Yes. Yes it could.
Luke stood with his hands on his hips outside the station looking at Tim Hildebrand’s dead body where it sat leaning against the station door. Zoey would have kept going, but a wrinkled old hand with the power of some goddess yanked her back into the entrance of the hardware store. The three of them peered around the wall where they were shielded from view and watched as the sheriff pulled to a stop and joined Luke, who was standing hands on hips, staring at Tim.
“Oh my god,” Zoey groaned.
“Goddess,” Vilma and Agnes absently corrected.
“Whatever! Tim’s propped up against the door like he was placed there!”
“He was. You put him there,” Vilma responded matter-of-factly.
“We need a reason to get closer,” Agnes told them.
“I normally bring muffins, but I haven’t had time to make them yet,” Zoey said as she watched the sheriff make a phone call.
“Well, whip them up,” Vilma ordered.
“You mean I can do that?” Zoey asked in wonder.
“If you can transport Tim, you can certainly make some muffins,” Agnes confirmed.
“Then why do you come to my store every day when you can just whip up your favorite desserts with a flick of your fingers?”
Vilma shook her head. “Doesn’t work like that. Magic comes from within. If I made muffins they would taste as if I made them at home and trust me when I say I can’t make them nearly as well as you do. But you have the recipes inside you. The magic will use it. So, focus on what you want to appear and let your body work.”
Zoey closed her eyes and focused on muffins. In her mind she saw the ingredients, saw how she mixed them, saw the finished product. Her fingers warmed and she gave them a wiggle. When she opened her eyes Vilma was holding a platter of muffins.
“No way!” Zoey sniffed them. They smelled just like her muffins.
“Now let’s see what’s going on.” Agnes shoved Zoey forward.
She stumbled onto the sidewalk, drawing Luke’s and Sheriff Weller’s attention. “Good morning,” Zoey smiled. It was a fake smile, a smile that hid the fear that at any moment they would decry her a witch and burn her at the stake. “I brought muffins.”
Luke stepped to block her path. “You shouldn’t see this.”
“Oh, what is it deputy?” Agnes asked all innocently.
“There’s been a murder,” Luke said, all business.
“Here? In Moonshine? Who is it?” Vilma asked as her hand fluttered to her heart.
“Tim Hildebrand.”
The three of them gasped. Okay, maybe being a lawyer was good practice for being a witch.
“Do you know who did it?” Zoey asked.
“Not yet. But, there have been reports of hearing a loud motorcycle driving through town early this morning. Not too many motorcycles registered here. Don’t know if it means anything, but I’ll look into. In the meantime I’ve called in the state police to help me process the area. I’m sorry, I need to ask you to stay clear of the area so we don’t contaminate anything.”
“Make sure to put the muffins in the cruiser!” Sheriff Weller yelled, his white mustache waggling. He shot them a wave before resuming staring at Tim with his hands on his hips.
Zoey handed the muffins to Agnes and Vilma who meandered over to the cruiser before making their way to Sheriff Weller to see if they could find out more. After all, they were of a similar age, or Zoey had thought so until she discovered the women were literally ancient.
“How are you feeling?” Luke asked gently as he walked over to her and looked her up and down as if he could see where she was hurting.
Zoey smiled in response. “Feel great. That ice pack set me to rights.”
Luke’s lips quirked, but he didn’t contradict her. “I was going to see if you wanted to go to dinner tonight, but I have a feeling it’s going to be a long day for me. Maybe I can get a rain check?”
“Sure, I’d like that,” Zoey said and meant it. She’d never been out with a guy from outside of LA. It would be completely different, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t be good. As long as she didn’t poof him someplace by accident that is.
“Great. Hey, didn’t you think you saw Tim this morning?”
“I had a head injury,” Zoey reminded him with a shrug.
“True,” he said, seemingly shrugging it off. “I’ll call you when I get a chance to talk about dinner.” Luke gave her a look that sent her fingers tingling and her eyes widening.
“I better get going,” she thought before she zapped him straight to her bed.
