Point Muse Cozy Paranormal Mystery Boxed Set: Books 1-3

by Kelly Ethan

  Virgins, fried and eaten? “Dragon?”

  She clicked fingers. “Give the librarian a prize, she got it.”

  “Your elders,” Xandie stumbled over the word, “want me replaced?”

  “Well, not all. Some are interested to see what you do. But the majority don’t like you, or any changes in routine. They’re giving you a week. Solve the murders and protect the library. Or they’ll petition the library for a new assistant.”

  “That’s a thing? They can remove me?”

  “They can petition the library, so I’d get to it.” The girl spun and headed down the path to the library’s private beach. “Gotta go. The mermaids are laying bets on your survival. I don’t want to miss good odds.” She disappeared down the steps to the beach.

  Xandie closed the window, still staring out through the glass. The library could remove her if she didn’t find the killer and protect the library. She had no choice. She had to work this mess out. People trying to buy the library out from under her, bodies turning up, a murder charge and now a petition to remove her. “What’s next?”

  The library phone rang and Xandie stared at it like it was a striking snake or a bearer of bad tidings. She’d gotten used to limited phone coverage in Point Muse. Braving future misfortune, she answered, “Xandie Meyers speaking.”

  Irene Cummings steel-edged tones scratched down the line like fingernails on a blackboard.

  “Ms. Meyers. This is the mayor’s personal assistant. This is an obligatory notice to inform you of the Council’s concerns over your behavior and your intentions toward the library.”

  “Intentions? I’m the librarian and I have no intentions except to do my job.”

  “Someone has placed a complaint against your great-aunt’s estate, which lays out the terms of your potential disqualification. If proved, then the library and lands will revert to the council. Not your next of kin or the next appointed librarian.”

  “What?” The dragons wanted her out and now an anonymous complainer did too?

  “You will have forty-eight hours to present your argument before an appointed panel decides the library’s fate. I will inform you of time and place.” With that, Irene Cummings hung up with a disdainful click.

  Xandie had an arraignment for murder coming up, and now she had to contend with a meeting to decide the library’s fate? “Do you have any ideas about how to boost my luck? Because I think it sucks right now.” Xandie’s necklace tightened and warmed, but no other answers were forthcoming. “Is this a Sanguis Knight ploy, or a development land grab, or a group of supernaturals banding together to control the library?” Or was it the demon that had burned the library down centuries ago? “Too many suspects to choose from.” Xandie stood and dusted her pants off. “Whoever it is. Doesn’t matter. I’m your assistant and that won’t change.” The game was on and she would win. Especially if she had her new family on board. Time for a visit to the sneakiest Harrow around...her cousin, Lila.

  Xandie regretted leaving Sera’s bike at home and hoofing it into town. What seemed like a quick bike ride now felt like a marathon. Thankfully, she’d left Theo behind, although he’d whined about her cruel captivity. He claimed he was worried about trouble but made a point of asking if she had a purse. Odds were, he was contemplating his stomach and Lila’s bakery. Come to think of it, a butter puff wouldn’t go astray. Xandie salivated at the image of the melt in your mouth pastry. So much so, she hadn’t noticed the dark green SUV closing in on her as she walked along the side of the road.

  The noise of the engine revving behind her drew her from the sugar-inspired fantasy. Xandie shifted farther over to the side of the road and waved the SUV past, but it continued to pace behind her, gunning its engine every so often. She slowed almost to a stop, but the driver did the same. Start moving again and so did he. Okay, this was definitely about her. It had nothing to do with whether she was taking up too much of the road. She had a stalker. A slow-speed vehicular stalker.

  Sweat broke out on her forehead and she swallowed hard. Despite her silent admonition to not give into panic, her hand trembled a fraction as she grabbed her phone from her pocket and hovered a finger over the now pre-programmed Chief Braun’s phone number. Although, who knows if she’d get through to him in time if there were trouble.

