“Why did I fall flat on my face last night?” she asked.
“I believe it was the stress from the testing and everything else that has happened since,” Grans said, looking to Cleo for confirmation.
“Somehow, Suzanne Parker had the codes to lower headquarters’ sensitivity to danger to the testing witch. I’m not sure she could have killed you, but she came close. Each time, you bounced back. I didn’t notice until I went back and viewed the tape of her testing. She had disabled the alarms as well. I had a bad feeling all day, but I thought it was from the retesting itself, not the way she handled it. I knew Suzanne. She was solid. Fair. Someone got it into her head that you cheated. Someone she trusted.” Cleo put her hand on Mia’s. “I’m sorry I didn’t step in. If the system hadn’t been tampered with, you would have been pulled in the first hour.”
“Well, I guess it’s a good thing I’m strong, then,” Mia said, then she shook her head. “I’m not mad. I just want to find out who forced a second testing because I think that might show us the killer.”
“You can’t continue to investigate this,” Grans warned. “It’s dangerous.”
“I can’t not. Someone put me in danger, then killed the woman they sent after me. It’s all tied together. Now that Mark’s been sidelined, I’m all there is.” Mia sipped her coffee. It was warm and comforting and—her eyes popped open. “You spelled the coffee?”
“I put an energy potion in, dear. It’s not a spell. You need to be more precise in your language.” Grans filled Mia’s cup and then dumped the pot. “The rest of yourgroup doesn’t need this. They’ll be bouncing off the walls for days. You, on the other hand, need that to get through your day.”
“You’re a remarkable woman, Mia,” Cleo said. “I knew that the first time you came to visit your grandmother and she brought you to the coven library. You were so curious. You’re going to make an excellent addition to the historical rolls of the kitchen witch.” Cleo stood and put on her coat. “Thanks for the coffee this morning, Mary Alice. I needed a pick-me-up.”
“You gave me Gloria.” Mia didn’t know how she knew, but she knew. Gloria’s next song choice proved her right. Helen Reddy’s “I Am Woman” filled the kitchen.
“Gloria gave you Gloria.” Cleo smiled. “All I did was deliver the doll. We’ve been watching you for a long time. We knew the Goddess was sending us a warrior. I’m glad it’s you.”
Mia watched as Cleo headed out of the apartment and to the first floor. “She’s pretty amazing.”
“You should have seen her in her prime.” Grans smiled. “She was magnificent, and the strongest witch I have ever met. She had to give up a lot of power to become the library keeper, but she says it was worth it. Spells and potions are her life. And now, she has a bit of a seer in her. It’s a good thing she likes you. A lot.” Grans pushed Mia’s coffee closer to her. “Go ahead, accept her gift.”
“Cleo brought the energy booster?”
“Why are you surprised? She’s the closest thing we have to a doctor in our world. She called me last night when you went upstairs. She said to let you sleep andshe’d be over in the morning to fix this.” Grans pressed her lips together. “Funny, that was after Dorian followed you upstairs. If he hadn’t been there, you would have fallen.”
“Maybe Dorian has a bit of seer in him as well. Or the library felt what was happening.” Mia sipped her coffee. Now that she knew a potion was mixed in, she could taste the ingredients. She started listing them off in her head, but she couldn’t name the last one. As she tried to isolate it, Trent walked into the kitchen and sat down after he saw the coffee was still brewing.
“Magic Man” from Heart played in the kitchen.
He smiled at the kitchen witch doll. “Nice choice, Gloria.”
“Don’t encourage her. She’s been into the older rock all week.” Mia kissed him on the cheek. “How did you sleep? And why didn’t you just sleep on the bed? You looked uncomfortable on that love seat.”
“I was fine. I didn’t want to wake you. By the time I came upstairs to go to bed, you finally had some color in your cheeks.” He rubbed his finger on the side of her head. “I should ask you how you’re doing. You scared us last night.”
“Sorry. Maybe quelling the fire drained too much of my energy.” She turned to her grandmother. “I didn’t cast a spell or make a potion, but I harnessed the fire and water with my hands and my mind. I helped Trent rebuild the house while trying to convince the fire to go out. Sonja waving around that hose wasn’t helping.”
“The McManns never understand anything but brute force.” Grans stood to refill her cup and get Trent some coffee. “Sonja was pushing for another outcome. I hearshe’s been banned from participating in hellhound training for an infinite time period. Thomas works fast.”
“She’s going to blame me for that, and for getting you out of the house, but really, the fire’s to blame. I was just there to help put things back together.” Mia leaned her head on Trent’s shoulder. “Like every good kitchen witch should.”
CHAPTER21
Carl Hagen from the National Office showed up at the house an hour before his appointment at the Lodge. He was a short, pudgy man with a few hairs on his head and a smile that warmed Mia from the inside out. They met in the living room after Christina had provided coffee and treats for the visitor.
“Cleo called to let me know you’d be here. I heard you had quite a day yesterday, and I thought it might be easier to meet you at your home. The academy seems very happy under your stewardship. I didn’t attend here. I’m from Central California. We had our own boarding school on the beach. It was the best six years of my life.” He sipped his coffee, looking around the great room. “I feel so many happy memories here. Are you with ghosts?”
Mia frowned a bit at the wording. “Yes, the academy is haunted. They mostly hang out in the library.”
“Probably trying to finish their to-be-read pile.” He smiled at her. “I know mine is larger than several lifetimes.”
Mia couldn’t help but laugh. Carl Hagen had a way of making people comfortable. It was probably his gift, like Christina’s.
“Mine is getting that way too,” Mia said. “I’m just a few chapters away from finishing a book and things keep getting in the way. Thank you for coming. I have a few questions about my testing.”
“I want to apologize on behalf of the entire board. If we’d known this was some kind of vendetta, we never would have sent Suzanne. Hugh is furious about the method of testing she used. He sends his regards. He said you were lovely, and you are.” Carl smiled. His eyes kept returning to a corner of the room with nothing in it, at least not anything Mia could see.
