by Amy Boyles
I reached over and squeezed her hand. “But it’s not so bad. It’ll be fine. We’ll get it cleaned up, don’t you think?”
Betty shrugged. The vacant look in her eyes told me our chances weren’t so hot. Which was actually funny considering how freaking cold it was getting outside.
“I don’t know if you’ll be able to fix it. I couldn’t. The bottomless bag couldn’t. I don’t know. But I do know one thing.”
“What’s that?” I said, smiling encouragingly. This was fine, my face said. It will all be okay.
“The only thing that worries me is that the candy over our house hasn’t stopped expanding.”
I shot my cousins a frown. “It hasn’t? Are you sure?”
Betty grunted. “I’m sure, kid. You don’t live to be a witch as old as me without knowing these kinds of things.” She glanced at the ceiling. “That candy is still growing. I’m afraid it won’t stop until it swallows this house whole.”
On that note, we all went to bed. Surely Betty was wrong. The candy would stop. It would have to. Still, my dreams were uneasy. I invited Hugo onto the bed with me, I was so bothered. Normally the dragon slept on the floor, but Betty’s words had rattled me so badly I had no problem hugging his scaly skin tightly against me, though I stopped him when it came to licking my face.
When I left the house the next morning with Hugo beside me, I turned to look at the cottage. The candy had wrapped around the frame snuggly and was edging up the windows. I pulled out my phone and took a picture so I could compare it when I got home and prove to Betty that she was wrong. It wouldn’t grow.
It couldn’t.
I headed over to Axel’s first thing. I had the list that he’d want. There were too many names to go over on the phone. Besides, I knew he’d need to see it. I got in my car, stowed Hugo in the back seat and headed off.
“Come in!” came a familiar yet surprising voice when I knocked on the door.
I opened it to find Karen cooking up a fancy breakfast. There were pancakes, danishes, an egg casserole, hashbrown casserole, sausages as thick as my thumbs and a giant pot of coffee.
Hugo bounded in, jumped on Axel and whined until Axel patted his head.
The smell of everything was amazing. “I am so upset that I already ate breakfast.”
Axel dropped a sausage in Hugo’s mouth. “If you’d called, I could’ve told you not to eat.”
“I prefer surprises.”
“All right, down boy,” he said.
Karen dropped a casserole dish of fried apples on the table. “Pepper, if you want, Axel can make you feel hungry so that you can eat a second breakfast.”
I laughed. “But then I’d gain a thousand pounds.”
She tapped her nose. “That’s where I come in. I’ll make sure you don’t gain an ounce.”
Seriously, this was too good to be true. “You’re kidding.”
“Not at all.” Karen sailed up to me and steered me to a chair. She pressed me onto it. “Axel?”
“Do you want me to?” he said.
“Sure.” Why not? As long as no one got hurt, there was no reason to indulge in a second breakfast that wouldn’t add an ounce to my waistline.
He crossed to me, tapped my forehead and voila! I was instantly starved.
I was so hungry my stomach knotted. “If y’all don’t hurry up and sit down, I might eat everything on this table.”
Roger chuckled. “You’ll have to beat me to it.”
After about twenty minutes of silence while everyone chowed down, I finally came up for air. “So, Roger,” I said between chews of a stubby pork-filled sausage link, “how are you able to be here? In Magnolia Cove, I mean?”
He pushed his glasses up his nose. “I’m on a Witch Visa.”
I stopped chewing and gaped at Axel. “Is there such a thing?”
“Sure is.” He filled a glass with orange juice.
“Why is this the first time I’m hearing about it?”
Axel tipped his head as if to say, are you really asking that? “Because Magnolia Cove is filled with secrets, Pepper. You discover the answer to one secret and it leads to ten more you have to unlock.”
“Hmm. Seems about true.” I wanted to tell Axel about Betty, but I didn’t want to burden his parents. They had enough to worry about.
We finished breakfast. Karen clapped her hands, and the dishes magically danced to the sink and the table cleared.
“Let me help.” I rose.
