Witch Cake Murders (Sweetland Witch Women Sleuths) (A Cozy Mystery Book)

by Zoe Arden

  But I already had my purse and was making my way toward the door. I paused just long enough to pick up a box of assorted pastries, then walked outside.

  Snowball ran after me. "No, Snowy, you stay here."

  "Snowball wants to help," she said softly.

  "You are helping. I need you to stay here and keep an eye on my aunts for me." An idea occurred to me then. "Actually, you could do something. Do you know what boxie quill is?"

  "Dangerous plant. Purple."

  "That's right. I want you to search the bakery for it. Let me know what you find. Can you do that for me?"

  Snowball nodded and purred loudly. "Snowball will help Mama."

  Snowy ran back into the store and out of my sight. If she could really find the hidden stash of boxie quills my aunts had, and tell me how much there was or what they were using it for, it might shed some light on a few things.

  Now that that was settled, I decided my first stop should be Coffee Cove.

  Lucy was standing behind the counter when I came in.

  "Hello," she said a little coldly. "Welcome to Coffee Cove. What may I do for you today?"

  I took a deep breath. "Accept my apology."

  Lucy looked at me unblinking. "Apology, huh? What makes you think I'd accept one from you? After you gave my wand to the sheriff?"

  "Because," I said. "You're the only friend I've got here, and I'll do whatever it takes to make it up to you. Including this."

  I held up a box of pastries from the shop. Lucy's eyes lit up. "Are those caramel scones?"

  "Caramel forgiveness scones," I corrected.

  "There is no such thing as forgiveness extract," Lucy said, her lips beginning to curve into a smile.

  "Yes, but I figured when scones are involved, who needs extract? What's wrong with a good old-fashioned bribe?"

  Lucy's smile broke and she let out a giggle. She hopped over the counter and threw her arms around me.

  "I guess my bribed worked, then," I said.

  Lucy grabbed the box from me. "Apology accepted."

  "Good, because I've been dying to know what Sheriff Knoxx asked you when he returned your wand. He did return it, right?"

  "Yeah. He didn't say much, really. Started in on some big speech about being more careful with my things, but I just told him he oughta be more careful with his own things. Because I'd heard he misplaced his police car a few weeks back."

  "He did?" I laughed.

  Lucy shrugged. "I don't know. I made it up. But there must've been some truth to it because he backed off."

  Megan came out of the back just then, Brendan trailing after her. "What's that?" Megan asked.

  "Forgiveness scones," Lucy chuckled.

  "And assorted pastries," I added.

  Megan grabbed the box from her sister and took out a bear claw. "Mmmm," she said. "Who made them?"

  "I did," I told her.

  Megan looked like she wanted to vomit. She spit out the bite she'd taken.

  "For witch's sake, Megan!" Lucy scolded. "You know perfectly well Ava's not killing people with her pastries." She grabbed the bear claw and took a bite to demonstrate. When she handed it back, Megan finished it, but she still eyed me suspiciously.

  "Thanks," I whispered.

  Brendan was still behind the counter, looking like he wished he was anywhere else.

  "Hey, Brendan," I said, trying to be friendly.

  "More questions?" he snapped. "I'll just tell you now. No. I don't have any boxie quill. Because I'm not a dark wizard."

  I hadn't realized how much I'd upset him with my questions the other day. And he was still mad. Apparently, Brendan was good at holding grudges.

  "Come on," Lucy said, ignoring him. "My shift is over in like five minutes. Let's get out of here." She grabbed a scone and clocked out, leaving Brendan and Megan staring angrily after me.

  "What's up with those two?" I asked. "I know Megan's your sister, but I mean... why does she hate me so much all of a sudden?"

  "She doesn't."

  I shot Lucy a skeptical look.

  "Okay, she's just jealous because Damon likes you."

  My ears perked up.

  "Likes me?"

  "Yeah, we all saw the way he was hugging you the other day. That's what I wanted to talk to you about the other day, actually." She smiled slyly at me. "I wondered what was up with you guys."

  I shrugged. "Nothing. I mean, I haven't even seen Damon since that day in Coffee Cove." My father's words echoed back at me. He's bad. You can't trust him. I brushed the memory away. My father had been acting like a lunatic.

