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“Yes, I’m sorry for your loss. I truly am,” Gavin said. “Esmerelda here told me all about what happened.”

“Gavin and I were wrapping up a few loose ends with the Savinos,” Ez said.

Gavin placed a hand on his chest. “It is I who should be thanking you. The Savinos were a thorn in our side for far too long. We should have dealt with them sooner. I’m glad, for the benefit of all vampires, witches, wizards . . . and humans, the Savinos are no longer among us. You have done the world a great service. I’m sorry it came at such a price. You have my condolences.”

He turned his attention to Esmerelda. He bowed his head. “Ms. Honeydew, it was a pleasure as always.”

“I’m sorry for the unpleasantries,” Ez said.

“Water under the bridge,” Gavin said as he left. He stopped and turned around. “Oh, one more thing. Since you’re here, Ms. Primrose, I was hoping you would confirm something for me. Your dealings with the Savinos—was it truly a simple business dispute and nothing more?”

Alice glared at Gavin from under the brim of her hat. Her mind was burdened by the thought that he knew she had the spell. A bead of sweat rolled down her back. She gulped.

“They were trying to run us out of business,” Oliver said. “They didn’t like Alice making wine and wanted to extort us.”

“They weren’t seeking something else?” Gavin asked as his eyebrows narrowed. “They didn’t find anything of importance, did they?”

Does he know about the spell?

Alice couldn’t tell if he was being inquisitive or threatening. She took a gulp and pulled back her shoulders. “It was a business dispute over wine brands. Nothing more. They found nothing.”

“Ah,” Gavin said with a smile. He nodded. “Of course, a business dispute. They were very ambitious when it came to business. Enjoy your evening. Happy holidays.” Gavin turned and left.

Alice let out a sigh of relief.

“You lot, follow me,” Ez said. “Now!” She stormed off through the crowd.

The patrons easily parted as the woman with the green and red dress worked her way through the crowd toward the back.

Carol shot a discerning glance at Oliver before following Ez.

“What?” Oliver asked as he followed Carol. “It’s not like you weren’t thinking of doing the same thing.”

“If it makes you feel any better, he beat me to it,” Alice chimed in.

“Of course I was thinking it,” Carol said. “He beat me to it as well.”

The group followed Ez through the crowd and back behind the bar. They traveled down the same hallway as earlier, but made a sharp turn into Ez’s office instead of going to the library. One by one, they filed in, with the curious golden retriever the last to enter.

Esmerelda Honeydew slammed the door shut, causing Alice to jolt. She had seen Ez angry before, but never at her. Ez turned around to face the four of them.

“You better start talking right now. How can I explain to my patrons the reason for non-magick users and a dog being allowed in my bar and attacking my customers?” Ez screamed.

Alice gulped. She scanned the room for any place to hide, but Ez kept a clean office. A spotless wood desk with drawers on either side to Alice’s backside. A green couch along the wall and a dark wood bookshelf next to the door filled with her current reads. The force of the door slamming had knocked a few books off the shelf and onto the floor. Alice gave a thought to snapping her fingers and returning them, but she thought it best to leave any magick use out of the conversation for now.

“Well, you see—” Alice started.

“We’ve made contact with Hugo,” Carol interrupted.

“What?” Ez asked. “You were able to contact him? Did he not want to come back?”

“The opposite, actually,” Alice interjected. “He’s trapped. He’s trapped in a purgatory. Someone . . . orsomething. . . is keeping him there. I can’t pull him out. They’re doing things to him. They’re torturing or turning him or I don’t know what.”

“You never mentioned torture,” Carol said, turning to Alice.

Alice returned a halfhearted smile to comfort Carol. “It’s a different torture. He mentioned Madeline Sinclair.”

“The founder of our town?” Oliver asked.