by Amy Boyles
“They’re gone.”
“Then we need to get back to the house and devise a plan. The bats should return tomorrow night. We need to be ready.”
I gulped. “For what, exactly?”
Moonlight reflected off the rim of his glasses, making them gleam. “We’ve got to be ready to catch a bat.”
By the time we got home, the entire house was asleep. Axel had decided to go home. He left a note on the table for me, which I thought very sweet and a touch romantic.
I drank a glass of water in the kitchen and then retired to my room, where Mattie and Hugo were both waiting for me. I sank onto the bed.
“Mattie,” I whispered.
“Yes, sugarbear,” she said, winking open one eye.
“You know anybody in town who specializes in curses placed on animals?”
“You’re kidding, right?”
I shook my head. “No. Why would I be kidding?”
“Because ain’t that what your man is? A human trapped inside an animal’s body?”
I toed off my shoes and listened as they plopped to the ground. “Axel? Yeah, I mean, I guess he is. Wait. Are you saying he’s an expert in that field?”
“I believe so. Why?”
“Because we found the mafia’s Princess. She’s been cursed into a bat, and we need to break the spell.”
Mattie stretched. “So many spells lately that have to be broken.”
“I’m guessing you’re referring to the last one placed on me.”
“You’re as smart as a nickel, sugar.”
I rolled my eyes. Mattie wasn’t kidding. A couple of weeks ago my archnemesis had appeared and placed a connecting spell on me. Whenever I worked my magic, it bounced off me and went into him, making it so that he could wield my power however he wanted. Which was not good because Rufus’s intentions were less than noble.
Way less.
Like, super way less.
“So Axel is who I need to talk to.”
“Unless you want to spend tomorrow chasing around ghosts and folks who don’t matter.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
Mattie yawned. “It does to me.”
“You’re a cat.”
“And a smart one, at that.”
I dug my phone from my purse and dialed Axel’s number. It was late and as much as I enjoyed playing hard to get, now simply wasn’t the time.
“Hey,” he said in a husky voice that made my heart rate tick up a notch.
“I hope I didn’t wake you,” I said.
“Even if you did, it wouldn’t matter. I love listening to the sound of your voice.”
I giggled so hard I snorted.
“Maybe not that much,” he said, chuckling.
“Okay, listen, now that I succeeded in killing all romance in this conversation, there’s been a development.”
“What kind?”
“I think I found Princess.”
I heard him adjust the phone on the other end. When he spoke, his voice came through louder, more crisp. “You’re kidding.”
“No. Donovan had me listen to the animals tonight to see if I could communicate with any of them. I heard a bat that needed help. She said it would be great if I could free her from the spell the vampire had put on her.”
Axel whistled. “Sounds like you found our Princess.”
“I agree. Thing is, Donovan wants to catch her and try to break the curse that the vampire placed on her.”
Axel paused. “So it was a Reversal of Fortune spell.”
“That’s what it’s called?”
“Yes. Reversal of Fortune is when two beings change places—think Freaky Friday. It doesn’t just have to be bodies. It can also mean changing form, which is what happened to Princess.”
I licked my lips. “Do you know how to break it?”
“Depends. We first have to know how the transformation occurred, plus we need the vampire.”
My hopes crashed so far down my chest felt hollow. “Great. And how’re we supposed to find the vampire? He’s probably in South America.”
“Not necessarily.”
I sat up. Now he had my attention. “What?”
“Some transformation spells require the primary, meaning the person who initiated the spell, to remain nearby for a while.”
“Why?”
“Because transformation can be a process requiring several steps. That might be the case here, but we’ll have to inspect Princess to know if that’s true.”
I groaned. “Inspect her? Don’t bats carry rabies? Have fleas? Are overall unsavory little beasts?”
“They can be, but she hasn’t been a bat that long.”
“You don’t know how long.”
“Donovan faked his death almost two months ago, and if Princess is still able to communicate with us, that means she’s probably been a bat for about that long.”
“Isn’t that too long? Seems to me that in two months some folks meet and get married.”
A long, uncomfortable pause followed.
I swallowed down my nerves and spoke. “Not us, obviously, because the last thing I’m thinking about is marriage. But what I mean is that some people rush into things like that—decisions that folks should weigh carefully and understand all the consequences of. It seems that Princess has been a bat for a while. I’m surprised the change hasn’t completely taken over.”
“You can breathe, Pepper,” Axel said. “I’m not freaking out about what you said.”
“I don’t even know what you’re talking about,” I lied, knowing good and well he meant the M word.
He chuckled. “She’s not fully transformed because she can still communicate with us. See, the person who initially carried the spell, the vampire, would still have retained his consciousness. When he threw the curse on someone else, it became a lesser curse, trapping the target in a worse state than the original. The curse warps, changes to the point that eventually Princess will lose that same consciousness—the thing that makes her unique.”
I pressed my fingers into my temple. That was a whirlwind to think about, and my brain was working on overtime, which meant I felt a headache blooming.
“I’m not following you.”
“To put it simply, Princess is running out of time.”
“I still don’t understand.”
