She corrected him. “His murder. And, the fact that he was killed over love gone wrong. Two days ago, he was right here, and now, he’s gone forever. Even more, he’s not alone. Because of love gone astray, two people are dead. It’s just not right.”
“I know. The fact is, there’s nothing I can say to make this right. All I can tell you is that thanks to you, at least justice will be served.”
“That isn’t the consolation you think it is.”
“It’s better than nothing. It’s also the best you can do.”
Meg nodded. “That’s also why it’s so sad.”
Connor pulled her in close and wrapped his arms around her. “We’ll get through this.”
Meg bit the corner of her lip and answered with little conviction in her voice. “Yeah.”
Epilogue
Usually, after the adrenaline from solving the case wore off, Meg would settle back into her usual cheery attitude. It usually took a few hours, but it always happened. Until now, that was.
After hauling the killer off to jail, Connor had plenty of paperwork to complete. It was the most mind-numbing part of his job. If there was a bright spot to filling out police reports at his desk, it was the noticeable peace and quiet that was tough to find while out on the beat.
Once Connor finished up his work on the case, he headed over to Meg’s house to pick her up for dinner. That’s when he noticed the faraway look in her eyes that gave him such concern for her. Something was weighing heavy on her mind, and he wanted to get to the bottom of it.
“What’s the matter?” he asked.
Meg answered her boyfriend’s question with one of her own. “How do you do it?”
Connor was confused by his girlfriend’s vagueness. “What do you mean?”
“After all these years as a detective, with everything you’ve seen, how have you kept from getting jaded?”
“You’re still hung up on this case, aren’t you?”
“How could I not be?”
“I know it’s hard, but you have to try and keep your distance when investigating these cases. You can’t take them personally.”
“Connor, Walter was my neighbor. It’s more than just hard to keep my distance; it’s downright impossible,” Meg said.
“I’m not just saying this because I’m your boyfriend. I’m speaking from experience here. The fact is, if you’re not careful, cases like this will eat you alive,” Connor warned.
She thought what he said over, and then let out a big sigh. “Now I get why you left San Francisco. It’s bad enough the rare times a murder happens here. But in the city, things like this happen there every day. I can’t even imagine what a toll that took on you.”
Connor reflected. “Yeah, there were some really rough few years there. I’ve done my best to try and block them out. So, imagine my shock to find out trouble has followed me back to Enchanted Bay.”
Meg nodded. “It’s crazy, all right. The world is changing fast, and not for the better.”
“At the same time, it’s important to remember that there are still good people in the world.”
“I know. I’m looking at one,” she said.
He smiled.
“It’s just amazing to me the crazy things that can happen when love goes wrong.”
“That’s one way of looking at it.”
“What way are you looking at it?”
“To me, cases like this are a reminder of how important it is to appreciate the times when love goes right. Take our relationship, for example. I already knew what we had was rare, but it’s more than that. We really have something special.”
Connor had an uncanny knack for knowing exactly what Meg needed to hear at any given time. It never failed. Just when she needed cheering up the most, he’d say just the words she wanted to hear.
Meg’s heart melted as the words came out of her boyfriend’s mouth. She couldn’t agree with him more. She gazed at him and smiled for the first time that evening.
“You’re so sweet. I love how you always try to cheer me up.”
“I didn’t just say it to make you feel better. It’s the truth. We have the kind of relationship that doesn’t come along very often, so when it does, it’s important to cherish it.”
“I guess I haven’t been thinking about it that way,” Meg admitted.
“I think you should. If anything, the last few days have been a reminder that both life and love can be more fleeting than we think. That’s why we have to make the most of what have.”
Meg was then struck by a great sense of irony. There she was, a witch with all the spells in the world at her disposal, yet it was Connor who seemed to be the one with the magic all of a sudden. She couldn’t help but be touched by his words.
“Thanks for turning my mood around,” she said.
“Of course. You’re the love of my life,” Connor replied.
As Meg looked over at her boyfriend, she couldn’t help but get caught up in his enchanting gaze. It was then she realized that no matter what went wrong in the world, they always had each other.
The End.
Strangling Ambition
Chapter One
“What a pleasant surprise,” Beth Walton said.
There was no shortage of regulars that frequented Beth’s popular downtown Enchanted Bay donut shop. Richard Dotson was not one of them. Not that he was a stranger to the Walton family. It was just the opposite, actually. Richard and Beth had been friends for the better part of four decades.
When Beth’s husband had walked out on her thirty-five years before, it was Richard’s shoulder that she had cried on. In Beth’s eyes, Richard was like the brother that she’d never had. In addition, he had been like a de facto uncle to Beth’s daughter, Meg. His presence in their lives had been a most welcome sight, given that Meg had grown up without a father.
That presence had been less frequent in the last nine months, for a slew of different reasons. To start, Richard had kept busy running his popular seafood restaurant on the beach. There was also the fact that two-hundred and sixty days before, Richard had made a New Year’s resolution to get rid of the spare tire that was around his waist.
