Part 8 (1/2)

”Okay, Jasper. Here we go!”

Oh, joy. She tilted the suitcase so it would roll, which meant he lost his footing. He scrambled to keep upright as they b.u.mped over the doorsill and sailed down the hall.

When they got to the stairs, she b.u.mped him down a couple of steps and then must have taken pity on him, because she picked up the suitcase and carried it the rest of the way.

”I hope you appreciate this, Jasper.” She was puffing by the time they reached the street. ”And I have to say, you're heavier than you look.”

That's because muscle weighs more than fat. Of all the things he missed about being a man, being able to talk back ranked right near the top. Being able to walk along the street instead of being rolled down an uneven sidewalk in a hot pink suitcase was up in the top ten, too. By the time the air coming through the zipper became decidedly warmer and he could smell coffee, he calculated that his eyeb.a.l.l.s had been jolted out of their sockets.

He heard Anica's voice laced with frustration, and then a door closed and the suitcase was unzipped. The fluorescent lights temporarily blinded him. He was aware of footsteps walking away, and then a door opened and closed. As his eyes adjusted he found himself alone in a storeroom surrounded by floor-to-ceiling shelves packed with boxes.

Most of the boxes had been slit open and the contents were spilling out onto the floor. It seemed like a strange and wasteful way to handle inventory. When he crawled out of the suitcase to nose around, the spilled sugar made the footing gritty and unpleasant.

Something wasn't right. Walking across the grit to the door leading into the coffee shop, he could hear Anica and Lily on the other side.

Lily sounded worried. ”You're sure no money is missing?”

”There was nothing to steal,” Anica said. ”I'd taken the money out of the cash register when I closed up yesterday afternoon.”

”You need to call the police.”

”There was no sign of forced entry, Lily.”

”Then it could be one of your employees.”

”You know what caused it as much as I do. All the evidence you need is spray-painted on the mirror.”

Jasper couldn't stand the suspense. By wedging his paw under the door and applying some pressure to the opposite side, he could feel the latch start to give. Good thing he'd worked out at the gym every day. Pulling harder, he tripped the latch. Once the door was cracked he had no trouble pus.h.i.+ng his way through it.

Instead of being covered with grit, the floor on the other side was gooey. He picked up his paws in distaste. But he wanted to see the mirror, the one that was fastened to the wall behind the counter. Hoping Anica and Lily didn't notice him, he crept along the baseboard until he was on the other side of the shop, but he was still too low to get a good look at the mirror. Shortness sucked.

He stopped next to his table, the one he'd staked out when he used to come into Wicked Brew. He'd thought it was such a clever name for a coffee shop when he'd first heard it. Now the name jangled in his brain like a fire alarm.

Jumping up on the table, he got his first good look at the trashed coffee shop. Coffee beans, ground coffee, and chocolate syrup coated the counter and a good part of the floor. Napkins had been shredded and added to the mix, until it looked like someone had intended to tar and feather the place.

He gazed at the message sprayed in whipped cream on the mirror. Whoever had written it had a talent for calligraphy and an ear for rhyme.

SHOP UNGUARDED, HAPPINESS FOUND. WE CAME IN AND MESSED AROUND!.

Lily had her back to Jasper as she gazed at the mirror, hands on her hips, legs braced apart. ”You think this is the work of teenage fairies, don't you?”

Jasper had a tough time picturing gay teenagers vandalizing a coffee shop.

”I'm sure it is.” Anica's posture mirrored Lily's. Looking at their body language no one would doubt they were sisters, despite one being blond and the other brunette. ”Those magical kids have too much energy and too much time on their hands. A coffee shop run by a witch who seems to have forgotten to activate her protection spell would have been irresistible to them.”

Oh, that kind of fairy. Jasper was even more alarmed. Just when he was beginning to adjust to the presence of witches, he was slapped with the knowledge that fairies also were real and capable of wrecking a midtown Chicago coffee shop.

”Messy little b.u.g.g.e.rs,” Lily said. ”I wish they'd made themselves a few cups of espresso and left. Why did they have to do all this?”

”Because it was fun. I don't think they're malicious, really. They probably a.s.sumed I could put it back together in no time.”

”This isn't an instant fix, not even using a wand. I think they slit every single box in the storeroom.”

Anica nodded. ”Pretty much. The thing is, either I close down for the day . . . or longer, considering I'll have to reorder supplies. Or, if you'll-”

”Oh, Anica.”

”Okay, never mind.”

Lily groaned. ”I'll do it, but you know what happens to me after a vigorous magical workout.”

”Can't you take a sleeping potion or something?” ”I've tried that and nothing works. I think I'm essentially allergic to wand magic. My system goes on tilt and that's the end of sleep for at least twelve hours.”

”Then forget I asked.”

”No, no. I can't leave you in this condition.” Reaching over her shoulder she pulled her wand out of a pocket in her backpack as if unsheathing a sword. ”Since you can't put a protective s.h.i.+eld around yourself, you might want to step outside. I'd s.h.i.+eld you, but that'll take more time and energy.”

Yikes! Don't forget the cat! Jasper let out a plaintive yowl.

Both sisters spun toward him.

”Jasper, you're supposed to be in the storeroom.” Anica walked over, her shoes making sucking noises in the glop.

”Just take him outside with you,” Lily said. ”That way I can handle the storeroom as soon as I'm finished here.”

”Thanks, Lil.” Anica picked up Jasper, made her way to the front door, and unlocked it. ”Oh, and don't forget to fog the windows before you start.”

”Don't I always fog the windows?”

”No. There was that time you had the wild party in the department store window, and-”

”Anica.”

”What?”

”Let's remember why we're dealing with this, shall we?”

”You're right. Sorry.” Anica tucked Jasper inside the folds of her black cape and stepped into the cold morning air.

”I don't know which is worse,” she muttered, apparently to Jasper since he was the only one who could hear her. ”Being trashed by a roving band of teenage fairies looking for thrills, or being obligated to my sister. d.a.m.n it to Hades, why did I have to cast that spell?”

Jasper vowed he was not going to feel sorry for her. He was absolutely not. Never, ever. Except . . . for now.

Chapter 8.

Anica deeply appreciated what Lily had done for her. She truly did. But she paid for it by listening to her sister gloat for at least an hour afterward. Lily had to gloat subtly, because Anica had opened the shop on schedule and was busy serving customers, one of whom was her sister, taking full advantage of the free espresso Anica offered.