Looking for Mr. Good Witch (8 page)

Sweet moon of spring,

Turn your face to me,

Favor all I do,

Grant me love and bounty.

I could barely wait to get back to the mainland and tell Dorothy and Elsie what had happened. The swell that had brought me to Oak Island was absent on the return journey, so the trip seemed to take forever, but in reality it was the normal amount of time.

My mind was buzzing. How would I know if the Bone Man would keep his word about protecting Joe and Mike? It wasn't like we could try it out and see if it worked. The risk was too great.

Maybe he knew that, I thought gazing back at the island. Maybe he was asking for a favor without really giving me anything in return. How would I know? I felt gullible and silly. Had he tricked me again?

The ferry bumped against the protective barrier on the dock. Dorothy and Elsie got out of the car, and I ran to them, hugging each of them. “You aren't going to believe what happened.”

I explained everything on the way back to Wilmington. My friends were as astonished as I had been.

“What a story to share at the celebration tonight,” Elsie said. “Molly Renard bests the Bone Man.”

“But did I?” I held up my hand so they could see the rune drawn there. “This is what he gave me to find his wife with. Have you ever seen anything like it?”

Elsie examined it close up. “Nope. I've seen a lot of runes but never this one—at least not that I can remember. You should show it to Olivia. She's always been hot for the runes.”

“Molly, I thought the Bone Man didn't have magic.” Dorothy sat forward between the seats to look at my hand. “How did he do all this without magic? And what is he going to do in return for you finding his wife?”

It was difficult to answer, since I hadn't told them that Joe knew I was a witch. I thought it was asking for more trouble if they knew too. I knew Elsie would certainly frown on it. She'd never told her husband or Aleese. We both knew how serious the punishment from the council would be.

“I think he has magic,” I told them. “Water magic. We can't sense it from him because he's not a witch. I don't know what he is, but it's not something we've encountered.”

“And I missed it.” Dorothy shook her head. “It was probably the best Bone Man visit
ever
.”

“What about the other part, Molly?” Elsie picked up on Dorothy's question. “What's he trading for this?”

I fingered my amulet. “He's going to help me with the amulet.” It was a small lie, but one that wouldn't involve them in case the Bone Man didn't hold up his part of the deal. I couldn't tell them about Joe until I was sure he was protected.

We talked about what the Bone Man's wife might look like. Was she a witch? Was that why he thought I could find her? Would she go willingly with me to see him? If she'd been alive as long as he implied, there was every chance she was more powerful than the three of us combined. We probably couldn't force her to go.

“Maybe that's what the rune does,” Elsie conjectured.
“Maybe it's an entrapment spell. You show it to her and she has to go with you.”

“What if she's not a witch and doesn't live in Wilmington?” Dorothy asked. “You said the Bone Man is tricky.”

“I don't think he would've bothered asking me do this if he didn't think I could find her. I think she's probably a witch—a water witch—and that's why he asked me to trade him for this favor.”

“That would make sense,” Elsie said. “Now let's talk about what's
really
important—what are you wearing to the celebration tonight?”

We decided to check out Elsie's attic, which was like a vintage clothing store. I didn't think any woman in her family had ever thrown anything away. There were hundreds of old dresses in every style for the past hundred years, all colors and sizes. There were hats of every kind imaginable with bags, gloves and shoes to match.

Every so often we raided her stash for different clothes to wear to various celebrations. It was fun romping through a history of clothes in the attic with dust, lit by sunbeams, floating in the air.

“Look at this!” Dorothy held up a beautiful green satin dress that was ankle-length and formfitting. It had a large, stand-up collar that was studded with sequins and rhinestone stars. “Do you think it would fit me?”

“Try it on,” Elsie encouraged. “If it doesn't, we'll fix it.”

“Would we have time to get it altered? Is there a witch's tailor shop?”

Elsie and I laughed.

“Just try it on,” I said. “Let's see.”

I was looking at a black velvet gown that was shot through with bright blue threads. “I feel guilty doing this without Olivia.”

Elsie put down the red blouse she was holding. “I do too. But I think she might feel worse being here and not being able to try things on, don't you?”

“I do. I just hate ignoring her because she's a ghost.”

Barnabas meowed loudly.

“Pipe down,” Elsie told him. “He thinks ghosts shouldn't hang around—like the council. Or maybe he's jealous that we don't have one here. Who knows?”

Barnabas hissed and ran down the attic stairs. His spirit, encased in an orange-tabby body, was that of a preacher from the 1700s who had been mistakenly hanged for witchcraft. Like Isabelle, he could be a little sullen. Old souls were sometimes that way.

Dorothy came out of the closet looking radiant. Green was certainly her color. The dress was a little large for her, but combining our magic, Elsie and I were able to tailor it until it fit like a glove.

