Trixie and my father had been busy refilling the display trays from the baking ones. They both paused and looked at Eleanor and the sheriff when I posed my question. I could tell that it had never entered their minds, either. We were so used to living together as one big family that we couldn't imagine being split up.

  "Oh, well... " Eleanor blushed.

  I could see Trixie trying to read her mind. She couldn't, really. She wasn't clairvoyant or anything—in fact, of all the time I'd spent on Heavenly Haven, I wasn't sure I'd met anyone who was truly clairvoyant. Anastasia Peacock had come close. She could see the future at times and sometimes it seemed as though she could read minds, but I didn't really think she could. Not in the traditional sense, at least.

  Sheriff Knoxx and Eleanor exchanged a look and she finally said, "I'm going to move in with Zane after the wedding."

  My father remained calm but Trixie grew visibly shaken. They hadn't been separated in forty-odd years.

  "That's... lovely," Trixie said. Her face was turning purple. "Excuse me a moment, I need to check on my O-negative frosting." She ran into the back, wiping a tear from her eye as she went.

  Eleanor sighed. "I'd better go talk to her. It's a good thing we're in a lull at the moment." She followed Trixie into the back and left Sheriff Knoxx alone with me and my dad.

  "Don't worry," my father told him, "Trixie will get over it."

  Sheriff Knoxx nodded and opened the box Eleanor had given him. He shoved a peanut butter dream bar into his mouth whole and swallowed it in two gulps. Then he went for another one.

  His radio crackled. "Sheriff Knoxx, this is Otis. Otis Winken."

  Sheriff Knoxx let out an audible sigh and picked up his radio.

  "Go ahead, Otis. Over."

  "Uh, Tadpole wanted me to tell you that he's sorry. Over."

  Sheriff Knoxx grabbed another peanut butter dream bar and took a giant bite. "Tell him it's all right, Otis. I understand. It's only natural that he should mistake my shoe laces for a snake. It could happen to anyone. Over."

  There was a moment of silence and then Otis came back over the radio. "Tadpole says thank you for being so understanding. He's still learning."

  "Okay, Otis. Over and out."

  "Over and out."

  Sheriff Knoxx held his box out to me. It was half empty now. "Do you think I could get a refill before I go?"

  "Sure," I said, smiling and taking the box from him. I filled it until it almost couldn't shut and handed it back. There was a yelp from the back room followed by the sound of baking pans being thrown around.

  Trixie yelled, "O-negative is too a type of frosting!"

  My dad looked warily at the door to the back. "I better check on them," he said and hurried back there.

  "I'd better go." Sheriff Knoxx said but didn't actually move. "There was something I wanted to ask you about, Ava. That book you asked me about, Forgotten Spells and Lineages, you didn't happen to borrow it from the evidence room. Did you?"

  The question was so straightforward that for a moment I didn't know what to say. "What would make you think that?"

  "It seems to be moving around the station. On its own. I thought maybe it was having some help, only no one wants to own up to it."

  "Maybe it's haunted?" I offered, no idea whether books could be haunted or not.

  His eyes seemed to brighten. "Good point. I'll contact Amanda Hollyberry. Maybe she can check it out for me."

  He turned to leave, satisfied, just as Colt came in. He looked haggard. His hair was disheveled. His clothes were rumpled. Normally, Colt dressed as though he'd stepped out of the pages of a magazine

  "Coming into the station later?" the sheriff asked him.

  "What for?" Colt snapped "There haven't been any more break-ins. And even if there were, it's not as though I could do anything about it."

  "What do you mean?" the sheriff asked.

  "Nothing. I need to talk to Ava." He glared at me from across the room.

  Uh oh. He knew I'd gone to see Dean. And he was mad. Sheriff Knoxx must have sensed the approaching storm and high-tailed it out of there. The second he was gone, Colt rounded on me.

  "Have you lost your mind?" he asked.

  "According to a few people who know me..."

  "Don't make jokes, Ava. Not now. Do you have any idea what you've done? How could you go to see my boss and not tell me? It was bad enough you interrogated my mother."

