Barbecue & Brooms (A Southern Charms Cozy Mystery Book 4)

by Bella Falls

  “Move over Cleetus.” Earl pushed to the front of the bars, gripping them and shoving his face in between two. “Give us whatever you brought to drink.”

  I held up the plastic cup. “Here it is.”

  “That’s one cup. Where’s the rest of them?” Earl complained.

  I waved my forefinger at them. “You asked for a drink. I brought you a drink. It’s a cold glass of sweet tea, too. Who wants it?”

  The men pushed and shoved each other, trying to claim the tea for themselves. I watched their chaos with glee and set the cup on the floor just out of reach. They glared at it from behind the bars.

  “What are you doin’?” Cleetus croaked, turning sideways and straining to reach the cup.

  “I’m giving you what you asked for. Consider this a free lesson. Don’t mess with any of us from Honeysuckle Hollow.” I turned around to sashay away and thought of one more thing. “Oh, and boys. If one of you does manage to reach the tea, you might wanna consider this. Am I too much of a lady to have spit in it? Or am I a wicked witch who cast a diuretic hex on it?”

  “You can’t do this to us.” Earl spat on the floor, the glob missing my shoes by a good foot.

  “Or,” I continued, ignoring his thinly-veiled threat. “Maybe it’s just tea. Have fun, fellas.” I waved my fingers in a final farewell, leaving the hateful group silently pondering if I’d messed with their desired drink.

  Cleetus whispered loud enough for me to hear, “What does dye-your-attic mean?” The door closed shut with a metallic thunk, and I burst into uncontrolled giggles.

  Mason grabbed my hand and dragged me into his office. He kicked his door shut and hugged me tight. The pressure didn’t bother my shoulder at all, and I filed away the idea to research just how strong the magic of pixies really was for another day.

  “You are too much, Charli,” he declared. “If we didn’t have to go find those two ex-racers now, I’d kiss you silly right here on my desk.”

  His proposal reignited the guilt I’d temporarily been able to avoid. I opened his door and stepped through it before he could complain. “But we do need to talk to Big Mouth and Fireball. Let’s go.”

  If I waited to tell him after we talked to the retired racers, I wasn’t technically breaking the promise I’d made to myself. Delaying the inevitable truth gave me a quick reprieve.

  I hoped we were on our way to figuring everything out so that the thrill of triumph and saving Lucky’s life might overshadow the sting of betrayal.

  The finish line loomed ahead, and it was time to lean into the wind to finish strong.

  Chapter Eighteen

  We arrived back at the event, and found almost everyone crowding around the stage. Tucker addressed the audience with a microphone, his bright smile showing off his gleaming white teeth. If I had time, I’d stay to enjoy his success.

  My stomach churned with the urgency of our mission. “Where should we start first?” I asked Mason.

  The detective escorted me through the throng with a protective arm around me. “I’ve already contacted Henry, who was supposed to let the others know to look out for Big Mouth and Fireball.”

  I narrowly avoided a lady holding her toddler, although a bit of the melted ice cream the little girl was enjoying smeared across my shirt sleeve.

  “Have you used Lucky’s gem to try and locate them?” When Mason didn’t answer me, I stopped in my tracks. “Tell me that’s the first thing you did.”

  “You’ve been with me since we got out of the car, so no,” the detective answered, “I haven’t tried.”

  “Why not?” My voice got a little too loud, and a few heads turned in our direction.

  Mason pulled me into his body and whispered in my ear, “Because whatever I was able to do before isn’t working anymore. When I hold the sapphire, I feel absolutely nothing. And I didn’t want to tell you because you had enough you were dealing with.”

  There was a time and place for chivalry, and now wasn’t it. “We don’t have a choice. You need to try right now,” I hissed back.

  We chose a spot at the back of the crowd and checked to see if anybody else watched us. Mason dug in his pocket and pulled out the fabric-covered jewel. When the blue stone glittered in the palm of his hand, he did everything I taught him.

  After only a minute passed, he opened his eyes, grunting in frustration. “See, it’s not working.”

