Seven Pets for Seven Witches

by Annabel Chase

  A nudge against at my side made me glance down and miss the second half of whatever Midge was saying. However, I found nothing. Feeling a sense of unease, I looked up to catch the second half of Midge’s conversation.

  “...am I right?” Midge finished, and I managed to mutter an agreement as she flipped through the ledger. “Here’s your room, dear. Same as last time.”

  I quickly signed in, still jumpy from the nudge. It’d felt like someone had reached out and poked my knee, but when I’d glanced down, nobody had been there.

  “Thanks, Midge, and the key?”

  “Right here, let me grab it for you.”

  As Midge jumped for a key resting over a foot beyond her reach, it happened again. Another nudge. A distinct ruffling coming from around my leg.

  “Do you have ghosts?” I asked, as Midge retrieved the key with a grunt and handed it over. “Spirits, things like that?”

  “Not in the last few years,” she said, matter-of-fact. “I told Billy Harrison to move out after spooking a pair of honeymooners from the mainland.”

  “Gotcha—and Billy…”

  “Now he was a ghost. Quite spirited, if you know what I mean,” she chortled. “He had to go.”

  “Well, thanks,” I said again, grabbing my duffle and heading upstairs with my broomstick in the other hand.

  When I reached the staircase, however, the squirming grew more pronounced, and I glanced down to find nothing except my belongings. The rest of the stairwell remained empty.

  I muttered a few curse words under my breath, wishing I’d come more prepared with my spells and defenses. This weekend was supposed to be about Mermaid-sightseeing, sipping mimosas, and gossiping with the girls. Not fighting off invisible ghosts and sitting next to an under-construction pool without a bar.

  As I passed the second floor, I heard snores loud enough to belong to a giant and figured that’s where Hettie’s room was located. She might weigh eighty pounds soaking wet in her highlighter pink legwarmers, but the woman could snore with the best of them.

  Scurrying past her room, I found my own on the third, and highest, floor. It was a pink, frilly thing that went against every bone in my personality. But it was cozy, I had to give it that.

  I popped open the door with a key nearly as large as my arm, then tossed my duffle bag and broom onto the bed. I poked around the room and out in the hall as well, ensuring that no extraneous creatures—specifically ghosts—had followed me inside.

  Flopping on the bed, I curled into the delicately soft, beautifully handmade comforter and let my eyes close. A nap didn’t sound so bad after the journey I’d taken to get here. I knew once the rest of the girls got here—Lily, Poppy, Zin, and Mimsey—there’d be no rest for the wicked.

  And we planned to be wicked.

  No sooner had sleep begun to knock on my doorstep than the nudge happened again. More pronounced this time and so incessant that I played things cool, kept calm despite my racing heart, and pretended not to react.

  It happened again—a distinct bump against my leg. Peeking one eye open, I discovered it was coming from my bag. I waited, inching my leg away as the nudging grew more pronounced. Apparently, I had a stowaway.

  I crept away from the bag and grabbed my Stunner out of my pocket just as a furry, smoke-colored paw poked out of my duffle bag, followed by a disgruntled mew. Breathing a huge sigh of relief, I threw the bag open and stared straight at V. He might not be my favorite animal, but I’d take a cat over a ghost any day.

  “What do you think you’re doing here?!” I struggled to keep my voice even as I spoke to the cat. “I don’t even like you. First, you try to eat my only friend and fish, and second, you crash the only vacation I’ve ever taken from work?”

  The cat looked at me like I was the moron, and then he proceeded to make himself at home on my pillow. If I had wanted a nap, my plan had been foiled. Apparently, V owned this room, and I was merely an optional attendee.

  “Get off my bed.” I tried in vain to argue with the cat, thinking the entire time that I should really interact with more people of my own species. Between V and Harry, about fifty-four percent of my conversations were with animals that didn’t talk back. “Go on, get away. Go hang out with Hettie’s cat for the weekend..”

  V purred, stretched out even longer on the pillow, and gave me something that looked like the stink eye.

