Maxy's message was also supportive. You will butt kick this problem. You are the strong one here. Bear and I have got your back. Lucky we have Lauren on hand to cover cases. Don't be surprised if you can't reach Chris. He's camping with his kids somewhere with poor cell reception. He'll emerge today.
I didn't spend much time on their responses to my later messages about Mark's death. I didn't want to cope with their speculation on what this meant for Keegan's case. I slipped on sandals and walked through the kitchen into the dining room. A wooden table surrounded by high-backed chairs carved with leaves dominated the space. The odor of cinnamon lingered in the air and reminded me I was hungry. A French door in the rear wall opened onto a side yard.
Outside, I stood under a trellis that provided filtered sunlight for a patio crowded with greenery. Mint, parsley, and basil grew in clay pots, while ferns, small palms, and plants with spiky leaves formed a backdrop. Attracted by the lush growth, I rubbed the smooth surface of a pointed leaf.
"Sansevieria," a voice whispered from the pot.
When I jumped back, my hand brushed a mint plant that sent new growth out.
It curled around my fingers.
"I'm sweet," the plant murmured and tightened its grip.
As I unwound it, more stems wrapped over my hand. I yanked away, stretching out the tendrils. Hands pressed on my shoulders. A woman with copper skin and dark hair hanging to her waist moved next to me. Her soft voice melted into the air. "Ask the plant to release you."
"Let me go."
Three more mint tendrils spread over my hand.
The woman smiled. "Ask nicely."
I shut my eyes and took a deep breath. I imagined eating mint ice cream and chocolate after-dinner mints. A sweet taste filled my mouth. "Please, let go." The plant released my hand. The mint left some of its leaves with me, and I inhaled the aroma. I had talked to a plant. Magic had worked for me in a good way.
"That was almost too easy," I said.
The dark-haired woman bowed to me with her hands pressed together. "I am Kai."
I inclined my head and gestured at her with the handful of mint. "I'm Petra Rakowitz. Are you a teacher here?"
She extended her hand palm up to me, and I handed over the mint. After putting it in the pocket of her green tunic, she brushed the leaves of a basil plant. Its spicy warm aroma reminded me of salads and spaghetti sauce.
"I'm Jake's partner."
"Do you know about my case? Do you think you can help me?"
She glided to the door. "I just did."
As I reentered the kitchen, Jake was pouring water into a coffee maker. He snapped his fingers, and the machine rumbled. Bowing to Kai, he pressed one fist into an open hand.
She kissed him on the forehead. "I have made progress with this one."
He took in my sleep shirt, tie-died, baggy, hitting me mid thigh. "How about a run? And here's the pledge."
I signed the pledge, which required me to follow the rules at the Disclaimer Ranch until released by a Master Wizard. I wanted to fix my problem, even though I itched to rewrite it in better legalese. To my relief, I found out that the fee was minimal, like a co-pay on insurance. Jake told me that private donations provided his basic funding. With an easier mind about finances, I changed and joined him for a run. Jake had an effortless stride, his long legs flying along. I could see he held himself back for my slower pace and to supervise me. All through the first part of the run, I replayed the scene when the car thumped into Mark. The blood, the torn ear, the gouged eye. Short on sleep, I felt heavy, and my lungs strained. At the turnaround point, my body lightened as I found my stride. I replayed the encounter with Kai and could almost smell the mint and basil again.
After we walked the last hundred yards, I watched Jake as he stretched. I hated stretching because it took too much time. I waited until he had extended each leg twice. "What I did with Kai made me feel better."
Sweat poured down Jake's face. "Even students who fight being here have good experiences. I'm taking you to the Markesa. It's my turn as a Master Wizard to do a walk through for code violations at the market. I'll have you select some magic aids. It's a good way for me to observe your magic in action."
I'd talked to a plant. Time to interact with lotions and potions.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
SATURDAY MORNING
Jake parked my car in the Markesa's lot in a space labeled Reserved for Master Wizard. He threaded his way through cars to the entrance, his backpack hung from one shoulder. The wizard's market had taken over a defunct shopping center in south Phoenix. Most booths were inside, but any using fire, from sausages to simmering spell potions, were lined up outside in a row that led to the entrance of the main building, a former big-box grocery store. We strolled behind two women, one pushing a stroller, the other being tugged by a toddler dressed in a pink frock and a rhinestone crown.
