by Fitz Molly
The idea of killing someone for money was hardly new. But for the first time it hit me just how senseless it was. “You killed him just for the legal fees?”
“I bet he didn’t know how much Harrison even had until he redid the will,” Zoey said from the base of the stairs.
Wow. Now that the information was out in the open, everything seemed to click into place. “Why did you need bandages? I’ve heard cat scratches can be dangerous. You might want to go to a doctor for something like that.”
John met my eyes, and for a second all I could see was his seething rage. Then he ripped his eyes away and bolted for the door.
“That’s not going to—”
And he pulled the door open like it was no problem.
“…work,” I finished weakly.
But he didn’t get far. He took one step outside before he came flying back in. At first I thought it was some supernatural force that had stopped him until Owen sauntered in, making sure to keep the door open for the rest of us.
“Zoey, are you okay?” he asked as she ran into his arms.
“He’s a killer,” I said, pointing to the crumpled man on the ground. “Someone needs to call the police.”
“What are we going to say?” asked Ernest. “He has cat scratches, so obviously he did it?”
Yes, evidence would be a problem. But seeing as how Owen could compel anyone to do anything, I didn’t think getting a confession would be too difficult.
“I’m sure John realizes that a confession would keep Harrison from haunting him anymore,” I said, making eye contact with Owen and silently hinting at what I wanted.
“Yeah,” he said, nodding. “He really looks like he wants to confess everything.”
“Who are you?” asked Helen with a snarl. “Why do strangers keep on coming into our house?”
Coming into the house… The seal was broken. We’d found Harrison’s killer. We’d done it! And that meant…
I glanced down toward Spook excitedly.
But then my heart sunk when I saw him standing loyally at my side but still in panther form.
I’d solved the murder, but it hadn’t helped.
Spook was stuck, and I doubted my parents would sign the necessary paperwork for me to take my beastly new familiar with me to Darnborn, which meant we’d have to say goodbye.
After all this.
No.
Chapter Ten
I sat on the front stoop of Harrison’s house, the flashing lights of the police cars shining in my face as I held Spook close to my chest. My glamour was the only thing keeping him cat-sized. I didn’t want the cops worrying about some giant panther on the loose, so I reached inside myself and found strength I didn’t even know I had.
As much as I’d hoped for a fun adventure this Halloween, I found myself adventured out. And for what?
I’d been so sure this would work. Solve the murder, fix Spook. I trusted that immediate connection I felt to him to show me the way, but I’d been dead wrong.
Silly me trusting my instincts yet again when I already knew just how wrong they could be. They hadn’t been right about Eli, and they weren’t right with Spook, either. My radar was hopelessly and officially broken.
“Hey,” said Owen as he sat down next to me.
I didn’t say anything, just kept my eyes straight ahead as I wallowed in my misery.
“I know you probably don’t want to talk to me, but too bad. I’ve got something to say.” He sat and waited for my response.
“Well, I don’t really have anything to say to you. Since you and Zoey are in Lala Land Love, why don’t you just take my best friend and go have a fabulous Halloween together? I mean, that’s why you’re here, isn’t it?” Even though I knew I wasn’t mad at him, I couldn’t help but let some steam off in his general direction.
The man didn’t even flinch. “Ah, but I don’t think Zoey is going to have any sort of fun without you.”
That shouldn’t have made me feel better, but it did. At least a little.
I waved a hand dismissively, still not allowing myself to look at him. “I’m going to be fine. I’m sure you know about a bunch of great parties around here. You two go have fun. I’ll spend whatever time Spook and I have left together, just the two of us.”
Owen signed. “Delphina, I want—”
“I don’t care what you want,” I snapped as the weight of this horrible day settled around me. “I just want to go home.”
“Fine, then let’s go home.” He rose to his feet and held out a palm. “But give me the keys. You can relax while I drive.”
Yeah. Right. Relax.
But whatever. At least we were moving in the right direction.
