That struck me as odd, but I just said, "Okay then, what can I do for you?"
"Well, the reason I came to Coventry instead of one of the other family members is that Astra owed me money. She owed me a lot of money, actually, and prior to her death, I had no reason to believe she'd pay me back. Mostly because she sent me an email stating that I shouldn't hold my breath waiting for it," Fortuna said. "It was rather rude, and my mother and husband told me not to loan her the money, but there's a fool born every minute. You know?"
"You didn't know her very well, but you loaned her a large sum of money?" I couldn't help but wonder if that was motive for murder.
"I knew Astra well when she was a child. We were close then. I watched her a great deal for her mother, but Astra grew away from the coven as she got older. I loaned her the money partially because of the sweet girl I once knew and partly because she promised to pay me back plus cut me in on the profits from the shop."
"But she told you that wasn't going to happen? How could she have known that? She hadn't been open for more than couple of days,” I said.
"She said that you were determined to drive her out of business and that you'd already gone to rather extreme measures to ruin her," Fortuna said. "She said you broke into her business and set her back for months."
Classic projection. Astra accused me of doing the very thing she'd tried to do to me. "That's reversed,” I said. "She broke into my shop. Smashed my windows and stole some very important stock."
Fortuna let out a sigh. "It figures. What did she take? I can go over there and get it back for you."
"It's already been handled,” I said.
Fortuna raised one eyebrow. "I won't ask you to elaborate as I'm hoping to establish a mutually beneficial business relationship with you myself."
"Oh?" I asked. "You mean you're not here to size me up? You don't intend to take over Astra's shop?"
"Not hardly," Fortuna said with a laugh that let me know she found the idea ludicrous. "I have a life elsewhere. I'm just here in the hopes of recovering some of the money I loaned her. I was hoping to do that by selling you her stock. The coven decided I could do that, keep what I'm owed, and give the rest to the family. Seeing as how you run a very similar shop, I thought you might have use for the stuff. Our coven could use it, but I'd rather have the money."
"Right. That makes sense,” I said. "Well, did you have a price in mind? Or did you need me to price everything for you?"
"I heard all her records were on her business laptop," Fortuna said. "But I left them at the shop, and the laptop has grown legs. I don't suppose you know anything about that."
"Um..."
"Anyway, should it turn up, the value of her stock is there. I'm not looking to make a profit. If I sell everything to you at cost, I should get back what I loaned her. So, keep an eye out for the computer, okay?"
"I will,” I said.
"If you should happen across it and find a total for the stock, you can let me know tomorrow if you're willing to pay. Otherwise, I've got to start contacting auctioneers and wholesale companies to get quotes. I think it would be better for both of us if you are interested, though."
"Okay,” I said. "I'll see you tomorrow then?"
"Yes. I'm staying at the hotel over by the Italian restaurant. I'll come here tomorrow morning after breakfast and before I leave town."
"Deal,” I said.
After that, I let her out of the shop. I was about to turn the sign to open, and Reggie said "Wait!"
"What?" I almost jumped because she'd snuck up behind me.
"We need to get some lunch. I'm starving,” she said.
I laughed. "How about I give you some money and you run over to the Brew Station? That way, I can open the shop."
"Are you sure?" Reggie asked.
"Yeah, there looks to be a ghost tour about to wrap up over there in the square. I want to open before they scatter,” I said. "Don't tell Viv what I told you. Not yet, please. I'll find a way to tell her soon."
"I'm glad she doesn't know yet,” Reggie said.
"What? Why?" I said with a chuckle.
"It means you told me first,” Reggie said. "I know it's juvenile, but it makes me feel special. Like, you really mean it when you say I'm your best friend."
"Of course I mean it,” I said. "I wouldn't say something like that if I didn't mean it."
"Cool," Reggie replied. "Anyway, what do you want to eat?"
"The turkey, bacon, and Havarti croissant with kettle chips and a large hazelnut latte,” I said as I fished the money out of my purse. "This should be enough for that and whatever you want."
"I will be right back,” she said happily.
As soon as she was gone, I turned the sign to open and watched her cross the square. The ghost tour was just about over, and some of the tourists were already looking in the store's direction. I assumed they'd all make their way over once the tour was over. They didn't have any choice because Astra's store was closed.
The Midnight Magic Festival was coming up that weekend, and the town would start decorating for it by the end of the week. Someone from the maintenance crew would be by to pick up the decorations I'd made to decorate our side of the square. I'd have to figure out how to get the swag bags and belladonna garland back from Azriel. I'd made wreaths out of other poisonous flowers as well, but Azriel had it all.
While I waited for customers, I went to my shelves and grabbed a quartz crystal, some dried lavender, and a dram of Fiery Wall of Protection oil. Last, I picked up a small purple velvet bag.
I stood behind the counter and put the items in the bag. After closing it and tying the little drawstrings in a knot, I envisioned a snake of white light coming out of the bag and encircling me. The last step was tying the protection mojo to one of the belt loops on my jeans. I'd made it specifically to protect me from psychic vampires, and I'd done it almost unconsciously when I thought of Azriel.
Was that it? Had he tricked me into opening an empathic link with him using his dog as bait? My skin prickled and my blood boiled at the thought.
