Seeing where my gaze went, the woman volunteered, “They’re just finishing up. We stopped serving fifteen minutes ago.”
Did they now?
One of those tables had a plate of untouched scones that smelled like they were straight out of the oven.
“That’s ok. I’m not here for tea,” I said.
How they wanted to run their business was up to them. Perhaps it was a private party or maybe they were friends of the owner.
Her face was politely inquiring.
I pulled out my cell phone and tapped on the screen. There it was.
“I’m looking for a Sarah Temper.”
The polite expression dropped from her face, leaving something fierce staring back at me.
Now it was my turn to smile politely.
“Who wants to know?” a woman sitting near the back asked. Her brown hair was piled in curls high on her head and had a gold ribbon threading through it. She looked like one of those Greek sculptures.
The group went from a bunch of soccer moms discussing the kiddos to one ready to act with the violence of a mother bear when her cubs are threatened. Power crackled through the air.
I kept my polite smile, though it was difficult. I’d been on the receiving end of similar power one too many times.
“I have a package from Hermes for her.”
The woman who’d asked rose and glided toward me. Even her dress had that Grecian theme going for it as it fluttered behind her.
“I’ll take that.”
I gave her a sideways look, considering my options. If she wasn’t Sarah, it was going to get awkward. On the other hand, I suspected she was a witch who could hex me or do something equally unsavory. Choices, choices.
Really there was only one choice. I pulled out my phone and hit the app for Hermes, navigating to the acknowledgement screen. If she wasn’t Sarah, the screen would flash red and the shit would hit the metaphorical fan. For her at least. I’d heard more than one account of what happened when someone other than the intended recipient tried to receive a package. Those stories had not sounded pretty.
The app had some magical component to be able to recognize the real recipient. Someone tried to explain it one time, and I tuned them out before they could get too far into their explanation. Kind of like I had with my physics teacher once she started going on about electricity and electrons. To me, telephones were just as magical as real magic because I had no clue how they could send a voice out into the ether and have another device pick that voice up and make it sound like an actual person speaking.
If these people were really witches, they would know the consequences of committing fraud with a Hermes courier. Everyone knew. Though that didn’t mean a few idiots wouldn’t try to game the system.
I prepared to take off at the first sign of trouble. I had a feeling I’d be the one blamed if this woman got herself turned inside out, even if she was the one who tried to lie about who she was.
I could be wrong. Making mountains out of mole hills. They all seemed to act like she was their leader or at least someone important. Maybe she was Sarah Temper.
I held out the phone as she approached. She reached out to press her thumb against the pad.
“That’s enough, Nadine.” A woman spoke from the back of the store. “She is who she says she is.”
My eyes were drawn to the blonde woman who looked like a sorority coed enjoying a cup of tea late at night. Miriam. I didn’t know if I was relieved that she had stepped in or if I wanted to drop everything and head for the door.
She was a witch. A powerful one. I still wasn’t convinced she hadn’t tried to kill me last fall. Her apprentice might have laid the trap, but she could very well have known and let it go for her own reasons.
I didn’t trust her, but I couldn’t flee either because of the damn penalty clause built into the delivery contract. Knowing witches, it probably had something to do with being used for parts. I might not survive whatever it was they intended to take out of me if I didn’t make my delivery.
Nadine, the woman dressed like a throwback to the ancient Greeks, gave a small nod to Miriam and stepped back.
“Come along, Aileen. The person you want is through here,” Miriam said, before turning into a back room.
Great, heading off alone with a person who may or may not have tried to kill me. This would end well.
