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

by Kelly Ethan

  Lila grimaced. “I’m working on the lying thing. Okay, Elspeth is positive it would work on a witch or a human, but she isn’t as sure about how the Kitsune’s metabolism will interact with the hex. You might not have much time but it should work.”

  Xandie groaned. “Just my luck. It’s the only plan I have right now.”

  “Dose him and hope for the best. That’s all you can do.”

  Nodding in agreement, Xandie winced when a tinkle of glass on tile filtered into the kitchen.

  Winifred burst through the door, huffing and puffing. “Dear, we’ve had a slight mishap with a glass of bubbly. Could you bring a mop?” Winifred, without waiting for an answer, charged back out the door.

  “Do you regret Elspeth planning a cocktail party at your house yet?” Lila snorted and popped two cheese canapes into her mouth, cheeks bulging like lucky a chipmunk with a couple of nuts.

  Xandie grabbed a mop and a bucket from the cleaning cupboard and shuffled toward the cocktail chaos. “If it gets Shan to divulge his motives and guilt, I’m all for it. As long as there’s no vomiting I’ll cope.” Xandie ignored Lila’s snorting and brandished a mop as she braved the noisy crowd.

  “Over here. Yoo-hoo, Alexandra.” Dorothy Johnson, elderly witch hairdresser and brand-new judge hollered away. “Sister had a wee spill of this delicious champagne.”

  “Don’t go too far with your praise. The bubbles are fun, but it ain’t a patch on Elspeth’s Witchshine.” Olive Johnson, Dorothy’s sister-in-law, hiccupped. Her platinum blonde wig off to a jointing angle already.

  “Glad you’re enjoying the get-together.” Xandie mopped up the spill and collected the glass shards in her hand, dropping them into a trashcan placed to the side of the room.

  “We were surprised about the last-minute invitation, considering...” Dorothy leaned forward and whispered. “Your Aunt Amelia’s unfortunate incarceration.”

  “Unfortunate? I say about time the Harrow’s got what they deserved.” Madelyn Luna, SPAFS chef and Lila’s nemesis, stood swaying, an empty glass in hand.

  “Amelia’s innocent until proven guilty.” Xandie glared at her cousin Lila’s mortal enemy. The chef had cut loose. Gone was the chef hat and jacket, and in place she wore a blood-red corset top, skinny black jeans and spiky, matching stilettos.

  “All Harrows are guilty of something. And it’s finally coming out. Cheers.” Luna raised her glass in the air and took a swig, only to find it empty. The drunk chef pouted and wandered off.

  “If I was a betting cat, I’d lay odds she tops the next body list.” Theo, the cat, with a bedazzled tracksuit wearing, Horatio the imp, on his back, strolled up to Xandie.

  “Weren’t you boycotting the cocktail party because of my stupid plan to trap a liar and a killer.”

  “I was boycotting because it was Lila and Elspeth’s plan and no one made cat treats.” Theo hissed as Horatio yanked on the reins attached to his cat collar. The imp chittered in Theo’s ear before taking a kamikaze dive off the cat back into a still soppy puddle of champagne. Horatio rolled over onto his back, making champagne angels with his arms.

  “This offends me on so many levels. Drunk imps are prohibited in my house.” Xandie crouched down and fished out Horatio. “I guess my mopping skills are as bad as my sleuthing ones.”

  “I wouldn’t say that doll-face. This plan of yours is working a treat.” Colin bounced his way over to Xandie’s side and lifted his snout in Elspeth’s direction.

  Xandie followed the tiny dog nose until she spotted her grandmother, linking her arm around Shan and performing a sneaky swap of champagne glasses.

  “She’s out of this world sneaky. That Harrow has it going on.” Colin approved with a doggy grin.

  “The evil witch genius is strong in that one.” Xandie rolled her eyes. In an eccentric family, Elspeth stood out as the head wacko, and Xandie shared their gene pool.

  “Did she switch them? Did he drink it yet?” Winifred slunk in next to Colin and Xandie, peering around the room.

  “The old girl has it in hand.” Colin frowned and spun around on the spot, his little nose wrinkling. “Do I smell tuna? Cat food?”

  “Put a sock in it, crotch sniffer. You’re up at the big house now, not the dog park. Have some manners.” Theo hissed back at the pug.

