Witch Degrees of Separation: A Witch Squad Cozy Mystery #3

by M. Z. Andrews

  Detective Whitman winced. “It’s too early to tell. We haven’t been able to determine yet if it was the magical fumes that killed him or the fall. The autopsy is still ongoing.”

  “So now what?” I asked.

  “Well, I was here to pay Mr. Stone another visit,” he answered.

  Jax hung her head. “You think my uncle killed Ronnie?”

  I held my breath. I was fairly confident that that’s exactly what Detective Whitman was thinking.

  “Obviously, I can’t disclose everything about the case to you ladies. But let’s just say that I am concerned about him running this school. He appears to have a dark past. You ladies should stay at a safe distance away from the boy’s side of the school. Just to be cautious.”

  My thoughts immediately jumped to Hugh and my pulse quickened. I would have to warn him to stay away from Merrick Stone as well.

  “I really don’t think he’d hurt anyone,” Jax said sadly. “You just have to get to know him. He’s got a pretty scary exterior – yes, but inside…deep deep down inside…he’s sort of a nice guy.”

  “Uh-huh,” Detective Whitman said, obviously not putting much stock in Jax’s minor declaration of character for her uncle. “Yeah, so…I need to go speak to him and SaraLynn. They need to know this additional bit of information regarding the inhalation.”

  I let out a heavy sigh just before I heard the faint sound of meowing coming from under the scarlet oak tree. I looked up to see a black cat sitting patiently on an exposed root. Her head was tilted to the side as she looked at me with her bright green eyes.

  “Sneaks?” I asked looking over at her with interest.

  “Meow,” I heard her respond plainly, but her head nodded and it appeared that she was waving me over with a paw.

  “Mercy, is that your mother?” Sweets asked me.

  I shot Sweets an evil glance and then peered up at Detective Whitman nervously. I was sure that he hadn’t yet been exposed to quite this much crazy in his lifetime.

  “Well, aren’t you going to go talk to her?” Jax asked me.

  Detective Whitman gave me a funny little grin as he crossed his arms across his chest. Surprisingly he didn’t have a word to say as he trained his eyes on me.

  Slowly I crept off of my seat and walked towards the black cat. “Mom?” I whispered at the cat.

  “Yes, Mercy, it’s me,” she said plainly.

  “Don’t you have a phone, Mother?” I asked, my voice dripped with annoyance. “There are other people around.”

  “I’ve been trying to call you for the last hour!” she chastised.

  I dug my cell phone out of my back pocket and pushed the button to wake it up. Sure enough. Seven missed calls and a text from Hugh. I winced. “Oh, yeah, sorry. The girls and I went to the library, I put it on silent.”

  “Ok, well, I’ve been trying to get a hold of you because we’ve got some issues at the b&b.”

  I looked back at Detective Whitman. He nodded at me. I gave him a polite little smile, laughed nervously, and then faced Sneaks again.

  “What kind of issues? Is everyone alright?”

  Her head bobbled from side to side. “Yes, but barely. I was nearly killed!”

  “Nearly killed? Mom! What happened?” I asked. “Where’s Reign?”

  Detective Whitman and the girls overheard my end of the conversation and sprung to their feet and formed a half circle behind me.

  “He’s here. He’s alright. But I think you should probably get down here. What’s Detective Whitman doing there?” Mom asked, looking behind me. She licked a paw and smoothed out the fur on the side of her face. “Do I look alright?” she whispered.

  “Mom! You’re a cat!”

  She looked down at her body. “Oh, yeah, right. I forgot where I was for a second.”

  “Are you going to tell me what happened or not?”

  “I think it would just be better if you came down here. Are you done with classes?”

  I sighed. I was done with classes, but I had been anxious to get started on the unbinding spell. “Yeah, I’m done with classes.”

  “Great, then why don’t you come down here? You may as well bring Detective Whitman with you. Reign says I should file a report about what happened.”

  “Ok Mom, we’ll be down there as soon as we can.”

  I turned around and faced the group. “Something happened at the b&b. Mom wants us down there. You too, Detective Whitman. She said she needs to report something.”

