Upheaval!

by Deborah Martin

  “Oh shut up,” I said. Apparently, out loud.

  Gregory gave me a gimlet eye.

  “I wasn’t talking to you,” I retorted.

  Gregory choked. “Fudge talks to you? How old is he?”

  “No idea. He claims over a thousand years. Will you turn the heater on?”

  Gregory started the car and turned the heater on full blast. “You are so lucky, Amy. I’ve only known a few witches and wizards who got a very old familiar. They know so much. Treasure him.”

  Fudge preened. I thumped him on his head but he continued looking smug. A minute or two later, warm air was coming out of the vents. Fudge and I leaned into it.

  Chapter 15

  All that fresh air and exercise must have done me some good. I didn’t wake when the sun hit my window Sunday morning. Some time after the sunlight had moved across my bedroom floor I woke in a panic, thinking Gregory would be knocking on my door for lessons in just a second or two, only to remember that he’d given me Sunday off with the admonishment that I should at least read the next chapter in my workbook. Wasn’t going to happen. I was accustomed to writing at least one full day every weekend and I wasn’t about to break up my routine completely. Not to mention that all the time I’d been spending with him recently meant I had more information with which to flesh out my new wizard character – I wanted to get it all down.

  So, I wrote all day Sunday. Monday was back to my new routine: up with the dawn, check social networking, read a chapter in my magic book, lecture by Gregory, write in the afternoon and evening.

  Tuesday was the same except I was beginning to worry about my job. It had been over a week and no one had heard from Ev. Not even Cassandra. She said he’d stormed out after she delivered the non-renewal notice and she hadn’t heard a sound from upstairs since then. I mentioned it to Gregory who simply shrugged his shoulders and said, “He’s probably off pouting. He does that fairly well. I’m not going to worry until it’s been two weeks. Then I will start looking for him.”

  Since the next chapter in my workbook was on ley lines (really concentrated Earth energy that runs in lines all over the world), I had to venture outside in the cool spring weather once again on Saturday. (I’m a warm-weather person. Anything below 50°F is cold. Don’t ask me what I’m doing in Minnesota. I should be in the Caribbean.) We didn’t have to go far, though. A park on the north shore of Medicine Lake was only thirty minutes away.

  It was a nice day and a Saturday so people were out enjoying the weather. Parents supervised their children on the playground, joggers bounced along and power walkers strutted their stuff while dodging those ambulating at a more leisurely pace along the walking trails. Others sat on the beach, staring longingly at the still-frigid water.

  Because of the public nature of the park, Fudge had grudgingly agreed to wear a leash that Gregory had thoughtfully brought with him. “I look ridiculous. It is too tight. It itches.” When I told him it was either that or stay in the vehicle because of leash laws, he acquiesced but the grumbling continued.

  “No overt displays, Amy,” Gregory cautioned as we walked along the path. Hopefully, we just looked like a couple out for a Saturday stroll with their pet cat. (A cat walking docilely on a leash caused more than one jogger and walker to miss their stride.)

  “Well, duh. All these people around. What am I supposed to do?” The entire area was a river of energy glitter, except for the path we were walking on. Whoever built it knew about shielding or something. I wanted to crawl under the timber walkway to find out what they’d used. But I didn’t. I can behave like a normal person on occasion.

  He gestured. “We’re going to sit on that bench over there and enjoy people watching. While I people watch, I want you to experience the ley line. We will be sitting almost right in the middle of it.”

  My feet began tingling almost as soon as we left the path. That was weird because I’d been told the synthetic soles of my tennis shoes would shield me. By the time we got to the bench, I was shaking. I wasn’t sure I could sit without vibrating apart. I managed to find the bench and park myself on it but I couldn’t help but feel like I was going explode into a messy mass of tissue and blood at any moment.

  “Use your personal shield energy to push out until you are more comfortable. Then let some seep in. Draw strength from it but do not allow it to overwhelm you.”