It had taken almost nine months, but the gray-haired, angular-faced, clean-shaven, newly trim, seventy-four-year-old had dropped a sizable amount of weight. So for him to be popping his head back into the donut shop after such a long hiatus was a welcome, if not curious development.
Richard had a different take. “If only this morning had been a little more pleasant.” He let out a sigh. “Unfortunately, it’s turning into the kind of day that only a jelly donut can save.”
Meg’s heart went out to Richard. Like her mother, Meg had a thin body and long, wavy red hair. The major difference between them was that Beth was in her sixties while Meg was in her thirties. Meg stood behind the counter and gave Richard a sympathetic look.
“I’m sorry you’ve had a rough morning, but you have come to the right place to cheer up. It’s hard not to smile after having one of our donuts,” Meg said.
Richard disagreed. “Tell that to my waistline.” He took a deep breath. “I really shouldn’t be here. After all, I have managed to keep donuts out of my life this long.”
Beth had a different take on the situation. “One donut won’t hurt.”
Richard didn’t buy her statement for a second. There was a look of utter disbelief on his face as he shook his head.
As much as Beth sounded like a shameless donut peddler, she wasn’t lying. While most donuts were calorie bombs, the ones sold at Beth’s shop truly were enchanted.
So what was so special about the donuts at this particular shop? As real-life witches, Beth and Meg put magical ingredients in their donuts that allowed them to taste great without packing on a single pound. As a matter of fact, a person could eat an entire dozen donuts from their shop without their scale tipping in the least.
Unfortunately, since the Walton family was dedicated to keeping their powers a secret, neither
Beth nor Meg could just tell Richard about the magical ingredient in the donuts. Instead, they had to find another way to convince him that having a jelly donut wouldn’t torpedo his diet.
Richard grimaced as his grip on the last shred of his willpower slipped away. “You shouldn’t be enabling me.”
“Richard, don’t you trust me?” Beth asked.
“Normally, yes.”
“One jelly donut it is, then.”
“The only exception is when you, as a donut shop owner, urge me to turn my back on what’s left of my willpower.”
Beth became playful. “Willpower is overrated.”
Richard grimaced. “That’s the last thing I needed to hear right now.”
Beth eased up on the high-pressure sales. “I’ll tell you what. Instead of talking about donuts, why don’t we talk about your day?”
Richard was unable to resist temptation any longer. “I’ll take a jelly donut.”
Meg grabbed a donut from the display case as Beth turned her attention to Richard’s emotional state.
“You must have had a really rough morning. What happened?” Beth asked.
Richard gave a cryptic response. “There are things that you want to talk about, and then there are things that you’d like to forget about. Let’s just say the wounds are a little too fresh to talk about right now.”
Beth winced.
Meg moved over to the register and rang up his order. “A dollar twenty-five.”
Richard paid for the donut and got ready to take a bite.
Beth built up the occasion. “Here we are—the moment of truth. Let us know if our donuts are as good as you remember them.”
Richard licked his lips then took a bite.
Beth grew impatient. “So?”
A smile came to Richard’s face. “To die for.”
Since Meg was the one to have baked that donut, she was delighted by Richard’s response. “That’s what we like to hear.”
“This is just what I needed,” Richard said.
“Splendid,” Beth replied. “Now if you can think of anything else you need, just let me know.”
“If you could straighten out my life, that would be nice.”
“I’m not sure that’s the kind of thing that can be done over one donut.”
Richard bit the corner of his lip. “You’re right.”
“Should we get you a second one?”
Richard shook his head. “This one is already going to put my diet in enough hot water.”
Richard had not understood Beth correctly.
She tried to clarify her point. “What I meant was, I’m all ears if you need to talk.”
Richard was reticent. “Like I said, the wound is still fresh.”
“Let me know if that changes.”
Richard took a deep breath. “I’ll tell you what. Why don’t we meet up for breakfast tomorrow? I’ll fill you in on the details, then.”
Beth nodded. “That sounds good.”
“In the meantime, I have to head out,” Richard said.
Chapter Two
There was a crispness in the Northern California air that Tuesday night in late August. It wasn’t exactly an uncommon occurrence, seeing as how Enchanted Bay was right on the water. The summer days were typically warm, which made the steep temperature drop in the evenings all-the-more surprising.
Even though Meg had lived in Enchanted Bay her entire life, she still occasionally found herself unprepared for the sudden changes in the weather. In her defense, when her boyfriend, Detective Connor Smith, had taken her out for dinner hours earlier, the sun was still out, and the temperature was pleasant. The moment the sun went down, the weather had not hesitated to change quickly.
With the sudden chill in the air, Connor’s warm embrace was more welcome than ever. He stood on the front doorstep to Meg’s house and held her tight. Connor had an angular, clean-shaven face, short sandy-brown hair, hazel eyes, and an athletic build. At that moment, however, all Meg cared about was his soft lips. As they embraced, Meg didn’t want the tasty kiss to end. Unfortunately, at that moment, Connor’s lips firmed up.
Meg opened her eyes to see what the trouble was.
Connor’s eyes were as wide as could be and were looking elsewhere.