  “Fine,” I said, standing and yanking my duffle bag off the bed. “I wasn’t tired anyway. I’m going to...I’m going to go and—”

  “Ainsley!” A shriek was followed by the stomping pitter patter of tiny feet. An out of breath Midge appeared in my door, bursting into the locked room without permission. “Sorry to barge in, but...did you bring a cat? I have an animal policy at the inn, you know.”

  I took in her annoyed expression and returned it myself. “I know. Please kick him out—he stowed away in my bag.”

  “Can you come with me?” Midge waved her hand. “I need your help.”

  “But—”

  “Forget about the cat for now; he can stay.”

  “What’s wrong?” Instantly, my Guardian training kicked into high gear as I trailed behind Midge back downstairs. She had a look of surprise overshadowed by the fog of alarm that I’d seen many times before. Something was definitely wrong. “What happened?”

  “It’s…” Midge hesitated once we reached the lobby. She glanced around. “It’s a little embarrassing.”

  “I’m good at keeping secrets.”

  “I know; that’s why I came to you. You’re a Guardian, so you’re good at finding and protecting things, right?”

  “I suppose.”

  Midge leaned closer to me, lowering her voice. “Someone stole something from me. It’s not worth all that much, but…well, it means a lot to me.”

  I frowned. “What was stolen?”

  “I need your word you’ll keep this private. I can’t have rumors spreading about my B&B being a nest for criminals, or I’ll lose all my business. I pride myself on the safety of my guests in this establishment.”

  “I promise. But I’ll need you to tell me everything that happened in detail.”

  Midge nodded, a pink tinge on her cheeks. “It’s a...well, I have this spellbook,” Midge said, testing out the waters. “Normally, I keep it locked in my safe, but I used it today. I shoved it behind the front desk earlier, and now it’s gone.”

  “What sort of spellbook is worth keeping locked up?”

  “It’s not the fact that it’s a spellbook,” Midge said, a little annoyed. “It’s the contents of it. The title’s in Russian, so I don’t know exactly what it means. When I bought the book, the guy told me it loosely translates to: Intro to Magic for Dummies.”

  “What’s wrong with that?”

  “It’s mine! I’m not very good at magic, see. I want to learn to be better, but it’s just so hard for me.”

  “That’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”

  “I’m using a spellbook made for humans. It’s supposed to be so basic even a non-paranormal could learn magic.” Midge threw her hands in the air. “For a witch living on a magical island, I’d say that’s pretty embarrassing.”

  “Surely you have some powers, seeing as you’re a witch.”

  “The basics. But in terms of actual spells, I’m crap. I can barely make a feather levitate. I mean, don’t most kids learn that the day they’re taught about magic?”

  “It doesn’t matter, Midge. You’re still a witch, and you run the most successful B&B on The Isle—the only B&B. Who cares if you can’t make feathers levitate?”

  “I care! We need to find the book before word gets out, or else I’ll be ruined.”

  “They’re not going to ruin you. Everyone loves you.”

  “Maybe, but I need that book back,” she said. “I was finally starting to see some results. Not great results, but I made some sunflowers bloom, and that’s more than I’ve ever done before with spells.”

  “Can’t you buy a
nother? I thought it was a basic spellbook.”

  “It’s a limited edition, and the guy I bought it from told me there are only two others left. You don’t understand, Ainsley, I’ve tried everything: traditional magic, herbal, Greek, Norse, you name it. This is the only book that’s been helping. I need this one.”

  “Okay, let’s walk through the timeline. Do you have any surveillance for me to look at?”

  “What do you think this is? MAGIC, Inc.?” Midge shook her head. “I work the front desk. I’m the only one who sees people coming and going. I popped into the kitchen a few times to check on the food, so I guess someone could’ve snuck into the lobby while I was there and grabbed the book.”

  “Anyone could’ve popped in, Midge. The front door’s right there.”

  She shook her head. “It has to be someone who’s staying at the inn. Both the back and front doors have bells on them, so I’d have heard if I had a guest.”

