“You know Mick, this job might be getting to you.” I held the glass in the air pointing at him. “Maybe you need to tell Burt you need a vacation.”
“I’m not crazy, Maggie.” Anger oozed out of his pores. “There is something about you and that car I have yet to put my finger on. But when I do. . .”
“Gotta go do my job, partner.” I winked and headed toward Tawny Fawn as she entered the tent for her big grand approach.
I held back as the lights in the tent swirled and twirled in circles until they finally focused on Tawny in the back of the tent. The crowd erupted into cheers and cat whistles. Tawny, in true Kentucky southern charm, made her way through the crowd giving a little wink and wave. The lucky women who got the southern “hello” nearly fainted.
My eyes drew to the front; Mick was standing near my table with a tray. Someone exchanged his tray for a tray full of champagne, letting Tawny sweep one off and hold it up in the air.
Leonard dear held a microphone up to her lips. Everyone waited with baited breath to hear what wisdom was going to cross Tawny Fawn’s lips.
“Cheers.” She smiled. The crowd toasted her. She sat down.
That was it? My eyes darted back and forth, around the tent taking in the crowd who seemed to be happy with her one word toast. I made my way back to my table.
“Maggie,” Tawny whispered with a smile on her face. She and I both knew all eyes were on her. “I know you are here to play the part, so play the part. Don’t make me look like a fool in front of my real employees. People who love me.” She held the champagne glass in front of her lips as she continued to spout, “I’m doubtful anyone is doing what SKUL believes is going on around here. So I’m sure this will be the only time I will see you.”
“Mom?” Tessa sat across the table from us. There was an awkward smile on her face, her eyes slid between her mother and me. “Is everything okay?”
“Yes, lovely.” Tawny lifted her hand, Leonard dear rushed over to refill her flute.
“Are you sure?” Tessa was the spitting image of her mother. She stared at me.
“Yes.” Her mother lifted her chin and looked around the room.
“I’m going back to the bar.” Bo stood up and adjusted his khakis. “Can I get you another wine?” He looked at Tessa who agreed. “Another bourbon?” He pointed to me.
I nodded.
When he was out of hearing, Tessa leaned in.
“It’s not good manners for a Mystic Couture sales girl to get all drunk.” She was now glaring at me.
I ran my finger under my nose, giving sweet Tessa a little stomachache and a bad case of the irritable bowel syndrome.
“Tessa,” Tawny scolded her daughter when a loud belch come out of Tessa’s mouth.
“Excuse me.” Tessa stood up. She held her hand on her stomach. Sweat beaded up on her forehead. A line of sweat on her upper lip. “I’ve.” She heaved. “Got.” She heaved again before she ran off.
“Leonard dear,” Tawny threw her hand in the air yet again. Leonard dear came running. “Please stay with Tessa and make sure she’s okay,” she ordered him.
Like a good employee, he did what she asked.
“Where did my lovely wife run off to?” Bo asked sliding my drink across the table.
“She wasn’t feeling well.” Tawny and Bo continued their conversation while I got lost in my drink.
People continued to mingle, waiting on the dinner portion of the meeting. My stomach was growling. It was time for Tawny to take the stage. Bo had gone into the mansion to take care of Tessa. Mick continued his post as a waiter, walking around the tent with an empty tray most of the time.
“Welcome to Mystic Couture!” Tawny Fawn’s voice echoed throughout the tent. Her talking was better magic on these people than I could have performed. “I’m thrilled to have everyone here to launch the special limited edition of Mystic Couture. You will find the samples in your take-home goodie bags on your way out. But tonight is filled with magic and color.”
The crowd roared, exploded in cheers and chanted, “Mystic Couture.” Tawny stood with her hands out to her side, taking it all in.
“Mystic Couture,” I chanted, clapping because it was infectious. I was getting drawn into the whole cult-like atmosphere.
Mick walked over and whispered, “Nice job fitting in.”
“What exactly am I looking for?” I asked him. All I knew was I was supposed to infiltrate the system but once in there I had no idea what I was looking for.