  "I didn't mean to get in Megan's way," I told Lucy, feeling guilty. I knew she liked Damon. It was obvious.

  "You didn't. Damon's never shown any interest in her. He's twenty-seven. She's eighteen. He told her once that she was too young for him, but she doesn't care."

  Too young? I was only twenty-one. Would Damon think that was too young as well?

  "She's hoping he'll ask her to the Snow Queen Dance. But she's dreaming."

  "What's the Snow Queen Dance?" I asked.

  "A huge event they hold every December. It's kind of a big deal. Everybody goes... witches, humans. Though it's the couples who have the most fun. Maybe I'll get to be part of a couple one day."

  "I'm sure you will," I said.

  Lucy sighed. "We'll see." She took a second to snap out of her trance. "So what are we doing today?"

  I started checking things off on my fingers. "Looking for my wand. Figuring out why I blacked out, who my admirer is, and who Felicity sold her love potion cake to."

  "That's a pretty long list," Lucy said. "And I have the feeling there are a few things you need to catch me up on. How about we start with the wand and go from there."

  As we walked to the beach, I filled Lucy in on my blackout—which she already knew about. The whole town seemed to know about it. What Lucy didn't know was that Felicity had been selling love potion cakes to customers in Sweetland Cove.

  "Do you think we should tell Sheriff Knoxx?" she asked me as we neared the spot where I'd lost my wand. The sand blazed hot and golden under our bare feet. It was nice to walk along the shore. A barefoot man in his late forties walked past us pushing a cart.

  "No way," I told her. "He already thinks I'm behind everything. He's not gonna listen to anything I tell him. So what's the point? It's better if I figure it out myself."

  The man with the cart paused beside us. He had a friendly, unshaven face, clear gray eyes, and a wide smile. "Water?" he asked. "Ice cream?"

  It was a warm day. Lucy and I dug into our wallets. "One of each, please," I said, pushing Lucy's money away. "I got this." I paid for our stuff and we started back down the shore when I paused and spun back toward the man.

  "Hey," I called, running after him.

  He stopped and looked at me.

  "Are you down here a lot?" I asked him.

  "Most days."

  "I don't suppose you've seen..." I was about to ask him about my wand when I realized I wasn't sure whether he was a wizard. I searched his eyes for flecks of gold. There they were. Tiny pinpricks of light. "Wand?" I finished.

  His eyes crinkled at the corners. "You lost your wand?" he asked, chuckling. "You must be that new witch I've heard about. Lorabelle's daughter."

  I didn't like being laughed at, but the familiar use of my mother's name somehow made it seem all right. "Lorabelle was my mother. Did you know her?"

  "Lived on the island all my life. So yeah, I knew her." He wiped his hand on his pants and held it out to me.

  "William Carney," he said. He had a strong handshake that reminded me of my father. I wondered if my dad was still on the island. William's eyes drifted to Lucy.

  "I know you, too, Lucy Lockwood. I went to high school with your folks. Sometime, ask your dad to tell you the story about the time we covered Ms. Letterman's desk with snail sludge."

  Lucy let out a delighted laugh. "My dad did that? I can't believe it."

  "You
r father was a bag of tricks back in the day," William said. His laugh was catching.

  "So," I asked hopefully. "Have you seen any wands?"

  "Nope." He shook his head. "Sorry." He hesitated a moment before continuing. "I've seen your dad, though. Walking along the beach here. Never thought I'd see him again after he killed Jon like that."

  Whoa. What?

  "I'm sorry. Did you say my dad... killed someone?" When my father had told me he'd 'taken care' of my mother's killer before, I'd thought he meant he'd gotten him locked up.

  William nodded. "The man who killed your mother." He must have read the confusion in my expression. "Jon hated witches. Never liked any of us. But when he found out your mom was as powerful as she was—what with those boxie quill extracts she was able to make—he got it in his head to take out a whole bunch of witches and wizards. Starting with her."

  "Boxie quill extracts?" I asked, unable to believe what he'd just said. I shot Lucy a look. She looked as confused as I was.

