Denise waved her hand dismissively. “You don’t have to worry about me.”
“Are you sure? Because if there’s something you want to get off your chest, I just want you to know that I’m here for you.”
“It’s nothing.”
Meg squinted. “What’s nothing?”
Denise took a deep breath. “You don’t want to hear about my problems.”
“I asked, didn’t I?”
“True,” Denise said. “Look. I’m just having some personal problems—and some work problems.”
“That’s a whole bunch of problems.”
Denise exhaled. “Yeah. It’s a lot to deal with at once.”
“I’m sorry things are so hairy for you right now,” Meg said.
“Hey, we all have rough patches in life. But they eventually blow over.”
“Is there anything I can do to help you?”
Denise shook her head. “Unfortunately, no.”
“Okay. Well, if that changes, don’t hesitate to ask,” Meg said.
“I won’t. Anyway, thank you for checking up on me, but I really should be heading back inside,” Denise said.
“All right. Good night.”
“Night,” Denise said.
Chapter Three
Meg barely made it through her front door before her black cat, Penelope, gave her an earful.
“You should be ashamed of yourself after leaving for date night without putting down enough food for me,” Penelope said.
Clearly, Penelope wasn’t just any cat. She was a one-of-a-kind pet—a genuine talking feline. Of course, magic had a lot to do with that. You see, when Meg’s grandma was on her deathbed a number of years ago, Meg and her mother cast a spell that transferred Penelope’s soul into the body of a kitten.
Suddenly, Penelope had nine lives, and she planned on being feisty with every one of them.
“Grandma, can you give me a minute to settle in? I’m dealing with a lot right now,” Meg said.
“None of it is more important than making sure I’m well-fed,” Penelope said.
“I beg to differ.”
“Haven’t you ever heard the saying about respecting your elders’ stomach?”
Meg put her hands on her hips. “The saying is just about respecting your elders, which I do plenty of. As a matter, I practically bend over backwards for you.”
“I’m just asking you to bend a little more. What’s the big deal? You do yoga. You’re plenty flexible,” Penelope joked.
Meg folded her arms. “Very funny.”
“Hey, I can’t help it if I’m hungry.”
“All right. Just give me a second. I need a moment to get my head straight.”
Penelope waited exactly one second before replying. “Ta da. I honored your request. Now, time for food.”
Meg shook her head in disbelief. “I didn’t know you were going to take my statement literally. In that case, I need five minutes.”
“No way. You can’t change your story. You had your second. I need my food.”
Meg rubbed her forehead. “You are relentless sometimes, you know that?”
“And proud of it,” Penelope boasted.
“Grandma, that wasn’t a compliment.”
“I don’t care. I’m going to take it as one anyway. Now, less talking, more feeding.”
“What happened to all the food I left out for you before I left?”
“Isn’t it obvious? I ate it.”
Meg walked into the kitchen, where an empty food bowl sat on the tile. “You weren’t kidding.”
“I never joke about something as serious as food.”
“I can’t believe this.” Meg shook her head. “This afternoon, I specifically put some extra food in your bowl so you wouldn’t run out, yet you did anyway.”
“You can take that up with my stomach. It has a mind of its own sometimes.”
“If you’re not careful, you’re going to turn into a fat cat.”
“That will just mean there will be more of me to love.”
“You certainly have a unique way of looking at the world.”
“Why do I get the sense that you didn’t intend for that to be a compliment either?” Penelope asked.
“It doesn’t matter. There’s no use arguing with a sassy cat,” Meg said.
“Does that mean you’re going to give me the food I want now?” Penelope asked.
Meg took a deep breath then cast a spell which filled up Penelope’s bowl with delicious food.
Penelope immediately began chowing down. Meg stood idly by, watching Penelope gobble away like there was no tomorrow.
Meg exhaled, frustrated that she didn’t get a shred of appreciation. “You’re welcome.”
Penelope briefly stopped eating and looked up at Meg. “What’s with you? Was date night a bust or something?”
Meg nodded. “Yes, but that’s not what I’m concerned about right now.”
“Wait a minute. Don’t skip around. What went wrong with date night?”
“It was canceled because Connor has the flu.”
“Yikes.”
“I know. He’s going to be stuck in bed for a while.”
“I’m sorry. That’s a real bummer,” Penelope said.
“Yeah. But if the spell I cast works as planned, he’ll be back on his feet in a few days.”
“There’s something else going on, isn’t there?”
“Unfortunately.”
“What is it?”
Meg took a deep breath. “I have a really bad feeling about Denise.”
“Can you be more specific?” Penelope asked.
Meg shook her head. “No. That’s the problem. I just have a general bad feeling in my gut. If I could pinpoint where it was coming from, maybe I could do something about it.”
“Perhaps an answer will come to you in your sleep.”
Meg shrugged. “Maybe.” She bit the corner of her lip. “Have you seen anything strange happening around the neighborhood lately?”
“There seems to be a family of ninja squirrels terrorizing the Schneider’s dog.”