Before I could get myself too worked up, a handful of chattering women came into the shop from the ghost tour. "Oh, it smells divine in here. What is that?" one of them asked.
"I have a wide assortment of oils and herbs, ladies. Your energy will draw you to the ones that are best for you,” I said and they tittered excitedly. "Let me know if you need any assistance."
They were walking around for a long time picking stuff up off the shelves and bringing it up to the counter for me to hold. I thought about getting shopping baskets and made a mental note to check the internet for prices. Reggie returned with the food and we stood up front and ate while the women shopped. A few more people trickled in, and everyone wanted to know where we got the food. I happily told them it was from the Brew Station across the square. Viv was going to get a small rush of afternoon business when the women were done shopping.
Eventually most of them came up together and checked out. They left and I watched them walk in a group over to Viv's to get food.
The same thing happened again when the next ghost tour got over. After they were gone, it was about time to close.
"What are you going to do tonight?" Reggie asked as she was sweeping.
"I have to go home and look up how much Astra's stock is worth so I can give Fortuna a quote in the morning. I do have the stolen laptop after all. What are you going to do?"
"I need to go over to the nursing home and sign some paperwork. I'm going to have dinner with my grandmother too."
"Please don't let me forget tomorrow to find out about your health insurance,” I said. "I'm sorry I forgot today."
"Hey, it's been a big day, but I'll definitely remind you tomorrow,” she said.
"Do you need a ride to the nursing home?"
"Nope, I've got my car running again."
Reggie had purchased a car that was older than mine a couple of months back. It didn't run more than it ran. She'd get it fixed and somet
hing else would break, but it would always be fixed over the weekend. I suspected it was her secret man helping her.
"Now that I've told you my secret, are you going to come clean about your relationship?" I said.
"I wasn't hiding it from you, I swear. I just didn't want to jinx anything. It's been very casual up until recently."
"So casual that he's always fixing your car? That doesn't sound casual." I laughed. "That sounds like a man taking care of his woman."
“I promise I’ll tell you all about it soon,” she said and blushed.
Chapter Seven
After Reggie and I said our goodbyes, I closed the shop for the day and went home. I still had work to do, but I needed Astra's computer to do it.
Back at home, I got Meri some bacon as a late afternoon snack and made myself some hot cocoa with a half scoop of instant espresso. It was just enough for a pick-me-up, but it wouldn't keep me up at night.
I set Astra's laptop up at the kitchen table and put the bottle of dried purple leaves from Jemma's house on the counter so I wouldn't forget about them. When Meri finished his bacon, he jumped into the chair next to me and curled up for a nap.
Azriel had removed the password protection from Astra's computer when he broke into it for me, so all I had to do was boot it up and find the folder with her receipts. Adding up how much she paid for the stock was easy, and it took me about a half an hour. When I was done, I emailed myself the totals and receipts so I could show Fortuna the next morning.
When I was done, I closed the windows and was about to shut the laptop when I saw something. It was a folder marked "photoes", and I must have ignored it before because I didn't notice the misspelling.
I double-clicked the folder, and inside I found hundreds of pictures of people. They all looked to be random strangers, and I had no idea why she would have pictures of them in her laptop. The other strange thing about the photos was that they all appeared to be from different sources. Some looked like they'd been taken without the subject knowing they were being photographed. It was as if they were being stalked. Others looked to be professional headshots, and still others appeared to possibly be scans from newspaper stories.
On a whim, I emailed the folder's contents to myself too. I didn't know what it all meant, but I planned to return the laptop to Fortuna, and I wanted to have the photos. It was just a hunch.
I got a text from Thorn a few minutes after I finished. I think I finally found my new hire. I might be able to stop working late soon.
I take it your interview is going well. I'm so happy. I responded.
I think you're really going to like her. She reminds me a lot of you. If I hire her, I'll have to introduce you. was his text.
Despite the fact that I knew I was being stupid, I felt myself prickle with jealousy. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I felt myself get insecure. If he hired a deputy that was a lot like me, but that hadn't upset him the way I had, would he really need me anymore?
I pushed aside the thoughts that Thorn was hiring my replacement and went into the kitchen. The first thing I grabbed from the refrigerator was an onion. I cried while I was chopping it, and it was entirely possible that they were real tears. Tears from frustration and not sadness. I felt silly for putting myself in a position where jealousy was even a possibility. I knew that if I hadn't put a strain on my relationship with Thorn, I wouldn't be jealous. I wouldn't feel threatened by his excitement over hiring a woman to work closely with him that reminded him of me.
When the onions were done, I threw them into the Dutch oven with a couple of tablespoons of butter. While they cooked, I chopped up a green pepper. That went into the pan as well with a pound of ground beef and another pound of ground pork. When the meat was cooked, I threw in three cans of crushed tomatoes and a tiny can of tomato paste. The tension in my shoulders began to relax as I added three cups of broth, Italian seasonings, and two bay leaves.
"Pasta sauce," I said as I looked down at what I was creating.
I brought it to a boil and then reduced the heat to simmer. The last step before I walked away for a couple of hours was to add some crushed garlic. I'd nearly forgotten.
