by Amy Boyles
“Good thing,” Cordelia said, “because I didn’t want to tell you, but all your contouring made it look like you had a mustache.”
Amelia flared her fingers and black snow fell on Cordelia.
“Hey,” Cordelia said.
I sat back in shock. “Amelia, that’s not like you.”
Amelia smiled. “Oh, I know. I know I’m normally all rainbows and sparkles, and I think Lane helped break me out of that.”
Cordelia clapped her hands and the black snow evaporated. “I kinda like you a little less naive.” She pinched her fingers together. “But only a little less.”
I glared at Betty. “And I found out you sometimes faint from low blood pressure. First thing tomorrow, you’re going to the doctor. First thing so we can get that stabilized.”
Betty hugged her arms. “Bunch of big mouths in this town.”
I smiled. “Big mouths who love you.”
“I’ll spell every one of them to fart flowers if they keep poking their noses in my business.”
My cousins and I laughed. “Okay. Who’s ready to go the festival?”
The last night of the festival was loud and bright. Colored orbs of light floated along the paths and people were dressed in their most vibrant and best witchy gowns.
I felt pretty underdressed in my jeans and short-sleeved tee. But whatever, I was new in town and folks could accept it or not.
Cordelia stepped up beside me. “How was your date the other night?” I said.
“Shh,” she said. “No one knows about it.”
I twisted my fingers. “So you admit it.”
A sly smile curled on her lips. “I’m not saying anything. So can you please keep this between us. Just for now?”
I nodded. “Sure. It’s our secret.”
She grabbed my hand. “Great. Come on. There’s this fun game on the other side of the lawn. It consists of balls of fire. You can only play it on the last night of the festival.”
The hair on my nape rose. “Is it dangerous?”
She shrugged. “Maybe a little. That’s why it’s only one night.”
I glanced around and saw Mint and Licky standing on the other side of the lawn, arguing about something. I thumbed toward them. “Well, as long as you keep those two far, far away from the game, everyone should come out alive.”
Cordelia looked over her shoulder. “Come on, Amelia. We’re going to play Fireballs.”
“I’m in,” Amelia said.
Fireballs? Definitely sounded dangerous.
It was. You had to control the balls with your magic so they wouldn’t set anything on fire or hurt the game barker. I actually found that it was something I could do, which gave me a boost of confidence in the magic department.
“You’re pretty good at that,” a husky voice whispered beside me.
I aimed my ear toward Axel’s mouth, hoping he’d nuzzle it, but instead, he leaned forward and pressed his cheek to mine. A knot of butterflies invaded my stomach at his touch.
“I’m working hard at it,” I said about the game. “What’ve you been up to?”
“Just trying to catch a killer, or figure out who killed Melbalean. All in a day’s work.”
I turned around and found myself lip to lip with Axel. The world evaporated as I drank in the blue of his eyes.
“Want to go for a walk?” he said.
I nodded as my throat had gone completely dry. “Sure,” I croaked.
“You okay?” he said.
I cleared the cobwebs from my voice box. “Yes.”
We strolled down a walkway where colored orbs bobbed and twirled. Several other couples had taken the same path.
“It’s a beautiful night,” Axel said.
“It is.”
“It’s not as lovely as you, however.”
I felt heat ping my cheeks. “I bet you say that to all the girls. After all, you do have the nickname Mr. Sexy.”
He laughed. “That’s a ridiculous label. I’m a one gal kind of man. When I know who I want.”
My heart slammed into my throat. “Oh,” I croaked.
He paused and turned toward me. I pivoted to him and felt heat waft from his chest. “I’d like to spend more time with you.”
“I thought you’d already said that.”
He shook his head. “I haven’t said that explicitly. I’ve said you should stay away from me.”
I clicked my tongue. “Oh, that’s right. I gave you a thousand reasons why you shouldn’t care what other people think.”
He brushed a strand of hair from my eyes. “And you know what?” he said in a drawl that made my knees quake.
