A Spell of Murder: An Ella Sweeting Aromatherapy Magic Cozy Mystery (Ella Sweeting: Witch Aromatherapist Cozies Book 2)

by Lisbeth Reade

  Mother called after me, but there was no way I was going to listen to any more dating advice today. I opened the door, barreled down the steps, and crashed right into Rory. Luckily he was holding the rail or we would have tumbled into the rhododendrons. Which actually didn’t sound like such an uninviting idea, come to think of it.

  “Whoa,” Rory exclaimed, and took advantage of the opportunity to hug me. My face heated up. I stepped back to look at him. “Were you going somewhere?”

  “Away from my mother,” I breathed hotly. “She’s trying to set me up with one of her friends’ pretty-boy-rich-kid sons.”

  “Oh,” he said. “What did you tell her?”

  “I told her no,” I replied. “She always picks the worst guys.”

  “So if she picked a good guy…”

  I laughed. “Come on, you can’t be serious! Did you come all the way over to the lion’s den to see me?”

  “Yeah,” he said, messing up his hair. He looked adorably roguish, and I had an urge to reach out and run my fingers through those mussed up waves. “I wanted to make it up to you. The date, I mean. I wanted to see if you wanted to try again. The whole first date thing.”

  I lit up inside. “I would love to, but not right now. Evelyn Stillwater wants to see me.”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t know,” I answered. “Do you want to come with me?”

  “I can drive you,” he said.

  “Great,” I said, beaming.

  Evelyn’s house was insane. It was three stories and had a massive driveway with guitars stamped into the concrete. Marble columns flanked the double oak doors and the handles were a rich brass. There was a tennis court and pool visible from the porch and on the right was a modest home with a woman standing on her porch. She glared at us as we rang the bell.

  Evelyn didn’t open the door. A woman in uniform did and ushered us inside.

  Travertine tile lined the halls. Large paintings decorated the walls and there was shiny stuff everywhere. Thankfully the woman led us to a small drawing room filled with books, comfortable leather furniture, and a bright picture window full of plants.

  Evelyn was clipping pieces off a bonsai with impossibly tiny scissors. She dropped them when she saw us and came over to hug me. She smelled of my aromatherapy mix.

  “Oh, Ella,” she cried. “I wanted to thank you so much for the oil. It’s been a lifesaver!’

  “You’re very welcome,” I replied, looking at her red-rimmed eyes. “How are you?”

  “Devastated,” Evelyn told me. She smiled at Rory, shyly. “Hank and I have been together since his tour hit California. I don’t really know what I’m going to do with myself now. They think I’m a suspect.”

  “Why?”

  “I’m the wife,” she said. “Oh, I’m sure I’ll be cleared soon enough. I didn’t want Hank dead. Why would I? Look at everything our love has built. It’s so quiet in here now.” She stared around the room, seeming lost.

  “Is there something you need from me, Evelyn? Something I can get you or do for you?”

  She smiled sadly. “Yes. I’ve been talking to George Stewart. He’s friends with Neil Campbell and he told me what you did for poor Vanessa. I’d like you to do the same thing for me.”

  “You want me to investigate?” I think I was getting a reputation.

  “Yes.”

  “Why Ella?” Rory asked. “The police are already involved.”

  “Oh, them,” Evelyn sighed. “I’ve seen TV, watched the news. I know what’ll happen. They’ll spend so much time thinking it’s me that the real killer will have time to get away. You can skip that step because you know I didn’t do it.”

  Twenty minutes later we stepped out, blinking in the sun.

  “Do you really think Evelyn is innocent,” Rory asked, sounding skeptical.

  “I don’t know. I didn’t, but that meeting was just strange,” I told him. “She barely knows me. Why would she trust me on George Stewart’s word?”

  “I think she was involved,” Rory said.

  “I don’t know,” I said.

  We walked back to the car and the woman next door started heading for us. She whistled sharply to get our attention. We stopped and the woman caught up to us. She was a good looking woman in her fifties with a short brown hair in a pixie cut.

