“Not a single scrape on them. No bruising, no scrapes, no cuts. Nothing.”
Zoey felt her heart speed up. “We have the evidence to clear them.”
“You know the judge will want more,” Luke told her, trying to rein in her excitement.
“Now we have a time of death. Let’s get Maribelle and Dale’s alibi, because I know they weren’t out killing Tim.”
“They were together. No other witnesses. They went to Maribelle’s house after the Moonshine of the Year announcement,” Luke said, putting his hands in the pockets of his jeans. So that wasn’t going to help Maribelle and Dale.
“Okay.” Zoey took a deep breath and refocused. “Get DNA samples from them both, and compare it to the skin under Tim’s nails. In the meantime, I need to think of a way to get the Mountaineers all in one place so we can see if anyone has any bruises or scrapes.”
“No! Do it again,” Agnes huffed.
Zoey looked sadly at Chance sitting in front of her. His dark brown eyes blinked up at her. His white tipped black tail thumped on the floor as if she hadn’t just zapped him with magic.
“I’m so sorry,” Zoey apologized before feeling the power build inside her. She visualized the bedroom in Agnes and Vilma’s house and wiggled her fingers. Poof, the puppy disappeared.
“I did it!” Zoey said in wonder as Vilma opened the bedroom door and Chance ran out.
“Very good. I think that’s it for tonight. I heard you are hosting a Mountaineer Muffin day tomorrow,” Vilma said as they walked back into the living room. “Any reason you suddenly are giving free muffins to the Mountaineers tomorrow?”
“You can’t say a word or I’ll hit you with the silencing spell you taught me.” Zoey stared them down. When they didn’t look intimidated she rolled her eyes and continued. “I read Tim’s autopsy. He scratched his attacker, hard. The attacker used the Mountaineers’ computer at two in the morning to send the recipe to Ronald Stone asking for a million dollars for the rest of the recipes.”
“Well, we can help with that,” Agnes said, taking a seat on the floral couch.
“Help? I didn’t ask for—”
Vilma waved her off. “We’ll be sneaky. No one will know what we are looking for.”
Great. Now she’s going to have two nosy senior witches to look after as well as trying to find the killer, free her friends, and save the witch world. What else could possibly be added to pile?
Zoey closed her eyes and took in the sounds and smells of her kitchen. It was four in the morning. She’d only had four hours of sleep thanks to her late night witch lessons. Exhaustion was days ago. Now she was running solely on coffee.
She took a deep breath and inhaled the rich scent of the coffee, along with the rolling warmth of the ovens heating to life and the smell of the ingredients sitting on the prep table. The sounds of Chance snoring in his bed and crickets from the open kitchen door were music to her. Zoey opened her eyes and smiled. This made her happy. It made her soul sing, and she felt the magic inside her bubbling with excitement. All of which told her exactly what she needed to hear—Moonshine Hollow and Zoey’s Sweet Treats was where she belonged all along.
Hours later she had muffins, scones, and chocolate-filled croissants lining the tables in the kitchen and filling the display case out front. Zoey wiped the flour from her hands and dusted off her apron. She went and opened the front door at seven and found Vilma and Agnes waiting.
“About time. We were about to pop into the kitchen. But we didn’t risk it since you tend to explode when you get scared,” Agnes said dryly.
“I’ll start the coffee,” Vilma called out as she brushed past Zoey and headed for the coffee on the counter.
“I just have a basket of muffins I want to bring out front before people get here,” Zoey called as she headed into the back. Suddenly her spine stiffened. Her powers surged. She felt it. Evil was near.
“Deep breaths.” A voice pushed through her fear. “Focus on the fear. Don’t run from it. See the fear and pull it to you. Form it into a tight ball in the pit of your stomach. See the power in the fear then you can control it.”
Zoey’s eyes were unseeing as the voice spoke to her. Her gaze was internal as she pulled the fear from her fingertips, up her arms, into her stomach where it met with the fear from her toes that had traveled up her legs. There, in her stomach, was a glowing ball of black energy.
“That’s right. Now you control it. Send it to your hand and hold the power and energy of fear in your hand,” the voice instructed.