“Sit down, young lady. Roger and I will get this.” Karen winked at her husband, and he joined her to help clean the kitchen.
“I’ve got the list,” I said to Axel.
“Let’s go downstairs.”
I followed him to his cellar. Hugo bounced along, sniffing and grunting at the objects of magic that littered the shelves of Axel’s workroom.
I handed him the list. “Your mom seems awfully chipper. Are you still helping her? Magically, I mean?”
He dragged his gaze from the sheet. “What? Yes. I don’t think she could handle the stress otherwise.”
I sank onto a couch. “It’s working out in your favor. She cooked an awesome breakfast.”
He shot me a dark look. “Yeah, that’s why I’m doing it. So I can eat great.” His shoulders sank in regret. “Sorry. I’m all worked up about this. Garrick’s questioned her twice. I’m afraid when he goes for a third, he’ll keep her and press charges.”
“She didn’t kill Cookie. I know you that. You know that.” I nudged him with my toe. “But the list.”
“Right.” Axel smiled slightly. “The list. Lots of names on here.”
“From what Amelia and Cordelia said, just about any of those folks could’ve done it. Nearly all of them had a problem with Cookie.”
Axel hitched a brow. “Any relatively interesting stories to share?”
I stretched my legs over the couch cushions. The basement was chilly. I hugged my arms and was beginning to wonder what was wrong with me. Why was everywhere so cold?
“Apparently the Odoms used to be the Mobley’s neighbors until Cookie started taking over their yard.”
“How?”
“She made it shrink so she could have more fescue, I guess.”
Axel laughed. “What a character. Okay, who else?”
“The Gabins had a sour investment deal with the Mobleys.”
“That’s good,” he murmured. “Money can make people crazy.”
“And Cookie accused Mrs. Vanzant of ruining her banana pudding.”
Axel tapped a finger to the sheet. “Clearly, that’s where we’ll start.”
I frowned. “I hope your joking.”
“I am. We won’t start at the banana pudding, but we will start with the ex-neighbors.”
Hope bubbled in my chest. “We?” A flash of surprise crossed his face. “You’re letting me help?”
“No, I mispoke. I was using the royal ‘we.’”
I almost threw a chunk of onyx at him. Problem was, I didn’t know how volatile the hunk of rock was. If I threw it, power might lash out at me.
“I see you’re trying to figure out what to throw at me.”
I laughed. Our eyes met, and the twinkle in his luscious blue eyes sent a zinger of want straight to my core. I pushed it down, away. “You caught me. But yes, I definitely want to help.”
“There are things I need you to help with, but much of that has to do with me wanting you to distract my mom.”
I searched Axel’s expression, trying to determine how serious he was. “Distract her?”
He raked his fingers through his hair. “She never had a daughter. You’re the closest thing—even though we’re dating. She’ll latch on to you.”
I stretched my arms over the couch’s back and tried to look very smart and totally capable. “No problem. I’ll be happy to bond with your mom. Just no more couples massages.”
He laughed. “You got it.” From a corner, Hugo glanced upstairs and whined. “Need to go outside, boy?”
<
br /> I rose and hugged my arms around Axel’s muscled waist. “I bet he’d love a game of catch.”
Axel squeezed my hands. “Then catch it is.”
We went back upstairs and Axel, dreamboat that he was, took Hugo outside for a game of catch. Roger and Karen were just finishing cleaning breakfast.
“Thanks again for that awesome breakfast,” I said.
“You’re welcome.” Karen smiled and nodded.
Roger slid a plate onto a stack in the cupboard. “Best breakfast ever. Beats eating in the RV.”
“About that.” I wasn’t sure exactly how to broach the topic, but I needed all the help I could get. Or at least I thought Axel might.
Karen hitched a brow. “Yes? Is there something you’re wondering about?”
I nibbled my lower lip. It was now or never. “Yeah, um, about how you help Roger when he’s a werewolf…I was wondering how you do it.”
Karen and Roger exchanged a look. Roger wiped his hands on a towel and draped it over the counter. “Axel said he’s building a structure to house himself.”
