by Joyce
“Then we went to a few other bars.” Brian’s forehead furrowed. “One thing led to another, and we went back to my apartment—”
“I get the picture.” I stopped him from relating any other details I’d be sorry I heard. “I still don’t understand why you were in that alley, Olivia.”
“Well, I forgot something at the last bar we went to. I can’t think what it was right now. I went back to my place after I’d left Brian. Once I realized, I went right back out to find it.”
“You didn’t drive. Your car was still at your house.” Elsie rejoined us.
“Yes. That’s right. I was a little tipsy. I called a taxi, and the driver took me to the bar.”
“And then what?” I asked.
Olivia thought about it. “I don’t know. I was in the alley, and someone came up behind me. I fought, but I wasn’t strong enough. It was terrible. All I could think about was that I would never really know my baby girl.”
“Which is why you called her name.” Elsie nodded.
“Yes.” Olivia tried to wipe a tear from her eye. “I can hardly bear to think about it.”
“It sounds like the same spell that brought me to the tavern by the waterfront,” Brian said. “I didn’t know why I was there either.”
“Maybe the witch planned to kill you too,” Elsie said.
“Maybe.” He considered the idea with an uneasy expression.
“Let’s get started on the locator spell,” I suggested before we got too maudlin to do anything useful.
“Yes.” Elsie picked up her sword. “I hope you know a good one, Brian, my boy, because none of us can remember any of them at all.”
He grinned. “You’re joking, right? A locator spell is easy!”
“Not if you don’t know one,” Olivia said.
“Okay. Whatever.”
He glanced at me, but I didn’t say anything. I was sticking to my original assessment of the situation. It would be good to have a third witch. Brian was an air witch like Olivia. Elsie and I were used to working with that element.
“I’ll need my wand,” he said. “It’s back at the apartment.”
“And you’ll have to put on some clothes,” Elsie observed. “Something spiffy.”
“Too bad,” Olivia murmured.
“I could use a ride to my place.” He pointedly stared at me. “It would be faster than calling a taxi. I don’t exactly have my car with me.
“All right. But let’s hurry.”
We didn’t speak at all on the way back to the apartment Brian shared with the other young men near the community college. My mind kept straying to Olivia going to this crowded, probably messy apartment, to have sex with the young man beside me. She was definitely the wild one of the three of us.
Elsie had stayed at the shop with Olivia until we got back. She was breaking out the elderberry wine that we’d made last summer. So much had happened; summer seemed a lifetime away.
“Cheer up, Molly,” Brian finally said as we pulled into the parking lot for the complex where he lived. “We’ll find Dorothy.”
“Thanks.” I wondered if the rogue witch would give her up that easily. It struck me that finding Dorothy might be the least of our problems. Brian’s magic was young and strong. I could feel it racing through him like quicksilver. It would give our spell a boost that Dorothy’s untrained magic wouldn’t have.
But using a locator spell to find Dorothy was one thing—confronting the powerful witch who’d taken her was another. If there was a spell that could compel the rogue witch to give up Dorothy, I didn’t know it and had never tried using one like it. I supposed that was the price I paid for using magic to take care of housework and make my life easier.
“Have you ever done anything like this?” I asked him, alone in the car with the night and the rain. I didn’t want to sound like a silly old woman, but I felt like one.
“You mean confronting a wicked witch who kills and steals for power?” He laughed. “Sure. All the time.”
“Seriously.” Was everything a joke with him?
He sobered. “I think only members of the council have done this kind of thing before, Molly. I don’t know why they aren’t here doing it now.”
“Yeah.” I looked out the side window. “Me either.”
“Come on inside,” he invited. “You probably shouldn’t be out here alone with the rogue witch running wild.”
I wasn’t really scared to stay outside and wait for him—until I thought about how Olivia was killed. Going inside, now that he’d mentioned it, seemed a safer choice.
There was loud music playing in the stairwell. Footballs and kissing couples occupied the spaces between stairs. Brian hailed some of the people, fist-bumping a few as we went.
Once we’d reached his apartment, jackets, bikes and old food littered the living room and kitchen. We zigzagged through all of it and found the bedroom. No doubt it was Brian’s—his name was on the door.
We went inside and closed the door behind us. I thought that a wand could be a fragile thing, difficult to find in the ruins of a student’s life.
But it wasn’t a problem. Brian’s room was as neat and orderly as the other rooms were a mess. The wand was perched on a table beside the bed. It was made of willow that had been shaped and cut to bring out the most power in it.
“My dad gave me this on my tenth birthday.” Brian lifted it. “We started training when I was really small. He and my mother are both witches. They wanted me to be strong when I grew up.”
It suddenly occurred to me who this young man was. “Abdon Fuller? Are you related?”
“Yes. He’s my grandfather.”
“He’s been a member of the Grand Council of Witches forever.” I worried that we’d said and done too much around Brian.
“He has,” he agreed with a smile. “Or at least longer than anyone else can remember.”
“I didn’t know.”
