by Amy Boyles
I hitched a brow. “Something you don’t trust.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to.”
We stared at each other for a moment before Axel made a move to hug me. I drifted into his strong arms and inhaled the leathery scent of his cologne. I sighed into him.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
“You’re welcome. Now. Are you ready to go home?”
I nodded my head against his chest. “I am. I have a feeling something’s waiting for me there.”
He stiffened in alarm. “What sort of something?”
“Nothing dangerous. At least I hope not.”
Axel scoffed. “That makes me feel better.”
“It should,” I teased, poking him in the ribs.
He flinched at his tickle spot and secured my hand behind him, where I couldn’t do any damage.
“No fair,” I protested.
He smiled wickedly. “So. What’s waiting for you?”
“If I’m right, there’s a ghost-cat waiting that might have answers to some questions I have.”
SIX
Don’t ask me why I thought a ghost-cat would magically know where I lived, but turned out I was wrong.
When I got home, the only animals waiting for me were Mattie the Cat and Hugo the Dragon. It was late, and I had just enough energy to strip off my clothes, slip into my pj’s and slide under the covers.
I awoke the next morning on a mission. I had to find that cat. If there was a creature that knew who might be after the critterling, that cat was it.
I showered, dressed and tromped downstairs with Hugo and Mattie trailing behind.
Cubed potatoes sizzled on a skillet over the hearth fire. Betty stirred them with a spatula while a strange sound trailed from her mouth.
I paused. “Are you humming?”
Betty cracked fours eggs and dropped each of them on top of the potatoes. Steam rose from the skillet. “And what if I am?”
I shook my head emphatically. I did not want the burden of Betty’s wrath this early in the morning.
“Well, that’s great if you are. You just keep right on humming.”
She covered one nostril with a finger. Magic shot out of the other and coiled around the skillet. The pan lifted from the hearth and floated to the table, which was set and ready for breakfast.
Betty swiped her hands on her apron. “Breakfast is ready.”
Amelia appeared out of nowhere. Like, literally. She didn’t even bother using the stairs. She simply apparated into the middle of the living room.
“Too lazy to walk?” Betty snipped.
Amelia’s gaze narrowed. “No, I’m not too lazy. I like to keep my magic well-oiled.” She cracked her knuckles. “I don’t want to get rusty.”
Betty nodded in approval. “No granddaughter of mine is going to get rusty. Not while living in this house.” Her gaze cut to me.
Oh crap. Now we had to talk about me and my magic. Great. I groaned on the inside while smiling on the outside.
“You’ve got to start learning how to use your power more.”
“I’m learning fine. It’s a slow process.”
Betty frowned. “You don’t have the right teacher, is why. Since you told me what Rufus threatened, I’m worried about you. You need another head witch to guide you, and as much as I know I’m talented, I’m no head witch.”
Rufus Mayes, who my grandmother referred to, had made a chilling declaration last time I saw him. He promised to come after the entire town of Magnolia Cove as well as me, to steal my magic.
Amelia dropped onto a seat and inhaled the aroma drifting from the pan. “Wow. Fried potatoes loaded with eggs. What did we do to deserve this breakfast?”
“Nothing,” Betty grumbled. “I just wanted to make it.”
Amelia winked at me. “Does this have something to do with why you were humming?”
Betty cocked one eye suspiciously. “How’d you know I was humming?”
“I heard you upstairs.”
“No, you didn’t.”
Amelia grinned. “Anyway. Does this breakfast have something to do with your secret admirer?”
Betty crossed her arms in defiance. “No, it doesn’t have anything to do with that. How about I’m in a good mood because my bursitis isn’t flaring up? That’s why I cooked this and was humming.”
“Don’t you have magic to help your bursitis?” I said.
Amelia choked on a bite of potatoes. “Yes,” she croaked. “She’s got magic.” She downed half a glass of water and cleared her throat. “She would’ve used it to help. I think it’s the secret admirer.”
