One Bad Witch
A Beechwood Harbor Magic Mystery
Danielle Garrett
Copyright © 2018 by Danielle Garrett
Edited by Magical Words Edits
Cover Design by Alchemy Book Covers
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.
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Contents
Books By Danielle Garrett
Introduction
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Also by Danielle Garrett
About the Author
Books By Danielle Garrett
BEECHWOOD HARBOR MAGIC MYSTERIES
Murder’s a Witch
Twice the Witch
Witch Slapped
Witch Way Home
Along Came a Ghost
Lucky Witch
Betwixt: A Beechwood Harbor Collection
One Bad Witch
BEECHWOOR HARBOR GHOST MYSTERIES
The Ghost Hunter Next Door
Ghosts Gone Wild
When Good Ghosts Get the Blues
HAVEN PARANORMAL ROMANCES
Once Upon a Hallow’s Eve
Introduction
Holly’s cauldron is bubbling over and ready to blow!
Following six months of intense training under some of the country’s most skilled potion masters, Holly’s head is full to the brim.
When she’s offered a new assignment with the Supernatural Protection Agency, she jumps at the chance to take her newfound skills out of the workshop and into the real world.
What she didn’t expect was to wind up tailing a suspected werewolf killer right in her own backyard.
Literally.
When another werewolf turns up dead, Holly and her roommates are locked in a race against time and the killer might be even closer than they think.
Chapter 1
“Happy New Roommate Day!”
I frowned over the top of my coffee mug at my current and ever-bubbly roomie, Evangeline Loren. “You’re actually excited about this?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” she asked, crossing through the kitchen on the way to the coffee pot.
Beside me, my boyfriend Adam, snorted into his glass of orange juice. “Sorry, Evie, but in case you hadn’t noticed, we haven’t exactly been winning the roommate lottery lately.”
“Not to mention we don’t get any say in the matter,” I added, shifting a sideways glance at the kitchen door in case our ghost landlady was lurking about. “The SPA picks these drifters from a hat and expects us all to deal with whatever fallout happens next.”
Evangeline, coffee in hand, swept to the table, a colorful satin robe billowing behind her. “Oh, come on. What was wrong with that gopher-shifter they sent over a few months ago? He seemed nice enough.”
Adam raised an eyebrow and looked at me. He didn’t actually say “she’s crazy, right?” out loud, but it was clear as day on his handsome face.
“Um, you’re talking about Rodger?” I asked, infusing a “she’s definitely insane” into my tone.
Evangeline ignored both of us and shrugged. “He was nice to me.”
Adam coughed out a laugh. “That’s because he had a major crush on you.”
Evangeline tried—and failed—to conceal a satisfied grin. “He wasn’t really my type, but—”
“Evie, he was a smuggler!” Adam said. “He was only here long enough to hatch those chimera eggs so he could sell them on the black market.”
“All right, well, what about LeeAnna? She was nice,” Evangeline countered.
“Oh, sure, she was a real peach,” I scoffed. “Except for the time she falsely accused me of stealing her overpriced makeup collection from her. She threatened to light the manor on fire if I didn’t give it back.”
“I think that was just a misunderstanding,” Evangeline said cautiously.
Adam smiled at her. “What I wouldn’t give for a pair of your rose-colored glasses.”
I patted the back of his hand. “Nah. I like you curmudgeonly and jaded.”
“Aww. Right back at ya, gorgeous,” he said with a chuckle. “Now, let’s not forget the worst of the worst in the Past Roommate Hall of No-Shame. It was a little before your time, Evie, but I believe top honors have to go to Gary the gargoyle, who will go down in infamy for trying to eat neighborhood pets! Oh, and that night he tried to kill Holly and me was delightful, too.”
I shuddered as though I could still feel his icy breath on my skin. “Overgrown bat.”
Evangeline winced. “Glad I missed that one.”
I sighed and dropped my chin into my palm. “I miss Lacey.”
“I do, too,” Evangeline added.
We both shifted our eyes toward Adam. He blinked. “Um, yeah you’re on your own there. I mean, I hope she’s happy being Queen of the Damned and all that, but I can’t say I’ve lost any sleep over her departure. If anything, I sleep better knowing there isn’t a cold-blooded killing machine sleeping in the next room.”
“At least … not yet,” I added with a scoff. “Who knows what kind of monster the SPA is sending over this time.”
Evangeline cringed. “But they are vetting whoever moves in, right?”
“Supposedly.” I snorted. “You’d think if someone was really paying attention, they’d do a better job of filtering these creeps out.”
“Careful there, Holls. You don’t want to bite the hand that feeds you,” Adam teased.
