Hell of a Witch (Crypt Witch Cozy Mystery Series Book 2)

by K. E. O'Connor

  “Why is missing a day of checks such a bad thing?”

  Suki turned her guilt-filled eyes to me. “One of the objects went missing. I was horrified when I went to its location and it was gone.”

  “What was taken?”

  Suki hung her head. “It was a ring. Many of the items I watched over had been collected by Nick’s family. Some they stored in the forest for their own use. I took them when they weren’t around and hid them. Of course, they were furious, but they never knew who took the objects. They asked me about it a couple of times, but I pretended I didn’t know anything. Then they got evicted from Willow Tree Falls, so I didn’t need to worry about them. Instead, I simply guarded the objects they’d left behind to make sure no one else abused them. I knew the forest would keep everything safe.”

  “You made yourself an unofficial guardian of these objects? You keep them safe, so they don’t fall into the wrong hands?”

  She nodded. “Yes, it always worried me that things with so much power could corrupt. Now, it looks like that’s what has happened. That nice young man found the ring and was killed because of it. It’s all my fault.”

  “Nick’s death isn’t your fault. He shouldn’t have been looking for something with that much power. The only person to blame is whoever killed Nick to get their hands on this ring.”

  Suki wrung her hands and paced some more. “I was foolish. I let the situation get on top of me. I’m not as young as I used to be, and keeping tabs on all the objects is getting too much. I was hoping I’d have an apprentice by now, but it never happened. I’m all alone. Besides, who would want to work with me?”

  Poor Suki. She had zero self-belief and now blamed herself for Nick’s death. “Lots of people. You’re unique. A giant wood nymph is something special. You should embrace your difference.”

  “That’s easy for you to say.” She gestured at her hulking form. “I scare most people.”

  “Hey, you’re looking at a witch who lives with a demon inside of her. You won’t meet many people like me.”

  Her gaze ran over me, and she smiled tentatively. “Maybe we’re not so different.”

  “Exactly. And, since we are so similar, I bet you also notice when someone’s not being straight up with you.”

  Suki looked at me out of the corner of her eye. “What if I do?”

  “Well, you’ll notice those little tells and the things they do when they’re lying. My sister, for example, twitches her nose when she’s concealing something. It’s such a giveaway. She’s been doing it since we were kids.”

  Suki nodded. “I might notice things like that.”

  “And you might also notice when someone is trying not to draw attention to themselves or maybe when they’re watching someone else.”

  She turned to face me. “I didn’t see anything like that when Nick was killed.”

  I sat up straight. “But you saw something?”

  She stared intently through the trees in the direction of the stone circle. “I saw...”

  “What? What did you see?”

  “At the stones. It was late. Most of the people had gone.” Suki shook her head. “I was wandering around, seeing what people had left behind and tidying up their mess. It makes me so mad to see how little regard non-magicals have for the place.”

  “Is that when you saw Nick?”

  Suki nodded. “He was taking pictures and walking around.”

  “Was he alone?”

  “For a while.” Suki’s bottom lip trembled. “Then someone ran out of the shadows.”

  “Did you see who it was?”

  “No, they were dressed in black. Nick didn’t see them coming. They knocked him over the head.”

  “He was attacked inside the stone circle?” That would explain the lack of blood at the cemetery.

  Suki nodded. “Nick hit the ground hard. Whoever it was, they whacked him over the back of the head several times. He wasn’t meant to get up from that.”

  “The killer moved his body?”

  “They must have, but I didn’t see. I ran off but then came back. By then, Nick had gone. I went to take a look but couldn’t see anything. I expect, if you shift some dirt, you’ll find blood.”

  “What did they do with Nick’s body?”

  “I didn’t see how they moved him.”

  My hands balled into fists. “Someone went to a lot of trouble to conceal their tracks. Was it a man or a woman?”

  “I can’t say. Most likely a man. Nick was a well-built guy.”

  I noticed a flush on Suki’s cheeks. It looked like she had a small crush on our dead journalist. “What time was this?”

  “Really early in the morning. It must have been around one o’clock. Nearly everyone was gone. There were a few people sleeping, but they didn’t wake up. Nick was the only one awake.”

  “It was a risk to drag his body from here to the cemetery. It must be a quarter of a mile. They’d need to be strong to do that.”

  “Which makes me think it was a man,” Suki said.

  “Most likely. It could be James, Nick’s journalist friend.”

  “If you mean the other guy who’s been covering the solstice celebrations, then they aren’t friends,” Suki said. “I overheard them arguing. Nick was furious and telling the other guy to keep his nose out, and it was none of his business.”

  “Was he talking about the solstice? He didn’t want James interfering with his reporting?”

  “I don’t know, but the other guy told Nick to watch his back.”

  I picked pie crumbs off my shirt as I considered what Suki had told me. The more I heard about James, the less I liked him. Assuming he survived his experience in the marsh, I needed to talk to him again.

  “I think he’s involved,” Suki said. Her gaze went to the remaining pie.

  “Me too. Thanks, Suki.” I cut up the remaining pie and shared it between the three of us. James had just jumped to the top of my suspect list. It was time to quiz this smug journalist again and get the truth out of him.

