Chapter 13
CHAPTER
Gina
Present
ON THE DAY of the Witch Walk festivities, Gina drove into the same public garage where she’d spotted Luke driving his secret vehicle that day she’d been staking out his business.
She arrived late to catch up with the rest of the book club, since she had a mission to take care of before she joined everyone else.
A group of laughing teens raced past her in matching Day-of-the-Dead-style makeup. Had no one taught them about cultural appropriation? But then, who was she to judge, dressed like a pagan when she’d been raised to attend Mass twice a week.
Driving slowly up the garage levels, she finally found Luke’s SUV parked on the roof.
Luckily, there were still open spots, so she drove into a vacant place at the other end of the building to put some space between their vehicles, then walked back to Luke’s car.
She double-checked the plate number before she stopped to withdraw a small mirror from her handbag.
The cool October breeze blew her crimped hair in every direction, so she tucked a few extra strands beneath the black satin witch hat that she’d decorated with dried flowers.
In the mirror, she could see the purple spider webs she’d painted around her eyes, but she wasn’t using the mirror to check out her reflection.
She was more interested in making sure no one was coming before she crouched beside Luke’s secret second vehicle and tucked the magnetized GPS into the wheel arch.
Straightening, she closed her compact and stepped away, making sure the tracker remained hidden from various angles.
Once that was done, she slid her mirror back into a flat waist pack that fit under her black satin corset.
Broom in hand, she followed the sounds of Celtic music played in fiddles and uilleann pipes, down the stairs and out onto the street.
The roots of the festival were more German, but Gina had noticed the year before that there was a blend of pagan traditions represented.
And the event was intended to raise money for a variety of animal rescue organizations, so the point wasn’t authenticity so much as fun.
Twilight settled onto the street, halogen lamps flickering to life. The scent of fair food staples like popcorn and fried dough mingled with specialty offerings from local restaurants. A smoke machine billowed purple clouds into the air, and orange fairy lights had been strung in the trees.
Gina hurried toward Broadway, even though her black lace-up boots were a bit clunky to walk in, mainly because they were cheap.
She hoped to run into Luke before she found the book club ladies, but any hope of that was dashed when Jordyn Lawson suddenly appeared in front of her, her copper-colored hair twisted into uneven pigtails tied with purple velvet bows.
She wore eyeliner that would have scared a small child, her makeup trending toward ghoulish.
“I almost didn’t recognize you.” Gina held out her arms for a friendly hug even though some sixth sense warned her that this woman spelled trouble. Stepping back, she admired Jordyn’s black lace dress decorated with spiders and lizards. “Kudos to you on going all in on the theme.”
Jordyn gave her a half smile. “I may have dabbled in some Goth trends in my youth. Putting on the eyeliner felt like old times.”
“Oh, do tell. I love it when skeletons come falling out of the closet.” Gina pointed south at the intersection. “And we might as well walk that way to find the others. Fatima messaged me a little while ago that they were having drinks in front of the distillery.”
They approached a witch stirring a giant cauldron with what looked like dry ice inside, the contents bright red and smoking.
Beside her, another woman dressed in a billowing green skirt wound with gold tassels and a belt of tiny skulls held a tray full of bright green drinks that were labeled “Kiss of Death.”
Jordyn paused to buy two of them with cash and passed one to Gina.
“Well now that you know something about my secret dark side, you owe me a little bit about yours.” Jordyn clinked her plastic cup with Gina’s before trying her drink.
“I guess there’s no better time to share the feminine dark side than at a Witch Walk.
” Gina sipped the beverage and found it tasted better than it looked.
“But I’m not sure that you being a former Goth girl counts as a big reveal.
That would be like me telling you that I used to work as an exotic dancer. ”
Jordyn coughed, spluttering a little as if she swallowed wrong. “Were you really?”
