Witch of Mintwood Mysteries 7-9

by Addison Creek

  Since it had been a while since I’d gone into the Twinkle, I was happy to head downtown to stop by my friend’s place. But even before that, Charlie wanted us to go to the Daily Brew. She was thrilled that we could combine the task of investigating with the task of getting coffee.

  “It’s a win win,” she exclaimed.

  Charlie was in investigative mode. Sometimes that was a good thing and sometimes not so much. When she annoyed one of the pillars of the community, it wasn’t necessarily so great, and Mrs. Barrett was definitely a pillar of the community.

  Charlie entered the Daily Brew as if she was entering a boardroom where a hostile takeover was about to take place. She looked suspiciously from left to right, then examined the front counter as if she expected to see stacks of twenty dollar bills on it. Mind you, this was a counter we had seen almost daily for half our lives.

  The Daily Brew was relatively quiet when we walked in, but I saw one familiar face immediately. Tom, the assistant deputy policeman, was just finishing a cup of coffee. He took one look at Charlie and his eyes fluttered.

  “I haven’t heard anything and I don’t have any new cases,” he said to Charlie before she could even reach him.

  “That’s okay. I have plenty to do,” she said.

  Tom looked at her in surprise.

  “What’s the catch?” he asked, his eyes narrowing.

  “There is no catch. Have a great day. I know I will,” Charlie said breezily.

  Tom gulped the last sip of his coffee, stood up, nodded to Mrs. Barnett, and headed out the door.

  Charlie was oblivious to his confusion and nerves, but Mrs. Barnett was not. She looked at Charlie and shook her head.

  “Why do you have to torment him like that?” the café owner asked.

  “I don’t torment him,” said Charlie.

  “How often in the past month have you asked him for cases?” I asked her.

  “Really. I don’t keep track of such things,” said Charlie.

  We ordered our coffees and lingered at the counter, Charlie assuming a lounging pose that made Mrs. Barnett raise her eyebrows.

  “Don’t you come sniffing around here for mysteries. I told you yesterday that nothing is going on. This town is too small for there to be something going on all the time,” she said.

  “All kinds of adventures take place in a small towns,” I argued.

  “Sure they do. Just not in my coffee shop,” she said.

  “I think what I said was entirely reasonable. The Daily Brew is the hub of activity around here. Where would we be without you?” I asked her.

  Mrs. Barnett rolled her eyes, but she still looked a little pleased. “You’d be just fine. Gas station coffee isn’t so bad.”

  “She’s kidding. It’s terrible,” said Charlie. “Whenever I’m on a case I end up having gas station coffee. Horrible stuff.”

  “Was there anything else?” Mrs. Barnett asked as she set three coffees to go in front of us. As usual, we had ordered something for Liam too.

  “Do you have any sort of meetings here?” Charlie asked.

  Mrs. Barnett did not seem to understand why she was asking the question. “If people need a space to gather they can use the shop, as long as it’s after hours. I won’t close the shop or anything if you need space to have a meeting during open hours. Just use the big table in the corner. Does that answer your question?” she asked.

  “It’s very interesting that space can be rented out after hours. Any time? You see, Lemmi, Greer, and I were thinking of starting a stamp collecting society, and we’ve been thinking about where we could gather with our stamp collections,” said Charlie.

  Mrs. Barnett look skeptically at her. “Three of you live together, don’t you? Can’t you just meet in your living room?”

  “Of course we could do that, but we want to get out of house from time to time,” said Charlie.

  “Yes. You stamp collectors do like to get out,” said Mrs. Barnett dryly.

  Charlie wanted to keep asking questions, but a line had formed behind us, and since Charlie was nothing if not polite, she quickly stepped aside. We took our coffees and headed out into the breezy, warm day, our destination the Twinkle.

  I was excited to see Liam. I was also excited that Charlie was excited. She was insufferable without a mystery to work on, and it was making me wonder whether I was getting much the same way.

