Luck of the Witchy

by Ani Gonzalez

  Sean leaned back in his chair. "And Violet is the one everybody loves."

  Oliva shrugged.

  "We're back to square one."

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  "THANK YOU so much for doing this," Flora said, collapsing into the hospital waiting room chair. The chair, a relic from the sixties by the look of it, creaked dangerously as it took her weight.

  "It's not a problem." Fiona said as she stashed Gavin's car keys into her purse. This was the second time she'd borrowed her boyfriend's car without asking. She didn't want to compound it by losing the keys.

  Not that Gavin minded that she'd borrowed his car. She kept having to remind herself of that. She wasn't used to having this kind of support in her life, and neither was Flora. That's why her cousin kept apologizing.

  Fiona sighed and scanned the hospital waiting room. Their regional facility wasn't fancy, so she was in a bland beige space with a worn linoleum floor and chairs that had been modern decades ago. It was a far cry from Banshee Creek's comparably cozy Urgent Care Center, and it made her strangely homesick.

  Unlike the Urgent Care Center, which was always full, the hospital waiting room was blessedly empty. The only other person around was a middle-aged woman sitting in a corner, reading on her tablet. She was wearing an expensive shearling coat and seemed to have settled down for a long wait with a cup of coffee and a good book. Her conspicuous patience seemed ominous, but Luanne had said that Stella would be released soon. With a little luck, they wouldn't have that long to wait.

  "Someone was going to have to come get Luanne anyway," Fiona commented, taking a seat. "And I may as well take Stella along. She shouldn't have to stay in the hospital if she doesn't have to."

  "That's what I thought," Flora said, her eyes scanning the featureless room. "I'm so relieved she wasn't really hurt and is being released early."

  "That was good news," Fiona said.

  "And I appreciate you giving her a ride," Flora said. "Don't worry. I know you were busy when I came down to the store, and I promise I'll help you finish what you were doing."

  Fiona stiffened. "Oh, that won't be necessary."

  Flora did not notice her cousin's discomfort. "Were you testing a new candle? It had a very interesting smell."

  Fiona sighed. "Something like that."

  She'd been doing an offering to the tanuki spirit that haunted her store. The interesting smell was wasabi and onion potato chips imported from Japan.

  The tanuki had come to Banshee Creek inside a Japanese tattooing machine imported by the artist who occupied the store next door. The mischievous spirit's activities included playing music loudly in the middle of the night—he had been on an Eagles kick for weeks—but he had once saved Fiona's life.

  The tattooist had gone to a convention and taken the machine with him, but the tanuki may still be around. The letters had rattled her, so as soon as Leslie left, Fiona tried to enlist the guardian spirit by making an offering of the last of the precious Japanese snacks.

  Then Flora came down, smiling widely, and told her that Stella was being released from the hospital. After checking with Luanne, who had agreed to host Stella until she recuperated, they'd decided that Fiona would drive to the hospital and pick them up.

  And here they were, waiting for the patient to be released.

  "That woman keeps staring at us," Flora said. "Do you know who she is?"

  Fiona turned to look, but Flora grabbed her arm.

  "Don't look," she hissed.

  Fiona rolled her eyes. "I don't recognize her."

  "I don't either," Flora admitted. "But she looks familiar. Maybe Stella knows her. Perhaps-" A swooshing sound interrupted her, and Flora pivoted to look at the hospital door, which was sliding open.

  A tall woman with short hair dyed a brilliant purple sat on a wheelchair, looking perfectly healthy, except for a bandage on one arm and some stitches on her face. Behind her, Luanne pushed the chair through the door.

  Gypsy-ish, with her colorful peasant shirt and loose, curly red hair, Luanne looked exactly like a fortune-teller should. Stella, however, did not. The Hexalife mystic was wearing leggings, a sports shirt, and sneakers. The clothes looked new, and the shirt bore the legend "Banshee Creek High School Football. Property of the Banshees," so Luanne had probably brought them for her. Stella's muscular physique indicated that this was the kind of clothing she was comfortable in. She looked more like a spin cycle teacher than a fortune-teller.

  "Stella!" Flora exclaimed, running toward her. "I'm so glad you're okay." Fiona followed her cousin's lead.

