Witch You Well

by Colleen Cross

  "You can't prove that." Jack broke out into a cold sweat. "It could have been anything."

  Sheriff Gates shook his head. "The imprint on Sebastien's temple is very clear. I got a warrant to search your car this morning. Your tire iron was missing."

  Jack breathed an audible sigh of relief.

  "That is, until we recovered it from the trash can in your room. The blood on it was Sebastien's."

  "That's a lie. Pearl's cane was covered in blood too."

  Tyler dismissed him with a wave of his hand. "You stole Pearl's cane and left it at the gazebo to implicate her. The imprint on Sebastien's temple eliminates her cane. Not only that, but the angle and force required to make that imprint could only be done by someone much taller than Pearl. In fact, you're the only one at the Inn last night that meets the height requirement."

  "He's the guy I saw!" Pearl's hands flew to her mouth. "The guy in the hoodie."

  Tonya shrieked. "You killed my husband!" She charged Jack and pounded his chest with her fists.

  The sheriff fixated on Jack. "You followed him to the gazebo and hit him over the head."

  "No way, I wasn't there."

  "You don't have an alibi. Besides, we have an eyewitness."

  "I want a lawyer," Jack said. "I had nothing to do with this."

  "Jack was so jealous of Sebastien." Tonya's shrieks were replaced by dead calm. "Jack insisted I leave him, but I refused. So he killed my poor, sweet, husband."

  "That's a lie," Jack cried. "You told me you wanted him out of your life. That he beat you."

  "I said no such thing. You're just obsessed with me." Tonya wiped a pretend tear from her dry cheek. "Seb and I had a happy life together. Cut short by a monster."

  "It doesn't matter all that much in the end," Tyler said. "The blunt force trauma isn't what killed him."

  "It didn't?" Jack seemed suddenly hopeful.

  Tyler shook his head. "Sebastien was poisoned. Jack's hit just disguised the true cause of death."

  "No, Jack killed him. I demand you arrest him right now," Tonya cried.

  I suddenly noticed four Shady Creek police officers walking across the garden. They waited about ten feet away as Sheriff Gates talked. They had probably been brought in as reinforcements.

  "Sebastien Plant died from ethyl glycol poisoning. In fact, he was already dead when Jack hit him with the tire iron. That's why there wasn't much blood," Sheriff Gates said. "It's also why the tire iron left such a distinct impression on his skull. The coroner said that if he was still alive with his blood circulating, the tire iron's imprint wouldn't have been so distinct."

  Aunt Pearl scoffed. "That woman has a whole bag of tricks up her sleeve. What a witch."

  I flinched from her reference, but no one else seemed to take notice.

  Sheriff Gates pointed to Tonya. "You concocted this elaborate scene to frame Jack for the murder. That's why you checked in early and kept Sebastien in his room until he could barely walk. Sebastien wasn't drunk, he was poisoned. You persuaded him to go outside for some fresh air and walk off his drunkenness. You had to, because there was no way to carry an obese, three-hundred-pound man."

  "Why take him to the gazebo at all?" Alan asked.

  "He was hidden from view. It bought her time so that he wouldn't be discovered too soon. The antifreeze effects can be reversed, but there's only a small window of time before it's too late. She couldn't leave him in her room without explaining why she didn't call for help. Claiming he took a walk in the garden was perfect. She has an alibi while he was slowly dying."

  "It's all my fault." Tonya's voice broke. "He was very depressed and I never should have left him alone. He was having suicidal thoughts the last few months. But I had no idea he drank antifreeze."

  "Most people don't know that ethyl glycol is the chemical name for the main ingredient in antifreeze, yet you seem awfully familiar with it."

  "That's because I'm a smart person, Sheriff. Just wish I was smart enough to stop my husband from taking his own life."

  "I'm quite confident you helped him," Tyler said. "Someone put the ethylene glycol in his drink. We tested the glass on the nightstand in your suite and found traces of the chemical. Your fingerprints were on the glass. You must have slipped it in his drink."

  "That's some imagination you've got, Sheriff. But that's not what happened."

  "No one commits suicide with antifreeze,” Sheriff Gates replied. “They take pills or put a gun to their head. There are other things we found that are inconsistent with suicide. Oddly enough, while Sebastien's glass had your fingerprints, his were missing. You held the glass to Sebastien’s lips while he was barely conscious and forced him to drink it. Suicidal people don't wear gloves to hide their fingerprints. They don't care about stuff like that, because they no longer care about anything once they decide to check out."

  "Your crime lab is probably just as incompetent as you," Tonya said. "You missed his prints or got the wrong glass."

  She sounded more desperate by the minute.

  "It's the state crime lab. This is just one of many cases they handle, and they've got a pretty good reputation. I'll pass on your feedback to the crime lab and the governor too."

  "If he was actually poisoned, how could he even walk, let alone travel all the way to the gazebo?" Tonya fake-sobbed.

  "Easily. The poison effects from the antifreeze aren't instantaneous. The first signs are when a person slurs their words and loses coordination."

  "Like a drunk," Mom said.

  "Exactly," Tyler said. "The poison became apparent during the autopsy. Ethylene glycol forms crystals in the kidneys that remain intact after death. That was the cause of death. The blunt force trauma from Jack's tire iron was severe, but it happened later. In any event, it wasn't enough to cause instantaneous death."

  Jack's brows furrowed together as he studied Tonya. "You lied to me. You made up all those lies about Sebastien. You just used me."

  Tyler looked pointedly at Jack. "That's exactly what she did. She framed you for Sebastien's murder."

  Aunt Pearl nodded. For once she was on the sheriff's side. "Always suspect the spouse, no matter what."

