by Vella Day
“I’ll walk dear. I might even wander over to the park.”
I was too stunned to respond. The trip would be close to a mile. “Let me know if you find out something.”
“You too, dear.”
With that last farewell, Gertrude turned right to exit through the restaurant. I didn’t watch to see if she stopped to speak with Aunt Fern or not. My head wasn’t in the right space for that.
I hurried upstairs, trying to decide if I should tell anyone. There hadn’t been a crime committed, so there was no need to bother the sheriff or his deputy, and Penny would be too busy right now to discuss my next move.
What concerned me the most was that Gertrude had never come to me before, and I had to believe she’d had many visions. Why now? Was the color pink the only reason she met with me? Or was there something worth investigating with this Border Collie and his master that even she was unaware of?
Darn. Just when I’d sworn off interfering, the queen of witches showed up, asking for my help. It wasn’t as if I could say no. I owed her one. While I wasn’t active in our coven, turning down Gertrude Poole would be frowned upon.
In order to investigate though, I’d need help. As in I needed to know the name of Mittens’ owner so that Jaxson could look into him to make sure he wasn’t some criminal. Knowing that information would give me some peace of mind. I figured there had to be a record of the owner’s name somewhere.
I mentally snapped my fingers. Of course! Eleanor Aldrich, the event coordinator, would know the names of all of the owners. I’d locate her, ask for the information, and then talk to Jaxson. Phew.
Eleanor lived on the far end of town on a large, horse breeding farm that she and her husband owned. Before I drove out there, I decided to check the park first. I would think she’d want to be aware of everything that was going on for the three-day event.
I grabbed my keys and phone.
“Where are you going?” Iggy asked. “We need to discuss this vision.”
“What is there to discuss? Even Gertrude doesn’t know what it means. I can’t do much unless something comes of it.”
“I know you. You have a plan. What is it?”
Could the little bugger read my mind? We were magically connected, so maybe he could.
I told him about needing to find Eleanor and then asking Jaxson to dig up some dirt on the owner. “I would consider taking you with me, but if one of the dogs came around to snoop, he might think you’d make a tasty snack.”
Iggy lifted up his body. “You’re making that up.”
Only partially. “It’s possible, but I promise we’ll chat when I know something, okay?”
He plopped down on his stomach. “You always say that.”
“Because it’s true.”
I didn’t have time to debate this. I darted out, flew down the stairs, and went outside. Looking at the number of people out and about made it look more like Christmastime than the middle of summer. Most of the shops were full of people, probably because standing in the hot sun for a few hours would be hard for all but us seasoned Floridians.
As soon as I arrived, I spotted Steve and assumed Nash was somewhere nearby. I walked over to our esteemed sheriff. “Hey, there,” I said, trying to sound friendly but not too nosy. “I met one of the dog owners at the restaurant this morning, and he left something behind.”
I had no idea why I just lied, but I wanted to have a reason for everything I did—other than me being my usual snoopy self.
“Is that so?”
I had the sense he didn’t believe me. Darn his smooth, controlled voice. I bet he used it often to cover up his true feelings. “Do you know where Eleanor Aldrich is? I’m sure she has the list of owners.”
Steve pulled a folded piece of paper from his top pocket. “You can have my list of names, but if you wouldn’t mind, make me a copy and then return this?”
That was easy. “Sure thing! I’ll drop it off later.”
In truth, I didn’t need the man’s name to return the item—an item that only existed in my mind. I needed it to do research.
“Glinda, are you sure that’s the only reason you want the list?” One brow rose. Darn. He knew I was fibbing.
I was such a bad liar, which meant I might as well tell him the truth. Before I could though, some people watching the festivities gasped, and Steve’s attention was immediately drawn to the commotion.
“Excuse me,” he said as he jogged away.
That was a lucky break. The increase in chatter made me want to see what was happening too. I followed Steve but at a discreet distance. Only when I was near enough to the dogs did my breath catch, forcing me to lock my knees to keep from dropping to the ground. The Border Collie had a pink glow about him—just like in Gertrude’s vision!
Steve stopped to speak with a couple who were pointing excitedly at the dog. Wanting to stay out of their discussion, two of the local witches were also chatting about this unusual phenomenon. They, however, were speaking in a more subdued manner, acting as if this was an everyday occasion.
I moved in. “Hey, Regina and Cassie. What’s going on?”
“Oh, Glinda. Look.” She pointed to Mittens. “You see it right?”
“The pink aura around the dog?” They nodded. “I do, but his owner doesn’t seem to have a clue, does he?” In truth, the owner had acted so reserved at the restaurant, I’m not sure he’d react even if he could see the aura.
“I doubt it, which is why I think maybe only our kind can detect it.”
That made sense. “What do you think it means?” Gertrude didn’t seem to know, so there was no reason to bring up her name.
“I’m thinking it’s a sign that this one is going to win,” Regina said with a smile that reached her eyes.
“Wouldn’t that be nice if we had a symbol like that all the time? We witches could clean up at the gambling table.” I was mostly kidding.
“Who needs a gambling table? You can bet on the dogs right here,” Cassie piped up.
Now I was interested. “Really? I thought that was illegal.”
