by Rose Pressey
“I’ll fix the door whenever you’re ready. It looks as if you’re busy with”—he glanced back at the witches—“whatever it is you’re doing.”
Derek was on to my secret. Nevertheless, I was stubborn and would only tell him when I was ready. Apparently Agatha had been listening to our conversation.
“You want to know what we’re doing here?” she asked.
I looked at her and shook my head. She ignored me.
“If you want me to be completely honest, we were having a lingerie party. You know, where we buy fancy stuff.”
Melanie laughed. I wanted to hide under the sofa. Derek’s cheeks turned red. He immediately looked at the door. Now he was in a hurry to get out of there.
“Oh, well, sorry I interrupted. I should leave you ladies alone so you can do whatever.” Derek weaved around us and headed for the door. He bumped into the table and almost knocked over the lamp. Derek grabbed the lamp and set it upright. “Sorry.”
Melanie laughed again.
Derek grabbed the doorknob and turned. Of course it was still locked. I’d never seen him so frazzled. He really wanted out of there.
I hurried over and unlocked the door for him. At this point, the women had followed him.
“Are you don’t want to stay? Cece has chocolate cake for us,” Melanie said.
“We have whipped topping too,” Agatha said.
That was the last straw. Derek rushed out the door. On his way to the car, he said over his shoulder, “I’ll see you in the morning, Cece.”
“Was he late for an appointment?” Anna said.
I’d thought he’d want to leave, but I hadn’t known he would leave that quickly. “All you had to say was lingerie,” I said as I closed the door.
I really hoped he came back to fix the door. Maybe I should just fix it myself so that he wouldn’t have to come back.
“So is he your boyfriend or not?” Anna asked.
I laughed nervously. “Not a chance.”
“Not even one date?” Melanie asked.
“Nope,” I said.
Agatha clapped her hands. “Okay, now that the commotion is over we need to cast the spell.”
Momentarily I’d forgotten what this visit was for. We were going to finish the evening with a spell and see if that would help solve the case. One more try. I felt good about this one after getting the new supplies from mystic shop. They seemed excited about the prospect of doing this spell tonight.
“We are fired up tonight, Cece. We're ready to go,” Agatha said.
It was funny to hear Agatha talk that way. I hoped I was half as spunky at her age. Considering I wasn't that spunky now I was going to have to really amp up my spunkiness.
Agatha clapped her hands together. “So what kind of spell are we doing now?”
“I thought we could drag out the cauldron and add some of the potions that I made.”
“Oh, I love the spells with potions,” Sue said.
“You know what this calls for, don’t you?” Agatha asked.
“I’ll get the bottles of wine,” Ellen said.
Ellen liked to make her own wine. It wasn’t the best I’d ever tasted, but I would never tell her that.
“I’ll get the glasses,” Sue said.
I grabbed the corkscrew and unstopped one of the bottles. Sue brought in the glasses and I poured a little of the red liquid into each glass. We sat around the dining room table sipping on our wine, preparing for the spell.
“What exactly do you want this spell to achieve?” Agatha asked.
“I want it to help me find Morgan and Amber’s killer,” I said and then took another sip.
“That’s a lofty goal, but with positive thinking, I think we can achieve it.”
I certainly hoped so because there was a lot counting on this.
“We’re awesome witches we can make it happen,” Ann said.
“You’re right, we can make it happen,” I said.
“But is that all you want?” Agatha asked.
"What do you mean?” I asked.
She stared at me. “What I mean is that there’s something you’re leaving out of your life.
“Agatha, if you talking about a boyfriend, then that is not going to happen. It’ll happen when it’s right. I don’t think I need a spell for that."
“Sometimes you just need a little push,” she said.
“I’ll think about it,” I said, knowing that I wouldn’t think about it.
Nope. Definitely not a boyfriend spell.
Sue looked at me and said, “We’re doing the spell outside? Isn’t that a little risky after what happened?”
I was hoping that they had forgotten about that. “It’ll be fine. That was just a one off.”
I tried to convince myself of this since it had happened, but maybe I should think twice. I shouldn’t put my friends at risk by taking them out there. But where else would we do the spell? We needed the energy from earth. It just wasn’t as powerful as we get it indoors.
“If y’all get nervous we can come back in,” I said.
The ladies agreed so I pushed my feet. “We’d better get that cauldron out there before it gets any later.”
Agatha took one last drink from her glass. “Last one out is a rotten egg,” She raced over to the kitchen. The other ladies followed.
I had a small cauldron that I kept hidden in the cabinet. They had it carried outside before I even got all away in the kitchen.
I gathered the bottles of potions and walked out with Agatha.
“What a beautiful clear night. It’ll be perfect for the spell,” Agatha said.
As long as nothing went wrong. Agatha looked around. I didn’t want to ask what she was looking for. I had a feeling I knew.
I squeezed her shoulders. “Everything will be fine.
The other members and I gathered around the cauldron and I handed out the potions. We would each pour our potions into the cauldron at the same time. Silence surrounded us. There was no noise from traffic, no dogs barking in the distance. It was just us and nature.
