Tequila for Two: An Althea Rose Mystery (The Althea Rose Series Book 2)

by Tricia O'Malley

  Theodore Whittier. The town know-it-all.

  And it seemed he had company.

  CHAPTER SIX

  “THEODORE’S OUT TO play tonight,” I murmured to Luna. She leaned forward to look around me as Theodore made his way inside from the balcony seating.

  “Who’s that with him?” Luna asked.

  A woman, clad almost entirely in pink with a fussy necklace made of some sort of beaded flowers and pearls, followed closely behind Theodore, her nose in the air. She gazed around the room in disdain; as though she was surprised she’d even allowed herself to dine among the common folk. Her closely cropped grey hair resembled a poodle, fresh and fluffy straight from the groomer, and the look on her face suggested she was one of those people who always asked to speak to a manager.

  “Prude Whittier. The spawn’s mother,” I said out of the side of my mouth as Theodore approached us. I knew the moment he saw Luna and me, because his back stiffened, the wave of anger that hit me intensified, and he adjusted his bowtie, a nervous tic he had.

  Well, at least I made him nervous.

  The rum must have been kicking in, because I leaned back in my chair as they approached. Theodore was forced to stop or else he would have run into my shoulder.

  “Theo, my man, great to see you again,” I said cheerfully, Luna’s snort behind me emboldening me.

  Theodore grimaced, and my smile widened as Prudie sniffed and looked me up and down, taking in my tattoos and lack of bra. She grimaced in distaste, then looked away over my shoulder, refusing to acknowledge my existence.

  “Ms. Rose. Boozing it up as usual, I see,” Theodore said, moving to step forward and pass me.

  Now that one hurt. I’d been known to enjoy a few cocktails on occasion, but everyone knows that psychics need a clear head to give readings. Three drinks was always my limit and I typically stopped at two.

  “Are you implying something?” I asked sweetly.

  “Theodore, let’s move on. Away from these…people,” Prudie said, tightening her hold on her tasteful black purse, as though we were going to jump her for her money.

  “‘These people’?” Luna asked behind me.

  “You know…” Prudie said, making a circular motion with her finger by her head to insinuate that we were clearly lunatics.

  “Crazy? What…is it my tattoos or my bright-colored hair that makes you think that, Prudie dear?” I asked, baring my teeth at Prudie. She stiffened, taking a step back.

  “While both are regrettable decisions, it’s satanic rituals and psychic powers that I don’t hold with. Now, I must insist you let us pass.”

  “Right, you wouldn’t want to be late for your board meeting, would you, Prudie? You look like a board meeting type. Theodore must get that from you. You two love handing out your opinions on things without actually having to do any of the work. I know your type,” I said, surprising even myself with my words.

  “Mother, now,” Theodore ordered, grabbing his mother’s arm and bum-rushing her past us as he shot daggers at us with his eyes. I turned around to see Beau shaking his head at me.

  “What? Was that bad?”

  “God forbid you ever have to apply for a permit or get approval from anyone who sits on a board in this town,” Beau observed.

  “I’m sorry. That was bad, I guess. But she just rubs me the wrong way. She wasn’t being particularly nice to us either, what with calling us devil worshippers and all,” I pointed out, annoyed that Beau wasn’t immediately jumping to my defense.

  “She was being a royal bitch,” Luna agreed and I let out the breath I had been holding.

  “Does that surprise you?” I asked, leaning over to take a mechanical bite of the salad I didn’t really want. I wasn’t surprised to find that my hunger had disappeared after my little spat with Prudie. Conflict typically upsets me and I usually avoid it at all costs.

  “No. Not if Theodore is any indication of the type of spawn she produces. Just let it go. We can’t do anything about the fact that they live in New Tequila. I mean, Port Atticus,” Luna said, sticking her nose in the air and sweeping her hair over her shoulder dramatically. Her effort had the intended effect, and I felt the tension leave my shoulders.

