Connor gave his girlfriend a hug. “I’m so sorry about your friend.”
“I really miss her.”
“I know. And even though there’s nothing you can do to bring her back, you can at least take comfort in the fact that you brought her killer to justice.”
Usually, once she’d cracked a case, Meg would be over the moon. Things were different this time. Of course she was relieved that the killer was behind bars, but she had a hole in her heart that couldn’t be filled by the mere fact that justice had been served.
The problem was, nothing could fill the Sabrina-sized void in her life. There was no escaping the fact that her friend was dead, and nothing would bring her back. While Sabrina was gone, Meg was determined to make sure she’d never be forgotten. Her friend would always have a place in her heart.
Meg’s heart just happened to be heavier than ever right then. “That’s not as much comfort as you’d think.”
Connor knew he’d have to take a different approach if he was going to bring a smile back to her face.
“I know something that might make you feel better,” he said.
“What’s that?” she asked.
Epilogue
There was no greater ally in trying to turn a woman’s mood around than chocolate. Still, even with the power of cocoa at his side, Connor was still having mixed results trying to cheer his girlfriend up.
He knew it wouldn’t be easy, nor should it. Deep down, Connor felt torn as well. He hated to see his girlfriend so broken up, but he also knew the grieving process took on many forms and shapes. Despite his best efforts to turn Meg’s mood around, he knew that may not even be possible right now.
Meg polished off the chocolate bar Connor had gotten her and gave him a half-smile.
“Thanks for trying to cheer me up,” she said.
“That’s what boyfriends are for,” he replied.
“Good boyfriends, at least, and you definitely fit that bill.”
“I just wish there was more I could do for you.”
She gazed into his eyes. “Trust me, you’re doing plenty.”
“Let me know if you can think of anything else.”
Meg couldn’t help but smile after that statement. At the same time, she stayed quiet, clearly lost in thought. One thing struck her more than anything as she sat there.
Connor became curious. “What are you thinking?”
“If the last few days has taught me anything, it is how fleeting life can be, which makes it all the more important to appreciate the good things we have in our life,” Meg revealed.
“That’s so true.”
“That’s why I want you to know how much I appreciate having you in my life.”
Connor stared into her eyes, long and deep. “Trust me, the feeling is mutual.”
Before they knew it, they got wrapped up in each other’s gaze. Connor couldn’t help himself and leaned over, giving her a soft kiss.
“Why do I get the feeling things are only going to get better between us?” Meg asked.
“It must be another one of your famous hunches. And if the last few days have taught me anything, your hunches are never wrong,” Connor replied.
The End.
A Bewitching Murder
Chapter One
Meg Walton had spent most of her life trying to find a way to fit in. She just wanted to be like everyone else. Yet no matter what she did, she always felt like the odd woman out. As if she was destined to be different. One day, she realized she was.
Meg wasn’t normal. Far from it. Believe it or not, she was a witch. You heard that right. She had the power to cast spells. If you’re shocked, you’re not alone. She was just as surprised herself when she discovered her powers.
Ironically, after all those years of trying to fit in, now people come to her specifically because she stood out. She was always reminded of this when she looked out at a packed house savoring the donuts she’d baked. After all, it was her magical witch powers that made the donuts so delicious in the first place. She cast a spell on each batch, making them taste extra delectable.
Meg smiled to herself, then turned to her boyfriend, Connor Smith, who took a bite of a chocolate-glazed donut.
“I can’t get over how amazing these donuts are.”
He always said that which was fine by her, because she never got tired of hearing it. Of all the accolades she received, the ones from her boyfriend meant the most. Connor came into the donut shop every day. He never got tired of her baking, or her. Confidence had eluded Meg so much of her life. That might be hard to believe, considering she had magic at her disposal, but it was true.
Yet, with all the spells at her fingertips, there was nothing she was able to cast that could keep her ex-boyfriend from falling in love with another woman. To this day, she still couldn’t believe it had happened. It was one of the rare times that she regretted growing up in the coastal Northern California town of Enchanted Bay. To most, Enchanted Bay was a picturesque town with three hundred and twenty sunny days a year, sandy beaches, and carefree locals. To Meg, it was home sweet home. So much so that she never thought about moving anywhere else.
If ever there was a time in her life when she was tempted to dabble in dark magic, it was right after her ex-boyfriend left her. Still, she resisted placing a hex on him. She’d been raised to be a good witch, and no amount of heartbreak was going to change that.
Now, two solid years after the breakup, she could finally laugh about the experience. She owed that in great part to Connor entering her life. He had a tall and athletic body, with an angular face, and the softest lips she’d ever kissed.
“You’re so sweet,” Meg replied.
Meg looked at herself in the mirror and saw a thirty-five-year-old redhead with a round face and an average build. Connor saw something different. She wasn’t just the girl next door to him; Meg was the girl of his dreams. There was a glimmer in his eyes when he gazed at her like she was truly special.
“It’s the truth. I’ve never tasted donuts this delicious before, and as a detective, I’ve had a lot of donuts over the years,” Connor said.
“You have a way with words; you know that?”
