“Mom, what’s up with you and Tish?”
My mother suddenly took a great interest in her tea mug.
“There’s nothing up with Tish. Same old, same old,” she said. But her voice was tight, and she had a death grip on the mug.
“She hasn’t been here to visit since I moved in. She used to practically live here. What happened with you two?” I tried to catch her eye, but she avoided my gaze.
“Oh, you know Tish. She can get herself all worked up over one thing or another.” She waved her hand to indicate the many things Tish could get worked up about. “She’ll come around.”
“Yeah, but what is she worked up over?” I asked.
“This and that. It has to do with the city council and Sara.” She stood and took her mug to the sink. “Nothing you would care about. Psychic stuff.”
I hated this little game. She was trying to draw me in, and the next thing I knew I would find myself in front of the council applying for a license. Well, I had learned a few things since I’d left home.
“Okay,” I said.
As I walked out of the kitchen, I didn’t have to turn around to know she was staring after me with her hands on her hips.
14
I had left Seth and Tuffy to deal with the disaster at the house and finished the dog-walking on my own. It was nice to be out on a warm and breezy day walking the streets of Crystal Haven. But even the calming effects of exercise and gentle breezes through the trees weren’t enough to stop my brain from spinning with possibilities and suspicions. I headed to Diana’s hoping to catch her before closing.
Moonward Magick was deserted. The Wednesday afternoon slump hit everyone, even the witches. Diana knew about my various battles with my mother and was always willing to listen. I found her in the back of the store, sorting through boxes of crystal balls and stands. She was muttering to herself and I waited, thinking she was casting some sort of selling spell. Then I heard “ordered three, not thirty” followed by a string of colorful profanity. I hoped it wasn’t a spell, or the person who had messed up the order was in for some interesting anatomical rearrangements.
“Hey,” I said, and tapped her shoulder.
“Aaah!” She dropped her packing list and spun around, eyes wild, her hand grasping for her necklace. This was an old and amusing trick. Diana was easily startled, but it never lost its charm.
“You know better than to do that,” she said, clutching her amulet.
“I do, but it’s really fun to watch,” I said.
“You’re lucky I didn’t spin around and throw one of these at you.” She gestured to the crystal balls.
“I came to hear the séance story, if you have time.” I glanced around the empty store and raised my right eyebrow.
“Very funny. Okay, let me turn on the door buzzer. We can have some tea in the back, and you can tell me about your mother.”
I sighed. She always knew what was really bothering me.
After we were settled to her satisfaction with organic black tea and homemade carrot cake, she started her story. The séance had been scheduled partly as a demonstration, and partly at the request of Melanie Hicks. Melanie was recently widowed and desperately wanted to contact her deceased husband. Sara needed more people to complete the circle and, as word spread, the spots had filled quickly.
“Obviously, Cecile and Joe Stark came,” Diana said through a mouthful of cake. “I think she’s addicted to psychics. Several of the readers in town will only see her once a year, but she has enough access that she’s probably getting a reading every week.”
I nodded agreement about Cecile’s dependence on psychic advice. Some people did come to rely on it for just about everything, unable to make the slightest decision on their own.
“There were six of us besides Sara, all sitting around the table.” She had closed her eyes, and she spoke as if she was seeing the table again in her mind. “Melanie, Tish, Milo Jones, Joe Stark, Cecile Stark, then me, then Sara.”
“Cecile must have dragged Joe. I didn’t think he was into séances,” I said.
Diana nodded. “I think she did. Milo seemed to be really interested, but Joe just looked uncomfortable. Anyway, the séance started, and it was incredible. Almost immediately the room became frigid.”
“Had you been to one of Sara’s séances before?”