“No, but I bet Mez will know.”
Shadi crossed her arms and leaned against the windowsill. “So Aphrodite found the address, searched the place, and then left a message for our boy in case he comes back.”
I nodded. “Looks like. But O’Lachlan claimed Dionysus said he planned to vacate this place more than a week ago.”
“What I want to know is why would this asshole risk incurring the wrath of Aphrodite Johnson if he’s a wiz himself?” Shadi asked.
“Lots of reasons,” I said. “Maybe he didn’t have the scratch to buy the materials himself. Or maybe he’s not very good. Or—”
“Or he just enjoys fucking people over,” Morales said impatiently.
I frowned at him. He’d had a bug up his ass for a couple of days. Initially I figured he’d just been stressed about the case and jacked up on adrenaline for the raid, but now that the worst of the danger was over, he should be back to joking like he always did. But as it stood he looked like he was spoiling for a fistfight. “What’s your problem?”
He paused and turned the full force of his scowl on me. Maybe that shit would make a lesser person back down, but I’d seen Morales in all sorts of moods and this one didn’t intimidate me more than any of the others. “Shit, I don’t know, Prospero. We’ve got a rogue wizard stirring up a shitload of trouble with a fucking Blue Moon bearing down on our asses like a loaded gun. Sorry I’m not more chipper.” His tone dripped with venomous sarcasm I’d never heard from him before. I tilted my head.
“Morales?”
“What?” he snapped.
“What sign are you?”
He looked like he was worried I was a few grams shy of a kilo. “Why?” His eyes narrowed.
“Just humor me, jackass.”
“Taurus,” he grunted.
I nodded. “Oh. I get it now.”
He crossed his arms. “What the fuck does that mean?”
“The Blue Moon is also in Taurus, which means you’ll be feeling its effects especially strongly.” I shrugged. “Which is why you’ve suddenly developed an intense case of PMS.”
He gritted his teeth so hard that I swear I heard them grinding all the way across the room. “Shut the fuck up, Prospero.”
I raised both brows at Shadi. Her corresponding sour expression told me she didn’t appreciate me egging him on. I sent her one back that told her to lighten the fuck up.
Before I could continue to give either of them shit, Mez came busting into the room. His dreadlocks were alternating strands of red and black that day, but his normally composed look was disheveled as he lugged his potion kit into the living room.
“On my way in, I checked the bathroom. Didn’t find any signs he cooked in there but he’s definitely working on an impressive mold colony.” The wiz made a pucker of distaste. As he passed, I caught the telltale cucumber-melon scent of his favorite hand sanitizer. In addition to being a fastidious dresser, Mez was a committed germaphobe. I once saw him go through an entire bottle of that antibacterial stuff in a day, and that was when he was working in his own lab.
“Hey, Mez,” I said, waving him over to the table. When I pointed to the flowers, I asked, “Look familiar?”
He set down his leather doctor’s bag and leaned over the table for a better look. “Hmm. White snakeroot, I think. Nasty.”
“What’s it do?” Morales asked.
“Vomiting, tremors, delirium,” he said, as if reciting days of the week. “Used to grow in pastures. Cows would eat it and then anyone who drank the milk or ate the meat would fall sick. Back in the day, entire towns died from milk sickness. Killed Abe Lincoln’s mom.”
I frowned. “Sounds like Aphrodite’s work for sure.”
Mez raised his brows and I realized he hadn’t been caught up to speed on our new theory. I quickly told him that we thought Aphrodite had tossed the place.
“Hmm,” he said, approaching the kitchen. “She would have been looking for her potions. But we need to figure out what he’s planning to do to the city. And judging from the rig in the kitchen, I’m guessing he wasn’t trying his hand at beer making.” He made some waving motions for the three of us to back away from the kitchen so the master could do his work. He set his large tackle box on the counter and opened the lid. He took his time placing rubber gloves on his hands while he surveyed the contents for the supplies he needed. I’d never watched Mez clear a scene before, so I moved forward to get a better look, but far enough back that he wouldn’t feel I was invading his space.
He removed a small wooden box. From where I stood I couldn’t identify the type of wood but I did catch some glyphs painted on the top and sides. He used a small key from around his neck to open it.
Unable to curb my curiosity. “What’s that?”
He smiled, keeping his eyes on the item in the box. “A little something I cooked up to help detect magic.” With his fingertips, he lifted a small round object from the box. He held it up for us to see. A glass orb with a spindle through its center hung from a copper frame. It looked more like an antique pendant for a necklace than an Arcane investigative tool.
“What’s it do?” Shadi asked, her tone suspicious.
“Watch and see.” Mez smiled like he had a secret and raised the amulet over the distilling pot. Almost immediately the orb glowed red and spun rapidly on its axis.
Morales, who’d apparently forgotten he was being a prick that day, moved forward and emitted a low whistle. “Damn. That’s awesome.”
“Oh stop,” Mez said with a grin that encouraged us to keep going.
“Will it pick up magic on anything?” I asked.
He glanced over and nodded. “For the most part, there are some variables that might throw it off, like a lot of salt in the vicinity or if there’s some other particularly powerful magical energy.”
“Like the full moon?” Shadi asked.
He shook his head. “Like a potion-powered machine or something.” Moving toward the opposite side, he waved the detector over the stove and the microwave. The amulet remained quiet until he waved it in front of the oven. Then it started spinning like it was going to fly right out of Mez’s hands and glowed redder than the devil’s ass.
The wizard whistled low. “Everyone stand back.”
He didn’t have to tell us twice. Shadi, Morales, and I retreated toward the doorway. Mez shot us a disgusted look.