Magic, Mocha and Murder

by Jinty James

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CACAO ORANGE HEALTH BALLS (US MEASUREMENTS)

  CACAO ORANGE HEALTH BALLS (METRIC MEASUREMENTS)

  Magic, Mocha and Murder - A Coffee Witch Cozy Mystery – Maddie Goodwell 3

  By

  Jinty James

  Copyright © 2017 by Jinty James

  All rights reserved

  No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced in any format, by any means, electronic or otherwise, without prior consent from the copyright owner and publisher of this book.

  This is a work of fiction. All characters, names, places and events are the product of the author's imagination or used fictitiously.

  CHAPTER 1

  “Oh, wow,” Maddie Goodwell murmured as she stepped into the hotel ballroom. Numerous stations, each equipped with an espresso machine, greeted her gaze.

  The cream-colored walls and ceiling provided a neutral backdrop, and rows of black folding chairs were set out for the public to watch the competition.

  “Exactly.” Suzanne Taylor, her best friend since middle school, sounded subdued for a second, before her blue eyes lit up. “This is so exciting! And your badge says you’re number eight.” She pointed to the white badge the registration clerk had given to Maddie a few minutes earlier, which she’d pinned to her lilac shirt.

  Maddie nodded, her stomach squirming with anxiety. Yes, it was exciting, but it was also … scary.

  Today was the day the Seattle barista championships were being held. The winner of today’s event would go on to compete in the nationals. Just the thought of that possibility made Maddie’s nerves shred even more.

  “It’s certainly different to last month’s competition in Estherville,” Maddie said in a low voice.

  Suzanne nodded. “But you won then, and I don’t see why you can’t win today, either. Your coffee skills are awesome, Maddie. And I’ll be in the crowd, cheering you on.”

  Maddie managed a smile, glad of her friend’s encouragement.

  Last month in Estherville, the small town one hundred miles from Seattle, where Maddie and Suzanne lived, and worked from their coffee truck, Brewed from the Bean, there had been a coffee festival and cappuccino making competition. But there hadn’t been as many entrants as there would be today. The setup, here in the ballroom of one of Seattle’s largest hotels, made the contest in Estherville look like the first day of coffee kindergarten.

  Suzanne looked around the empty room, then lowered her voice anyway.

  “Did you cast a Coffee Vision spell this morning?”

  “No.” Maddie shook her head. “I didn’t want to know what could happen today.”

  When she was seven, Maddie had stumbled across a crumbling old book called Wytchcraft for the Chosen in the local secondhand bookshop.

  One spell in particular caught her attention – how to tell someone’s future for the next twenty-four hours with the aid of a cup of coffee. When she used her own cup, she caught a glimpse of her future for the next day. When she cast the spell over a customer’s cup of coffee, she could peek into their future over the next twenty-four hours.

  “I didn’t want to know if I won or …” Maddie paused, “… lost.”

  “I understand.” Suzanne touched her arm.

  “Where is everyone?” Maddie frowned and checked her watch. “I know we got here early but I didn’t think we’d be the first ones to arrive.”

  “Maybe there was a traffic hold up somewhere.” Suzanne wrinkled her snub nose. “We should—”

  Before she could finish her sentence, there was a flurry of motion at the ballroom door.

  “Am I late?” A tall guy in his late twenties strode into the room. Maddie couldn’t wrench her gaze away. He wore a black t-shirt sporting a white badge with the number fourteen, denim jeans – and tattoos. They decorated his muscular, uncovered arms in swirls of green and blue. He also sported a pierced nose and a crew cut. But somehow, his masculine, attractive voice and the good humor in his eyes belied his somewhat tough appearance.

  “I don’t think so,” Maddie answered.

  “You’re the first person we’ve seen,” Suzanne chimed in, seeming to be equally mesmerized by his arrival. “Apart from the registration clerk outside.”

  His eyes crinkled with relief. “Good to know.” He grinned.

