Page 89 of Sigils & Spells

“Okay. Okay.” She held up her hands in placation. “Even though you won’t spill any good details about your trip, I’ve got some info for you.”

“About?” I popped another wedge of blueberry muffin into my mouth.

“You missed so much while you were gone.” A mischievous light sparked in Scarlet’s violet eyes. “Caspian gave us all the dish on tall, dark, and handsome Detective Harding and the yummy Detective Kelley.” She opened a cabinet door and took out a pale green glass bottle no bigger than a deck of cards. “We also learned about the missing shapeshifter.”

“We?”

“All kinds of people came in after you left. It kept Priya and me hopping. Before I forget, we’re completely out oftag-itcharms, locating spells, and black tourmaline. Anyway, Bree Garcia came in and she’s best friends with the girl who dates Jonah Budney’s roommate.” Scarlett watched me, gauging my reaction to the name.

Why was I not surprised she knew it? I wondered if the Paranormal Enforcement Division had leaked it or if word had spread from the shapeshifter community?

“Go on.”

Unable to get a rise out of me, Scarlett huffed in exasperation. “Bree was there when Detective Harding interviewed the roommate. Jonah hadn’t been home for two nights. Which was unusual for him. He’s pretty serious about his studies, apparently. And he rode his bike everywhere. He kept it in his room, which ticked his roommate off to no end, because yuck, mud and stuff from the wheels, right? And the bike’s gone, so obviously, wherever he went he rode his bike.” She looked at me expectantly.

I wiped my fingers on the paper towel. “I’m not telling you where we went.” The backpack flashed in my brain like a neon sign. Why had it beenthere? By that building?

She stuck out her lower lip, pouting. “You’re no fun.”

“How many people were in the store when Bree told you all this?” I divided the muffin top into four pieces.

“It was packed.”

Scarlett’s version of packed and mine differed greatly. She was prone to hyperbole.

However, knowing how much witches liked to gossip I had no doubt everything that was said had spread like wildfire.

The microwave dinged. Scarlett took out the mug, opened the green bottle, and slowly tipped it, adding a few drops of liquid to the hot water. Placing the mug in my hands, she ordered me to drink it. The pleasant minty scent didn’t mask the bitter taste of the tincture.

“Anyway” —she drew in a huge breath— “he met a gal, his friends think she’s a witch, but none of them met her and Bree thinks she’s a natch with a spooky vibe, but she knows she’s older because the guys had been ribbing Jonah about dating an older woman the last time she saw him.”

Somehow I actually understood Scarlett’s rushed, ramble of words and overuse of pronouns. What if the mysterious older woman lived in one of the apartments near the area Jonah’s bike had been found? Had he gone to see her, and then what? Run away with her? Or been kidnapped?

Scarlett plopped into a chair beside me. “Do you think we’ll have more angry parents when we open tomorrow?” She stole the last piece of muffin top.

“Hey!” I smacked at her hand, purposefully missing.

Laughing, she ate it.

“Maybe. Hopefully not.” The throbbing between my temples eased. I drained the rest of the mug, grimacing at the bitterness.

Why hide the bike and backpack in the first place? You could dump them anywhere. Why were they at that location? Why hadn’t the shifters been able to scent the bag? Or the workout clothes inside it? Aidan said the police had searched the building. But what if one of my spells was concealing something else of Jonah’s inside there and they’d missed it? I should have asked Aidan to let me do a quick walk-through.

“Are you going to call Mrs. Dalton back?” Scarlett asked.

“I really don’t want to.” Being drilled by a hyper-curious client wasn’t appealing at the moment. I had enough annoying questions cycling through my head.

I imagined Jonah’s parents had endless questions plaguing them too.

Scarlett arched a brow at me. The imperious gesture was identical to her mother’s—she would not appreciate me commenting on that fact. “What do you always tell us?”

“Don’t swear at the customers?”

She made an impatient, rumbling sound in her throat and rolled her eyes. “Don’t put it off.”

Whining wouldn’t be dignified. She was right. Livie probably only had a question or two. I needed to get this over with. I retrieved the crumpled note, then dug out my phone.

If I called the Paranormal Enforcement Division, would Aidan still be there? Would he think I was crazy asking to go through a building they’d already searched? I tapped in Livie’s number.

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