I fished the keys from my duffle and tossed them to him before marching ahead with Spook toward the SUV. I put him in the rear cargo space so there would space for me to sit in the back, and as soon as I shut the door, I let the glamour fall. The car slouched from the added weight of the panther, and I let out a happy sigh of relief. As soon as I got home I’d tell my parents about Spook, and they’d find a way to help him. Even if he didn’t end up with me, at least he could still be happy.
This whole thing had been so stupid. Of course solving some stupid murder wouldn’t turn my panther back into a house cat or change my parents’ minds about keeping a dangerous familiar.
I climbed into the back seat, and Zoey slid in next to me, leaving the front passenger seat open. Owen took the driver’s seat and started up the SUV like he’d owned it his entire life. Must be a guy thing. Every time I got into a new vehicle, it took me twenty minutes to adjust all the mirrors and figure out how to turn on the lights.
Owen got us on the road and adjusted the mirror so he could make eye contact with me. “Now that you’re stuck, you’re going to listen to what I have to say.”
“Sneaky, sneaky,” I muttered under my breath. Of course he wouldn’t be freaked out by Spook. He was already too used to being around Zia. There weren’t many cats bigger than a white tiger. Zia was big enough to make Spook’s panther form look svelte.
“Fine. I’m listening,” I added when Zoey jabbed me in the ribs.
“Zoey told me everything,” he revealed rather unsurprisingly. “The murder, the house locking you in. All of that seems like a basic ghost looking for revenge. Easy. But what we’re trying to solve is the cat. Spook went from a normal cat to a panther overnight.”
“Yeah. Good observations there,” I bit out.
Zoey nudged me with her leg, and I squeezed my eyes shut.
“Sorry,” I murmured. “I know you’re just trying to help.”
“I’m just going to state the obvious then. Making a cat go from snack size to super-size is a glamour thing.”
I snorted. “You think I’m doing this? Think again.”
“Not on purpose, no.” Owen met my eyes in the rearview mirror again. “It happened overnight, right? So what if you did do it, only in your sleep?”
I turned this over in my brain for a moment, then shook my head. “I’ve never accidentally glamoured before. So why would I now?”
“Maybe not, but…” He glanced in the mirror again, but this time he seemed to be looking to Zoey, who simply nodded.
“Look, you haven’t had an easy year,” he continued. “After what Eli did, I honestly don’t even know how you’re still functioning.”
“I’m not broken,” I growled, crossing my arms over my chest like a toddler who’d just been scolded.
“Of course you’re not broken. I didn’t mean to say that. Ugh.” Owen groaned. “Just… Fine. I know misfires can happen, because they’ve happened to me, too. Last month, for instance, I accidentally made a professor give everyone As and dismiss us early."
"What?" My head whipped in Zoey's direction, and I saw her looking down guiltily. "Did you know about that?"
She was silent and bit her lip, which was answer enough.
“How did I not know about this? It was a cover-up, wasn't it? Of course. Y
ou're a Slater. Why wouldn't there be a cover-up?"
"The school didn't want anyone to know that a compulsion-gifted wasn't in full control.” Owen met my eyes through the mirror, and I tightened my lips in response.
He had a point. Compulsion-gifted were scary enough when they were in control of themselves.
"When I say you’re the one who may have changed Spook, I'm not trying to insult you. What I'm trying to say is…” He sucked in a deep breath but didn’t seek out my eyes in the mirror. “You and I are hurting in a lot of different ways, but some of the bruises seem to look similar."
I’d been betrayed by a boyfriend, but he was betrayed by a brother. One man had caused us both a world of pain.
"If I did it, then why don't I feel anything while Spook is in panther form? I only get tired when I try to change him back," I argued, shaking my head.
"Because you're strong. And glamour is disgustingly easy for you,” he insisted as Zoey reached out to clasp my hand. “No wonder keeping Spook small is so hard on you. You're doing two layers of glamour."
