I’m not so sure about that, Raven. I’m almost certain I caught sight of a beaver down by the stream. What if Skippy made a backend deal and turned the toothy critter against me?
“Stop seeing conspiracies where there aren’t any,” I whispered, stopping my car and waving toward one of the workers through the front windshield. The man began to walk across the gravel, but it was apparent he wasn’t happy about being summoned by one of the local residents. I had a feeling that I wasn’t the only one to stop to talk to them about the blackout, but what he didn’t know was that I might be able to shed some light on the problem. “Here goes nothing.”
Do you think the library has a database of all the wildlife in and around Paramour Bay? You should suggest that to Harry. A librarian such as himself should always keep good records for these very reasons.
I rolled down my window and gave the employee a big smile, hoping to butter him up before he tried to send me on my way. Just so you are reassured about me sounding like a lunatic in front of Harry, I had no intention of telling Harry that he should catalog the wildlife in and around town.
I’m pretty sure I’ve already told you today that you make my life very difficult. And I’d like to remind you that you’re the one who was tossing conspiracies around regarding the blackout being caused by witchcraft. I blame the heat.
“Hi, there,” I exclaimed brightly, motioning over my shoulder at Leo. “I had to go looking for my cat back in the woods, and I think I know what might have happened to cause the blackout.”
You’re not taking me seriously about this squirrel apocalypse. If Skippy is recruiting beavers, this changes the whole board game.
“Our systems test is showing that there is a short on the step-down transformer at this station. What did you see, ma’am?”
“There was a tree lying on top of some big metal thing back there,” I explained, pointing in the direction where Leo had gone in chase of Skippy. “I didn’t get too close, because I wasn’t sure if there were any wires down on the ground. But it looked like there was pretty extensive damage done to whatever it is you would call one of those large metal devices.”
The worker hit the top of my vehicle in appreciation, taking off at a brisk pace in order to inform the others of what could possibly be the cause of their headaches. I waited a moment longer to make sure they began to walk in the right direction before settling back in my seat with satisfaction for a job well done.
What metal device?
Oh, that wasn’t good. Not to get off topic, but that necromancy spell that Nan had cast to prevent Leo from crossing over into the afterlife had really affected his memory. The majority of the time it was short-term memory, but there had been instances where his memory loss had gone further back over the years.
“The metal thingy that the tree fell on,” I explained, pressing down on the accelerator with one of my favorite black flats. I usually preferred my high-top black boots, but I’d stored them away until the cooler weather arrived…which currently felt like it would never come. “Remember chasing Skippy through the woods?”
I’d maneuvered my car onto the road into town, but the cool air that we’d had trapped inside had escaped the second I’d rolled down my window to talk with one of the linemen. It was highly doubtful that we’d get the interior cooled off before arriving back at the tea shop. Leo had taken back his position and was leaning his cheek against the open vent, and I didn’t blame him.
Skippy? I should have known that hairy rat was involved. Whatever. I’m too overheated now to care. You should have asked how long it would take for them to fix this horrible situation.
“I’m just glad that magic had nothing to do with the blackout,” I shared with relief, especially now that it shouldn’t be too much longer before we were basking in the central air conditioning. “That only leaves—”
Don’t ruin my moment.
“Leo, we can’t ignore the fact that—”
We can ignore whatever we like, because we’re not officially badge holders in this tiny village. The good ol’ sheriff holds that honor, and he’s already handed the case off to that oaf of a detective with the state police. Do you know what the chances are of that broomstick being cursed for real?
“Thirty-eight percent.”
Leo blinked, his left eye bulging a little more as he realized that my statistics were pretty darn accurate. In fact, I was pretty proud of myself, given that math hadn’t been my best subject in school.
Exactly. So…we’re in agreement to let this case go, right?
“Nope,” I quipped, thinking it might be best to head straight to the cottage on the other side of town. A cold shower was sounding better and better. Afterward, the power might be restored, and we could do some research on the computer in comfort. “I hate to break this to you, Leo, but we have a genuine murder mystery to solve.”
Not if I succumb to heatstroke first.
Chapter Four
How is it even possible that the giant grey Crayola hasn’t melted by now?
“How are you holding up, Ted?” I asked, feeling very refreshed after having taken a cold shower. Unfortunately, the electricity hadn’t come back on just yet. Skippy and his friends probably had no idea the extent of damage they’d wreaked on Paramour Bay. “Come on in. I was hoping you’d stop by this evening. I have some questions about broomsticks, curses, and death.”
Go figure. A wax golem, and he doesn’t even melt in the middle of a heatwave. Your grandmother must have added something to her enchantment to provide for this eventuality. This only goes to show you that she favored this lump of wax more, or else she would have shown a little more care in preparing for my disposition rather than adding six pounds to my haunches.
Six pounds? More like sixteen, but I wasn’t going to touch that number with a ten-foot pole.
Now would be a good time for you to introduce Ted. He’s not the run of the mill supernatural creature that goes bump in the night, you know.
True, so I’ll make this one quick.
