I let out a wistful sigh. No, I was here in Colorado where the weather couldn't decide if it needed to be cold or hot in the fall.
I clicked on his profile to see what information he left open to the public. I could tell that he supposedly lived in Colorado Springs, that he worked as a self-employed wizard, that he was single, and interested in reading, video games, and board games. The only posts I was able to see were a handful of images and a couple random place check-ins. I scrolled through and stopped at a picture of him standing at a booth, his arms wide open, and a look of pride on his face. His grin was almost ear to ear as his eyes shone in the light. Behind him was a table set up with what looked to be potions and charms with a picture frame that held the same red and black mandala that I had seen at Mandy's shop.
Weird.
I made a note of it and kept scrolling. The feed ended with a message saying if I wanted more information I was going to have to friend him.
I leaned back on the couch and grabbed my wine. Would friending him look weird on the same night I ran away from a blind dinner date with him?
Yeah, probably.
My phone buzzed, and I saw a text from Trace.
'Great, chat with you tomorrow' I shut the computer and glanced at the clock. It was late enough to call it bedtime, and then I could go to the shop a bit earlier than normal and do some much-needed paperwork.
Copperfield stared at me the moment I opened the door to the shop the next morning. Either he was confused as to why I was there a couple hours early, or something else was bothering him. It was hard to tell when he couldn't talk. His black fur stood out against the white bars of his cage, making his eyes almost impossible to see.
"What's up buddy?" I opened the door to his cage and pulled out his bowl of food. "You've been awfully dark lately."
His whiskers twitched as he hopped out of the cage. He went straight for his food and ignored me while I went to the back room to grab the paperwork I needed to fill out.
I came back out with my binder of inventory and invoices that needed to be paid. I spread the papers over the countertop away from Copperfield to avoid any bunny mishaps. As he ate, his fur flowed back to the lavender color he seemed to love, and I hoped that meant he was settling down. Maybe a noise had just spooked him or something.
I shook my head and poured over the numbers and vendors on my lists. I made checks out to the ones I owed and made a stack of the ones I had already paid. I was sticking stamps on the envelopes to mail the checks out when Trace came knocking at my door. He held up a coffee and smiled at me.
I straightened up the stack and went to let him in. Free coffee probably would have gotten anyone into the store at this point. I unlocked the door and opened it. When he stepped in, I locked it behind him, and he handed me the cup of coffee.
"Good morning." I wrapped my hands around the coffee and smiled at the familiar warmth.
"I'm not sure if you're talking to me or the coffee." Trace shook his head. "You're in earlier than I expected." He looked at the paper spread over the counter. "And already hard at work, I see."
"Yeah, long neglected paperwork that was piling up in the back, that's all. I'm highly thinking of asking dad if he can take over the paperwork part of all of this. It's my least favorite part, and it'd get him out of the house."
Trace laughed. "Yeah, I can imagine being stuck in the house with your mother would be a trying time. Do they do anything to keep busy?"
"They've apparently taken up playing bridge, and my mother has found a new habit of trying to get me to date because she wants grandbabies."
He stared at me for a moment, and I think he was waiting for me to say 'just kidding.' "Well then…" He went to pet Copperfield. "You said you knew one of the names on the list?"
I nodded. "Yeah, Eli Standford. He was the guy my mom invited to dinner."
"Oh, well, have you called him to apologize for bailing yet?"
I shook my head. "I wanted to at least give him twenty-four hours, so I don't look desperate." I went back to straightening the paperwork. "I also noticed a picture while I was looking at his social media. In the background is an image that I also saw at Mandy's. The black and red Mandala. She had it over her door, and he had it sitting on a table of some sort. I wasn't able to see the caption of the photo because of privacy settings."
"It might just be a coincidence, or maybe he gave it to Mandy. We'll keep it in mind though. Give him a call today and see if you can ask him about Mark and the party, don't mention the pictures though."
I laughed. "Oh yes, that's a great conversation right there. Hey Eli, do you know Mark Leer? Have you seen his naked unicorn pictures?"
"Yeah, let's not do that. If you want, I can call him, but I think you might have more luck since he already knows you."
"Probably, I probably also owe him at least a cup of coffee for bailing on him." I rolled my eyes. "Guess that will work." I closed the binder once all my papers were in order again.
"Speaking of going places. I RSVP'd us both for the charity ball."
I didn't hide my groan. "I wasn't sure if I wanted to actually go."
"Too bad, you're going." He turned to leave. "Let me know what Eli says. I'll text you the number that Mandy gave me for him."
He unlocked the door, and I locked it after he left I looked at Copperfield. "I'm going to have to go dress shopping aren't I?"
He twitched his nose and jumped off the counter, using boxes to get down, and went to wander the store. Silly bunny.
I returned the binder to the back office and walked the envelopes to a nearby mailbox so that my vendors got paid. I walked back into the store to find a customer standing at the counter.
"Can I help you?" I asked, and the man turned around and flashed a bright smile at me.
"Yes, I've heard you're the witch helping on my brother's case. I'm Mortimer Leer."
