CHAPTER FIVE #2
With a frown, I walked over the wet floor and closer to the door—but I did not open it. “Ma’am,” I said calmly. “We aren’t open for another hour. Please come back then.”
She gave me a long hard stare through the glass. “Are you Kate Weaver?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“I’d like to speak to you about my son, Beau.”
I shook my head. “Sorry, I don’t know anyone named Beau.”
She rolled her blue eyes. “You would know him—my son—as Dex.”
“Excuse me?”
“I’m Naomi Poindexter.”
Dex’s mother, I realized. I could see some resemblance. The same coloring for sure. “Just a moment,” I said, pulling my keys from my short’s pocket.
I opened the door, intending to speak to her outside on the stoop, but she shoved her way past me and stormed right into the shop.
“The floor’s wet,” I tired to warn her even as she skidded a bit in her high heels.
The door bounced back off its hinges and closed, with my keys still dangling in the lock, while she managed to grab ahold of my checkout counter for balance.
Mrs. Poindexter turned her head and glared at me, as if her slipping was my fault. “You are the proprietor of this establishment?”
“I am,” I said.
She looked me up and down, and it was clear that she found me lacking.
“I’ve been swapping out seasonal décor and cleaning,” I explained.
“Fascinating,” she drawled. The disdain in that one word had my back going up. “Listen darlin’,” she began with a sneer, “I’m not sure what your game is with my son, but I’m here to tell you now, walk away.”
“I beg your pardon?” It was an automatic shock response. Not an actual apology. “What on earth are you talking—”
Naomi Poindexter cut me off. “I know your type. Opportunistic sluts who try and get their hooks in wealthy young men...”
I blinked at the insult. “Mrs. Poindexter—”
“Well, it won’t be happening with my son,” she said, speaking right over me. “If you even think you’ll get your hands on one penny of his inheritance, I’ll do everything in my power to run this horrible Witch shop right out of business. I’ll destroy you!”
I guffawed at that. I shouldn’t have, but my shocked half-laugh sort of happened. “Well, bless your little bitter heart,” I said, shaking my head in amazement.
“How dare you speak to me that way!”
“Mrs. Poindexter,” I tried again, “I’m sure this is a very difficult time for your family, and I’m sorry for your loss, but I—”
“Name your price,” she said as her purse dog began to growl. “I’ll pay—only once, mind you—for any information about my son. If you want more, you have to—”
“Get out.” My voice was flat and low. Nothing about this was even remotely funny now. “I have no idea where Dex is, and nor do I want anything from him.”
“There will not be another offer.”
“You need to leave,” I said, snagging her elbow and hauling her toward the door.
“Take your hands off me!” she shrieked and tried to pull away. While she struggled, her purse dog made a jump for it and landed on the floor next to his mistress.
With the wet floor Mrs. Poindexter had no traction, and she skidded and slid in her ridiculous shoes across the floor and straight towards the exit. The dog went scrambling out of the way.
Using my elbow, I pushed the door open. “Buh-bye now,” I said, nudging her out and onto the sidewalk. “And take your nasty energy with you.”
“Why, I never!” she huffed.
I checked to see where the dog was. It was some sort of miniature terrier, and it began to growl at me. Suddenly, it leapt for my legs.
I shot a hand out. “Stop!” I commanded.
My magick had the dog freezing in mid-leap. It landed on its rump on the floor with a surprised whine.
“Shame on you,” I said to the dog. Snapping my fingers, I pointed to the door. “Out you go.”
The dog dropped its head as if humiliated and trotted directly outside.
Naomi Poindexter’s mouth open and closed like a fish. “What did you do to my dog?”
Hekate was my patron goddess, and I’d always had a way with dogs—a magickal connection you might say. But instead of answering the woman, I simply smiled.
While she stood there staring at me, I shut the door in her face, relocked it, and drew a banishing pentagram in the air, right in front of her. For a moment the energy left a trail of purple shimmer in the air and then it faded.
She flinched farther away from the door. “I’m going to call my lawyer!” she screeched. “You assaulted me! You injured my dog!”
Pocketing the keys, I smiled and pointed to the security camera inside the front door. “Nice try, Mrs. Poindexter, but your visit is all on video.”
“You filthy piece of white trash!” She snatched up her dog and proceeded to have herself a nice rant out on my sidewalk.
“It sure must be exhausting being so unpleasant all the time,” I said through the door, and that shut her up. “I can see why Dex cut off contact with you.” Taking advantage of the brief silence I smiled at her. “Have yourself a nice day, sugar.”
Then I deliberately turned my back on her.
Picking up the mop as if it were the only thing that mattered, I re-cleaned the area where she and her yappy dog had been and chanted a charm under my breath. “I now cleanse this space with fragrant oils and water. Goddess Hekate hear the call of your daughter.”
With that, I continued to work my way across the front, pivoted, and began to mop toward the rear of the sales floor, never looking up to see if Mrs. Poindexter had gone.
I succeeded in getting to the back room and even dumping the mop bucket before the reaction of the visit hit. With shaking hands, I walked over to my desk, sat, and clicked on my computer to pull up the security camera footage.