Potion Sickness Read online

  While Willow finished eating I looked aimlessly out the window, lost in my own thoughts, when I suddenly realized there was something a bit out of the ordinary going on.

  “Hey, does it seem to you like there’s a bunch of people heading downtown?” I asked Willow, who lifted her head from where it had been buried in her mound of food and had a look.

  “Yeah, actually, it does,” she replied. “I wonder what’s going on.”

  “I can tell you that,” the waitress said, overhearing the conversation as she walked past us. “Apparently, there’s been another murder!”

  Chapter 3

  “What? Who?” I asked, my hand flying to my mouth.

  “One of the vampires,” the fairy replied. “I don’t know which one. One of the cooks got a text about it.”

  “Wow,” Willow said. “We should go over there and have a look.”

  “Are you joking? I’m not going out in the cold. We can go back to the shed and wait for Grandma Rosie to come back and report. You know she’s going to have found out about this and will be doing whatever she can to get any inside information.”

  “True,” Willow conceded.

  “Still, a part of me does want to go and have a look. But not until you’re finished eating.”

  “Sure thing, Mom.”

  When Willow finished her food the two of us left and joined the crowd of people. It seemed half of Mt. Rheanier had decided to come out and see what was going on. This was an eerie reminder of the last murder in town, that of a witch, and I shivered involuntarily.

  “Who do you think it was?” I asked Willow as we made our way toward the building everyone was crowded around, and she shrugged her shoulders in reply.

  “I don’t have a clue. I don’t actually know a lot of the vampires here in town. There’s a few of them that work as Healers and Assistant Healers, of course, and they make up a lot of the night-time support staff at the hospital, but those are the only ones I know.”

  “It was Luca,” a random witch next to me said, overhearing our conversation. “Luca Sadoveanu. He worked at the grocery stores, stocking the shelves.”

  I turned to Willow. “Ring a bell?” She shook her head. “Me neither. I think maybe I’ve heard the name, but I don’t know him.”

  “Ohh, yeah, his parents own the grocery store,” Willow said, snapping her fingers. “That’s why we know the name. Marcu and Ilona Sadoveanu.”

  “Right,” I said, nodding. “They moved here right when Mt. Rheanier was founded.”

  “That’s right.”

  “I wonder why they had their son just working as a shelf stocker,” I said.

  “Who knows? Maybe he wasn’t exactly ambitious about joining in the family business?” Then she looked at me carefully. “You’re not thinking about sticking your nose in this, are you? You had better not be.”

  I shook my head. “No, of course not. Why would I? I’ve had my fill of murderers trying to kill me, and it’s not like they can blame either one of us for this. Whatever ‘this’ is,” I continued, motioning around with my arms.

  I took a moment to take a closer look around. We were in front of a rather upscale building comprised of three townhomes. They backed right up against Lake Cyrene, which meant the views from the back must be spectacular. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that these were some of the pricier townhomes in town, which fit with what the witch told us about the victim.

  The wooden exterior of the building was painted brown, with a white trim and white shutters. It was obviously taken care of, and the landscaping between the three doorsteps and the sidewalk was small and simple, but immaculate.

  Crime scene tape floating in the wind was the only thing that appeared out of place, with multiple Enforcers streaming in and out of the front of the house. Obviously, they had given up trying to disperse the crowd and were simply using the fact that the crime scene tape prevented any non-Enforcement officials from passing through as their means of preserving the evidence.

  I wasn’t lying when I told Willow I had no intention of investigating the murder. Not this time around, anyway. There really was no reason for me to get involved, apart from idle curiosity. Ok, so a part of me did think it was pretty interesting looking into that last murder. Of course, the constant brushes with death were a bit of a downside, so I figured I’d leave this one to the authorities.

  Still, I couldn’t help myself. As soon as I saw Jake, the Enforcer who had broken my heart when I caught him knocking boots with the love of my life, come out the front door and head toward the side of the building I followed, taking care to keep slightly away from the crime scene tape.

