Cupcakes, Cauldrons, and Cadavers

by Naomi Muse

  “If she heard you say that, she might put a hex on you. Are you going to keep interrupting me or shall I continue?”

  “I’m sorry, go on.”

  “It was said to be the devil’s favorite flower. It was named after Atropos, the Fate who cut the string of life. Some say it is what Circe used to turn men into animals in the Odyssey, too.”

  “Do you know anything that might help me solve the crime? These spooky bedtime stories aren’t going to help me catch a killer.”

  Angelo huffed at him and turned away. I had to smile. My new friend was smart enough to see the significance in my words even if the chief couldn’t.

  “I will ignore that last statement. I thought that you said it wasn’t murder?”

  “I am considering more options now that the medical examiner told me it could be poison. What else do you know?”

  “Deadly nightshade grows in the wild. It only takes a few berries to kill someone, but there is more to it than eating it. Touching it is bad too.”

  “Touching it? It might still be an accidental death after all. That would save me a ton of paperwork. Why would anyone eat such a thing?”

  “Why would anyone eat a blueberry?”

  “Good point. You have given me a lot to think about. Thank you for the info.”

  “Anything I can do to help. This is terrible, and I’m worried about the Quinns. This is another blow to their business. They are such lovely people.”

  “At least they’re still breathing. Where are you two headed?”

  “We were told to check out the cookies at the Josephs’ Bakery, so I thought we would take a walk.”

  “Worried about the Quinns, but going to their competitor? Odd.”

  “Everything I do is odd to you. You might want to try being a little more open-minded. Don’t expect me to share my cookies with you later.”

  Chief Rowan raised an eyebrow.

  “All of this poisoning business is ruining my appetite for sweets. I would tell you to be careful, but your guard dog seems to have that under control,” he said with a snort.

  I looked down and saw that Angelo had moved between me and the chief. He was using his body to block me but trying to be discreet about it. He was failing.

  “He doesn’t trust anyone who fails to see the importance of dessert,” I said, with a laugh.

  “Well, I’m glad that someone is keeping an eye on you. One less person for me to worry about,” the chief said while avoiding my eyes.

  Angelo and I exchanged a surprised look. Chief Rowan didn’t notice.

  “We should be getting to the bakery. I don’t know what time they close.”

  “Sure. You two have a good one. I’ll be in touch if I have any further questions.”

  The chief hopped into his car and drove away. Angelo gave a tiny woof and stomped on his little feet before continuing on his way towards the bakery. I couldn’t quite make out how he felt about the chief. He didn’t seem to overtly dislike him, but he was wary. Maybe he didn’t like the fact that the chief had me on his list of suspects. I was probably reading way too far into the moods and mannerisms of a dog I just met.

  Temperance was small enough that it didn’t take us long to reach the Josephs’ Bakery. It seemed nice enough, but it was more generic than the Bewitching Bakery. I didn’t get the warm fuzzy feeling when I stepped through the door. It didn’t help that just as I entered someone yelled out ‘next.’

  Before I could even approach, the counter the man yelled, “you can’t bring that mongrel in here.” I stepped back aghast that anyone would dare call Angelo what.

  But it was a place of business, so they were entitled to do things their way.

  “I’m sorry. I’ve never been here before, I’m new in town.”

  “Are you deaf too? And if they said you can bring that hearing mutt, you still would have gone back outside without anything.”

  Angelo began to growl only in the back of his throat. I did too. “Not a problem, I’ll take care of it,” I spoke through my gritted teeth.

  I went outside and tied Angelo to the nearby bike rack, and I apologized fifty times. I didn’t want him to think I was like this horrible man. He looked offended, but I promise to give him more of those beet biscuits when we came home, so he settled right down.

  I went back inside and looked at the assorted baked goods that they had for sale. The food was decent. More like you would see at your local grocery store than a mom-and-pop shop. It was a very efficient set-up. The gentleman who had snapped at me earlier just watched me peruse their wares in silence.

