“She’s fine,” Luna scoffed. “She’s just playing up the sad kitty act for attention.”
“You’d be heartbroken if you had to sleep all by yourself on a cold night,” I said to Luna, looking at her over my shoulder while I scratched Lucy’s belly. Luna was perched on the counter, wrinkling her nose at me.
“Well, yeah. But it’s not like you forced her to sleep there. She picked that spot herself,” Luna reasoned. “She’s just trying to gain sympathy.”
“Well, she’s got it,” I remarked, standing up. Lucy hopped out of the bathtub and onto the counter beside Luna, who sidestepped away.
“You’re too soft, Arti. If it were up to you we’d have all kinds of wild creatures living in this house with us. What’s next, a lonesome raccoon? A homeless opossum?” she asked, smirking.
“If they looked pitiful enough, maybe,” I told her with a wink. “Anyway, I need to have a shower and get ready for the day.”
“What have you got planned?” Luna asked. I turned on the shower, stripping out of my pajamas and shaking my hair loose from its messy bun.
“I’m going to the hospital,” I said as I climbed into the shower. I sighed under the deliciously warm water, feeling the tension melt away. “I’m going to visit Lara.”
“Why?” Luna asked, cocking her head to one side. Lucy, meanwhile, finally looked interested in what I had to say. “Didn’t they say they’d let you know when Lara could have visitors?”
“They did. I’m not sure why, but I have a feeling I should go over there,” I replied honestly. Witches intuition was never something to ignore, and the closer it got to the full moon, the more powerful my instincts got.
Lucy meowed a few times and Luna nodded, then translated for me. “She wants to know if she can go with you and visit her.”
I stuck my soapy head out of the shower curtain to give her an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, Lucy. I don’t think the hospital staff will let you in yet. Not until she wakes up.”
Lucy made a sound almost like a human grumble and hopped off the counter, out of the bathroom, and presumably to some other part of the house to sulk.
“What a diva,” Luna sniffed.
“She’s having a hard time, Lu. I get why she’s a little high-strung at the moment. If I were in the hospital you’d be freaking out, too. I hope,” I added as I rinsed my hair.
Luna snorted. “Nah. I’d throw a huge party. Invite all my feline friends from the neighborhood. Totally trash the place while you’re gone.”
“Gee, thanks. Good to know.”
“Aw, come on. I’m just kidding,” she said. I smiled to myself. I knew she was kidding, but it didn’t hurt to mess with her a little. “I’d be a mess without you. My life would fall apart. Is that what you wanted to hear?”
I rinsed off my hair and body, then cut the water off and stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around my dripping body. I smiled at Luna. “Yes. That’s exactly what I wanted to hear, obviously.”
“You’re so needy,” she commented. “And wet! Don’t touch me!” she yelped as I reached over to pet her with my shower-soaked hand. She ducked away from me, hissing in disgust. I laughed and got started on my morning routine. If I was going to visit the hospital and do the rest of my chores today before my new guests were arriving tonight, I needed to get a move on. I used my usual drying spell to wring the water from my hair, then braided it loosely over my left shoulder. Leaning forward, I put on some mascara and muted red lipstick. I had a feeling it was going to be pretty cold today, so I put on a thick black sweater, black corduroy skinny pants, a red scarf, black woolly socks, and my black boots.
“Looking a little grim today, aren’t we?” Luna remarked, looking me up and down.
“I suppose this is a lot of black, huh,” I mumbled, looking down at my outfit. “Oh well. I’m a witch. And it’s cold outside. It’s just that kind of day.”
“The doctors are going to think you’re in mourning or something,” she said.
“Too late. I’m already dressed and comfy. No changing it now,” I chirped, swishing out of the bathroom. “Deflammoroa,” I quipped, and the bathroom light went out. Luna and Lucy followed me down the stairs, Lucy appearing from her hiding place in the guest bedroom.
“Can I come with you? Please?” Luna begged, weaving in and out around my ankles as I threw on a heavy coat. I looked down at her and shook my head, then bent down to pet her. She purred, nuzzling into my hand.
