Looking for Mr. Good Witch (13 page)

Wisdom I seek,

Bring it to me.

Wisdom I take,

So mote it be!

“That sounds bad,” Elsie said. “Harper? Where are you, kitty? Or is that Olivia now? Here kitty-kitty.”

Dorothy and I watched her try to locate Olivia's Russian blue cat. He wasn't very big, not like Barnabas or Isabelle. He also wasn't very friendly, even when no one had put a spell on him. He was still grieving for Olivia. That didn't help either.

“Any ideas?” Dorothy asked.

“Not right offhand,” I admitted. “Let's find him first. Why did you try the spell alone?”

“I don't know. Moving the boxes went so well, I thought I could do this for my mother. You know she was uncomfortable at the celebration. If we could transform her when we needed to, it would be great, wouldn't it?”

“Transformation spells are extremely difficult,” I told her. “It's very rare for a witch to manage one on her own. Glamour is one thing. Actually effecting a real transformation is another.”

Dorothy started sobbing. “What if I can't get her out of
Harper? She might be stuck in him forever. I know she wouldn't like being a cat for a hundred years. Wait! Could she live that long as a cat? What would happen when Harper dies?”

“Here he is,” Elsie called out from the supply closet. “He looks exactly the same.”

I put my hand on Dorothy's shoulder. No point in going into how the change wouldn't be long and Olivia wouldn't remember being anything
but
a cat and would probably die for good when Harper passed. There was no reason to elaborate on how bad this could be. “Let's see what we can do.”

We took Harper into the cave. Dorothy moved the boxes as Elsie and I checked out Harper.

“I'm looking in his eyes, but I don't see Olivia,” Elsie whispered while Dorothy was busy. “Just Harper.”

The cat agreed, and asked us not to get so personal.

I stared into Harper's blue eyes. With the proper concentration, it was possible to see elements of the soul that dwelled within the body. I concentrated as hard as I could, but I had to agree with Elsie. “There's no sign of her in there.”

Elsie sat down hard in her chair near the fire. “What are we going to do, Molly? We can't get her out if she's not in there.”

“She's not in Harper?” Dorothy asked. “Are you sure? I did the spell to transfer her energy into the cat. Shouldn't she be there?”

“As I said, transformation spells are tricky.” I tried to remain calm even though I was sick at the thought of losing Olivia again. It had been so tragic to lose her, only to have her reappear as a ghost. I knew she was tied to Dorothy with a strong wish to remain on earth to help her daughter. I'd been so happy to have my old friend back again in any shape.

“What can we do?” Dorothy was a quivering wreck.

“What spell did you use?” Elsie took out her sword.

“I can get it for you. Mom and I came back and talked to Harper. He was happy to have her inside him. I found a
spell upstairs in an old book. Mom looked at it and said it was a good one. I used it.”

“Get it,” Elsie commanded.

Dorothy scampered upstairs.

“Good grief.” Elsie looked at her sword as she raised the fire under the cauldron. “Young magic can be as bad as old magic. I'm not sure there's anything we can do.”

We were silent again as Dorothy brought the book.

“Here it is. Transform energy,” she read aloud. “Do you want me to read the whole thing?”

“
No!
” Elsie and I both called out at the same time.

“Let's take a look at it without any more mishaps,” I said. “Sit down, Dorothy. Hold Harper. He doesn't like it down here.”

Elsie and I read the spell. It was an ordinary transformation spell. I noticed one important aspect of it at the bottom, in the fine print, and pointed it out to her.

“‘Only transforms things to inanimate objects,'” Elsie read. “What?”

“Inanimate?” Dorothy hugged Harper close to her. “You mean she could be in anything in the shop? How are we going to find her?”

“It shouldn't be that general.” I considered the possibilities. “The spell shouldn't have fanned out into the whole room. You're better than that. Otherwise you might have moved the cars into the shop with the boxes yesterday.”

“I don't feel better than that. I feel horrible. How could I do this?”

“Feel bad later,” Elsie suggested. “The consequences of putting a living spirit into an inanimate object are even worse than putting that spirit into an animal. At least Olivia would have been a cat. Now she might be a box or a piece of wood with no consciousness at all.”

I frowned at her description even though it was accurate. “Let's think about this. Where were you when you did the spell?”

“I was right here. Mom said it would be better in the cave.” Dorothy glanced around.

“All right.” Elsie got up and started poking the sand and rocks that surrounded us. “Let me know if you hear anything.”

I closed my eyes and held my amulet. At first all I felt was the rushing of water, millions of gallons of water. It reminded me of the night Joe had accidentally called me his little witch.

