The two young women were still around. They stood chatting up a suave CEO-type who outdid Corvette guy in terms of expensive clothing and cars. I knew both thanks to their proximity, and the Mercedes AMG car key he casually played with, while his attention traveled from the beauties in front of him to his male competition. The one thing that was unusual about these men was the fact that they’d come here in person instead of sending a minion. Unless they’d come here to impress the girls.
Reina and I bypassed them and after what seemed like an eternity, I found myself in the booth that had beckoned me. My hot flash had subsided, which made it easier to appear unexcited while I perused the offerings. “All these things belonged to my mamma,” the stallholder, a rake-thin woman with an untidy low bun and expensive clothes made to look shabby, said. To a novice, she must seem like the kind of person who’d sell her wares way below their real value. To a seasoned buyer like me, her outfit screamed that she’d hiked up prices as far as she thought she’d get away with.
I checked out a silver creamer in the shape of a cow.
“That’s real silver, all the way from England. A gift for Gramma and Poppa, when they wed in 1930,” she gushed.
I made a non-committal noise and took out my jeweler’s loupe. I didn’t need it to know that the creamer was only silver-plated, factory made somewhere in Asia, and younger than me. It had the hoped for result though, because she snatched it away from me, checked the price tag, and said, “I think there’s a mistake with the price.”
I nudged Reina, who picked up a pair of fire-pokers and frowned at the price tag.
When I looked away, I noticed Candice. She inspected a letter opener in the shape of a dagger at the next stall. Either she hadn’t spotted me, or she remembered exactly how the haggling game was played at these fairs. Anyway, she ignored me and Reina.
It took us less than ten minutes to have unnerved the stallholder. I pretend to spot the one item I was here for, a butterfly Tiffany lamp with one shard of glass missing. When I touched it, Ange’s face appeared in my mind. This lamp was meant for her.
The price tag showed a laughably low $80, but as I’d expected, the woman was greedy, but not knowledgeable and she’d been fooled by the damage. She moistened her lips as she saw me reach for my jeweler’s loupe again.
“I’ll give you $60, in cash,” I said.
“Done.” She held out her hand, and I handed her the money.
“If you give me bubble wrap and tape, and a bag, I’ll do the rest myself,” I said. “Then you can concentrate on your other customers.”
I motioned to the young couple who’d wandered over just before I made my low offer. They were most likely the reason she’d accepted in a flash. She wanted to get rid of me before others caught on that in her stall, nothing that glittered was gold. Well, apart from the lamp now in my possession.
I debated with myself if I should stay a little, to see that she didn’t rip off customers. Then again, it wasn’t really my business. At least her merchandise wouldn’t bankrupt anyone.
While Reina carried the bag with my purchase, I sent out my mind. I felt the occasional stray tingle that told me I should take a proper look tomorrow, but nothing so strong it pulled me in straight away.
Harper met us halfway down the next aisle. She peered at the bag. “You too?”
“That’s for Ange, not me,” Reina said.
“Good, because we need to get her out of here within the next quarter of an hour. I made an appointment for us.” Harper turned around and waved. “We’re over here.”
It took Ange a couple of minutes to arrive, thanks to a fight between two would-be buyers who blocked her path.
“Can’t you do something?” Reina whispered to me.
I scanned the two opponents. They were busy lobbing insults but hadn’t reached the fisticuffs stage. On the other hand, arguments tended to spread like a rash, with a crowd around them.
I recited a silent spell in my head and pictured the two angry men singing karaoke together instead of shouting, taking a bow, and hugging it out. Purple sparkles swirled around them.
The shouting stopped. I took a deep breath. Reina squeezed my trembling hand. I had expended a lot of mental energy, maybe too much.
“Bring it in, man,” one of the guys said, and, like in my mental picture, they hugged. To my relief they’d skipped the singing part, at least for now.
“That went from brawl to bro pretty fast,” Ange said, when she finally squeezed past them.
I shrugged. “We got you something. Ready to leave before anything happens to this beauty?” I pointed at the bag that Reina still carried.
“Really? What are we waiting for then?” Ange marched ahead to the exit.
“Where are you going?” Harper asked her as we traipsed after her.
“Our hotel.” Ange turned and took the bag. “I want to see what Bex’s magic has conjured up.”
“We’ll drop it off at the hotel, but you’ll have to open it later,” Harper said. “Unless you want to miss out on the crazy coven becoming the cozy coven.” She winked.