“I’m sorry, but you can’t come along this time. The doctors wouldn’t be pleased to see me carrying a cat into the hospital. Things are supposed to be sterile there,” I said.
Luna bristled, clearly offended. “What are you saying? That I’m dirty?”
“No. You’re not dirty. You’re just not sterile. Unless you plan on letting some stranger in a lab coat give you a very thorough scrub-down in a hospital sink, you can’t come with me,” I told her, fudging the details a little bit. She backed away.
“No, thank you. That sounds horrible.”
“That’s what I thought,” I said, giving her a fond smile. “I’ll be back soon, okay? Be good. Both of you.”
Lucy meowed and Luna nodded. “You got it.”
I walked out and grabbed my broom, then cast, “Insularoa,” over my whole body to add a protective layer of warmth around me while I rode of toward the hospital. It was nice, being outside this early. The world was quiet and dusted in a fine layer of frost and snow, with about an inch having fallen overnight. It was like a veritable Winter Wonderland.
When I got to the hospital, I set my broom against the outside of the building and walked inside, sighing at the rush of warm air as I stepped through the entryway. I went straight to the front desk and was pleased to see that the same cat-loving nurse was there again this time. She smiled brightly when she saw me.
“Good morning!” she said cheerfully. “Here to see Miss Lancaster?”
I nodded and grinned. “Absolutely. Good memory.”
“Oh, thank you. I never forget a fellow cat-lover,” she said, with a wink.
“I was wondering if there was any update on her progress?” I asked. “I have a cat at home who’s very interested in her condition.”
“Well, you can tell Lara’s familiar that she’s actually starting to wake up.”
“That’s wonderful,” I breathed. “Can I see her?”
“Sure. The doctors were talking this morning about how having a friend around might help her recover faster, but they didn’t know who she might be close to,” Marsha said. “Follow me.”
“Has she been doing alright here?” I asked as we made our way down the hall.
“Oh, yes. In fact, while she still doesn’t look like she’s back to normal, all of the tests show that she’s healing quite well, all things considered. But then, that’s the case a lot of the time, isn’t it? Just because things don’t look all that great on the outside doesn’t mean there isn’t any beauty underneath.”
“I imagine Lara’s not used to being referred to as not looking all that great on the outside,” I joked.
“Oh well of course, you and I could only dream of looking like her on a bad day,” Marsha told me with a wink, and I laughed as we arrived up to Lara’s suite. The pretty actress looked pale and her lips were chapped, but otherwise she looked about a million times better than the last time I’d had a look at her. I couldn’t help but wonder if I would look half that good in a coma. Probably not.
Suddenly, I heard a groaning noise, but it wasn’t from Lara. I looked around, confused, until I noticed the curtains drawn around another cot across the room. There was a second patient in here. Curiosity got the best of me and I slowly, quietly walked over to investigate. Parting the curtains, I came across a big burly guy on the cot in a hospital gown. His arm was in a sling and his leg in a cast. I didn’t have to be a doctor to know the guy was in pain.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have peeked. My apologies,” I said quickly, a blush crawling
up my face. What on earth was wrong with me? As I turned to walk away, however, the man reached out to me.
“No, no. It’s okay. I’m so bored, I wouldn’t mind chatting,” he said. I reluctantly made my way back over to him.
“Thanks,” he added with a smile.
“That looks pretty painful,” I remarked. He nodded.
“Yeah. Even with magic, it’s taking a while to heal up.”
“What happened, if you don’t mind my asking?”
He sighed. “You know that robbery last week at that jewelry store?”
“Yeah, I heard about it,” I said. It had been big news in Moonlight Cove. Over fifty thousand dollars’ worth of jewels had been stolen one night from the local store. I’d been so busy with guests at the B&B that I didn’t really know much more than that, though.
“Well I was there. Working,” he answered. I eyed his bulging muscles, covered with tattoos.
“You were working at a jewelry store?” He didn’t exactly look like a salesman, but who was I to judge?
