by Shaw, J. D.
Vivienne snapped her fingers. “What about my grimoire?”
“That would be sufficient bait to lure a sorcerer.” Nana Mary agreed. “But you are risking the very thing that makes you a witch.”
“Risk is part of being a witch.” Vivienne conceded. “I’ve learned that lesson more times than I’d care to admit to.”
“I have no doubt that you are more cunning than some reckless sorcerer, my dear.” Nana Mary smiled. “Their impulsiveness is usually their downfall.”
Vivienne began to fidget with her hands. “So after I lure this person out of hiding, how do I hold them for questioning?”
“You need to cast a power circle and activate it when your target steps inside.” Nana Mary sipped some more of her tea. “It will hold them in place just like any other being, magical or mortal.”
“I can do that.” Vivienne nodded back eagerly. “I’m sure the Council would be able to send backup if I needed assistance.”
“There is a bounty for their kind, you know.” Nana Mary revealed. “Has been for centuries.”
“What is the Council offering for their capture?”
“The granting of a minor wish spell.”
Vivienne searched her memory of magical knowledge and recalled that a minor wish was quite a misnomer. The magic was actually one of the most powerful spells, able to bring to the caster a desire that normally would be unreachable by regular spell work. Fame and fortune, stunning physical beauty, even the ability to live a near-immortal amount of time was within the realm of possibility. The only things it could not do were bring the dead back from the grave or allow the caster the ability to ask for unlimited wishes. “That’s quite a reward.”
“Yes.” Nana Mary agreed. “Given the handful of times it has been given out, that should tell you just how hard it is capture one.”
“Thank you, Nana.” Vivienne walked over to her and gave her a kiss on the right cheek. “I wish I could stay longer and visit.”
“You have work to do, young lady.” Nana Mary chastened her with a pointed index finger. “Don’t waste another minute here.”
“I’ll let you know how things are going.” Vivienne promised as she grabbed her purse and coat from the sofa.
“Be careful, my darling.” Nana Mary pleaded.
Vivienne blew her a kiss and hurried out of the apartment.
CHAPTER NINE
She had made it back to the bakery in time to help Stephanie with the closing tasks and she apologized profusely to her for leaving her solo for most of the day. Stephanie, as usual, had been completely in control of the day and insisted that Vivienne, as owner, was entitled to have time away from the business.
With her shop closed for the evening, Vivienne had expected to have some time before dinner to grill Joshua about the death of Father William. She was certain that Sheriff Rigsbee had already informed him of her presence at the church and the discovery of the body in the baptismal pool. At least Joshua couldn’t blame her for sticking her nose into police business where it didn’t belong. She had every reason to be at the church this morning and it was just a stroke of misfortune that she happened to be the one to make the horrible discovery.
Yes, she was actually looking forward to being able to talk about what had happened as she pulled her car into the driveway. But that moment of anticipation was ruined when she saw Kathy’s car parked behind Joshua’s Grand Cherokee. Normally, a visit from her best friend was just what she needed when she had a bad day, but today wasn’t like any other. She needed to talk about what could be really going on in Cayuga Cove and that just happened to include magical details that Kathy was blissfully unaware of.
As she opened the front door, her sense of smell was overwhelmed by the enticing scent of baked chicken. “Hello?” She called out as she shut the door and hung her coat on the wall rack.
Joshua stepped into the living room, out of uniform and dressed in his usual attire of a button-down flannel shirt and a pair of jeans. “Hi honey.” He walked over to her and opened his arms. “I heard about what happened this morning.”
“Was it on the news?” Vivienne asked him as she let his arms wrap around her in an embrace.
“Yes.” Joshua replied. “I’m so sorry you had to be the one that found him like that.”
Vivienne hugged him back. “We tried to save him but he was too far gone.”
“Do you want to talk about it?” He asked.
She released herself from his embrace. “Well, yes and no.”
