Before he left Merrick shot Detective Whitman an evil glare. My mother missed it as she was almost to the door, but I caught it and it sent a run of nervous energy rippling across my furry little legs.
“Linda, but…,” he argued.
“Thank you for coming, Merrick,” she said as I heard the door creak open. “It was really good to see you again.” With that, I heard the front door slam shut.
My mother returned to the main dining area to a happy Detective Whitman. My mother didn’t look very happy, however.
“Detective Whitman!” she hollered at him angrily.
“Mark. You can call me, Mark, Linda.”
“It’s Ms. Habernackle to you, Detective Whitman,” she shot back. “I can’t believe you just did that!”
“Did what? I was trying to keep you safe. It’s my job!” he argued and pulled his badge out of his pocket to show her. “See?”
“Your job certainly isn’t to boss around the patrons of this town, now is it?”
He looked down at his badge sheepishly. “I wasn’t trying to boss –”
“You might not have been trying to, but you did. I was trying to have a conversation with my son’s father. I haven’t seen the man in nearly a quarter of a century! And you ruined it!”
“He’s dangerous, Linda!”
“Ms. Habernackle!” she hollered.
I blanched. I hadn’t seen my mother that upset since the last time I got arrested. I felt bad for Detective Whitman. He had no idea what kind of fury my mother was capable of.
Detective Whitman cleared his throat nervously. “I’m sorry. He’s dangerous, Ms. Habernackle. My only interest here is in keeping you safe and sound.”
“Is that your only interest?” she asked him pointedly.
I raised my eyebrows. Go Mom!
“Well. No – I, uh – well, gosh Ms. Habernackle, I don’t know what you want me to say!” he ran a hand through his dark, wavy, Tom Selleck hair.
My mother had had enough. “I think it’s time for you to go, Detective.”
“But, I wanted to see how you were feeling?”
She threw a hand on her hip angrily. “I was feeling just fine. Now I’m feeling a little heated, to be quite honest.”
I wanted to tell Detective Whitman to run. I’d made my mother heated before, on several occasions, in fact. You never wanted to be in a room with Linda Habernackle when she was heated. Not only was she a witch, but she was also a red-head and I was sorry to say, but the rumors were true about that. And man, oh, man, did my mother have a temper.
“I’m sorry, Lind – uh, Ms. Habernackle. I really didn’t mean to get you hot. I’ll go. Just please keep a close eye out. If your troubles don’t stop, I want to know. I’ll stop in when your fire has gone down a little and check on you.”
“Goodbye Detective, I’ll let you see yourself out,” she said angrily.
He nodded sadly. I felt bad for the guy. He was only trying to keep my mother safe, which I appreciated. I made a mental note to put in a good word for the guy.
When the door had slammed shut, my mother threw both arms out, punching the air next to her, she threw her head back and screamed. “Are you kidding me?!”
***
I awoke later that day to the sound of pounding. Groggily I opened my eyes. Where am I? Everything was dim and blurry. I reached around me blindly and found my glasses. I slipped them on and the fuzzy shapes around me began to take shape. I was in my dorm room. I’d fallen asleep on my bed. Someone pounded on the door again. “Mercy? Are you in there?”
I sat up quickly, the motion made me a little light-headed. Whoa. Why did I feel so drained? And then the memory of the Chesney Enchantment spell came rushing back to me. I’d worn myself out performing that spell and had fallen asleep as soon as I’d come out of it.
“Mercy!” Jax hollered again, pounding on the door.
“Coming,” I mumbled. I stumbled to my feet and went to the door to unlock it.
“There you are!” she said. “I was worried about you. You missed the last class!”
I turned around and threw myself back down onto my bed again. “I was doing a spell,” I muttered.
“Oooh! What spell did you do?” Jax asked excitedly.
“A Skitches spell,” I grumbled.
She pouted out her bottom lip. I forgot that she hadn’t been involved in that spell when I’d done it to spy on her date with Reign. “You can do a Skitches spell? Since when?”
I rolled over so I wasn’t facing her anymore. “I dunno. I just can.”
“Ok, well, I’m going to go have supper with the girls. You want to come with?”
