"Don't get upset, lovey, it's obvious he feels likes he's being punished. Another Fortune, a male one, wouldn't need to break the curse to bring him to justice."

  "You know that male witches are somewhat rare. There aren't any male Fortunes within the greater Phoenix area."

  "But Pammy could bring one in. Don't want to split your bounty?" Her voice was light and not accusatory.

  I bristled anyway. "To be honest, as I'm the one doing all the work, splitting a bounty or possibly losing it, doesn't seem fair, but if that's what you're saying needs to be done, then I'll call Pammy right now."

  "It would be a smart choice, but money and smart are not mutually exclusive. As long as you have a male companion with you, it is still very possible that you can do this."

  "The patriarchy is alive and well."

  She let out a musical titter. "Oh dear, the old boys club will never die, but you're hardly that exposed to it. As you mentioned, male witches are a smidge on the scarce side. We're a matriarchy by default."

  "There is power in numbers," I muttered.

  "I do understand your conundrum, so I will give you a recipe for a spelled potion that may help you. But like I said, this is an ‘if.’ There are powers at play that only the scholars understand, and even then, it's very theoretical."

  "Alice, you're a scholar. If you know the theory behind the spell, why won't you share it?" My hand flew out as if to underline my point.

  "We're back to the first question, which is still in the realm of self-preservation. Besides, wisdom should be gained through study and life experience."

  "Aren't scholarly conversations the essence of study and wisdom?" I argued.

  "Nice try, but it would be more along the lines of half-assing it. If you want to study, I will be happy to teach, but I doubt you have the time to read a couple dozen books and write an essay." She leaned back in her chair and folded her arms.

  "Yeah, not so much, this guy is a ticking time bomb. It's only a matter of time before he kills again. Honestly, I'm surprised he hasn't yet."

  "That we can agree on, though he seems to be fixated on Violet, he obviously has issues with witches in general. Let me write this down for you. And, dear, I know you did all the work, but you should give Pammy the heads up that a male witch may be necessary. If this doesn't work, it may piss him off, and we can't count on goblins and shifters to fight our battles."

  "Because that would make us appear weak?"

  "Oh well, that is part of it. Pride is another factor." She said.

  "Pride is for fools."

  She ignored me and reached forward to open a drawer in her side table. She pulled out a note card and a pen and began methodically writing out instructions. We sat in silence, while I felt like a scolded puppy. She finished her writing with a pointed stab of her pen. "Yes, pride is for fools, but sometimes pride may be all you have left to hold onto. Pride is better than meekly accepting circumstances."

  I swallowed, she was right, but it still felt foolish. "You're probably right; I’ve never felt meek in the presence of Deval or Bruce. I consider them allies, but I admit I don't want to step in it with them."

  She looked up from the card her eyes lit up. "Bruce? I haven't seen that boy in twenty years. How is he?"

  "Oh good, just playing Cowboy Casanova."

  A dreamy look crossed Alice's eyes. "Yes, he was always good at that. Tell him to visit me sometime. It would be good to catch up, for old times’ sake."

  My cheeks flushed at knowing that Bruce had a history of fun with other witches decades before we hung out. It was an odd contradiction of the young, full-of-life guy I knew. But age was an illusion for some. "I will. I'm sure he'd love to see you."

  "Perhaps, old arguments fade with time. At least they should." She passed me the note card.

  I studied the ingredients. Except for one particular item, I had most on hand. Death ash, or bone of the witch who cursed. "This may be difficult to get."

  "The death token is necessary, call BBTT."

  "Is this a necromancy spell?"

  "Don't be silly, child, of course it is."

  "Are you saying that I can raise the dead? Why didn't you tell me this was possible when we first met? I could have asked Violet a week ago who killed her."

  "Oh my dear, what is possible and what is wise, are two different things. This will not raise Violet's shade, but it may allow you to loosen her ties on the living. This magic is gray at best and takes a very powerful witch. Pammy told me you have a lot of raw magic. You should be fine. If you want to learn the finer points of this craft, we can speak further at another date. Now, please do not share this spell with anyone. It is not good to play in gray areas. It disturbs the order of things and brings with it more problems."

