“Storeroom. Now.” I muttered under my breath. Mara’s eyes widened and she nodded, clapping her laptop shut and heading into the shop without another word.

  Chapter 14

  “Black magic?” Mara whispered once I’d finished recounting our experience at Windermere Manor. “That’s...that’s...against the rules.”

  That got a chuckle out of me.

  “To say the least,” I said. “And while we don’t know exactly what Amelia had been doing, we have what might be a clue. There was poison hemlock hanging in her kitchen.”

  Mara tilted her head and frowned. “I’m assuming that’s a plant of some sort?”

  I nodded. “It’s commonly mistaken for other herbs, so its presence in the kitchen might be a simple mistake. But poison hemlock is a common component in a lot of nasty spells...and it’s very, very deadly. Based on what we found in the office, I think it’s reasonable to suspect that it was there for nefarious reasons.”

  “Should we warn Lily?” Mara asked. “If it’s in the kitchen, one of the cooks might accidentally use it...”

  “Absolutely,” I agreed. “Though I’m not quite sure how we can tell her without admitting that we were snooping around inside the manor.”

  Mara tapped her chin.

  “I could mention it in my column,” she said thoughtfully. “Maybe a warning that folks in the Goodsprings area have been gathering hemlock and getting sick...I could recommend that everyone double-check their herbs. You’ll never guess what deadly plant is hiding in YOUR pantry!”

  “Mara, you’re brilliant.” She grinned back at me.

  “Thank you kindly, Sam. Also...where is Tessa? Did you drop her off?”

  “I thought you’d notice,” I said, pointing at my hair. Mara looked where I was pointing and let out a surprised yelp.

  “Sorry, Tessa!” she cried. “I didn’t see you there. You kind of blend in with Sam’s hair.”

  From the corner of my eye, I saw Tessa the dragonfly raise and wave one of her spindly front legs in greeting.

  “Are you feeling up to shifting yet?” I asked, lifting her gently off my hair and setting her down on my office chair.

  There was a sudden flash of orange light accompanied by a faint buzzing sound and rush of warm air. Tessa the human materialized in my chair, white-faced and sweating.

  “Water?” she rasped, looking up at Mara and I.

  I ducked out of the storeroom, filled a glass with ice water, and presented it to Tessa.

  “Cheers,” she muttered, taking it with both hands. She finished half of it with one gulp, wiped her mouth, and sighed.

  “I sure hope no one needs so much as a candle lit today. Because I am dog-tired and one hundred percent out of magic.”

  “She shifted twice.” I explained to Mara, who winced.

  “Well, that wasn’t smart,” she scolded. Tessa scowled over her water glass.

  “Since you’re both here,” Mara continued, “I’ve got some news to share. As you know, I’ve started to actively listen for whispers.”

  Tessa and I nodded.

  “Well,” Mara’s eyes shone excitedly, “I tuned into those new police officers and picked up a conversation they were having about those letters they found in Windermere Manor. They read them aloud and I was able to jot some things down.”

  She opened her laptop and held it out for Tessa and I to see. A text document was open on the screen.

  Dear Ms. Windermere,

  I hope this letter finds you well. I have considered your offer of purchase and am afraid that my answer remains the same. Your offer is very generous, of course, however you must understand that this land is very precious to me. This was the farm my great-great-grandfather started and it’s the farm I intend to pass to my children. While I certainly appreciate your interest, I don’t believe I will be selling any portion of my land for the foreseeable future.

  I wish you the best of luck in your future ventures and hope to see you at the market soon!

  Best,

  Ronald Q. Williams

  “THAT DOESN’T SEEM BAD at all,” Tessa said. “Why would he be a suspect based on that?”

  “Keep reading!” Mara urged, prodding the touch pad to scroll down. The contents of a second letter inched up the screen.

