14

Note: To sally forth, means "set out in a sudden, energetic or violent manner". Which pretty much describes the upcoming events in this story. There will be death, and it won't be pretty.

Despite all my rage I am still just a rat in a cage

Then someone will say what is lost can never be saved

Bullet with Butterfly Wings, Lyrics by Smashing Pumpkins

I called Sally the moment I got home. "You wanna play Nancy Drew?"

"Ooh, I loved those books. What can I do to help?"

I discussed Poppy and asked if she could tail her discreetly without drawing suspicion. "Whatever you do, don't get caught."

She giggled. "Don't worry, I am all about cloak and dagger."

"You know this is serious, right? It's not about cheating spouses and deadbeat Dads."

"I'm way ahead of you. I have a superzoom camera with nightshot and I even have a mutt to keep me company."

I smiled at the Veronica Mars reference. "Hope he bites."

"He even hates me," Sally confessed. "Mom makes him wear a muzzle when he goes out."

"That's comforting," I said with a laugh.

"By the way, does Adam know about this?" Sally asked with trepidation. "'Cuz I really hate going behind his back."

"Yeah, he's on board," I said, hating to relive the hateful looks he'd given me at the coffee shop.

"How did you work that miracle?"

"I twisted a few arms. Don't worry, it's all good."

"Do they know I'm helping you?"

"Nope. And let's keep it that way."

The following afternoon, I went to City Records (without Adam) and did some digging on Patricia Lawrence Farnsworth, aka Poppy. She lived with her grandmother Tessa Farnsworth and had lost both her parents. I looked closer at the date of their deaths and did a double take. "Oh my God," I said under my breath.

They had died in the boathouse fire, along with other witches in our parents' Circle. I headed home and called up Sally. "Can you ask Regina about the boathouse fire? I think the Circle before mine was a lot bigger."

"Sure, do you want to ask about anyone in particular?"

"The Farnsworth family."

"That name sounds familiar."

"It should. It's Poppy's family name."

From her intake of breath, I gathered she immediately knew what I was getting at. "That makes sense that she'd want revenge."

Sally was even quicker than I was. "But who is she working with?"

"Good question. Let me ask around and get back to you."

I hung up and heard a car outside. Looking through the curtains, I saw Melissa and Diana getting out with takeout. "Hey," I said, looking around to see if anyone else was joining us.

"We thought we'd bring dinner to you," Diana said, holding up several Thai food containers.

"My favorite," I said, offering my first real smile in quite awhile. "Come in. I have something to show you."

When I showed them my photocopies, Diana's face paled. "We need to warn Adam. He could be in danger."

No kidding. "She's distracting him."

"Why?" Melissa asked.

"To take our focus off the Circle. If we're all fighting, we won't be very effective if someone attacks us," I pointed out.

Diana looked apologetic. "I'm sorry we doubted you."

"You're not the one who needs to apologize."

"I know Adam's been hard on you, but he's not himself. I'm pretty sure you're right about a spell," Melissa said between mouthfuls of Pad Thai.

I nodded. "Can we undo it?"

"Only if we know the original spell."

"Maybe we can torture it out of her," I said with a half smile.

"Tempting," Melissa said.

"So where's Faye tonight?" I asked idly.

"Slumming with Jake."

It didn't bother me a bit to hear this. "They're kindred spirits."

A laugh sputtered out of Melissa. "More like friends with benefits."

That was way more information than I needed. "Good for them."

We finished up and carried our plates to the sink. As I cleaned the table, Diana asked, "I'm sorry I've been so hard on you."

"You already apologized. It's OK."

"I was just shocked about the whole..."

I held up my hand. "It's in the past. We need to look forward." And maybe I needed to do that with my Dad too, even if I reviled him at times.

We all hugged and I watched them leave, waving from my porch as they drove off. I started to turn back and suddenly felt like someone was watching me. Whirling around, I did a 360 and saw nothing. I scanned again, and there was a flash of something passing me at lightning speed. I got an impression of long, flowing blonde hair and a white dress, and then it was gone. With a shiver, I went inside and triple locked the front door, sensing that whatever it was could get to me at anytime. I picked up my phone to dial Sally but stopped when a text came in from Adam. It was a long string of letters:

imsorryimsorryimsorry

And then it repeated a few times, which creeped me out further. I tried calling him but there was no answer. Something told me he was in trouble, so I dialed Diana who had just gotten home. "I think something's wrong at Adam's. Can you meet me down there?"

She and Melissa answered in the affirmative and said they'd try to reach Jake and Faye, provided they ever came up for air.