  I nodded, gripping the note card a little tighter, somehow feeling privileged to be given the trust and responsibility to see this through. "Thank you, and, Alice, I would like to study with you, once this guy is brought to justice."

  She sat forward, grabbing my free hand and giving it a squeeze. "My dear, it would be wonderful to have a student again." She released my hand.

  I stood up giving her a shy smile, pleased at the attention she was giving me. "Thanks again, I'd better get going. I doubt that Grant will do us the favor of offing himself."

  She laughed, nodding. "No, he doesn't seem the type, does he?" She pulled her large frame from the chair with some effort and enveloped me in a hug. She smelled like lavender and cinnamon, like some exotic cookie. This woman gave good hugs. Pulling away, she gave me a pat on the back. "Take care of yourself, young lady. I look forward to future adventures with you."

  I nodded, reaching down to grab my purse sitting next to the chair, before heading down the stairs. At the front door I turned and gave Alice a wave as she stood at the landing on the top of the stairs. As I walked out the front door, the illusions and wards fell like a curtain behind me.

  18

  Back in the Jeep, I needed to make two calls. The first was to BBTT, where I learned the ashes had been released this morning to Pammy. My calls went up to three.

  She answered on the third ring. "Catch him yet?"

  "Nope." I explained the implications of the curse and asked if it was a thing to have another male Fortune on standby.

  "Sure thing, Sug, but you’re gonna have to give up a hundred bucks to have them travel up here. The closest guy I have is in Tombstone."

  "Is there a need for a Fortune in Tombstone?"

  "He doesn't do this full time, and travels as needed when he's not working on his art."

  "Okay, yes, I’ll give up part of my fee." Saying the words hurt, but Alice was right.

  "You said you need some of Violet's ashes?"

  "About a quarter of a cup will do."

  "Burnt down, there isn't much left, that's practically a quarter of a body. Wanna ask Dusty first?"

  I thought about it for a second. It would be respectful, but I didn't want to burden him until I had good news. “I'm doing a curse to try to break your daughter's curse on her killer” conversation didn’t sound like a great conversation. I made the asshole decision. "I'm okay with not asking him, if you are."

  Pammy let out a throaty chuckle. It kind of creeped me out, given I was used to her girlish giggle. "Sounds like someone is becoming more ruthless, good."

  I wanted to contradict her, to tell her my reasoning, but it would sound feeble at best and defensive at worst. It didn't really matter what she thought of me. Maybe I’d get more jobs if she thought I was ruthless. "Can you drop it off to me, or do I need to come to you?"

  "You planning on doing this spell tonight?"

  Checking the time on my phone, I noted it was almost midnight. Yeah, I didn’t think I could get a babysitter to watch over me this late. “No, I guess not. I’ll work on it tomorrow.”

  “I’m heading down to Tucson tomorrow around eleven, I can drop it off on the way.”

  “Thanks, Pammy.”

  “No need for thanks. I’ll call you when I’m on my way in the morning.”

  “Okay.”

  Originally, I had planned on calling Deval to have him come over while I worked on the potion. Seeing the time made me yawn in reaction. I should crash for a few hours. I wanted to see Cheddar but didn’t feel up to inviting myself to spend the night at Deval’s condo, so I called Bruce.

  “Peggy girl.”

  “You’re pushing it today,” I said, more tired than annoyed.

  “I’m all for pushing boundaries. Let me guess, you want to come over and spend the night?”

  “Yes, please.”

  “Well, when a looker calls up and asks nicely to come over at this hour, how can I refuse?”

  “So, you’ll have the guest bed made up?”

  “You’re no fun.”

  I snorted into the phone because we both knew the idea of a physical relationship between us was laughable. The drive to Bruce’s took thirty-five minutes. If there had been more than a handful of cars on the road, it would’ve taken longer. His ranch-style home sat on five acres in Queen Creek. He used to live on the reservation, and I was pretty sure he still owned his home there, but he moved to Queen Creek a decade prior, when some of the non-shifter kids noticed he wasn’t aging. There were plenty of shifters in the tribe, but not all of the people knew about them. His plan was to live in Queen Creek another ten years and then either move back to the Res under a different name or move to another Arizona town for ten or twenty years.