“As a security guard,” he added with a wink.
“Yeah, okay, that makes more sense.”
“It was crazy. Everyone always said there was no need to even hire me, nothing like that ever happens in Moonlight Cove. But it did. On my shift. Guess I’m just lucky like that,” he said, rolling his eyes.
“You’re going to be ok, though, right?” I asked.
“Definitely. Plus, the owners are paying me for the time I’m spending in hospital, so all in all I’m not doing too badly.
Suddenly, I heard a rustling from Lara’s cot.
“Ooh, that actress lady is waking up, I think. Are you a friend of hers?”
“Sort of,” I said, hurrying over to her. I got to her side just as she opened her eyes, blinking and wincing at the fluorescent lights. She looked confused.
“Lara,” I whispered. “Can you hear me?”
She squinted for a second, then nodded. “Yeah. I can hear you. Artemis? What happened? Where am I?”
“Yep. I’m here. You’re in the hospital. You’ve been out for quite a while, Lara. You had us all worried,” I told her. She struggled to lift her hand and I quickly caught it with mine. She smiled weakly. Then a look of panic crossed her face as she tried to sit up, the movement obviously painful.
“My cat, Lucy. Where is she? Is she okay?” she asked, her eyes darting around in panic.
“She’s fine, I promise. She’s at my house hanging out with my cat,” I assured her. “She’s just fine. She misses you an awful lot, though.”
“Oh, my poor baby,” Lara whimpered, laying back against the pillows with a groan. “My head is pounding. Can you call a nurse?”
“Of course,” I told her. I stood up and poked my head out of the room, calling down the hallway. “She’s awake! Can a nurse come help, please!”
Not waiting for a reply, I quickly returned to Lara’s side. I had some questions I wanted to ask before the nurse came to shoo me away. “Lara, do you remember what happened to you? Why you’re here right now?” I asked.
She bit her lip, and I could tell she was wracking her brain, and after a few seconds passed she sighed, leaning back into the pillows. “No. I don’t remember anything. Except that I was frightened. But no, I can’t remember a thing. Why can’t I remember?”
“I think it’s normal, actually. You’ve had some pretty major trauma, it makes sense that you wouldn’t remember right away. It’s okay. The doctors are taking great care of you here, and when you’re ready and feeling a little better, they even said I could bring Lucy up here to visit you,” I told her. That made her brighten up a little.
“Oh, thank you. I can’t tell you how much it means to me to know that my little angel is safe and sound among friends,” she said. I decided against telling Lara that Lucy and Luna weren’t exactly friends.
“Hey listen, it’s totally okay if you don’t remember, but could you tell me anything about Arianna and her brother, Jackson? Anything about them,” I asked. I didn’t want to have to be the one to tell Lara Arianna was dead.
She thought about it for a second, then answered slowly. “I do remember a heated conversation between them. On the phone. Arianna was crying. I was getting ready for bed, doing my nightly face mask, so I wasn’t paying too much attention. But I heard her tell him, oh, what was it? Something about her being in too deep, and saying it was too late to back out, but that it was a bad idea. I wish I could remember more.”
“When was that?” I asked.
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t even know what day it is today.”
I decided that was enough interrogation for now. The poor girl had just woken up from a coma, after all. The last thing she needed was for me to stress her out further. I gave her a smile and patted her hands.
“No problem. It’ll all be okay. Just hang in there, alright?”
She nodded and smiled as a nurse and a doctor in a white coat hurried into the room.
“Miss, I’m afraid you’ll have to leave. We need to run some tests,” the doctor ordered. I nodded and stood back.
“Of course. I was just leaving,” I assured them. “Lara, I’ll tell Lucy you’re awake. She’ll be happy to know you’re feeling better.”
“Thank you, Arti!” she called out as I left the room.
I finally had some good news to give Lucy.
Chapter 12
I left the hospital wishing I had pockets to stick my hands into, because somehow, that would have fit the pensive mood I was in a little better. Instead, I contented myself with twirling a lock of hair around my finger and unwinding it over and over. I knew I had a thousand-yard stare, but there wasn’t a lot I could do about that at the moment.
