Jack gave her a soft smile and gently patted one of her vines, before he stood up. He had other things to see to.

~~~

The incident with Carver and the doctor spread through the town like the fog a few days ago. Lock clarified a few things with his siblings, such as how Jack stepped in, and the implied promise that he'd help Carver. Shock wished she had been there to witness it and assist Carver in taking that old codger down. Barrel figured it was for the best that Lock was there instead.

With enough pumpkins sitting at the station waiting to be carved, Barrel assisted with some of bulkier deliveries to the witches' shop. He carried a huge crate of dead man's hands. He pushed the shop door open with his back.

Shock was to his immediate left, chipping away at softened fragments of glue on Aggie's broom. The oldest trickster went around the shop in a cycle, letting some acetone sit and dissolve the first layer of glue on two of the brooms while she worked on the third. The acetone would have taken out mortal super glue with ease, but the Godzilla glue was a lot worse.

"Hey, Shock," Barrel said as he passed her by.

Shock grumbled something resembling a greeting without looking up from her work. Barrel just shrugged and headed for the counter. Agatha was running things up front and keeping an eye on Shock while her aunts made potions.

"Where do you want this?" Barrel asked her.