CHAPTER FOURTEEN: EPILOGUE

Finn and the police captain were happy to do Russell the favor of going to the hospital and delivering the message of Russell’s innocence directly to his grandfather. Later that same afternoon, the will was revised yet again, and Russell was set to receive his inheritance. Three days later, during a lucid moment, his grandfather requested an end to the life-support. It gave Russell tremendous peace of mind to be able to hold his grandfather’s hands for that final moment.

*****

It did take a few weeks for Russell’s restaurant to lure the customers back. Margo did everything in her power to assist. Fortunately, she had a lot of power to draw on. She went to Ian Fowler to demand some assistance. After all, he’d played a big part in Russell’s misfortunes.

“All’s fair in love and war,” Ian sneered. “Bad enough the guy’s back. Don’t know why I would be giving him a hand.”

“Are you forgetting how you messed up his liquor license? Took away his first six months of profits? It’s time to make up for all of that.”

“And just what did you have in mind?”

“The restaurant next to me and I have this deal where we arrange discounts together for customers. You and Russell could do some advertising and discounting together, sending customers each other’s way.”

“Forget about it. Survival of the fittest, that’s what I always say.”

“Hope you have a good supply of candles,” Margo said pointedly.

Ian shrugged his shoulders in confusion. “Now, if you’ll excuse me . . .”

There was no quantity of candles that could have handled Ian’s upcoming electricity crisis. His restaurant lost power that night, and despite the best efforts of one team of electricians after another, no one could locate the problem. He was shut down for two weeks while they tried.

In the meantime, hungry customers who came for Verona were just as happy to cross the street and nibble on the goodies on offer in Barcelona. During the two weeks that Ian’s restaurant was out of commission, Russell’s restaurant filled again to capacity.

*****

One of the first Monday evenings, however, the restaurant was closed for a private party. There was so much to celebrate. Russell’s freedom. A big thank-you to Margo and Finn for everything they had done. And a bon voyage party for Bette.

“Bon appétit,” Bette said giddily. She couldn’t believe that she was finally going to see Paris.

“How much did you say those tickets were?” Wendy asked.

“Four fifty round-trip, Boston to Paris. I know, it’s crazy good. I think they had a big group cancellation and only one week to fill up the seats. It’s gonna be nice to stay in a hotel for once and not be the one running the hotel. And I have an old friend from high school who is working there now. She can show me around. I can’t wait!”

Margo beamed. No longer was the need to babysit her sick heart going to hold Bette back from seeing the world.

“I want to see Paris,” Finn’s cousin, Zoe, said wistfully.

“I’ll scope out all the good spots for you,” Bette promised.

“Take a walk through Montmartre,” Dr. Svenson recommended. “That was my favorite.”

“And be sure to take a boat ride on the Seine at night,” Delphine recommended. “It’s magical.”

Naughty Delphine. She and Margo exchanged a smile. Russell raised a glass of wine and the others joined him.

“To a wonderful voyage for Bette. And to Margo, who will have my eternal gratitude for as long as I live, as well as all the free tapas she can eat.”

Everyone cheered. Finn squeezed Margo’s hand. This boisterous communal celebration was a fitting prelude for their new life ahead.

*****

Russell’s brother, Walter, ended up selling his house, which had enough equity in it to restore his clients’ accounts and get the credit cards off his back. Delphine and Margo crossed paths on the boardwalk early one afternoon, and Margo was reminded that there was a question she had wanted to ask Delphine for some time.

“You gave an enormous amount of cash to Walter Knox right outside your shop,” Margo said. “It’s none of my business, but okay, what gives?”

“Oh, Walter? Dear, he’s kind of a dope. But I kept running into him every time I went to Atlantic City. Specifically, at the baccarat table at the Borgata.”

Margo was quite surprised. “You’re a gambler?”

“The thing is . . .when you can control and change and manipulate as much as we can, you don’t get to experience the thrill of good luck or the absolutely insufferable bad luck that makes you want to strangle someone.” She chuckled. “It’s sort of a little challenge for me, accepting what comes and holding back the urge to twist it to my advantage. Kind of like when commoners go roughing it out in the woods, but with comped beverages.”

“You’re full of surprises.”

“So I saw Walter all the time. He’s got a big mouth. He got himself banned from a lot of casinos in town. And the Borgata is not the place you want to be banned from. But he messed up. So now, when he knows I’m going, he gives me his cash and says to spend it alongside my money. If it loses, it loses. Whatever it wins, I bring it back to him. Like I said, he’s kind of a schmo, but why not?”

“How often do you go?” Margo asked.

“Gambling is fun, but the truth is . . . my fella is a maître d’ at the Borgata. I’ve gone down every couple of weeks for the past fifteen years, and we have a good time together. I just started hanging out at of the game tables to kill time while he was working.”

Margo wasn’t sure why she was so pleased. Delphine had a boyfriend! “What’s he like? Okay, who would play him? Living or dead.”

Delphine cocked her head. “Anthony Quinn.”

“Ooh. Zorba.”

They both laughed.

“Does he know?” Margo wondered.

“Absolutely not. He’s not a young man. No need to give him a heart attack. A witch’s life is always going to have its fair share of secrets.”

At that moment, Delphine spotted Fiona down the street. That woman was a whole encyclopedia of secrets, one of which she had just revealed to Delphine the other day. And just as she brazenly paraded her powers in front of commoners, she was more than happy to let Delphine know that her family had triumphed over Lilith Hazelwood’s.

