Chapter 9
Chapter
Nine
Iwaited until morning to follow up on Meemaw’s lead. The shadow itself wouldn’t leave an obvious trail, but if its magical signature was strong enough to show up in Meemaw’s abnormality spell, then I should be able to use a more localized spell to detect any magical residue.
I rummaged through the pantry for the necessary ingredients.
There was a reason I maintained my own section in the community gardens.
Unlike Meemaw, I preferred to grow my own inventory.
I’d witnessed enough instances where unscrupulous sellers substituted dangerous lookalikes, causing a spell to backfire in catastrophic fashion.
In other words, I trusted no one, not even when it came to basic herbs.
The prep only took ten minutes. This was a potion I’d spent years perfecting and had been an invaluable tool during my “bounty hunting” days.
That line of work hadn’t required a spell like Meemaw’s.
The target’s general location had been provided by my handlers, leaving the rest up to me.
When the location was a New York City block, a spell that narrowed the scope was a necessity.
I poured the bright green potion into a spray bottle and set off for Terrapin to search the grounds for evidence of the rogue shadow.
I couldn’t have chosen a busier time. I passed a stream of Neighbors heading out to their morning activities. Tennis racquets, golf clubs, pickleball paddles. I didn’t know how I expected to conduct a search without interference.
I fielded a gluttony of greetings “Good morning, Maya.” “Hello, Maya.” “Fancy seeing you here, Miss August.” I felt like the mayor of Evermore.
I continued to the building identified on Meemaw’s map. Once the coast was clear, I began to spray the pathway that led to the entrance. No sign of residue there.
I walked outside the building’s perimeter, spritzing each section along the way. It wasn’t until I reached the interior courtyard that I hit the jackpot. Blades of grass glowed a brighter shade of green.
Hello, darkness, my old friend.
I spritzed again and scanned the area to see if I could find a path. There were a few glowing green patches, but that was it. Thinking of Darlene’s second-floor condo, I sprayed the side of the wall in case the shadow had scaled it here too. Nothing.
What were my options? Spray every door and window in the building with my special green goop? Knock on every door and search each unit?
Not if I hoped to keep pandemonium from breaking out.
I left with confirmation that Meemaw’s spell had been accurate, not that I doubted it. After all, the spell had also identified me as an abnormality.
From the depths of my pocket, I heard the familiar ping of my phone. It was only a matter of time before someone interrupted my investigation. I was only surprised it had taken this long.
I groaned at the sight of Justine’s name. “Hola, presidenta.”
“Can you come to my office to meet with a few candidates?”
“So soon?”
“We need to hire someone, Maya. You can’t keep delaying the inevitable.”
Justine still didn’t know about Darlene, and I had no intention of telling her or she might insist on hiring someone on the spot.
“What time?”
“Eleven o’clock is the first interview.”
My heart stuttered. “That’s in five minutes.”
“I’m aware of that. I think you’ll be really happy with the candidates I’ve chosen.”
Doubtful. “I’ll be there, but fair warning, I’m in sweatshorts and a T-shirt.” There wasn’t time to change if she expected me to be punctual.
“To be honest, I’d be surprised to see you wearing anything else.”
Ouch.
I tucked my spray bottle in the net basket of my golf cart and drove to the HOA office.
“Morning, Lionel.”
“Hola,” he replied.
“You really do hear everything, don’t you?”
He smiled but said nothing. “Go right in. The first applicant is with her now.”
“Any thoughts?” I whispered.
“As a matter of fact, yes.” He leaned across his desk and dropped his voice to a hushed tone. “I’m going to enjoy every moment of this interview process.”
I glowered at him. “You’re no help at all.”
Adopting a cheerful smile, he straightened against his chair. “Break a leg.”
I nudged open the door and peeked inside. “Hi.”
“There she is,” Justine said, in a voice she reserved for newcomers and men she found attractive. “Maya, this is Priya.”
“Good to meet you, Priya.” I shook her hand and sat in the empty chair to her left.
“Priya is a djinni with experience in global security for a mining company.”
The djinni looked me up and down. “I’ve never met a Gorgon before.”
“She’s half Gorgon, technically,” Justine interrupted. “That won’t be a problem for you, will it?”
“No, on the contrary. Gorgons are badass.” She gave me an exaggerated thumbs-up.
“Priya was just telling me about her expertise in cybersecurity.”
“I’m not sure how relevant that is to the job,” I said. “Our issues tend to be less cyber and more actual security.”
