used to initiate a spell on these premises. The medium utilized is unknown, however we believe it may have involved a potion, unction or incense.”
“Unction?” My eyebrow went up. These guys were weird. “I have no idea—.”
Wait a second.
“What time did you say?”
“Oh-seven hundred.”
Shit.
“OK. Around seven a.m. I accidentally knocked over one of our delivery packages, and spilled a few drops of the contents in our backroom.”
That caught their attention. Spitzer flipped to a new page, and pulled a pen from his back pocket.
“What, if anything, resulted?”
“Well... “
They stared at me.
“We had an incident . One of the staff became somewhat affectionate. To me.” Christ, this was humiliating.
The woman spoke, a nasty tone of sarcasm in her voice.
“And was this ‘staff person’ aware she was under the influence of magic?”
“What?”
“Was she aware she was under the influence of magic?” Voice was getting a little shrill... “Or did you just bang her on this conference table and leave her to wonder what had happened?”
“Nice.” Bitch. “As it happens, one of my colleagues assisted me in defusing the situation until we were able to obtain aid in neutralizing the, uh, unction.”
“Is it safe to assume that the affected person was your receptionist, Miss—” she checked her book “Sinclair?”
The look on her face suggested she was interviewing a convicted rapist. As if I wasn’t feeling bad enough, I was starting to feel like one.
“Yes.”
“And you’re saying this was accidental .”
“Yes.”
They both gave me the same look my mother used to give me when I came home from a party and denied having anything to drink. At least when that happened I was too drunk to care.
“How were you affected by the spell?”
Me? Well, I got jumped by a pretty girl.
“I wasn’t.”
“How do you mean?”
“I’m not sure what you’re asking. I wasn’t affected. Kara was.”
They traded a look, again making me feel like I was being excluded from their little club.
“I thought you said this incident was not deliberate?”
“It was an accident . If I wanted to get involved with her, I would just ask her out.”
Silence.
“And then she would reject me, and that would be that. Anyways, I’m not about to do that kind of thing.”
“You’re saying you have no interest in a relationship with Miss Sinclair?”
“No. Well, yes.” Now I was going in circles, I think. I rubbed my eyes, and sighed.
“Let’s move on, shall we?”
After they finished questioning me, the two of them insisted on waiting for Kara to return in order that they could meet with her. I wanted to wait for them to finish with her, to make sure she was alright. But we were already behind, and couldn’t afford more delays.
Maggie seemed convinced the whole thing would blow over, that there were no hard feelings, just embarrassment.
“What a nightmare.”
“Well, it could be worse.”
I squinted at Maggie, trying to see how that was possible. All I could see was a glint in her eye that suggested mischief.
“Imagine if Jamar hadn’t been here to help.”
Oh, I was desperately trying not to imagine that.
I asked her to call me when Kara got out of the BOA session, to let me know she was alright.
I trudged to the back, feeling lower than I had felt in a long, long time.
By six, I was exhausted. Big Jim and Harvey had finished for the day, and Maggie had left after checking one more time that Kara was alright. Jamar was helping me tidy up in the back, while Kara waited at reception for her ride home.
My brain should have been able to put one and one together when Maggie told me Kara had gotten a ride in that morning and would be picked up by a quarter past six. Should have, but I guess I wasn’t thinking all that clearly.
So when I heard voices out front, one soft and calm, and the other harsh and escalating in volume, I figured it was none of my business. At least, not until
“Unction?” My eyebrow went up. These guys were weird. “I have no idea—.”
Wait a second.
“What time did you say?”
“Oh-seven hundred.”
Shit.
“OK. Around seven a.m. I accidentally knocked over one of our delivery packages, and spilled a few drops of the contents in our backroom.”
That caught their attention. Spitzer flipped to a new page, and pulled a pen from his back pocket.
“What, if anything, resulted?”
“Well... “
They stared at me.
“We had an incident . One of the staff became somewhat affectionate. To me.” Christ, this was humiliating.
The woman spoke, a nasty tone of sarcasm in her voice.
“And was this ‘staff person’ aware she was under the influence of magic?”
“What?”
“Was she aware she was under the influence of magic?” Voice was getting a little shrill... “Or did you just bang her on this conference table and leave her to wonder what had happened?”
“Nice.” Bitch. “As it happens, one of my colleagues assisted me in defusing the situation until we were able to obtain aid in neutralizing the, uh, unction.”
“Is it safe to assume that the affected person was your receptionist, Miss—” she checked her book “Sinclair?”
The look on her face suggested she was interviewing a convicted rapist. As if I wasn’t feeling bad enough, I was starting to feel like one.
“Yes.”
“And you’re saying this was accidental .”
“Yes.”
They both gave me the same look my mother used to give me when I came home from a party and denied having anything to drink. At least when that happened I was too drunk to care.
“How were you affected by the spell?”
Me? Well, I got jumped by a pretty girl.
“I wasn’t.”
“How do you mean?”
“I’m not sure what you’re asking. I wasn’t affected. Kara was.”
They traded a look, again making me feel like I was being excluded from their little club.
“I thought you said this incident was not deliberate?”
“It was an accident . If I wanted to get involved with her, I would just ask her out.”
Silence.
“And then she would reject me, and that would be that. Anyways, I’m not about to do that kind of thing.”
“You’re saying you have no interest in a relationship with Miss Sinclair?”
“No. Well, yes.” Now I was going in circles, I think. I rubbed my eyes, and sighed.
“Let’s move on, shall we?”
After they finished questioning me, the two of them insisted on waiting for Kara to return in order that they could meet with her. I wanted to wait for them to finish with her, to make sure she was alright. But we were already behind, and couldn’t afford more delays.
Maggie seemed convinced the whole thing would blow over, that there were no hard feelings, just embarrassment.
“What a nightmare.”
“Well, it could be worse.”
I squinted at Maggie, trying to see how that was possible. All I could see was a glint in her eye that suggested mischief.
“Imagine if Jamar hadn’t been here to help.”
Oh, I was desperately trying not to imagine that.
I asked her to call me when Kara got out of the BOA session, to let me know she was alright.
I trudged to the back, feeling lower than I had felt in a long, long time.
By six, I was exhausted. Big Jim and Harvey had finished for the day, and Maggie had left after checking one more time that Kara was alright. Jamar was helping me tidy up in the back, while Kara waited at reception for her ride home.
My brain should have been able to put one and one together when Maggie told me Kara had gotten a ride in that morning and would be picked up by a quarter past six. Should have, but I guess I wasn’t thinking all that clearly.
So when I heard voices out front, one soft and calm, and the other harsh and escalating in volume, I figured it was none of my business. At least, not until
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