“What is it you want?” I asked.
“I’m thinkin’ this ‘cold’ you got is a little suspicious.”
“How so?”
“I work for Renee and all, but it’s not like I wanna be there.” He crooked his head in Aidan’s direction. “He knows what I’m sayin’. Right, pal? Sometimes that’s how it works. You don’t wanna be workin’ for someone, but you get stuck. There I was, runnin’ a nice little racket with the Russian psychics out in the Richmond District, and next thing I know, I’m indebted to the Cupcake Queen over here.”
“What did you mean about Lily’s cold being suspicious?” Aidan asked.
“Well, now, hold on for just a second here,” Jamie said. “What’s in it for me?”
“You expect to be paid for information?” Aidan asked.
“No, nothin’ like that. But I don’t wanna work for Renee no more. I want to throw in with you. Maybe Itell you some helpful things, and I come work for you instead? Whaddaya say?”
There was a long pause. A car honked, and a couple of teenagers walked by.
“You were just saying you needed to do some hiring, Aidan,” I said, amusing myself at Aidan’s expense.
“It’s a possibility,” said Aidan. “Depending on the information. Renee holds your marker?”
He nodded. “Even talking to you is dangerous for me, I gotta say.” He looked over his shoulder again.
“Then don’t waste any more time.”
“I’m sayin’, are you prone to colds? ’Cuz Renee was workin’ on a batter the other day, and I saw her put fingernails, hair, chopped-up feathers, and powdered crab shell in it. Lord only knows what else went in there.”
“And that means what?” I asked.
“I figured you’d know. Aren’t you the botanical whiz?”
“I’m good at brewing, but I don’t have encyclopedic knowledge.” But I knew who did: Graciela. Or Calypso, maybe.
“And then she did that mumbling thing that weirds me out. Anyway, she didn’t exactly come out and say what she was doing. She just said the batch she was makin’ was for a ‘special’ customer. I’m wonderin’ if she sent them to you.”
“Wait. Were these the cupcakes you delivered this morning?” But that wouldn’t make sense—not only had I not eaten any of those cupcakes, but I’d started sneezing and feeling draggy a couple of days earlier.
“Nah, the ones this morning had pot in them. She sells ’em down at the dispensary. She thought it was hysterical to send some over to your shop. Couldn’t stop laughing. It’s her brand of humor, which I don’t entirely get, if you know what I mean.”
“So when did she send me cupcakes before then?”
“Wasn’t cupcakes, I don’t think. More like her new line of meat pasties.”
• • •
“Ugh,” I said, putting my head in my hands as we left Jamie and approached the car. “I can’t believe I might have eaten something dosed by Renee! And fingernails and hair... I think I’m going to be sick.”
Aidan smiled as he opened the car door for me. “You’re being just a tiny bit overdramatic. Don’t you know we all eat insects and larvae in our food, all the time? It might be unpleasant to think about, but it won’t hurt you.”
“But I think she gave me this supposed ‘cold.’ Maybe you should put that green crystal on my nose and see if I’ve been poisoned?”
“That only works if you’ve got goblin blood. I assume that’s not the case.”
“I don’t know,” I said as Aidan got into the car. “The way things are unfolding, maybe that’s what the shoe box was trying to tell me about my past. Maybethat’sthe prophecy. Maybe I’m not a witch at all, but something evil and unnatural.”
Aidan looked at me so long without speaking that I looked up to meet his gaze.
“What is it?” I asked.
