The Witch's Strength_A Cozy Witch Mystery

by Iris Kincaid

  “And in the warm weather, about once a week, Bruce would carry me outside, lay me on the grass under the stars, and talk to me about the constellations.” She grinned sheepishly. “That is how I learned about the big turtle. Are you trying to tell me that Bruce was pulling my leg?”

  It was funny, but it was too soon for Roland to laugh about it. What Gemma had been through was beyond imagining. His burst of empathy overcame all his reserve, and he drew close to her and wrapped his arms around her. There, snuggled close, he proceeded to give her a few more accurate lessons on the stars, pointing out Orion and Canis Major.

  When Gemma arrived home that night, Bethany could tell from the look on her face that it had been a spectacular evening.

  “I can’t believe that you’ve only been out of the hospital for less than a month, and you already have these two men wanting to date you. And you deserve to be happy, and I’m really, really happy for you. I just wish I could even find one man to date. That’s the thing that’s really bad about being a daycare teacher. I love the job and I love the kids. But all you meet is mothers and other female teachers. I never meet any guys. And here you have Mr. Muscle after you, and Mr. Dreamy Brit. Your life went from totally awful to incredibly wonderful. Which you deserve, after suffering so much. It’s not that I’m not happy for you. I’m so happy for you. I’m just discovering that it is possible to be so happy for you and intensely jealous at the same time.”

  Gemma gave Bethany a huge hug. “My life is wonderful now. I just hope you know what a big part you are of what makes my life so wonderful.”

  “Stop. Stop. You’re taking all the fun out of jealousy.”

  And then, not unlike Finn, Bethany wanted to hear all the juicy details.

  *****

  When Gemma and Finn arrived at Erica Jewell’s house for a scheduled meeting, it looked as if they had just missed the party. There were empty beer bottles and wine bottles everywhere. And Erica and Ty were both pretty loaded.

  “That must have been quite some party,” Finn said.

  “We wanted to have a celebration of Zander’s life. Just like a real Irish wake. Because I’ve been so sad to have him gone. But it’s important to remember how wonderful he was, and to remember the good times,” Erica said, managing to get her words out without too much slurring. She came across as someone who really knew how to hold her liquor.

  “Absolutely. Zander was one-of-a-kind. And we may have had our differences. Not an easy situation to be in when two guys are in love with the same woman. But that’s not important now. The important thing is to pay respects to a man who was . . .” Ty appeared to lose his train of thought. “Yeah, one-of-a-kind.” Either he’d had a lot more to drink than Erica, or he seriously could not hold his liquor.

  “Wasn’t he?” Erica echoed, swaying. “I just wish, I just wish he had been able to do more for my Edison, the way he promised. Edison is so smart, and he’s going to do such great things. That’s why we named him Edison—after Thomas Edison, a genius.

  “He got through two years of community college, but he wasn’t meant to do vocational stuff and work with his hands. He’s going to work with his brain. And he’s already been accepted to three different four-year colleges. But it costs more money than we’ve got. Zander was going to help with that. He promised. He promised he’d help.”

  Gemma hated to be a pest, but the possibility of going to the community college as a pathway to getting a job was something that had recently crossed her mind.

  “Edison. I actually had some questions about the community college and whether that would be a good idea for me. Would it be all right if I come back and ask you how to go about applying and all that kind of stuff, and how your experience was, and everything?”

  Edison shrugged. “Sure. No problem. There are great programs over there. I’m sure you’ll be able to find something.”

  Erica was close to passing out. Edison took a bottle of beer away from her and plumped up some pillows behind her, and his mother fell back on the couch to close her eyes.

  “I did want to go on to a four-year school, but . . . it doesn’t matter. I can finish up college anytime. In fact, now that this has happened, I really wouldn’t want to go this year. I think Mom needs me to stay close for a while.”

  Ty scoffed. “She’s got me to look after her. I can do a much better job of that than Zander could.” He double-checked to see that Erica had fallen asleep and gestured for Finn and Gemma to step outside.