“What do you think?” She twirled around like a child. “How do I look?”

“You look amazing,” I said. “I'll bet there are shoes and a bag that go with that.”

We searched around until we found them and then took everything downstairs.

Elsie was going to wear the beautiful embroidered red blouse she'd pulled out of one of her aunt Cecilia's boxes with a matching flounced red skirt. “Aunt Cecilia was a fire witch too. I remember her wearing this outfit. Now there was a witch who knew how to party.”

“I have some shoes that will match this gown perfectly.” I held the black gown up against me. “Your attic is like a treasure trove. It seems that, no matter how often we go up there, we always find something new.”

“That's what comes of having a family of hoarders.” She laughed. “You two better go home and finish getting ready. Are you picking me up, Molly?”

“Let me drive tonight,” Dorothy volunteered.

Elsie and I exchanged frowns. Neither one of us wanted to ride in her tiny brown Beetle.

Dorothy laughed. “In the Mercedes, ladies. I know that would please Mom. She's wanted me to drive it for months. What are we going to do about her? Can we sneak her into the celebration with no one noticing?”

“I'm afraid that's not possible,” I told her. “You can see how the other witches feel about ghosts. I don't know what to do.”

“There's no disguise for a ghost that I've ever heard of,” Elsie said. “I wish it could be different. Olivia always enjoyed a good party.”

“What about ghosts going into other people's bodies?” Dorothy stared at us. “I mean, is that a real thing or just something in movies?”

“I'm not really sure.” I peered at Elsie. “Do you know anything about that?”

Elsie's red brows knit together. “I remember an old spell to put a ghost into a cat. I don't know where I remember it from, or how to do it. We could ask around.”

“What a great idea,” Dorothy said. “How do you think Harper would feel about it? He'd be the natural choice.”

“I don't know. I guess we'd have to talk to him first and then talk to Olivia. I'm not sure how she'd feel about being in a cat's body, even for a short time.” I grabbed my dress. “We can't do it tonight, unfortunately. It would take some advance planning. It would help if we could find the spell book. I'm sure that's where Elsie saw the spell. Let's remember to keep this in the forefront of our minds at the celebration. We need the spell book.”

“So is that a yes about me driving tonight?” Dorothy asked. “If so, I'll pick you both up.”

Elsie and I were fine with that. I dropped Dorothy off at her house and then went home. I could hear laughing and talking coming from inside as I opened the door. Joe and Suzanne were
eating lunch. I closed the door hard behind me—just so they'd hear it.

“Hey, Molly.” Joe got to his feet. “I've got plenty of Chinese chicken for you too. Let me get a plate.”

“No, thanks. I'm on my way out.” I stared at them—Joe normally didn't come home for lunch. I tried not to feel weird about it. They were working together. Partners did that kind of thing.

Isabelle followed me into the bedroom to help put the dress away. She told me all about Joe and Suzanne, how long they'd been there and what they'd talked about. It was as innocent and work-related as I'd thought.

I wished I could share what had happened with the Bone Man. But I was still uncertain about the pact I'd made and unwilling to risk it.

“I have to get ready for the celebration tonight,” I told Isabelle. “You don't have to worry about Joe and Suzanne. I'm not worried.”

She called me a fool and sauntered back into the kitchen to continue her eavesdropping.

I went into the kitchen to see what I needed for food that night. Joe and Suzanne were gathering their plates and silverware together. “You don't have to leave on my account.”

Joe kissed my cheek quickly. “We just got word on the Southport, Molly. The ME has confirmed that it's the work of the same killer.”

Protect my love,

Keep him from harm,

Use this charm.

North. South. East. West.

There was no time for further conversation. Joe and Suzanne left. I didn't have time to brood over how I could protect Joe if he came across the killer witch. I closed my eyes and whispered a protection blessing for him, got the list of supplies I needed and headed for the store.

I won't say that everyone attending the celebration tried to outdo everyone else, but we were all excited about the event. I knew there would be witches who'd spent huge amounts of money on new, flashy clothes and expensive food.

It wasn't in keeping with the spirit of the moon celebration—giving thanks for the passing of the winter and showing gratitude for the coming season of growth. But witches were only human after all, and sometimes we showed it more than others.

By seven
P.M.
, my food was ready to go, packed away in containers that would be easy to carry. I'd made a fresh strawberry salad with wild greens and a tangy vinaigrette. I'd found some baby asparagus and tiny red potatoes that I'd made into
a casserole. For a sweet, I stuck by the old favorite that had served me well through the years—chocolate sin cake.

Dorothy was beautiful in her green dress when she came for me. She got out of the Mercedes and spun around again. Her makeup was perfect, as was the antique emerald necklace and earrings she wore. I knew they had belonged to Olivia.