“What?” I said hoarsely.
“You are right, Miss Lady. You’re absolutely right. I’m willing to try, if you are.”
I pretended to think about it for a minute. I cocked one eye at him. “Try what, exactly?”
“Admitting to ourselves that it means more than nothing. When we do this.”
His lips touched mine and fire razed to my toes. I shivered as he pulled away. “I guess it means something whether we want to admit it or not.”
He smiled. The corners of his eyes crinkled. “That’s what I thought, too. I wanted to deny it, but there’s no denying this.”
“Okay, but we go slow,” I said.
He nodded. “As long as we’re both ready to admit it’s something, we can go as slow as snails.”
I laughed. “Sounds about perfect.”
He took my hand and led me down the trail. “You want a pumpkin spice slush?”
I squinted at him. “Is that good?”
Axel placed a mocking hand on his heart. “You haven’t lived until you’ve had a pumpkin spice slush. I don’t even like pumpkin, but I get one on the last night of the festival.”
I tipped my face toward him. “Okay.”
He smiled at me and I melted a little. “It might take a while. Why don’t I meet you over by those buildings?”
“Okay. Sounds good.”
I strode over between a couple of buildings and stood admiring the festivities. A few fireworks cracked in the sky and I watching, beaming at the display of beauty.
“Beautiful night, isn’t it?”
I glanced over to see Mayor Potion strolling toward me.
“Sure is.”
He jingled change in his pockets. “It seems they brought that boy in for questioning—the chicken farmer. That new police chief we’ve got seems to think he might’ve had something to do with Melbalean’s murder.”
“It seems like it,” I said.
“I tell you, it’s a weight off my mind. I’m glad the whole thing’s about over. I hate to think that Magnolia Cove has a murderer running loose.” He shot me a sad smile. “One who’s slashing and dashing, as they say.”
“That’s true.”
He rubbed his face. “But I tell you, a lot of folks are asking what happened to those golden eggs Melbalean had. The police have her chicken, have been keeping it quarantined, but they can’t find those eggs.”
I clutched my chest. “Oh. Well, I might know where they are.”
The mayor smiled at me. “You do? Well, that would certainly help the police out a lot of they had ‘em.”
“Yes. In fact, we’re standing on them.”
“Well, I’ll be,” he said.
I found the mound that Betty had ditched the eggs under. I grabbed a nearby stick and peeled back the earth until the top of the bag was exposed.
“Here,” he said, “let me help you with that.”
“I’ve got it,” I said.
He grabbed the bag at the same time as I did. The contents spilled onto the grass. There were half a dozen golden eggs and something else.
I gasped.
The other was a regular looking egg. It hit a rock and cracked open. The contents flowed out, and it’s what was in there that made my heart stutter.
It was an image of the mayor looking upright and regal. I instantly knew what was going on. He had sold
something to Melbalean, and in exchange, she’d trapped him.
I glanced up.
“I really wish you hadn’t broken that egg,” he said.
Mayor Potion held a gun to me.
“It was an accident,” I said in a quiet voice. “And why are you using a gun when you’re a wizard?”
“I like to keep things simple.”
I smirked. “It was you.”
“Come on out of the light, darlin’, and we’ll discuss it.”
The last thing I wanted to do was lose sight of the party, but with a weapon leveled on me, I didn’t think I had another option. I stepped away from the festival and from safety.
“You see I wasn’t always a drunk,” Potion said. “I used to be an upstanding citizen. But then my wife got very sick.”
I eyed the gun and the steady hand that held it. I had to think, had to try to use my magic to get out of this. Maybe keeping him talking would work. “I’m sorry she got sick.”
Wow. Brilliant. Tell the guy who’s threatening to kill you that you’re sorry his wife got sick. Smart.
“Well, so was I. I went to Melbalean. Asked if she could help. She could help all right, but I had to give her something. She wanted my reputation, basically—the thing I cherished most. As I said, I didn’t always imbibe the way I do now.”