  “Zander was always playing the big man. Bragging about his import business. His drop shipping business. His big empire. He was nothing but a phony. I looked into it. I hired a private detective. I did it because he was always telling Erica all this nonsense about how much money he was making, and I just didn’t buy it. And it turns out I was right.”

  “His business wasn’t making a lot of money?” Gemma asked.

  “There was no business. It was a complete fabicay . . . fabricay . . . it was a total lie. We looked them up every which way. The company didn’t exist.”

  “Then how were Neil and Zander supporting themselves? They both lived pretty comfortably,” Finn inquired.

  “Savings, I guess. I have no idea. I just know that they didn’t have anything coming in. That was what my guy told me, and I paid him plenty good money to find out. But I really couldn’t say anything to Erica. She would just have thought that I was jealous. So, Zander got away with it. Got to be her favorite ’cause he said he was gonna take care of her and her kid. He was going to pay for college. I was just waiting for the day when he would be found out.”

  “That’s very helpful, Mr. Santos. We’re going to look into that right away.”

  “You do that,” Ty said, staggering back toward the house.

  Finn glanced sideways at Gemma. “Thoughts?”

  “His car was rigged with the bomb just the other day. And he suspected that his mechanic had something to do with it. And now he doesn’t even ask about it. That was a little bit strange, don’t you think?”

  “And that’s why I like to have a witch in the pocket. What are you thinking about our Mr. Santos?”

  “Well, and this is crazy, but he and Zander were huge rivals, and Zander was Erica’s favorite. If Ty Santos was the murderer, is it possible that he rigged his own car to throw suspicion off himself?”

  “That is twisted. Super twisted. But entirely possible.”

  “So, what’s next?”

  “Another tall, cool glass of lemonade over at Neil Donovan’s, I think. Maybe he can explain to us how he’s able to pay a mortgage on that beautiful place of his with no income. And why he told his ex-wife that Zander stole business money from a business that doesn’t seem to have existed.”

  “It’s like a jigsaw puzzle. But it is a murder investigation. Is it wrong to be having fun?” Gemma confessed.

  “I won’t tell if you don’t.”

  *****

  It was the third time that Gemma and Finn had returned to Neil Donovan’s house. From the look on Finn’s face, Neil knew that he was in trouble.

  “Lying to your ex-wife is one thing. It’s bad. Maybe even reprehensible. But lying to the police. I can’t even begin to tell you what a bad idea that is. So, I’m going to ask some questions now,” Finn said. “And I want to hear the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Are we clear?”

  Neil nodded, defeated.

  “Excellent. Did you and Zander Knox ever have an import business?”

  “We did. Sort of. But it never made any money. It was never really intended to. It was sort of a front.”

  “For what?”

  “We had to explain where our money was coming from. Especially to Joy. So, we had this phony business. I created these phony spreadsheets in Excel. Showed her quarterly reports.”

  “And where was the money actually coming from?”

  “I got lucky. I hit it big at the casino. Super big. Enough to last many, many years. And I always had plenty to play with. Why
shouldn’t I? It’s what I like to do. But it’s not what women like to be married to. They want businessmen. Something secure. Something that doesn’t sound like gambling. So, I told her what she wanted to hear.”

  “Why did you tell her that Zander stole money from your mutual business?”

  “’Cause things went bad. I went on a crazy losing streak that lasted for two years. And at the end of it, the money was gone. How was I going to explain that to her? You think it’s hard to explain to your wife that you won a fortune gambling? There’s absolutely no way that you can explain that you lost every dime gambling. I had to explain it in a way that she didn’t blame me. I mean, better that she be angry at Zander than angry at me. Didn’t work out too well though. For all the good lying did me. We broke up anyway.”

  Gemma wrinkled her nose distastefully. “Your ex-wife is about to spend her hard-earned money on lawyers trying to uncover the money that Zander stole from you, from the business that never really existed. That’s messed up.”

