A Charmed Life (Halloween LaVeau Book 5) (4 page)

Chapter 6

“What was that?” Arthur asked.

“It sounded like an animal,” I said as I jumped up.

I rushed over to the back door and peeked outside. On the left a distance from the house was the old graveyard. A raven perched on the black iron fence. It seemed as if it was looking in my direction. Was that what we’d heard? There was no way the bird could have made that noise, and Arthur stood right behind me, his presence undeniable.

“I don’t see anything,” I said as I unlocked the door.

I twisted the handle and then pushed the door open. The last time I’d seen Pluto he’d been in the living room lounging on the back of the sofa. I knew he hadn’t gotten out. There must be a stray cat hanging around.

When I stepped out onto the back porch, I looked to my left. A woman was on the ground.

“Oh, my gosh.” I raced down the steps with Arthur right behind me. When we reached the woman, I knelt down beside her. “Are you all right?”

She was probably about seventy years old with gray hair pulled up into a bun. I’d never seen her before, and I knew she wasn’t one of my neighbors.

“Oh, dear. I guess I slipped on the wet grass. You really should put up some sort of pathway.” She scowled.

I hadn’t expected anyone to be walking around the house, but whatever. I supposed she hadn’t seen the stone path that was already there.

I reached down and helped her up. “Are you sure you’re right?” I hoped that she hadn’t broken her hip or anything.

She brushed off her navy blue dress. “I’m fine, dear, don’t worry about me. I have strong bones.”

Well, that was good to know. But now I had to know why she was here.

“Was there something I can help you with?” I asked.

“Yes, honey, I’m looking for a room. I saw your sign out front.” She adjusted the brown leather pocket book on her arm.

Oh, wow, not again. My guests always seemed to come in pairs. Now I really was suspicious. This couldn’t be a coincidence. When I glanced at Arthur, he flashed a quick smile. Why had she come to the back door?

As if she read my mind, she said, “I came to the front door, but you didn’t answer.”

Why hadn’t she tried the doorbell?

She shook her head. “That doorbell seems to be broken.”

Okay, now she really was reading my thoughts. This was freaky.

“Would you like to come inside?” I asked.

“As a matter of fact, I would.” She marched past me toward the door.

Arthur grabbed her bags from the lawn. Once we were all back inside, the woman stood by the island. She peered down at the food.

I could take a hint, so I asked, “Would you like breakfast?”

Without hesitation, she said, “Yes, I haven’t eaten. I would love food. Thank you.”

She sat down on the stool where I’d been sitting and immediately started eating the food on the plate. When I looked at Arthur he just chuckled.

“Ms. LaVeau, I’m sorry, would you like to take my seat?” Arthur gestured.

“No, please continue eating your breakfast. I have dishes to clean up anyway.” I motioned toward the sink.

The woman didn’t seem to pay attention to what was going on around her. She was focused on the plate. Apparently she thought it was good too. I didn’t even know her name yet.

Arthur and I watched the woman devour the food for a few moments longer. She acted as if she hadn’t eaten in a long time.

Finally, I had to ask. “I didn’t catch your name.”

She looked up at me, still chewing a mouthful of pancake. Finally she swallowed. “Cora. My name is Cora Smythe.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Smythe,” I said.

She shook her head. “No, call me Cora.”

“Well, Cora, my name is Hallie LaVeau and this is my guest Arthur White.” I gestured.

She looked from me to Arthur and eyed him up and down. She licked the syrup from her lips.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, ma’am,” he said. 

“You may call me Cora, as well,” she said with a wave of her hand.

He smiled at her. “All right, Cora.”

“What brings you to Enchantment Pointe?” I asked as she continued eating.

“I’m visiting a friend,” she said. “She doesn’t have a place for me to stay, so I needed a room here.”

“Well, it’s nice to have you,” I said. “I can show you to your room if you’d like.”

“That will be fine, dear, but I will need coffee. You don’t mind, do you?” She quirked an eyebrow.

“No, not at all. I’ll bring you a cup,” I replied in the nicest voice possible.

“Make it with cream and sugar,” Cora added.

Arthur grabbed the bags that she’d placed by the door. “I’ll carry the bags up.”

I hated that Cora had to climb all the steps. The steep incline could be treacherous. I’d put her on the second floor so there wouldn’t be as many.

She wiped the corners of her mouth with the napkin and then headed across the kitchen and through the parlor as if she knew exactly where she was going. Cora marched right to the foyer and paused by the staircase, waiting for us to catch up. I’d been worried about her going up the stairs, but it looked as if she might outpace us. She waved her hand for me to go first, so I headed up with her behind me. Arthur was behind her with the bags.

Chapter 7

We reached the second floor and I turned down the hallway and motioned toward the end. It was the room right across from mine.