  Without the safe cushion of small talk, I felt like I was being scrutinized. I couldn’t even enjoy looking at the pastries. Pastries had my heart for over 30 years, and now I couldn’t even enjoy them.

  I finally gave up and just ordered the coconut sugar cookies that Ms. Rudy had suggested. The man said nothing about my choice, didn’t mention those are good or anything positive. He just took my selection, slipped them in the bag, and pushed them across the counter. I guess there was no option to dine in and he didn’t ask if I wanted anything to drink. There were a few sad looking seats, but honestly, I wouldn’t stay there even if Angelo wasn’t waiting outside. I couldn’t just walk out though, I had to get some information.

  “So, this is some nice place you have here. How long it has been in business?”

  “I’m Joe Joseph. Was my father’s business. I took it over. I don’t really know how old the place is.

  “Oh. I live on the other side of town, so I have only seen the Bewitching Bakery. It’s nice there are more spots in town.”

  “The only fun time now is those crooks got shut down.” He snapped out.

  “They’re crooks?”

  “It is stealing our business. They haven’t even been opened that long and they have been pulling our customers over there. While I don’t worry about that,” the man said with a rude laugh.

  “You ever been there.?”

  “Yeah. I went there when they opened and told them we don’t need another bakery. They offered me a cupcake. Since when is that some kind of consolation prize for taking off with my customers?”

  “No. While that’s unfortunate. They seemed like nice people when I met them.”

  “Yes, I’m sure you’ll think they’re real nice when they steal half your money too. Did you want anything else or …” He snarled at me.

  “Oh, sorry to keep you tied up. Thank you for the cookies, and you have a nice day.” I said as I hustled toward the door.

  I caught movement from the core of my eye and saw Ms. Rudy’s grandson walking into the employees only area. Interesting. She hadn’t mentioned that he worked here. I wonder what that was about. I just pretended I didn’t notice him and continued out sighting a disgusted Angelo.

  He looked even less happy about being kept waiting. I untied him from the bike rack and gave him the rundown as we made our way back to the house. He seemed just as unimpressed with the bakers at Josephs as I have been. I wonder if the rest of the family was that way or just Joe. Hopefully, I wouldn’t have to find out.

  Chapter 11

  After the lame encounter with the Josephs, I wasn’t in the mood to even eat the cookies. Angelo and I enjoyed the silence in the warm, crisp autumn air. Once we reached home, I immediately gave him his beet treats as promised.

  Since my spells were not having the desired effects, that meant you go the old-fashioned route, with a web search. I fired up my laptop and typed in the name of our victim. I thought it might take me a while to track him down. His name came up right away. Dozens of hits all leading back to his blog. It seems our cupcake eater was also a food blogger. His last review had been about the Josephs Bakery, and it was none too kind. The Josephs even went so far out of their way as to leave comments on his post and accuse him of bribery.

  His last post had been about the Bewitching Bakery, and it was none too kind either. Why would a man who wrote a bad review about the bakery go there again? Mor
e importantly, why was a witch just trying to find a place investigating a murder? I double checked the dates again. The last post had gone up the night he died. But there was only one bite taken out of that cupcake. Surely, he wasn’t such a hack that he would write a whole post before even going someplace?

  Something didn’t add up. I could feel the wrongness, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. Ever the witch at heart, I needed to do a spell. I decided to break out the big guns and take out my serious working’s cauldron

  There was a smaller one for burning herbs and such, enough to fit my regular needs. But I didn’t often use my largest one. It did pack a little more of the magical punch than burning a candle, so I was really stuck. I like the cauldron. I just didn’t expect Angelo to have such a strong reaction to it. As soon as I took it out of the cabinet, he bounced off his front paws and yelped.

  I put it on the stove, and he sat close by, almost blocking me from the stove itself. He wanted to be front and center for whatever was going on.

