Hallow Haven Cozy Mysteries Bundle Books 4-6

by Mara Webb

  “Hey,” I replied, forcing a smile.

  “I hear you have a corpse in need of some dental work,” he chuckled.

  “You have to know that joking right now isn’t appropriate,” I complained.

  “Sadie, you have to see the funny side. I mean, not in a tragic accident like this, which is obviously terrible, but—”

  “Why don’t we just go down to the beach?” I suggested, cutting Fitz off before he said something else regrettable.

  “We have another doctor on the way,” the police officer called from the passenger window of the car. Both this guy, and the driver, stepped out onto the dirt at the same time and gave Fitz a look of disapproval.

  “But I’m here, so you don’t need another doctor,” Fitz complained.

  “You are here for dental assessment of a dead body,” the driver replied. “Brielle will sort out the death certificate and such.” Brielle was Kate and Effie’s cousin, and Fitz seemed to take it increasingly personally that only she was granted permission to certify deaths in Hallow Haven. It was a weird rivalry and entirely one sided.

  “Fitz let’s get to the beach. I don’t want an argument to break out when Brielle gets here so why don’t we talk it out on the way down?” I suggested. He curled his lip in annoyance, but followed me anyway, a small leather bag in his hands like a Dickensian physician. It wasn’t dissimilar to one I’d seen Brielle carrying, so I had to assume he’d bought it to look more professional.

  To say that Fitz rolled his right ankle fourteen times on the way down the cliff path wouldn’t be an exaggeration, more like a conservative estimate.

  “Do you have some sort of condition that prevents you from walking in a straight line? What is going on with your body?” I complained. The last few times he’d stumbled, he’d reached out to support himself by slamming his arm down on my shoulder and almost pushing me down the slope.

  “I’m more comfortable walking on four legs,” he huffed. “When I’m in my human body, I’m usually just in my dentist’s chair and I don’t have to move around!”

  “Can you get it together before we get down to the sand? Please? Ryder thinks that this might be his friend and if you start staggering about like a seasick sailor then he’s going to think you’re incompetent,” I said.

  “Wow don’t sugar coat it,” Fitz laughed.

  “No laughing!” I added.

  “You got it, chief,” he nodded, saluting in the annoying way that Effie and Kate always did when they thought I was being too bossy.

  Ryder was staring out to sea, and I realized it was a view from the main island that I hadn’t seen before. From my house I couldn’t see any of the other islands, but here I was able to see half a dozen green mounds across the water.

  “Hey,” Ryder called out, acknowledging my return and Fitz’s arrival.

  “Ryder! How’s things? How does it feel to be Sadie’s only guardian? You’ve been at it for a few hours now, is it a total nightmare?” he asked, nudging me with his elbow to signify that he was joking. Great place to launch into a comedy routine, right by a dead body. I rolled my eyes and pointed towards the deceased person that had caught our eye from the cliff top.

  “Can you go and see if you recognize the teeth?” I asked. Fitz’s face became so pale that I could see almost every vein and capillary under the skin.

  “That person is very dead,” he said, holding a hand to his mouth. “I know you said there was a dead person, but I was hoping they wouldn’t look so dead, you know? Also, I deal with the teeth of every person in Hallow Haven, or at least the teeth of the people that care about looking after their teeth. Did you know 42% of people don’t go to a dentist as often as they should?”

  “Okay… did you have a point?” I asked.

  “I haven’t memorized everyone’s teeth, Sadie. I’d have to get this person’s teeth x-rayed and then compare them to Ryder’s friend. I just don’t know how we are going to get this person to an x-ray machine,” he said. “Is there any ID on the body, like a wallet or something?”

  “Do you want to be the one to go and look through pockets?” I asked.

  Ryder stepped closer and crouched down to see what he could find. “Well, this person is wearing a harness,” he called out.

  “What does that mean?” I said.

  “Most likely this person was rappelling down this cliff face, this harness is for climbing and there is pretty much always a second person involved to hold the rope. That could mean that someone else was here when they fell, someone knows what happened,” Ryder explained. Who would let their partner fall and not call for help?