“I meant, have you seen anything odd taking place in regards to Denise?”
“No. But back to those acrobatic squirrels. They are driving that poor pooch nuts. If things keep up this way, that Westie next door might have a heart attack. Every day that little guy keeps chasing after them at full speed, only to come up empty handed at every turn.”
“Grandma, can we shelve the squirrel discussion for some other time? I’m talking about something serious here.”
“Right. Sorry. The human part of me understands your concerns completely. The cat part of me, meanwhile, can’t resist being fascinated by the daily dog drama.”
“I understand, but can you do me a favor and keep an eye on Denise’s house for me?” Meg asked.
“Sure thing.”
“Good. Hopefully, my instincts are wrong, but I have a nagging suspicion that they aren’t.”
“Don’t worry. I’m on the case.”
“Thanks.”
“So, does this mean you want to watch a detective show on TV tonight…or anything other than a police procedural?”
“Actually, I’m going to microwave some dinner and call it a night.”
“Really?” Penelope asked. “But it’s so early.”
“Tell that to my body. I’m exhausted,” Meg said.
“All right. Well get some rest.”
“That’s the plan.”
Chapter Four
Usually, a good night of rest was enough to clear Meg’s mind. But when she woke up in the morning, her thoughts were just as muddled as ever. Even more, the queasy feeling in her gut had not gone away.
Meg dragged herself out of bed and headed off to work at Enchanted Donuts. Thankfully, she made it through her shift without any major drama taking place.
After clocking out for the day, she headed over to Connor’s house to check up on him.
Unfortunately, he was not doing
noticeably better. This strain of the flu virus was really stubborn and refused to be shaken off easily. Meg spent the night taking care of him, and then returned home a number of hours later, only to crash out from exhaustion almost immediately after arriving back at her place.
Thankfully, she had the following day off of work. She headed over to Connor’s place in the morning, hoping that his fever had finally broken.
“How are you feeling today?” Meg asked.
“Lousy,” Connor replied.
Apparently, the immunity-boosting spell that she had cast wasn’t as powerful as she thought. She would have to conjure up a more potent incantation to try.
“Well, just lay back and get some more rest. I’ll take care of you,” Meg said.
“Thanks.”
“You look like you could use some soup.”
“I sure could.”
“Coming right up.”
Meg turned around and headed toward the kitchen.
Connor spoke up before she left the room. “Hey Meg.”
She turned back around to him. “Yes?”
“I just want you to know that I really appreciate you taking care of me like this. You’re so good to me.”
“Of course. I love you.”
Connor gave her as wide of a smile as he could muster. “You’re the best.”
“There’s something I can never hear too much,” Meg said.
“Seriously, I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“Thankfully, you’ll never have to find out.”
“You know, if I wasn’t so sick, I’d give you a big kiss right now.”
“Don’t worry. You’ll be better soon. You can kiss me then.”
“I can’t wait.”
“In the meantime, let me get you that soup.”
Meg began walking to the kitchen again.
She only made it a few steps before she heard a woman’s voice talking on Connor’s police radio.
“A dead body has been found at 273 Oakhurst Road,” the woman said.
Meg stopped in her tracks and turned to the radio, which was sitting on Connor’s desk. “Wait a minute. Did I hear that right?”
“Just ignore it. I forgot to turn it off yesterday,” Connor said.
A few seconds later, the woman’s voice was heard over the radio again. “I repeat, a dead body has been found at 273 Oakhurst Road.”
Meg’s eyes widened. “Wait a minute. That’s the address of Denise’s business.”
Connor sprung up in bed as he stared at Meg. “Uh-oh. I know that look.”
Meg began to pace. “What if something happened to her? What if the dead body is Denise’s?”
“What if it isn’t?” Connor asked.
“That’ll be a relief. But it won’t change the fact that a dead body was found. Besides, something is telling me that this person didn’t die of natural causes.”
“Meg, I’m sick—” Connor started to say.
“I know that,” Meg replied.
“Which means I’m in no condition to investigate a suspicious death.”
“I understand.”
“Yet you have that look in your eyes,” Connor said. “Please tell me you aren’t thinking of—”
“Connor, I have a really bad feeling about this.”
“Trust me. You’re not the only one who has a bad feeling right now—”
“I meant that I have an awful feeling in my gut about that body. Something is telling me that Denise is dead.”
“I hope you’re wrong. That would be terrible.”
“There’s one way to find out.”
“Meg, will you please stay here?”
A pained expression came to Meg’s face. “I wish I could.”
“You can. Just stay here with me,” Connor said.
“It’s not that simple.”
“Sure it is.”
“Connor, I need to know the truth.”
“I’m begging you. Don’t go—”
Meg interjected. “Look, this is a terrible situation all around. I know the timing is just dreadful with you being sick, but I need to know who the victim is.”
“One of my deputies can handle this.”
Meg ignored Connor’s statement. “Don’t worry. I’ll pour you a glass of orange juice and heat up some soup for you before I head out.”