“Yeah. I’d rather no one put us together, you know? Every witch in Wilmington hates the council. I do too, even though he’s a member. To tell you the truth, he and I don’t get along all that well. You don’t have to worry about me talking to him about all this, Molly.”
“Thanks.” I was beginning to agree with Olivia about Brian. The more I got to know the true man, he seemed like a very nice person. A little more ego than I liked to see in a witch of his age, but not as bad as I’d feared.
“No problem. Guess I should change. Elsie wants me to come back spiffy.”
“I’ll wait in the car.” I didn’t want him to confuse me with Olivia. “I’ll be fine.”
He frowned but didn’t argue. “I’ll only be a minute. This is actually about as spiffy as I get!”
I went downstairs and stopped before I went outside. I hated that my town and my life had begun to make me nervous. I’d never been afraid to be out late at night by myself on the streets. I was a witch. Who could hurt me? But it seemed my glory days were well behind me.
I waited at the foot of the stairs, near the outside door. There was no point in taking foolish chances. Olivia was dead. It could have been me.
Brian was as fast as he’d said. He was wearing jeans and a nice red satin shirt. I knew Elsie would like the red satin. He didn’t say anything about me waiting inside for him. I was grateful that he didn’t make fun of me.
Rain was coming down even harder on the way out. We’d had to park in the back of the building and walk around. I was soaked by the time I reached the car, but the rain was a wonderful, uplifting magic for me. Brian wasn’t as happy with it, though air didn’t truly conflict with water. Elsie would have been very upset.
We got in the car, prepared to leave, when a dark sedan pulled up beside us. It was so close that I wouldn’t have been able to get out my door. My heart started racing. I couldn’t pull forward. There was a car parked in fro
nt of us.
Someone shone a flashlight in the window. I rolled down the glass as I gripped both my amulets. Brian took out his wand.
“Molly?” Joe’s face was wet, his hair plastered to his head. “What in the world are you doing out here?”
I felt my breath catch in my throat. “You startled me.”
Lisbet was with him. She was wearing a heavy yellow poncho and a big rain hat. “I guess so! What in the world are you doing out here at this time of night?”
“I brought something to a friend of Mike’s. You know students—they either have no money or they’ve forgotten that they need to eat this week. I offered to bring some food by.”
Joe peered more closely into the car. “Who is that with you?”
“Hi.” Brian leaned forward into the flashlight’s beam. “I’m Brian Fuller. I’m a student. Friends with Molly and Elsie.”
“Funny.” Joe glanced at Lisbet. “We’re actually here to see you, Brian. Would you mind stepping out of the car?”
“Me?” Brian’s gulp was audible. “What for?”
“We finally found a videotape of Olivia going into a bar,” Joe answered. “She was with Mr. Fuller.”
CHAPTER 30
Fret not thyself with evildoers.
Brian and I ended up at the police station with Lisbet and Joe. I called Smuggler’s Arcane with Brian’s cell phone to let Olivia and Elsie know what was going on. I was disgusted and nervous about the new direction of Joe’s investigation. While we were there, not able to tell Joe the truth about Brian, Dorothy could be suffering somewhere in the night.
Joe and Lisbet split us up. I’d been hoping Lisbet would go with Brian so I could have a moment alone with Joe to clarify what was happening. That didn’t happen.
Lisbet and I sat down together in a small room. She offered me coffee—I said no.
“Why were you with Brian Fuller tonight?” she asked.
I’d thought about this on the way over. I was ready. “Brian is an old friend of Olivia’s. He wanted to talk to me about her death.”
“What about them going out for a drink on the night she died?”
“They frequently went out. The three of us go out together, at least we did.”
“Was Brian the man you said Olivia was dating—the one you saw on the boat, Molly?”
I laughed. “Goodness, no! I could have told you his name if it was! I want you and Joe to catch Olivia’s murderer, Lisbet. She was a very dear friend.”
Her eyes narrowed. I knew finding me with a suspect was another nail in my coffin—so to speak. I’d sort it out later with Joe. Once he understood, he’d stop harassing Brian.
I just hoped it wouldn’t be too late for Dorothy.
“Excuse me.” Lisbet smiled and curtly nodded before she left me alone in the room.
I waited, impatiently, for a long time. Finally, I took out my compact and attempted a spell to find out what was going on.
I held my amulets in one hand and stared into the compact mirror. “Guide me to the one I seek,” I whispered, staring intently into the reflection.
A light haze covered the mirror. Fog swirled in the glass.
I concentrated harder. An image began to form.
It was Dorothy! That hadn’t been what I meant when I’d said the spell, but what a joy to know she was alive. I couldn’t talk to her. She was sitting in a chair, crying. My heart broke when I couldn’t comfort her or ask where she was.
Fog swelled in the glass again, and this time I was able to see Brian and Joe.
Brian smiled and winked at me. He knew I was watching.
“Something funny about my questions?” Joe asked
“No, sir.” Brian focused on him. “Just wondering when I get my phone call.”
“I’m not arresting you,” Joe responded.
Brian got to his feet. “Then I’m going. If you have any other questions, let me know.”
