by Tegan Maher
“Speaking of heads and tails…” I pointed to the Charmed window, where Erin’s shapely silhouette was wagging its finger at the shadow of a tall, thin man. The man responded by waving his arms wildly before storming out of the scene. He then burst out the door, carrying his coat in one hand and a small bag in the other.
“That’s Roy,” I said, sliding down in my seat to avoid being spotted.
“I know him!” Merry whispered, slinking down as well. “He’s been lurking around town all week, not shopping, just sneering. I didn’t know that is Immy’s son. I used to have tea parties with him.”
I slowly poked my head up, like a groundhog checking the weather. Roy was climbing into his shiny car, parked by the town square. “Why was he in Charmed?” I asked. “He’s running his campaign on the promise of getting rid of witches.”
“Those who are the most vocal often have the most to hide,” Merry said. “Maybe he’s in the broom closet?”
“What a hypocrite,” I said. “Lecturing his own mother, like she’s a child, while sneaking trips to a witch on the sly.”
“Uh-oh!” Merry said, nudging her chin back towards Charmed.
Erin was now standing outside, crossing her bare arms as her eyes followed Roy’s headlights into the darkness. “Quick! Go before she sees us!” I ordered, too late. Erin stormed our way, rapping loudly on my window. I shot Merry a cutting look before reluctantly rolling down the window.
“Hello, Erin. Can we help you?” I asked sweetly.
“I wanted you to know there’s a thief in town,” Erin said, putting a hand on her hip. “A hundred-dollar-bill was taken from my register today.”
“Do you know who did it?” Merry asked.
“Not yet, but I’ll be putting an alarm spell on my register. I suggest you do the same.” With that, she turned and marched back to her store offering no explanation for her encounter with Roy.
“Were you able to get a read on either of them,” I asked Merry, who was able to sense people’s emotions and sometimes even read their thoughts.
Merry shook her head. “Erin is as unreadable as always. But Roy…let me focus.” She closed her eyes, turning her palms upright. It was harder to read someone who wasn’t present at the time, but Merry was quite talented. “He’s feeling… guilt?” she said, swallowing. “And anguish… apologies…that’s all I can pull right now.”
“He was either returning the money Immy stole,” I said, “or he bought something from Erin - something he’s ashamed of.”
“Or… he’s having an affair,” Merry said, reaching for the last cookie.
Chapter Four
“Thanks for the ride,” I said, climbing out of Merry’s sedan in the broad front yard of Sister House.
“Sure.” She rolled down her window. “Stay safe. My Spidey senses are telling me something’s on the horizon… I don’t know what it could be, but it’s electric.” She shivered and shimmied, gripping the steering wheel as she revved on the gas pedal. “The sooner we figure out who our thief is, the easier we’ll all sleep.”
“I really hope it’s not Immy,” I sighed.
“I just can’t believe she would steal from us,” Merry said, flipping on the windshield wipers to clear the accumulating flakes. “Though I’m constantly surprised at how people can surprise you.” She hit the gas and disappeared down the forested road.
I exhaled, hardly noticing the sting of winter air as the snow plucked at my cheeks. If Merry sensed trouble, that meant trouble was coming. How big the trouble was, only time would tell.
I slogged up the porch steps of my Victorian home, stopping to admire the light strands lacing the porch eaves. Our holiday tree glimmered turquoise, orange and pink through the front window—a color scheme chosen, after much debate, by my three children. Reaching for the doorknob, I heard playful shrieks within, accompanied by three small silhouettes buzzing past the windows. I pulled on my mommy-smile, bracing myself for whatever craziness awaited.
“Mommy!” My son, Montana, charged at me, wrapping his arms around my waist. I kissed the top of his flaming red hair. He smelled like syrup and peppermint.
My daughter, Luna, and step-son, Marshall, greeted me from the kitchen doorway. “Dad made gingerbread cookies and we decorated them!” the latter said, his mouth covered in green frosting. “Me and Montana dressed them, and Luna drew on their faces!”
