That Old Witch Magic (Wicked in Moonhaven~A Paranormal Cozy Book 2)

by J. D. Winters

  “Don’t worry. I’m sure he can tell I want to be alone with you.”

  I looked at him in surprise, wishing I could be sure that was true. But he was grinning, and I had a feeling he was teasing me, as usual. I sighed and went back to my meal. He sat there looking thoughtful and it was a few minutes before he spoke again. We ate, we chatted, and it felt good—warm and friendly. For once he seemed to be relaxed with me. The banter we traded back and forth was good-natured and he didn’t try to convince me of anything much. I was happy about that.

  Then it was time to go. We’d had our last glass of wine and shared a crème brulee. I’d paid with Bentley’s credit card and luckily, it wasn’t refused.

  I looked across the room. Alessandro was long gone. Even Gordon had flaked on us, heading for home and presumably his older sister, leaving a cute little waitress to serve us dessert and present the bill.

  “Did you drive here?” I asked Shane as we made our way over the bridge and spotted a turtle or two below. So cute!

  “No. I walked.”

  I sighed. “Then we’ll just have to walk back, won’t we?”

  Actually, I was glad I had Shane to walk with. There was no way around it, I was going to have to go through the central town park, and that always presented a problem for me. I’d seen things in that park, done things that shouldn’t have happened. I’d climbed a mountain trail where there was no mountain. All because of stupid magic. Nothing had happened lately, but that park still gave me the shivers.

  “So tell me this,” I said casually as we walked along, entering the far side of the park where the trees were abundant and handsome. Particularly famous was a small stand of jacaranda trees which had just recently gone into their Spring display of gorgeous blossoms. They had already begun to drop them, like a shower of purple rain. It was a magical sight, even in the gloom. “Have you ever had a gremlin infestation?”

  He shook his head. “I think the Sheriff had one once,” he said. “I remember him grousing about it.”

  “Did he use a gremlin wrangler?”

  “You mean Brick?”

  So he knew all about him! “Yes, I guess I do. Do you know him?”

  “Sure. Evil little guy. I’d stay away from him if I were you.”

  “Easy for you to say. Then how am I going to get rid of the gremlin in my car engine?”

  He reached out and slipped his fingers through my hair, catching a few jacaranda blossoms that had just fallen. “You’re going to learn to use the gremlin removal spell, silly girl,” he said with a look of affection that surprised me. “Come on. It’s not so hard to do.”

  Now I was somewhat outraged. “If it’s so easy, why don’t you do it?” I said.

  He shook his head. “I don’t do spells. You’re the witch. You have to do it.”

  I veered away from him, annoyed, but before I’d taken more than two steps, I’d tripped on something in the dark.

  I gasped before I knew what it was, jumping back and reaching for Shane. He pulled out his flashlight. It was very small but cast a powerful light and he popped it on and trained it on what had tripped me. It was a body, a rather large body, of a rather bald man. A definitely dead man. The Inspector, in fact.

  I couldn’t help it. I screamed.

  “Shhh.” Shane pulled me to him and gave me a squeeze. “Let’s not rouse the forest critters,” he said softly, setting me back on my feet and turning to the body. “This is the Inspector, isn’t it? Poor guy. I’ll just do a quick investigation and then I’ll call in to the station.”

  I was shivering uncontrollably by now, wishing I were anywhere but standing over a dead body. Still, I stuck it out, watching as he ran his light over the inspector, looking for a pulse, then a breath, then a cause of death.

  “Body’s still warm,” he muttered as he worked. “Must have been within the last half hour or so. Just shortly before we came across this way.”

  From the angle where I was standing, I saw something he didn’t seem to notice. Right there on the side, under the ear and almost at the back of the neck, were two parallel puncture wounds with blood still oozing from them.

  What would be your first thought? Vampires, of course. But I was hoping Shane wouldn’t notice because, with his literal, hunter frame of mind, the first thing he would think of was Bentley. And I knew for sure that Bentley couldn’t have done this. No way! Now if I could just get him thinking about something else.