Zoey pictured the ball moving up to her arm then down to her hand. When she blinked back to reality, she saw a ball of black light burning like a hunk of coal in her hand. Agnes and Vilma stood absolutely still at the entrance to the kitchen staring in wonder.
“That is how you control a weapon such as fear, you can embrace it.”
Neither Agnes’s nor Vilma’s mouths moved. Zoey was confused until she felt something brush her leg. She looked down and found Grand Mistress Lauren’s teal eyes looking up at her.
“Wow.” Zoey felt a shift inside her. It was as if the magic knew she had taken control. “Now what do I do with it?”
“Just let it go,” Grand Mistress Lauren told her.
Zoey looked at the mystical ball floating in the palm of her hand. She widened her fingers and commanded the fear to leave. In slow wisps of energy, the ball dissolved into the air as if a candle had been blown out.
Grand Mistress Lauren was gone when Zoey looked down.
The bell over the door rang as Zoey, Agnes, and Vilma headed out front.
“Oh my,” Zoey heard the old ladies gasp.
“What is it?” Zoey asked as she came out front and stopped dead in her tracks. There, in her shop, stood six foot five inches of muscle and leather.
“Slade?” Zoey asked in surprise.
“How you doing, sweetness?”
Zoey felt the magic dancing in her blood as her face flushed. Agnes’s and Vilma’s heads kept going back and forth between Zoey and Slade as if watching a tennis match.
Zoey took in the tight black shirt stretched over his massive chest down to his black leather motorcycle pants and black boots. When her eyes made it back up to his face, he winked at her, causing Agnes and Vilma to gasp again. It could be from his glacial pale blue eyes or it could be that they saw what Zoey just had—a tattoo on his neck of black swords connecting to make a circle with a drop of red blood in the center. The same tattoo that had been on the man who Zoey had accidently consumed the powers from.
“Ladies,” his deep voice rumbled as he looked over at Agnes and Vilma.
A wave of energy flew past Zoey heading straight for Agnes and Vilma. Zoey couldn’t see it, but she felt it. She leapt in front of her friends and the energy crashed into her. Zoey plastered a smile on her face, ignoring the power surge that had just slammed into her as she put up a mental shield.
“What on earth are you doing here? I never thought I would see you again. Agnes, Vilma, this is Slade. I met him in California. Actually,” Zoey said with a cock of her head, “he said it was fate I would end up here.”
His eyebrows temporarily creased in confusion before clearing so fast she almost missed it. The power surged backed off. “I couldn’t stop thinking of what happened to you. You sure know how to make an impression. I thought I’d see how you were doing. I’ve taken some time off and am traveling cross country on the bike. It was always a dream of mine to tour the country.”
Zoey gave him a “yeah, right” look, and it appeared Slade thought about grinning. “Okay,” he said calmly as he held up his hands. “I’m also here on work.”
Agnes looked over Zoey’s shoulder and let out a whistle. “Is that bike yours?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Slade answered as Zoey looked out the window. That was a sexy bike and the image of Slade on it . . . whew, she suddenly felt very hot.
“Care to take some old ladies for a ride?” Vilma asked as the first Mountaineer opened t
he door.
“Hey Justin,” Zoey smiled as she cringed. A war was being waged inside her. Was Slade dangerous? Was he part of the Tenebris? It was too weird that she felt the fear and then he came in, right? He had the same tattoo as the guy Vilma zapped. Plus she’d felt the energy. It was the same energy Grand Mistress Lauren used to get into her mind. What was going on?
Slade turned and Justin froze in surprise. “Oh, you must be new here. Welcome to Moonshine Hollow.”
“Thanks,” Slade said, crossing his arms over his massive chest and looking at Justin through narrowed eyes.
The door opened again as Missy and Wayne came in. Wayne looked at Slade and frowned. He walked over with a cocky swagger. “Some goth show in town?”
Zoey sent a panicked look to Agnes and Vilma. They didn’t need to say anything. They knew Slade was trouble. Too bad he was the kind of trouble Zoey and every other red blooded female wished would show up at their door. Even Missy was staring at him with her mouth open as if she was picturing him naked.
