Potion Problem: A Halloween Helper's Cozy Mystery

by Linnea West

  “So the original murder suspect will now be the leader of a powerful coven?” Norhand asked, his eyebrow raised. “How strange.”

  Vinnie wanted to make a snarky remark, but thought better of it. Someone needed to take the high road, so it may as well be her.

  “Thistle has shown herself to be not only a level-headed individual even when she was accused of murder, but also a great mentor when Diggy was in need of some magical help,” Vinnie said. “She was willing to become the potion keeper when she really didn’t want to, but for the good of the coven she took over that position. Thistle is not only a patient and kind witch, but she will make sure everyone finds a welcoming place when they come to this coven for help.”

  Norhand sat silently, not able to refute. Vinnie wasn’t sure, but she thought that what the Halloween Helper said was what would be done. It was scary to think about but their word essentially became law. Norhand was some sort of boss though, so if he really wanted to maybe he had the power to change her ruling?

  Vinnie didn’t have to worry though because after thinking for a moment, Norhand stood up from his chair, adjusting his robes as he went. The three women sat on the loveseat while he watched them expectantly.

  “Well, get up please,” he said. “I’ll need my couch.”

  Vinnie, Diggy, and Thistle hurriedly stood up and bustled away from the living room set, which vanished the instant everyone was out of the way. The next thing they knew, Ivy and the stool she was sitting on also disappeared. The three women and Norhand were the only ones left in the kitchen.

  Norhand waved his fingers and slowly dematerialized, floating away piece by piece like he was being exploded into a million magical sparkles that would come together somewhere else. Vinnie thought he just did that to be a showoff. Before Vinnie could make a firm plan for what to do next, she was swept up into a firm, tight hug from Thistle.

  “Thank you so much,” Thistle said. A few tears were trailing down her freckled cheeks. “You believed in me when I thought there was no hope. And now you’ve made me the leader which honestly, I never thought was possible. I’m not sure how I can ever repay you.”

  “It was really our pleasure as the Halloween Helpers,” Vinnie said. “Although I can think of one way you could help us. We may need you in sort of an “on-call” position since we still don’t have a fully magical member of the team. Could we depend on you in a pinch?”

  Thistle’s face lit up. She was so happy that she was practically vibrating, her short hair swishing around her face.

  “Of course you can,” she squealed. “Now let me whip up something as a celebration. Maybe a fresh batch of cookies?”

  In three minutes flat, they were seated around the counter with warm chocolate chip cookies and tall glasses of milk. Vinnie had to admit that using magic to cook was nice sometimes. The cookie was just the way Vinnie liked it, with the chocolate chips oozing out onto her fingertips.

  “So who will take over the kitchen?” Diggy asked as she reached for another cookie from the tray in the middle of the counter.

  “I will of course,” Thistle said. “I can be the leader and the cook. For some reason, Plant wouldn’t let me be the cook, but I think letting people do the jobs they’d like to do or are willing to do helps morale of the entire coven.”

  Vinnie felt a rush of happiness. She had definitely made the right choice, even if she had made it sort of spur of the moment. Thistle would be a great change to the coven.

  “So you’re officially the leader of the Sisters of the Beating Heart,” Diggy said. “What are you going to do first?”

  Thistle laughed. It seemed to come easily to her which was good because so far, they had only seen her in stressful situations. The fact that she was so naturally cheery was very good news for the coven.

  “This coven won’t just change overnight,” Thistle said. “So I’ll need to sit down and make a plan for exactly what I’d like to do. I think we need to make the headquarters a bit more cheery. I think I’d like to enforce a system of mentors and mentees. And I would like to make sure everyone has an official job here in the coven.”

  After their snack finished up, Vinnie and Diggy said goodbye. It was hard to leave Thistle after all she had been through, but Vinnie had a feeling that they would be seeing her again soon.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  The fire was roaring in the library fireplace as Vinnie and Diggy sat ensconced in their armchairs, wrapped in quilts and eating a wonderful split pea soup that they had prepared together after solving their first case. Normally Vinnie did not allow anyone to eat in the library, but this seemed like a cozy, special way to round out what had been a very stressful week.