  “Can you gather the guests who were around during the time of the theft? Let’s have them assemble in the dining room. I’d like to talk to them individually, and I don’t want any disappearing before I can get to them.”

  Midge nodded. “Will you make sure they keep things silent?”

  “I’ll do my best to convince them it’s best if this never leaves the inn.”

  I turned to follow Midge, but a voice from behind called my name, and I turned to find the excited eyes of Lily Locke, the island’s Mixologist, hurtling toward me.

  “Hi, Boss,” I said, as the slender, pretty woman threw herself into my arms for a hug. “How are you doing?”

  “It’s so good to see you! I’m glad you could get away from work for the weekend.” Lily stepped back and hoisted an overnight bag higher on her shoulder. “I’m really excited about this new mermaid tour. It’s supposed to be amazing.”

  “Yeah,” I murmured. “Me too. I think.”

  “What’s wrong?” She frowned. “Don’t tell me you’re still thinking about work. This is supposed to be a vacation. I’m sure Detective Beck wouldn’t be happy to hear you’re not relaxing.”

  “And I’m sure Ranger X would be upset if I told you something’s happened that has me investigating.”

  Curiosity rose in Lily’s eyes, and she leaned closer. “What’s wrong? We can figure it out together, and then get this vacation started. By the way, X says hello.”

  “Hello back,” I told her, and then leaned in even closer. “There’s been a theft.”

  Once I filled Lily in on the situation, we both made our way through the entryway, stopping to survey the front desk area where the spellbook was last seen.

  “It wouldn’t be that hard to sneak a book out of here,” Lily said. “Especially if Midge was in the kitchen. Anyone could’ve popped down from their room and grabbed it.”

  I agreed, taking one more minute to size up the timing of the theft, the layout of the entryway, and all possible entrances and exits. There were really only four main doors here: one to the front. One to the dining area, which was where we were headed. A back door, just visible past the hallway, and the final adjacent door that led upstairs to the rooms. Nobody could have entered without alerting Midge to their presence.

  “The guests are waiting for you,” Midge whispered. “Hello, Lily. Ainsley caught you up to speed?” At Lily’s nod, Midge continued. “I can’t tell you girls how much I appreciate this. Free night’s stay on me. Free dinner. Whatever you need to enjoy your time here.”

  “Don’t worry,” Lily said with a smile. “We’re happy to help. We’ll do our best to get this figured out and kept quiet.”

  “That’s all?” I asked, having peeked over Midge’s head while Lily was talking. “Five guests?”

  “I only have ten rooms, and with you ladies reserving half of them, the inn is mostly unoccupied today. There’s one more couple who was scheduled to stay another night, but they had to leave early this morning.”

  “Could they have left early because they took your spellbook?” I asked. “Are you positive on the time of the theft?”

  “I read the spellbook after they left. Those sunflowers you see out front? I made them bloom about half an hour before you arrived. Then I came back inside, set the book on the ledge behind the desk, and went to the kitchen for a cookie. I tidied up some back there, and twenty minutes later, I heard you arrive. I came back to the desk to check you in. After you went upstairs, I decided to practice more. That’s when I discovered it was gone.”

  Lily, too, peered over my shoulder to find the five guests sitting there. And then she groaned. Loudly. “Can anyone tell me why my grandmother is a suspect?”

  “She was here when the theft occurred,” Midge said defensively. “I told her she didn’t have to come down and be questioned, but she insisted. I know it couldn’t have been her; she’s been snoring like a demon for the last three hours.”

  “I’ll question her,” I said quickly. “No offense, Lily, but you’re probably biased.”

  “Please,” she said with an eyeroll, then pointed to an older man. “You have fun with the old woman. I’ll take someone else. What’s his story?”

  Midge quickly filled us in on her guests. There was an older wizard—a history professor from some esteemed college in Europe—sitting along the far wall. He sipped a cappuccino and peered through his glasses, looking quite distinguished. Next to him was an even older man, and Midge had no clue what he did or who he was, except that his name was Mr. Bill, and he was here on business from the mainland.