  Chapter 13

  After leaving Suki in the forest, I headed home with Wiggles to get some sleep. Not that I’d gotten much. I’d tossed and turned thinking about the magic ring, Nick’s body being moved from the stone circle, and who could have done it.

  I dragged myself out of bed just after dawn. I needed a hearty breakfast and a strong mug of coffee if I was going to face the day and not kill anybody.

  Wiggles was still asleep as I pulled on my boots and grabbed my keys. I nudged him gently with the toe of my boot.

  He raised his head and blinked up at me blearily. “Is there an emergency?”

  “It depends if you consider eating breakfast an emergency.”

  He jumped to his feet and shook out his fur. “I consider it an emergency. Why the early start?”

  “Because we need to get this mystery figured out and fast. We can’t have everyone in Willow Tree Falls thinking the Crypt family had anything to do with Nick’s murder. Whoever moved the body might have been trying to implicate someone in the family, and that’s unacceptable. I need to find James again and see what he knows. He definitely had it in for Nick.”

  Wiggles eyed me suspiciously. “Breakfast first, though, right? Otherwise, I’m going back to sleep.”

  “Breakfast first. I’ll treat you to something from Unicorn’s Trough.”

  “Now you’re talking.” Wiggles barged ahead of me and ran down the stairs. “Hurry up.”

  I shook my head and grinned as I locked the door, walked down the stairs and through Cloven Hoof. It was another bright, sunny day, although chilly, as the sun hadn’t long risen. I strolled through the quiet streets, enjoying the calm that always came before the bustle as the stores opened their doors and everyone turned out for the early shift.

  Unicorn’s Trough opened at six, and I knew Brogan would have breakfast on the go.

  There were several other people in the cafe when we entered. I nodded at Brogan, who was chatting to another g
uy at the counter.

  I settled at a table by the window and perused the menu.

  “I’m having hash browns,” Wiggles said, “two rounds of bacon, some maple syrup pancakes, and a side order of waffles.”

  “Not a chance. I’ll order you a breakfast special, but that’s it.”

  Wiggles checked the specials board. “I can live with that. Ask for extra toast.”

  Brogan strolled over, a smile on his stubbled face. “I don’t usually see you here this early.”

  “I’ve got lots to do today.”

  He raised his dark eyebrows. “If it has anything to do with suggesting our out of town journalists visit any more unusual tourist hotspots, like the marsh, you might like to re-think that.” Brogan nodded toward the counter. “That guy has some serious issues with you.”

  I looked back to the counter. I hadn’t recognized him at first, but it was James. “Oh, he must have misunderstood me. I told him to stay away from the marsh. It’s a terrible place. No one goes there.”

  Brogan grinned. “Sure you did. What will it be?”

  I placed an order for two breakfast specials. Brogan filled a coffee mug for me before strolling off to put the order in with the kitchen.

  I watched as James hopped from his stool at the counter and paid for his breakfast. He turned and froze when he saw me, his cheeks flushing red and his eyes narrowing. He stalked over and glared down at me.

  “Good morning,” I said sweetly.

  “You made me look like an idiot yesterday.” James jammed his fisted hands on his hips, making him look anything but macho.

  “Why, what did you do?”

  “You knew going into the marsh was a wild goose chase. Admit it. There was never a ring there. You wanted to make me look stupid.”

  “I’m thinking you probably don’t need any help with that.”

  James scowled at me. “I’ve ruined a pair of my favorite suit pants.”

  “Then you really are dumb. Why would you wear a suit to go into a marsh?”

  “I didn’t know it was going to be an actual full-on marsh. The kind of place that sucks your feet in and threatens to drown you if you don’t watch where you’re going, complete with slime and goodness knows what lurking below the surface and making weird gurgling, burping sounds.”

  “Then I wouldn’t have called it a marsh. I thought you were going to wear waders?”

  “That idiot Jenny couldn’t find any. I had to make do with wellies, and the disgusting water was soon over the top of them. I poked around there for hours looking for some signs of recent disturbance. There was nothing. That’s because there was never anything to find, was there?”

  I tilted my head from side to side. “How about this? I’ll tell you the truth about the ring if you share what you’ve learned about it.”

  His frown deepened, but there was a glint of excitement in his eyes. “Why would you do that?”

  “Because I think that ring is connected to your friend’s murder. Didn’t you say you wanted an exclusive story?”

  James’s jaw dropped. He snapped it quickly shut. “You think someone killed him for this ring? But it’s not even real.”

  “You seemed to think it was real enough yesterday to go hunting around the marsh for it.”

  He shrugged and gestured to the chair opposite me. I nodded, and he sat down. “It’s a journalistic hunch. And Nick was so convincing about this ring. I got the sniff of an exclusive story and decided to follow it. I figured the ring was an old heirloom. If nothing else, I might earn a bit of money if I discovered it and printed a decent story. Or I could even sell it if I couldn’t sell the information.”

  “You don’t think there’s any truth that the ring has some kind of magic power?”