  "Yeah. Hard to believe, I know. Your mother was the only witch known to be able to handle boxie seeds. She could get them to do whatever she wanted."

  "How did Jon find out any of this? I thought humans weren't supposed to know about witching stuff."

  "They're not. Except on a small island like this, eventually even the humans get wise. You can only be around magic for so long before you start to take notice. Anyway, the Council on Magic and Human Affairs told your dad not to do anything. That they'd handle it. But I guess your pop couldn't let your mom's killer go. Can't say that I blame him, really. Used an oobleck spell on Jon. Turned him into a pile of goo."

  I turned to Lucy. "Did you know about this?"

  She shook her head.

  "If the Council gets ahold of him now," William said, scratching his head. "I'm not sure what they'll do. He never faced the inquisition. Just took you and ran. I think he was afraid Jon's son might come after him one day when he was grown."

  "Jon had a son?"

  "Yep. His mother took him and ran after Jon's death. They were all S.H., you know. I think she was afraid that your dad might go after them, next. Revenge against your mother, you know?"

  A sinking feeling hit the pit of my stomach. "You don't remember the son's name, do you?"

  William's brow scrunched.

  "Not sure. It was a long time ago. Damon, I think. Don't remember the last name, but if he's anything like his dad, I hope he stays far away from Heavenly Haven. We don't need any witch hunters around here."

  * * *

  2 1

  * * *

  Back at the bakery, I could hardly think. Damon? A witch hunter? At least that explained why he'd hated me from the moment he saw me. Lucy thought I was jumping to conclusions, though.

  "There could be more than one Damon on the island, you know," she'd said.

  But the pieces fit together too perfectly. It would definitely explain my dad's violent reaction to meeting Damon and learning he was my friend. He must have recognized him. Snowball bumped his head against my leg.

  "Hi there," I said, petting him. "How's Snowy?"

  "Snowball has found what Mama asked for," she purred.

  "You mean the boxie quill?" I asked, excited.

  Snowball nodded and walked toward a storage cabinet in the back of the room. It housed all of Trixie's frosting tips.

  "Bottom drawer," Snowball said.

  I opened a large drawer on the bottom, but all I found inside was fondant.

  "Thanks, Snowy, but I don't think this is what I was looking for." I patted the kitten's head.

  "Mama so silly," Snowball said. "Back of drawer. Fake back."

  I looked at Snowball who arched her back then flopped onto the floor. She rolled around scratching herself.

  I pulled the drawer out and looked behind it. There was a piece of wood standing vertically. It looked out of place. I tapped on it and the wood came loose. Behind it, I found what I'd been looking for. A hiding place. It contained extracts, plants, and herbs, most of which I wasn't familiar with. But amidst them all, I saw a large purple plant dripping with pearls.

  Boxie quill.

  My aunts didn't just have a stem or two. They had an entire plant.

  I heard one of them coming and quickly closed up the cabinet. Maybe this explained where they'd disappeared to after Campbell's death. Maybe they had tried to make a boxie extract like my mother used to do, but it had failed. Maybe that's why Campbell had died. They'd disappeared trying to clean up the evidence.

  "Good job, Snowball," I said, getting the drawer back in just before Eleanor stepped into the back.

  "Ava, there's a phone call for you," she said, grabbing her tea off her desk and going back out front.

  A phone call? Maybe it was Lucy. She'd told me she would see what else she could find out about my mother.

  "Hello?" I asked, picking up the phone.

  "Ava?"

  I paused before answering. "Brendan?"

  "Yeah."

  I had no idea why he was calling. I wasn't exactly his favorite person.

  "Listen, can you come by Coffee Cove later? I've got something for you."

  "Something?" I asked. The vagueness of the word made my nerves jump.

  "Just come by after closing," he said and hung up.

  I debated about going. I didn't trust Brendan. I was certain he was involved in all this somehow. Even if Damon was the one murdering people, he would have needed help. Damon was S.H. and Brendan was his friend. It made sense that they might work together.

  By the time nine o' clock rolled around, curiosity had gotten the better of me. I told Eleanor and Trixie I was going for a walk and headed to Coffee Cove. Lucy had left already, but Megan was still cleaning up. She glared at me as I came in.

