Going through the Potions

by Samantha Silver

  “On the bright side, if dandelions were a gourd, I probably could have left him that way for a couple of weeks and he would have romped it in,” Willow said. “It was literally the size of his face. And his neck had turned into a green stalk, too.”

  “That’s so weird,” I said with a shudder. “I’m glad I don’t do what you do.”

  “Well, I’m pretty sure magical fixers have to deal with gross magic too,” Willow said. “So you’d better get used to my war stories.”

  “Right. That’s if I even need the money after I blow this case wide open. Is Anne around? I have a quick question I need to ask her.”

  “Sure, the students will be leaving for the day soon. Wait by the exit and she’ll come out that way.”

  I thanked Willow and made my way to a bench at the hospital entrance. Sure enough, about ten minutes later, a handful of witches and wizards with the requisite “A” stamped onto their uniforms, along with a smaller “S” designating them to be students, made their way through the doors, looking harried and ready for a good night’s sleep.

  Anne was one of the last of them to come through, walking slowly, looking down at the ground. She looked ready to burst into tears at any moment. My heart broke for her; it couldn’t have been easy having to grieve in secret the way she was doing.

  “Hey, Anne,” I said to her softly as she walked past me. Maybe too softly; the witch jumped about a foot in the air as she spotted me.

  “Oh. Ali, hi,” she said.

  “Listen, I was wondering if I could ask you a quick question.”

  “Sure, of course.”

  “Did you tell Blaze that the potions Jason had been making were getting worse and worse? That more dragons were ending up in the hospital after taking them?”

  “I sure did,” Anne nodded. “Well, I told him it seemed that way, anyway. It was possible there were just more of them out there, which would have meant the same percentage of bad batches would have still landed more dragons in the hospital overall. But we did have a discussion about it, around a week ago. He was worried about his sister.”

  “Do you know a witch studying with you, Kirsten Dail?”

  “Yeah, I know Kirsten,” Anne confirmed.

  “Was she here the morning Blaze was killed?” I asked. I didn’t really suspect Kirsten—I really had absolutely no reason to—but while I was here, I figured I might as well rule whoever I possibly could out as a suspect.

  “She was, I saw her that morning,” Anne said with a nod. “Why, do you think she might have had anything to do with this?”

  “No, not really,” I admitted. “I just found out she was friends with Bridget, Blaze’s sister, and so I’m checking out everyone just in case.”

  “Oh, sure,” Anne said. “But no, she was here that morning. In fact, she messed up a simple spell used to clean wounds and managed to accidentally make a vampire’s cut shoot out ninja stars. It was crazy; we had to try and get access to his wound so that we could staunch the stars without getting hit by them. No one told me when I went to become an assistant Healer that I’d also have to be a martial arts expert.”

  Anne even ventured a little bit of a laugh before quickly clamping her mouth shut, as though realizing she was still grieving and not supposed to be having any fun.

  “Well, that sounds awful,” I said.

  “It was. I mean, in hindsight we laughed about it. Kirsten felt so bad about what had happened. We’re all just under a lot of pressure; we have a set of exams coming up and she told me she’d been up the whole night studying. She just wasn’t thinking when she cast the spell.”

  “Yeah, we’ve all been there,” I said with a grin. Exam stress was no joke. When I was back at the Academy, I had once been so stressed that when I tried to make a potion that would calm a crying baby, it made anyone who drank it burst into tears. Needless to say, I didn’t get a passing mark on that particular assignment.

  “Does this mean you’re no closer to finding the killer?” Anne asked sadly.

  “I have a pretty good idea as to who did it,” I said. “It’s just a matter of proving it.”

  The more I discovered, the more I thought Jason had to be the one behind it. After all, he had reason to want Blaze dead, he had no alibi, and who knew—maybe he did manage to properly make the potion that killed Blaze. Even a broken clock was right twice a day.

  Now I just had to find proof—and do it before Chief Enforcer Loeb and her crew got there first.