  James chuckled as he played with the salt and pepper pots on the table. “Doubtful, but I’m willing to keep an open mind. There are always crackpot publications willing to buy a story about mythical objects or strange creatures that are spotted. You can earn a couple of hundred for snapping a blurry shot of Big Foot. Actually, you might be able to help me with that very thing. I’ve had a few people report seeing a yeti in the forest.”

  “A yeti!” My thoughts flew to Suki. “There are no yetis here.”

  “You’ve never seen some kind of Big Foot character lurking around the woods? Someone said it had dreadlocks and fur all over its body. It’s supposed to be over ten feet tall, a real beast, but most likely, some homeless guy who needs a bath and a change of clothes.”

  I kept my expression as neutral as possible. “Nope, I’ve never seen anybody like that in the forest.” Suki would be devastated if anybody thought she looked like a yeti or even a harmless homeless bum.

  “I figured it was a long shot. I want to gather as many stories as possible while I’m here to make it worth the while. After the story runs in today’s news about the solstice, I need to follow-up with a few other things. Nick’s death is top of my list, but I was hoping this ring mystery and the story of the yeti might be worth pursuing.”

  I shrugged. “Neither the ring nor the yeti mystery sound promising.”

  “You said you’d share what you know about this ring. I’ve told you what I know. Now, it’s your turn.”

  I decided to give him the barest of information, just enough to show willingness. “I’ve never seen this ring, so I don’t know if it’s even real. All I’ve heard is that people think it’s powerful.”

  James’s eyes narrowed further as if he was trying to work out if I was yanking his chain. “You’re telling me you actually believe a ring can give someone superpowers?”

  “I never said superpowers.”

  “It sounds to me like a case of simple greed. Someone’s got their eye on a bit of gold and wants to make money. They attach some nonsense myth to it in the hope of bumping up the offers.”

  “That could also be true. The ring is old. Old things can be valuable. I’m guessing Nick thought he was onto something when he heard about the ring and decided to look into it while he was here.”

  James leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms over his chest. “I figured it had to be something boring like that. That’s not a story.”

  “Was it another story you and Nick argued over?”

  James frowned. “We never argued.”

  “You didn’t tell the truth about you being friends. Rachel told me you were rivals in business. I also heard you were seen arguing with Nick the night of the solstice and told him to keep his nose out of your business.”

  James shrugged. “That’s how we rolled. Journalism is like that. You have to be at the top of your game or you’re forgotten about. There’s always somebody else right behind you, wanting to claim the story and put their name on the by-line. There’s no harm in it.”

  “There is if Nick was killed by you.”

  James’s laugh was sharp. “Yeah, right. I wouldn’t kill for a story.”

  “Maybe you would if your career was on the line.”

  He placed his hands flat on the table and glared at me. “My career is perfect. I’m heading straight for the top as I’ve always planned. Hanging around Willow Tree Falls and reporting the murder of some second-rate journalist isn’t getting me my breakthrough story. And boring pieces to camera about a bunch of eccentrics dancing around stones and making up nonsense about mythical rings is the stuff of local journalism.”

  Whoops, it looked like I’d touched a nerve. “You want to make the big time?”

  “I will make the big time. I’m almost there.”

  “If this ring myth has any truth to it, that would be a story and a half.”

  James’s lips thinned to an unpleasantly ugly line. “Is it true or not? Or do you spin lies and nonsense about a ring to lure in the tourists?”

  I was getting bored with James and his thinly veiled ambitions. “It’s nonsense. Don’t believe anything you hear about it.”

  “Maybe you’re concealing the truth from me because it is valuable. Maybe you�
��ve got the ring. Maybe you took it from Nick and killed him to get your hands on it.”

  “You’re over-stretching your journalistic license by going that far. I live here. If there was a powerful ring, I’d know about it.”

  “Maybe not. Nick could have arrived with new information. Information you killed him for.”

  This conversation was not going the way I’d planned. James had turned the tables on me and was accusing me of killing Nick. “I don’t need a ring to give me power.”

  “What are you, the mayor? I thought it was that overweight guy with the hideous beard.”

  “Our mayor doesn’t have a hideous beard.” It was a huge, well-oiled beard, the kind you could lose a sandwich in, but Mannie was proud of his beard.

  “I should speak to your mayor and see what he has to say about you passing yourself off as some kind of official in charge,” James said. “He might also know about the ring.”

  “Mannie won’t know anything, because there’s nothing to know.”

  “If it’s here, I’ll find it. I never give up on a good story, and this one is showing promise. If I can tie Nick’s murder with this ring, it will make it more interesting.”

  “Good luck with that. I can suggest a few more places if you’d like to look for the ring.”

  James scowled at me. “Not if they involve any kind of slime.”

  “They most likely will.”

  James leaned across the table. “I know you’re hiding something. Tell me what you know.” He yelped and leaped out of his seat.

  I looked under the table to see Wiggles had clamped his teeth ever so gently around James’s calf. I kept the smile from my face as I watched sweat bead on James’s forehead.

  He flailed in his seat and pointed at Wiggles. “Get him off me.”

  “He’s not doing you any harm, but he will if you continue to be mean.”