After unlocking the door and twisting the old tarnished brass knob, I gestured for Cora to enter. “I think you’ll love this room.”

She eyed me up and down, then finally stepped inside. She immediately went over to the bed and pushed on the mattress. “Seems lumpy.” Cora turned and moved over to the window. She inspected the curtains. “Couldn’t afford the good ones, huh?”

I tried to conceal my astonished expression. She obviously enjoyed being rude and just wanted a reaction out of me.

The room was furnished with a large cherry wood bed covered with a burgundy-colored duvet, a small nightstand, and a matching velvet chair and small table by the window.

I placed the key to the room on the table beside the bed. “There are towels in the bathroom and anything else you might need. Please let me know.”

Cora didn’t answer as she swiped her finger across the dresser. I assumed she was looking for dust. Luckily, I’d just cleaned the room the day before. I had a feeling she was going to be a picky one.

She went back over to the mattress and pushed it again. “Time for a new mattress.”

I didn’t know how to respond to that. “Sorry about that. Please let me know if it’s not good for you.”

What would I do if it wasn’t good? Buy a new mattress? Maybe I’d have to change her to a different room.

“Have you been burning candles in here?” She sniffed and waved her hand in front of her nose. “I don’t like candles. They make me sneeze.”

I shook my head. “No, no candles.”

“Maybe it’s just your stinky perfume.” She scrunched her face.

When I glanced at Arthur, he shrugged his shoulders, as if he wasn’t going to help me out of this at all.

Cora waved her hands. “Off you go. I want to take a nap now.”

That was fine by me. At least then she would be quiet. How would I ever please this guest? She seemed to like my food, so that would be a plus. If she continued to be picky about the room, I could possibly do something about that with a little of my magic.

Arthur and I stepped out of the room. I eased the door closed behind me. A wry smile crossed his face.

“She sure seems like a picky one.” He chuckled.

“I suppose that’s a word you could use for it,” I said.

He laughed again. It was easy for him to find this humorous because he didn’t have to deal with her.

“I have a meeting in town, so I’ll be taking off now. I’ll be back later this afternoon. Thank you for everything. This morning was great.”

I badly wanted to ask where this meeting was and what it was about, but I had to refrain. I just had to find out another way.

“You’re welcome,” I said. “Don’t hesitate to let me know if you need anything.”

“Thanks again. I need to get a few things from my room,” he said as he walked down the hall.

Before I had a chance to clear the hallway, Cora opened the door and stared at me. “Are you going to chitchat out here the whole afternoon or are you going to let me take a nap?”

“Sorry,” I said.

I headed down the hallway and she closed the door. Just then the doorbell rang and I wanted to tell them to be quiet. It was like I had just gotten a baby to sleep. I hurried down the steps as fast as I could before the person rang the bell again.

Who could possibly be at the door? I’d never been this busy before. I’d already seen my mother, Annabelle and Nicolas. Plus, I’d talked to Liam on the phone. Who was left? Maybe it was one of the witches. In the past I would have guessed it was a witch to tell me to stop casting spells. Now I knew it wasn’t my bad magic causing problems for them. Luckily that was no longer an issue.

I finally reached the door, but not in time. The bell rang out again and I cringed, thinking what Cora would say. Without even looking, I opened the door wide.

The woman standing in front of me stepped back. She seemed a little startled by the way that I’d answered the door. She had chin-length blonde hair and was probably about my age. She wore a tan skirt, tall black boots, and a tweed jacket.

“Sorry if I scared you,” I said.

She forced a little smile on her face. “That’s perfectly all right. I guess I needed to get my adrenaline pumping this morning anyway.”

“It works better than coffee,” I said with a chuckle. She didn’t laugh in return, so I asked, “May I help you?” I didn’t recognize her.

“I’m looking for a room. I saw you have a vacancy listed on your sign.” She gestured.

I couldn’t believe this had happened again. Another guest. What was going on? I’d never had this many guests at once. Well, not real ones at least. She watched me expectantly, waiting for an answer. Of course even though I was suspicious, I had to say yes and invite her in.

“Yes, I have a room. Please come in.” I stepped out of the way and allowed her to enter.

She grabbed her bags and stepped inside, peering up around the expansive foyer. Her eyes sparkled when she smiled, putting off a good vibe. Usually, I picked up on people’s bad auras, and I didn’t sense that from her. Apparently, the new sign I’d displayed out front was really starting to work. Well, that and the fact that Annabelle was recruiting people too.

“Do you need a room just for one?” I asked, hoping she would give me more info soon.

She stared across the foyer and into the parlor as if she hadn’t heard a word I said. Finally she seemed to snap out of it. “Yes, just one.”

“I just need to get some information from you.” I gathered my paperwork.