"I would know if it were me," I ground out. “You’ve got this all wrong.”
"Fine. Maybe I'm crazy. Will you at least pretend I'm right and see if you can stop it?"
I swallowed down a fresh lump of anxiety. Owen was right about one thing at least. There was no reason I shouldn’t at least try.
And so I reached my glamour toward Spook, who was now seated in the rear cargo space. I pictured him as he was now, and I pictured him as the normal cat we’d found the night before. The true form I knew deep down belonged to him.
This time, instead of pushing the magic out, I drew inward, sucking it back to me as though I were slurping a milkshake through a straw. And when I finally opened my eyes and turned back to take a look, I found a small black cat where the huge black panther had been.
“Huh,” I muttered. For the first time since Spook had grown, I felt light and free. How had I not realized I’d been controlling this the entire time?
Or maybe I’d gotten used to being weighed down by guilt, embarrassment, rage—so much so that I didn’t even know the difference.
“Maybe I overestimated the control I have over my magic,” I mumbled with an exhausted sigh.
Zoey squeezed my hand. “We all do sometimes. I’m sorry I didn’t see what was happening with you. I should have been able to figure this out.”
Spook hopped over the back seat as though it were nothing and pushed his way between us with a questioning meow. We both began stroking him, and I may even have cried a little with relief.
“Just wait until you get to the Secret Academy,” I said as I pulled him onto my lap. “Everyone is going to spoil the heck out of you. Me, most of all”
Zoey laughed as he licked her fingers. “So, are you going to tell your parents about him when you get home?”
Well, that certainly seemed like small potatoes after everything we’d gone through together that day. I refused to separate us. The bond was already formed. If anything, I was surer than ever that Spook was my familiar. Our connection over the past day had grown so strong it would be impossible for anyone to deny.
Sure, having a black cat familiar was pretty cliche, but I was A-OK being a basic witch.
“Yeah, I’ll tell them,” I promised, my eyes fixed on the gorgeous kitty before me. “But not right away.”
“Going to hide him in your room again?” asked Owen, winking at me through the rearview.
I smiled up at him, grateful for once that he was a part of our tightknit circle now. “It’s Halloween, and we have a car at our disposal. This is no time to go home. Circle back to that neighborhood. We have a red door to find.”
“You really want to go to a party now?” Zoey asked, shaking her head. “Aren’t you tired? Don’t you want to rest?”
“The way I see it, we have a lot to celebrate. Plus we only get one Halloween per year, and I happen to know for a fact that they’re holding an encore tonight. So yes, we are going to find that red door and actually celebrate Halloween like the fabulous magical youth that we are.”
“Hey, you said no trouble,” warned Zoey.
“I also said no boys.” I smiled wickedly at her. “If we’re going to break the rules, we might as well do it all the way. I promised you the best Halloween of your life, and—hey—the night’s still young. Let’s make this a night to remember!”
Owen veered the SUV into the next lane. “I’m with Phina on this one,” he confided.
His eyes met mine one last time, and an important understanding passed between us. We would drag Zoey, even if it meant kicking and screaming, and give her a proper introduction to how this holiday was celebrated in the magical world.
Because we had a lot to celebrate, and that included each other.
Want More?
Want more from Delphina, Zoey, and the rest of The Secret Academy gang?
Get started with CURSE OF THE WHITE TIGER or catch up with the full series HERE!
Learn more about the author and see her other awesome books HERE.
Black Cat Comes Back
Emmie Lyn
About This Single
I’m Audrey Fernsby, just a ghost of my former self floating around Moonlight Mansion in Frog Hollow, Georgia. My death was ruled accidental… but nothing is farther from the truth. When my precious black cat, Mocha, returns on the same night that two friends, Tilly and Sunny arrive, I plan to out my ghostly self and enlist their clever sleuthing capabilities. Mocha knows the truth. I hope she can help catch the killer before someone else ends up dead in my rose bushes.
