But she’d had the right to go her own way. She’d been right to go her own way. And she wasn’t going back now just because Mia was jittery over some atmospheric hitch.

Even if Mia was right and trouble was coming, it would be dealt with through the rules and obligations of the law, and not with spellbinding.

She had put away her childish things, the toys and the tools she had no further interest in. That had been sensible, mature. When people looked at her now, they saw Ripley Todd, deputy, a dependable, responsible woman who did her job; they didn’t see some flaky island priestess who would brew them a potion to beef up their sex lives.

Irritated because even her thoughts sounded defensive and nasty, she gathered up her dishes and took them into the kitchen. There was just enough guilt still pricking at her to oblige her to rinse the dishes, load them in the dishwasher, scrub out the sink.

That, she decided, paid her debt.

She could hear the voices, all female, flowing back from the front of the store where the book club gathered. She could smell the incense Mia lit, a scent for protection. Ripley snuck out the back. A fleet of steam-rollers couldn’t have pushed her forward and into that noisy clutch of women now.

Just outside the back door she saw the fat black candle burning, a charm to repel evil. She would have sneered at it, but her gaze was drawn up.

The waning globe of the moon was shrouded in a thin and bloody mist.

Unable to work up that sneer, she jammed her hands in her jacket pockets and stared down at her own boots as she walked to her car.

When the last of the book club members were out the door, Mia flipped the locks. Nell was already clearing plates and napkins while Lulu closed the register.

“That was fun!” Stoneware rang gaily as Nell stacked coffee cups. “And so interesting. I’ve never discussed a book that way. Whenever I read one, I just think, well, I liked it or I didn’t, but I never talked about why. And I promise to read next month’s selection so I’ll have something to contribute.”

“I’ll see to the dishes, Nell. You must be tired.”

“I’m not.” Nell lifted a loaded tray. “There was so much energy in here tonight. I feel like I just lapped it up.”

“Isn’t Zack waiting for you?”

“Oh, not tonight. I told him I was going to crash the party.”

Lulu waited until Nell was upstairs. “What’s wrong?” she asked Mia.