  "Colt, I'm sorry, but I didn't know what else to do. You wouldn't listen."

  "Yeah, and now I know why. You're a crazy person."

  The swing door to the back opened a few inches and three sets of eyes peered out at us with curiosity. I shot them a warning look, and they immediately retreated into the back once more.

  "Listen to me. I was right. Dean Lampton has been hiding things from you. Your father wasn't just working on any old assignment. He was an undercover agent."

  Colt's face paled for a moment. "Dean Lampton told you that?" I nodded. "Did he also tell you that by revealing that to you, he was revealing top secret information? Information he felt you got out of him using threats."

  "He said I threatened him?" I squealed, outraged. "That's a total lie. Colt. He threatened me. That man is scary."

  "He's also my boss, Ava."

  "Yeah, well, he shouldn't be."

  "Well, you should be happy to know that your wish came true then."

  "What do you mean?"

  "Dean Lampton fired me."

  My mouth hung open like a dog with his head out the window.

  "H-he fired you?"

  Colt nodded. His face was flushed.

  "He can't do that."

  "He can and he did."

  "But... why?"

  "Funny thing, Ava. The head of the Council on Magic and Human Affairs doesn't seem to like it when girlfriends of agents swing by to interrogate him and make threats."

  "I didn't threaten him!"

  "But you did go see him."

  Tears began to well in my eyes. What had I done? Had I just made a huge mistake?

  "Yes," I said, "but Colt..."

  "No, Ava. No more 'buts.' I'm through with this. With you. You can't just go around doing what you want when you want. It doesn't work that way. There are rules that need to be followed, and there are consequences for not following them."

  "But... I love you."

  The tension on Colt's face loosened for a moment. He looked sad. I wanted to wrap my arms around him. I'd bake him a million cookies if I thought it would help.

  "I love you, too, Ava. But that's just not enough."

  * * *

  1 6

  * * *

  I left the bakery early and sat in my room, crying. This was all my fault.

  I wasn't sure whether word had spread through Sweetland Cove's gossip mill—who would care about my love life besides me? —or if Aunt Eleanor had called Lucy, but early in the evening she showed up at my house toting a French vanilla latte with a shot of calming extract I'd given her for Christmas.

  "What's up?" Lucy asked, her usual cheery self.

  "Nothing. Go away."

  She shoved the latte into my hands. "Drink it," she commanded.

  Snowball was curled at my feet. "Drink it, Mama," she echoed. I sighed and took a sip. Almost immediately, the tears began to slow. Three sips later, and I was actually smiling.

  "Now tell me everything. Is it true? Did you and Colt really break up?"

  I leaned back on my bed and covered my face with my pillow. "I interrogated his boss," I moaned.

  "What? You have pillow voice right now. I can't hear anything you say."

  I lifted the pillow. "I interrogated his boss."

  Lucy's eyes widened. "Dean Lampton?"

  I nodded. "And I may have... kinda sorta... made Colt's mom cry."

  Lucy's eyes turned to saucers. "You made your boyfriend's mom cry?"

  "It was an accident."

  "What were you doing? Peeling onions?"

  "I was sort of asking about her husband's death. Colt's dad." Lucy looked at me cross-eyed. "In my defense, she had important information. So did Dean Lampton. It's not my fault he fired Colt."

  "You actually got Colt fired? No wonder he's mad. If I were him, I'd break up with you, too."

  I threw my pillow at her.

  "We only had one date," I told her. "It's not a big deal."

  "Yeah, right. Unless you count all those stakeouts in his car. All those investigations you made together. If you added all those up, you've had, like, a thousand and one dates."

  "Is this supposed to be making me feel better?"

  "Hey, Trixie only gave me a few general bits of information. She didn't get into the nitty gritty. I had no idea what I was stepping into here."

  Aha! So, it was Trixie who'd called her.

  "I want to be alone."

  "You want to sulk."

  "Yes. That, too."

  "Ava, it's not too late to fix this."

  "How?"

  "Colt cares about you. Just talk to him. Make him understand why you did what you did." She paused. "Why did you do those things?"