"I'm consulting, but that's all I can tell you. All the information is classified under client confidentiality." I smiled at him. "Now, if you want to purchase a magic trick, I'm happy to help you there."
He laughed. "A buy-the-book consultant huh? Look, I just want to let you know about my sister-in-law."
I raised a brow. "You should probably talk to the PI on the case if you want to share information."
"No." All humor drained from his face. "I don't trust non-magical people. They don't understand how things like this work. You do."
I wasn't exactly sure what he was talking about. I was magical, yes, but I wasn't the same type of magical. I didn't carry the gift of sight or the ability to talk to ghosts. "Okay, what about your sister-in-law?" I grabbed a notepad from the counter and a pen.
"She's actually the mastermind behind the business. She's the one with the gift, of sight, and he's the puppet."
I watched him carefully, looking for any clue he was lying, but I was never good at telling if people were lying to me. "So he's just a front man? Is she telling him the predictions?"
"He's using the simple tricks of gathering information and grasping at straws. Think like the old stars who would do it on television. Anything that he got correct, she told him through an earpiece. Watch the tapes, see what I'm talking about." He pulled out a CD case and laid it on the counter. "Just trust me on this."
"How can we get a hold of you in case we have questions?"
He laid a black business card down on the CD case. "My contact information is here." He turned around and left the shop.
I waited a few minutes before I texted Trace to let him know that I had something interesting for him. It was easier for him to close his office than me to close the store. I could lose business, his business was by appointment.
A few minutes later Trace walked in while I was working with a customer to find the perfect magic trick for her daughter's birthday. Trace waited patiently, idly looking at toys and tricks as I check
ed the woman out.
"I hope she enjoys it."
"I think it'll be great, thank you." She gave me a friendly smile and walked out. Trace strolled up to the counter with his hands in his pockets.
"So, something interesting huh?"
I nodded and pulled the CD and business card out from under the counter. "Mark's brother dropped this by. Does the name Mortimer Leer ring any bells?"
He looked at the card and flipped it over and then over again. "Just a name and a phone number, nothing else."
I shrugged. "Some people hand them out as contact cards and not for business purposes, just networking things. He says that Mark isn't the one with the gift, but that his wife is. That she was talking to him through a headset during the shows." I tapped the CD. "Apparently that is tapes of the show."
Trace nodded. "And why didn't he come to me with this?"
"He wanted to give it to someone who was magical, said I would understand." I shrugged and went to pick Copperfield up.
The rabbit jumped out of my arms and into Trace's. Traitor.
"And do you understand?"
"Nope, I'm not really sure what he was getting at, but at least he was willing to give us something?"
He scratched Copperfield's ear. "Yeah, but the thing is, Chloe never mentioned Mark having a brother. She said any family he had was estranged. Why would his brother come poking around now?"
"And how would he know that we were on his brother's case?"
"I'll look into the name and watch the tape while you run the shop. If I find anything, I'll come talk to you about it. Especially if I don't understand it." He winked at me and walked out of the shop. With my rabbit.
I rolled my eyes. That man needed his own fuzz ball creature to keep him company. He didn't have to take mine.
I went back to keeping myself busy helping customers for a couple of hours. About an hour before closing, my best friend Jenny came bouncing in with a grin.
Jenny and I had been friends since childhood, and there was never a dull moment when we were together. Once she had convinced me to pull wine out of a hat, and well, now I have wine-colored carpet and drapes.
"Evening my love." Jenny threw her arms around me in a hug. "Where's the bunny?"
"Oh, he's apparently spending the evening with Trace because he carried him over to the office."
Jenny raised a brow. "You're sharing your pet with your storefront neighbor?"
I shrugged. "They've made friends. What can I say."
"Okay, okay." She waved her hand like it wasn't important. "Guess what!"
"What?" I leaned on the counter and watched as her eyes lit up with whatever news she was dying to tell me.
She waited a moment to drag out the suspense of her answer. "I have a date, but I need to go dress shopping, and you're coming with me!"
"On the date?"
She gave me a deadpan look. "No, dress shopping."
"When's the date?"
"Tomorrow night. So we need to go tonight or tomorrow during the day." She grinned.
I tried not to run my hands over my face. "Okay. It's going to have to be tonight because I have to open the shop tomorrow. I need a dress anyways."
"Oh? Date?"
"No, not really, I'm going with Trace to a fundraising dance."
She grinned. "Great, let's do it." She tapped her hands on the glass of the counter. "Go get your rabbit and let's go!" She ran back out of the store with a burst of energy that made me wonder how much coffee she'd had.
It took me a few minutes to get the shop shut down and the money in the safe. When I popped my head back up, Trace was knocking on my door holding up Copperfield. I flicked my wrist to unlock the door, but the deadbolt clicked back and forth five times without fully unlocking. I rolled my eyes and went to manually open the door.
I took Copperfield from him. "Did you two enjoy your afternoon together?"
"I think he's stolen and hidden my pens."
I scratched his ears and put him in the cage, locking his door. "Why would he take your pens?"
