spies and spells 02 - betting off dead

by Kappes, Tonya

  “Not just her. She brought the whole damn Spell Circle in their full regalia.” I rubbed my free hand over my head and used my nails to scratch my scalp, hoping it’d get rid of my headache.

  “No wonder she was doing the Cassie spell. It was for you.” Lilith remembered that strange spell Auntie was concocting last night before the meeting.

  “Gawd,” I groaned and lay back down with my hand covering my eyes. “How could I be so stupid? She did put her finger in my drink and acted like she thought it was hers.”

  “You’ve got to be smarter than your Guardian,” Lilith said in a silky voice. “Don’t worry. I figured something happened, so I got you a really cute dress from one of the boutiques down here by the docks. You are going to love it. I’ll have Gilbert bring it over straightaway.”

  “Thanks, Lilith. You are a lifesaver.” I hit the end button.

  I spent the rest of the day nursing the hangover and thinking about Mick. I hadn’t heard from him so I was sure he was completely put off by the puke. Lilith was right. The red wrap dress that had the perfect v-neck and hem line that hit right above my knee was the perfect cocktail dress. I even liked how the red made my dark features stand out.

  Mom had been down in the basement for most of the day and Riule was with her. It was only me and Vinnie, who stayed in the garage all day. Abram hadn’t even stopped by.

  Before I knew it, it was time to get ready and go to the party the Byrds had invited us to.

  “Vinnie, I made a complete jerk out of myself last night.” I laid my head on the headrest and didn’t bother watching Vinnie drive to Mick’s.

  “Maggie, you did not. You were a complete lady. It was his fault for serving you all those mixed liquors.” Vinnie always found it to be Mick’s fault.

  “So you are telling me,” I rubbed my finger over the pendant that just so happened to match the dress perfectly, “that you don’t think Auntie Meme played any part with her little finger spell making me throw up.”

  “I would have loved to see Agent Jasper’s face,” Vinnie’s voice was vague. He wasn’t going to say anything against Auntie Meme.

  “I bet you would’ve,” I grumbled when I noticed we were already at the curb at Mick’s. “Just beep your horn. I’m already embarrassed enough.”

  Vinnie didn’t just beep, he laid on the horn.

  “Seriously?” I let out an exaggerated sigh but it didn’t faze him. He followed it up by a few toots.

  “I want to make sure he can hear me all the way up there on the fancy floor.” Vinnie was taking too much pleasure in my pain. “Uh, oh. We got a live one.”

  I glanced out the passenger window and Mrs. Cartmell waddled her way down the front walk of the apartment building with a newspaper rolled up under her armpit. She thrust her finger down to the ground wanting me to roll down the window.

  “What do you want me to do?” Vinnie asked.

  “Roll down the window.” I craned my neck to see if Mick was on his way, but I saw nothing.

  “You stop all this ruckus!” She raised a bushy brow. The long hair on her chin twitched as the frown crept up on her lips. “I’m not going to have any witchcraft in my apartment. Do you hear me! Now, you go on and get out of here.”

  “Whoa!” Mick scooted up behind her. “Mrs. Cartmell, I’ve done told you that there was no witchcraft going on in the building. Maggie’s aunt was simply going to a costume party and they stopped by since they were in the area.”

  “I saw it with my own eyes. They had on real looking outfits, that big creature flapping around the building, and then her.” She took the paper from under her arm and shook it at me. “She started hacking her guts up.”

  “I think your imagination has gotten to you,” I simply replied.

  “Has it really?” She snarled and grabbed the edges of the paper with both hands. She snapped open the paper and stuck the front page in my face through the window. “And this was my imagination as I snapped all sorts of pictures.”

  She pulled the paper out of the car and shoved it in Mick’s face. He shifted in an uneasy manner.

  “I thought I saw something like a big owl,” he confirmed, I flinched at his tone.

  Shock momentarily halted me until I ran my hand over the paper. “That’s not even the back drop of the city.” I pointed behind her to the background of downtown verses the background on the paper that I’d just slightly changed.