  Colin belched and used a paw to scratch his tummy. “Your little feline insults don’t impress me. Since everyone knows you’re a fake, anyway.”

  “A fake?” Theo squeaked the words out. Outrage in every quivering whisker. “I am a fur real feline. You are a doggenstein, pug.”

  Colin growled and prowled toward the cat. “Delinquent Greek teenager.”

  Theo reared back. “You don’t go there, you obnoxious pug.”

  “Okay, that’s it for you two today.” Xandie stepped forward and pushed the warring magical animals apart. “Both of you know better.”

  “He started it.” Both animals chorused together.

  “Aiii.” The little imp drunk on the champagne spill had somehow found a stray match and lit it and was now brandishing it like a village mob torch at the dog.

  Xandie reached forward to grab the match, but it slipped through her fingers and fell smack bang into a puddle of magical over-proof champagne. Which ignited with a sizzle of blue flame.

  Winifred squealed and scrambled for water.

  Xandie shoved Theo and Horatio back from the alcoholic blaze.

  “See, delinquent.” Colin backed away, shaking his head in disgust.

  “That was the imp, not me,” Theo roared back.

  Horatio danced around the outside of the tiny fire. He shrugged his jacket off and flung it into the air as he danced.

  “Oh, for god’s sake. Leave you lot alone for a few minutes and you’re trying to burn the library down.” Elspeth shook her head in disgust. “Wait until everyone leaves and then firebomb it. No witnesses’ ladies, remember no witnesses.” Elspeth pushed Colin out of the champagne fire’s path and whispered a word. The sparkling flames snuffed out like exhausted birthday candles.

  It was over so quick most of the guests barely registered the incident.

  Horatio moaned and grabbed his jacket, flouncing off in a huff.

  Drunk, pyromaniac imps were not part of her plan to get Shan to incriminate himself.

  “Any minute now, ladies.” Elspeth nudged Xandie with a shoulder. “I added a little extra oomph to make sure we’d get him alone.”

  Knowing her grandmother, the oomph was a laxative. “Tell me you haven’t made him sick? I’m not interrogating a man in the bathroom.”

  “That’s amateur work. I’m frying his throat a little. He’ll go searching for water and then you can nab him.” Elspeth pointed at a disappearing Shan. “See. What’d I say?”

  Xandie ignored Elspeth’s over and above antics and followed the Kitsune. Sometimes it was better to ignore her grandmother than get sucked into the chaos and mayhem of the Harrow world of despotic witches.

  Slipping inside the kitchen, Xandie caught the door before it slammed shut. Shan hovered by the sink, gulping water straight from the faucet. He spun around to face the door and slurped loose drops of water away from his hand. “Apologies, Ms. Meyers. I think I’m having an allergic reaction to your canapes. My mouth is burning.”

  Xandie glimpsed his blue tongue as he spoke. Elspeth had assured her the color would wear off in a few minutes. She had to keep asking questions, and while his tongue was blue, he was compelled to answer. Time to test her grandmother's hexing skills. “Sorry to hear that, Mr. Shan. Do you have food allergies?”

  “That’s an excuse to use when I’m offered substandard food. But this time I might be allergic to something.”

  Shan frowned, he seemed almost taken aback by his own words. Elspeth had come through. Xandie prowled towards the kitchen counter. “As long as you’re okay. It would be a shame to ruin your trip to Point Muse with an allergy attack. Why did you come here again?”

  “I’m a friend…”
Shan stuttered to a stop. “Friendly with…” He coughed and then spoke again. “I was asked to meet with Mede resorts.”

  “Who asked you to come?”

  “A secretary working for Hannah Mede, but the meeting was with her husband Malachi.” Shan rubbed his throat, a confused expression on his face. Xandie cut in with another question before the hex wore off. “Why were you following Hannah around?”

  “To make sure she goes ahead with the sale. Malachi said she’d had second thoughts after her office contacted me for a meeting. Point Muse Springs Resort has great potential. Shan properties group wants a sale to go through and Hannah Mede is desperate.” Shan sagged against the sink, exhausted.

  “Have you spoken to Hannah directly?”

  “Mrs. Mede doesn’t want to deal with us direct. We get sent reports.”

  “Why are they so desperate?”

  “Hannah needs to sell. The resort was hers, and she has financial issues. Malachi was a go-between. She’s too embarrassed to meet with me and admit she’s in debt.”

