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

by Zoe Arden

  "Just be careful," Felicity warned us as Lucy kicked the car into gear.

  "Autoairium," Felicity said and the car suddenly doubled its speed.

  "Oh, my roses," I said, closing my eyes.

  My stomach rolled in on itself like we'd just hit the first drop of a rollercoaster. When I opened my eyes again, the evening sky was whizzing by us at warp speed.

  "Do you wanna call your aunts?" Lucy asked as if nothing abnormal was going on. I had no idea how she could steer the car going so fast. I didn't want to think about it. "My phone's in my purse."

  "Thanks," I said and carefully searched Lucy's purse until I came across a midnight blue phone case with little twinkling stars. I blinked and looked again. The stars were actually twinkling.

  The logo at the top read: WITCH MOBILE.

  I turned it over and was happy to see that aside from the twinkling stars, everything else about the phone looked normal. I dialed Mystic's number, hoping my aunts were still there doing inventory.

  They answered after three rings.

  "Aunt Eleanor?"

  "Ava? Where in the witching world are you? Do you know your Aunt Trixie and I have been worried sick? Your father's escaped from jail."

  "I know," I told her. "Sheriff Maxwell told me."

  I could almost hear Eleanor frown.

  Trixie began whispering near the receiver. "Is that her? Tell her to get back here. I need her to explain the difference between Jelly Bellies and Jelly Beans."

  I couldn't help laughing despite the situation.

  "Why are you in Mistmoor Point?" Eleanor asked. "You didn't have another blackout, did you?" Her voice was layered with worry.

  "No. Well... yeah. But I was already in Mistmoor when it happened. That's why I'm calling. I found out what's been causing them."

  I took a deep breath. I had a feeling this wasn't going to go over well.

  "Heriotza," I said.

  "Herio..."

  I gave Aunt Eleanor a full minute to process this.

  "Where," Eleanor asked, her voice tight and dripping with anger, "did you get heriotza? And why didn't you tell us?"

  "From Polly Peacock. And I didn't tell you because I didn't know what it was. She had it in her store. She... she told me it was a good luck charm."

  Another round of silence and a second later Eleanor began to shout.

  "Of all the unwitchly acts! What a... a toad bottom! A measle blossom! A dim-witch!"

  I could hear Trixie in the background begging to know what was going on.

  "Don't you worry about this for one second," Eleanor howled. "Your Aunt Trixie and I are on this."

  "Wait, what do you mean?" I asked.

  I wasn't even sure whether Eleanor heard me. Her voice was cracking with rage.

  "Trixie and I are going over there right now to talk to that little warthog. And her mother, too! I know that The Alchemic Stone deals with the darker elements from time to time, but I always thought they did so safely. Anastasia should never have allowed anything so dark as heriotza in her store."

  I heard Trixie gasp and screech into the phone. "Heriotza?!"

  "No, Aunt Eleanor, I didn't mean for you to go over there. I only wanted to warn you."

  "Well, it's us who'll be doing the warning. To Polly Peacock and that moleskin of a mother!" Eleanor hung up on me.

  "Oh no," I said, looking at Lucy. "What have I done?"

  * * *

  3 2

  * * *

  "Don't worry," Lucy said. "We'll be there in no time."

  "But by then it might be too late. There's no telling what Polly might do."

  "What I don't understand is why Polly would try to kill you. I thought Damon was behind the murders. Do you think they're working together?"

  Something clicked in my brain.

  "I'd completely forgotten. I saw Damon lurking around outside The Alchemic Stone the other day. I think he was waiting for Polly. Slater seemed really jealous when he found out. I bet that Damon and Polly have been fooling around together behind Slater's back."

  "So you think he convinced Polly to help him?"

  "Makes sense. He saw me drop my wand on the beach. He must have taken it and shown it to Polly. This was probably the opportunity he's been waiting for to avenge his father's death."

  "But why kill Campbell and David? Why not just kill you? Not that I want you dead."

  "To frame me. Maybe he thought jail was worse than death. He got my father instead though."

  "That's probably why Polly gave you the necklace. He realized his plan to frame you had backfired."

