Stony Blend (A Paramour Bay Cozy Paranormal Mystery Book 16)

by Kennedy Layne

  It goes unspoken, trust me.

  I’d laid my winter jacket on one of the chairs so that Leo would be a little higher and a lot more comfortable than had he just sat on the wooden surface. He hopped up and began kneading the material to get a bit comfier as Liam pulled out a chair for me.

  “I’ll go on up and place our orders,” Liam said before removing his own jacket. He hung his on the back of his chair before pushing up the sleeves of his navy-blue sweater. “Are you still on the cinnamon coffee kick?”

  “Yes, please,” I replied with a smile as I rubbed my hands together in anticipation. “Oh, one quick question. Did Monty or Mindy describe the footprints that they saw in the snow?”

  “Just that they thought the tracks were from some type of large animal with claws.” Liam shook his head in disappointment. “Neither of them took a picture with their cellphones, so that’s pretty much all we have to go on. Until someone else sees the tracks, there’s nothing that I can do. No animal attacks have been reported, no lost pets, and no…unusual sightings, if you get my drift.”

  I nodded my understanding as Liam began to walk up to the counter, though I figured it could take him a while to reach the cash register where one of the local teens was helping Bree out part-time. Liam always took his duties as sheriff seriously, and he often made time for those residents who wanted to either simply say hello, ask some questions, or complain about one of their neighbors.

  The good ol’ sheriff won’t have to worry about the townsfolk when they make a fast exodus from town upon hearing about Gargoyle Gary. If we can’t get him to agree to help in the squirrelpocalypse, we’ll just have to pack our bags, as well. Who knows the damage that those monstrosities can do when someone gets in their way? People’s flowerbeds will be the least of their worries.

  “Don’t you think that we would have already heard about an odd creature roaming the neighborhoods?” I asked, retrieving my laptop from my bag. I set it down on the table and opened the top before turning it on. “You have me looking up gargoyle folklore, and Eugene has Wilma believing that a serial killing cat might be afoot. I blame this totally on the month of January. No one knows what to do with themselves after the holidays.”

  What do you suppose Gargoyle Gary is searching for? I mean, no one has been smart enough to follow his trail. I suppose that I could, but then that would mean I would have to wake up before dawn. I do believe that’s a sin in my little black book of familiar ethics.

  “Let’s see if we can’t find out more about the legends of gargoyles before we go and let our imaginations get carried away,” I advised, sitting back and waiting for my laptop to fire up. Leo was still making a mess of my jacket, and I had to catch it before it fell to the ground. “Leo, what are you doing? Stop that. You’re going to snag the material.”

  You put the fluffier side on the wrong side of the chair. I wasn’t comfy. How am I supposed to keep an eye on Gargoyle Gary if I’m facing the other direction and too uncomfortable to focus? You have to be the worst cat owner in history.

  “Fine,” I relented, shooing him off the chair so that I could fold the jacket and make the padding more even on the seat. “There. Is that better?”

  Leo’s purr of satisfaction was loud enough for me to hear over the low murmurs of conversation surrounding us. While he secretly tried to knead the material in a not-so-sly manner, I searched the bakery for anyone who I knew personally.

  Unfortunately, the place wasn’t that busy.

  I knew from experience that the bakery would pick up later this evening, after dinner when the residents either wanted a treat or somewhere that supplied free wi-fi. That thought reminded me to look at the display on my laptop. Sure enough, it was asking for my password.

  How that old clunker can still clack is beyond me. What have you got on that thing, anyway? Windows 95? Two of the keys are broken, you rubbed off three of them to the point that I can’t tell what the letters are, and the cooling element sounds like it’s choking to death on a hairball.

  “I love my old laptop, thank you very much,” I replied softly, still mindful of anyone watching me too closely. It was one thing to get caught talking to a cat, but it was a complete other to actually carry on a conversation. “Let’s see what we can find out about gargoyles.”

