“I haven’t forgotten. Like I said, I’ve got a plan.” I guzzled the rest of my wine.
It was a half-truth. I had a plan that would eventually capture Amelia’s killer. What I didn’t have was a plan for the little salt-throwing man. Guess I better work on that.
Ten
The next morning, I rose early and got to work finishing my truth spell. The lapis had soaked all night in the swamp water concoction, so I pulled it out and placed it into a special dish along with the Venus flytrap leaf. Then I used the flame of a special candle made from the earwax of a giraffe to burn the leaf atop the lapis. Lucky thing I had that on hand, because they can be quite rare. Have you ever tried getting earwax from a giraffe? It’s not easy. You need a very tall ladder, not to mention a giraffe that will keep still. They don’t care for it much when you poke long Q-tips in their ears.
While the flames rose, I muttered the secret binding incantation to seal the spell into the ashes and the lapis stone.
Using the Venus flytrap leaf was the key to my plan. I’d have to touch that stone again in order to place it into the plant I planned to give Iona Littlefield later today. Without that leaf in the mix, my spell could very well backfire and end up all over me, just as the trees had taunted. And spell stink was nothing to mess with.
Now, only the person who received the lapis lazuli as a gift should be affected by the spell. Of course, I would have to cleanse the stone properly in the sun-drenched earth after, but that was no problem. Its truth-telling charm should be exhausted on Iona. It would be rendered harmless after she received the gift and succumbed to the spell. Good thing, too, because the last thing I needed was to blurt out my truths all over town. Things about the incident-that-should-not-be-named or my super-secret crush on Tommy Martinelli or …
I shuddered at the thought. People already looked at me oddly enough around here. No sense making things any worse for myself if I didn’t have to.
After I finished the spell and cleaned up, I got ready and loaded everything—including Penuche and Clover—into the large baskets attached to the front of my pink scooter.
The two of them seemed to be getting along a little better, though Clover really wasn’t a morning skunk so probably hadn’t worked up enough energy to be antagonistic yet.
Turns out Penuche wasn’t keen on riding in scooters. Apparently Lilly had a specially fitted cat seat in the back of her golf cart, and she drove slow. Thankfully, no one else seemed to be able to hear his ranting, because my ears were definitely burning from his cursing.
“You drive too fast,” Penuche said, his tail twitchy and his legs wobbly as I put him down inside the shop.
“I was going the speed limit.”
You just like to complain, Clover said.
“Do not,” Penuche retorted.
Do too.
I left them arguing and went to pick out a plant to give to Iona. The lapis stone had to be a gift, but it would seem a little odd for me to give her a stone, not to mention I had to take it back to soak in earth. I planned to slip it into a potted plant and give that as the gift. I had just picked out a lovely African violet and buried the stone deep inside, being careful not to hurt the roots, when …
Crash!
I rushed into the greenhouse to find that Penuche had knocked over a peace lily. The pot hadn’t broken, thankfully, but dirt spilled on the floor.
Clover waddled over and eyed the mess, pawing at it before flipping on her back and wriggling around in the dirt.
“Sorry! Accident!” Penuche said from the top shelf of one of my plant displays when he saw me coming with the broom.
I gave him an arched brow. Did he seriously expect me to believe that?
“What are you doing?” I asked Clover.
Check it out. Clover flipped back on all fours, and I noticed a streak of dirt on her white stripe.
“You’re dirty.”
Yeah, but what does it look like?
“Dirt.”
She scowled at me then began nuzzling the dirt out, craning her short neck to reach the middle of her back.
“Did you get into the swamp water?” I asked her. She was acting a little odd. Maybe Penuche’s presence was testing her sanity. Though he seemed to be a little less destructive today, the sooner we could get Lilly out of jail, the better for all of us.