  7

  So many voices were overlapping that it was hard to figure out who had arrived first. All I knew now was that at some point Miller and Mabel had made it to the beach, as had Brielle. I had no idea what had happened over on Tivercana during their visit, but Mabel was elated with how she had spent the past few hours.

  “I’ve been there before, of course I have, but you see things through a different lens when you’re the peacekeeper, don’t you agree?” she asked. She was standing so close to my ear that every word sounded like she was shouting it right into my brain.

  “Mmhmm,” I nodded. Brielle and Fitz were discussing by the body, and I desperately wanted to know what they were talking about. Mabel didn’t seem to have any curiosity about it all, I wondered if she had even noticed that there was a human body crumpled on the ground.

  Miller and Ryder were stood a dozen feet apart, glaring at each other like two cowboys that were about to draw their pistols. It would do my wellbeing the world of good if the two of them could get along, even if it was just for an hour. Their rivalry had already been annoying, but if my guardians had been separated and I was now spending time with the one that wasn’t my boyfriend, we were going to have some real trouble.

  “Any ideas, Brielle?” I called out, hoping that Mabel would notice what was going on around her and stay quiet long enough for me to hear the doctor’s reply.

  “I can use magic to move the body, that won’t be a problem, but I’m just thinking how best to get the x-ray of the teeth today. I can’t use magic for that,” she shouted.

  “Do you know how many x-rays I’ve had?” Mabel asked.

  “I have no idea,” I said. How on earth would I know that? Was that information written on the family tree in my dining room too?

  “Actually, it’s only like three or four, but a few times I’ve been to get a checkup and they thought they might need to do an x-ray then they didn’t. Isn’t it crazy that they can take a photograph of the inside of your body like that? It’s a bone photograph, I don’t think people realize,” she continued.

  I looked over at Miller and could see from his expression that he’d had a full morning of Mabel speaking at this speed, barely coming up for air. She reminded me of Fitz in a lot of ways, she didn’t need a topic of conversation in order to start talking, she just opened her mouth and let the words fall out in any order. Talking for talking’s sake.

  “I think they have a big x-ray machine at the vet place,” Fitz called out. “I mean, just a guess, I have no idea what the inside of the veterinary surgery looks like.” I stifled a laugh.

  “Don’t you have an x-ray machine at the doctor’s office? Or your dentist’s place?” Miller asked.

  “My x-ray machine is built for people that are sat up and can bite down on command,” Fitz replied.

  “We have one,” Brielle replied. “The x-ray tech has booked the day off that’s all, but I can give her a call and say it’s sort of an emergency. I don’t know why you would suggest the vet first,” she said, furrowing her brow in my familiar’s direction.

  “Do you need our help for this?” I asked.

  “No, I’ve got it,” Brielle said. I watched her hesitate for a moment, then snap her fingers. She disappeared in a burst of white light, as did the body. That left two peacekeepers and two guardians on the beach. Well, Fitz was there too, but as soon as Brielle left, h
e shifted back into cat form and started batting at the sea foam with one paw.

  Mabel seemed fascinated by his transition, so skipped over to fuss him behind his ear and I could hear the two of them talking to each other so fast it sounded like a hummingbird’s wings. Was this witch about to come and take my familiar too? Fitz was annoying, don’t get me wrong, but he was my annoying cat, not hers. Wow, jealousy really doesn’t suit me.

  “Any idea who that is?” Miller asked. He aimed his question at both Ryder and me.

  “I think it’s Cindy,” Ryder replied. “I’m pretty sure that’s her camera up there, and… I don’t know how to describe it; I just have a feeling.”

  “I’m sorry, man,” Miller said. Ryder looked as though he was struggling to prevent his lower lip from quivering, and Miller was giving him a sympathetic look. I felt as though I was missing something. “Hey, Brielle is good, she’ll get the x-ray and I’ll make sure Fitz stays focused long enough to compare the dental records. It’s no use thinking the worst just yet.”