  “I’ve heard rumors,” I told him, and it was true, “that there have been werewolves spotted out at the reservoir at night. And we’re pretty close to a full moon. What if one of them came into town and found the Inspector wandering around in the park? There’s no love lost between the authorities and the werewolves. Wouldn’t you agree?”

  He didn’t answer. He had out his cell phone and was taking pictures from every side. He seemed to be humming a little tune, studying every aspect.

  “Uh oh,” he said aloud as he peered at what he could see of the back of the head without turning anything. “Looks like a vampire wound.”

  Rats! He’d noticed.

  “Vampire?” I said in a breezy way. “Oh, I don’t know. There are all kinds of animals who make bites that look like that, aren’t there?”

  He looked up at me. “Name one.”

  “What about gremlins? Demons? Shifters?” I jabbed a forefinger in his direction. “There you go. Maybe a wolf shifter. Or…”

  “Vampire,” he said as though it were a pillar he’d stake his reputation on. “I’ve seen them before.”

  I searched for excuses. “Yeah, but you’re not a forensic scientist, are you? Once the experts take over this crime scene, there might be a different outlook. I wouldn’t get too wedded to your theory too soon. Maybe…”

  “Vampire,” he said again, rising to his feet and working on his cell phone. “I’m going to call it in.”

  I bit my lip and fretted while he called the station and reported the murder. He hadn’t said Bentley’s name, but I knew he was thinking it.

  “You know, a lot of people had their problems with this guy,” I pointed out.

  He put a finger to his lips, then spoke into the phone. I waited while he relayed the information and clicked off, then started again. “He wasn’t very popular from what I could see. I mean, I had to hide Rennie from him, and then Joe at the garage said he’d had a run in with him.”

  “And then there was you,” Shane said calmly.

  “Me?” That stopped me cold.

  “Didn’t you say he was trying to put you on a community list you didn’t want to be on?”

  “Yes, but…”

  He grinned at me. “Don’t worry. I know you didn’t do it. You were with me for the last hour after all.”

  I glared at him. “Hey, there was that five minutes when I went to the ladies’ room. You don’t think I had time to crawl out the window, run to the park and bite him on the neck?”

  Oops. I didn’t need to add that little detail, did I? I didn’t want to belabor the idea that this was done by a blood sucker.

  The deputies arrived, both of them. They were both men who worked with Shane all the time. They didn’t have far to travel, as the Sheriff’s Station faced the park and was just a half a block away.

  Jerry Jones was young and eager with sandy hair, a freckled face and bright green eyes. Fred Teller was older and more mellow. He’d seen it all and wasn’t going to let anything faze him. Only a few years from retirement, he wasn’t going to allow job stress or shocking developments give him a cardiac emergency and ruin everything.

  Shane showed them the body and they talked among themselves, taking notes and putting down markers. They chatted calmly about possible motives and cause of death, and I got a little impatient.

  “Uh, you don’t think this could be a robbery?” I pointed out. “I mean, a well-dressed man, wandering through the park in the dead of night…”

  Shane looked at me and shook his head. “His wallet is in his pocket, full
of cash.”

  They all turned away from me again and went on talking in their own weird language, using code words I didn’t get, making me frown with annoyance. But it gave me time to think.

  So his wallet was untouched. I looked at him again and noticed something. Maybe his wallet was safe, but his watch was gone—that beautiful big Rolex he’d had on when I’d first seen him. Hmmm.

  I was just about to say something about that when I heard a rustling in the leaves and looking up, saw that Oliver had arrived. My grandmother’s raven. The one who kept tabs on me for her. But still, he was a friend--of sorts. And I had to admit, it didn’t bother me that he made numerous cruises through town over the days, just to make sure I didn’t need help. At first I’d thought it was too much, but I’d quickly learned it could come in handy to have a shape-shifting raven at your back.

  I gave him a wink and he winked back. I glanced over and didn’t think the others had noticed him arrive. I was going to step over and talk to him, but what I heard coming from Shane stopped me in my tracks.