Lisbet walked in, and I shut the compact.
I mimicked Brian by getting to my feet. “Am I under arrest?”
“No.” She smiled. “Of course not, Molly.”
“Then I’m leaving. You know where to find me if you have any other questions.”
She nodded. “Okay. But be careful who you hang out with. You don’t want to end up like your friend.”
I told her I would be careful and held my head high as I walked out of the room. Joe was in the hall. I told him that I’d see him at home and hurried out to the car. Brian was waiting for me.
“Your husband is a cop?” He raked his fingers through his damp hair. “That’s as bad as my grandfather being on the council!”
“He’s really not that bad.” I opened the car and we got inside. “I saw Dorothy!”
“Yeah? With the mirror spell, huh? Good! She was alive, I guess.”
“Yes. I didn’t see who was holding her or where she was.”
“Too bad.”
We discussed the rogue witch as we drove back to Smuggler’s Arcane.
Brian agreed that this was no ordinary witch. “This witch must be formidable. I’ve only heard of a few witches being killed by their own. The council has always gone after them with a vengeance.”
“I know Olivia wasn’t a significant witch, but I don’t believe the council would’ve stood for her death at the hands of another witch if they’d thought there was anything they could do about it.”
The very idea of the witches on the council not being able to control another witch who was bent on murder and stealing as many magic artifacts as she could find was terrifying.
I knew my limits, or at least I thought I did. I knew I couldn’t handle such a witch.
And Joe was caught in the crosshairs investigating the case. I wanted to run home and take him and Mike away somewhere safe until all of this was over.
I didn’t feel secure again until we were back in the shop and I had locked the door behind me.
“We’ve got the wand.” I started down the stairs to the cave. “I hope we can find Dorothy now. I saw her in my compact mirror. At least she’s still alive.”
There was no response. The words echoed inside the cave. I reached the rocky floor and then noticed Cassandra, waiting by the fire.
“Looks like we don’t need it,” Elsie said. “We’ve been busted.”
Cassandra was in a high fit of anxiety. I’d never seen her this way, although I’d never seen her as much as I had the last few days either.
She was tapping her foot on the ground. “What are you thinking? Twenty years of peace with the werewolves, and now they’re up in arms. No witch-on-witch violence—and now we have a witch who was murdered and has become a ghost.”
Mr. Brannigan was back too. “Cassandra’s right. Things are badly askew here.”
“We’ve tried to tell both of you that there was a problem.” I didn’t back down from either of them. It didn’t mean I wasn’t afraid of Cassandra and what she might do. It only meant that I was too frustrated and angry to care.
“So you took it upon yourselves to solve the problem.” Cassandra’s white brow was actually furrowed in indignation. “You should have asked the council for help with this matter.”
“We did,” Elsie reminded her. “You were no help at all. That’s why I turned you into pottery.”
Olivia and I both glared at Elsie for talking before she thought.
“Sorry.” Elsie put her hand over her mouth.
“Oh, that was nothing.” Cassandra’s laugh tinkled around the cave. “I was going on vacation anyway. It meant I got to leave early.”
“In the middle of this crisis?” I demanded.
She studied her fingernails. “I had reservations.”
“Well, you could’ve told us. Now we have dust upstairs everywhere.” Elsie glared at her.
“
Can we please find my daughter?” Olivia requested.
Cassandra didn’t look at her. “Send your ghost away—or I will.”
Olivia humphed but scurried upstairs with the cats.
“That’s so much better.” Cassandra smiled benignly at the rest of us. “I can understand that you’re mourning your lost friend, ladies. But going against the express orders of the council and dragging another witch into it is inexcusable.”
“What’s inexcusable,” I raged, “is the council doing nothing while another would-be witch may be killed. I understand that you didn’t realize this rogue witch was capable of murder. Now that you know, what are you going to do about it?”
“I tried to tell you to stand down. I warned you that the council was worried and might not be able to help.” Cassandra defended what she’d done. “You kept coming up with schemes—like this one tonight.”
“I want to be transparent about my part in all of this.” Mr. Brannigan cleared his throat to speak.
“Never mind. What’s done is done. Don’t think the rest of the council doesn’t know.”
“Good.” I challenged her. “Let’s go see them right now. I’m tired of this game. Let’s see what they can do about it.”
“Your mother’s amulet has made you daring,” she purred.
I felt the amulet grow warm on my throat. I didn’t know what it was capable of. I had to back down. “My quarrel isn’t with you or the council. I only want to keep my family safe. I want to know who killed my friend and why. And I want Dorothy back.”
“I think this discussion is over.” Cassandra stared at me.
I saw fear and uncertainty in her beautiful eyes, but before I could remark on it, she was gone.
“Are they always like that?” Brian asked. “I don’t have many dealings with them.”
“Always.” Elsie yawned. “I don’t know if I can do a locator spell now, Molly. I’m exhausted.”
“What happened with Joe and his partner?” Olivia came in close.
I gave them a brief rundown of what had happened. “They didn’t want to arrest Brian. I’m sure Joe didn’t know what to think, but they let us both go.”