  “So that was your mom?” he asked, with one thumb holding the base of his chin and a finger curled around the outline of his moustache.

  I nodded.

  “In the cat. That was your mom inside the cat?”

  I shrugged, closing my eyes uncomfortably. “It’s a spell. I can explain later.”

  He looked at me with concern. “Is she alright? Did something happen to her?”

  I shrugged. “She wouldn’t tell me. She just said she’d tell us all when we got down there.”

  Detective Whitman straightened his back and held out a hand to wave us all forward. “What are we waiting for then? Let’s go!”

  ***

  Parked in front of my family’s b&b, the Witch Squad piled out of Sweets’ car just as Detective Whitman pulled in next to us.

  “Who taught you to drive?” he asked Sweets as he unfolded his long legs out of the squad car and stepped onto the sidewalk.

  “Why?” she asked nervously.

  “You’re like hell on wheels!” he preached.

  Sweets blushed a smooth shade of pink. “Oh, sorry. I thought we were in a hurry!”

  I nodded and pulled her by the elbow. “We are in a hurry. Come on, let’s go!”

  We crossed the street. Immediately I noticed a change to the front of the building. The big hanging sign that had read Jimmy’s Bed & Brew was now on the sidewalk leaning against the building next to the front door.

  “Is Reign changing the sign?” Alba asked me curiously.

  “I have no idea,” I assured her. “They said they are changing the name of the business. Maybe the new sign is coming soon?”

  I pushed through the front door first while everyone else piled in behind me. Mom was seated at one of the round tables on the dining floor with Chesney securely in her lap. She held an ice pack on the back of her head. I could hear the sound of Reign clinking around in the kitchen when we entered.

  “Mom!” I exclaimed, rushing to kneel by her side. The minute Chesney saw me he climbed my body to lap at my cheek.

  “Mercy, oh thank goodness you’ve come. Things are getting worse,” she cried as she pulled the ice pack into her lap.

  Detective Whitman walked around behind her to take a look at her wound. “What happened Mrs. Habernackle?” he asked with a pronouncedly deep voice.

  Mom cleared her throat and fingered the back of her head lightly. “It’s not Mrs.,” she told him quickly. “You can just call me Linda, Detective.”

  I swore I saw a hint of a smile play at Detective Whitman’s mouth when my mother clarified her marital status for him. “Of course. Linda, can you tell us what happened?”

  Mom nodded and leaned onto my shoulder and her chair so she could stand up. She wobbled on her feet, causing Detective Whitman to reach out to steady her.

  “Linda, I think you should stay seated,” he suggested with concern.

  She nodded and then winced as she started to sit back down. It was clear that the wound on her head hurt more than she cared to admit.

  “Mom, maybe we should get you to a hospital,” I suggested nervously, handing Chesney to Jax who squealed with excitement the minute she got to hold him.

  “I tried to get her to go,” Reign said, slinging a towel over his shoulder as he joined us in the center of the bar. “The woman won’t budge.”

  Mom smiled at him patiently. “I appreciate your concern, Reign, darling, but I’m fine. Just a bump on the head. Not a spot of blood.”

  I smiled sympathetically at her
. “Mom. No blood doesn’t mean anything!”

  Detective Whitman nodded. “I’ve got to agree with your daughter. You could have bleeding in the brain. We should take you in.”

  Mom furrowed her eyebrows and shot us a look of frustration as she grabbed both sides of the chair. “I’m not going anywhere. The sign barely grazed my head when it fell. Had I not stooped over to check Chesney’s collar, I’d have been a little worse for the wear.”

  “The sign barely grazed your head? That sign out front?” Detective Whitman spun around to direct his question towards Reign.

  Reign nodded. “She didn’t tell you? Yeah, she went out to take Ches for a walk and one of the chains holding the sign broke loose. Luckily the other chain held it up or she would have been a sidewalk sandwich.”

  My eyes swiveled to my mother, who had put the ice pack back on her head. “It just grazed me, really!”

  “Reign, let’s go take a look at the sign,” Detective Whitman said, strutting towards the front door. Reign followed and soon it was just the Witch Squad alone with my mother.