“What can I say? When I’m around you, compliments just come naturally.”
Meg started blushing. “How do you always know the sweetest thing to say to me at any given time?”
“You’re not the only one with tricks up their sleeve. Although I wish you’d give me the recipe for these donuts,” Connor said.
Meg remained coy. “Sorry. That secret stays with me.”
***
What came next, Meg never expected. That was saying a lot, considering she was a witch. Yet one phone call was about to render her speechless with her jaw scraping on the floor.
In the digital age, it was rare for phones to ever be out of someone’s sight for long. To some people, their smartphones seemed like an extension of themselves. As if it would take a surgeon to remove them from their hands. Meg had her moments of tech dependence as well, but they were few and far between. When it came to the morning rush at the donut shop, she didn’t have time to answer her personal phone. It stayed in her back pocket on vibrate until break time.
That morning, she felt the phone vibrating with a call, but clearly didn’t answer it. When her break time came, she was curious to see who had called. Connor joined her behind the donut shop to keep her company.
As Meg checked her messages, she listened to a voice mail that rocked her to her core. She was in such shock when she listened to the message that she ended up dropping her phone. Meg fell back into her chair with her mouth agape, in complete shock.
Connor quickly picked up the phone, then immediately came to her aid.
“Meg, what is it?” he asked.
She turned to him and opened her mouth to answer, but remained speechless. Meg didn’t know what to say. There were no words for what she’d just heard.
Connor went into panic mode. He’d never seen
her like this. “Honey, you have to tell me what’s wrong.”
Her eyes started to tear up. She bit the corner of her lip as she tried not to have a meltdown. It was no use. Nothing was going to stop her heart from sinking or her muscles from stiffening up.
That didn’t mean Meg’s boyfriend wasn’t going to try. He pulled her in close and wrapped his arms around her.
“Meg, you’re scaring me. Who was on the phone?”
Finally, she was able to muster an answer. “The mother of one of my old friends.”
“What did she say?”
“That my friend committed suicide.”
Chapter Two
It was hard not to just fall apart at the news. Even a few days later when Meg made the trip down to Los Angeles for the funeral, she was still in shock. Paige Martin was Meg’s age. She was finally carving out a career in journalism. Things were looking up for her. So for her to commit suicide was just unfathomable. There was another reason for Meg’s disbelief, but with her emotions so off the charts, she didn’t have time to focus on it.
Paige’s funeral was a surreal experience. Not just because the last time Meg had seen her she was full of life, but the setting also mismatched the surrounding environment. Weather-wise, it was a typical Southern California day. There wasn’t a single cloud in the sky. The sun was shining brightly. While Meg was watching one of her oldest friends be buried, across town, people were hanging out at the beach.
It rarely rained in L.A., but this was one of those rare occasions when it would be perfectly fitting to get some precipitation. Rain drops would pair quite well with Meg’s somber mood. While she contemplated how odd it felt to be wearing head to toe black in such a sun-soaked surrounding, more pressing matters demanded her attention.
In the middle of the service, she looked up and saw a man in the distance, standing beside a tree in the cemetery, just watching the ceremony with great interest. She didn’t recognize the man, but that wasn’t surprising, because other than Paige’s mother, Meg was unfamiliar with everyone at the funeral. The man was in his mid-thirties with short brown hair, matching brown eyes, an angular face, and a lean body. He looked like an actor she’d seen in a series of potato chip commercials. For all she knew, he could have been an actor. After all, this was Los Angeles.
Apparently, she wasn’t the only one at the service that caught sight of the man in the distance. Once the burial was over, Paige’s boyfriend, Tyler Watson, immediately ran towards the man, eager to confront him.
Tyler was also in his mid-thirties and athletic. He reminded Meg of an actor she’d seen do a bit part in a movie about a motley group of Civil War re-enactors. She knew Tyler was in finance and had no interest in the performing arts, but like so many people that lived in L.A., he had leading man looks.
When the strange man noticed Tyler approaching, he immediately tried to walk back to the parking lot, but Tyler caught up with him, and a shouting match ensued. Meg had no idea what the two men were arguing about, but she hoped it would stop soon. It was already unsettling enough being at a funeral of a close friend without a fracas breaking out as well.
Thankfully, their heated discussion was over quickly. The stranger rushed back to his car in the parking lot, while Tyler walked back towards the grave site. Tyler tried to pretend the argument hadn’t gotten under his skin, but it clearly had.
Hopefully, that would be the last drama of the day. There were plenty of other weightier issues to grapple with already. Meg went back into a fog, her mind running wild with confusion. She still couldn’t figure out how this all happened. Although, she was quickly learning that it didn’t matter how much she ran over the events in her head; Paige taking her life didn’t make sense.
Paige and Meg weren’t as close as they used to be when they grew up two streets away from each other in San Diego, but they still kept in touch regularly. Not a week went by that Meg didn’t either talk to her on the phone, text her, or see her social media updates. As far she could tell, Paige had been showing no suicidal tendencies. Granted, people that were seriously depressed often found ways to mask it, but Meg just couldn’t believe that had happened here.