“Congratulations Maggie Park!” My name echoed into the crowd from the speakers. “You are this year’s Mystic Girl!”
“Mystic Girl?” I looked over at Mick, who was smiling ear-to-ear. “Mystic Girl.” I could get use to that name.
I was sort of proud of myself since I hadn’t sold even a smear of lipstick. Granted, it had to do with the agency getting me in, but no one here but Mick, Tawny and me knew.
The crowd was hooting and hollering. I looked down at my lap and ran my fingers over my face to touch up any makeup flaws before I stood up and made my way to the front where Tawny was motioning me to come.
“Look at this flawless Mystic Couture face!” Tawny clapped. She leaned over and whispered, “Brilliant on taking your sample and putting it on.”
I had no idea what makeup my magic had chosen, but apparently it was the new limited edition colors.
“Look at these colors.” Someone gave Tawny a box with Mystic Couture scrolled on top. “Maggie is gorgeous, but the limited edition really brings out her natural features.”
I felt like I was on display, and a little uncomfortable. It would only take a little whip of my finger to get this night over and done with, but that wasn’t what I had signed up for. I had to keep my family safe and sound. The thought of the informant leaving a cat collar at the house sent chills up my legs. I couldn’t help but feel like someone else in the informant’s little circle knew about me.
After Tawny’s little introduction and pinning the MC diamond pin on my shirt, we sat down for dinner. No wonder Tawny was so skinny; she excused herself from the prime rib dinner to go check on her daughter.
“I’ve never heard of you.” One of the Mystic Couture sales girls sat on the other side of me. “I mean, I don’t know all of the girls, but I do most since I’ve been around for about ten years.”
“Ten years?” I asked. “That’s great.”
“Now that you will be selling international as a Platinum member, I just might take you under my wing.” She slid her knife through the prime rib like it was butter. Drea Philpot was on her nametag and she must’ve been someone, sitting at the big table.
“That would be great, Drea.” I took a bite of the roll and continued to watch out for Tawny.
“This is Dan.” Drea ran her long red fingernail down the arm of the man next to her. He was bald. His jaw was set. He had a dimple in the middle of his chin. “He’s so supportive. In fact, he has now retired since I’ve moved up in the Mystic Couture ranks. I was top saleswoman two years in a row.” She tapped the two pins on her black suit coat.
“Nice to meet you.” I nodded politely at Dan. “That’s wonderful.” My oh shit meter went off. Was Drea not happy that I had knocked her off the throne? Little did she realize I had never even sold a bit of Mystic Couture.
“That’s why I was surprised when Tawny called to tell me I wasn’t going to be the Mystic Girl. I mean,” she cleared her throat, “I’d never seen you in the Mystic Couture Magazine as a top seller or even at the events. But I guess I don’t know it all. Tawny does.”
“I’m not really sure how the Platinum membership works,” I groaned under my breath. This whole mortal thing without magic was hard.
“It allows you to travel internationally and sell to our biggest clients overseas,” Drea had said the magic word. International. Wasn’t that what Mick was trying to find out? “Don’t worry,” She waved me off. “The Platinum package you get will have your list of international clients in there.”<
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“Would you like a refill?” Dan asked holding his glass in the air.
“Yes, thank you.” I smiled and looked at Drea. “Do you need a drink?”
“She doesn’t drink.” Dan kissed Drea on the top of her head and he disappeared into the crowd.
“He hates to discuss the business, but he loves the fact he was able to retire.” Drea picked up her glass of water and took a drink. “Don’t get me wrong. He loves not working like he used to. I keep him busy.” She winked.
“How so?” I asked.
“You will find that you will be so very busy being a Platinum member since there are so few of us and we are the only ones who have international clients. Getting the shipments to the airport in a timely manner can be hard, so Dan does a lot of the mailings for me.” She pointed to the large banner hanging behind me with Tawny’s larger-than-life portrait. “You are going to find out that being a Platinum member is your golden ticket in life.” She reached into her sequin handbag and pulled out her phone. “Let’s exchange numbers so I can help you out with all the international stuff. It can be tricky for a first timer.”