  “I don’t know who you two are, lawyers? Surveyors? But I don’t care. He’s dead and he can’t stop me anymore. I will be adding the second story to my house and putting up a ten foot fence at this point,” she said crossing her arms. “So don’t even bother. Whatever you’re here to do for her, don’t even bother.”

  “Hi,” I said. “I’m Ella Sweeting. I’m an aromatherapist. You are?”

  She didn’t hold her hand out for a shake. Instead, she glared at mine. I dropped it. “Linda Hardwick. Who’s he?”

  “Rory Smith,” Rory told her. “I’m your, ah, mailman.”

  “Oh, right,” she said breathily, losing the aggressive edge. “Sorry. We’ve been fighting for so long. I just figured Evelyn would keep it going.”

  “Fighting with who? Hank?”

  “Stillwater was an ass. He has been stalling me with injunctions and complaint letters for years. My house is modest. I want to put a second level on it and he says no it will ruin his view. But I have to put up with his loud parties. And people having a good time in the pool at three in the morning on weekdays. And I can’t even have a fence to block them out. He paid off the Housing Association to block my plans from being approved,” Linda told us.

  “Four years I’ve lived next to him. Four years he has made my life a living hell,” she growled. “I’m not sorry he’s dead. Not one little bit. Sorry to bother you both.”

  Linda turned around and stalked off. Rory and I watched her feeling a little shell-shocked. Shaking it off, we got into the car.

  “Okay,” Rory said. “You’re adding her to the suspect list.”

  “Oh, definitely,” I agreed.

  I texted the Aunts to let them know we were on our way.

  “Should I drop you back at the house?”

  “No,” I said, frowning. “I need to meet the Aunts at the restaurant. Would you mind?”

  “No,” he said, but I could see him pale a bit. I touched his hand and he smiled gratefully.

  “You don’t have to go inside,” I told him. “Aunt Hazel will have a car. She can give me a lift home.”

  “I can handle it. I want to talk to Carl anyway. I feel terrible about what happened. I just really want to make sure his business is okay. I’d hate for another friend to go belly up. It’s starting to be a trend around town.”

  “I didn’t know you knew Carl that well,” I prompted.

  “He and my father were friends. They both belonged to the same country club, the… ah, Westgate. Wow, I haven’t thought about that place in ages! It’s where I learned to swim and golf.”

  I laughed. Rory just didn’t seem the golf type to me. Which was one of the things I liked about him.

  “I learned to play golf badly, happy?” He used an angry tone but his eyes were laughing. I poked at him to get a smile. “Here we are.” He pulled up to the restaurant.

  I felt a little down. Last night was supposed to be a memory of a wonderful date with great food and greater company. Instead…murder scene. Rory had a bittersweet look on his face so I knew it wasn’t just me feeling it. We held hands on the way up but Rory let go when he saw Carl and headed over to speak with him.

  Auntie Joe was in the hall where the body had been found. I went over and hugged her. She hugged back asking, “How was Evelyn?”

  “Strange,” I told her. “But she wants me to help.”

  I looked around the scene. The hall led to the kitchens, the bathrooms and the manager’s office. One of the cooks was standing in the hall with Thomas. They were chatting pleasantly until Thomas saw me and grimaced, but he came up to me.

  “Here to complain about my service?” he asked.

  “
No,” I told him. “Just returning to the scene of the crime.”

  “Does that mean you’re confessing,” he asked. I noticed he was wearing a red tie. I looked around and saw a waitress wearing the same tie.

  “My conscience is clear,” I told him. “What about yours?”

  “Snow white,” he said with a laugh. “Why would I kill Hank?”

  “Is that tie part of your uniform,” I asked.

  “Yes. Why? Did you want one?”

  “No, just wondering.” I looked around the hall. “Can anyone get inside from here? Is there a door that leads out from here?” Maybe the killer had snuck into the place through the kitchens.

  “No,” Thomas told me. “The emergency exit is at the back of the kitchens. No one could get in that way without letting a lot of people know.” He got a funny look on his face. “Hey,” he said slowly. “You’re investigating aren’t you? Am I a suspect?”

  “Everyone is,” I admitted.

  “Even Rory?”

  “No, maybe not everyone,” I said with a laugh. “Can I see Carl’s office?”