  While my laptop took a moment to mull over the password that I’d entered, I double-checked on Liam. He’d finally made it up to the counter and was placing our order. He was such a good sport when it came to Leo’s dramatic flair, but something was telling me that his interest in the statue was more than just about placating my familiar.

  “Gargoyles,” I whispered with a shake of my head. We’d dealt with a lot of supernatural mysteries over the past two years, but gargoyles? “Folklore.”

  I typed both words into the search engine and pressed enter on the keyboard. As I quickly perused the contents, I was able to breathe a little easier. It was highly doubtful that the ornamental display that Bree had set right outside the entrance was coming to life when the sun went down and roaming the streets of our quiet little town.

  There! Did you see it? Raven?

  “Would you stop that?” I replied in irritation, especially since Leo’s sudden outcry had me startling off my seat. “You’re going to give me a heart attack.”

  No, you have me confused with the bear claw you’re about to consume in record time. I’m the one saving us from Gargoyle Gary, who just moved one of his fingers. Claw. Fingernail. Whatever! All I know is that it shifted to the left. We have our proof, so now let’s blow it up. I’m not sure he’s suited for the squirrelpocalypse.

  I literally had to put my hand over my mouth so that I wouldn’t laugh out loud and garner everyone’s attention. Leo was never one for subtlety. Once I had myself under control, I purposefully leaned forward and attempted to mollify Leo as I stared out at the gargoyle.

  “Leo, you can’t even see the front of the gargoyle from here,” I pointed out, not even bothering to mention that the shadows the streetlamp had cast on the statue weren’t helping with my visibility. “We can see his left wing and one back foot from here.”

  Exactly. It was the claw on the back foot that moved. Remember, I consumed quite a lot of my blueberry-filled edibles today. My mental antioxidants are at an all-time high, and I memorized Gargoyle Gary’s stance. His back claw shifted, Raven. Trust me.

  I sighed in resignation, coming to the conclusion that Leo was going to want to destroy the statute no matter how much research supported my theory that gargoyles couldn’t come to life. I turned my attention back to my laptop and began to search through the various sites that held information about the mythical creatures.

  “This research on gargoyles is really interesting,” I murmured, resting my finger on the built-in mousepad on my laptop to lower the page so that I could continue reading about their history. “Did you know that…”

  I trailed my words off as I caught sight of what could only be described as flickering light. I quickly looked around for the source, but the overhead lights of the bakery seemed to be just fine.

  Uh-oh.

  “Uh-oh, what?” I asked cautiously, following Leo’s gaze directly out the front entrance. The gargoyle was still on top of his base, and nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. “Leo?”

  Before he could reply, the old-style streetlamp right outside the bakery began to flicker rapidly until it had gathered everyone’s attention. It was almost as if the bulb was getting ready to blow, but I didn’t witness the bright burst of light that usually accompanied such a small explosion inside the glass bulb.

  We’re all going to die!

  The flickering eventually and gradually faded until the main thoroughfare of town was cast into darkness.

  Well, that was somewhat anticlimactic.

  The silence that had followed inside the bakery soon vanished as everyone went about resuming their conversations and drinking their warm beverages. It was as if nothing had happened, and they weren’t c
oncerned about the streetlamps going completely dark.

  Great. Just great. I can’t see Gargoyle Gary anymore. How am I supposed to keep an eye on him if he’s completely cast in the shadows?

  “Looks like the town’s electrical grid blew a circuit.” Liam’s sudden appearance hadn’t startled me, but only because I’d caught movement in my peripheral vision. He’d finally arrived back at our table with a small tray that contained our chicken wraps and drinks. He set everything down carefully as he continued to look out the display window. “I’m going to have to place a call to—”

  Liam broke off his sentence when Leo began to practically bury himself inside of my jacket.

  He’s not getting away that easy!