  "Because..." I was that close to telling Lucy about Melbourne. I'd already told Colt though and look what had happened. I'd made a mess of things. There was a tap on my window. Lucy and I turned toward it but there was nothing there.

  "What was that?" Lucy asked.

  I shrugged. "Probably just the wind. I'm on the second floor. What else could it be?"

  "True."

  But then I saw two eyes staring at me through the darkness. I jumped out of bed.

  "What's wrong?" Lucy asked, turning to look behind her, where my eyes were fixed.

  "Nothing. I just realized how late it is." I grabbed my phone off the end table. "Look! It's almost nine."

  Lucy was looking at me like I had mustard smeared across my face. "So?"

  "So, you should get home. I... I need to rest. I want to think over what you said." I practically shoved her out my door.

  "Are you sure you're all right?" she asked.

  "Yep. Right as rain."

  "I've never understood that expression. How is rain right?"

  "Google it and let me know what you find. Tomorrow. For tonight, I need my beauty sleep. And so do you."

  "What does that mean? Are you saying I look tired?" Lucy wasn't vain, exactly, just conscious of her looks. I felt guilty for playing into that but had no choice.

  "No, those bags under your eyes are perfectly natural. Anyone could get them. Even someone your age."

  "I'm only twenty-three," she said.

  "Yeah, I know. That's practically halfway to thirty."

  "You're saying I'm old? You're the same age as me."

  "Not yet. But I will be in a couple of months. For now, at least, I still have my looks." I squinted at her, scrunching my whole face up into a tight little ball. "Are you sure those bags are normal? They look kind of gray. Maybe it's just the crow's feet throwing me off."

  "Crow's feet!" Lucy screamed.

  That finally did the trick. She dashed out the front door, declaring that she had to get a full eight hours sleep tonight. Maybe even nine or ten. When she found out the truth, I was going to owe her big for scaring her like that.

  I went back to my room. Melbourne was already inside, waiting for me.

  "I thought she'd never leave," he said. "Lucy always did like to talk. I don't suppose you know how Coffee Cove is doing without me?"

  "It's fine," I said. "Never been better." His mouth thinned but otherwise he remained expressionless. I stood with my arms folded across my chest, tapping my foot on the floor.

  "Something wrong?" Melbourne asked.

  "You scared the bejeezus out of me! That's what's wrong!"

  "I don't have another way to see you except to show up. I can't speak to you when others are around. I explained that."

  "Yeah, but you can trust Lucy. You know that."

  "Lucy would never harm a fly, but she likes to gossip."

  My lips were dry. I tried wetting them but my mouth was even drier. "Melbourne, I need to tell you something."

  "Did you get my book?" he asked hopefully.

  "No."

  "Ava, it's of dire importance that I have it."

  "Well, then, maybe you should have told me where you hid it. I went to your house but couldn't find it anywhere."

  "Yes, you see, the thing is... I don't quite remember."

  "You don't remember?!"

  "No. I was in a hurry to get away from Vlaski before he came for me. I knew I had to put it somewhere no one else would find it..." He shrugged.

  "Do you remember what room it's in at least?"

  "The bedroom," he said, sounding certain.

  "I looked there."

  "Oh. The living room?"

  I sighed. "Melbourne, how am I supposed to find it if you don't even know where it's at? What's so important about this book anyway? It has something to do with the Cult of V, right?"

  "Who told you about them?"

  "Esther Winslet."

  Melbourne's face tensed. "You spoke with Esther?"

  "That's right. I got a better look at Forgotten Spells and Lineages and found your family in there. Who's been updating that book anyway?"

  "I have," Melbourne said softly.

  "Why?"

  "I just didn't want the old families to be forgotten."

  "Esther said you tried to give her the book before you died."

  "I thought it would be safe. That no one would even think to look for it with her. But she refused to take it." Melbourne eyed me suspiciously. "Who else did you talk to?"

  I knew this was coming. I had to tell him. "Colt. I... I told him you were still alive."

  His eyes turned from suspicious to angry. "Why would you do that? I specifically told you not to."

