“And when that didn’t stick,” Cassandra said. “He’d already made sure if he was found out, that all the suspicion would focus on me. I let him into my home. I trusted him. We all did. He’d already stolen my father’s gun and used it on Carmine.”
“Your gun didn’t fire the silver bullets though,” David said. “That was a specially designed gun. Silver bullets are soft. It was one Melody had in her display case and he’d stolen it. He knew there were shifters in Castle Falls. Just not vampires. And he’d already returned Cass’s dad’s gun to the nightstand where he stole it. When he shot me it was because I interrupted him while he was still searching Melody’s store for the book. He just happened to have that gun on him.”
I sighed. “Lucky he didn’t decapitate you.”
“I’ll say,” David winked at me.
“But why did he do all of this?” Kevin said. “Just to get this book? Was it because his name was in it?”
“He wanted revenge,” Mama D spoke up. Everyone looked at her. “Silus Castle was the witch who created The Book of Ill Deeds. Very few know there was a witch in the Castle family. Silus was the eldest brother and the matriarch of the family money. It was Silus who made sure Bishop’s bed-and-breakfast never saw the light of day because he wanted his Son-in-Law’s idea of transforming the Lodge to succeed. Wayland knew this, and he told his boy. Tad was consumed with rage at Silus.”
“And he killed him first,” I said. “When I looked up Tad’s name, the first victim was Silus Castle. I didn’t know who that was.”
“The creator of the book,” Melody said. “I found an obituary online. He died over a year ago. Mystery mugging. No suspects ever named. After that, all Tad wanted was to get the book for what? He’d already killed the maker. Wait, shouldn’t the book have disappeared?”
“That might have been why it became a deck of cards,” I said. “And why it remains a deck of cards. With the creator gone, the book might eventually disappear.”
“Do you know where it is?” Kevin asked.
“Nope,” I sighed. “I went back to retrieve the box so we could put Hardin’s stuff with him before he was cremated. The book was gone.”
“You don’t think that Hunter took it, do you?”
I shook my head. “Nah. I don’t. But I also don’t think that was the last we’ve seen of him. Or the Hunters in general. They know the creator lived here. And they know it was last seen here.”
“Well, I for one am glad it’s gone, and our sister is back home safe and sound.” Kevin made a toast and everyone chimed in. “Not all questions are answered, but at least, there is a bit of closure. So what are you gonna do with the store?”
Melody shrugged. “Reopen. I’ll miss Carmine, but I have a new investor. A silent partner to help me get it back on its feet.”
“Sweet,” Kevin looked at me. “And you? Back to California?”
I glanced at David. “No. I’m staying here for a while. Gonna run Mama D’s shop and straighten my own life out. I have some debt I need to pay off.”
“And get hold of her Hedge Witchiness,” Max muttered aloud.
Everyone laughed.
The meeting broke up after that with Evie and Kevin leaving for their room at the Castle Falls Bed & Breakfast. They decided to take a mini-vacation would be staying in town a week.
David found me in the shop as I straightened up a few things. He slipped his arms around me from behind and kissed the top of my head. “You lied. That book did not turn into a deck of cards and it did not disappear.”
“I know. But I lied for a good reason. I think it’s best if that book just vanishes.”
“The Hunters won’t let it go. Not for a long time.”
“It’s good where it is, David. And no one else in the world needs to know.” I turned in his arms so I could face him and look into his beautiful blue eyes. “So, you happy I’m staying in Castle Falls?”
“Deliriously so,” he said and pressed a kiss to my lips.
Don’t miss the next adventure with the Witches of Castle Falls in…
About the Author
Phaedra Weldon is a writer and mother of one. Born in the south, Phaedra was raised in the lush, green southern tropic of Georgia. She grew up on southern ghost stories told while eating marshmallows around campfires, or on the back of pick-up trucks in the middle of cornfields on chilly October nights.
For more information
www.phaedraweldon.com
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Published by Caldwell Press
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The Book Of Ill Deeds_A Paranormal Cozy Mystery Page 16