Hexes and Hemlines: A Witchcraft Mystery by Juliet Blackwell

Author:Juliet Blackwell [Blackwell, Juliet]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Police Procedural, Murder, Mystery & Detective, Paranormal Fiction, Crime, Used Clothing Industry, Fiction, Murder - California - San Francisco, Fantasy, Mystery Fiction, Witches, Ivory; Lily (Fictitious Character), Occult Fiction, San Francisco (Calif.), General, Vintage Clothing
ISBN: 9780451233783
Google: Lqb8MynjGzQC
Amazon: 0451233786
Publisher: Signet
Published: 2011-06-07T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

I was late getting started the next morning. Maya arrived before I finished my store cleansing rituals, or even went for coffee. I did manage to call and leave a message for Carlos, however, asking him to call me back.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Maya asked. I was usually more on top of things than this. “And is Bronwyn all right? I haven’t wanted to ask anything too detailed.”

“Her daughter has some problems.”

“That’s a nice way of putting it,” she said, her eyebrows raised. Rebecca’s occasional swooping down on us at the store hadn’t endeared her to any of us.

I smiled. “You know what I mean. I guess she and her husband have been having some difficulties.” I didn’t really want to air Bronwyn’s issues; she was usually open about them, as with everything, but that should be up to her, not me.

I started sorting through the clothes that had come into the shop over the past week. One Hefty bag held a nice stash of 1950s dance dresses; there were several with voluminous skirts and poofy crinolines that would require special attention in the wash. A bag of sweaters revealed that many of them had been moth-eaten, which was a shame. No way to fix that. Finally, a battered cardboard box revealed a treasure of early 1980s disco clothes.

“Hey, check this out.” I held up a gold-spangled, bellbottomed, one-piece jumpsuit. The outfit was so absurd it made Maya laugh out loud.

“Bet you it’ll sell by Friday,” she said.

“I imagine you’re right,” I said as I tossed it into the growing pile destined for dry cleaning. The wildest, least wearable items seemed to fly off our racks. I put it down to the Bay Area’s wonderfully wacky populace.

“So, did Max ever find you yesterday?” Maya asked.

“He did, yes.”

“And . . . ?” Maya’s eye brightened with interest. “So what did he say? What happened?”

“I decided I shouldn’t see him anymore. I made a resolution.”

“Oh, that’s no fun.” She flipped the sign on the front door to OPEN. “Was he being a jerk?”

“Sort of. Not totally. I don’t know.” I started inspecting the lace on several sets of 1950s baby-doll negligees. “But I was pretty darned determined right up until he kissed me.”

“He kissed you?” Maya came over to the sales counter and leaned toward me. “Like, a little peck or down and dirty?”

“Um . . .” I shouldn’t have brought this topic up, either. I was just as confused about Max today as I was yesterday. “You know . . .”

“Then it was down and dirty. Hmm.”

“I have the willpower of an ant,” I said, slapping my forehead.

“Actually, ants have a great deal of willpower. They’re famous for their determination. Ever hear that ant and the rubber tree song?”

“Oh, please don’t sing it,” I pleaded. Not only was I getting fed up with my lack of any normal popular culture references, but not long ago I had dealt with a magical music box that played a children’s ditty incessantly. Took me a week to get it out of my head.

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