We exchanged our numbers. I was glad to have someone from the inside willing to help me because Mick wasn’t.
“Tell me,” Drea sat back in her chair. “What is the market you are selling to? I mean, you have to be selling way more than me and I know that’s a lot.”
“I have a little niche market who love Mystic Couture. I’m very blessed.” I picked up my bourbon wishing Bo or Dan would come back to the table and bring me another one. “If you will excuse me.”
I stood up and placed the napkin on the table and excused myself. Mick wasn’t too far behind.
“Where are you going?” Mick asked.
“I’m going in to find Tawny, who by the way doesn’t believe something is going on.” I stopped once inside the screened porch, away from the tent. Twisting my finger, I made a little secret, invisible bubble around us so we could talk openly.
“Maggie,” he said in a brittle voice. He frantically looked around us. “You are undercover. You cannot go around talking openly.”
“No one is around.” I gestured, wanting to let him in on the little spell bubble, but didn’t. “Tell me what am I looking for now that I’m in?”
“We believe there is an insider smuggling drugs internationally and we aren’t sure where the leak is.” He sucked in a deep breath. “As a Mystic Girl, you get insider information to who ships internationally.”
“How are they smuggling drugs when the airport has all sorts of drug dogs and cops around?” I questioned him.
“Money. It all boils down to money.” Mick darted back out the door when we heard footsteps coming closer. My little spell time must’ve been up.
Money? Did he mean someone was being paid off? I just found it strange Tawny didn’t have a clue if someone was smuggling drugs through Mystic Couture. She seemed to have her pulse on all the transactions going on with her business.
I slipped into the mansion to see if I could talk to Tawny. I had no clue what I was looking for, but maybe she could give me a little tip on how the Mystic Girl thing works. I had to at least get a good sense before I even called Drea about it. I could wave my hand and twitch my nose all I wanted to, but it wasn’t going to help me learn how to play the part of the Mystic Girl.
The buttercream walls played throughout the mansion. The only room that didn’t have marble flooring was the gathering room off the back porch. There was hardwood floors and cathedral ceilings with floor to ceiling windows and a large stone fireplace on the far end. I found my way back to the front of the house and crept up the stairs counting on Tawny to be up there checking on Tessa. Once up at the top, I took a quick look around. Several doors lined the right and the left. I picked the right, opening and peeking in every door, stopping at the one where the moaning was coming from.
“Tawny? Tessa?” I called into the bedroom. The four-poster bed had a fancy pink, lacy canopy on it. It was definitely a little girl’s room, which could only be Tessa’s since she was Tawny’s only daughter. There was a dollhouse that stood as tall as me and furnished with what looked to be very expensive replicas of the furniture in the mansion. A velvet pink chaise was in the corner of the room, near the window, loaded down with dolls and stuffed animals. Arranged in a perfect way. Not thrown on like normal kids.
“Help,” the audible gasp came from the open door near the bed.
“Tessa?” I asked again, wondering if it was the bathroom and she was on the toilet.
What was wrong with me? I screwed up the innocent cat spell and now this? I didn’t mean for Tessa to have a stomach blowout.
The room was the bathroom and had beautiful gold accents. There was a large bathtub that could fit at least ten people and a glass shower with those fancy showerheads that didn’t leave a bit of soap on any part of your body.
“Please.” The voice came from the door in the bathroom.
“Tessa, it’s me. Maggie Park,” I called my name before entering what was a walk-in closet that was the size of my bedroom. “Tessa?”
I ran over to the “red section” of the organized closet where there was a pair of legs sticking out. Only the legs weren’t those of Tessa. It was Tawny.
I parted the clothes and bent down next to her. There was blood seeping from her head. Her beautiful blond bob was tinted orange.
“Tawny, what happened?” I questioned, my heart pumping.
“Red,” she gasped for air. “Red.” Blood rushed from her nose and she coughed out blood.
“Red?” I asked. “Hold on.” I lifted my hand in the air. I wasn’t sure if I could save her, but I knew I could get more time for her to get out the information I needed about red.
