A black silk square sat centered on the top. Different colored candles in silver holders anchored the cloth in place, along with a polished silver bowl on a wood base. Heavy brass floor candelabras created a square around the table.
I scanned the walls and then the ceiling. Symbols and numbers covered every open space. A few constellations, some runes, Egyptian hieroglyphics, and a bunch of stuff I didn’t recognize.
What startled me was the magic permeating the room. I could feel it like a low hum vibrating through my body. I glanced at my companions. They looked at me as if waiting for my reaction. To the magic? Or the whole mystical vibe? I didn’t know if I should say anything or not.
“I take it this is where your aunt answered customer questions,” I said, settling on a middle ground. “Like it says on the front door sign. Did she read palms? Read tarot? Tea leaves? Perform seances?” I kept my voice neutral.
“All of it,” Lorel said. She didn’t look embarrassed, which meant, what? Mitzi had been a witch? Or just that she’d accepted her mother’s eccentricities?
“Was she any good at it?”
That question seemed to surprise both Lorel and Rhi.
“Somebody was always coming in for readings,” Rhi said. “She had to take on extra help because she got so busy with it.” There was a shifty quality to the way she looked away. She was lying about something.
“She had a lot of clients, according to her books, but I live in the Sacramento area and didn’t visit often,” Lindsey added.
“It’s very theatrical,” I said. I disentangled myself from the twins and toured the room. The curio cabinets contained an enormous variety of things, some that I knew were valuable, others that weren’t, and a whole lot that I’d have to research. “The furniture is high quality. Those, the rug, and chandelier will net a decent profit for you. I can get more specific when I inventory the cabinets.”
“The store room is through there,” Lindsey said, pulling back a gauzy wall hanging to reveal a door painted to look like the walls and ceiling. “It’s small. She kept most of her merchandise on the floor. A lot of it is one of a kind anyway. Most of what’s in there arrived after she died, or she hadn’t had a chance to put it on display.” She moved to another entry, this one covered by heavy swaths of velvet cloth. “This takes us to the store.
The opening actually led to a small kitchenette with a bathroom for employees only. From there, we stepped out into the retail space. Rhi and Lorel scooted close to me while Lindsey turned on the rest of the lights.
To say the space was eclectic would have been like calling Disneyland a school playground. The colors made me feel like I’d walked into a kaleidoscope. Or maybe I was on an acid trip.
There had to be at least a dozen chandeliers hanging from a midnight blue ceiling painted to look like a night sky. Between them, crystals hung everywhere, splashing rainbows all around and adding to the color chaos. The aisles were like rabbit trails: narrow and winding with no particular pattern.
The rear of the shop contained a little clothing boutique and a small dressing room. The clothes were stunning, and no two were the same.
“These are lovely,” I said, examining a dress. “Well-made.
“I designed that one,” Lorel said.
I lifted my brows. “You’re a clothing designer? It’s gorgeous. Did you create the dress you’re wearing, too?”
She looked down at herself. “No, Rhi made this one.”
“You both design?”
Lorel nodded. “We want to convert the entire store to focus on our clothes.”
“Alright, then. Show me around.”
The rest of the store contained an unusual mix of items to say the least, all set out in random order, as far as I could tell. I saw clay sculptures, blown glass, metal art, paintings, drawings, textiles, and more. One little corner nook held prayer rugs and pashminas. Another had snow globes, polished rocks and minerals, crystal balls, god and goddess statuettes, and various religious paraphernalia, most of it pagan related. Jewelry cases surrounded the cash register in the middle of the room. A knife and sword display filled a little cul-de-sac near the front.
A discreet corner held an array of sex aids, from dildos to herbs. A tiny little sign over the small archway leading inside said: Guaranteed Orgasms. I blinked. Guaranteed? And if the customer didn’t have one, had Aunt Mitzi taken it back and returned the money? And resold it?
I shuddered. Not a particularly appetizing thought.
“Upstairs in the loft are lotions and other bath products, yarn, and um, I guess you’d call them witchy remedies,” Lindsey said. “Aromatherapy, oils, tinctures, and that sort of thing. They’re all labeled as some kind of witch’s brew, though. I guess to fit the town’s mystique. There’s also a lot of books on witchcraft, herbals, alchemy, and so on. Those have been popular and turn over relatively quickly.”
“I’d like to have a look.”
We went up the iron stairs and the loft space was no less packed.
One thing was clear, however. The general craftsmanship of the inventory was high. I recognized the names of several local and not so local artists. Cataloging and prepping the store for a sale was going to take some time, however.
I looked at Lorel and Rhi. “Are you two absolutely sure you don’t want to keep anything? Because once we have a contract, it all gets sold.”
