Third Crime's a Charm (A Farmer's Market Witch Mystery Series Book 2)

by Constance Barker

  Delilah’s smile didn’t overcome the truth. She was a cold-blooded killer. And I was to be her next victim. I readied a spell that would disable her.

  “Your turn,” she said and started forward.

  “Sharp to maim, sharp to kill,

  “Sharp to answer to my will.

  “Sharp on ocean, sharp on land,

  “Sharp to leave the clutching hand.”

  Delilah dropped the shears and stared at me. When she tried to pick them up, her fingers couldn’t grasp them.

  “What?” she asked.

  I shrugged.

  Jason walked into the room, and Delilah’s face changed again. She became a victim.

  “I had to protect myself,” Delilah said. “Elle was about to attack me. She thinks I had something to do with Betty’s murder.”

  Jason pulled out his cuffs. “Nice try. I’ve been standing in the next room for a few minutes. I heard everything you said.”

  I stared at Jason, because I knew he had not been in the next room. He was bluffing.

  “Bitch,” Delilah said to me. “This isn’t over. You won this time, but you won’t win the next.”

  “Quiet,” Jason ordered. “Anything you say can be used in a court of law.”

  “I don’t care,” Delilah said. “She’s so prissy. She’ll get hers someday, just like Betty did.”

  Jason hauled Delilah out of the flower shop. I looked around at the flowers and wondered if David or Thomas would be able to keep the shop open. I doubted it. Neither was equipped with the sense and work ethic needed. With any luck, they would sell the shop to someone more adept.

  I was back in my shop, relating the arrest to Gus and Emmy when my phone chirped. It was a call from the county jail, and I smiled. Jason wanted to talk.

  “Listen up,” Delilah said.

  CHAPTER 29

  “Why are you calling me?” I asked.

  “Because you’re going to get me out of jail.”

  “I think not.”

  “Listen, I don’t get much time on this call, so don’t interrupt. Before Betty died, she told me a bunch of stuff about this town and the witches in it. She thought she was buying her way out of dying, so I let her talk. I couldn’t let her live, but l listened to her. You need to know this stuff, and I’m willing to tell you...provided you help me escape.”

  “Why should I believe you?” I asked.

  “Because Betty got the info from her mother before the old bat died. It seemed Betty’s mom knew a great deal about the dark magic that was centered in Abbot Rise. Betty’s mom was one of the witches, I think. Doesn’t matter. I got all the stuff from Betty, and I’m willing to give it to you.”

  “If I help you escape?”

  “You get nothing for nothing,” Delilah said. “That’s the law of the universe.”

  “I would like to know what you know,” I said. “But I’m not going to help you escape.”

  Delilah laughed. “You’re so simple. You’ll change your mind, once bad things begin to happen. And then, it will be too late. I’ll be upstate or something. So, think about it, Miss Elle, you don’t have a lot of time. Do nothing, and you could end up like Betty.”

  The connection died, and I stared at my phone. Was Delilah bluffing, or did she know something? It made sense that some information had passed through Betty to Delilah. After all, how could she know to offer, if Betty hadn’t said something? But I wasn’t about to risk jail for it.

  “Gus,” I said. “I need an opinion.”

  “I always have one of those,” he answered.

  “Me too,” Emmy said.

  I explained the phone call and waited.

  “There is no way to get her out of jail,” Gus said. “That would be foolish. Yet, you would like to know what she knows. That makes sense.”

  “So, the answer,” Emmy said, “is to find a way to get her to talk without breaking her out.”

  I had to agree with them. We were in unchartered territory. At that moment, Percy and Millie arrived at the shop. Percy, of course, had heard part of the conversation, so he was up to speed. I had to give Millie the quick overview.

  “There is no chance of escape,” Millie said. “We have to find another way.”

  “Ditto,” Percy said. “We can offer her something other than escape.”

  “I don’t think she’d be interested in that,” I said.

  “Then, how about a spell,” Gus offered. “Certainly, there’s a way to get her to talk—with the proper magical persuasion.”

  “That’s a great idea,” Millie said.

  “I agree,” Percy added, “although, it’s out of my area of expertise.”

  “I’ll do it,” I said. “But I’ll have to gather a few things first. I would like her to tell me what she knows, without remembering that she told me.”

  “That’s two spells,” Millie said. “You’ll have to combine them.”

  “Which is always delicate,” I said, even as my phone chirped.

  “The jail again,” I said. “What does she want now?”

  I grabbed the phone. “No, Delilah. I will not help you.”

  “Well, that’s good to know,” Jason said.

  “Oh, Jason, I’m so sorry. I thought...”

  “I know what you thought. I’m guessing Delilah called you earlier. And I hope she told you something you can use. Because, and I hate to say this, because she’s dead.”

  “Dead?” I was stunned. “Dead?”

  “Suicide by hanging.”

  “That’s insane,” I said. “Delilah was not suicidal. In fact, she was a survivor. She would never take her own life.”

  “I feel the same, but since there’s no way in or out of the jail. And none of the cameras picked up anything, it’s hard to call it anything else.”

  I wanted to point out that there were ways to get in and out and not get caught—if one used magic. I suspected Jason thought the same thing, but he wasn’t about to suggest it over the phone.

  “I have to go,” he said. “We’ll catch up later.”