  “Leo, stop that,” I scolded as I quickly glanced around to see if anyone noticed his odd behavior. By this time, he’d buried himself underneath my jacket completely and was hidden from plain sight. “You’re going to ruin my jacket if you keep—uh-oh.”

  “Uh-oh, what?” Liam asked warily, standing by my side in an attempt to block the other customers from seeing me frantically feel underneath the jacket. “Raven, what’s going on?”

  “Leo blipped,” I whispered, using the term that I always used when Leo became invisible. “He’s…gone.”

  “Well, do something about it,” Liam urged quietly as he began to empty the tray in an attempt to act normal. He set my small plate and drink in front of me, before doing the same with his and picking up the tray. “Everyone saw him come in. I’ll draw people’s gazes away, but make sure he gets back here before anyone notices otherwise.”

  Liam walked away while I set my elbow on the table and feigned interest in the display on my laptop. Hopefully, the patrons would simply think that Leo was now somewhere in the bundled mess that was my winter jacket.

  He’s gone! Gargoyle Gary has vanished into thin air, and he’s no longer on the stand!

  My elbow slipped off the table in surprise at Leo’s sudden appearance, but at least he’d had the foresight to blip back underneath the jacket. That didn’t stop him from scrambling to come up for air, but he only half made it. One of the sleeves was still over his head when he finally stopped moving to share his final thoughts.

  I was right, Raven. We’re all going to die!

  Chapter Four

  “Beetle will mind the teashop today, but I don’t know what to tell you,” my mother said as she continually sipped her coffee at the island in the middle of my kitchen. “I scheduled the entire day to go and look at houses with our realtor. Beetle’s lease is up on his rental property, and we’ll need something a little more permanent seeing as he can now stay in Paramour Bay for the remainder of his years. I can’t simply cancel, especially if Sandra Akens spots me in town.”

  Mom had a point, but that didn’t mean I had to like it.

  I don’t see the problem, Raven. We don’t need the Mistress of the Dark for this mission. We simply need access to a bundle of C4, a couple of caps with a detonator, and we’re all set.

  Leo’s nickname for my mother never failed to get a rise out of her, and she arched that sharp eyebrow his way in rebuke. She’d had to turn her stool around to do it, but she certainly made sure that he could see her displeasure clearly.

  I’ve come to the conclusion that my VVBFF would never allow you to harm a single strand of fur on this pleasingly plump body of mine.

  “How would he even know that it was me?” my mother asked haughtily, as if she’d already thought through her plan. “All it would only take—”

  “Enough,” I exclaimed, rubbing the side of my temple as I held my own coffee cup to my lips. “I haven’t had enough caffeine to deal with the two of you bickering just yet.”

  It was going on seven-thirty in the morning, and the first thing that I had done was ask Beetle if he could mind the teashop today. He’d never turned me down, although this was one of the first times that I’d been able to tell him the truth.

  I hadn’t always known that he was a vampire, but such a discovery had made some situations a lot less complicated.

  I’m popping into the Ted-Shed. If the lump of wax is home, maybe he can tell us if he has a handle on getting us some C4. He has connections, you know.

  I sighed as Leo did his blip thing, leaving me alone with my mother.

  Regina Lattice Marigold was definitely a force to be reckoned with, and her confidence and composure were rather inspiring. Well, with the exception of an itsy-bitsy moment before her marriage to Beetle when she thought that she was being blackmailed out of a future with the centuries-old vampire.

  Anyway, if ever I’d wondered what I would look like in twenty-some years, I was staring right at her. From my understanding, all of the Marigolds had long black hair, emerald green eyes, and high cheekbones. I’d also inherited a tad bit of wide hips that I could do without, but I guess one couldn’t be too picky when it came down to genetics.

  My mother was a stunningly beautiful woman, always wearing her hair swept up high on top of her head, make-up perfectly applied, and red lipstick to match her ever-present manicure. She was the epitome of a modern lady, although Leo’s nickname for her did hold a bit of truth. Mom loved to wear black or mostly dark colors, although that was likely because the duskier hues made the vivid shades of her eyes and lips pop out in an alluring manner.