  “Jake,” I hissed when he was far enough away from everyone that no one would notice. He looked around, and raised his eyebrows at me.

  “Absolutely not.”

  “You don’t even know what I want, yet. You can’t say no to me when I might just be asking for a couple of bucks to buy a coffee.”

  “Right. Do you need a couple bucks to buy a coffee?”

  “No, but that’s not the point.”

  “I’m not giving you any information about my crime scene, Ali. I want us to be friends again, but I’ll lose my job if I tell you something and people find out.”

  “That’s never stopped you before.”

  “Only because you’re the most stubborn person I know,” Jake replied, a small smile creeping up his face. “But I can’t keep doing it. Once was fine, but this is multiple times, now.”

  “Multiple murders,” I said. “There’s been quite a few more than usual in Mt. Rheanier lately.” One was an abnormality. Two was uncomfortably common. Three was practically a spree.

  Jake sighed. “I know. I don’t like it. This place used to be so quiet; wizards spray painting pictures of anatomy on the side of the Academy wall was the worst thing we had to deal with.”

  “Is it really Luca, the son of the vampires who own the grocery store?”

  Jack nodded. “I guess if word’s already going around there’s no real harm in confirming it. Yeah, it’s him.”

  “Why would someone want to kill a simple shelf stocker?” I mused, and Jack gave me a hard look.

  “That’s not a question you need to answer, you’ve got me? I don’t need you poking your nose in this.”

  “I’m not, I’m not,” I said, raising my hands in self-defense. “Don’t worry about me, I’m just thinking out loud. I have no intention of actually looking into this case.”

  “Good. Now, as fun as it always is to chat to you, I have to go tell the parents what happened to their son. I have a sneaking suspicion the fact that he had a good, long life of over four hundred and fifty years isn’t exactly going to placate them.”

  Maybe it was my imagination, but I almost felt sorry for Jack. I pushed those emotions back; I was not, under any circumstances, going to feel sorry for my former friend who had completely broken my heart.

  “Oh, well, maybe just start doing it with their other son, that should soften the blow,” I replied, and Jack grimaced at me.

  “Still upset at me, then?”

  “Until the day I die.”

  “Well, hopefully one day you’ll find it in your heart to forgive me. Until then, stay out of my case,” he added with a wink before turning and heading back toward the front of the townhouses.

  I made my way back toward Willow.

  “Find out anything interesting?”

  “Nothing gossip-worthy,” I replied with a shrug. “It was Luca who was killed, though. Jack confirmed that for me.”

  “If you’re going to keep investigating murders you’re going to have to let him back into your life just so you can get insider information,” Willow teased, elbowing me in the ribs, and I scowled at her.

  “Not on your life. Besides, I already told you I’m not getting involved in this.”

  “Sure. You say that now, but you know you’re drawn to this. You’re like a fly with honey. Or your Grandma Rosie with the holiday pie baking festival.�
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  “Oh yeah, that’s this week, isn’t it?” I asked. “That explains why Grandma Rosie hasn’t been out and about wreaking as much havoc as normal.” Every year Mt. Rheanier held a multi-city pie-baking competition between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Grandma Rosie took it as a point of pride that she had won it seven years running, and was now gunning to tie the record of eight wins in a row, set seventy-two years ago.

  It was kind of strange, since Grandma Rosie generally showed exactly zero interest in cooking, and could burn a slice of toast without much trouble. I asked Mom once why Grandma Rosie had decided that pie baking was the one thing she would be good at, and Mom told me that about ten years ago they changed the prize to cash, which piqued my grandmother’s interest.

  That sounded about right. I wasn’t completely sure that was the only reason, though.

  “Do you know what kind of pie Rosie is making this year?” Willow asked, and I shook my head.

  “No, and Rhea have mercy on any witch who deems to ask her,” I laughed. “I swear Grandma Rosie gets more and more paranoid about the pie competition every year. A few years ago I asked her what she was going to do for it, and she not only accused me of spying on her, but then she hexed me so that every time I coughed or sneezed bubbles came out of my nose. I was so embarrassed I stayed in my room until she reversed the hex… after the competition was over.”