  "Yeah, well, people seem to be forgetting lately that I'm not a trained poodle. I don't do everything that I'm told the second that I'm told."

  "You don't understand. Colt is already in danger. This puts him at even greater risk."

  "Why? Does Vlaski want Colt dead? What does this have to do with his dad or the book?"

  Melbourne was shaking his head. "It's more than just a book, Ava. It's a map of their movements. I've been tracking them for decades. I have photographs. Addresses. In that book, Ava, I have a list of every known member of the gang, from Vlaski all the way down. It's evidence."

  Finally, things were starting to make sense. "So, that book could actually get Vlaski locked up?"

  "Exactly."

  "Why didn't you use it sooner, then?"

  "I had just finished compiling the last piece of evidence I needed when Vlaski showed up. I lied when I told you that I asked him to come to help me with Pennyweather. I'm sorry. I didn't want to scare you. The truth is, Vlaski found me. That day you showed up at my house, he'd just threatened me and everyone I loved if I didn't give him the book."

  "So, you faked your death?"

  "Yes, and I waited until I thought it was safe to come back. But Vlaski knows I'm alive."

  "How?"

  "It's not nearly as easy to fool a vampire as it is a human or a witch. No offense."

  I thought of Lucy. "None taken." My mind was racing now. "So why is Colt in danger? I know Vlaski killed his father. We know about Russell's undercover work, too, but what does any of that have to do with Colt? Colt doesn't know anything about the Cult of V that isn't already out there."

  "It's not as simple as that. Colt's father—"

  The door to my room opened just then. "Ava, did Lucy come by—" Trixie stopped in the doorway, her feet motionless. Her face expressionless. Melbourne and I had been so engrossed in our talk we hadn’t even heard her enter.

  She blinked once, twice, then kept blinking. She finally turned to me. "Am I hallucinating or is Melbourne standing beside you?"

  "You're not hallucinating."

  Her face crumpled, and her eyes began to water.

  "Hello, Trixie," Melbourne said. "I'm back."

  * * *

  1 7

  * * *

  Trixie's knees buckled. Her eyes fluttered. She fell face first toward the floor. Melbourne moved so fast that I didn't even see him until Trixie was already in his arms. He lifted her off the ground and carried her to my bed.

  Part of me wanted to run and get Eleanor. She was probably downstairs and would want to know what was going on. But somehow, I thought Trixie might not want that. If I were her, I'd want a minute to process everything before everyone else started asking questions. I was positive that Trixie would have a few questions of her own.

  "I'll just get some water," I told Melbourne. He nodded silently and held her hand as her eyes opened and tried to focus. "Be right back."

  I hurried downstairs. Snowball darted out in front of me. I almost tripped over her.

  "Has Mama seen Tootsie? Snowball is 'it.' "

  "No, Snowy. Sorry."

  I grabbed a glass from the cupboard and filled it with water, then added a couple of ice cubes. Snowball was watching me. I suddenly realized how quiet it was in the house.

  "Is Eleanor here?" I asked.

  "No. Auntie went to fiancé's house. Auntie says she'll be staying there from now on."

  I'd almost completely forgotten Eleanor's announcement that she was moving out after the wedding. Melbourne either had the best timing showing up right now, or the worst. It depended on Trixie's reaction. I started toward the stairs.

  "Snowball smells vampire," she suddenly said.

  I stopped on the first step. "You can smell vampire?"

  "Sometimes," Snowy said.

  "It depends."

  "On what?"

  Tootsie suddenly zipped by. She turned her head and stuck her tongue out at Snowball, who took off after her.

  "Can't catch Tootsie," Tootsie cried.

  "Oh, yes, Snowball can," my familiar meowed back at her. They zipped out of sight, and I headed back to my room.

  Trixie was sitting up when I came in. Melbourne's hand was caressing her cheek. He quickly pulled away and Trixie blushed. I handed her the water.

  "How do you feel?" I asked.

  She shrugged. "Like I'm dreaming."

  "Would that be a good dream or a bad one?" Melbourne asked.

  She lifted her blue eyes to his.