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“I don’t know about vibrations from the copper,” I told Josie, since she was giving me her patented lifted eyebrow, the one that signaled she could tell I’d wandered off into la-la land again and she didn’t appreciate me woolgathering while there was business that needed to be handled. “But I’ll try to check it out after I close up the shop today.”
“Oh, would you?” she replied, now with an expression of relief. “Because I really think that if you can plan some kind of ritual, something truly spectacular, then you’ll definitely put Globe on the map.”
“Whoa,” I said, and put up a hand, although I knew that sort of gesture was pretty much futile when it came to getting Josie Woodrow to slow down. “I’m not really the ‘spectacular ritual’ kind of witch. My magic is mostly pretty quiet.”
For just a second, she looked almost uncomfortable. I’d gotten the impression on more than one occasion that, while she was just fine with me running a woo-woo shop in her little town and referring to myself as a witch, she still wasn’t entirely comfortable with the reality of magic, with the hard fact that it wasn’t all just pretty crystals and incense and colored candles.
But because it was Josie, she brushed off her moment of unease fairly quickly. “Well, whatever you can do,” she responded in airy tones. “And of course, you’ll have to set up an Instagram account.”
“I’m not even sure what Instagram is,” I protested. “Is it like Facebook?”
That question made her chuckle. “No, of course not,” she said. “I mean, I think it’s owned by the same company…and I think you post photos and short videos there…and people can like them and respond…but it’s still very different.”
I had my doubts, but I refrained from commenting. She might not have known the finer points of the differences between Instagram and Facebook, but she still knew worlds more than I did. “I guess I’ll pull out my laptop and check it out.”
Josie sent me a pitying look. “You don’t do Instagram on yourcomputer,” she said. “It’s a phone app.”
Great. I’d tried to make sure my phone was just a device for making calls and not a lot more, mostly because I didn’t want to turn into one of those people who always had their face buried in a screen and therefore missed most of what was going on around them. But since I’d already promised Josie I’d look into it, I didn’t have much of a choice. Besides, it might be a good idea to help spread some positive witchiness out there on the internet. The Goddess only knew the world could use all the good vibes it could get.
“Okay, then I’ll download it and install it a little later,” I said.
She beamed at me. “Wonderful. And if you have any questions about how to use the app, just give me a call and I’ll walk you through the process.”
“I will,” I promised, although I thought I’d most likely consult Google to try to ferret out the finer points of Instagram and all its particular nuances.
Since Josie had succeeded in roping me into one of her schemes, she didn’t seem inclined to linger. She slipped her iPhone into her purse and said, “Well, I’m off. We’re doing our first run-through ofChicagotoday.” Her hands slid to her hips, and she gave me a reproving look. “I still wish you’d auditioned.”
“Josie, I can’t sing a note,” I replied, which was only the truth. I might have possessed a variety of useful talents, but singing definitely wasn’t one of them.
“Still, you would have made a wonderful Velma Kelly.”
Somehow I doubted that having someone with the singing voice of a croaking frog as one of the two leads in your musical was a very good idea, no matter how much she might have looked the part. “When it comes to the Old Globe Theater Group, I think I’d rather be a benefactor behind the scenes,” I told her.
At once, she looked almost contrite. “And believe me, it’s appreciated. That new seating and the new curtains at the theater are going to make all the difference in the world. And if you ever change your mind about performing — ”
“I won’t,” I said firmly.
“All right.” The sparkle was back in her eyes. “Just let me know when you have your Instagram account set up.”
I knew better than to argue.
“I will,” I said.
* * *
Because it was a quiet Thursday at the shop, I went ahead and closed at four-thirty instead of my usual five o’clock. Although the days had been getting longer and longer — and hotter — I still preferred to do my fact-finding about Globe’s supposed “vibrations” earlier rather than later, if for no other reason than it would be a way to put off setting up my Instagram account.
My jeans and Keds sneakers would do just fine for wandering around the Arizona countryside, so I didn’t bother to head upstairs to my apartment to change. Instead, I went out back to where my Denim Edition Volkswagen Beetle was parked and got in, wincing a little at the heat that had been baking inside the car for hours. No real point in popping the top, either; when temperatures climbed past ninety-five, as they had today, I wanted to be surrounded by nice, cool A/C, not a hot desert wind.
Even though bodies of flowing water contained their own power, I resolutely ignored going down to the San Ramon River to explore. I doubted there was much chance of running into Lucien Dumond’s ghost — after our final conversation, he’d disappeared, never to return, apparently — but I didn’t want there to be even the slightest chance of my running into Calvin Standingbear. No, unless another crime had occurred on the banks of the river, he probably wouldn’t have any reason to be there, and yet I still thought it better to stay far away.
Instead, I drove to the western edge of town, where there was a nice big stand of trees before the land opened up and climbed toward the Freeport Mine, which was still in operation, although technically outside Globe’s town limits. There wasn’t a formal parking lot, but a smooth stretch of gravel that seemed to exist for the sole purpose of allowing people to pull off the road and leave their vehicles there so they could go explore the area.
I hadn’t stopped here before, although I’d noticed the little spot the few times I was driving out of town, mostly so I could go into Mesa and shop at the places Globe didn’t offer — Trader Joe’s, Sprouts, HomeGoods. Today I was just glad that no one else seemed to be around, since I always did a better job of picking up vibes when I was by myself.
A breath of hot wind hit my face as soon as I opened the car door, and I tried not to sigh. All right, Globe wasn’t nearly as hot as Phoenix, thanks to its elevation, but it could still get pretty toasty. Since I’d spent the six years prior to this on the west side of Los Angeles, where cool ocean breezes moderated the temperature, I knew I was a little spoiled when it came to dealing with hot weather. Supposedly, Arizona would start to get monsoon storms starting at the end of June and that would help to cool things down a bit, but in the meantime, we all had to suffer.
Resigned, I reached in my glove compartment and pulled out the scrunchie I always kept there, figuring I might as well pull my hair away from my face and keep it off the back of my neck. I wore a simple cotton sleeveless blouse, but I still knew I’d be baking once I started wandering around.