I rolled onto my back and rubbed my face with both hands. “Yeah,” I groaned. “I’m coming.”
The rest of the Witch Squad plus Libby and Cinder were already at our table in the courtyard when Jax and I emerged from the cafeteria. I stepped outside and closed my eyes, inhaling the clean fresh scent of the outside air. It helped me wake up a bit and it definitely made me feel a tad better.
“Oh, my gosh, is it bedtime yet?” I asked the girls as I slid into place between Alba and Sweets.
“You’re kidding right?” Holly asked. “You skipped out on classes to take a nap and you’re still tired?”
“I skipped classes to do a spell, smarty. I took a nap because the spell wore me out. Which if I remember correctly is exactly what extended psychic episodes do to you too.”
Holly shrugged and stabbed her fork into a piece of lettuce. “I suppose.”
“What were you working on?” Libby asked me.
“I was doing a Skitches spell so I could spy on my mom,” I admitted.
Libby looked at her sister Cinder curiously. “Have you ever heard of a Skitches spell?”
Cinder shook her head. “What’s a Skitches spell?”
Jax looked at me excitedly. I gave her a tiny head nod and let her share her boundless energy with them. I was too tired to explain. “It’s like Skype for witches. Get it? Skitches. It’s like being able to see a person and talk to them through an animal. Mercy’s mom did a Skitches spell on this black cat that keeps running around campus so they can talk to each other whenever they want.”
“Did you enchant Sneaks?” Holly asked me curiously.
“No, I enchanted Chesney.”
Jax sucked in her breath and glared at me. “Mercy! Did you hurt Chesney?”
“Relax! Your mom told Alba that animal enchantment spells don’t hurt the animal at all. I wouldn’t have done it if it was going to hurt him.”
She let her shoulders fall. “Good. So why did you want to spy on Aunt Linda?”
“Because Merrick was going over to see her and Reign left to give them some privacy. I didn’t want her alone with him. Honestly, Jax. The man creeps me out.”
Cinder looked confused. “Who is Merrick?”
“Merrick Stone. He’s the Head Sorcerer for the wiz kids.”
“Stone?” Cinder asked. “As in Sorceress Stone?”
“They’re sibs,” I told her.
“No way!”
I nodded. “Way. We just found out too.”
“I can’t believe we’ve been going to school here for a year and never knew the guy’s name. I’ve seen him once or twice. He totally looks like a creeper,” Libby said loudly.
“Why did he go to see your mom?” Cinder asked.
“They actually used to date, back in the day,” I admitted.
Jax held her hand up to the side of her mouth and whispered across the table at them. “He’s Reign’s dad.”
Libby and Cinder’s eyes opened wide. “Get out!” the twins responded in unison.
Jax nodded exuberantly.
“So did anything interesting happen?” Alba asked.
My head bobbed from side to side as I opened my little carton of milk. “Detective Whitman showed up. There was a bit of a showdown. He kicked Merrick out. My mother kicked Whitman out. It was pretty entertaining.”
“Why did Wh
itman kick out Stone?” Alba asked with surprise.
“Umm. He claimed it was because he thinks Merrick killed Ronnie, but I think he has a crush on my mom and he’s trying to protect her.”
Libby and Cinder both sucked in a deep breath and then let it out, simultaneously hollering, “Sorceress Stone’s brother killed Ronnie Edwards?”
“Shh!” I hissed at them, looking around the nearly empty courtyard. “I said I think he thinks Sorcerer Stone killed Ronnie Edwards. I didn’t say that he thinks that.”
“Wow,” Libby said with big eyes. “Wait till I tell the girls on my floor!”
“Why would they care?” Holly asked.
Libby shrugged. “Don’t ask me, but two of the girls, Sabrina and Heather, bawled that whole next day after Ronnie was killed.”
“They liked Ronnie that much?” Alba asked with surprise.
“They must,” said Libby. “They’ve literally been a mess.”
“They were in our broom class that day,” Jax said sadly.
“Regardless, you two can’t tell Sabrina and Heather what I just told you,” I told Libby and Cinder. “Detective Whitman didn’t say that – that was my opinion. I don’t want to get a rumor started.”
