“Does it happen often?”
“It’s been a while. But to be honest, my memory is a little hit and miss since my… awakening, if we could call it that.”
I didn’t blame her for wanting to avoid mentioning she’d been medicated without her knowledge for most of her life.
“Perfect word,” I said. It was in her crossword puzzle, too, already spelled out in ink. Had Norris Strump personalized them? “But I can’t help worrying, Tavi. Because I was in the library when it happened. What will the police think?”
“They’ll rule you out quickly enough. Even Oscar thinks so. There’s no way someone like us could pull off such a thing. He was a formidable man.” She leaned in again. “The deceased.”
“Someone like us?” Bixby repeated, indignantly. “We are not like Tavi Knight.”
In some ways I was just like her, though. Green enough to need witch school and supervision by responsible magicals.
“With enough raw firepower to expose one of the town’s key sentries inadvertently,” the dog added, with a sly snicker.
The image of my own crossword puzzle came to mind. Three down, six letters: town founder.
Tingle. Orville Tingle.
That had to mean something.
“It does,” Bixby continued, since I’d given up on pinching the conversation channel. “It means I’m bored. If you’re going to play with crossword puzzles, I want to amuse myself elsewhere. Maybe Tavi would like a pedigreed dachshund on her arm. That big lunk of a dog she loves has no spark at all.”
“Maybe the dog is medicated, too,” I mused mentally. “It’s their only pet who’s ever liked Oscar.”
Tavi had flipped her page over and penned a word. “Got another one.”
She turned it again before I could see it, but I saw it anyway, in my mind. Eight across, four letters: Insurrection.
Coup.
The significance of the small word emboldened me to ask one more question. “Tavi, do you happen to know who had a grudge against Angus?” I barely breathed the word aloud.
Pursing her lips, she considered her answer. “Plenty, I would think. He had a reputation for shady dealings in business and was always trying to one-up Oscar and Arnold Blatchford. His detainment opened opportunities. No one expected him back.” She sighed. “I wish I could tell you more, but Oscar tells me less now.”
“To keep you safe,” I said.
“I suppose.” She ran her fingers over the page on the table. “Ignorance is a medication of a different kind. I’m prepared to be enlightened.”
“Tavi, you’re inspiring me,” I said, getting up. “Going to head home and work on my puzzle. See you soon?”
“Definitely.” Her eyes met mine and she smiled. “You’re my only true friend, Janelle.”
“So far, maybe. But it’s only been a few weeks since your coming out party.”
Her laugh was delightful and her lovely face animated. I could see why Oscar was still smitten after all these years. What I couldn’t understand is how they’d produced a louse like Jared.
“Genes work in mysterious ways,” Bixby said as I waved goodbye and left. “Thirteen down, and a lotta letters: runaway witch.”
I gave him a little squeeze. “Well, I’m running toward that word now.”
“Hit it hard,” he said. “But don’t crush me in the tackle.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Imeant it about not going into the library.
Then I went into the library, anyway.
When I got there, all the police vehicles were gone. The back door was propped open and it looked like an invitation. One I felt comfortable accepting under cover of my invisibility spell.
“Wonder if Big Red will see it that way?” Bixby asked, invisible himself. “He’s in there, you know.”
“He looked busy.” When I peeked in the side window, Drew was sitting at a long reference table, head bent over a pile of paperwork. His winter coat was draped over the chair beside him. Because he was consulting from out of state, he rarely wore a uniform here. “Wonder what he’s doing.”
“Probably not crossword puzzles. Not all jobs are fun like ours.”
I pressed my lips together hard. Nothing ruined a good invisibility spell faster than a giggle. “This is neither fun nor our job.”
“You do you, Janelle. But you can’t pull the wool over this dog’s eyes. You’re excited to be here.”
“The line between excitement and fear is so thin sometimes. I admit I’m looking forward to seeing Skye. And I suppose that is my job. You’re not wrong.”
“I never am. Or so rarely it doesn’t bear mention.” He stayed quiet for a few moments as we crept through the back room and out into the library proper.
As a teen, I’d spent a lot of time in the exact chair Drew used now. I hated high school and learning was hard for me then. There was so much inner turmoil over the magic I was trying to repress. Once I saw Mom’s reaction to my firepower, I pushed it as far down as I could. But that effort took up most of my capacity. Luckily, I could rely on a stellar memory, which still served me well today. After leaving Wyldwood Springs behind, I was hungry for knowledge of the routine kind and embraced every challenge the hospitality industry presented.
“Knock knock,” the dog said, very quietly on our inside line. “Far be it from me to interrupt a good rumination, but this isn’t a stroll down memory lane. Unless you were zapped into unconsciousness in the stacks back then, too.”