  They stood looking at each other for a moment, and then he held out his hand. “I’m Connor.”

  “I’m Suzanne.” She shook his hand. “And this is Maddie.”

  “Hi,” Maddie murmured as she shook his large, calloused hand.

  “Are you both competing?” he asked.

  “Maddie is,” Suzanne replied. “She won the Estherville coffee festival last month.”

  “It was only a small competition,” Maddie put in hastily. She’d been thrilled when she’d won that contest, and the prize had been a trophy and a wild card entry into today’s bigger competition, but now she was starting to wonder if she was out of her depth.

  “Cool.” Connor smiled.

  The ballroom door swung open and a stream of people hurried into the room. Maddie’s eyes widened as men and women of all ages swarmed toward the espresso stations.

  “Everyone!” A tall, slim woman in her forties clapped her hands. Heads turned toward her.

  “Now that I have your attention,” she barked, “I want everyone to find themselves a station. This competition will start on time. If you are not competing, go and sit down over there.” She waved a slender hand bedecked with diamond rings toward the rows of plastic chairs facing the espresso stations. She paused, seeming to look at each person in the room. “If you have not spoken to the registration clerk outside this room, do so now. Otherwise you will be disqualified if you are not wearing a numbered badge.”

  “Yikes!” Suzanne whispered to Maddie. “I hope she’s not one of the judges.”

  “Me too,” Maddie replied, her voice even lower than her friend’s.

  The woman who seemed to be in charge wore her hair in a sleek brunette bob, and her clothes appeared to be designer quality, consisting of a tailored crimson suit with matching kitten heels decorated with a discreet gold bow on the heels.

  In contrast, Maddie felt a little inadequate with her brown shoulder-length hair, lilac shirt and black pants, and low-heeled shoes.

  “We better do what she says,” Suzanne said, her natural bounciness subdued. “You find a station and I’ll grab a seat.”

  “I wish Trixie was here,” Maddie said wistfully.

  “I know.” Suzanne smiled sympathetically.

  Trixie, Maddie’s white and silver Persian, who might also be her familiar, was at home in Estherville. Well, not exactly at home. That morning, Maddie had experienced a whisper of intuition – something that didn’t happen too often, despite the fact she could cast three spells – and had left Trixie with her mom for the day. And Trixie had not been entirely happy.

  Luckily, her mother had promised to look after Trixie, despite not being a cat person, or aware that Maddie was a witch.

  “Do you wish Luke was here?” Suzanne asked mischievously.

  Maddie blushed, despite her best efforts not to. Luke was Suzanne’s brother, whom she’d been dating for the last three and a half weeks. Maddie had been crushing on him for years but it appeared to be only recently that Luke had seemed to return her feelings.

  He’d helped her practice for the competition. Maddie reasoned that feeling flustered around h
im would be good experience for this competition, but unfortunately he’d had a rush order come in to his classic vehicle restoration business, and hadn’t been able to make it today. She wasn’t sure if that was good or bad news for her nerves.

  The staccato sound of someone clapping their hands snagged their attention.

  “Find a station right now,” the tall slim brunette barked, glaring at Maddie.

  Maddie gulped and hurried over to the stations. Most of them had been taken already, but she found one in the second row, next to Connor. He flashed her an encouraging smile as she checked out the espresso machine in front of her.

  Everything was supplied for the contestants apart from the coffee beans. Maddie pulled out the beans she usually used in her coffee truck, dark roasted Arabica.

  The ballroom door banged and Maddie looked up to see more people trooping in and taking seats in the audience section.

  Suzanne met her gaze and gave her a little wave, a smile on her lips. Maddie thought her friend was more excited about today than she was.

  “Now that everyone is here—” the tall brunette who seemed to be in charge checked her gold watch “—we can begin. My name is Margot Wheeler. I and the other judges—” she gestured to two men on her left who had come in a few seconds ago, the portly one a little out of breath “—will be sitting over there.” She gestured to a long table with three chairs.

