Mary appeared at the bottom of the stairs. “Hey,” she said softly.
“Hey.” My heart thumped in my chest, but I tried to look as casual as possible. I picked up my wooden spoon again and stirred in a counter-clockwise motion.
“Are you okay?” Mary sat on the last step and settled her book across her knees, then rested her elbows on it and put her chin in her hands.
“As good as I can be.” Doing my best not to glance toward the cabinet, I watched the potion closely for the moment it changed color, then added a few drops of starflower essence from a glass vial. The basement filled with the scent of wildflowers on a summer afternoon. A few bubbles disturbed the water’s surface, so I added the powders, and the potion gurgled like it was whispering secrets.
The wind howled outside, rustling against the house. Mary watched me work for a minute, the silence settling between us like rising dough, before she asked, “Do you want to talk?”
“I’m not even sure where to start.” After my conversations with Riley and Elaine, I might’ve been happy never to talk about Graham’s death again. Plus, with Riley in the cabinet, this wasn’t the time for lengthy conversations. But there was at least one thing I could tell her. “I think I’m going to work with Riley to solve Graham’s murder.”
“Riley… Lizzy’s friend?” Mary’s eyes widened. “Wait, Graham was murdered?”
I gave her an abbreviated version of what happened before ending with, “I’m worried what the police willthink, so we’re going to figure out the killer’s identity.” I glanced at the cabinet where Riley hid and shifted my weight from foot to foot.
“Be careful, Kitty.” Mary bit her lip as if she wanted to say more, but then she stood. “I better get to bed. Early morning tomorrow with my internship.”
“Thanks for checking on me.” The potion hissed, and I jolted back to attention and dropped in a sprig of mint and three ounces of honeycomb. They fell into the liquid with quiet plops, making the basement smell like spring.
The door clicked shut behind Mary, and I hurried to the cabinet and threw open the cabinet to free Riley. In the darkness, his eyes almost seemed to have an amber glow.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
He rubbed his neck and stretched. “Things are never boring when you’re around. That’s for sure.”
I flushed. “Sorry about that.” Steam billowed from the potion, reminding me it was almost done brewing. I gathered a handful of glass vials and hurried back to it.
“So what now?” He sidled over until he was standing too close again, making my heart thump.
“Now I ladle out some of the potion every fifteen minutes.” I filled the first set of glass bottles with a liquid the color of an eggplant. “By pulling it off the heat at different times, it changes the potion’s effects.”
“Not with the potion, with the case.” His hand grazed mine as he passed me another glass bottle, and I almost dropped it.
I seriously needed to get it together. This was pathetic. I wasn’t some love-struck teen who let the simplest touch from a man undo her. I wasn’t Lydia.
“Let’s just see if you live through the night.” I tried to match his lighthearted tone, but while Riley didn’t seem to believe in the efficacy of potions, I knew full well how dangerous they could be.
“Fair enough.” He watched my steady movements as I ladled the potion into glass bottles. “How much longer do you think you should monitor me?”
I bit my lip, trying to keep my hands steady. Mary said Graham’s mother got the call around 8:00, and he’d texted me a little before 6:00 saying he’d eaten the cookie. “Three hours to be safe.”
“Is that all?” He shook his head as if he were disappointed.
“Were you wanting it to take all night?”
“There are worse things than hanging out with a beautiful woman all night.”
I bit my lip, hoping my cheeks weren’t flushed again. “You might regret being so flirty later.”
“I never regret complimenting a woman.” He ran a hand over his buzzed head, the move somehow highlighting his effortless confidence.
He found a pen on the counter and spun it around his fingers, watching me silently for a moment before questions poured out of him like a potion bubbling over. What was it like having four sisters? What did it feel like having fae magic and witch magic? How long had my dad had Moonrot? His questions continued as I ladled out more of the potion. The second batch of infinite whimsy was a sapphire blue, the third a shimmering emerald, and finally crimson for the fourth batch.
When Riley asked if I was dating someone, I turned the questions on him, and he shared stories of his life. Even when he was talking about normal things, he had a wayof making the stories come alive. Once when explaining how he’d accidentally set fire to his cat’s tail, he startled a laugh out of me, and I had to pay extra attention to make sure I didn’t make any mistakes while brewing.
When I finished the infinite whimsy and we still had time to kill—poor choice of words—I started another potion. Hours blurred like the steam rising from my cauldron, each moment folding into the next like the dough for croissants. When the clock on the wall chimed midnight, I jumped, spilling some of the next concoction.
“Are you okay?” Riley grabbed my hand and studied it as if looking for burns.
