Page 8 of Fresh Old Bounties

“She pulls in ten times your salary—that’s all I need to know.”

I sniffed loudly at that. “It’s not the amount of money, it’s what you do with it.”

Dru laughed. “That inspires even less confidence in you.”

“Buying Bee-Bee was not a bad investment,” I argued, unlocking the shop’s door.

“Sure. And what about the T-shirts that never sell?”

“Branding.” I pushed the door open, and something rustled on the floor. A white envelope. “Oh.”

Dru peered over me as I bent to pick it up. “What’s that?”

“Someone slipped an envelope under the door while we were out.”

“What does it say?”

I checked the front and back. “No address or stamps. Just my name. Guess they used a messenger.” I walked up to the counter and reached for a butter knife.

“Are you sure you should open it?” Dru asked. “What if someone has it in for you and spelled it somehow?”

Bringing the envelope up to my nose, I took a good whiff. “Smells like paper.” Oftentimes, paper or cloth dipped into poison gained a slightly off smell. I angled it toward the ceiling light, but the envelope was too thick to see inside. “I think it’s safe.”

“Wait.” Dru walked to the farthest corner in the shop, by the shelf of books, tarot sets, and crystals for sale. “Okay. Go ahead.”

“No faith,” I grumbled. I slashed the lid open and peered inside the envelope. A single card rested inside.

Carefully, I slipped it out and read the contents.

I’m ready to make an offer on the spellbook. Think of your price.

What on good Mother’s green earth?

FOUR

“Well?” Dru asked from the corner. “Are you feeling sick?”

“Someone’s asking to buy a spellbook.” I showed her the note.

She read the message. “Whose spellbook?”

Excellent question. “It doesn’t say.”

“Yours?”

I shook my head. Nobody would want to buy my spellbook—there was nothing special about it aside from the love and kindness my Grandma had poured into it. Certainly nobody who slipped anonymous notes printed on expensive card stock under the door and hinted that money wasn’t a problem.

Good magic rarely called for excessive amounts of money, so it had to be dark magic related.

Which didn’t clear up anything, since I was currently in theoretical possession of two dark magic spellbooks—Bagley’s and Key’s Grandmother’s.

I doubted anyone was aware that I had confiscated Key’s spellbook, so Bagley’s was the logical choice. I had taken over her shop and her dark magic side business; therefore, I must have her spellbook.

Unfortunately for this eager buyer, while they had been correct in assuming I had gotten Bagley’s spellbook along with the rest of the place, I had consigned said source of everything evil and foul to my backyard fire pit about an hour after discovering it.

There was no space in the world for that kind of item.

“I think they mean Ms. Bagley’s dark magic spellbook,” I said.

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