by Amy Boyles
“No buts,” Mama said. “Now. Come up with a solution to this problem or I will personally encase you in ice and bury you so far down in Antarctica that you’ll never be able to get out.”
The skull hesitated. “There is a way.”
“That’s what I thought,” Mama said, quite proud of herself.
“If you find the person who killed Frankie, I can attach myself to him and make him suffer.”
I clapped my hands. “Sounds like a plan to me.”
Mama raised a palm, gesturing for me to hold my celebration. “So you mean that if we find the killer, you will haunt them?”
“Yes,” the skull said. “I won’t have fulfilled my duty to Frankie, but it will serve me to have done something to remember Frankie by.”
“Yes, she was such a winning person,” Mama said.
I rolled my eyes. “Maybe to the skull she was.”
Mama shot me a look that said she doubted that. She clapped her hands. “Wonderful. Great. Now that that’s decided, it looks like we’ve got a plan. Skull, you will stay with us, but you will not in any way attach yourself to my daughter. Meanwhile, we’ll search out who killed Frankie, even though I’m pretty sure that person has done us a service. I will still fight for justice.”
I wanted to crawl under a table. I know Mama hated Frankie, but did she have to make it so obvious around the skull?
And was I suffering from some sort of existential crisis? Worrying about an inanimate object’s feelings? Perhaps I had issues, too.
Mama eyed the skull. “Do we have a deal?”
Flames shot from its eyes. “We have a deal.”
“Great.” Relief flooded me. “Now. All we have to do is wait for Thorne to catch the killer and we’ll be good to go.”
“You have to do it,” the skull said.
Did I hear that correctly? “I’m sorry. What?”
“In order for me to transfer myself to someone else, you have to find the killer,” the skull explained. “Otherwise the deal’s off.”
Mama and Rose looked at me as if it was the simplest thing in the world.
“That should be easy enough,” Mama said.
“Thorne asked me to stay out of it,” I argued.
Mama released the chain, and the skull hovered in the air. “And when has that stopped us before?”
My stomach folded. Thorne and I were on good terms. I didn’t want to screw that up. Searching for Frankie’s killer would do that. But I also couldn’t let the skull attach itself to me. I couldn’t acquire fire power or else magic would die.
I wanted to go back to bed and start this day over. Was that an option? I had a feeling that no, it was not.
I inhaled a deep breath. “Okay. I’ll search for whoever did this.”
Mama smiled widely. “Wonderful. That’s the best news I’ve heard all day.”
“The day just started,” Rose pointed out.
“Then it can’t get any worse,” Mama added. “Let’s start discussing how to go about this investigation.”
I grabbed a cold biscuit from a plate. Pig snorted at me.
I gave her half of it. “I disagree. This day can get much worse. I’m already up a creek with Thorne. Hopefully he won’t find out I’m about to go behind his back.”
I crossed my fingers, but I had a feeling that wouldn’t be enough. I needed all the pixie dust and luck the world offered. Even that might not be enough to shield me from Thorne’s wrath if he discovered what we were up to.
“Charming, it will all be fine,” Mama said. “Now. Where should we start?”
“I don’t think the three of us should start gallivanting around town asking questions. I’ll head into the mayor’s office, see what she’s thinking. We go from there.”
Mama nodded. “Sounds perfect.”
I started to leave, and the skull drifted toward me. Broom, which had been standing in the corner, shot forward and swatted its bristled head at the skull.
Skull shot fire at Broom, and the flammable object cowered.
I flared my arms. “Broom. Skull. Stop it.”
Broom backed away slowly. I sighed and shook my head at Mama. “Are you keeping the skull with you?”
“I will as long as you keep Broom.”
I thumbed toward the front door. “Come on, Broom. You can help me investigate on the sly.”
Broom hopped across the kitchen floor, making sure to keep a wide berth when it came to Skull. I shook my head. How did I end up with a houseful of objects that wanted to fight? How did I end up with such bad luck?
