It was almost time to close, so I figured I would tally up the day’s sales. I’d done surprisingly well for my first day of business, the freebie gimmick seeming to have done the trick.
The bell rang, and I looked up to see a middle-aged woman enter the shop. She wore her black hair in a long, stylish cut. I noted her expensive purse, her manicured nails, her near perfect makeup. The woman was admittedly pretty, but her face looked hard, as if she spent a lot of her time looking sullen.
“Hi! Welcome to Woods Crossing Wellness and Herbs. Can I help you with anything?”
The woman regarded me haughtily. “I’m just looking.”
I gave a perfunctory smile. “No problem. Let me know if you need anything.”
She made a noise of disgust. I kept my eyes down and continued to tally the day’s sales, keeping an eye on the woman in my peripheral. Every time she picked something up, she seemed to sniff or scoff or toss her head. I forced away my frustration with effort.
Why had she even come in if she thought everything was awful?
“You new in town, then?”
I looked up, plastering a fake smile on once more. “Yes. I just moved in earlier this week.”
“You’re running Celeste Black’s old shop. You some kind of friend of hers?”
“I’m her granddaughter, actually,” I replied coolly. The woman gave a smile that looked more like a wince.
“How sweet. Did your grandma tell you much about Woods Crossing?”
I kept my eyes on hers. She was obviously trying to intimidate me, so I sent her glare straight back at her.
“No, I’m afraid not. I grew up in Titan Bay and didn’t see her much.”
The woman tried a pitying expression which failed miserably. “Too bad. That must have been hard not knowing your grandma very well.”
I just nodded, reluctant to share anything else with this lady. Her entire demeanor felt aggressive and calculating to me, so I tried to keep my answers brief.
She looked at the long row of candles for a moment, then turned on her heel. “Good luck with everything.”
The sentiment fell flat, her voice a disinterested monotone. I didn’t bother to answer as she walked out the door.
Checking my watch, I saw that it was five minutes to five, so I went ahead and locked the door, feeling more rattled than I wanted to admit. First Jo, with his accusations and surly attitude, then the snobby woman. I’d had enough confrontation for the day.
My spirits rose, however, when I saw how much I’d made that day. Without rent to worry about, any income I made was only countered by electricity, water, trash, taxes, and other running costs. I’d researched the area before moving and found that it was quite a popular tourist attraction in the summer, with people visiting to make use of the nearby river and hiking trails.
Though it was mid-autumn, I felt reasonably confident that I could make enough in the off-season to manage. If I could get the apothecary up and running as well, I’d be set.
It occurred to me that Theresa had never gotten the chance to show me how to open the apothecary door, and my buoyed spirits came plummeting back down again. Then again, it hadn’t looked that hard.
Hurrying to my office, I stepped over to the wall and ran my hands along the spot where I’d seen Theresa stick her arm in.
There! My hand passed over a spot that felt more spongey than the rest of the wall. Pushing through, my fingers clasped a sort of metal ring. After some finagling, I figured out that I had to pull the ring, then turn my arm clockwise about forty-five degrees. With a yank, I pulled the door open.
There was the apothecary, all the bottles still intact, lined up neatly on the shelves.
I let out a sigh of relief as I stepped inside.
As I stood there staring at the bottles, it occurred to me that I should make note of what ingredients were out of stock or running low so I could replenish them at some point, if I ever figured out where to buy them.
I was out of chameleon, of course.
I felt a pang as I remembered Theresa laughing over my drug accusation. She could have gotten angry, but she’d taken it all in stride. I wished I could do something, anything, to find her.
Forcing my attention back to the potion ingredients, I wrote down two columns. I put Willow Bark, Essence of Chameleon, and Owl Feather on the out-of-stock list, while only the Horse Hoof and the Zebra Strips were low in stock.
My stomach rumbled as I closed up the apothecary and put the list in my pocket. Taking inventory had used up more time than I thought. When I left the shop, I saw Jade waiting for me in the parking lot.
How’d your first day go?
I couldn’t help looking pleased. “Really well, except for a visit from Jo and some horrible woman.”
The hairs on the back of Jade’s neck went up. What horrible woman?
I shrugged. “I don’t know her name. She came in and was acting all snooty about my products, asking me when I’d moved to town, about my grandma, that sort of thing.”
What did she look like?
“Long black hair, lots of makeup. Why?”
Jade just watched me, the fur on her back giving a quick twitch now and again. I guess it doesn’t matter.
I frowned. “That’s it? You acted like she was some big threat, and now it doesn’t matter?”
She stood up and started walking down the sidewalk towards the house. There’s one certain woman you should be very wary of, but your description doesn’t match her.