  “You must be doing something wrong or different. Here, let me hold the sapphire and show you how again.” I plucked the stone with my fingertips and cradled it in my hand.

  Something buzzed in the back of my head, and the jewel vibrated in my hand. “This used to be embedded in the hilt of Lucky’s sword,” I exhaled.

  “Lucky owns a sword?” Mason stared at me, perplexed.

  Drawing in a quick breath, I closed my eyes and visualized clear images that matched the story the leprechaun had told Dash and me. Power and success pulsed through the heart of the gem that had once adorned the weapon called Caladbolg. Fights and battles gave way to the image of a beautiful woman with flowing red hair wearing a crown.

  “Queen Medb,” I whispered.

  “What are you talking about, Charli? You’re making no sense.” Mason shook me by my shoulders, and the images faded away.

  I stumbled forward, sweat soaking my shirt. “Get me something to eat or drink,” I rasped out, clutching my chest and willing my heart to slow down.

  The detective first took the sapphire away from me, wrapping it up in the fabric again and placing it in his pocket. I stayed put until he brought me back a full cup of iced tea. It disappeared down my throat in only a few gulps.

  “Did you just connect the jewel to Lucky?” Mason asked.

  I nodded, wiping the last dribble of tea off my chin. “Yes. It showed me things I wish I could tell you about, but I made a promise.”

  My brief vision of Lucky’s former life deepened my desperation to find his luck and help him live until my grandchildren’s children could listen to his stories. But the stone had only shown me his past, not right now when we needed help the most.

  “If this means your magic is returning to you, then you should use it again to find Big Mouth and Fireball.” His hand went to his pocket, but I stopped him.

  I pulled my sweat-soaked shirt away from my body and let it fall back with a sticky thwop on my chest. “Based on how I’m feeling a little shaky, I don’t think me trying again is a good idea. It was one connection and to the wrong time period. If we’re going to find the retired racers, we need to figure out the most likely place they’d be.”

  The audience clapped, and I stood on my tiptoes to see someone walking across the stage and accepting a small trophy from Nana. Tucker had arranged for the winners of the barbecue competition to be announced before the finale of the entire weekend with the retired broom racers flying in an exhibition competition. The one I had qualified to participate in.

  I grasped Mason’s hand and dragged him forward. “We need to get closer to the stage.”

  If either Big Mouth’s or Fireball’s barbecue teams won something, they’d show up on the stage. If that didn’t happen, there was one more opportunity to know exactly where they’d be, and I had a reason to be right up close to both of them.

  The detective and I pushed our way through the crowd until we got to the very front. Clementine spotted me and came over. “Isn’t he doing great?” she gushed, beaming up at her husband.

  “He really is, Clem.” I gave her a quick side hug. “Can you do me a favor and tell Tucker to stall things for a moment? I need to get my grandmother’s attention.”

  “Sure,” my cousin agreed. “Is everything okay?”

  “It will be.” I waited for Tucker to spot his wife and let her give the message. He flashed me a disapproving glance, but did as she asked.

  The new council member put on a good show. “Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to take a minute to give a brief history of our fair town and how we put together this entire event
.”

  I ran up to the front of the stage. “Psst, Nana.” Calling her over, I talked as fast as possible, explaining the new plan.

  “You want me to completely ignore the list of actual winners and call out Big Mouth Bass’s team as one of them?” she checked. “And why do you look like something the cat dragged in?”

  “It doesn’t matter,” I brushed her questions off. “And try to get Fireball and his team up there, too. It’s important to get both racers on stage and keep them there. If you don’t want to lie, then make up a new category for Big Mouth’s team to win, like best brisket.” Based on his bragging on the first night, it might not be a complete falsehood.

  “Brisket, right.” My grandmother concentrated to remember my point. “And what about Fireball?”

  My mind raced to find anything to lure him to where we wanted him, too. “His team already won in the barbecue sauce category. Call him up to receive more attention. He’ll love that.”

  Nana agreed with a nod. “What happens after they both get to the stage?”