  “Good,” Anne said to me. “I hope whoever did it rots in jail forever.”

  “Me too,” I replied. “Thanks again for the help.”

  Anne nodded and stalked off, and I sat back down on the bench, watching her form fade off into the distance. A couple of minutes later, Willow joined me.

  “So how’d it go?”

  “Yeah, good. I’m sure Jason is the killer. He just has to be.”

  “You just have to prove it?”

  I nodded. “That’s an issue. I have no idea how I’m going to do that. I guess the best way would be to find the potion he used to kill Blaze. There can’t have been any evidence on the knife, or the Enforcers would have already arrested him, and if anyone saw him go after Blaze in the forest, then they would have come forward already.”

  “In that case, yeah, I think finding the potion Jason used is your best bet.”

  I nodded, staring distractedly at the ground. Something still didn’t add up. I didn’t like the fact that Anne said she didn’t text Blaze that morning. Had Jason managed to spoof her phone somehow, to set a trap for Blaze? Had Anne been lying to me, and she had sent the message?

  That was the only question mark I still had. Everything else pointed to Jason. It had to be him, then. I was just missing something, I was sure of it. But hey, as long as I had the right guy, all I had to do was find proof he was the killer, and I’d be happy.

  “So what’s your plan to find the potion?”

  “I don’t know,” I said slowly. “A part of me thinks I should break into his house and see if I can find proof he made the poison that killed Blaze.”

  “Well, at least your plan is totally legal.”

  “Hey, if you want to make a half-million-abra omelet, you’re going to have to break a few eggs. Besides, it’s not like I can get caught breaking and entering twice in one week. That would just be bad luck.”

  Willow raised an eyebrow. “There was a first time?”

  I had completely forgotten to tell her about the other night, and by the time I had finished recounting the story, Willow was laughing so hard tears streamed down her face as she clutched her side.

  “You’re literally the only person that would ever happen to,” she said. “Did you seriously tell him you were just looking for the bathroom?”

  I shrugged. “I didn’t know what else to do.”

  “You’re insane. I can’t believe Jack let you go.”

  “Yeah. Me neither. He must really feel bad about me seeing his bare butt.”

  “That must be it,” Willow giggled. “Or he misses being friends with you.”

  “Well, maybe he should have thought about that before stealing my boyfriend.”

  “Anyway, I’m glad you weren’t arrested. You’d probably still be in jail right now if you’d actually been caught. I can’t believe you did that!”

  “Yeah, well, I need that money.”

  “Speaking of, I asked around. They’re currently looking to hire a witch or a wizard in janitorial here,” Willow said. “It doesn’t pay well, and it’s not the best work, but it is a job.”

  I nodded. “Thanks.” Honestly, I’d rather stab myself in the face than spend the day cleaning up weird paranormal hospital goo, but I did appreciate that Willow looked into it for me. The fact that I might have to actually consider applying for the job anyway only fueled my desire to find proof Jason was behind this murder and claim that reward money.

  After all, half a million abras would easily get me through the next six months until I
could try the magical fixer test again, and then leave some left over so I could start saving up for that place I wanted to buy my mom.

  “Well, if you’re going to do it, I’m coming with you.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Really? Breaking and entering doesn’t really seem to be your sort of thing.”

  “It shouldn’t be anyone’s thing,” Willow said, giving me a hard look. “But since you insist on getting yourself arrested in the course of trying to find out who did this, the least I can do is try and help.”

  “Thanks,” I said with a grin.

  “But if we find the proof and you get that money, you’re buying the celebratory dinner.”

  “Deal.”

  Chapter 16

  I did my best to avoid being seen by my mother for the rest of the day. I didn’t want an invitation to dinner, as I figured it was going to be at least a couple of days before Mom and Grandma Rosie stopped fighting over my grandmother’s arrest. I sent Leda a text, warning her to avoid home for a couple of days.

  Why, what happened? my sister replied a moment later.

