by Amy Boyles
A smoke circle wafted to the ceiling. She chewed for a moment, smacking her lips.
“I’m old, Pepper.”
I forked the cake and sat back. “And?”
“Maybe I’m too old to experience love and joy anymore.”
“What?” My jaw dropped. “Are you kidding? Out of all the people I know, you have more life than most of them. I would pit you against a fifteen-year-old with their entire life ahead of them any day. You’ve got just as much spunk as a teenager, and for you to say you’re old? Who are you kidding? Age is a number, not an attitude. You run this town, remember? You were almost mayor.”
She scoffed. “I had to beat Gilda Goldenheart first.”
I patted her knee. “If it had come to that, you would’ve knocked it out of the ball park. I just know it.”
I watched as her mouth sagged into a droop and the crackled lines nestled beside each eye deepened.
“Don’t let this one hiccup deter you. Your secret admirer is out there.”
She tugged once more on the pipe. Betty stared at the ceiling before turning to me. “You don’t think I’m too old or too ornery to love?”
I clicked my tongue. “Now too ornery, I get. But too old? Ridiculous. There are plenty of older men looking for distinguished women of your age.”
“They are with all the other old folks at the witch’s center.”
I shrugged. “So what if they are? That doesn’t mean they’re any less capable of love. Just like your age doesn’t make you any less capable.”
Betty chewed on that for a minute. The light that had dimmed in her eyes flared bright, and a feeble smile graced her lips. “You know what, Pepper? You’re right. There’s still a bunch of life left in these old bones. I’ve got love to share, and I’m ready to do it.”
She clapped her hands. “Now that I think about it, my admirer is probably one of those hound dogs from the witch’s center. Those old fools love to flirt.”
She threw back her head and laughed. “That’s who it is—one of those men. Why didn’t I think of it before?”
She tapped out her pipe and picked up her fork, shoveling a mound of cake into her mouth. “Pepper, you’re a genius. I’ll investigate the old folks’ home, see who’s sneaking out and leaving me gifts.”
My brow wrinkled as I frowned. That wasn’t exactly the way I wanted the conversation to go. I had hoped Betty would realize her value instead of running off to pick through another pile of men.
But oh well, when my grandmother was determined, she was determined. She wanted to find out who her secret admirer was. More power to her. I’d support her no matter what.
We finished the square of cake. Which was divine, by the way. I was still ticked that Betty hadn’t allowed me any at Neville’s, but better late than never, I always say.
We went upstairs at the same time. I found Peaches and Hugo in my bedroom. Still no sign of Mattie.
I shot Peaches a hard look. “Where’s Mattie?”
“Oh, you mean that other cat? I don’t know. I haven’t seen her in a while.”
I folded my arms. “What happened?”
Peaches stretched his transparent front legs. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Nothing has changed since the other day when she scampered off.”
I knelt down until we were eye level. “I need you to make friends with her.”
He sniffed the air in that superior way of his. “And why is that?”
“Because if you don’t, I won’t tell you what Neville Mabury said about Frederick Albod.”
Peaches’s yellow eyes flared. “I must know.”
“Then you make nice.”
“If you insist.”
I wagged a finger and scowled. “Stay here.” I padded down the hall until I came to Betty’s room. I knocked softly.
“Yes?”
“I’m looking for Mattie.”
Mattie’s voice rang out from behind the door. “I ain’t comin’ back to that room while that evil ghost is in there!”
“He promised to play nice,” I yelled from the hall.
“I don’t believe it.”
“Well, if he doesn’t, I’ll kick him out. How does that sound?”
Silence answered me. After a few moments the door opened and Mattie appeared at my feet. “I ain’t gonna give up my window seat no more.”
I stroked her back. “No one expects you to. At least I don’t expect you to. Now, come on.”
The cat followed me reluctantly back to my room, which was, let’s face it, pretty crowded with animals.
