Bewitching Chemistry

"Most people knock." I had barged in because that's how I do.

"I know and that makes them idiots, when you knock you give the other person a chance to say you can't come in, and frankly I didn't want to give you that kind of chance." It was her fault really she shouldn't have left her door unlocked. Inside her apartment/workshop I could see all kinds of bubbling fluids and beakers, in the years since I'd dealt with a witch (nay centuries) they had radically changed the way they did things.

"You're correct Mr. Lorentino I would not have allowed you in and I'd like for you to leave!" Valerie Stutts also wasn't the traditional witch, gone was the all the usual horrors of uglyness for a witch, she was decently attractive about average weight, her only real problem was her stringy red hair and the acne (the acne was what got her into witchcraft in the first place, sadly she had found no cure for it).

"I'd like for myself to leave as well Valerie, but I need your help please I'm begging you here."

"Begging will get you nowhere." The room smelled awful, I could see she was hard at work trying to do something, now I've never been much of a potion kind of person since I do all my work with real magic (in your face functional yet harder to do magical stuff!) but I did generally know what goes into what by smell (a side effect of avoiding being poisoned for all the centuries, you want to find out what poisons smell like) this wasn't a poison, but the herbs were very distinct. Distinct enough for me to generally know what she was trying to brew

"Well begging with cash in hand, so kind of like begging for you to take my money."

"I'm busy Mr. Lorentino, as most chemists are, something I believe I told you the last time you barged in here."

"You did, but I didn't listen than either Valerie, besides love potions never ever work, they haven't worked for hundreds of years they won't work now." She went bright red at the mention of a love potion.

"You don't know that, they haven't worked before because they didn't have me doing it!" They don't work by the way because there is nothing in nature that can make someone love you, well aside from precious metals and gems, but that's not so much love as lust for your money.

"Tell you what, you help me with my problem, and I'll help you with your love potion, even," I sighed because I knew how terrible these things generally tasted, "Even let you try it out on me."

"Done you can't back out now, you gave your word." People are so funny when they think ones word means anything, especially mine! But a deal was a deal.

"Ok now that we've got that out of the way I need you to help me to find out what killed this guy."

"What? You want me to help you solve a murder?"

"You say that like its impossible."

"You didn't kill him did you?"

"Valerie why would I seek your help in finding out what killed someone if I did it?"

"Because you're insane?" And this was the start of a beautiful working relationship. Not really.