Then, suddenly, it came to me. I opened my eyes and went to examine the beautiful amber stone on the collar that Harper wore. I'd been with Olivia when she'd bought it at a bazaar in Istanbul.

“What about the stone?” I asked. “Olivia might be in the stone.”

Dorothy yanked the collar from Harper's neck, which resulted in him scratching her, yowling madly and running upstairs. “Sorry!”

Harper didn't care about her apology. He just wanted to be left alone.

“Can you see her in the stone?” Dorothy asked.

“A stone isn't a living creature.” Elsie stopped poking things with her sword and came back to us near the fire. “Let's try a spell to free her. Maybe there's one in that book. I didn't even know we
had
that book, did you, Molly?”

“We have hundreds of old books that we haven't touched in years.” I separated the stone from the velvet collar. “Take a look, Dorothy. See what's in there.”

There was no spell in the book that reversed or freed a spirit that had been transformed.

“Of course.” Elsie sat down. “Isn't that always the way? Were those brownies I smelled in the car, Molly?”

“Let's try to focus,” I suggested. “Maybe we could do something simple. It seems like I remember a small spell we learned when we were children. Maybe we could make that work.”

I repeated the spell several times for Dorothy and Elsie. Then we repeated it together. I hoped that I remembered it correctly. I felt as though it might be our only shot to keep Olivia from being trapped in a rock forever.

We stood around the fire that burned under the cauldron. The amber stone was in my hand. After we'd repeated the spell together and I could feel the magic flowing, I dropped the amber into the fire.

I opened my eyes in time to see a flash of yellow light. Olivia's ghost sprang from it, flying to the ceiling of the cave before she looked down on us.

“That
hurt
. What were you girls thinking? You knew I was in there, and you threw it into the fire. Ghosts have feelings too.”

We sank into the three chairs around the fire. Olivia was safe.

“Thank goodness you're back.” Elsie used her sword to scratch her head. “I wouldn't know what to do without all that whining.”

“Well, thank you too!” Olivia said.

“I'm so glad you're okay, Mom.” Dorothy stopped crying. “I'm sorry. I thought I could do it.”

“That's okay, baby. At least you tried.” Olivia circled down like smoke from a chimney and pressed herself against Dorothy.

“I love you, Mom.” Dorothy sniffled.

“There's a lesson to be learned here,” I reminded them.

“How did I know you'd say that, Molly?” Olivia asked.

“You know what I mean. I can't believe you encouraged a new witch to try a transformation spell alone. What were you thinking?”

“I was thinking that I'm tired of people acting like I'm either not here or something that should have gone out with the garbage. I'd almost rather be trapped in that stone than go on this way.”

Elsie chuckled. “You notice she said ‘almost.'”

“I think we should break out a bottle of dandelion wine after all that,” I said. “Let's go upstairs. I have brownies too, as Elsie mentioned.”

We sat around the table eating brownies and drinking the potent dandelion wine we'd made a few years before. It was sweet and smelled of summer and flowers.

I related everything that had happened with Georgia, and with Joe. I could see everyone taking it in, even Olivia, who hovered above the table, refusing even to pretend to eat or drink.

“You think that story is real?” Dorothy asked. “Can you trust a Selkie? Not that I've ever met one or even knew they were real. She's not like the Bone Man?”

“No one is like the Bone Man,” Elsie said. “You have to develop an instinct for what is true and what isn't. It's an important part of a witch's education. Can I have another brownie?”

“
May
I have another brownie?” I reminded her. It was hard to let go of being a teacher after so many years.

“You can have one too,” Elsie replied. “It looks like there are three or four left.”

“What are you going to do with the amulet now that you think you know where it came from?” Dorothy wondered. “Are you going to keep it?”

My hand automatically went to it in a protective gesture. “Of course I'm going to keep it. It's part of my birthright. I'm going to find out who in my family got it from the Bone Man. It would be good to know.”

Olivia was still above us, not moving, not joining in as she usually did. There was a wistful expression on her face as it blurred.

I thought about how hard it must have been for her to give up everything that went with a corporeal form. I wasn't sure if she could make it the hundred years ghosts had allotted to them unless we could keep her connected. “What do you think, Olivia?” I asked her.

“I don't know, Molly.” Her voice was weak and fragile.

“Dorothy, Elsie—would you excuse us for a moment?”

“Sure.” Elsie's mouth was full of brownie.

Dorothy didn't look so sure. “What are you doing?”

“Olivia and I are going to step outside on the porch for a moment. We'll be right back.” I smiled at her and touched her arm. She was still such a child in many ways.

“Why are we going outside, Molly?” Olivia asked as she followed me.

I closed the door behind us. The river was a large, black, glittering swath, except for a few lights on boats and barges. It was quiet too, as it never was during the day.

