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

by Bella Falls

  “Who put her in charge?” asked Mason.

  The female racer impressed the heck out of me. “Shh, she’s doing a good job taking the lead.” Every single person who Aunt Nora had brought with her clung to every word Rita said.

  “Right now, only a few of us know that somebody’s been killed, but we’re not going to be able to keep it a secret for long,” the lady racer continued. “Everybody who’s here is expecting the weekend to end with a fun race between retired racers and a couple of amateurs who qualified to compete. Why don’t we admit that Fireball is gone and dedicate the race in his honor in front of the audience. It will cover up what actually happened and give the local wardens a chance to figure things out.”

  I almost applauded her when she finished. She commanded attention and respect in everything she did. And what she proposed made a whole lot of sense. It solved the PR problem Nana faced and provided the space for us to keep searching for the attacker. I spotted Fireball’s cowboy boots again. Now we were searching for a killer.

  Mason’s spell phone rang, and he frowned while he took the call. “You got him? You sure? We’ll be right there.” The detective pulled my grandmother and me aside. “That was Flint. He stopped Big Mouth Bass at the border and has him detained at the gate.”

  Nana’s shoulders slumped in relief. “That’s a good piece of news. You two, go do what you were going to do in the first place with that man. I think Rita’s plan is the best we’ve got and may be our only chance to salvage Honeysuckle. I’ll make sure Zeke takes charge of the scene here while Rita comes with me to make her announcement on stage.”

  Mason and I started to leave, but Rita called out my name. She moved with pained steps to catch up to me.

  “Should you be racing today?” I asked.

  “I’ll be fine. We girls are tough. Here, I intended to give this to you.” She held out a pair of goggles.

  I fell in love with her a little harder at her kind gesture. “Wow, that’s a big gift. Would you sign them for me?”

  She chuckled and winced, touching the side of her head. “They’re not my goggles. I mean, they were, but now they’re yours. They’re an extra pair I brought with me, but I think you should use them in the final race.”

  “Thank you so much.” I reached out to take the goggles. As soon as my hand touched them, tingles of power crawled up my fingers.

  Rita saw my surprised reaction and winked. “Oh, I may have spellcast them with a little extra juice to help you out. Like I said, we girls have to stick together.”

  “I’m honored,” I uttered.

  Mason plastered a smile on his lips. “Flint’s waiting for us. We need to go.”

  I shouted over my shoulder one more thanks and followed after the detective. Even with a dead body added to the mix, I couldn’t help but give in to hope, letting it clear the doubt and fear from my heart.

  If all went well, we were about to cross the finish line.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Big Mouth struggled to get loose from the ropes tying his pudgy hands behind his back while sitting on a tree stump. He grunted, unable to speak because of a piece of duct tape slapped across his mouth. The ex-racer spotted us and shouted unintelligible words that, by the sound of them, weren’t very friendly.

  Flint greeted Mason and me while his brother Clint threatened to throw tape on other hairier parts of the racer. The spectacle distracted us for an extra minute.

  “Why is he all tied up like that?” asked the detective.

  Flint crossed his arms. “Because he’s too big to fit in our makeshift guardhouse. Although he isn’t too big to get caught. Clint and me found him trying to cross at the edge of the southwest woods.”

  The gnome’s brother joined us. “The fool flew his broom right into the border line. The wood of it splintered since it took the brunt of the shield magic. If he had been leaning a little further forward…” Clint mimed Big Mouth’s head exploding.

  Having heard what might have happened to him, the racer’s struggle renewed, and he wiggled his way right off the stump. His corpulent body flopped around like a blubbery whale out of water.

  “Is he the one who hurt Lucky?” Flint clenched his small fists.

  “That’s what we’re here to find out.” Mason approached the red-faced racer. “If I help you back onto the seat and take off the tape, will you behave?”

  Big Mouth did his best to hurl insults at the detective through the tape. Clint pushed Mason out of the way and kicked the racer in his flabby stomach.