I recited the words and then we started to pour in the potions. The liquid bubbled and my excitement mounted. It looked as if this would be a successful spell, although we wouldn’t know until later. A noise caught our attention. Considering how quiet it had been this was startling. We froze around the cauldron. The women looked at me. I knew what they were thinking.
“Do you think someone is out there ready to shoot at us?”
I wasn’t going to take any chances. Even if the spell wasn’t finished yet. I had convinced myself that I had imagined the whole thing. Now I was back to knowing that what I’d seen was real. I gathered up the women and led them back inside. They didn’t argue with me.
Once inside the kitchen, we huddled together by the back door. We peered out into the night. There was no way we would see anything out there. Someone could be looking back at us and we wouldn’t know. I pulled down the shade.
“Maybe you should call the police,” Agatha said.
“They wouldn’t do anything. They didn’t find anything the last time.”
I didn’t want to scare the rest of the residents again either. I’d put them through enough already.
Agatha grabbed the bottle of wine. “I think we need another drink, ladies.”
I wouldn’t argue with that.
***
I’d already slipped into bed with the sheets snuggling me like a comforting hug. Drowsiness had just started to take hold when my cell phone jarred me out of it, I debated ignoring it, but I worried that it could be someone back home. Then again it could be Derek wanting me to bail him out of jail. I groaned and reached for the phone on the nightstand. I didn’t recognize the number, but I knew it was from Vegas. Like I thought, probably Derek in trouble. He wanted me to save his sexy butt. I guess I owed him.
“Cece, this is Paige,” she said as soon as I said hello.
I looked at the clock. Okay, it was only ten. Not that late. I bet D
erek wouldn’t even think of going to bed for another five hours. No wonder he was always late to work. Why was I thinking of Derek? I brought my attention back to Paige.
“Is something wrong?” I asked.
“No, I suppose not.” She paused. “Have you spoken with Derek recently?”
I sat up in bed. “Not for a few hours. Is everything okay?”
If something happened to Derek I wouldn’t know what to do.
“No, it’s just that I tried to call him and he doesn’t answer.”
“How many times did you try?” I asked.
“Maybe three for the past few hours.”
This was hardly reason to call the police to do a welfare check. She must be paranoid because Morgan was missing.
“Was there something I can help you with?” I asked.
“I was just calling him to see if there were any updates. I didn’t want to bother you.”
“We’re working on some leads.” I felt like this was the answer I gave her all the time. Maybe because it was.
“You have leads?” she asked.
“Yes, we’re getting close,” I said, hoping to make her feel better.
Now that I had her on the phone I would ask her about Tabitha.
“I’m sure Derek’s fine. There was something I wanted to ask you now that I have you on the phone.”
“What’s that?” she asked.
“This woman Tabitha. Was she friends with Morgan?”
Paige released a sigh. “I wouldn’t call them friends. Though Tabitha seemed to force herself into the equation.”
“Would Morgan have gone to the casino with her?”
“Probably. Just because Steve would have told Morgan she had to be nice to Tabitha.”
“Why’s that?” I asked.
Steve seemed to think that Tabitha was this clueless young girl who needed their help. So Morgan was suspicious of their relationship?”
“Well, I didn’t say that,” Paige said. “But I guess the thought crossed her mind a couple times. Steve reassured her that wasn’t the case. Morgan let it go.”
“How do you feel about it?”
“I don’t know, the whole thing seemed strange. I think Tabitha is odd.”
“Would she be odd enough to do something with Morgan?”
“I just don’t know.”
“Why was she just now telling me about this? Although I had figured that there was a strange relationship between Steve and Tabitha early on. That didn’t necessarily mean Tabitha did anything bad though.
Plus, that left Amber. I couldn’t figure out how she would play into any of this.
“Is there anything else you can think of?” I asked.
She paused for a second. “No, nothing. Thanks for keeping me updated.”
“You’re welcome. And like I said, I’m sure that Derek’s fine.”
He was probably more than fine. “I’ll tell him to call you when I hear from him.
“Thanks. That would be great. Sorry again for calling so late.”
It was now five minutes after ten. Maybe I should get up and go out on the town. No, that would be too much work. Makeup and an outfit. And unlike Derek, I didn’t want to be late for work.
I hung up the call with Paige and laid back in bed. I stared at the ceiling and thoughts of Derek filled my mind. What was he doing? Why hadn’t he answered the calls? Was it because he didn’t know what to tell her? Sure, that had to be it. That was no reason not to talk with her though. Honesty was the best policy with the customers. I wanted them to feel as if they could call me anytime.
I tried to tell myself that was the reason, but I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t get him off my mind. I reached over and picked up my phone from the nightstand. I started to dial his number but then paused. Finally, I hit redial. After several rings it went to his voicemail. It was odd that he wouldn’t answer my calls. Had I made him so angry that he’d already headed back to Savannah?
Chapter 28
It was six-thirty the next morning and I was staring at the clock on the nightstand. I hadn’t slept much for thinking about what had happened yesterday. Curse Derek for dragging me to the gym the last couple mornings. I waited and listened for the knock on my door. When seven finally came, I realized there would be no knock on my door this morning. That was when I decided I’d have to go to the gym on my own. I wasn’t sure what I would do when I got there. Steve would probably be waiting for the chance to question me… or even worse.
