Page 80 of Bright Dark Curses

Dru slurped her drink noisily, and Ethan scowled at her.

“We know, dude,” Shane cut in dryly.

“Then Brett ended up in the hospital…” A new thought occurred to me, one that gripped my heart in an icy vise. “What if whoever poisoned Brett meant to kill him?”

Dru put her drink down. “You said there wasn’t much magic on his cup. If it was a potion strong enough to induce heart attacks, you would’ve known.”

I exhaled in pure relief. She was right.

“We found two magic potions in Lee’s room,” Key said in a low tone.

“What were they?” Ethan asked, suddenly engaged.

“We had to leave before we could test.” I almost expected Bagley to comment on the missed opportunity by not taking the bottles with us, but she remained silent. She’d been silent since we’d left the bed and breakfast. Hedging her bets? Ethan wasn’t exactly the kind of paranormal you’d want to know about your secret existence, even to mess with them. “By the way, do you guys have any blood testing kit?”

They all stared at me oddly except for Key, who ate a fry, then grimaced because they were about thirty minutes cold.

“It’ll help to figure out if potions have blood in them,” I explained.

Understanding dawned on their faces.

“Maybe Alex knows someone who sells them?” I asked Shane.

“Do you want a kit that actually works?” he asked back, not missing a beat.

“I have full faith in Alex’s friends.” Okay, so some of the Halloween lights hadn’t exactly worked as expected, but Bee-Bee was fine! One out of two wasn’t a bad average. Although since this involved detecting dark magic potions, Shane might have a point in that a two out of two would be more desirable.

“I’m leaving tonight,” Ethan blurted.

We all turned to him.

“To where?” I asked.

He rubbed his palms on his thighs, clearly distressed. “Anywhere! I’m renting a car and getting out of here.”

“Why?” Key asked blankly. “Won’t they fire you when they resume filming?”

“I don’t care! I’m not going to stand around while the police get involved.”

“Skipping town isn’t going to make you look any less guilty,” Dru remarked.

“But it wasn’t me, and they’re going to think it was me!”

“The only reason we think it’s you is because you called the boss here,” Shane said wryly.

Ethan swallowed hard and pinned me with woeful eyes. “Are you going to tell them?”

As much as I loathed breaking witch-client confidentiality, I would have to if it turned out Lee had been murdered by paranormal means. As innocent as Ethan appeared, he could be fooling all of us. And if he was innocent, he was the only point of contact with the second witch. A witch who might be a murderer now.

He must’ve read my thoughts on my face, because he hung his head in despair. “I’m done for. I’m going to prison.” He slumped over the table, and Key moved his tray out of the way just in time. “I’m going to bounty hunter prison. They’re going to torture me and starve me and leave me to rot.”

I patted his back. “There, there. Nobody’s going to bounty hunter prison.”

“He will if he’s guilty,” Dru murmured unhelpfully.

“But you’re not guilty, right?” I asked with an encouraging smile.

Ethan turned his head to plead with me. “I’m not guilty.”

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