Peaches sat on the floor, his tail curled around his legs. He took one look at Mattie and said, “I’m sorry I was rude. I’ve had a lot going on lately.”
Mattie’s gaze flickered to the window. “And that seat?”
“It’s yours.” Peaches crossed to Hugo and curled up near him. “I won’t bother your spot again.”
“You’d better not.” Mattie lifted her nose high in the air and padded lightly to the window. The hook in the tip of her tail swayed right and left as she sashayed. With one delicate leap Mattie landed in the window seat, where she stretched to the entire length of the wood.
She licked a paw and proceeded to wash her face. “Finally. Back where I belong.”
I smiled. “I agree.”
I had told Peaches what Neville confided about CJ Hix, and Peaches was as surprised as the rest of us—except for probably Axel, who always seemed to have a sixth sense about him.
“It’s because I can smell lies,” he told me the next day.
I laughed. The spring day had blossomed unseasonably warm and the two of us sat at the Potion Ponds eating a picnic of chicken salad and roasted potatoes.
I’d asked Betty to fill in for me at Familiar Place. She wasn’t pleased about it because she would rather have been sniffing around the witch senior center to find her secret admirer. But as I wanted to keep my grandmother out of jail, I deemed working her a perfect solution.
“You can smell lies?”
Axel lay back on a blanket and tucked his hands behind his head. “You didn’t know that about me, did you?”
I clicked my tongue. “I did not, and I’m not entirely convinced it’s true.”
His eyes sparked with mischief. “You would doubt me?” He joked.
I rolled my eyes. “Listen, as great as a picnic is, and I think it’s great, I’m not sure I understand how this is helping us figure out if CJ was really a threat to Mr. Albod.”
“I agree.” Peaches poked his head out of the chicken salad. Thank goodness he wasn’t a real cat. All that fur in my food would’ve made me vomit.
Axel winked. “Just wait. This is part of the plan.”
I shot him a skeptical look.
“Do you trust me?”
“Yes.” My voice came out breathless.
Axel quirked a brow. “Then trust me.”
The memory of the words he’d said the other day tugged at my brain. I nibbled my lip, wondering if I should bring it up.
No. I should not bring it up. I should wait for Axel to tackle that.
“What is it?” Axel lay with his eyes closed. The sun shone on his beautiful face.
“What do you mean?”
“You’re thinking about something.”
“What? Are you going to say you could sense it?”
“No.” His eyes flared open. “Something changed in your scent. Like you were thinking about something that made you anxious.”
I grimaced. “Oh, okay. I’m not sure.”
He studied me. Our gazes locked, and the magic brewing between us stirred. My hair lifted off my neck. Axel sat up and brushed a few strands from my cheek.
“Mr. Reign!”
I blinked and exhaled, breaking the connection mounting between us.
Axel rose and extended his hand. “CJ! Thank you for meeting us here.”
CJ nodded to me. “Miss Dunn. Good to see you.”
“You too.”
CJ g
lanced out to the shimmering water. “I have to admit I was a little surprised that you’d want to meet all the way out here, Mr. Reign.”
A dark shadow crossed Axel’s face. “You’ll understand more when I tell you.”
CJ tapped his chin. “I’m intrigued.”
“I want to put my house on the market, but I have some concerns.”
“Such as?”
Axel dragged his fingers through his hair. “I have a lot of special objects in the house. Very valuable relics and magical objects.”
CJ flashed him a cocky smile. “Don’t you worry. With me on the case, I’ll be able to help however I can. You can rest assured that your valuables will be safe. No one will be able to steal anything.” He leaned closer. “If that’s your concern, that is.”
Axel’s brow pinched. “That is what I mean. From what I understand, Mr. Albod was frightened for his life.”
CJ’s eyes nearly popped from his head. “You don’t say? Never have I heard something like that.”
“We did ask you before if Mr. Albod had reason to be afraid,” Axel said.
CJ placed a hand over his heart. “And as I said at the time, I didn’t believe so.”
