Chapter 4 #3
“Not at all! Obviously, if you are a witch, ascension goes a lot faster, but there’s no reason you have to be magical to reap the benefits of magical community.
” Hailey bent conspiratorially to add, “Plus, it would really help me out with my own ascension. The more new coven members I recruit, the better my chances. I’ll throw in a free cleansing bundle and an oracle reading if you want to get started tonight. ”
Mrs. Winslow glanced around the room for her husband, who was deep in conversation with the outdoorsy group, regaling them with what Arthur thought was an incredibly dull recounting of a camping trip, but the others seemed to be enjoying it well enough.
“Don’t worry.” Hailey winked at Mrs. Winslow. “This can be our little secret.”
“Oh, all right. I can’t say no to a free cleansing bundle.”
Arthur was about to ask what exactly was in a cleansing bundle when the opening notes of “Wannabe” blared from the back pocket of Salvatore’s pants.
Sal set down the tray of cookies and removed his mobile phone.
“Friendship does end, you know,” Sal said seriously, refuting the central thesis of the song with a grave shake of the head, before answering.
“Lore! How lovely to hear from you. No, I’m not alone.
Should I be? You know, Arthur and I don’t currently have an open marriage, but we could discuss the details—ah. Yes. One second.”
“What is it?” Arthur kept his voice low so as not to alarm the guests, even though he was the very opposite of calm. If he’d still had one, Arthur’s heartbeat would have raced. Lore would only call without warning for a handful of reasons, none of them strictly social.
“We’ll just be a moment,” Sal announced to the room of guests. “Going to make out in the kitchen.”
Arthur cleared his throat. “We’re just going to get another batch of cookies.
” It wasn’t as flimsy an excuse as it seemed, since they were running low on Count Chocula Chip, but he needn’t have bothered.
Everyone was quite absorbed in their conversations, except the other Arthur Miller, who sat on the velvet settee typing furiously on his phone. He hadn’t eaten a single cookie.
“Come on.” Sal tugged on Arthur’s sleeve and led him away from the sitting room. “Lore has an update.”
Once they were a safe distance away, Arthur turned back to the phone and said, “You’re on speaker.”
“Right.” Lore’s voice came loud and clear. “So, I’ve got some news.”
“About Rumble?” Arthur asked hopefully.
“Unfortunately, no.” Her voice was curt, but she added a softer, “Sorry. I know you guys are worried about her.”
“We shan’t sleep until she’s found!” Sal declared, never mind he’d taken a short nap the second they returned to the inn earlier that evening.
“Anyway, it’s about the body—Lola Lataurelle.”
Arthur tensed. “Yes?”
“Well, she didn’t die from an allergic reaction.”
“That’s great news for Stephanie. Has she been released?” Arthur asked.
“Just dropped her off at her house myself,” Lore said.
“Good. Stephanie must be so relieved.” Arthur couldn’t help but note he himself was not.
“Yeah, for real.” Lore let out a long exhale. “Stephanie’s not built for this kind of thing at all.”
“Is anyone?” Arthur shuddered at the thought of being locked behind bars for a crime he didn’t commit—again.
“Guess not.” Lore let out a humorless laugh. “It’s just that Stephanie’s got a toddler at home and she’s been so stressed lately. I convinced her to do the festival as a way to decompress, but man…”
“A wrongful arrest isn’t exactly relaxing.”
“Nope!” Lore cleared her throat. “Anyway, it’s good Stephanie’s in the clear, but I discovered the cause of death, and it was anything but natural. Lola was murdered, which creates another problem.”
“One my smarty-pants of a husband can certainly solve!” Sal exclaimed.
“Are you sure?” Arthur asked.
“Arthur! We really have to work on your self-confidence. This is twice in one day—”
“I was asking Lore—about it being murder.”
Lore sighed again. “Yeah, I’m sure.”
“So, we’re back to a murder with no suspects.” Arthur plucked his notebook from his breast pocket absently.
“Well, not exactly no suspects,” Lore said.
“What do you mean?” Arthur poised his pen over the next blank page, ready to begin taking notes.
“The autopsy revealed something a little weird.”
“What’s that?”
“Lola’s stomach contents didn’t show any cilantro, but she did consume something right before she died.”
Arthur’s mind raced—what could she have consumed that would have Lore acting so spooked? Human blood? One of Arthur’s famous scones? Rumble’s mortal soul?
“I found a mixture of pomegranate juice, chamomile, lemongrass, oleander, and edible glitter.”
“So…she ate some delicious things before she died.” Sal furrowed his brow. “Why does that matter?”
“Because, those aren’t just a series of foods—they’re ingredients.”
“Ingredients for what?” Arthur asked, scribbling down the list in his notebook, but his brain snagged on a memory.
A festival booth full of colorful liquids, sparkling in the sun with what might have been glitter.
He pressed a hand to his pocket where the one the coven witch had given him at the festival still rested.
“Some kind of potion?” he asked, knowing the answer to his own question.
“Exactly,” Lore said. “And not just any potion. One that can kill.”