The Rhinestone Witches Omnibus: Books 1-3

by Addison Creek

  “Isn’t it personal?” I asked.

  “Of course it is,” she said with a ringing laugh.

  I rolled my eyes and shook my head.

  She smiled at me, looking happy in a way that she hadn’t for the entire time we’d been in the presence of Quinn.

  “I’m worried about you,” she said, meeting my eyes. I had to squint to see her properly.

  “Why?” I asked. “I’m the one who has big reasons to worry about you.”

  “I know,” she said with another laugh. “I live dangerously. But that’s not supposed to be you right now.”

  She could see in my face that I still wasn’t getting it.

  “You had a dead body in your living room,” she reminded me.

  “Poor Sammy,” I said. “She was young and she loved the unicorns.”

  “Of course she did. Everyone loves the unicorns. Makes them better supernaturals,” said Ethel. “Despite all that, I worry. There was a murder and it was under our noses. In our cottage.”

  “The only thing I can figure is that someone at the party was a Vixen. The problem is that half the town was at the party.”

  “What about Hannah and Taylor?” Ethel asked.

  “They weren’t invited and they wouldn’t have come if they had been,” I said. My mind cast back to our last Young Witches meeting and Hannah’s fury when I caught them arguing.

  Ethel nodded. I didn’t know my sister’s history with the leader of the Young Witches, but she was about to give me a clue.

  “Hannah and I don’t get along. I would have challenged her for the leader’s role if I’d been around,” said Ethel. For the first time I saw a flash of regret in her eyes.

  “I’m sorry,” I told her.

  She nodded and glanced at the sky. “I’d best be going. Don’t want to run into any Vixens or sheriff’s deputies.”

  As we hugged, more words stuck in my throat. There was so much I wanted to say to her, but instead I just watched her hop through the snow toward the woods.

  This was the first time I had seen my sister in daylight. Her bright eyes and cool haircut had surprised me, but what surprised me even more was how much I missed her.

  As she hurried away I heard a vehicle drive up. I glanced over my shoulder to see the sheriff’s car coming with Joy at the wheel. I hurried inside. Quinn would be leaving now.

  He and Lowe were in the kitchen chatting about fermentation. Lowe liked stuff like that, and so, apparently, did Quinn.

  “Sorry to have taken so long,” I said.

  “She get going okay?” Lowe asked. “Even in this weather?”

  “Yeah, it’s good that there’s been a break in the storm. Otherwise no one would be able to leave.”

  “I like it here,” said Quinn, looking around a bit wistfully.

  Lowe raised her eyebrows. “Sorry, but to move in you have to marry one of us,” she said.

  “Lowe!” I cried, my face turning hot and crimson.

  Even Quinn looked a little embarrassed.

  Joy saved all of us by choosing that moment to knock on the front door. Another cat had decided that we witches needed some assistance since our matriarch had left, so Sleek was there to greet her. By the time I had gotten the door open, the cat was already in her arms getting her ears scratched.

  “Afternoon. I heard the boss was here?” Joy was short and had a pleasant face. If I hadn’t known she was a sheriff’s deputy I would have thought she worked in the library or the post office.

  “Joy. Thanks for coming to get me. Any news?” Quinn asked, coming up behind me. He already had his coat on and I felt a pang of sadness. When it came right down to it, I didn’t want him to leave.

  “Plenty,” said Joy, her face souring. “I’ll tell you in the car. The one thing I can say is buckle up. It’s going to be a bumpy ride down Misdirect Lane.”

  “Why?” Quinn asked. Lowe had come to the front hallway behind Quinn, and we all peered toward the car Joy had come in.

  I gasped. The vehicle was covered in paint and rotten cabbage. For good measure, some egg had been thrown into the mix. Thrown being a literal term in this case. The fairies and pixies were all buzzing around the car curiously, probably getting ideas to use against each other in battle.

  “Yikes,” said Lowe.

  “The trailer park folk?” Quinn asked Joy. She nodded and let Sleek go.