Down at the end of the row, a couple emerged from a stall. Before they turned away from us, I recognized their profiles.
I tapped Jake on the shoulder. "That woman coming out of the booth at the end, that's Mona Flynn, Keegan's aunt. I interviewed her yesterday. She demanded I stop even suggesting that Ira was involved in Felicia's murder. That's her husband, Ronan."
He watched the couple enter the main building. "I know them through Ira. He's one of my graduates. Ira usually has a booth here."
As I wondered if I'd meet Ira today at the market, I breathed in delicious aromas. Red, white, and blue candles filled the front display of Matchless. Strawberry, vanilla, and blueberry flavors anticipated the Fourth of July. The candles ranged in size from votives to chunky ones to slender tapers.
Jake walked into the booth. "I'm not keeping a shield around you unless you go really wild. Merchants here expect me to bring students who have issues. Pick a candle that makes you feel good."
On the rear wall of the display, I headed for a brownish-red candle that I knew smelled of cinnamon and brown sugar. "My boyfriend and I used to buy that one."
Jake stretched a finger toward it. "Do you want to sample it?"
I already knew the way its sugary aroma lingered in a bedroom. For the first time in a year, I thought of Eduardo without a pang. Worrying I might be a witch had distracted me from pining for him. "No, I'm moving on."
I passed by candles impregnated with the odors of pink roses and white carnations and stopped at a dark one labeled The Impossible Elusive Black Rose. "That one."
Jake ignited the wick with the tip of his index finger.
His calmness irritated me. "You don't think a removal spell will work, do you? You think I'm turning into a wizard. You can't change the blood in my veins."
"I wouldn't have brought you here for observation if I'd made up my mind."
I leaned over to inhale the candle's aroma, a rich scent that had to come from thick, fleshy petals. "This is it."
Jake handed a boxed candle from the display to the attendant. "Put it on my account."
"Yes, Master."
I moved next to Jake. "What am I supposed to use the candle for?"
He shoved stuff around in his backpack to accommodate the candle. "Some wizards use candles for their spells. You'll be experimenting with what works for you. Herbs and spices are next. You can have two." He pulled an ASU cap out of his backpack and adjusted it carefully on his head. "By the way, my mother owns this next stall, but she's not here today. Looks like you're in luck and will meet my sister Gaia."
Here Be Herbs was the booth Mona and Ronan Flynn had exited. Stacks of clear bins lined the two sides and the back wall. They held seeds and crushed plants. In front, an apple-nutmeg aroma bubbled out of a Crock-pot.
The saleswoman had spiky hair, brown mixed with blonde highlights. She wore a white tank top under her denim overalls. "If it isn't the Master Sorcerer."
Jake hugged her with one arm. "Where's Mom?"
She kissed his forehead. "She and Dad went to Napa for one of those winemaker reunion binges. She wants you
r ass for not coming to dinner the last two Sundays."
"I work every weekend."
She looked at me. "I'm his sister Gaia. What can I help you find?"
Jake stepped in front of me. "Petra is looking for herbs that will help her get started with basic spells."
"You're such a control freak." Gaia pushed him aside and put a hand on my arm, her touch feathery. "You'll want something that you like to look at and smell. And that feels good when you crush it."
Most of the dried herbs looked the same to me, grayish-brown flecks. I liked the rosemary, the way it kept its distinctive needle shape. Rubbing the sample with my fingertips, I breathed in its piney aroma. I took the bin over to Gaia.
For my second, I wanted something with bite. Sun-dried chilies called to me with their red color and crescent shapes.
Gaia hurried over. "Careful about handling them. Wear gloves, and don't get any in your eyes. They'll burn right through you."
I delivered the bin to her. "Sounds perfect."
"Looks like you'll have some spirited spell casting." She poured the rosemary onto a scale.
