Spell Booked (Retired Witches Mysteries Series Book 1) (20 page)

Water, air, earth and fire—help me find what I desire.

Cauldron, candle, wind and seed—help me find what I need.

“Oh my goodness! Don’t tell me you can’t save my daughter.” Olivia was prone to panic attacks. “Someone get me a paper bag to breathe into. I’m afraid I’m going to faint.”

Elsie laughed at that. “How do you suggest we give you a paper bag?”

“Good one, granny!” Mr. Brannigan laughed too.

“Granny?” Elsie was immediately offended. “Mind your manners,
junior
, or I’ll take my sword to you.”

“Hey, all this is fun”—Larry glanced around us—“but could we get a move on it? I’m a little paranoid standing out here like this.”

“He’s right,” I agreed. “Let’s drop him off at his boat and then go to Smuggler’s Arcane. That’s the safest place we can be until we decide what to do next.”

It was a tight squeeze in my car. Mr. Brannigan didn’t want to call another taxi. Olivia wanted to ride in the car but didn’t want anyone to sit on top of her.

“Man, the police still have my herb tea and my book.” Larry was disturbed by the loss. “They can’t tell the difference between marijuana and any other plant, I guess. Maybe we should swing by the Arcane before you take me home.”

“We could do that.” Elsie was pleased with the idea.

“No. We can’t. You need to get on your boat and sail away for a while until all of this blows over,” I told him. “We can’t take any chance that someone could see you there.”

“But I’m not stocked for a long trip,” he complained.

“Sail to the Outer Banks and pick up supplies,” I suggested. “Do whatever you have to do—just don’t do it
here
.”

He grumbled but finally got the idea. I let him off by his boat at the marina, and he promised to leave Wilmington right away. “You’ll let me know when I can come back, right?”

“I have your email address.” Elsie smiled and waved. “I’ll write every day, and save you some tea and a new book for when I see you again.”

“You’re the best.” He leaned his head in the window and kissed her cheek. “I’ll be counting the days.”

That was enough to spin Elsie’s head. She talked about Larry nonstop until we reached the shop. “He’s such a handsome gentleman. I’m going to miss him. I feel like the ladies of yesteryear when their captains sailed off to sea.”

“Oh, how romantic,” Olivia gushed.

“Please.”
Mr. Brannigan rolled his eyes. “Can we talk about death or dismemberment rather than all this drivel?”

I smiled but didn’t comment. Elsie’s relationship with Larry the werewolf would probably never come to anything, but everyone needed a little romance in their lives.

It surprised me to see Joe waiting on the steps of Smuggler’s Arcane when we got there. My pulse started racing, and my heart was pounding.

I had a terrible feeling that he needed to talk about what he was doing in regard to the investigation into Olivia’s death. We couldn’t do that here—not now. It would be bad enough in front of Elsie and Olivia. Mr. Brannigan would immediately report the violation to the council.

“Good morning!” Elsie greeted him as she got out of the car. “It’s a grand and glorious morning, don’t you think? Perhaps a little sad, but there are brighter days ahead.”

Joe nodded, obviously not sure how to respond to what she’d said. “Good morning, Elsie. Hi, Molly. Could I talk to you a minute?”

“Richard Brannigan.” He shook hands with Joe. “We’ll wait inside. One romance is enough for the day.”

Olivia laughed as she blew through the wall and into the shop. Elsie yelled for her to wait as she trudged up the stairs with the staff in her hands.

After they were inside, Joe put his arms around me and whispered, “Can we do the
thing
? I can’t remember the code word, but I need to talk.”

“This isn’t the time,” I hissed in his ear. “I’m sorry. It has to wait.”

He took a step back, still holding my hand. “It’s important, Molly. There may be a development in the case.”

I couldn’t take any chances. “We can’t get sloppy with this. We’ll have to talk later.”

“Okay.” He shrugged. “Then I have to get back to work. Be careful, sweetheart.”

“You too.” I sighed as he left. I knew it wouldn’t be easy once he knew the truth. It would be simple for the council to pick up on anything we said about magic right now while we seemed to be front and center. Joe didn’t realize that I was acting in his best interest. I hoped he never had to find out.

Still, I was curious about the new development. I wished we could have taken a moment to talk. He looked troubled and uncertain. His wish for me to
be careful
made me nervous.

Inside, Mr. Brannigan helped Elsie and me renew and strengthen our protection spells on the shop. It would make it harder for the rogue witch to get inside again but not impossible.

“Why is this happening?” I questioned him. “There are ancient magic tools being stolen, and a witch has been killed. Someone purposely tried to start a fight between witches and werewolves. Still the council does nothing.”

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “The council can’t see this witch. They can’t find her magic.”

“How is that possible?” Elsie asked. “I thought they could see all magic.”

“Not
this
magic.” He shuddered.

“How are we supposed to fight this witch?” I couldn’t believe it. I knew the council was nosy and restrictive. I never realized they could be completely spineless.

“They don’t want you to fight anything!” Mr. Brannigan reiterated.

“Of course not,” Elsie said. “I don’t even have enough magic to keep my hair from frizzing each day. A witch like that would make mincemeat of us.”

Mr. Brannigan climbed on one of the chairs so he was close to the same height as us. “You ask too many questions. If the council wanted you to do
anything
, they’d tell you. Just stay out of it.”

Olivia was raging. “If they don’t want us to do anything, then
they’d
better do something! That’s my daughter out there with that killer!”