“No, that was more of an example.” Gina’s gaze scanned the crowd, still wondering if she’d see Luke tonight, or if he was going to claim he was still “out of town.” She could hardly pull off her big revenge scheme at the Halloween book club if Luke broke up with her beforehand.
“You’re not very good at this game.” Jordyn twirled around in a quick groove move as they passed a trio of musicians playing instruments that looked like they came from another century.
The street overflowed with witchy revelers now that the sun had set.
Different music poured from each street corner and bar.
Hard rock gave way to modern pop. Another group of street musicians danced around them playing wooden pipes and homemade drums while they chanted something about new moons and love potions.
If Gina hadn’t been stressed out of her mind between trying to unravel what Luke was up to and worrying that Jordyn wasn’t who she pretended to be, she might have enjoyed herself tonight.
“Sorry, I’m just trying to come up with something appropriate. How about this. During my last break up I went literal scorched earth on the guy and burned the word ‘cheater’ into his perfectly manicured front lawn.”
Jordyn gripped Gina’s elbow, her eyes going wide. “Now we’re talking. That’s some dark energy right there.”
“Yes, well. No getting on my bad side.” She hoped Jordyn would take it as a warning. She didn’t trust the newcomer with almost no social media footprint.
A sharp whistle pierced through the musical cacophony and street noise.
“Gina! Over here.” Destiny stood near the old-fashioned clock on Broadway. Dressed in a black cape and form-fitting black tulle gown, she waved at them with extreme stiletto nails painted bright red.
The whole group had gathered in front of the bank.
Brad was there, dressed in a wig that made him look like the David Bowie character in Labyrinth.
He had an arm slung around Mei, while she tasted a drink he held for her.
Fatima, Kaitlin, and Sophie were channeling the Sanderson Sisters from Hocus Pocus, just like they had for the Witch Walk the year before.
Sophie’s blond hair curled in perfect imitation of Sarah Jessica Parker’s character.
Fatima’s dark hair hid beneath a black velvet cap, and she held the leashes of her two Shih Tzus, Poppy and Milo.
Kaitlin wore a red Bette Midler wig as she tried to keep her American Akita, Nala, from jumping on Jordyn, who had rushed over to greet the dog like an old friend.
“The gang’s all here,” Gina observed quietly to Destiny when the gym owner gave her a quick side hug.
“As if anyone in this group would miss a chance to let their witch flag fly.” Destiny’s gaze seemed to land on Sophie as she said it.
Then again, maybe Gina was seeing what she wanted to see.
Because her attention went to Sophie also.
And at that very moment, Luke suddenly appeared behind her, wrapping his wife in his arms and kissing her on the cheek.
He wore a black jacket and dark jeans, his only nod to the dress code a pin on his coat that showed a figure in a pointy hat, flying in front of a full moon.
“Me included,” Gina assured Destiny, lifting her broomstick made of willow branches and tied with a purple ribbon. It happened to point toward her treacherous lover. “I wait all year for a night to cast spells and call down my minion demons.”
“Well, don’t get too carried away, Demon Girl.” Destiny gently pushed aside the broomstick before leaning against the metal post that bore the clock. “Tonight is a family event.”
“If you say so.” Sighing, Gina finished the rest of the drink Jordyn had bought for her.
She would have to wait until after the Witch Walk festivities to confront Luke about where he’d been when he’d said he was out of town.
Unless …
An idea came to her as the friends agreed to stroll toward Congress Park to see what else was happening along the walking route.
They would go right past Luke’s workplace.
What if she slipped away from the group and used her key to let herself into the side entrance of Luke’s office?
Would she find any evidence of whatever business he’d been conducting in secret?
“Besides,” Destiny continued as she looped one of her arms through Gina’s, careful not to catch her extreme-length nails on any fabric. “The real night for witch work is Halloween. You should save your spells and demons for the murder mystery game we’re playing at book club.”
Knowing what she had planned for that evening, Gina couldn’t have agreed more.