He sighed. “If the curse that was placed on her is what I think it is, once Princess makes the final transformation, she’ll no longer retain any part of what makes her human.”
I gasped. “She’ll completely become a bat?”
“Bingo. And when that happens, we won’t be able to help her.”
I rubbed my forehead. “Because she’ll be cursed to remain a bat until she dies?”
He sighed. “That’s exactly right.”
TWELVE
“So y’all are gonna try to catch a bat?” Amelia said. “A bat that’s literally hidden among hundreds if not thousands of other bats? Isn’t that like fishing with a net and trying to find one salmon out of a million?”
I slopped a huge mound of cheese grits on my plate. “When you put it like that, it sounds pointless. But we’ve got to help Princess. I mean, what’s the likelihood that Carl Carlsburg would sell a vampire bat to Baron Sensational, who would then sell it to Donovan, and then Carl would be hired to kill Donovan and wind up dead?”
“That’s a mouthful,” Cordelia said drily. “But you’re right, there’s something fishy in Magnolia Cove.”
“Good morning,” Donovan said as he strolled into the room, newspaper under his arm.
“I talked to Axel last night,” I said. “He believes we only have a limited amount of time before Princess changes fully into a bat.”
Donovan sank into a chair. “I was afraid of that.”
“As smart as the three of you gals are, you’re not thinking clearly,” Betty said. She stacked a couple of biscuits on a plate and handed them to Donovan. “All we have to do is attract Princess away from the rest of the
bats and coax her to us. Now, among all of us, who’s the best at communicating with animals?”
All our heads swiveled to Donovan. He grinned sheepishly. “I guess that would be me. I’ll spend the day figuring out a way to attract Princess to us and convince her that we can help. By tonight I should have a solid plan. At least I hope so.”
Betty rolled her eyes. “You’ll have it figured out by then. And if you don’t, I’ll just put a lightning bug on a hook and throw it into the air, hoping she bites.”
“That sounds painful for everyone involved,” I said.
“Ha,” Betty said, “the only thing that’s going to suffer is the lightning bug, and they don’t live long anyway.”
“Not like you,” Cordelia said.
Betty nodded. “I am immune to disease.”
“But not low blood pressure,” I said. My grandmother had a habit of fainting from low blood pressure. She had never been treated until I forced her into it some time ago.
She frowned at me. “I’ll thank you not to discuss my personal affairs.”
“With your family?” I said, confused.
“You got it.”
I shook my head in disbelief. “But it’s okay for you to go on about me kissing Axel.”
“You’ve kissed Axel?” Donovan said.
I slapped my forehead. “Yes, dear Lord. Is that okay?”
“Well yeah,” Donovan said, “he’s a good guy. One of the best in town, if only the rest of the Magnolia Cove saw it that way.”
“I think they’re coming around,” I said.
“How do you know?” Betty said.
I cracked my knuckles. “Actually I guess I don’t. I was hoping they were coming around. We haven’t been out in town for a while to see how they react, so I’m just guessing.” The heat from their stares made me flush. “Okay, well, can we stop focusing on me? Donovan, you’re coming up with a plan. I’m ready to help however I need to.”
Donovan folded the paper. “Great, I’ll see y’all tonight.”
We finished up our breakfasts, and I grabbed Hugo before heading down to Familiar Place. It was a sunny fall day. The wind whipped through my hair, and the smell of burning leaves trickled up my nose.
The autumnal colors littered the trees, and it made me smile. The days were still warm, but this morning had a nip to it. I pulled my light cardigan closer to me and tugged on Hugo’s leash, making sure he’d keep up.
I waved to other store owners as I passed their shops—Theodora and Harry, who owned the flying skillet store, and Carmen, my cousin, who owned the most amazing confection shop in the entire world.
I didn’t know if that was true, but I was pretty convinced it was.
I’d just flipped the sign to OPEN in the shop when the door opened. Idie Claire, known to my cousins as I-Declare-Your-Business-All-Around-Town, swooped in. Her teased hair made her look a good six feet tall with the help of her white heels.
“Pepper,” she said, “I’m so glad you’re here.”
“Hey, Idie. What can I help you with?”
A hand fluttered to her chest. “I need help finding a fish for a five-year-old’s birthday party. Just a goldfish.”
I smiled behind my hand. “You know we don’t sell anything that’s a ‘just’ here. Every creature has the potential for magic.”
Idie nodded. “I know, so I need the stupidest goldfish you’ve got. I don’t want one who’ll help my demon nephew be able to scorch the living room curtains. I want one that’ll just blow bubbles.”
I laughed. “All right. Let’s find you a fish.”
I scanned the tanks until I found one that was small and didn’t have much in the brains department.
“You know, Pepper, I can’t tell you how surprised I am about your uncle.”
I dropped the fish in a bag and tied it. “You and me both.”
“But what does that mean for you? For the store?”
I floundered for words. “Well, um, I don’t know.”
Idie grabbed my arm. “I’m so sorry, Pepper. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
I shook my head and plastered on my big, fake Southern smile. ’Cause you know, in the South you’re always supposed to be happy and nice and glad to see people—no matter what. It doesn’t matter if you’re slowly dying on the inside. It doesn’t even matter if your mama just passed. You always smile and do the best you can.