  She looked at it and pulled it closer to her eyes.

  “What on Earth?” Her eyes widened with alarm. “That is not the picture I took and sent in to the paper. My name was even in the tiny print underneath.”

  She jabbed the photo and handed it to Mick.

  “Photo credit to the Associated Press,” Mick read.

  Mrs. Castell jerked the paper out of his hands and scurried back to the building cursing under her breath the entire way.

  Mick got in and put the seat belt on. Jokingly, he gripped the door handle. “I’m ready now. You can drive.”

  I snickered and put Vinnie in gear.

  “The address is. . .” Mick swiped his finger across his phone.

  “I have it.” I pointed to Vinnie’s circuit screen, which popped up the directions to the Byrds’ home on the outskirts of town in the Jefferson County area.

  “Wow, you have done your homework.” His muscles stood out when he clenched his jaw.

  The air was thick with tension and nothing made Vinnie any happier. His engine purred with delight as he took his leisurely time around the curves of the country roads.

  “The trees sure are pretty this time of the year.” Mick attempted small talk.

  My gut told me he was avoiding the hot topic of vomit.

  “So are we going to just talk about the red and orange leaves, that are beautiful. Or are we going to discuss my puking episode from last night?” I asked.

  I wanted so badly to tell him that Auntie Meme wasn’t very fond of him and that I was a witch and she was a witch and she put a silly little spell on me causing me to throw up and make me unappealing to him. Then everything would be peachy.

  “I was going to avoid that all together. But you do look like you feel better.” He smiled and relaxed a little more.

  “So this.” I drew my finger up and down his frame. “Isn’t all tense because I threw up on you?”

  “No, I’m tense because I’ve been in so many strange and compromising situations. I’ve always taken pride in how I can figure things out and solve crimes in a pretty timely manner. I’ve always been able to meet someone and figure them out.” He peered at me intently. “But Maggie Park seems to have stumped me.”

  My mouth dried. I kept my hands on the wheel and eyes straight. Vinnie turned down a gravel driveway and I could see a two-story, adorable log cabin at the end.

  “This car is unusual and acts strange. Your aunt comes around at inopportune times. You know things that you shouldn’t, including intelligence. You pretend not to see things, like that big ass owl flapping outside my window last night. And I know I have excellent eyesight because I just went in for my yearly checkup at SKUL last month. So I know that I saw Mrs. Cartmell’s name credited on the front of that newspaper.” He reached over and his hand gripped my forearm.

  Vinnie jerked the car to a halt. Mick flung forward and smacked his head on the windshield. Not enough to hurt him or make a red spot, but just enough that Vinnie gave him a good crack and a threat to keep his hands off of me.

  “And that.” Mick rubbed his head.

  “Maggie!” I never thought I’d be so ever grateful to see Riley Tucker jogging up to Vinnie in her high heels. “Maggie!”

  Mick sucked in a deep inhale and blew out an even deeper exhale. He jerked the door open. He got out and slammed it shut.

  “I’m so glad we get to walk in together.” Riley’s face crunched in disapproval. “This is not a house. It’s a pile of stacked up wood.” She wrapped her hand around my arm. “I adore this dress. You look great in red. I don’t look
so good in red. It’s the only color I don’t look good in.”

  Mick and I stole a glance before Forest got all of his attention. There was an unspoken look that I knew we were okay and he was just trying to figure me out. If he couldn’t understand who I was, I could understand that he couldn’t trust me to have his back when it came down to it.

  I was going to have to be more careful and not use so much sleight of hand and get Auntie Meme off my back.

  “Seriously, who lives like this?” Riley gripped me so tight.

  “We aren’t going into a haunted house,” I joked even though it was that time of the year where every corner in town was fixed up like a haunted house and every person as a member of my coven. Mortals were fascinated with the paranormal.

  “Good evening, ladies. Welcome to our Frank Lloyd Wright Adirondack home.” Amber Byrd stood beaming with pride in a lovely black turtleneck jumpsuit. “Maggie, your necklace matches your dress perfectly. It’s so pretty. Ruby?”