Luna, nearly four, brought forth a gingerbread man for me to admire. The cookie wore an inch of red icing and sprouted sugared green gumdrops in all the wrong places. The creation stared at me with its twelve chocolate chip eyes, its goldfish cracker mouth revealing an expression of shocked surprise. “He looks yummy,” I said, hoping I wouldn’t be forced to take a bite. As a general rule, I didn’t eat anything with more eyes than me.
“It’s a girl,” Montana corrected. “We made you.”
“There’s my wife!” Shane appeared from the kitchen wearing a reindeer apron, his hands coated in flour. “I need you to back up a few steps,” he said, shooing me backward. “Right… there.”
“Huh?” I asked, scooting back towards the door.
Luna squealed, pointing to the vaulted entry ceiling. Looking up, I found myself beneath a strand of fresh mistletoe. Shane pulled me into his arms and kissed me, to the applause of Luna and the horror of her brothers.
“Gross!” Montana said, wiping off his own lips. “That’s how you get bedbugs.”
“Not bedbugs,” Marshall corrected. “Cooties.”
“Oh, yeah.”
The kids rushed off to look through the presents scattered beneath the tree - a ritual they performed every night before bed.
“There are no more presents today than yesterday,” I called out, dusting the flour from my coat.
“Sorry about the mess,” Shane said, amused. “The dry-cleaning bill is on me.”
“Good. I couldn’t pay it if I wanted to. Shane, I was robbed today, too. So was Charmed.”
“What?” His eyes flashed towards the deadbolt on our front door.
“I don’t think we’re in any danger. Do you remember Immy Porter?”
“Yeah. She came by for coffee today. She paid with a five rather than the usual dimes and nickels. Even left me a tip. You don’t think…”
“I don’t know what to think. She apparently went on a shopping spree in town today. And get this - I spotted her married son at Charmed during the off-hours. There’s a connection I’m still trying to figure out.”
Shane marched towards the kitchen and I followed. “It can’t be Immy,” he said. “She has never stolen so much as a sugar packet from me. Any other ideas?”
“Do you trust Paul?”
“Like a brother!” Shane instantly refuted, rinsing his hands under the faucet. “He asked me to be his best man. And he couldn’t have stolen the money, since I was with him the entire time he was in Dip Stix today. We were going over the New Year menu.”
“There are a lot of out-of-towners here right now,” I sighed. “With any luck, they took what they needed and we’ll never see them again.”
Shane studied me under the fluorescent kitchen lighting. “You look beat. One of Santa’s helpers told me you were in need of a hot bath. Consider it an early Christmas present. I’ll keep all the minion’s downstairs.”
I took Shane up on his offer, but as I stretched into the Epsom salt water, I couldn’t stop thinking about Immy. How had she purchased all those packages? And who were the gifts for? I soon gave up on the bath, grabbed a towel, and headed for my bedroom to call Eve.
“Hey,” I said when she picked up. “How are things?”
“Maggie, I can’t talk right now. Paul and Nova are at the mall in Linsburg and this is the only chance I’ll have to scry. I was starting to get an image in the mirror… a box…then you called and now it’s gone.”
“A box?” I asked, swallowing. “Was it big or small?”
“Hell, Maggie, I don’t know. The mirror distorts things.”
“
So, you haven’t figured out who took your money yet?” I asked.
“Do you think I’d be sitting here talking to you if I knew who it was? I need to go. I just popped a mushroom potion that’s about to kick in. They always help my visions - what I can remember, anyway. The mirror is starting to swirl…talk later.”
A box? Paul had the engagement ring box, but Immy’s car was packed with gifts and some of them were undoubtedly boxes. It was Christmas. Everyone had boxes.
I lit a red candle and wrote the following words down on a pad of paper:
“Sand and water, earth and stone—
the thief by morrow, shall be known.”
I touched the paper to the flame, reciting the spell twice more as the paper turned to ash.
Chapter Five
The Morning of Christmas Eve
Sister House
“Maggie…”
A gauzy whisper broke the deep silence of the early winter morning. I tapped the empty mattress beside me - Shane was already gone. Maybe Santa’s helper also informed him of my wish to sleep in? I closed my eyes and sunk into the pillow. But the whisper came again. Sharper.