  “Do you want to call her, or should I?” Finn asked Neil sternly.

  Two hours later, Neil was confessing his gambling life to his ex-wife, who received the news in eerie silence. Everyone present had expected quite a bit of yelling, screaming . . . some understandably irate response. Going broke is unpleasant. Being lied to might even be worse. She did look shocked, however. Horrified, even. Afterward, she gathered up her purse and ran out of the house without saying a word.

  Neil was confused. “That was a surprise. I thought she’d have plenty to say. I thought I’d never hear the end of it. Guess things are never really as bad as you think they’re going to be.”

  “Neil, I think we all saw how mad your wife was at Zander Knox. She lost her ritzy life and she lost her marriage. She’s living in 400 square foot apartment, all because Zander Knox stole her money.”

  “Yeah, but he didn’t.”

  “But she believed that he did. And she hated him for it. Hated him. Did it ever occur to you, Mr. Donovan, that the lies that you told your wife might have driven her to do something very, very bad?”

  Neil sputtered in disbelief. “What are you saying? That Joy . . . killed Zander? That’s ridiculous. Sure, she hated him. Sure, she blamed him. Sure, she was depressed and broke, and . . . blamed . . . him.” The more Neil thought about it, the less far-fetched it seemed. Now it was his turn to look stricken. Was his buddy Zander’s death all because of something that he had done?

  CHAPTER TEN

  Gemma was taken off Hugo detail and put on Neil Donovan detail. Coincidentally, the first promising opportunity to get some good Intel on Neil was when he had a rendezvous with Hugo. Gemma had asked Bethany to accompany her for a long walk around town, figuring that two young women together chatting would make the surveillance less conspicuous. She was also aware that Neil knew who she was now and it was going to be pretty difficult to get close enough to eavesdrop.

  Asking Bethany to do her a big favor, Gemma got her roommate to wander over near the two men and call her on the phone. Bethany kept the phone line open and stood close enough to the two men to capture their very loud discussion, which Gemma was able to follow from around the corner.

  “I know we said never again,” Neil said. “But who knew the money was going to run out?”

  “Everyone knew your money was going to run out,” Hugo scolded. “I knew you were going to give it all to the casino.”

  “Okay. I screwed up. Now I need your help. I’ve got a plan. But I can’t do it alone. It’s a good plan. I’ve thought about everything very carefully. And no one is going to get hurt this time.”

  “You don’t know that. You can’t promise that. And why would I ever do something like that again? It ruined my life, it really did. All the money in the world won’t help to buy a clean conscience. So, count me out. And . . . well, I wish I could talk you out of it. But I know you.”

  “Yeah,” Neil said. “You know me. And you should know I’m going to land on my feet. Again.”

  They parted on very tense terms, and Bethany returned to Gemma, full of questions.

  “I’m going to tell you one day what that was all about. One day very soon, I think. But not now. I can just say that you were sort of part of a stakeout.”

  “Ooh, cool.” It was a seriously exciting change of pace from the daycare center.

  Gemma continued her surveillance alone and was rewarded several hours later by the sight of Neil meeting with a very tough-looking, intense man in his late forties. They huddled together in a diner booth for over an hour. At one point, they pulled out some sort of map or diagram. Neil’s old business had been a fake one. Was this some kind of legitimate attempt at a business venture?

  Gemma managed to exit the diner unseen and to call Finn, and they puzzled over Neil’s next move. Most importantly, if there was more surveillance to do that day, Finn was going to have to take over the evening shift. Gemma had a date.

  *****

  Wonderful Bethany had volunteered to go over and spend the evening babysitting Dax, leaving Roland and Gemma free to spend the evening at her place. Their special date started very inauspiciously. Hoping to be helpful, Roland had brought over the career assessment test that his students had found so useful. He knew that Gemma was feeling a bit up in the air about her future and anxious to find some kind of direction. Maybe this would help.

  “Did you want me to take the test tonight?” Gemma asked, amused. “Because that would be the worst date ever.”