  “Teller, go on back to the station and put out an APB on Bentley’s beamer. Then check out his house. He might be there, though I doubt it.”

  I gasped and sputtered. “How can you just accuse him like that when you haven’t even….”

  He gave me a cool, appraising look, as though we hardly knew each other. “I’m not going to discuss this with you, Haley. Jerry will walk you back to your place. I don’t want you to contact anyone. You understand? No secret phone calls or warnings. No Morse code or flag semaphores or light signals from your roof to his. You got it?”

  I hesitated. “Why would it be so bad if someone warned him that the police were coming after him?” I said a little louder than I would have normally, hoping Oliver got the message. “Don’t you think he has a right to prepare to defend himself against false charges?”

  His gaze narrowed. “Haley, go.”

  I turned from him as though in anger, though I wasn’t really mad, only worried, and I saw Oliver fade in behind some leaves. He slipped back through the trees, silent as a shadow, and then I heard his wings begin to beat in the far distance. I sighed, hoping he’d taken my meaning, hoping he didn’t get caught, hoping he would warn Bentley in time. But for now, I had my helper and guard, Jerry Jones, and we began to make our way through the park.

  Just as we reached the other side, I looked back and noticed a big truck parked right near where Shane and the others were cleaning up the murder site. It was some distance from where we were, but I was pretty sure it was the same truck again. The Wrangler. I stopped and stared, but there was no indication of movement. There didn’t seem to be anyone in the truck, or nearby either. Just a truck, parked next to where the Inspector had just been murdered. Coincidence? Hmmm.

  We went on toward home. Jerry talked the whole time. He was pretty excited to be involved in a murder investigation. He walked alongside me until we were two houses away from the café and I sent him off, thanking him and glad to get rid of the chatter. I had things to think about.

  Chapter 6

  As I approached, I could see that Krissy had been out. Her car had just come up the driveway and stopped and she was getting Gavin out of his car seat. It looked like he was sound asleep, lying like a sack of potatoes against her shoulder. I followed her into the café, coming in just behind her and petting Toto as he began leaping around in happiness that people were home.

  “Hi Krissy. Are you still moving things over from Luanne’s?”

  Krissy whirled at the first sound of my voice, clutched her hand to her chest, and gasped. For a second I was afraid she was going to drop her baby, but she caught her balance and held on.

  “Sorry if I scared you,” I said, surprised at the intensity of her reaction.

  “Oh no. No no. I just…” She shook her head, avoiding my eyes. “I’ve got to get Gavin into bed.”

  “Here, I’ll help you.”

  I went up the stairs ahead of her and opened the door to the room she was renting. She’d had Lenny move the child’s crib over earlier and I watched while she laid her baby down as easily as she could manage, hoping not to wake him. She pulled a cover over him, then turned and looked at me and I had the distinct impression that she wished I hadn’t stayed there with her. But I had a few things to say, so I ignored that. We went back into the hall so as not to wake Gavin.

  “So are you all moved in?” I asked, trying to be friendly.

  She looked at me warily. “Yes,” she said. “Pretty much. I don’t think I’ll need to make any more trips to Luanne’s for awhile.”

  “Good. I hope you’ll be comfortable. Let me know if anything bothers you or you need anything.”

  “Yes.” She was beginning to relax and she actually smiled. “Yes, I will. I’ve already prepped the dough for tomorrow.” She took a deep breath. “And I need to thank you, Haley. I really appreciate you letting us try this out. I hope it works for all of us.”

  “Me too.” I hesitated, then pushed on. “I guess I’d better tell you. I know you’ve had bad relations with the Council Inspector, but most people seem to have lately.”

  Her stricken look was back. “Oh dear. Did he say something? What…what…?”

  “No.” I put a comforting hand on her arm. “Nothing like that. The thing is, I was walking in the park with Shane just now--at the far end near the Castle Restaurant and we found his body. It looks like someone killed him.”

  The color drained from her face. “Are you sure?” she said in a husky voice. “Is he dead? Really dead?”