Priya exuded confidence. “Cybersecurity was only one aspect of my previous role. I can assure you I’m more than capable of being hands-on.”
She leaned slightly to the right as she answered me. It was a tiny, blink-and-you-miss-it movement, but I saw it.
I decided to be direct. “You hate snakes, don’t you?”
Priya’s confident smile evaporated. “What? No? What makes you think that?”
I kept my eyes locked on hers. “So if I were to unleash my crown of snakes right here in this room, you’d be cool with that?”
Priya instinctively edged her chair to the right. “Why…Why would you do that in such a confined space?”
I looked at Justine. “Next.”
Justine rubbed her temples. “Thank you for coming in, Priya.”
The djinni was still fixed on me. “Does this mean you won’t unleash your snakes?”
“Nope.” I popped the p.
Her hand clutched her chest. “Oh, thank the gods. I might’ve puked from fear right on your shoes. Snakes are my one weakness.”
“I get that a lot.”
Priya bolted from the office without a backward glance.
“You might want to ask the applicants how they feel about snakes before you bring them in,” I told Justine.
She leaned back in her chair, defeated. “I didn’t think it would be an issue. It isn’t like you whip them out willy-nilly. I’ve never seen them, and we’ve worked together for five years.”
“I’ve used them on the job, though. It would be a safety hazard to have a partner afraid of snakes. What if she instinctively tried to defend herself by attacking me?”
“I take your point.” Justine hit the buzzer on the phone. “Send in the next candidate.”
After Priya, I sat through four more interviews and rejected four more candidates. Justine looked ready to fire me by the end of the afternoon.
“I’m sorry, but none of them were right for the job,” I said, sensing her distress. “Better to be patient than have to go through this all over again in two months.”
“Are you expecting Superman himself to waddle through that door? Because that’s the vibe I’m getting.” Justine tossed the stack of resumes in the trash can. “I’ll let you know when I have more candidates for you to consider.”
“Why not hire someone already on the island?”
Her eyebrows shot up. “Is there someone on the island you’d be willing to work with?”
“It depends, but a lot of the Neighbors are incredibly capable. I bet one of them would relish the opportunity to be of service to the community.”
“Of course, it would have to be someone showing no signs of dementia or physical ailments. Basically, no signs of aging.”
“Then I might as well resign right now,” I joked. “I noticed a couple gray hairs yesterday.”
Justine didn’t crack a smile. “You know what I’m saying, Maya. No Meemaw, no matter how much you like her. Her brain could turn to pudding any day now.”
The witch was still sharp as a razor, but I understood Justine’s point. She could help in an unofficial capacity only.
“What about Laurel Oakes?” Justine asked. “She’s a druid in excellent health.”
“She’s also a happy hermit. I highly doubt she’ll feel compelled to leave her comfy cabin in the Marshes to join me in an office seven days a week.”
Justine tapped the end of her pen on the desk. “Okay, leave it with me. I’ll brainstorm with Lionel and get back to you with suggestions.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“The sooner we get you an assistant, the better, though. I feel like this island is falling apart at the seams.”
“I think that’s a bit of an exaggeration.”
Justine pinned me with a hard look. “I’m the president. I decide when the Neighborhood is in good shape.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Any oni updates? I haven’t heard about any recent sightings.”
“No, it seems like they made their presence known and then skedaddled.”
“A small blessing. Let’s hope it stays that way. Anything else to report?”
I couldn’t tell her about Darlene’s shadow killer, or she might rethink her stance on snake-fearing Priya. “No, ma’am.”
“Good. That’s all for now.” She started typing on the computer keyboard, effectively ending our meeting.
As I passed Lionel’s desk, he hissed softly under his breath.
“You’re hilarious,” I yelled over my shoulder.
“Gotta get my jollies somehow.”
If only jollies were my main concern. I had to resolve this shadow issue before Justine found out the truth, or I risked getting booted back to the mainland. I could not, under any circumstances, let that happen.
I spent what was left of the afternoon loitering around Terrapin, hoping to catch a glimpse of an unattended shadow.
It was a difficult pretense to keep up, given the litany of questions hurled at me by passersby.
By the time evening rolled around, I was starving and ready for a nap.
Surveillance work was more tiring than people realized.
Midway through my chicken curry, I received a call from Meemaw.
“Your debt will be repaid tonight at seven.”
“You’re collecting so soon? It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours.”