"Willow's Missing Tail" 1

Perfidia stepped out of the Heaven’s Brew café carrying her favorite cup of tea and humming along to the love song playing through her ear buds. Her lighter mood and whimsical musings had been a consequence of the solstice festival and her reconnection with Jon, mostly her reconnection with Jon.

They’d managed to spend every weekend together these last three months and the distance of two hours between their homes didn’t matter at all.

Perfidia continued down the street, enjoying the unusual, warm autumn day and singing slightly off key, ignoring the humorous glances of people passing by.

She stopped by her potion shop, Virēre, and placed her key in the door’s lock while still singing exuberantly as she opened it. A cool September breeze ruffled her red hair and followed her inside. She flipped on the light switch illuminating the store and both her happy smile and discordant singing died.

Perfidia stared in shock at the disarray of her normally, pristine shop. Her precious potions had been moved out of order and there were plant cuttings strewn across the counter and all over the floor.

“What’s happened in here?” Her voice echoed with annoyance, though no one was there to hear it.

She hadn’t left her shop in this chaotic state, no one but she had a key to her shop, no one was permitted to touch her precious potions and plants, so who’d had the audacity to enter here?

Who dared to cross her threshold and how had they gained entry when her protections were still in place? A tingling, worrisome feeling sizzled through her, the intruder would have had to wield an equal power.

Perfidia walked to the counter and put down her cup of tea and purse. She took out her phone and tapped a name in her contacts, calling the only person she trusted to help her solve the mystery of this intrusion.

*

Martha walked into her sun filled kitchen as she did every morning and took Willow’s fine china bowl down from the cupboard to fill with her feline’s favorite morning treats.

Martha’s thoughts this morning were distracted by her late night conversation with Dillon, who still lived in California. They'd greed to start their acquaintance over at the solstice festival but it progressed from friendship pretty fast and last night, he’d told her there was a job offer he was considering, one that could settle him closer to her. He’d know soon enough if it would work out and that possibility made this morning all the brighter.

Martha hummed a happy tune as she filled Willow’s bowl.

“Willow.” she called out, not seeing her feline in her usual place, lounging on her down feathered cat bed.

She must have gone out to the garden, Martha thought as she placed the filled bowl on the floor and called to the feline again. After several minutes passed and the room remained devoid of Willow’s presence, Martha decided she’d have to go into the garden and call her.

She was heading to the back door when her cell phone rang; she picked it up from the kitchen counter and, seeing it was Perfidia, answered it as she stepped out the back door.

“Good Morning Perfidia.”

“Martha, something’s wrong; terribly wrong!”

Perfidia’s frantic voice was unexpected and concerning.

“What’s wrong; why are you upset?”

“It’d be easier to show you. Can you come to my store, now?”

“Of course I’ll leave as soon as I find Willow.”

“Find Willow…what do you mean find her?”

“She didn’t answer my call to breakfast; and you know that’s not like her,” Martha chuckled, “I’m sure she’s just sleeping in the garden.”

On the other end of the line, Perfidia experienced a pang of premonition.

“Martha, I have a strange feeling about Willow,” she said it with a sense of dread.

“Nonsense, she’s in the garden, probably in her favorite spot.”

Martha was sure she’d find Willow lounging under her favorite blooms but when she approached that part of the garden, her heart squeezed with fear. Willow’s beloved delphiniums had been ripped out of their garden bed.

“Oh no…!” Martha gasped, not liking what she'd found, or the mayhem it foretold.

“What is it Martha, what’s wrong?”

Martha stared at the disturbed flower bed noting several deep claw marks on the ground. She knew they were made by Willow, in distress.

“Willow’s gone,” she said in a low, pained voice, “and not by her own accord.”

"I'll be right there.” Perfidia said then disconnected the line. She looked at her violated shop and flipped her phone to camera mode. She took several pictures then picked up her tea and purse and headed to the front door.

She was almost to the door when a letter was slid under it and becasue her front door was solid oak with a thin glass panel of colorful stained glass, that distorted shapes passing by, she couldnt see who'd delivered it.

She picked up the letter, seeing her name scrawled across it, and opened the door. She looked up and down the street but didn't see anyone so shetossed the letter in her bag,  locked up her shop and headed to Martha’s.

*

Martha had walked the parameter of her garden looking for clues but found none. She was back by the destroyed delphinium bed when Perfidia entered the garden from under the Willow's secret passage.

“Martha, are you alright?"

"No, not at all and I'm glad you're here."

"Are you sure Willow’s gone; couldn't she have just gone off on one of her adventures?”

“Those claw marks are compelling evidence she didn't leave on her will.” Martha nodded towards the spot.

Perfidia stepped over to the area and seeing the deep markings she felt ill. She may not have always gotten along with that feline but she had grown to care for her.

"This is not acceptable! How could anyone take Willow against her will? No one can cat nap that cat."

Martha gave her a worried look. “I’ve been wondering about that myself.”

“If it shouldn't be possible...then how?"

“I don't know.”

“There's something going on Martha. Someone entered my store and used my potions and plants. This is how I found it today.” Perfidia showed her the pictures she’d taken.

“But who could have done that without your knowledge? You have triple lockdown protections.”

“Exactly! So who could have eluded them?"

"And who has Willow? I thought we were done with havocs.” Martha said with a tired sigh.

“It seems we're not. Do you think your special insight brew could help?”

“It’s worth a try.”

 

They stepped into Martha’s kitchen just as the front doorbell rang but before Martha could open the door a letter with Martha’s name scrawled cross it was slid under it.

Perfidia stepped into the hall just as Martha picked up the letter and seeing the same scrawled handwriting on it as the one on her letter, she walked around Martha and flung opened the front door. She’d  hoped to catch the person who’d delivered it, but just like at her shop, no one was there.

"This is really beginning to bug me!"  Perfidia seethed slamming the door and turning to Martha, "I had a letter delivered to me in the same way just before I left my store."

"Well, then it appears someone wants our attention."

"They've got mine but they may not like what they get with it."

Martha nodded in agreement.

"So let’s brew that tea of insight and open our letters."