"Maybe you should be rewarded for your service,” I said. "Has anyone ever rewarded you for your service to the coven?"
"Well, I mean, up until your mother married into the Skeenbauer coven, she basically was the coven,” Meri said.
"I'm still a Tuttlesmith witch,” I said. "My last name is Skeenbauer, but that doesn't change that half of my lineage is still with the other coven. But that's not the point. The point is that I want to do something nice for you."
"Like what? Are you going to turn into a genie and grant me a wish?" he asked sarcastically.
"I don't think you can just turn into a Jinn,” I said. "And even if I could, I'm not sure that's who you want granting your wishes."
"So, are we talking like extra bacon and salmon then?" Meri asked hopefully.
"Well, that too. But not just that. I can't become a Jinn, but I'm supposed to be the most powerful witch in the world or whatever. I can do a ritual to grant you a wish."
"Uh oh,” Meri said.
"What? You don't want a wish?"
"You're serious."
"I'm totally serious. Are you in?" I asked.
"What? We're like doing this now?" Meri asked.
"Yeah. Let's do this now. Even you think I need to get back into doing magic. So, let's do some magic."
"Don't you want to open the store?"
"I want to wait until we get the sign,” I said. "It's pretty much set up other than that. I'll do a grand opening or something after the new sign comes and it's installed."
"You haven't ordered a sign," Meri protested.
"I can do that after we grant your wish,” I said.
"I can just wish for a sign."
"Meri."
"Kinsley."
"Come on. Don't be a scaredy-cat,” I said.
"What, are you daring me to do this?"
"Yes,” I said.
"Fine."
We went home, and I pushed all of the furniture out of the center of the living room. After drawing a giant pentagram in the middle of the floor with white chalk, I collected all of my red and white candles. Those were arranged around the edge of the circle, and in between them I drew sigils for wish fulfillment.
When that was done, I lit the candles and Meri and I stepped into the circle. "I'm not sure if I should be in here with you,” I said. "I think I'm going to draw a bigger circle around this one, and I'll stand inside that."
"It's your rodeo," Meri responded.
I took the chalk and drew the circle around the pentagram. Once that was done, I sealed the outer circle with a line of salt and placed rose quarts obelisks and spheres next to each cluster of candles.
I had parchment paper and a dragon's blood ink pen already ready to go. I also had a black marker and a bay leaf.
"Okay, we're going for the double whammy on this one,” I said. "I'm going to write your wish on parchment in the dragon's blood ink. I'm also going to write it on the bay leaf with the black marker. You focus on your wish. I'll burn the bay leaf first and then I'll burn the parchment."
"That's it?" Meri asked.
"I think that should just about do it. We could do an older, more complicated ritual, but this is all it takes. The candles and rose quartz will augment the magic, and so will your intentions. Why, did you want something with chanting and summoning of spirits? I can do that too,” I said.
"No, this is fine,” he said.
"Okay, so tell me your wish,” I said.
"Do I have to?" he asked.
"Well, you could dip your paw in dragon's blood ink and press it to the page,” I said. "Same with the bay leaf."
"Yeah, let's do that."
"Okay,” I said.
I'd kept a bag of supplies inside the circle just in case, and I had a vial of dragon's blood ink. I took it out and carefully poured some on Meri's paw. He put his print down on the paper, and then I used the marker to cover the pads on his other paw. He pressed that one to the bay leaf.
"All right. I'm going to burn them now. Are you ready to stay focused on your wish?"
"Got it. It's in my head. Let's do this."
I burned the bay leaf first. I knew to keep the smoke away from my face as it could be hallucinogenic.
"Don't suck too much of that in,” Meri said.
"Hey, you keep your mind on your wish,” I said. "So, is anything happening? I don't know what you wished for, so I don't know if it's working."
"It's tingling a little,” he said.
"Okay."
"So, do the parchment, I guess."
"All right. I'm going to burn the parchment now. Keep your mind focused."
I lit the parchment and held it out in front of me until it had burned close enough to singe my fingers. When the flame got too close, I dropped it into a little copper offering bowl.
"Anything?" I asked as the flame consumed the last little bit of paper.
Before he could answer, purple smoke came up through the pentagram and surrounded Meri. "I'd say it's working,” he said and then sneezed.
"Are you all right in there?" I asked when the smoke got so thick I couldn't see him anymore.
"I'm fine,” he said, but there was something off about his voice.
"Meri?"
"It's me,” he said, but his voice was so much higher pitched than it had been before.
The smoke finally cleared, and I couldn't believe my eyes. Meri had turned into a tiny black kitten.
"What?!?!" he shrieked when he realized what had happened.
"I take it you didn't wish to be a kitten?" I asked cautiously.
"No!!!!" he hollered, but his voice was so small and cute that it made me laugh.
"What did you wish for then?" I asked.
"Not this!"
"You might as well tell me now. Maybe I can fix it?"
"Oh, no. You're not casting any more spells on me, Kinsley Skeenbauer. What have you done?"
"I granted your wish,” I said. "So, what was it? Just tell me."
"I've always felt a little guilty about some of the choices I've made in this life. I wanted a fresh start. I wanted a clean slate to try and do better."