  Dear Ms. Windermere,

  I know I speak for the entire Williams family when I say we are flattered by both your revised offer and your persistence. While I still do not intend to sell, I have heard tell that Mrs. Young down the way is considering picking up and moving to Savannah. I daresay her land rivals mine in production and value. If you would like for me to make introductions, I would be very pleased.

  Best,

  Ronald Q. Williams

  “I wonder why she was so insistent,” I said.

  “Lily said she was planning to turn the farmland into luxury riverside properties,” Mara answered, shifting under the weight of her laptop. “But go on, keep reading.”

  Dear Ms. Windermere,

  As I am sure you are aware, I am experiencing an unprecedented disaster. A sudden turn of the weather has dried out my beds and left my land barren. All efforts to salvage this year’s craw-fish have been found useless. I tell you this in the spirit of honesty, as it has become clear to me that the only course of action that remains is for me to sell.

  I will not be so crass as to assume that your previous offer stands, seeing as I have rejected it time and again and the land is now far less valuable, but I am hoping that your interest may be reignited.

  Please contact me at your earliest convenience if you are interested in revisiting your offer.

  Thank you,

  Ronald Q. Williams

  “Poor Mr. Williams,” I said. Mara scrolled down further, revealing a fourth letter.

  Miss Windermere—

  Do you think I’m a fool? Mrs. Young told me just yesterday that my fields were looking as green and wet as ever. I took a drive out there and saw it with my own eyes. I don’t know what you did, or how, but I know you were the one who dried out my beds and ruined my crop. Don’t you think for a second that the measly payout you so “generously” agreed to will keep me quiet on this.

  Contact me as soon as you get this. If you don’t, I will go to the Gazette and tell them everything. You won’t get away with this.

  Tessa reached out and scrolled down, eyes wide.

  ANSWER ME YOU COWARD. ANSWER ME.

  I know where you live in that big house of yours. If I don’t hear from you by tomorrow I will be there. YOU WON’T GET AWAY WITH THIS.

  “Whoa.” I said.

  “Whoa indeed.” Mara put down the laptop.

  “No wonder Amelia was afraid for her life,” Tessa muttered. “I’d definitely want my own personal Otter King bodyguard after reading that.”

  “Even with his alibi,” I said. “Those letters are pretty damning.”

  “What alibi?” Tessa and Mara demanded in unison.

  I clapped my forehead. “I forgot to tell you!” I said, “I spoke to Ada last night.”

  “Ada...the Gallagher of the female persuasion?” Tessa asked.

  “That’s the one. Mr. Williams was in Atlanta the night we found Amelia. It sounded airtight.”

  “What time was this?” Tessa demanded.

  “Not sure. But he was at a game so I think we can safely say...afternoon or evening?”

  “No,” Tessa shook her head, “I mean what time were you talking to Ada Gallagher?”

  “Oh! Right after you dropped me off at the house.”

  “No wonder you’re so tired today. You were up all night socializing!”

  “I wasn’t socializing,” I shot back. “I was getting information about the case.”

  “The case?” Tessa asked. “We aren’t actually detectives, Sam, this isn’t your case.”

  “Calm down, y’all,” Mara said nervously.

  “No.” I said, feeling hot anger rise through my body. “This is important. Someone in our coven was murdered and there might be magic involved. This is absolutely our case.”

  “Or,” Tessa narrowed her eyes. “They were murdered because they pushed the wrong person too far and there’s nothing magical about it but you keep wanting there to be so you can play detective!”

  Tessa and I glared at each other from across the storeroom.

  “Alright, that’s it,” Mara sighed. She thrust her hands to the side, palms flat, toward Tessa and I. I felt a cool rush of air, then a gentle telekinetic push on my shoulders made me sit. Tessa did the same.

  “You’re both in timeout,” Mara said. “You know what this is, right? Why you’re acting like a couple of catfish fighting over a crumb?”

  “Because Sam can’t keep her nose out of other people’s business?” Tessa suggested.

  “Because Tessa thinks seeking justice is an inconvenience?” I spat.