I backed up. “Until Melbalean came along.”
“That was the price I paid to get a few more years with my Susie. But then Susie passed on and I wanted my life back. Melbalean agreed. Said she’d give me the egg and I could become who I was again.”
Thoughts swirled in my head. “But that wasn’t enough, was it?”
He shook his head. “No. I wanted her to pay for taking things that folks gave her. She took what was dearest to you and seemed to have a sick glee for owning it. I knew it was crazy, but I’d read about an attack turkey somewhere. I planted the idea in Betty’s head about a hen for this year’s festival. Once she took the bait, I knew Melbalean would, too. I’ve got lots of friends, Pepper. Lots of friends. I had your grandmother’s and Melbalean’s birds circumvented to the post office in Hollyhock so I could see if the special feed I’d made worked, then I sent the birds on to the women.”
“But why Betty’s bird?” I said.
“Just in case the first bird didn’t make it. See, I also had to control the hens. I had to make sure Melbalean’s bird wouldn’t remember killing her, and it took some work to make sure the creature would throw the blame on someone else.”
“But what about Betty’s? That bird didn’t talk at all.”
“Might not be smart enough. Chickens aren’t particularly bright. But the feed worked. Made them mad.”
I nodded in realization. “Then you planted some with Leona to throw suspicion on her and you planned to meet with Lane to throw suspicion on him. But instead of meeting Lane, you stole his feed—feed that looked exactly like what you had created. ”
The mayor shrugged. “Anyone but me, darlin’. Anyone but me. The best part was that I used the cues of the fire to get Melbalean’s bird to attack her, with the help of the food that made them aggressive, of course. The bird committed murder beautifully. Killed Melbalean just the way I wanted. But I still need my egg,” he said, his face twisting harshly. “Otherwise, I’ll never be who I once was.”
Long dark shadows covered us. A sliver of moonlight glinted through the trees, reflecting off the gun.
“But now you know what happened, and I can’t have that. So it looks like it’s the end of the road for you, Pepper. Too bad. I hear you’re mighty good at matching witches with their familiars.”
He raised the gun to the level of my heart. Sweat drenched my skin and I knew this was it.
Use my magic or die.
Just then, a commotion came from behind us. Mint and Licky bumbled up. “It’s dark back here,” Mint said. “What are y’all doing?”
Never in my life was I so glad to see my aunts. ‘Course, I could regret that feeling eventually, too.
The mayor turned, keeping the gun on me. “Just having a chat.”
Licky reached Mayor Potion and put a hand on his shoulder. She peered over and yelled, “He’s got a gun!”
Mint threw up her hands and screamed.
The gun flew from the mayor’s hands into the air. A second later, it exploded into a thousand pieces.
Mint and Licky ran. I bolted past the mayor, who grabbed a handful of my hair. “Not so fast, little girl.”
I yelled and my aunts stopped. They whirled around.
Mint took a step forward. “You release our niece right now.”
The mayor’s breath was hot in my ear. “I don’t want to hurt more than one of you. But if I don’t have a choice, I will.”
Licky folded her arms and sank onto one hip. “You want to mess with chaos witches, go ahead. Be our guest.”
I could see the mayor throw out his hand. At the same time, my aunts thrust their arms forward. Sparks rained on us. The mayor loosened his grip and I stumbled from his grasp. When I turned around, Mayor Potion stood surrounded by a tornado of magic.
I clutched for Mint, who pulled me into a hug.
The mayor screamed and spat. “Get me out of here. I’m the mayor of Magnolia Cove and I demand you release me.”
Licky glanced at me. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” I stared at the mayor. “He had Melbalean killed.”
Mint released me. “I always knew there was something funny about him.”
I watched as the magic tightened around him. “Do you know how to get him out of there?”
Licky laughed. “Of course not. We only know how to start chaos. Not how to stop it.”
I laughed as the townsfolk started drifting into the patch of grass we were standing in. Mint turned to the crowd and said, “The mayor’s a killer. Let’s arrest him and go back to the party.”
