Spellbound: a Tale of Magic, Mystery & Murder

by Louise Ann Barton

CHAPTER 33 - THE TOILET

  It was late afternoon by the time they pulled up in front of Las Naranjas. Robin trotted ahead as an advance scout. Joseph wasn’t at his post at the desk and the lobby was deserted. "All clear!" she announced. The women crept in cautiously, bringing Maria with them.

  "Let’s hit the stairs before our luck changes," advised Cat.

  The women bounded up the stairs and, to their great delight, found the second-floor corridor was also empty. Moving quickly, they drew the unresisting Maria with them in the direction of their suite. Raven fumbled with the key and opened the door to Room 206. They entered with Maria in tow.

  Cat's shin made contact with a chair leg and she howled with pain! Despite their daily protests, the maid had once again rearranged the furniture. Samantha flipped on the lamp, while Raven led Maria to the more comfortable armchair. The other women took seats from the breakfast set and gathered around Maria.

  "Give her time to compose herself," Samantha admonished.

  The rest waited dutifully, not wishing to appear too eager. Robin went to get the pitcher of iced tea garnished with lime slices from the refrigerator. She poured a glass for each of them. And there they sat, clustered around the peasant woman, eagerly tinkling ice cubes, as they waited to hear what they were sure would be a very strange story.

  But it was a man’s voice that broke the silence and he was singing in Spanish, in the hall, right outside their door.

  At the sound of a key being inserted into the lock, the women tensed. Robin switched off the lamp. Maria forgot to breathe. The key was withdrawn and the knob turned. The door flew open!

  The four Americans jumped to their feet. Raven grabbed up the lamp as a weapon. Maria covered her face and shrieked. A man entered, hunched over, carrying something in a box. Raven switched on the lamp and brandished it over her head.

  "Aha! We have you now!"

  Cat, who had slipped behind the door under cover of darkness, leaped at the intruder and quickly pinned his arms behind him. The box fell to the carpet with a loud, metallic clatter as its contents scattered. Having neatly floored the culprit, Cat sat triumphantly astride him and bound his wrists with her belt. He began shouting in Spanish, but much too quickly for the women to comprehend.

  Maria began to laugh, her terrors momentarily forgotten. "Oh, let him up," she waved gaily to Cat. "He works for the hotel."

  "Oh?" sniffed Cat, unwilling to relinquish her victim so quickly.

  "Si! Si! He has come to fix the toilet."

  The man on the floor nodded vigorously. "Si!" he insisted. "Only this morning you complained of a stopped-up toilet."

  "Obviously, he was just sent here by the desk clerk in response to our week-old complaint," murmured Raven. "Ha! What incredible timing!" exclaimed Robin.

  "He called you gringas. Crazy, American, white women," laughed Maria.

  "Hmmmmmm," mused Cat, still not sure she wanted to give up her captive.

  "Oh, let him up, Catherine," urged Samantha.

  Reluctantly, Cat reclaimed her belt and helped the man to his feet. He was small-boned, only five feet, seven inches, and his ill-fitting hotel uniform made him look even smaller. Cat smirked down at him in her most superior manner.

  "Please forgive us," begged Robin, pressing a wad of bills into the man’s hand. She began gathering up his tools and crammed them back in the box.

  "Yes, please do," pleaded Raven, smiling charmingly.

  "Yes, we apologize," said Samantha as she stepped forward and took the man’s arm. Robin flanked him on the other side. They flashed dazzling smiles at him, batting their lashes and tossing their curls. Pedro, for that was the name he gave them, was, by now, thoroughly enchanted and forgave them. He was willing to do anything for these gringas, these white ladies.

  He stepped forward boldly, announcing, "I go now to fix the toilet!" With a grand wave of his plunger, their knight set off on his mission.

  "No! No! No!" The four Americans surrounded him. Cat placed herself firmly in his path, between him and the toilet. "Not now," they insisted. "It is inconvenient."

  Pedro stared at them.

  They stared at Pedro.

  But Pedro was not a man to be put off. He pointed the plunger at Cat. "I will fix the toilet!" he announced firmly. "NOW!"