  Tonya scowled as Sheriff Gates placed the cuffs on her wrists. Another officer did the same for Jack, and the two were led away to the waiting police cars to be transported to the Shady Creek jail.

  We stood in silence as we watched them.

  "I'm glad that's over," Mom said.

  "It's over for you but just starting for Tonya," Tyler said. "Sebastien wasn't Tonya's first husband—or the first one to die under suspicious circumstances either. Her first husband died suddenly at age thirty-eight. His family wanted an autopsy but as next-of-kin, Tonya refused. I suspect they'll be exhuming his body.”

  The witch who had everything had just lost it all.

  CHAPTER 37

  I was completely exhausted from my almost wedding, break up, Plant's murder, and overseas WICCA tribunal over the course of a single weekend. Judging from her expression, so was Aunt Pearl.

  "Pearl's Charm School is on semester break, effective now," she said.

  "Did I pass?" I asked.

  “You barely even got started.” Aunt Pearl smirked. "But for the little you did do, I haven't finalized the marks yet."

  My mouth dropped open. After everything I had done, I thought I deserved an A-plus. “I should get an automatic pass.”

  "Just messing with ya, Cen. You'll pass."

  I relaxed, surprised at how much my magic, and Aunt Pearl's approval, suddenly meant to me. I felt a new affection for my aunt now that I realized how much she had risked to save our town. We might have more in common than I had originally thought.

  We sat at a large picnic table in the rear garden. A warm afternoon breeze rustled through the leaves of the tall aspen trees that bordered the rear of our property. The last of the weekend guests had departed a few hours ago, so we took advantage of the nice weather to hold an impromptu barbecue.

  Our sto
machs were full with barbecued chicken, Mom's secret recipe potato salad, and fresh corn on the cob. Aunt Pearl and I sat across from Hazel and Aunt Amber who had arrived in Westwick Corners just in time to celebrate Tonya's capture. We had also invited Sheriff Gates to join us. He sat on Aunt Amber's right.

  Tyler looked up suddenly as Alan ran across the lawn towards us. Though back in human form, he had kept his canine energy level and his appetite seemed larger than ever. He grinned ear to ear as he walked toward the table. I smiled back, feeling his infectious happiness as he joined us at the table. I was almost as relieved as he was.

  While Alan was kind of fun in his Border collie form, I had to admit I had been a little worried that he might never change back. I had missed him too. It was nice to have my brother back. Even Hazel seemed happy for him. It was especially good to see that Hazel and Aunt Pearl were fast friends once again.

  "Hope you've got room for desert." Mom emerged from the back door of the kitchen with a large tray. My heart sank as soon as I saw the wedding cake. I had momentarily forgotten my canceled wedding and breakup with Brayden, but the cake brought all those feelings back. Suddenly the day seemed clouded with guilt.

  "Time for a celebration."

  Everyone turned to look at me as Mom placed the cake on the table.

  "Mom, no." I shook my head.

  "Relax, Cen. This is a perfectly good cake and I'm not letting it go to waste. Take a closer look." Mom waved a hand at the top of the cake.

  My shoulders sagged as I focused on the cake. My spirits lifted as I saw that while it was my wedding cake, the decorations were completely different. The bride and groom atop the cake had been replaced by a miniature rendition of the Westwick Corners Inn, complete with the entire West family.

  Mom, Pearl, and Amber stood on the front porch, arm in arm. Alan (in his human form) and I stood in front of the house, while Grandma Vi floated a few inches above us. My heart warmed at the sentimental scene that Mom had so painstakingly recreated atop the cake.

  Even Mom couldn't work that fast without magic though, so she must have used some. I guess we both felt more confident about our talents. I felt a surge of affection for my super-cool talented mom, who was crafty and thrifty all at the same time. I also felt a huge debt of gratitude as I realized she had single-handedly kept everything at the Inn running smoothly while Aunt Pearl and I fought supernatural crime. "It's beautiful. I don't think I can ruin it by eating it."

  "Don't be silly, Cen." Mom handed me the knife. "Now make a wish."

  A few ideas flashed through my mind, but for the first time I felt like I really didn't want for anything.

  I wouldn't change a thing about my dead-end job at my barely solvent newspaper. I wasn't even sure if I wanted to change Westwick Corners anymore. I loved my eccentric family just the way they were, regardless of what outsiders thought. I even loved me. For the first time I was proud to be a witch. I would never take anything I had for granted ever again.

  I glanced around the table. All eyes focused on me, waiting for me to slice the cake. My eyes locked onto the sexy brown eyes of Tyler Gates.

  My heart did a somersault.

  I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

  Maybe I did have a wish after all.

  Did you love Witch You Well? Get the other books in the series and Colleen’s other books at this link or visit her website to sign up for her new release newsletter at http://www.colleencross.com

  Author’s Note

  If you enjoyed reading Witch You Well, please consider leaving a short review or recommending it to a friend. Word of mouth is an author’s best friend!

  Witch You Well is the first book in the Westwick Witches Cozy Mysteries series and I have many more books planned for this paranormal cozy mystery series. As long as readers like you enjoy my stories, I will continue to write them.

  If you loved Witch You Well and want to be the first to know of new releases and exclusive subscriber offers, sign up for my newsletter. Emails are sent 3-4 times per year, only for new releases. Sign up at www.colleencross.com

  I have also several other mystery and thriller series that you might enjoy. Get my other books here.

  Thank you so much for reading!

  Colleen Cross

  Also By Colleen Cross

  Katerina Carter Fraud Thriller Series

  Exit Strategy

  Game Theory

  Blowout

  Katerina Carter Color of Mystery Series

  Red Handed

  Blue Moon

  Greenwash

  Nonfiction

  Anatomy of a Ponzi: Scams Past and Present