  “They were not pleased to see me. I thought they might do worse, but they just threw stuff.”

  “I’ll see you later. Be careful. If you need anything, call,” Quinn said, looking into my eyes. I saw Joy and Lowe shift. I tried to act casual, but hahaha.

  “We’ll be fine,” Lowe assured him. I told my chin to move up and down and my neck to help.

  “Let’s go,” Quinn said to Joy, who had schooled her features into nonchalance. I envied her for more reasons than one.

  Then he was gone.

  So my cousin and I had the afternoon to ourselves. “More snow,” Lowe commented, looking skyward to where the storm clouds were gathering again. The snow was already starting to fall. “I guess we’re stuck here for today. Hopefully Ethel gets home safely. Wherever home is.”

  I couldn’t have agreed more. “What shall we do for the rest of the day?” I asked.

  We both knew the answer to that question. The house still needed a lot of tidying up, so without any further talk, we got to work.

  The snow was coming down thick and heavy by the time we’d finished the dishes. We were just discussing the merits of baking a chocolate cake when there was a knock at the door.

  Lowe and I exchanged glances. “Any chance it’s Jackie or Kelly?” she asked.

  “I can’t imagine they’d come all the way out here on a day like this,” I said. “They have their own families to help out.”

  Lowe nodded. “Then it’s someone we don’t know.”

  Dusk was falling outside the windows. I had found myself checking on the unicorns every few seconds all afternoon, but they seemed to be fine.

  Lowe crept toward the kitchen door and looked out, even though the knock had come from the front.

  “If it’s a Vixen, the fairies and pixies would have alerted us, wouldn’t they?” I whispered.

  “They should, yes,” Lowe agreed. She didn’t sound convinced, though. The Vixens had proved deadly smart and efficient, going so far as to slip into our party without our knowledge. Even worse, we had apparently invited them, however unintentionally.

  Having satisfied herself that nothing was happening out back, Lowe headed for the front of the house. I crept behind her with my hand at the ready.

  And that I’d do it anyway.

  I did my best to walk on silent feet as we moved down the darkening hallway.

  When we got close to the front door Lowe moved out of the way to let me go first.

  I peered through the curtains, but at first I couldn’t see anything. When I realized who it was, my relief was intense.

  “Hi!”

  I had thought I’d content myself with taking care of the cats, the unicorns, and the house itself for the afternoon and evening. The unicorns had decided that it was in their best interest to stay inside the barn, out of the wind, so even they hadn’t needed much from me.

  But now we had company!

  Lucky was at our door with a pot of hot chocolate and a plate of freshly baked cookies. Lisa stood behind her, smiling broadly.

  “Sorry to surprise you like this! We were going stir crazy in the house and we thought we should come over and say hello to our neighbors.”

  “It’s you!” said Lowe happily. “I came to see you last night.”

  “Sorry I missed you,” said Lucky, coming in with a flurry of snowflakes.

  Our visitors stood in the hallway removing the layers they had put on just to get across the road, letting the warmth from the house absorb the cold that had rushed in through the open door. Lucky handed me the cookies and I led our guests to our favorite room: the kitchen.


  Their heads turned as we passed the living room.

  “Is that where the murder took place?” Lisa asked, pointing uneasily.

  “Sure is,” said Lowe. “We aren’t using that room, obviously. Too upsetting and such.”

  Lucky nodded sympathetically. “Of course. I’m so sorry. And with Bethel gone as well. Such poor timing, and the poor girl.”

  “Isn’t it?” I grumbled. We all kept chatting. Of course, the murder was on everyone’s minds.

  “I just thought Misdirect was the Borough that no one cared about,” marveled Lisa. “I wouldn’t have thought the murder would ever take place here. I guess the sheriff thinks differently though.” She looked right at me. Everyone knew that I was dating Quinn. I tried to remain impartial. Quinn really believed that Lester should be arrested. He had someone tell him that they had seen Lester at the scene of the crime. He wouldn’t say who. None of that looked very good for Lester, unfortunately.

