I looked down at the book which lay open in my lap. “This recipe book?”

“Those aren’t recipes, Willa. That book holds something very important, and now you must protect it.”

Her words made me uneasy. “Huh?”

“Sorry, I couldn’t help you more earlier.” Lavinia wrung her hands together. “The truth is, being a ghost isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. You aren’t trusted with all the information up front. Anyway, I just now found out the real truth, which is why I was trying to get your attention when you were grilling Derek.”

This was getting confusing. “So, you’re saying this has nothing to do with the bronzes or money, but to do with this recipe book instead?”

“Not recipes, Willa,” Lavinia bent down, her mouth close to my ear. “Spells.”

“Spells?” I squinted at the book. “I guess spells could look like recipes. But that’s ridiculous. Who would use these spells? Witches?”

Lavinia nodded solemnly.

“But, there’s no such thing.”

“Don’t I wish it,” Lavinia said. “Anyway, I cannot tell you how important this book is. There are forces of good and evil … you don’t want the evil forces to get a hold of it.”

“But, how do I know who is good and who is evil?” I squinted up at her. I still wasn’t even sure I believed the malarkey about spells and witches, but since I wasn’t doing so well with my own theory, the least I could do was to hear her out.

“Oh, you’ll know,” she said.

“And you must be very, very careful,” Robert Frost piped in from the purple couch where he was sitting with Franklin Pierce.

“Yes, Willa,” Franklin added. “This is dangerous and important business and we don’t want anything to happen to you.”

Robert nodded. “We’ve gotten quite attached to you here in the bookshop. It just wouldn’t be the same without you.”

I was starting to feel like I was in a dream. Spells? Witches? Ghosts getting attached to me?

The three of them jerked their heads toward the door. Robert and Franklin swung back to look at me, their mouths forming round ‘o’s.

“Oh-oh,” they said in unison before disappearing.

I turned to Lavinia who had a look of panic on her face. “Look out, Willa—my killer is coming. Remember, above all, you must protect the book!”

I looked back down at the book in my lap.

“I still don’t understand what, exactly, is the big deal.” I looked back up at Lavinia, but she was gone.

“Hey …” I let my voice trail off. Leave it to a ghost to disappear with some vague warning and only half the answers I needed.

“Are you talking to someone?”

I whirled around at the sound of the voice, fingers of dread squeezing my heart when I saw who stood there …

Bing Thorndike.

***