  Fudge hopped into my lap and I felt his comforting presence at the back of my head. With his guidance, I did as instructed. Pushing out with my personal shield stopped the shaking almost immediately. Then I opened a small hole and allowed some of the energy to trickle through. Wow. You’ve heard the term “energy rush”? This was the epitome of that. More than what I’d experienced in Atlanta, I felt not just awake but ready to take on the world.

  “Enough. Do not overload.” I reluctantly closed the hole I’d made. I turned to Gregory.

  “Dizzying, isn’t it?” he asked with a grin.

  “You can feel it, too?”

  “Ley lines are so powerful that anyone can draw from them. Even Ev would feel an energy surge off one when other energies just bounce off him. However, high power equals danger. They are the magical equivalents of electrical high tension wires. You don’t want the full power of that wire going directly into your computer. Nor do you want to completely open yourself to a ley line. You would fry yourself in the wink of an eye.

  “That said, they’re handy for workings that require a lot of energy, or for replenishing yours in a hurry. Just don’t overload. If you feel a need to come here, I suggest you always bring Fudge because he can stop you if you can’t stop yourself.”

  “I already got that. Can we go? I’m getting jittery again. It’s uncomfortable.”

  He took a long look at me then down at Fudge. “She needs to strengthen her normal shield. Can you work with her on that?” My cat nodded. Just like a human. “Good. We can go.”

  I heaved a sigh of relief and unceremoniously dumping Fudge out of my lap, skittered back to the trail and its shielding. Gregory picked up the end of Fudge’s leash and strolled back. As we ambled along, still trying to look like a normal couple (with a cat on a leash), I asked how he knew just where to go and how he managed to feel so calm around that much energy.

  “You saw the maps of ley lines in your book. We all have a copy of them. It was just a matter of overlaying the one of North America onto a modern road map. In addition, there’s the name of this lake, Medicine Lake. I know the official story behind what the Native Americans called it but I think it’s hogwash. They know about ley lines just as much as we do.

  “My shields are much stronger than yours so the extra energy doesn’t affect me unless I want it to. Yours are still at human strength and Fudge can help you with that.”

  We arrived at the monster car. As soon as I’d shut my door, I heard “Get this cord off me”. Laughing, I complied with Fudge’s demand.

  When we arrived back home, Gregory stopped me getting out of the car with a hand on my arm. “No lessons with me next week. I have a few personal things to attend to. Then, if I haven’t heard from Ev, I’m going to find out what’s going on. If you need me, you have my mobile number. In the meantime, work with Fudge on your shielding and read your book.”

  “Yes, Master,” I grinned as Fudge and I crawled down our side of the car while Gregory simply stepped out of his. “If you hear anything about Ev, let me know?”

  “Of course.” We both went to our respective buildings. It occurred to me as I walked down to my door that I didn’t know which apartment Gregory lived in. I’d have to find that out. You never know when I might have to knock on his door.

  I was on my third cup of coffee Monday morning, contemplating the next chapter in my workbook (healing with gemstones) when there was a loud pounding on my front door. I’d only opened it a crack when Cassandra pushed her way in.

  “Mom just called,” she said as I closed the door and turned to her. “They’ve arrested Gregory in connection with Ev
’s disappearance.”

  As my mouth hung open, she walked into the kitchen and poured herself a cup of coffee. I yelled, “What?” at her back.

  “According to Mom, Marianna filed a complaint with the Witches’ Council last night. She claims Ev hasn’t been home in a week, that Gregory was the last to see him and also that Gregory had it in for Ev.”

  I was flabbergasted. “That is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. Why would Gregory do anything to Ev? He’s got a nice job, a free place to live and from what I’ve heard and seen, he rather likes Ev.”

  “You and I both know that but apparently Marianna walked in on an argument while Gregory was packing to move. She claims Gregory said Ev would regret his decision to fire you. Then she said that you and Gregory were an item so naturally, he’d want retribution for your lack of a job.”

  I spewed my last swig of coffee. “Gregory and me? An item? What ever gave her that idea? She knew about my relationship with Tony.”