According to the schedule printed in The Town Croaker, this week’s town council meeting started at noon and should be over by one. If I got to the town offices right at one, I’d be able to catch Iona in the office. I had a few hours to kill, so I decided to go to Lilly’s and try to sell some chocolate for her. It was the least I could do.
I wasn’t worried about closing my shop. Plant sales were just gravy money. I got most of my income from landscaping contracts. I did worry about leaving Penuche and Clover alone together. I decided to appeal to the cat’s ego.
“Penuche, I’m going over to Sweet Satisfaction, and I want to make sure I put everything in its place just like Lilly would want. But I have no idea where …”
“I know where everything goes,” Penuche boasted. Ha, he’d fallen into my trap.
“Oh great! This will help Lilly out a lot. So you don’t mind coming with me?”
He sat up straighter. “Anything to help Lilly.”
What about me? Clover asked.
“I need you to man the fort here. It’s very important.”
I locked the shop, and we trotted next door, Penuche obediently at my side. Things inside Sweet Satisfaction looked pretty much the same as they had the night before, except … I could’ve sworn I’d filled that display of chocolate-covered sea-salted caramels in the front window. It was empty again.
Odd.
I got Penuche situated in the back room then refilled the displays before opening for business.
The sound system was tuned to the island’s only radio station, HEX 66.6. I heard Evian’s sultry voice over the airwaves announcing various town activities.
A few customers dribbled in, and by the time I was finished with them, an hour had passed, Evian had spun five songs and announced six town activities, and the sea-salted caramels had sold out.
I grabbed the last tray of fresh salted caramels from the back room. If Lilly didn’t come back soon to make more candy, her shop would be out of what seemed to be her most popular item. There was still the tray of stale ones in the locked storage cabinet, but I’d promised not to use those.
As I set the last of the caramels out on the display, my finger slipped and jammed into the middle of one of the soft candies. I pulled it out and took the caramel back to the counter, realizing the brown stickiness was the same consistency of the stuff that I’d gotten all over my hands at the Tiki bar last night.
I tossed the mushed caramel then rinsed my sticky fingers, an ominous feeling tugging at me, and it wasn’t because Evian was playing Don’t Fear the Reaper. The caramel display had been full when I left last night. I was sure of it. But where had all that candy gone?
I hadn’t forgotten to lock up. Nothing else was missing. Even the money in the cash register was intact. Was it possible someone walked in and took the caramels when no one came out to wait on them? No, that was ridiculous. Unless …
Penuche had mentioned hearing funny noises in the back room the night Amelia Pendleton had died. Amelia’s friend Franny had mentioned seeing a little man throwing salt around the resort just before Amelia disappeared. The coven had mentioned a disturbance. All that added up to one thing.
I sighed and threw away the paper towel I’d used to dry my hands. Just what I needed. There was some candy-stealing creature on a sugar high running around on the island wreaking goddess knows what kind of havoc, and it was my responsibility to make sure he was stopped. I just hoped it wasn’t one of the bad kinds of creatures.
As if sensing my thoughts, Evian’s voice cackled through the airwaves. Another announcement, this one seemingly innocent, but I knew better.
“And this song is d
edicated from Iris to that little man she met on the beach …”
Crap! Evian clearly had no idea that the little man might actually be an escapee from the other side. Or maybe she did and she was taunting me. Either way, she should not be announcing his presence on the radio. I just hoped the coven wasn’t tuned in, or there would be hades to pay. I had forty-five minutes before I had to intercept Iona. Just enough time to pay a visit to HEX 66.6.
I let myself in the back door of the HEX 66.6 building by using a lock-tumbling spell. I didn’t want to run the gauntlet of Evian’s security for fear they’d deny me access.
According to the broadcast, Evian was playing twelve songs in a row, which meant she was taking a break from her on-air duties. She’d probably be in her office, which meant that she might have seen me let myself in on the security cameras. Hopefully, she wouldn’t send someone to throw me out.
“What do you want?” she said without looking up as I pulled open her office door. Apparently she had seen me on the cameras because my entrance was no surprise.
