Chapter 25
One week later…
“How about these?” Vivian held up a set of decorative altar statues.
“Leave them. I’m pretty sure they’re cursed.” I added another scented pillar candle to a box and closed the lid.
Vivian scrunched her nose and placed the statues into the “stay” pile. She moved on to a shelf of amethyst crystals.
“I can’t believe you’re packing the shop.”
Neither could I, though in some ways, it felt cathartic. Wasn’t it always supposed to end this way? I’d spent the week wallowing in my rejection from Derrick while doing my best to track down Ironhazel. Neither venture had been very productive. My only connection to Ironhazel had been thwarted when Charlie went missing after he stiffed a mystical weapons vendor. I guess I would have run too if I had a price on my head, but without him, I didn’t have any other leads.
“I don’t have much choice. The month is almost up.”
“What about the Gazette? Any luck with the ad?”
“Derrick wouldn’t tell me if there was. For all I know, he’s already found the source of the roses. I mean, obviously, solving the case is the most important outcome, I just wanted to get there first.”
“For the reward?” Vivian dumped the entire shelf of crystals into a satchel.
“I don’t even know anymore. Sure, I want the money, but it all feels like failure at this point. If I save the shop, then what? I go back to mucking up illusions and selling mediocre potions? I’ll end up in the exact same situation as before.”
“And you miss him.”
Vivian sure knew how to salt a wound. Yeah, I missed Derrick in a way I hadn’t thought possible, and it was only an unhealthy dose of pride that kept me from crawling back to the agency. His silence hurt. I hadn’t expected him to forgive me, but I thought maybe it wouldn’t have been so easy to let me go. Jokes on the witch. He severed ties and didn’t look back. I bet he’d thrown a party, had it catered and everything.
My eyes stung, but I blinked away the tears. I couldn’t let Vivian see them. Every time I got a little weepy, she threatened to send a ghost to the agency. Apparently, she had the perfect one that wailed like a banshee all hours of the day. He’d never get any work done. It wasn’t flattering, but I had considered it.
Derrick had made his choice though, and I’d made mine, and now, we had to live with it. I had a shop to sell and my dreams to crush. There wasn’t time for petty revenge. Said no witch ever, which just went to show how far I’d fallen.
Vivian dusted a shelf of spell books and placed them into a box. “You know, I was thinking, with the money you have leftover from selling the shop and paying back Argus, you could purchase the old Derringer cottage.”
“It’s haunted, Viv.”
“So what? You can get it for a steal. I might have already spoken with the ghost to up his haunting activity and scare away potential buyers. The price will come down even further.”
“I’m not buying a haunted house.” I wiped the candle wax from my hands onto my skirt. “I’m thinking about traveling for a while. Maybe I’ll start fresh somewhere else.”
“Also known as running away.”
“Also known as self-preservation. I can’t run into him. What happens the first time I do, and he’s with someone else? I’ll make a voodoo doll. You know I will.”
Vivian smirked. “The poor thing won’t know what hit her between the hauntings and the phantom pains. If Derrick has any sense, he’ll remain a bachelor.”
I gave her a weak smile, and Vivian clapped her hands together.
“See, there’s a smile. You’re going to be all right. If you insist on traveling, maybe I’ll go with you. The Elemental Islands are beautiful this time of year. It’ll be two adventurous women taking the islands by storm. I’ll find myself a wealthy land baron, and you’ll cast a love spell over a handsome foreigner, and before you know it, Detective No Name will be a thing of the past.”
If only it were that easy.
I pushed aside the box and stood, stretching my aching muscles. The bell above the door jingled, and I looked over my shoulder at the newcomer.
“Sorry, we’re clos—” I paused, recognizing Estelle, the agency’s receptionist. She glanced around the shop, her gaze taking in the stacked boxes and packed merchandise.
“Looks like I arrived just in time.” Estelle shuffled inside, weaving around the disarray. “I can’t stay long, I’m on a lunch break. It will probably be my last one thanks to you. Apparently, lunch is a leisure activity.” Her eyes rolled, and she grumbled under her breath.
“Estelle, what are you doing here?”
