Cozy Mystery: Cake Spell Disaster (A Haven Witch Book)

by Zoe Arden

  "I might've heard something," I finally told him. "About the restaurant. And... a human."

  Grayson's face turned to stone. He sat still and said nothing.

  "A man named Damon Tellinger?" I prompted, hoping the man's name would get a reaction. It did, but not the one I expected. Then again, did I even know what I'd expected? I'd hoped that Grayson would tell me he'd never heard of anyone by that name. Instead, he confirmed my worst fears.

  "What about him?" Grayson asked.

  My jaw dropped. "So you know him?"

  "Yes. What of it? I often have dealings with people in Sweetland Cove. Damon is no different."

  Sweetland Cove?

  Why was Grayson doing business with someone in Sweetland Cove?

  "Do you owe him money?" I asked. My throat was dry. "This doesn't have anything to do with Mom, does it?"

  Grayson's face darkened. "I can't believe you," he snarled.

  "What?" I asked as Grayson rose from the table. I followed after him, pulling on his arm as he tried to go into the kitchen. The few waiters who were there watched us with interest.

  "What's going on?" I demanded, wishing I'd made some more Deception Detector before coming down here.

  "Why are you asking me all this, Felicity?" Grayson yelled. "Do you really think I had something to do with poisoning Mom's catering job? What could I possibly have to gain from that?"

  I didn't want to answer that question. The truth was, I could think of a couple things. If anything happened to Mom, Cakes and Creations would go to Grayson. He was the oldest, and he had experience running a food establishment. And if he really owed money to someone... my mom's Oven-Hot recipe was a goldmine. There were any number of people on the island who would pay handsomely to get it.

  "Just tell me the truth," I said, stepping as close to my brother as I dared. I could see he was mad, and I was only egging him on at this point. "Is it possible that this man, Damon, had anything to do with what happened to Mom?"

  "Don't be ridiculous!" he shouted.

  "Answer my question!"

  "I already have!"

  "Whoa!" a voice called out from behind us. We turned to see Lincoln walking toward us. We hadn't even noticed him come in. "What's going on here?"

  "Nothing," I said. "I'm done here."

  "That's right, we are," Grayson said. The wait staff had all retreated to the back when we started yelling at each other. "And don't come back here till you get your head on straight. I can't believe you would ever think I'd do something to hurt Mom."

  Lincoln turned to me. "Are you accusing Grayson of tampering with your mother's cakes now? First Edith, now your own brother? I already told you to stop investigating. I'm handling it."

  "If that were true," I snapped, "then I wouldn't be here, would I? Your problem is that you think you're so good at your job there's no way you could be wrong. So what happens when the day comes that you are wrong? By the time you realize it, it'll be too late." I left the restaurant with Lincoln's mouth hanging open behind me. I didn't need him or Grayson to solve this case. I was going to clear my mother's name if it killed me.

  * * *

  CHAPTER

  ELEVEN

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  * * *

  Didn't she poison the drinking water?…

  * * *

  .

  Sweetland Cove wasn't a far drive—with only three hundred square miles, nothing on Heavenly Haven was ever far. But it was still about two hours to the center of town. I packed a few snacks and set off early in the morning.

  Grayson and Lincoln had both texted me last night. Grayson demanded an apology from me. Lincoln offered his apology to me. I was not prepared to talk to either of them at the moment. And as far as Grayson went, I rather thought he should be the one apologizing.

  The drive to Sweetland Cove was pleasant. Palm trees lined the road in, but so did more exotic plants and trees that had no natural place on an island like this. Giant cherry trees mixed with the palms. They'd been planted by witches who came to the island over four hundred years ago and had grown into breathtaking pink and red landscapes.

  Blue and orange bushes fitted themselves into the island's background like they'd been painted there, and all around were fruit trees. Anyone could walk up to the tree of their choice and take the lemons, limes, and apples free of charge. They were there for all to enjoy, maintained by Heavenly Haven's Witch's Council.

