The Magical Pink Pendant Page 7

  “Maybe more so.”

  How exciting. A minute later, Elizabeth motioned that we join her in the back. Rihanna and I walked around the counter and entered the storage room/office.

  “I spoke with my grandmother, and she thinks very highly of you, Glinda.”

  “That is good to hear. I think the world of your grandmother, too. She has helped me more times than I can count.” Without her, Nash might be dead, not to mention a lot of other potions she’s provided me with have aided a lot of people I cared about.

  Elizabeth pulled down a jar. “This contains a special powder. It will sound very strange, but a witch can only use this one time. The label is very specific about that. That means, even if you ask for more, I can’t give it to you. It’s like the powder has a mind of its own. It seems to know if you’ve used up your one chance.”

  How odd. “Is there some kind of artificial intelligence built into it?” I kind of felt silly even asking that.

  “I don’t know the details, but it sounds like that might be the case. If you try to fool it, this potion will know and use it against you, assuming your intentions aren’t pure.”

  And if they are good? Then what? I would have asked, but I don’t think Elizabeth would have known. “Once it is.” That didn’t mean Rihanna couldn’t use it, right?

  “What does this potion do exactly?” Rihanna asked.

  “It stops time.”

  I almost laughed. That sounded ridiculous, until I recalled that we had just time traveled, so I guess anything was possible. “How long does it stop time for?”

  “The bottle says about two minutes, but my grandmother hasn’t tried it herself nor does she know anyone who has.”

  “I’ll count on one minute to be safe.”

  “That would be a good idea,” Elizabeth said.

  I wanted to ask if this powder came with an expiration date, but she might not know that either.

  “How does it work?” Rihanna asked.

  “I place a small amount of the potion in a burlap sack that has a drawstring. If you are being chased or in dire need of help, open up the bag. The contents will know where to go. It senses evil.”

  “That’s what I call real magic.”

  “I have to agree. Until my grandmother told me about it, I’d never heard of anything like it before.”

  “Me, neither, but it sounds perfect.” Almost too perfect. As long as it only targeted the bad people, I was good with it.

  She held up a finger. “I forgot to mention that a sorcerer can use it against you.”

  “To freeze time?”

  “Yes, but there might be other consequences, so think carefully before you use it.”

  That scared me. “What kind of consequences?”

  “I honestly don’t know. Like I said, neither my grandmother or I have even known anyone to use this potion or have it used against them if it is their second time. Sorry. The bottle just says to beware.”

  “That is really strange.” As long as it targeted evil, I was okay with it. “I’ll take it.”

  Elizabeth rang it up. I expected to pay hundreds of dollars for it, but she only charged me twenty. I wasn’t sure why it was so cheap, but I wasn’t going to complain. “There is no spell, right?”

  Her eyes widened. “Oh, my goodness. I can’t believe I forgot that, too. Yes, there is. Wait here a minute. I’ll write it down.”

  I should walk out of here right now, but what if what she said was true? Elizabeth could just be nervous.

  A moment later, she returned. “Here it is. It’s really simple. It’s only four words, but don’t practice them with the bag nearby. It might open up on itself. My grandmother said this stuff can be a bit fickle.”

  If this hadn’t been Bertha’s shop, I might have thought someone was playing some kind of joke on me. Thank goodness it wasn’t April Fools’ Day or Friday the thirteenth—not that I believe in either of those silly superstitions. If I had, I would have told her I wasn’t interested. I unraveled the paper. Naturally, the words were in some foreign language.

  “Do you know what these words mean?” I asked.

  “Sorry, I don’t.”

  My confidence was sinking by the minute. I had more faith in the being-in-love idea to protect us than this bag of time-freezing powder, but I thanked her nonetheless and left.

  As soon as we stepped outside, I contemplated tossing the packet. “That was a waste,” I said.

  “No, it’s real. Very real,” Rihanna said.

  I stopped and faced her. “You’re buying this hocus pocus nonsense that some bag of brown powder will open up, float toward evil, and stop time?”