Broom and I arrived at the mayor’s to a flurry of phones ringing.
“Mayor Dixon’s office, please hold,” India said. She shot me a harried look, frowned at Broom and pointed to the mayor’s door. “She’s been asking about you. I just haven’t had a chance to call. Go on in.”
I brushed past India’s desk and found the mayor with her face flat on her desk.
I gently rapped on the open door. “Mayor Dixon, are you okay?”
She inhaled deeply and sat up. “Oh, Charming. Yes, just trying to stop myself from having a meltdown. Come on in and bring your broom with you.”
“How’s the fallout from the show being handled?”
The mayor shrugged. “The PR company is doing the best they can, but I’m afraid to say I doubt anyone will want to be a contestant. Thorne and his men are working on the case and I want to know what they’re up to, but Thorne is keeping this one quiet.”
I cocked a brow. “What do you mean?”
“He says because of the nature of the crime, since it was broadcast and so many people are aware of it, that he won’t tell me what he’s found.”
The mayor eyed me for a moment. Her gaze, which had been vacant, suddenly shifted, sharpening on me. An idea glittered in her mind.
Y’all, it was obvious. The mayor transformed from a lump of doughy coal into a shark with me stationed directly in her path.
“That is, unless you can get close to him.”
“I’m sorry?”
The mayor licked her lips. “Charming, I need you to find out who he’s investigating.”
“Mayor, I didn’t come here for that. I came to see—”
“But Witch’s Forge needs you. Charming, I need you. Might I remind you that you have a contract with this town.”
I groaned. “Of course I remember.”
“I need you to buck up, discover what you can about what Thorne’s doing. Who he’s investigating. How else am I supposed to deal with the fallout of a woman being murdered on live television if I don’t know what’s going on with my police chief?”
The mayor wanted intelligence. I wanted intelligence. As much as I hated to go behind Thorne’s back, the whole skull scenario pretty much screwed that up for me.
“Okay, Mayor. I’ll do what I can. First though, I need to know what you know.”
She shook her head. “Nothing. But I have it on good authority that if you want to talk to someone who might have a clue—and I know you do—first start with Vic Blass.”
“The host?” How could he know anything?
“Mmm hmm.” The mayor flipped through a Rolodex on her desk. “Vic was there. I haven’t spoken to him, but he was close with Frankie. They were old friends.”
She pulled a card from the circle and handed it to me. “That’s his number. I’m sure he’ll want to help.”
I studied the card. Vic and Frankie had been close, but was it all a lie? Had Vic been the killer?
Only one way to find out. I stuffed the card in my pocket and rose. “Thank you, Mayor. I’ll get right on it.”
Chapter 13
“Are you sure you don’t want a chair for the broom?”
Vic and I sat at a restaurant in downtown Witch’s Forge. He looked terrible. His normally perfectly coiffed hair was messed, and he had dark circles under his eyes.
I glanced at Broom. It stood just beside the table, turning right and left as people passed by. The thing seemed
more jittery than normal. It was quite distracting.
“Broom, can you go stand over there, in the corner?”
Broom pivoted in the direction I pointed, which was at a server’s station where pitchers of water sat out and coffee warmed on burners. It took a moment, but the broom eventually hopped off in that direction.
“Sorry,” I said to Vic. “It’s with me today, and it doesn’t get out much.”
Vic raked trembling fingers through his hair. “No big deal. So. You wanted to talk about Frankie.”
I picked at my strawberry pretzel salad. I’d skipped lunch and gone straight to dessert. “Yes. Do you know of anyone here in Witch’s Forge who might have reason to want her dead?”
“Well, I would, for one.”
I stared at him. “I’m sorry?”
Vic smiled. “She broke my heart, you know, but that was years ago.” He waved a hand dismissively. “It’s not a big deal, really. But I fell hard for Frankie. She didn’t like me, not like I liked her. So it ended. That’s how these things go.”