  “Is Leo just doing his dramatic bit? I mean, is this all to get his mind off his impending battles with the neighborhood squirrels?” Mom asked with disdain. “Seriously, you cater to that familiar far too much, Raven.”

  “If Leo claims that the gargoyle wasn’t on the base of the statue when he went outside to check last night, then I believe him. Liam and I were distracted by the power outage. By the time that Leo returned to get our attention, the gargoyle was back on his perch.”

  I wasn’t going to allow this conversation to get off-topic.

  I’d accepted long ago that Leo and Mom would never see eye to eye on most things. He harbored resentment for her leaving Nan on her own and starting a new life with me off in the Big Apple. Mom had hidden the Marigold legacy from me for most of my life, and I’m not sure that Leo would ever be able to truly forgive her for being the reason that he couldn’t cross through the veil with Nan. Familiars normally expired with their charges. They were tied to the life force of their companion in a very tangible way. Leo would always feel as if a part of himself was missing.

  “Mom, the entire main thoroughfare of Paramour Bay went dark,” I reminded her, memories of last night swirling in my mind. I pushed off the counter and made my way to the island so that I was standing directly across from my mother. “It was so overcast that we couldn’t see outside, which meant that we couldn’t see the gargoyle’s standing stone. The inch or two of snow that we got last night was still in the early stages, so the snow hadn’t really stuck to the sidewalk much. There were no prints, but Leo swears that Gary wasn’t on the stand when he checked last night. By the time Liam went to look things over, the lights had suddenly come back on and Gary was back in his spot.”

  “Gary?”

  “It’s not important,” I dismissed, knowing that it would steer the conversation back around to Leo. “It’s just a name that we decided to give him. Anyway, we need to find out where Bree got the statue in the first place, why a gargoyle is coming to life and running around town, and then figure out a way to stop him before someone actually sees him and discovers that the things that go bump in the night…well, really do go bump in the night.”

  “Gargoyles weren’t really anywhere in the lesson plans, if you know what I mean.”

  Mom checked her watch before taking another sip of her coffee. She and Heidi wore the same brand of lipstick, and both could drink out of cups without ever leaving a trace of color behind.

  Me?

  Not so much.

  “Do you remember anything about the mythical creatures?” I asked before plowing ahead and giving her the details that I’d discovered last night during my internet sea
rch. “They really aren’t of part of the supernatural realm. I mean, not like your average golem, troll, zombie, and such. Basically, they were created as an architectural decorative feature. Most were used as part of a drainage system in order to filter rainwater away from church roofs. A spout, of sorts. Some say they were actually used to ward off evil spirits, much like jack-o-lanterns were once used to do the same, but I’m pretty sure the gargoyle legend was derived from a French tale regarding a legendary dragon. From what I read on the subject last night, the dragon was slain, and his head was mounted onto a church as a warning for other dragons to stay far away from the religious site. Nowhere on the websites that I searched did it mention witchcraft or the supernatural. At least, not in the way that we understand it to be true.”

  My mother and I continued to drink our coffees in silence as we pondered over the information that I’d discovered about the unique creatures, because they honestly didn’t seem real after all of my research.

  “Did you get new dishtowels?” Mom asked rather nonchalantly and completely off topic. “I would have gone with a more burgundy color to match the pillows on the couch. I mean, you’ve got this whole open-concept thing going on here.”

  “That was the only hue they had close enough to match the pillows.”

  “I’ll look for something better online. Something a shade darker.”

  Of course, Mom would have gone with a different color scheme.

  I didn’t say that aloud, of course.

  Mom had a habit of criticizing my tastes, though it was more like calling the kettle black. Her predilections ran a little too dark for me.

  In hindsight, I figured I was much more like Nan than Mom when it came to home decorating.