Stuck with a Spell by D. D. Scott Read Free Book Online

my tragically
eccentric aunt.
    But Adah always did seem to have a
sixth sense that she attributed to being her mother’s daughter. And
her mother was one formidable soul. From a family with roots in
Zanzibar as far back as written records were kept, she was from the
old country...the oldest, literally. Her father was just as
formidable. He was the son of a Zulu chieftain who became a famous
Keynesian economics professor at Cambridge.
    She wasn’t the most likely partner to
be hooked up with this farm boy, I’ll admit, but from the first day
I’d met her, I was beyond smitten.
    “ Hello?”
    “ I’m here,” I said, coming
out of my revelry, although my mind was still racing trying to
figure out what Liza might have done to her. “How are
you?”
    “ I’ve been
better.”
    “ What’s the matter?” I
asked, totally terrified of the answer.
    “ I was in the process of
rearranging my lab earlier, and one of my graduate assistants
dropped a centrifuge at a rather inopportune time. Now I’ve got
three broken bones in the top of my foot. Needless to say, that’s
the end of my triathlon training.”
    Shit. Shit. Shit. Liza was gonna pay
for this. Adah and I weren’t married anymore, but I still cared for
her, and Liza knew that.
    “ I didn’t know you were
training for a triathlon,” I said, trying to sound as casual as
possible.
    “ How would you? We haven’t
spoken for some time. I’m just sitting in the hospital with my foot
in the air, and I thought it would be a good time to check in.
You’ve been on my mind since I saw the article in the Globe about
Jack Collins’ murder. When I read that his body was found on your
farm, I nearly spit up my espresso. So, how are you holding up out
there?”
    “ I appreciate your concern,
but I’m fine. Really, I am,” I said, doing my best to sound halfway
convincing, which was tough considering my blood was beginning to
boil.
    Why the hell would Liza have any reason
to mess with Adah?
    The only thing I could think of was the
pronunciation of her name. It sounds just like Ada, which is a
palindrome - a word that can be read the same way backwards as
forwards. And that was just the sort of oddity that appealed to
Liza.
    One of the books on my bookshelves,
which Aunt Liza had recently borrowed and couldn’t stop talking
about, was The Poisonwood Bible. One of the main characters in
Kingsolver’s story was named Adah, and she was obsessed with
palindromes. She even imagined an alternate, darker version of
herself named Ada. Surely Liza wasn’t trying to tap into those
kinds of energy fields too?
    But dammit all of this is just plain
crazy! Why was I even thinking about this? I swear, all of this
Liza nonsense is really starting to drive me mad. Palindromes? I
had to get a grip.
    “ Are you still there?” Adah
asked.
    “ Yes. Sorry. I’m just in the
middle of some damage control here.”
    “ What’s going on? Not
another body, I hope.”
    “ No. Nothing like that.”
Although, it certainly could have been. “Just cleaning up another
one of Aunt Liza’s messes.”
    “ Say no more. We should have
lunch next time you’re in Boston.”
    “ I’d like that,” I said,
relieved that Adah hadn’t inquired any further into the nature of
my aunt’s latest shenanigans. “Keep off that foot and get healed up
quickly.”
    “ I will. Goodbye,
Nick.”
    I said my goodbye, unable to get off
the phone fast enough.
    “ Liza!” I screamed, and I
didn’t give a damn if everyone else in the house heard
me.
    “ Yes, Nicky?” She said,
using her most innocent-sounding voice as she stepped into my
office from the kitchen.
    “ I just got off the phone
with Adah.”
    At the mention of my ex, the color
drained from her cheeks. And that was all the confirmation I
needed.
    “ How many dolls were in that
explosion?”
    “ What do you
mean?”
    “ Don’t jerk me around, Liza!
How many?”
    “ Uhm...Three.” Her answer
came out so softly that I couldn’t be certain of