But I’d made up my mind and I was going anyway. Maybe it was the wrong thing to do, but I couldn’t just go to the office and wait for something to happen. I jumped out of bed and hurried to the shower. I’d pick up a coffee for a jolt of energy on my way there. After dressing in my usual black yoga pants and pale pink t-shirt, I headed for the door. I wasn’t sure why I was still thinking Derek might be outside waiting for me. I thought of calling him, but then decided this was something I should do on my own.
After a quick stop at Starbucks, I made it to the gym. I admit that I sat in the car staring at the building for several minutes. I pretended to enjoy the last few sips of my coffee, but I was really stalling. Not because I didn’t want to work out, but because I never thought it would get that far. I figured as soon as Steve spotted me he would stop me at the door. He’d either throw me out on my butt or drag me into his office for interrogation.
Finally, I sucked it up and forced myself out of the car. The walk to the door seemed to take forever, as if the longer I walked the further it became. Nothing around me became visible. All I focused on was the door. When I reached the door I released a deep breath and opened the door. As soon as I stepped inside the part-time manager looked over at me. The smile immediately vanished from his face. Uh-oh.
He rushed around the corner and stood in front of me. “Where did you go the other day?”
He looked offended that I’d disappeared. Had Steve said anything about us?
“I was sick,” I said.
He quirked an eyebrow. “You could have said something before you left.”
I shrugged. “I figured you didn’t want me to throw up on you.”
He scrunched his face. “Are you feeling better?”
“Much better, thank you,” I said, looking around the gym for Tabitha.
“Great, I guess you’re ready to work out then.” He clapped his hands.
It was like he’d had five tall lattes and the caffeine had definitely kicked in. I was just having a hard time even speaking to anyone yet. Coherent thoughts weren’t fully forming. I’d kind of been envious of people who could be that peppy early in the morning.
It looked like I couldn’t get out of this one. He walked me over to the treadmill. I still hadn’t seen Steve, thank goodness.
I was still on the lookout for Tabitha. He stuck me on the treadmill and I watched the room in the mirrors in front of me. I could see everyone behind me. Only a couple minutes passed when I spotted Tabitha. She had on headphones and was oblivious to anyone around her. She was headed for the front door. I jumped off the treadmill, something I would get in a lot of trouble for doing. Tabitha walked out the front door. I tried to reach her, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to catch up with her.
I glanced over my shoulder to make sure that he wasn’t coming after me. So far I was safe. When I reached the door I spotted something on the floor. Had Tabitha dropped something as she left? I reached down and picked it up. It was a watch, but I soon realized it wasn’t a normal watch. I thought it was a heart-rate monitor, but it seemed to have a lot of other features. Since I wasn’t a fitness person, I was a little out of the loop. I was sure I’d seen a lot of these around in stores though.
A woman I’d never seen before was working behind the counter. When I looked over she was watching me. She had brown hair pulled back into a ponytail and she wore a black t-shirt with the gym’s logo on the front. She looked away when she realized that I was watching her. I decided to give it a shot and ask her.
I stepped over to the counter. “Do you know anything about these watches?”
She frowned. “Yes, I know about them. What do you need to know?”
“I just want to know more about how it works and what it’s used for.”
I hoped she would answer the questions. It would be a lot faster than me researching on my own. She took the watch from my hand. I glanced over my shoulder again to see if Steve was coming. I was sure I acted a bit paranoid.
“Is it just used as a heart-rate monitor?” I asked.
She shook her head. “No, that’s not all that it’s used for. It’s actually a fitness watch. It counts your steps, calories burned, sleep pattern, and it has a GPS.”
“That’s lot of stuff.”
I bet she was wondering why I asked so many questions. She had to know that it wasn’t my watch.
“I have one just like it.” She showed me her bright pink and white watch.
“How do you get the info from the watch?” I asked.
“I have the software on my laptop.” She plugged the watch into the cable and then to her laptop. “Here, I’ll show you.” If she knew it wasn’t my watch, she didn’t seem to care. I waited as the woman moved her index finger across the mouse of her laptop. “It should download the info on the watch soon.”
“I guess you’re wondering why I’m asking these questions.”
“You wanted to find out who lost the watch so you can return it, right?”
I stared at her. “Yes, that’s it.”
I was glad that she’d thought of that. I watched the screen in anticipation as the info downloaded. The process stopped and then the info popped up on the screen. At first, I wasn’t sure what I was looking for, but then I noticed the owner’s name… Tabitha Gibson. I was right, she had dropped the watch.
“Oh, it’s Tabitha’s watch,” she said.
I had to find out more information before she took it off the screen. “Oh, I didn’t realize it was hers. I can give it back to her,” I said.
There was no way I was letting go of this watch now. I’d take off running with it if I had to.
The woman looked at me, but didn’t refuse.
I leaned closer to the screen. “I’m thinking of getting one of these. What else do you see on there?”