  “Clint,” I cried out.

  “He’ll get a lot more if he doesn’t tell us what he did to our friend,” threatened the small gnome in a high-pitched voice. “You going to arrest me, Detective?”

  Mason shook his head. “No, but don’t do it again. Charli, help me out.”

  It took us a good five minutes to hoist the racer back to his seated position. Leaves hung off the wispy hairs in the middle of Big Mouth’s bald head. His cowboy hat lay nearby, and I refused to put it back into place.

  The detective ripped off the tape, and Big Mouth howled. “Get over it, Mr. Bass.” Even Mason’s professionalism had its limits.

  “You’re making a huge mistake,” Big Mouth countered. “I swear, it’s not me you want.”

  I picked up the hat and dusted the dirt and leaves off it. “Why do you think we’re chasing after you?”

  “If you aren’t, then for the love of all that’s magical, you’ve got to let me leave,” he begged.

  “Why? So you can get away with attacking a friend of ours. Or killing the one who seemed to be your bestie?” My eyes stayed glued to the racer’s face, wanting to see the guilt overwhelm him.

  His fear gave way to sorrow and his voice wavered with deep emotion. “Are you tellin’ me that Fireball’s dead?”

  “Did you kill him?” Mason knew we didn’t have time to draw out a formal investigation. We needed answers, and had to get them as quickly as possible.

  Big Mouth lurched forward, attempting to stand on his own. The momentum threw him off balance, and he fell to the ground face first.

  “I would never. He was my closest friend.” To my surprise, the big guy wailed a guttural cry so pitiful, it melted a little of my anger.

  The two gnome brothers stood back and watched in disgust while Mason scratched the back of his head. “I’ll admit, I’m not sure how to proceed.”

  We were so close to figuring things out, and we had no time for sentimentality. Using my shoulder and pushing hard, I heaved the racer over onto his back. Rivulets of tears washed down his dirty face.

  “I didn’t mean to get him into things so deep,” Big Mouth moaned. “I had a good thing going for years. But Fireball could never stay on the straight and narrow for very long. Instead of accepting the odd dollar here and there from me, he wanted in.”

  “On what?” I pressed.

  Big Mouth closed his eyes and blew out a long breath. “Ever since I turned professional, not many of the actual races were straight.”

  Mason took a step closer. “You cheated?”

  The big guy nodded. “It was little things at first. Totally harmless. Nothing that would do permanent damage. I would help with the set up and then profit off of the winnings I placed knowing the final outcome. We did a good job covering our tracks. Sometimes, we lost just to make sure we weren’t caught. But for the most part, we made big bucks together. Being here with the barbecue and racing competition, well, I guess we fell back into our old ways.”

  Mason wrote down all the details, so I asked the important question. “You keep saying ‘we.’ Do you mean you and Fireball?”

  Big Mouth frowned. “We brought Fireball in this weekend because he could help win more money. And if something happened—”

  “Then he could be a decent scapegoat. Some best friend you are,” finished Clint. He charged to kick the racer again, and I held him back.

  “But if it’s not Fireball that you partnered with, then it has to be ano
ther racer.” I hated to call out the name I knew would break Nana’s heart. “Is it Billy Ray?”

  Big Mouth scoffed, and a bit of dirt and spit dribbled from the corner of his lips. “That stiff? I mean, he’s an all right kind of guy, but he wouldn’t drag a toe out of line. He’s the biggest rule follower of them all. If Mud Dobber ever found out, he would have reported us for sure, even if it meant that some of the races he won would be disqualified.”

  Relieved I didn’t have to tell my grandmother that her boyfriend was involved, I looked to Mason to give the last push.

  “Then who is your partner?” he asked.

  “Rita Ryder.” The large racer’s words hung in the still air.

  My ears heard the words but my brain refused to accept them. “It can’t be her. She was attacked at the same time Fireball was.”

