It should not concern Merritt who Bloodworth kept as close company in the daylight hours. Whenever he got home early that morning, he could not stop thinking about his ex-wife. Particularly why she’d be staying at his house if they were divorced and why Bloodworth had to meet her at the diner instead of waiting until they were home together.

Persephone’s beauty outshined any mortal woman, but something about her troubled Merritt.  Perhaps it was her attitude or the way she kept giving Bloodworth such salacious looks, like she wanted him to devour her.  Even before learning she was his ex-wife, he’d gotten bad vibes from her. 

Merritt never ignored a gut-instinct, so he mentally added the vampire lady to his list of potential suspects.   There had to be a reason for the unpleasant weight that settled upon his chest whenever he thought of her, especially when his mind wandered into forbidden depths he desperately tried to block out.  Like why she still clung to her ex-husband. 

“You good?” Killian patted him on the shoulder to grasp his attention.

“Yeah, of course,” Merritt said, nearly bumping into a purple tent selling medical potions and elixirs. He’d asked his good friend to join him at the magic market to pick up some charms and do a bit of grocery shopping, but his mind kept drifting back to last night. 

“Ever since we got here, you’ve been a world away.  What’s going on?” Killian frowned, then lowered his voice and asked, “Did something happen?”

“Did you know Bloodworth was married?” Merritt scooted closer to his friend so a couple with their kids could pass, all giggling as they clutched their baskets of goodies close.  It reminded him of when they were kids, stocking up at the market. 

Killian furrowed his brows.  “Uh, no. I didn’t. Why does that matter?”

“I met his ex-wife last night.  She’s a vampire too.”

“Did she make you uncomfortable or something?” Killian’s voice hardened with concern, eyes scanning him like he was searching for visible injuries.

“Not like that, no.” Merritt sighed.  “I know it might be paranoia.  This is the first time in a long time I’ve been surrounded by so many bloodsuckers, so maybe I’m quick to be dubious of her.  I don’t know.”

“What’s going on?” Killian asked, leading them down the cobblestone path to a section with less folks gathered around. “You know you can tell me anything.”

“Whoever sent that ghost to his office must be close to him.  I considered one of his former interns, but after meeting Persephone, I can’t shake this feeling about her.” Merritt bristled.  “What if she’s the one secretly working with the ghost and the defendant?”

“Damn, that sounds like a magical mess.”

“I can’t say or do anything without any proof either.  What makes matters worse is that she is the one inspecting his cursed crystal balls.” Merritt crossed his arms over his chest.  “She can tell him whatever she wants.”

“If she’s truly responsible, then she’ll just give them back or give him another set of cursed globes,” Killian pointed out.

“Exectly!” Merritt huffed.  “I wished I could have told him, but how could I have without sounding like I’d lost my marbles? Gut-instinct wouldn’t be enough. Not when he was literally married to that lady and still lets her stay the morning with him.  He’d trust her over me in a heartbeat.”

“You need to be careful with this, Merritt. That lady could see you as a threat and blame you for everything.”

“What? That’s batshit,” Merritt scoffed. “I literally overused my magic to protect my boss from a damn demon. Why would I let a ghost haunt his crystal ball?”

“Vampires will always trust each other over us. You know that.” 

“Normally, I would agree with you.” Merritt couldn’t believe he was actually siding with a vampire for once and having that much faith in him. “But Bloodworth is different. If I found proof that his ex-wife was responsible, he’d believe me. I know he would.”

Killian frowned. “Please, just be careful. It sounds like you’re crossing into dangerous territory here, and I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be careful. That’s why we’re here tonight. I want to pick up some anti-ghost repellent charms for my desk and Bloodworth’s. If we’re lucky, they’ll have some legit anti-demon enchantments too.”  Merritt plucked his list out from his robe’s pocket.  He’d had the foresight to write down everything he needed because if not, he knew he’d forget something.

Scrumptious smells of magically cured meats grilled over emberstones wafted in the air as Merritt led them to a pitch black tent that shimmered like the night sky itself.  The smoked applewood made his stomach rumble, and one look at his best friend nearly salivating beside him made him realize it was a perfect time to grab a bite to eat.  

“This is on me tonight, okay?” Merritt stepped up to the older man’s tent just as he handed a couple some wrapped meats to go.  “Could I get two of your teriyaki pork skewers, please?”

“Also, add on a large bowl of your potato bites.” Killian pulled out his own wallet, dropping a handful of coins on the counter.  “Extra cheese on those, if you would and two forks with them.”

After they got their food, they made their way to one of the benches in the midst of the market.  A myriad of smells drifted all around Merritt as he bit into the delectable meat, watching other witches and wizards alike walk by with an assortment of goods.  Even while he ate, he found himself wondering what Bloodworth was doing at the hour with his ex-wife.  Probably nestled together in his coffin, about to prepare for the night.  

“We need to do this more often.” Killian had already finished his own skewer and stuffed a forkful of potatoes in his mouth.  “I hope you’ll get more nights off like this so we can do this again.”

Merritt grinned.  “Yeah, I hope so too.  I think things will really settle down after this whole ghost situation.” 

After eating, they wandered down to the booths that sold all kinds of magical charms and enchantments.  Merritt wanted the best ghost repellent charms he could find, so he visited Madame Minnerva’s little black tent.  The little old lady was perched in a rocking chair, smoking a cigarette.  She blew a puff of pink strawberry-scented smoke to the air as they approached, tilting her pointy black hat with a grin.

“What can I help you young men with?”

“I need your best ghost repellent charms,” Merritt told her, then in a lower voice, “And anything you’ve got to ward off demons.”

“Demons and spirits haunting you boys? My oh my.” She took another hit of her cigarette, amusement sparking in her emerald eyes.  “Come here.  I’ll give you the best I have here.  Do keep in mind these are useless if either of you are possessed.  Only an exorcism could possibly help you there.”

“We’re not possessed.” Merritt released a nervous chuckle.  “These are precautionary for that.  We had an accident… with a spirit who came through a crystal ball.  Have you ever heard of such a thing happening?”

“I have.” Madame Minnerva nodded with a solemn look on her face as she retrieved the protective charms from the back of her tent.  “A spirit has attached itself to one of you.  Or both.  I’ve heard of spirits connecting to those with close soul ties and blood relations.”

Merritt didn’t bother to tell her that it was his boss with a spirit attached to him, but he figured that wasn’t necessary.  As long as he had those charms, he knew they’d all be much safer in the office.  Until they figured out what truly happened to Elspeth Fontain’s husband.  

The man’s own ghost was willing to testify that she’d killed him, so why was there any doubt creeping into Merritt’s mind?  Why would Alfred Fontain lie about who killed him?  What could a ghost gain by that? Unless, he truly believed his wife killed him and someone else did it.  

Or maybe that ghost just couldn’t cope with the thought that her granddaughter was a cold-blooded killer.