“I heard your broadcast. What’s this about a little man?”
Evian leaned back in her chair, steepling her fingertips. “I didn’t realize you were a fan of my show.”
“I listen to it sometimes.” I didn’t want to admit that I actually listened to it most of the time. Evian had good taste in music, and her voice was somewhat comforting. But I’d never let her know that. “What about the little man you mentioned? Were you messing with me?”
Evian frowned. “Messing with you? No. A lady called in. She wanted to dedicate a song.” She plucked a pink sticky note off her desk and held it up for me to see.
“Oh crap!” I flopped into her guest chair.
Evian’s face broke into awareness. “Let me guess, there’s another demon?”
“I think so.” I told her about the sightings of the little salt-throwing man, the missing chocolate-covered sea-salted caramels, and the sticky caramel I’d found under the bar at Coconuts.
“Ugh. You know how they get when they’re hyped-up on sugar,” Evian said.
“Tell me about it.” I remembered a particularly nasty demon who’d gotten a taste for Oreos. Unfortunately he wanted them paired with parakeets. The mess he’d left behind at the pet store was one of the worst we’d ever had to clean up.
“So you can see why I don’t want anything like that announced on the radio. The coven is already up in arms about it.”
“Yeah, I won’t mention any more little men.” Evian faked disinterest even though I knew she would be worried about a demon loose on the island too. “I’d offer to help you, but I’m still pretty steamed about all the dirt in the birdbath. That’s where Paul takes his baths, you know.”
Paul was Evian’s familiar, the cutest little frog you ever did see. But truth be told, Evian was a little overprotective of him. Sure, he was small, but he could hold his own. And, anyway, I didn’t see what was so upsetting about dirt in a birdbath. Don’t frogs like dirt?
“What’s that got to do with me?” I asked.
Evian made a face. “Oh, come on. I know you did it to mess with me.”
I was genuinely confused. “What are you talking about?”
Evian leaned across her desk. The flash of anger in her blue eyes gave me pause. Evian was a water witch, and one of her little paybacks was that she liked to make wet spots appear where you didn’t want them. Like on the back of your pants. Or your boobs. I had to be at the town offices in ten minutes and didn’t want to show up looking as though I’d had some sort of an accident.
“You know darn well how upset I get when anything ruins Paul’s day,” she said.
“Sure, but I don’t know anything about any birdbath.” My eyes narrowed with sudden realization. “Hey, wait a minute. Is this some kind of subterfuge to try to cover up the fact that you’ve been messing with the rainfall in my garden?”
Her brows rose. “What? Are you accusing me of something?”
My chair squeaked as I leaned forward. “Well, who else would make sure the rain didn’t fall in one specific section of my garden but a water witch?”
She planted her hands on her hips. “Well, who else would fill the birdbath with earth other than an earth witch?”
Our eyes met and held for a beat.
“Skye!”
It made perfect sense. As an air witch, Skye could whip up some wind and focus it so as to dry out one part of my garden. And she was capable of incredibly strong gusts that could scoop earth up and drop it right in Evian’s birdbath.
“Of course. She was trying to play us against each other.” Evian tapped her nails on the arm of her chair. This wasn’t something new. She’d been doing that ever since we were classmates back at St. Joan of Arc’s.
“So you didn’t mess with my garden?” I asked.
Evian shook her head. “No. Did you mess with my birdbath?”
“No.” I held up my hand in the forked-finger witch salute we’d used back at St. Joan of Arc. “Witch’s honor.”
Evian’s eyes softened with fond memories, and she held her fingers up in the same salute. “Witch’s honor.”
“We’ll have to think of a way to get back at her,” I said.
“Yeah, and what better place than tonight at karaoke where the whole town can see?”
Even though the four of us didn’t hang around together, we always made it a point to meet for weekly karaoke. It was important for the islanders to see us together so as to eliminate any questions about our friendship further along if we had to combine our powers to get rid of any nasty beings that had found their way to the island.