  “It’d be a cold day in Hades if that woman was tellin’ the truth,” exclaimed Big Mouth. “Did she cry big tears and make you feel sorry for her and everything? Rita is the biggest fake of them all. And if she can’t make you believe with her actions, she sure as shinola can force your brain to accept it. I’ve never met a witch with bigger psychic abilities than her. It’s why you’ve got to let me go.”

  Flint leaned over the beached racer so he could be seen. “You’re not going anywhere. If I have to, I’ll beef up the border shield until you’ll explode into oblivion if you try to leave.”

  Mason shepherded the angry gnome away from Big Mouth. “I’ll see if I can move you to more comfortable quarters, but first I want you to start from the beginning. Explain everything Rita does and how she involved you.”

  Big Mouth burst like a thin balloon filled with too much air. Every single detail tumbled out from his lips. Rita had grown up in a foster system that somehow lost her, so she’d never registered her magic. Cleverer than most, she’d used her powers to survive, and when she fell in love with broom racing, she’d wielded them to rise within the ranks of the sport.

  With another racer involved, Rita could trap other competitors and push her psychic powers into their minds to either make them forget things or to mess with their sense of direction. Big Mouth revealed all kinds of ways she’d manipulated races, and he acted as the friendly trusted friend who lured others for her to use or would place bets based on how she affected the races.

  “The only reason either of us stopped was because our bodies let us down.” He poked his finger into his rotund middle. “I can still fly, but I’m not going to be winning anything ever again.”

  Off in the distance, a horn blared and the cheers of the crowd floated in the air.

  “They must be preparing for the final race.” I’d left the goggles Rita had given me in the patrol car. “I’m going to miss it.”

  “Not if we finish up here fast.” Mason crouched down to get as close as possible to Big Mouth. “Were you involved in Lucky getting attacked?”

  “That was Fireball’s job. He was the one who set off the big explosion to pull everyone’s attention. Rita used her powers to steal the luck off the leprechaun.” The racer grinned for a second. “Man, we couldn’t get one bet wrong after that.”

  Clint lunged forward and slapped the racer’s face. “She took something that didn’t belong to her. If the law don’t punish you, you can be sure I’ll make it my mission in life you get what you deserve.”

  For a gnome who worked with plants and greenery, he possessed a fiery disposition. I made a quick mental note never to get on his bad side.

  “What’s her plan now?” I asked, adrenaline pumping my heart rate faster.

  Big Mouth flinched, expecting another slap. “I don’t know. But I can tell you she thinks the gold coin she’s keeping in her pocket will keep her out of any trouble.”

  Bingo! Now we had something to work with. Mason must have thought the same thing because he closed his notebook and blurted out instructions to the two gnomes to keep the racer secured until he came back for him.

  “Hey, you said you would take me somewhere comfortable,” Big Mouth complained.

  I wanted to tell him that murderers didn’t always get what they wanted. He had a hand in Lucky’s predicament, but he didn’t know that the leprechaun might die if I didn’t find Rita Ryder and retrieve the lucky coin before her stolen good fortune helped her escape.

  “Hang out here and see if a genie comes along to grant your wish,” I called out, rushing to get into Mason’s car.

  I slammed the door and turned to the detective. “We never spent enough time interpreting what Ginny predicted. All we could focus on was the possibility of Lucky dying. But she’s been telling us all along how things are supposed to end.”

  Mason cut the engine on and threw it into drive. We hurdled down the canopied road and turned off to drive through the edge of the field. “How are things going to end?” he asked.

  I grabbed his broom from the backseat where I’d left it after I crashed during my race. “First, I’m gonna get on that starting line. Then, I’m gonna lean into the wind and soar as fast as possible until I beat Rita Ryder. In other words, I intend to fly for the win.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Jumping out of the car, I sprinted for the race. Mason carried the broom for me so I could hustle a little faster. We broke through a line of fans and made it to the starting line right when the official raised his hand in the air.

  My name and number flashed on the scoreboard at the same time he announced, “Get set. Go!”