“You didn’t upset me, Idie. I’m fine.”
She slid a hand over her forehead and pretended to sling sweat on the floor. “Thank goodness. I figure it’ll all be fine. I mean, folks are talking about how Donovan probably killed that man anyway.”
I dropped the bag to the floor. Inside, the fish sloshed back and forth. I yanked it up. “What? I’m sorry, but what?”
Her eyes flared wide. “Oh? You hadn’t heard? There’s a huge rumor going on that Donovan escaped some sort of mafia hit man only to kill the same mafia hit man.”
Sweat was pouring from every gland I owned. My palms were soaked, and my forehead was sticky. “What else are they saying about Donovan?”
“Exactly what I said—that he called down that lightning at the festival and killed that Carl.”
“Who’s saying it, Idie?”
She backed toward the door. “Lots of people. Pepper, I thought you knew.”
I shook my head. “No. I didn’t.” Realizing that I probably looked like a crazed woman who was sweating like a pig while trying to pull as much information out of Idie Claire as possible, I decided to ease up.
I lifted the bag. “Well then, are you all set to buy this little guy?”
She fumbled for her wallet. “Sure.”
Two minutes later, Idie Claire scattered from the store, probably on her way to tell all of Magnolia Cove how I freaked out during our conversation, which was probably a sure sign that Donovan was guilty.
I fished my phone from my purse and was about to dial Axel and have a come apart on him when the door opened again.
A man, about medium build with dark hair, entered. He wore a black T-shirt, jeans and had tattoos down his arms. I blinked, trying to figure out how I knew him until it dawned on me.
“You were the lead singer of the witch-a-billy band the other night,” I said.
He flashed a huge grin. “That’s me.”
“What’re you still doing in town?”
He snickered. “Sheriff’s orders. Anyone who entered town the night of the murder has to stay until they untangle this mess. Stinks, too, ’cause we’ve got other gigs in other towns.”
Remembering Idie Claire’s words, I shivered. “Maybe it’ll be figured out soon.”
“Hope so. I’m not a small-town kind of guy.”
I folded my arms and leaned on the counter. “I’m Pepper Dunn.”
“Name’s Rock.”
“I like it,” I said. “What can I help you with today? Looking for a familiar?”
“No, I don’t think I’ll be buying a pet,” he said. “I’m killing time, looking around the stores, seeing what’s going on.”
“The other night you said that Johnny Utah had hired your band,” I said.
Rock fiddled with a silver chain around his neck. “Yeah, he hired us. Johnny likes our music, and when he heard that the town was throwing a party for Donovan, Johnny said he wanted to welcome him back the right way.”
“That was short notice,” I said.
Rock hitched a shoulder. “Johnny has access to a lot of information.”
“You also happened to be in the circle when Carl died.”
“Who?”
I rolled my eyes. “The guy—Carl. The reason why you’re stuck here in town?”
“Oh right. Yeah. I was there. Saw the lightning. Saw the dead guy. What about it?”
I shrugged. “Carl got around. Thought he might’ve gotten around to you, too.”
Rock shook his head. “Nah. I didn’t care about that guy. Didn’t know him.”
He was saying one thing, but the guy�
�s eyes were slashing around wildly. I had the sneaking suspicion that Rock knew more than he was saying, But how could I get anything else out of him?
He turned around and it hit me. I snapped my fingers. “You ever seen a baby dragon?”
“No, I haven’t.”
I smiled widely. “Want to?”
“Sure.”
“Hugo,” I called.
A moment later the dragon padded in, fresh from napping in the office. His purple and green scales shimmered under the sunlight spilling through the windows. I scooped him up, and Hugo licked my face.
“Stop, boy,” I said, laughing.
I came up beside Rock and laid the dragon in his arms. He patted him and cooed. Hugo didn’t seem overly excited to be held, but he didn’t whine about it.
Rock played with Hugo a few minutes and took his leave.
I waved as he left and watched as Rock climbed into a Ford pickup and drove off.
It wasn’t until he was completely out of sight that I retrieved his wallet from my back pocket.
As I opened it, I said, “All right. Let’s find out who you are, Rock.”
THIRTEEN
“His legal name is Rock Ford.”
Axel paused. “Are you kidding?”
“No, why?”
“Rock Ford like the show Rockford Files. Like a last name. It’s strange.”
Axel had come to the shop, and I’d sequestered him in the back office. “Think you can run his name through whatever it is you have and discover the truth?”
His lip curled. “I can try. But I have something more interesting to tell you.”
I arched a brow. “Is it interesting like Donovan is being rumored to have killed Carl?”
Axel studied me. “Not that interesting. Who’d you hear that from?”
“Idie Claire Hawker.”
“Well, she knows almost as much as Betty Craple.”
I folded my arms. “Idie is a hairstylist. They hear all kinds of gossip.”
“She’s got her fingers on the pulse of the town.” He scrubbed a palm down his cheek. “But no, I hadn’t heard that. I haven’t spoken to Garrick, though.”
I sighed. “This is getting more and more complicated. But anyway, what’s the news?”