“But now we have a suspicion that he was very afraid of someone in the familiar society.”
“What?” CJ gasped. “Not one of us.”
Axel nodded. “That’s why I’m worried about my house. Worried that since I have important objects inside, that someone might be tempted to steal them or even harm me in order to get them.”
CJ shook his head. “I don’t mean to be rude, Mr. Reign, but I can assure you no one would steal anything. I will personally make sure of that.” He paused. “But you say Mr. Albod was afraid of someone. Why, that’s terrible. Who was it?”
Axel licked his lips. “It was you, CJ.”
I balked. I didn’t know that Axel would just dive right on in there.
“Me?” CJ said, flabbergasted. “He was afraid of me? Why?”
“You tell us.” Axel folded his arms.
“Well, I can’t imagine. I never did anything to harm him or was mean to him.” He splayed a hand over his chest. “Look at me. Do I appear to be the type of person who would harm someone?”
“He has a point,” I said. “He doesn’t appear that way.”
“Thank you, Miss Dunn.”
“You’re welcome.” I smiled brightly. Axel shot me a scathing look. I cleared my throat. “But that is what we heard. That Mr. Albod was afraid of you.”
CJ shook his head vehemently. “But I don’t know what it could be. Afraid? There’s no way.”
“And they still haven’t found the murder weapon, right?” I said.
“I wouldn’t know.” CJ’s gaze swept from me to Axel. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say the two of you were accusing me of something.”
“Just asking questions,” Axel said.
“Well, I don’t like your questioning.” CJ lifted his nose. “As a matter of fact, I think I’m done answering them. Good day to you both.”
He turned to leave and then stopped and whirled around. He pulled a card from his pocket and rushed up to Axel.
“But if you do decide to sell your house, my number’s on the bottom.”
After he had left, I turned to Axel. “So?”
“So what?”
“So what do we do now?”
Axel’s jaw tightened. “We follow him.”
NINETEEN
“Shouldn’t we leave if we’re going to follow CJ?”
Axel and I still stood by the Potion Ponds.
Axel’s face split into a divine smile. “We’re following him tonight. If CJ’s going to do something, he’ll wait until it’s dark.”
I glanced down at our picnic. “So are we just going to stand here?”
He threw his head back and laughed. “We could sit.” He took my hand, turned it palm up and kissed my wrist. I shivered. “Would you like to sit?”
My knees wobbled. At that point I would’ve liked to do whatever he wanted. “Sure. If you want to.”
We sat. Axel stretched his legs out and threaded his fingers through mine. As he inspected my hand, his lips dipped into a frown.
I brushed a strand of dark hair from his eyes. The better to see those baby blues, my dear.
“What is it?” I said, asking about his frown.
“You don’t think I was joking earlier, do you?”
Oh no. He wants to talk about the M word. “What are you talking about?”
He shot me a look that said, Are you really going to force me to ask? But it quickly dissolved from his face.
“When I said marry me.”
My hand fluttered to my throat. “Oh, that. I didn’t think anything of it. I thought you were kidding. Joking, actually. I know that I’ve accepted what a long-term relationship will be with you, in terms of the whole mating-for-life thing, but like you said, we have time.”
A glint of amusement flashed in his eyes. “This makes you nervous. It’s okay. We don’t have to talk about it.”
I shrugged. “It’s fine. We can talk about it as much as you want to.”
Please let’s not talk about, I silently prayed.
It wasn’t that I didn’t want to be with Axel. I did. It was that we were now talking real commitment. Not that mating for life wasn’t a commitment; it was. But so many marriages didn’t end up well.
Not that I doubted our love for one another. I did not. At all. My love for Axel was fierce. I could pierce a tree with an arrow shot from my heart.
It was all enough to make my head swim. First mating, now marriage. And there was this Head Witch Order and some sort of issue with the werewolves.
“Have you heard of the Head Witch Order?”
