I was so caught up in the moment that I forgot to cast a protection spell. My armlet burned hot right before my vision blurred at the edges. Luther sprang toward me, shifting shapes midair, and caught me before I could hit the ground. He muttered a spell of his own, and a sense of warmth and safety blanketed me as my vision cleared.
“You good?” he asked, and I blinked up at him.
“Yeah. Thanks,” I said, my cheeks warming with embarrassment. I’d made a rookie mistake, and worse, I’d made it in front of him.
He smiled down at me, his expression gentle. “Don’t. Believe me, it’s happened to the best of us. This is new to you, but you’ll get the hang of it. You’ll make mistakes, but I bet you won’t make this one again.”
I shook my head as I pushed out of his arms and to my feet. “No, you can take that to the bank.”
Turning, I was a little surprised that the wind had died down and everything seemed normal. Mrs. Hightower stood in the same spot, but now rather than anger, confusion was scrawled across her crepey face.
“What am I doing here?” she demanded, marching toward the truck. “And why are all my belongings in here?”
Eli and I glanced at each other, unsure of what to say.
“What’s the last thing you remember, madame?” Luther asked.
“What kind of question is that? I remember eating lunch at the diner ten minutes ago. The soup was cold, and they’ve jacked up their prices again.”
Considering it wasn’t even nine a.m., she’d lost the entire evening and night. That must have been when she packed everything up.
She narrowed her eyes at us and wagged her gnarled finger. “Don’t think you’re gonna convince me I’m losin’ my marbles so you can steal my house and money out from under me.”
I held up my hands. “The thought never crossed my mind.”
“Good,” she said with a nod that declared the topic closed. “Because I’m still sharp as a tack, and you’ll never convince a court otherwise. Now, I’ll ask one last time: why is my stuff in that moving truck?”
Luther tilted his head toward the building and a small smile curved his lips before he took a few steps backward in the direction of the truck and out of Mrs. Hightower’s sight. With a nod and a smile at me, he turned back into the black cat a second before James exited the building. Considering baiting James seemed to be one of his biggest pleasures, I had to wonder why. Now wasn’t the time to puzzle it out, though.
He strode toward us, glancing at me for a status update.
“She doesn’t remember anything after lunch yesterday afternoon.”
“Your house was robbed yesterday, Mrs. Hightower.” He squinted his eyes and pretended to examine her closer. “You don’t remember anything? You must have gotten hit harder than we thought. Maybe we should have you evaluated. Memory loss could be a bad sign.”
Her gaze darted back and forth between us. “No, I remember everything now,” she snapped. “Somebody just take me home, and all my stuff, too. Someone’s gonna have to haul it all back inside, and I’m not payin’ for it.”
“That’s fine,” Eli said, stepping forward with a sticky-sweet smile on his face. “I’m sure they’ll be happy to park it in front of your house so you can unload it yourself.”
She scowled at him, knowing he had her. “Fine, but I’m not payin’ more than fifty bucks.”
“Four hundred,” Eli replied, his tone brooking no argument. “Upfront, before they even move the truck.”
Mrs. Hightower gasped in outrage. If she had been a witch, I might have been concerned by the way she was shooting daggers at him with her eyes. “That’s highway robbery!” she exclaimed. “Shame on you for shakin’ down a little old lady.”
I smothered a smile at the term. Obviously, she watched a lot of crime shows.
Eli crossed his arms and stared down his nose at her. “You have more money than God, and all it’s doin’ is sittin’ in the bank molding. Take it or leave it.”
“Fine,” she said, glaring. “Gimme my pocketbook so I can pay ’em. I’m tired of standin’ here flappin’ jaws. If—since it’s morning—I got my stories comin’ on soon, and I’m gonna need my TV back inside by then.”
Oh, that was a problem I hadn’t seen coming. Good thing for us, Sybil must have because she stepped forward with a black leather clasp bag that looked like it was from the fifties. “Here you go.”
Confusion flitted across Mrs. Hightower’s face again. “That’s my funeral purse. Why would I have carried it?”
Sybil shrugged. “I guess only you can answer that question. All we know is that it’s the one you were carrying when the sheriff brought you.”
With a final scowl, she snatched it from Sybil and pulled out her checkbook. After she filled it out and thrust it at the men, she snapped, “And I expect you to hook up my TV for that fee. Shoot, you should have to rub my feet afterwards.”
The guy shuddered. “We have no problem hooking up your TV, Mrs. Hightower. We’ll meet you there.”
I smiled. One more artifact down.
Chapter 16
I was glad Eli had driven because I really wasn’t up to riding James before I had at least another cup of coffee and some breakfast in me. Yes, we’d cleared the air the day before, but I could still feel the tension in the air. I guess our talk hadn’t done anything but quash the conversation for a while.
“Hey,” I said as we turned out of the Goodwill parking lot. “Pirate Day starts today. That means The Clam is doing brunch.” Maris always offered brunch on the weekend, but when special events were going, she ran it for the duration.
“But it’s pancake day at