  “I have no fucking idea what’s going on, but we need to get to the bottom of it. Get dressed. I want you to go into the office to see if there’s anything that would give a clue to what happened, where Ev may have gone, all that.”

  I ducked through the shower, threw some clothes on, poured what coffee was left in the pot into my travel mug and followed her out the door. Fudge, once again, slipped through as I was closing it. “I have a better nose than you. I might smell something.”

  Cassandra continued ranting during the walk to the office. “I wonder what she hates about Gregory? I wonder where Ev went? He doesn’t normally disappear for more than a day or two at a time.”

  “Hang on there,” I tried to put some calm into my voice. “We don’t know anything at this point. Can you get details of what the Witches’ Council is actually charging him with and exactly what Marianna said?”

  “There should be a parchment on either my desk or yours when we get back. Although Mom doesn’t know either one well, she smells something fishy, too. Unfortunately, Marianna’s family is close to one of the officers, so it’ll have to go through the entire process.”

  I still had my key to the office so as Cassandra went back into the deli, I headed up the stairs. It felt strange to be making that climb after two weeks. When I opened the door, it looked like no one had been there in that time…except for the fist-sized holes in the walls of Ev’s office. A light layer of dust covered everything. A smell of burnt coffee filled the air. I went into the kitchen and looked at the pot I’d started that fateful morning. Thank goodness for the auto-off on today’s coffeemakers. Otherwise there probably would have been pieces of shattered glass all over.

  “Where to start looking…and for what?” I mused out loud. “He gets kidnapped, gets healed and vanishes for another two weeks?”

  “Your boss is unpredictable,” Fudge reminded me.

  “Well, yeah, but he doesn’t just leave business unattended for that long,” I answered. “Even when I’ve taken a day or two off, he’s always come into the office.”

  I checked voice mail. According to the phone company’s computer, the box was full with one hundred twenty-two messages. I know, I technically didn’t work there anymore. But I couldn’t believe Ev hadn’t checked voice mail. I grabbed a pen and paper and started listening to them all.

  Most were just guards leaving their daily check-in. There were two from Ed, the accountant, reminding me about tax stuff; some from client agents asking questions; one from Martin asking about moving money. Nothing out of the ordinary.

  I fired up my computer and pulled in all my email messages…just to clean off the server. Scanning them, nothing there looked out of the ordinary, either. But nothing had been done since I’d left. I called Sally.

  “Hey, how’s unemployment?” she asked.

  “Normally, I’d say just fine but not today.” I filled her in on what was happening. “I don’t like the looks of things. Can you come in and help get this place running again? I’d hate for the business to go down the drain, regardless of what Ev might be up to. Dress casual. It’s only the two of us and we need to do some dusting.”

  “Oh, happy days. I’ve been bored out of my mind. I’ll throw something on and be there in about a half hour. What are you going to do?”

  I really didn’t know and said as much. “Wait for me to get there,” she said. “We’ll sort stuff out and decide who needs to do what. See ya in a few.” She hung up.

  While I’d been doing my thing, Fudge had been sniffing virtually every nook and cranny of the office, sneezing every now and again. “Everything smells two weeks old. Especially that coffee. There are no magical signatures here except you, Gregory and Cassandra. Whatever happened, did not happen here.”

  Based on my amateur observation, I agreed with him. “I’m going down to get more coffee and see if Cassandra’s got that parchment. Want anything?”

  “Not from her but some fresh water in my dish would be appreciated.”

  So, before I went downstairs, I emptied his dish, rinsed it out and refilled it. Then I trooped down the stairs to see what Cassandra had. Thankfully, it was Monday and the deli was closed. Otherwise, she’d have been busier than a bee with no time to chat. I opened the side door that was spelled to only open for those welcome on closed days.

  Pausing to fill my cup from the pot on the counter, I walked back through the kitchen to her office. She raised her head from reading something when I cleared my throat.