  “No, but trust me when I say that if either of them ever sets foot in our shop, they will be promptly removed.” I turned and smacked Luna on the shoulder. “Hey! Maybe that’s a spell you can teach me. A ‘keep snobs away from me at all times’ spell!”

  Luna laughed and took a sip of her water.

  “If I could bottle that spell we’d all be rich.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  A FEW MOMENTS later, Luna hustled me out of Lucky’s, barely giving me enough time to finish my mojito and wave goodbye to Beau.

  “We’ve got work to do. I don’t feel like being up all night tonight. Tomorrow’s going to be a late one,” Luna said as we moved past the line of people waiting for a seat for dinner.

  “What’s up with that guy?” I asked, pointing to where a skinny man, his blonde hair thick with dreadlocks, vehemently gestured with a stack of papers in his hand. The couple he was directing his tirade at moved nervously closer to the line, trying to discourage his ranting.

  “Hey,” I called out to the man, not wanting Beau’s restaurant to get a bad reputation. “What’s going on here?”

  The man turned, and I looked into sea-green eyes – so light they almost disappeared into the whites surrounding them. I paused for a moment, reaching out with my mind to test the man’s thoughts.

  “Turtles?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at him, not bothering to explain that I’d just rifled through his brain.

  “Yes! The turtles, man. They’ll build over everything. Every last natural space. And the turtles will die,” he hissed, his blond dreads shaking as he waved the papers in my face.

  “What are these papers?” I asked gently, moving away from the line, drawing the sketchy environmentalist away from the nice people who just wanted some seafood for dinner.

  “A petition! I’m trying to get enough signatures to stop the development of the condos over on the east side of Tequila Key,” he said, shoving the papers at me with a pen in hand. His eyes were alight with the zealousness only found in true activists and myself when I spy a donut right around that time of the month.

  “Aren’t they starting work on that development this week?” Luna asked, tilting her head to meet Dreadlock’s eyes.

  “They are. That’s why they must be stopped. No matter what,” the blonde man seethed, hopping from one foot to the other in his worn leather sandals.

  “I’ll tell you what,” I said, an idea forming in my head as I reached for the papers. “I’ll sign your petition and tell you just who you have to talk to get this thing stopped. They’re on the board of everything,” I said, sliding a glance at Luna to see her biting back a smile.

  “Really? Thank you,” Dreadlocks breathed and I smiled brightly at him. Flipping the papers over, I held the pen in the air before I wrote down an address.

  “Yes, of course, we all want to save the turtles. Okay, their names are Prudie and Theodore Whittier. They pretty much control the town. Trust me, you’ll know them when you see them. Think sweater sets and golf shirts,” I said, smiling warmly at the crazy man. He nodded back at me, reaching out to put his hand on my shoulder.

  Ice washed through me at his touch and my eyes shot to his face.

  “You’re one of the good ones. Thank you, Ms. Rose,” he said softly, before rolling the papers and tucking them under his arm, strolling off to harass someone else on the street.

  “That was odd,” I said to Luna, reaching up to brush at my skin where the man had touched me. What was that weird wash of coldness I had felt from him? And how did he know my name? Making a note to bring it up to Luna, I followed her down the path to her car, my thoughts already jumping to the naked night ahead of me and moving past the odd encounter with Dreadlocks.

  He certainly wasn’t the weirdest person I’d met in Tequila K
ey.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  “WHY CAN’T WE just do this in my backyard?” I grumbled as Luna’s headlights flashed through the dark, illuminating a gravel road in front of us.

  “Do you want your neighbors to look over the fence and see two naked women chanting around a pentagram?” Luna asked, her eyes on the road.

  “It probably wouldn’t be the worst thing they’ve seen,” I pointed out.

  Luna sighed and shook her head, slowing her car as we approached a bumpier part of the road.

  “Hank would be a distraction. Distractions are not a good thing when casting a spell,” Luna said, like she was explaining something to a third grader.

  “Point taken,” I said, then flinched when Luna switched off her headlights but continued to drive.