  He sidestepped Cat, entered the bathroom, and slammed down his toolbox. He began applying the plunger. Raven could see that all this was making Maria uncomfortable. And they didn’t want to lose her.

  Pedro had to go.

  "Try flushing the toilet to see if it’s fixed yet," Samantha called sweetly from the doorway.

  "Not yet. I am still working," announced their hero. An electricity began to fill the room, making Maria glance nervously about.

  "Please try for me," pleaded Robin.

  By now Maria was sure of it! Magic was building in the air! She shot a glance at Pedro, but he was oblivious to the change. He had eyes only for Robin. "Please," Robin pleaded again. Pedro felt he was falling into the depth of her large, blue eyes and there was no way out. Mesmerized, he reached out blindly to press the flush lever.

  The four tourists stared hard at the bowl, their lips moving silently. Water rushed into the bowl, filling it. Just as the level reached the point of overflowing, a sound was heard as something gave way within the line. The water level faltered and held, then very swiftly returned to normal.

  "Once more, Pedro, just to be sure," whispered Cat.

  Pedro wasn’t sure why he complied as he surely didn’t like this woman, but he pressed the lever again. Everyone’s eyes shot to the bowl. The women tensed. Maria tensed. Even Pedro tensed.

  The toilet flushed normally. Pedro wasn’t sure how he’d done it, but he’d certainly done it. And so quickly, too.

  "Congratulations, Pedro!" Robin flew to his side.

  "Yes, Pedro, you’re a genius," beamed Samantha.

  "Absolutely brilliant," chimed in Raven.

  "May we count on you in the future," asked Cat, daintily offering the man another wad of bills. "Si! Si!" beamed Pedro, bowing and pocketing the tip. He collected his tools and backed out of the room, bowing all the way.

  When the four turned their attention, at long last, to Maria, her reaction was totally unexpected. Leaning forward in her chair, she pointed a shaking, accusing finger at the group. "Witches! Witches!" she shouted. Then her voice dropped to a whisper, "Evil! Witches!"

  Maria opened her mouth to scream when Cat sprang forward. She scooped up the pitcher of tea and splashed the contents in Maria’s face. The scream froze in Maria’s throat. As she spluttered, Cat stood over her and shook the last, few drops on her head.

  Samantha sighed and reached for a handful of tissues. She began mopping the tea from their befuddled guest, all the while speaking to Maria in a calm, even voice.

  "You’re perfectly safe here. You’re our guest."

  "So don’t scream!" commanded Cat.

  "Screaming isn’t polite," Robin added gravely.

  "We’re very nice people and we want very much to help you," continued Samantha.

  Maria stared at them, her mind racing. How could she trust these strangers, these witches, with such terrible secrets? She looked past the women to the door. Should she try to run? Could she make it?

  Raven spoke first. "Maria, we didn’t mean to frighten you." Samantha finished blotting the tea from Maria’s face and hair, then began on her skirt. "When Pedro came in unexpectedly, we didn’t hurt him." The Americans began giggling at the memory of Pedro flat on his face, hands tied, and Cat, the warrior woman with her wild, tawny, lion’s mane, triumphantly straddling him. Maria couldn’t help herself. She began to giggle, too.

  "Well, I mean, after we discovered he wasn’t a burglar, didn’t we apologize?" asked Robin.

  "We tipped him handsomely! Twice!" added Cat.

  "And we made him feel like a hell of a repairman, and a hero, to boot," chirped Robin.

  Maria no longer felt in danger, but she still wanted to a
rgue the matter. She pointed dramatically to the bathroom. All heads spun around and stared through the open door.

  "You put a spell on that toilet! I felt it happen," she stated triumphantly. "Pedro didn’t know it, but I did."

  "Maria, Pedro was trying to repair the toilet when it began working," protested Robin.

  "NO!" said Maria firmly, sitting back and crossing her arms. She stared them down.

  She knew!

  "All right," Raven sighed, "perhaps we did fix the toilet. Making a toilet work is not an evil thing. In fact, one might say such an act is in the nature of a community service."

  "You admit it," asked Maria with wonder.

  "Well, yes," nodded Raven.

  "Guess so," murmured Samantha.

  Robin nodded her little head vigorously.

