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Niko paused in Bethany’s foyer and marveled at all the Wiccan artwork. He felt like he’d just stepped into an art gallery that was dedicated to the witches of Befana Bay. On one wall, there was an ornately carved broomstick that looked a lot like the ones Indigo sold in her store, only this one seemed older, more original. Along with the broomstick, there were bundles of herbs, likely hung for protection.

On the other wall, there were framed photographs of Befana Bay going back at least a hundred years. She’d chosen to showcase not only her daughter and granddaughters, but also plenty of the other residents in Befana Bay. His favorite was a black-and-white photo of a coven meeting on paddle boards. Each of the witches were dressed in a black robe and a black witch’s hat. Right in the middle of the photo, there was an orca breeching the water, but none of the witches were looking at it. Instead, they all had their arms raised as if they were praying to a goddess. It was the type of photo that made him want to be a part of the community.

“This way, Mr. Morales,” Bethany Befana said, slipping her arm through his to guide him into the sitting room.

Much like the foyer, the room was dedicated to all things witches. A large pentagram hung over the old fireplace mantle, and an assortment of candles and crystals and herbs were displayed on the hearth.

But the rest of the room just had comfortable looking couches and chairs along with a lovely dahlia-patterned rug.

“Your home is lovely, Bethany,” he said.

“Thank you. I take great pride in this house and the history it holds,” she said.

“I can see that.”

“Have a seat. I’ll get us some tea.” Bethany gestured to the love seat, where Indigo had already perched on one end.

Her granddaughter glared at her.

Niko would have laughed if the situation hadn’t been so tense already. Instead, he swallowed the impulse and took a seat next to Indigo. Before he could even open his mouth, she started the conversation for him.

“So. You read my file,” she said. It was a statement. Not a question.

“Actually, no,” he said, realizing he still hadn’t looked her up in the database.

She let out a disbelieving huff. “You’re saying you don’t know anything about my past?”

“I’m not saying that,” he said carefully, trying to figure out how to best navigate this conversation. The case he was working on was confidential. Technically, he wasn’t supposed to discuss it with anyone except his superiors. “I got assigned a new case today,” he hedged. “When I was researching it, an old case popped up that involved you. I’ve read that casefile, but I didn’t look up whatever they’ve collected on you personally.”

“You found Tricia’s cold case,” she said flatly.

“I did. Do you want to tell me about it?”

“Do I want to?” She snorted. “Do you want to tell me why that case is related to your current one?”

“Yes,” he said honestly. “Though I’m not supposed to give specifics. I can say that the new case mirrors Tricia’s in a lot of ways.”

Her face paled and then she turned slightly green as she slumped back against the couch cushions. “Someone was compelled and died as a result?”

“A woman was compelled, and she almost died, but thankfully she was saved before it came to that.” It was probably more than he should say, but he had a feeling he was going to need Indigo if he wanted to solve this case.

Obvious relief washed over her features. But her voice still cracked when she asked, “What happened?”

“I only have the written report so far. The victim’s family refused my call, so I haven’t talked to her yet. I was doing my research when I stumbled on Tricia’s case. I wanted to talk to you about it first before I head out to the hospital to try again and see what I can find out from the victim.”

“Is it the woman who was spelled out in front of my store?” she asked.

“No. Are you saying she was compelled?” he asked, his eyebrows raised.

She nodded.

“So we have two incidents of women being compelled within the same week,” he said aloud.

Indigo suddenly sat up and met his gaze head on as she asked, “Has the spell been broken?”

“No, not that I know of.”

“That’s likely why she won’t talk to you or anyone else. I would be surprised if she wasn’t compelled to never speak about the one who spelled her.” She sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly as she added, “If you need me to help, I can break compulsion spells. It’s… let’s just say it’s one of my gifts.”

His initial reaction was to say no. Absolutely not. He’d seen what it had done to her when she’d reversed the spell on that woman in the street. It wasn’t something he was eager to witness again. However, he knew that breaking compulsion spells without knowing who cast them was extremely difficult. If she could help the victim, how could he say no? “I would appreciate that.”

Indigo worried the hem of her shirt as she watched her grandmother set the tea tray on the coffee table.

Bethany poured the tea and said, “There’s shortbread, too. Help yourself.”

Neither Niko nor Indigo indulged in the cookies, but Indigo did take one of the cups of tea.

Niko waited until she sipped her tea before saying, “I think it’s your turn.”

“I know. I’m just trying to summon the courage.” She gave him a weak smile. After sipping more of her tea, she said, “I created the compulsion spell.”

He stared at her, speechless.

“Yeah, that’s the response I expected.” She pressed her lips together for a moment, closed her eyes, and said, “Tricia was my best friend. We shared an apartment and were both getting our degrees in practical magic. We did everything together, and that included our senior project.”

“You created the compulsion spell for your senior project?” There was a knot in Niko’s stomach as he waited for her to continue.

“Yes, but by accident. The spell was supposed to be one that stored magic in a tattoo.” She rubbed at her forearm, and he noticed that the tattoo that had shown up when she helped that woman outside of her shop was now gone again. “Then once the magic was concentrated in the tattoo, I could call on it for spells without having to do incantations or involved coven circles or herb offerings. You know, speed up the process. I imagined using the magic mostly for chores or as a third hand when my hands were full. You know, practical stuff.”

