“Not anytime soon. I don’t know what kind of magic super glue is on that thing, but I can’t get rid of it.”
She let out a long, loud meow. You need to do it sometime. Probably the sooner, the better.
“Thanks mom,” I muttered.
Just saying, it might answer some questions.
“I know.”
I sounded more irritable than I’d meant to, but it was frustrating being nagged by a cat. Jade let it drop, moving from the couch to nest in the basket of warm clothes. I’d tried many times before to shoo her out of the basket with no luck, so I just pulled the pants and shirts out from under her one by one.
Business at the shop had held steady, a fact that surprised me. Word must have spread about the re-opening of the secret apothecary because I had witches coming even from out of state to buy from me. I could understand now how Grandma had managed to pay off the house and shop.
***
The next morning, I got to the shop early to put away some potion ingredients I’d ordered from WitchNet. I stopped in my tracks as I reached for the handle. A piece of note paper was taped haphazardly to the glass pane.
I used a handy spell that could detect traces of poison or other dangerous powders or liquids, but the paper remained white, meaning it was safe. With a sigh of relief, I took it down and unfolded it.
Sage,
Theresa is gone. Don’t bother looking for her anymore.
It was unsigned and typewritten, so I couldn’t try to figure out who had written it by their handwriting. I only knew two things from the note. Whoever had written it knew my name, and they knew I was looking for Theresa.
Who had I told about Theresa? I wracked my brain but came up empty.
Jo knew, but it didn’t make sense for him to write a threatening message when he made it clear that he was desperate to find Theresa. It wasn’t like I was competition for him. He was a full-fledged P.I. and I was just a random person worried about my friend.
My mind jumped automatically to the Farrows, but the only Farrow I’d met in person was Theresa.
Could her family be spying on me? The thought gave me sudden chills. I unlocked the door and hurried inside the shop.
What’s going on?
Jade jumped up onto the counter so she could be eye level with me. Unable to speak, I set the note up on the countertop for her to read. She let out a low hiss.
“Any idea who might have written it?”
My voice sounded much too shaky. Jade circled a few times, then sat and began cleaning her fur. I’d learned that she did that when she was deep in thought. At last, she stopped and stared straight at me, her eyes wide.
Who do you know in town? Who have you talked to?
I shrugged. “Theresa, Jo. Tim and Maria. And…Faith. That’s pretty much it. I’ve talked to random customers, but I haven’t told any of them about Theresa.”
Jade fixed her gaze down on the note. That’s not good.
“What do you mean?”
Whoever it is sees you as a threat. They might try other things to stop you. Maybe you should just forget about Theresa.
I dragged a hand down my face. “I can’t, Jade. Jo’s not getting anywhere looking for her. We’ve got to find her soon, or her kidnapper might…”
The words got stuck in my throat. I swallowed hard and looked down at the note again. It was typewritten, but maybe…
“Jade, do you think there’s a spell that could trace the person through their computer?”
She tilted her head to the side. You forget that I’ve never even used a computer. I’ve been a cat for over fifty years.
I remembered that WitchNet had a search feature for spells and incantations. No one had come into the shop yet, so I opened my phone and pulled up the website. Dozens of options popped up from my search, but the most promising was a Handwriting Identifying Spell.
The only drawback was that the spell required a potion, but it was the closest thing I could find. Surely the spell would be able to tell me who had typed it, even if it wasn’t handwritten.
“Do a lot of spells need potions to go along with them?” I wondered out loud.
Some. It depends on what you’re trying to do. Incantations work for a lot of things, but sometimes you have to douse something in a liquid or boil something, if that makes sense.
I chewed my lip. “Kind of. Some spells need more of a physical element, is that what you mean?”
Yes, that’s the basic idea.
“Have you seen a spell work with a potion? It would be good to know how to go about it.”
She didn’t answer for so long that I started to wonder if she was ignoring me. Finally, with a kitty shrug, she hopped down onto the lower level of the counter.
Yes, I have.
I waited for her to elaborate, but she didn’t. With a sigh, I turned back to the spell. She was in one of her reserved moods.