“From what I’ve heard, it is, unless it meets some specific town requirements. I’m not up on the details, but I know that a large portion of the winnings will go to the animal shelter. Since it’s a charity thing, people can bet. Talk to Bob Hatfield. He’s in charge. Last time I saw him, he was on the other side of the training course.”
I didn’t really want to bet, but I was curious to learn what was going on. I wouldn’t mention it to the sheriff in case Cassie’s information was wrong. “I think I will. If you’ll excuse me, ladies, I need to talk to someone.” Namely, Mittens’ owner.
I slipped away from them and then consulted the piece of paper that contained the names of the dogs and the identity of their owners. The Border Collie was owned by Josh Randall. I never would have guessed he’d be a dog person though. To be fair, just because he didn’t seem to be able to connect with people didn’t mean he wasn’t a good owner.
I slowly walked around the roped off area looking for him. Mittens had finished his session, because now a Jack Russell Terrier was in his place. I watched for a bit since this event was truly fascinating. I had to say, this dog looked really good, though I hadn’t seen enough of the sport to compare one dog to another.
After moving away from the roped off area, I scoured the rest of the park for Josh and Mittens. They couldn’t have gone far since they’d just left the arena.
Would Josh take his dog straight to the hotel, or was Mittens encouraged to run around and play with the other dogs? Loud barking off to the side caught my attention, so I headed over there. The fenced off area was full of dogs having fun. That came as no surprise as that was the doggie park.
After a full sweep of the area, I wasn’t able to see where Josh Randall had disappeared to. The big question was whether he had seen the pink aura for himself. If so, did he know what it meant?
Chapter Four
Once I was convinced that the pink a
ura dog and his owner weren’t in the park, I headed back to the main part of town. I needed to find out what Jaxson had learned about our deputy and then ask for another favor. Normally, I wouldn’t have involved him so much, but after our earlier conversation, I sensed that Jaxson was looking for something to do that was more important than ordering wine.
Even though it was Saturday, the shop wasn’t as crowded as I’d expected. However, it was lunch hour, which meant people might be eating. Hopefully, they intended to buy their wine after the dog training session was done for the day.
I merely waved to Drake since he was with a customer and then headed to the back once more. I felt bad not talking to him since he was my friend. Tomorrow, the shop was closed. After I finished my shift, I’d see about meeting up with him.
Jaxson was in the back doing his thing, and he smiled when he spotted me. “How’s my favorite sleuth?” he said.
“It’s been a crazy day, but first tell me what you’ve learned about Nash Solano.” Jaxson wasn’t the type to procrastinate. He would have looked stuff up last night.
“It’s rather odd,” he said. “The guy is almost a ghost. I printed something off for you to check out. I want to make sure I have the right person.” Jaxson ducked into the storage closet and then handed me a piece of paper.
It was a side view of Nash in a spiffy-looking dress uniform, receiving some kind of award. “That’s him. Is this the only shot you have of him?”
“Yes. While his name is everywhere on the sheriff’s department website, he seems to have been missing during every photo session.”
“I find that strange, too, though I’ve met people who are camera shy.” Considering Nash could get a modeling gig in a heartbeat, I didn’t understand the avoidance. “Did you find out why he was avoiding detection?”
“Not yet. He has a lot of commendations, indicating he’s quite an accomplished law enforcement agent. I learned that he took some online courses to be eligible to work in Florida.”
“Interesting. Duncan Donut didn’t step down until a month ago, which meant the opening wouldn’t have been posted until after that.” Just last week, our town held an election, and Steve was voted in as our new sheriff. Considering he ran unopposed, the whole thing was a waste of money, but I understood the need for protocol.
“Nash must have been thinking about relocating for a while. When the opening came up, he jumped on it.” Jaxson said. “Maybe he was planning to get away from the weather.”
“Could be.” I might never know. Hopefully, Pearl could worm more information out of him. “While I really appreciate your investigation, I would like you to divert your attention elsewhere.”
Jaxson’s eyes widened. “That sounds interesting.”
I detailed my discussion with Gertrude and how several of us saw the pink aura around Mittens. “I might have ignored the vision if Gertrude hadn’t made such a big deal of it.”
He leaned his elbows on the waist high counter. “What do you make of it?” he asked.
“That Mittens is a winner maybe? But the only way for the aura to mean that would be if a witch put some kind of spell on the dog for that express purpose.”
He chuckled. “I’d like to see Steve Rocker prove that the owner was able to earn a lot of money from the betting pool because of a spell.”
I explained that most of the money went to charity. “Since Steve is a bit skeptical when it comes to the occult, I would have to agree with you that he’d dismiss it. How about I check with a few witches while you focus on Josh Randall? Something like this might have happened before.”
Jaxson scribbled down the name. “Got it. Anything else, boss?”
I laughed. “I’m not your boss, because I’m not paying you.”
“That’s a shame.”
“You know I would if I could.” Even though my room and board were basically free, thanks to my aunt’s generosity, my wages weren’t great—though I made more waitressing than teaching.
“Hey, could Josh be a warlock?” Jaxson asked.