  “I wouldn’t have thought that a murder would be committed here either. More shocking things have happened but I’m not sure what they are,” agreed Lowe. “Everyone here is so nice. Somewhere like Crown. I feel like money goes to those rich witches heads and then all bets are off.”

  “I always thought that you all made a nice place for yourselves here,” I said. My eyes slid between Lisa and Lucky and Lowe. The two cottages opposite each other weren’t large. They were cozy and well kept though. Lowe had a beautiful garden out front. She had done a lot of work to make it nice.

  Lisa grinned. “We sure have. This place has always been a wonderful place to live.”

  Lucky took a sip of tea.

  “When is this storm supposed to let up?” Lowe asked. She slid out of her seat. We had devoured the cookies and needed something else to munch on. She went to the freezer box and pulled out cheeses, yogurt, and some fruit. She placed that on a wooden slab along with some crackers and cut up bread.

  “It’s supposed to end this evening. We should be able to get around as normal tomorrow. Tonight, I’m afraid, not to much,” said Lisa.

  “Yeah, it looks like it’s only getting worse,” I said, glancing out the window. The unicorns were safely in the barn. I had almost thought that they wanted to sty outside in the storm, just to prove how tough they were. I wanted to assure them that they didn’t need to prove anything. They were tough. I also had the impression that they enjoyed blending into the white landscape a snow blanket provided.

  “You all could stay for the evening. We could do something fun,” said Lowe.

  “Could we play a game?” Lisa perked up instantly.

  “Of course! Let’s play cards,” I said eagerly. This was the first time I’d had a chance to play cards in a long time. There weren’t as many good games to be played with just three witches. That and we’d been busy staying in the coven and that whole mess.

  Lucky also agreed and I went to find some cards. Once I returned we set about to playing. With cheese, a warm fire, and friends, the time would pass quickly.

  For a little while I could forget that a murder had taken place in Misdirect.

  And that the murderer was probably very near.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Lisa and Lucky ended up staying late into the evening. We had ended up going to sleep quiet late. After that I’d slept better than I’d expected to. I was still up early checking on the unicorns. They had come to despair that they’d ever get the good caretaker back.

  I came into the house after wading through bright sparkling snowdrifts. Just as Lowe had been every other morning she was in the kitchen getting breakfast together. The fire was stoked and the cats had come in to warm up. Spunk was the only one not near the fire. He was by Lowe’s ankles hoping for scraps or whole strips of bacon. Really, whatever she wanted to provide.

  “I swear, those unicorns think I’m incompetent. It’s as if I’ve done something wrong,” I muttered under my breath.

  “They enjoy their power,” said Lowe sagely. “They are very smart animals They know that we’re taking good care of them. Even if we don’t have as many years of experience at is as Bethel.”

  I shrugged and sat down to breakfast. We needed to eat quickly. “I can’t believe we have another busy day.”

  “The court date is at 9:00 a.m. Whether or not the sheriffs could search our cottage should have already been decided by now. The weather had changed all of that. Then I had the Young Witches meeting. I would also like to visit the trolley company but given how full the day was I really wasn’t certain that there’d be time.”

  “Yeah, let’s see what happens this morning. If we lose the court case we’ll have to hurry back here and supervise,” said Lowe. She glanced at me. She wanted to know if I’d take issue with her implying that my boyfriend needed supervision. I most certainly did not.

  “We will watch them like hawks,” I assured her.

  She grinned.

  We got out of the house quickly. As usual, Lowe had a talk with the cats. Until we found out who had murdered Sammy and why, we needed to be sure the cats were alert at all times. Fortunately for us, they were cats. They were always on guard.

  Someone had come to shovel out our walkway. Lowe said that Bethel paid a local boy to do it.

  “Isn’t he mad at us too after the murder and Lester?” I asked Lowe.

  She shrugged. “I can’t say that I know, but money is a powerful motivator,” she said.

  That was true.

  Our feet crunched on the snow as we made our way past the trailer park. Both of us tried to act casual while keeping a nervous eye on the trailers. There was no sign of life. I felt as if that could change at any moment.

