I didn't visit my father long. All I could think as I stood next to his bed is that this couldn't be the way I would remember about him. Lying so still, his skin ashen and his face slack, he looked like a shell of a man. The healers whispered as they worked spells over his body, and even though I didn't know enough to tell what spells they were casting, I knew enough about people to read their body language. Whatever they were doing was failing.

After I kissed his cold cheek, I excused myself from the room and hurried to my car, praying I could slide behind the wheel before the first tears fell. But today was not Rose gets what she wants day. My hands were shaking so bad, I dropped the keys twice before managing to unlock the door, only remembering after I was inside that I could've hit the unlock button. A hysterical giggle bubbled up between sobs, and I banged my head against the steering wheel.

A soft chime rang in the car. Running a finger under my eye, I tried to repair some of the damage. Without a tissue, it was a lost cause. I sighed and called out, "hello?"

Ash appeared in the passenger seat, his face somber and pale as he looked me over. "How is your father?"

I shrugged. There was nothing I could say that wouldn't lead to more tears. He seemed to understand and didn't press me for more information. Several long minutes passed, both of us staring out the windshield of my car, watching raindrops slide down the glass. Lightning flashed, turning the sky dusky violet. Thunder grumbled not long behind it, and like I had as a child, I counted the seconds between- ten seconds. The storm was almost upon us.

"There's something I need to tell you."

"Okay." I pushed back in my seat and closed my eyes. When he didn't say anything, I cracked open a lid and looked at him. He was fidgeting. "Ash? What do you want to tell me?"

"I-I think my father had something to do with that explosion."

"What?" I sat up, blinking owlishly at him. Surely, I hadn't heard him right.

"I'm not a hundred percent certain, but I think my dad had something to do with the explosion."

A surge of anger washed through me, and I had to restrain myself from shouting my next words. After all, Ash hadn't done anything but deliver his suspicions. Don't shoot the messenger and all that, right?

"What makes you think this?"

"When I got home, my house was in chaos. Abuelita was shouting at my father, and he was telling her to be quiet. Papi never speaks to Abuelita like that. She's the only person he listens to. Even my mother treads lightly around him most days."

I frowned. What a terrible way to live. Reina Goodwin was as catty as her daughter. Most days her nose was so high in the air, she'd be the first to know if the weather changed. Her husband, Luis, put on airs, but he at least attempted to be kind. But it was in the same way politicians shook hands and kissed babies. His mannerisms were too contrived to be genuine. Ash's words only confirmed what I'd suspected about Luis all along- he was as phony as a three dollar bill.

I pinched the bridge of my nose. As much as I wanted an easy answer, pointing fingers all willy nilly wasn't the way to go about solving the crime. Maybe if Officer Pilgrim had been more diligent, my mama wouldn't be sitting in a police station right now. There was no way she'd attack her ex-husband or Polly Hamlin. Luis could very well be an innocent bystander. Wrong place. Wrong time.

"Could they not just be upset about him being so near the explosion? Maybe he was hurt?"

"No, Rose. Abuelita kept asking him why. And he looked different. I could see the energy coming off of him. It was dark and angry and too much."

I almost gasped out loud. Ash couldn't know what they'd discovered about the garnet. Not unless one of the police officer's lips had started flapping around town as soon as they left the institution, which wasn't an entirely unlikely scenario. Around here folks knew everyone else's business five minutes before it happened. We might live in a magical town, but it was still a southern town. But outside of that, he wouldn't know that someone was draining my daddy's energy.

"Ash, I need you to be real clear. What do you mean by too much?"

"Just that. One of my Gifts is Detection."

"I'm not familiar with that one."

"Cause it's rare and according to my father useless. The only way I've been able to explain is by comparing it to auras. You understand auras, right?"

"For the most part. Yeah. It's one of the most common Gifts. Almost considered to be a normal part of magic. A lot of sensitives possess aura reading skills."

"Everyone has an aura, but for people who can use magic, they have a second marker."

"Crap. So you can tell if a person is a witch or not just by looking at them?" I thought about what he'd said to me that first day. About it not being possible for me to be impoten. That was a question for another time.