  I gathered nine working threads. With the first events, I thought about the first fact that I knew, the victim was a food blogger who had recently blogged about all the events. I focused on the thought while I braided three threads together. I tend to just place things in the cauldron, and then I took the next three threads and braided them together. I thought about the Josephs being pleased that the Bewitching Bakery was closed. I took the last three strings, and I braided them together thinking of the young girl of the group. When that braid was done, I threw it in the cauldron with its sisters. That left me with three suspects in my mind. The Josephs, the Quinn’s, and the kids. I was sure that it had to be one of these three groups.

  My heart ached at the thought of it being the Quinn’s, but bad press was bad press. There is no way to tell how people would act when someone said bad things about something they invested their life’s work and savings into. I reached into the cauldron and whispering words while I braided the three braids together. I needed guidance, and I needed this issue to be untangled. I doused the braid in my homemade anointing oil and dropped in a match. The flame shot up, and Angelo quivered with excitement.

  Then I pulled up a chair and waited for the flames to burn down. I focused my thoughts on clearing the mystery. This had to be solved. Those lives were in turmoil, unable to progress. I began taking deep cleansing breaths. I kept going until I felt a cold nose touch my palm.

  I looked down to see Angelo looking up at me expectantly. He looked from me to the cauldron before making that excited sound yet again and sitting back down in front of the stove. I got up and saw that only one thread remained, all the others had burned away. It was bright red just like the color of his coat. I had my killer. Now I just had to find proof.

  <<<>>>

  The one thing that I couldn’t seem to get my mind around was the fact that the chief hadn’t picked up on any of this. He seemed like a smart, capable man. He was a local. He should have some idea about the behavior and thinking of his neighbors. But he didn’t seem to want to do anything but point the finger at me. Even though he’d been nicer as of late, I couldn’t help but feel he wasn’t doing much investigating. It’s entirely possible that he didn’t keep me abreast of all his work. There is a limit to the things he should tell a civilian, but he did tell me about the poisoning. So why not tell me if he had any other leads. I got the feeling there was something more at work here. But I couldn’t come right out and ask him.

  Hey Chief, why are you so inept at your job? Something told me that would not go over well. Being that I was new in town, I wanted to stay on the right side of the law. This time. But I can only handle one mystery at a time. And this time the mystery of the poisoned cupcake took presence. The red rope was all the clue that I needed. I didn’t want to write the chief off so easily. So, I thought I’d give him another call. At least give him a chance to show me whether or not he was working.

  Since baked goods weren’t working on him, I decided just to try a simple phone call. I stressed myself out over the approach, but in the end, I decided that the direct one probably was the best way to go. I waited until just after lunch. I knew he’d be just getting back to his desk. Plus, lunch usually put people in a good mood. The lady at dispatch put me right through to him, but not before asking when I was very bringing more cupcakes around. I promised her I was soon as I got more. Strangely, she didn’t sound surprised to hear from me. We really had been seeing way too much of each other.

  “Miss Bell. To what do I owe this displeasure?” His voice rumbled on the phone.

  “Very cute. They teaching how to make jokes now in chief school? You can’t teach the sense of humor. While I would love for you to regale me with more of your terrible jokes, I just have a few questions for you.

  “You some questions for me? I don’t think that’s the way this is supposed to work.”

  “As a citizen of Temperance. I’m entitled to ask questions of my local law enforcement to ensure my safety.”

  “I suppose I’ll need to answer with a view to your safety.”

  “I’m sure that a wonderful investigative mind such as yours wouldn’t need to waste time with paltry questions. I would like to know if you’re making any progress in your investigation.”

  “I believe we just spoke the other day about the discovery of poison.”

  “We did. But I’ve yet to hear you mention any suspects. ”

  “You are my prime suspect. Followed by the Quinns.”

  “I should’ve been clearer. Real suspects with real motives and not me. I mean there is a rival bakery in town. I’m sure there are other criminals that live in Temperance. It’s impossible to have a whole town with only one criminal.”