“Sure, whatever you need,” she said in her cheerful voice. “I’m new in town. I just got a job, so I’ll need a place to rent. Hopefully it won’t take long to find a place.”

She was talkative too. I hadn’t even asked her why she was in town yet. It was nice that she offered the information.

“Sure, I understand.” I handed her the papers.

She filled out the paperwork and handed it back to me. “I’m really looking forward to being an Enchantment Pointe resident. I think it’s going to be great.”

Her chatty nature was a good sign. Her friendliness put me at ease about my earlier feelings. I looked down at the page and saw that her name was Jolene.

“Nice to meet you. My name is Hallie LaVeau.”

She stuck out her hand and I shook it.

“Do you own the manor?” She peered around.

I nodded. “Yes, this is my place.”

She looked around. “Wow, it’s amazing. I love it. You’re lucky. Are you the only one living here?”

“Yes, it’s only me.”

She raised an eyebrow. “This place is huge. You don’t have any help? That’s a lot to take care of. You must spend all of your time just cleaning the place.” She touched the small table next to the wall, as if she was searching for dust.

“Well, I did have some help from my mother and my best friend, but I just take the house in sections, so it’s not too bad.”

There was a pause in the conversation and then I asked, “Would you like to see the room now?”

“Yes, thank you,” she said.

I motioned and she grabbed her bag, following me up the stairs. I wasn’t sure which room to put her in to avoid causing any stress on Cora. I paused at the second-floor landing. What if this woman was noisy? Cora would be most unhappy. Finally, I decided to take Jolene up to the third floor to the room across from where Arthur was staying. I didn’t want to put anyone near Cora for fear that would upset her.

We’d reached the third floor and traveled down the hallway when Arthur stepped out of his room. Arthur looked at us and attempted a half-hearted smile.

I paused and motioned. “This is Jolene. She’ll be staying here for a few days. Jolene, this is Arthur.”

She took his hand. “Nice to meet you.”

Arthur didn’t seem nearly as friendly with her. Was he in a bad mood? Did he not feel well? “Likewise,” he said and then continued down the hallway.

I showed Jolene to her room. It was almost identical to Cora’s room. The only difference was a dark blue duvet.

“Please let me know if you need anything,” I said.

Jolene placed her bags on the bed and said, “Thanks.”

She turned her attention back to her bags, so I figured she was ready for me to leave. I stepped out of the room and closed the door. As soon as I got downstairs, I grabbed my phone and dialed Annabelle.

“You’re on fire.” Annabelle’s excitement boomed through the phone. “I told you that this would be a success. You just took a little while to get started.”

“I suppose,” I said.

“Do you need me to stop by later?” Annabelle asked.

“Perhaps,” I said.

“Is something wrong?”

I sighed. “Maybe it’s just my imagination, but the guests seem… I don’t know. Maybe they don’t really like their rooms. What if I’m doing something wrong?”

“Always second-guessing yourself. I’ll be there in a little while,” she said.

After ending the call, I settled in at my desk. The manor was quiet, which was a great feeling. I was finally doing magic well and I had guests, so what was the problem? It didn’t get much better than this. I pushed the thought to the back of my mind. Now I had to do work for the Underworld. I was working on my discussion for the next board meeting.

Just as I’d gotten into my work, a strange sensation fell over the room, in contrast to how I had just felt ten minutes earlier. I didn’t like the feeling. I just wanted things to run smoothly.

I had picked up my pen again when the doorbell rang. I froze on the spot. This was just getting too weird. Now I was beginning to think it wasn’t that sign out front attracting people. Something else was going on at LaVeau Manor.

One thing was for sure, I had to get to the door before the loud noise woke up Cora. I jumped up, almost tripping I’d moved so quickly. I slid into the foyer like a baseball player sliding into home plate. Finally I made it to the door without another ring. Even so, I had to look first this time before I opened the door.

When I peeked out, I saw a man, probably in his mid-forties. He glanced at his watch. Slowly, I opened the door. The man stared at me. He wore a short-sleeved khaki shirt and black pants. He had salt-and-pepper hair and gorgeous crystal-clear blue eyes. Maybe he wasn’t in search of a room after all. I stared at him for a couple seconds. He probably thought I was crazy.

Finally, he said, “This is the bed-and-breakfast, right?”

Okay, so maybe he was here for a room too.

“Are you looking for a room?” I asked. I hoped I didn’t sound too rude.

“Yes, I am.” He gestured at the brown leather luggage at his feet.

I opened the door further and motioned for him to enter. “Then you found the right place.”

The man stepped into the foyer. Of course I was on high alert for any strange behavior. I didn’t need a repeat of someone trying to steal the Book of Mystics. He placed his bag on the floor and peered around the room, just like everyone else had. Sure, they could just be looking at the lovely detail in the trim, but they could be looking for something else too.