She brought a tea cup and saucer over to him. “If that’s the most devastating thing that happens today, I think I’ll be alright,” she said. “So, there was a reason you stopped by, I’m sure.”
“Yeah, there is,” he said. “I was just down at The Broken Broom actually.”
“That old tavern? What were you doing there?”
“I just wanted to wind down for a bit. There wasn’t much to me deciding to go there. But, maybe something larger was at play. Nothing is ever a coincidence, right?”
“Maybe,” Celestial said. She thought back to her cup at the crime scene. A ripple of worry moved through her.
“So, anyway, while I was there, I saw Joyce. She was talking to some of the other witches. They were talking about Isabella.”
“What were they saying?”
“Joyce was...well, it just seemed like she was happy about the whole thing. It was really surprising.”
“Happy?” Celestial asked. This information nearly made her hair stand on end. Who would be happy about someone else’s murder?
“Yeah. She said she was glad that Isabella wasn’t around anymore to steal men from everyone anymore. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.”
“I know that Isabella liked to date around, but I don’t think that’s enough of a crime to justify being happy about her death.”
“I don’t either, but do you think it could mean something more? Maybe Joyce was involved somehow.”
In fact, Celestial had been thinking that very same thing. With the murderer still on the loose, everyone was a suspect. It seemed like Joyce just gave away her motive.
“Wow,” Celestial said. “Do you think she could be guilty of doing this?”
“Well, that’s not the only thing that happened.”
“There’s more.”
“It was a really eventful trip.”
“Evidently. What else happened?”
“Well, you know Bella and Della, the ghosts?”
Celestial paused for a moment. “They were there too?”
“Yes they were there too. Apparently, Opal has been staying at the B&B. They said that she’s been bragging about getting all of their family’s inheritance. And she’s been celebrating every night since Isabella died.”
“Wow, her own sister is celebrating her passing? Maybe more people had motives than originally thought.”
“It seems like it,” Dakota said. “People are acting like a baby was born. Not like there was a murder. Everyone seems to be excited for new opportunities rather than loss.”
“I know that everyone grieves differently, but it doesn’t sound like they’re grieving at all.”
“I don’t think they are either,” he said. “I know things look bad for you right now, but I think they’re going to start looking worse for others very soon.”
“I just hope this all means we can find the killer sooner.”
“We will, Celestial. Don’t worry about that.”
“You know what there is to worry about?” she asked.
“I don’t know. What?” he asked.
She pointed towards her patio. “You owe me quite a few herbs.”
Dakota laughed. “Yeah. I guess I do. I think you’re down more than a few pots too. I can throw in a few new ones for your trouble too.”
“That’s very kind of you.”
“Will you come with me to pick everything out? No one knows what plants are better than you,” he said.
She smiled as she drank the last of her tea. Even in these dark times, she was glad for her good friend’s company, even if he wrecked part of her garden every time he tried magic.
“I think I can manage that. But, in return, you have to promise to never apparate into the middle of my garden again.”
Chapter 7
After picking out some new herbs with Dakota, Celestial returned to her shop. She was busy planting the sage into new pots when a few of Isabella’s friends walked in.
Celestial immediately felt on edge. Like Isabella, these witches could be troublemakers.
“Good evening,” Celestial said, greeting the group. “How can I help you all today?”
The leader of this rag tag group, a local witch named Wilma, walked up to the counter.
“I was just curious about one thing, Celestial,” she said.
“And what one thing is that?” Celestial asked.
“Are you happy?”
Celestial was caught off-guard by this question. Of all the things they could have asked, she was not expecting this.
“Am I happy?” she asked. “Happy for what?”
“Happy for what you did to Isabella. Now you won’t be challenged and you can continue to rule. You’ll continue to go unchallenged. Congratulations.”
Her voice was dripping with disdain. Celestial felt her face grow hot as she felt a mixture of embarrassment and anger.
Athena flew up and landed on the counter in between Wilma and Celestial. She raised her spine high in the air as she hissed at the intruding witches.
“Athena,” Celestial scolded. However, she was secretly glad that her loyal familiar was still so willing to jump to her defense.
“Well, what’s your answer?” Sarah, another one of the witches, asked. “Are you happy?”
Celestial picked up Athena and held her close. She glared at the witches. In moments of hardship, she knew she had to be a strong leader. That meant not lowering herself to the level of answering silly, sarcastic questions.
The silence lay heavy in the air. Celestial did not break her eye contact, but the other witches started to falter and look at each other. Celestial’s will was as powerful as any magic.
Wilma was the one to break the silence first.
“It’s not fair,” she whined. “Isabella was the only one brave enough to stand up against your rule.”
“Have you considered that I have not been challenged because I’m a good leader?” She said. “I know that Isabella had her issues with me, but that doesn’t mean that my methods are not effective.”
“Maybe you’re not getting negative feedback because everyone is afraid to challenge you.”
“Why? I’m a white witch. I focus on doing and spreading good. Even if you think I’m not perfect, you can’t deny that I’ve sworn to do no harm.”