  “Elizabeth believes it.”

  I loved her naïveté. “That doesn’t mean it’s going to work.”

  “I wish we could try it, but we only get one shot.”

  “Convenient, isn’t it?” I was being cynical, and that wasn’t a good trait. “Let’s hope we don’t have to use it.”

  “Yes, let’s hope.”

  Clearly, Rihanna was siding with Elizabeth while I was tending toward not trusting her. When we returned to the office, Gavin and his mom were there talking with Jaxson.

  Finding Elissa here set off warning bells. “Did something happen?”

  “No,” Elissa said. “Dr. Alvarez received the lab report back on the heart, and I thought you’d want to know.”

  “I do. What did it say?”

  “It came back clean.”

  “Clean? The thing was black.”

  “I meant it had no poison, no bacteria, or anything specific to indicate that an illness killed him.”

  “That implies it has to be magic.”

  “It’s the only explanation.”

  I sat next to Jaxson, and Rihanna slid next to Gavin. It might not be smart to discuss the misinformation I was given about this case in front of Gavin, but if someone had lied, I needed to know.

  “I spoke with Betty who told me that Daniel was broke. Do you think there is any truth to that?” I asked her.

  Elissa shrugged. “It’s hard to believe, but like I said, Daniel and I hadn’t been in contact for at least three months. When we did talk, we only discussed Gavin. Daniel’s finances never came up.”

  Gavin already told me he didn’t believe it was true. “Betty also said your ex spoke to you on this trip, Elissa.”

  “I don’t know why Betty would say that. He never even left me a message.”

  “I believe you,” Rihanna said. That comment was mostly directed toward me. She must have heard something in Elissa’s mind.

  It was time to lay all of the cards on the table. “Jaxson and I spoke with Steve who said the Miami PD interviewed several of the people Daniel worked with. One person said that Daniel was being sued for falsifying some client’s divorce papers. Do either of you know anything about this?”

  “Dad told me that was a lie,” Gavin said. “On our last call, he told me about it in case the rumor mill reached me. He said he had it under control.”

  Any father would say that in order to prevent his son from worrying. “He had what under control, exactly?”

  “The lawsuit. He didn’t falsify papers, and he could prove it.”

  “That’s good to hear.” His father was dead, and talking bad about him wouldn’t help. It was also possible Daniel was being set-up.

  “Why didn’t you say something?” Elissa asked her son.

  “Dad told me not to. I think he was embarrassed.”

  She huffed. “Typical.”

  I looked over at Jaxson, hoping he’d know how to diffuse the growing tension between those two.

  “I checked out Daniel’s computer at the sheriff’s department. I only spent a few minutes on it, but I found quite a few websites he’d looked at regarding heart conditions. I also found a few sites about suspension, disbarment, and bankruptcy.”

  That implied he was worried about his health and his possible future income stream. “Maybe we need to look into that Ed guy—t
he one who was suing Daniel.”

  “I will, but I doubt he tried to harm Gavin’s dad,” Jaxson said. “Taking him to court would be enough, I would think.”

  “Gavin said something about driving down to Miami to ask questions?” Elissa asked.

  She must want to change the subject, though her concern for her son’s safety was understandable. “Yes, but we won’t come to any harm.”

  “How do you know that? There’s a killer on the loose. Who’s to say he won’t come after all of you?”

  Since we needed to tell Jaxson and Gavin about our findings at the Hex and Bones Apothecary anyway, I explained about this new potion, and then I reminded her about Levy’s claim that we would be protected if we stayed by each other’s side. “So, you see, we’ll be safe.”

  “This powder actually stops time?” Her brows rose as she dipped her chin. “Seriously?”

  “Dr. Sanchez,” Rihanna said. “Why is that any more ridiculous than a curse to stop a person from healing like what happened with Nash?”

  Gavin’s mom sobered. “You might be right. All you have to do is open up this small bag, and the magical potion will stop time for a few minutes? How do you know it won’t stop time for you, too?”