  Willow was doubled over with laughter. “Yup, that sounds like Rosie. Thanks for the heads up. Hey, is that why you wouldn’t come with me to taste pies four years ago?”

  “Yeah,” I muttered. “Anyway, I’ve learned my lesson. I’m steering far, far away from Grandma Rosie for the next week. That’s actually probably some pretty good life advice in general.”

  “She’s still got her squirrel army working for her?” Willow asked with a grin.

  “Don’t remind me. Come on, let’s get out of here.”

  Chapter 4

  Funnily enough, I was actually telling the truth. I had no intention of investigating Luca Sadoveanu’s murder. When I said goodbye to Willow I headed straight back to the shed, intent on spending an afternoon enjoying Netflix with Vinnie curled up next to me, after taking a hot shower to wash off the last memories of my little dip in the lake.

  Why anybody ever went through a traditional sauna – where they jumped into a frigid lake after their time in the steam room – was absolutely beyond me. You could not pay me enough to willingly go through that kind of torture.

  Fifteen minutes into the first show, however, I was interrupted by a knock at the front door. I raised my eyebrows at Vinnie, instinctively trying to figure out if I should pretend I was out. After all, usually when Mom knocked on my door it was to complain about something I was doing, or something Grandma Rosie was doing and that she wanted me to fix.

  But the silhouette in front of the clouded glass didn’t look like Mom. In fact, it was two people, and neither one of them looked like Mom or Grandma Rosie, and those were the only two people who ever came to the shed.

  Well, Willow and my sister Leda did, too, but they never bothered knocking. They just came straight in.

  “Who could this be?” I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me as I made my way to the front door.

  “New friends?” Vinnie asked hopefully. I opened the door and found myself looking at two vampires. “Scary!” Vinnie called out as he tipped over and fell to the floor. Well, he’d be back to normal in a few seconds. I did have to admit though, he had a point about the vampires.

  Most vampires were on the smaller side; they tended not to be taller than five foot eight or so, even the men, and were built pretty small. The male vampire, standing on the right, however, had to be around six foot two, and looked like a brick with a head. None of his features were what you would call subtle, and his deep-set black eyes darted around, like they were afraid to settle on something.

  The woman next to him was at least five foot eight, but slimmer in form. Between her long, black hair, her black dress, and her pale skin, if I hadn’t known better I might have thought I was meeting the Grim Reaper’s female companion. To add to the effect, her eyes were red; she’d obviously been crying.

  “Mr. and Mrs. Sadoveanu,” I said, a tinge of surprise in my voice. “What are you doing here?”

  I winced inwardly at how callous my choice of words was. After all, they must have found out what had happened to their son not long ago.

  “We need to have a conversation,” Mr. Sadoveanu said, a tinge of accent from the old country still remaining. “Please.”

  “Of course,” I said, motioning for them to come in. “I’m so sorry about your son.”

  “So you have heard,” Mrs. Sadoveanu said, and I nodded.

  “Yes.” I cleared off the couch for the two vampires to sit down while I took one of the chairs at the small dining table. “I’m really sorry, but I have no idea why you might be here. I didn’t know your son.”

  “You see?” Mrs. Sadoveanu said quietly to her husband. “I told you this was a bad idea.”

  He shook his head slightly and squeezed her hand. “It’s the right thing to do. You’ll see, Ilona.”

  I looked between them, confusion reigning, as Vinnie suddenly woke up and scrambled to his feet.

  “Vampires! Huge vampires!” he squealed before scurrying off into the bedroom. It was a good thing, too; I didn’t want to see him have another fainting spell.

  “Sorry about my familiar,” I said. “He’s young.”

  “And my husband is an imposing figure,” Mrs. Sadoveanu said, the tiniest flicker of a smile flittering on her lips before disappearing. “I apologize for the intrusion. We were hoping that we may ask a favor of you.”