  Another blast of cold air whipped across my face.

  “Because you two went and got yourselves exposed to black magic!” Mara cried. “Irritability...rage...exhaustion...what you’re experiencing is a black magic hangover.”

  “Ohhhhh.” Tessa and I said together. With that, the anger seemed to seep out of me, leaving me feeling cold and heavy. My head ached and my stomach gurgled menacingly.

  “You’re both to stay here, remain calm, and get hydrated,” Mara said decisively, “until it’s over. Let’s not unleash a couple of grumpy witches on the good people of Goodsprings. May I suggest you set up on the patio? I’ll make your excuses to David and Allie.”

  Tessa and I got to our feet, mumbling a series of embarrassing apologies, and let Mara escort us out to the patio behind Happy Blendings. Phineas Lichen was there, reading a book. He waved at us.

  “The rain stopped,” he said, pointing toward the sky. Chuckles the rooster crowed his approval.

  “It sure did,” Tessa muttered, massaging her forehead.

  “It’s nice when things clear up,” Mr. Lichen continued cheerfully. “And they always do...eventually.”

  Was it me or did Phineas know more than he let on?

  Chapter 15

  Tessa and I’s black magic hangover lasted well into the evening. David had assumed command of Happy Blendings the second Mara told him I was feeling under the weather and kept us supplied with a steady stream of orange slices and cucumber water.

  Allie stopped by around closing time to drop off some sandwiches and make a few jokes at her mother’s expense. Tessa chased her away with threats of dish duty and she scampered off, giggling, to join her friends at the coffee house on Main.

  Tessa and I left the porch at Happy Blendings as soon as we felt capable of making the walk across the street to her apartment without losing our cool. Once safely behind the door of Tessa’s place, we collapsed on the couch, microwaved some leftover cinnamon rolls, and watched old episodes of Petticoat Junction until we both fell asleep.

  I woke to the sound of my phone going off. Beams of hazy yellow light streamed in around the curtains in Tessa’s apartment, indicating that I had overslept.

  “Hello?” I said groggily into my phone. Despite being half-asleep, my head felt remarkably clear and the nausea that had plagued me for the better part of the previous day had been replaced by a growling hunger.

  “You’re up!” Mara’s chipper voice rang in my ear.

  “Sure am,” I said, leaning over to shake Tessa awake. “Thank you for taking care of things yesterday. That was embarrassing.”

  “Just promise me y’all won’t go poking around any more black magic boxes without a decent ward in place.”

  “I promise.”

  “Good!” Mara sounded strangely upbeat. “And that leads me to why I’m calling. Don’t be mad, but Allie and I went to your house last night.”

  “Allie...you...what?”

  “We would have asked permission,” Mara said apologetically, “but I didn’t want to trouble you. We needed Granny Greene’s book collection for research. And, Sam...we think we found something.”

  Tessa opened one eye, scowled at me, and rolled over.

  “What is it?” I asked, lowering my voice so as not to disturb Tessa.

  “You know how you keep saying it’s strange that Amelia drowned? Well I agree. It would be close to impossible to harm us with our element. Except guess what? In one of your grandma’s books we read about a recipe...a potion that sort of “mutes” magic.”

  “What?” I whispered, sitting upright. “How is that possible? For how long?”

  “We’re not sure of the exact details,” Mara admitted. “The reference we found was an excerpt from a black magic tome...which, obviously, Granny Greene didn’t have.”

  “Darn it,” I said.

  “Hold on,” Mara said. “I haven’t gotten to the best part. Allie pulled up one of those witch forums and did some searching. Someone had uploaded some scans from the book we needed. We found the recipe list for the potion...I’ll give you one guess what the main ingredient was.”

  “Poison hemlock?”

  “Poison hemlock,” Mara confirmed, “and lots of it.”

  “Amelia could have been poisoned,” I said slowly. “If it was that potion, she wouldn’t have been able to save herself from drowning.”