Betty sat and picked up her fork. She gave it a good hard shake at Amelia. “I’m not here to talk about my secret admirer.”
“Why not?” Cordelia appeared at the table.
Betty yelped. “What is wrong with you girls today? You’re going to give someone a heart attack.”
“How about we just make your bursitis worse?” Amelia joked.
Betty’s face turned bright pink. “All of you sit. I don’t want to hear another peep about my secret admirer.”
Cordelia scooped a spatula filled with potatoes onto her plate. “Why can’t we talk about him?” Her gaze latched on to mine, and her eyes flared. “He sent you something else, didn’t he?”
Betty’s back stiffened like a cat about to attack. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Amelia clapped with glee. “What is it? What else did he send?”
Betty’s lips quirked into a sly smile that quickly dissolved. She raised her chin. “He didn’t send me anything.”
“Liar.” Amelia pointed a fork at Betty. “He sent you something. Where is it?”
Cordelia wiggled her fingers. “Magic, reveal what Betty’s secret admirer gifted her.”
Tendrils of magic uncoiled from Cordelia’s finger. Before Betty could plug her nostril and stop it, the long, tapered tentacles zipped across the table and dipped into Betty’s pocket.
Betty grasped for the object, but Cordelia’s magic proved too wily for even my grandmother to catch. It zipped across the table and dropped into Cordelia’s palm.
She displayed a hand-sized crimson-colored cushion shaped like heart.
“Oh, that’s so sweet.” I beamed at Betty. “I don’t know why you wouldn’t show that to us. We love it.”
Betty did her best to hide a smile behind her hand. “Because it’s none of y’all’s business.”
“You just didn’t want us to tease you,” Amelia offered. “We wouldn’t tease you.”
Betty’s eyes narrowed to slitty wedges of death. “Hard to buy.”
Amelia feigned innocence. “Even though you’re always trying to fix me up with some guy you’re trolling on the witch dating service, I would not make fun of you. No way. Absolutely not.”
Cordelia handed the heart back to Betty. “Was there a card?”
“You’re not getting the card,” Betty snarled.
“Calm down there, Rover,” Cordelia said. “No one’s going to steal it. I was just wondering if he sent one.”
Betty shyly pulled a card from her other pocket. “He did. Before any of you get too excited, all it said was that he hoped I liked the first present and that this one is a small token of his admiration.” I swear tears welled in her eyes when she said, “For all you do for Magnolia Cove.”
I patted her hand. “He knows you well, doesn’t he?”
“Too well,” Cordelia murmured. “It’s almost as if he knows her personally.”
Amelia’s eyes sparkled. “Oh, I wonder who it is. We need to find out. Start questioning all the available men in town.”
“Get that fire out of your britches, girl,” Betty snapped. “No one’s going around this town looking for my admirer. Unless it’s me, of course.” She pointed her finger at Amelia. “Do I make myself clear?”
Amelia stirred her food and whimpered, “Yes. I was only trying to help.”
“I don’t need any help.” Betty hit each word while jabbing a finger on the table. “Anyway. We need to talk about Pepper and get her a teacher—a head witch teacher.”
“Before we discuss that”—I cleared my throat—“there’s something I’d like to talk about first.”
“What is it?” Betty said.
“Last night, before Willow Dean Gar was murdered…” My gaze swiveled between Cordelia and Betty. “Do y’all know about that?”
Cordelia nodded. “Amelia told me.”
“I heard because I know everything that goes on in this town,” Betty said mysteriously.
“Okay, great. Anyway, before she died, Willow Dean wrote me a letter.”
Amelia’s eyes flared. “She did?”
I swallowed a bite of fried potatoes. “Yes. Her letter presented a very sane Willow Dean Gar. I don’t have it because Garrick took it, but I was able to read it.”
“What’d it say?” Cordelia said.
“I’m in danger because of the critterling. Apparently someone will try to kill me for it.”
Amelia clicked her tongue. “Sounds like you should toss it into the Potion Ponds.”
