Page 29 of Sweetwater and the Witch

“What about Spooner?”

“I’ve got a plan B. I’ll take care of it later tonight. Willis is our first priority.”

“You make this utterly weird situation sound almost normal.”

“What can I tell you? It’s a gift.”

Chapter Thirteen

“I haven’t done any work this challenging in ages.” Zora Sweetwater smiled at Ravenna. “I must tell you it’s rather exciting.”

“But you have done something like this before, right?” Ravenna asked.

Ethan had contacted his aunt from the Amber Palace to ask for her help. Zora had been waiting at the stage door of the nightclub. She was still in her Zora the Mysterious costume—a long, glamorous silver gown that glittered with a massive amount of sparkling crystals and matching elbow-length gloves. She had explained that she was between acts and, considering how long it would take to drive to the Dark Zone, hypnotize Willis, and drive back to the theater, there simply wouldn’t be time to take the outfit and the makeup off and then put them on again for the late-night show.

Now that the time had come, Ravenna was more anxious than ever about the scheme.

“It would be really bad if Willis developed total amnesia or had some kind of psychotic break and wound up in a para-psych hospital,” she said. “He’s a well-known man in this town. The Willises are a powerful family. There would be questions, lots of them. If the police investigate, they would find out I had a date with Willis recently. Who knows where that would lead?”

“Don’t worry.” Zora waved an elegantly gloved hand. “I’ve had some experience with this sort of thing. I occasionally consult for the FBPI.”

Ravenna’s spirits rose. “Really? I used to do some profiling for the Bureau.”

“Did you?” Zora smiled approvingly. “And now you’re a matchmaker. How interesting. But it makes sense that profiling and matchmaking would require the same sort of talent.”

That was somewhat reassuring. Still. Ravenna looked at Ethan.

“Relax,” he said. “By the time Aunt Zora is finished with Willis, it will be like the whole stalking thing never happened.”

“And if it doesn’t work?” Ravenna asked. “Do we have an option number three?”

“No need for a third plan,” Ethan said. “We’ll just go back to option number one.”

Ravenna swallowed hard. “That would be the one where we send Willis into the tunnels minus his nav amber.”

“That one,” Ethan said, clearly untroubled by the prospect. “But stop worrying. Aunt Zora can handle this.”

The three of them were standing over the still-unconscious Willis. They were not the only ones present. Harriet had appeared and, not surprisingly, taken an immediate liking to Zora. She was currently gazing up at Ethan’s aunt with adoring eyes, entranced by Zora’s glittering evening gown, sparkling chandelier earrings, and dazzling necklace.

“Please make this work,” Ravenna pleaded.

“Piece of cake,” Zora said.

She studied Willis, her eyes dark and intent. Ravenna felt energy shift in the atmosphere. She had known immediately upon meeting her that Zora was a strong talent, but down here in the catacombs the heavy psi heightened the intensity of paranormal abilities of any kind. There was no question but that Zora was a woman of power. The question was whether she could finesse the tweaking of Willis’s memory.

“Hmm,” Zora said.

“What’s wrong?” Ravenna asked anxiously.

“Have you had much experience using your talent on people, Ravenna?”

“No. Absolutely not. Well, there was a situation several months ago, but no one died, if that’s what you mean.”

“I didn’t mean to alarm you,” Zora said. “Willis certainly isn’t dying, but there is something strange about some of his wavelengths.”

“You can see his aura?”

“That’s part of my talent,” Zora explained. “I not only perceive auras in great detail, I can adjust them to some extent, at least temporarily. But in this case some of the wavelengths appear to be frozen. I was just wondering if that is a side effect of your own talent.”

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