“Olivia, you can't go on this way. If you're serious about being here for Dorothy, you're going to have to overlook how people feel about you.”

“That's easy for you to say. You know appearance is very important to me. I took care of myself and made sure everything I owned was either the best or at least very interesting. I was shallow in life, Molly. How can you expect more from me in death?”

“I thought you were here for Dorothy.”

“I am, but—”

“You didn't even know where she was when she was growing up. You never got to play with her when she was a child. No teacher's conferences. No sniffles or skinned knees. I know you wanted all that, but you managed to hold on to your secret until you thought she was safe. She needs you now too. You can't give up yet.”

“I don't want to, Molly. I really don't. I never thought it would be so hard not to be able to change clothes or put on perfume. Being in a cat wouldn't be any better, but I just don't know what to do.”

“Maybe you need to live through Dorothy right now. I know she doesn't want to lose you. Neither do I. Find some way to make this work. We're depending on you.”

She smiled. “I'll try it. But you have to promise me something too.”

“What?”

“You have to promise to put that amulet back in the bottom of your jewelry box where it belongs.”

Witches fly

When the moon is high,

Across the trees,

Across the sky.

“I think your mother knew it wasn't a good thing. That's why she never wore it.” Olivia made her case.

“I don't think that's true. Why would she give it to me?”

“If the Selkie's story is true and the amulet came from the Bone Man—or some Irish sea god—either way, it sounds like bad news to me.”

“I'm not putting it back, Olivia,” I said. “I'm going to do more research on it and learn how to use it.”

“You're being stubborn about this. You know nothing good can come of it.”

“What about the amulet renewing my magic? That seems good to me. How do we know all those older witches who have lived a thousand years don't possess something like it? And just because it came from the Bone Man doesn't make it bad. He's helped us with spells before. We didn't turn down what he'd given us then.”

Olivia came right down in my face. “Think about it. I'm
worried about you. Don't let the amulet or the Bone Man own you.”

She disappeared through the door after her dire warning. I took a deep breath of night air, fragrant with spring flowers and the scent of the river. I had no plans to set aside the amulet because of a story. My magic was stronger. I was making fewer mistakes. I couldn't see how that was a bad thing after the amulet had been in my family for so many years.

When I went inside, Dorothy and Elsie were comfortably sleeping with their heads on the table. It was almost two
A.M.
I decided the incantation for finding our spell book would have to wait.

“I can see me in her,” Olivia whispered, studying Dorothy's sleeping face. “I think you're right, Molly. I have to refind myself in her. There are plenty of stories about ghosts becoming more human. I've met some of them too. If they can do it, I can do it. I just have to figure out how. It's not easy without magic.”

“I know. I'll be glad to do anything I can to help.”

“You know what I had to say on
that
matter.”

“I'm not putting the amulet away, Olivia. Not without something more to prove that it's not a good thing.”

We were at an impasse. It wasn't the first time, but our friendship had always seen us through. I knew it would this time too.

I woke Elsie and Dorothy. Dorothy awakened instantly and agreed that we should do the enchantment for the spell book later. Elsie was groggy, but agreed to postpone what we had intended for that night.

“Just don't forget about it,” Olivia said as I locked and spelled the door to the shop behind us. “I don't like that someone else might be benefiting from all our hard work.”

“Don't worry. We all want it back,” I told her.

I waved to Dorothy, waiting to be sure her car started before I left the parking lot. Then I drove Elsie home and helped her inside. She'd slept all the way back.

After she was safely inside, I went home. I was tired and a little dispirited that Olivia thought the amulet was bad for me. I could take it off and put it away, but why would I? I couldn't imagine another witch who would after feeling its magic.

Except my mother.

Why had she chosen never to wear it? Why hadn't she told me about its history except as a passing thought?

I thought about my grandmother, Daisy. She and I had been very close. I loved her free spirit and curiosity. But I'd never seen her wear the amulet either.

I couldn't remember my great-grandmother well enough to know if she'd worn it.

Was there something to what Olivia had said about it? I didn't want to think so. I was enjoying my renewed magical energy. I wanted it to continue and grow.

Shedding my special clothes for the spell, I put on my lilac pajamas and sat in a comfy chair, reading everything I could find about Manannan MacLir. From what I could gather, he wasn't evil and hadn't done things to hurt people—except for the village he'd wiped away on Oak Island. I didn't know what I would've done in the same circumstances.

Isabelle heard Joe return before I did. She'd been asleep on my lap as I read but lifted her head to let me know we weren't alone.

“You're still up?” Joe yawned as he came in and locked the door behind him. “How was your
club
meeting?”

“A little unexpected, but good.” I smiled and put my book away. “How did it go with the case tonight?”