This had been a lot to digest in one shot.
I picked my broom up and carried it over my shoulder rather than riding it. I figured getting a little bit of exercise might stimulate my brain, too.
It was a relief beyond relief that Lara had woken up, and that was kind of my grounding anchor through everything else, but I had probably been a little too optimistic to hope that she’d be able to give me anything definite.
Still, I had something.
The argument over the phone sounded like it had nothing to do with the ex. But did it have something to do with another man? What else could “too deep” mean for whatever Jackson was getting into? It wasn’t like Moonlight Cove was a hotbed for criminal activity.
My walk home took me through the downtown core, where people were bustling in and out of the various shops before lunch. There was something about the warm glow of the lights from behind the locally-made glass windows in the midst of the winter chill that made every shop seem all the more inviting.
And speaking of lunch, my stomach protested with a rumbling pang of hunger as the alluring aromas of the cafes and restaurants’ food hit me.
I had been planning to go home and make something, but the smell of fresh bread from the local bakery was just about to make me give into temptation when I spotted someone familiar about a block ahead.
It was Jackson. I watched the janitor himself come out of one of the shops, turning right and walking the same way I was headed, his back to me. He hadn’t noticed me, yet. I pursed my lips, glanced over my shoulder, and started walking after him.
My instinct was to jog up to him and ask him a few questions about his sister, but after a few steps, I noticed he was stepping out of a watchmaker’s store, carrying a small brown packet in his hand. I paused. This was one of those fancy watchmakers, definitely not the kind of place a janitor would be able to afford to shop at. I liked looking at the Rolexes they had on display, but I knew that was all I’d ever do – look through the window.
Why on earth was Jackson buying an overpriced watch?
I second-guessed my plan to talk to him and decided to keep my distance, walking a ways behind him. I guess really I was following him, but I didn’t really want to think of it that way. It sounded just a bit too
stalker-ish. We just happened to be walking in the same direction, and I wasn’t in a hurry.
He made his way toward the town bank, and I took a seat on a bench not too far away and pretended to be doing something on my phone for a while as I glanced at the door every so often and held my broom awkwardly at my side. Totally inconspicuous.
I was just pretending to be on the phone, but as I glanced down at it, I noticed that I had a picture text from Mom. I opened it to see her holding up a few sample cards with three equally awful shades of orange on them.
What do you think? The caption was followed with about a half dozen enthusiastic emojis.
Absolutely not, I texted back, while glancing up to make sure my target wasn’t leaving the building just yet.
My eyes were on the door when he finally stepped through them. Even though I’d done the whole tailing someone thing before, it still made my heart jump into my throat, and I looked back down at my phone quickly.
But I noticed that when he walked down the steps of the bank, he detoured to the public trash can to the side of the steps, and tossed a little wad of paper at it that missed and bounced to the ground without his noticing.
I bit my lip. Digging through the trash would be a new low for me, but it didn’t really count as digging if the trash just fell out, right? I was cleaning up the town, that was it. So what if I took a little glance at the garbage before throwing it out? I was still doing a good deed.
Ethics and personal self-esteem aside, I nonchalantly made my way by the trash can once Jackson was out of range and scooped up the little wad of paper.
It was indeed a receipt.
I narrowed my eyes at it, then realized I must have looked a little odd and started walking away from the garbage can. But when I read the receipt, I nearly dropped it again.
Jackson had just made a small withdrawal, but he’d withdrawn from a checking account that had about $15,000 in it.
I had to read the wrinkled text a few times over to make sure I was reading that right. That couldn’t be right, could it? I could see someone responsible having that much in savings if they really scrimped and lived frugally, but I’d just seen Jackson come out of a shop with a watch that would cost me about a month’s worth of guests, easily.
Thank my Lucky Spells: A Paranormal Cozy Mystery (Moonlight Cove Mystery Book 3) Page 8