“The SPA doesn’t feed me,” I protested, narrowing my eyes at him. “If anything, I should be paying them. You wouldn’t believe the stockpile of potion ingredients they have hanging around, and as long as I don’t go full-on kid-in-a-candy-store, they let me use as much as I want. I’ve come up with three new brews just this month!”
“Too bad you can’t sell anything you make at headquarters,” Adam replied.
I shrugged. “I’m looking at it more like a paid internship. Love ’em or hate ’em, there’s no denying that the Supernatural Protection Agency pulls in the biggest talents in the supernatural world. The witches and wizards I work with are teaching me skills it would have taken me a lifetime to figure out on my own, if left to trial and error.”
Adam leaned back in his chair. “Well, I’m sure we’d all love to hear about the top-secret stuff you’ve been doing over there, but I think Agent Bramble made it clear you’d turn into a pumpkin if you said too much.”
I cringed at the bitterness in his voice. After hours of raw—and at times painful—conversations, we’d reached a truce on the issue, and things had been much better over the past six months. But gli
mmers of tension still popped up from time to time.
“Adam…” I said.
He held up a hand and gave his head a shake. “Sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.”
Evangeline sipped at her coffee and glanced around uncomfortably.
Great. We were turning into that couple.
“I just hope whoever moves in won’t complain about my Hallow’s Eve party,” Evangeline said. “I used to host one every year when I lived in the Los Angeles Haven. It’s been fun putting a big bash together again, and I’d hate to see it all come unraveled if the new roomie doesn’t want to participate. It really is more fun when all of us pitch in. Makes it more personal, I think.”
“I’m sure it will be fine, Evangeline,” I said. “I’m meeting with Agent Bramble tomorrow after my shift at Siren’s Song. I’ll try to bring the whole roommate thing up. It’s not really her department, but if I turn on the charm, maybe she can pull some strings.”
Evangeline laughed softly. “No offense, Holly, but I think charm would slide off her like an egg from a Teflon pan.”
Adam smirked. “Well, now you’ve done it, Evie. Haven’t you learned you can’t dangle a challenge in from of Holly like that? It’s like Boots with a bag of catnip.”
I stuck my tongue out at him and went to dump the last gulp of coffee down the sink. My shift at the coffeehouse was starting in half an hour, and my hair looked like I’d slept in front of an industrial fan. It was going to take more than a little finagling to get it presentable.
Adam twisted around in his chair, one arm draped over the back. “You really think Agent Bramble can help? I mean, the new roommate is coming tonight. I’d say it’s a done deal at this point.”
“Well, maybe not with this one, but if our track record holds, we’ll be looking for a new one in a few weeks, give or take. Maybe she can throw her weight around for us next time.” I rinsed my mug and gave it a quick scrub before placing it in the dish wrack.
Adam chuckled. “That’s true.”
“As I said, I don’t know if she’ll really be able to help, but it’s worth a shot. Things have been a little crazy over at headquarters lately. Mache’s rolling out all kinds of new policies and procedures. It’s possible the whole application process has slipped through the cracks, and whoever is in charge of it has been too swamped to pay much attention.”
“That’s super comforting,” Adam quipped.
“Tell me about it.” I glanced up at the large clock on the wall above the door. “What time are we supposed to meet the newbie?”
Posy, our ghost landlady, tended to prefer a formal meet and greet every time a new roommate moved in. In the past, it hadn’t been much of an issue, but we’d gone through six roommates in as many months and the so-called family meetings were getting a little old.
“Seven o’clock,” Evangeline said. “I’m ordering pizza at six-thirty.”
I nodded, mentally counting the hours off on the clock. “I have a few errands to run after work, but I should be able to make it in time.” I went back to the table and leaned over to press a quick kiss to Adam’s lips. “Don’t let Posy start without me, and text me in case anything crazy happens.”
Adam gave a salute. “Officially on crazy patrol, starting now.”
I grinned and blew him a kiss on my way to the swinging kitchen door. “Oh, and will one of you feed Boots when he wakes up? It seems His Royal Fluffiness is having a leisurely morning.”
Evangeline laughed and agreed to feed my lazy orange tabby cat in my stead. Normally, Boots woke up with me and waddled out to the kitchen for breakfast right around the time I was pouring myself a second cup of coffee, but today I was planning to get my second cup once I punched in for work. My potion business was going strong, but I continued to work one or two days a week at the local watering hole. I liked the work and enjoyed seeing my best friend, Cassie, who managed the coffee shop. Between her duties there and the time she was spending planning her upcoming wedding, sometimes the only time we got a chance to talk was at work.