  Stella smiled slowly, showing a little scar on her upper lip. The kind that resulted from getting hit by a baseball or a lacrosse stick. "It takes more than a little accident to get me down." She glanced down at her arm. "I have a bad sprain and a few stitches, but I'm otherwise—" But she then broke off and stared behind them. "Berenice, what are you doing here?"

  Fiona turned. The woman in the shearling coat was no longer reading. She was standing behind them, the tablet presumably stowed inside her luxury brand handbag.

  The woman bristled. "Why wouldn't I be here? My sister had a horrible accident. She needs her family around her, and I came as soon as I could."

  Stella's hitherto expressive face became a mask. "Of course, have they told you anything about her? I keep asking, but they claim they can't disclose patient information."

  Berenice Vonn swallowed. "They tell me it's not good. I'm waiting for the doctors to let me into the ICU."

  The door whooshed open again. They all looked up as a short African-American man dressed in a lab coat entered the waiting room.

  "Hi, Dr. Lebensburg," Stella said. "My friends came to pick me up."

  Fiona frowned and peered at the doctor's name tag, which identified him as Dr. Eric L. Lebensburg, Orthopedist. "Any relation to Dr. Ingrid Lebensburg from Banshee Creek Urgent Care?"

  The doctor's sober face broke into a wide smile. "My aunt, and the reason I became an MD." He turned to Stella. "Her office is a tourist attraction in and of itself."

  "But you are not planning to join it," Luanne said, phrasing it as a statement and not a question.

  He shook his head. "I did an internship there during college. That town is a little too interesting for me." He gestured toward the quiet waiting room. "I opted for the relative calm of the regional emergency room instead. Anyway, good luck, and don't forget to make those appointments with the specialists."

  Stella grimaced. "It's just a sprain. I'm—"

  "She'll do that," Luanne interrupted, patting Stella in the back. "I'll make sure."

  The doctor turned toward Fiona. His face suddenly serious. "Are you Violet Vonn's family?"

  Fiona shook her head as Berenice stepped forward. "I'm Violet's sister. I came as soon as I heard."

  "Follow me, please," Dr. Lebensburg said, stepping back so the door swished open behind him. "You can see her now."

  Berenice followed him, her heels click-clacking on the linoleum floors. When the door swooshed closed, they were left alone in the waiting room.

  "That did not sound good," Flora said with a catch in her voice.

  Luanne's face hardened. "It isn't."

  Stella glanced at her colleague, her face lined with concerned. "Are you sure, Luanne?" She gave a slight shake of her head. "No, of course, you are sure. I hope you're wrong, though." She heaved a deep sigh. "Poor Violet. She looked terrible after the accident." Her face darkened.

  "And having Berenice around just makes it worse."

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  GAVIN TURNED the key and the Volvo's engine sputtered to life with a lazy groan. He put the gear in reverse, noting the slight lurch that resulted. Then he pressed the accelerator and backed out of the alley, smiling.

  Twenty years since its manufacture, and the boxy car was still running perfectly. Every gasp, every cough was as familiar to him as the pockets in his firefighting kit.

  Sitting next to him, Fiona rolled her eyes. "I told y
ou the car was fine."

  "I never doubted it," Gavin replied, turning smoothly onto Main Street. "You know, you are free to borrow it whenever you like."

  Fiona shuddered. "Thanks, but no thanks. I've been driving people around all day. I drove Flora to the hospital. Then I drove everyone back, stopping by the pharmacy to get some painkillers for Stella. Then I got them food, going to four different places to get special treats that met their Hexalife diets. Then I dropped Flora and Stella at the motel for their meeting." She shook her head. "I'm going back to my happily carless status after this."

  Gavin's smile turned into a grin. "Then I get to drive you around."

  Fiona laughed. "Darn right, you do. But you'll have to start tomorrow. I have to pick up Flora and Stella at the motel after the meeting."

  Gavin stretched out a hand and patted the dashboard. "Don't worry, sweetheart. It's just one night."

  "You're hilarious," Fiona said. "Just for that, you're buying me double dessert tonight."

  They reached Poltergeist Pizza and Gavin turned into the parking lot. "That bad, uh?"

  "You have no idea," Fiona said. "I still can't believe Stella downed her painkillers and went to the meeting. What could possibly be that important?"