"I don't know, but all my pens with the metal clips are gone." He shrugged. "I haven't had a client in there today, so I assumed it was your bunny."
I shook my head. "If it was, then there's a pile of them somewhere. He likes to bury anything he collects. I'm going dress shopping with Jenny tonight. Did you find anything on the disk?"
He shook his head. "No, maybe, I really don't know what I'm looking at. Want to take it home tonight and watch?"
"Sure, I could use some entertainment after dress shopping. Anything particular I should look for to wear to this event?"
"It's a costume ball, get creative." He laughed and handed me the disk. "I'll see you tomorrow."
I nodded and put the CD in my purse before walking out after him and locking the door behind me. Jenny was standing by her parked car in front of the shop.
"I'm driving, and then I'll drop you back off here after we find dresses." She turned and smiled at Trace. "Hello, Trace, nice to see you again."
"How ya doing, Jenny?" He nodded to her. "I'll see you tomorrow, Lacey. If you see anything on the disk, let me know."
I patted my bag. "I'm on it, but first a dress for the ball."
Jenny giggled and pulled me toward the car. I got into the passenger side and shut the door. She practically jumped into the driver's side.
"A ball? With Trace? And it's not a date?"
I rolled my eyes. "It's not a date. We both happened to get an invitation to the same charity event, and he RSVP'd us because he knew I was going to chicken out." I shrugged. "You know how I am with large crowds and people. What if there are magical people there and I screw up magic for some reason?"
"Do you plan on performing magic at this event?"
I shook my head. "But you never know what might happen."
"I think you've put way too much thought into this. Come on, let's go find a fun, fluffy dress for you! And a nice sleek black one for me."
CHAPTER FOUR
I walked out of the dressing room in a massive dress that was a cross between a wedding dress and the dress from Beauty and the Beast. "What on earth possessed you to pick this out?" I batted at the massive amounts of tulle under the dress.
"It's a costume ball, right? Curl your hair and pull it up just a little bit and then boom! You're Christine from Phantom of the opera."
I looked down and then looked at her. "Seriously?"
"Yeah, seriously. I might have gone and talked to Trace about his costume already."
I gawked at her. "When?"
"While I was waiting for you to shut the store down. Did you know he's misplaced all his pens?" She mused as she fiddled with the dress. "You're going to need to tighten the top more."
"Can we move on to your dress now?" I moved back into the dressing room and wiggled out of the dress. She'd been handing me dress after dress since we'd walked into the formal dress store. Now I wanted to know about Trace's costume. "Hey, Jen, what did Trace say his costume was?"
"Not telling you!"
I rolled my eyes. My guess was something from Phantom of the Opera since she was trying to dress me as Christine. "Okay, let's get this one so we can go get your little black dress." I got back into my own clothes and sighed at the comfort the jeans and t-shirt provided. I walked out of the dressing room with the dress hung over my arm. "You know, I'm not…" I paused as I realized that Jenny was missing. I ventured further into the main area of the store, and a familiar magic made goosebumps rise over my skin. Salazar.
Salazar was a wizard that tried to kill me last year on my first case. He was supposed to be in police custody. My heart sped up and tried to climb up my throat. It had to be my imagination. There was no way he was here. No way that he'd happen to still be in town and in the same store if he had been released from jail.
"Hey." Jenny stepped up next
to me. "You okay? You look a bit pale."
And like that, his magic was gone. I nodded. "Yeah, sorry. Thought I saw someone familiar." My eyes scanned the store before I took one more step forward.
Jenny nodded and walked with me to the cash register to pay for the dress. I laid the gown on the counter and smiled at the lady behind the register. She smiled back and went through her motions of ringing it up. Jenny leaned on me. "It's a really pretty dress. Hopefully, you'll have somewhere else to wear it after the ball."
"I should have just rented one."
"Yeah, but what's the fun in that when you can own a princess dress?" She nudged me.
I handed the lady my debit card, trying not to cringe at the price. It wasn't that I didn't have the money. I just hated spending the money. She bagged the dress and handed it to me. Once again, I flipped it over my arm, and Jenny and I walked out of the store and into the mall. "Let me drop this off at the car, and I'll meet you at Dress Forever?"
She nodded. "Don't be too long. We both still have to shop for shoes."
I cringed. "I can't go barefooted?"
"Um, no, I'm pretty sure that's frowned upon." She snorted and tossed me the car keys. "Go drop that off. I'll see you in a few minutes."
I nodded and walked out of the store into the mall. The halls were fairly empty, but being close to closing time that wasn't unusual. When I reached the parking lot, I took a moment to remember where we had parked. Finally, I spotted the tail end of the car and strolled out to it. I unlocked the car with a click of the button and laid my dress in the back seat, before shutting the door.
"Have you looked at the tape yet?" Mortimer's voice made me jump in the air.
What was he doing here? I put a hand against my chest, attempting to calm my skipping heart.
"I gave it to Trace to look at during the day. I'll be looking at it tonight to see if there was anything he missed. I can't discuss this with you. I've already told you that."
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