Slade turned and gave Zoey a wink. Zoey slammed her mental walls closed and turned to Wayne. “Wayne, what can I get you and Missy?” She said Missy’s name loudly to disrupt Missy’s drooling over Slade and the trouble that could erupt. Before Wayne could answer, the door opened and more men and women streamed in chatting animatedly. Zoey, Agnes, and Vilma stared in horror.
“They’re all wearing camouflage jackets and hats,” Zoey whispered in panic. The jackets zipped up to their chins and the ball caps sat low on their foreheads. What the heck?
12
“I can fix one of those problems,” Vilma muttered as she walked up to Justin in the front of the line and smacked the hat off his head. “Where are all y’all’s manners? You don’t wear hats inside a restaurant!”
“Sorry ma’am,” came the collective grumbling as everyone pulled off their hats. Justin had a black eye that had been hidden under his hat and Vilma latched herself onto him, trying to peer down his jacket and examining his face.
“Ma’am?” Justin asked with confusion.
“Just seeing if you got any more injuries besides that black eye. What happened to you?” Vilma stepped back and handed him a muffin.
“My two year old nephew head butted me. I’m glad nothing’s broken. It hurt like the devil, but he laughed his head off at Uncle Justin rolling on the floor in pain.”
Agnes started mingling as Luke came in. He stopped suddenly in shock from all the camo or the image of Slade standing in the middle of it all, Zoey didn’t know which.
“What’s going on?” Slade asked, tilting his head down toward her.
“The camo? I have no idea?” Zoey responded absently as her eyes roamed from person to person.
“Oh.” Missy giggled from where she still hadn’t moved from Slade’s side. “I bet we look strange. It’s the annual Mountaineers duck hunt. We’re a club, would you like to join me . . . I mean us?”
Slade didn’t respond, instead he simply looked at Missy and gave a small smile. Missy blinked and turned bright red before Wayne grabbed her hand and dragged her up to Vilma.
“My, that’s a nasty bruise to the side of your head,” Vilma said to Wayne, drawing Zoey’s attention.
“Spill it,” Slade said so low it was more of a rumble.
Zoey stood on her tiptoes as Slade bent down. “There was a murder and two innocent people are in jail. The murderer was scratched and bruised by the victim.”
Slade didn’t respond, he just straightened up and scanned the crowd as Luke pushed his way through. He narrowed his eyes at Slade and came to stand on Zoey’s other’s side.
“I’m Deputy Sheriff Luke Tanner. Who are you?” Luke asked Slade pointedly.
“Slade. Nice to meet you, Deputy.” Slade didn’t look as if it were nice to meet Luke. In fact, he looked annoyed.
“Are you the guy who has been seen driving a motorcycle around town?”
“The one you told me about? The one you were looking for?” Zoey whispered to Luke. Luke gave a curt nod.
“When did you get to town?” Luke asked, although it sounded more like a demand to Zoey.
“A little bit ago,” Slade calmly replied.
“Where are you staying?” Luke asked in full interrogation mode.
“A cabin in the woods that I rented online.”
“Why are you here?” Zoey shifted back and forth as she felt herself begin to sweat. She realized she was nervous for Slade. Or was she really hot?
“Work. And I like staying in the cabin because it’s quiet. I enjoy nature, and it’s quite relaxing out there,” Slade told him. “Excuse me.”
Slade stepped back and walked out the front door without saying a word. Zoey watched with surprise as he strode around the building and out of sight.
“Well, this certainly worked and backfired all at the same time,” Luke said. “The motorcycle suspect I’ve been looking for is right here . . . or he was. And we need to identify the suspect with bruised arms, which I noticed Slade didn’t have. But everyone is covered in hunting gear.”
“There has to be a way to get them to roll up their sleeves,” Zoey muttered to herself.
“So, who is Slade to you?” Luke asked as his eyes scanned the crowd.
“Someone I met in California.”
“Boyfriend?” Luke asked a little more casually than Zoey would have liked. He didn’t sound jealous at all. In fact, she might even describe it as hopeful. Not that Zoey was trying to make Luke jealous, but a little jealousy could go a long way stroking a girl’s ego.