  That seemed like an odd reaction to me, but I maintained my cool and didn’t let on. “Yes, I’m afraid he seems to be. The sheriff’s office is dealing with it. There’s not much doubt. He looked thoroughly dead to me.”

  She swayed and her eyes filled with tears. “Oh dear,” she said in a choked voice. “Well, that’s just a tragedy, isn’t it?”

  I looked at her closely. “I know you didn’t like him.”

  “Who, me? Oh no. Not really. But…well, it’s a shame, that’s all.” But she was smiling—actually looking happier than I’d seen her look before. “You just never know, do you?” she said, taking a deep breath. “Well, I’ve got to go to bed and get some sleep. Cinnamon buns in the morning.”

  “Yes. That’s true.”

  I watched as she whirled and stepped back into the room, closing the door and leaving me in the hall. Something had fallen out of her hair as she made the turn. I reached down and picked up two purple blossoms and held them up to the light. Whatever else she had been doing, Krissy had obviously made a visit to the park—to the end of the park where the Inspector lay dead.

  Was that before or after he was killed? I remembered the things she’d said about him earlier, about how he wanted her out of town as quickly as possible. I couldn’t believe for a minute that she might have done something about that. No, that couldn’t be.

  All this was too much for me. I was dead on my feet and I stumbled my way to bed, letting Toto in as well. I would have loved to make a quick phone call to Bentley, but I was pretty sure Shane would know if I did that. Somehow, he would know. So I resisted the temptation and let my worries overwhelm me. But I slept.

  I slept fairly well, except for the usual dream where I was drowning again. Someone pulled me out this time but I couldn’t see who it was. That song was playing again. It had a driving guitar riff and a heavy beat and it gave an ominous feeling to the dawn.

  I woke up in a sweat, breathing hard. I could tell I’d probably been talking in my sleep. Luckily there was no one there to hear me but Toto.

  Sweet Toto. My faithful companion. He slept through everything as far as I could tell.

  But once I’d been jerked awake like that, I couldn’t go back to sleep, and I finally gave up. Isn’t that annoying how it so often happens? Because I had someone who had promised to get up at 5 am and do the baking, I woke up at that time too. I wasted a half hour gritting my teeth and trying to
go back to sleep, but of course, it didn’t work. And once I heard some kind of sound from Krissy downstairs—was it anger? Or tears? Couldn’t tell for sure. But I had to get up and go down and see what was going on.

  I found Krissy in a state of near hysteria. Someone had cast a spell during the night. That was the only explanation I could think of. Because every piece of porcelain or glass or ceramic china in the place had been suspended from the ceiling by long silk knotted threads and many had been attached to each other. It looked like an enormous spider web. One wrong move and every piece of breakable serving-ware we owned would come tumbling down in a mass of broken pottery. Chaos would rein.

  “Gee, thanks Gran Ana,” I muttered, wishing I dared shake a fist at her. I knew what she wanted. I knew why she’d done this. It was all a concerted campaign to convince me to start practicing the use of my magic.

  Well, too bad. It wasn’t going to work. I could be just as stubborn as she could be. It seemed to run in the family.

  Krissy looked close to tears. “I didn’t know what to do,” she told me fretfully. “If you try to pull one down, it takes down four others. They’ll all break. And that stupid bird keeps bashing against the window, trying to get in.” She put her hands up to frame her face as though trying to hold things together. “I feel like I’m in a madhouse!”

  I blinked. For just a second, I thought I could recall the song that kept haunting me every night. Something about what Krissy had said…

  But no. It faded again.

  “Who could have done this?” Krissy cried. “How did they get in here?”

  I sighed. I was going to have to do something about this. I couldn’t let it fester like I’d done with the gremlin in my engine. Customers would be coming soon. It would be like dodging bullets to make their way through this minefield of breakable things. What was I going to do?

  Oliver? I assumed he was the bird she was talking about. Would he cast a little spell and….?

  No, he wouldn’t go against Gran Ana’s wishes. Besides, asking him to do it would be a cop out. If I was against using magic, I had to stay true to my convictions. Or something like that.