"I saw a friend of mine, Mona Flynn, coming out of your booth just a minute ago."
"She and her husband bought holly and ivy. Said they needed good luck."
Jake stowed the baggies in an outer zipper compartment of his backpack. "Put it on my account."
She did a half curtsy. "Yes, Master."
Inside the main building, the first stall made me blink at the sparkle from the crystal birds perched on metal stands. A skinny girl in purple shorts walked up to the display, her eyes wide. Above her, a banner flashed Familiar Territory. Her parents hurried into the booth and beckoned to her. She flipped her blonde hair back before she followed, treading carefully as if on a jagged surface. She looked around twelve, so I assumed she was doing the coming of age ritual to see if a familiar would choose her. For a month before turning twelve, wizard kids tried their luck at being selected by a familiar. These special animals did magic for their chosen owners—if the wizard could train their familiar. Since familiars enhanced a wizard's power, they were a status symbol. My friend Chris was proud he had the butterfly Amauris as his familiar, but he admitted at first she was very high maintenance.
I kept my eyes on the girl, who froze halfway inside the stall, but I lost sight of her as Jake and I went deeper into the building. The farther we went into the market, the more crooked the way became. The aisles didn't go straight for more than three booths, frequently turning corners and going in circles. Eduardo always knew how to guide me through the labyrinth. I inhaled deeply, relieved to think of him without sadness.
I'd never before attempted to find my own way in the market. "Let me navigate."
Jake kept close behind as I tried the technique of making only right turns. We passed the crystal bird booth twice in two minutes. The girl in purple hadn't moved. I switched to alternating left and right turns. This technique resulted in our reaching the crystal booth in five minutes. This time when I walked past, the girl had left, and the proprietor was gripping his hands, possibly made nervous by the Master Wizard's repeated passes.
Jake smiled at the proprietor before turning to me. "Is the glasswork calling to you? Is that why you keep going by the crystal bird booth?"
"I'm just lost."
"Next stop is the Stone Mason. We'll see what elements energize you."
"You lead the way so I can look at stuff."
We strolled past displays of jams, earrings, and T-shirts. I stopped at the Reminders booth. Instead of an arrangement that featured both sexes, today only women's heads filled the memorial crystals. Bobbing up and down in clear balls, the women nodded at bystanders. Dark hair—short, curly, long, straight—was the common theme.
When I tapped a ball containing a woman whose raven hair swirled around her face, her eyes flashed open, and she smiled. I retreated hastily. "I find these things fascinating but repulsive. I know a guy who had one of these memorials of his mother in the bathroom."
Jake passed his hand over the crystal, closing the woman's eyes. Around the next corner, we found the Stone Mason's booth. He definitely had rocks. Gray, black, purple, turquoise, gold, and silver. Some as dirty as when they came from the ground and caves. Others polished to shine like jewels. Hidden secrets revealed. When I stepped into the stall, I felt the air cool. I was drawn to a chunk of rock that looked like a black sponge, pits and bumps marring its surface.
"Going to do some black magic?"
Ira Flynn watched me from just outside the booth. He wore a black T-shirt that flashed in white letters Dream You're Awake. The words faded as I looked at them. Three studs, two blue and one black jewel, lined up on his left ear. Behind him across the walkway, two sides of a stall were filled with rolls of fabric, blues and greens, a shifting sea of colors. Along the rear wall, scarves of pink, yellow, and purple, the colors of summer flowers, flowed over wire-frame outlines of women's heads and shoulders. The name Iradescences swirled in silver lettering at the top of the stall.
"I like this one." I waved my hand over the pitted stone. A deep male voice came out of the rock, speaking in an English accent. "Basalt is an extrusive igneous rock. It promotes compassionate understanding, stability and strength, clarity in difficult times, helps in easing ang—"
Jake swiped his hand over the rock and silenced it. He looked at the Iradescences booth. "You've got customers, Ira."
Mona and Ronan Flynn stood behind the front display of the stall. Her eyes on Ira, Mona inclined her head slightly backwards.
He touched my arm. "She wants me. Come see me when they leave."