"Really?" I was in disbelief. "I never would have guessed you ever felt guilty about anything."
"Ha ha,” he said. "What have you done?"
"I mean... this is a fresh start, right? Technically. Maybe you should have been a little more specific," I offered.
"I can't believe this,” he said.
"You're kind of adorable."
"Oh my gawd. Shut up. You're loving this, aren't you?"
"No, of course not,” I said.
"Can you change it back?" he asked.
"I mean, I can try if you really want me to,” I said.
"No. Nope. Uh uh. No way. I'm going to go see your mother. Maybe she and your father can fix this."
"Okay,” I said. "Are you going to come back?" I walked to the front door and opened it for him.
"Probably,” he said and then darted out into the night.
I waited up for him to come back. For a while I was able to distract myself by shopping online for a sign for the store. Eventually, my mom sent me a text letting me know that Meri was on his way back.
Did you fix him? I asked.
He's still a kitten. :-) Don't worry, he'll get over it. she responded.
Thanks, Mom. For trying to help, I mean. I said.
Hey, you gave him what he wanted. He'll be fine. I promise. Now get some rest. I'm going to bed. she responded.
I waited a little while longer, and then there was finally a scratching at the front door. I let Meri in and he ran upstairs without a word. Not only was he still a kitten, but I thought it was possible he was even smaller than I remembered. Had my mother done that, or was it just my imagination playing tricks on me?
When I went upstairs, I found him curled up on the bed. He didn't say anything to me, but I took it as a good sign he wasn't hiding.
He still didn't speak to me after I'd brushed my teeth
and changed my pajamas. I wondered how long I'd be on the receiving end of the silent treatment.
Chapter Sixteen
The next morning, I fed Meri, and while he did eat, he still wasn't talking to me. I'd ordered a sign while I was waiting for him, but it would be a couple of days until it came. I felt myself growing restless at the idea of sitting around the house all day.
Instead, I decided to track down Kevin Shoals and talk to him about his sister, Katy. Well, more about how much he hated Merrill Killian, but I would lead into the conversation with his sister.
I remembered that Jacob said Kevin was a construction worker. That meant the most likely place to find him was in one of the new housing developments.
I got in my car and drove over to the first one I encountered. Only about every third house was completed in Blossom Fields, so it wasn't hard to find one with men working. I parked my car along the closest thing to resemble a curb I could find and walked up to the first man I saw who wasn't swinging a hammer or lifting something heavy.
"Excuse me?" I said as I tapped him on the shoulder.
"You need a hard hat," he grumbled.
"I just have a quick question,” I said. "And then I will be on my way."
"Make it fast."
"I'm looking for Kevin Shoals. Is he working at this site?" I asked hopefully.
"Kevin doesn't work for this company anymore. He's on the crew over in Lilac Meadows. Oh, no, wait, he's over in Weeping Willows. Number thirteen, I think. I'm not sure. You just go over there and ask around. You'll find him."
"Thank you,” I said. "I appreciate it."
"No problem,” he said and turned back to what he'd been doing.
I got back in my car and drove down the main road until I got to The Weeping Willows. Some of the house numbers were spray painted on the street, so I had a fairly easy time finding number thirteen.
Number thirteen was barely in the beginning stages of being built, so all the men were working outside. It also meant I had to park my car way down the block and walk as there were several pieces of heavy equipment in the street.
"I'm looking for Kevin Shoals,” I said to a man who was climbing into a large digging machine thing.
"Right there,” he said and pointed to a guy who was talking to another man. The other man looked like he might be some sort of supervisor, I could tell by his clothes and lack of dirt, so I hung back until they were done talking.
"Hey, Kevin?" I said once he was alone again.
"Who are you?" he asked me flatly.
"My name is Kinsley Skeenbauer. I wanted to talk to you about your sister and Merrill Killian,” I said.
"Why would I talk to you about that?" he asked gruffly.
"Because right now, I'm a suspect. You're a suspect, and so is your sister. I'd like to clear that up for all if us if I could."
"So, what are you? Some sort of private detective?"
"No, I'm the one who found Merrill's body at the diner. I'm really kind of the main suspect, and I want to figure out who killed him. That way I'm not the main suspect anymore."
"So, you think I did it?" he asked.
"I mean, you did hate him, right? You hated him because he wasn't good to your sister? That seems like a pretty good reason for a big brother to go a little homicidal,” I said. "But I'm not here to accuse you. I just want the truth, and if I think it's possible you did it, it's only a matter of time before the sheriff comes around asking."
"Fine. I've got a break coming to me. I suppose I don't mine spending it with you,” he said. "Let me grab my soda from my cooler. I'll be right back."
A minute later he reappeared with a bottle of Coke and a pack of cigarettes. He took out a cigarette and lit it before taking a long drink of the Coke.
"Yeah, I hated the guy,” he said as he exhaled another drag of smoke.
"I've heard it was because he wasn't good to your sister,” I said.
"That's an understatement. The guy was abusive. I was raised that you never put your hands on a woman,” he said.
"So, he hit her,” I said.