  “No,” Thomas said. “Not unless Carl says you can. Have you talked to Evelyn yet? It’s always the wife.”

  “Is it?”

  “According to the channel my mom watches,” Thomas told me.

  Auntie Joe whispered something and I smelled the scent of her magic. I stepped to the right to block her from Thomas’ view. She stood up stiffly and left the area. Aunt Hazel and Aunt Sarah were talking to Carl. I was now alone with Thomas.

  “If you were a suspect, what would your motive be, Thomas?”

  “Oh, only the oldest of motives,” Thomas told me.

  “Which is?”

  “It’s not me.” Thomas stared at me. “A lot of people wanted Carl dead. I’m not one of them.”

  “Have an alibi?”

  “Does Rory?”

  “I’m going to get to the bottom of this,” I told him.

  “Isn’t that what the cops are for?”

  “Evelyn asked me to help,” I confessed.

  “Probably, because she did it. Did you talk to the band members yet? Did you talk to Neil?”

  “I will be,” I told him.

  “Great,” he said smiling warmly. “Anything else I can help you with?”

  “An alibi,” I pushed.

  “I already talked to the police,” Thomas told me. “I was working. I was either in the kitchen or the bathroom at the time. Don’t waste your time on me. I’m not your killer.”

  “Fine,” I said.

  But why was I not quite convinced?

  Chapter 4

  I wanted to know what Auntie Joe had found out when she cast that spell in the hallway. Last time I���d come across a dead body the Aunts told me they couldn’t use magic to solve crimes. I wonder what was different this time?

  But just then Neil Campbell walked into the restaurant and headed towards Carl and Rory. I moved to intercept him. I had to know what he knew. I think I was starting to enjoy being an armchair detective.

  “Mr. Campbell?”

  He was ruggedly handsome, with blond wavy hair and wide green eyes. His nose looked like it had been broken years ago and healed crooked, but it just made him look more manly. His smile was warm, if distracted, and he tried to sidestep me, saying, “I’m not giving out autographs today. Sorry. Call my publicist.”

  “I don’t want your autograph,” I told him, and touched his shoulder lightly to get him to look at me.

  “Do I know you?”

  “We, ah… we met yesterday during the accident,” I said as tactfully as possible.

  Neil frowned. “Right… you sat at the table next to us?”

  I nodded. “Well, what can I do for you, Miss…?”

  “Ella Sweeting,” I answered. “I was wondering if I could talk to you about Hank Stillwater and his wife Evelyn.”

  He twitched when I mentioned Evelyn’s name. Why?

  “Do you work for the police or the paper?” he asked me.

  “No,” I laughed. “I’m an aromatherapist. Evelyn was worried that the real killer would get away. She wanted me to look into it. I solved a murder last week and now everyone thinks I’m a detective,” I said.

  “Are you sure that’s why she hired you?”

  “Oh, I’m not being paid. Can you tell me who would want Hank dead?”

  “Oh, a lot of people,” Neil said, and laughed in spite of himself. “I can think of an entire audience in Manchester…Hank was great with his friends but he could be vicious in business. He had a few deals go south over the last few years. One of them bankrupted that waiter’s father. Kid brings it up every single time we’re in here. And that loony that lives next door to Hank… Man, they hated each other. The number of times the cops have been over there while the two of them squared off is laughable.” Neil beamed, obviously remembering.

  “What about Evelyn?”

  Neil ran a hand over his face and through his hair. I saw flecks of gray ash on his hand. Wasn’t there the same kind of ash on Hank’s fingers? “Hank’s a hard man to love. But yeah, they were good lately. Besides, she would never leave him. She loves that house. Put her all into it. He had it set up that he would get everything in a divorce.”

  “But you said they were getting along?”

  “Yeah,” he answered. But he looked away from me. “Listen, I came to talk to Carl about arrangements. I don’t really have time to answer aromatherapy questions. I just put lavender in everything.”

  “Smart man. Lavender is very calming. Um,” I stalled. I couldn’t let him get away yet. “Did you notice whether or not the waiter was wearing a tie that night?”

  “Thomas? Yeah he was wearing one…it’s the uniform.” Neil frowned. “He didn’t have it when they served the cake. Is that significant?”