“They can’t. Not right now.” He strained his neck to scan the shop. “You’re in danger. Be smart and lay low for a while until
they
figure out what to do. And quit using that amulet!” He glared at me.

“Using it?” I put my hand to my throat, fingering my mother’s amulet. “I haven’t used it.”

He closed his eyes and sniffed. “You’re wearing it. When you’re close to the water, the magic is amplified.”

“I’ve had it my whole life, and it never amplified anything before. Why now?”

“I don’t know. Maybe because you need it. Have you
worn
it your whole life?”

“No,” I conceded. “Only since the day Olivia died.”

“There you have it. Its magic becomes stronger as it’s worn. There are many magical tools of that nature. Didn’t Cassandra explain
any
of this to you?”

“Some,” Olivia said. “That was before Elsie accidentally turned her into pottery.”

“What are you talking about?” He glanced at me. “What is the ghost saying?”

I did my best. His face kept clouding over. I knew he didn’t really understand.

“And you haven’t seen Cassandra—alive—since then?”

“No.” Elsie shook her head. “Not really. Although there’s a bit of dust left from her on the counter. All of it wouldn’t come up.”

“I’m going to have to report this.”

“Could you do it after you find Dorothy?” I asked.

He huffed and got to his feet. “How can you even suggest that an untrained witch is more important than finding Cassandra? Don’t do anything until I get back.”

We watched him stalk out of the shop and disappear in the middle of the parking lot again.

“Wasn’t that what
we
said about the werewolf taking priority?” Olivia asked.

“I guess there are priorities and then there are priorities. I think we’re on our own again.” I found myself touching my mother’s amulet and stopped. I sat at the table, tired and dispirited. “I’m open to suggestions on ways we can get Dorothy back, if either of you has one.”

Elsie sat too. Barnabas purred loudly at her feet. “I wish we
could
wait for the council. I don’t know where to start.”

“The council?” Olivia tried to put her hands on her hips. They went right through her, and she was left looking a little ridiculous. “Since when do we ask them for help? We may not hear from Cassandra or Mr. Brannigan for weeks! Dorothy might not have that long.”

“We can try a locator spell,” I suggested. “If Mr. Brannigan is right about the amulet enhancing my magic, it could help us.”

“Good idea, Molly!” Olivia came close to the table. “We’ll need something of hers.”

“We have her cat,” I said. “Maybe we could use Scooter.”

“Hemlock,” Elsie corrected me.

“Right. Hemlock.” I looked around for Isabelle and asked her if she’d seen Hemlock.

“Barnabas says he’s back in the storage room,” Elsie said.

“I miss being able to talk to Harper.” Olivia pouted. “Who knew being a ghost wouldn’t be any fun?”

I went back to the storage area and lifted Hemlock out of the mop bucket. He was slightly damp and smelled like Lysol. “Come on. You’re going to help us find Dorothy.”

He meowed at me and hid his face.

“There’s no reason to be embarrassed. There was nothing you could do to help her. But you could be a strong anchor to help bring her home.”

I put Hemlock on the table. Elsie and I sat close to him.

Elsie shook her head. “We could sure use our book right now. I can’t remember a single word of any locator spells, can you, Molly?”

I was fine until she asked. Then the only locator spell fled my mind like the clouds after dawn. “I can’t think of one either.”

“Don’t look at me,” Olivia said. “Even if I could
think
of one, it might be the wrong one.”

“Any locator spell would be better than none,” I told her.

We all tried to think of a spell we could use. Most of the spells we’d cataloged down through the years were spells we’d used only once or twice. Most witches knew their everyday spells by heart.

“This is crazy.” Elsie got up and filled the teakettle. “It’s bad enough when we can’t do them, but when we can’t even
remember
them? I need a nap.”

Olivia yawned. “Me too. You wouldn’t think I’d get tired floating around like this all day.”

“All right. Let’s concentrate. We need this spell if we’re going to try to find Dorothy.” I rubbed Hemlock’s back to make him feel better.

“Maybe we could call someone and borrow their locator spell,” Elsie suggested. “There’s Phoebe. She’s always been friendly.”

“Or Kay,” Olivia said. “I’ve always liked her, even though she has such bad taste in clothes.”

“I don’t know if they’d be willing to share a spell,” I said. “But I’m willing to try anything.”

We tried Phoebe. She’d gone out of town on a fishing trip. We called Kay. She had never used a locator spell and didn’t know one.

“How can she
not
know a locator spell?” I asked after putting down the phone.

Elsie cleared her throat. “She’s not exactly a sweet young thing. Maybe she can’t remember either.”

Olivia sighed and sank to the table beside Hemlock. “This is so depressing. My little girl is in trouble, and I don’t even have any chocolate to eat.”

“Wait!” Elsie jumped up suddenly. “I have an idea. Remember when we were much younger, and we used to hang out in the cave a lot. We’d scratch spells into the cave walls. Maybe we scratched at least part of a locator spell.”

I nodded. “I remember that. I think I’d know the spell if I saw it.”

“Me too,” Olivia agreed. “Let’s go down there and see what we can find.”

It was true that the walls of the cave contained spells we’d played around with years ago. Some had worked, and we’d included them in our missing spell book. Others hadn’t been so good.

Despite Elsie’s large and illuminating fire, we couldn’t find a decent locator spell. After an exhausting hour of climbing around, squinting at spells etched on the walls, we went back upstairs.

“You aren’t giving up already, are you?” Olivia asked. “I don’t think you looked at all the spells down there.”