  Next, Midge pointed out a middle-aged couple who sat near each other, but were not touching. As we watched, they shot loaded glances at one another, not seeming to care who noticed.

  “They’ve been arguing non-stop,” Midge said. “In fact, I heard them arguing this morning.”

  Last but not least, Midge pointed out Hettie, Lily’s grandmother, who wore a shiny, deep blue dress made from some sort of odd velour material that shone under the lights. She filed her bright gold fingernails and whistled, looking absolutely over-the-moon about the fact she was considered a suspect in a theft.

  “I’ll take the oldest one,” Lily said. “It doesn’t look like he can move fast enough to have stolen the spellbook.”

  Midge, shuffling anxiously from one foot to the next, wrung her hands. “Just be careful, ladies, okay?”

  “We’ll be fine,” I assured her. “Who knows? Maybe it was a misunderstanding. Maybe one of them took it without realizing it belonged to you.”

  Midge didn’t look convinced, but she nodded along as Lily approached the oldest gentleman and asked him to come with her to a quiet corner of the dining area. I went for Hettie first. Skipping the formalities, I looped an arm through hers and marched Lily’s grandmother into the lobby.

  “Hello, Ainsley,” she said, bouncing with energy. “Did you come here to arrest me?”

  “Of course not. I know you didn’t steal anything,” I said, sitting next to her. “But I figured, why not interview you and say hello at the same time?”

  “I like it,” Hettie said. “Kill two birds with one stone.”

  “Where were you at the time of the theft?” I asked, a half-smile on my face. “By the way, that color looks great on you.”

  “Thanks,” she said. “I was wondering if Mr. Bill noticed me in there. He’s a bit old for me, don’t you think? Then again, if I went for the historian, people would call me a cougar.”

  I tried to keep a straight face as Hettie continued, but it became increasingly difficult. I’d worked with Hettie on top secret assignments recently, and without a doubt, I knew she hadn’t committed the theft.

  She was the most powerful witch in this building, and she had no use for a beginner’s spellbook. Still, I hadn’t become successful at my job by not being thorough.

  “Well?” she prompted. “I dodged giving you an alibi, didn’t you notice?”

  “I did notice,” I told her. “But I happen to know your alibi already. Midge says you were sleeping.
Loudly.”

  “Was I sleeping?” She held a finger up and gave it a waggle. “What if I had tape recorded myself snoring and played it on a loop to lull Midge into a false sense of security? Then, what if I snuck out and stole whatever it is that’s stolen, and snuck back up to my room? Did you think about that?”

  “Did you do any of that?”

  “No,” Hettie said, her face crestfallen. “I really was sleeping. They don’t tell you this getting older business is exhausting.”

  “I know,” I said. “I tried to nap this afternoon, too, but it didn’t work out.”

  “Do you want to arrest me?”

  I shook my head. “Hettie, we both know this is a formality.”

  “Can you please just tell me not to leave town?”

  I sighed.

  “Please? I have to have some juicy gossip for my friends.”

  “Fine.” I surveyed her with a deadly serious look. “Hettie, please don’t leave town for the next few hours.”

  “Yes!” She leapt up, hurrying off toward her room. “I have to make some phone calls. Let the ladies know I’ve almost been arrested.”

  “Anything?” I asked, rejoining Lily between the dining room and the lobby. “Because your grandmother was a bust.”

  “Huh, I wouldn’t have guessed.”

  “We’ve got the couple left in the corner,” I said, “and the historian. Who do you want to take?”

  Lily wrinkled her nose. “I’ll take the couple, if you don’t mind questioning the historian.”

  “Sounds like a plan.” I raised my eyebrows and gave a shrug. “Have fun?”

  “I’m sorry you got dragged into this. I know it was supposed to be a girls’ weekend, and you were supposed to leave work at home…”

  “Don’t worry about it.” I waved a hand. “Technically, ladies’ weekend doesn’t start until five o’clock. I have a few hours until I’m due for a cocktail.”

  “Ainsley, wait.” Lily rested a hand on my arm, stopping me in place. “I just realized something. What if it’s not about the spellbook?”