Page 34 of Magic Blooms
When I said nothing in response, she continued, “The magic police. They’re in charge of keeping our existence a secret from the normals. They also set up and enforce the governing rules for all magic folk around these parts. In short, they’re a pain in my behind. But usually they’re a dull pain, one that doesn’t bother me a whole awful lot. They’ve never had a whole meeting devoted to my business before. The fact they are now can’t be good.” Her brow furrowed with concern, and her whole body shook.
“But, Lorraine,” I reminded her gently, “you didn’t do anything wrong.”
Another sarcastic laugh escaped her. “Well, I guess that’ll depend on who you ask. Either way you slice it, though, the fact remains. A human died while under my care, and she died of magical means. That makes it my problem. If not specifically my fault. And because of that, the council can absolutely come swooping in and take away everything I’ve ever worked so hard for.”
She paused as she stared out into the distance, her mind probably going over all of the terrible possibilities. “Oh, I bet you this whole meeting is Gerry’s doing. The little rat couldn’t help the need to take a bite out of the competition.”
He hadn’t seemed all that competitive and vengeful when I’d met him—unlikable, yes, but bad, not exactly. I also didn’t know him as well as Lorraine did, though. The fact that the whole town probably knew about the murder meant any number of residents could’ve reported her.
“We’ve never really talked about your magic before,” I pointed out, hoping my next question wouldn’t come across as rude. “Do you even have the type of abilities that could have caused Karen’s death?”
“Well, let’s see. Right now, we suspect she was poisoned. And what do I do? Oh, right. I’m an herb alchemist.”
“But you didn’t recognize the plant we found in her room. We had to go to Jasmine for that,” I argued.
“Well, of course I didn’t recognize a poisonous plant!” Lorraine huffed, clearly having been insulted even though I hadn’t intended to upset her. “I use my herbs to give my cooking something a little extra special. Nothing more. Nothing less. And certainly nothing poisonous. Is it so wrong to want to give my Yankee visitors a divine culinary experience?”
I shook my head and offered a warm smile. “You’ve certainly given me the dining experience of a lifetime.”
She brightened at this. “I’m pleased to hear that. In fact, let’s go see what we can rustle up for your breakfast.”
I followed her out of my room and down into the kitchen. As long as I could keep her mind from dwelling on all the what-ifs, I might be able to keep her sane until that council meeting happened. There was one thing I needed to say first, however.
“Joshua and I cornered the killer last night, but somehow he still managed to get away. Maybe if we’d been a little faster… a little smarter, we could have some answers. I’m sorry.”
Lorraine scoffed as she went and poured herself a fresh cup of coffee. It was the last in the pot, which spoke volumes as to how much she’d already consumed before even coming to wake me up. “What do you have to be sorry about? It’s not like you killed Karen yourself. Everything you’ve done to help has been a blessing, Polly. Don’t think for a moment I don’t know how lucky I am to have you through this.”
She leaned back against the counter. Today her beautiful long gray hair seemed extra frizzy, as though it were an embodiment of her stress. But her loose jeans and flowy silk overcoat managed to look more put together than she obviously was.
I had pulled on another one of the dresses she bought me. We only got three and I remembered the total for the three dresses, underthings, and shoes was forty-eight dollars and sixty-three cents. And as much as I’d love to repay her before I left, I wasn’t sure that would be possible.
However, if Jasmine’s portal ritual didn’t work, I’d have plenty of time to figure out a way to make some money to start repaying her infinite kindness. A possibility I wasn’t looking forward to.
“I’m glad I can help. Now, tell me, there must be something more you need. What can I do to make today easier? To make the outcome of the meeting better?”
Lorraine ran a hand through her hair. “Oh, you don’t need to do anything. If they’ve called a meeting, it means they’ve already decided what they want to do. The meeting is just to announce what they’ve already decided. But there’s no use freaking out about it all day. I might as well get some stuff done while the inn is empty. Make the best out of a bad situation and pretend I’ll still have a business to come back to tomorrow.”
I swallowed back my guilt. I’d done everything I could, but that just wasn’t enough. “There has to be something I can help with.”
“Well, actually yes. But it might not be what you’d expect.”
“I’ll do anything. Just tell me what you need, and I’m on it.” My eagerness to help bubbled inside me. Yes, the day had only just begun and already I’d found a new way to be useful. Nothing made me happier than having a purpose, at least not since landing in this strange new place.
“If my magic could be banned tonight, then I want to use all I’ve got today.”
“Cooking?” I asked with a laugh. So we were back at square one.
“No. Magic, and not mine, either.” Her grin widened. “Yours.”
fifteen
The meeting of the magical council wasn’t set to occur until late afternoon. I had hoped Joshua would come retrieve me so that we could work together on our investigation, but he remained inexplicably absent from Fox’s End that day.
Instead, I “put my magic to good use” for Lorraine. At least that’s how she had described the busy day spent out in the yard. She pointed to her trees, plants, bushes, and flowers one by one and asked me to move them an inch forward or to the side using my magical affinity for nature.
And little by little, we accomplished very little.
Honestly, the work she had me do was not unlike asking a famous artist to produce a stick figure. The property had already been well cared for, already looked wonderful as is.