  The town of Sweetland itself was cute. It had that quaint feeling that all small towns had. Brick buildings stood beside wooden walkways and long piers reached miles out into the sea. It wasn't as nice as Mistmoor Point, but I had to admit it was beautiful.

  When I got to Sweetland, I parked at the curb in front of Coffee Cove. The handful of times I'd been to Sweetland, I'd made a point of stopping here. They were reputed to have the best coffee in all of Heavenly Haven. They were good, but I didn't think they beat Mistmoor Mud's café lattes.

  I garnered a few looks as I walked into the coffee shop. Mostly from wizards who knew I was from the other side of the island. In such a small town, you knew everyone who lived near you. Outsiders weren't always unwelcome, but that didn't mean they were wanted either.

  "May I help you?" the girl behind the counter asked. She had long brown hair tied back in a ponytail. Her nametag read Megan.

  "Yeah, I'll take a tall mocha latte, please."

  "Okay, and your name?" Megan asked. Her smile was flawless. She was all of eighteen and seemed like the cheerleader type. I bet she knew everyone in town.

  "Felicity."

  She wrote it on the side of the cup and rang me up.

  "Say, maybe you can help me," I said, hoping I sounded casual. "I was supposed to let my friend know when I got here, but I forgot my phone at home and don't have his number with me. Do you know Damon Tellinger?"

  Megan glanced suspiciously up at me.

  "You're a friend of Damon's?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

  "Yeah. If you've got his number, I'd really appreciate it if you could help me out and let me have it."

  "If you want Damon's number," Megan said. "Then I suggest you ask him yourself."

  She glanced pointedly behind me, and I turned to see a man with long dark hair and light brown eyes standing there. He was six feet tall and S.H.—strictly human.

  "You looking for me?" His voice was a deep growl. He couldn't have been more than twenty-seven or twenty-eight.

  "Um," I said, feeling like an idiot. "Are you Damon Tellinger?"

  "You're my friend. You ought to know me when you see me." He grinned at me, showing too many teeth.

  "I, uh..." I wasn't expecting to find Damon so soon or so easily. "Sorry," I said. "About lying like that. I was just... I think you know my brother."

  "Felicity," a barista called my name.

  I took my latte from a pimply-faced boy and sipped it even though it was too hot. I needed something to do now that I'd embarrassed myself. I reached into my pocket and fingered the vial of Deception Detector I'd brought with. I'd made up a fresh batch last night. Looking around though, I wasn't at all sure that I'd have a chance to use it. The place was crowded and people seemed to be watching us.

  "So, who's your brother?" Damon asked as we moved toward a table.

  "Grayson Redfern."

  Damon's face tightened. "Is he?"

  I breathed in deeply. "So you do know him."

  "I know him."

  My throat went dry. Who was this person? What did he have to do with Grayson?

  "May I ask... er, what... exactly... is your relationship with my brother?"

  Damon tilted his head and looked at me quizzically.

  "My relationship?"

  I finally blurted out what had been eating away at my mind. "Are you his bookie?"

  Damon stared at me a moment before bursting into laughter.

  "His bookie?"

  His face turned pink as cappuccino came out his nose. He wiped it away,
trying to stop the peals of laughter rolling off him.

  "She thinks I'm a bookie!" Damon cried. Several people in the coffee shop all began laughing with him.

  I didn't need a mirror to know my face was beet red right now. Apparently, I'd made a serious error in judgement. I wanted to run out of there, but I couldn't leave without getting answers. While Damon was bent over, laughing, I added the vial of Deception Detector to his cappuccino and gave it a swirl.

  "So if you're not his bookie, why does he owe you money?" I asked, a little harsher than I'd meant to.

  "He didn't tell you?" Damon asked.

  "Obviously not."

  "Well, if he didn't want to tell you his business, I'm not sure I should."

  "I'm his sister. I have a right to know if he's in trouble."

  "Trouble? Well, he will be in trouble if he doesn't pay me what he owes me."

  This was infuriating. Damon and I sat looking at each other, trying to figure the other one out. Finally, he took a sip of cappuccino. I waited half a minute before asking him my question again.