Kathy emerged from the kitchen wearing Vivienne’s botanical citrus-patterned apron that she had found on sale after Christmas at Williams-Sonoma. “After hearing about what happened, I knew the last thing you needed to do was worry about making dinner.” She had a glass of red wine in her grip.
“Oh, you didn’t need to go to all this trouble.” Vivienne worked hard to hide her annoyance that she was now obligated to entertain for the evening.
“It was no trouble at all.” Kathy sipped her wine.
“I tried to tell her that you’d probably just want to have a quiet night.” Joshua tried to explain.
Kathy glanced back into the kitchen. “Which I completely disregarded and proceeded to force my way into your home so I could make my famous Coq au Vine.”
“That was really nice of you to do.” Vivienne smiled back.
“Do you want me to pour you a glass?” Kathy asked.
“Sure.” Vivienne looked at Joshua and shrugged. “I could certainly use some.”
“Be right back.” Kathy disappeared back into the kitchen.
“I know that look.” Joshua frowned.
Vivienne rolled her eyes. “Why does everyone keep saying that to me?”
“Who else said that?”
Vivienne sighed. “Nana Mary.”
“Is there something going on that I should know about?” He kept his voice low.
“Yes.” Vivienne whispered back. “But we can’t talk about it with Kathy here tonight.”
“So, I’ll ask her to leave.” He offered. “You go upstairs and I’ll tell her you said you have a terrible headache and are looking for some aspirin.”
“You won’t be able to send her away that easily.” Vivienne answered.
“I know you don’t care for mushrooms, so I left them out.” Kathy appeared with a fresh glass of red wine in her hand. “I only alter my recipes for the best of friends, you should know.”
Vivienne accepted the wine and took a seat on the sofa. She sipped gingerly and closed her eyes. “What a day.”
Kathy joined her on the sofa. “The best way to deal with tragedy is to talk about it.” She took a big swig of her wine. “We’re here for you.”
“Yes, we are.” Joshua affirmed and lowered himself into the loveseat facing them both. “But if you need time to process what you’re feeling, we understand that too.”
“I’m fine now, actually.” Vivienne explained. “At first I was kind of in shock about the whole thing, but afterwards I realized that there was nothing I could have done to change what happened.”
“Oh, it must have been awful.” Kathy empathized. “The news said that the police were treating the entire thing as an accident.”
“It looked like an accident.” Vivienne played along. “There was a fallen ladder next to the baptismal pool.”
“How awful.” Kathy took another sip of wine. “I don’t know if I would have handled it as calmly as you seem to be taking it.”
“Oh, I was upset at first.” Vivienne spoke up. “Mother Superior and I tried to revive him, but it wasn’t going to work.”
“Well, I think that you just secured your ticket to heaven by trying.” Kathy nodded.
Joshua shifted uncomfortably in the loveseat. “Are you sure you want to talk about this?”
Vivienne shrugged. “Actually, I’d rather talk about anything else.”
Kathy set her wine down on the coffee table by the sofa. “Oh, whatever you want.”
“How d
id you make out with jewelry orders after the party?” Vivienne changed the subject.
“Not as many as I hoped.”
“I’m sure things will pick up for you when the summer tourists come back.” Joshua reached for the television remote out of habit and then proceeded to fold his arms across his chest. He glanced sheepishly at Vivienne who had witnessed the near-faux pas, yet kept her composure.
“Well, I’m sure I would have more orders if that little cretin and his hired goon hadn’t created such a scene.” Kathy added as she inspected her freshly-manicured nails for chips and cracks.
“That was a hot mess.” Vivienne agreed. “Did you ever find out who the mysterious stranger was that saved the party?”
Kathy glanced up at Vivienne. “No. I was going to just ask you the same question.”
“Mysterious stranger?” Joshua piped in from the loveseat.
“He was as tall as you, only not as broad-shouldered and handsome as you are, honey.” Vivienne teased as she sipped some more wine.
“Well, naturally.” Joshua winked at her.
“There was something about him though.” Kathy fumbled for an adequate word to finish her sentence. “Charismatic, I’d have to say.”
