A Charming Spell (Magical Cures Mystery Series) (3 page)

“We can discuss it at the meeting.” I patted her shoulder.

“But you are one of us, and you understand what it is like when things go awry.” She tapped her nose. My brows furrowed. “Don’t pretend you don’t. After all of those years you lived as a mortal?”

“Yes.” I took them by the arms and lead them back to the door. If I knew they wanted to talk about the charge against Patience of stealing animals from Petunia – which was on the agenda tonight – I would not have stopped them. “If you have forgotten, this is a place of business where our customers can
feel
the magic, but they don’t really know that we are the ones
making
the magic. Let’s keep it that way.” I opened the door and held it wide. “Now, I will see you two tonight.”

“Well.” Constance puffed. “I never.”

“Me either.” Patience huffed right behind Constance.

“Be sure to only use a little dab of that cream on each hand.” I could just see Patience covering herself in lotion from head to toe. “A dab will do you.”

Right before I shut the door behind them, Mr. Prince Charming darted right back in.

“Look mommy, a kitty!” A cute little girl with freckles across her nose ran across the store after Mr. Prince Charming, snagging the hem of one of the tablecloths and dragging it along with her.

Crash!
The tablecloth fell, sending the bottles tumbling, leaving them broken all over the floor.

“I’m so sorry,” the mother apologized before grabbing her daughter and rushing to the door, only to run smack dab into Ophelia Biblio. “Excuse us.”

Ophelia smiled. “No problem,” She said in a soft-spoken voice. She tilted her head, her eyes flickered with gold specks…
mesmerizing.

“Mommy, I was only trying to catch the pretty kitty.” The little girl grabbed her mom’s face with both hands.

“It’s okay!” I hollered after them, hoping they would come back in. “Geez.” I shook my head looking at the mess. Ophelia walked over and stood next to the mess. I held a finger up. “I’ll be right back.”

“I’ll be right out!” I yelled to Ophelia on my way to the storage room to grab an empty box to put all the broken pieces in. I didn’t want her to leave. I wanted the “scoop” on Ever After Books and to ask what types of books she was carrying. Plus, I wanted to welcome her to Whispering Falls. After all, it was my presidential duty to be nosy about the new citizen.

The storage room was more like a little den that had a refrigerator and couch for those potion-making late nights. Unfortunately, I was pretty good at keeping things organized and didn’t have an empty box.

“Maybe I have one out here.” I walked out of the storage room and back into the shop, looking behind the counter just in case I had one there. No such luck. I turned my attention to Ophelia. “I guess I will have to…”

My mouth dropped. The mess had been cleaned up and everything was perfect, like the little girl was never there. Ophelia tugged at the wrinkle in the red cloth, taking the crease right out.

She brushed her hands together. “There you go.” She placed her hands in the front pockets of her jeans, and then rocked back on her wedge heels.

“Th…” I gulped. “Thanks.”

In the year I had been in Whispering Falls, I had never seen anyone clean up so fast, say nothing about putting it back exactly the way it was before.

Slowly I walked around the small table, checking out the bottles that I swore were broken all over the floor.

A faint glow coming from the counter caught my eye. My cauldron was bubbling, almost boiling over with the potion I had made for Oscar before Mary Ellen sent it crashing to the ground earlier.

“How did you do that?” I clamped my hand over my mouth and fixed my eyes on Ophelia Biblio, waiting for an explanation.

“I’m Ophelia Biblio.” Ophelia spoke with a soft, gentle tone that had a treble pitch. She stuck her hand out. I couldn’t help but notice the ring on her right ring finger.

“You like charms.” She dangled her finger. The small gold ring band had a small book charm hanging off of it.

“How did you know?” I asked. My intuition told me she had a kind soul.

She reached out and wrapped her fingers around my wrist. “You are wearing a charm bracelet, plus your cat has a charm dangling from his mouth.”

Chapter Four

“He has what?” My stomach knotted before I even looked Mr. Prince Charming’s way.

When he brought me a charm, it was a sure sign that something good or bad, usually bad, was going to happen.

I gulped and slowly turned to Mr. Prince Charming. There he sat as if he didn’t have a care in the world as he dragged his long white tail along the counter. Just as Ophelia had said, there was something silver sticking out of his mouth.

