Well, as it happened, I was about to find out that the answer was yes.
Chapter 3
Malene and I finished up supper, and then I got back into her death trap of a car. Somehow, she had sneaked the keys away from me when my inhibitions were down. I never should have let down my guard because we shot out of the parking lot.
Somehow I had forgotten that I was going to drive us back.
“Are you trying to get arrested for reckless driving?” I asked.
Her lips flattened into a thin line. “For your information, I’ve got dirt on Tuney Sluggs. There’s no way that police officer would think twice, let alone once, about pulling me over—him or his cronies.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“I am.”
She may have been, but I wasn’t. But that didn’t stop me from keeping my mouth shut. I knew better than to argue with Malene Fredericks, especially now that she was this “new and improved” Malene.
We came to a screeching halt outside my house. To be honest, I was surprised that she didn’t come to a stop by yanking the emergency brake and letting the car spin to a hault.
“Well,” I said, untangling my legs from the small hole that had been fashioned in the front seat, “it was great having dinner with you. Thanks for getting me home alive.”
She hiked a brow. “Clem, that wasn’t nothing. Next time I’ll take you for a real ride.”
Before I could reply, she gunned the gas. A high-pitched squeal erupted from the tires as she spun out and sailed across the street, into her garage.
Fumes of gasoline and burnt rubber filled the air. When I glanced down, I saw why. Malene had inked two tire marks into the asphalt.
“You go, girl,” I murmured.
From the street I could hear Lady barking. She’d probably heard Malene doing wheelies and got excited.
As soon as I made it inside my door, Lady threw herself at me, pawing at my legs for dinner.
“I’m so hungry, Clem. I still haven’t figured out how to open the fridge.”
“Thank goodness for us all.” I dropped my purse and headed into the kitchen to pour up a bowl of dog bites for her. “I always have chocolate in there. You know that chocolate kills dogs, right?”
“But I bet it tastes so good going down.”
“That’s not what you’re supposed to say.” I dropped a scoop of food into her bowl. “Enjoy.”
Before I was out of the way, Lady had thrown herself on the food. She ate as if she hadn’t seen kibble in days. Sheesh. You’d think I never fed her.
Just as I opened my mouth to say as much, my phone rang. I pulled it from my purse.
The nameJohnflared on the screen. My stomach did a little flip and a flop.
“Hello?” I said, trying to sound all coy-like.
“Clementine, I’m calling to see how you’re doing.”
John—I mean, Rufus (which was his real name)—was Peachwood’s unofficial spell hunter.
Needless to say, our relationship was complicated. Only because I made it so. You see, a few years ago Rufus had attempted to steal my magic. At the time he had been pure evil. I narrowly escaped his clutches and found myself haunted by the memory ever since.
Well, as my luck went, several weeks ago Rufus appeared outside of Peachwood, his memory plain-old zapped out of him. He didn’t know who he was. He didn’t know how he’d arrived in Peachwood. All Rufus knew was that he needed a memory spell so that he could remember who he had been.
And I had that spell hidden in my bathroom cabinet under the sink.