  “Why did you cut the lights?” I stage whispered across the car. I could barely make out Luna’s face as my eyes struggled to adjust to the dark.

  “Because we aren’t supposed to be on this beach and I don’t want anyone seeing my lights approaching?” Luna asked, again sounding as if she were talking to a third grader.

  “Well excuse me if I don’t go on naked night-time spell casting missions on the regular,” I shot back, crossing my arms over my chest. As my eyes adjusted, I realized the light from the moon was more than enough to guide our way down the overgrown lane. As we drew closer to the beach, Luna swung her car to the side and began to execute a three-point turn.

  “We leaving already?” I joked, my voice sounding entirely too hopeful.

  “No, but I always like to leave my car facing out. You know, just in case,” Luna shrugged and my eyes widened.

  “Just in case of what?” My voice may have squeaked a little – I’ll never admit to it, though.

  “In case we need to get away quickly. When trespassing on a private space, you need to be prepared for anything,” Luna said, quietly easing her door open and motioning for me to do the same.

  I stumbled in the dark as I got out, and silently cursed myself.

  Have a mojito or two, you said; it’ll take the edge off, you said. My inner voice was thoroughly disgusted with me right about now.

  “Here,” Luna said from my side and I jumped.

  “Damn it, Luna, you’re like a cat,” I swore, reaching out to grasp the velvet bag she was handing off to me.

  “Sorry – natural grace, I suppose,” Luna whispered, then motioned for me to follow her down the lane. Soft moonlight filtered over us, and I could hear the waves lapping against the rocks of the beach. The air – heavy with humidity even at this late hour – pressed thickly against my skin as I followed Luna down the rocky path, stepping carefully onto the beach.

  Now, here’s the thing about the Keys – you don’t really get a lot of sandy beaches. In fact, most sand beaches are man-made by the resorts because it’s what the tourists want. So when I felt my feet sink into sand, I grabbed Luna’s arm.

  “Is this a sand beach?”

  “Yes, just a bit of one. There’s a long rocky outcropping that kind of conceals this sandy part. That’s why they’re developing the new condos here,” Luna explained, bending down to slip her sandals off.

  I slid my feet from my flip-flops and stepped forward onto the sand, observing my surroundings. A line of palm trees jutted out from the rocky point, providing some privacy to the beach. Though the lights from town twinkled between the trees, we were essentially shadowed from anyone being able to see us.

  “I can see why the turtles like this beach,” I said, feeling a wisp of sadness sneak through me, knowing they would have to find another spot to lay their eggs.

  “I know. It’s really private – which I like. We’ll have to figure out a way to preserve some of this land down the coast. I think Miss Elva and I should be able to come up with something that will at least protect a chunk of it,” Luna said, and I beamed at my best friend.

  I knew there was a reason I liked her.

  “Well? Let’s get naked,” Luna said.

  Did I just say I liked her? I lied.

  CHAPTER NINE

  “DON’T WE NEED to, like, work up to that?” I asked, running my hands up and down my forearms as I searched Luna’s face.

  “Why don’t we get a few things set up first, then?” Luna said, sending me a reassuring smile. I nodded, following her a little further down the beach. Luna turned a circle on the beach, then nodded to herself before using her toe to outline something in the sand. I drifted closer to watch.

  “A pentagram?”

  “A pentagram facing up, or north, in this instance. I’ll finish by drawing a circle around it for our protection.”

  “Far out,” I said and then clamped my mouth shut. Maybe two drinks and only a cup of soup – we all know I hadn’t eaten that salad – hadn’t been the smartest choice.

  Luna pulled out what looked like white pillar candles from her bag and set them up at various points around the circle.

  “Let’s go, sweets. I don’t know how much longer I can delay this. Time to go skyclad,” Luna said sweetly as she reached for her dress and pulled it over her head. I followed suit, closing my eyes and groaning softly as I whipped the dress over my head and dropped it in a pile at my feet.

  Okay, so the night air felt kind of good on my naked skin. Maybe there was more to this skyclad thing than I had originally thought.