  “That could be one of the real reasons I actually don’t date that much. I’m not very good at it. I did bring something else, in the car. But, perhaps it’s on par with the career test.”

  “What is it? What did you bring?”

  “I brought my chessboard. I didn’t think you had one. Bad idea, yeah?”

  “Very bad idea. But, I think that we can still turn it into a good idea. Remember what I told you about, when you wanted to teach chess to Dax? For those of us who are not real enthusiasts, you have to make it a little interesting.”

  “Are you suggesting a drinking game?” Roland asked, intrigued. “A shot for every chess piece taken?”

  “I unashamedly admit that I have no capacity to hold my liquor. I don’t think I even really like the taste of it. Yeah, we’d have to do peach mango fizz to make it a worthwhile game for me. But . . . I saw something in a movie once. We should play strip chess,” Gemma suggested, pretty sure this would make Roland’s jaw drop. She was not disappointed.

  “You . . . you think that we should play strip chess? Is that even a game?”

  “Yeah. I remember this movie where every time you lose a piece, you have to lose a piece of clothing as well.”

  “Did I ever tell you that you might perhaps watch too many movies?”

  Gemma laughed. “You have to admit, it will make for a more interesting game.”

  “And do you think that . . . that it’s the right particular game for you and me, on this particular occasion?”

  “I think that you and I are both a little bit on the shy side. But, I also think that we are destined to see one another naked one day. And so, this just seemed like a really good way to ease into it, don’t you think?”

  “I think that sometimes, you Yanks can be bloody brilliant. And I also think that you’re going to have to take off a lot more items than I will. But, I will say . . . I stand corrected. You are most certainly watching a good number of movies, and evidently, the right ones.”

  “So, where’s that chessboard?”

  As Roland dashed out of the house to retrieve the chess set from his car, Gemma ran to her closet and started piling on a few additional items of clothing. When Roland returned, he noticed her extra layers.

  “Hey, I believe that’s cheating.”

  “It’s simply leveling the playing field. I haven’t played chess since I was fourteen. And you probably play three times a week. So, it’s a fair balance of disadvantages.”

  “I can accept those t
erms.”

  Gemma had truly transformed the dullest and worst possible idea for a date into a giggly, seductive, brilliant game. She had to pat herself on the back for that idea. Roland couldn’t fight his teaching inclinations, and in strengthening Gemma’s game, he found himself sitting in nothing but his briefs.

  “I believe it’s your move,” Roland said.

  “I want to switch games. I think that chess was a good way to warm up the evening. But I think we ought to move on to . . . Simon Says.”

  “Isn’t that a children’s game?”

  “Not the way we’re going to play it. Simon says . . . give me a back rub.”

  Roland was an immediate convert. He saw the potential of the game immediately. For a man who confessed that he didn’t know how to play, he turned out to be quite the fast study. And any two people with enormous attraction and electricity between them, who are allowed to order one another to fulfill all their wants and fantasies . . . well, now that is a great date.

  Later, to the best of Gemma’s recollection, her final order to Roland was, “Do your absolute best, your 100% effort, to convince me of what everyone likes so much about sex.”

  Roland would never have believed anyone if they had predicted that one day, he would like Simon Says even more than he enjoyed chess. But it now took top honors as his favorite game.

  *****

  Gemma bounced down the street with a spring in her step. What a beautiful day. What a beautiful world. Of course, Roland had not been able to spend the night over. He had to return to tuck Dax in. But they both looked forward to the day when they could spend the night together and not have to leave one another. And that day couldn’t come soon enough.

  She was on her way to the gym, after which she and her two favorite guys would meet for lunch. As she was walking, she caught sight of Edison Jewell, talking and laughing with a young man his own age, and she was glad to see it. He was surrounded by too much death and dysfunctional behavior and weirdness. It was good to see him have a few happy, normal young moments.

  Gemma and Roland took Dax to the park, hoping that being in one of his favorite places would help cushion the blow of Wonder Woman ending their engagement.