“Anything’s possible, but just so you know, I can’t tell if a person is a warlock or a witch. They’d have to tell me.”
“Good to know.”
With Jaxson promising to get on the investigation as soon as he could, I walked over to the Psychics Corner. Our town had a lot of witches and warlocks, many of whom were probably at the dog park, but discussing some things in public probably wouldn’t be smart.
I mentally ran through the list of those who charged for their services. Just because Mindy Wilson was a palm reader or Brittany DeWitt was a fortune teller, it didn’t mean they didn’t have other talents. I couldn’t remember if anyone used their abilities to do spells—other than a few love potions. I mentally snapped my fingers. Claire Voyant—not her real name—performed séances. Because most of her clients preferred to hold sessions at night, she might be free now. She had performed a spell or two for some of the locals, so someone might have hired her to do this pink aura one.
For a moment, I had considered going back to the Hex and Bones apothecary where I’d purchased the ingredients to change Iggy back to green. I’d ask if anyone knew about pink auras. Considering the owner had yet to return from visiting her sister, I thought it might be best to avoid Hazel, who’d messed up the last time.
As I entered the Psychics Corner, considering all of the tourists in town, I expected to see the waiting room packed. Instead, it was almost empty. Thankfully, their receptionist, Sarah, was there and could help me.
“Hey, Glinda. This is a surprise. What can I do for you?”
“I’m looking for someone who might be able to tell me about auras.”
“As in an aura cleansing?” she asked.
“No.” Since Gertrude worked here, I had no problem discussing her vision. “She had no idea what the pink aura meant, so I headed over to the park to check out the dogs.”
The receptionist’s eyes opened wide. “Don’t tell me you saw Mittens with a pink aura?”
“I did, as did a few others. Not everyone could see it, though. I’m thinking a witch put some kind of spell on the dog. Do you know of anyone who might be aware of something like that? Claire Voyant perhaps?”
She sat there for a moment, drumming her fingers. “Claire doesn’t come in until later. How about Jack Hanson?”
I’d met him a few times, and he seemed like a nice guy. “I thought he only did tarot card readings. Does he do spells too?”
“Yes, but he would never do anything to harm anyone.”
That wasn’t what I was implying. “I’m sure he wouldn’t. Is he in?”
“Let me check.” After consulting with the calendar on her computer, she nodded. “Yes. Go down the hall. He’s the third door on the right.”
“Thanks,” I said.
“I’ll let him know you’re coming.”
Despite this whole aura thing not being any of my business, I couldn’t ignore something this exciting. It wasn’t often one was able to see a visual representation of a spell.
At Jack’s door, I knocked and entered. The windowless room was small but cozy. Tapestries hung on the walls, and antique-looking lamps sat on side tables. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had a smoke machine in the corner for when a client showed up. That would provide an other-world feel.
About the only cliché he wasn’t employing was that he didn’t dress up as some kind of bohemian. In truth, I don’t think he could have pulled it off. Jack was too rugged a man to be wearing a head scarf adorned with dangling silver and gold metal discs.
He smiled. “Glinda, welcome.”
Good thing the receptionist had typed my name into his calendar since I don’t think we’d seen each other since before I left for college. I had to assume he wasn’t a fan of the Tiki Hut food since I’d never served him. “Thank you.”
“How can I help?” he asked. “I’m assuming you didn’t come for a tarot card reading.”
“No.”
I took the offer
ed seat and jumped right into the reason for my visit. I explained about Gertrude’s vision and about my seeing the pink aura around the dog. I also mentioned the other two witches who saw the same thing.
“What can I do?”
“I was hoping you might know if the aura was placed there by a witch. If so, for what purpose?”
Jack leaned back in his chair. “I’ve never heard of a witch or warlock talking about anything like that, but it’s possible. Do you know if this aura represents something good or something evil?”
That would be helpful to know. “It means nothing at the moment. People are speculating it might mean that dog is destined to win.”
“I wish I could help you. Unless you learn of its purpose, I’m at a loss as to who might have created it.”
Well, that was a bust—sort of. “I appreciate you taking the time to see me.”
Since he had spent a few minutes with me, I offered to pay, but he declined.
“Figuring out the answer will be good enough pay for me,” he said. “This has me intrigued.”
“Me too.” I smiled. “Deal a few cards. Maybe they will tell you something.”
He chuckled. “Maybe they will.”
I left, trying to figure out my next move. Because the first eating establishment I would pass was the Spellbound Diner, I decided to grab a bite to eat and see what Dolly knew.
As soon as I walked in, I could see this might take a while. Every booth was taken. While I wasn’t the wait-in-line type, I didn’t have a choice if I wanted to pick Dolly’s brain. I would have snagged her for a chat, but she was running around taking orders and delivering food like a mad woman. I wouldn’t be surprised if she was helping to cook too.
Twenty minutes later, I was finally seated. I probably should have offered to share a booth with some stranger, but what I had to say to Dolly needed to be done in private.
It wasn’t long before one of the servers came over to my booth. I ordered a sweet iced tea and a grilled cheese sandwich, only this time I asked for it with a slice of ham and tomato. “I know Dolly is really busy, but if she has a chance, I’d like to chat.”