“I could make you another potion, but you have to promise not to guzzle the whole thing down,” Tess said. “What is the problem, anyway?”
“I’ll show you.” Gladys stood. Thrusting her hands out at one of the brooms—a red one this time—she wiggled her fingers and yelled, “Shazbot!”
The broom wiggled and waggled, flopping around on the patio like a fish, then finally it rose into the air and hovered, as if waiting to be called.
Gladys stuck two fingers in her mouth and gave a wolf whistle. The broom zoomed over toward her, coming to a stop in front of her, as if beckoning for her to get on. But as soon as she moved toward it, it backed up out of her reach. She stepped toward it again. It backed up again, and then it went totally vertical, dropped to the ground, and started sweeping the patio.
Gladys slumped into her chair. “See? My enchantments are all messed up. Instead of enchanting the brooms into flying, they end up sweeping.”
“Well, Zelda might like that,” Wanda said.
We sat there silently, watching the broom as it made its way over to Jinx, who was still rolling in the catnip. It started trying to sweep up the catnip, swatting Jinx in the process.
“Hey, what the ...” Jinx sprang up and batted at the broom. The broom batted back. Jinx hissed and struck out with his paw. The broom advanced. Jinx backed up, swatting and hissing. It was like some kind of weird dance.
Wanda tore her eyes away first. “Well, what are you going to do, Gladys? Your license expires soon, and you wanted to ride in the Old Coven Days parade.”
Gladys slouched even lower in her seat, her expression turning even more glum. “I don’t know.” Her brows knitted together as she glared at the broom. “I may just have to do something drastic.”
We exchanged disturbed glances. The last time Gladys had done something drastic, the whole town had started acting crazy. Hopefully it wouldn’t come to that.
“Speaking of drastic,” Liz said. “I saw that Mitch moved into your building.”
“Yeah, I discovered that last night. Not happy,” I said.
Tess frowned. “Is he trying to take your clients? I could zap him with a spinach-stuck-in-teeth spell, or maybe an I’m-too-lazy-to-work enchantment.”
“You know we’re not supposed to fool with the lives of humans with our spells and enchantments, though I do appreciate the sentiment.”
“I think he’s trying to get you back,” Liz said.
No! “I doubt that.”
“Oh, by the way. Did you hear from Charming Chocolates?” Liz asked.
Warning bells immediately sounded in my head. “No. Why? What did you do?”
She waved her hand dismissively. “Oh, nothing bad. Really. I’m just sending you a little gift to thank you for fixing me up with Julian.”
Was she joking? Had she really hit it off with Julian and was thanking me? Or was this some kind of punishment? My mind whirled. What could it be? Almond bark? Chocolate fudge? No. Judging by the smug look in her eyes, I had a feeling her gift had less to do with chocolates and more to do with the delicious chocolatier. But what could it be? Something embarrassing, no doubt.
“Don’t worry, Jane. After word gets out about how successful you were in capturing Bud Saunders’s killer, clients will be knocking down your door. I wouldn’t worry about that nasty Mitch Pierce,” Aunt Wanda said.
“Yeah. That’s right, Wanda,” Gladys said. “I wouldn’t even be surprised if Sheriff O’Hara herself asked Jane to consult on the latest murder.”
“Latest murder?” we all asked.
Aunt Gladys chewed on her nail. “You didn’t hear?”
“No.”
“Oh, well, er ... A dead body was found late last night down at the barber shop.”
Wanda turned to her. “And just how do you know that?”
Aunt Gladys blanched and waved her hand in the air dismissively. “I heard about it down at the market.”
“The market isn’t open late at night.” Wanda glared at Gladys. “I hope this doesn’t have something to do with you whooping it up at the Witch’s Brew Lounge or being arrested in the park.”
“No. Not at all. That was all because I drank the potion. I’m over that now that it’s out of my system.” Hiccup.
Wanda sighed. “I hope so. You know how Hightower is. If she thinks you had anything to do with a murder, she will be relentless.”
“Oh, no worries. I have an alibi.”
“Moe did say someone was practically trying to knock down my office door last night. He thought it was a desperate client,” I said. Even though I didn’t tell regular people about the ghost in my office, my own family was well versed in the paranormal and thought nothing of ghosts in offices, or skeletons in closets for that matter.
“Wonderful! Then it looks like you got another client. See, the clients are coming right to you. No need to worry about that nasty Mitch Pierce.”
Right. No need to worry. The client would have had to have walked right by Mitch’s fancy-pants sign to get to my office. So surely they wanted my services and not Mitch’s. And just because the potential client had been relentlessly pounding at my office door shortly before a mysterious body was found in the barber shop wasn’t any reason to worry. Was it?
************
Sign up for my newsletter to get my latest releases at the lowest discount price and I’ll send you a never before published novella in my Lexy Baker series:
http://www.leighanndobbs.com/newsletter
If you want to receive a text message alert on your cell phone for new releases , text COZYMYSTERY to 88202 (sorry, this only works for US cell phones!)
