“That would be great. We really should make sure we’re all set for race day. It’s only five days off. Maybe we could do that after we run by Bell, Book & Candle? We could pick up pizzas at Salvatore’s for lunch.”
“Sure. Sounds like a plan. One more thing…”
“Yes?”
“Would you be up for Howler’s this evening? I was thinking I could set up dinner with Ingvar there tonight, and you could have your usual spot at the bar. We could both be there in such a way that no one would be the wiser that anything’s going on.”
“I can do that. In fact, let me know what time, and I’ll have Bridget reserve a booth for you guys near the end of the bar where I usually sit.”
“Thank you.” He really was a good guy. She was glad they were giving each other a chance and trying out this teamwork thing. Which also meant there might be more kissing. Nope, not an appropriate thought for the middle of the fire station. Thank you, stupid magic spell.
If Ingvar could do anything to help with this, Jenna would be eternally grateful. Being friendly with Titus was great, but it was unsettling to know that something she couldn’t control was influencing her thoughts and feelings.
She’d much rather know those thoughts and feelings were hers and hers alone.
Kurt came back into the kitchen with a large envelope that had the sheriff’s department seal on it. “Deputy Blythe? This just came for you.”
“Thanks.” She took it from him, sticking it under her arm. Birdie never failed to deliver. Literally and figuratively.
“I guess that’s our cue to get to work.” Titus showed her to the conference room, which was actually one door away from his office, separated by a storage closet. It was perfect. She settled in and immediately texted the number Birdie had sent her.
Ingvar, it’s Jenna. Just heard you were in town and looking for me. Can’t wait to see you! Can you do dinner tonight?
She sat back to wait, wondering how much Ingvar had changed. What she was doing these days?
Ingvar’s response came quickly. Hey, great to hear back. Where are you now? I could come there.
Jenna glanced toward Titus’s office. As much as she wanted to see Ingvar, the firehouse didn’t seem like the right place for that. She and Ingvar were going to want to hang out and talk. Titus had work to do, too, and she didn’t want to be in the way of it.
Not to mention, she was dying to dig into this file to see if she could come up with anything new that might help them.
She texted back, Tonight is better. Just so much going on. Let’s meet for dinner in town. Place called Howler’s right on Main. Seven OK?
Sounds great. If anything changes, let me know. Can’t wait to see you!
Same here. See you tonight! Jenna smiled at the screen. That was something to look forward to.
Until then, maybe she could make some headway on the case. She opened the envelope Birdie had sent. Besides the case file, there was a legal pad and two sharpened pencils inside. Jenna grinned. Birdie was on the case.
She spread out all the scene photographs and notes to give herself an overview of everything that had been gathered. Then she read through the notes, focusing on the interview Deputy May had done with Pandora.
On a whim, she picked up her phone and called the real estate agent.
She answered before the second ring. “Pandora Williams, how can I get you home?”
“Hi, Pandora. Deputy Jenna Blythe here.”
“Hi, Jenna. Are you calling in an official capacity?”
“I am. I know you already answered some questions about the incident yesterday at one of your listings, but do you have time for a few more?”
“Sure. How are you doing, by the way? I know there was magic in that bomb. I did a walk-through with Deputy Cruz to make sure there wasn’t any other damage to the home, and I could just sense it.”
“There was. Alice is working on figuring out just exactly what kind of magic. And I’m doing fine. The physical effects weren’t really lasting.”
“That’s not what I heard.” She laughed. “Sorry, you know how word spreads in this town, and being a witch and all, anyway, it’s been all the buzz in the coven.”
Jenna paused for a breath. She shouldn’t be surprised. “What do you know?”
“That you and Titus Merrow were both the victims of a love spell that apparently had a binding agent in it.” Pandora’s voice went from amused to serious. “Word has it that you can’t get too far away from each other without experiencing some pain.”
Jenna sighed. “That would be accurate.”
“You don’t sound thrilled.”
“It has its ups and downs, I’ll say that. But it would be great to have our freedom back.”
“I’m sure. Well, the good news is Alice is calling a special meeting of the coven tonight to share her findings and put us all to work on a solution.”
“That is good news.”
“No kidding! I mean, I don’t need to remind you what happens when the moon turns full.”
Jenna paused. “Um, I think you do, because I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh. Did you not speak to Alice yet today? She just sent out an email letting us know time is of the essence because if the full moon rises before this spell is broken, the effects become permanent.”
Titus hung up his phone but sat staring at it, letting what he’d just heard sink in.
His door burst open, and Jenna stood there, looking like she’d been slapped. “We’re in trouble.”
He nodded. “Yeah, we are.”
She frowned. “Wait. Why do you think we’re in trouble?”
“Because Alice just called me and—”
“This spell becomes permanent on the full moon? Yeah, I