  "I'm sure he wasn't exactly disappointed. With my dad in jail, he was free to just kill me. Two Fortunes for the price of one."

  "What about Brendan, though? Why kill him?"

  I thought about it a second. "Brendan found my wand. He gave it back to me before he was killed. If Damon found out Brendan had it, he probably killed him just so he could get it back."

  "Take that, Angela Lansbury!" Lucy cried gleefully.

  I cheered along with her for a second. But it wasn't enough to ease my worries about Eleanor and Trixie.

  "I need to call Sheriff Knoxx. Maybe he can stop my aunts from going down to confront Polly."

  "You don't think he had anything to do with the killings, then?"

  I shook my head. "No. I think Lincoln was right. Sheriff Knoxx is weird, but he's not a killer."

  "Then what was he doing with that cake?"

  I shrugged. "I have no idea. But right now, I don't think it matters."

  I dialed the sheriff's station, and he answered on the first ring.

  "Knoxx here."

  "Sheriff! It's Ava Fortune." I was starting to get used to my new old last name.

  "Ava," he said, almost happy to hear from me. "I've been trying to get ahold of you. Your father broke out of jail earlier today. He's in a whole lot of—"

  "I know that already," I said, cutting him off. "That's not why I'm calling. You have to listen to me. Aunt Eleanor and Trixie are in trouble."

  "Eleanor?" Sheriff Knoxx asked, alarmed.

  "What kind of trouble?"

  "I found out who's behind the murders. They've gone down to—"

  A gruff voice on the other end suddenly cut me off.

  "Let me have that," Detective Hudson said. He cleared his throat and a moment later he was on the line with me and Sheriff Knoxx was gone.

  "I believe I told you, Ms. Fortune, that Sheriff Knoxx is no longer on your case. In fact, by tomorrow, he'll no longer be on any case."

  "What do you mean? What's happening to Sheriff Knoxx?"

  Lucy shot me a worried look.

  "I mean that your sheriff is not fit for duty. Part goblin," he muttered. "How could anyone think that someone one-eighth goblin would make a good sheriff?"

  "Listen, Detective Hudson," I felt bad for Sheriff Knoxx but didn't have time to worry about him just now, "I know who's responsible for the murders."

  "Who? Damon Tellinger again?"

  "That's right. Except he hasn't been working alone."

  "Let me guess. He was working with Santa Clause."

  "No," I snapped. "Polly Peacock."

  For just a moment, there was silence on the other end.

  "I doubt that very much," he finally said.

  I sighed. This was going nowhere.

  "The fact is, I have bigger things to do than chasing down insubstantial leads."

  "But it's not insubstantial. Polly gave me—"

  "The only lead I care about right now is the one I received regarding your father."

  "My father?" I breathed.

  Lucy tensed beside me. She swerved the car around a giant orange bush that seemed to pop out of nowhere and my heart raced.

  "That's right," Detective Hudson said in a delighted tone. He was enjoying rubbing this in my face.

  "We'll have him within the hour. Then it's life for him. Escape is a serious offense. The only way he could possibly make my job easier rig
ht now is to eat all the Fluffernutter root he can find and fall asleep while I make my way to his location."

  "Where is he?" I asked.

  "I'm sure you'd like to know. And I'm sure I won't be telling you. Goodbye, Ms. Fortune. I'll be seeing you next."

  He hung up and a rage-filled scream erupted out of me.

  "I can't get anything right," I wailed. "My aunts are on their way to be butchered and my father is about to get locked away for life."

  "Hudson's bluffing about him going away for life," Lucy said. "I think."

  She glanced sideways at me. "Who are you texting?"

  "Slater. He wasn't happy when Anastasia Peacock confirmed he was the killer. I think it rattled him. He might be willing to help us. Maybe he can intercept my aunts and stop them before they reach Polly's."

  "But Polly's his girlfriend."

  "Not if she's messing around with Damon behind his back."

  "Good point. What about your father? Did Hudson say where he was hiding?"

  "No. All he did was rub everything in my face. Said the only way to make his job easier was if my father ate all the Fluffernutter root he could find and fell asleep."

