Abracadabra (3 page)

She inched closer and peered at the mishmash of items on his table. Everything looked used, not of much interest. She started to leave when the man scurried around the table and grabbed her arm.

As he tugged on her, his eyes pleaded. “I have something very special to show you. One of a kind. It calls out for you.”

Her heart beat faster. Her skin crawled. Firmly she removed his fingers from her arm. “For
me
?”

The man quickly amended, “For a beautiful woman like you.”

The man shook his head and mumbled under his breath. “Everybody will want it.”

She couldn’t imagine wanting whatever it was. Wishing she hadn’t stopped, she shook her head. She gave him a noncommittal smile and started to back away. “I have to get going. Sorry.”

He ran after her cradling an ornate bottle bejewelled with emeralds, rubies and sapphires. Not just any bejewelled bottle, it resembled a genie’s bottle.

Mesmerised by the brilliance of the sunlight bouncing off the faceted glass, she stopped and stared. She stretched out a finger to touch the smooth surface. Then she remembered her manners and let it drop. Besides, it looked frightfully expensive. “It’s gorgeous!”

“Ten dollar.” The man held it up and turned it around under a fountain of light that streamed through a hole in the tent overhead.

Her eyes widened and she looked at it anew. It must be a knock-off, but it was a very beautiful one. “Ten dollars?”

His beady eyes narrowed. “Eight dollar. Real bargain.”

She had the perfect place to put it on her mantle… Usually she spent more than that on lunch.

The man’s squinting gaze followed her finger. “No other bottle special like this one.”

On the verge of fishing the money out of her purse, she paused. There was that word again…
special
. “What’s so special about
this
bottle?”

“It’s magical.”

Magical?
She tried not to laugh. Even if she believed in magic, she doubted it could be bought for a measly eight dollars.

Magical or not, it was really pretty. She delved in her purse, past Mark’s bundled letters, and got eight dollars from her wallet. “Here.”

The man held up his hand, palm out. “Sold. Promise, you like. Let me wrap it up.”

When he brought back the carefully wrapped bottle, she handed over the cash. “Thank you.”

“Thank you! You won’t regret.” With another crooked smile, the man returned to his table. Still, he eyed her with great interest.

Squirming, Savi quickly made her way towards her car. Since she’d forgotten her watch at home, she bought one of the cheap watches on her way out.  Then her stomach grumbled so she picked up a bottled water and turkey wrap.

A few minutes later she climbed into the driver’s seat. Eager to get out of the sweltering South Florida heat, she turned on the AC. Moments later, she entered the stream of traffic headed into downtown Ft. Lauderdale.

* * * *

Forty-five minutes later, she was waiting to pass through security on her way to the courtroom where Mark’s fate would be decided. She chafed at the long line to get into the courthouse. When it was her turn to walk through the x-ray machine, she put her purse on the conveyer belt. Her heart jumped when the machine beeped and the guards opened her purse and dumped the contents.

Loose change, a nail file, her wallet and the bottle poured onto the counter. She chastised herself for bringing the bottle when she’d meant to leave it in the car. She knew how anal courthouse security was.

The guard picked up the nail file and gave her a dirty look. “Weapons aren’t allowed,” he said as he pitched it in a nearby garbage can.

A little p.o.ed that he really considered the flimsy piece of metal a weapon, her nostrils flared. But she clamped her lips. She wondered what he would do if he knew she was almost a black belt in karate. Her hands were far more dangerous than that flimsy piece of nothing.

She was surprised when they unwrapped the bottle but dismissed it and handed it back to her. Then they let her have everything else back, which she stuffed into her purse.

By the time she reached the courtroom, she was one big mass of nerves, worried about Mark and his fate, wondering if he still loved her. She took her seat on the row of benches facing the judge, pathetically empty of anyone there to support Mark except for her. Several people clustered together for the accuser’s side and glared at her as if she was guilty.

Then Anna sauntered inside in a slinky suit and stilettos. Red lipstick coloured her lips. She gave a cursory nod to Savi, then sat on the opposite end of the bench in front of her.

Savi’s breath stuck in her throat. Her fists clenched on her purse. When Savi caught herself gaping, she clamped her mouth shut. She tried not to stare at the other woman, but kept watch out of her peripheral vision.