  "So why does he owe you money?"

  "He totaled my car, that's why." He looked surprised at his response.

  "You mean you two were in an accident?"

  "That's exactly what I mean. Your brother was playing footsie with some girl while he was driving and crashed right into me."

  "Girl? What girl?" Grayson didn't have a girlfriend. That I knew of.

  "I didn't get her name or number if that's what you're asking. He had insurance but it won't cover everything. He promised to pay me the difference if I left the girl's name out of it. I kept my promise, and he still hasn't paid."

  "When was this?" I asked, completely confused.

  "A few weeks ago."

  "I'm sure he'll pay you, Mr. Tellinger."

  "Damon."

  I smiled at him. It was hard not to. He had an odd sort of charm about him, even if it was a dark charm.

  "Damon. I'm sure he'll pay. Our mother's been in the hospital for about a week now. It's been hard on both of us, but especially Grayson."

  "The hospital?" Damon asked, frowning.

  "Yes. She had an accident."

  "He didn't tell me that."

  I shrugged. "My brother doesn't like to volunteer information. As you can probably tell from my coming down here."

  Damon scrunched his brow together. "All right," he finally said. "I'll lay off him for a couple of weeks. But if I don't hear from him after that, he'll be hearing from my lawyer."

  I thanked Damon and left the Coffee Cove. I sent Grayson a quick text.

  SO SORRY ABOUT BEFORE. I FEEL STUPID. WHO'S UR GIRLFRIEND?

  I hit send and received an immediate reply.

  APOLOGY ACCEPTED. NO GF, JUST UR CRAZY IMAGINATION.

  I sighed. Grayson liked his privacy. I figured he would tell me about her when the time was right.

  Before driving back to Mistmoor, I decided to pop into The Alchemic Stone, the new rock and gem shop that I'd heard about. They were supposed to have powdered tanzanite, a rare gem renowned in the witching world for its healing prosperities. Mom and I had talked about trying out a new kind of cold and flu deflector brownie.

  "Hello," I said to the blonde behind the counter. She was about eighteen and had long blonde ringlets I immediately envied. Her face was smooth and white, and she had the pinkest lips I'd ever seen without lipstick.

  "I'm looking for powdered tanzanite."

  "Sure thing." She turned and opened a cabinet.

  "Polly!" a woman called from behind a door.

  "Just a minute, Mom. I'm with a customer."

  She turned back to me with a small envelope in her hand. "Anything else?"

  "No thanks."

  "You don't look familiar," she said. "Are you from around here?"

  "Not exactly. Mistmoor Point."

  Her eyes widened. "Mistmoor! Wow! I heard what happened there. It's all anyone can talk about."

  "It is?" I asked.

  "Oh yeah. They say some crazy woman named Amelia poisoned the whole town. Boy, I'm sure glad I don't live there. Is that what you want the tanzanite for? To ward off whatever she put in the water?"

  "The water?" I asked confused.

  "Yeah, didn't she poison the drinking water?"

  My hands tightened into fists. "No!" I snapped. "She did not poison the drinking water. She didn't poison anyone!"

  "Um..."

  I couldn't believe that the rumors about my mother had spread so far as Sweetland. It seemed that the further they traveled, the worse they got. I turned around and left, leaving behind the tanzanite. Polly stared after me, confused and a little irritated.

  Back in my car, I decided not to make any more stops till I got back to Mistmoor. My stomach rumbled, and I pulled out the snacks I'd brought with as I started the engine. I stuffed my mouth with fruit tarts and cracker cakes.

  Halfway home, I began to feel lightheaded. I rolled my window down and breathed in the air. It felt good. Relaxing. My eyes started to close. The next time they opened, my car was spinning out of control and I was headed for a tree.

  * * *

  CHAPTER

  TWELVE

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  * * *

  “She's going to be sorry she ever

  messed with me and my family."…

  * * *

  .

  "Felicity!" Lincoln yelled, practically crashing into a nurse who was changing the bandage on my forehead. Grayson was sitting nearby, looking pale.

