Chapter 23
Light shone through the window as we arrived at the motel reception.
Long hair wigs in pink and purple and black witch hats with silver moons printed all over them, together with purple capes, had transformed us from a quartet of pleasant middle-aged women into a group that rightfully earned the moniker “Crazy Coven”.
We breezed into the office, where a young man in a tie-dye sweater and cargo pants played catch ball with a toy launcher. He put it aside when he saw us. “Welcome to Sweet Haven, ladies.”
Ange showed him her dimples. “What a cute name and so fitting.”
“It’s a pretty neat set-up we’re having.” He appraised us without missing a beat. “You ladies interested in a bit of lore? We have a map that’ll take you to a sacred spring.” He took a paper map from a drawer.
I glimpsed other promotional material, including a foodie’s guide to Cannon Hill and a map to the historical homes and gardens of the county. The motel appeared to be well equipped to cater to a diverse clientele, should those people bother to come.
Somehow, I doubted that, with an almost empty parking lot and keys for nine of the dozen units dangling from their hooks on a board.
The desk and window were spotless, but a few traces of soil on the floor indicated that the cleaner wasn’t overzealous. If the same went for the inside of the units, it might make our sleuthing a lot easier. That is, if Tim had stayed here before his murder.
Reina opened the map and together with Ange, she studied the depicted trails through the woods.
“Do you have any openings for tonight?” Harper asked.
The young man pressed a few keys on the keyboard. “Let me see. How many rooms is it you’re after?”
“Can we see the set-up?” Harper moved close to the desk.
He turned the screen. “We have two family units in 1 and 2. The rest are all doubles.”
“Do they have a shower or a tub?” Ange chimed in.
“A shower. Plenty of hot water.”
I peered at the screen. It showed the layout. On the left though was a scroll down menu – including booking information.
I coughed twice, as a sign to Reina and Ange.
Reina and Ange frowned in deep concentration as they studied the map. “Could you help us for a moment?” Reina asked, in her most enchanting voice.
“Sure thing.” The man stepped out from behind his desk, with the screen still showing in my direction. The computer mouse, sadly, was out of my reach. I had to use magic.
While Ange and Reina covered his line of vision, I focused my energy on the bookings. My hand trembled as they popped up on the screen. Inch by inch I made them move up, until Harper took off her hat and fanned herself with it. She’d found the entry we were looking for.
I envisaged shutting a book, to collapse the bookings menu.
Harper put on her hat again, as a sign that I was done.
Only now did I hear the man explaining a route to Ange and Reina. Their conversation must have been going on the whole time, while I was in an almost trance-like state.
Harper took my elbow and propped me up. “I’m fine,” I whispered.
“Are the rooms number 7and 8 free tonight?” Harper asked.
The receptionist returned to his post and turned the screen away from us. I’d done my job too well and shut the whole website down, but he didn’t blink as he restarted it.
“They’re both available.”
“Excellent. We’re doing a Wiccan girls’ night out. I assume you won’t mind a bit of chanting?” Ange showed her dimples again.
“No, that’s cool, if you keep it quiet after 10pm.” He pushed over a form for Harper to fill out. I was reaching for my credit card to pay for the rooms, but Reina beat me to it.
“Can I have the keys?” she asked.
“Check-in is in an hour, when housekeeping is through.”
“We won’t need that,” I said. The less work that was done in Tim’s room, the likelier it was to find clues, with or without witchcraft.
The young man hesitated.
“I’m sure all your units are in great shape anyway, unless you’ve been hosting a bachelor party.” I chuckled, to show that I was only kidding.
He gave in and handed over the room keys.
When we left the office, he picked up his ball catcher again. I kept my fingers crossed that he’d been too busy playing to notice that despite our insistence on moving into the rooms, we piled into the car again.
The idea of dressing up as witches, to cover up any sort of actual witchcraft, had been a stroke of genius from Harper and Reina.
The only thing that needed adding was a new spell, one that with any luck should reveal itself in my lair.
It had happened before. I silently prayed that it would happen again.
I split with my coven for an hour, to allow time to pack overnight bags, rearrange our duties, and, in my case, put in a session with Cosmo and the spellbooks.