  "We're Wiccans," explained Raven. "You mustn’t confuse us with Satanists. Satan is a Christian concept and, perhaps, a Moslem one. Wiccans don’t believe in the existence of such an entity. We swear to you, this is the truth."

  "Yes," Samantha added. "And our religion is one with the beauty and wonder of nature. An earth magic. And one of the oldest religions known to man. Wicca means way of the wise and the wise ones were those who first knew how to heal, first to know which time of the year to successfully plant crops, or travel, and the first to tap into magical powers."

  "As with Santeria in this country," said Cat, "our secrets and power are only shared with the initiated. Forget what you’ve heard. We don’t solicit new members as do the so-called major religions. Once a person has power, he, or she, might use it for good or for evil. And we wouldn’t give so much knowledge to passing strangers."

  Maria began to appear a bit more agreeable and Raven took up the narrative.

  "We do white magic. A psychiatrist friend of mine calls it bright magic. We try, through magical means, to help people and to heal them."

  Robin leaned forward and her blonde hair gleamed in the lamplight. "We believe that we may do whatever we wish, as long as it harms no one else. If we deliberately cause harm to anyone, we believe the same harm will befall us three fold. Should we use magic to cause a truly great harm, such as murder by magic, we would have to face very powerful, invisible forces. And there would be a good chance that such an evil conjurer might not survive."

  Cat stepped outside the circle of light, becoming a dark silhouette. "So, you see, Maria," the shadow whispered, "it would be against our nature and our religion to harm you. Let us help you if we can. Tell us your story."

  Maria hesitated, staring down at the flower clasped in her lap.

  "Do you have anyone else to turn to?" asked Robin. "If you did, you wouldn’t have let us bundle you into the car and bring you here." She patted Maria’s hand. "It’s fate that brought us together. Do you believe in fate, Maria?"

  Samantha placed her hand over Maria’s clasped ones.

  "We're strangers from different parts of the world who came together on a dirt road, in the middle of a jungle, at the very time you need help. Something like this doesn’t just happen. It was meant to be. You must believe that we were sent to you for this very purpose."

  Before Maria could respond, a very strange and wonderful thing happened. A large, dark bird flew in from the terrace and back out again just as quickly as it had come. It perched on the balcony rail, cawing a harsh greeting to the women. Robin laughed and asked, "Are ravens indigenous to the Dominican Republic?"

  Little Robin grabbed up their guide book and began thumbing through the pages. "Yes," she announced gaily. "There are at least 290 different species of birds on this island, including ravens and crows."

  "It doesn’t matter," Samantha answered. "What’s important is that ravens are indigenous to our good friend, Raven." Cat turned from the bird to Maria.

  "Our friend here has descended from a long line of Druids. Being in the company of one or more ravens is her trademark. Wherever she is, it seems at least one such bird must appear."

  Cat laughed. "We have thought of testing this power. For example, if we sent Raven up in a government test rocket, together with some laboratory mice, into outer space. "

  Samantha interrupted, "Cat please. I don’t think Maria is able to follow your mental meanderings." Cat shot Samantha an evil glance, but became quiet.

  Maria stared in wonder at the bird balancing on the terrace railing. "Some of the things you say, some of the things you believe in, I, too, believe. My mother did what you call the bright magic. And she was very powerful, and very good." Her voice broke. Tears welled up in her eyes. "My brother is very powerful, but he is not good. He frightens people." Tears spilled over and she tried to stand, but seemed too weak.

  "Does he frighten you, Maria," asked Raven. "Is he behind your troubles?" A look of terror crossed Maria’s face and she staggered to her feet. Cat gently pushed Maria back into the chair, leaning so close that her tawny hair brushed Maria’s cheek.

  "There are common threads in magic," Cat whispered. "It doesn’t matter which religion you’re talking about. Each religion tells of its right and left-hand paths. Those who choose black magic, destructive magic, run a much greater risk of destroying themselves. The supernatural forces that make magic possible are often jealous or vengeful. They wait for the magic user to make the mistake that will permit them to destroy him."

  Maria nodded in agreement and the Wiccans gathered eagerly around her.

  "We promise we’ll do our best to help you," said Raven. "Won’t you tell us what’s wrong?"