by Diana Orgain
Maeve sighed. She wasn’t looking forward to driving all the way out to L.A. She had left that town for a reason, but she couldn’t put off speaking to the investigators any longer. She’d already rented a hotel room, and she and Wanda needed to head out.
While the group ate their early dinner of hotdogs and hamburgers, Maeve caught herself worrying about the café. “You two sure you’re going to be okay watching the café this weekend without me?” Maeve asked, looking to Gracie and Donnie.
“Lil and I are going to be on call in case they get too crazy,” Julie said, nudging Donnie slightly.
“Thanks, Julie,” Maeve said. “You too, Lil.”
“Your café has practically become a daycare for Penny,” Lil admitted. “I think I owe you one. Did Gracie tell you I have officially hired her to be my full time nanny now?”
“I’m gonna spend a lot more time with Aunt Gracie,” Penny said as though she was not already with her aunt several days of the week.
“Good, I like having her around,” Maeve said and winked at Penny.
Maeve realized she was just dragging it out. That’s what this last minute get together was about, after all. It was something to keep her away from L.A. for just a little bit longer. Soon the meal was complete, the dishes were clean, and one by one, her companions departed.
Joseph was the last one remaining, and he stood in the driveway by her and her purple Volkswagen, attempting to get Wanda to let him pet her. “One of these days, Wanda, you’re going to love me,” he said, and Maeve was almost certain the dog rolled her eyes at him.
“The expressions that dog makes, I swear,” he groaned. Joseph sighed heavily and turned to look at Maeve. “You got to go now, huh?”
“Unfortunately,” she said. “Wish me luck. I have to go sit and talk with a bunch of cops who think I have something to do with my ex’s disappearance.”
“You have a knack for that, don’t you?” Joseph teased. “Don’t let them get you down, and call me if things get too heated. Understand?”
Maeve smiled at him. “Understood.”
He gave her a hug, and for a moment Maeve felt herself melt into him. Wanda pushed herself between the two of them.
“Seriously, Wanda?” Joseph joked. “How am I supposed to ever make a move if you keep doing that?”
“Oh, so that was you trying to make a move?” Maeve teased.
“I have moves.”
“Sure you do,” she said with a laugh. “Get in the car, Wanda.” Maeve opened the passenger’s side door for the dog, and Wanda hopped in. Maeve closed the door and wagged a finger in Wanda’s direction. “Behave–and you better start being nicer to Joseph.”
“Good luck, Maeve,” Joseph said.
“Thanks,” she said and then very quickly hopped up on her toes and gave Joseph a quick peck on the cheek.
He blushed. “What was that?”
“A move,” she said and hurried around to the driver’s side of her car. She pulled out of the driveway, and she could see that she’d tripped him up.
Joseph smiled in her direction, not paying attention to where he was going, and he backed up into his car and nearly knocked himself over.
She giggled, a warm feeling filling her heart.
He’s such a sweetheart, she thought to herself.
“You know, Wanda,” Maeve said with smile. “Frank was always a jerk to me. I can’t believe I put up with his crap. It’s time to move on, don’t you think?”
Wanda whined, and Maeve patted her head. “Don’t worry, girl. I’ll always have time for you.”
She pulled out onto the road that led out of Wisteria Pines. As she headed down the stretch of highway, she adjusted her rearview mirror and squinted at what she saw.
Following them in the distance was a familiar black raven.
The End
Bonus – Spells
For your enjoyment:
A few Spells! (For Fun) Please note the author does not guarantee results, the magick you apply is all your own.
Remember Witchcraft begins with intention. Your intention will provide the focusing power that can produce results. A few safeguards to abide by:
Don’t cast a spell that could harm another.
Don’t cast a spell that goes against your own personal ethics and morals.
Don’t cast a spell with elements or symbols you don’t fully understand.
Don’t cast a spell if you are upset or ill, or otherwise off-kilter.
Easy Steps. These are merely guides/suggestions. Feel free to make the spells your own.
Clear your body and mind! Get into the right frame of mind. Meditate, breathe, relax! Anoint yourself with your favorite essential oils.
Clean your space. Burn some incense, candles or herbs like sage and sweetgrass.
Set up a circle. You can draw the circle to sit in using chalk or sea salt or trace one in the air with your finger.
Create a symbol of your desire. This can be as simple as a drawing it on a piece of paper or stone.
Invoke a higher power. You can call on the divine or any deity or force you believe in.
Focus your energy on your desired outcome. Visualize light flowing from you to your desire and pulling or magnetizing it toward you. Broadcast your light and energy into the universe.
Recite your spell. Chant or sing. Speak clearly and with confidence.
“Cast off” your spell by tearing or burning the paper with the symbol of your wish/desire, or throw away the stone.
Give Thanks.
A spell for Happiness:
Goddess within
Goddess at large
I am so happy and grateful now
That you smile upon me.
I am so happy and grateful now
For the warmth you shine on me.
I am so happy and grateful now
That I am full of your love.
And so it is. All is well.