  Greer hadn’t wanted to wake up early enough for the café portion of this adventure, but now she met us outside the Twinkle and the three of us walked in together.

  “There you are at last. Where have you been all my life?” said Liam, coming out of the back room with a big grin on his face.

  “We brought you coffee.” I handed it to him.

  He sniffed it gratefully. “Thank you. This is just what I needed for a day of doing inventory.”

  “It’s that time of the month again, is it?” Greer asked.

  “No one likes that time of the month. Although I can’t speak personally,” Liam chuckled.

  I just shook my head. Liam shied away from no topic. His mother was a witch, but Liam didn’t know that. Someday he would probably have to find out, but his mother was putting it off. I had only found out when I’d become the Witch of Mintwood, because other witches who wanted to live in my town had to ask permission. Of course I had given it to Gerry. Nobody else had asked.

  It had been a while since the four of us had been able to hang out, so now it was catch-up time. First we talked about the wedding. Liam was coming, and beyond delighted with the whole endeavor. He was only coming for Saturday, though because, as he pointed out, “Leaving my mom in charge of the Twinkle for one night is bad enough. Two and I’m asking for it to be burned to the ground.”

  He was very busy with the shop. He’d had a wonderful summer of sales and was looking forward to a quieter fall, though he was also thinking of opening a second shop.

  “Our very own mogul,” said Greer, reverting to the topic of a second shop.

  Liam shrugged modestly. “If I don’t do that I may start a fashion consulting business. I was thinking of talking to Jasper and Deacon about it, since they’re successful entrepreneurs and might be able to teach me a thing or two. The two of you did well for yourselves,” he finished, eyeing Greer and me.

  Greer just rolled her eyes. “Puppy love.”

  “He adores you,” said Liam. “Jasper also adores you,” he added for my benefit.

  “I really need a boyfriend,” said Charlie. “Except that I’m fine single. I can stay single. And I can investigate mysteries.”

  “You go, girl,” said Liam.

  “Speaking of investigating mysteries, we have a few questions for you about a new one,” said Charlie.

  “I hope there’s drama,” said Liam, boosting himself onto his counter. “You know I love a good mystery. I’m happy to help in any way I can.”

  Liam and I both loved gossip and people-watching. Whenever there was something going on, he usually knew what I didn’t and vice versa. We kept each other in the loop. It was especially easy for him to keep track of what was going on downtown, given that he owned a Main Street shop.

  “I was actually wondering if anything strange has been going on downtown,” said Charlie.

  “You’re going to have to be more specific. For example, are bribes required to stay in business here? I don’t think the mafia exists in Mintwood,” Liam said.

  “This is about a meeting. Are there secret meetings? Secret clubs?” Charlie clarified.

  Liam frowned, appearing not to have any clue what she was talking about. “I’m not part of a secret club. So if there’s a different secret club that I’m not part of, it would still be secret. If I were part of a secret club I suppose I’d tell you if you had a good reason for wanting to know.”

  “Is curiosity enough?” she asked.

  “I don’t know, because I’m not part of any secret clubs. This town isn’t really big enough for that many secret clubs,” he said.<
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  “True enough,” Charlie said. She bit her lip and thought for a minute.

  “Why are you asking, if it’s just curiosity?” Liam asked at last.

  “It’s not strictly curiosity,” said Charlie. “We received a report from an informant that a strange meeting takes place in downtown Mintwood from time to time, after hours. I’m merely wondering what it could be about,” said Charlie.

  Now Liam looked totally confused. “A secret meeting downtown?” he repeated, as if befuddled by the very idea.

  Charlie nodded dramatically. “I know. It took me by surprise too. All I want to know is why I wasn’t invited.”

  “Given how good you are at keeping a secret, I’m shocked you weren’t invited,” said Greer sarcastically.

  “I’m afraid I really don’t know what you’re talking about,” said Liam. “I look forward to the exposé, though. Now you’ve got me curious.”