  “I appreciate it, but I know that it’s Cindy’s camera up there,” Ryder replied. “Unless someone stole it, there’s no other way to explain how it ended up over the edge of the cliff.”

  “What was she doing here?” Miller asked. For two guys that didn’t like each other, they were now happily conversing as if I wasn’t even there.

  “Wyatt said Cindy has been trespassing,” Ryder said.

  “Oh? Might be worth speaking to him to get a full picture,” Miller said. “I’ll find out what happened, I promise.”

  Okay, now I know something is going on. Miller is being awfully polite to a guy that is a self-proclaimed werewolf hunter, or had they both forgotten that there was a bunch of paranormal weirdness on this island? If a full moon pierced the sky right now, Miller would shift into a giant four-legged beast and Ryder would be hell-bent on chasing him down. Why were they acting like old friends now?

  “Hello?” I said, causing them both to turn to me. “Anyone want to fill me in?”

  “Cindy and I,” Ryder began, pausing to take an unsteady breath, “were together for a time. It’s been a while, but we are still friendly.”

  “Wait, didn’t you call her earlier? It’s only been a few hours, surely we can use that call you made to try and establish a timeline here,” I said, shocked that I had forgotten about that detail until now.

  “I tried to call her, but it just rang out, I called her assistant instead and she said to just let ourselves in,” Ryder replied. “Cindy doesn’t always answer her phone, so I didn’t think anything of it. Do you think… do you think she was lying down here when I tried to call her?”

  “Hey, we don’t even know if it’s Cindy yet,” I reminded him. He wasn’t convinced.

  “Let’s contact her assistant, see if she can track Cindy down. How about Sadie and I go up the cliff path and speak with Wyatt and Drew, maybe they saw something,” Miller said.

  “Sure,” Ryder nodded. “Should I keep an eye on these two?” He gestured over to Mabel and Fitz.

  “Probably best Mabel stays with me, I’ll just have to keep an eye on them both,” Miller sighed, looking over at me.

  “I can look after myself,” I complained.

  “Pretty sure you have died in the last seven days, isn’t that why we are in this mess?” Miller smirked.

  “When are you all gonna let that drop?” I huffed.

  “Mabel,” Miller shouted. “Come on, we have to go up to the farms to—”

  “Peacekeeper stuff?” she shrieked, clapping her hands together like a kid that has just been given tickets to Disneyworld. “Oh boy, is it because someone fell off the cliff? I don’t know if that is technically peacekeeper territory, seems more like it would fall under general policing or whatever, unless you think it’s a murder…”

  “Cindy is a good climber, was a good—” Ryder was trying to defend her. “She wouldn’t go out on her own, there’s no way. Not on this cliff at least, this is one of the toughest descents on the main island. Someone else was here, I’m sure of it.”

  “Okay, then I guess you do need me!” Mabel smiled. I had a feeling Mabel and I weren’t going to be the best of friends any time soon. Where was Greta when I needed her? Surely the ghost of my cousin should be floating nearby to help reign in her sister’s inappropriate enthusiasm for a potential murder investigation.

  Miller walked ahead and I suspected he did this to put some space between him and his newly assigned peacekeeper. I wish I’d thought of it.

  “So, Sadie, this is a new type of murder for you, right?” Mabel said. “You’ve not actually had to deal with someone that fell, or was pushed, off a cliff before. Are you going to have to do a lot of research online about climbing equipment? I’ve seen shows on TV and they would call in an expert and the guy would say ‘oh, rope six-B was slashed and that’s an important one, so it’s a murder,’ you know?”

  Give me strength.

  “It’s mostly about asking people for information,” I replied. “You have to pay close attention to anyone that changes their story, or when two stories don’t match up. It’s really a job that requires listening, just a lot of quiet listening.”

  “She’s right,” Miller added, now standing at the top of the path and waiting for us to catch up. “After you do the listening part, you have to do the quiet thinking part. Solving crime involves keeping your mouth closed most of the time.”