7
Zoey was buried up to her eyes in research. She’d read about Wiccans, read about the Salem witch trials, and watched the whole first season of Bewitched. She thought she was getting the hang of this being-a-witch thing. She thought so until Agnes and Vilma brought over a “couple” of books for her to read. Those couple of books turned into a complete set of Claritase encyclopedias starting from the first witch and going all the way until last year.
While the read was a lot more interesting than case law, some of the centuries could have been summarized. Zoey’s eyes felt gritty. She’d stayed up all night reading, but now she felt she had an understanding of the history and role the Claritase played. However, the Claritase had lain low during the last four hundred years. That was when the Tenebris had started hunting them and used the Salem witch trials as a way to flush them out. The Tenebris had worked side by side with the Claritase, but then they elected a new leader, Alexander, in 1518. Alexander believed the Claritase were inferior to the Tenebris. To Zoey it sounded as if he didn’t like being less powerful than some of the Claritase and wanted their power
Four hundred years ago, a contingent of witches lead by Grand Mistress Helena had met with Alexander under a white flag to negotiate a truce only to be killed by Alexander and his council. When the others Tenebris members saw the power that could be obtained by killing another witch, they leapt into the hunt Alexander continued to wage.
Since then, the witches had never gathered as one again. Instead they sent in reports and the master secretary recorded it into the official history book. All history books held by the Claritase members would magically update after each official entry. They had a better updating system than any smartphone.
But what really worried Zoey was the Tenebris. Vilma and Agnes told her they wouldn’t think to look for a third witch in Moonshine Hollow, but if discovered, Zoey would have to learn to protect herself. Witch lessons started that night.
In the meantime, she had more sweet treats to bake than she could shake a broom at; which, she was saddened to learn last night, witches didn’t actually fly on.
* * *
Zoey decided to take the long way to her shop. The sun wasn’t quite up, but the darkness was beginning to turn to the early glow of dawn as she turned onto Double Run. Tim’s house was the second house on the left. It was easy to spot with the yellow crime scene tape over the door. She didn’t really know what she was looking for. She just felt the need to look around.
She slowed her pace and looked around. Not many lights were on yet, and those that were on were in the back of houses as people were getting up. She didn’t know why, but she felt responsible for Tim. Maybe it was because she’d zapped him all over town.
Zoey stood in front of the house, not knowing what to do first. What she really wanted was to figure out what the piece of paper in his pocket was. Was it part of a recipe? An overdue water bill? Zoey turned around and looked at the mailbox. Why not start the day off with a felony?
She opened the mailbox and held her breath. Her heart was pounding as if the killer would leap out right then and there. When she looked inside she was unreasonably disappointed to find it empty. But then she heard it. The slight sound of leaves rustling. There was someone nearby.
Zoey looked around quickly. By the porch of the one story brick house was the beginning of a row of azalea bushes lining the side of the ho
use heading toward the backyard. Tiptoeing forward, she zeroed in on the bush right under a small square window.
The leaves moved and Zoey worked hard to stifle the scream. With a shaking hand, she reached to move the branches. Her hand hadn’t touched the green leaves or red blooms when they burst open. Several thoughts went through her head at once. Was it the murderer? Was she going to die with her throat slit in the middle of the street after dragging her dying body out there to get help? Why had she come here? And was she wearing clean underwear?
Her fingers tingled and poof! The object flying toward her throat vanished. Zoey blinked and put both hands over her throat to feel for blood. Nothing. She’d sent the threat magically through space to . . . the middle of the road.
Zoey leapt up, grabbed a garden gnome statue holding a bottle of moonshine, and ran for the road. Instead of the knife-wielding man she expected to see, she found a black Labrador puppy sitting in the middle of the road looking as confused as Zoey felt. Her face flushed red with embarrassment. She guessed the row of sharp puppy teeth was the knife she thought she saw and the blood was really the cute pink tongue the little black puppy was using to lick the hurt paw it was holding up gingerly.
“Oh, you poor thing,” Zoey cooed as she dropped to her knees and slowly began to crawl toward the little puppy still sitting in the road.