  Sure enough, into the silent morning a yell broke through the air. “THAT’S THEM! FIRE!” a woman’s voice screamed. I couldn't be certain but if I had to guess I would say that it was Goldie.

  “RUN!” I yelled. I put my hand up to spellcast, but then I thought better of it. In these conditions I couldn’t be certain how powerful my spell would be. That was one thing when it was Vixens I was going up against, but I liked the trailer folk. Even if right now they were trying to hit Lowe and me with giant, splotchy looking tomatoes.

  The two of us dashed forward. We hadn’t made it more than five feet when I saw something large and red spiraling though the air.

  “Watch out!” I yelled. I tried to shove Lowe out of the way just as she tried to do the same for me. We ended up colliding. The huge red tomato, about the size of a dinner plate, landed with a. splat at our feet.

  Lowe squealed as red goo splotched over our boots.

  “Gross!” she yelled.

  “HIT THEM AGAIN!” yelled the woman’s voice victoriously.

  “Run!” I cried to Lowe.

  “I’m trying!” she grumbled as we dashed toward once again.

  This time we were smarter. We stayed away from each other so that they would have to choose which one of us to aim for.

  “I am not an athlete person,” Lowe panted.

  We say running, but we weren’t moving very fast.

  A cold wind suddenly rose up and blew into my face.

  This stung, but at least it threw the large tomato off course.

  “Don’t you want to eat those!” I yelled back in the direction of the trailer park.

  “They’ve gone rotten,” Goldie bellowed back. “Come on! Where’s your fighting spirit! Use a spell! Are you afraid!”

  Tomatoes started coming down fast and hard just as we were nearly out of reach.

  In the distance I looked to the trolley platform and beyond that the bubbling bright green and yellow swamp. I wondered if it was worth running to the swamp for cover. I suspected that it wasn’t.

  The trolley today was silver and white. It was as if someone at the trolley company wanted to match the trolley with the snowy surroundings. I couldn’t say that I was complaining. Twinkleford was beautiful the day after the storm.

  The conductor was another old man. He was hunched and had s
pectacles so large I wondered how his thin cheeks supported them.

  “Wipe your shoes,” he ordered us. Never having been given an order by one of the conductors before we both hastened to comply.

  There were a handful of others in the trolley.

  My heart twisted.

  Glory was sitting in the back. We made eye contact for only a moment. Then she looked away.

  Glory looked the same as ever. She was still stocky, but her eyes weren’t as bright. I wanted to go back and say something to her but Lowe grabbed my arm. Glory was sitting by herself. A couple of the vampires looked curiously at the red on our feet and I found my stomach turn. They looked away. Clearly they had figured out that whatever the substance was it was not blood.

  We sat near the front and road the trolley all the way to Merigold. “Where’s the courthouse?” I asked Lowe as we disembarked.

  “Near the hospital,” she said. “There are a lot of essential buildings in Merigold.”

  “Should the courthouse be near the hospital?” I asked, thinking that desperate criminals might do harm.

  “Until you showed up Twinkleford was a pretty quiet place to live,” said Lowe. She smiled, but then it disappeared. We both knew what she said was true and that it wasn’t good.

  Although Twinkleford Regional Courthouse was near the hospital I couldn’t see the colorful building from here. The Courthouse looked more normal than most buildings in Twinkleford. It was built entirely of large gray stones and rose imposingly in the middle of a large expanse of perfectly cut grass.

  “Where’s the snow?” I asked her, suddenly realizing that there wasn’t any.

  “The courthouse doesn’t tolerate distractions like weather,” Lowe shrugged. There were a few people lingering outside.

  “If they weren’t here they’d have to shovel. They’re appreciating the fact that they don’t,” Lowe explained to me when I continued to look shocked, confused, surprised, and bowled over.

  “I don’t get it. Then again, I suppose that I don’t have to,” I informed my friend.

  She nodded as we made our way up the large steps. No one took any notice of us as Lowe pulled open one of the heavy double doors.