“Nope.” Zoey responded equally as calm. “Is it getting hot in here or is it just me?” Zoey looked back at the kitchen and saw a figure in black moving about through the small glass windows in the doors. What was Slade doing in the kitchen?
“It’s blazing hot. I guess it’s all these people,” Luke said as sweat began to dot his brow. Women began to fan themselves with their caps and men began to take off their jackets.
Zoey’s eyes shot back to the kitchen, but Slade was gone. She stepped back against the wall and felt the hot air streaming from the vent. Slade had turned the heat up and now people were sweating and removing their coats.
Zoey felt Slade slip back into the shop as she took her basket of muffins and began going person to person handing them out, slowly making her way to the front of the line. Justin shook out of his coat and Zoey held her breath until she saw his neck and arms—not a scratch.
“Let me get more muffins,” Zoey smiled as she moved behind the counter. Vilma traded places with her, slowly mingling down the long line offering them hot coffee as she looked at arms and necks. Slade stood unmoving as the tide of people parted around him.
Luke stepped into line, and while he appeared relaxed, Zoey saw his eyes taking in every bare arm, every nick, scratch, and bruise as the line slowly moved. Agnes and Vilma chatted everyone up, keeping them in the long slow line while Zoey moved as slow as possible, allowing the heat to become almost unbearable.
Person after person reached out for their free muffins and coffee as they all shed their coats. Denny reached for his muffin and Zoey gasped. “Oh dear, what happened to your arm?”
There, running the length of his forearm were four scratches. They didn’t appear to be big enough to be from Tim though. Denny took the muffin and looked down at his arm. “Oh. Some stray cat did this. Nancy saw this black cat strutting down the street. It had teal eyes and Nancy was in love. Made me go get it so she could adopt it.”
“Teal eyes?” Zoey asked as casually as she could.
“Yeah, you’ve seen it?” When Zoey nodded Denny continued. “Lots of strays around town recently. Last night I saw a cat and a hawk sitting side by side on the fence. Never seen the likes of it in my life.”
Denny shook his shaggy blond head and Zoey tried not to smile. Denny was under a spell all right, his new wife’s. He’d do anything for her. Zoey had a feeling that the animals Denny was talking about weren’t really strays though
. Her new sisters had arrived.
“I reached for the cat and the cat had other ideas. Scraped me to ribbons. Well, thanks for the muffin. Can I get one for Nancy? She’s outside, trying to catch another cat that’s strolling down the sidewalk.”
Zoey handed a second muffin over, trying not to laugh. She could imagine Grand Mistress Lauren being a little peeved at someone trying to pick her up.
Agnes made her way behind the counter and nudged Zoey, who was handing a muffin to another perfectly tanned and slightly hairy man without a single scratch to be seen before another young woman came up to get her free muffin.
“Excuse me, I need to refill the case.” Zoey smiled at Mildred and hurried to the back. Bless her poor heart for being named after her dead great-grandmother. “What is it?” Zoey asked Agnes.
“Everyone has taken off their coats except one. Strange, isn’t it?”
Zoey grabbed a tray and headed back to the slowly thinning group. She let her eyes scan the line before going back to grab the last tray.
“How do we get the coat off?”
“Leave that up to me, dearie.” Agnes grabbed the pot of fresh brewed coffee and headed out with a look of pure determination on her face. Oh no. This wasn’t going to go well.
Zoey rushed after her. “Agnes,” she whispered harshly but it was too late. For someone thousands of years old, the woman could move very quickly. Zoey watched as if it was all happening in slow motion. Agnes pushed through to the line, tripped over an invisible object, and dumped the entire pot of steaming hot coffee on the last person wearing a jacket.
“Yeow!!!” Wayne leapt back, knocking Missy into Luke, sending the two tumbling to the ground, as he ripped the scalding hot jacket from his body.
“Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry,” Zoey called as she hurried to him. The rest of the line was moving out of the way as Wayne filled the small shop with curses.
It wasn’t the cursing that got Zoey’s attention though. It was the numerous deep scrape marks on Wayne’s arm that looked as if Tim had raked his nails frantically against Wayne’s arm in an attempt to escape a chokehold.
Moonshine & Murder Page 8