Witch Way Home: A Beechwood Harbor Magic Mystery (Beechwood Harbor Magic Mysteries Book 4)

by Danielle Garrett

  What would my future look like without potion making? I could still tend to my garden beds and the myriad of plants in my greenhouse. Assuming the banishment wasn’t made permanent, that would allow me to travel to and from the havens, so I could no doubt make quite a nice income selling top-quality plant material and potion ingredients to the shops. I could become a top supplier and become renowned for having prize-winning plants.

  Would that be enough? I loved the time spent in my garden but had always considered it a necessary part of being a potions witch living outside the haven; it wasn’t something I’d set out to do commercially. Not to mention the manor’s backyard wasn’t equipped to handle the scope of gardening I’d need to be able to do in order to keep up with demand if I were to attempt it full time. In addition, I’d have to buy a car or truck to cart the supplies to and from the haven.

  Then there was Adam. He’d made it clear that he had no intention of ever living in the haven system again. While I was currently disenchanted enough to agree with him, I wasn’t sure it was a lifelong commitment. Being three hours away wasn’t so bad, and I had missed Beechwood Harbor during my time in the city, but if I wanted a future outside of potion making, I’d have far better opportunities inside the haven. Wouldn’t I? Or would it be like before—taking menial jobs there because people were leery of my reputation?

  If I stayed in Beechwood Harbor, I would be fine. Everyone liked me well enough and I had a job, friends, and a makeshift family. The type of support system that ensured I wouldn’t spend birthdays or the holidays alone. I was happy. Wasn’t I?

  It all circled back to one thing: potions.

  It was the missing piece and I couldn’t seem to find a way to rearrange the other pieces of my life to make up for that void.

  With that miserably drawn conclusion, I trudged back to the manor. On the way, I passed Evangeline as she wandered down the opposite side of the street, likely on her way to The Emerald. She waved me over. “Close call this morning!” she said with a grin. I followed her around the corner and we stopped at the front door of her spa. “I’m sorry we forgot Nick was at the house, Holly. I hope you’re not too mad at us. I don’t think any damage was done.”

  “I’m not mad,” I assured her.

  She pushed into the day spa and Lucy, who was sitting at the reception desk, greeted us. She clicked through something on the thin computer monitor and then filled Evangeline in on the events of the morning. Lucy offered to give me a manicure after explaining that her first client of the day had canceled.

  I shrugged and took my place at her work station. I wasn’t one to turn down a fresh manicure. Lucy joined me and started soaking my fingers to get rid of the polish she’d put on a week ago. With no customers in the spa, Evangeline and I told Lucy about the events of the last few days. She was a telepath, but had grown up in the human world, not understanding her abilities. She hadn’t learned anything about the supernatural world until a few years back. Needless to say, she found the entire story overwhelming.

  As she was finishing up the top coat of clear polish, Ben, the masseur and resident town beefcake, came out from behind the thick emerald curtain that separated the back of the spa from the retail space.

  “Hey, Holly,” he called out, his arms laden with boxes. “I’m glad you’re back in town! I could really use another batch of that salve you made for my hands when you get a chance.”

  Evangeline, her back to Ben, cringed and mouthed sorry.

  “I’ll see what I can do,” I told him with a polite smile.

  “Great, thanks!” He crossed the shop and backed up against the front door to let himself out. “I’m off. See you tomorrow.”

  Evangeline wriggled her fingers. “Have a nice night.”

  Lucy and I waved and echoed her sentiment.

  Ben pushed out the door and Evangeline frowned over at me. “Sorry about that,” she said. “He was asking where you’d gone and I said you went into the haven to get some supplies and would be back in business when you got back. I didn’t think that there was any way your petition could possibly get denied.”

  I scoffed. “Yeah. Me either.”

  “I’m so sorry, Holly. If you need a job, I can hire you to help out around here. Half-price discount on product, excellent benefits, and the free perk of getting to oogle Ben all day long. Although, Adam might not appreciate that last part … .”

  I laughed. “Yeah, probably not.”

  Evangeline nudged me with her hip as she passed by. “Not that he has to worry.”

  “What about you and Teddy? You two seemed pretty cozy.”

  Lucy gawked up at Evangeline. “You’ve been holding out on me!”

  Evangeline laughed and waved a hand. “I keep telling you, we’re just friends.”

  I raised a skeptical brow and arched it at Lucy, my meaning clear: Yeah, right.

  Lucy giggled. “Well, here’s a tip from your old, married friend: make sure you get along with his mother before you start picking out wedding dresses and flower arrangements!”

  We all laughed. Evangeline ducked her chin and considered her own manicured nails. “I shouldn’t laugh ... Teddy’s mother actually passed away several years ago.”

  Lucy held up a finger with a wicked grin. “Sold!”

  I tried to stifle my laugh, but failed miserably. “Now, I’m not saying I want Adam’s mother to die, but I certainly wouldn’t be heartbroken if she suddenly relocated to somewhere far, far away.”

  “Like Australia?”

  I grinned. “I was thinking more like the moon.”