  I also had wondered about that. “Apparently, the potion knows who is good and who is evil.”

  Elissa held up her hands. “You’re more experienced than I am about this potion stuff. I, however, need to eliminate all scientific explanations before I commit to the magical route.”

  “I get it.”

  “Just so you know, Dr. Alvarez asked me to reach out to anyone who might know about this black-heart syndrome, so I spoke with two Miami medical examiners to see if they’ve ever seen or heard anything like it,” Dr. Sanchez said.

  “That was a good idea,” I said. “If this witch or warlock lives in Miami, perhaps Daniel wasn’t the first person affected.”

  “Exactly. I’m hoping if there have been more deaths, these medical examiners might have discovered some non-magic related cause for this terrible affliction. When I hear back, I’ll let you know. Magic or not, you might be able to find a connection between the victims, assuming there were more.”

  I had to smile. “You’re becoming quite the detective!”

  Elissa failed to hold in a brief smile. “Nash might be wearing off on me.”

  I loved it. The two of them were cute together, and I hoped they lasted. I turned to my three cohorts. “What time do you want to leave for Miami on Saturday?”

  “We should probably wait until Sunday,” Gavin said. “Everything will be closed on Sunday, so we’ll just be wasting a day if we leave earlier.”

  He had a point. “I’m good with that. It will give Rihanna time to do her assignments in advance.”

  “Sure. No problem. I’ll do my school work all day Saturday.” She rolled her eyes and grunted. Poor Rihanna.

  “Good, but tell your teachers you might be gone for three of four days.”

  A small smile escaped. “Will do.” Rihanna planted her hands on her thighs. “Now for the biggest question.”

  “What’s that?” I wished I read minds.

  “What are we going to take for snacks.”

  We all laughed, something we sorely needed right then.

  Chapter Nine

  I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been on a road trip. Years, I think. Even then, it wasn’t with three people and Iggy, who, by the way, had been given the all-clear from Levy. He said the ancient book mentioned that animals were immune.

  My last lengthy car trip had been with Drake—Jaxson’s brother. He’d wanted company driving the couple of hours back home since his dad had taken ill. Thankfully, by the time we arrived, his father was feeling better. The return trip, needless to say, was quite festive.

  Unfortunately, this Miami occasion was more somber than the trip back from the Harrison house. One other difference between the two events was that I was in the back seat with Jaxson, while Gavin and Rihanna were seated in front. We were taking Gavin’s car since it was the newest and most spacious vehicle of all of our cars. He’d volunteered to drive the first leg of the journey, which was why the young folks were in front.

  “Did you remember to buy any hibiscus flowers for me to snack on?” Iggy asked, jarring me out of my daydream.

  I barely reacted. After so many years, I was used to him putting himself first. Clearly, I’d failed to bring him up as a responsible and caring citizen. “Of course, I did. I hope you don’t mind that I have snacks for us humans, too?”

  He lifted a leg. “Suit yourself. I’m going to crawl into the cargo area and go to sleep. Then I’ll eat.”

  “You do that.”

  It was probably for the best. The five-and-a-half-hour trip would give us time to iron out our plan, and I didn’t need to take the time to translate everything Iggy said to Gavin. “Gavin, were you able to book an appointment with Sandra tomorrow?”

  He’d promised he’d speak with Morgana about calling her sister and explaining why we needed to meet with her. The two didn’t see eye-to-eye, so I understood it would be hard for her to ask for a favor.

  “I did. We’re meeting her at ten.”

  I was happy Morgana had been able to get over some of her sister issues. “Good. Have you met Sandra before?”

  I had no idea about Gavin’s relationship with his family, other than how much he seemed to care for his mom.

  “A few times, like at Dad’s wedding and on one or two other occasions.” The fact he didn’t elaborate spoke volumes.

  “I hope staying at your Dad’s is okay for you.” If my father had lived in a house and then died, I might not want to stay there.

  “It is, and don’t worry, I don’t have any memories attached to that place. I only stayed there once after he and Morgana got married. It’s her house.”