  "Wait..." Lucy said, smiling. "He said that? He specifically mentioned Fluffernutter root?"

  "Yeah. Why?"

  "Because, my newbie witch friend, there's only one place on Heavenly Haven where Fluffernutter root grows. I know exactly where to find your father."

  * * *

  3 3

  * * *

  Lucy hadn't lied when she'd described Whisper Crossing as "all trees and plants and hiding spots." It was exactly that. Even in the dying sunlight, I could see the colors of the place jumping out at me. And the feel was... heavy. Like the air here was thick and sweet and ancient. A feeling that permeated the lush landscape.

  Bright oranges and greens popped out of every corner. The moon was halfway up. The sunset fading in the distance. It gave the foliage a strange, almost ethereal, feel. A trail of pink and yellow flowers formed a path to the edge of a cliff. Plants of all varieties—so many I could never name them even if I studied botany for a hundred years—filled every square inch of the place.

  And directly in the center of it all was a cemetery. Even that was beautiful. It sat atop a hill, overlooking the ocean.

  "Wow," I breathed.

  "Like it?" Lucy asked.

  "It's beautiful."

  "You should see it in daytime. The colors really pop."

  I thought that if the colors popped any more the place would be a Crayola box.

  "So, should we split up?" Lucy asked.

  I shook my head. "I don't think that's a good idea. This place seems huge. What if we can't find each other again?"

  "Well, if that happens, Sweetland is that way," Lucy said, pointing east. "Just beware that if you take my car and leave me stranded here, I'll be forced to turn you into a miniature poodle the next time I see you."

  I laughed.

  "I'm not joking," Lucy said, completely deadpan.

  I stopped laughing.

  "Kidding!" she shouted. I tried to smile but I could feel the minutes ticking by. I still had to get back to Sweetland and find my aunts.

  "Okay," I told her, "let's split up.”

  "Do you want the cemetery or the tropical paradise?" she asked, indicating the colorful landscape before us.

  I was tempted to take the easy path and stay with the tropical paradise. The cemetery had all the same colors as the rest of the land, but it was darker somehow. Dark oranges and reds. Dark pinks and yellows. Like someone had thrown a layer of black mesh across the surface. Yet... there was something about it I found inviting. Strange as that seemed.

  "I'll take the cemetery," I told her.

  She nodded. "If you find your dad, just give a yell. This place echoes like the Chamber Of Skeletons."

  I was about to ask what the Chamber Of Skeletons was but decided I might not want to know just now. The sun was almost gone behind the cliffs and the moon was showing itself to its fullest.

  At least there's moonlight.

  I made my way up the hill to the cemetery. It sat overlooking everything around it like an overlord keeping a watchful eye on his land. I shivered as I wound my way through a thicket of spindly looking flowers to the gate. It stood open. Waiting for me.

  The cemetery wasn't huge, but it felt that way as I stepped through the gate. I looked around at the headstones, which were all shapes and sizes. There were giant mausoleums with entire families buried inside that dated back to the 1800s. Towering monoliths that went back even further. And assorted pieces that looked like the standard headstones you'd find in any cemetery in any part of the world.

  "Dad?" I called.

  At the bottom of the hill, I could hear Lucy calling, "Mr. Fortune?"

  A noise about fifty feet away, near the cliff, caught my attention.

  "Dad?" I called again.

  Nothing.

  I walked toward the spot where I'd heard the sound. I couldn't shake what Lucy had said about Ghosts in the Graveyard. I'd never experienced anything supernatural growing up—at least not that I could remember. The idea of seeing a dead person walking around was oddly exhilarating, but also terrifying.

  A tall, white marble angel with its wings folded in on itself stood twenty feet from the edge of the cliff. I stared transfixed by it. The statue was beautiful. A white so pure that even in the darkness it shown like the sun. I heard the noise again—a light footfall. It came from directly behind the statue.

  "Dad?"

  I gasped as the shadow of a woman stepped out from behind it. She was beautiful. A mass of sheer silky fabric cradled her milky skin. She moved slowly but with purpose. She almost looked familiar, but not quite. A vision of someone I knew long ago.

