Clarissa paused in front of the wall, where Dani had created a giant work board, drawing on the whitewashed plaster with chalk markers, pinning up maps, lists, notes and a list of names of people who had turned magique after being born human, including Jillian. This was the one thing she couldn’t keep at the library or her office, for fear of people seeing it and misinterpreting half-done theories.

“Yeah, I know, it’s a little intense,” said Dani.

Clarissa shook her head. “Oh, no, honey, it makes a lot of sense . . . if you’re a serial killer.”

Dani laughed.

“These are beautiful,” Dani told her, sniffing the sweet skin of the fruit. “I was surprised to find such a big local fruit selection at the store, empty as it was. I didn’t realize you can grow apples this far south.”

“Generally, they don’t do well here, but with the various magics bouncing around the Bayou, my trees produce a nice crop.”

Dani nodded toward the back of the house. “Join me in the kitchen?”

Clarissa followed Dani into the little dollhouse kitchen, where Dani washed the apples thoroughly. Then she took a paring knife from the drawer and peeled one in a single long strip.

“That’s a neat trick,” said Clarissa.

“Years of practice. Gramma wouldn’t let you bake apple crumble if you couldn’t clean an apple in one strip. My aunt Trudy could do it before she started kindergarten,” Dani said, dropping the peel in the sink.

“I can’t say I’ve had an apple crumble. We mostly stick to pie around here.”

Dani grabbed another apple and began working her magic. “It’s the same principle, but with a fancier topping. I don’t have the ingredients right now. So I’m going to settle for some applesauce.” Dani dropped the apple peeling into the trash.

“You can make your own applesauce?”

Dani searched the spice rack for cinnamon and nutmeg. “It was my ‘home sick from school’ food. Easy on the stomach, but still tasty.”

Clarissa frowned. “Doesn’t that take a long time?”

“If you want to can it, yeah, it can be a pain. But this will just take couple of hours,” Dani told her, taking Miss Lottie’s largest pot from a rack on the ceiling. “It settles my nerves.”

Clarissa hummed. “Will you show me how?”

Dani nodded. “Sure, thing.”

It took no time at all to get the sliced apples, spices, and brown sugar in Miss Lottie’s big iron pot. Clarissa asked questions and made notes, but Dani noticed that she never brought Zed or their “relationship” up in the conversation. Dani appreciated that.