Page 13 of Bright Dark Curses

“Oh, cool. Tell your boss the food was amazing. Best thing I’ve had since working in movies.”

If I served anything other than muffins and cookies, I’d have been mighty envious. Case study, not competition, I reminded myself. “Thanks, we’ll be sure to let Lucy know. Is there anything you’d want next time? She’s always open to suggestions.”

Research, and not a complete lie. Who wouldn’t be open to learning about their customers’ wants?

The woman thought about that for a few moments. “Maybe more of the rice dish next time? It was really good. A little harder to eat on the go than the other stuff, but worth it.”

“What about desserts? Drinks?”

“Oh, those were fine. But, well…”

I leaned in invitingly. “Yes?”

“Maybe more tea would be nice next time? I’m not a big coffee drinker and the tea urn ran out fast.”

Hah! Take that, Fairy Circle Cakes. I took out one of my business cards from my back pocket and offered it to the woman. “I heard this is the best tea shop in town. Make sure to drop by if you have a minute.”

She took the card and pocketed it after a brief glance. “Sounds good. See you guys around.”

“Wait,” Key blurted.

She paused.

“Have you heard about Olmeda being cursed for making movies?” Key sounded so innocent and earnest it made me want to wrap her in blankets and take her home.

It seemed to affect the woman in the same exact way because her expression warmed. “Oh, yeah. I heard about some of that.”

“You believe in curses?” I asked in a whisper.

“Me? Nah. But people around here can be paranoid about that stuff.”

“So you don’t think all the weird stuff happening has anything to do with a curse?” Key asked.

The woman laughed. “If I had a dollar for every time a mistake or accident has been blamed on bad luck in the movie sets I’ve worked on, I wouldn’t need to work anymore.” She winked at us. “Now, I really need to get going.”

“Thanks,” I said.

Key also thanked the woman as she sauntered away. Then she turned to me. “What do you think?”

“That it was very smart to ask her about the curse.”

She flushed. “What do you think about the curse and the sabotage? Are they related?”

I studied the open truck and the magically booby-trapped trunk inside. “I think we need to brainstorm.”

FIVE

Once Brett returned with a bottle of cleaner and some rags and we took care of whatever had been poured on the trunk, we went back to Shane, Dru, and the dogs.

I never thought I’d rue the day magical shenanigans fell under my domain, but as we rushed by the crew and what I thought might be two of the actors rehearsing the upcoming scene under the set lights, part of me wished I were a little less official and a bit more actual catering part-timer this once.

Dru looked mighty bored, and Shane stood stoically, as if waiting in the cold streets was his fate in life and he might as well get used to it because no amount of complaining was going to get him out of it.

“Let’s find a warmer place to discuss things,” I said.

Brett raked a hand through his hair. “Can we wait until after we’re done? I’m going to get in trouble if I don’t get back to work.”

I opened my mouth to explain the sooner we got a plan in place, the faster we’d catch whoever was messing with the movie, but snapped it shut and looked at Key. She was the one in charge today, not me.

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