I laughed. Sounded like a plan to me.
TWENTY-THREE
The sun was shining the next morning when I walked to Familiar Place. After Mint and Licky had wrapped up the mayor, Axel appeared with my pumpkin spice slush, which had been amazing, if I do say so myself. I explained what had happened and he called Garrick, who arrested Peter Potion.
Betty had listened quietly when I explained about the mayor. I think she felt duped by him. I mean, after all, she’d been waking up every morning at 4 am to save his rear end. I’d be a little ticked, too, if I discovered I was helping out a murderer.
But in the end, she didn’t say anything. She just accepted it and went on.
What else could she do?
And the chickens? They were returned to where they came from—shipped overnight.
I sipped my tumbler of sweet tea with a few extra jellybeans thrown in as I padded down Bubbling Cauldron Road.
I snapped my fingers as I remembered there was one last thing I needed to do. I stopped by the statue of Amaryllis Snitch. Leona Doodle sat on a bench beside her. I plopped next to her and opened my purse.
I pulled out the bottle with the image of the beautiful woman from the egg and the cameo I’d found by the statue. “I assume this is yours,” I said.
Leona’s deep frown vanished when she saw what I held. “How did you know?”
I shrugged. “I didn’t until I found the picture. You dropped it, right? And had been looking for it?”
She nodded slowly as she raised the bottle, tipping it left and right to admire the contents. “I never thought I’d see it again.”
I smiled warmly. “I noticed the resemblance late last night and realized it was yours. I’m glad I could give this to you before you left.”
She hugged the bottle to her chest. “I wanted to cook. Be the best cook in all of Alabama. I got my wish at a price. Thank you for this.”
I patted her shoulder and said, “I’m glad I could help.”
When Leona looked at me, tears misted her eyes. “You’re welcome at my restaurant anytime you want. Anytime.”
I thanked her
and headed toward Familiar Place. My heart swelled with pride at the good deed I’d been able to do.
Other storeowners milled about the sidewalk, sweeping away the dirt. I waved to my neighbors and smiled.
I found a square box on the stoop. I wedged it under my arm and unlocked the door.
The animals yawned to life. The kittens stretched. The puppies yelped. I fed and watered them. I even let the puppies run across the floor to exercise.
The bell above the door tinkled.
“Morning,” came the husky voice.
I glanced up from cleaning the glass counter. I wiped my hands and brushed a strand of crimson and honey hair from my face. “Morning.”
Axel looked delicious in a navy blue t-shirt and hip-hugging jeans. He strolled up and leaned on the counter, being careful not to leave prints on the glass. “How’re you feeling today?”
I shrugged. “Okay. It’s crazy about the mayor, but what can we do? I’m just glad I didn’t get shot. I have my aunts to thank for that. For once, their chaos magic did the right thing.”
His blue eyes shone when he smiled. My heart fluttered and I felt heat creep up my neck. “I just came by to make sure you’re okay and see if you wanted to have some lunch.”
I laughed. “The way our dates go, someone will wind up dead.”
He shook his head. “Not at lunch. Supper, maybe.”
I smiled. “You’ve got a point. Okay, let’s have some lunch. I should be able to close up shop for an hour.”
Axel’s gaze trailed to the box. “What’s that?”
I shook my head. “No idea. It was on my doorstep when I arrived. I haven’t had a chance to look at it.”
I grabbed a pair of scissors and sliced open the top. I pulled away a nest of packing straw until I found what looked like a set of instructions. I handed them to Axel as I pulled out the contents.
It was a plum-colored egg, about eight inches high and quite round. It came with a base, which I set it on.
“Oh. Is this some sort of gift? Something I’m supposed to put up somewhere and display?” I said.
Axel didn’t answer. I kept digging until I found a package slip. The receiver was supposed to have been my Uncle Donovan.
“Uncle Donovan must’ve ordered this before he died,” I murmured, picking it up and admiring the jeweled color. “What is it?”