Libby looked at Cinder and zipped her lips shut with her finger.
Cinder nodded. “Fine. We won’t say anything,” she promised.
“What I don’t understand is,” Alba rationalized. “Why would Stone give up his whole career to kill a student? Especially a joke of a student like Ronnie Edwards?”
Jax nodded. “I told you. I really don’t think he did it.”
“My mom doesn’t think he did it either,” I admitted.
“I mean, it just doesn’t make any sense that Merrick killed him. What would he have had to gain?” Alba asked.
“Ok, maybe we need to look at the big picture. Who are our suspects?” I asked, leaning forward onto the table.
“Definitely Philip,” Sweets said. “They had that big fight.”
“Yeah, Philip,” I agreed. “I think Tristan should be on that list, too. His response about where he was during the murder was sketchy. We should ask Whitman about that. Wouldn’t you think Whitman would have to have gotten an alibi from him to clear him from the suspect list?”
Alba nodded. “He was definitely acting shady. Who’s got paper? Someone add him to the list.”
Holly shifted her breasts and pulled a phone out of her bra. “I don’t have any paper, but I can put it in my phone.”
Alba looked at her like she was crazy. “Really Holly? You’ve got room in there for a phone?”
Holly pulled out a small wad of bills folded in half from the other side. “Absolutely. I’ve got room for cash too,” she said with a little laugh.
“You crack me up, Holls,” Sweets said with a laugh.
“Ok, back to the murder. Our suspects are Merrick, Tristan, and Philip. Anyone else?” I asked.
Jax looked up uneasily. “I really don’t think Tristan could have killed Ronnie. He seems like a really nice guy.”
“You didn’t hear him talking about his alibi,” Alba countered. “The guy was being shady. He wouldn’t tell us where he was during the murder. That’s suspicious in my book.”
Jax looked up at me – her cheeks were flushed. “Mercy,” she whispered hesitantly. “I know Tristan didn’t kill Ronnie.”
“Jax, I know you think Tristan’s a nice guy. But Alba’s right. He was being super sketchy. I think we have to at least consider the fact that he is a suspect. Next time I see Detective Whitman, I’ll ask him what he thinks about Tristan being on the suspects list.”
Jax shook her head. “Oh, please don’t talk to Detective Whitman about Tristan.”
I ignored her and looked at the girls. “What else do we know about the murder?”
Jax pulled on the sleeve of my sweatshirt. “Mercy!” she begged.
Annoyed, I turned and looked at her expectantly. “What Jax?!”
“Tristan didn’t kill Ronnie!” she declared loudly to the table.
I tilted my head to the side and huffed a sigh of air out my nose. “And exactly how do you know that he didn’t?” I asked her with exasperation.
She threw her head back and groaned. “Because I was with him!”
Secondary conversations around the table ceased and all eyes turned to Jax’s witchy face.
“What do you mean you were with him?” I asked with shock.
Jax’s head bobbled on her shoulders. “When you went to have supper with your mom and Reign, Tristan and I hung out.”
“Like a date?!” Holly asked excitedly.
Jax’s face flushed red underneath her black witch’s hat. “We just hung out,” she argued.
“Jaxie! You had a date with a boy and you didn’t tell us?!” Holly couldn’t believe it.
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Sweets asked.
“It wasn’t a real date and I just didn’t want you guys to make a big deal out it. Tristan is super shy and it would make things all awkward if you guys teased him. I thought Mercy might tell Hugh and then Hugh would tell the guys and then the guys would give him a hard time.”
Holly threw an arm around Jax’s shoulders. “Ahh, young padawan, it’s about time you got yourself a man!”
Jax blushed harder and pulled her hat down further over her face to try and hide from us. “It’s not that big of a deal.”
“It’s a really big deal,” Holly disagreed. “Are you two like dating now?”
Jax shook her head. “No. We’re just friends.”
“Friends who do stuff together?” Sweets pressed.
She shrugged. “I guess.”
“That’s called dating, Jaxie,” Holly told her excitedly.