“Yes, but I don’t know…I feel that within me there’s a way to make it work. That he can control himself. Not me controlling him. I don’t want that. All I want is for the beast not to have such a strong hold on him.”
They didn’t say anything. Now I was nervous. Were they not talking to me because I’d said something wrong? Oh crap. Being nervous always made me talk more.
“I mean, I’m just wondering. I know I can help him. At least I feel it. It’s there. But…I don’t know; it’s never worked.” My hands started gesturing wildly as if I wasn’t in control. Roger’s brows shot up. “Axel says it’s impossible, but I know you help Roger, Karen. You help him. I can help Axel.”
I inhaled deeply. Boy, did I need air. “I’m just wondering how do you keep him calm and connect with him all night?”
Karen’s face split into a wide smile. “Of course I’ll tell you how I help Roger. Why don’t you sit down?”
ELEVEN
Roger coughed into his fist. “I’ll go keep Axel company. It’s not every day you see a dragon playing catch, you know.”
I laughed. “Hugo’s so much fun.”
Roger excused himself. Karen took me by the hands and led me to the couch. “You want to know how I help Roger, how we make the connection?”
“Right. I know you put a sleeping spell on him, but it can’t be that easy. We’re talking about a werewolf. That isn’t an easy being to lull into any kind of sedated state.”
I pulled my hands from hers and fisted them to my thighs. “Axel is convinced that he can’t have complete control, but he can. I’ve reached his mind before, but it never lasts.”
Karen nodded appreciatively. “I know what you’re talking about. The reason I can stay connected to Roger is very simple.”
“What’s that?”
Karen glanced at the floor as if embarrassed. “This is going to sound strange, but it’s because we have a very deep relationship.”
“Okay,” I said slowly, as if tasting the words. “You have a deep relationship.”
We locked gazes, and she stared at me knowingly. “Yes. A deep connection because we’re married.”
“Because you’re married,” I repeated, still not getting it.
Karen spoke slowly. “Because we do things that married people do.”
“Things that married people do.” It hit me like a finger of lightning to my spine. “Oh! You’re saying you’re able to keep Roger sedated because you had a wedding night!”
Karen clapped. “Yes! That’s it!”
“Oh, well.” I was relieved that I finally understood. But since Axel and I hadn’t had a wedding night literally or figuratively, I wasn’t sure what to say.
Turned out, Karen filled the silence for me. “You need the deepest connection that intimacy gives. Until that happens, you may not be able to reach him the way you want. It’s nothing to do with you or him, but that’s the truth. Whether or not your relationship reaches that point is up to fate.”
“Yeah.” I couldn’t keep the disappointment from my voice.
She squeezed my shoulder. “It’s okay. Axel’s been dealing with his werewolf side for a long time. He knows what must be done. Don’t worry about it, Pepper. You have enough on your hands.”
“So do you.”
I said it without thinking and immediately regretted it. Karen’s face crumpled.
I took her hand. “You didn’t do it. Garrick will find the guilty party.”
She knuckled a tear from under her lash. “I know. It’s just…something like this happened before.”
“Oh?” I decided playing stupid was my best defense. If I could discover the real story, then I could tell Betty that what she’d heard about Karen was untrue. Karen hadn’t pushed another witch over a cliff.
She cleared her throat. This was it! I’d find out the story. “Yes, a long time ago—”
The door banged open. “Brrr!” Axel said, shaking the cold off. “It’s freezing out there. Must be a cold front moving in.”
Hugo bounded in. The dragon rushed up and licked my face. I scratched his side. “I think the front’s already here. I take it the two of you had fun.”
“That was something.” Roger beamed. “Seeing the dragon in action was marvelous. Karen, we need one of those.”
“Not on your life.” She crossed her arms. “We’ve got enough to worry about without having the headache of a dragon getting loose.”
He hugged her shoulders. “It was worth a shot.”
Axel nodded in my direction. “Pepper, you ready?”
I glanced at my watch. “Where are we going? The store will open soon.”