“Lilith had quite a vengeful nature. I’m not sure what she would have done if she found out that my mother had killed hers. Oh, yes. Those two had quite a rivalry, but my mother was the stronger of the two by far,” Fiona boasted.

“And what was the offense?” Delphine had inquired.

“The Hazelwoods’ affronts are too numerous to count. The important thing is that, even though she didn’t get a chance to know her mother, knowing how she was ended could very well have turned Lilith’s wrath in my direction. I certainly can’t cry tears over her . . . misfortune. Better her than me.”

It was not exactly an admission of guilt. It could simply be that Fiona was quite fond of intimidating others with her family’s mastery of the dark arts. But of all the witches in town, Fiona was uniquely capable, and now uniquely motivated, to have sent Lilith to her grave. Could she have murdered the stronger witch preemptively? Thankfully, Delphine had not felt Lilith’s presence during this revelation. She would have jumped to conclusions that could still not be substantiated.

Delphine certainly didn’t want to trouble Margo with this news. With no daughters of her own, she had developed quite an attachment to the new young witch. She would hate to see her suffer from the worst impulses of either Fiona or Lilith. Especially at this moment in life, when it was such a pleasure to see her so happy.

*****

Margo stepped breezily out of the local DMV, new driver’s license in hand.

“Newhart.”

From his hiding spot in the nearby bushes, Newhart ran out immediately. He had graduated from his cage, having developed a high level of reliability and attachment. He would pad softly after Margo when she was out and about, and he never wandered too far out of earshot.

“Okay. We’re going to wait here for Finn and go get some breakfast. Maybe a little lox for you?”

Did Newhart lick his lips? He really seemed to be getting smarter by the day.

Margo looked down at her newly minted license. It was a decent photo, even downright flattering. But what gave her the greatest satisfaction was being able to fill in the organ donor box.

Not that she believed that she would meet with an untimely end and that the donation would actually come into effect. Like a fortuneteller, her heart whispered to her every night that she would live a long and happy life.

But after it had served two full lifetimes, there was a real possibility that Lilith’s heart might still be vital. In which case, she would be happy to know that someone like herself would get it. Improbable, but what about her recent life had been ‘probable’?

“My dear Margo, how good to see you,” Dr. Svenson boomed behind her. “Thank you for inviting me to such a special occasion. I enjoyed your friends very much.”

“They loved meeting you too,” Margo assured him.

That was putting it mildly. The doctor who saved Margo’s life was treated like a rock star.

“Your young man is very nice.”

“I know.”

“You lost your father at a very early age—before you knew him, yes? These past several years, I wasn’t sure whether we were going to be able to get you a heart—whether you were going to make it. And I always prayed that you would live longer than me, fall in love, get married, and that I would have the honor of escorting you down the aisle. A doctor’s dreams are probably not what you imagined, eh?”

Margo threw her arms around the doctor.

“I would love that. I never thought I’d have anyone for that.”

“What’s this? What’s this? Come on, Doc, get your mitts off my girl,” Finn said behind them.

“I’m too busy for a duel right now. She’s all yours,” Dr. Svenson said, backing away with a smile. “Check-up in two weeks, young lady.”

“I’ll pass with flying colors,” Margo replied with supreme confidence.

“I know you will. I just like for you to visit.”

Before he turned and walked away, he pointed at Finn behind his back and gestured at him hopefully. Margo wagged a warning finger at him. For heaven’s sake. It was too soon to be thinking about marriage. Too soon to be talking, too soon to be thinking. Oh, who was she kidding? Of course, the thought had crossed her mind, maybe even more than a couple of times. The nice thing was, Finn had made it clear that the thought was crossing his mind too.

“Tonight’s the big night. I’m prepared for another transformative experience,” Finn said.

“I hope you’re taking this very seriously. This is the defining movie experience for the entire Bailey family. If it weren’t for this movie, my name could be . . . Bertha.”

They chuckled and joined hands as they strolled down the street.

“All about Eve, eh? I know for a fact that this Margo is not going to hold a candle to my Margo, but I’ll try to give her a chance.”

Ooh, take that, Margo Channing. “I guess I’ll be fine if she becomes your second favorite Margo. Hey, Newhart. Stop playing with that dog. She does not want to play with you.” Newhart was circling a tiny dog who was cowering nervously.

Finn chimed in. “Yeah, Newhart. Get over here. Newhart. New . . . Hart. Wait a minute. New . . . Heart. New heart.” Finn looked at Margo a bit sheepishly. “I just got it. Why are you laughing? How should I know? You like old actors. I thought you might be a big Bob Newhart fan.”

Still laughing, Margo scooped Newhart up and started running down the street, Finn sprinting behind her.

Lilith shook her head in exasperation. It was still difficult to say whether Margo Bailey was going to be of any use to her. On the one hand, she entered potentially dangerous confrontations without hesitation. She faced down a killer and kept her wits about her. Her powers were rudimentary, but growing. On the other hand . . . what an inconvenient time for her to fall in love, a distraction that Lilith had never succumbed to. It would blunt Margo’s capacity for anger and complicate using her as an instrument of vengeance.

Lilith would have to assess all of her options before she knew for sure. She cast an eye on the disappearing figure of Dr. Svenson and swiftly made her way to his side. Loathsome man, taking her apart like that. The spectacle of a multitude of her body parts being placed into their new hosts was a sight that would be seared into her eternal memory.

Now, the doctor would lead her to the other recipients, one of whom might display exceptional talent and utility. One who could solve the murder of Lilith Hazelwood and grant her the sweet justice she deserved.