  “In round one, the first beverage you will make will be an espresso. After we have tasted each one, you’ll then go on to make a latte. Then the scores will be tallied, and the finalists will go on to make a mocha in round two, the final round. The overall winner will go on to the nationals, and also win one thousand dollars.”

  “That grand would really help me out,” she heard Connor murmur.

  Maddie nodded in understanding. Winning one thousand dollars would be a nice boost to her savings account – or she could put it back into Brewed from the Bean, or share the money with Suzanne, or—

  “Don’t forget to mention my brand new mocha beverage, MochLava!” A short, blustery man in his sixties made his way importantly to the judges. He snapped his fingers, and a workman wheeled in a silver vat, as tall as Maddie’s five foot five.

  “I didn’t know that was going to be here.” Margot Wheeler frowned.

  “Since I’m the sponsor, I thought it was the perfect opportunity for some publicity,” the newcomer said importantly. He took over the microphone after directing the workman to park the vat near the judge’s table.

  “I’m Fred Beldon,” he announced, drawing himself up to his full height of perhaps five foot seven. “The sponsor of today’s competition, and I will be the one awarding the check to the winner.” He gazed at the competitors as if expecting them to applaud.

  After they politely clapped, he motioned to the silver vat. “Feel free to help yourself to a delicious mocha during the break between round one and two.” He chuckled. “Tasting MochLava may inspire you to make one almost as good!”

  Maddie glanced at the judges, noting their polite smiles. She’d never heard of MochLava before, but her curiosity was aroused. Maybe she would try it, if she managed to get through round one.

  “How gauche,” a sophisticated looking woman in her thirties on Maddie’s other side murmured. She wore what must be a designer suit, in shades of pastel blue and silver which went incredibly well with her blonde hair – the only jarring note the white badge with the number three. If her locks were colored at a salon, it was a skillful job – her hair looked natural and toned well with her fair skin and patrician features. Even her fingernails were nicely-shaped and boasted a French manicure.

  Maddie looked at her own fingernails, which were clean, but of different short lengths, and felt a little intimidated by the posh woman’s appearance.

  “Have you tried that vile stuff?” the elegant woman asked Maddie, her voice just as well-polished as the rest of her.

  Maddie shook her head.

  “Don’t,” the woman advised, before turning her attention to the judges.

  “Thank you, Fred,” Margot, the female judge, said.

  “This product will soon be in every coffee house in Seattle,” Fred Beldon continued, oblivious to the scowl Margot gave him.

  “Not if I have anything to do with it,” muttered Connor.

  She must really be out of the loop, Maddie thought, risking a glance at Connor – and his tattoos. She’d never heard of this new mocha drink, or Fred Beldon, but both the contestants on either side of her had. Was MochLava a specific Seattle beverage?

  “We will now begin,” Margot Wheeler stated. The two male judges bobbed their heads in agreement. “You will have four minutes to make three espressos using your own choice of beans. When the buzzer sounds, all coffee making must cease. Does everyone understand?”

  Maddie nodded, noticing that all the competitors she could see nodded as well.

  “Your time starts now.” Margot rang a tinkly bell.

  Maddie flew into action. This machine was slightly different to the one she used in her coffee truck, but she’d already taken a few minutes to familiarize herself with it.

  The sounds of burring and grinding filled the room, so loud that Maddie knew she should have brought earplugs with her. She peeked to her right at Connor, who had buds of yellow foam sticking out of his ears. He obviously knew what to expect.

  Focus.

  The machine buzzed and whirred as she pulled a shot of what she hoped was her best espresso ever. The sweet, fruity notes lifted her spirits as she repeated the process twice more.

  Maddie concentrated so hard, shutting out all the noise around her, that she startled when a loud buzzer went off. The espressos she’d made looked perfect to her eyes, but she knew it was up to the judges to decide.