Axel smiled. “Are you changing the subject?”
“No, I’m not. It’s only that Idie Claire told me that the order is seeking out all head witches.”
His lips tightened, and his focus sharpened. “I’ve heard of them. They’re a very quiet yet elite group. Very powerful from what I understand. They think of themselves as the spokesmen for all witches.”
My eyes narrowed. I felt a tiny divot form between my brows. I smoothed it with the tip of my fingernail. “Do they speak for all witches?”
“They don’t speak for me,” he said roughly.
“Sorry, I was only asking. I didn’t mean to offend you.”
Axel shook his head. “You didn’t offend me. Sorry. I’ve heard some things about them that I don’t like.”
“Like?”
Instead of answering, Axel started stowing containers in the basket we’d brought. Taking that as our signal to leave, I helped him clean up.
We rose and he shook out the blanket and tucked it under his arm.
“I’ve only heard things, is all. They don’t like werewolves.”
“I’ve heard the same.”
Our eyes locked. We stood on the green grass, just the two of us. The world faded into the background as Axel stroked my chin.
“I was serious.”
I curled my fingers around his hand. “I know you were.”
“It’s coming,” he said, meaning the M word.
A smile curled on my lips. “I know.”
“When you’re ready.”
I nodded.
“Come on.” He threaded his fingers through mine. “Let’s get you home. I have a feeling we’re going to be very busy tonight.”
Axel dropped me off outside my house. It was midafternoon, and Betty was still at Familiar Place. Everyone else should’ve been off working, actually.
I expected to enter a quiet house, which would be nice. I could take a nap and get ready to do some surveillance with Axel tonight.
I strode up the porch. My fingers brushed Jennie the guard-vine. “Hi, Jennie.”
A bud sniffed my hand, and then the ropelike vegetation recoiled up to the ceiling.
I walked inside, kicked off my shoes and found Amelia standing by th
e hearth.
She held a small glass paperweight with the initial B on it. Her eyes flared with fright.
“This isn’t what it looks like.”
I shrugged. “It doesn’t look like anything other than you playing hooky from work.”
Then mountains of information collided in my brain. Amelia held a paperweight. A B had been chiseled onto the glass. She was nestling it beside the hearth.
Amelia was supposed to be at work.
But she wasn’t. Instead Amelia stood here. At Betty’s hearth.
Planting a present.
My purse slipped off my shoulder. “You!” I pointed an accusing finger at her. “You’re Betty’s secret admirer. It’s been you this whole time!”
“No, it hasn’t.”
I strode over and ripped the paperweight from her hand. “Yes, it is. You’ve been leading our grandmother along. Making her think she had a secret admirer when you’ve been playing a nasty trick on her.”
I raised the paperweight. “If I worked a spell on this to see where it came from, I bet I’d find its history had been erased, right? So that Betty wouldn’t be able to figure out you planted it.”
“You don’t know how to work that sort of spell,” Amelia snapped.
I gasped. “That was rude. I could learn it if I wanted to.” I nudged her. “Now fess up. Tell me why you’ve been doing this.”
Amelia’s face crumpled. “I just wanted Betty to have someone. After all the crap that went down after the stupid mayoral election—you know, when Barnaby Battle decided to stay on—I just noticed Betty seemed down.”
Tears swelled in her eyes. “Didn’t you notice it, too?”
“Yes.”
I had. Betty had said it was fine that she wouldn’t become mayor, but I could tell she was secretly disappointed. I couldn’t blame her, I guess. But I hadn’t realized she’d put so much of her heart into it, either.
Perhaps I was so engrossed in my own issues and world that I had failed to notice my grandmother’s suffering. Was I a bad person? Self-absorbed and shallow?
“I’d noticed.” I palmed the paperweight. “But I didn’t know what to do about it.” I stared down at the chiseled B. Betty would love it. No doubt about that. There was just one teensy problem with the whole thing.