“That’s a good way to put it.” Vivienne agreed. “Something that just drew your eyes to him.”
“Shifty?” Joshua offered.
“Not at all.” Kathy was quick to dismiss the word. “Johnny Guido, now he fit the shifty description hands down.”
“Oh, what a creep.” Vivienne continued. “It just goes to show you that money can buy many things, but class isn’t one of them.”
“I don’t know what Alexis saw in that guy.” Kathy grabbed her wine and sipped some more.
“She’s not a dumb girl.” Vivienne countered. “I think that she saw him as a stepping stone to get out of Cayuga Cove and onto the fashion runways of New York.”
Kathy finished her wine and smiled at Joshua. “All I know is that my business with her is over for good after that stunt last night.”
“I’d like to know more about this mysterious stranger.” Joshua interrupted them.
“Oh, sweetie, you’ve got nothing to worry about with this one over here.” Kathy tapped Vivienne on the shoulder. “She wouldn’t stray from your little nest if you paid her.”
“Thanks.” Vivienne rolled her eyes at Kathy. “That was such a glowing endorsement of my fidelity.”
“I’m serious.” Joshua pressed on. “I think it would be a good idea to know if we have some new people floating around town, that’s all.”
“Father William slipped and fell, according to the news.” Kathy continued. “It was an accident.”
“I’m sure that’s all it was.” Vivienne finished her wine and set the glass down. “But it’s sweet how protective of the town you are.”
The timer in the kitchen went off.
“The chicken needs to rest for about five minutes.” Kathy started to get up. “I also need to warm the dinner rolls in the oven.”
“I’ll get it.” Joshua leapt up from the loveseat. “You two stay here and swoon over the mysterious stranger.”
“Swoon?” Vivienne teased.
“I could swoon over him.” Kathy leaned back against the sofa and kicked off her designer heels. “I could swoon over any good man, at the moment.”
“I thought you were taking a long weekend to meet that new guy?” Vivienne asked. “The one that lives in Chicago?”
“The businessman?” Kathy raised an eyebrow.
“Yes.”
Kathy curled her legs up under herself and leaned toward Vivienne. “That would be Dean.”
“Yes.” Vivienne snapper her fingers. “He looked like a nice guy. Tall, handsome, and had a beautiful penthouse.”
“Oh, he had all of those.” Kathy nodded. “We finally exchanged cell numbers and we talked for hours at night.”
“You never told me that.”
“He was a great conversationalist.” Kathy reminisced. “I could bring up almost any subject and he was like an encyclopedia of information.”
“Wow.” Vivienne marveled. “Brains and good looks.”
“Oh, he was smart.” Kathy agreed. “You don’t get to start your own business and then sell it two years later for a couple of million being dumb.”
Vivienne whistled in astonishment. “So whatever did he do to screw it all up?”
“It wasn’t what he did, per say, it was what he didn’t do.” Kathy clarified.
“Which was?” Vivienne rolled her hand in anticipation for Kathy to give up the secret.
“Divorce his current wife.” Kathy replied briskly.
“You’re kidding?”
“Oh, you don’t know how much I wish I was.” Kathy lowered her head in shame. “I almost agreed to a long weekend with a married man from Chicago.”
“How did you find out?” Vivienne asked.
“Well, last week I happened to call his phone and leave a sexy little voice mail.” Kathy confided. “Somehow, someway, his wife happened to discover it and she returned my call.”
“Ugh.” Vivienne felt terrible for her friend. “Was she rotten?”
“Not really. I mean, I could tell she was mad, but I think it was more directed at him rather than me.” Kathy explained.
“Well, that’s a stroke of luck.”
“Yeah.” Kathy sighed. “I think I used up all my good and bad luck for this holiday with that mess.”
Vivienne reached out and gave her friend a hug. “This too shall pass.”
Kathy pulled away from her. “Hey, I was the one who was supposed to be comforting you in your time of need.”
“Well, you looked like you needed it more than I did.”