  Lucy’s eyes glittered. “Excellent! She can take Gordy’s mother. I mean, hey, someone has to start colonizing it, right?”

  CHAPTER NINE

  With my mood lightened and my nails polished to sleek perfection, I headed home, where Teddy was waiting to speak with me. Dark clouds rolled over my newly uplifted outlook at the solemn look on his face as I followed him into the kitchen where he’d set up his temporary office.

  “Should I be sitting down for this?” I asked after putting on the kettle to make some tea.

  Teddy, who was sitting at the head of the table, shook his head. “It’s nothing like that.”

  “Whew!”

  He smiled politely. “I spoke with a representative at Council Hall today. They were able to access the final judgment from the hearing. It appears that the council has decided not to enforce the banishment. You’re officially free to come and go from any haven.”

  “That’s good news,” I said, although I wasn’t sure how much I would be using this privilege.

  “Yes. It bodes well for the petitions I’ve filed. I’m hoping to get before the council by the end of the month. First, I’ll have to argue that the original hearing was biased, which means I need to figure out why it was biased.”

  “We need to figure out who that witch was, the young one.”

  Teddy nodded. “I asked the clerk today but they weren’t able to disclose that information over the phone. Some asinine rule. Unfortunately, the council members tend to live very private lives and rarely allow their names to be released in the press in fear of revenge from unhappy petitioners.”

  “Gee, I wonder why. It’s not like they’re unfair and calloused.”

  Teddy frowned at me.

  Clearly I was not helping.

  “In any case, once we clear that hurdle, we will be able to get before a new council and present our case. However, as you and I both know, without Harvey, it’s going to be difficult to convince them. I’ve put in a request with his assistant to see if she can find any notations on what he planned to testify about. If we could find some kind of statement of intent, that might work just as well as his actual testimony.”

  “What do you need me to do?”

  “Mostly, be patient with me. This process could take some finagling. The other thing I wanted to ask was whether or not you could think of anyone who would want to block you from becoming a potion master. The way that witc
h came out firing made it seem like more than just a decision based on your past. It seemed personal in nature.”

  “I agree.” I sighed. “But I don’t know why anyone would care. It’s not like I was applying to be a potion master for the council or some other prestigious job. I just want to make my potions and sell them to supers who need them. That’s all.”

  “I know that, but I wonder if maybe someone else might have a different perception of your intentions.”

  I shrugged. “If there is, I have no idea. I’ll go through a list of my clients and see if anything pops. Other than the people I sell to, the only other supers who would know about my ability are the ones who tested me in the academy, but that was so long ago, I can’t imagine any of them caring.”

  “All right, well let me know what you come up with, if anything.”

  “I will.” The kettle was boiling and I moved to fill a mug with a hefty scoop of tea leaves. It hadn’t been raining on my walk home, but it was far from balmy outside and the chill of the brisk walk still clung to me. After everything that had happened, I’d decided a hot cup of tea and a long, leisurely soak in the tub was exactly what I needed to put the awful events behind me.

  A few days passed with no word from the Haven Council in reply to Teddy’s petition, or from the SPA regarding Harvey’s murder investigation. As Teddy predicted, the Haven Herald and The Witch Wire both picked up the story and were reporting on it round the clock. Unfortunately, it had reached a sticking point where the same tidbits were recycled every hour or so with nothing new added. Reporters had tried to call and get a comment from me, as I was publicly known as one of the last people to see Harvey alive. Teddy fielded the calls and requests in between working on trying to figure out the identity and motive of the witch who had so vehemently opposed me at the hearing. He was also waiting to hear back from Harriet, Harvey’s assistant, to see if she found a note or other documentation to provide to the council in lieu of his testimony.

  Evangeline was kept busy at the spa as always and Adam was swamped with his own work, leaving me lonely and bored. My hours at Siren’s Song had been dramatically cut back while I pursued my potions business, so I was left with large gaps in my day while everyone else was busy.

  Boots and I puttered around in the greenhouse a few hours each day and I experimented with baking, thinking it might prove to be a suitable replacement for potion work, but in the end, all it did was add a few thousand calories to my daily intake. One night after Siren’s Song closed, I met Cassie for happy hour at McNally’s. We chatted about life and our respective relationships. It was a nice break from the monotony of wandering aimlessly through the manor all day.

  By the fourth day, I was full-blown stir-crazy and called Agent Bramble. She was my only real connection to what was going on with the investigation. Surprisingly, as soon as I called, she informed me that I was on her list of people to call that day. She invited me to come to her office for a meeting that afternoon. I couldn’t get her to discuss anything over the phone, but accepted the invitation and hurried to get ready.

  After a quick shower and change of clothes, I went into the kitchen to find Adam sitting at the table, a jar of marshmallow fluff in one hand and a giant spoon in the other. He looked up as I pushed into the room and noted my outfit. “Where are you going?”

  “I have a meeting with my new gal pal, Agent Bramble.”

  Adam pulled a face. “That should be fun. She seemed like a real party.”

  “Tell me about it. Does the SPA only hire supers that were born without a shred of personality, or do they just strip it away during their training process?”