  She glanced up and down the road. Halfway to town, but everything seemed deserted. The only human or supernatural resident building near Sera’s place was Mayweather Inn—home of the lovesick Rose Mayweather. She hated to call Braun, but Xandie was on her best behavior since released on bail. The last thing she needed was another encounter with Zachy ‘bear’ Braun. She’d deal with whatever happened. The SUV could just be a case of run-of-the-mill road rage. Xandie wiped sweaty palms on her jeans, tucked her phone away, and took up a jogging pace. Mayweather Inn wasn’t too far down the road, if she could make it safe and sound.

  The SUV sped up, coming closer and closer. Xandie’s heart rate accelerated, the beat so loud she swore she could hear it in her head. Stomach muscles tightened. Her hands shook and so too did the muscles in her legs. For a moment she felt as if she’d pass out. Then she forced her sluggish brain to react. She quit looking over her shoulder and bolted.

  The breath gusted from her throat. Her chest hurt as she dragged fresh air into her lungs and quickened her pace. The Inn’s driveway lay up ahead. She was already running past fences that bordered the land. She willed her legs to move faster. I can do this.

  Speeding up, the SUV narrowly missed Xandie. Hot air rushed past her, dragging sharp stones and gravel with it. She wrenched an arm over her face, wincing when rocks sliced tiny razor cuts over her protective arm. She snatched a large rock from the air as it headed for her face.

  The driver slammed on the brakes and shot the car into reverse. Aimed straight at Xandie. She flung herself to the side, grazing jean-clad knees against the road. She toppled into a small ditch but forced herself upright then shot straight for the fences bordering the Inn.

  “Have. To. Get. Over. The. Fence,” she huffed as she reached the boundary line and hoisted herself up. The Inn, a public place, would stop anything else from happening. She turned and squinted at the car. If she could just see the license plate... “No…dice,” she managed to get out, still perched atop the wooden fence and struggling for breath.

  Mud covered the license plate, and the windows were tinted too dark for her to see if the driver was male or female. Still holding her rock, Xandie pegged it at the car and shattered a brake light at the back of the vehicle.

  A whirlwind of dust and stones spun into existence as the murderous car took off. Xandie sagged on top of the fence before slipping down the other side and limping across the lawn to the stairs of the Inn.

  “Honey, what have you done yourself?” Rose opened the Inn’s front door and stared at Xandie’s disheveled state. “Didn’t you get released today?”

  Xandie hobbled up the steps and dragged herself inside with the help of a frowning Rose. “I swear I killed no one, and someone just tried to run me down.”

  “That’s what you say.” Aaron, Rose Mayweather’s part-time love, glared at Xandie.

  “Do you think I’d ruin brand new jeans just to pretend I’m a victim?” Xandie shot a near nuclear-strength glare back and pointed at the rips on her jeans and skin. “Shops in Point Muse aren’t the height of fashion. Why would I risk my favorite pair of jeans?”

  “Who knows what librarians think. None of you can be trusted with so much power.”

  Great, another suspect to add to the list. She sneered at Aaron but dropped it when Rose bent down and poked at her right knee. “Ouch,” Xandie hissed and limped to the nearest chair.

  “Aaron, stop your bellyaching and grab the first aid kit.”

  Muttering under his breath, he stalked off, returning with a lime green container.

  Rose thanked Aaron and crouched next to Xandie. She peeled the torn fabric from Xandie’s knees. “Trust me, sweetie. She didn’t do this on pur
pose. No single woman wants scars.” She winked at Xandie then was all business. “Come into my office so I can inspect your knees. Aaron, call Chief Braun and explain what happened.”

  “Why do I get the cop?”

  “Because I’m the murder suspect and victim?”

  Rose cleared her throat. “Unless you want to undress the poor little mite and doctor her cuts, it’s the police for you.” She waited until he disappeared and whispered to Xandie, “Aaron can’t stand blood, but hates looking like a wimp even more. This way he still feels like he’s helping.”

  “Didn’t think he was the helping type myself.”

  Grabbing a pair of dressmaking scissors, Rose cut the legs off Xandie’s jeans, leaving her with a pair of ragged shorts and pale legs. “He might surprise you. Aaron used to be in the Marine Corps, one of Aries descendants. But all the horror he saw gave him a blood phobia. Now he runs a local mechanics and bar tends here.”

  “Aries?”