“You know how she always wears those grunge outfits?” I asked. “Let’s make them even grungier.”
“You mean a mud smear spell?”
It was an old trick we’d performed back at St. Joan’s, combining our powers of water and earth to splotch and smear mud on the back of someone’s clothing or their scooter or just about anything we deemed necessary. Sure, it was a little juvenile, but that’s what made it a perfect prank to play on Skye.
“Hopefully, she’ll wear those khaki cargo pants and not the black ones,” I said.
Evian’s face took on a cat-ate-the-canary smile. “She’s been dressing a little snazzier lately. Not sure why, but I heard a rumor it has something to do with a guy.”
“Oh really? She was pretty flirty with that guy from the spa last week at karaoke night. You think that’s evolved into something? Didn’t we go to high school with him?”
Evian shrugged. “I don’t remember him. Maybe she’ll wear those white pants she thinks she looks so hot in.”
She actually did look pretty hot in them, but I hated to admit it. I pushed up out of my chair. “Okay, that sounds like a plan. See you there.”
“Yeah, but I’m not drinking anything that Skye orders.”
Vague memories of my actions under the truth serum and the colossal hangover it had given me were still fresh in my mind. “Me either.”
“Good luck with the creature,” Evian yelled as I walked out the door.
Unfortunately, I feared I would need a little bit more than just luck.
Eleven
The town offices were housed in a brick building a few streets over from Main Street. I dug the African violet out of my basket and trotted inside. I’d timed it perfectly, because just inside the marble-tiled lobby, I spotted Iona chatting with some constituents.
A real politician, that one.
Iona Littlefield was four feet eleven inches of guile and grit. Even at eighty-two, she made most men quake when they saw her coming. Not because she was physically imposing. Just the opposite, actually. No. It was more that she didn’t miss a thing. She was always watching, always picking up on every little detail, both seen and hidden, and storing the information away for later use.
I quickly prodded my finger into the dirt surrounding the plant to make sure the lapis was still there. A slight tingle zapped my finger as I brushe
d against the cool blue stone, but I ignored it. Most likely it was just the stress of everything getting to me.
“Iona! I’m so glad I caught you!” I yelled across the lobby, giving the people she was talking to an excuse to slip away.
“Zola Meadows? What a lovely surprise! I was just thinking of you, dear.” I doubted it. Iona said that to everyone.
I held up the plant. “What a coincidence. I was just thinking of you. I brought this plant for your birthday.” I had no idea when Iona’s birthday was but couldn’t think up a better excuse to give her a gift.
Iona frowned. “It’s not my birthday, dear. That was last month.”
“Oh, gosh! I’m so sorry. I must have gotten my dates mixed up.” I shoved the plant into her hands. “A belated gift, then. And I hope it’s not too late to take you to a birthday lunch?”
Like most politicians, Iona couldn’t resist a free lunch.
“Oh, well I suppose I have some time. I am famished. Let me just put this plant in my—”
“No!” I grabbed her arm. I needed her to have the plant with her when I started my interrogation. “No time. We’ll just bring it. I have reservations.”
“Er … all right, then.”
I walked her across the street to the small restaurant on the corner where I actually had made a reservation for the most private corner booth. The waitress quickly took our order. Iona stressed that she had only a half hour and could the waitress bring dessert along with the meal to save time. The waitress agreed, then we settled in with our drinks to wait.
Iona watched me with those bright blue eyes of hers, her gaze narrowed behind her wire-rimmed spectacles. I did my best not to fidget under her attention. For some reason, I felt as if ants were crawling all over me, making me jumpy and nervous and wanting to blurt out every single thought that crossed my mind. Iona had that effect on people. Across from me, Iona sat perfectly still, looking the very image of a kindly grandmother you could imagine. Well, except for the slightly devious curve of her smile.
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