19
WILL
Rap rap rap!
“Who’s there?” Heidi’s chipper voice called through the metal door.
I shifted the paper bag in my arms. “Ramen delivery person.”
“We didn’t order ra—” Slick. The eye hole slid open and Heidi blinked at me, grinning. “Oh hey, Jolene, it’s you!”
“It’s me—” I held up the bag—the meaty, salty scent of ramen filling the chilly misty night air. “—and ramen.”
“Lucky you, that’s the secret password!” She giggled, locks clicked, and she yanked the heavy door open. Light spilled out from the sterile lobby into the dark alley. I stepped inside and she quickly closed and locked the door behind me.
I glanced around at the empty row of seats against the wall, then toward the swinging doors that led to the exam room. “What’s Will up to? Any patients tonight?”
I set the bag on Heidi’s desk, and she began unpacking the steaming contents. “We had a few earlier in the night. Oh, yum.” She moaned as she lifted the lid off one of the bowls and sniffed.
I pointed. “That’s yours.” I pushed through the double doors but found the exam room empty. I backed up and frowned at Heidi. “Don’t tell me he’s out again.”
She shrugged. “Yep.”
I huffed and helped her pull out the chopsticks and little packets of toppings and spices. “Well, his loss—more for us.” I slid my wooden chopsticks out of the paper sleeve and broke them apart. “Okay, but seriously, where is he sneaking off to?”
Heidi settled down onto her stool and I pulled a lobby chair around to sit by her. She stirred her noodles around with her chopsticks. “He said he had another house call but I make the schedule.” She gave me a pointed look. “And there were no house calls on the books.”
I dipped my face and shoveled some noodles into my mouth. I slurped them up, bits of oily broth spattering the desk. “So weird.”
The locks clicked at the metal door, and Heidi and I froze. It swung open a moment later and Will stepped in. His already huge eyes grew wider when he spotted me. “Jolene.”
I smirked. Could he seem more guilty? I plastered on a sickly sweet smile. “How was your house call?”
He looked down and sniffed. “Fine. None of your business.” He closed and locked the door behind him, then eyed our food. “Did you bring me some?”
I nodded at the third bowl. “Of course. I didn’t realize you’d be out.”
“Yeah, well, I’m back now, so let’s drop it.”
Heidi and I exchanged pointed looks as he pulled his rolling stool out from the exam room and settled down with his bowl. “I said let’s drop it.”
I smirked at Heidi. “Someone’s feeling sassy. Did your date not go well?”
He scowled at me over a bite of spinach and pork. “I was not on a date.”
“Whatever you say….” I raised my brows.
“You just—why can’t—urg.” He growled and shoveled a bite in his mouth and chewed vigorously.
I chuckled. Yep. I was nothing if not good at striking nerves.
“So…” Heidi looked between the two of us. “What’s the occasion, Jolene?” She gestured at the food.
“Can’t a girl just feel like being generous to her friends?”
Will snorted.
I filled them in on the case I’d been working with Peter… and on my trip to Ludolf’s… and on my near kiss with Peter. “And—” I held up my chopsticks. “Here’s the real newsflash, I think Daisy might even be softening to me a tiny bit.”
“Whoa,” Heidi breathed around a mouthful of food.
“I’m sorry.” Will pinched his eyes shut for a moment. “Am I to understand that Ludolf, as well as Neo and his idiots, are fully aware of your curse and lack of magical powers, and the big news is that a dog might kind of like you a little?”
I nodded, grinning.
He shook his head at me. “It’s amazing you’ve lived this long.”
I shrugged. “If it ain’t broke—”
He looked me up and down. “No. It’s definitely broke.”
I made a face at him.
He ignored me and slurped up some noodles. “So the Magical Artifacts Museum, hm?” Will snorted. “That one’s so stuffy.”
Heidi looked up from her bowl. “You go there?”
“As if.” He rolled his big eyes. “Back in my heyday I donated to all the major museums on the island. The MAM never held any charity events or balls—” He snorted. “Why bother donating if you don’t get to go to fancy parties?”
I nodded at him in faux sincerity. “The spirit of charity is strong in this one.”
“So is there like a guard dog who saw something or ooh!” Heidi jabbed the air with her chopsticks. “Maybe one of the displays?”
Will shot her a flat look. “They’re taxidermied, sweetie—dead.”
“Oh, right.” She grinned and ate half a hardboiled egg.
I shook my head. “There’s a mouse problem, so I’m still trying to find one of them to ask questions.”
Will arched a bushy brow. “Sounds like more of a mouse solution to me.”
I shook my head at him. “Anyway… Peter brought me on because they’re putting on a cursed objects collection and—”
“He thought you might want to be part of it?” Will batted his eyes at me.
I set down my bowl. “Okay, wherever you were earlier, it’s clearly put you in a great mood.”
He snorted and went back to eating.
“As I was saying, the archivist seems to be pretty knowledgeable about curses. I thought it was a long shot at first but now I’m thinking he might actually be able to help me figure out something about the curse that was used against me.”
Heidi brightened. “And then you could lift it?”
I shrugged. “Maybe.” I didn’t want to admit it, because it felt like jinxing it (could you jinx a curse?) but I was feeling a tiny bit of hope for the first time in a long time.
Oh, to have my magic