  Grandma Rosie got caught breaking into the Enforcers’ office and Mom isn’t happy about it.

  Leda responded with three horrified-looking emojis. A second later, another reply appeared. Are you serious?

  One hundred percent. Steer clear for a while.

  Thanks for the warning.

  Willow and I had planned to meet just after dark at a park not far from Jason’s place. I tried to dress in dark clothes that would hide me from sight as much as possible, while at the same time doing my best not to look like I was getting ready for a night of lawbreaking. I figured I managed to straddle that line pretty well as I made my way out into the night, tucking my wand into my pocket for good measure. I could have used an invisibility spell, sure, but if anyone around was using spell detection methods, I’d be caught, and I’d look a lot more suspicious than if I pretended I was just going for a late-night walk on my own.

  I slipped past the cottage, looking through the lit windows to see Grandma Rosie looking defiant and my mother looking defeated, and smiled to myself. I was definitely glad I hadn’t been involved in that particular discussion, and even more glad that my mom had no idea I’d been caught doing exactly the same thing as Grandma Rosie just a few hours earlier.

  As I reached the park, I spotted Willow shadowboxing in the sandbox, the focus on her face intense.

  “Practicing for tonight?”

  “You can never be too careful,” Willow said to me. I couldn’t help but notice even in the dim light of the full moon that her face was pale. This was definitely outside of her comfort zone.

  “You don’t have to do this with me,” I said, but Willow shook her head.

  “If it’s going to help you, I want to do it. It’s stupid that you lost your job, and you didn’t deserve that. Besides, I’m a good influence on you. Hopefully with me around you won’t do anything too stupid.”

  “Alright. Well, I can’t really deny that, can I? Anyway, I was thinking we cast a spell to put Jason to sleep, go in, and have a look around.”

  “And that right there is why I’m here,” Willow said, crossing her arms. “We’re not going to cast a spell on anyone. If you do, he’s going to wake up, realize someone put a spell on him, and if he’s guilty, he might run. Or he might go to the Enforcers, and you’re going to be the first person Jack is going to think of.”

  “Second, actually,” I replied. “Grandma Rosie and Connie will be first.”

  Willow shot me a look. “Fine,” I said, throwing my hands in the air. “We do it your way. What’s your plan? Sit in this park and wait until he dies of old age?”

  “No, but I do think we should get a good vantage point and try to spy on him. If we climb that tree, we should get a pretty good look through his window. Who knows what we’ll see?”

  “Paint drying, probably,” I muttered. Maybe this was one of those hammer-versus-scalpel things, though. I couldn’t help but think that maybe doing things Willow’s way would be a good way to learn the finesse and patience that I would need as a magical fixer. What was the worst that could happen? An early death caused by boredom, I supposed.

  “Fine,” I muttered, making my way to the tree in question. It was a large pine tree; the thick foliage would keep us hidden, but we’d still be able to see straight through Jason’s living room window if we climbed up a couple of feet. I jumped up and grabbed the lowest branch, my feet dangling as I tried and failed to hoist myself upward. Eventually, I reached my feet over to the tree’s trunk and climbed them upward until I was hanging off the branch like a sloth. With a bunch of awkward maneuvers, I eventually managed to roll my body onto the branch and sit up.

  “Some witches can’t do that elegantly,” Willow teased, and I flipped her off as she swung effortlessly up onto the branch. I would never admit it to her, but I was totally jealous of how gracefully she had managed that.

  Willow moved next to me, and the two of us peered through the branches and into Jason’s home. The lights were on and the blinds open, which made it super simple to see what was going on inside. Jason was on the phone, gesticulating to someone while he paced around the room.

  “Talking to his lawyer, who’s trying to convince him to turn himself in?” I suggested.

  “That wouldn’t be good news for you,” Willow pointed out.

  “Alright, then he’s trying to hire a prostitute, but she wants to charge him double for being so gross.”

  Willow snickered. “Now that’s much more realistic.”

