Read Online A Finder's Fee by Jim Lavene, Joyce - Free Book Online Page A

no to it as I had his campaign contribution. I was weak and he knew how to trap me. I’d told myself that it didn’t matter because I could find the other bell and that would be the end of our business relationship.
    I knew my bell was worth a lot more than five thousand dollars, especially since he had already had one. Maybe this had happened so I could free myself of him. He could buy my bell and take his own back. I’d be able to pay Kevin’s fine and Dillon probably wouldn’t be interested in me anymore.
    I hated to give the bells up without finding the third. It wounded my collecting ego to let it go. But what was done, was done. Kevin had been fined because he’d been helping me. I had to get him out of the jam he was in.
    I turned on my laptop and emailed Dillon to see if we could meet soon, before I changed my mind.
    I sighed as the email left. Treasure jumped up on the counter and stared at me with a question in his beautiful green eyes.
    “Yes, I’m a little sad about getting myself in this mess.” My answer to the cat’s unasked question seemed normal. It was as though I could tell what he was thinking. “Sometimes Kevin is right—I need to think a little more and act a little less.”
    He meowed and twitched his tail before he jumped down.
    “It’s not his fault. He wasn’t being mean by saying it. He was trying to keep me, and possibly himself, out of trouble.”
    The shop door opened. It was Shayla and Flourine. Flourine was wearing a huge black hat that threatened to swamp her short body. I was fairly certain there was a large,
real
, raven on it. The bird looked as though it had been preserved through taxidermy.
    “How are you doing today?” Shayla cast a knowing eye up and down my body. “Your chakras are better, though your aura is a little on the yellow side for you.”
    Flourine agreed. “Did you have some asparagus last night? That’ll do it.”
    “No. No asparagus.” I told them about the fine that was levied against Kevin. “I’m trying to come up with the money for him. It wasn’t his fault.”
    “Fine?” Shayla held her head to one side. “Are you kidding me? After the two of you found that dead race car driver? Honey, they should be
paying
you for your services. Imagine the mess they would’ve had if they’d tried to do that geothermal thing
through
that car. It could’ve exploded. It would’ve been a disaster! No, ma’am. You need to take that to court. Sue the town.”
    I could always count on Shayla for the alternate opinion. “Not many mayors sue their own town.”
    “Then let Kevin do it. Don’t sit around worrying about helping him. He can take care of himself. You need to get some rest so you can ditch the witch.”
    Not this again
.
    “Thanks for your advice, but I think I’ll do things my way.” I smiled at Flourine. “How long are you planning on staying here with Shayla?”
    “I’m here until we run that witch out of town, missy. I don’t cotton to witches taking over friends of the family.” She leaned close to me and tapped my forehead with one of her charms. “You hear me in there? You’re not fooling anyone.”
    “Really, there isn’t a witch inside of me.” I hoped I sounded calm and reasonable about it. I didn’t want to make things worse. “Isn’t there some test you could do to prove that it’s just me?”
    I thought it would be nice not to have them following me around and possibly telling voters that there was a witch inside me right before the election. I wasn’t sure about Shayla, but I wouldn’t have put it past Flourine.
    Shayla conferred with her grandmother. “There are some tried and true ways to reveal a witch.”
    “That’s right.” Flourine was pleasant enough about it. “We could have her walk on burning tree sap. Or tie her to a tree out in the woods and see if birds peck out her eyes. They won’t abide a witch, you know.”
    “Let me get back to you on that.” Shayla smiled. “I’m sure there are less