“Touch the bottle,” a strange, feminine voice commanded.

Savi jumped. She squelched a yelp rising in her throat.

What bottle?
Was she delusional? Savi twisted around on the hard bench but the burly, stony-faced guard stood as still and silent as the guards at Buckingham Palace. There was no way that lilting womanly voice had come out of him.

Anna turned and tented her brow.

After Savi gave a small smile and nod, she turned her back to the other woman. Then she snuck a glance at the prosecution’s side but they were now busily talking to one another in hushed tones.

“The one inside your purse. Touch me,” the voice commanded.

Compelled as if bewitched, Savi hoped Anna wasn’t watching, then peeked inside her handbag. Sure enough the bejewelled bottle glowed eerily under the glare of the fluorescent lights. Gaping, she turned her body to shield it from the rest of the room as she regarded the object demanding to be stroked.

Bottles didn’t talk, she told herself. Her one remaining brain cell must have shrivelled. The past two years of wondering if the love of her life was guilty of rape and worrying about his safety in prison, must have driven her insane.

The strange bottle started jumping around like a Mexican jumping bean inside her purse making it difficult to hold onto. Afraid everybody, especially Anna, would notice, she clutched the bag tightly and stared at the possessed object beginning to wonder if she was in a dream as she wrestled it back to the bottom of her satchel. Hurriedly, she zipped her purse, put it between her legs and leant over to hide it.

“Kind Mistress. I am your genie. I have the power to help if you free me from my prison in this bottle. Say the word and wish your man free.”

The voice, which had the same accent at the flea market vendor’s, sent chills down Savi’s spine. And yet, she longed for Mark’s freedom with her entire being. Without him, her heart was trapped in cement. Knowing he was in such pain made her feel guilty for being free. She couldn’t be truly happy if he wasn’t, too.

“
Wish?
Genies aren’t real.” Despite her words, her gaze glued to the possessed purse, Savi tiptoed out of the courtroom and found a deserted corner in the hallway. Still leery but more hopeful, she took the shiny bottle out of her purse and turned it over in her hands.

“The desires of your heart called out to me, Mistress. The love in your heart. You are now mistress of my bottle and I am bound to grant you three wishes. But please, kind Mistress, use your third wish to set me free for all time. My ex-master is dreadfully evil and he will do everything in his power to take revenge on me and carry out his nefarious schemes. The only way to stop him is to set me free before he gets his hands on me.”

Evil genies? Good genies?

Savi’s budding headache exploded and she rubbed her throbbing temples. “I don’t believe in genies. I must be dreaming.”

“Release me, and I will prove it to you.”

“Even if you were real, I can’t let you out in the middle of the courthouse where everyone will see you!” What if this was real, which of course it wasn’t. A half naked woman in a genie costume would attract unwanted attention.

“I’ll stay small and invisible. I promise, Mistress.”

Her jaw dropping wide, Savi tried to collect her wits and recall her genie lore which was pitifully small, consisting mainly of watching reruns of
I Dream of Jeannie
and the occasional cartoon. “Just how many wishes do I get?”

“Three. Please remember that you promised to use your third wish to free me.”

Savi didn’t recall promising any such thing but it seemed a reasonable request. Crossing her fingers mentally and feeling like an idiot, Savi rubbed the bottle. She’d do anything to save Mark, even make a fool of herself, so just in case… “What do I say?”

“Abracadabra. Genie, come forth.”

She had to be joking. What if Anna heard her?

Savi’s heart plummeted to her feet when she spied the guard striding towards her with a dangerous glint in his eye.
Oh, no!
“We’re about to have company. The guard can’t see you.”

“Release me. I’ll veil their eyes.”

“Promise? They’ll lock me up if they see you pop out of my purse.”

“My magic is powerful. I give you my word.”

Savi prayed for deliverance as she rubbed the bottle and muttered in a stage whisper, “Abracadabra. Genie, come forth!”