A curious look came to Meg’s face. “Is something wrong?”
Connor turned his gaze back to her. “I’m just a little distracted.”
“By what?”
Connor nudged his head towards Meg’s living room window.
She whirled around to take a look at what he had been referring to. That was when she saw her black cat, Penelope, sitting on the windowsill, burning a hole into her back with a stare.
“Penelope won’t take her eyes off of us,” Connor said.
“Looks like someone is hungry,” Meg replied.
Connor looked long and hard at the cat. “It seems like it might be more than that.”
Meg’s opinion didn’t waver. “I know my cat. Trust me, this is about food.”
Not content to just sit inside and stare, Penelope got down from the windowsill and dashed outside using the doggy door at the entrance to Meg’s place.
Meg bent over and addressed her cat. “Someone must be really hungry tonight.”
Penelope rubbed against Meg’s leg and purred as loudly as she could.
Connor smiled wide. “Your cat is really something.”
Penelope got up on her hind legs and batted at the bottom of Meg’s green skirt.
Meg chuckled. “You can say that again.”
When the batting didn’t produce the results that Penelope had wanted, she let out a loud meow.
Connor chuckled. “I can honestly tell you I have never seen a cat quite like her.”
“That’s because there isn’t one. I don’t think I have any choice but to go inside and feed her.”
Connor reluctantly agreed. “You’re probably right.”
Meg bit the corner of her lips. “I guess this is goodnight, then.”
Connor sighed. “Yeah.”
The stage had been set for them to part ways, but neither of them seemed to be in any hurry to actually move. Instead, they looked deep into each other’s eyes.
Connor became wrapped up in Meg’s gaze then leaned in and gave her another kiss.
The lip locking ended up being short-lived as Penelope meowed loudly again.
Meg pulled back from the kiss and let out a groan.
Connor couldn’t help but joke. “It turns out Penelope isn’t shy, huh?”
Meg shook her head. “No, she means business.” She gave Connor a soft kiss on the cheek before heading inside. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
***
Meg closed the front door behind her and watched Connor move to his car in the driveway. Once he was safely out of earshot, Meg turned to her kitchen, where she saw something that troubled her. That was when Meg bent over and tried to talk some sense into her cat.
“Penelope, what are you doing?” Meg asked.
In some households, the idea of an owner talking to her cat would seem ridiculous. In Meg’s house, it was part of her everyday life. Not because Meg was crazy, mind you, but because she owned a talking cat. It turned out Penelope was a one-of-a-kind pet, and not just because Penelope could speak. She was also so much more than a house cat.
When Meg’s grandma was on her deathbed, Meg and her mother had cast a spell that transferred Penelope’s soul into the body of a kitten. Now Penelope had nine feline lives, and she wanted to be pampered in every one of them. That wasn’t the only curious detail at play. Since the spell had been cast, Meg’s grandma seemed to have gotten sassier than ever.
Penelope replied with her typical bluntness. “Isn’t it obvious? I’m trying to get fed.”
Meg pointed to the bowl of dry food that she had left out for Penelope in the kitchen.
“What about all that food I left out for you?”
Penelope was dismissive. “What about it?”
“Why didn’t you eat some of it?”
“Because that’s not food. That stuff is barely edible,” Penelope replied.
Meg sighed. “Come on, Grandma. Give me a break.”
Penelope didn’t budge. “Don’t believe me? Why don’t you try some of it?”
Meg shook her head. “No, thank you.”
“Exactly. That stuff is gross. After all, I’m a cat. I have my dignity.”
“Even so, you still didn’t need to ruin the romantic moment I was having with Connor.”
“You can blame that on my stomach. It can get a little grumpy sometimes.”
Meg raised her eyebrows. “Sometimes?”
Penelope made no apologies. “Don’t look at me. I’m at the whim of my taste buds.”
Meg realized she was getting nowhere. There was no use arguing any further. Only one thing was going to make Penelope happy. It was dinner or bust, so Meg decided to whip up some magic.
Meg closed her eyes and cast Penelope’s favorite spell. A few seconds later, a circle of pink light emerged just over the tile floor in her kitchen. The light then dissipated, leaving a bowl of fresh tuna on the ground, waiting to be devoured.
Meg turned to her cat. “There. You happy?”
Penelope approached the bowl and took a few bites. “See. Was that so hard?”
Unfortunately, one of the drawbacks of Penelope’s soul being transferred to a cat’s body was that she could no longer cast any spells. Meg was now the only one with magic at her fingertips. Penelope had no reservations about leaning on Meg for anything and everything. Most of the time, Meg was happy to oblige. This was the rare exception.
“It wasn’t hard,” Meg said. “It was just inconvenient. After all, Connor and I were having a really sweet moment.”
Penelope did not allow herself to get wrapped up in sentimentality. “Like I said, if you have problems, take them up with my stomach.”
Meg shook her head in disbelief. “Grandma, I love you to death, but you are a piece of work sometimes.”
Penelope responded with bluster. “You should appreciate me more. Like your boyfriend said, I’m one of a kind.”
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