  Before anyone could say another word, the shop door opened.

  “Can I help you?” Liam asked.

  When I turned around to see who had come in, I almost gasped. The two young women were surely looking for me!

  “Josephine! Scarlett,” I exclaimed. The two witches were smiling. I had known they were friends, and both of them had been nice to me since I attended my first coven meeting, but I was still a little surprised to see them here together.

  Of course, I had walked out of my second coven meeting and hadn’t seen another witch since. I had debated reaching out to one of them, but so far I had decided against it. I had the wedding to worry about this weekend, and besides, I thought that like their elders they might not approve of my boyfriend. My one solace was that witches don’t tend to stick together, but even that was a double-edged sword. It might mean that some witches wouldn’t join in condemning me for seeing Jasper, but it could just as easily mean that they wouldn’t support me, either.

  “Hi there,” said Josephine. There was no other way to describe her than to say that she looked like a biker chick, the kind of girl you didn’t want to mess with. As it turned out, you didn’t want to mess with her. She was the Witch of Caedmon, while Scarlet was the Witch of Hazelwood. They were the two of the youngest members of the coven.

  “I didn’t realize you knew the owner of Mystical Mystic Vapors,” Liam exclaimed.

  Josephine looked flattered. “You’ve heard of my shop? The name is supposed to be a bit of a joke.”

  Josephine’s shop contained things like potpourri, candles, and exotic perfumes.

  “Of course I have. It’s the envy of everyone around here. Your decorating sense is unbelievable,” Liam gushed.

  “Thank you. I’ve heard a lot about the Twinkle as well. Ever since you won the window display competition, it’s been the Twinkle this and the Twinkle that every time anyone discusses Main Street,” she said.

  “I do try,” said Liam, blushing slightly.

  “This is my friend Scarlett,” Josephine said, introducing her companion to everyone else.

  Greer and Charlie had already met Scarlett when we found her hidden away in a cabin, but they hadn’t met Josephine and were happy to make her acquaintance now.

  “Sorry. This place isn’t big enough for all of us,” Liam said, looking around the shop.

  “We didn’t mean to stay,” said Josephine. “We were just out enjoying the day. Maybe we’ll stop by your farmhouse later,” she ended, turning to me, making eye contact, and raising her eyebrows slightly.

  Clearly she wanted to talk to me about something witchy, and couldn’t say so in front of mixed company.

  “Of course,” I said. “I should be around this evening. Come by anytime.”

  “I should be getting to the office,” said Charlie, doing her part to wrap up the gathering.

  “I need to go to the bar,” said Greer.

  As for me, I had three cats and a dog to check on before I left for the wedding, and it was time I got going.

  It didn’t surprise me that Josephine and Scarlett decided to stay in the Twinkle for a while. I could see both of them wearing outfits they found there.

  After we dispersed I had a lot to think about. If the witches had come looking for me, something must have happened, or changed.

  Maybe I wasn’t on my own after all.

  Chapter Six

  “We may be having company tonight,” I told Tank. “Very important company.”

  “Who are you talking about?” Paws asked.

  I had been in the kitchen trying to get dinner ready when the cat went by the window chasing the rabbit, so I went out back to speak to them. Tank was laughing, while Paws looked very angry. What else was new? I asked myself.

  But I had gone outside to try and alleviate the situation, with the result that Tank was now hiding behind my leg. They had argued mightily until I interrupted to say the bit about Josephine and Scarlett.

  “A couple of witches,” I said.

  “That’s alarming,” said the cat.

  “I love meeting new people,” said Tank. “I’ll try not to do anything foolish in front of them. I know it’s important to make a good impression.”

  “They’re pretty relaxed. I’m sure they’ll like you,” I said.

  “That’s pretty hard to believe,” said Paws.

  “Do you think they’re coming about the séance?” Mr. Bone asked, floating up to us.

