“Something like that. I thought I’d unload a lot of this stuff on eBay when it cooled down a little.”
“You do know that cops monitor eBay to look for stolen goods showing up, right?”
“In this town? I’m not sure the cops know eBay exists.”
“Jason’s wife sells collectible dolls and antiques on eBay,” I pointed out. “He’d know it exists.”
“You took some extremely stupid risks,” Owen said. “You shouldn’t be doing anything with magic that brings unnecessary attention to yourself. That should be the first thing you learn, even before you start learning spells.” I could tell the night’s activities were draining him, even as he made it look easy. With each shop, the glass took a bit longer to disappear, and he walked more slowly to the next shop.
When we were almost done and Dean had retrieved the last load from the car, the police car returned.
“Sam, have you still got us?” Owen asked.
“Yeah, but hold off on the hocus-pocus until he’s gone.”
We all froze in place, holding our breath as the police car made its circuit. Just when we thought we were in the clear, the car pulled up in front of the jewelry shop, and the officer got out to walk the square, swinging a flashlight ahead of him. He aimed the flashlight into the windows, where he was sure to spot the boxes.
“Now!” Owen hissed, getting Dean’s attention. The window we were in front of had gone. Dean dropped the box he held as quickly and quietly as he could, then the glass returned.
From across the square, we heard, “Hey!” The police officer leaned against the window, getting a closer look. He must have discovered the returned goods. He went back to his car and got on the radio.
“I suggest we scram, now,” Sam said. “I can bamboozle one of them, but not more with this many of us and at cop levels of scrutiny. Stick together, though. That makes it easier.”
We clustered together and tiptoed away from the square, moving as one with Sam flying overhead.
When we reached the spot behind the bank where we’d met, Owen said, “Now, go, but take the long way around instead of going straight home or looking like you were coming from here.” My brothers took off, and Owen turned to Sam. “Keep an eye on things and let me know what happens here tonight.”
“Sure thing, boss. Now you get some rest.”
When he was gone, we made our way back to Owen’s rental car. He tossed me the keys when we reached the car. “Do you mind driving? I’m not sure I’m up to it.”
I noticed then that he was shaking. “You could have drawn power from me, or from Teddy,” I said.
“I’ll be okay. It was quicker and easier this way.”
He fell asleep almost as soon as he got into the car, and I hoped we didn’t get stopped this time, since I didn’t have any Jedi mind tricks in my arsenal. I’d have to resort to crying. I let the car creep away from downtown without the headlights on until we were well out of the zone of suspicion. Then I took back roads to arrive home from the opposite direction, as though we were coming from out of town.
When I’d parked and killed the engine, I nudged Owen awake. “Are you wearing anything under that black sweatshirt that might look less suspicious?” I asked him.
“What? Why?” he mumbled sleepily.
“Because I don’t think you need to be climbing trees or in and out of windows right now. And I think you need sugar. We could go in the back door, have a snack in the kitchen, and then if we get caught on the squeaky steps, we can say we just went downstairs for a midnight snack. The thought of food should distract Mom. She’ll be so terrified about her guest going hungry that she’ll insist on going downstairs and cooking you a three-course meal, and she’ll forget to wonder why she didn’t hear us going downstairs.”
“Very good idea,” he said, making no move to get out of the car.
I got out and went around to Owen’s side, where I opened the door and pulled him out. I nudged him into a position leaning against the side of the car and unzipped his sweatshirt to discover a plain white T-shirt underneath. I pulled his sweatshirt off him, removed my own sweatshirt, and locked them and the bag of magic tricks in the trunk. I then got an arm around his waist and led him up the back steps into the kitchen.
Under the kitchen light, he looked even worse than I realized, very pale and drawn, and with his eyes sunk into dark circles. I put a kettle on to make cocoa, then found two packets of mix. While the water heated, I cut a couple of slices of cake and put one in front of him. “Eat!” I ordered.