  All the competitors around her stopped what they were doing when they heard the buzzer.

  “Phew,” Connor muttered. “That was close.”

  She looked over at his station, his espresso looking just as good as hers in the tasting glasses.

  The judges strolled around the stations, each with a clipboard, trying each espresso and making notes. When they arrived at Maddie’s station, Margot, the female judge, ignored her apart from writing down the number on Maddie’s badge. She lifted the glass to her lips and tasted the espresso. Was there a hint of pleasure in her expression? Or was it just wishful thinking on Maddie’s part?

  The two male judges smiled and nodded at her, making notes on their clipboards, then returned to the judge’s table.

  Maddie sneaked a peek at the posh woman on her left, who seemed satisfied with her performance so far.

  “You will now make three lattes,” Margot announced, “in five minutes.”

  The bell sounded again. Rustling on her left alerted her to the fact that her elegant neighbor was using different beans for this beverage. Had Maddie made a mistake by using the same beans for both drinks?

  She told herself not to be silly. She’d experimented with various beans during the last three weeks, Luke and Suzanne her willing guinea pigs. She’d even tried out different combinations on her customers, and had kept coming back to her favorite – dark roasted Arabica.

  She pushed her doubts to the back of her mind and focused on making the best latte ever.

  Buzzzzz.

  Maddie’s hands fell to her sides as the buzzer sounded. She noticed Connor doing the same, but the sophisticated woman on her left took a few extra seconds to finish pouring her latte. Maddie wondered if the judges would notice.

  Once again, she waited for the judges to come to her station. She wished there was a stool she could sit on, as her legs suddenly wobbled. Looking out into the audience, she noticed Suzanne giving her an encouraging smile, and smiled back at her.

  At least she could have a break now, before round two – if she scored high enough to compete in that final round. She might even taste the mocha concoction in the silver vat – if she was brave enough.

  Margot Whee
ler tasted Maddie’s latte first, her expression not giving anything away this time. Then the two male judges followed, nodding at her as they set down their glasses. Maddie watched them all write notes on their clipboards, before they turned their attention to her stylish neighbor.

  To Maddie’s surprise, nothing was said about her competitor taking a few extra seconds to pour her latte after the buzzer sounded. Perhaps there was a little latitude about when to stop making their coffee after the time was up? Or maybe the judges didn’t notice. Maddie decided to put it out of her mind. If her neighbor’s latte was better than hers, she deserved to get higher marks than Maddie.

  “We will now tabulate the scores and post them outside this room in thirty minutes. The semi-finalists will reconvene in two hours for the second round, where you will make three mochas,” Margot announced, checking her watch.

  “Phew,” Connor murmured to her as he put a packet of coffee beans back into his satchel. “I could do with a break after that.”

  “I know what you mean,” Maddie said. Now that the intensity of the competition was over for the moment, all she wanted to do was flop into a chair and relax – until it was time for the next round.

  “How do you think you went?” Suzanne rushed over to her. A few other members of the audience headed toward the stations to chat with her fellow competitors.

  “I don’t know.” Maddie scrunched her nose. “I think I did okay but—”

  “You looked awesome up there,” Suzanne assured her with a grin. “I can’t wait until they reveal the scores.” She turned to Connor. “What was that about the mocha drink – MochLava?” She gestured to the silver vat near the judge’s table. The three judges seemed deep in discussion, Margot pointing at her clipboard with a crimson fingernail.

  “It’s a new coffee beverage, mass produced in a factory in Seattle.” Connor grimaced. “Fred Beldon doesn’t have a clue about coffee – or chocolate – but he thinks he does. And he thinks he’s going to get rich with that swill.”

  “I guess you’ve tasted it then?” Suzanne asked.

  “Yeah. He visited a lot of the coffee shops offering samples. My boss thought it might be good for business, and we all tried it.” His face split into a grin. “And it was so bad, my boss told us never to speak about it again.”