The puppy looked startled, but didn’t move as Zoey continued to talk softly and crawl closer. The pup stopped licking its paw and stared at her. It looked ready to bolt at any second but held still, watching Zoey instead.
“It’s okay. I won’t hurt you. I promise,” Zoey said soothingly as she crawled across the pavement, hoping the hurt puppy wouldn’t run and hoping she wouldn’t zap the poor thing again.
“Here you go, sweet thing. I’ll make it all better,” Zoey comforted as the pup let her reach out and pet him.
“Too bad you’re not talking to me,” the deep voice said from behind her, startling the puppy. The puppy jumped again and Zoey knew it wasn’t a knife-wielding murderer so she managed not to poof the little dog away again. Instead of jumping away from Zoey, the puppy jumped into her arms at the sound of Luke’s voice.
“You scared him.” Zoey lifted the shaking puppy up into her arms. “What are you doing sneaking around?”
Luke grinned at the scowl Zoey sent him over her shoulder. “I’m pretty sure I wasn’t the only one sneaking around. I got a call about a potential burglar peeking into Tim’s house right after I got a call about seeing a stranger on a motorcycle.”
“Oh,” Zoey said with an innocent blink of her eyes. “Well, surely you don’t mean me? I’ve been trying to rescue this poor hurt puppy, and I certainly don’t have a motorcycle.”
Luke looked as if he didn’t believe her. “I’ll call the pound to come take it away.”
“No, he has a hurt paw. Don’t call the pound. I’ll have the vet fix him up and take care of him. I’d hate to think of him locked up in a cage with no one to love him.”
Zoey kissed the top of the puppy’s head. “I would think you would be too busy to take a nosy neighbor call. Have you learned anything about what happened to Tim?”
Luke’s smile slid into a look that was coldly serious. “It was murder. He was strangled from behind, as if he were in a chokehold. His neck was broken, probably after he passed out from suffocation, and we found a piece of paper in his pocket that was the edge of a recipe.”
“Do you think he was murdered for the moonshine recipes?” Zoey asked as she held the puppy closer to her chest as if to protect the innocent life.
“It appears that way. I’m meeting with Ronald Stone, the owner of Stonecreek Distillery, this morning.”
Zoey nodded. Stonecreek was the main rival of Moonshine Distillery. They were on the other side of the mountain in the small town of Stonecreek. From the same headwaters high up on the mountain, creeks flowed down opposite sides of the mountain and through both towns to feed the distilleries. Folklore told that Ned Earnest, the founder of Moonshine Hollow, and Elijah Stone were cousins who traveled into the frontier together. All was well until one night their grandfather took ill and called both boys into the family’s small cabin. Ned was the first to arrive, and fearing he wouldn’t make it, the grandfather told Ned the family recipe for his moonshine. Ned left when Elijah arrived, and shortly after their grandfather passed away.
The rift began when Ned and Elijah began making their moonshine. Somehow they were not the same. Each claimed to be the original recipe handed down from their grandfather, but the two were completely opposite in taste. Over time, Ned’s moonshine became more popular and Elijah’s and Ned’s families became competitors. Rumor had it in the last couple of years, Ronald Stone had tanked the family distillery when he tried to corner the health market with kale and quinoa moonshines.
“You think Ronald had Tim killed to get the recipes?” Zoey asked as Luke held out his hand and helped her up from the street.
“I think someone had Tim killed for all the recipes. I still can’t find this mysterious guy on a motorcycle that one of Tim’s neighbors called about twenty minutes ago. When we searched Tim’s office, we discovered the entire history of recipes from Moonshine Distillery were gone. When I talked to Mr. Earnest, he said Tim always carried them on him to keep them safe. He confirmed that the paper in Tim’s pocket was part of a recipe from the master collection.” Luke let go of her hand and put his hands on his hips as he looked down at the puppy now asleep in her arms. “I think this dog was meant to be yours. It was fate you found him.”