“I’m not tossing it anywhere. Willow Dean may have died because she tried to warn me.”
Amelia chewed the inside of her lip a moment. “You think someone from the familiar society killed her?”
“I do.”
Betty shook her head. “You gotta watch out for those social clubs. They can be deadly.”
I wanted to knock my head against the table in frustration. “I don’t think that’s really true.”
Betty smirked. “Willow Dean is dead.”
“That’s one person,” Cordelia said, exasperation filling her voice. “Can we let Pepper finish before everyone puts their own take on what she’s saying?”
“Thanks, Cord,” I said.
She nodded in reply.
Once I was certain that Betty and Amelia would let me continue, I said, “A ghost-cat shot out of the critterling.”
Betty’s eyebrow hitched. “A ghost-cat?”
“Mr. Albod’s familiar. If we can track the animal down, I might be able to communicate with it and help put this puzzle together. Since the critterling is so sought after, it may know who a potential suspect is.”
“What’s this we?” Amelia said.
I shrugged. “I have no idea where to start looking for a ghost-cat. Where would it hang out?”
“Probably at the Albod house,” Betty said.
I exhaled a shot of air and shook my head. “I’ve been so dumb. Of course. It would return home.” I clapped my hands. “Great. Now. Who wants to come with me?”
“I don’t like ghosts.” Cordelia folded her napkin beside her plate. “So you can leave me out of it.”
One down and two to go. Surely Amelia would be up for helping me. She loved snooping.
I gave my cousin my most brilliant smile. “Are you in?”
She tapped a slender finger to her cheek. “I don’t know. I have to be at work in half an hour. The Vault’s getting cleaned by professionals, and I don’t think we’re allowed to leave until it’s done.”
“Maybe Erasmus Everlasting will give you the day off?” I said hopefully.
She shook her head. “No, Erasmus won’t. He already said it’s all hands on deck to make sure the cleaning crew doesn’t steal anything.”
My hopes were quickly crashing and burning. Two down, one to go. I had little hope that Betty would sneak around a house with me looking for a ghost-cat, or a cat’s ghost or however you wanted to say it.
Betty was more interested in her new boy toy secret admirer. Heck, she probably hadn’t even liked Willow Dean.
Let’s face it, before that letter I hadn’t liked her either.
“Betty?” I said cheerfully.
My grandmother stroked her chin thoughtfully. “Hmm. Did you even see the ghost?”
“Well, no, not really,” I admitted. “It was sort of a blur and a flash. To be honest I don’t know how Jerome could tell what it was.”
“He probably knew Albod had stored it in there.”
“What?”
Betty poked a fried potato and stuffed it in her mouth. She spoke after chewing and swallowing. “This Jerome fellow probably knew Albod had placed the cat’s spirit in the figurine.”
Betty’s eyes twinkled with delight. She tugged on her curly wig, pulling it down closer to her eyebrows.
“Too low,” Cordelia said.
Betty ignored her. “Sounds to me like you’ve got an interesting mystery on your hands, Pepper. I don’t know if we’ll be able to find this cat, but if what you’re saying is true, there may be others looking for the ghost as well.”
Hope ballooned in my chest. “Does that mean you’ll help me?”
Betty threw her napkin down on the table. “Kid, let’s get crackin’. We’ve got a ghost to find.”
SEVEN
I followed Betty, riding my cast-iron skillet to the Albod house. The home itself boasted a wraparound porch, white Grecian columns and large windows.
The white paint was fresh in order to ready the house for sale. Black shutters framed the windows, and potted ferns sprinkled the front porch, making the place overflow with Southern charm.
“Let’s go knock,” Betty said.
“Are you sure we shouldn’t just sneak in through the back?”
Her eyes filled with pride. “Spoken like a true Craple. In most cases I’d say yes. But someone may be here.”
Betty knocked. The door opened with a flourish as CJ Hix answered.
“Well if it isn’t Pepper Dunn and Betty Craple. What a wonderful surprise.” CJ swept his arm across the threshold. “Won’t you ladies please come in?”
