by Sharon Pape
While I set the security code, Tilly slipped on her shoes. My little blue Prius was parked outside at the curb. Tilly climbed, or more accurately fell, into the passenger seat. I tucked in the edges of her dress and shut the door, before hopping behind the wheel.
Jim Harkens, who handled our family’s legal matters, shared a small, one-story office building with the town’s only dentist. It was less than a three-minute drive from our shops, hardly worth taking the car. But Tilly had arthritis in her hips and corns on her feet. My mother had tried everything in her bag of tricks, but the ailments had proven impervious to her spells and potions. So we drove to our appointment.
When we pulled into the parking lot behind the building, Jim’s big white SUV was the only vehicle there. I pulled into one of the diagonal spots and helped my aunt out of the car. Jim’s office suite was off the short common hallway on the left. We opened his door and walked past Ronnie’s unoccupied desk. She was Jim’s receptionist, secretary, and paralegal all rolled into one. Since she only worked until four, we saw ourselves down to Jim’s office. I knocked on the closed door. There was no response, but it wouldn’t be the first time I’d found him asleep, his padded chair angled back and his feet propped up on his desk. Although he was on the brink of fifty, he’d confided to me recently that early retirement was beckoning with a Siren’s call. I knocked again, then tried turning the knob. Since it was unlocked, I walked in, Tilly right on my heels. The room was dark, bits of sunlight creeping in around the edges of the closed blinds. When I stopped to let my eyes adjust, Tilly slammed into me and sent us both sprawling. If Jim had been awake to see our little vaudeville act, he would have enjoyed a good laugh. But he must have been sleeping soundly.
“Are you okay, Aunt Tilly?” I asked, doing a quick appraisal of my own condition. My left knee had taken the brunt of the fall, and although it hurt, I didn’t think it was broken.
“I’m okay, dear. Just had the wind knocked out of me,” Tilly said. “Guess I have more than enough padding these days.”
Unfortunately she’d landed diagonally across my lower back and legs, softening her fall, but grinding me into the coarse, commercial-grade carpeting. As my eyes accommodated to the darkness, I could see that Jim’s chair was empty. Maybe he’d gone to use the bathroom in the outer hallway. I was gathering myself to stand up, when I realized he hadn’t gone anywhere. He was inches from where I lay, and even in the dim light I could see what looked like a dark bloody halo around his head.
About the Author
Sharon Pape launched her popular Abracadabra mystery series with Magick and Mayhem and followed up with That Olde White Magick, Magick Run Amok, and Magickal Mystery Lore. This Magick Marmot is the fifth book in the series.
Sharon started writing stories in first grade and never looked back. She studied French and Spanish literature in college and went on to teach both languages on the secondary level. After being diagnosed with and treated for breast cancer in 1992, she became a Reach to Recovery peer support volunteer for the American Cancer Society. She went on to become the coordinator of the program on Long Island. She and her surgeon created a nonprofit organization called Lean On Me to provide peer support and information to newly diagnosed women and men.
After turning her attention back to writing, she has shared her storytelling skills with thousands of fans. She’s won widespread praise for her Portrait of Crime and Crystal Shop mysteries as well as the Abracadabra series. She lives with her husband on Long Island, New York, near her grown children. She loves reading, writing, and providing day care for her grand-dogs. Visit her at www.sharonpape.com.