“Exactly. We’ve talked about it before. You’d have economies of scale, and your grandmother would have a knitting shop again. It would keep her busy, and you could go and visit her whenever you wanted to. It’s only about a five-hour drive to Cornwall in good conditions.”
I was excited by the idea. “I think it’s brilliant. Now all we have to do is wipe the memories of the men who could cause us all a heap of trouble.”
“We?” He raised his eyebrows in my direction.
“You didn’t really think I was going to leave my grandmother to do the forgetting spell, did you? I’m coming with you.”
He was smart enough not to waste time arguing.
“You were late home last night,” Jen said when I arrived, yawning, in the kitchen the next morning.
“Sorry I abandoned you,” I said, going to the pot of coffee she’d already made. “And thank you for this life-saving brew.”
She laughed. “Hey, you’re engaged. I’m sure you were having a wonderful time with your husband-to-be and lost track of time.”
Well, I’d been with Rafe, but last night’s activities had been anything but romantic. “Do you want to come to the store this morning and hang out?” I felt bad not being a better host.
She topped her own coffee. “I’m taking a walking tour this morning and then I thought I’d take a bike ride. Everyone here seems to ride.”
“Sounds like fun.” I wished I could join her, but I had to talk to Violet. “Let’s have dinner tonight. We’ll go out somewhere fun.”
“Sounds good.”
Jen was such an easy guest and a fun roommate. I was going to have to carve out more time to spend with her.
I gobbled a quick bowl of cereal, dressed in a light cotton sweater hand-knitted by Theodore in a periwinkle color. I wore it with a white skirt and sandals. I wished Jen a good day and then Nyx and I headed down to work.
When Violet arrived a little later, I studied her carefully. Was her demeanor different? Did she wear the guilt of having killed another witch? Had my assistant committed murder within the last twenty-four hours? She certainly didn’t look any more cheerful than she had the last time I’d seen her, but she didn’t look like she had blood on her hands, either.
“Feeling better?” I asked, my voice dripping with sarcasm.
She heaved a great sigh. “All right, I was skiving. I admit it. I needed a day off. Besides, I could tell Meri was dying to work in the shop again so she could fawn all over you.”
“She does not.” Okay, she did a bit. “Anyway, you’re changing the subject.”
“I didn’t know it was a subject. I admitted it. I took a day off. Dock my pay.”
“Violet. What did you do yesterday?”
She must have heard something in my tone that was more than mere curiosity.
She looked quite flustered and busied herself with a duster, something she so rarely did that it immediately made me suspicious. I came around in front of her and took the duster out of her hand.
“Violet. I’m serious.”
“How about, none of your business?” She looked both defensive and guilty. Never a good combination when you’re worried someone’s done something bad.
“Please. You can tell me. I’m worried I know what it is anyway.”
She took a step back. “Were you spying on me?”
“How could I spy on you when I had a shop to run? Minus one assistant.”
“Oh, come on, you can always find a vampire or two to run the shop when you’re not here. Anyway, if you didn’t spy on me, how on earth could you possibly know what I was doing yesterday?”
“Violet, Karmen is dead.”
She blinked at me. “Karmen? Oh, that horrible witch from Wallingford? The one that tried to kill me? Well, if you’re looking for tears of sympathy, you won’t get them from me.”
My tense shoulders began to relax a little. “Are you saying you didn’t go there yesterday?”
“Go and see a woman who tried to kill me? Why would I do that?”
“Revenge?”
Then her jaw dropped. “You mean she was murdered?”
I nodded solemnly.
Now her face grew red, and it wasn’t embarrassment but fury. “And you think I did it?”
Now it was my turn to look foolish. “Well, if you didn’t, why did you look so weird when I asked what you did yesterday?”
“Because I went to talk to William. That’s why.”
Oh, I felt so stupid now. “You talked to William?” That was good that she was taking my excellent advice. I just wished she’d told me right away, before I accused her of murder. “How did it go?”
She grabbed the duster back, and this time I let her flick it at various surfaces and skeins of wool randomly. She seemed to be redistributing the dust and not getting rid of it. Still, I could tell she needed to spend some of her nervous energy, so I left her flapping the duster around. I’d all but accused her of murder. I supposed a little dust flying around my space was the least I could put up with.
“I couldn’t do it, okay? We ended up chatting about your wedding reception, if you must know. He made me taste three kinds of lobster paté. The man sees me and immediately thinks of me as a catering assistant. It’s hopeless.”
It did sound rather hopeless. “I’m really sorry, Vi.”
“Don’t be. I’ll have to get on with my own life, that’s all.”
“That’s an excellent idea.”
She flicked a glance at me. “I was also with your mother. You might as well know that too. No doubt she’ll tell you.”
Okay, I was still glad she hadn’t committed murder yesterday, but hanging out with my mother? I couldn’t imagine why. “You promised me there’d be no hen party.”
“I’m fairly certain I never technically promised,” she said. “Besides, she’s your mother. What am I supposed to do? If you don’t want a hen party, tell her.”
Violet was right. It wasn’t