“Well the first person who challenged you turned up dead right after,” Sarah exclaimed. “How could any of us risk that same fate?”
“We’re risking ourselves by showing up here at all,” Wilma said defiantly. “We’re speaking up for all the other witches who can’t.”
Celestial wondered how many others felt the same way. Were Isabella’s closest friends the only ones who objected to her rule, or were there others? Was she really that unpopular of a leader?
“If others are unhappy with the way that I lead, there’s plenty of ways for me to be unelected,” Celestial said, diplomatically. “If I am as ineffective of a leader as you say, there’s ways in the system to take care of that.”
“Oh, I assure you that we’ll take care of it,” Wilma said.
“Is that a threat?” Celestial asked.
“No. It’s a promise.”
Athena growled at the other witches. A dragonfly growling was not a pretty sight. Celestial whistled gently, trying to calm her.
“Well, we’ll see how that goes,” Celestial said. “I have been a good leader. I’m confident that I’ll continue to do so.”
“So you weren’t the least bit worried when you were challenged?” Sarah asked.
“I was surprised that my cousin announced her intentions to run against me, but I suppose I’m not surprised. She’s never done well with rules.”
“Then you admit your faults.”
“Having rules isn’t a fault. It’s what we need to keep things running. I’m not nearly as stringent as she claimed. You would have thought I was controlling every aspect of everyone’s lives. My rules all have a purpose, and none of them are too severe.”
> “Well, maybe others don’t feel the same,” Sarah said, glaring at Celestial.
“I’d be happy to work with anyone who has ideas for making things better,” Celestial said. “I never said I didn’t want people to be involved. But, ultimately, we need a leader to make decisions and be responsible for the well-being of the group.”
“You seem to be focused more on one than the other,” Wilma said while rolling her eyes.
“I believe I’ve done both.”
“Do you? What about how someone was murdered under your rule? Is that being responsible for the well-being of the group?”
“Not only that, but the witch who died was your only vocal opposition,” Sarah added.
Celestial felt her heart begin to race. This conversation was getting quickly out of hand.
“Isabella’s death is not something I could control. Had I known she was in danger, I would have protected her. She’s my family, after all,” Celestial objected. Her voice had a small quiver to it.
Sarah started to raise her voice. “Would you have protected her? Isn’t it convenient that she’s out of the way now and your tyranny can continue?”
“I—“ Celestial was quickly cut off by Wilma.
“Good leaders aren’t the main suspect in a murder case.”
Athena who had been hovering at Celestial’s shoulders whizzed away for a moment. She came back, wings beating furiously and hovered in front of the witches, between them and where Celestial stood. She began to grow in size, slowly becoming the size of a giant eagle, her eyes glowing dangerously.
She hissed at the accusing group. Now that she was so big, the hiss clearly intimidated the group. While Athena may have seemed harmless as a little dragonfly, the others weren’t willing to test the familiar’s loyalty to her owner once she was the size of a bird of prey.
“Come on,” Wilma said. “Let’s go. Clearly she’s not willing to discuss our concerns.”
Wilma turned on her heel and walked out of the shop with her nose high up in the air. The others followed suit, grumbling the whole way out the door.
Athena shrunk back down to her normal size and flew back to her post behind the counter.
“Don’t let them get you down, Celestial,” Athena said matter-of-factly. “I’ll take them on next time and show them a thing or two.”
“It’s okay, Athena, but thank you.”
Celestial reached down and scratched behind Athena’s ears with one finger. She’d never scratched a dragonfly before, but Athena made small noises of satisfaction. “You’re getting an extra batch of bugs for dinner tonight for that.”
Athena smiled happily.
Chapter 8
The next day, as Celestial was scrubbing down the counters of her shop, an old friend decided to pay a visit. After she returned the cleaning supplies to the closet, she emerged to see none other than Tamara flapping her wings all over the freshly cleaned counters.
“How many times have I told you not to sit on the counters?” Celestial’s hands flew into the air as she waved her friend off of the shining surface. “I just cleaned those too!”
“Sorry, sorry.” Tamara mumbled as she took her human form. “Hopefully I can make up for it with this juicy bit of information I have for you about the case.”
At those words, Celestial’s frustration melted away instantly. “What do you know?”
With a laugh, Tamara flipped her long black hair over her shoulder. “Now that I have information, you don’t care so much about those counters. Also, you still don’t have that couch we talked about.”
“Forget the couch, just give me that info already.” Celestial’s eyes were glistening as she wondered what the news could be. Had a suspect been named?
Tamara used her friend’s excitement to her advantage. “You haven’t been very nice to me lately, I’m not sure I should tell you this vital piece of information.” She teased, pointing back to the counters she had landed on several times before.
Celestial huffed, slapping herself in the face as she prepared to reason with the other. “Fine, I’m sorry about yelling.”
“And?” Tamara pushed, patting the countertops with her hand. Normally, she would be too shy to string someone along, but she really wanted that couch.