Meow, meow
. His cry was more pathetic than normal causing him to drop the charm in between his front legs. He picked up his paw and licked it off before he raked it over his ear.

“About that...” The shop door flew open and Bellatrix Van Lou, Bella for short, stood at the door. She pointed toward Mr. Prince Charming but withdrew once she cast her eyes on Ophelia.

Bella smiled, exposing the gap between her two front teeth. Her checks puffed out with a crimson touch. She shook her head, her blond hair floated around her face, casting a shadow around her smoky eyes.

“How rude am I?” Bella swept across the floor with her hand extended. She looked up at Ophelia. Bella was considerably shorter, standing at five-foot two-inches. Even in her laced-up pointy red shoes, she was still short. With style and ease, Ophelia took Bella’s hand. “I’m so sorry. I had no idea we were in the presence of a new spiritualist.”

“Ophelia Biblio.” Ophelia nodded. “You are the astrologer in the community and owner of…” She tapped her long skinny finger on her temple. The book charm swayed back and forth from her ring with each tap. “…Bella’s Baubles.” Her eyes lit up with a sparkle as pride showed on her face.

“Yes. How did you know?” Bella tilted her head. There was intrigue on her face and her eyes narrowed as if she were trying to figure out who Ophelia was.

“I’m the owner of the new bookstore across the street.” Ophelia moved her finger from her temple and pointed toward the window.

Bella’s and my eyes followed the line of Ophelia’s arm, hand, and finger and looked across the street where the construction crew was no longer anywhere to be seen. There was only a line of people forming out the door of Ever After Books.

“That was fast.” I gawked over Ophelia’s shoulder. “There was just a crew there.”

“What can I say? They work fast.” Ophelia’s brow lifted. “I guess I must go. Talk to you soon.” Ophelia turned on the balls of her feet and pranced out the door.

“I…I…” For a moment, Bella and I stood there with our mouths open, unable to put into words how Ophelia had affected us.

There was something mysterious, yet comforting about her presence that was unexplainable.

Purr, purr, Mrrow
. Mr. Prince Charming brought our attention back to the charm he had dropped on the counter.

Ahem.
I cleared my throat. “I guess you may know something about that.” I nodded toward the charm, almost afraid to pick it up.

Ding, ding
. The bell over the door jingled when a handful of customers walked through the door.

“That is exactly why I came by.” She took me by the arm and walked me back to the counter, away from the customers. “I’m a little on edge with the charm he choose.”

Neither of us picked up the feather charm, but we both stared at it, both afraid to pick it up as though it was going to make us disappear or something worse.

“I love all my charms. I really do.” I picked up Mr. Prince Charming and held him close. “But every time you give me one, it means that my life is about to get very complicated.”

Rowl.
He jumped out of my arms and darted underneath the table that had crashed and burned only a short while ago, only to be quickly put back together.

Nervously, I chuckled and picked up the charm. My intuition told me the angel wing charm might have something to do with Ever After Books.

“Tell me,” I said, holding the charm to the light so I could get a better look. It wasn’t any different than the charms I had seen the Hollywood stars wearing around their necks in the gossip magazines that lined the counter at the Piggly Wiggly in Locust Grove. “What is the meaning behind this chosen charm?”

Bella reached over and unclasped the bracelet from my wrist and held her hand out for me to drop the charm into her open palm. “Really, there isn’t a bad meaning, just another protection. The meaning is sent from above, offering you guidance.” Her voice trailed off.

I looked over at the picture hanging on the wall. Aunt Helena had given me a picture of Darla, my dad, and me from when I was a little girl, and I couldn’t help but think that Darla had a hand in Mr. Prince Charming picking out this charm.

“Then it’s about me being the new Village President.” I protested, and ignored my gut, which would probably come back and bite me in the butt. That was what generally happened when I ignored my intuitive gifts. “And Darla had something to do with it.”

“Mm…Hmmm,” Bella agreed, but didn’t sound all that convinced. “I guess we aren’t going to discuss Ms. Biblio?”

“I’m not sure what to say,” I leaned in and whispered. A couple of the customers were browsing the love potions that were sitting on the shelf along the wall. “I didn’t catch what type of spiritualist she is, but I have a feeling it’s a good one.”