You see, when Nan had been excommunicated from the coven, she’d chosen to spend the rest of her mortal existence in Paramour Bay. She’d open the tea shop, sold holistic blends, and raised my mother in this very special out-of-the-way town. Unfortunately, my mother left and moved to the city in her early twenties. Bottom line was that Nan had needed a bit of extra help around the old witchy abode, and I’m sure the additional company wasn’t so bad either.
Really? Ted isn’t the most animated of conversationalists, and he’s literally Lurch from The Addams Family.
Leo wasn’t exaggerating.
Ted used to be one of the wax figures on display at the wax museum. The somewhat creepy place was located to the left immediately upon entering the town limits. It was an odd attraction to be set in such an area, but who was I to question other people’s business decisions?
Anyway, just visualize a wax figure of Lurch from The Addams Family.
Yep, that’s Ted—lanky build, yellowish-blond hair, and at least six feet, six inches tall. He had these crooked teeth with some very noticeable chips, an odd fascination for a mannequin at a boutique shop in town, and I’d only ever seen him wear suits that were cut in the style of the late 1800s. He was always a gentleman through and through.
Don’t forget to mention that wax boy plays poker on the weekends with a grim reaper disguised as the groundskeeper over at the cemetery. I still haven’t gotten my invite.
“Good evening, Ms. Raven.”
Ted closed the front door behind him as I made my way back to the couch.
“The power should be restored soon, thanks to Leo and his detective skills,” I shared, finally able to give credit where credit was due. “He was chasing after Skippy and found a large tree had fallen on a vital part of the substation.”
“Very nicely done, Mr. Leo.”
At least someone treats me with the respect I deserve.
It was still stifling hot inside the cottage, but I’d opene
d all the windows hoping the electricity would roar to life sometime soon. The slightest breeze was finally coming in off the bay and filled the house with the scent of lilacs, but it hardly did a thing to lower the inside temperature.
“May I sit?”
I’d already sunk into the couch and had my laptop balancing on my knees when Ted had made his strange request.
He never sat.
Never.
Leo was currently splayed out in front of a small battery-powered fan on top of the hand-carved coffee table that served as both a magical temple for all the enchanted items I kept in its secret drawers and a gorgeous centerpiece for the one-story cottage. There was a bedroom loft which could be reached by a beautiful spiral staircase, but I’d have to explain the layout later.
Right now, I wasn’t so sure that those symptoms of heatstroke Leo had been spouting on about all day hadn’t finally emerged.
That might be it, you know. We might have just hallucinated this entire day, and there’s no dead body linked to a cursed broomstick. What are the chances I could convince you of that?
“You want to sit down?” I asked Ted, tilting my head just in time not to miss his answer. He was a rather soft-spoken golem, and I’m pretty sure that I’d somehow misunderstood him. “In the chair?”
Should I call the county coroner? I mean, I’m sure he’s a bit busy, but I really don’t think you want melted gray wax to seep into the furniture or the cream rug.
“Yes, Ms. Raven,” Ted exclaimed with a small smile that stretched his thin lips.
“You feel effects of the heat, don’t you?” I asked in wonderment, shutting the lid to my laptop. Supernatural details like this never ceased to amaze me. “Is there anything I can do?”
Yeah, you can shift my fan a little to the right.
“I’ll be fine, Ms. Raven.”
Ted awkwardly bent at the waist until his large frame sank into the overstuffed chair. He somehow still managed to keep his back ramrod straight, resting his arms on the armrests to resemble some kind of Lincoln-esque statue.
Before I could ask Ted any more questions about how the heat was affecting his body, a whoosh of air being forced through the vents could be heard in a resounding rush. Leo did a blip, where he was right in front of us one second and gone the next.
I had no doubt that Leo’s body was now splayed over top one of the central air vents.
I’d say this could possibly be better than catnip, but we’d both know that I’d be lying. Can you reach my pipe from where you’re sitting?
“Ted, it’s going to take time for the cottage to cool off,” I said, setting the laptop back down on the couch while I got up to close most of the windows. I’d leave a couple open to continue to get the cross breeze until the house wasn’t quite so stuffy. “Would it help you to remove your jacket?”
I didn’t hear Ted’s reply over the ringing of my cell phone. It was Heidi. Shooting him an apologetic smile, I answered the call after positioning the phone in between my ear and shoulder.
“We just got air,” I exclaimed in delight, figuring Heidi would still stay the night with Jack.
“Listen to me very carefully,” Heidi whispered, causing me to stop lowering the side window halfway down. I slowly sank my shoulder back into place once my fingers were once again clutching the phone. What in the world had happened to have Heidi so concerned that she was making a secret call to me? “I need to know the name of the woman who came to visit you a few months ago. You know the one…with the missing familiar?”
“Mazie Rose Young,” I whispered back, not knowing why I was mimicking Heidi when I didn’t have to worry about being overheard by anyone.
I’m going to enjoy this cool air coming out of the vent and pretend I didn’t hear you say that name.
I couldn’t believe I’d said Mazie’s name either, because she wasn’t technically a person anymore. I mean, she was…but she’d come to me in the form of a ghost after finding out that Leo and I had solved a few mysteries. I only ever knew her as a spirit.