  Lincoln drew my hand to his lips and kissed it tenderly. I could tell he wanted to hug me tightly but was afraid he might hurt me.

  "Lincoln, you're crushing my hand."

  He looked down at my hand, which was turning white.

  "Sorry," he said, letting go. A deep blush crept into his cheeks.

  Lincoln cleared his throat and looked to my right, where my mother lay in her own hospital bed. When I'd asked Dr. Wallace if I could be put in the same room as her, he'd had no objection. She wasn't in ICU since her coma was not life threatening. No one could quite understand why she hadn't woken up yet.

  "Dr. Wallace says you're going to be fine," Lincoln assured me.

  I knew he'd been worried. It was sweet, and I felt bad about our last argument.

  "I know. It was just a little bump on the head. I'm not sure the same can be said for my car though."

  I had the feeling that my poor Corolla had taken a strong beating by the palm tree I'd hit. It was lucky for me that palm tree trunks were so skinny. It was unfortunate for my Corolla that the palm we'd hit happened to be one that grew Mammoth Coconuts. I'd gotten out of my car just in time to avoid being crushed by the two thirty-pound coconuts that had fallen onto my roof.

  "I'm glad you're okay," Lincoln said.

  "Me, too," Grayson chimed in from his seat. He hadn't spoken much since he'd arrived. I had the feeling that my being here had freaked him out. Having a mother and sister both in the hospital must have been stressful.

  "Maybe we can go shopping for new cars together," I said to Grayson, a sly smile on my face.

  Lincoln turned to look at him. "What happened to your old car? I thought you loved that Prius."

  Grayson blushed and turned away. "I thought it was time for an upgrade," he mumbled.

  I sighed, knowing that I what I was about to say would get me in trouble with both Lincoln and Grayson.

  "Can one of you hand me my purse?" I asked.

  Grayson got it for me and I pulled out the threatening note I'd found on my windshield days before. Grayson and Lincoln both paled when they read it.

  "You should have told me about this," Lincoln said.

  "I know."

  "I can't believe you'd keep something so serious from your own brother," Grayson muttered angrily.

  "I'm sorry."

  Dr. Wallace came in just then and saved me from any further interrogations.

  "Well, I have some
interesting news," Dr. Wallace said, handing Lincoln a stack of papers.

  Lincoln looked at them and his head shot up in surprise. "Fluffernutter root?"

  "That's right," Dr. Wallace said. He turned to me. "I ran a cross check between your mom's baked goods and the snacks in your car. They contained Fluffernutter root. I'm assuming you didn't add that to your cracker cakes and fruit tarts yourself, did you?"

  "No," I replied, my mind racing. Fluffernutter root. This simple, usually safe ingredient was responsible for so much destruction lately.

  "I guess I'm lucky I'm not sick," I said.

  "You have no reason to be sick. Your snacks contained Fluffernutter root... and just Fluffernutter root," Dr. Wallace said. We all looked at him. "We got the final results from your mother's cakes and pastries. The Fluffernutter root was mixed with demigone."

  We all gasped.

  Demigone was not only a dangerous herb known for causing illness, it was considered dark magic. It was illegal and good witches and wizards avoided it like the plague.

  "Demigone," Lincoln murmured. "Are you positive?"

  "I'm afraid so," Dr. Wallace said. "That certainly explains why so many people fell ill at Mayor Singer's party. The good news is that now that I know what we're dealing with, I can prepare an antidote for your mother. It's already in the works. She should be awake by tomorrow."

  Grayson and I looked at each other, relief washing over us both.

  "Felicity," Lincoln said. I'd never seen him look more serious. "I'm sorry I ever doubted you. And your mother. She would never have demigone in her shop. There's no way she could be responsible for what happened."

  I could tell it was hard for him to say all this. Lincoln hated being wrong. He didn't know it, but he was scoring extra points right now for swallowing his pride and apologizing to me.

  Grayson stood up. "We need to find out who on the island has demigone. It can't be more than one or two people."