“Maggie!”
I wasn’t alone after all. A shadowy woman sat in the corner chair. Her head, framed by a mane of frazzled hair, hung limp on her shoulders. As if too heavy to lift.
“Immy?” Was this a remnant of a dream? I scooted towards the foot of the bed, squinting into the dim corner for a better look. “Immy?” I whispered again, slowly, slowly reaching out. Something told me she would vanish with any sudden movement.
“Mommy!” The door flew open as Montana and Luna charged inside, jumping into bed with me. Shane followed, heading straight for the window, opening the curtains wide and flooding the room with light. When I looked at the chair again, the woman was gone.
“We made breakfast!” Montana announced. He snapped his fingers and a ginormous bottle of syrup appeared, cupped between his small hands.
“Montana James!” I scolded, searching for my robe. “That’s not how we use magick!”
“That’s how I use magick!” he said, running out of the room with his prize.
Luna grunted, chasing after, never missing an opportunity to witness her brother breaking rules.
Shane kissed my cheek. “Sorry for the wakeup call. They were pretty excited about the pancakes. But before we go downstairs…” He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a page from the Linsburg Sun, the region’s local paper. “I’m sorry, Maggie.”
I knew the photo on the front page at once, though it took several reads to sink in: Mayor’s Mother Found Dead. Witchcraft Blamed.
“Immy died?” I asked, staring at the paper in disbelief.
Shane nodded solemnly. “Her son found her last night. I don’t get it. She seemed fine yesterday.”
I looked back at the now-empty chair. Had Imogene come to say her last goodbye? I handed back the paper, my hands trembling. “Of course, her son would blame witchcraft! It plays right into his candidacy. Next time I see him--”
“Don’t get too worked up, Maggie.” Shane took my shoulders, looking me in the eye. “It’s Christmas Eve and we need to focus on our family right now.”
“But Shane, I saw her sitting in that chair." I pointed. “Right before you came in. She came here to tell me something.”
“It was probably a dream, Babe. I loved Immy too, but this isn’t our problem.”
Marshall appeared in the doorway. He stood in his blue pajamas, yawning. “A woman with crazy hair came to me in my dreams last night,” he said. “She says she needs your help.”
“Looks like this just became our problem,” I said to Shane, tightening the belt on my robe.
Chapter Six
Down Town, Dark Root
Late Christmas Eve Morning
Still troubled by the vision of Imogene Porter sitting in my bedroom chair, followed by the newspaper headlines announcing her sudden passing, I met Merry at Dip Stix for a late breakfast.
“Do you think she came to me this morning to apologize for taking the money?” I asked my sister while taking a sip from my coffee mug. “Can you get a read on it?”
Merry’s face was ashen, the news clearly bothering her as much as myself. “I’ll try… I just can’t believe she’s gone.” Pushing her silverware aside, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “She was sad and afraid. She knew it was coming. That’s all I can see.”
We both glanced at Eve, casually clearing her tables. Immy had been one of Eve’s very first clients, years ago. Had she heard the news yet?
“Uh-oh!” Merry tapped my shoulder, nodding warily towards the door. A good-looking officer in full uniform entered - Bradly Braden, Merry’s ex-boyfriend from Linsburg. Officer Braden removed his hat and looked around the restaurant, clearly searching for something besides an empty table. “Hide me,” Merry said, slinking down into the booth.
Officer Braden didn’t acknowledge me or Merry, instead walking right past us. He stopped beside our sister. “Eve Maddock, I’m here to arrest you.”
“Arrest me?” she said, spinning towards him. “For what? Working my ass off on Christmas Eve?”
Merry and I scrambled from our booth, charging towards them. I positioned myself between the officer and Eve, while Merry got directly in his face. “What’s this about?” she demanded. “Are you trying to get even with me for breaking up with you?”
Officer Braden raised one eyebrow. His face was emotionless. “This isn’t about you, Merry. This is about justice. I’m taking your sister in for the murder of Imogene Porter.”
