Chapter 25
With the dogs on a leash and flashlights in our hands we set out. The young receptionist was outside too, smoking a cigarette smelling like honeysuckle and clove. He gawked at us, with our pointy hats and capes which were not exactly made for a nightly excursion in the wilderness.
“Blessed be,” I called out to him.
“Thank you, good sister. Where are you heading? Not that it’s my business, I, like, just want to make sure I can send help if you get lost.”
“Aren’t you sweet?” Ange thoroughly enjoyed herself. “We’re off to pick a few flowers, bathed in moonlight, for our spells.”
He gave us a thumbs up. “Cool. Just knock on my door when you’re back, or I’ll head out for you if you’re not back in an hour or so.”
“Is your reception open that late?” I filed away that information. Maybe he could shed a light on Tim’s movements during his stay at the motel. According to their bookings, he’d spent his last night on earth in room 7.
“It depends if we have guests arriving late. I live here, and so does my pa, which makes it easy to take care of the business.”
“It must be nice to live and work with your family.”
“I guess so. He’s on vacation this month, so it’s only me. I’m in number 2, alright?”
“We’ll knock,” Reina said, and off we danced, with our hats bobbing, just your average middle-aged eccentric gals having fun.
Which we had. The beam of our flashlights flitted across the ground. Soft moss and lichen covered gnarly roots, and damp branches brushed against our bodies.
“Stop, before you touch the poison oak bush on our right,” Ange warned us.
We did. Or rather, Harper and Reina did.
I tripped over a tree root, fell over, and landed with my outstretched hands hitting a puddle. Mud splatter hit my face. My witch hat and wig slipped forward.
“Are you okay?” Harper pulled me upright.
I spit out a bit of mud that had landed in my opened mouth and righted my headwear. “Only dirty, that’s all.”
“Why didn’t you use a spell?” Ange asked. She clasped my hands and checked them for abrasions before she took out antiseptic wipes and cleaned them. It stung a little where my skin was grazed.
“I don’t know. Maybe my subconsciousness decided it wasn’t worth spending so much mental energy, when I wasn’t in danger.”
“Or maybe your inner radar was pointing you right where you needed to be.” With a gesture of triumph, Ange shone her flashlight on a patch next to the puddle. “Here’s our yarrow.”
Harper, ever well-prepared, took out a Swiss Army Knife and cut a few stems that she wrapped in a tissue.
Slightly more careful of poison plants and hidden roots, we returned to the motel and rapped on the door of number 2. “We’re back,” Ange hollered.
The curtain in the window opened a few inches, and we saw a hand forming the V sign.
Back in my room, I headed to the sink and scrubbed my face. In the bright light, my palms were reddened and a tiny bit of blood was visible in one graze. The stinging had stopped though. This wound didn’t warrant so much as a band-aid. No wonder my inner witch had declined to step in.
When I appeared with a clean face, a cup of peppermint tea awaited me.
“What do we do with the yarrow?” Ange asked.
I took a long sip, savoring the minty flavor that ticked all the right boxes for refreshment and mental stimulation.
The two spells I’d studied today were somehow connected. I touched a clump of the small flowerheads. A pleasant warmth flooded my body. It was unlike the hot flash of The Change or my witchfire wave. This felt more like a gentle encouragement.
My friends waited for me to say something. I patted the bed. “If you sit here, I’ll try something.”
Silently, they took up their spots.
“Can you fetch your cauldron?” I asked Harper.
She raced to oblige.
I took the container from her and dropped the yarrow inside. My broom came next. I placed it next to the cauldron, with the bristles pointing to the same corner as before.
Reina grabbed Harper and Ange’s hands. All three were so silent I heard the sound of my own breath. Then I tuned that out too and let the spells take over my mind and guide my actions.
I clasped the cauldron and, with a sweeping motion, I let the yarrow fall out and disperse.
A soft, angry whisper arose in my head. Two people, in this room, having an argument. Tim’s face appeared in a flash and disappeared again. The other person I could not see.
Now the whisper faded and the broomstick moved. It slithered across the floor, until it had reached the corner of the room. For a few seconds, the bristles scratched upon the carpet.
My head went light as all motion stopped. The spell had ended.
“Steady.” Ange grabbed me as I swooned. “Take a deep breath.”
Reina handed me my cup with the remains of the tea.
I gulped it down. “No need to worry. I only need a breather.”
“I’d say. I’ll never forget the way the broomstick took off. Do you have any idea yet what it was trying to tell you?”
I rose slowly, in case my knees went weak. They didn’t. “Only one way to find out. What I know for certain is that Tim was here with another person, and it wasn’t too friendly.”
“Person?” Reina asked.
“I only got an impression, nothing specific.” I knelt on the floor. The carpet was loose where the bristles had been scraping the fabric. I lifted the flap. Underneath was a sealed envelope.
I picked it up and patted the carpet back into place. My fingertips tingled. Tim must have hidden the envelope. But why here?
“Harper, do you remember if Tim had booked the room for one night or two?”
“One night.”
I turned the envelope in my hands. “Then why did he leave this behind?”
“Because he didn’t want to risk keeping it at home?” Ange suggested.
“Again, why?”
“In case someone would come and steal it?” Reina proposed.
“Open it,” Harper said.
I did. Inside was a single sheet of paper which reminded me painfully of my high school days, when I’d almost flunked chemistry. “It’s a lab report, but the name of the laboratory has been covered with black marker. Can you understand what the results mean?” I showed the report around.
One by one, my friends shook their heads.
I folded it and stowed it away next to Candice’s letter. “This has to be the clue to solving Tim’s murder,” I said. “The spell led me straight to it.”
“Sleep on it. Maybe your magic needs to recharge overnight,” Ange said.
“True.” I stifled a yawn. My personal witching hour had crept closer to ten pm or even earlier. One glance at my phone told me that I’d already passed my normal bedtime.
So had Ange, and Reina and Harper weren’t exactly fresh as a daisy either.
“A bite to eat and then off to bed?” Harper asked.
“The question is, where do we get food here?” I wondered.
“This is again where we shine.” With a deep bow, Harper ushered us next door where Reina opened a bag with an assortment of bamboo bowls, containing sushi rolls, chicken wings, cheese straws, fresh sourdough bread, quiche, and assorted meat skewers.
Mrs. Miniver and Mr. Chips drooled as they saw the feast.
Harper gave them each a marrow bone and the dogs flopped with their treats onto their blanket.
“For breakfast we have Greek yoghurt and fresh fruit. Unless you’d rather go home now that you’ve completed your mission here?” Reina handed out plates and cutlery.
We dug in. “You can go home, if you want to. I’ll stay, in case Ange is right, and I have an inspiration overnight,” I said.
“Then we’re staying too. Every good witch needs her coven to be at her best,” Harper said.
“Good point,” I admitted-
“Then that’s sorted.” Ange wiped her hands on her napkin. Arm in arm, we left Harper and Reina for the night.
I was glad to share with Ange. Sure, Tim hadn’t been killed here, but left on my own, I’d probably have nightmares.