  He greeted me at the door with a toothbrush, a big T-shirt, and some boxers.

  “My hero.” I got on my tippy toes and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

  He smiled. “You know the lay of the land. Make yourself comfortable.”

  I walked in, feeling at home. His place looked like a cowboy lived there, which was accurate. Saltillo tile, worn leather sofas, pictures of old west scenes. Out front he even had two old wagon wheels as porch decorations. As I passed the living room on my way toward the spare bathroom, Dolly and Wayne, Bruce’s Catahoula dogs, barely lifted their eyelids as they rested on their dog beds in acknowledgment of me. They had a sweet deal, and the dogs didn’t feel the need to be as protective of their owner when said owner could shift into a bear.

  In the bathroom, I got ready for bed. I called out goodnight to Bruce as I made it to the spare bedroom. He groggily responded. I guessed the old bear was tired, too. I tucked myself into a queen-sized pine bed with a worn red quilt. It wasn’t a luxurious as the bed at Deval’s, but it was plenty comfortable. I fell straight into a deep sleep.

  There were worse things to wake up to than the smell of coffee and bacon. The only thing that could make it better would be a large ginger cat sleeping on my ribs. I stood and stretched, grabbing my previous day’s clothes and taking them back to the spare bathroom. I brushed my teeth and splashed some water on my face. The curly mop on my head was too tangled to be brushed without looking like I stuck my finger in a socket. Claiming some bobby pins in the bathroom drawer, I twisted it into a knot and secured it. Dressed, I went to the kitchen to enjoy the bounty Bruce provided. “Morning, Bruce.”

  “Morning, little lady, I’ve got toast, bacon, and eggs all ready to go. I’ve got to get a move on. I told a buddy I’d help him with some calves this morning.”

  I made a face because I’d hoped he’d play bodyguard. “Guess you’re unavailable to be my babysitter this morning?”

  His face fell. “I should have thought of that. Want me to cancel?”

  “Nope, don’t worry, I forgot to ask you. I’ll force Deval to come over. He actually has a vested interest in this case.”

  “So do I. There’s this girl with un-tamable curls that’s like my baby sister.”

  “Damn and I’d thought I tamed them.” I smiled over the coffee he poured for me.

  “You always think you have. Sorry to break it to you, but your hair has a mind of its own.”

  “Amen.” I dug into the plate he set before me at the breakfast bar.

  We ate in companionable silence and then he walked me out. “If Deval can’t come over, call me and I’ll cancel.”

  “Thanks, big guy, I will.”

  He smiled, closing my Jeep door for me. It was ten-thirty when I got on the road. I hoped Pammy wasn’t punctual this morning. I called Deval from my car.

  He answered on the first ring. "What do you need?"

  "You at my house in thirty minutes."

  There was a pause on the other end, and I heard him muttering to someone about changing meetings around before he answered, "I can clear my schedule. Are we going to hunt for the thief?"

  "Eventually, but in the meantime I need you to watch me."

  The phone was silent for a moment before he responded, "Did you have me cancel my afternoon meetings because you need a male companion? Aren't there any other men in your life that could monitor you?"

  "If you wanted to know if I was single, you could have just asked."

  "That's not what I meant—"

  I cut him off before he could put his foot in it any further. "I'm not going home to play dress up and watch TV. I'm working on a spell that may break the curse on the killer."

  "Or we could hunt him down."

  "Do you want to be able to question him to see how he got your safe?"

  "Of course I do, but I don't need you to see him to be able to torture him."

  "Yes, but torture doesn't always work, and my magic could come in handy if I were able to use it against him."

  He was silent again. "Fine, we'll do this your way."

  “You should be happy. No one should have business meetings on a Saturday.”

  He hung up on me.

