Chapter 8
We arrived back at Caite’s house and found her still sitting on the sofa with her phone in her hand. Rachel sat beside her and put an arm around her.
“I’m glad you’re back,” Caite said.
“How are you doing?” Rachel asked.
“I’m better. I just don’t know what to do. Nothing is the same now. I can’t make any plans. I have no idea what I should do.”
“I know,” Rachel said. “Don’t try to make any plans right now, and don’t worry about it. The Professor and I will help you get through this. In a couple of days, you’ll be able to think again. It won’t be the same, but you’ll be fine, really. I’ve seen other people in your situation, and they were able to get their lives back on track. You’re a strong woman, Caite. This is a terrible time for you, but it will pass. You believe me, don’t you?”
“I believe you. If you say so, I believe it. It’s so hard though. It’s hard to see how I can ever be me again.”
“It is hard, Caite. I know you can’t see it now, but trust me, you will get through this. You aren’t the only woman who has come back from the loss of her partner.”
Caite began to sob gently and leaned her head on Rachel’s shoulder. I didn’t know what to do, so I just stood there.
“I think you should come stay with me for a few days. Can you do that, Caite?”
“Yes, I can do that. Thank you. That makes me feel better.”
“Let’s go pack a few things, just enough for two or three days, OK?”
“OK.”
“Do you have a computer here in the house?”
“No, the computer is at the store.”
“You know, just to be safe,” Rachel said, “we should take anything you have that’s valuable with us. Do you have anything special in the house, Caite?”
“No, I like to keep things simple. Nothing I have is valuable or special.
“We should look through Beth’s stuff, too,” Rachel suggested. “We don’t need to worry about her books or clothes, just things of her mother’s and anything magical.”
Caite looked through Beth’s jewelry box and removed a few things. “All this other jewelry is just commercial stuff like we sell in the shop,” Caite said. “What about her ceremonial robe?”
“We can leave that,” Rachel said. “How about wands and items like that?”
“All that is in this drawer,” Caite said as she opened the second drawer of a wardrobe.
“Did any of it belong to her mother? Is any of it special?” Rachel asked.
Caite and I examined each item. We both agreed that none of it looked special and Caite said she didn’t think any of it belonged to Beth’s mother.
“OK, let’s tidy up and get out of here,” Rachel said.
Rachel rode with Caite in her old Subaru and followed me back to the Grey Goose. We parked the two cars, and we all three went inside.
“I wish I had a vacant room for you to stay in Caite,” I said, “But both apartments are rented.”
“It’s OK Professor,” Rachel said. “Caite can sleep on my couch; it’s a hide-a-bed. I’ll get her settled, and then I’ll come up to your apartment for a chat.”
About forty-five minutes later, Rachel came up. “May I offer you a drink?” I asked.
“Thanks Professor. I could use a drink. You wouldn’t happen to have a margarita or a mojito would you?”
“No.”
“How about a beer then?”
“That I can do. Stella or Blue Moon?”
“Stella please.”
I was glad she picked Stella, because I had eaten the last orange. You can’t drink a Blue Moon without a slice of orange. I made a mental shopping list: oranges, more beer, margarita mix, tequila. What’s in a mojito?
“You know, we missed lunch,” I said. “How about a salmon salad sandwich?”
“I don’t know if I can eat, Professor.”
“You have to eat, did you even have breakfast?”
“No.”
“That settles it. I’m making sandwiches.”
It didn’t take long to make the sandwiches. I set the sandwiches and two beers on the kitchen table.
“How long do you really think Caite will need to stay with you?” I asked as we began to eat our belated lunch.
“If the killer is as smart as I think he is, I don’t think it will take him long to find out where Beth lives. He’ll be able to easily break in and see that nothing is there, and that should put his mind at ease. I left a few ‘tells’ in the bedroom, so I’ll know if anyone has searched the house. Caite can go back home with no worries after the killer has come and gone. I think that will happen in two days at most.”
“It was very nice of you to let Caite stay with you.”
“I really feel bad, Professor. I feel responsible for Beth’s death.”
“No! Why do you feel that way?”
“Because I wouldn’t help her find her mother’s artifact, and she had to try to find it herself. Trying to do that, in the only way she knew how, brought the killer right to her.”
“You can’t blame yourself for the actions of a madman,” I said.
“If she hadn’t tried a ‘spell of finding’ as you called it, everything would have been fine. The thief wouldn’t have felt the need to kill her, and Beth and Caite’s lives could have gone on normally, or at least normally for witches.”
“You told her that it would be dangerous and practically impossible to find the artifact. You warned her,” I said.
“Yes, but she had no reason to believe me. There’s no way I could have convinced her of the danger. I should have taken the case and given it my best shot. After a week or so, I would admit failure, she would have come to terms with the loss, and the whole affair would have been over. I really feel like I let her down, and Caite has lost the love of her life, all due to my stubbornness.”
“Rachel, you’re being much too hard on yourself. It’s not true that you caused Beth’s death, and there’s nothing that we can do now.”
“Oh yes there is,” Rachel said defiantly. “I’m going to help Caite. It’s the least I can do. I’m going to find Beth’s killer and make sure Caite’s name is cleared.”
“Well count me in then,” I said. “I’m game.”
“Thanks, Professor. I really need your help. I don’t think that I can do this by myself. Solving murders isn’t listed on my LinkedIn page as one of my skills, much less murders with magical ramifications.”
“You don’t think the police will catch the killer?”
“No. I don’t think they can. The whole case hinges on the use of magic, which they don’t even know exists. Somehow I’ve got to identify the killer and lead the police to him. I have to uncover enough normal evidence to get the killer convicted.”
“What makes you think the police can hold him? If he can break into a locked shop, can’t he break out of a jail?”
“I don’t know Professor, but I have to try to find him. I don’t know what to do or where to start, but I’ve got to try, and I really appreciate you volunteering to help.”
“I’ll do everything I can,” I said. “I’m in it to the bitter end. All for one and one for all—that’s us. We’re a team.”
“Right. We’re a team,” Rachel agreed. “Now let’s put our heads together and figure out how to find this killer.”
“The killer seems to be holding all the cards,” I said. “He probably knows how to find Caite, but we have no power to find him.”
Rachel jumped up from her chair. “I’m so stupid!” she exclaimed. “If we can’t find him, we should make him find us. We already have the perfect trap, the computer at the store. We expect him to steal the computer, so we’ll catch him when he tries.”
“Brilliant!” I said. “How will we catch him?”
“I’ll bring my stun gun and cuffs, and my pistol for good measure. We don’t have to be
magicians. When he shows up, I’ll stun him and cuff him. We’ll tie up his feet and take away any magical devices he may have, and then we’ve got him. We’ll have the element of surprise on our side.”
“What if he sneaks up on us?”
“Right, he has the advantage there. He knows when he will arrive, and he may just pop into a room from some other dimension or something without warning.”
“Warning, that’s the key,” I said. “We’ll use the Coriolis. I’ll bet it can detect magic coming as well as it can detect that magic has already come and gone.”
“Sounds like a plan to me Professor. Let’s pack up and go.”
“Now?”
“Yes now. We’re wasting time. The killer could show up at any moment. I’ll go get my things. You get the Coriolis and some duct tape and rope, and I’ll meet you back here in ten minutes.”