Meows, Magic & Marshmallows

by Madison Johns

  “It’s Chloe’s?”

  “She hasn’t even noticed it’s missing, yet. She might even think she misplaced it.”

  “What a slippery fool he is,” Pansy muttered in disgust.

  “Yes, he’s a fool without a clue,” Petunia agreed, but out loud. “Did you have anything to do with Medea’s death?”

  “Back to Medea again. Don’t you understand that nobody cares that she’s dead?”

  “I do and so should you. She fired the manager of Candyland and gave his job to you. Bunny here told us she was the one who deserved the job instead of you. But it appears that you both deserve each other. Hand over the wand, now.”

  “Make me,” Gregg sneered.

  Petunia picked up Pansy and threw him at Gregg’s face. Pansy clawed him and when Gregg dropped the wand, Petunia moved to pick it up. Bunny made a grab for the wand, too, but Petunia managed to elbow her out of the way as Pansy landed safely on the ground. Once Petunia had the wand in her hand, Gregg tried to wrestle it from her, and … a bolt of lightening shot out and caught the wall on fire. Gregg and Bunny’s eyes widened and they ran away like frightened rabbits. Petunia put the fire out with a fire extinguisher near the door and waved a hand to clear the smoke as she staggered outside with Pansy.

  “A-At least the fire is out,” Petunia sputtered.

  “Not before the fire department was notified.” Petunia quickly put the wand in her purse as the firefighters came forward in their battle gear.

  “The fire was just inside that door,” Petunia said. “I put it out with the fire extinguisher.”

  “Move aside, Miss,” a firefighter said.

  She did as he asked and disappeared back up the street until they were on the main drag. Petunia frowned when she walked into Enchanted Objects with Pansy.

  “What happened to you?” Noah asked, wiping a smudge off her cheek.

  “I had a little fight with Gregg and Bunny over this wand,” she said, as she produced it with a cockeyed smile.

  “Oh, my,” Chloe gasped. “I just knew that rat stole something when he was here.”

  “Is this a habit of his?” Petunia asked.

  “I believe so. I had hoped to give him a truth serum when I went out with him.”

  “Oh, no, don’t do that. There’s no telling what might happen.”

  “Speaking from personal experience?” Noah asked with furrowed brow.

  Yes, she thought to herself. I made a love potion once and … she swallowed the words, saying instead, “I’m pleading the fifth.” She grinned. “When I followed Gregg and Bunny, I didn’t know he stole anything. I caught them kissing and I was so angry. Pansy clawed Gregg’s face, I’m afraid.”

  “Yuck!” Pansy said.

  “Don’t be sad about that,” Chloe said. “It explains a lot. Gregg is such a little toad—or should be.”

  “Let’s keep the magic to a minimum,” Noah said.

  “Sounds good to me, but I didn’t get to the interesting part. I was fighting with Gregg with the wand when a lightening bolt came out of the wand and it caused a fire. Luckily there was a fire extinguisher close by and I put it out. I left when the fire department arrived. I’m just glad I was able to return your wand.”

  “Oh, so that’s where the sirens were coming from,” Chloe said. Her brows knitted. “That wasn’t my wand. I was digging through a box I found on the top shelf in the stockroom.”

  Petunia frowned. “And let me guess, you’re making me take the wand.”

  18

  Petunia yawned early the next morning and walked over to her dresser. She had never actually tried to use the crystal ball as it might be intended. If she was able to find stray familiars with it, she must be able to find out who the killer was, too.

  She showered and dressed in shorts and a button-down shirt with a tank top beneath it. She slipped on her sneakers before she walked over to the globe, as Pansy snickered close by.

  “What are you planning to do now, Red?”

  “See if I can figure out who killed Medea.”

  “If the globe could tell you that, wouldn’t it have done that before?”

  “I don’t know. I never asked it to show me anything before.”

  “If you don’t mind, I’ll wait across the room. After the wand incident yesterday, I never know when something is going to combust.”