  “Of me?”

  “Yes,” Mr. Sadoveanu replied. “You know our son is dead. There is nothing in the world that can bring him back. However, we do want his murderer caught.”

  I nodded. “Of course. But… that’s what the Enforcers are for. I’m just a witch. Why are you speaking to me and not to Jack? Or the Chief Enforcer?”

  The two vampires shared a look. “We have heard of your reputation in town.”

  “My reputation?” My eyebrows rose.

  “You were the one who solved the other murders,” Mrs. Sadoveanu said. “You were the one who was given the reward money from the dragon’s family. And you were the one who solved the murder of the witch a month or so ago.”

  “That… wasn’t made public,” I said.

  “No, but we have lived in this town for hundreds of years now,” Mrs. Sadoveanu replied. “Long enough to make very good friends. We have our sources, and they have told us that you were responsible for finding both killers. Are our sources incorrect?”

  I shifted in my chair slightly. “No, they’re not,” I finally admitted. It wasn’t that I was ashamed of what I had done, it was more that I wasn’t expecting it to be brought up in this conversation. In fact, I wasn’t expecting this entire conversation to be happening. Why on earth was the dead vampire’s family here to see me?

  “In that case, we have a proposition we would like to make,” Mrs. Sadoveanu said. “We would like to pay you to investigate the death of our Luca.”

  “What?” I practically fell off my chair.

  “It isn’t that we don’t trust the Enforcers here in town. We know they are very capable, and we have full faith in the Chief Enforcer and her staff. But Luca was our boy,” Mr. Sadoveanu continued. “He was our son. We will do anything to have his killer brought to justice. We know this isn’t your career, but we need his killer found, and you seem to have a knack for finding murderers. Please. We will pay you very well.”

  My mouth opened and closed a few times, as for one of the first times in my life I found myself completely and totally speechless. They wanted to hire me to find a killer?

  “Sure,” I found myself finally saying. “I can do it.”

  Boy, was Willow never going to believe this story.

  Mr. Sadoveanu’s shoul
ders relaxed at those words, and his wife buried her face in his shoulder, sobbing lightly.

  “Now that is wonderful news,” Mr. Sadoveanu said, his voice cracking slightly. “We were so worried you wouldn’t be willing to help us. We will pay you well. Three hundred thousand if you find the killer and make sure he is brought to justice.”

  It took every inch of willpower I had not to straight-up gape at the vampire. Three hundred thousand abras? Was he serious? That was so much money! That could easily help pay for the house I wanted to buy for my Mom.

  “That’s fine,” I managed to say. “I will do what I can to find your son’s killer.”

  I meant it. Heck, for three hundred thousand abras I’d happily frame someone for the murder just to get a payout. Ok, maybe I wouldn’t do that. But Rhea above that was a lot of money. A lot of money.

  “Thank you,” Mrs. Sadoveanu said. “Please keep us informed with what you find. We will tell the Enforcers about this arrangement, in the hopes of increasing cooperation.”

  “Ok,” I said. “Can I ask you about your son? Or would you rather I wait a few days?”

  “No, now is fine,” Mr. Sadoveanu said, shifting his weight and pressing his lips together. This was obviously going to be difficult for them. I grabbed a pen and an old scrap of paper off the table to write down his answers. If I was going to become a fully-fledged private detective I was going to have to eventually get myself a notebook.

  “Luca was a good boy,” Mrs. Sadoveanu started. “He never got into any trouble when he was young, although he could have.”

  “He liked animals, and playing soccer,” Mr. Sadoveanu added.

  “What about his job?” I asked. “He worked as a shelf-stocker for the family business, right?”

  “Yes,” Mr. Sadoveanu confirmed.

  “I have to ask… is there a reason why he wasn’t working in management? I mean, shelf-stocking is a pretty low job on the totem pole, and you own the business. A lot of people thought Luca should have been working at the back so that he could take over when you retired.”