A Charmed Life (Halloween LaVeau Book 5) (9 page)

Chapter 14

“I’ll go get the weeds,” Nicolas said and walked out the door.

We stared in silence as Nicolas walked over and picked weeds out of the planter.

“This is a win-win for me,” my mother said. “We can find out what happens with the spell and I don’t have to look at their ugly weeds anymore.” My mother had a thing about weeds.

Nicolas waited for a car to pass him so that he could cross the street. He stepped back into the shop with a handful of weeds. He placed them on the counter in front of my mother.

My mother placed the weeds on the counter and then took the potion bottle from me. She poured the contents down into the bowl and over the top of the weeds. We stared, waiting for something to happen. I was nervous waiting to find out. I didn’t know what I would do or say to Cora if in fact she had poisoned Jolene. I’d never dealt with anything this serious before. And I hoped that I didn’t have to ever do it again.

So far nothing had happened. “How long do you think this will take?” I asked.

My mother shrugged. “I would think it would happen instantly. Maybe I need to add a little bit more.”

I touched her arm. “Just be careful.”

She poured a little bit more potion on top of the weeds, but still nothing happened.

My mother moved the dish to see if that would make something happen. “I’m beginning to think that this stuff really isn’t poison.”

Mixed emotions raced through my mind. Now I had no idea what had happened to Jolene. I was even more worried than ever that I had been responsible for Jolene’s predicament.

“Apparently Cora is telling the truth,” Nicolas said.

“So what happened to Jolene?” my mother asked.

I still wasn’t prepared to tell her my thoughts. “Maybe we didn’t get the right potion. What if Cora had more than one?” I asked, trying to think of any excuse that would get me out of this quandary.

“A very real possibility.” Nicolas cast a reassuring smile my way.

Did he really mean that or was he just trying to make me feel better? Either way, it was sweet. I was glad to have the support of both Nicolas and Liam.

“So then what happened?” my mother pressed.

“After Jolene got the potion?” I asked.

“Yes. What’s she doing now?”

I sighed. “Well, understandably she’s upset. She went out for a walk. I’m not sure where she went, but I suppose she’ll be okay.”

“Think positive. She’ll be fine,” Liam said.

“I just don’t know how these things work.” It was about time I found out though. I picked up the potion bottle and put the top back on. “Thanks for helping. Are you guys up for a trip to an antique shop?”

“I’m ready,” Nicolas said.

“I’m game,” Liam added.

“Well, I guess we’ll go to the shop and then back to the manor. I’ll let you know what I find out,” I said.

My mother stared at me. “Is there something else on your mind? Why don’t you just tell me everything?”

I shook my head. “There’s nothing to tell.”

“I told you I can handle it,” my mother said.

“I don’t think you can handle anything. You were swaying back and forth when you saw me and holding onto the counter. If I give you any bad news you’ll just fall over. It’ll be like you drank the bad potion.”

She stiffened up and pinched her brow together in a frown. I recognized that look. She’d given it to me many times over the years. “I’m not happy,” she warned.

Obviously she wouldn’t let this go until I told her everything.

I sighed. “I guess I have been worried about something.”

“About what?” she asked, pushing me for more answers.

“What if I did it?” I rushed out the words.

It wasn’t as if they weren’t thinking I was responsible for this disaster. Surely the thought had crossed their minds.

She waved her hand. “That’s not possible. Your magic is perfect now. I tasted the cupcakes. It’s just simply not possible.”

I appreciated that she was trying to make me feel better.

Nicolas touched my hand. “Don’t worry. Everything’s fine. You’re not involved in this in any way.”

“Okay, I guess.” I knew that my tone didn’t sound convincing, but I had to remain positive. “We should go now. I’ll let you know what I find out.”

“Be careful,” she said as we turned to walk away.

I waved over my shoulder. “I promise I will.”

We just reached the door when my mother said, “Oh, wait just a minute. Has your guest recovered from the crazy magic spell at the café during lunch?”

I felt the stares from Nicolas and Liam. I wished she hadn’t brought that up. Now they’d be reminded of what had happened. That would make them even more suspicious of Arthur.

“He’s doing fine,” I said and hurried out the door.

I barely had reached the car door when Nicolas said, “What about lunch with this guy?”

“What happened?” Liam asked.

