remind me to make some calls. I can try to do something about that." He craned his neck. "Now, let's see if I can get more ketchup before these fries go cold." He raised a hand and waved, trying to get a waiter's attention.

  "I'm interviewing Ms. Donna after lunch," Olivia said. "I'll ask her if there is anyone out there with a grudge against Hexalife."

  Booming laughter greeted her comment. They turned to see that Caine had answered Gavin's wave.

  "You're kidding, right?" the owner of the Mangy Owl asked. "You mean to ask her who didn't have a grudge against Hexalife, no?"

  They all stared at the burly biker.

  Olivia let out a low whistle. "Whoa, Caine, am I going to have to read you your Miranda rights? Although you may know them by heart."

  "Ha, ha." Caine's tone was anything but humorous. "I heard about the accident. That stretch of road is a deathtrap, and I plan to petition the town council for changes at the next meeting. We need better lighting and a lower speed limit. Can I count on your support?"

  "Sure can," Sean answered. "I've been trying to get additional lighting there for months."

  "But send us a draft first," Gavin interjected. "I want to know what I'm supporting. I don't want to inadvertently lobby for a UFO display or additional lights to help them land."

  Caine's eyes widened in fake innocence. "I only tried that once."

  Olivia's eyes narrowed. "Not true."

  "But since we're on the topic-a lit-up UFO would be a huge improvement," Caine said. "The cars would slow down to gape at it, and those women would not be in the—" He frowned. "Wait, it was an accident, so why are you asking who has a grudge against their cruddy pyramid scheme?"

  The table fell silent.

  Sean shrugged. "We have to consider all possibilities."

  Olivia traced the edge of her notebook with a fingertip. "And if there's anything you'd like to share..."

  She let the question hang in the air.

  Caine rubbed his beard. "I looked into the organization when they started poaching my people. I wanted to know if they were legit."

  "What did you find out?" Gavin asked.

  "Nothing, at first," Caine said. "There were no formal complaints or lawsuits."

  "Yeah," Olivia muttered. "I noticed that."

  "But I asked around," Caine continued. "I knew that Hexalife would appeal to the paranormal community and I have contacts at most related businesses, so I sent out a few feelers."

  Olivia's eyes narrowed in undisguised envy. Gavin understood how she felt. It must be nice to have Caine's contacts. As leader of PRoVE, he knew everyone worth knowing in the paranormal industry.

  "At first, no one would talk to me," Caine continued. "Hexalife is a paranormal-themed business, and we tend to be protective of our own. It didn't help that Violet is a very popular figure in the community. She's sociable and charismatic, and people love her." He leaned forward. "This may surprise you, but not everyone feels that way about me."

  "I refuse to believe that," Olivia replied, eyes widening theatrically.

  Caine sighed. "I try not to dwell on it. The point is that people didn't want to complain about Violet. They were, however, willing to talk about Bella Donna, the business manager. You see, no one had any complaints about the Hexalife system itself."

  Olivia frowned. "You mean the hocus pocus stuff?"

  Caine nodded. "Sure, some folks published technical corrections and there's a ton of nitpicking, but by and large, it's very well received. They have recipes, love-life advice, an
d even goddess-centered fashion spreads."

  Olivia scrunched up her nose. "Are you serious?"

  Sean grimaced. Olivia was a stellar police officer, but she was also a devoted fashion fiend.

  "Oh, yes," Caine replied. "They have a book that guides you to only buy clothes that fit your inner goddess. Leslie's patron was the Morrigan, so she started wearing leather and stiletto boots." He shook his head. "You can't wait tables in heels."

  "And you disliked the change," Gavin noted.

  "Yes," Caine admitted. "But I'm in the minority. Go figure."

  "No problems with the products themselves?" Gavin asked, thinking of Flora's fears.

  "Not that I know of," Caine said. "The recipes are harmless. It would be hard to die from a chamomile overdose."

  A wave of relief washed over Gavin. Flora's concerns were unfounded.

  "So what did people dislike?" Sean asked, sticking to his investigation.

  "The money part," Caine said. "The salespeople have to buy a certain amount of inventory and recruit a certain number of new salespeople to expand the pyramid. People liked the products and they liked Violet, and the corporate environment she created. But they loathed the pressure."

  "And the pressure didn't come from Violet?" Sean asked.

  "Apparently not," Caine said. "That was Donna."

  Sean nodded, looking unhappy.

  "I'll get you the names," Caine said. "Anything else I can do for you?"

  Sean didn't answer. He was frowning, deep in thought.

  "You still want ketchup, Sean?" Gavin asked.

  "Uh?" Sean looked up. "Yes, more ketchup. Thanks, Caine."

  Caine left them to finish their meal.

  Sean stared down at his plate, his face glum.

  "Why the long face?" Gavin asked him. "You should be happy to get a lead."

  Sean grimaced. Olivia sighed.

  "It's a lead, but it's not helpful," she explained.

  Sean nodded.

  "It's the wrong lead," Olivia continued. "The person who crashed into their car last night wasn't trying to hurt Bella, since she was on the other side of the car. Violet was the target."