Chapter 15
Cosmo opened one glittering eye and yawned at him.
My conscience pricked me. “And here I am, asking you for a favor, instead of letting you go home and chill.”
“No worries.” He moved Cosmo out of the way while I signaled Viv how to back up and stop her van within easy reach of the garage.
The ramp led down at an angle making me grateful I’d listened to Viv. Catching a runaway trolley with a heavy piece of furniture on it was no fun, if we’d have managed that at all before it careened into the garage.
Viv eyeballed Sam from head to toe. He certainly didn’t match Bert’s weight class, but his lean frame came with broad shoulders and solid muscles.
“I’m stronger than I look,” he said, in an amused tone.
“Good. I’ve seen a couple of injuries in my time, and this here chest is as awkward as they get.” She patted the horse blanket that protected the wood from the straps.
Sam followed her instructions without questions or hesitations, and a few minutes after our arrival, the piece of furniture stood in my garage, next to my workbench.
I waved Viv goodbye while I caught my breath. Navigating the trolley down the ramp hadn’t been that exhausting, but I’d experienced another witchfire wave when I touched the chest.
I only hoped that this reaction to it was a one-off. After all, the murder had no connection to the chest other than its use as a hiding place.
Sam pulled up a swivel chair for me. I used it when I was working on smaller pieces.
“Take a seat,” he said, gently touching my shoulder. Even through my jacket, his touch felt comforting. For a second, I leaned into it.
Sam, who’d been a couple of years ahead of me at high school, had returned home to Willowmere not too long before me. His dad, one of Aunt Violet’s oldest and closest friends, kept wishing that our friendship would become something more.
To be honest, the thought had crossed my mind too for a fleeting moment once or twice, and I was almost sure he’d felt the same. But none of us was ready yet for another attempt at a real relationship. Besides, I genuinely loved my life with Cosmo and my crazy coven.
My gaze traveled to my familiar, who’d taken up residence in a padded basket on a shelf. My aunt had set up comfy spots for him around the house. I’d added a few more.
Cosmo yawned at me and I stroked his head.
“Bex? Do you hear me?” Sam’s voice took on a concerned edge.
“Sorry,” I mumbled. I had no idea what else to say, or how long I’d spent ruminating.
“Do you want me to take off the blanket? I can imagine it’s not the nicest thing for you to have to deal with.”
“You’ve heard then?” I attempted a smile.
“That you’ve managed to land in the thick of yet another homicide? It’s come to my ears, via my dad who has it from Ms. Vine.”
“Darn.”
“Don’t worry, she won’t gossip to anyone else and neither will we.” He mimed zipping his lips.
I nodded. I trusted them. It would have been nice to know what she’d told them about my connection to Candice, yet at the same time it felt awkward bringing it up.
“The blanket?” he asked again.
“By all means.” We opened the ratchet straps and unwrapped the chest.
“Beautiful workmanship,” Sam said.
“It’s truly special,” I agreed. I touched the lid, and another heat surge engulfed me, thankfully a gentler one than before. Was my witchy radar trying to tell me something?
Sam noticed my hesitation. He opened the lid. “Nothing spooky here.”
I took a deep breath and let my senses explore. I felt a tiny rush of excitement.
Without me having to ask him, Sam handed me a pair of thin cotton gloves and took a flashlight. “Do you want me to shine the light around so you can take stock of any damage?”
“Thanks.” I also switched on voice recording on my phone, so I’d have a running record of my findings.
If we stumbled upon anything connected to my witch radar, I’d have to memorize it.
Spells, hexes, auras, and other not so mundane things had to stay strictly between me and Cosmo, or me and my coven, which now appeared to include Ms. Vine as well.
I registered the same chips in the wood, a few dents and a gash in the bottom I hadn’t noticed before. Maybe stuffing Tim inside the chest had left its scars.
My gloved fingers ran across every inch of the bottom and the fabric that covered the sides. At least, that’s what I’d intended when suddenly, my left hand twitched and slammed against the left side. The fabric, which once had been tautly secured, had become a little loose.
Something white slipped out at the bottom; a business card. When Sam looked away for a second, I picked it up and stashed it in my pocket. I’d take a closer look at it when Cosmo and I were alone, to decide if it had anything to do with our case.
“That’s all,” I declared a few minutes later. My recorded list would keep me busy for a couple of days, at least. I’d have to take off all the fabric to determine the condition of the wood, and then Candice had to decide if she wanted it replaced at all, or if she’d rather get rid of the chest.
“That was fast work,” Sam said.
“It comes with experience. Thanks for your help. Can I offer you a coffee, or a beer? And maybe take you out for a pizza at the Blue Moon, once I’ve taken care of this one?” I removed my gloves and scooped up Cosmo who’d started to snore.
“Coffee’s great, and I wouldn’t say no to a bite.” He followed me into the house.
The library was deserted. Ms. Vine had taped a note to the door. “List of returns and borrows on the desk. Decaf coffee needs refill. Chocolate cookies gone.”
I tore off the note. The chocolate cookies were on the baking list anyway, as a non-magical batch. We rotated recipes, so visitors never quite knew what to expect. I also suspected that Cosmo wanted to keep me on my toes and not get complacent, when it came to anything remotely related to magic.
Upstairs, I switched on the coffee maker and whisked up milk with a mechanical frother. Sam chose an alcohol-free beer. He settled with it at the kitchen table.
Cosmo had woken up the second his food hit the bowl and was now devouring it.
“He’s got a hearty appetite,” Sam said. “How old is he?”
“He’s a cat in his best years.”
“A bit like us, then.” He grinned.
“Exactly.” I waited until he’d poured his beer into a glass and taken a deep swig. “Didn’t Tim live in your neighborhood?”
Sam spent most of his nights with his dad, so he could look after Jimmy, but the old man had declined to monopolize his son. He’d asked me a couple of months ago if I could locate a house-warming gift, suitable for a one-bedroom condo.
I’d sourced a book with the drawings Alexander von Humboldt had made in his travel journals in the Americas, over 200 years ago. Cosmo had given me that idea, since the famous explorer was one of the early scientists studying biology and ecology in the field.
I’d never been to Sam’s condo, but I knew the address. In a town as small as Willowmere, only one new subdivision existed with this type of building, and from what I’d learned about Tim, I was certain he’d been attracted to one of the hyper-modern new places there.
“He lived in a cul-de-sac close by.”
“What did you think of him, as a person?”
“Let’s say, he wasn’t exactly my idea of a great guy. Although I didn’t know him that well. Different generations and different interests.”
“I thought he was heavy into protecting the environment.”
“Whoever told you that? He might have been talking the talk, but he didn’t care one bit about his carbon footprint, or recycling, or anything but his own comfort. He was great at BS though. He had a knack of figuring out people and their weak spots. He’d get what he wanted and then he’d move on.”
Did Sam sound bitter?
“Has he tried to con you?” I asked.
“Not me, no. Let’s just say, I know the type. Always out to put one over the others.”
“A narcissist?”
“In my opinion? Possibly.”
“In that case, there’d be plenty of people he rubbed the wrong way,” I mused.
He finished his beer. “The question is, was it bad enough to commit murder? And how would they have been able to stuff him into the chest?”
Both were excellent questions, which hopefully, the police would pursue. In the meantime, I’d promised Sam dinner.