  The lot was full, but someone seemed to be leaving. They would have to wait until the driver got out. Gavin turned on his signal light, heaved a deep breath and leaned back against his seat.

  "Violet is in bad shape," he said, watching people walk in and out of the restaurant. "That's why the meeting is so important."

  Fiona stared at him, eyes wide. "Are you sure? Stella and Flora are still hoping for a recovery."

  Gavin weighed his words with care. "A full recovery seems unlikely."

  Fiona's face darkened. "That explains why the Hexalife folks look so nervous." Her voice was thick with longing.

  Gavin gave her a side-long glance. He knew Fiona and her friends liked to investigate every mysterious occurrence in their town. They were almost as curious as Caine. "I'm surprised you didn't go to the meeting."

  The car was finally leaving, and he grabbed the steering wheel of the Volvo, ready to turn into the freed parking spot.

  Fiona sighed. "I tried. I signed up to be an official representative, and you would think that would give me some rights, no?"

  Gavin recalled the piles of Hexalife merchandise he'd seen in the Wicked Wicks back room. Fiona had only just signed up, but she already had boxes of candles and incense to sell. The Hexalife people worked fast.

  "Well, it didn't," Fiona said. "Stella and Flora refused to bring me to the meeting. They said it was for senior representatives, and I was too new."

  Gavin laughed as he turned the car engine off, reluctantly impressed. Stella and Flora had foiled Fiona? That took some doing.

  "Four hours isn't enough for senior status?" he teased.

  Fiona joined in the laughter. "Apparently not. And the hundreds of dollars I bought in inventory to suck up to Flora and Leslie did not make any difference." She shook her head. "I have enough candles to last me the rest of the year." She heaved a deep sigh. "I bet they will discuss Berenice. Oh, to be a fly on that wall."

  "Berenice?" Gavin asked. "Who is that?"

  Fiona's eyes widened in fake disbelief. "I know something you don't? Amazing!"

  Gavin tried to remember what Sean had told him about the Hexalife group. It didn't help. He still didn't know who Berenice was, and that was not a name one would forget easily.

  But Fiona took pity on him.

  "She's Violet's sister," she said. "We saw her at the hospital."

  "That was nice," Gavin said.

  "I thought so, too," Fiona said. "But Stella and Flora found it suspicious. Violet and Berenice had a huge falling out. Berenice helped found Hexalife, but Violet pushed her out before the company became successful."

  "Interesting," Gavin said, impressed by how much information Fiona had collected in such a short period of time. He vaguely recalled Sean mentioning a sister, but little more than that. Fiona had unearthed an entire drama, or at least partially unearthed.

  "Was there a lot of resentment?" he asked.

  Fiona groaned. "I don't know. Flora and Stella wouldn't discuss it." She drew in an exasperated breath. "I bet Flora would have discussed it, but she didn't dare with Stella there."

  Gavin bent to open his car door, using the gesture to hide his smile. Fiona would no doubt interrogate her cousin once she got home.

  Fiona followed his lead and opened the passenger door. She gestured toward the pizzeria's chainsaw-wielding ghost logo. "At least, I'm getting a meal out of it."

  Gavin smiled as he got out of the car.

  "I'll try not to take offense at that," he said as he walked up to her.

  Fiona closed her car door and grinned. "Dinner with you is better than any meeting."

  She grabbed his hand, her fingers warm and smooth as they interlaced between his.

  "We'll have a nice dinner and you'll forget all about Hexalife," he said.

  "Hexalife who?" Fiona asked as they walked toward the restaurant.

  "That's the spirit," Gavin replied, opening the door to the pizzeria. "Let's focus on getting you—"

  He broke off as a teetering tower of pizza boxes exited the restaurant. He pulled the door open as far as he could, letting the burdened customer walk out.

  "Excuse me," a familiar voice said. "Coming through."

  The tower of pizza leaned forward, threatening to crumble as the woman crossed the threshold.

  "Leslie?" Fiona stepped forward to catch the top boxes. "Is that you?"

  The Hexalife rep's face appeared on top of the boxes. "Guilty. I had to phone in an emergency food order for the meeting. With all the drama, no one remembered to get the food. I considered ringing up the Mangy Owl, but I'm persona non grata there nowadays, so this was my only option for a quick bite." She stared at Fiona, eyes narrowed. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at the meeting? You're a rep now."