He shrugged his shoulders as if it was all in the past, a distant memory.
“Do you know of anyone else who might have had a bone to pick with her?”
Vic considered the question. He leaned back, draping an elbow over his chair. “I believe Tex’s family had a connection to Frankie. I think I heard somewhere that she was married to his uncle.”
My eyes widened. “Seriously?”
“I believe so. And Watts, now there’s an interesting fellow. From what I understand, his was a recent move to Witch’s Forge. Really recent, if you know what I mean.”
I cocked a brow. “You’re saying he might have known Frankie was going to come here?”
Vic hiked a shoulder. “It’s possible.”
It seemed like a huge coincidence for Watts to have moved to Witch’s Forge right before Frankie showed up. He did pop up as one of her possible soul mates. But was that somehow planned?
Impossible. I’d never known of such a thing to happen.
“And then there’s your mother,” Vic added.
I bristled. “My mother?”
He jabbed a cherry tomato with a fork and popped it in his mouth. “It was widely said that the falling out between your mother and Frankie Firewalker was epic.”
“According to my mother, all that’s in the past.”
Vic arched a brow. “Maybe. Maybe not. Every time I saw your mom, she was shooting daggers from her eyes to Frankie.”
“That’s a little over-the-top, don’t you think?”
The waitress dropped the check, and Vic snatched it up before I had a chance to grab it. “Maybe it’s over-the-top. Maybe it isn’t. All I know is what I saw.”
He dropped a couple of bills on the table. “But before I’d go around asking other people if they killed Frankie, I’d investigate inside my own house.”
He rose. “Nice having lunch with you. If you need anything else, Charming, anything at all, don’t hesitate to ask.”
With that Vic left the restaurant. I sat in the chair feeling deflated and defeated. What if he was right? What if my own mother had something to do with Frankie’s death?
That was ridiculous. First of all, Mama knew the skull wanted me to find the killer. That was a major point in the skull leaving when this was over. Mama would admit it if she killed Frankie just to keep magic from being destroyed by the prophecy. I believed that.
My gaze drifted around the room until it landed on Broom. A server picked it up and moved to sweep under a table. Broom wiggled and jumped—it apparently did not appreciate being manhandled by someone it didn’t know. The server shrieked, releasing his hold.
Broom skirted across the floor and stopped at my table. At that point everyone glanced over at us. I winced.
“Looks like it’s time to go.”
I grabbed Broom and left.
Unsure of where to go next, I headed back home. Mama’s and the skull’s voices drifted into the hall from the living room.
“That’s when I told Charming that she hadn’t dated a real man in forever and it was time to do so. So she went out with the vampire.”
As if, I thought.
“So you would say that you’re the reason the two of them got together?”
“I would definitely say that,” Mama said proudly.
I glanced at Broom, who bobbed up and down as in a shrug. I entered the living room and leaned against the doorframe. “What exactly is going on in here?”
Mama sat on the couch, her feet raised onto a footstool. The skull hovered in front of her, and a bottle of nail polish dangled in front of it. The brush dipped into the polish. Coral-colored lacquer covered the brown bristles, and the brush proceeded to color my mother’s toenails.
The skull tsked. “It’s as I always say, Glinda, when you’re talking about someone, they tend to show up. Good thing I don’t have ears or else they’d be burning.”
The skull laughed at its own joke.
I stared at it. “Are you painting my mother’s toenails?”
“I am.” Wonder filled its distinctively masculine yet refined voice. “I’ve discovered that there are certain things I like to do. One of those is pedicures. We’ve been having the most wonderful time, haven’t we, Glinda?”
Mama nodded. “We absolutely have. It’s just been great.” She waved her fingers over her finished toes and dried them in an instant.
Mama rose from the chair. “The skull and I have been getting along so well I think you need to consider taking him along with you.”
I gaped. “With me?”