I opened the car door and climbed into the car. “Nothing happened. We got lunch, that was all… and maybe a bad spell happened.”

The guys stared at me as they stood on the sidewalk. I motioned for them to follow me.

“When were you going to tell us about this bad spell?” Nicolas asked as he walked along beside me.

Liam was on my other side. “Yes, please do share. I’d love to hear this one.”

“You guys sound so suspicious
,
you have no idea.” I studied out the window.

“Well, it sounds like we have a reason to be suspicious of this guy.” Nicolas stopped in front of the shop.

It was a short walk to the antique shop. I proceeded to tell them why we had gone to lunch.

I’d come to this shop a lot as a teenager. Old things had always fascinated me and I’d daydreamed about who had owned them. Since that time there was a new owner. I hadn’t been in the place in years. The quaint little storefront building had big windows along the front. A large white sign with elegant black lettering read
Enchantment Pointe Antiques
. Old wing chairs and wood side tables were featured in the windows.

Nicolas held the door open for me. I stepped inside and the brothers followed. The room was dim despite the large windows. A slight musty odor tickled my nose. It brought back memories and I figured I should start coming back here more often. As I walked past a table on my right, I touched one of the delicate china teacups.

“You think anyone’s working?” Liam asked.

“I’ll see if anyone’s in the back.” Nicolas walked across the room toward the door that led to the office. “Is anyone here?” Nicolas called out.

An older gray-haired man immediately popped out from the back room. The small man eyed Nicolas up and down and then looked over at us. I was instantly intimidated by his glare. Did he think we were stealing something?

“May I help you?” he asked in a clipped tone.

“I’m looking for information about a bottle,” I said. “My name is Hallie LaVeau, by the way. This is Nicolas Marcos and Liam Rankin.” My voice didn’t exactly sound confident.

The man moved toward me. He wore denim overalls and a red and blue plaid shirt underneath. Nicolas followed him. He glanced back at Nicolas a few times, as if he was suspicious of his movements.

He cast a glance at the men and then said, “My name’s Sam Brooks. What kind of bottle?” He lowered his glasses and looked over the top of the lenses at me.

I assumed since he lived here that he was aware of magic in Enchantment Pointe, so he wouldn’t be shocked when I asked him about the potion bottles.

I pulled out the bottle and showed it to him. “This bottle was used for a magic potion. More specifically a love potion. Can you give me information about this bottle? Do you know who made it or where it may have been purchased?”

He took the bottle from me and pushed his glasses up higher on his nose. He turned the bottle around in his hands. “Interesting.”

Now we were getting somewhere.

He handed the bottle back to me. “I have no idea.”

My mouth dropped open. Liam chuckled and I glared at him.

“You have no idea?” Nicolas asked.

Sam stepped behind the counter.

“That’s it?” I asked. “There’s nothing about this bottle that you could share with us?”

Sam jotted something down on a piece of paper. He handed me the card. “Call this man. He knows about these things. He’s a colleague of mine. I’ll call him and let him know to expect a call from you.”

Neil Machel was written on the card with the phone number.

“Thank you,” I said. “I really appreciate the help.”

“Just be careful with that bottle,” Sam said and then turned and walked back toward the office where he’d been.

“Thank you,” Nicolas said.

Sam didn’t turn or acknowledge him.

Liam shrugged. “Strange one.”

We climbed into the car and headed back to the manor.

When we pulled up to LaVeau Manor, there was a police car parked right in front.

Chapter 15

“What do you think he’s doing here?” I asked.

The police officer was standing at the front door, but turned around when he heard our car.

“I suppose it’s too late to turn around and leave?” I gestured toward the street.

“What did you do, Hallie?” Liam asked with a lopsided grin.

“What makes you think I did something?” I asked nervously.

“A couple of things. One, you sound nervous, and two, you wanted to leave when you saw him.” Liam ticked off the points on his fingers.

“You’re imagining things,” I said.

Nicolas opened the door. “Well, we should find out what he wants. I’m sure it’s nothing. Maybe he’s just collecting donations.”

“Or there’s a serial killer on the loose and he’s looking for him,” Liam said as he opened his door.

“You all aren’t helping.” I reluctantly opened the car door and climbed out.

I wasn’t sure why, but I had a feeling this wasn’t a friendly visit. Too much had happened already since my guests had arrived. The dark-haired officer kept his narrowed eyes on us as we approached. He wore the navy blue Enchantment Pointe Police Department uniform.