  If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear I saw Riley’s eyes slide down Amber’s body with an envy and jealousy in her bones.

  “It is.” I smiled knowing the real power the necklace had and eased into my pretend role as Mrs. Mick Jasper.

  “I noticed it yesterday.” Amber’s sweet smile traveled to her eyes. “It is a gorgeous piece of jewelry.”

  “Really? A Wright home?” Riley dropped me like three-day old bologna and budged her way past me to get Amber’s attention.

  “Oh yes. The finest in timber and framing alone nearly broke us.” Amber gushed when we walked into the great room with the fireplace and vaulted ceilings exposing the exquisite architectural detail.

  Amber took us throughout the 4580-square-foot home that boosted three bedrooms and a private and luxurious master suite. Amber’s gourmet kitchen had designer custom cabinets, stainless steel appliances, granite and concrete countertops and five-burner gas cooktop that would send Auntie Meme into witch heaven. Off the kitchen was the dining room with a butler’s pantry and wine cooler where there really was a butler pouring some of the fancy wine in glasses before he carried them out on a tray for the party-goers.

  “The view.” Riley gasped. She hadn’t paid attention to me since we heard Mr. Wright’s name come out of Amber’s mouth.

  “You haven’t seen anything yet.” Amber gestured for us to follow her down the steps.

  “You have a movie theatre?” Riley’s jealousy was not only showing, she was flaunting it around.

  The home theatre, wine cellar, exercise room, and recreation room with wet bar and a fireplace was just a little whip cream on Amber’s slice of paradise. Her home was nestled in a nicely wooded area with three beautiful decks and a covered deck overlooking the koi pond with waterfall. There was a babbling brook below.

  “This is amazing.” I managed to get in a sentence between Riley’s gasps and groans.

  “It’s not uncommon for the deer and the turkey to take a stroll along the creek each day and it provides excellent opportunities for canoeing and kayaking as well as fishing for catfish, smallies, bass, perch, crappie and bluegill, which is where Joel spends all his free time.” She winked. “He says he’s going to produce us a houseful of boys and teach them the lay of the land.”

  “Oh not us.” Riley’s eyes popped open. “I want someone to raise mine for me. Hell,” she sucked down her glass of wine, “he can have an affair and let her have the kids for all I care. Just as long as I can shop.” She giggled.

  Amber glared at her and when she noticed that I saw her, she smiled and giggled to cover it up.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “This house is something,” Mick said after he opened the door to the back deck. He walked up next to me and leaned over, resting his forearms on the deck railing.

  The bright moon made a clear-cut line of his profile right before a cloud reached out and grappled with the moon for possession of light.

  “It is magnificent.” I remained uncomfortably still with my hands still gripping the railing.

  Mick reached over and laid his hand on mine.

  “I’m sorry I said all of those things before we walked in. I know better.” A group of crickets sang like power lines in the darkness of the night. The trickle of the koi pond added to the musical number of Mother Nature’s nighttime orchestra. “You are my partner and it’s hard not to know every single thing about you. I know the heart you have and the love you have for your family. I have seen you take your job seriously and for that I’m sorry. I don’t need to know everything about you,” his voice trailed away. He’d said enough.

  “Is that the barn over there?” I pointed to the only man-made light—a faint glow around the simple bulb that hung over top of a barn door.

  “I think so.” He straightened up and rubbed his hand down my back. “Everyone is keeping a close eye on us. The men have been called to the theater room in the basement to talk about Rails and Nails and the Byrds’ role with him as the Derby contender for the spring.”

  My heart flipped again and again. It was proving to be a staggering challenge being so near to him and very hard for me to concentrate on his words.

  “You mean they’ve already picked him?” I was a little taken aback. “You said they had a couple of auctions to go.”