  “Exactly,” Mara said, “which leads to some troubling questions...like who knew Amelia was a witch?”

  “And what else do they know?” I shuddered. “Are you still with Allie?”

  “She’s right here,” Mara answered. “Do you want to speak with her?”

  “No, I just wanted to make sure,” I said, trying to keep the relief from tingeing my voice. “Where are you now?”

  “Still at your place,” Mara said guiltily. “You have amazing WiFi.”

  “Stay there. This means at best there’s a murderer on the loose. At worst...it could be a witch hunter...a witch hunter who may very well know about all of us. My house is safe—grandma planted the hedges into a Circle of Protection. No one with evil intent can get through.”

  “Cut it out, Sam,” Mara said, sounding shaky. “You’re scaring me.”

  “I’m not trying to scare you,” I sighed, starting to shake Tessa awake again. “I just want y’all to be safe. Until we know more and can come up with a plan, I think you should stay where whoever did this can’t get to you.”

  “What about you?” Mara asked softly. “What about mom?”

  “I’ll be fine, Tessa and I can handle ourselves,” I said, poking the former in the face to wake her up. “Call your mom and let her know what’s going on. I wouldn’t worry—anyone who tries to mess with her is going to get a front-row seat to see just what an angry air-witch can do. I’d feel sorry for them, honestly.”

  Mara chuckled, but it sounded hollow.

  “Will do,” she said. “What are y’all going to do now?”

  “Who’s on the phone?” Tessa asked sleepily, pushing herself up from the couch.

  “Right now,” I said, “We’re going to the police.”

  Chapter 16

  “I’m sorry, Miss Greene...but you can’t just request a toxicology screen.”

  Ethan Gallagher held up his hands apologetically. Tessa and I had downed some too-hot coffee and walked over to the police station immediately after I got off the phone with Mara.

  “Who can, then?” Tessa demanded.

  “Um...” Ethan looked around, as if hoping someone would come to his rescue. “A judge?”

  “How about the next of kin?” I suggested. Mara might be able to convince Lily Windermere to play along.

  “I...suppose...” Ethan said. “I’m not too familiar with how it’s done around here.”

  “Well it sounds like it’s well past time for you to learn,” Tessa said coolly.

  Ethan’s relief came in the form of his sister striding down the hall of the police station, clipboard tucked under one arm.

  “Miss Greene!” she called, grinning. “Nice to see you again.”

  “Good morning, Detective Gallagher. We were just talking to your brother about having a toxicology screening performed on the late Miss Windermere.”

  Ada blinked.

  “We don’t...just do that,” she said.

  “Why not?” Tessa asked.

  “Because...money? Legality?” Ada’s frown deepened. “The autopsy report says the victim had lethal amounts of water in her lungs. She drowned. There’s no reason to suspect anything else as the cause of death.”

  “But you do suspect that there was foul play involved?” I pressed. Ada sighed.

  “We did,” she said. “But we’re chasing the wind with our suspects. Without some actual evidence we can’t officially press charges against anyone.”

  “I have a feeling you’ll find all the evidence you need in a toxicology report.”

  “You have a feeling?” Ada raised an eyebrow and shared a skeptical glance with Ethan.

  “Yes,” I continued, feeling my face grow warm. “A feeling. I’ve known Miss Windermere since I was a child and I know something is off about all this. The Windermeres have lived on the lakeside for over a century. Amelia knew that lake like the back of her hand. She was probably the strongest swimmer in town. When she left book club that night...after the disagreement...she was probably distraught. Vulnerable. Maybe she took something or someone offered her something...”

  I trailed off, hoping that somewhere in my rambling was a compelling argument.

  “There weren’t any signs of a struggle,” Ethan admitted. “That could mean she was drunk...or maybe drugged.”

  “True,” Ada said thoughtfully. “But since the autopsy’s been wrapped up we’d have to get the body back to examine it.”

 

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