“Is there something I can help you with, Officer?” Nicolas asked.

Just then the front door of LaVeau Manor opened and Jolene came out. She folded her arms in front of her chest and stood next to the officer.

“We received a call that someone was murdered.” The officer eyed all of us suspiciously.

My eyes widened. “What do you mean?”

He gestured toward Jolene. “She says that someone poisoned her.”

“Well, as you can see, she’s living. So it certainly wasn’t murder.” I laughed, trying not to sound nervous.

“Yes, well, I know that witchcraft was involved.”

“You should ask my other guest about that. Her name’s Cora Smythe.”

“I’ve already spoken with her. She says she had nothing to do with it.” He reached over and lowered the volume of the radio attached to his belt. “She says you were to blame.” Would he call for backup soon?

My mouth dropped open. “What do you mean I’m to blame? I didn’t poison anyone.”

“Cora Smythe claims you did.” The officer crossed his arms in front of his chest.

Nicolas checked his nametag. “I’m sorry, Officer Antonopoulous, but as you can see, there’s no proof that a crime has been committed here.”

The officer stepped off the porch. I wondered if he was going to arrest us right then and there. He couldn’t do that though because Nicolas was right, there was no proof that a crime had been committed. I certainly hadn’t done anything. Of course, I couldn’t prove that I hadn’t reanimated Jolene after Cora had given her the potion.

He studied us for a moment. “You’re right, I can’t prove anything’s wrong.”

“Are you just going to leave like that?” Jolene screeched.

“If anything else comes up, ma’am, give us a call. We’ll be right back out.” He nodded at Jolene.

She huffed, clearly not happy with the outcome.

Once the officer pulled away, Liam and Nicolas followed me up the porch steps. Jolene hurried inside.

I rushed after her. “Jolene, why did you call the police?”

Furthermore, if she thought something bad had happened, then why was she still at LaVeau Manor? If I thought someone had harmed me I would leave.

She paused at the foot of the stairs and turned to face me. “I just want answers. I want to be normal again.”

“And you’re not normal now?” Liam asked.

She tossed her hands up. “I’m not the woman I was when I arrived.”

“What’s different?” Nicolas asked.

She stared at us. “Just the fact that I was dead. I can’t change that now.”

“Everything will be fine, Jolene. Like the officer said, you can’t prove anything happened. Probably nothing happened.” I waved my hand.

“Probably nothing?” she asked sarcastically. “That’s not good enough for me. You try dying and coming back to life and see how you like it.”

I supposed Jolene had a point. What I really wanted to know was why Cora would blame me. She probably just wanted to take the attention away from her. I had doubts though. Had my magic messed up her potion? If that was the case, then I would have to take responsibility for it. I couldn’t let the wrong person take the blame for this.

Just then footsteps caught our attention. Cora kept her eyes on us as she walked down the stairs.

“Have you been talking about me?” Cora placed her hands on her hips.

“As a matter of fact, we were discussing you,” I said.

She shrugged. “I only told it like I saw it. I was just being honest.”

“You are far from being honest,” I said.

She glared at me.

I wasn’t going to apologize for what I’d said.

“I think you did something to Jolene.” Cora waved her arm.

Nicolas narrowed his eyes and said, “I can assure you that Hallie had nothing to do with a bad potion.”

That was so sweet of him to stick up for me. I wished that I had as much confidence in my innocence as Nicolas.

Cora huffed. “You can’t possibly think I did anything.”

“You’re the one who gave her the potion,” I said.

Jolene stared from Cora to me. “I don’t know what to think.”

Cora whipped around and stomped back up the stairs. Sadly, I didn’t have anything to prove that Cora was guilty either.

For a moment we stood there without saying a word. Jolene hadn’t asked for a refund like I’d thought she would. She turned and also went up the stairs. Maybe she was going to pack her things. I couldn’t blame her. What could I do to fix the problem?

“Hallie, let me know if there’s anything I can do to help,” Liam said.

“Thanks, Liam,” I said.

Liam stared for a moment, and then waved at Nicolas.

When Liam walked out the door, I faced Nicolas. He wrapped his arms around me. “Try not to worry. Everything will be fine. You just need to get some rest.”

“I have a few things to do before bedtime. I have to get everything in order for the guests.” Speaking of which, I hadn’t seen a couple of them since early today.