Beechwood Harbor was a small, beachside community tucked along the rustic Washington State coastline. Every year, as soon as the kiddos were let loose from their classrooms, tourists flooded the area, and things stayed busy through Labor Day. As it was the middle of October, we were past the crazed tourist season, and things felt like they were settling back into the normal groove. As much as I loved the tips during the busy season, the fall, winter, and early spring were the times when the small town felt small again, where regulars lingered, and the simple magic of life in a small town came back to life.
Siren’s Song sat in a strip of shops that boasted free parking and ocean views. The coffee shop neighbored a fancy day spa, owned and operated by none other than my glam-girl roomie, Evangeline. The Emerald was a night-and-day comparison to the gardening shop that occupied the space when I’d first moved to the harbor two years ago. The lights inside were turned off, waiting for Evangeline. She’d likely make her way down a little after ten o’clock and stop at Siren’s Song for a muffin before heading next door to open the spa.
Siren’s Song was already buzzing with activity when I opened the door. There wasn’t a line at the counter, but a dozen regulars were holding court in the cozy dining room, sitting in pairs or alone with the daily newspaper. I smiled at the patrons who glanced my way as I went to the front counter.
I’d spent the majority of my life inside the protected magical communities known as havens, and Beechwood Harbor was much more similar to them that the larger cities were. Technology was only just starting to make its entrance into the daily lives of the supernaturals living inside the secret worlds, tucked behind a thick veil of magic in the hearts of some of the world’s biggest cities. Often, visiting Seattle or San Francisco proper made me feel like I’d stepped out of a time machine into the future; everyone was always glued to their phones or computer screens. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen someone in Seattle with an actual newspaper. It was a small thing, but part of the reason why Beechwood Harbor felt like home. Things moved slower and life was lived out from behind a digital screen, just like in the havens.
“Morning, Holly,” Kirra Frank said, looking over her shoulder from her place at the espresso machine.
“Hey, Kirra. How’s it going here?”
“I’m working on a phone order from Dr. Vann’s office. She’s hoping someone can bring it over for a staff meeting they’re having in half an hour.”
“Sure thing. Let me drop my stuff in the back and I’ll come give you a hand.”
“Thanks. Cassie’s in her office, if you wanna say hi.”
I hung my purse and coat on the counter in the back room and then went to the closet-sized office and knocked on the doorjamb.
Cassie jolted and a guilty pink bloomed across her cheeks. A Bride magazine slipped from the manila folder she held open in front of her, and she hurried to snatch it up off the floor. “Holly! Whew, I thought you were Kirra.”
I laughed. “She’s back on your case?”
“Yes,” she huffed. “According to her, I’ve looked at enough magazines that I should be able to plan six weddings by now. She just doesn’t get it.”
I buttoned my lips. Kirra was Cassie’s younger sister, and while she was happy about her sister’s engagement to Jeffery Lincoln, the town’s Chief of Police, she wasn’t so thrilled at the prospect of spending every free weekend pouring over glossy magazines and debating whether a hand-woven or cascade-style bridal bouquet made more sense for the church venue.
“She’s happy for you, Cass,” I reminded her.
“I know, I know. But I’m about a week away from tying her to a chair and refusing to let her get lose until she picks out a maid of honor dress!”
I smiled. “Still?”
“I swear, every time I bring it up, she bobs and weaves and changes the conversation. If I didn’t care about the pictures, I’d pick out some neon-green taffeta nightmare and make her march down the ai
sle in it!”
I laughed, but glanced out at the front when the steaming machine started screaming. “Listen, I gotta go help her with a phone-in order, but when I get back from delivering it to Dr. Vann’s office, I’ll see if I can do some digging. Maybe she’s just overwhelmed with all the choices? If we find out what kind of dresses she likes, maybe we can narrow it down for her.”
Cassie smiled and set the magazine aside, carefully tucking it under a loose-leaf spreadsheet. “Thanks, Holly. I have to run out and pick up an order from the bakery, but I’ll be back after that, and we can catch up.”
I joined Kirra at the front of the shop, and she rattled off the drinks for me to make while she handled a trio of customers waiting at the register. Within fifteen minutes, we had everything caught up, and I was headed out into the misty morning to deliver two cardboard cup holders’ worth of lattes to Dr. Vann’s office in the building a few blocks from the coffee shop.
As I backed out the front door, a gust of wind kicked up and flung the door open right into two patrons about to enter. I whipped around, careful not to spill any of the eight drinks, spouting apologies. With a relieved smile, I realized one of the patrons was Nick Rivers, one of my closest friends in Beechwood Harbor. Beside him stood a woman I didn’t recognize. She was stunning, with long silver hair, berry-red lips, and model-worthy cheekbones.
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