“Doesn't she look scrumptious?” Olivia seeped out of the partially opened car window. “The emeralds are fantastic on her, yes? What a good idea to spend time in Elsie's attic. I wish my ancestors had saved something besides expensive jewelry and priceless antiques.”

“You look lovely.” I smiled at Dorothy before I addressed Olivia. “Are you going to the celebration?”

“Of course. I've never missed one.”

“You might get some flak from the witches,” I pointed out, though it broke my heart to say it. It was better for me to hurt her feelings than for someone at the event to.

“I don't care. If someone doesn't like it, they can just kiss my behind. I want to see my daughter shine at her first full moon celebration.”

“I don't blame you. I just wanted to make sure you'd thought it through.”

“I'm tougher than that, Molly.” She wrinkled her nose. “I can handle it.”

I didn't think she could, but the decision was hers. She could always leave the celebration and stay in the car until we were ready to go.

“What was Dorothy talking about—putting me into Harper's body?”

“Elsie mentioned a spell she recalled. I don't know yet. How do you feel about it? It would only be temporary.”

“I know how those spells work. Witches have always been able to mingle with animals when they needed a disguise. I'm not sure how Harper would feel about it. He's a little prudish
when it comes to magic. He's not like Isabelle or Barnabas, who understand how it works. He only has the spirit of a British sailor in him.”

“I know.” I shrugged as we got into the silver Mercedes—Olivia calling shotgun. “It's something to think about for the future. One hundred years as a ghost is a long time.”

“I think he might go along with the idea if I ask him the right way.”

“It's worth a try,” Dorothy said. “Show her the rune, Molly.”

I turned to reach my hand between the seats so Olivia could look at the rune. I didn't need to, because Olivia simply stuck her head
through
the car seat and stared at it.

“That's something.” She traced the mark with her finger. “Dorothy told me what happened with the Bone Man. You must've been scared out of your mind.”

“I was at first,” I admitted. “But later I felt comfortable with him. Did you feel that way too?”

She giggled. “I don't know if I'd say
comfortable
, but I wasn't scared of him anymore. You know, it's kind of funny—I remember being there with him and all the things we did—but it's really hazy. More like a dream than something that really happened.”

“Maybe that's because you're dead,” I suggested.

Olivia's eyes widened. “I'd expect something like that from Elsie, but not from you, Molly. Dead people have feelings too. I remember other things that have happened since I died that don't have that gauzy quality to them. I think the Bone Man may have cast some sort of spell on me. Now that we know he has magic, it's possible.”

I didn't want to get any further into that discussion, which might include Olivia relating everything she'd done with the Bone Man. Instead, I went back to the rune on my palm. “Any ideas what this could be?”

“I've never seen anything like it.” She continued to study
it. “I take that back. Once when I was in Ireland to buy crystal, I saw an Irish rune that looked similar to this one. It's hard to say now if it was the same thing. I can look it up for you.”

I glanced at Dorothy, who was watching us in the rearview mirror as she drove to Elsie's house. I didn't want to hurt Olivia's feelings again by suggesting she couldn't look things up anymore.

“She's still a whiz with the books,” Dorothy confirmed. “She can't do anything on a computer.”

“She couldn't do anything with a computer when she was alive,” I said.

“Hello? Still here,” Olivia said. “I was talking about looking in some of my older rune books. They wouldn't have something like that on the Internet anyway. I'd take my old books over that stuff anytime.”

I smiled at her. “Thank you for offering to look it up. Elsie said you know runes better than anyone, and I agree.”

“Well, thank you for that, Molly.” Olivia went back to the front seat. “People think ghosts aren't good for anything. There's still a lot we can do. They don't let us stay here for a hundred years for nothing.”

We pulled into Elsie's driveway. She was already waiting, a bunch of flowers in one hand and a box of food at her feet. Dorothy jumped out to help her.

“Isn't it wonderful having so much energy?” Olivia asked as Dorothy and Elsie got everything into the trunk. “I just love watching her.”

“It's nice having her around. I'm glad you found her again.”

“So am I. I wish I hadn't been so afraid after I found out I was pregnant with Drago's baby. You can't imagine how scared I was that he would take her and make her like him. Or maybe you can after your private meeting with the Bone Man.”

“I'm sure it was nothing like fearing for your child's life.”

Olivia looked through the seat at me again. “There's something you're not telling us about this, isn't there? I can
feel
it.”

I didn't deny it. “Leave it alone for now. Maybe I can explain later.”

Dorothy helped Elsie into the car, and we were off again.

All the conversation was excited talk about the celebration. I looked out at the full moon, which sailed in the dark sky above us like a schooner in calm seas. I could feel its power reflected in the amulet. It helped that we were so near the Cape Fear River. The celebration was taking place at a park that was beside the water.