  Petunia placed her fingers on the top of the crystal ball and asked, “Who murdered Medea?”

  Blue smoke swirled inside, but didn’t take on a shape.

  “Where is the money Medea stole?” she asked in a fluke.

  Green smoke met the blue and an image of Medea’s house came into view. Up the stairs the image moved and through a keyhole of a room. It then focused on a photo on the wall of a stern-faced woman before fading away.

  Petunia excitedly burst through the door that separated Noah’s room from hers. “I know where the money is,” she gasped, as Noah was just pulling up his trousers.

  “You might want to give a man a few moments to get decent before you barge through the door.” He smiled.

  Petunia quickly adverted her eyes and said, “I tried to ask the crystal ball just now and I think we should head out to Medea’s house. I think I know where the money is.” She forced herself not to look at Noah’s chiseled frame, and especially at his six pack. Boy, she thought, it was a shame she hadn’t seen him like this before.

  “We better get out there. I mean, the crystal ball can’t be wrong, right?” Noah smiled.

  Petunia wasn’t offended by Noah’s comment. It was expected, but she secretly hoped it was true just to show him that magic was real. Petunia picked up Pansy and headed out the door with Noah.

  Petunia was actually getting used to traveling around in a golf cart even though a car might be more practical. But a golf cart was much easier to conceal when they parked it in the weeds.

  Petunia wrinkled her brow when she spotted a black sedan in the driveway. From her knowledge, there had never been a car parked there before. Had it been owned by Medea? She had a feeling that Winslow barely left the house.

  Noah was about to knock when Pansy said, “The door is ajar.”

  “I’ll wait out here, Red,” Pansy said. “And go for help if you don’t come out in ten minutes.”

  Petunia pointed out the door that wasn’t closed all the way and Noah slowly opened it the remainder of the way. Shouts could be heard in the other room.

  “Don’t tell me you don’t know where the money is, Winslow,” a man shouted.

  “Madam hasn’t mentioned anything about money. She was hardly the sort to keep it in her mattress.”

  Footsteps pounded in their direction and before Noah and Petunia were able to get back out the door, they were spotted.

  “Get in here,” Wallace said, as he waved a handgun at them.

  Petunia put up her hands and she and Noah joined Winslow in the parlor.

  Petunia and Noah were knocked down on the sofa with an umbrella as Winslow sighed. He was trussed up worse than a Christmas turkey.

  When Petunia shook off the cobwebs, she stared up at Naisha. “You!”

  “You!” Naisha mocked her. “You picked the wrong time to drop by.”

  “So, you’re here looking for the money? Didn’t Medea tell you where she hid the money before you offed her?”

  “They didn’t plan that out, obviously,” Noah said.

  “Tie them up, Wallace,” Naisha shouted.

  “Hurry up. Naisha is in charge and you’re just her stooge,” Petunia said.

  “Shut up before I have Wallace shoot you.”

  “Oh, look who’s trying not to look like a murderer. I knew Medea didn’t die from an accident. You set up the entire thing.”

  “Be careful, Petunia,” Noah cautioned. “They have a gun.”

  “There isn’t enough tape to keep my mouth shut—or so a Pink song says.”

  “Shoot her!” Naisha ordered.

  “We can’t do that. We need to find the m
oney and take them back to the factory,” Wallace fired back.

  “If you find the money, will you let us go?” Petunia asked. “Providing I know where it might be.”

  “Sure, we’ll let you go,” Naisha said.

  “Don’t tell them anything,” Winslow said. “They’ll kill us either way.”

  “You say that like I actually know where the money is,” Petunia gasped. At least Winslow believed in her.

  Winslow shrugged. “Why else would you be here?”

  “It’s upstairs,” Petunia said. “Or I think it is, unless it’s in the factory. So many hiding places if you think about it.”

  “Take her upstairs, Wallace,” Naisha said.

  “Do what she says, Wallace,” Noah said. “She’s the boss.”

  Wallace turned. “She isn’t my boss.”

