Page 57 of Of Potions and Honey
Somehow. She had no clue yet how, but now that she was looking at this depressingly plausible explanation for so many of the town’s problems, she would be damned if she didn’t at least try.
Twenty-Four
Therewassomethingagonisingabout the concept of waiting around. After Mira had sent off her letter to Rue, there was nothing to do but wait until she heard back, had the water, and could go about finding a way to prove that it had come from the spring. Until then, it very much felt like all she was doing was sit around twiddling her thumbs, even buried in work as she was.
So naturally, next time Mayor Lloyd had office hours, Mira was waiting on his doorstep the moment he unlocked his office.
“You are. Punctual.” He awkwardly held the door open for her as she brushed past him. “I rarely have people showing up so early.”
“Oh, I just figured I would get it out of the way.” Mira gave him a sweet smile. “That way we can both get back to work quickly.”
“Mhm.” Mayor Lloyd sat down behind his desk and motioned at the chair in front of it that Mira was already sitting down in. “No, please, sit.” He folded his hands in front of him. “So, what matter can I help you with, Miss…?”
“Gardener. Mira Gardener. I own the potion shop.”
“Right.” From his tone, he knew who she was, and he did not particularly like it. “So, Miss Gardener, what seems to be the matter?”
“I’m here to talk about the local water supply.”
“Oh, not you, too.” The bushy moustache vibrated. “Believe me, I am well aware of the problem.”
“So you understand my concerns,” Mira said sweetly. “As a business owner, I do need a reliable water supply to work, and with the way things have been lately-”
“Yes, yes, your business is suffering. I have heard.”
His impatience began to bother Mira. This wasn’t exactly a small matter, was it, so why was he treating it like she was complaining about the local youth causing a ruckus on the village green at night?
“I trust you are doing everything you can to resolve the issue?”
“There’s nothing to resolve. There’s a drought. We will simply have to deal with that until the situation resolves itself.”
“A drought?” Mira repeated, incredulous. “It rained last week.”
“One rainfall does not solve a drought, Miss Gardener.” Mayor Lloyd gave her a pointed look. “You are very new to the town. Once you have lived through some rough weather, you will understand.”
“I understand the concept of a drought just fine, thank you,” Mira said curtly. The sweetness was gone from her voice, and she felt rather like biting now. “The conditions are-”
“The conditions are what they are. So unless you happen to have a potion ready to sprinkle all over our beautiful town to make it rain, we will regrettably have to wait for autumn.”
“Will Golden River stop pumping well water in autumn?”
She saw him freeze. “Excuse me?”
“That’s what seems to be happening. Someone is pumping groundwater that would normally fill our wells, and there reallyis only one… entity, shall we say, in the area big enough to pump so much water as to dry up ours.”
“What a preposterous notion!” Mayor Lloyd firmly shook his head. “If there was any such operation happening, we would have been informed.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“Of course! Mr. Sheffield is an upstanding businessman, he has been doing everything by the book. To accuse him of this…” He crossed his arms on the table and leaned forward. “I am keeping an eye on things. Until then, Miss Gardener, I would appreciate it if you did not go around badmouthing your competition with such ridiculous claims. Good day.”
That was definitely a dismissal. For a wild moment, Mira wanted to stay put. To argue, to convince this stubborn man that she was right, and he needed to figure this outright now. Instead, she nodded stiffly, stood from her chair, and stalked out of his office without another word. Of course he refused to believe her. Maybe he knew. Maybe he didn’t care. Whatever the case, this interaction had made it crystal clear that Harper was right about the mayor, and his inability to steer the town back onto a prosperous course, whether by accident or on purpose.
Outside, on the steps to the town hall, Mira stopped. Harper. Of course. That was where she needed to go. If anyone knew more about this, it would be her. Maybe she knew something that Mira could use to untangle this mess.
More by Moorewasn’t especially busy when Mira entered the shop. In fact, Harper looked a little bored behind the counter, though she perked up when she saw Mira.
“Morning! Got a list for me today?”