I hesitated. But CJ was the Realtor. Maybe he was about to show the house. Yes, that was probably it. While I debated CJ and his motives, Betty hooked an arm through mine and marched us in.
CJ clasped his hands and smiled brightly. “It’s a pleasure to see both of you here. What can I do for you?”
I opened my mouth to answer, but CJ cut me off. He wagged a finger. “Let me guess, you’re rethinking the purchase of the critterling. If you want to get rid of it, I’d be happy to buy it off you.”
CJ smiled a little too widely for my taste.
“Um. No. That isn’t why we’re here.”
“I’m thinking about buying the place,” Betty said gruffly. “You’re the Realtor, right?”
CJ hooked his thumbs in his shirt. “I sure am, and I am ready to serve you, Betty Craple.”
“Why don’t you show us around?” Betty’s gaze swept around the interior of the house.
CJ glanced at his watch. “I’ve got another appointment in twenty minutes. I think there’s time.”
Betty strode forward. “Does a rooster have wings? Of course there’s time. Lead the way.”
“Well, I’d be delighted,” CJ said in that happily boyish way of his.
I followed CJ and Betty, making sure to lag behind a little so I could snoop.
CJ wove through the living room, parlor and kitchen, and then beelined for upstairs.
I pointed to two closed pocket doors. “What’s in there?”
He waved dismissively. “Oh, that’s the late Mr. Albod’s room. The bed and whatnot is still in there. It needs some cleaning before it can be shown.”
Betty’s gaze snapped to mine. If the cat was here, it would be inside that room; we both knew it.
Betty patted CJ’s hand. “Don’t stop talking. Tell me more about the history of the home.”
As CJ’s voice drifted up the stairs, I pressed my ear to the pocket doors. No sound came from behind them.
I waited until CJ hit the second floor with Betty before I pushed the doors. They didn’t budge.
Crap.
I tapped my toe, trying to remember a way to unlock the doors. I pinned my focus onto undoing the lock and shoved out my magic.
With both hands on the doors
, I pushed. The wood rumbled over the tracks. I grabbed the door before it crashed into the wall and alerted CJ to what I was up to.
I exhaled a sigh and took in the room.
This had been the living quarters for a very sick man. Pill bottles lined a nightstand, and the smell of the room was musty, still. On the nightstand lay a stack of magazines.
Sunlight streamed through delicate lace curtains. It was the closest thing to life in the entire chamber.
Stale air trickled up my nose. I grimaced. I didn’t want to be in there any longer than necessary.
Now what had CJ said the cat’s name was? Peaches?
“Peaches,” I called quietly. “I’m Pepper. I want to help you.”
Whatever that meant. How could I help a ghost-cat? Or a cat’s ghost?
This was so weird.
Who was I kidding? I’d experienced weirder. In the time I’d lived in Magnolia Cove, I’d hunted a vampire, helped my boyfriend tame his outer werewolf and saved a town from magical confection withdrawals.
Trying to coax a cat’s spirit into view should be easy.
I peered under the bed. No cat.
“Hmmm.”
I pulled the critterling from my purse. “Look, if you’re in here, just know I want to help you. Last night a woman died because of this thing. I have the feeling Mr. Albod was sick, but something tells me he might’ve died because of this object as well. I want to help you, but you’ve got to help me.”
Nothing happened.
“Come on, Peaches,” I whispered. “I don’t have much time. CJ will be back in a minute.”
A scratching noise came from the closet. Hope bubbled in my chest as I crossed to it. My hand quivered as I reached for the knob and pulled the door open.
A translucent ginger-colored cat sat on the floorboards. It shot me a bored look. “Mmm. Hello, Pepper. I’m Peaches,” he said in a very masculine cat voice. “Pleased to meet you.”
EIGHT
“We don’t have much time.” I peered out the doorway and up the stairs. “I’m not supposed to be in this room.”
Peaches yawned. “I have all the time in the world.”