“Well, we only hung out that one time. It’s been too crazy around here to hang out more than that,” she said.
“Join the club,” I grumbled. It seemed like forever since I’d gotten to hang out with Hugh as well. “It’s hard work being a witch.”
“I’m not a witch,” Jax grumbled under her breath.
I looked up right away wondering if Libby and Cinder had caught Jax’s confession. Neither seemed to have heard, and if they did, they didn’t say anything, which wasn’t really their style.
“Sorry Jax,” I whispered back to her.
She shrugged.
Libby and Cinder stood up. “We gotta go. We have to get to the Sisters of Witchcraft Sorority meeting,” Libby said. “Congrats on you and Tristan, Jax.”
“Yeah, congrats, Jax, keep us in the loop!” Cinder agreed as the two of them took off to empty their trays.
Jax stuck out her bottom lip. “I wanted to join a sorority,” she grumbled. “I haven’t had time for that either!”
Sweets laughed. “What do you think you’re in?”
Jax looked confused. “What are you talking about?”
“The Witch Squad – we’re like a sorority,” she explained.
Alba laughed loudly. “No, we aren’t.”
“We kind of are,” Holly said, nodding her head.
“Sororities are for like – sorority girls. I’m not a sorority girl,” Alba objected.
Holly pressed a button and then spoke into her phone. “Siri, what is the definition of sorority?”
Holly’s phone’s piped up in a computerized female voice. “Sorority means a society for female students in a university or college, typically for social purposes.”
“See,” Sweets said, looking at Jax. “You’re already in a sorority.”
Alba hung her head dramatically. “Ugh.”
I rubbed her back. “It’ll be ok, Alba. You don’t have to tell anyone back home that you joined a sorority. Your reputation is safe.”
Jax smiled broadly, obviously thrilled to hear that she had already unwittingly joined a sorority.
“Now that that’s settled, where were we?” I asked, looking at the girls left at the table.
Holly held up her phone. “We were making a list of
suspects.”
“Now that we know Tristan had an alibi, I guess we can cross him off the list,” Alba said.
“Yeah, we narrow the list of suspects down to Merrick and Philip then. It’s a toss-up if you ask me.”
“How do we pick?” Sweets asked.
I shrugged. “What else do we know about the murder?”
“We know that Ronnie died of magical causes,” Alba pointed out.
“What good does that do us?” Holly asked. “Both Philip and Merrick can do magic.”
“True,” I agreed. “And where do we perform magical spells around here?”
Sweets’ face lit up. “The potions lab!”
“The potions lab,” I said with a smile. “We need to get into the wizard’s potions lab!”
“How are we going to do that?” Sweets asked. “If Sorcerer Stone sees us, we’re dead! He’ll tell his sister and then, bam, we’re locked in a tower somewhere.”
I smiled, sneakily. “I know exactly who to ask for help in getting us into the men’s potions lab.”
{ Chapter Fifteen}
“Is all of this really necessary?” Alba complained as she pulled on an oversized men’s jacket over her clothes.
“Yes,” Holly assured her. “By the way, you make a very handsome man, Alba.”
Alba curled her lip at Holly. “Watch it, Cosmo. My right hook is just as good as any man’s.”
“Touchy, touchy, touchy,” Holly said with a laugh. “Jax, you can’t wear those tights. They’re a dead giveaway that you’re a witch.”
Jax looked down at her skinny little bird legs in striped tights. “I’ll put pants on over them then.”
“Fine, no skinny jeans. Wear something baggy. Wizard men don’t wear tight clothes.”
“Can I pass for a man?” I asked. I turned sideways. I had on my usual skinny jeans and sneakers, an AC/DC hooded sweatshirt and I had tucked my long braid up into a baseball cap.
“Those jeans are too tight,” Holly complained.
“I don’t have baggy jeans!”
“Fine, well then you’re fine. I’d pull your hood over the baseball cap.”
There was a knock at our door. Sweets answered. She was the hardest to disguise, but we’d managed to put a wizard’s smock on her and with the hood covering her hair, she vaguely looked masculine.
Witch Degrees of Separation: A Witch Squad Cozy Mystery #3 Page 13