  She stepped further into the moonlight, and I realized I could see right through her. At the light hit bright yellow locks that flowed to her waist, I finally realized where I knew this woman from. Only Rose women had hair that color.

  "M-mom?"

  The figure smiled. I could see her mouth moving but no sound came out.

  "I can't hear you," I said. She lifted a finger and motioned for me to follow her.

  I briefly wondered if I was still in Amelia's study, asleep on the couch. This would make so much more sense if it were all a dream. My father had always told me my mother had been cremated and her ashes scattered at sea. I could hardly believe that all this time, she'd been right here. Where I could have visited her.

  I followed the... ghost?... spirit?... image of my mother as she stopped in front of a tombstone so dark it looked almost black.

  "What is it?" I asked her.

  There was a new noise behind me. I turned to see who was approaching, but there was no one there. When I turned back, my mother was gone.

  Even though I'd grown up without her, her sudden disappearance, left me feeling empty. Wishing I had more time for her. A gust of warm wind blew past me, so strong it felt as though it were actually pushing me toward the black tombstone. I stumbled forward, catching myself on the stone before I could fall.

  "Oh, my roses," I yelled, staring at the inscription.

  IN LOVING MEMORY OF

  JON PRATT

  BELOVED HUSBAND AND FATHER

  Survived by his wife Helena Carter Pratt

  and their son Slater Damon Pratt

  * * *

  3 4

  * * *

  "I'm such an idiot."

  I'd trusted the wrong man, and I'd texted the killer. Slater knew exactly what my aunts were doing and exactly where they were going. I had to get out of here. Now.

  "Ava!"

  I jumped three feet in the air as a pair of hands reached out and jolted me from behind. When I landed, my father was standing there.

  "What are you doing here?" he demanded.

  "Looking for you!"

  "I told you to get off Heavenly Haven. It's not safe for you here."

  No apology for scarin
g me. No good to see you.

  "Me?" I screeched. "What about you?"

  "I'll be fine."

  "Oh, really? Because Detective Hudson is on his way here right now. Someone tipped him off that you were hiding here."

  My father's face turned white.

  "I knew I should have stayed off the main road."

  "Why did you come here, anyway?" I asked him. "Whisper Crossing's an interesting place but it's not exactly the best escape route. Speaking of which, what the heck were you thinking? Escape? Escaping makes you look guilty!"

  "Detective Hudson wouldn't let me see you. Wouldn't even let me talk to you. I was worried something had happened

  "Oh, Dad," I sighed, hugging him to me.

  He hugged me back and for a moment I felt safe.

  "I'm mad at you, you know."

  "Again?"

  "You told me Mom's ashes were scattered at sea."

  "They were."

  I looked at the white marble angel where the woman with golden hair had come from.

  "Then whose grave is that? I could swear I saw her just now..."

  "Avaaa!" Lucy suddenly called from the base of the hill. I looked down to see her pointing wildly in one direction. I followed the line of her finger and saw lights in the distance. Flashlights. Sometime in the last twenty minutes, Detective Hudson had arrived. And he'd brought reinforcements.

  Lucy took off running. I saw her disappear into a small field of what looked like ten-foot cabbages.

  "Run!" my father cried. He grabbed my hand and started pulling me down the hill with him, away from the cemetery.

  The hill wasn't steep, but it wasn't just a stepping stone either. Halfway down my foot caught on a snake hole and I fell and rolled the rest of the way.

  "Ava!" my father screamed, trying to catch up.

  At the bottom of the hill, I rolled into a bright orange bush with fluffy flowers like cotton candy.

  "Ugh," I said, shaking my head and attempting to stand up amidst the stems and vines jutting out at all angles. After all that rolling, I was dizzy.

  The golf ball-sized red spot in the center of my chest—a reminder to be careful who you trusted—stung. I looked down and saw that some grass had stuck to it from my fall. I gently wiped it away. At least it didn't look any worse. I'd have to thank Amelia again when I saw her. Whatever she'd put on me to patch me up seemed to be working.