Chapter 16 #2
Mia smiled as she curled up on the couch.
She had people who worried about her and people she worried about.
She had family. No matter if they were blood-related or not, they were united.
She watched the security monitor as Levi’s Jeep came into the parking lot and Damien’s car left.
Then Christina blew through the living room in a maxi dress and boots and rushed out the door.
Mia paused the show, then got up to get a soda and threw the dead bolt on the apartment door. Stupid, she knew, but it made her feel better. No one would get in the front door without a key, and she wasn’t going to open the door for anyone.
She resumed the episode and got busy trying to figure out who was her favorite in the new cast of designers. So many were cast as the love-to-hate reality stars this season. Nailing down a favorite to go all the way was going to be hard.
She ordered pizza and breadsticks after the first episode was over. When she saw the pizza delivery guy pull into the parking lot on the security monitor, she also saw Mark Baldwin’s truck pull in afterward. She picked up her phone as she went out of the apartment and called Sarah.
“Do me a favor, call Mark and ask him where he is right now?” Mia asked as soon as Sarah answered the call. “Wait, ask Trent to call him.”
To her credit, Sarah didn’t even ask why. Mia waited to open the door until Sarah returned to the phone. “Mark says he parked in front of your school. Is there a problem?”
“No, just tell him to say, ‘Tempest is a hellhound’ when he reaches the front door.” Mia snapped on Muffy’s lead before she opened the door and gathered the pizza.
She set it on the foyer table and waited for Mark to come up to the door.
He nodded to the pizza delivery kid, who gave him room on the sidewalk.
When Mark got to the door, he looked back to see if the kid was in his car, then dropped his voice. “Tempest is a hellhound. What is this all about?”
Mia called Muffy in and he greeted Mark as well. She shut the door, then tapped a finger on the top of the pizza box. “Want some dinner?”
“Sure.” Mark followed her into the living room.
She set down the pizza on a table and grabbed paper plates and napkins from the bar. “I have cola or lemon lime down here. Or root beer.”
“Root beer, please.” As he sat down and took off his jacket, he laid it on the couch. “Are you going to tell me why I had to have a password from my wife to talk to you?”
“I told you I was having some visions and unsure what was real.” Mia set two cans on the table and opened one to take a drink. “I’m alone, so I didn’t want to be surprised if you turned out to be someone else.”
“I didn’t think this place was ever empty. You collect strays like you run a dog pound.” He opened the pizza box and took a deep sniff. “This smells amazing. I don’t know why I didn’t think to order pizza one night while Sarah’s been gone.”
“She probably has a compelling spell on the house to try to get you to eat healthy.” Mia took a slice, watching Mark’s reaction. Maybe she shouldn’t have told him that.
Instead of getting upset, he shrugged and grabbed a slice. “I wouldn’t put it past her. Anyway, I thought you dealt with the visions.”
“I think I have, but a girl can’t be too careful. Why are you here, besides the fact that it’s dinnertime and you thought you’d get invited to eat?” The pizza was just hot enough and had a thick crust, which made it taste so much better than if it had a crunchy, thin crust.
“One, yes, I thought dinner might be around this time. And two, I wanted to update you on what I found out about Suzanne Parker. She did own a house in town. Funny, the county records show it as vacant land. She has a will, but her attorney is out of town until late next week. So is her boss, who sent her here from Boston on assignment. Only he can tell me what her assignment was or who she was meeting. Being human, I can play dumb well. After talking to his assistant, I got a call from the large attorney firm, which told me not to contact their clients directly but filter all questions through them. So, I sent them a full page of them. No response yet, but the boss is on vacation, according to the lawyer. Who was this woman besides your tester? Is that job enough to get this kind of celebrity cover-up? I haven’t seen this kind of back peddling since we had that murder of a low-level actress in Sun Valley. ”
“She was a powerful witch, I know that much. She lived a long time here in Magic Springs, and she loved being part of a new witch’s education.
Except for mine, I guess. She was upset that I’d tested so high on my first test and thought I pulled one over on the first examination guide.
He was lovely, by the way. Then someone asked for a retest. Parker came and gave it.
Then I tested higher. I don’t know why that or her death happened, but I believe someone wants me to step away from my magic. ”
They ate in silence for a few minutes, then Mark set down his pizza. “You think this is about the magic? You usually can tell me if my victim was killed by magic or not. This seems like a bad rewrite of The Wizard of Oz.”
“I don’t know. I don’t know if it’s because of this guy or girl messing with my memories,” Mia circled around her head with an outstretched finger, “or because of my level from the test. Or maybe it had nothing to do with Suzanne Parker’s professional life and she was just here when the killing happened.
She’d lived here for many years, so I’m sure she must have made some friends and enemies. I just can’t find either.”
“That’s not normal.” He finished the pizza on his plate, then went back for another slice.
“I know Magic Springs isn’t normal, but we have a pace to life here.
This seems like it’s coming from somewhere else.
The whole murder was set up to highlight that she was a witch, if you didn’t know anything about witches. ”
“Could it be about the property? Christina said it’s on a road on the way to her parents’ condo. I assume that’s all high-end property from the way the house looked at her wake.” Mia picked the loose toppings off the box. She wasn’t hungry, but it tasted so good.
Mark brightened as he finished his slice.
“This is why I love talking to you about these cases. You hit on a possible normal motive. I’ve heard rumors that a developer wants to buy up two million-dollar lots, combine them, and then build even bigger, ten million-dollar houses.
I wonder where Adam Boyle was on Tuesday night. ”
“He’s the developer?” Mia asked for a bit of clarification because she was lost in Mark’s line of thinking. “Wait, is he related to Nathan Boyle?”
“Nathan is his son. Adam mostly works in Boise, or he used to before he started sniffing around Magic Springs.”