Join my readers group on Facebook and get sneak peeks at my latest books:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/ldobbsreaders/
Also by Leighann Dobbs
Cozy Mysteries
-------
Silver Hollow
Paranormal Cozy Mystery Series
***
A Spell of Trouble (Book 1)
Spell Disaster (Book 2)
Nothing to Croak About (Book 3)
Cry Wolf (Book 4)
-------
Blackmoore Sisters
Cozy Mystery Series
* * *
Dead Wrong
Dead & Buried
Dead Tide
Buried Secrets
Deadly Intentions
A Grave Mistake
Spell Found
Fatal Fortune
-------
Kate Diamond Mystery Adventures
***
Hidden Agemda (Book 1)
Ancient Hiss Story (Book 2)
Heist Society (Book 3)
-------
Mooseamuck Island Cozy Mystery Series
* * *
A Zen For Murder
A Crabby Killer
A Treacherous Treasure
-------
Mystic Notch
Cat Cozy Mystery Series
* * *
Ghostly Paws
A Spirited Tail
A Mew To A Kill
Paws and Effect
Probable Paws
-------
Lexy Baker Cozy Mystery Series
* * *
Lexy Baker Cozy Mystery Series Boxed Set Vol 1 (Books 1-4)
Or buy the books separately:
Killer Cupcakes
Dying For Danish
Murder, Money and Marzipan
3 Bodies and a Biscotti
Brownies, Bodies & Bad Guys
Bake, Battle & Roll
Wedded Blintz
Scones, Skulls & Scams
Ice Cream Murder
Mummified Meringues
Brutal Brulee (Novella)
No Scone Unturned
Cream Puff Killer
-------
Hazel Martin Historical Mystery Series
***
Murder at Lowry House (book 1)
Murder by Misunderstanding (book 2)
-------
Lady Katherine Regency Mysteries
***
An Invitation to Murder (Book 1)
The Baffling Burglaries of Bath (Book 2)
-------
Sam Mason Mysteries
(As L. A. Dobbs)
***
Telling Lies (Book 1)
Keeping Secrets (Book 2)
Exposing Truths (Book 3)
Betraying Trust (Book 4)
-------
Romantic Comedy
***
Corporate Chaos Series
In Over Her Head (book 1)
Can’t Stand the Heat (book 2)
What Goes Around Comes Around (book 3)
-------
Contemporary Romance
***
Reluctant Romance
-------
Sweet Romance (Written As Annie Dobbs)
Firefly Inn Series
***
Another Chance (Book 1)
Another Wish (Book 2)
-------
Hometown Hearts Series
***
No Getting Over You (Book 1)
A Change of Heart (Book 2)
-------
***
Sweetrock Sweet and Spicy Cowboy Romance
Some Like It Hot
Too Close For Comfort
____
Regency Romance
* * *
Scandals and Spies Series:
Kissing The Enemy
Deceiving the Duke
Tempting the Rival
Charming the Spy
Pursuing the Traitor
Captivating the Captain
The Unexpected Series:
An Unexpected Proposal
An Unexpected Passion
Dobbs Fancytales:
Dobbs Fancytales Boxed Set Collection
____
Western Historical Romance
***
Goldwater Creek Mail Order Brides:
Faith
American Mail Order Brides Series:
Chevonne: Bride of Oklahoma
___________________
Magical Romance with a Touch of Mystery
***
Something Magical
Curiously Enchanted
ROMANTIC SUSPENSE
WRITING AS LEE ANNE JONES:
***
The Rockford Security Series:
Deadly Betrayal (Book 1)
Fatal Games (Book 2)
Treacherous Seduction (Book 3)
Calculating Desires (Book 4)
Wicked Deception (Book 5)
About Leighann Dobbs
USA Today bestselling author, Leighann Dobbs, discovered her passion for writing after a twenty year career as a software engineer. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband Bruce, their trusty Chihuahua mix Mojo and beautiful rescue cat, Kitty. When she's not reading, gardening, making jewelry or selling antiques, she likes to write cozy mystery and historical romance books.
Her book "Dead Wrong" won the "Best Mystery Romance" award at the 2014 Indie Romance Convention.
Her book "Ghostly Paws" was the 2015 Chanticleer Mystery & Mayhem First Place category winner in the Animal Mystery category.
Find out about her latest books by signing up at:
http://www.leighanndobbs.com/newsletter
Connect with Leighann on Facebook
http://facebook.com/leighanndobbsbooks
Join her VIP readers group on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/ldobbsreaders/
This is a work of fiction.
None of it is real. All names, places, and events are products of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to real names, places, or events are purely coincidental, and should not be construed as being real.
The Case of the Sinister Spirit
Copyright © 2018
Leighann Dobbs Publishing
http://www.leighanndobbs.com
All Rights Reserved.
No part of this work may be used or reproduced in any manner, except as allowable under “fair use,” without the express written permission of the author.
Created with Vellum
The Case of the Sinister Spirit (Jane Gallows Witch Private Investigator Book 1) Page 14