  “Mom, you know this wasn’t an accident, right? Merrick is doing this to you.”

  Jax squeezed her eyes shut as if doing so would make her unable to hear our conversation.

  “I’m sure Merrick didn’t do this, but I definitely think that my proximity to him is what’s causing all of this to happen.”

  “Mom, let me look at your head,” I insisted. “What do you think Alba?”

  “Alba’s not a doctor, why are you asking her?” Holly asked with frustration.

  “Who else am I supposed to ask?”

  Holly shrugged and looked around. “I don’t know. You didn’t ask me. I’m as much of a doctor as Alba is.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Seriously? You’re going to bring your beef with Alba in here? My mother was nearly killed Holly and you’re going to complain that I asked Alba’s opinion and not yours?”

  Holly promptly looked down at the ground.

  “I think we’re all just a little tense right now,” Sweets said patiently. “Probably your blood sugars are all out of whack from the adrenaline of getting the call and shooting down here. I know mine is.”

  I spun around to face Sweets. “Are you kidding me right now?” I asked, throwing my head backwards on my shoulders.

  “What?” Sweets asked, clueless.

  “Mercy, be nice to your friends. They are all just trying to help. Sweets, there is a plate of cookies on the bar over there. I just made them. You go help yourself.”

  Sweets’ eyes lit up. “Oooh, thanks Ms. H!”

  I rubbed my hands against my cheeks as Sweets, Jax, and Holly shot over to the bar.

  Detective Whitman and Reign came back inside. “It’s definitely been tampered with,” Detective Whitman revealed.

  “I told you, Mom,” Reign said.

  I had had enough. I knew what was going on here and I was tired of my mother sweeping it under the rug. “I’ll say it again. I think this is all Merrick’s doing. I’m sorry, Reign. I’m sorry, Mom. But it’s how I feel.”

  Detective Whitman looked at me with surprise. “You think Merrick Stone tried to kill your mother?”

  I could feel my face heating up as the anger began to boil inside of me. “Personally, I think he’s trying to scare her out of town. Either that or their proximity to each other is causing weird things to happen to my mother. I think Merrick is upset at my mother for not telling him about Reign.”

  My mother sighed and slumped back in her seat.

  “I was under the impression that it was your grandmother’s fault,” he said with confusion.

  “It is my granny’s fault. ALL her fault. But I don’t think that Merrick accepts that. I think he wants my mother to leave Aspen Falls and I think that he’s doing everything in his power to scare her away. I don’t know if he intended to kill her or not today, but I definitely think that he’s doing all of this intentionally.”

  Reign stepped forward with his hands up. “When I met with him, my father didn’t seem to be directing his anger towards Mom. He seemed to be directing it towards my grandmother. I don’t think it’s fair to just blame everything on Merrick. We don’t know that this is all his doing.”

  “Reign, a boy died at the wizard school yesterday. Merrick Stone was his teacher. And now all of this is happening? I think Merrick snapped,” I said angrily, balling my hands into fists by my side.

  “Look Sis, all I’m saying is that we need to give him a chance to offer his side of the story,” Reign said calmly. “I’ll go talk to him.”

  “I don’t think you should get within 5 feet of that man, Reign!” How could no one else see what I saw? Were they all blind?

  “Mercy…” my mother began weakly before reaching her hand out to me.

  “I don’t want to hear it, Mother. I know you think – ,” I began, looking down at her. Suddenly she went limp and her eyes fell closed.

  I rushed at her as she began to fall out of her chair. “Mom!”

  { Chapter Eleven}

  The cold sterile smell of rubbing alcohol and sickness saturated the air on the second floor of the Aspen Falls Medical Center. As I entered my mother’s room a nurse was propping the pillow up behind her back. Detective Whitman was hanging out near the door as I entered and Reign was seated in a chair next to Mom’s bed.

  “Can I get you anything to eat or drink Mrs. Habernackle?” she asked.

  My mother looked pointedly at Detective Whitman as she responded to the nurse. “I’m not married. It’s just Ms. Habernackle.”