The skull, who wasn’t flaming anymore, floated up, stopping at eye level. “Oh yes. I think I could be an immense help to you. Not that I have a way with words or anything, as I just learned how to speak, but I could make sure you don’t trip over anything. If you need a coffee, I can always run and get it.”
“It can give you a manicure as well,” Mama pointed out as if this was a serious plus to our relationship.
“I don’t need any help.” Not from a skull that talks, at least.
“Nonsense, Charming,” Mama said with finality. “It’s all decided. You take the skull with you. See what you can find out about who killed Frankie. If you need me or Rose, of course we’ll be here to offer assistance, but this is your task. That’s what the skull said, after all.”
Unbelievable. The skull was being dumped on me.
“Do you have any leads?” the thing asked energetically—too energetically if you wanted to know the truth.
“Maybe.”
“Wonderful. Well, I’ll be happy to help however I can. When do we leave? Now? I’m all set. Ready to go.”
“Well, actually, I was coming back here to figure out where to go next.”
“Perfect.”
The skull stared in the direction of the bottle of nail polish. The brush inserted into the body and floated to a table.
It continued talking. “We can get in your car and decide what to do. You have a car, right?”
“Um, yeah. You rode in it.”
“Oh that’s right. Silly me. I forgot.” The skull burst into flames as it floated right on by me. “Now. What are we waiting for? Let’s get to work.”
I shook my finger at it. “You’re not going to try any funny business, right? No trying to attach to me?”
“A deal’s a deal.”
My gaze zipped back to Mama, who smiled widely. “Go on, Charming. I think you’ll enjoy the company.”
From its position in the corner, Broom shuddered. I considered taking the broom with me, but I didn’t want it to get set on fire. There was no telling if the skull would accidentally-on-purpose incinerate the object. I know Mama thought this thing was the bees knees, but I wasn’t convinced.
I crossed to Broom. “Stay here with Mama, please. See if she needs help cleaning things up. I’ll be back in a little while.”
Broom hopped up and down, something it did when it seemed happy.
&nb
sp; I turned to the skull. “Okay, there’s one place we need to go.”
The skull floated toward the door. “Lead me onward, Charming. I’m following you.”
As soon as we stepped outside, I was acutely aware of the effect the skull’s presence had on people. Witches and wizards turned to see the little guy floating alongside me.
“I’ve never been in a car before. Not by myself. I’m usually being worn by someone. When I was alive, we didn’t have cars. I suspect this will be fun,” he said with great enthusiasm. “Do you drive fast? I like to go fast.”
I opened the door. The skull floated inside and I followed. Once we were locked in, I turned to it. “Listen, we are not supposed to be friends, you and I.”
“Oh?” Disappointment filled its voice. “But Frankie was so boring. She never talked to me.”
“Because you couldn’t talk with her. But apparently you have a lot to say.”
“Oh, I do. In fact, I was thinking I’d like to be called Eugene. What do you think?” Without waiting for my answer, it kept on. “I think it’s perfect. Best name I could have thought of. I’m sold. From now on, call me Eugene. And not Gene or any other variation, simply Eugene.”
I took a deep breath and gripped the steering wheel. Lord, help me. How was I going to make it through the next minute, much less the entire day?
“Eugene,” I said slowly, letting the word sink into the skull’s tiny brain.
“Yes?” he said in a perky voice.
“Listen. I need you to lay low. We’re going to talk to a couple of men who were nearby when things happened to Frankie. But I don’t want them to know that one, you can talk, and that two, I have you. Got it?”
“Oh yes, that means as you say, that I need to zip my mouth. No problem there. I can zip all day.”
“Great.” I tapped my finger on the wheel in thought. “The other thing is that you can’t be seen floating beside me. It looks suspicious and Thorne might find out.”
“Is he the handsome vampire you have the hots for?”
“What? Where did you hear that?”
“Your great-aunt and mother filled me in on a lot while you were gone.”
“Apparently,” I grumbled. “He’s the vampire, yes.”