  Eventually Jason hung up the phone and tossed it onto the table. Plonking himself down on the couch, he grabbed the remote for the TV, hoisted his legs up onto the coffee table, and settled himself in.

  “Well, looks like we’re going to be here a while,” I said with a sigh. “Time to settle in.”

  “Look on the bright side. It could be raining,” Willow pointed out.

  I laughed. “That’s very true.” We lived in the Pacific Northwest, after all. When the sun was out and the weather crisp in the fall, I absolutely loved it. When there was a torrential downpour that lasted for days, I loved it just a little bit less. Unfortunately, the latter was far too common.

  But hey, tonight the weather really was nice. The full moon even meant everything outside wasn’t completely shrouded in darkness.

  I figured I might as well find out what I could from Willow while we had some time.

  “Do you know an assistant Healer student named Kirsten? Kirsten Dail?”

  Willow frowned next to me. “Oh, maybe? I think I’ve run into her once or twice. I’ve seen her around at the hospital, but I can’t say I really know her. Why?”

  “Oh, no real reason. She’s friends with Bridget, Blaze’s sister, that’s all.”

  “Do you think she has something to do with this?”

  I shrugged. “Honestly, I have no reason to think that. She was at the hospital that morning, when Blaze was killed, so she couldn’t have done it.”

  “But something is bothering you anyway.”

  “I don’t like the fact that no one seems to know where the text message from Anne’s phone to Blaze came from.”

  “Well, I’ve always been a strong believer in the idea that if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck.”

  “So you think Anne sent it.”

  “Probably,” Willow said. “What are the other options?”

  “Someone could have spoofed her number somehow and sent the message from elsewhere,” I suggested. “That’s possible, right?”

  “I mean, sure, I guess theoretically it’s possible, but it would have to be someone who knows a lot about technology. And I don’t know that much about Jason, but I’m going to go out on a limb and assume “good with technology” doesn’t exactly describe him.”

  “Yeah,” I frowned. “Otherwise, someone could have physically taken Anne’s phone, sent the message, deleted it from her phone, and then put
the phone back in her pocket.”

  “That’s actually more realistic, I think,” Willow replied. “But it still comes with some issues. How would they have managed it without Anne noticing? How would they have managed it without anyone else noticing?”

  “That’s all I’ve got. The only other option is that Anne sent the message herself. But why? Why would she do that? She couldn’t leave the hospital, so she had no reason to get Blaze to meet her.”

  “Unless it wasn’t her Blaze was supposed to meet,” Willow said, her eyes meeting mine. I shuddered at the thought.

  “Do you really think Anne could be the killer? But she seems so…I don’t know, quiet. She doesn’t seem the type to poison her boyfriend, then stab him in the back.”

  “It’s the quiet ones you have to watch out for,” Willow said to me, wiggling her eyebrows up and down at me.

  “Oh, yeah, I’m sure you’re going to be breaking into my house in the middle of the night and stabbing me one day,” I replied. “That definitely sounds like you.”

  “Ok, fine. It’s not me. But my point is, you don’t know who the killer is. It could be anyone. It could be Anne. Maybe she left the potion there for him to eat, maybe inside some chocolates or something, and then had someone else stab him.”

  “Now who’s coming up with crazy ideas?” I grinned.

  “Hey, we’re sitting in a tree in the middle of the night spying on a guy who’s obviously in the middle of the world’s most boring Netflix marathon. I’m not sure either one of us gets to play the sanity card right now.”

  “Fair enough,” I laughed.

  “So think about Anne. What reason could she have had for wanting Blaze dead?”

  “Well, that’s the thing, she doesn’t have one. They were in a relationship, she seemed to very much like him, and now she’s super sad because he’s dead.”

  Willow shook her head. “You need to watch more bad television. We only know they were together because that’s what she told us. What if Blaze broke up with her? No one else knew about their relationship, so all she would have had to do was lie to us, and there was no one else who could confirm or deny her story. If they broke up and she decided to get her revenge in the deadliest way possible, who would know?”