We followed Officer Braden and Eve out to the patrol car. Eve’s hands were cuffed behind her as she delivered a slur of curse words - and curses – interchangeably. “You have no right to take me anywhere,” she hissed as he opened the door. “You think I’m a bad witch now? Just wait!”
Officer Braden’s expression remained calm. “You sold a potion to Imogene Porter, a potion that killed her. Imogene was gripping it when her son found her. If you confess now, you might get some leniency. It is Christmas Eve, after all.”
“I can’t admit it, you oaf!” Eve spat. “There’s something called client confidentiality.”
“Maybe you can admit it back at the station.” Brad prodded Eve into the backseat, shutting the door and silencing her.
“So what if Eve sold her a potion? We sell lots of them and have never had a complaint,” I pressed him.
“It’s pretty hard to complain if you’re dead,” he replied. “I have more than enough evidence to take her in. Several people have reported that your sister was issuing threats all around town yesterday. And the bottle Imogene was holding was labeled ‘Magick Mistletoe’. That’s an Eve brew, correct?”
“It’s a fragrance!” I argued. “You aren’t supposed to drink it! Immy knew that very well!”
“That’s right!” Merry said. “Ingesting mistletoe can be dangerous.”
Officer Braden narrowed his eyes. “As far as I could tell, there were no warning labels. You witches can work this out with a judge. For now, I suggest working on bail. If she stays in overnight, she won’t be released until the holidays are over.”
I was so angry that the sidewalk shook. Officer Braden glanced at the sidewalk, then me, before curling his lip and returning to his patrol car.
“Don’t worry, honey,” Merry called to Eve through the closed window. “We’ll get you out!”
“Tell Paul!” Eve yelled back as she was whisked away.
By now, the sidewalk was quaking. If I didn’t release the energy welling up inside me, someone was going to get hurt. I slammed my hands against the brick wall of Dip Stix café, frying the Christmas lights framing the window. Better the lights than Officer Braden.
“What now?” Merry asked, looking helplessly at her phone. “Paul’s not picking up and his voicemail is full.”
I swallowed, remembering my oath to Paul. I was as bound by magick to keep his proposal to myself as
Eve was in keeping her customer list confidential. All I knew was that Imogene was dead and Eve was going to jail.
“You don’t think Eve actually killed Imogene, do you?” I asked, shaking my head. “She could’ve seen Immy stealing from her in that mirror of hers…”
“And it would have set her off. But…” Merry chewed on her lip. “Eve sold Immy the potion yesterday morning. That was before she knew she’d been robbed. It doesn’t make sense, timing-wise.”
“True. And Eve is always extra careful when she tells her clients how to use her potions. She would have reminded Immy that mistletoe shouldn’t be ingested.”
Merry’s brow furrowed. “Something else bothers me. Why would Immy need a love potion? She’s been married forever.”
“No idea, but as a wise woman once said, I’m often surprised by how often people surprise you.”
I spotted Erin, uncharacteristically covered by a full parka and sunglasses, sneaking into Charmed. There was more than one witch involved with Imogene Porter yesterday. “I’m going to ask Erin what Roy Porter was doing at her shop last night. Want to come?”
“No. I’ll call Aunt Dora and see if she can keep an eye on June Bug. Then I’ll drive down to Linsburg to try and sweet talk Brad into releasing Eve. I’m sure she’s spitting nails right now. I can’t stand to think of her stuck in there until New Year’s. Holler if you hear anything.”
The sign on Charmed read ‘CLOSED’ and the door was locked, but I didn’t need a key. The lock sizzled at my touch, clicking open without the slightest resistance. The front room was dim, though I could make out the array of bottles, jars, and scales throughout the shop. Along the far wall, an expansive array of amulets dangled on racks. Erin appeared in the backroom doorway, a water can in her hand. She went to a poinsettia display and calmly tended the plants. “Hello, Maggie. As a general rule, I don’t see clients without an appointment. Also, I’ll be charging you for a new lock.”
“What was Roy Porter doing here last night?” I demanded.