Where It Fits
BLACK CAT COMES BACK can be read as a stand-alone. Chronologically it fits as the PREQUEL before SCENTS AND A SUSPECT in the ACCIDENTAL GHOST DETECTIVE COZY MYSTERY series coming in 2021.
Chapter One
My dearest Tilly,
I need your help.
I know, I know, we haven’t spoken since meeting fifty years ago when we were both twenty and crossing the Atlantic together. You, heading off south through Europe then to Africa, and me to England to meet my future in-laws. All of our letters back and forth over the years were wonderful, but now I need you here with your outside perspective. Strange oddities have been happening, and I simply cannot trust anyone. Especially family and friends closest to me.
So, let me get to the details of my proposal. I own a beautiful bed and breakfast named Moonlight Mansion here in the Peach Plains region of Georgia. Frog Hollow is a tiny but beautiful dot on the map. I’m having a weekend soiree in exactly one month. The goal? Outing a traitor. You, my dear friend, will be my second set of eyes and ears. If my memory serves me accurately, you have a unique ability to see through all the bluster people surround themselves with, drilling straight to the nitty-gritty.
I’m counting on you, Tilly. I know you never refuse an adventure or a challenge. I’m giving you both.
I can promise luxurious accommodations. You’ll stay with me in my third-floor apartment with everything you could possibly want or need—beautiful views, canopy bed, private bathroom with a Jacuzzi, and maid service at the touch of a button.
Bring a friend with you; I have plenty of room.
I look forward to seeing you again, dear Tilly. Ta-ta for now.
Always,
Audrey Knight Fernsby
P.S. 142 Live Oak Lane, Frog Hollow, Georgia
Chapter Two
So, here I hovered on the balcony of my mansion in my little town of Frog Hollow, Georgia, waiting for Tilly to arrive. Would my friend drive from Pineville, Maine, because I hinted at a problem and asked her for help?
Of course, everything had changed since a month ago when I sent that letter. And, not in a good way.
Headlights pierced the swirling mist below me. I waited, full of hope as my clock chimed midnight. In an odd kind of way, that seemed appropriate.
Yes! I watched as Tilly, an older, gray-haired version of the young woman I remembered, pulled into
the driveway and shut off her engine. I’d recognize her anywhere. Even after these fifty years. Sure, her silver hair was now cropped short instead of those long tresses she sported years ago. But what hadn’t changed was her stately posture that said, “Here comes Tilly, watch out world.”
I saw her pull her sweater around herself. Likely the chilly night air seeped into the car windows even before she quietly slipped out of her Volkswagen beetle. An owl hooted overhead. The midnight stillness magnified every frog peep, leaf rustle, and twig snap. I could see excitement sparkle in her eyes as I waited for her to make the trek inside.
But then someone stirred in the passenger seat. A younger woman sat up straight and wiped a string of drool off her face. She looked in the visor mirror, and I could lip-read her question to Tilly. “Where are we?”
I was antsy to catch up with Tilly, but I had to let them settle in at their own pace.
Tilly bent down and looked through the open door. The night mist magnified her voice, and I heard her say, “Come on, Sunny. We’re here. Get out and take a look at Moonlight Mansion. It’s even grander than I’d imagined with turrets, and rooms galore with shutters framing all the windows. It’s a magnificent stone monstrosity.”
I knew she’d like my mansion with its unique intrigue.
Tilly’s companion yawned and groaned and stretched. She looked to be around thirty I guessed, attractive with two dark French braids framing her face. I was anxious to meet Tilly’s friend. She’d told me about her in our correspondence, so I already knew I liked her.
Tilly squeaked, then chuckled when my cat, Mocha, came up behind her and rubbed against her legs.
“Aren’t you the cutest black cat I’ve ever seen,” she said, cradling the feline in her arms. Mocha rewarded the attention with loud purrs and friendly head butts.