  “Greek God of war.” Rose beamed. “I’m descended from Aphrodite, same pantheon of gods.”

  “Everyone says this stuff so matter fact. I thought I’d freak out more than I am.” Xandie bit her lip when Rose dabbed disinfectant over her knees. All the supernatural goings on should have her knocked out on the floor. Déjà vu slammed like a freight train into Xandie. This whole freaky situation had that familiar feel of a well-worn sweater. Something worn often, but sometimes forgotten.

  “Point Muse has always been a haven for the strange and freaky. Families from all different pantheons of worship, shifters, magical creatures and the occult have settled here.” Rose slapped a plaster on the first knee and moved to the second.

  “I’m not against the weird. I have a talking cat and a magical library.”

  Rose doctored the other knee and then disinfected her hands. “Someone means business if these injuries are anything to go by.”

  “You don’t believe I killed my lawyer?”

  “Honey, everyone’s dreamed of doing that. But I think with those little arms, you’d have to have been very furious. And you don’t strike me as a hold-a-grudge and kill-em-dead type.”

  “Thanks. I think.” Xandie stretched her legs, wincing as the skin pulled. For all that Rose had a gossipy housewife vibe, she’d been efficient and calm about patching Xandie up.

  “I’ve done this a few hundred times over the years and I’m descended from the goddess of love. Trust me, I’ve had to patch up a few lovelorn boys in my time.”

  Had she read her mind?

  Rose stood and patted Xandie on top of her head. “And before you ask, no, I can’t read minds, but the subject comes up often.” She paused for a moment. “Did you recognize them? The people who ran you over?”

  “No, tinted windows. But I knocked a light out if that’s important.”

  Rose nodded. “It might be. Aaron’s garage is the only one in town, but he won’t talk to cops. A misspent youth. Cops aren’t his favorite people.”

  “Mine either,” Xandie muttered under her breath. Aaron would speak to Rose, but Xandie didn’t want the gossipy woman knowing her business. She could appeal to his better nature, his compassion, or maybe he’d take cash.

  The door to the office shot open, giving a resounding bang as it thumped against the wall. Xandie jumped and twisted around in the chair to face the entrance, although she didn’t need any second guesses to work out who it was.

  “Here we go again, Meyers,” Zach Braun growled as he strode in. He paused, hands planted on his hips as he stared at Xandie. The he sighed, moved closer and kneeled in front of her to inspect her doctored knees.

  She scowled at him. “Except once again, I did nothing. I’m the victim.”

  Standing, he grabbed his phone out and typed notes. “What kind of car, who was driving and what happened?”

  The three W’s of crime. “A dark green SUV, tinted windows so I couldn’t see who drove it and it forced me off the road. Reversed and tried to hit me again. I picked up a rock and pegged it at the back light.”

  “No idea who or what they were after?”

  “Nope, except it’s obvious I was the who. As to why, maybe they wanted to see me bleed?”

  Braun stopped typing and shoved his phone away. “You are a serious crime magnet. I only released you this morning.”

  “Once again, not my fault.” Xandie grimaced.

  “Right. If you’re satisfied with Rose’s temporary doctoring, I can take you home or to the hospital.”

  Shuddering, Xandie shook her head. “Nope, people die in those places. Home is fine.”

  “Let’s go.” He nodded to Rose. “Thanks for the help.”

  “No worries, Chief.” Rose wandered over to Aaron who stood outside the office staring at them. She whispered to him for a moment, before pasting a smile back on her face and waving as they left.

  Braun helped Xandie hobble to a shiny police car.

  “Let me guess. No way to tell who tried to hit me because too many residents in town hate me?” She eased into the vehicle and rested against the leather seat in relief. At least he hadn’t hauled her off in handcuffs like last time.

  Slamming the car door behind her, he jumped in the driver’s seat and gripped the steering wheel. “Too much to ask you to stay safe and out of trouble?” Without waiting for an answer, he kicked over the engine, eased the car onto the road and headed back toward Xandie’s house.

  Xandie stared out the window at the scenery. She didn’t think staying safe and out of trouble wasn’t what Point Muse had planned.