  “I guess Rails and Nails was the guy.” He shrugged. “I’m curious to see how much stake all of us get to claim versus how much the Byrds get. I’m more curious to see what the training schedule is going to be. That’s where we are going to see him getting stronger and when the doping will probably take place.”

  I nodded my head. He brought his face toward me and put his nose up to my ear. I found him disturbingly attractive and it was hard to concentrate on my job.

  “They are watching our every move,” his voice seductively passed through my ear and oozed into my veins.

  “I know they are.” I turned my head toward him. Our lips inches apart.

  His lips thinned. His eyes probed my soul.

  “Mick, dude. Can’t the two of you keep your hands off of each other for a couple of hours?” Forest had popped his head out of the door. “It’s time to head downstairs.”

  Mick laughed. He gave me one last knowing look before he headed on inside and I followed him.

  Like the good wife role I was playing, I went into the kitchen where the women had gathered. Different conversations were going on at once and it was hard for me to clear my head and eavesdrop as I was being paid to do.

  It was easy to pick out the voices of Amber and Riley since my ear had already been trained on them. They were tucked in the butler’s pantry away from the other women.

  Riley seemed to be a little distressed.

  “Why did you invite her?” Riley sounded as if she were in tears.

  “Joel said it would be good for the society papers if we rubbed elbows with them.” Amber tried to reason with a very upset Riley.

  “They’ve never come to our group parties before and she doesn’t fit in.” Riley had suddenly found her voice. “She’s not fitting in very well.”

  Were they talking about me? My ears perked up.

  “I don’t know what to tell you. If the shoe were on the other foot and Forest told you to invite them, you’d have been all over it,” Amber whispered and she stuck her head out of the pantry.

  Her eyes drew to mine. She smiled.

  “There you are.” She stepped out of the pantry with Riley following her. There wasn’t a smile on Riley’s face. She stole away into the powder room off the pantry. “Where did you go?”

  “I was checking out the amazing moon from your deck.” I generated a smile even though I knew she’d just been talking about me.

  How on Earth was I going to explain to Mick that we weren’t invited to something because Riley didn’t like me. That would definitely blow our cover.

  Amber’s attention was hailed down by an older woman with a short blond bob hairstyle that was asymmetrical hitting at her chin line. She drip
ped in jewels. She smelled just like money. I had to figure out just how I was going to get back in Riley’s good graces now that she seemed to have picked Amber as her best friend after seeing Amber’s house.

  I grabbed a glass of bourbon on my way out of the kitchen and went back outside on the deck hoping the fresh night air would swirl around me, bringing me fresh ideas.

  The rustle of leaves and a shadowy figure caught my attention as soon as I made my way over to the edge of the deck. I glanced through the wooded area as the sound of light footsteps made off in the distance. The light from the bulb above the barn skewed as the door swept over its light.

  I pushed my hair back and glanced over my shoulder to see if anyone was looking at me or if they were just watching Mick, after all, he did say they were watching us and using a little witchy magic probably wasn’t the best thing. I set my glass down on the deck railing.

  Before I did anything that wasn’t of the mortal world, I ran my finger over my pendant and it didn’t warm. Vinnie hadn’t responded with it warming, making me feel a little better investigating what was going on down at the barn.

  I sucked in a deep breath and let the clean, crisp fall air fill my lungs before I puffed out my checks to make a streamlined breeze that transported me to the side of the barn.

  The lights of the house flickered through the bare tree limbs. That same cloud eased by the moon, shielding any small amount of light that showed my way. I put my hand up to my pendant and nothing. Even though my mind told me everything was fine and proceed to check out the barn, my gut told me danger lay ahead.

  With the barn door slightly ajar, I took a peek inside. There were only two stalls that ran along each side of the barn. The one on the right was empty and the one on the left was occupied by Rails and Nails.

  He brayed as he sent his head over the stall door and turned to stare at me. He stared at me before lifting his nose in the air, braying and shaking his head back to its normal position. There was another door on the far side of the barn that was cracked and I couldn’t help but wonder if the shadowy figure I saw walked into the barn and through that door.