It was just after seven when the sauce was done and my doorbell rang. I'd just finished draining the pasta and was dumping it back into the pot from the colander.
A quick glance out the front window told me it was Thorn. His truck was parked in my driveway, so I knew he'd had time to go home and change.
When I opened the front door, he pulled me into his arms and kissed me. "I've missed that," he said after a moment.
"I made pasta," I responded. "The sauce is almost from scratch."
"It smells delicious. I'm starving."
"Well, let's eat then."
We went into the kitchen, and Thorn poured us drinks and grabbed forks from the dishwasher. While he did that, I plated pasta and sauce for the two of us.
Dinner was quiet. The food was good, even if I did say so myself, and we were enjoying each other's company. Looking back, it was probably that we didn't want to break the spell. There were unpleasant things to discuss, but it was nice to have a few moments of happiness.
It didn't last forever, but it couldn't. While we were doing the dishes, Thorn brought it all up. I was washing, and he was drying.
"So, he kissed you, and you didn't kiss him back?" he asked as I handed him a clean plate to dry.
"I did. I didn't shove him away or hit him or anything. The whole thing was strange. I was so worried that you'd arrest him for something, and I'd never see him again. I mean, I was terrified and being near him felt urgent. It doesn't make sense looking back. It was as if he was someone I knew much better. But when I woke up the morning that I called you, it was gone. I didn't think he was using any kind of magic on me, but maybe I'm naive. Maybe it's not magic in the sense of what I can do, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have some sort of powers."
“But you’re not interested in finding out what the connection between you is?” Thorn asked.
“I mean… no. I guess I’m not. I’d like to find out why he had that effect on me, but I can do research about vampires for that,” I said.
“Because you went back over there again. He’s your alibi for the murder,” Thorn said.
“I was distraught about you saying you had planned on dumping me, and I still felt connected to him at the time. I thought I’d at least want to be his friend, you know? It felt like the empathic connection was real.”
"I'm sorry," Thorn said. "I pushed you away, and I pushed you into this. I should have been more open with you from the beginning. I should have told you I loved you sooner. I guess I didn't want to scare you away."
"That wouldn't have scared me away," I said.
"It doesn't help that I've been working so many nights lately. If I had tried harder to fill the deputy position instead of being so precious about it, I would have been there for you that night."
"But now you will. You're hiring this new woman. The one that reminds you of me." I tried to keep the jealousy and insecurity out of my voice, but the look on Thorn's face told me instantly that I'd failed.
"You know when you say it that way, it sounds like I meant something I didn't," Thorn said. "I'm sorry I made you feel that way."
"But she could replace me, right?" Why not just lay it out there? "You said she reminds you of me, and she hasn't made the mistakes I've made. How could I not feel a little insecure?"
"I've definitely gone and put my foot in my mouth again, Kinsley. And no one could replace you. Not ever. I just meant that she's strong and independent. I'll be able to count on her to work at night so I can be with you. I mean, it's not like I'll be working with her other than the shift hand-off. What's going on, honey? I've got other female deputies. It's never made you feel bad."
"I think it just hit me the wrong way," I said. "The timing of it all, and the info came to me as a text. So, I let my imagination run wild. It wasn't anything you did."
Before Tho
rn could say anything else about our relationship, there was a knock at the door. Meri came skittering in from the dining room.
"Were you expecting anyone?" Thorn asked.
"I wasn't. Viv and Reggie were going to call, but I doubt either of them had plans to drop by. Pretty sure my family would call or text first. Except maybe Lilith. You never know with her."
"It's a vampire," Meri said.
"He's here," Thorn said, and I couldn’t tell if it was an accusation or a question.
"Probably. Unless it's your contact looking for you," I said. "But that wouldn't make sense. Yeah, it's probably him. I haven't heard from him since he carted off my swag bags and decorations."
The knock came again.
"I'll answer it," Thorn said.
"What are you going to say?" I asked.
"I guess that depends on what he wants."
Thorn opened the door, and the look on Azriel's face was surprise. He quickly regained his stone-faced demeanor even as his eyes flicked to me and then back to Thorn. I wasn't sure why he was confused, though. Thorn's truck was in the driveway. Unless Azriel had just never paid any attention to Thorn.
"How can I help you?" Thorn asked in his sheriff voice.
"I'm here to talk to Kinsley," he said. "Can she come out and play?" Something in Azriel's voice was childish and taunting. Was he really trying to pick a fight with Thorn? On my front porch?
"If you're not here for a reason, then I'm going to politely ask you to leave," Thorn said. "Once."
"Kinsley, could you come out here please?" Azriel said. "Surely you're not going to let this man speak for you."
It was then that I felt it. The link between us started to thrum like a heartbeat. I took a step back as if that was going to help. "Meri..."
"What is it?" Thorn asked. "What is he doing?"
I saw Azriel cock his head to the side. "Oh, so he knows. He knows our secrets."
"I know your secrets too, Azriel. I know that the anonymous call the night we raided your club actually came from inside of your club. Got a tip about that, and you and I are going to have to have a sit-down soon to discuss the matter."
Midnight Magic Page 10