When Mona followed Ira to the rear of the booth, Ronan walked over to me. He looked pale and had more lines around his eyes than when I'd met him in Chris's office. The hand he offered was sweaty, the grip firm. "Miss Rakowitz, any news on Keegan's case?"
Telling him about Mark was too complicated in a public place. "There have been some developments. Chris will be evaluating them and update you."
"Ah" was his response, as if I had imparted something meaningful. After he shook hands with Jake, Ronan returned to Mona, who had been gesturing to him, her hands full of scarves.
"Over the years, Ronan and Mona have been Ira's main supporters," Jake said.
Stone Mason's proprietor joined us, carrying the black rock I'd chosen. He was a thin man who wore his stringy gray hair in a single braid down his back. Deep wrinkles cut into his reddened skin. "You made a good choice, young lady. This here rock will bring you plenty of compassionate understanding. Ain't I right, Jake?"
"It's an interesting choice, Slim. She'll pick one more, and I need to restock some stones for our inventory at the ranch."
Slim trailed after Jake, who pointed at a pile of unpolished purple rocks.
Across the way, Ira held up a black scarf slashed with silver streaks. He tossed it in the air. It floated down and looped itself around Mona's neck. Wiggling his fingers, Ira caused one end of the scarf to arrange itself down the middle of her red blouse. The other end flipped over lightly down her back. She wore black slacks and high-heeled red sandals. Her husband, Ronan was dressed more casually in beige shorts and a Hawaiian shirt of green and pink. When the scarf was in place, he smiled at her and embraced Ira, who caught my eye and turned away.
Slim touched my arm. A silver bracelet loaded with rough-cut chunks of turquoise decorated his wrist. "Honey, Jake explained to me about your situation. Don't you worry about touching my stuff. I got protection spells on it no one can break. You touch what you want till you find a stone that speaks to your heart."
"Thanks for giving me a free hand."
He returned to Jake, who was dropping polished pink stones onto the scale at the front counter. I lost myself in tracing over uncut rocks, liking their irregular facets. I lingered over a black stone that had bluish veins running through it. I leaned over to study it more closely, found a squiggle of red in the middle.
Slim tapped its label,
Quartzite, a metamorphic rock. "What a story that rock could tell. Time transformed quartz into this beauty."
I picked up the rock and added it to Jake's stack. Slim promised to drop the purchases off at the ranch when the market closed. Next to the scale was a book written by Slim. Don't Go Looking for What I Haven't Found / Searching for the Lost Dutchman's Mine. It featured Slim holding a pickax, standing in front of mountains covered with saguaro cactus.
Mona and Ronan had left while I was selecting my second stone. Ira stood with his back to us. When he swung around, he blinked as if he were having trouble focusing on our image. A turquoise scarf trailed from his long fingers.
I went up to Jake. "Can I talk with Ira while you finish here?"
"Keep in my line of sight. Warn Ira about your magical malfunctioning."
Ira held the turquoise scarf out to me. "You look like you could use some cheering up."
I hesitated to take it. "I thought you were mad because I consider you a suspect in Felicia's death."
"I like to know my enemy." He dropped the scarf into my hands.
I flung it around my neck, appreciating the way it complemented my black scoop neck top. "I'm with Jake because I've suddenly started doing magic after a lifetime of thinking I had no magic ability. I'm in Jake's program."
"And I thought I had problems." Ira's wandering gaze settled on me. "Jake will help you. He saved me." He reached for the scarf, which I fumbled with, his hands brushing mine, and tied a loose knot. "Mona gave you the wrong impression yesterday."
"She gave me the impression she was protecting you."
"Mona and Ronan took me in when I had problems my parents couldn't handle. Mona thinks I made a mistake by shape-shifting into Keegan when you observed my class because it made you suspicious of me."
His face flickered into a woman, her lips distorted, her black hair streaming out in snakes' heads. He passed a hand over his features, returning them to normal.
I stepped back from him and looked over my shoulder at Jake, who was talking with Slim. "I didn't cause that, did I?"
Murder Casts Its Spell Page 14