  As they dipped fresh bread in their soup and sipped mugs of hot tea, the wind whipped outside of the window. There was a thunderstorm that was slowly rolling through, but this one did not contain any strange men traveling inside. It was simply a storm to be enjoyed.

  There was an underlying current between them that was full of Lavender though. So many things were going unsaid because they didn’t want to ruin their one evening of happiness with the knowledge that Lavender wasn’t there even if the thought never actually left their mind.

  Instead, they sat together and quietly ate their dinner, occasionally making mindless chatter or rehashing everything that had gone down at the coven headquarters. But for the longest time, neither of them mentioned Lavender until Diggy finally broke that ice.

  “I really miss Mom,” Diggy said with a sniffle. She tried to cover it by taking a slurp of soup, but it simply made the entire act noisier.

  “I miss her too,” Vinnie said.

  Vinnie set down the piece of bread she had been dunking and reached out for Diggy’s hand. The girl’s hand was thin and cold, despite all of the warm food they had been eating and the fact that they were wrapped up in blankets that Vinnie had made. With her mother gone, it seemed like nothing was able to warm up Diggy.

  “I do have something to show you,” Vinnie said. She pulled the picture that had been in the spell book out from her pocket and handed it to Diggy. “See your mom? There she is in the back row.”

  Vinnie watched Diggy’s eyes float around the photograph until they landed in the right place. She smiled, looking at the younger version of her mother.

  “Where is she in this picture?” Diggy asked.

  Launching into a discussion of Ravenwood Camp for Ancestrally Magical Children and the summers that Lavender hated, Vinnie told Diggy everything she knew. It wasn’t much, but she felt like she could share something about the girl’s mother with her while they were both obviously missing her.

  “How come I never went to this camp?” Diggy asked. “Was I supposed to?”

  “I actually have no idea,” Vinnie said. “I had forgotten all about that place until this picture fell out of your mother’s spell book earlier. There’s something weird about it, but I couldn’t quite figure out what it was. Something feels familiar.”

  Diggy’s eyes flicked over the picture a few times, taking it all in before she slowly concentrated on each face. As Vinnie went to take another bite of soup, Diggy let out a loud gasp, startling her enough that she dropped her spoon into the bowl and splattered drops of soup everywhere. She was about to get mad when she noticed the horrified look on her niece’s face.

  “Why is Norhand in this picture with my mom?” Diggy asked.

  “What?” Vinnie asked. “What are you talking about?”

  Diggy jumped out of her chair and rushed over to Vinnie, sitting on the arm of her chair and leaning precariously over Vinnie and her bowl of soup. She shoved the old, wrinkled picture into Vinnie’s face and jabbed at the front row of teenagers.

  There at the end of the front row sat a sullen, greasy haired teenage boy. His hair covered part of his face, but the part that Vinnie could see did look an awful lot like Norhand. Diggy was right.

  “Did my mom remember him?” Diggy asked.

  “I can’t say,” Vin
nie said. “You know how your mom acts all mysterious and dreamy. I can never tell if she knows something or had a future flash of something or is just floating away in her thoughts while real things are happening down here on Earth.”

  Diggy nodded. Her mother was often lost in thought or a future flash and anything that was said or done around her went unnoticed by Lavender. It was incredibly frustrating in the day to day running of the house, but was also charming and Vinnie honestly missed it now that Lavender wasn’t around.

  Vinnie dunked her crusty bread into the soup again. It was delicious and the soup was almost gone, but Vinnie had somehow managed to save room for one more cookie that Thistle had sent home with them. She stood up and grabbed her plate.

  “Are you done?” Vinnie asked Diggy. “I can clear supper and bring back some cookies.”

  But now Diggy was the one lost in thought. She was staring at the picture again, her eyes frozen in one place. Vinnie couldn’t tell if she was analyzing the photo or really missing her mother. She picked up Diggy’s plate and started out of the library.

  “I’m assuming you’re done, so I’m going to the kitchen,” Vinnie called back over her shoulder, but she got no response.

  Returning with two small plates for their chocolate chip cookies, Vinnie was a little worried to see that Diggy hadn’t moved at all. She was still staring at the picture in her hands. Setting the plates down on their little wooden TV tray stands, Vinnie took a big bite of hers and waited. When Diggy didn’t even look up at her, Vinnie became even more worried.