  “I’m going to have to call Mom to get a translation. It’s in Latin. I wish those people would get with the twenty-first century, already!”

  “Isn’t there a translation spell or something?” I figured magic could solve almost anything.

  “Only if you want to call Elinda or Marge. It’s an Air spell and I’m terrible with Air.”

  I didn’t and knew I wouldn’t be any help, either, so I took a seat and a swig as she dialed her mother in Arizona. I cringed when she yelled into the phone, “It’s the twenty-first century! They need to do these things in English!”

  She made a face, grunted some noncommittal words, apologized for yelling, grunted some more, then hung up. It sounded just like the conversation I would have had with my mother if she were still alive. They understand their kids, even if no one else does.

  “An English translation is in the works. For some reason, Gregory’s attorney requested it. We need to call him if we don’t want to slog through this thing with a Latin dictionary to try to get all the archaic legalese right.”

  “Who’s his attorney?”

  “Some guy named Mortimer Blatherton. An English barrister living in Los Angeles. Heard of him?”

  I hadn’t. “Where’s Gregory being held? Can we go visit him?”

  “At Council headquarters downtown and no. Only his attorney at this point.”

  I grimaced. “There’s nothing upstairs, except piles of work and a burnt pot of coffee. I’ve called Sally. Regardless of what’s happened to Ev, we can’t let the company go to the dogs. After we get things sorted up there, I want to have a look around Ev’s house. Do you know anyone who can pick locks?”

  She made a face then laughed. “Yuck. He didn’t turn your pot off, huh? And yes, I think I know someone but we have a problem.”

  “What’s that?”

  “It’s a Council crime scene. No one but the investigators is supposed to go in. I assume Gregory’s attorney will be able to if he wants but he’s on a plane right now.”

  “So I’m the attorney’s eyes and ears. Who knows Ev better than me?”

  Her phone chimed with a text message. She held up her hand for me to quit talking, typed some stuff on her phone and almost immediately, I got the same chime. I checked my message to see a phone number with a Los Angeles area code.

  “It’s the attorney’s phone number. I assumed you’d want it.”

  Did I. I was about to dial it when Sally strolled into Cassandra’s office.

  “It’s a good thing you’ve got
a pot going down here. We need a new carafe. Hi.”

  I gave her the once-over. “That’s casual?” She always looked stunning but a silk pantsuit seemed overkill for the two of us in a dusty office.

  She shrugged. “I don’t like denims. The seams chafe. This is what I wear. Are you ready to dig in?”

  Cassandra laughed. “You’d never make it in the deli, Sally. Even with an apron I get at least one stain a day. I have things to do, too. Let’s all get our work done, Amy call that lawyer, and we’ll meet at Cork’s at five for drinks and a planning session. Deal?”

  I couldn’t help but agree. Gregory had been under arrest for less than a day. I didn’t see what I could do but try to put the company to rights as much as I could and wait for the attorney to tell me something. Sally and I left Cassandra to her work and went to ours.

  Chapter 16

  I heaved a sigh when Sally and I walked back into the office. It was déjà vu. The two-foot-tall stack of mail in the corner of the hall coupled with the dust and piles of paper looked just as it had the day of my interview eight years before.

  “Open and sort the mail. I’ll sling a dust rag,” I said. I hated the thought of that pantsuit getting grimy. She nodded and sat down to work. I grabbed the dusting supplies out from under the kitchen sink and, starting with her desk, furiously hit at least the high spots in her office and mine. I ignored Ev’s office. Even if he’d been there, he wouldn’t notice.

  Once I had the surfaces clean enough to put an elbow on, I grabbed the papers off Ev’s desk, merged them with the ones on mine and also sorted. I prioritized the emails in my inbox and printed out the most urgent stuff. Between the two of us, the “gotta do right now” stack was a little over two inches thick. I sorted that down into two and handed one to her.

  “Pay bills. I’ll start returning the most urgent phone calls. If anyone calls for Ev, he’s unavailable but you don’t know where he is.”

  “I got that much. But first, I have a problem.”