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If Birdie had been any other girl, she would have either burst into tears or hysterical laughter after marching into Mrs. Abigail Adam’s house to perform a magic show in front of every rich and powerful woman of the Junior League in town with a bespectacled head-bobbing pet shop assistant, a mysterious black cat that had a penchant for hanging around in the shadows and a King Charles Spaniel glaring at everyone.

But Birdie, being Birdie, plastered a grand smile on her face.  It stayed fixed there even when Mr. Pemberely glanced their direction and started in surprise.  The bulldog on his lap growled, slicking his ears back.

“Percy!” Mr. Pemberely cried. “What are you doing here?”

Percy’s head bobbed up and down, a ridiculous grin on his thin face.  “Auditioning, sir.”

“Auditioning?”  Mr. Pemberely’s eyes, covered by brown contacts, blinked. “For what?”

“For the magic show,” Birdie interrupted, terrfied Percy might give something away.  “It’s part of the entertainment in the Zoobilation.”

One older woman wearing a ferret stole sniffed and crossed her ankles.  “I’m sure your little act is…charming, but we want something more sophisticated for the Zoobiliation, don’t we, ladies?”

A few nodded in agreement, and Birdie’s heart sank.

“Not necessarily!” a younger woman with a blond bob protested.  “After all, our philanthropy is Pemberely’s youth.  Shouldn’t they be represented at the Zoobiliation?  After all, it is the youth of today who will have to protect the animals next.”

“And this young man works for Mr. Pemberely!” Mrs. Abigail Adams cried, eager to reclaim the floor.

Every head turned towards Mr. Pemberely for confirmation.  The bulldog snarled as Mr. Pemberely nodded.  “Percy is my most valuable assistant,” he assured the ladies.  “I’m sure whatever magic act he’s a part of will be wonderful.”

The ladies clapped as Birdie swallowed, hard.

“Is our act going to be wonderful?” Percy asked, bobbing up and down like a demented vulture.

“I doubt it,” Birdie muttered.  “But I’ll do my best.”  Widening her fake smile, she flung her arms out.  “Ladies and gentlemen, we are the Pet Shop Magicians!  And today, for our audition, we’re going to make an animal disappear!”

“Not only that”– Percy added, his voice squeaking, “But we’re going to ask the spirits of the animal kingdom about the Curse of Zarina!”

The ladies gasped, then burst into applause.  Birdie glared at Percy.  “Where did you come up with that?” she muttered behind her fake smile.  It was starting to hurt her cheeks.

“It just came to me.”  Percy beamed.  “Wasn’t it a good idea?”

Her eyes flickering to Mr. Pemberely and his panicked expression, Birdie shrugged. “Maybe.”   Facing the audience, she cried, “For our first act, we will make…Max the bulldog disapear!”

“Max?”  Mrs. Abigail Adams cried, placing a hand to her breast.  “He won’t be hurt, will he?”

“Of course not,” Birdie assured her.  “Magic never hurt anyone!”

The ladies tittered, whispering to each other.  Birdie looked at Percy, who looked back, terrified.  She glanced at Mr. Pemberely then gave him a look, nudging him in that direction.  His hands shaking, Percy crept toward his boss.

“May I borrow Max, sir?”

Mr. Pemberely chewed on the edge of his fake beard for a moment before catching himself.  “Are you sure it’s safe, Percy?”

“Yes, sir.”  Percy’s voice cracked with every head bob.

“All right.”  Ignoring Max’s growls of protest, Mr. Pemberely handed the bulldog to Percy.  Percy placed him in a chair, where Birdie draped a blanket from Mrs. Adams over him.

“Before we say the spell, I will use Max’s presence to question the animal spirits,” Birdie proclaimed, flinging her arms out.  “Oh spirits, tell me:  Is the Curse of Zarina real?”

“Of course it is!” a deep voice from the blanket snapped.

Percy’s eyes widened.  “Birdie, that’s the same voice I heard”–

“And tell me, oh spirit, what will the curse of Zarina do to our little town?” Birdie cried, jamming her elbow into Percy’s ribs.

“Well, it must be channeled properly, of course!” the voice snapped.  “If one knows the proper steps, the curse can be avoided entirely.  The power of the elephant can be harnassed for good.”

“Really?”  Mrs. Abigail Adams, hanging onto every word, gasped.  “How?”

The voice laughed.  “It’s a secret.”

“But what would you do with all that power?”  Birdie stepped closer to the dog quivering with excitement under the blanket.  “What would you want with it?”

The voice cackled.  “Nice try.  You know very well what I would want.  It’s the same thing we all want.”

“Money?” the woman wearing the dead ferret cried.

“Love?” the woman with the blond bob shouted.

“Respect?” Mrs. Abigail Adams cried.

“Power,” Mr. Pemberely whispered, a haunted look in his dark eyes.  “Everyone wants power.  Power and prestige.  Power to right the wrongs done to them.”

“Is that what you want, Max?” Birdie whispered to the blanket, keeping her eye on the murmuring ladies in the audience.  “But what would you want with all that power?”

“You’re a smart girl,” the voice growled.  “I’m sure you’ll figure it out.  How’s Frank doing, by the way?”

“If you tell me now, it’ll be easier,” Birdie whispered.  “You know you won’t get away with it.”

The shape under the blanket twitched.  “Oh, but I will.  I will.”

Raising her head, Birdie beamed at the ladies.  “Abracadabra!”  Whipping the blanket off the shape in the chair, she blinked.  The dog was actually gone.  The ladies gasped.

“How did you do that?” Percy asked.

“I have no idea,” Birdie murmured.

“Bring him back!” Mr. Pemberely cried, standing from his chair.  His hands trembled and his eyes rolled wildly.  “Oh please, bring him back!”

His cries were met with a chorous of agreement.  Flinging the blanket back over the chair, Birdie closed her eyes and said a little prayer before shouting, “Hocus Pocus!”

Whipping off the blanket, she gasped.  Detective Michaels was perched in a chair, Max curled on his lap with a smug smile.

Holding the bulldog out to her, he said, “I believe you were looking for this?”

Stay tuned, Invisible Friends!  Tomorrow we have a new recipe and Friday, a new Dallas Jean Lee!

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