  “Gotcha,” Mabel nodded. I gave Miller a look to suggest I was impressed with how well that had worked, but it was a short-lived success as Mabel had only stopped speaking so that she could bend down to tie a loose shoelace. “Here’s my plan…”

  “I was thinking we would interview Wyatt first,” Miller interrupted. “It’s his land, we need to know what he saw, when he saw it and if he knows why someone was on his property. If this really is Cindy, then a lot of people are going to be upset.”

  “What about Cindy’s assistant? Are we calling them, or Ryder?” I asked.

  “I was thinking that Mabel would be perfect for the job, what do you think?” he smirked.

  “Me?” she gasped. “I— I would be amazing at shaking down a suspect for information!”

  “Yeah, I think you have misunderstood. We need to contact Cindy’s assistant to find out if she knows where Cind—” Miller began.

  “This chick isn’t gonna know what hit her, because I won’t go easy on her even for a second,” Mabel said, her eyes growing dark as she immediately got drunk with power. As first days went, this was an odd one.

  “Remember, we are just getting information at this point,” I smiled. “You just need to ask if she knows where Cindy is, because there’s a chance that this has all been a misunderstanding and that the person that fell onto the beach is someone else entirely.”

  “Oh, I’ll give her a misunderstanding all right,” Mabel smirked. What? That wasn’t the tough talk that she thought it was. She pulled a cell phone out of her backpack, and it seemed that she had stuck gems all over its protective case, a giant ‘M’ in shiny rhinestones. I could see Miller turn his head quickly so that Mabel couldn’t see his reaction and I nudged him with my elbow.

  “Let’s go and speak to Wyatt,” I muttered, watching Mable tap angrily on the touchscreen of her phone as she dialed a number. I’ve been an angry dialer; I know she is about to go into that conversation all guns blazing, and I couldn’t bring myself to stand around and watch. I’d just have to clean up the mess later, she needed to be distracted so that we could speak to potential witnesses without her.

  We pushed open a large wooden gate that creaked on its hinges as it swung away from us. A dirt track had been worn into the lawn from the feet of people crossing it to get to the front door of the house. I couldn’t see any vehicles anywhere, but I had to assume Wyatt had at least a car. How else would he get into town? It was too far of a walk.

  I knocked on the door and stepped back. Miller reached his hand across to mine and wrapped his fin
gers around me, squeezing my palm slightly and laughing as the fizz of my magic darted over my skin.

  “It’s like getting an electric shock, like one of those old joke rings, do you know what I mean? You trick someone into giving you a handshake and—”

  “Yeah, I know,” I laughed. “You have that effect on me, what can I say?”

  “I was thinking we could have dinner at your place later, the thought of not spending all my working hours with you is already driving me crazy,” he smiled.

  “Dinner sounds good,” I replied. I could hear the shuffling of approaching feet from inside the house now. “I could cook, and you could stay over…” I trailed off knowing that the suggestion I’d made would be enough to get a reaction. I could see his eyes sparkle at the idea, and he parted his lips to say something, but the door opened and interrupted him.

  “I know you need to speak to me, but it would be best to do it outside,” Wyatt said through a crack in the door.

  “Can’t we come in?” Miller asked. “It would be easier for the records if I recorded what we talk about, and the sound of the ocean, the wind… it’s going to all get picked up on the tape.”

  Around Wyatt’s head I could see that the hallway of his house was lined with plastic. Plastic sheeting up the walls, a plastic sheet over the floor and a very scared looking woman standing a few feet behind him wearing disposable plastic gloves and a surgical mask.

  What on earth was going on in this house?

  8

  Should you allow politeness to force you into a situation that could be unsafe? It looked a lot like the kill room set up from the show Dexter, and we all know what happened to people that ended up in those places. If I were to give them the benefit of the doubt then I’d say maybe they were decorating, the surgical mask could be to stop Wyatt’s wife inhaling paint fumes or something.