  “Hannah’s forcing the sale not her husband?”

  “I’m trying to ensure she doesn’t change your mind.” Shan drank from the tap again and gurgled before spitting into the sink.

  “Would you kill to make sure she sells?”

  Another few minutes and the hex would dissipate. She had to know if he was the killer.

  Shan breathed deeply and straightened. He brushed down the front of his jacket and narrowed his gaze on Xandie. “Why, Ms. Meyers, anyone would think you were trying to get a confession.”

  Drat, the hex had worn off. No more truthful blue tongue. “Nope, a casual talk with a man drinking out of faucet.”

  “Isn’t it strange? My tongue started burning, and I felt compelled to answer your every question. How bizarre?” He strolled past Xandie and paused in the doorway. “Despite your obvious prodding, I’m happy to answer about the sale of the resort. Anything goes in high-stakes real estate... Anything.” He bared his teeth and disappeared into the crowd.

  “Well? Did he tell you anything juicy? Did you get a confession?” Elspeth tapped her foot on the tiled floor outside the kitchen.

  “The hex wore off just as I asked about the murders. But he was happy enough to offer ‘anything goes in cutthroat real estate’.” Xandie clicked her fingers. “Oh, and Hannah’s in debt and she’s the one selling with the husband as go between.”

  Lila wandered up as Xandie finished talking and she shook her head. “It still doesn’t sound like her. Plus, she’s already told you she isn’t a gambler.”

  “People change. I like her, but we all know people’s secrets run deep, especially if they’re ashamed.”

  “Nope. Maybe Elspeth made a mistake on the hex.”

  “Great. Ask for an old woman’s help and then kick her to the cabbages.” Elspeth poked her tongue out at her granddaughters. “Faithless child. I feel the sudden need to glue something of yours shut.” Elspeth glared at Lila for a moment before offering a wide tooth-filled smile and headed back into the crowd.

  Xandie shuddered. “It’s the smile. It’s worse than a glare.”

  “You stay away from my good underwear drawer. You hear me, Elspeth Harrow?” Lila ordered her grandmother.

  “Do I want to know?”

  Lila shuddered. “Last time I questioned my nefarious grandmother’s activities. She hexed my underwear drawer shut. Only left me my old laundry day panties. Never again.”

  Xandie bit back a snicker. All the Harrows had a little drama queen in them. A long-drawn-out wail sounded from upstairs. Xandie and Lila exchanged a look and then bolted towards the noise.

  Hannah Mede crouched on the stairs, shaking finger pointed upwards. “Did you see it? It was her. Oh my God.”

  Xandie reached down and with Lila’s help pulled the trembling upright. “Saw who, Hannah?”

  “Lulu. Lulu Moon. She was as clear as day, standing at the top of the stairs. I tripped when I saw her.” Hannah closed her eyes and closed her arms tight around her waist.

  “Hannah, Lulu’s dead. It can’t have been her.” Lila rubbed Hannah’s back and looked worriedly at Xandie.

  Had the stress of everything finally got to her or was Hannah trying to distract them away from death? “Maybe it was the light on the stairs or you need to eat something,” Xandie offered.

  Hannah shook off their hands. “I am neither blind nor hungry nor an idiot. I saw Lulu’s ghost. She was pointing a finger at me like she was accusing me of something. Why would Lulu’s ghost do that?”

  Unless Hannah was involved somehow.

  “See, you think it’s my fault too,” Hannah wailed and shoved past the girls into Malachi Mede’s waiting arms.

  “There, there, sweetie. I told you last night to get off those shopping sites on the Witchweb. You’re probably tired.” Malachi steered Hannah toward the front door.

  “What? Malachi?” Hannah’s confused protest tapered off as the door slammed shut behind them.

  Xandie stood next to her cousin. This was Point Muse, weird central. Could it have been a ghost? Was Lulu haunting Hannah?

  “Hannah’s got a problem.” Lila turned a worried face to Xandie.

  “That’s an understatement.” Either Hannah was a devious killer or a very sick woman. The only other option was Lulu Moon’s ghost had unfinished business.

  And Hannah was that business...

  Sixteen

  “I told you. Hannah’s sleeping before the final pose stage. You can’t disturb her.” Malachi Mede slapped a hand on his desk and glared at Xandie.

