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“How much did you steal?” I asked.
“I may have gotten a little carried away,” Dean admitted.
“Which stores are those from?” Owen asked.
“I thought we’d start with the jewelry store, since that was the most valuable stuff.”
We made a funny procession as we headed across the square to the jewelry store. Sam flew ahead. I followed behind him. Teddy and Dean with their overflowing boxes were in the middle, and Owen brought up the rear. We looked like a gang of inept reverse burglars.
“They didn’t have a camera here, but there is a security system,” Sam reported when we reached the jewelry store.
“Yeah, I was able to bypass it,” Dean said. He looked a little too proud of himself for my comfort.
“That’s not too difficult,” Owen said. “The spell that dissolves the window actually keeps the sensors intact. You were sloppy, though. You overdid it on the windows. They should have come back as soon as you were in and out. That wasted power and drew attention to your actions.” He faced the window, waved a hand, whispered a few words, and the glass vanished. “Okay, now put the stuff back in there.” Dean went to climb through the window, but Owen shook his head. “No, just leave the boxes there. You want them to notice it’s been returned. You don’t have your name or anything identifying you on those boxes, do you?”
“These are the boxes I got from the store.”
“Then put them in there.”
Dean followed instructions. As soon as he was clear of the window, the glass reappeared. “You’ll have to teach me how to do that,” Dean said.
“Somehow, I don’t think that would be such a good idea.”
“I wouldn’t do it to steal stuff again.”
“Then why would you need to be able to do it?”
“This is amazing,” Teddy gushed. “Now, how does the ratio of matter and energy work on this? Are you actually making the matter go away, like into an alternate dimension, or are you just separating the atoms so it looks like the glass isn’t there, but all the matter actually still is?”
“Teddy, we don’t have time for the scientific explanation,” I said.
“Sorry. But can we talk about it later?” If they did, it wasn’t a conversation I wanted to be anywhere near. Thinking about how magic worked gave me a headache.
We worked our way around the square, returning goods to all of the stores Dean had burgled magically. “What were you trying to do, open your own store?” I asked.
“Something like that. I thought I’d unload a lot of this stuff on eBay when it cooled down a little.”
“You do know that cops monitor eBay to look for stolen goods showing up, right?”
“In this town? I’m not sure the cops know eBay exists.”
“Jason’s wife sells collectible dolls and antiques on eBay,” I pointed out. “He’d know it exists.”
“You took some extremely stupid risks,” Owen said. “You shouldn’t be doing anything with magic that brings unnecessary attention to yourself. That should be the first thing you learn, even before you start learning spells.” I could tell the night’s activities were draining him, even as he made it look easy. With each shop, the glass took a bit longer to disappear, and he walked more slowly to the next shop.
When we were almost done and Dean had retrieved the last load from the car, the police car returned.
“Sam, have you still got us?” Owen asked.
“Yeah, but hold off on the hocus-pocus until he’s gone.”
We all froze in place, holding our breath as the police car made its circuit. Just when we thought we were in the clear, the car pulled up in front of the jewelry shop, and the officer got out to walk the square, swinging a flashlight ahead of him. He aimed the flashlight into the windows, where he was sure to spot the boxes.
“Now!” Owen hissed, getting Dean’s attention. The window we were in front of had gone. Dean dropped the box he held as quickly and quietly as he could, then the glass returned.
From across the square, we heard, “Hey!” The police officer leaned against the window, getting a closer look. He must have discovered the returned goods. He went back to his car and got on the radio.
“I suggest we scram, now,” Sam said. “I can bamboozle one of them, but not more with this many of us and at cop levels of scrutiny. Stick together, though. That makes it easier.”