  “Not sure,” I told him honestly. “What happened in the back room between you, Carl and Hank?”

  “We smoked cigars like we always do.”

  “That’s it?”

  “Sure,” Neil told me. “We eat, we smoke, and we drink, hon. We’re toothless rock-n-rollers. Too old for anything else.” He walked away.

  I bit my lip. I got the feeling he was hiding something. But was it murder?

  What about Evelyn? Would she do it? I just didn’t know enough. Maybe I could talk it out with Rory and see what he thought. Neil pulled Carl away from Aunt Hazel and Rory and they disappeared into the back room. I tried to see the office but Neil’s body was blocking my view. Dang.

  Rory came back and touched my arm. “Let’s go outside and I’ll tell you what I found out.”

  Auntie Joe was sitting in the steps with Aunt Sarah. Joe waved weakly. I sat down next to her and threw an arm around her.

  “Want to talk about it?”

  “Not here,” she said slowly. She widened her eyes and tilted her head towards Rory.

  So it was magic stuff. That reminded me of something else I had to ask the Aunts — about smells and magic. It seemed like every time someone cast a spell, I smelled it. That couldn’t be normal, could it?

  Rory stood on the steps in front of us. “Well, I talked to Carl. He said he, Hank, and Neil went back to his office to smoke cigars. Neil left first. Hank and Carl talked for a while and then Hank left. Said he was in good spirits when he left.”

  “I want to learn more about the neighbor. She was positively gleeful that Hank was dead. I also want to look more into Thomas.”

  Rory’s face got cloudy. “Why would Thomas want to kill Hank?”

  “He doesn’t like Hank. He was wearing a tie like the one around Hank’s neck. Neil confirmed he wasn’t wearing the tie later in the evening and Hank and Thomas’ father had a deal that went sour. Thomas is broke because of Hank. I think that’s a pretty good motive for murder.” I said, ticking the reasons off on my finger.

  “So you think being poor is a good reason to murder someone? Like being poor is the worst thing that could ever happen to someone?” />
  “I think it would be awful to see your father lose all his money,” I said slowly, trying to fathom why Rory suddenly seemed angry.

  “It is.”

  I was trying to wrap my head around this turn in the conversation when it hit me. “Did Carl give you a discount on dinner?” I asked. That’s how Rory paid for the expensive dinner! “That would have been really great of him.”

  “Listen, can your aunts take you home? I need to get out of here,” Rory said. He didn’t even wait for me to answer before he walked away.

  “Rory?”

  I bit my lip. What did I say now? I looked over at the Aunts. Aunt Sarah was shaking her head at me. But she didn’t say anything. She just led Auntie Joe back to the car. I followed, wondering what had just happened. And if I was ever going to get my second date with Rory.

  In the car, I rounded on The Aunts. “Okay, what gives?”

  “What do you mean,” Aunt Sarah asked.

  “You said you couldn’t use magic to solve crimes,” I reminded them.

  “Oh, it’s true,” Auntie Joe said, “We can’t use magic to determine who the killer was, or even see the murder without using blood. That’s bad! No, what I cast a Last Mood spell. It tells you how the person was feeling in the last few minutes…It’s a party spell.” She trailed off, but came back strong. “I was surprised it worked at all. I don’t usually try it on someone who is—” Her voice caught and she covered her face. I reached over and hugged her.

  She straightened her shoulders and continued. “So what I got was faint, like an echo. It was backwards. First I felt his death.” Again Auntie Joe stopped for a second to get her feelings under control. “After that I got surprise, but right before that was contentment.”

  “What does that mean exactly?”

  “It means Hank didn’t see it coming,” Sarah answered for her. “And she shouldn’t have cast it. Our magic isn’t for interfering…”

  “He was my friend,” Auntie Joe said, her pretty mouth flattening into a straight line.

  “Why shouldn’t she have done it?” I asked again. There had to be more to it than just interference.

  “Most magic is harmless,” Sarah explained. “But murder leaves powerful things in the air. It affects things. Sometimes it makes your luck bad for awhile. Sometimes… oh, it’s hard to explain!”