  Eight

  “Remind me again why the three of us are skulking behind the town’s garage when we should be waiting outside the council rooms?” Holly whispered to Xandie and Lila.

  Lila rolled her eyes at her Harrow cousin. “Come on, Holly. Be brave. Take a chance. Aaron refused to speak to Zachary’s brothers. Xandie has more of a chance if we try. And it’s been two days since her gravel slide; maybe someone dropped the car off by now. We can get gossip on who her hit-and-run driver is.”

  “Would you two shut up?” Xandie hissed at her cousins. Sometimes family was great and sometimes they wouldn’t shut up. “Does Aaron like either of you? Talk to you?” Surely, they had a one out of three chance he might tolerate at least one of them.

  Lila grimaced. “He doesn’t like Harrows too much. He’s descended from Aries, strife, conflict and war stuff. Harrows are home and hearth, earth witch people. Except for our grandmother Elspeth, she’s kind of a hag.”

  Holly coughed. “Speak for yourself. Ain’t no earth witch here, unless you count buried in the earth.”

  Xandie rolled her eyes. “I’ll never understand anything you Harrow’s say, will I?”

  “She gets feelings, images, about people about to croak,” Lila explained. “Too dark for the Harrows. Except for Elspeth, she’s always dark. But Holly gets it from the sperm donor.”

  “Oh. My. God. Can you stop calling my father that?”

  “Well, you haven’t seen him in ten years, have you?”

  “True,” Holly spat out the word and grimaced. “Fine, you’re right. But you need to understand he’s Bansidhe. He has a family clan to care for in Europe. He couldn’t stay here. Besides, I talk to him almost every night.”

  “Aren’t banshees females?” Xandie fought her inner hyena. Here she was talking about a mythical creature that proclaimed future death like it was a normal day. For Point Muse it was.

  “Female dominant, but not female solely. Dad was an elder and floated around the world for a while before he found Mom and Point Muse, and then I came along. Ten years later, the call to bond to a family was too loud to ignore, and he had to go.” Holly shrugged. “I guess you get used to not seeing a parent after a while.”

  “Harrow women raise Harrow babies. The men always seem to leave us.” Lila wiped off imaginary dirt from her linen pants.

  “Lila, your dad didn’t have a choice. Hades needed him.” Holly punched Lila on the shoulder. “Lila
’s dad, Harry, is Hades’ underworld enforcer, has been for decades. He visits with her mom and Lila when he can.”

  “Great. We all have daddy issues. Can we please get on with grilling Aaron for details on my stalker car? I don’t want to keep looking over my shoulder for Xandie-seeking car missiles.”

  Lila pointed at Holly. “I vote for the death chick. The stench of death has to be more appealing to an Aries descendent than a sweet baker.”

  Xandie pulled Holly up. “I’ll try to get the info out of him first. If he won’t budge, I’ll give you the signal like we planned, and you go in for the kill. Got it?”

  “I still don’t see why I have to do it,” Holly grumbled but raised her hands in surrender when both girls glared. “Fine. You guys are so touchy.”

  Xandie concentrated on the peeling gray door of Aaron’s garage. He wasn’t the most welcoming of guys. She was a tad worried on how the plan would pan out.

  “Courage, Cuz.” Lila pushed the door open and dragged Xandie into the black pit of grease, commonly known as Aaron’s garage.

  “What do you want?” Aaron stood by his office door with his arms crossed over his massively built chest.

  Rose must like them built like a tank. Wide shoulders, thick tree-trunk arms and his buzz-cut hair added up to a no-nonsense guy. Lila stayed in the doorway but shoved Xandie to the wolves, a.k.a. hulking Aaron.

  “Hi Aaron, isn’t it? You met me at Mayweather Inn.” She plastered on the largest non-threatening smile she had.

  He stepped back a few steps, blinking rapidly.

  Okay, maybe not so non-threatening. She dialed the wattage down. “Xandie Meyers. Rose cleaned my knees up after the accident.” Not so much of an accident.

  He nodded and pasted to scowl back on. “Yeah, she made me talk to the cops.” “Sorry. I don’t like law enforcement much either. Especially that pushy Chief Braun.”

  “What do you want?”

  “How about we go into your office and have a chat?”