“Just stop for a second,” Connor said. “You know there are other ways of finding out who the victim is without heading over there, right? For example, hand me my radio.”
Meg grabbed Connor’s radio from his desk and brought it over to him on the bed.
“I want to make a deal with you,” Connor said.
“What kind of a deal?” Meg asked.
“If Denise isn’t the victim, I want you to stay here with me and let my deputies handle this. Okay?”
Meg scrunched her nose.
When she didn’t immediately answer, Connor spoke up.
“Honey.”
Meg nodded. “Deal.”
“Good.” Connor spoke into his radio. “Dispatch, this is Detective Smith. Is there a positive identification on the body that was found?”
Unfortunately, the dispatcher didn’t immediately reply to Connor’s question.
Tension ran through Meg’s veins as she waited for an answer.
It took a few moments, but the dispatcher finally responded. “Denise Ward.”
Chapter Five
A shiver went down Meg’s spine. Her worst fears had been confirmed. Suddenly, it didn’t matter what Connor said. Meg had to take a look at the scene of the crime.
She heated up some soup for her fiancé, poured a glass of orange juice for him, and then brought it back to him in his bedroom before she headed out.
After that, she bolted over to Nine-Minute Gourmet Meals, Denise’s business. The shop sold pre-prepared gourmet meals that could be heated up in nine minutes or less. With everyone living such busy lives these days, the concept had really taken off and was a huge hit in town.
That morning, however, the parking lot wasn’t filled with customers, but rather police vehicles. A number of squad cars were on the scene, as was the department’s forensics van.
A police officer was cordoning off the parking lot with yellow tape, so Meg parked on the street and walked toward the shop.
Unlike with previous cases, however, she was at a severe disadvantage. Meg didn’t have Connor to help her this time. Which meant that she didn’t have the access that she was accustomed to. As a matter of fact, when Deputy Shane Griffith spotted Meg approaching the building, he rushed out toward her with his hands out.
The burly thirty-one-year-old had a round face, blue eyes, and muscles to spare. He also didn’t want Meg anywhere near the crime scene.
“Meg Walton. What do you think you’re doing here?” Griffith asked.
“When I heard that Denise was dead, I had to come over here and—”
Griffith cut her off. “And what, poke your head around? Because this is a crime scene.”
“I know that, but Denise was my neighbor. And more importantly, my friend,” Meg said.
“Don’t get me wrong. I’m very sorry about what happened to her. But there’s a killer out there, and I’m going to find them,” Griffith said.
“Wait a minute. You’re going to find the killer?” Meg asked.
“Why do you sound so surprised?”
“I’m not surprised, I’m just—”
Griffith interrupted her again. “As I’m sure you know, Detective Smith is under the weather. With him being unable to perform his duties, someone else needed to step into his role. As a detective-in-training, I was next in line to take the reins, and that’s exactly what I’m doing.”
“I wish you all the luck in the world,” Meg said.
“Thank you. That said, I have a lot of work to do, so I’m going to have to ask you to leave,” Griffith replied.
Meg’s eyebrows knitted. “But I can help you.”
“That won’t
be necessary. Why don’t you go home and take care of your fiancé?”
“Deputy, I really think you should take me up on my offer—”
Griffith folded his arms. “Let me just stop you right there. I know Detective Smith lets you tag along when he investigates sometimes, but this is my case, and I’m going to do things by the book. Which means no civilians are allowed at the crime scene.”
She made one last attempt to reason with him. “But I can really help you.”
“You sure can, by getting back in your car and letting me do my job.”
Meg stared deep into his eyes. She saw an unshakable stubbornness that was quite familiar to her, mostly because she possessed that same trait. Meg knew it was a waste of time to argue with someone who refused to listen to reason, so she didn’t even bother trying.
Instead, being keenly aware that she couldn’t make any headway with the deputy, she headed back to her car.
But, despite the deputy’s wishes, she didn’t leave the scene right away. Instead, she cast a few spells. The first one granted her the ability to see through walls. As she stared at Denise’s business, Meg saw her friend’s body, face-down on the floor in the kitchen. There was a bloody gash on Denise’s head. Beside the body was a bloodstained frying pan.
The second spell that Meg cast gave her enhanced hearing abilities. That allowed her to be able to listen in on Griffith’s conversations from the privacy of her car.
That spell came in particularly handy when she heard Griffith speaking with the balding, middle-aged medical examiner, Will Jolsten.
“Please tell me you have a lead for me,” Griffith said.
Will’s face strained. “I’m afraid not. We didn’t find any prints on the murder weapon.”
Griffith winced. He then took a deep breath before replying, “What was the time of death?”
“I’d say sometime between nine and ten o’clock last night,” Will replied.
Griffith groaned. “Great. So the killer has been on the loose for over eleven hours. There’s no telling where they might be right now.”
Will grimaced. “I wish I had better news for you.”
“So do I.”
“Unfortunately, this case looks like it’s going to be a tough one,” Will said.
Witch Cozy Mystery Nine Book Set Page 54