“I gather it didn’t go as planned,” he said.

“Not at all. Tricia and I did the spell together because we needed combined power to cast it. We thought it worked, but when I tried to call on the magic in my tattoo to clean the fireplace, the magic actually compelled Tricia to do it. She was in a scary trance, and I immediately reversed the spell. It knocked me out for two days.”

“It even drained her tattoos of the magic,” Bethany said softly from where she was perched on the edge of an armchair.

“I noticed they seem to come and go,” Niko said.

Indigo drained the rest of her tea and put the cup down. “They faded after I reversed the spell that day with Tricia. They came back for the first time the other day when I helped that woman.” She glanced down at her tattoo-free arms. “They faded again not long after that.”

“So an echo of the spell is still with you?” Niko guessed.

“Maybe.” She shrugged. “I really don’t know. After we realized we’d cast a compulsion spell, we trashed the experiment and never tried again.”

“Befana witches don’t mess around with illegal magic,” Bethany said with a sniff.

“At least not knowingly.” Indigo looked a little dejected as she slumped back into the chair.

Niko knew he should be skeptical of that claim. No witch he’d ever known would admit to using forbidden magic. At least not the ones who hadn’t already dove head-first into dark magic. But still, he believed Indigo. She gave off an air of honesty that he couldn’t ignore. “So what happened after that? What happened to Tricia?”

Indigo’s eyes misted with tears, but she quickly blinked them back. “I don’t actually know what happened with Tricia. You probably know more than I do if you were able to read her case file. After we realized we’d created an illegal spell, we told our faculty adviser what happened with our attempt and asked for more time to create something else. He granted us a few more weeks.”

“Was Tricia on board with burying the compulsion spell?” Niko asked, trying to get a read on what went wrong.

“What? Of course, she was. We both agreed that it was a spell that should never see the light of day again.” Indigo glanced at her grandmother and then grimaced.

“What was that look for?” he asked.

Bethany was still looking at her granddaughter when she said, “I have always thought that Tricia decided to revisit that spell and that’s how she ended up cursed. I just don’t know who else was involved. It takes two to tango with that one.”

“Tricia wouldn’t have done that,” Indigo insisted. “I knew her better than anyone… besides Paul.”

“Paul? The a-hole who tried to arrest you?” Niko was still annoyed by the state investigator.

“Yes, he was her brother,” Indigo said with a sigh. “Well, half brother. They have different dads, but they were both raised by their mom. With no fathers in the picture, they were pretty close.”

“And he was Indigo’s fiancé,” Bethany offered.

“Grandma!” Indigo stood, staring down at the matriarch.

“I know you don’t like thinking about it, honey, but if Niko is going to be able to help, he should have all the facts,” she said calmly.

“Your ex-fiancé was trying to arrest you?” Niko asked and immediately regretted it when Indigo’s features hardened. “Sorry. Seems like he’s holding onto a serious grudge.”

Indigo let out a humorless laugh. “You could say that. He blames me for Tricia’s death. Needless to say, we don’t really care for each other these days.”

“He blames you because you two created the spell together?” Niko asked.

“No, he thinks I spelled her and that’s why I was investigated,” she said with a deep sadness in her tone. “And why I was asked to leave school before I graduated.”

He sat with that for a second before responding. “I know you were never arrested. Why?”

She huffed out a laugh. “Airtight alibi. The day Tricia was spelled, I was asked to cover for the manager at the yoga studio where I worked. It was my normal day off, but I was there from morning until nearly 11:00 p.m. that night. I had dozens of eyewitnesses come forward to confirm I was there, so they really had nothing to go on.”

“And still Paul thinks our Indigo had something to do with it,” Bethany said with a sneer of disgust. “He turned out to be a giant disappointment.”

“That’s an understatement,” Indigo said softly. “And now he’s back trying to blame me for this curse. The irony is that I stay away from any and all experimental magic now. I spend my day doing simple charms on my brooms and leave everything else to the rest of the witches of Befana Bay.”

Niko felt a ball of rage form in his gut as he mulled over everything Indigo had said. He wanted to jump up off the love seat, go find Paul, and start rearranging his body parts. Conducting an investigation was one thing, but ignoring evidence in favor of a half-baked theory was despicable. A good investigator had to go where the clues took them, not try to twist the clues to fit a narrative. He clenched his fists when he thought of a childhood friend named Casey. She hadn’t deserved to be targeted either. But because she had no one to stand up for her, she’d died in a Magical Task Force prison before he’d found a way to prove her innocence.

He turned his attention to Indigo. “If Paul comes around you again for any reason, I want you to call me ASAP. Understand?”

“Thank you, Niko,” she said kindly. “But I don’t need a babysitter. I can take care of myself.”

“I’m sure you can,” he said with a nod. “However, humor me. We can all use a little help every now and again.” Niko stood and rocked back on his heels. “I should go.”

Indigo stared at her feet and then looked up and said, “Thank you for believing in me.”

He brushed a lock of hair behind her ear and smiled down at her. “Always.”

They both walked out onto Bethany’s porch. And when Indigo indicated she’d be walking home, Niko said, “Not without me.”

Her jaw tensed and he was sure she was going to argue, but as she glanced down the darkened street, she let out a breath and said, “Fine. But don’t get any ideas.”

Oh, he had ideas, but he pushed them aside as he gave Indigo a friendly smile and happily escorted her home.