  “Well as I said we might have three. Honestly, Temperance is a quiet town. There’s a reason I never wanted to move on to the big city. Low crime rate and close to the family, a win in every direction.”

  “Your personal life choices are fascinating, but I’m serious. I’ve been asking around town, and people seem more than happy to give their opinions and about what’s going on.”

  I hoped he wouldn’t call me on my small bluff.

  “Well, opinions are just that. They are not facts. As an officer of the law, it’s my job to stick to the facts. You may have heard conjectures and opinions and even some guesses. Those don’t solve crimes.”

  “Not even hunches. I see why you don’t like my jokes. Yours a much funnier.”

  I sighed in frustration. Well, scratch that idea.

  “I have ideas if you’re stuck,” I offered.

  “I’ve tried to humor you. I’ve tried to be nice. You’re not from here. I don’t know where you’re from. You don’t know us. You don’t know our ways. That’s enough. I have done this job for years. For over a decade. You just blew into town a few weeks ago. You don’t have the right to tell me how to do my job or to assume that I need any sort of assistance. This is unlike some TV show. It’s not a mystery novel where everything is wrapped up within one-hundred pages. Investigations take time, profiling suspects takes time, and I will take the time necessary to solve this crime. If you feel unsafe in Temperance. Feel free to go back to wherever it is you came from.” I stood stunned as the line went dead in my hand. Maybe, I have crossed the line. Even Angelo was giving me a disapproving look.

  “If I wanted to be judged, I would have gotten a cat.”

  Chapter 12

  To find my proof, I had to do more in-person investigating than I was comfortable with. I waited until it got dark and headed out with Angelo to old Ms. Rudy’s house. I had a hunch about her garden, and I needed to see if it was true. The killer could have gotten deadly nightshade from anywhere, but this was too coincidental. It seemed like a good place to start. I also didn’t want her to know that I was on to her.

  Angelo averted his eyes while I got into my all-black gear. Nothing too dramatic. Black pants, a black sweater, and some running shoes. Not that I ever run. I don’t believe in it. I mea
n, I’ll run for my life, but not for exercise. Fortunately, Angelo was naturally in the proper color scheme.

  I was a little worried about being hit by a car dressed like this. Since it was fall, the days were getting shorter. So was dark pretty early in the day. But a quick protection spell performed on the fly would take care of that.

  All of the grandmotherly types I know go to bed pretty early. I didn’t want to take a chance on Ms. Rudy, so we headed out at about nine o’clock. Angelo and I stayed off the main roads and tried to stay out of sight of any streetlights. Halfway to the house, it occurred to me that I could just turn the streetlights off while we walked underneath them. Magic was really convenient. Hopefully, no one would notice as I didn’t have time to worry about that now.

  Angelo seemed happy to be out and about. We hadn’t gone on too many night walks, so he was enjoying the smells of new nocturnal animals. He liked it a little too much for my taste. If we had to stop and smell every blade of grass between here and the garden, we would never get this over with.

  “Look, Angelo. I need you to step things up. We are working.”

  Angelo looked at me out of the corner of his eye and pressed his nose even deeper into the grass. Jerk.

  “It’s not that I don’t want you to take your time, but I need your help.”

  His ears perked up at my words.

  “As a member of the Royal Canine family, you have a better sense of smell and hearing that I could ever dream of having. I need you to help me locate things in the dark and keep an ear out for the chief. We don’t want anyone stumbling upon us tonight.”

  Angelo stood up a little straighter. His tongue lolled out of his mouth. Flattery would get me everywhere.

  “I know that you’re going out of your way to help me. Especially as this is your usual rest time. If you could just spare me a few minutes. I promise you can smell every blade of grass and branch and leaf in the whole town on the walk home.”

  Angelo gave a soft woof of approval, and we were back on our way. At least I knew how to get on his good side.