Page 81 of Upside Down Magic

Rufuseyed me dubiously but trotted over obediently.Iput on his harness and grabbed his leash and the doggy bag by the entrance.

“HopeAvery!” came a muffled shout from the coat closet. “Iwant in on the action!”

“Later,Ms.Bagley,”Ishouted back.

Rufusbarked at the door, andAlexinched through the entrance as far from the closet as possible.WhileBagleymight’ve had some helpful insights,Ididn’t have the time to deal with her blackmailing ways.Ifeverything else failed,Iknew where to find her.

Soonthe three of us were in theSUV, making our way through the congested streets ofOldOlmeda.ItwasFridayafternoon, and every tourist and local was out celebrating the weekend already.

Iwanted to curse them all.

Alexdid, loudly.

Itwas so out of character thatIburst out laughing.

Hegave me a sheepish smile. “Sorry, boss.”

“It’sallowed.”

Rufusbarked from the back seat, then shoved his head between the seats.Alexscratched him behind the ears. “Goodboy.”Hewas solemn when he looked at me. “Youthink we’ll figure out how to fix it, boss?”

“Yes,”Isaid, putting all my determination behind the word.Becausewhat other option was there?ForShaneto remain unable to shift back forever and forIanto get worse and worse until…

Ishook myself mentally.Nope.Notgoing there.EitherLilianandTammywould come up with a better way to do the potion, or we’d figure out who had put the spell there and force them to tell us how to nullify it.

Easypeasy.

Now, if only people would get out of the way.Islammed my hand on the horn in a very un-Averymanner, and a couple who’d decided the middle of the street was a perfect spot to take selfieswith the old restaurant in the background jumped back to the sidewalk.

Alexsnorted, his thumbs back to flying on his phone.

“Foundanyone else?”Iasked.

“Justsending texts to my buddies, see if any of them know any of the names.”

Wasthat wise? “Ifthe culprit is here they might cut their losses when they learn someone’s searching for them.”

“Boss, if they made the spell, they already know someone’s going to be searching for them.”

Hemade a good point.

“Besides,I’mtelling my friends to keep it low key.They’llknow what’s up.Youcan trust them.”

“Itrust you, so that’s okay.”AndImeant it.Alexhad yet to disappoint any of us.

“Thanks, boss.”

Islid him a fast glance and found him grinning so wideIcouldn’t help but grin back.AlexandIdidn’t often team up together, butIhad a feeling we were going to be an unstoppable force.

Whoeverhad done this to my boyfriend, my friends, and my shop better watch out.

TWENTY-SIX

Soniacalled halfway there,letting me know that: a) the potion hadn’t worked onBrimstone, b)Iwas a dead witch walking ifIdidn’t figure out how to fix it, and c) she was running a background check onLilianandTammyin case they were scam artists.

Itold her about the dark coven family list, and she demandedIsend it over right away, whichIdid during a traffic stop.

Ittook a while to find a parking spot, but we eventually made it toOlmedaCombinedInsurance’soffices.Theywere on the third floor of a modern building, the glass window walls reflecting the sun as it went down.

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