  Steeling myself, I opened my eyes and looked over to where Luna waited patiently, her hands cocked on her hips, the moonlight making her skin seem to glow softly.

  “This is a good light for you,” I said.

  Luna laughed and then motioned me forward so that I stood next to her outside the circle. She had several items in her hands, things I couldn’t quite make out even when I squinted.

  “So,” Luna began and I forced myself to focus on her words even though I was a little lightheaded from the cocktails. “I’m going to teach you the correct way to cast a circle. There are abbreviated versions of this for when you’re in a rush, but it’s smart to know the full process first.”

  I nodded, motioning for her to go ahead.

  “First I purify the space,” Luna said, flicking a lighter on and making me jump. She held the flame to the end of an incense stick and the scent of frankincense filled my nostrils. Luna began to walk around the circle, tossing something from her bag into sand as she went.

  “I’m sprinkling water and salt, and following the circle with incense. And I light each candle as I pass it,” Luna explained as she poured water from a bottle into a small bowl.

  “Why?” I said, then paused, slightly taken aback, as Luna shot me a look. I needed to know these things, didn’t I?

  “We are calling upon the elements for protection. Water is for water, incense is for air, candle is for fire, and salt is for the earth. This will help to strengthen our circle.”

  I nodded and waited for her to continue.

  Luna bent to her bag, setting down the bowl of water and incense and pulling out what looked like a stick. I realized it was a wand.

  “I will now cast the circle with my wand – please step inside,” Luna ordered. I hopped forward, stepping close to the pentagram.

  Luna raised her arms and I saw a low white light begin to pulse from her hands. Aiming the wand at the sand, she made one circular motion and for a brief moment, a circle lit up in the sand around us.

  “Circle of power, I do charge you to be a sacred space and meeting-place between the worlds of the mighty and the worlds of man on a day that is not a day, in a time that is not a time, in a place that is not a place. Oh circle of power, I charge you to be a meeting-place of love and truth and joy…a strong rampart against all evil and harm, and a strong container for energy which is raised until we choose to send it out. In the name of the god and goddesses, I do consecrate you! So mote it be.”

  I shivered at her words, my nakedness forgotten as a hum of energy began to pulse around me.

  “First you consecrate the circle. Then you invoke the el
ements,” Luna explained. I nodded – surprised to find that a touch of energy seemed to brush against me – within me.

  “I invoke the east, the watcher of the east,” Luna intoned. I stayed quiet as she moved to the south for fire.

  “I invoke the west for water,” Luna said.

  Just then my cell phone trilled from my bag and I jumped, startled out of the ceremony’s atmosphere and ashamed that my own carelessness was interrupting Luna’s lesson. Reacting on instinct, I stepped from the circle to reach for my bag to silence my phone.

  “Thea, no!” Luna yelled at me.

  A flash of light out on the water startled me and I watched in confusion as a wash of energy seemed to flow from the water into the circle. A huge plume of white smoke puffed out of nowhere, causing us to cough and wave the acrid smoke away from our eyes and mouths.

  “Well, well, well! A lovely sight for my sore eyes,” a voice crowed through the smoke. I squinted, unsure of what I was seeing, wondering if the drinks had been stronger than I’d thought.

  Because sure as my breasts need a bra, there was a real life floating pirate, leering at Luna and me in all our naked glory.

  See? This is why I don’t play with magick.

  CHAPTER TEN

  “JESUS H. CHRIST,” I swore. Well, kind of swore. A cuss if you’re a Christian, I suppose.

  “No, I am not He, but you may address me as Rafe,” the pirate leered, his eyes drinking in my nakedness.

  Rafe seemed short for a pirate, at least from what I could tell. Things got a little blurry around the point where his legs should have been meeting the ground and weren’t. He wore a pirate hat – no eye patch though – and a white shirt open to the waist. Dark flowing hair and a broadsword completed the picture, and Rafe tugged on his beard as his eyes flitted between the two of us.