A spell for Finding Something Lost:
Spirits that fly
Spirits that spy
Help me find what I need
Help me find what I seek
Give my eyes a little peek
Let me have a little peep
And so it is. And I am grateful.
A Spell for Protection:
Oh goddess of strength and fortification
Send me your shield
Be my guard
Let no harm come to me
Keep me safe
Keep me secure
Build me a buttress and bolster my home.
And so it is. And I am protected.
More Titles by Diana Orgain
FORMULA FOR MURDER
Book 3 of the MATERNAL INSTINCTS MYSTERY SERIES
© 2011 Diana Orgain
Sleuth and first-time mom Kate Connolly and her baby are the victims of a hit-and-run, but escape unharmed. A witness identifies the car’s French diplomatic license plates, yet when Kate and her hubby try to get some answers, they get le cold shoulder.
But there’s something going on at the French consulate that’s dirtier-and far deadlier-than any diaper.
Enjoy the following:
Excerpt for FORMULA FOR MURDER…
•CHAPTER ONE•
To Do:
1. x Make holiday photo appointment for Laurie.
2. Send out Christmas cards Get them printed first—
then send out Christmas cards.
3. Complete Start Christmas shopping.
4. Find a “Baby’s First Christmas” ornament.
5. Get Christmas tree.
6. Finish background checks Galigani gave me.
7. Get new PI client. How do I do this?
I checked Laurie in the rearview mirror; she was sound asleep. As usual, the motion of the car had lulled her into slumber.
She looked adorable, wearing a tiny red satin dress with matching red booties. We were on our way to get her first holiday photos taken. I couldn’t believe three months had evaporated; it
seemed like she was born just yesterday.
My best friend Paula had warned me the time would fly by, but this was ridiculous. How had I put off taking Laurie’s holiday photos? Now it was the first week in December and I was hustling to get them taken, printed, and sent out as Christmas cards.
It’s all right. From now on efficiency will be my middle name.
I cruised down the hill to the stoplight and stepped on the brake. Out of habit, I glanced in the rearview again and saw a silver SUV barreling down the hill.
Was the car out of control? It continued to speed and there was no telltale sign of the nose dipping as it would if the driver were braking.
They were getting closer! Almost on top of us.
I quickly looked for a way to avoid impact. The cars in front of me were waiting on the traffic signal and a steady stream of cross traffic moved through the intersection.
No! The SUV was going to hit us!
My eyes were transfixed on the rearview mirror. I held my breath, bracing myself for the crash at the same time that my brain screamed for a miracle.
Please stop in time. Please don’t hit me and my baby!
Adrenaline shot through me, and everything felt as though it was happening in slow motion. I watched in horror as the SUV swerved violently to the right, but there was no way it could avoid hitting us.
The impact jolted us forward and I banged my head on the steering wheel. My seat belt caught and tugged at me just as we slammed into the car in front of us, then my entire body jerked backward, the base of my head smacking into the headrest.
Laurie let out a shrill wail, piercing into my heart. My gaze shot right and I locked eyes with the assailing driver.
He was young, maybe only sixteen or seventeen, with longish brown hair and peach fuzz on his chin. His eyes were wide in shock. The SUV revved and tore off through the red light.
The light changed to green, and traffic—which had been stopped all around us—began to move again.
The passenger door of the vehicle in front of us opened and a woman jumped out. She rushed to my driver’s side.
I unfastened my belt with only one thing on my mind.
Laurie!
My hands were shaking from the adrenaline pulsing through my system. I pushed open my door.
The woman asked, “Are you all right?”
“I don’t know. My baby! My baby!”
The woman’s eyes widened as she focused on Laurie in her car seat.
Why wasn’t she crying? She had cried out on impact but now she was silent.
My heart was lodged in my throat. I struggled with the door handle, my hands fumbling it. The woman reached over me and easily opened the door. I dove inside the backseat to Laurie’s side.
Traffic sped around us. One vehicle slowed, then stopped.
The driver yelled, “Is everyone okay? Do you want me to call a tow truck? The police?”
I swallowed past the lump in my throat and shouted, “Call an ambulance!”
My voice sounded near hysterical even to me. I examined Laurie, who upon seeing me started to fidget and then began to cry.
Was she hurt? Was I supposed to move her? Panic about spinal cord injury flooded my mind.
“What do I do?” I asked the woman. “I don’t want to take her out of the car seat. What if it hurts her little spine?”
“Can we get the entire car seat out of the car? Traffic’s not waiting, honey, and I want to get you two out of danger.”
I unclipped the car seat bucket and pulled the carrier out. The woman grabbed the carrier, and we crossed a lane of traffic to the side of the road.
She set Laurie’s bucket down on a bed of ice plants.
“My husband went after the guy,” the woman said. “I can’t believe he just took off like that!”
I nodded distractedly, my mind and attention on Laurie.
“He was young, a kid.”
The woman blew out her breath in a sharp huff. “Probably on drugs!”
I leaned in as close to Laurie as I could without removing her from the seat, trying to soothe her.