  Adam grinned as he waved his spoon through the air. “I don’t know and I have no intention of finding out.”

  I laughed. “Probably for the best,” I said, pointing at his spoon. “I’m pretty sure SPA agents aren’t allowed to eat garbage like that … .”

  Adam grabbed the warehouse store-sized jar of the revolting goo—that could easily double as Spackle or tile grout—and dug a huge dollop out. “What does she want to talk about?”

  “I don’t know yet. I’m assuming it’s about Harvey, but for all I know, she might want to introduce me to my new case worker or grill me to make sure I’m respecting the council’s orders and not secretly cooking up potions.”

  Adam arched a brow. “Not that you would ever do that … .”

  “Yeah, yeah. I know. Trust me—I’ve learned my lesson.” I paced across the kitchen and pulled open the fridge. Even though I’d be using the SPA portal and wouldn’t have to drive to and from Seattle, I still wanted a little snack before leaving. It would lower the odds of me blowing half a week’s worth of tip money on Lemon Clouds. “I’m pretty sure that if I step one toe out of line, Agent Bramble will shift into an eagle and carry me off to her nest.”

  Adam chuckled. “Now there’s a visual.”

  I frowned and pulled out a container of blueberries. They were out of season and cost a small fortune to buy fresh from Thistle, but it was my one vice. Okay, not counting Lemon Clouds and bear claws. Those particular treats had surpassed vice territory some time ago and had slid into the land of full-blown addiction.

  “Any progress in getting a second council hearing?” Adam asked when I joined him at the table.

  “I don’t know. With everything else going on, I haven’t really given it much thought. Unless Teddy can get me a different panel, I doubt it would do much good.”

  “Still no clue who the witchy-witch was?”

  I shook my head and popped a few blueberries in my mouth. “He’s trying to get a name. For whatever reason it’s like top secret information.”

  “You want me to do a little digging?” Adam asked nonchalantly, as if being a super-spy was one of his side hobbies.

  I arched a brow. “How are you planning on digging? The haven doesn’t use technology. It’s not like you can hack into their system or something.”

  “Oh ye of little faith … .” He smiled and polished off the last bit of the marshmallow fluff and returned the lid to the glass jar. “You’re forgetting that my dad works for haven law enforcement. He didn’t get to the top of his field without making some pretty important connections. He knows most everyone in government.”

  “Even in Seattle?” Adam’s parents lived in the Boston haven.

  Adam shrugged and made a grab for some of the blueberries. “Probably. I’ll give him a call and see what I can find out.”

  I turned the offer over in my head a few times and then gave a nod of approval. “All right. Can’t hurt, I suppose. Although, I would probably avoid mentioning that you’re asking on my behalf. Somehow I don’t think that would spark much interest.”

  “Come on, Gorgeous.” Adam frowned. “I know their visit was a little rocky … but that doesn’t mean they don’t like you or wouldn’t want to help.”

  Unconvinced, I held back my reply and dumped another handful of berries into my mouth instead.

  Adam laughed and went to rummage through the cabinets for his next snack. I polished off the carton of blueberries—or, at least the ones Adam hadn’t swiped for himself—and got up from the table. “You going to be around tonight?” I asked.

  He turned, his hand clasping a sleeve of crackers. “Sure. Why? You wanna go out for dinner?”

  I nodded. “That would be nice. I could use a little break.”

  “You got it, Gorgeous. I promise to keep you completely occupied.” Adam grinned but stopped short of giving a full eyebrow wiggle.

  I laughed and then crossed the kitchen to give him a quick kiss. “Also, can you feed Boots?”

  “Less appealing, but sure.”

  “Thanks.” I strode back to the kitchen door. “I’ll see you tonight.”

  Adam leaned back against the counter and tore open the crackers. “You know, you should take some of Evie’s healthy cookies to your meeting.”

  I paused in the doorway. “Why’s that?”

  “Have you ever trie
d one?” He flashed a menacing grin. “They taste just like bird food!”

  I rolled my eyes. “Do you have much experience with eating bird food?”

  “Only when the McNally’s dumpster is running low,” he said with a shrug.

  I shook my head. “I think I’ll pass on the cookies.”

  “Suit yourself but if she gets peckish, don’t come crying to me.”

  I groaned. “It’s a good thing you’re pretty.”

  Adam chuckled and popped a cracker into his mouth. “See you tonight, Gorgeous. Good luck with the bird lady.”

  I waved and then pushed out of the kitchen, letting the door flap closed behind me.

  CHAPTER TEN

  A little over an hour later, I was seated in Agent Bramble’s office, waiting for her to return from taking an urgent phone call in the other room. We’d barely begun our discussion before she was called away, and I still wasn’t sure of the exact purpose behind her summons. Her office was small, barely large enough for her desk, chair, and a set of filing cabinets. The only drop of personality in the room was a potted plant in the corner. But somehow, despite the size, everything was neatly organized and clean. I had no idea where she was keeping all of her supplies, but everything was tucked away out of sight. Not so much as a speck of dust marred the smooth, polished surface of the cherry-wood desk.