“You go find out and let me know when I drop off the bracelet, after I put the charm on.” Bella waved over her shoulder on her way out.

“I can’t quite put my finger on it,” I mumbled, referring to Whispering Falls’ newest villager, and I tapped Madame Torres. For a moment, we stared at each other and then averted our gaze to the window. “Find out everything there is to know about Ophelia Biblio.”

Madame Torres’s bright red lips curled into a smile, slanting her heavily glittered eyes.

“My pleasure.” Her voice was low and sultry. The ball went black.

Chapter Five

“Good morning.” I turned around to greet a few of the customers as I set samples of a new dry hand cream on the small silver trays on a couple of pedestal stands that were scattered throughout the shop.

Customers loved to try samples, which generally turned into a sale.

“These are hand cream samples.” I extended a small tube to a woman checking out the homeopathic body scrubs. I didn’t have to use my intuition to know she was looking to purchase something for her dry scaly hands. “May I?”

I held the sample out and gently took her hand in mine.

Sniff sniff
. The smell of roses, fresh cut grass, wood chips, and mulch filled my senses.

“I’m June Heal, the owner of A Charming Cure.” Gently I rubbed the cream all over her hands and in between her fingers. The more I rubbed in the cream, the more my intuition told me she was an avid gardener. When someone needs a specific cure, my intuition always kicks in by letting me know exactly what ingredients to use, or what to add to something that was already available in the shop.

“I’m Mandy.” She smiled and watched me rub her hand. “I have never found a good cream for my achy hands. My doctor told me that I was going to have to stop gardening because of the rash I get when I work in the garden, but I have fond memories of my mom and me working in the garden as a small child. And…” Tears swelled in her eyes.

“Let me see if I can help you.” I patted her hand. She didn’t need to tell me her mom had passed away and she was trying to hold on to everything they had. I could relate and physically feel her pain. “You look around and I will be right back.”

A few other customers milled around the shop, but no one seemed to need my attention more than Mandy.

I made my way around the counter and disappeared behind the partition. It was the first time I was going to use my cauldron that Mary Ellen had broken into pieces and Ophelia Biblio zapped back together.

I flipped the switch on my black pot. It came to a rolling boil like it had never been broken. I ran my finger along the shelf to find the perfect ingredients to add to Mandy’s very own cream.

The Indian hemp sparked when I touched it. I took it down from the shelf and uncorked it. There was just enough in there to enhance the cream and customize it to fit Mandy’s needs…her memories.

“Hmm…” I rubbed Mr. Prince Charming as he walked around the bottles on the shelf. “I need one more thing.” I tapped down the bottles to see exactly where I had put it. “Ah! I almost forgot that I hid you behind the vitamin B.”

The Mojo Wish Bean glowed yellow. I held it to my heart. This wonderful bean was used specifically in special circumstances. It helped to manifest wishes and desires. A small dose will help bring back Mandy’s fond memories of her mom.

I peeked around the petition to make sure the customers were okay and no one saw me take the Mojo Wish Bean down. If it got into the wrong hands, it could be disastrous.

“Boo!” Chandra Shango jumped out from behind the partition and threw her hands up in the air, nearly causing me to have a heart attack. Her yellow turban was cocked to one side. Her hazel eyes danced with delight. She cackled, pushing her raspberry-toned hair up into the jeweled turban.

“You scared me!” I held the Mojo Bean Wish bottle close to my heart.

“That was the idea.” Her shoulders bounced up and down, trying to suppress a giggle. Her hands reached out and cradled my arms. With a squeeze, she chuckled, “I’m so sorry. I slipped in when you were talking to that customer about your hand cream.”

“For some reason, I do not believe you are sorry.” I winked and slipped the special ingredient into the front pocket of my apron. I was fond of Chandra. She was so full of life and so happy. “To what do I owe the pleasure this early morning?”

“My first manicure isn’t for another half hour and I wanted to know what you thought about Ever After Books.” Chandra fluttered her brows up and down. Glitter floated to the floor as it shook loose from the orange sparkly eye shadow heavily painted on her eyelids. “Alexelrod is all torn up about it.”