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

him.
    If Brian was the witch who had killed Olivia—which seemed more possible than ever—he was very strong. He was probably stronger than the three of us had been in our prime. He would have killed Joe without thinking. The only thing that had saved Elsie, Dorothy and me was my affinity with the water.
    Joe could never find this man. We were going to have to take care of it and hand Brian over to the Grand Council. There was no crime worse than killing another witch. They would act appropriately.
    “I’m sorry, Joe.” I smiled and kissed him. “I love you. Let’s sort this out later.”
    He held me close for a long time. We were still together when the Coast Guard vessel docked again. The crew helped Elsie and Dorothy off the boat. I got off with Joe.
    I saw Lisbet waiting for him on the dock, a puzzled expression on her handsome face. No doubt Joe would tell her my story. She was his partner, and that tended to make people close. I was sure she knew all about our lives together.
    I didn’t like that she’d think I was a little crazy, trying to solve Olivia’s murder myself. It couldn’t be helped. It kept Joe away from my reality and left us free to continue our search. Now that we had a better idea of what we were facing, I hoped we’d be better prepared.
    “I’m going to take everyone to their houses and then go home and change clothes,” I told Joe. “Maybe we could have lunch somewhere and talk about everything that’s happened.”
    “That would be fine,” he said. “But I need Elsie and the new girl—if she knows anything about this man who might have been dating Olivia—to come with you. We’ll have to interview all of you.”
    “It was only me and Elsie. We met Dorothy later. She’s going to help out at the shop.”
    Smuggler’s Arcane had always been the perfect cover for our magic. It gave us a reason to be together at all hours. Joe had never questioned how important the shop was to me. I’d always supposed that he was glad I had something to do during the long hours he spent at his job.
    “Maybe this isn’t the best time to talk about it, Molly, but I think you should consider giving up the shop. We don’t need the money—if you’ve ever made any money at it. Olivia’s death might be the right time to call an end to it. Elsie certainly isn’t getting any younger. Maybe the new girl would like to buy it.”
    It was like a sword to my heart. The shop had been more than a distraction, it had been a place to store all the magic artifacts that I hadn’t wanted to bring home. I knew I was going to have to say good-bye to the place when we retired and moved to Boca, but I wasn’t ready yet.
    “You’re right. This isn’t a good time to talk about it. Not so soon after Olivia’s death. I’m sorry, Joe. I can’t think about that right now. I’ll bring Elsie for lunch after we’ve changed.”
    He caught my arm as I would have walked away. “I’m sorry, Molly. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”
    “I’m fine.” I was very conscious of Lisbet watching us. “Can you have lunch with a suspect?”
    He laughed and kissed me. “You’re
not
a suspect. I just need to know what’s going on in your head. Let’s meet at Riverboat Landing. Give me a call when you leave the house.”
    We separated as we walked down the dock to the shore. I didn’t want to know what he said to Lisbet or her opinion of me.
    “Is everything okay?” Elsie whispered as we walked back where the car was parked. “You didn’t tell him, did you?”
    “Of course not. I love him. I don’t want
anything
to happen to him.”
    “Good.” She let out a relieved breath. “What now?”
    “We go home and change clothes. Joe wants to talk to us about what’s happening with Olivia and a man she might have been dating—no name. I had to tell him something. A little truth seemed like a better idea than the whole truth.”
    “I see.” Dorothy looked out over the river with a mournful expression. “So