“We’re not going far, and we shouldn’t be gone long.” He pulled the list from his pocket.
“Oh!” I bolted from the couch. “Okay. Let’s go.”
Axel, Hugo and I piled into Axel’s Land Rover. I shoved my hands between my thighs to warm them. “It’s getting to be that temperature where it’s hard to take a breath.”
Axel fiddled with the knobs. He pressed a hand over the dash. Piping-hot air shot from the vents.
“Thank goodness.” I sank into a blissful climate. “I’ll take a sauna over an igloo any day.”
He smirked. “Sauna it is, then.”
We headed into town. “So we’re going to the Gabin’s, is that it?”
“That’s right. See what their story is. Sometimes an old grudge never leaves and waits for the right time to expose itself.”
“That was a mouthful,” I joked.
“It sure was.”
We parked outside a small white cottage with a thatched roof, green shutters butted up to paned windows and a door painted a spritely cherry red.
“Wow, looks like Christmas here, doesn’t it?”
“Sure does.” Axel took Hugo’s leash.
“We’re taking him with us?”
Axel studied the house. “You bet. Who doesn’t talk when they’re afraid a dragon’s going to barbecue them?”
I scratched Hugo’s head. “This guy wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
“I know that. You know that. The Gabins don’t.”
“Good point.”
Moments later we were ringing the bell. A bright-eyed woman in her early fifties answered the door. Her skin was creamy and flawless, her lips a deep shade of red and her outfit was made of a thick cotton weave—obviously expensive.
“Yes?” Her gaze swept from me to Axel to Hugo. “Why I say, I haven’t seen a baby dragon in years. You’re not selling him, are you?”
“No,” I said quickly—a little too quickly. Mrs. Gabin blinked at me.
Axel swept in and saved the moment. “I’m Axel Reign. I’m a private investigator. I’ve been hired to look into the Cookie Mobley murder.”
“You don’t say.” Mrs. Gabin peeked around us, sweeping her head from left to right. “Come in. I’d love to hear all about it.”
I shot Axel a c
onfused look. He shrugged and we stepped in.
“Thank you for the coffee, Mrs. Gabin.”
“Blanche,” she corrected. “Everyone calls me Blanche.”
We sat in the Gabin’s living room. A baby grand piano was in one corner, flour-de-lis patterned paper lined the walls and every wooden surface gleamed from a polished finish.
The Gabins were rich, y’all.
“Blanche,” Axel started, “you were at the tour of the Mobley’s house the night Cookie was murdered.”
“Oh yes.” Blanche touched her throat in that way cultured women do. I don’t do it because I’m not cultured, but I’ve seen it enough times to recognize the dainty, feminine gesture of the wealthy and well-informed.
“My husband and I attend the tours every year,” Blanche said. “We wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
“I understand you used to be the Mobley’s neighbors.” Axel bit into a shortbread cookie Blanche had served. “Great cookie.”
“Aren’t they? I always keep them around in case of guests. But yes, we were neighbors.”
“We heard there was some tension,” I said.
“There was.” She nodded. “Oh, not on our part but on the Mobleys.”
“That’s not how we heard it.” I took a bite of shortbread. Buttery goodness dissolved on my tongue. “Wow. This is amazing.”
Axel took the steering wheel. “We heard Cookie stole part of your yard.”
“She tried.” Blanche scoffed. “But she didn’t succeed. I tell you that woman was horrible, but you didn’t hear that from me. It’s no surprise someone killed her. One spring I had roses and tulips planted in front of a hedge that bordered our yards. The next day I come out and you won’t believe it but Cookie had shrunk the hedge and the flowers to half their size—killed most of the roses and the tulips. She did it all for a few extra yards of green. For her Roman fountain. Tackiest thing I ever saw.”
“But surely what she did couldn’t have been all small things. Other people knew about the feud.” Axel tossed a cookie to Hugo, who swallowed it with one bite.
Blanche studied Axel. “I suppose it would have to be more than a simple hedge moving for all of Magnolia Cove to know our dirty laundry.”