Nicolas waved his hand. “Come on. I’ll make dinner for us.”

“Anything I want?” I asked.

“Absolutely anything,” Nicolas said with a smile.

Right now I was especially happy about my new magical cooking skills, so I wanted to cook a lot, but this time I’d enjoy someone else’s culinary skills.

**
*

It was about three in the morning when I woke up to a faint noise. At first, I figured I had imagined it or that I had been dreaming. Then the noise came again and I knew that it wasn’t a dream. I eased out of bed into my slippers and across the room to the door. Maybe it was one of the guests, but what were they doing? Looking for a midnight snack perhaps? The doors to Cora and Jolene’s rooms were closed. That didn’t mean they weren’t downstairs though.

When the noise echoed again, I decided to check it out. After closing the door behind me, I inched down the hallway. Once at the landing, I peered up. No one was there and I heard nothing. I looked over the side of the banister toward the foyer, but I saw nothing down there either. Darkness filled the house. I wasn’t sure where to begin to find the source of the noise. The sound ricocheted again and this time I thought for sure it had come from upstairs.

As much as I hated to climb those stairs in the dark, I knew I needed to check it out. I pushed back my shoulders and stuck out my chest. This was my place… I needed to be brave. After taking in a deep breath, I pushed forward and made my way up the stairs, trying not to hit the spots on the stair treads that made noise. Considering the age of the house that was almost impossible. They creaked and groaned with almost every step. Old houses had lots of strange noises, but I was convinced this one had more than most. LaVeau Manor came alive at night.

Once on the third floor, all the bedroom doors were closed there too. It could’ve easily been someone getting a drink of water or a snack. My mind was playing with me and I needed to just go back to bed.

Just as I turned to go back down to the second floor, the noise came again. That wasn’t my mind playing tricks.

Whatever this was sounded as if it had come from the attic, the one place in the house that I didn’t want to hear a noise. The attic had been where I’d found the Book of Mystics. It was spooky up there. Of course it was an attic—all of them were that way. Slowly I made my way down the hallway that led to the cramped space.

Once in front of the attic, I paused in front of the door, thinking that maybe the noise wouldn’t come again and I could just go back to bed. I’d pull the cover over my head and forget about it. Unfortunately, the banging sound came again. It could be an animal in there moving around. I really didn’t want to deal with a rat. Or any other animal for that matter.

Pluto had been asleep on my bed, so I knew it wasn’t him. If there were mice in the attic, I’d have a chat with him. I wrapped my hand around the old knob and twisted. Releasing a deep breath, I pushed the door and eased it open. Immediately a squeak came from somewhere in the room and sent a shiver down my spine. When I glanced at the corner of the room, something flapped around. A bat was hanging from one of the ceiling beams. A scream escaped my lips before I even realized.

Stumbling backward, I tried to find my way out. I hoped that I hadn’t woken up the guests, especially not Cora. She would not be happy. I had to remain calm, but I wasn’t doing a very good job of it. Almost falling over myself, I lunged out the door, slamming it hard so that the bat wouldn’t escape the space. Something had gotten out though. It was all a blur. Had the bat gotten out or was it my freaked out imagination? I tripped to the right and onto someone. Another blood-curdling scream came out, even louder than the first one. The place sounded like a horror movie. When I spun around, I realized that Arthur was right behind me.

“Is everything okay?” He grasped my arms to steady me.

Arthur was shirtless, wearing only red plaid pajama bottoms. Now my face was smashed into his hard, muscular chest.

For a moment, I was at a loss for words. Finally, I managed to say, “I’m okay, but there’s a bat in the attic.”

“Really?” Arthur said. “Let me check it out.”

“Fine by me.” I stepped out of the way.

He moved over to the door and eased it open. I was right behind him. I looked over his shoulder, but the bat wasn’t there.

“I don’t see anything,” he said as he moved into the space.

I slowly followed him, looking everywhere for the creature. He was right though, I couldn’t see it anywhere. Arthur went over and pulled on the light switch in the middle of the room. The soft yellow glow filled the space. The boxes that I’d put there not long ago were still in the room, but nothing else. I’d cleared out all of my great-aunt’s stuff a while back. The place had been full of all kinds of eccentric things, the Book of Mystics being the strangest. But now the bat was nowhere in sight.