  “Keep them there,” I insisted. “Don’t let them leave until Mason and I talk to them.”

  Tucker waved furiously and called out my grandmother’s name. He couldn’t stall for much longer.

  Nana nodded. “Consider it done. I hope you and your detective know what you’re doing.” She backed away and took her place beside the table full of shiny trophies, indicating for Tucker to proceed.

  Mason got caught up quickly with my plan, and he texted Zeke to help surround the stage on all sides. I clenched my hands into fists, impatiently waiting for Nana to find her moment. By the time the trophy table was down to the last few awards, I knew she couldn’t wait any longer.

  “Come on, Nana,” I urged, bouncing on my feet..

  Keeping her composure and air of authority about her, my grandmother interrupted the proceedings. “Before we go any further, I think we all need to give a warm round of applause to Tucker Hawthorne, our newest town council member. Because of him, this weekend has been a huge success.”

  Cheers and applause spread through the crowd, and I watched my cousin jumping up and down next to her stern mother. Aunt Nora’s mouth rested in a disapproving bow. She ignored her excited daughter, choosing to talk instead to a few snooty people standing beside her, who weren’t clapping either.

  “And if Tucker wouldn’t mind, I’d like a chance to call out a couple of the winners myself.” She ignored the younger council member’s disappointment and acted like she read off the piece of paper she held in her hand. “First up, I’d like to congratulate the Texas Hexes team captained by good ol’ Roddy ‘Big Mouth’ Bass, one of our star racers. His team won the best brisket category. Come on up here, Big Mouth, and bring the rest of your team with you.”

  A lot of whooping and hollering rose from the back of the crowd, and a group of guys belted out, “Deep in the Heart of Texas,” as they weaved their way to the stage. Big Mouth stuck his head out from behind a backstage curtain. With reluctant steps, he joined his team to accept their reward.

  Nana shot a worried glance at me and fiddled around with all the trophies left on the table. “Oh my, it looks like we’ve misplaced your trophy. But that doesn’t matter, we can get that to you afterwards. Let’s hear it for the team with the best brisket.”

  Big Mouth’s look of confusion disappeared, and his laugh boomed across the stage. “You’re darn tootin’ we’ve got the best brisket.” He fashioned his hands into guns and shot them in the air like an overgrown cowboy, whooping louder than anybody else.

  “That’s one down,” whispered Mason. “I gotta say, Owen was definitely wrong about him being the smartest in the room.” He placed a hand on my lower back to steady me as we waited for Nana to set the trap for our other suspect.

  She waved Tucker off when he tried to take the microphone back. “And we really should recognize one of the earliest winners in the competition. Please welcome to the stage Franklin ‘Fireball’ Irving and his team from Kansas City who won for best barbecue sauce. Let’s get them up here on the—”

  A sharp scream ripped through the air and interrupted the awards ceremony. A hesitant hush fell over the crowd, but the temporary silence shattered with a second horrified shriek.

  Mason and I ignored Tucker’s instructions for everybody to say where they were, and we rushed to find the source of the person wailing for help. We pushed ahead of other nosy onlookers and made it to the area backstage.

  A small group clustered around on the ground, and I spotted a pair of cowboy boots peaking out from the mass. The detective instructed everyone to back up, and I pressed forward enough to identify who it was. Fireball Irving lay sprawled out on the grass. His eyes and mouth were wide open, frozen in a scream. We didn’t have to wait for Doc Andrews to arrive. I knew in an instant the retired racer was dead.

  Another body lay crumpled next to him. Rita Ryder stirred and attempted to sit up. Mason took over the scene and insisted she take it easy until the doctor arrived.

  Nana rushed off the back of the stage and joined us. “What happened?”

  I pointed at Fireball, refusing to look at his contorted face. “He’s dead and Rita’s hurt.”

  My grandmother cursed under her breath. “Do you think it might be the work of the same person who hurt Lucky?”

  Mason interrupted, calling me over. “You need to hear this, too.” He prompted the lady racer to start over.