  “Diggy? Are you okay?” Vinnie asked. “I brought you a cookie.”

  Diggy snapped to reality as if she had been dreaming. Vinnie wondered if she was picking up that habit from her mother, but fifteen was a bit old to pick up habits like that. Turning to face Vinnie, Diggy looked utterly confused. Her eyebrows were knitted together and her lips were pursed. Vinnie hurriedly chewed up her bite of cookie so that she could help with whatever Diggy needed.

  Vinnie put her hand out, gently requesting to get the picture back. Diggy complied, giving it back and then standing up to pace in front of the fireplace. The young witch was getting agitated. Those teenage hormones along with burgeoning magical powers meant that it was all a bit like walking on eggshells. Vinnie’s heart went out to her.

  “You can talk to me,” Vinnie said. “I’m here to listen.”

  Diggy didn’t even seem to hear her as she kept pacing around, ignoring the cookie that Vinnie had brought for her. Vinnie knew it was serious if even the siren song of a chocolate chip cookie couldn’t stop the anxiety.

  “I know it’s weird that Norhand is in the picture,” Vinnie said. “But it might not mean anything. Maybe they did know each other a long time ago, but that doesn’t mean your mother remembered him or that he remembered her. Maybe they were just as surprised as we were to find out they knew each other.”

  Even as Vinnie said the words, she knew that she didn’t believe them either. It was becoming painfully obvious that Norhand remembered Lavender and that he had never forgot Lavender. But what did that mean? Vinnie hoped that it just meant a long unrequited crush on the part of Norhand.

  Diggy shrugged as she turned to scowl at the fire. Outside, the rain was beating on the window and Vinnie closed her eyes and focused on the calming sound. There were so many things that didn’t make sense. She hated that Diggy was so worked up, but she couldn’t blame the girl.

  “What if Mom never comes home?” Diggy asked quietly. Her face had two wet streaks stained with mascara down her cheeks.

  “Oh Diggy,” Vinnie said, standing up to wrap the girl in the sort of hug only an aunt can give. “I promise you that we will get her back. Even if I have to battle my way into the Magical Universe, I will find a way to bring her home.”

  Diggy laughed as she wiped her cheeks with her fingers. Vinnie remembered what it was like to be that age and have emotions running all over the place. She didn’t have to mix her hormones with magic, though, and she assumed it was even more difficult. Thankfully as an auntie, it was a bit easier to distance herself from the drama of it all and just wrap the distraught girl in love.

  Vinnie put an old big band record on the record player in the corner and settled back under her blanket to listen while she worked on knitting yet another blanket. Diggy picked a book off of the shelf and she cuddled up in her chair.

  Thoughts were flying through Vinnie’s head as her knitting needles flew through more rows on her blanket. What did it mean that Norhand was in that picture? When would Norhand tell them the second puzzle? Would their next case be a little easier to solve?

  Vinnie tried to look at the bright side, which was that they had already solved the first puzzle which meant that they were one step closer to bringing Lavender home. Her only hope was that by Halloween night, the three witches would be able to spend a cozy night just like this together in the library. Maybe if she kept her mind on that cozy Halloween night, she’d be able to solve these next three puzzles and get her sister back. Lavender would be home before she knew it.

  ********

  Will Vinnie and Diggy be able to solve the next clue and get closer to getting Lavender back? Will they be able to help a pack of vampires get back their ceremonial skull? Will the witches find out more about Norhand and his motive? Find out in Book 2: Skull Screw Up.

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  About the Author

  Linnea West lives in Minnesota with her husband and two children. She taught herself to read at the age of four and published her first poem in a local newspaper at the age of seven. After a turn as a writer for her high school newspaper, she went to school for English Education and Elementary Education. She didn’t start writing fiction until she was a full time working mother. Besides reading and writing, she spends her time chasing after her children, watching movies with her husband, and doing puzzle books. Learn more about her and her upcoming books by subscribing to her weekly newsletter.

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  Copyright

  Potion Problem by Linnea West

  © 2019 Mikki Tuohy

  All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. For permissions contact:

  Linneawestbooks@gmail.com