“No.” She tried to spit the blood out. “Red.” Her head rolled to the side. Her eyes open and fearful as though they were telling me about the evil I felt hanging in the air.
“Maggie!” Mick appeared out of nowhere. “What in the hell is going on?” His eyes drew on my raised hand and down to the floor. “Tawny!” He grabbed his phone, pushing me out of the way. He rambled on to someone on the other line, but my mind was too busy racing to even listen to him.
Tawny Fawn was dead.
Chapter Seventeen
“Are you sure you are okay?” Mick leaned up against Vinnie, facing Belgravia Court as I stood on the sidewalk.
He had followed me home from Tawny Fawn’s after the police had come to take over the scene. SKUL didn’t want us to break our covers so they sent us home.
No, I wasn’t okay. The image of Tawny’s lifeless body that’d been so full of life a few minutes before I had found her was now burned on my brain.
“I did a lot of mental digesting trying to forget about the informant at the warehouse and seeing him shot, but this.” The lump in my throat wasn’t going anywhere. It was stuck. I couldn’t swallow the image of Tawny’s dead body like I had the informant. “Tawny was an innocent woman. She didn’t deserve to die.” My eyes filled to the rim with tears. I brought my hand to my mouth. “Do you think someone knew about us? They knew she was helping us?”
Mick pushed off of Vinnie, stepping up on the sidewalk next to me. Vinnie beeped. Mick looked back at him.
“Security alarm sensitive,” I lied to explain why Vinnie let out a beep of disapproval of Mick getting close to me.
“I don’t know much about vintage cars, but yours is very sensitive. Is it street legal?” Mick kicked Vinnie’s front tire.
Vinnie went nuts. His horn beeped and tooted, the lights strobe off and on. Then his hood flew up in the air.
“I, um. . .” I rushed over and jabbed my keys in the door.
“What in the hell is wrong with your car?” Mick peered in the door after I jumped in.
“I have to shut the door to get the alarm off.” I pushed him back and slammed the door. “Dammit, Vinnie.” I scolded my snarky familiar.
“I’m not happy with him getting so close
to you. Your life’s journey doesn’t include a relationship. It is the SKUL case. You were meant to help on the investigation of the case, not Agent Jasper’s heart.” Vinnie’s dashboard trickled up and down with bright red lights.
A tap on the window caused me to look. Mick’s face was squished up against the windows with his hands shielding his eyes so he could get a look inside.
“Plus he looked like he was going to hug on you. That is not acceptable.” Vinnie’s anger heated the seat under me. “I’m your familiar. Let me do my job.” The lights went out. Vinnie shut down. It was his way of telling me he was not going to discuss this situation any further.
He was right. Mick and I were only working on the investigation together. He was just a piece of my life’s journey. After this case, I would put Mick behind me and my family’s secret would be kept.
“Your mechanic isn’t very good.” Mick’s brow cocked, his teeth glowed in the dark. “That car has some issues.”
“No, it’s fine,” I assured him, rubbing my hands up and down my arms. Though the air was humid, I was chilled to the bone.
“What is going on out here?” Mrs. Hubbard called out from the top step of her front porch. She had on a housecoat, her hair curled tight all over her head in pink cushy curlers and King tucked under her arm.
“My car alarm went off, Mrs. Hubbard. It’s okay now,” I answered her.
“I’ve got my eye on you!” she screamed jutting her finger in the air. “All of you! I’m not sure which one of you tore up my flowers, but I know it was one of the Parks! I told the council too!” She screamed louder, “Next time I’m calling the cops!”
“Cops?” Mick’s eyes slid toward me.
“Nothing.” I sucked in a deep breath. With the night I had, I didn’t have time to figure out what happened to Mrs. Hubbard’s fake flowers. That was the last thing I needed to investigate. “She’s all in a tizzy about her flowers. They are fake as in plastic.” The sound of it made me smile and giggle. “It sounds silly, but she believes she can win the Hidden Treasure Garden Tour blue ribbon with them.”
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