  “Sure, she is, and she’ll have no use for you once she finds the cash. Probably leave an anonymous tip and have the cops at your door unless she decides to kill you and make it look like self defense,” Noah said.

  Naisha’s brow shot up. “Thanks, I was wondering how I’d play this out.”

  “We should just off them since they don’t know where the money is and then we can come back and search the house,” Wallace said.

  “I hope you’re not thinking back at the factory,” Naisha said. “We can’t set up another accident at the factory.”

  “I knew it,” Petunia said. “Wallace was the one who loosened the rivets on the chute and you’re the one who called Medea there.”

  “So what if that’s how it went down,” Naisha said. “I was even able to convince Medea to stand there so I could take her picture.”

  “It’s no wonder you were able to time it right. I hadn’t put together that part.” They also hadn’t put together that Wallace and Naisha were in cahoots.

  “She lied to us about what good friends she was with Medea,” Noah said.

  “I always thought that, too,” Petunia said.

  “Get them in the car, Wallace. The factory it is.”

  “But how are you going to do that when the factory is open?” Petunia asked.

  “She has a point. Ask Lurch over there to tell us where the well is on the property,” Naisha said. “All old houses have them.”

  “Not this one,” Winslow said. “It was filled in years ago.”

  Wallace yanked up Winslow with a gun pressed to his temple. “Sorry, old friend, I only came out here to search for the money.”

  Once Winslow, Petunia, and Noah were loaded in the backseat, Naisha drove to the factory. Petunia was feeling quite hopeless now since nobody knew where they were and there was no way that Pansy would be able to make it into town. Not that he could actually talk, anyway. They were all goners.

  They were ushered into the factory through the dock and Petunia gulped when she saw the melting pots. She felt relief flood over her when she didn’t whiff anything inside.

  That feeling quickly slipped away as Wallace flipped a switch and the sound of loud machinery filled the room. A conveyor belt began to move and the belt led to a chocolate press! Tears dripped down Petunia’s face as they were forced on the belt. They rumbled along slowly, but all she could focus on was the pounding sound of the press.

  She felt for her wand and pulled it out of her pocket and waved it around. It hadn’t taken much to release a lighting bolt the last time, but she had no idea what to expect now since she didn’t know how to use a wand!

  She held Noah’s hand tightly when she wasn’t able to get the wand to do anything. Then, suddenly, the conveyor belt fell to the floor, saving them for the moment as screams for Wallace and Naisha to drop their weapons and get on the ground were heard. It was Sheriff Griffin’s voice!

  Emerald and Chloe raced over and helped up Noah and Petunia and untied Winslow.

  Petunia then choked out the details of the case to the sheriff, who nodded.

  “How did you know we were here?” Noah asked.

  “When your familiar came to Enchanted Objects, we knew you were in trouble,” Emerald said. “We can hardly let a fellow witch down even if she keeps the company of mortals.”

  “Where is Pansy?”

  “He was so exhausted I left him back at our shop,” Chloe said. “I don’t think he could have walked another step.”

  It was a rather nice sight as Wallace and Naisha were cuffed and pulled toward the waiting cop cars.

  “They were at Medea’s house looking for the money,” Petunia said. “I think I know where it might be.”

  Sheriff Griffin had her deputies take Wallace and Naisha to lockup while she accompanied Winslow, Noah, Petunia, Chloe, and Emerald back to the mansion.

  Petunia walked up the stairs and tried the door at the top of the stairs, but it only rattled. Winslow handed her a key and the door opened with a draft. All the hairs on Petunia’s neck raised, but she pushed on to stand before the picture she had seen in the crystal ball of a rather stern-looking woman. “Take the picture off the wall,” she told Noah.

  Most of the group backed away.

  “Don’t be afraid, Noah, what are you expecting?”

  “I’ve seen far too much magic for this trip, if you don’t mind.” He removed the picture and behind it was a safe.

  Winslow walked to the safe and rolled the dial until the safe popped open. Petunia removed a pouch filled with cash and a stack of papers. She choked when she blew the dust away. “This is a will.”