  That’s right. She was the one with the family money. Gavin’s stepmother was slowly slipping from near the top of the suspect list to the bottom. “Where did your dad live before he married Morgana? In the same area?”

  “Yes. A couple of miles away, near where I grew up with Mom.”

  “Did you stay with him during the summers after the divorce?” The kid was still a teenager and deserved to have a normal life.

  Rihanna turned around. “Glinda! This isn’t twenty questions. You act as if Gavin is a suspect.”

  “Sorry.” I had a tendency to be overly nosy.

  “It’s okay. I trust Glinda. She just wants to make sure her cousin is in good hands.”

  While I couldn’t see what Gavin was doing in the front seat, he had removed one hand from the steering wheel and had reached out toward Rihanna.

  His explanation wasn’t the total reason I was asking questions, but it was as good as any. “Thank you for the trust.”

  “To answer your question, Glinda, after my mom moved from Miami to Witch’s Cove, I divided my time between staying with her for a few weeks in the summer to going to camp in Miami. Dad worked a lot, and it seemed easier that way. He wanted me supervised—at least until I turned sixteen.”

  That sounded lonely. I would have asked more questions, but I sensed Rihanna didn’t like it. “Do you have a key to get into the house?”

  I know I sounded like a worry-wart, but I wanted everything to go smoothly.

  “Yes, Morgana gave us her spare key. And don’t worry, there’s plenty of room for all of us to have our own bedroom.”

  Wow. The place was that big?

  “Do you have a swimming pool?” Iggy asked, peeking his head up from his resting spot.

  I thought he was asleep. I repeated Iggy’s question to Gavin.

  He glanced into the rear view mirror. “Yes, we do. Does he have swim trunks?”

  What an odd comment. “No. Does he need a pair?”

  “Probably not. I just don’t want the gardener to think Iggy is some wild iguana. I hate to say it, but iguanas are considered pests where my dad lived. They’ve overrun the
place, eating all of our flowers and shrubs. Basically, they’ve destroyed a lot of our landscaping. Mauricio isn’t fond of them, and honestly, I can’t blame him.”

  Iggy crawled over the back of our seat from the cargo area and sat between us. He looked up at me. “He can tell Mauricio to—”

  I clamped down on his mouth. “Shh.”

  Only when he nodded did I release him. “Fine. How about if I wear my collar in the pool?”

  I stroked his head. “Iggy will wear his collar to indicate he’s not wild. Mauricio might not know that pink iguanas don’t live in this part of the world. We can introduce him as my pet, even though technically he is my familiar. I doubt Mauricio would understand that concept.” I didn’t mention unless he happened to be a warlock.

  “That sounds good,” Gavin said. “Mauricio will make sure nothing happens to Iggy.”

  My familiar looked up at me. “Do you think I can make some friends with the wild iguanas?”

  My heart broke at that question. “I’m sure you will, but they won’t be able to talk back, so I don’t know how much fun that will be.”

  “That’s okay.” He turned around, crawled up the seat, and retreated to his resting spot.

  We divided the driving into four segments so no one person would get tired. The rule was that the driver would be the one to choose the music. At the moment, we were listening to some horrible song that Gavin claimed was a great rap classic. Trust me, it couldn’t be a classic by anyone’s standard.

  When it was my turn to drive, I wasn’t planning on playing any golden oldies from the sixties or seventies, but come on, I wanted there to be a tune involved in the song. Most likely, I’d pick some upbeat Country hit.

  In the end, it didn’t matter which song Gavin or Rihanna played, because I fell asleep for the first half of the trip anyway. I had to say that Jaxson’s lap made an excellent pillow. Only when we arrived at a rest stop did he finally wake me.

  As soon as I got out to stretch, the air seemed really muggy, but I guess that was to be expected considering how far south we were. Because we wanted to make good time, we decided to eat the sandwiches I’d packed instead of stopping for a meal. Due to that decision, we made it to Morgana’s house a little before five. It helped, too, that the Sunday traffic had been light.