Joshua stepped into the room. “If we don’t eat this chicken soon, it’s going to be stone cold.”
“Oh, I almost forgot about dinner.” Kathy jumped up from the sofa. “Did you put the rolls in?”
“They’re all heated and put into the basket.” Joshua added with a grin.
“Oh, thank you honey.” Vivienne pulled herself off the sofa and followed Kathy and Joshua into the kitchen where the table was set for three. Tommy Cat and Sammy happily munched away at their respective food dishes which Joshua had been thoughtful enough to fill with wet food to keep them from begging too much for pieces of chicken throughout dinner.
“It all looks so wonderful.” Vivienne gushed as Joshua pulled out her chair and allowed her to sit down.
Joshua struck a wooden match and lit a pair of white taper candles that were flanking the bread basket. “Can’t forget the ambience.”
“Joshua, the table looks amazing.” Kathy marveled. “I didn’t know you had such homemaker skills.”
He pulled out a chair for Kathy. “If you please, mademoiselle.”
“Does he moonlight at Bistro Parisian?” Kathy asked Vivienne as she sat down.
“Oh, he never moonlights.” Vivienne giggled. “Doesn’t agree with him.”
Joshua gave her a little smile and sat down at the table. “I have to second what Vivienne said, this all looks amazing.” He reached for Vivienne’s plate and piled some chicken onto it.
Vivienne reached into the basket and pulled out a warm dinner roll. “I think I could get used to this, Kathy.”
“When can you move in?” Joshua teased back.
“There are no threesomes in Cayuga Cove.” Kathy laughed as she poured them all another glass of wine. “Besides, I hate to admit this, but I’m the jealous type and I don’t share well with others.”
Vivienne raised her glass in the air. “Here’s to no more scandals in our fair little town.”
“I’ll drink to that.” Joshua raised his glass.
“Me too.” Kathy raised hers.
They clinked them together gently.
“Here’s to Nathaniel and Tristan, who defied the odds and won the lottery.” Vivienne added. “Which means they don’t have to close up shop and move away.”
“Did they tell you that?” Kathy asked.
“Well, no.” Vivienne clarified. “But, money was the main reason they were leaving. So, I think the problem is solved and that makes me very happy.”
“I never thought I’d toast to someone else winning the lottery.” Kathy added. “But in this case, I agree with Vivienne.”
“Here’s to problems solved.” Joshua spoke up.
After dinner, Vivienne and Kathy both insisted that Joshua had earned his television sports time and insisted he let them clean up. He had been more than happy to finally get a chance to relax and enjoy his usual evening routine.
Vivienne washed and rinsed the Dutch oven with a crocheted dish towel that Nana Mary made for her each holiday season. “That was such a nice dinner, Kathy.” Vivienne handed the pot over the double sink for Kathy to dry.
“Thanks, girlie.” Kathy wiped it off with a dishtowel and set it on the dish rack. “It sure beats eating alone at my place again.”
“You always told me that you liked having your own place.” Vivienne said as she dunked some of the dinner plates into the pool of sudsy water. “I’d have invited you over more often if you had just said something.”
“Oh, I’m just saying that because of Dean.” Kathy confessed. “I can throw a great party, but I am a master at throwing pity parties for myself.”
“Me too.” Vivienne handed the rinsed plates to Kathy.
“Can I ask you an important question?”
“Sure.” Vivienne dunked the wine glasses into the dishwater.
“Why are we washing the dishes by hand when you have a perfectly capable dishwasher right here?” Kathy carefully ran her towel over the plates and set them in the plastic rack to finish air drying.
“Because it would give us a chance to talk in the kitchen.” Vivienne replied.
Kathy set the towel down on the counter. “Well, I appreciate that as your best friend, but my freshly manicured nails are not so happy about it.”
“Oh, we can load the rest of the stuff in the dishwasher.” Vivienne agreed. “So, what are your plans for tonight?”
“Aren’t you and Joshua going to have a date night or something like that?” Kathy helped Vivienne load the lower rack of the dishwasher.