"Yeah. It even extends to other supernatural creatures. I can tell if someone is a werewolf or vampire. When Charlie was possessed, his body took on an extra signature. I'd never seen one for a demon before, and I hope I never will again."

"Damn, Ash. How can your father not think this is an important Gift?"

"Because he hasn't figure out how to make it useful to him yet."

"Ash-"

"I didn't say that for sympathy. I learned a long time ago that's just who my father is."

"So tonight, you saw something else around him? Another signature?"

"Sort of." He tugged on the ends of his hair. Lightning flashed again, highlighting the exhaustion in his face. "It wasn't separate like an aura and magical signature. It was all mixed together, but it was fighting against each other. Swirls of colors instead of one solid color."

"And it wasn't like that before the explosion."

He opened his mouth to respond but snapped it shut. "I don't know. This was the first time he's been home since I got back."

"So it could've been like this for awhile? When was the last time you saw him?"

"The day he dropped me off at the school."

"But that was three years ago. You're telling me you've not seen your father in three years?"

My dad and I don't have the closest relationship, but it was rare to go more than a week without seeing each other. Now... No. I pushed the thought away as soon as my eyes began to burn. I wouldn't go borrowing trouble.

"Look, I just wanted to tell you cause it's worth investigating. He was there right before the explosion happened, and he had words with your father from what I've heard."

"I'm sure the cops will talk to him."

"That's the thing. They won't. No one in this town will go up against my father."

"That's ridiculous. Just because he's on the Council doesn't mean he's not subject to the same laws."

Ash lifted an eyebrow. "Don't pretend to be naive. I don't understand why you don't seem more interested in this."

"I am, but damn it Ash. Give me one freaking minute to process everything. I literally just left my dying father's side. The kiss I gave him could very well have been a kiss goodbye. Not to mention, they've dragged my mother in for questioning. I haven't slept in almost thirty-six hours. Neither have you. We've got someone summoning demons. Someone trying to kill my father. And you harping after me to play Nancy Drew."

"Feel better?"

I huffed and then smiled. "Actually, yes."

"And I'd much prefer to think of us as the Scooby gang rather than Nancy Drew."

My smile grew wider. "Probably more appropriate and more balanced. I can't imagine you'd make a very good Bess."

"Why don't I get to be George?"

"Willow is totally George."

"I can't argue with that."

Ash reached over the console for my hand. Threading his fingers through mine, he looked me in the eye. "We're going to figure all this out. Charlie. Your dad. Mine."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

"So where do we start?" This morning we had a clear direction. Talk to Clemmy. Tell her about Charlie. We still needed to do that, but I wasn't sure if now was the right time. Not while she was on the warpath about Mama.

"I think we need to try and figure out why our fathers quit being friends all those years ago. If we can figure that out, it'll give us a clue what they were arguing about today."

"Okay, but how do we do that?"

"My parents are hosting a Mabon party tomorrow night. The Keys to Conjuring will be closed, and we can sneak in. See if we can find some clues."

"It's been years. What could we find that would link them together now?"

"All we need is something they worked on together. Magic will do the rest."

"Fine. But then we need to talk to Clemmy. Charlie isn't safe as long as the person dabbling in dark magic is out there."

Ash grimaced when I said Charlie's name, but he wisely wiped the expression away before I could make a comment. "We can do that, but I have a sneaking suspicion that all of this is connected."

I started to argue that he was making a big leap, but I was struck with the overwhelming sense that he was right. What were the chances that there were two people with two separate agendas siphoning energy and magic from others? Considering it had been centuries since a dark magic user had been found in Black Brier, I thought it was slim to none.

"You may be right."

"Finally, the lady doesn't argue with me."

"Ugh, go home. Get some sleep. We've got a lot of work ahead of us and answers to find."

He saluted and disappeared. I started the car and backed out of the lot. If school was back in session tomorrow, I would just have to miss. This was far more important than solving proofs in geometry. We needed to solve this mystery before anyone else was hurt.