“And I will order that couch, first thing tomorrow.” When Tamara cheered, Celestial encouraged her further. “Okay, you’re satisfied right? What is this information you’ve been keeping so secret?”
After a dramatic pause, Tamara looked around to ensure they were truly alone before continuing. “They found another piece of evidence at the scene.”
Celestial gasped, her eyes wide and her hands covering her open mouth. “Tell me more, what was it?”
“It was a small gris-gris bag, the kind people use for Voodoo. It was wedged between her mattress and they found seven small bones all covered in dry blood, a lock of Isabella’s hair, and a berry from the belladonna plant inside. Do you know what this means?”
“It means the detectives spent so long focusing on my stupid tea cup that they missed this huge piece of evidence the first time around.” Celestial crossed her arms.
Tamara’s face grew grave. “Well, that, and it means that someone put a death spell on Isabella.”
Finally realizing the seriousness of the situation, Celestial furrowed her brows. She was deep in thought once again. “Who do you think it could be? Nobody I know of deals with Voodoo.”
“May I remind you of that coven of dark witches? They’re the perfect suspects.”
“Just because they practice dark magic doesn’t automatically make them murderers.” Celestial pointed out, but she had a feeling that Tamara may have been on to something.
“That’s not the only reason I’m suggesting them. I also know that Isabella preached against them in her bid for leader of their coven.” Tamara pointed out, shivering as she recalled the sensitive information.
Celestial felt the energy in the room shift as soon as she mentioned the disagreement between the covens. “What do you mean?”
“Isabella got into it with Victoria, the current leader of the dark coven. They had a rather nasty exchange of words, and it got pretty ugly.” Shaking her head in dismay, Tamara walked around the shop in search of something that would brighten the energy in the room.
Sensing her internal struggle, Celestial picked up a stick of incense and some healing crystals. “I feel it too.” She said, and the two lit the end of the stick before continuing their conversation.
“I just feel like if we need a list of suspects, we should start with that coven. One of them might have felt the need to avenge Victoria after Isabella embarrassed her.”
Celestial frowned, bringing a finger to her lips. “You have a good point, but I don’t know if I would waste time with them...they have a lot more to worry about than a bad argument. Plus, everyone seems to have had issues with Isabella as we’ve mentioned.”
“Yes, but it’s a start. This is more of a motive than we had the last time we tried to narrow down some suspects.” Tamara began to breathe in the lavender scent of the incense, and her tense shoulders relaxed. “I mean, besides you, I think we could put together a solid list of real contenders.”
Though more relaxed with good energy now pulsing around them, Celestial still felt on edge. “Speaking of me being a suspect, I need to figure out what to do about that darn tea cup. It’s going to come back with my fingerprints and DNA all over it.”
Tamara shrugged, totally at ease. “But now they have this gris-gris bag too, it will be easy for anybody to realize someone put a dark spell on Isabella while trying to frame you in the process.”
Celestial shook her head sternly. “No, I don’t think it’s as easy as you’re presuming. You’re forgetting that human jurors won’t buy any of this for a second. Fingerprints and DNA will be law for any of them.”
“Even without magic, framing someone for a crime still exists in the human world.” Tamara put a calming hand on her friend’
s shoulder. “No need to worry yourself sick, that second piece of evidence might be enough to clear you completely.”
“As much as I want to believe that, I can’t take any chances.”
Still calmer than ever, Tamara snapped out of her meditation to stop her friend in her tracks. “Wait, where are you going? We haven’t put together that suspect list yet.”
Celestial put the incense out and placed the crystals back on the shelf before ushering Tamara towards the exit. “I can’t waste time, I have to check out Opal’s room.” Celestial grabbed her bag from behind the counter and made her way towards the exit.
Tamara let her friend lead her outside, but her brows knit in confusion. “But what about the dark witches?”
“Maybe we can explore them a little later, but for now let’s stick to people we already know. Plus, Opal had the most to gain from this situation.” With Tamara out of the shop, Celestial closed everything down and headed for Opal’s. Though she wasn’t aware of Opal practicing dark magic, she knew that not many other people had an entire inheritance to gain from Isabella’s demise.
Chapter 9
Once she was outside and a safe distance away from her own shop, Celestial took a moment to scry on Opal’s small place and ensure she wasn’t at home. When she was certain the location was clear, she looked around herself one more time. Then she spoke quietly and vanished in a minor puff of smoke.
Celestial reappeared in the living room of Opal’s cottage like home and quickly started looking around for any evidence. It was several minutes until she managed to find a document with an embossed letterhead and golden filigree around the border. It looked as though it had been crumpled up, and possibly even thrown out due to some of the stains, before being carefully flattened out again.
With a cautious glance to the window, Celestial bent over the table to read the document without touching it. Her eyes widened. Apparently, Isabella had brought a petition through the courts to deem Opal ineligible for the family fortune. After their mother had died, the fortune was to be split evenly between them, but Isabella was trying to control the entire thing. If she had succeeded, Opal would have been dependent on her elder sister for the rest of her life.
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