But that was Kenzie's magic card. She made a deal with the authorities. If Galen removed the spell from Alley and turned her back to normal, attempted murder would be removed from his list of charges, since it was undetermined if his actual intention was to kill her and Alley with his spell.
"Just turn Alley back to normal," she bargained with him in the interrogation room, "and you won't be charged with attempted murder. What are you really trying to prove here? Alley's learned her lesson, believe me. And I can guarantee she'll be different from now on."
"I doubt it."
"Have you noticed she hasn't dated anyone since you? Maybe that's a sign."
"Yeah, a sign that she's more devoted to her career than ever."
"Galen, you've got quite the smorgasbord of charges against you. Losing one as severe as attempted murder would be a good thing."
"Why? I'll still end up in prison."
"Not necessarily. Plead insanity. Which wouldn't even be a lie, by the way. You did this whole scheme for a very asinine reason."
"According to you."
"It's possible you might lose another charge if you take the spell off Alley. It could be considered good behavior on your part. Galen, if you really love her, you won't let her suffer. And if you really loved her to begin with, you would have let her go. You would have given her what she wanted, and her happiness would have been the only thing that mattered to you."
Galen seemed to ponder this. Kenzie crossed her fingers under the table, hoping that her speech would work. And it wasn't even a speech she'd made up in order to accomplish her goal. She truly meant it.
Galen seemed to realize this when he said softly, more softly than Kenzie had ever heard him speak, "I guess I was a fool, thinking she could ever really love someone like me. And maybe I was just infatuated. Someone so beautiful and talented, and she chose me. I was so blind. I don't know if I'm still in love with her, but I do remember all the good times. And back then, all I wanted was for her to be happy. I guess I never saw it coming."
"I understand that, believe me."
"If I take this spell off her, and make her go back to normal, can I get one other thing in return?"
"It depends. What did you have in mind?"
"That fountain is supposed to be a secret. No one is supposed to find it, let alone take advantage of it. I don't want her using it again. She needs to understand that if we were meant to stay young forever, we would have been created that way."
"I understand, and I feel the same way about aging. I'll have a word with her. I can't control her behavior, but I will try to convince her to stay away from it."
"Then, we have a deal."
********************
Alley Catraz was young and beautiful once more. She promised to avoid the Fountain of Youth as much as possible, and busied herself working on her upcoming film. She even wanted to start writing her own stories for movies, and maybe even songs.
There was still enough time left for Kenzie and Jillian to enjoy their Hidden Springs sojourn. After all the tension this case had built up, they went back to the spa and got more massages, manicures, and pedicures.
"I have to admit," Jillian stated as the two enjoyed a steam bath together in the sauna, "I'm glad you solved that case. Otherwise, what else would we watch?"
"I'm sure we'd find something, but Alley is our favorite actress. And it was so nice of her to give us tickets to her next movie premiere. I can't wait!"
"Yeah, that was a very nice way to thank you for finding out what happened to her, and for getting her turned back to normal."
"You know, Galen was a huge jerk, but I can't help but feel a little sorry for him. I think a part of him really did care for Alley, at least until she left him and he got dominated by revenge. But still. I know what it feels like to have someone you love betray you."
"At least Alley had a halfway decent reason. She wants to work on her career, which is very important to her. The guy you're talking about - yes, I know who it is - was just a two-timing cheater. I still say you should have let me chase after him that day and teach him a lesson."
Kenzie thought about Alley's motives for leaving Galen. It was true that she was selfish, especially when it came to how she used him for the Fountain of Youth and didn't like his outward appearance. But Alley's actions gave Kenzie a look into her own heart.
She truly had no idea who or what she'd be without her job. That was what identified her. Yes, she had her friends, family, and boyfriend, but how often did she see them? The only time she ever got out of her house was when she was on a case practically. And even if she did leave for fun, like now in Hidden Springs, or in the summer to Sunset Valley, a case crept up on her.
Was her job her whole life? Had she become consumed by it? And worse yet, was there a way to change it? Or did she even want to change it?
Despite all the cases she'd solved, Kenzie didn't have the answers to some of the more important questions - those that pertained to her own life. She tried to convince herself that she was someone without her job, but somehow, that seemed hard to do.
And yet, she didn't mind. She was happy with who she was and how far she'd come. To her, if someone didn't like her for who she was, then they weren't worth her time. She was genuinely happy with herself. And in the end, isn't that the most important thing in life?
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