Free Spell Booked (Retired Witches Mysteries Series Book 1) by Joyce Lavene Page A

funny in a way because she was clutching her bag, and the pin still held her drooping hat on her head. It looked like a sodden purple pancake, but it was still there.
    “Is there a spell that can protect us from powerful witches?” Dorothy asked with a wealth of fear in her voice.
    “I’m sure there is,” I responded. “But you have to realize what you’re up against first.”
    “And then you have to be strong enough to deal with it.” Elsie gave me a look that said I shouldn’t be too encouraging with our new witch.
    The captain of the riverboat had made a distress call to the Coast Guard vessel that was in dock. He’d already thrown out life preservers. They floated on top of the river close to where we’d surfaced.
    “Oh dear.” Elsie shook her head. “This is going to be a mess.”
    It was more of a mess than she realized. Joe had jumped on the Coast Guard vessel—that’s what comes of focusing your thoughts on someone you don’t want to notice you. I’d never seen his face look quite the way it did that day. I couldn’t tell if he was angry or scared.
    The Coast Guard crew helped us on board and gave us blankets. They were polite and deferential. They offered to call an ambulance if we needed one.
    Joe sat beside me. Somehow, I’d become separated from Dorothy and Elsie. They were laughing and talking with the crew about the experience. I was stuck with a slightly angry husband who didn’t understand what had happened.
    “What in the world is going on?” His dark eyes were full of concern. “What made you decide to take a trip on the riverboat when you were headed home or to the shop?”
    “I can’t really explain.” My mind was racing. We were walking a thin line between the truth and what I could get him to believe.
    “Is it the new girl? What’s her name? Dorothy? Is she forcing you and Elsie to do things you don’t want to do?”
    “Of course not. Dorothy is a librarian, and a very nice, sensible person. She probably has trouble collecting overdue book fees.”
    “Then what is it, Molly?” He gently moved a strand of hair out of my eye. “You can trust me with whatever is going on. Are you in some kind of trouble? Is that why Olivia was killed?”
    What could I tell him that would throw him off? I was in the middle of the river, strong with the water, but had never felt so helpless. My mind was still trying to wrap itself around the attack on the boat. I didn’t know what to say.
    “You know I trust you, Joe.” I took a deep breath. I was going to have to jump in with at least a partial truth. “We thought we recognized a man on the boat. He might have been dating Olivia. But it wasn’t him.”
    He looked almost comically surprised. “And you were going to tell me this when?”
    “I wanted to surprise you. I thought
we
could solve Olivia’s murder together.”
    It was almost too much for him to take in. “
What?
Where did you get such a crazy idea? The police will be lucky if
we
can find Olivia’s killer. How did you even think of such a thing?”
    I shrugged. He was angry, but he was a safe distance from magic.
    “You’re my husband. It’s not like we haven’t talked about some of your cases. I taught you how to make an omelet. I was thinking that I had probably heard enough to solve this case.”
    He struggled to get his emotions under control. “You need to tell me everything, Molly. I hope I’m clear about that. I need to know all about this man on the boat, and anything else you can tell me that could help.”
    I nodded and promised that I would. My blanket was slipping down. As I reached to pull it up, our hands met.
    Joe pulled the blanket more securely onto my shoulders. His gaze softened. “Don’t
ever
do this again, sweetheart. You just took ten years off my life that I didn’t have to lose. If that man had killed you—I don’t know.”
    I put my arms around him, sorry that I had hurt him, but more determined that we should find the killer before