Chewing her lower lip, not sure how wise it was to let the literal genie out of the bottle, Savi popped the lid of the ornate urn. Despite the warning that there was a magical creature in the container, she was still amazed when a gorgeous, exotic genie emerged from within a puff of mist. Silky black hair was piled high into a luxurious ponytail that curled around her bare waist. A brazen bikini top barely concealed her extra large breasts while gauzy pantaloons rode low around the woman’s shapely hips.

In a blink, Savi found herself back inside the Broward County courtroom surrounded by the victim’s family, a gaggle of press and the courtroom staff. The victim glowered at her as if she was the predator who had molested her. Anna’s glare wasn’t much friendlier.

Chills scraped down Savi’s spine and her heart plummeted to her knees when she looked past the hostile victim to a pathetic Mark who was being led into the room in handcuffs and chains.

Mark’s entire countenance loomed grey…not merely his prison jumpsuit, but the tinge of his flesh down to his rheumy eyes. When he stared at her soullessly, she couldn’t bear to meet his zombie-like gaze and veiled hers as her heart cracked.

His lips pursed stonily as if to open them would release a slew of demons. His raven hair was shorn short, lacking any style as if hacked by a dull axe. He was a ghost of the man who’d claimed her heart, and now, he stole her breath in an entirely different, horrendous way.

Mark took his seat next to his attorney, a florid man with a double chin. Gaudy diamond cocktail rings adorned each of his pudgy fingers.
Just how many of those rings had Mark funded with his never-ending appeals?

She scowled.
Far too many.

Anna’s smile grew wide and she waved to Mark.

Savi’s fingers itched to strangle the other woman. She couldn’t take her eyes off Anna and Mark, wondering if he’d wave back.

Fortunately, for her piece of mind, he didn’t seem to notice Anna and he didn’t respond. Unfortunately, Mark didn’t seem to notice her either.

Next to her, her genie had changed into a contemporary business suit. Her glorious hair twisted into a becoming French knot, and diamond studs twinkled from her tiny lobes.

“Everyone please be seated and resume order in the courtroom.”

Savi sat and motioned to her genie to follow the rules.

Once she was seated, the genie whispered into Savi’s ear, “I can set him free if you like. State your desire in wish form and it will be done, Mistress.”

Savi’s pulse leapt and tingles shot down her spine. Alarmed at the public use of her title, Savi looked about her nervously and shushed the genie with a hushed whisper, “Don’t call me that. My name is
Savi
.”

She longed for Mark’s freedom with all her heart—but only if he was innocent. Ashamed to admit that she wasn’t one hundred percent certain, that she feared he was guilty as accused, she veiled her eyes with her lashes, unable to return Mark’s avid gaze. Even if he came out the victor in this appeal, she’d never truly know if he was innocent.  There was no way she could entrust her life to a man who’d committed such an atrocious act—even one who owned her heart.

A brilliant thought stole Savi’s breath and she turned hopeful eyes on the woman beside her. Clutching the genie’s wrist with shaking hands, she asked in a hoarse whisper, “Can you make people tell the truth?”

The Arabian nodded soberly, the incandescent lights twinkling off her diamond ear studs. “Call me Adara, Mistress. I can bring the truth to light, if that is your most fervent desire.” Adara sat at unblinking attention, and crossed her arms over her chest, awaiting direction.

The truth was what Savi needed, heart and soul. But that wasn’t all she needed. If Mark was innocent, he needed freedom—and absolution. She pondered the true desires of her heart for several moments before voicing her wish. “I wish for Mark to be set free permanently—today—but only if he is truly, completely innocent.”

Sucking in her breath, she stared at Adara, fervently hoping for Mark to be proven completely guiltless. She imagined her wish would come instantly true, that they would be transported far away from the vile courtroom, their memories of the painful past two years erased. But she sat in the same place and Mark still sat a miserable five yards away from the yawning judge.

Leaning close to the genie so she couldn’t be overheard, she whispered, “Can you do that?”

Adara nodded, her midnight black eyes twinkling. “Yes, Mistress. Adara’s most powerful genie. Watch and listen closely for the answers you seek.”

The victim fidgeted in her seat, wringing her hands in her lap and biting her lower lip, an angry crimson stain rising in the apple of her cheeks. Her pale hands shook as she was sworn in and the District Attorney asked her to tell the court what had transpired that fateful night more than two years before.