Don’t even think about her, Raven. The last thing we need is for Mazie to cross through the veil and pay us another visit. I still have that stain on my fur where Strifle left her glittery lip prints.
Apparently, word had gotten around in the afterlife that Leo and I were successful amateur sleuths of the supernatural. Mazie’s familiar—which happened to be a fairy—hadn’t crossed through the veil with her as expected. Long story short, a witch who’d wanted Strifle’s power had used dark magic to prevent the fairy from crossing over with her host.
Common myth would have some believe that familiars were demons in animal form who served witches. The truth couldn’t be further from the story people had been told for centuries. Familiars were kindred spirits who bond with their hosts and share each other’s lifetime and health. Familiars could take on a number of physical forms.
Look, that case is closed. Sealed shut, never to be reopened again. We found Strifle, set her free, and now I’m sullied with glitter on my paw for the rest of my life. Let’s leave well enough alone.
“No, not Mazie,” Heidi muttered, her words muffled against the phone. “The older witch who was with her.”
I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that, either. I can’t believe I’m saying this about my beloved Heidi…but hang up on her.
“You mean Lucille?” I asked, walking back over to the couch. Ted hadn’t said a word this entire time, but instead he was just observing me very closely with a rather stern frown on his chiseled features. “What about her?”
“I knew I’d recognized the name!” Heidi whispered excitedly, though I wasn’t experiencing the same euphoria. “Lucille Rebecca Barnes, right?”
You couldn’t have just hung up the phone, could you? We finally have electricity, and I wasn’t even given ten seconds to enjoy the cool inviting air. Not fair, Raven. Not fair at all.
“This is about the broomstick, isn’t it?” I asked hesitantly, using a bit of Leo’s cautious tone. “Heidi, what’s going on with the investigation?”
That oaf of a detective is digging into the curse, that’s what. I think I would have rather died from heatstroke than be turned into a toad by the council once they find out that we were the ones who led the police right to their front doorstep.
“Jack thinks the sheriff might have been poisoned with a rare blend of herbs, but he’s waiting on the autopsy to confirm his suspicions. That broomstick that was in the man’s possession spiked Jack’s interest, though. He is looking into some hex, and he reached out to—” Heidi broke off for a brief second. “I’ve got to go. Raven, call your mother.”
Heidi disconnected the line, leaving me hanging without any information on how to move forward with figuring out if witchcraft was involved with the sheriff’s death.
Oh, my dearest Heidi left you with something…the old “call your mother” trick? Does Heidi not realize that doing the same thing over and over again hoping for a different result is the definition of insanity?
Technically, the various phone calls I’ve made to Mom since moving to Paramour Bay had not been so beneficial. Well, in principle, at least.
If you believe that then I’m relatively sure you are suffering from heatstroke…with permanent lasting effects. Come over to the vent side with me and you’ll feel the forced air, Raven. You’ll come to your senses once you cool down.
“Ted, what do you know about curses?” I asked, walking back to the couch to retrieve my laptop. My favorite spot in the living room was sitting on an overstuffed burgundy pillow that I’d positioned in between the coffee table and the fireplace. It was the perfect place to cast magic, but this time I was hoping for a little luck in the research department. “Specifically, a curse on a centuries old broomstick that just might have belonged to Lucille Rebecca Barnes.”
You just had to go and say her name again. I cannot deal with either of those two spirits until I return to a normal temperature, Raven. This has been a very trying day.<
br />
“Dreadful one, that curse,” Ted said with a frown.
The only telling sign that the heat had affected him was the tuft of yellowish-blond hair on top of his square head that was out place. Oh, and the fact that he was actually sitting in a chair rather than his normal predilection to hover.
There are other vents in the house, you know. This cold air is doing wonders for my fur. I would like to apologize for my earlier behavior, though. I might have been a touch out of sorts.
I was too shocked that Ted might actually know something about the broomstick to respond to Leo’s apologetic blurting.
“Ted, are you telling me you know about a cursed broomstick?” I asked, not even bothering to lift the lid on my laptop. I might be able to get all the information I needed from Ted. He never ceased to amaze me. “Did witchcraft actually kill that man?”
“Highly doubtful, Ms. Raven,” Ted replied, his frown still in place.
This cool air has me being somewhat optimistic, Raven. You thought the blackout might have been in connection with magic. We proved otherwise. There are exceptions, of course, but cursed objects are usually just ancient myths with no basis.
Okay, so both of my so-called advisors were telling me that I might have gone from point A to point Z without considering all the other intersecting points. I breathed a little easier, because preventing Liam and Jack from discovering the supernatural realm might have been almost impossible had the cursed broomstick actually been responsible for the sheriff’s death.
“Your mother took care of it,” Ted replied.
“Mom took care of what?” I asked guardedly while being pretty sure I was experiencing emotional whiplash of some sort. “Ted, you just said it was doubtful that some curse on a broomstick caused someone’s death.”
“Yes,” Ted agreed, frustrating me even more.
Uh-oh.
“Don’t you dare uh-oh me, Leo,” I warned, clearly seeing where this conversation was headed—straight down memory-impaired lane. “Ted, does Mom know about this broomstick?”
Broomstick Blend Page 4