  “She was upset last night, and we’re concerned about her.” Xandie gestured to Elspeth. “This is Elspeth Harrow. She’s an expert on hexes and curses and she can make sure that Hannah’s okay.”

  Malachi Mede roared, “She’s already fine. Hannah needs to catch up on sleep. She’s addicted to the Witchweb and online shopping and that’s all.” The fight drained out of the man and he dropped into his chair behind the desk.

  Elspeth harrumphed and jammed her hands on her hips, her purple wig askew. “Suck it up, Mede. Your wife needs my help. If you love her like you say, let me look at her.” Elspeth harrumphed and jammed her hands on her hips, her purple wig askew.

  “Fine.” Defeated, Malachi pressed the buzzer and spoke into an intercom. His office door opened to two hulking wolf shifters. “Please get the old witch up to Mrs. Mede. When she’s finished, show both these women out. Got me?”

  Both shifter’s nodded and cautiously followed behind Elspeth as she stomped past.

  Malachi leaned back in his chair and cleared his throat before glaring at Xandie. “I suppose you have questions for me. I heard from Shan you’re a bit of a Nancy Drew type.”

  “Bodies like to turn up in my vicinity, investigating’s my coping skill.” Xandie dropped into a chair opposite Mede’s heavy wooden desk.

  “You need another hobby. One that isn’t life-threatening.” Malachi glowered at Xandie.

  “Is that a threat, Mr. Mede?”

  Malachi sighed and ran a hand through his blonde curls. “No. It’s... I mean…” He leaned back in the chair and stared at the ceiling, words deserting him.

  “You’re broke. You’ve got no money and you need to sell the resort and Shan is your last chance,” Xandie supplied, finishing his sentence for him.

  He nodded. “We were good before the resort, but it was expensive to build on ley lines and Hannah spent money like wildfire, shopping, gambling. You name it, I’ve paid for it. Selling the resort is the only option we have to remain afloat. Hannah didn’t want anyone in Point Muse to know. I’m the go-between.” He paused and then continued in a lower voice, “She’s been a little delicate since it started. The guilt and stress have eaten away at her. She’s been having little turns like seeing that ghost last night and even missing periods of time. She keeps blacking out.” Malachi banged a fist on the arm of the chair. “The place will sell as soon as the pet show fanatics leave. There’
s nothing wrong with her that some plain old sleep and no stress won’t cure.”

  “Correct Mede. There's nothing wrong with Hannah, but nerves and tiredness.” Elspeth swept back into the room with a shifter on each arm.

  “Are you sure?” Xandie frowned at her flirty grandmother, fondling shifter bicep.

  “Don’t question your elders, sweetie. You’ll live longer.” Elspeth patted Xandie on the cheek. “But yes. I’m sure she’ll be fine. Besides, we have to go. My source has a name for me. But he won’t give it until I trade him my get up and go-go juice recipe.”

  Xandie rolled her eyes. “Let me guess. The potion is illegal?”

  “Well, it ain’t sunshine and roses, sweet pea.” Elspeth dragged her shifter security guards out the door with her as she left.

  “Ms. Harrow saw Hannah, and she’s okay. Now leave us alone. That’s all we need.” He stood and stomped to the door, holding it open for Xandie.

  She nodded to Malachi and slid through the doorway only a few moments before it slammed behind her.

  “Awfully fast to get me out of the room,” Xandie wondered aloud.

  “Are you surprised? You set Elspeth on him. I’d want to get you out of the room too. Or leave screaming myself.” Police chief Zach Braun leaned against the wall, opposite Mede’s office.

  This day was heading nowhere good. “What do you want? You’ve already arrested my aunt.”

  “I had no choice, Xandie. With the evidence against your aunt, we had to take her in. You know that.”

  “She didn’t hurt anyone,” Xandie replied, cutting Braun’s next words off.

  “Find some evidence or another suspect and we’ll let her go.”

  “What about that bookie? Or the oh so slick Naruto Shan?”

  “That bookie Albert Swan? We arrested him last night, on an unconnected matter. Shan’s record is spotless, and what kind of motive would he have to kill off the pet show competitors? Find me something or your aunt stays at the precinct.” Braun scowled and stomped a few steps away before turning back to Xandie. “And try not to find any more dead bodies.” He strode around the corner out of sight.