  Rita, Billy Ray, and Eric took off. Without the other racers, the competition wouldn’t be as difficult, except for the fact I was already behind before I even started. It would take everything I had in me to catch up to two professionals.

  With shaking fingers, I fixed the goggles Rita had given me over my eyes and yanked the broom out of Mason’s grasp. I threw a leg over and kicked off the ground.

  Mason startled me when he patted my hip, ignoring the official’s warning about my impending disqualification if he didn’t leave. “You don’t need luck to do this, Charli. Focus on catching up to her and trust that you won’t be alone.” Mason gave me a quick peck on the cheek and smacked my behind. “Get going.”

  I pitched forward with less grace than I’d had in the first two races. Already way behind, I didn’t have time to doubt myself. Leaning over the wooden handle, I pushed the broom and my body to their limits.

  I closed in on the first racer, Eric Mosely, a hometown favorite. The kid had good skills and could probably make a career as a professional in a few years with some help. But he couldn’t keep up with Rita or Billy Ray. My mission spurred me on, and I forced as much magic as I could down into the wood of the broom handle. I zoomed around my former student with unapologetic dexterity.

  “Come on. This is the last time, I promise,” I begged the flying object underneath me.

  When I followed the course and passed through the opening into the woods, spots of dappled sunlight flickered through the canopy of leaves. It took me a second to notice the green line that showed me the way was blinking on and off. At full speed, if my guided path disappeared, I would be flying blind.

  “Thanks a lot, Rita,” I cried out, not caring that she couldn’t hear me from so far ahead.

  A strong tingle of magic pulsed in my pocket. Instinct allowed my hand to release the broom handle and touch the strange lump. Power rippled through my fingers and across my entire body. Instead of freaking out, I grinned, recognizing my own magic flaring back to life.

  The wonky green line vanished from my sight, but I no longer needed it. Energized to feel my magic rekindle inside me, I cast the quickest spell I could come up with. “Get Lucky’s fortune that she stole. Help me catch her blackened soul.”

  Relief and happiness caused tears to pool in my eyes when a golden thread glimmered and stretched in front of me. Binding the connection to me, I willed it to pull me forward. With a loud whoop, I whipped off Rita’s damaged gift and threw it into the forest bed passing below me. I’d bet on my magic
beating out enchanted goggles any day.

  Up ahead, I detected one racer’s outline zipping through the brush and tree trunks. I tried to force myself to move faster, but the broom faltered in the air, dipping up and down. In all the haste of the day and consumed by the need to find Rita, I didn’t question whether or not I should fly. The fact that my power was back thrilled me, but its return must mean I no longer possessed Mason’s flying skills.

  The thread between me and Rita stretched thinner, and I panicked. If I couldn’t master flying in the next few seconds, I might lose her. Trusting that Big Mouth told the truth and Rita intended to use Lucky’s stolen fortune in her favor to get away, I had no choice but to pull up my big girl panties and fly the heck out of the broom on my own.

  Leaning forward again, I opened myself to the indescribable pull of the object Rita controlled and let the magical connection guide me. In the spur of the moment, I tied the same glowing thread to the wooden handle itself. The broom stopped wavering underneath me and zipped a little faster and with more purpose.

  Unfortunately, the magical connection didn’t understand that I needed to stay on the cleared path of the race course. It demanded I follow the shortest trail possible, and the broom obeyed it, unaware it took us deeper into the woods. I ducked out of the way of the first low-hanging branch just in time.

  “That was close.” Glancing over my shoulder, I marveled at my luck.

  When I turned back around, I squealed and held a hand up to protect my face. The broom carried me right through a group of bushes and pine saplings. I squeezed my thighs a little tighter to stay on board, and my left hand pounded from gripping so hard.

  No longer on the right path for the race, I had no reason to hesitate. If I concentrated hard enough, I could weave in and out of the woods to reach the bright opening of the field straight ahead. Refusing to give into the fear bubbling inside of me, I bobbed back and forth, combining my magic with my experience from the last two races to help me wing through the forest.