Chapter 8 #2
“You said, one. That tells me you have at least two points.” This time, her grandmother looked up.
“Oh, yeah. Two, your plan is really good. Ask the library ghosts if they know of any other books with relevant information.” It had worked the one time Mia went to the archives for the coven.
She’d just written down what specifically she’d been looking for.
“Oh, and see what we can find out about Suzanne Parker. If nothing else, it might give Mark some information on next of kin.”
“I’m sure the coven has already notified her relatives.
When a witch dies, an alert goes off at Nationals and a memo is sent to the coven.
Now we just need to see who comes to claim the body.
If Mark is spelled to forget the murder ever happened, it’s a clear sign a witch was behind the murder—not a case for the humans to worry about. ”
“Well, that’s nice to know. How many times have they wiped Mark’s memory?” This was one discussion Sarah could choose to have with her husband. Mia was not telling him that the coven decided what cases he could or couldn’t work on.
“Who knows the exact number,” Grans said too quickly, which meant she probably knew the exact number and thought the coven was overreaching.
“Oh, don’t look at me like that. Most of the time it’s just harmless high school pranks.
No need to go to jail over a spell gone wrong that turned all the snow bunnies in Magic Springs pink. ”
“I thought that happened in Arco, near the nuclear site. And it was neon orange, if I remember.” Mia decided not to push it. They had too much to deal with without the shenanigans the coven pulled on local law enforcement.
“It happened there too. The kids told the local law enforcement that it was a protest against nuclear proliferation.” Grans grabbed two protein bars as they watched Damien’s car come into the parking lot on the security monitor. “I better get started on that potion.”
“Say hi for us,” Mia called after her.
“Was your grandmother blushing?” Christina asked after the apartment front door closed. “She was a little dressed up to be making potions, right?”
“I guess she made her choice. It must be hard for Robert to be left for a golem.” Mia watched Damien get out of his car.
His long dress coat made him look like a lawyer.
In fact, she thought her dad had the same coat.
She needed to call her parents. It had slipped off her list lately, mostly because they would want her to come home to Boise for Christmas, and bring Grans and Trent.
Grans wasn’t a problem, even if she had to bring Damien too.
But Trent? He had family here, and asking him to give up Christmas with the Majorses for the less-than-exciting meal with her parents filled Mia with dread.
Not to mention the questions. Was it serious?
Were they looking at a date? She’d hate to tell them that the wedding would have to wait until after they potty-trained the hellhound and the dragon matured a little.
And they wondered why she never brought a boyfriend home.
Mom would understand, but from what Mia knew, Dad was fully human.
She sighed. Her life didn’t used to be this complicated. She turned to Christina. “Thirty minutes.”
Thirty turned into fifty before they were in the car.
Christina drove, which saved Mia from having to defrost her beater.
The car always had a bit of a gas smell when she drove it, like it would burst into flames at any moment.
Trent said it was her imagination, but Mia didn’t think so.
One day, she’d be in the car and turn over the engine and that would be all.
She didn’t like thinking of bad things. Instead, she asked Christina about the wedding planning and the girl was still talking as they drove into the parking lot for the Lodge. The one thing that always distracted Christina was asking about the upcoming wedding.
As they walked into the Lodge, Mia aimed toward the registration desk.
She smiled at the young man who stood there, waiting.
“Hi, Matt. This is Christina Adams, if you don’t know her already.
She’s going to be here shadowing for a while, so if you see her go into the employee-only areas, don’t freak out, okay? ”
Blake came around the corner. “Your friend is shadowing you? What happened to the Portland job? Couldn’t cut it in the big city?”
Mia started to say something, but Christina stepped in between them and laid her hand on Mia’s arm.
“I didn’t realize you were following my career so closely, Ms. Sandburg.
I’m honored at your interest. But no, they didn’t fire me, they’re looking at a more extensive role for me.
I’ll be taking on all of their smaller facilities, like your cute little Lodge.
Standardization is the key to quality and cost effectiveness, don’t you think? ”
Blake mumbled some sort of agreement. Then her eyes narrowed. “Why are you here?”
“Like Mia said, I’m shadowing. I’m sure as soon as you check your email, you’ll see that my presence has been approved by your supervisors.” Christina stopped talking. Mia felt like she was watching a game of chicken. Each woman waited for the other to blink.
Blake lost the game and walked away. “Whatever.”
Mia turned back to Matt. “I was also wondering if I could see the bill for a Suzanne Parker. Can you send her information to my work email?”
“When did she check in?” Matt hurried to write down the name, glad to be out of the battle zone.
Mia gave him the details as she knew them, then paused. “That start date might be wrong, so push it out a few days if you don’t find it on that Monday. Thanks.”
As she and Christina walked to the back of the great room and toward Mia’s office, she said, “You handled Blake well. Another lesson from your mom?”
“She does have a way about her.” Christina giggled.
“I didn’t like the way she treated ‘the help,’ as she called anyone who did anything for her or the family, but I learned from the best when I need to pull out my entitled side.
I should have Blake totally ignoring you before I leave.
She’ll be too scared to browbeat you even a little. ”
“Blake’s not that bad,” Mia said, then laughed. “Okay, at least she’s better than my last boss, who was actively trying to get me fired.”
Christina looked behind them. “I don’t know. I’ve met people like Blake before, and all they worry about is what they’re getting out of you. I’m not sure she’s on your side at all.”