  I put down the phone and broke the news to the group. They had suspected the worse, and I confirmed their suspicions. No one shed a tear, but we were all subdued. Delilah was a killer, but that didn’t mean she deserved to die. And who had the magical power and wherewithal to appear in the jail, kill Delilah and disappear? I could think of a few people, and they were all witches.

  Percy and Millie went about their business. Gus and Emmy left for a walk. I was alone when the phone rang again.

  The jail.

  “Yes, Jason,” I said.

  CHAPTER 30

  Abbot Rise’s best steak house had been a small schoolhouse at one time. Some entrepreneur had gutted the school and transformed it into a fine restaurant. He had had the good sense to leave some of the blackboards, which allowed local artists to create chalk art. It was always fun to take in the drawings, although I was not in a position to eat there often. My charm business didn’t allow me to splurge. I didn’t think Jason’s deputy salary allowed him to eat there on a regular basis either. Yet, that was where he took me to celebrate the solving of the murder.

  “You know,” he said over a glass of wine, “we make a good team—for a witch and a shifter.”

  “Hush,” I said. “Someone might be listening.”

  “The only person who might overhear us is Percy, and I believe he’s home, staring at his computer and chatting with fellow bloggers. Did you know he belongs to several online groups?”

  “It wouldn’t surprise me,” I said. “He’s full of words, and those words need to get out. A newspaper blog isn’t going to run him dry. But you’re more than right. We do make a good team.”

  “You don’t want to get into the dark magic and witches around Abbot Rise, do you?”

  “Not tonight,” I said. “We’re here to celebrate. We’re here because David turned over a new leaf and agreed to put Thomas into rehab. We’re here because the Farmer’s Market Grand Reopening is right
around the corner. We’re here because Gus and Emmy have become fast friends. We’re here because we both enjoy a glass of good wine and a well-aged steak. So, nothing from the other side tonight, fair enough?”

  “More than fair.”

  We passed the evening as pleasantly as could be wished for. We laughed and joked and enjoyed good food and good company. By the end of the night, I was feeling mellow, safe, something I rarely achieved in the reign of Tabitha.

  We stood on my front porch, having reached that awkward moment. I was wondering if it would be proper for me to invite him in for a drink. If I did, and he didn’t agree, I might look foolish, and foolish was not a welcome feeling. Yet, his lingering led me to believe that the invitation would be welcome. I was stuck for some seconds, wondering whether to fish or cut bait, as the expression went. Then, remembered my mother’s advice about business.

  My mother maintained that the worst thing for a salesperson was a “maybe”. Every salesperson knew that so many contacts yielded so many sales. If you pitched ten people, you sold three charms. So, getting turned down on a sale, was welcome. That was one of those seven “no’s” you needed in order to get your three “yeses”. But a “maybe” wasn’t a “yes” or a “no”. And that “maybe” would take as much work as a “yes” or a “no”. But it wouldn’t get you any closer to your three “yeses”. So, what a salesperson needed was a simple yes or no. That meant, I had to make up my mind.

  Which I did.

  And he said yes.

  DON’T MISS THE NEXT book in the Farmer’s Market Witch Mystery Series:

  A Devilish Charm

  Thanks for Reading

  I hope you enjoyed the book and it would mean so much to me if you could leave a review. Reviews help authors gain more exposure and keep us writing your favorite stories.

  YOU CAN FIND ALL OF my books by visiting my Author Page.

  SIGN UP FOR CONSTANCE Barker’s New Releases Newsletter where you can find out when my next book is coming out and for special discounted pricing.

  I NEVER SHARE OR SELL your email.

  Visit me on Facebook and give me feedback on the characters and their stories.

  Catalog of Books

  The Farmer’s Market Witch Mystery Series

  Charmed to Death

  Third Crime’s a Charm

  A Devilish Charm

  Tabby Kitten Witch Mystery Series

  Familiar Magic

  Creature Magic

  Adventure Magic

  Spooky Magic

  Ghoulish Magic

  Shadow Magic

  IVY’S BOTANICAL SHOP Cozy Witch Mystery Series

  Brewing Up Trouble

  Brewing the Midnight Oil

  A Storm is Brewing

  Back to the Brewing Board

  Brewing Up the Wrong Tree

  Brewing Down the Hatches

  WITCHES BE CRAZY COZY Witch Mystery Series

  Down the Hatch

  Down But Not Dead

  Down and Out

  Down and Dirty

  Down in Flames

  Down for the Count

  THE HOCUS POCUS COZY Witch Mystery Series

  Spooks and Spells

  Freaks and Felons

  Crooks and Crystals

  Graves and Goons

  Brooms and Brains

  Moons and Magic

  THE HAPPY BLENDINGS Cozy Witch Mystery Series

  The Potion Commotion

  A Pumpkin Potion Explosion

  A Drop in the Potion

  A Notion of a Potion

  A Deceptive Potion

  A Formidable Potion

  A Risky Potion

  CALAMITY CORNERS COZY Witch Mystery Series

  Calm Before the Witch Storm

  The Witch is in the Details

  Better the Witch You Know

  A Witch Axe to Grind

  A Cauldron of Witch Tricks

  TRIPLET WITCH SISTERS Mystery Series

  Two’s Company, Three’s a Coven

  Resting Witch Face

  Bewitched and Bewildered

  Triple Toil and Trouble

  THE WITCH SISTERS OF Stillwater

  Hoodoo and Just Desserts

  A Shade of Murder

  That Ol’ Black Magic

  A Whole Lotta Witchin Goin On

  The Beast Cometh

  Secrets and Sorcery