  Rita insisted on sitting up, refusing any help from Zeke. “I’m fine, young man. I didn’t get to be as successful of a racer as I was without getting a few bruises.” She rubbed the back of her head and winced. “Granted, this feels a little more like someone pierced my head with a needle. How’s Fireball?”

  When we didn’t answer her, she narrowed her eyes, watching Mason and I exchange knowing glances. Rita tried to get to her feet, but her knees buckled and she crashed on the ground. Crawling, she made it inch by inch until she fell across the dead racer’s body.

  “No, no, no, no,” she wailed, tears brimming in her eyes. “Why’d it have to happen to him?”

  “What’s going on?” Billy Ray approached us, confusion spreading on his face. “Is that Fireball? What happened?”

  A wild thought took root in my head. I spun on my heels and confronted the new arrival. “Where have you been?”

  “Charli, leave him alone,” Nana insisted.

  “Not until he tells us where he’s been. If those two racers were attacked, why wasn’t he?” I looked to Mason for back up.

  Billy Ray couldn’t take his eyes off the lifeless body. “I left to go use the facilities. I wasn’t here when whatever happened occurred.”

  “Which means you could have done it,” I accused, holding my finger in the air.

  Nana grabbed me and pulled me away. “What do you think you’re doing, attacking him like that?”

  Although it pained me to stand up to my grandmother, she needed to accept the truth. “He wasn’t the one attacked, they were. Don’t you want to know who did it? And if Billy Ray’s still okay, then he must be considered as the one who did it.”

  Nana’s face dropped as she pondered my point. “It’s just, I know him. He wouldn’t hurt anybody.”

  Placing a hand on her shoulder, I tried to offer her a little support. “I know, Nana. I’m sorry.”

  “Wait.” Her eyes sparkled in defiance. “He wasn’t the only racer not attacked. Big Mouth Bass was on stage just like you asked when it happened. Maybe he’s the culprit.”

  I groaned. Mason and I had completely forgotten about the larger-than-life racer and my little trap. Rushing back to the scene that now had more observers gathered around, I found the detective writing down the details that Rita gave him.

  “Mason, we forgot about Big Mouth,” I interrupted.

  The detective excused himself and took out his spell phone. “I should call Flint and tell him to close the border and lock everything down.”

  “So-o-o,” Aunt No
ra crooned from the side. “Everything isn’t as hunky dory as you’d like us to believe, is it Vivian? I’m sure my new friends would love to hear all about whatever it is you’ve been trying to keep secret.”

  One of the people she escorted jumped back. “Is that a dead body?”

  A guy wearing a suit despite the heat from the hot sun stepped forward. “I think we deserve an explanation.”

  There was a mighty scramble to figure out who should start the explanations between Mason, my grandmother, Tucker, and the newly arrived doctor. Aunt Nora stood back with a smug smile on her face, enjoying the chaos.

  The stranger in the suit challenged a little harder. “I’ve heard that there’s also a group of men being detained in a cell at the warden station for no reason.”

  “Oh, there’s a reason,” I piped up.

  “Have they been formally charged with something?” Suit ignored me and addressed Mason in a lilting hoity-toity Southern accent. “If not, then I have to wonder how efficient your law enforcement can really be to handle a murder of this magnitude.”

  Offended, I blurted out, “We’ve solved a whole bunch of murders here.”

  Nana shot me an alarmed glare, and I realized my mistake too late.

  The antagonizer grinned at me and turned to address the others in the group. “I believe those of you from the regional council should go ahead and vote now for Charleston to take over Honeysuckle Hollow so that we can get rid of the chaos and fix everything that’s wrong here.”

  Nana dropped her professional demeanor and poked an angry finger in the suited man’s chest while blasting him with words. Mason did his best to defend the wardens and the work they did to the outside council members. Too stunned to jump in, I watched the future of our town and my friend’s life go up in flames.

  Rita interrupted everyone. “Listen up. Here’s the skinny. Someone attacked me from behind. I don’t know who it was, so I’m not going to be any help figuring that part out. Whoever it was seems to have taken my friend’s life in the process.”