  "We're closed," she snapped.

  Brendan popped his head out of the back. "It's okay, Megan. I asked her to come by."

  Megan's mouth dropped open. She rounded her shoulders back, took off her apron, and threw it on the counter. "I'm done for tonight, anyway," she said, glaring at Brendan as she made her way toward the door. When she was gone, Brendan sighed.

  "She's never gonna like me anyway. Not like that. So I guess it doesn't matter if she gets mad at me."

  Brendan really had it bad for her. I couldn't help feeling sorry for him.

  "So what did you want to talk to me about?" I asked.

  "Stay there," he said and went into the back room. The heriotza pendant began to burn my skin. Danger. A second later, I saw why.

  Brendan came out of the back room holding a large, purple plant with pearls.

  "What are you doing?" I asked him, stepping back toward the door, ready to make my escape.

  "Is this what you keep asking me about?" he said, sounding irritated.

  "Yes," I snapped back. "I knew you had boxie quill. Why didn't you just tell me?"

  "Because," he said. "This isn't boxie quill."

  My mouth opened halfway, and I coughed on the air I tried to inhale. "But I read about it in Magical Herbs and Plants."

  "Yeah. And what volume are you on?"

  "Volume one," I said, my voice growing soft.

  "When you get back to the bakery, look at volume five. Moxie satin." He held the plant out for me to examine. "Looks identical to boxie quill except for the light yellow threads running through the pearls. Look."

  He forced the plant into my hand. I squinted at it and saw what he was talking about.

  "Unlike boxie," Brendan continued. "Moxie is perfectly safe."

  My eyes widened. Maybe what I'd seen at my aunts' bakery was moxie satin then, not boxie quill. That would make sense.

  "Did you make the cakes that Damon and Campbell ate?" I asked him.

  He shook his head. Much to my disappointment, I believed him.

  "No. But I think I know who did. And I don't think it's what you're thinking." He hesitated a moment before continuing. "There's something else. I found this."

  He handed me a
horizontal box I hadn't realized he'd been holding. I set aside the moxie opened it. My heart stopped. "Oh my wizards!" I cried. "It's my wand!"

  Despite his irritation with me, Brendan looked pleased that I was so happy. I pulled him into a giant hug.

  "Where did you find it?" I asked.

  "That's the thing," Brendan said, pulling away from me. "I found it somewhere... unexpected. The last place you'd think to look, really."

  I was so excited, my head started to feel light. The room around me was spinning.

  "Ava? Are you okay?".

  Then I realized it wasn't excitement making me dizzy. My heriotza was burning. I could feel it making my skin blister. I pointed my wand around the room, trying to think of some spell that could save me from what was about to happen.

  "Ava, what are you doing?" Brendan shouted when my wand stopped on him.

  But I couldn't think. My head felt numb.

  This time, the darkness took only seconds to consume me instead of minutes. I got dizzy. Foggy. Then I was gone.

  When I opened my eyes again, my head was throbbing and my stomach hurt, though not as bad as last time. Maybe I was getting used to this.

  I sat up, my back stiff. How long had I been lying here? I looked around the room. Coffee Cove. At least this time I was still in the place I'd started.

  "Brendan?" I called, looking around for him. "Brendan?" I got shakily to my feet and took a step toward the counter.

  That's when I saw him. Brendan's body laid face down on the floor.

  "Brendan!" I cried, running to him. I turned him over. His face was blue. He wasn't breathing. I pinched his arm, hoping his eyes would pop open and he'd smile at me. Or yell at me. Or something. Anything other than lying here silently. Dead.

  But it was no use.

  "Oh no," I cried. "Not you, too."

  Footsteps sounded from the back room. My heart thumped in my chest. I readied myself for whoever or whatever was approaching. It had to be Brendan's attacker. I searched the floor frantically for my wand, but it was gone. I'd lost it again.

  The door opened and my father stepped out. He looked surprised to see me.

  "Ava," he said. "You're awake."

  * * *

  2 2

  * * *

  "Dad! What are you doing here? Did you...?" I couldn't finish the sentence.