As Meg thought about Paige being gone, a sense of sadness washed over her. It was times like this when she regretted telling her boyfriend Connor to stay in Enchanted Bay. Connor wanted to come with Meg, to be there for her, but Meg decided to attend the funeral on her own.
Connor was the kind of man that was loyal as could be. That was normally a good thing. In this case, Meg knew duty called. The police department he worked for was dangerously short-staffed at the moment. A number of officers were on vacation out of town, while a few others had caught the flu that was going around.
While Meg was in Los Angeles, Connor was needed on the beat. Granted, Enchanted Bay was generally a safe place, but what if he called off work and something awful happened in his absence? Meg couldn’t live with herself if someone died because Connor was in L.A. with her instead of keeping the streets safe back home.
Still, she missed having him by her side. He was so comforting. Then, just as Meg got caught up wallowing in her own quiet suffering, she spotted someone that needed some comfort of her own.
Chapter Three
As terrible as the news of Paige’s death was for Meg to take, it was infinitely worse for Paige’s mother. Hillary Martin was a petite woman in her mid-sixties with an affinity for sweater sets and tying her hair up with bows. She had a naturally sweet face, which made her sad look stand out even more. Meg couldn’t imagine a worse thing happening to such a good person. Hillary was the kind of woman that welcomed new people to the neighborhood with a tray of brownies fresh out of the oven. Now, tragically, she’d outlived her only daughter.
It was hard to even imagine what she was going through. Paige was all she had. Hillary’s husband had left both her and his daughter decades before. He was now living on a boat off the coast of Florida. The man was such a deadbeat that he didn’t even bother showing up to his own daughter’s funeral.
Hillary clearly wasn’t wasting her emotions thinking about her ex-husband right now. Her focus was squarely on her deceased daughter. There was a saying that parents should never outlive their children. Meg couldn’t shake that thought as she approached Hillary at the wake.
Meg wished there was more she could do to comfort her, but other than saying she was sorry, she was at a loss for words.
Hillary gave Meg a big hug when she saw her. It felt like she didn’t want to let go.
Meg whispered into her ear. “I’m so sorry.”
Hillary pulled back from the hug and tried to keep from crying too much. “I know you are. We all are.”
“Is there anything I can do for you?”
She grimaced, then shook her head. “I wish there was. But…”
Hillary couldn’t even finish her sentence. She was losing her grip. Meg had never seen her like this. She looked as scared as a little child that had just seen a ghost.
Meg gave her another hug, hoping to calm her down a little. As she held her, she could feel her shivering.
“You don’t have to say anything else. Just know that I’m here for you.”
“Thank you.”
“Of course,” Meg said.
Just then, Hillary’s attention was drawn away as one of her old friends came over to pay her respects.
Meg decided to give them their space. Now was not the time for an awkward introduction.
Before Meg walked away, Hillary turned to her one last time.
“Meg,” she said.
“Yes.”
“Before you leave today, please come and see me again.”
***
Meg spent the better part of the next hour and a half standing awkwardly in the corner, caught up in her thoughts. In her mind, this was no time to mingle with strangers. The other attendees at the wake seemed just as content not to make small talk with her either. She generally wasn’t so anti-social, but the fact was, she didn’
t know anyone else at the wake other than Hillary, who was staying quite busy thanking everyone for coming.
What a trooper she was. Meg watched her go from group to group, trying to put on a good face for each of them. Ironically, the only breakdown she had all day was with Meg. She didn’t know the significance of that. Perhaps it was because she felt comfortable enough around Meg to let her true emotions out. Either way, that detail stood out.
While Meg was left to her own devices, her mind drifted to memories of Paige. There were so many parallels between them. Like Meg, from an early age, Paige knew exactly what she wanted to do with her life. Journalism was so entrenched in her DNA that while most little girls were playing house and having tea parties, she created her own neighborhood newspaper highlighting the most interesting details their block had to share.
When Meg said newspaper, it was really just one sheet of paper with short little articles and tidbits printed on the front and back, but to an eight-year-old like Meg, it was nothing short of amazing. She had nothing but respect for that ambition.
The parallels between them didn’t end there. As they grew older, Paige and Meg both had a number of bumps in the road to sorting out their love lives. Finally, it seemed like those days were behind them. Then, this happened.
The longer Meg thought about Paige, the more she began to feel guilty. They’d always been so close, but lately, with the both of them living in different cities, it had gotten harder. Add on to that Meg taking on a management role at the donut shop, and Paige keeping busy at her newspaper job, and it was very tough to keep in contact. Granted, Paige had drifted away just as much as Meg had, but Meg was still here, and Paige wasn’t.
Meg kept thinking if she hadn’t fallen as out of touch, maybe she would have spotted the warning signs and been able to prevent this. There was no way of knowing for sure now. That was part of the problem. She was left with a series of questions but had no way of answering them. If that wasn’t enough, the manner in which Paige died just didn’t make sense. Paige was the last person Meg ever expect to kill herself. Yet, despite all the rationalizing she did, there was no escaping the facts. Paige was dead, and nothing Meg could do would bring her back.
Halloween Witch Cozy Mystery Ten Book Set Page 17