  Detective Whitman rubbed the back of his neck, obscuring his face from my mother’s view. From where I was standing in the doorway, I could see that faint smile playing around his mouth again.

  “Has the doctor been in yet?” I asked as I slid into the chair next to Reign.

  The nurse checked my mother’s vitals and then jotted something down on her chart. “Well, the doctor won’t begin his rounds until this evening. You’re mother is going to be alright. She was looked over by the on-call doctor in the emergency room. She’s got a minor concussion and he just wanted to keep her overnight for observation. I don’t think there is anything to be too worried about.”

  Detective Whitman moved closer to my mom and casually laid a hand on her shoulder. “Linda, I’m worried about you. I’m going to assign you a guard until we can get this all sorted out.”

  Mom covered his hand with hers gently, causing him to stiffen slightly. “That’s so sweet of you to offer, Detective, but really, I’ll be fine.”

  He looked down at her with concern. “I’ve got a bit more work to do today, but I’ll make sure and check on you again this evening.”

  My mom batted her long lashes over her green eyes coyly. “Oh, well, if you think it’s necessary.”

  “I do. I really wouldn’t like to see anything happen to you.”

  “Well, thank you, Detective. I sincerely appreciate your concern.”

  I rolled my eyes. Oh brother.

  Apparently, Reign had had all he could take of the blatant flirting going on too. He stood up and grabbed Mom’s hand. “Mom, I’m going to talk to my father about all of this. I’m sure it’s not his fault that the sign fell. I’ll figure out what’s going and make sure nothing else happens.”

  “Oh Reign. I really don’t want you to go to any trouble. I’m sure this isn’t your father’s fault. It was just an accident.”

  Detective Whitman shook his head. “I inspected that chain, Linda. It was no accident. The chain that broke had been tampered with. Someone did this. I don’t know if it was an act of magic, but I do know that it was intentional.”

  “Oh dear,” she said, wringing her hands fretfully.

  “Don’t worry, we’ll get it figured out,” he said and shot her a little wink before heading towards the door. “I’ll be back later tonight Linda. The hospital will take good care of you.”

  “Thank you, Detective Whitman,” Mom said to him as he exi
ted the room.

  Reign nodded after he had gone. “I’m going to go too, Mom. I want to talk to my father and clear all of this up. Mercy, can you stay with Mom while I’m gone?”

  I looked at my mother uncomfortably. As much as I didn’t want to leave her alone, I also wanted to get back to the girls and get to work on the unbinding spell.

  “I – I want to, but I have something that I have to do first. It’s really important. I can stop back as soon as I finish it. Will you be alright alone for an hour or two, Mom?”

  My mother took the remote control off of the nightstand and pointed it at the television. “Are you kidding me? I haven’t watched my soaps since I left Dubbsburg. Your brother, here, hasn’t gotten the cable turned on yet. I’ll be just fine, don’t worry about me.”

  I laughed and then bent over to kiss my mother’s cheek before following Reign to the door. “Ok, Mom. See you in a bit.”

  ***

  With over half of the day spent already, the girls piled into Jax’s and my tiny dorm room to begin pouring over The Witch’s Guide to Spells of Affection by Adamina Spellman.

  Binding another person was a complicated process. Witches traditionally used binding spells to protect others from doing something they shouldn’t be doing, like stopping a person’s drug abuse or alcohol abuse problem. Other times witches performed binding spells to bind two people together or to bind two people apart, depending on the situation. My granny had bound my mother and Merrick when they were young, but we didn’t know what her reason for doing it was. I was sure it was just because my granny thought my mother was too young and Merrick was too old for her.

  Alba pulled the book down onto her lap as she seated herself on my desk chair. “This spell says that to bind a person, you need to wrap the actual person in cloth.”

  “Well, obviously we don’t have the actual person. Doesn’t it say anything about binding a person when they aren’t involved?” I asked, gnawing on my bottom lip.

  Alba flipped the page and then began nodding almost immediately. “Yup, right here. This page is to bind someone when the person involved isn’t a willing participant.” Alba grew quiet for a minute while she read the instructions.