Hexes and X's (Z&C Mysteries, #3) Read Free

“Wait until you get a load of the library in here!”
    Upon entering the large foyer, they were again astonished. Rose carpets on dark hardwood floors followed up the center of an extravagant staircase. Dark carved railings were art in themselves, the ends of the banisters swirling in an intricate manner.
    “I’m going to give you two the suite right at the top of the stairs. There are a couple of beds in there. This house tends to spook people out, so I thought you’d like to be together, not down at opposite ends of the hallway.”
    “That will be great,” assured Claire. “Mom and I are used to large houses. Who owns this house, anyway?”
    “That is up for argument. I say it’s historically my family’s. The Coven says it is theirs because they have been taking care of it and paying taxes for decades. The town says it is theirs and would like us all out of here, because it is an old and historical site with no ‘clear’ owner. If you ladies can come up with anything clever so that the town council won’t take it away from us, that would be appreciated.”
    “How about getting a lawyer, two or three?” asked Zo, concerned.
    “The girls and I cannot sell enough jam and pickled string beans to afford a lawyer.”
    “How about conjuring up some gold?” Claire smiled.
    “Alright, alright, I’ll tell you. The Coven House witches are mostly show.”
    “What do you mean?” asked Claire.
    “Well, we like to torment the uppity townspeople. And, we get notoriety, and a little respect.”
    “So this is all about bugging the snoots?” asked Zo, somewhat amused, glancing around, taking in more of the old architecture and decor.
    “No, we have a purpose. What we do is make natural remedies for mildly sick people, tasty potions for people with no courage or no esteem; and, therefore, we do a compassionate service through a lot of psychological help, giving people confidence.”
    “That works out pretty well, does it?” Zo asked again.
    “Why not? We don’t hurt anyone and we add a little color to the community. You’d be surprised at how many people come here. We have a fortune-telling night where people come to petition help for themselves or a loved one. It can be quite serious. Of course nobody wants to be seen here, so they drive to the back and come in through the mud porch. That way the towns-people don’t know where they have been.”
    “Some people have very serious, maybe life-altering problems. I’m not so sure I’d want to take that responsibility,” Claire interjected.
    Matilda nodded, understanding creasing the corners of her eyes further. “We tell them to come back in two days. This is the way it all works: After two days of debating within our coven meetings, we come to a conclusion on how we can best help the people and then send for them to do a palm reading or fortune- telling session—which is essentially all about them receiving good advice—and, maybe give a potion that is really a vitamin drink.
    “For those more serious problems, we’ve got in our coven a retired psychologist, a registered nurse, and two who have PhDs in Herbology or what I call Potion Making 101—they make our mixers. The rest have their special talents.”
    Zoey and Claire were impressed, nodding identically.
    “Now,” Matilda continued, seemingly pleased by their response, “if our RN feels there is something to see a doctor for, well, then we read a palm and tell a fortune which includes instructions to go see a doctor for sure.”
    Claire had to ask, “How did you get these women? Did it happen luckily? …These women felt they had magical powers, or what?”
    “Not exactly…” Matilda smiled to that. “We had to go out and convince them to join. Like I said, we are actually a secret society of community service. Once we convinced these intelligent and skilled women, they joined happily. We also have comradery and fun. So we dress up in our witches costumes to walk around the grounds, and