A sudden vision of another man, this one taller, darker, broader, and more muscular than Luke shot through her mind, saying something similar about fate. Zoey felt chills run down her spine at the same time her body flushed hot. Zoey shook her head to dislodge the image of Slade in black pleather and a tight T-shirt.
“I think I’ll name him Chance,” Zoey said, stroking the pup’s head. She saw Luke’s eye soften as he watched her, and Zoey suddenly felt guilty for the images of Slade that had caused her whole body to shiver. But what caused that shiver? “Luke, would you let me know how it goes with Ronald? I can’t help but feel somewhat responsible for Tim.” Especially since she’s zapped her all over town.
“I didn’t realize you two were close,” Luke said, his eyes sharpening.
“We weren’t,” Zoey said slowly as she tried to pull anything out of the air to explain herself. “He, uh, he came into my bakery quite often and was such a nice man.”
Luke nodded his agreement. “Yes, he was. I better get going to meet Mr. Stone. I was hoping I would see you at Mountaineers later tonight.”
“I’m meeting Maribelle there, so I will see you then.”
“I’ll let you know tonight what I find out over in Stonecreek.”
Chance licked her face as Zoey watched Luke drive off. “Well, Chance, I’m in trouble. I have a half a day to get a full day’s worth of work in. I’ll never fulfill my orders in time. But at least I’ll have you for company.”
Chance wagged his long tail as Zoey headed to her bakery. Murder didn’t stop gossip. It only fueled it. Zoey would need to prepare a lot of food to feed the people of this town, all with murder on their minds.
8
“I can do this,” Zoey chanted as she peeked around the wall and out the front window. A line of people were standing on the sidewalk talking frantically, with their hands moving, as the gossip of Tim’s death and the missing recipes tore through the town.
Zoey ducked her head back into the kitchen and stared at the empty trays that were supposed to be filled with croissants, scones, and muffins. “I can do this,” Zoey repeated as she closed her eyes. She envisioned flour, sugar, eggs, chocolate chips, and more. Her fingers warmed, and she squeezed her eyes tighter as she felt the energy flying from her fingers. When the sizzle ended and her fingers went from hot back to normal, Zoey opened her eyes. Perfect chocolate chip muffins sat on the trays.
“Holy sugar drops,” Zo
ey whispered as she heard a knock on the front door. It was time to open and Zoey only had one option. She closed her eyes and zapped up some white chocolate raspberry muffins and the rest of the breakfast menu and hoped to goodness the magical pastries didn’t kill anyone.
Zoey grabbed a tray of scones and slid it into the display case on her way to open the door. Agnes and Vilma were first in line as half the town somehow managed to cram into her small bakery. “I need help,” Zoey called over the crowd. Agnes and Vilma somehow heard her and headed for the kitchen to carry the trays out to the displays.
“Did you hear the news?” Maribelle asked as she stood on tiptoes and leaned over the display case.
Zoey nodded. “Poor Tim,” Zoey said, reaching into the case to retrieve a muffin.
“No, not that,” Maribelle whispered. “That’s what everyone else is talking about. What I’m talking about is the hunka-hunka diamond on Missy’s finger.”
“Wayne and Missy are engaged?” Zoey gasped. Who would ever agree to marry that sleazeball?
“Right? They’ve dated eight days, but I think they’re keeping it quiet since Missy’s Pawpaw doesn’t approve of Wayne. I saw the ring as she left her home. As soon as she saw me, she slipped it off and put it in her purse.”
Zoey shuttered. “I can’t imagine being married to Wayne. He’s constantly scheming. I would always be worried he’d ditch me the second a better model came around or invest in every get rich quick plan.”
“I think Missy’s that get rich plan. Her daddy’s loaded. Coal money, you know,” Maribelle said conspiratorially as she paid Zoey.
Zoey nodded and sent her friend a smile as Maribelle took her muffin to join a group of Mountaineers waiting in the back of the line.
“Did you hear the news?” Peach asked in a hushed tone as she approached the display case as if not everyone else waiting in line was gossiping about the exact same thing.
Moonshine & Murder: Moonshine Hollow Series #1 Page 5