  He hadn't given me too much grief, but he might be right. Maybe it was silly to go this route when I could hunker down at Bruce’s house until the Tombstone Fortune arrived. I shook my head. No need to second guess myself. There wasn't anything wrong with having a plan A and a plan B. Arriving home before Deval or Pammy, I practiced hyper-vigilance as I pulled up to my house. I kept all of my senses open as I approached my front door, but once there, decided against going inside.

  I’d begun to think of my foyer as the hallway of doom. Plus, since Pammy hadn't invited me into her home, I didn't feel the need to be a gracious hostess. Wariness was a good survival mechanism. Sitting on the front porch swing, I waited all of about three minutes for Pammy to roll up in an older sedan that she could have gotten from an old police car auction.

  I remembered one of the groupies asking her once why she didn't drive something flashier. Her reply had been something along the lines of comfort and reliability over flash, should be everyone's priority. She probably didn’t approve of my Jeep being painted a bright turquoise. But it had been my father's, and the color reminded me of family. Besides, the color fit the desert quite well.

  The amount of effort it took for Pammy to hoist herself out of a seat indicated it must be extra comfortable. She looked over the top of the cruiser and grunted at me in greeting before walking around to the passenger door. I walked down to the sidewalk to meet her. When she opened the passenger door, I saw an urn strapped into the passenger seat.

  "It's always nice to have a buddy on a road trip," I quipped.

  "Okay, smart ass, you got something for the ashes that you're asking for?" Her tone was gruff, but I caught the corner of her mouth twitch before she turned to undo the seatbelt.

  I pulled a plastic baggie out of my back pocket and held it out to her. It was from the stash I now carried in my purse. She took it and carefully opened the bronze container.

  She was cautiously pouring some of Violet's ashes into the baggie while I held it open, when a large black SUV pulled into my short driveway behind my Jeep. My driveway length had never felt lacking until there were two overlarge vehicles in it. The driver’s side door was on the far side of where we stood. I didn't see Deval until he walked around the hood.

  I let out a wolf whistle. "You clean up nice. Hopefully our afternoon will be uneventful; I'd hate to see that suit ruined."

  He gave me slight nod, obviously aware of his own devastating effect. "I would willingly see this one covered in the blood of my enemies."

  I looked around, suddenly hyper aware we were standing in my neighborhood surrounded by my human neighbors. Thankfully it appeared everyone was too busy to be out enjoying the fall weather. Looking back at him, I said, "As long as you don't charge me for the suit."

  "Wouldn't want you to have to put a lien on your home," he replied before turning to Pammy. "Pammy, a pleasure."

  Pammy was busy putting the lid back on the urn. She didn't answer until she set Violet's remains carefully back in the passenger seat and redid the seatbelt. Once finished she turned and gave him a somewhat regal nod. Until now, I hadn't seen her interact with any of the other power players in the magical community. It was interesting. She held herself like a de facto queen. Accurate enough.

  "Well, I won't keep you two occupied. I have official business to take care of."

  If it had been just the two of us, I was pretty sure she would have been less formal, maybe even elaborated that she had a Big Gulp and a dead girl waiting for her, but Deval's presence took away any hints of her playfulness. The woman was already a hard ass. I would hate to see her like this on a regular basis.

  "Safe travel, Pammy. Give Dusty my best."

  "Yes, dear, I'm hoping for good news when I get back. By the way, I called Lief in Tombstone. He has an art show today but will come out tomorrow morning if necessary. Please let me know. I called around, but anyone else would take as long to come out."

  “Thanks, Pammy.”

  “I hope he won’t have to make the trip.”

  I swallowed. So did I. I wanted to stop looking at my house as the chamber of doom. She nodded goodbye to Deval and walked around her car, missing the look I gave my home. Apparently Deval hadn’t, because as he followed me up the pathway to the front door, he leaned in close to my ear, "Don't worry, we'll kill him, and you'll feel safe in your home again soon."

  I harrumphed in response. "Yeah, but what about goblins who like to travel through magic boxes to show up unannounced?" I opened my front door, gesturing for him to enter first. Grant couldn't hurt him, and he might as well start on his duties.

 

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