  “Medea wasn’t concerned about that stack of papers,” Chloe said.

  “No,” Noah agreed. “She just wanted a place to stash her cash.”

  “How did Medea know the combination, Winslow?” Petunia asked.

  “Medea was given the combination when she moved in here and kept the room locked.”

  “But you already knew the combination and had an extra key,” Noah said. “Smart man.”

  Sheriff Griffin’s eyes watered up. “I’m so glad we found the money. I had lost hope that I’d ever be able to recover it, but now the building for the orphanage will be able to be renovated in time. It will be up to the judge when the money will be released, of course, but now I don’t have to face the residents who donated all that money.

  “What do you think the will says?” Petunia asked Noah, as he thumbed through it.

  “This house was earmarked to only be used in a charitable way.”

  “It’s the perfect place for the orphanage,” Petunia exclaimed. “It was never supposed to have been lived in by anyone working for the factory.”

  Epilogue

  Chloe hugged Petunia and handed her a box. “Take this with you. It’s yours.”

  “Why is it whenever your family gives me something, I don’t have any other choice than to take it?”

  “Take it so we can get going,” Pansy huffed. “You have no idea what I’ve been through.”

  Petunia had to admit he was right.

  “I still can’t believe Pansy was able to come all the way to town,” Petunia said.

  “That’s what a familiar is supposed to do. Help and protect his witch.”

  “I wonder,” Noah grumbled suspiciously. “There’s something about that cat.”

  “So, what is the sheriff doing with Gregg for stealing that wand?”

  “Nothing since Evie doesn’t want to press charges. We prefer to keep this low key and Gregg is so freaked out about what happened with the wand that he has since returned a box of items he stole.”

  “And to think for a moment I actually thought he was smart enough to plot Medea’s death with that Bunny. I’m glad to hear they both lost their jobs,” Petunia said.

  “They couldn’t leave town fast enough. They have an aversion to witches, I hear.” Chloe giggled.

  Noah put the last of the suitcases in the trunk of a car that Winslow provided. Interestingly enough, he was planning to take up residence in Lake Forest. There was no reason for him to remain in Coven Creek since the mansion was being converted into an orphanage.
>
  Petunia hugged Evie and gave Emerald an extra tight hug. “You’ll have to visit us in Lake Forest sometime.”

  “We’re much too busy here. Evie would be lost without us,” Chloe said. She and her sisters waved as Winslow cranked the engine over and Petunia and Noah climbed in the back seat with Pansy for the long ride home.

  Noah smiled down at Petunia and kissed her on the nose. “For some reason, I don’t think life will quite be the same now that your magical powers are growing. But do me a favor and please don’t bring that crystal ball anywhere near me. I’m going to try and forget you even have it. It creeps me out.”

  “It creeps me out, too,” Petunia admitted, as she sealed her words with a lengthy kiss from Noah.

  About the Author

  Although sleep-deprived from working third shift, Madison Johns knew if she put what she had learned while caring for senior citizens to good use, it would result in something quite unique. The Agnes Barton Senior Sleuths mystery series has forever changed Madison's life, with each of the books making it onto the Amazon bestseller's list for cozy mystery and humor.

  Madison is now able to do what she loves best and work from home as a full-time writer. She has two children and animals galore that keep her company while she churns out more cozy mysteries and paranormal romances. She also writes western historical romances as Clara Kincaid.

  If you’d like to receive new release alerts and updates, please sign up for Madison’s newsletter, http://eepurl.com/4kFsH.

  For more information

  madisonjohns.com

  Also by Madison Johns

  An Agnes Barton Senior Sleuths Mystery Series

  Armed and Outrageous

  Grannies, Guns & Ghosts

  Senior Snoops

  Trouble in Tawas

  Treasure in Tawas

  Bigfoot in Tawas

  High Seas Honeymoon

  Outrageous Vegas Vacation

  Birds of a Feather

  Undercover Inmates

  Camping Caper

  Hawaiian Hangover