  I blinked in surprise; the thought hadn’t even occurred to me. But in fact, that might just be what they wanted to talk about. If they were willing to help, along with Sicily, we’d need just one more witch, though who that could be I had no idea. I doubted that Gerry was strong enough to help us. We needed a witch who was powerful enough to be in charge of her own town.

  “I’ll try to be on my best behavior,” said Tank.

  “You always behave very respectably and politely,” I told him.

  “Spare me,” said Paws.

  I heard a vehicle come up the driveway just then and figured it was Charlie coming home. When I turned to look, I was surprised to see a black truck instead of Charlie’s Volvo. I had seen Jasper just the night before and wasn’t expecting to see him again tonight.

  I waved and smiled, and Jasper hopped out of the truck. But I felt my hackles rise when I saw that his coworker Tyler Spin was with him. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but I hadn’t liked Tyler from the moment I first saw him, and my feelings had only deteriorated over time.

  “Evening. How are you doing?” I asked.

  “Sorry for showing up like this. I did try calling earlier,” said Jasper.

  “We were downtown,” I said.

  “There are no downtowns around here . . .” Tyler frowned. Something about his tone made it sound like an interrogation, so I just looked at him.

  Jasper clarified for Tyler that I meant Mintwood, then asked, “How’s Liam?” He was either not noticing or ignoring the hostility between Tyler and me.

  “He’s doing great. He’s coming to the wedding this weekend,” I said.

  Then a stab of fear went through me as I realized that Tyler might be there as well. Jasper must have seen a cloud over my face because he said, “I just brought Tyler by to look at the porch. It does need to be fixed soon, you know.”

  “I don’t think we need to be in a rush for that,” I told him.

  “It’s been falling down for twenty years,” said Jasper, looking surprised.

  “Right. So it hasn’t fallen down yet,” I translated for him.

  Jasper just smiled, shook his head, and didn’t take the hint. “Tyler is an expert on porches,” he said.

  Well wouldn’t you know.

  The two men were already walking past me toward the house. I tried to think of another good excuse to keep them away, but nothing came to me in time.

  Tyler made his way around the porch. He examined the floorboards and got down on his knees to peek underneath them. Then he looked at the posts and what he could see of the roof. While he was at this, the three ghost mice came over
. I figured it was a small blessing that Paws stayed away.

  “What does he want?” Karen asked from across the yard.

  Jasper had gone to help Tyler, but he gave me a strange look when Karen spoke. I wondered again if he could see the ghosts, or at least sense them.

  “I have no idea. There’s no way the porch gets fixed right now, though,” I said to the ghost out of the side of my mouth, frowning at Tyler some more. The more I looked at him the less I liked him. He looked over and gave me a reassuring smile, but I refused to be reassured.

  “I don’t like the look of the scrawny one,” Karen sniffed.

  “I don’t either,” I said out of the corner of my mouth. “But there doesn’t seem to be much I can do about it at the moment.”

  It didn’t take Jasper and Tyler long to come back to me.

  “It should probably just be torn down,” Tyler said.

  I glared at Jasper.

  “Sorry,” he said. “I should have schooled Tyler about how to lie to you about the porch before I brought him over here. He didn’t know any better than to tell the truth.”

  “The porch isn’t going to be torn down. It’s also not going to be fixed anytime soon. I keep putting it off, but I promise I’ll deal with it. Sometime. Right after people stop inviting me to weddings,” I said. And we stop discovering skeletons at the library, and people stop getting murdered, I thought to myself.

  Sheesh. I was busy.

  “Sorry I can’t be of more help then,” said Tyler. I contented myself with mentally whispering that he most certainly was not sorry.

  “No trouble at all,” I told him.

  He didn’t know it, but he would be in big trouble if he stayed on my property ten more minutes. Usually I thought Jasper had good taste in everything. He made good business decisions and he was obviously dating the most wonderful girl around. Why couldn’t he see that this guy Tyler was trouble?

  “Thanks for coming by,” I added. I swiveled my way closer to the black truck, hoping they’d take the hint.