“Did you see the plates on the car?” the woman asked me.
I rubbed Laurie’s cheek, she rooted toward my hand.
She was either hungry or looking for soothing. “No,” I answered. “Just him. Long brown hair, peach fuzz, wide-eyed doe look on his face.”
“Foreign diplomat car. DL? What code is that? French?” she asked.
Sirens screamed from up the hill.
Help is on the way!
I pressed my cheek against Laurie’s and whispered, “Shhh, little angel, pumpkiny pie, Mommy’s here and help’s coming fast.”
The woman said something inaudible and looked up in time to see an ambulance accompanied by a police cruiser pull up to the curb. The paramedics jumped out of the ambulance.
An officer stepped out of the patrol car and began speaking with the woman.
One EMT leaned over Laurie and me. “How are you?”
“I’m okay. I think. My baby is only three months old. I didn’t want to take her out of the seat. Because, you know, I didn’t know if it was okay to move her. I’m scared of neck or spinal injury—”
“Right, right,” the EMT said, flashing a light across Laurie’s eyes.
I knelt in the ice plant and hovered over them, not caring about the dew that soaked through the knees of my jeans and chilled me.
The EMT looked at me. “Her eyes are responding okay, but I can’t tell much without taking her out of the seat. You want to go to the hospital? It’s down the street.”
I nodded, trying to shove down the hysteria welling inside me.
The EMT picked up Laurie’s bucket. Laurie was now seemingly beginning to panic, too, and her cry turned into a shriek, her tiny arms flapping about.
It broke my heart to see her in distress, not really able to calm her. Every fiber of my being screamed to grab the bucket from him, pull Laurie out, and cradle her.
Please just be hungry or fussy. Don’t be hurt, don’t be injured!
The other EMT helped me up off my knees. The woman seemed to be recounting the accident to the police officer.
As soon as I got to my feet I followed Laurie into the ambulance.
The EMT who had assisted me moved to the officer and said something I couldn’t pick up.
The officer nodded and came toward me. He was slightly taller than me and had a stocky build. Somehow his build reassured me as though it made him sturdy and dependable.
“Ma’am, I’ll need a statement from you. If you leave me your information I can get it from you later.”
I absently looked around for my purse. For the first time since the accident I saw my car. It was completely totaled. My trunk was smashed in and the hood looked like an accordion.
How had I walked away from that?
What about Laurie . . . Could she really be all right?
Tears flooded my eyes. “I don’t know where my purse is. I can give you my number . . . Can you call my husband?”
The officer jotted down my home number. “I’ll tell him to pick you up at the hospital.” He looked at me for approval.
I nodded. “Thank you.”
“I’ll be in touch, ma’am. I hope your baby is all right.”
Anger flashed across his face and his jaw tightened. “Don’t worry: I’m gonna get the guy who hit you.”
I thanked him, then jumped into the ambulance, anxious to be with Laurie. She was still crying. Not knowing how to best channel my distress, I broke down and began to sob also, my brain trying to process the fact that this was the second time in Laurie’s short life that we’d shared an ambulance ride together. The fact that this time was not my fault did little to settle my nerves.
Why had the driver left the scene? Sure, he was probably scared, but didn’t he know a hit-and-run was a criminal act?
The EMT attending to Laurie put a small blanket over her and glanced at me. “Are you in pain, ma’am?”
>
I searched my pockets in a useless effort to find a pacifier for Laurie and shrugged at the EMT. “I want to hold her.”
“I know,” he said, almost in a whisper. “It’s hard to listen to them cry. Did you know just the sound of a baby’s cry makes your blood pressure go up?”
I shook my head.
He continued, “Yeah, in all mammals except for rats.”
<><><>
We rounded a corner and arrived at the hospital. Laurie and I were unloaded and ushered to a small room. A nurse freed Laurie from the car seat, before I could protest, and laid her on a table to take her vitals.
Someone in green medical scrubs was asking me if I had any cuts or abrasions. I shook my head and felt a blood pressure cuff go around my arm. My eyes locked on Laurie, I didn’t even bother to look at him.
The nurse hovering over her asked, “How old is the baby?”
“Three months,” I answered.
“When’s the last time she ate?” she asked, stripping Laurie of her beautiful little holiday dress.
“A few hours ago.”
The nurse attached small metal pads to Laurie’s chest. Laurie let out a sharp cry.
“I’m so sorry they’re cold, sweetie,” she said.
The man attending me dropped my arm. “Normal,” he said.
I glanced at him in disbelief, then read the digital display: 120/80.
I closed my eyes. Did this mean I was a rat?
Surely if I were any kind of decent mother my blood pressure would be through the roof.
“Can you take it again?” I asked.
The man frowned. “You’re fine.”
I didn’t feel fine. I felt like a failure.
How could my blood pressure be fine? I’m a total and complete failure as a mom.
“Do you want to see a doctor?” the man asked me.
Again, I shook my head. “No. Just a pediatrician for Laurie.”
He nodded and left the room. The other nurse turned to me. “Are you breastfeeding?”