  Fiona sighed. "I'm too new, or so I'm told."

  Leslie snorted. "Did Stella say that? That woman is obsessed with seniority. It shouldn't matter that you are new. We're always trying to get new members, so that newbie perspective is invaluable."

  Fiona's face lit up, and Gavin got the sneaking suspicion that his dinner plans would be ruined. "C'mon," Leslie said. "I'll get you in. You'll be my official pizza helper." She paused and glanced at Gavin. "Unless you have other plans."

  Fiona gave him a pleading glance.

  Gavin sighed, and then nodded.

  "Go," he said, bowing to the inevitable.

  A wide smile lit up Fiona's face. Gavin waved goodbye to his date night.

  "Thank you," she breathed, holding tight to the boxes. "I'll make it up to you."

  "Don't worry about it," he replied.

  But Fiona had already left, following Leslie to her car, a black Trans Am with a nasty scratch on the side and a dented bumper full of Hexalife stickers.

  Gavin was left in front of the pizzeria, alone. The restaurant was bustling, but he didn't feel like having pizza by himself. He could go to the Mangy Owl, but he didn't want to drink alone either.

  He dug into his jacket and took out his phone.

  Maybe he didn't have to.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  THE FIRST thing Fiona saw when she entered the Monster Hunter Motel conference room was Luanne LaRue sitting in a corner, looking worried.

  Fiona tried to conceal her surprise. How had the fortune-teller sneaked in?

  Probably the same way Fiona had. She'd just walked in behind someone. The Hexalife reps, mostly women, were all clustered in groups, gossiping. They barely glanced at the door when Leslie entered, carrying the pizza boxes and a cooler bag slung across one shoulder.

  Although gossiping may not be the right term. The low hum of conversation had no cheer to it. It sounded more like worrisome ruminating. Flora and Stella were arguing in a corner, papers in their hands. Flora kept s
tabbing at her paper, as if pointing out something important to Stella, who just glared, her jaw set into a tight line.

  Fiona set her pizza boxes on a small conference table. The Hexalife steering committee had crowded into one of the smallest rooms in the motel, which made sense since the group wasn't that large.

  What they lacked in numbers, however, they made up in brand loyalty. Hexalife posters hung on the walls and marketing paraphernalia covered the table. Leslie had pushed off a pair of "Better Life Through Hexalife" cartons to make space for the pizza boxes and the cold drinks she'd had in her car. There were some Hexalife Magic Bar samples and pitchers full of thick green liquid, but no one was touching them. It was probably not a judgement on their quality. They weren't touching the pizza either, and its smell was mouthwatering.

  Fiona's stomach growled, reminding her she hadn't had dinner yet. Leslie handed her two paper plates with slices of pizza and two sodas.

  "Here you go," Leslie said, tilting her head in Luanne's direction. "One for you and one for the other stowaway."

  Fiona smiled and grabbed the food. The soda cans were so cold they burned her hands and the pizza was plain cheese, but she was grateful for both.

  She opened her mouth to thank Leslie, but stopped, gaping as the most outrageously handsome man she had ever seen in her life walked into the room. He was tall, blond, and built like a god. No, not a god. One of those unearthly knights in pre-Raphaelite paintings, the ones just about to enter Fairyland. The ripped jeans, forest green shirt, and plastic name tag proclaiming that his name was Tristan Soros and you were welcome to ask him about Hexalife, did not undermine the otherworldly aura around him. His mere presence cast a spell.

  "Pizza," he exclaimed, grabbing a plate.

  Fiona blinked, and the spell was broken. Tristan was just a very good-looking man who also seemed to be starving. She walked over to where Luanne was sitting.

  Tristan rubbed his hands together. "Leslie, you are a lifesaver. I love our quinoa chip recipe, but I need something more substantial tonight, and by substantial I mean deliciously greasy." He scanned the room as he reached for a slice. "Violet isn't here yet, which I guess explains the unexpected treat. We'd all be eating branded Hexalife seeds if she had her way." He tore out a slice, sighing happily. "Oh, well, while the cat's away, we can eat pizza."