"That I'm not sure of, but I know he shoved her and threw things at her. That's all she would admit to,” he said an inhaled half his cigarette in one go. "But that's enough for me."
"You did something to him?" I asked.
"Heck, yeah. I kicked his... butt. But, Katy still wouldn't leave him. In fact, she took his side. She wouldn't even talk to me for a while, but I don't regret it."
“That must have been tough,” I said.
“And then it got worse when he got her using drugs,” Jacob said and rubbed the back of his neck. “She was a good girl until she met Merrill. Heck, he was like twenty years older than her, and he just corrupted her. It’s not like he had money for those drugs either, so Katy was the one buying them for him. She nearly lost her job at the groomer’s over it.”
“She works at the groomers? Paws and Claws?”
“That’s the one. College wasn’t in Katy’s future. Heck, it wasn’t in mine either, obviously, but she did get her groomer’s license and the owner gave her a chance. She’s good. I've tried to convince her a few times to go get her cosmetology license from the beauty school so she can make more money doing people's hair, but Katy loves working with the dogs.”
"She sounds like a sweet woman,” I said.
"She really is, but she's too nice. That's what got her mixed up with the likes of Merrill Killian. Don't take this the wrong way, but I'm glad he's gone. My sister is heartbroken now, but at least she's got a chance to find a good man."
"Shoals!" a burly man called from the job site.
"I have to go," Kevin said. "I hope I cleared some things up for you, and I hope you figure out who did this. It's terrible that you're caught up in all this. I'm pretty good at reading people, and you're no killer."
He turned to leave after that, so I went back to my car. I believed Kevin when he said he didn't kill Merrill. That was good for him, but it left me down another suspect. I wasn't any closer to clearing my name.
Chapter Seventeen
While I was driving, I decided that there were a few things in my shop I wanted to rearrange. The items that would appeal more to tourists needed to be closer to the front while things only real witches would want needed to be all the way into the store. I also remembered seeing a bunch of unused Mason jars in the basement storage and thought it would be a good idea to fill them with some graveyard dirt to sell. Graveyard dirt was good for a lot of things, but most witches didn't want to be caught collecting it. Not that it was illegal, but regular people thought it was weird.
Before I went into the shop, though, I decided to stop by the house and see if Meri was ready to talk to me yet. When I got to Hangman's House, I went inside and he was sitting on the sofa watching the door.
"What?" he asked.
"I was going to go into the shop for a bit. Thought I'd stop by and see if you wanted to join me."
"Fine,” he said and jumped off the sofa.
"Are you okay?"
"I don't want to talk about it,” he said as he sort of skittered over to me. "For gawd's sake, I can't even walk without looking like an idiot."
"It's cute,” I said.
"Shut up."
"Plus, when I take you places, we don't need as big of a bag anymore. You're like a little ninja now."
"I hate you,” Meri said.
"I hate you too,” I said as I picked him up and brought him up to my shoulder.
"I can walk just fine," he snarked.
"I know. Just let me have this,” I said.
"Fine, but I still hate you,” he said and pressed his little kitten head to my collarbone.
We got to the store, and I called the company I'd rented the trailer from to see if they could just come pick it up. The guy on the phone told me there would be an extra charge for that, but since I wasn't really broke anymore, I agreed to it. I gave him my debit card number and then proceeded to start moving things around on
the shelves the way I'd envisioned them.
I'd been there for around an hour when Castor showed up. "Hey, this is really coming together already,” he said from the doorway.
"You can come in,” I said. "It's okay, I promise."
"I'm fine here,” he said. "I've got those keys if you want to come grab them." He really wasn't going to come any further into the store.
"Okay, thanks,” I said. "It really is fine, though."
Just as I said that, there was a loud noise like a pop from the bathroom in the back. That sound was followed by the babble of rushing water.
I ran into the back to find that something was broken on the toilet and it was spraying water everywhere. Water was already starting to pool on the tile floor.
"Oh, no!"
"What is it?" Castor shouted from his place by the door.
"Toilet's broken. There's water everywhere," I called back. I almost panicked, but then I remembered I was a witch... "Wait, I think I can fix it." I tried to sound convincing.
I could fix it, but I didn't want Castor to catch me using magic. I was about to use magic to shut the water off when Castor said something again. He was closer too. Apparently, a broken toilet was all it took to overcome his fear of the ghost who had probably done this.
"I'm going to shut the water off for now," Castor said. "Let me do that, and then I'll call Jerry Sprigs. He owes me a favor. I'll get him in here to fix this today."
"I can do it, really,” I said.
"No,” he said as he walked toward the door. I assumed the water shutoff was outside, but I really didn't know. "I'm the landlord. This is my issue to deal with, Kinsley."
"Okay," I relented. "Thank you."
A couple of minutes later, the water shut off. Castor reappeared in the doorway of the shop. I really needed to get a bell to go over the door.
"I called Jerry. He's working on a job right now, but he'll be buy later this afternoon. Call me and let me know if he doesn't make it," Castor said.
"Thank you, I appreciate it,” I said.
"You going to stay here and keep working, or do I need to get him a key?" Castor asked.
"I'll be here. If I need to use the restroom, I'll go across the square and see if Viv will let me use hers," I said.
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