Was I a fool not to take advantage of the Bone Man's offer to show me how to use the amulet?

I might never know for sure. But believing that he could keep Joe and Mike safe would be a load off my mind. Of course, I would have to believe it first—and that would mean finding a way to prove it without taking a chance with Joe's memory. It was something I would have to think carefully about.

We arrived at the crowded park—who knew there would be so many witches coming for the celebration? Normally we only saw a few dozen. It looked like Portia had done a good job letting everyone know about the event. The council would be pleased.

Dorothy found a place to park, and we lugged everything we'd brought with us to the first available picnic table. Before doing anything else, we lit some candles and joined hands to bless the table and the event. Elsie had brought a beautiful rose-colored linen tablecloth that enhanced the table.

We put out our food to share with everyone. Each of us carried our magic tool in one form or another. I had added my tiny silver cauldron around my neck, along with the amulet, as my mark of being a water witch.

Elsie carried her sword in a gorgeous satin sheath with a shoulder strap. Dorothy had surprised us all and had a setting made for her emerald cull so she could wear it around her neck.

“I was afraid I'd lose it if I kept dragging it around in my pocket.” She blushed at our compliments on the unusual and beautiful setting she'd had created for it.

“That's my daughter.” Olivia smiled. “She's a chip of the old block. I've always had exquisite taste. But you girls know that.”

Elsie smiled but kept her comment to herself.

“Good evening, ladies.” Brian made a gallant bow to us. He was extremely handsome in black velvet pants and black satin shirt. His brown hair was carefully combed away from his face. A bright blue scarf around his neck mirrored the color of his eyes.

I glanced at Dorothy. She was mesmerized.

“Good evening, sir.” Elsie tried to do an elaborate curtsy and almost fell on the damp ground.

Brian rushed to her rescue and tucked her hand into the crook of his arm. “Let's take a walk and see who's here.”

I poked Dorothy. She hadn't said a word.

Brian smiled at Dorothy and offered his opposite arm. She smiled back. The deal was sealed.

I stayed behind with Olivia, who'd agreed to remain there with me after significant glances in their direction. “Aren't they cute together?”

“I suppose so.” She sighed. “I'm having a hard time letting go of her, Molly. It's too soon. We're just getting to know each other.”

“Even if she dates Brian—even if she marries him—she's going to stay in your life. She has a lot to learn from you.”

“You really think so?”

“Yes. This is her home. She loves the house and her new life with you. She's going to be a great witch one day. And her children will love you too.”

Olivia had no tears to cry anymore, but something streamed down her face like tears. “But what about you and Elsie? If I stay here with Dorothy and the two of you move to Boca, I'll never see you.”

“We'll see each other. I don't expect Mike to move to Boca. I think that means frequent trips up here to see him and his family, and you and your family.”

“That makes me feel so much better, Molly. Thank you.” Olivia put her arms out and tried to hug me. It was a strange feeling since there was
something
there, but it wasn't a warm body.

Two young witches who I didn't recognize strolled up. They saw Olivia, of course, and made a few rude comments about ghosts at the full moon festival.

“Ignore them,” I told Olivia. “We don't care what they think.”

As soon as the words came out of my mouth, the rune in my palm began itching and burning. I looked at the two witches. Was one of them the Bone Man's wife? How would I know for sure?

I coaxed Olivia into leaving the picnic table so I could follow the witches. I had to get a better idea of how this worked. Would the rune change if I confronted the Bone Man's wife?

When the two young witches stopped to chat with another group, I pretended they'd dropped something on the ground and tried to get them to face me.

“It's the freak with the ghost,” one of them said.

“What do you want?” the other asked, as they walked away. “I'm not talking to you with that
thing
hanging around. We're not supposed to have the undead here.”

“Why you . . .” Olivia was angry. She rushed through both witches, leaving a cold, clammy sensation behind. I'd experienced it before. It was distinctly unpleasant.

Both witches crossed their arms on their chests, shivering. They ran into the darkness, scared.

“Not a good idea,” I muttered, looking around to see if anyone else had noticed.

“I'm sorry. I couldn't help it. I'm tired of being treated like a third-class citizen. I have every right to be here too.”

The burning and itching didn't go away with the witches. My hand was already red and raw from it. I looked around the crowded riverside park. There were no other witches close to
us. I couldn't confront every witch who was there. I definitely needed something more specific.

There was a series of sparks and shooting flames in the middle of the new green of the park. The fireworks were followed by changing purple, red and green smoke.

Everyone applauded. I saw Brian, Elsie and Dorothy near the front of the display. I wanted to join them, but I didn't think it was a good idea to have Olivia up there. We stayed at the back of the crowd that had gathered.

Portia de Winter arose from the colored smoke and extended her arms to every witch there. “Merry Meet, fellow witches. Welcome to the moon celebration.”