“I think every branch of law enforcement was there to question and observe our witness. I would've been freaked out and run away if I were him. They're keeping him in a safe house with multiple guards. I was glad they didn't want me or Suzanne to watch him so I could come home. I might not have any choice later, though, if we can't get rid of this case.”

“Did he give you a description of the killer?”

“Sure. He even helped a sketch artist with it. We've sent out the information to law enforcement up and down the Eastern seaboard. We don't know if the killer is finished in Wilmington and moving on or what. We can't take any chances.”

“I'd like to see the sketch.”

He produced a folded version of it from his pocket.

It could have been anyone. There was nothing unusual or distinctive about the killer. “And your witness is sure the killer is a man?”

“No doubt about it.” Joe took the sketch back and put it in his pocket. “Do you have information to the contrary?”

“No. Not really. Members of my
club
can be male or female. But the killer could also be wearing a disguise.”

He yawned. “Let's go to bed. Can I be a member of your
club
too?”

I turned out the lights as we walked to the bedroom. “I'm afraid not. You have to be born into it. I'm sorry.”

He kissed me. “Probably better that only one of us is in this particular
club
anyway.”

There were no bad dreams that night, even though I hadn't done anything about finding the Bone Man's wife. Joe and I had breakfast together the next morning. He went to meet Suzanne at the station, and let me know later that there had been no attempts to kill their witness during the night. There were also no reports of other murders.

But a witch would have known that he or she was being observed. Had the witch been wearing a disguise when the witness was there? Was that why the sketch was so nondescript?

I wished the killer would move on so the FBI, CIA and whoever else was involved in solving the case would move on too. That way Suzanne could go home, and the police department would find Joe a new, permanent partner.

I needed to focus on finding the Bone Man's wife and not on this killer witch. If Joe wasn't involved with the case,
it would be easier to do. The police and the witches' council were working on finding the killer. They didn't need me to worry about it too.

Elsie was decked out in pink and white with a matching hat when I picked her up at her house. Her pink gloves were short today. Her attitude was pink too.

“I got an email from Larry last night. Now that the full moon has passed, he's starting for home. I'm looking forward to our happy reunion.”

She was serious about her relationship with Larry the werewolf. I didn't have a problem with it. If he made her happy, I was happy for her, no matter what the council thought about it.

“Do you think I'm being old and silly about him?” she asked.

“Not at all. You're seventy-two, not dead. Why shouldn't you enjoy a romance with him?”

“Well, he's a lot younger, and a different species. I'm not sure how Aleese would feel if he turned one night at dinner.”

I laughed at that. “I'm sure she'd be shocked and horrified. You should try to keep that from happening. Otherwise, you're both human with different magical attributes. As for him being younger—good for you. Maybe he can keep up.”

She giggled. “Thank you, Molly. I've been excited about seeing him again, but also worried. I know the council won't like it.”

“But they don't like much of anything.”

“True.”

“That was a silly mistake Dorothy made.”

“Her magic is strong, but she's still learning. And don't forget, she banished Cassandra in an emotional moment. Magic is always stronger with emotion behind it.”

“Yes. I suppose that's true.” Elsie looked out the side
window. “What were you and Olivia talking about last night outside at the shop?”

“She needed a pep talk after being stuck in amber for a while. It's not going to be easy for her to stick around as a ghost. It's against everything we've ever been taught, and she doesn't like being ridiculed by other witches.”

“I could see that. Olivia has always been very sensitive.”

“And she told me I should give up the amulet, since we think we know where it came from.” I waited for her reaction.

“You have to admit—having an amulet with the past Georgia hinted at is potentially a problem.”

“Not you too?”

“I know you must have thought about why your mother didn't wear it. Don't tell me you didn't, Molly.”

“I've wondered. I'm going to look through her journal and see if she mentions it. It's not like she gave me the amulet with some terrible words about it being cursed or something. She barely mentioned it. It was big and kind of ugly. I put it away. End of story.”

“I wish you would do more research on it. What about this sea god?”

“Manannan MacLir. He's Irish, or at least mentioned in Irish mythology. He's not thought of as being evil. Except for knowing that he destroyed the settlement on the island, I can't find anything about him doing terrible deeds.”

“Well, keep looking, just in case. I wouldn't turn away a magic pick-me-up amulet if my mother had left me one either. But it's good to know what jewelry you're wearing.”

I agreed as we arrived at Smuggler's Arcane. Dorothy was just getting there too. She brought Olivia's staff out of the Beetle.

I could see right away that Dorothy had been crying again. She got out of the car and ran toward us, Olivia flying along behind her.

“We just came from Brian's apartment. He's gone.”