Perilous Paws (Kitten Witch Cozy Mystery Book 8)

by Corrine Winters

  “Do you have any idea what the argument might be about, Ms. Simmons?” Cedric asked.

  “I don’t have any proof, necessarily but I’m betting the fellah wanted her to do something sexually. You know, like dressing up in a starfish costume or something.”

  Ember covered her face with her hands. Even if such an outlandish story were true, Ember didn’t want the image in her mind.

  “Um, just the facts, ma’am. We do enough speculating on our own.”

  Simmons cocked an eyebrow, putting her hands on her ample hips. “Oh, sorry to bother you with my speculations, officer. I’ll just tell you the facts. I’d have called the cops after I heard the glass break, but then they stopped fighting. I figure he let the starfish thing drop.”

  Ember rolled her eyes where Ms. Simmons couldn’t see her. Cedric thanked Louise for her time before he and Ember departed. Ember stared at the empty street, lips pursed in thought.

  “Ash’s car isn’t here,” Ember said.

  “I noticed that as well.” Cedric put his hands on his hips and sighed. “I’ll put out an all points bulletin, see what turns up.”

  “Thank you.” Ember looked down at the plastic skull piece in his hand. “You should head back to the station and see what you can get out of that.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “Remember the last case, when I followed Beulah?”

  “And her boyfriend the Alligator almost ate you? Yeah, I remember.”

  Ember scowled. “Way to focus on the wrong thing, Cedric. She had a spell I’d never seen before, one that let her sort of rewind time and watch it like a movie.”

  “Hey now, time control magic sounds dangerous,” Cedric said with a frightened expression.

  “It sounds dangerous because it is dangerous. Most of the time, magic is forbidden. However, I don’t think Beulah’s spell can affect past outcomes, only watch them on a playback loop.”

  Cedric stroked his chin, the tendons in his muscular arms playing beneath his flesh. “I think I follow you, now. You want her to run back the clock and find out what happened to your Sister the night she disappeared?”

  “Exactly.”

  Cedric shook his head. “Last I heard, Beulah wasn’t feeling all that friendly toward any of us. She was mad about how her sister Cassandra died, and even more mad about Tom walking around instead of being in prison.”

  “He lost custody of his kid and has to report in on nights and weekends to a psychiatric facility. I wouldn’t call that free.”

  “Yeah, me neither, but to Beulah’s point of view he probably hasn’t been punished enough.”

  “I know we’re not her favorite people in the world, but I also don’t sense any traces of Dark Magic on her, either.” Ember’s brow furrowed in thought. “She may not like us, but I think we can trust her. If we can convince her to help.”

  “Yeah, if.” Cedric gestured toward the cruiser. “Hop in. I’ll take you back by the house and you can get your car.”

  Ember nodded. He always said, ‘the house’, never ‘home’ like he used to. She tried to focus on the current case, her missing sister and Rose’s demise, but she kept dwelling on Cedric’s missing memories.

  If the swamp witch had sought to throw Ember off her game, she’d certainly succeeded, even in death.

  Four

  Kali insisted on accompanying Ember to the wrestling camp. The fluffy cat rode in the passenger seat, staring out the window as the sun-drenched landscape flew past.

  “I don’t remember it being this hot the same time last year,” Kali said firmly.

  “It’s Louisiana. What do you want?” Ember chuckled. “I really hope Ash is all right.”

  “Me too. I wonder who she was arguing with, and what they were arguing about?”

  Ember slowed to traverse a narrow wooden bridge over a burbling creek.

  “Who knows? The problem with Ash is, she has a lot of Dark Witches she talks to. I wouldn’t call them friends, but still I think she’d be better served not associating with them at all.”

  “Ash is a grown woman and can choose how she lives her own life,” Kali chided.

  “I know. I try to hold my tongue, but it’s hard. She’s my sister and I want to protect her. The fact that she might be missing now is, well, it’s heartbreaking to be honest.”

  “We’ll find her, Ember. We always solve the case in the end.”

  Ember sighed. “Yes, but sometimes we pay a very high price for that victory.”

  Kali grew silent. Neither of them had to mention Talako, the ghost ancestor of Ember’s who used to frequent the Broken Broom Pub. His absence was keen, sharp, and felt to the bone.

  “I’m just worried that Ash got into trouble because she was trying to help me.”

  Kali’s ears twitched. “Why would it be your fault?”

  “Well, she was trying to help me find Cedric’s missing memories. Maybe that’s why she was targeted.”

  “We don’t even know if she was targeted yet. There’s a reason you’re not officially missing until you’ve been gone for two days. Most folks have a way of just turning up. Ash may have gone off with one of her party happy friends, is all.”

  Ember nodded, though she wasn’t convinced. “Hopefully we can talk Beulah into helping us out.”

  “How come the wrestlers haven’t moved on yet?” Kali glanced about their camp.

  “Big Tobacco lost his promoter’s license for out-of-state shows. For the time being he’s stuck doing the local circuit only.” Ember sighed. “As if I needed for them to have another reason to be grumpy.”

  “Their boss man is dating your best friend,” Kali said hopefully. “You can leverage that for some stroke with them.”

  “I’d rather not weaponize Sage’s…um, whatever she has going with Tobacco. I’m hoping Beulah will simply see the light of reason and agree to help based on appealing to her better nature.”

  “Um, look around you, she’s a carnie. They’re all carnies!”

  “Don’t be so judgmental. Carnies have a right to make a living as well as anyone.”

  “I’m more comfortable when they earn that living far away from me. The second you walk in the gate they’re trying to figure out how they can get you to spend or lose every single dime you brought in with you.”

  “So does your typical chain discount store. What’s your point?”

  “They have shell games and rigged card games,” Kali said.

  “The discount store has the blue light special and marks up cheap Chinese goods six hundred percent to make a profit. You can’t just hate on carnies, Kali.”

  “Hmph. Watch me.”

  They parked at the edge of the RV park and made their way inside. Most of the wrestlers chose to sleep out the worst of the day inside their trailers. The whirr of air conditioning units mingled with the cicadas as Ember and Kali strode across the dirt lane.

  “I think that’s her trailer there,” Ember said. “The one with the green guy painted on the side.”

  “Her shifter boyfriend. Pretty clever pretending his hybrid form is a costume.”

  “Not that clever. I swear I lose IQ points the longer I’m exposed to pro wrestling.”

  Kali chuckled, curling her tail around her body and settling in as Ember tried the doorbell. After a few moments, the door flung open and Beulah appeared. Her eyes bloodshot and bleary, hair in disarray.

  “Oh, I’m sorry, did I wake you?” Ember winced in sympathy.

  “You think?” Beulah shook her head and yawned. “What do you want? Here to accuse me of another murder?”

  “No, and I’m sorry about last time. I really am. It was a misunderstanding.”

  “Yeah, and my sister’s killer is walking around free as a bird. Just another misunderstanding, right?”

  Ember swallowed. “I’m glad you understand how important sisterhood is. You see, my sister Ash has gone missing, and I was hoping you might be able to help me find her.”

  Beulah glared. “I know my
sister Cassandra dabbled in dark magic, but I don’t touch the stuff. Neither do I hang around with those who do.”

  Ember’s gaze narrowed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “It means, Ash keeps some bad company. Sometimes that can lead to…trouble.”

  Ember sighed. “Look, I know you don’t like me, or my sister either, but I don’t know who else to turn to. You have that spell which can look into the past and play it back—”

  “You want me to do a postcognitive incantation for you?” Beulah scowled. “Why in the world would I cast anything for you?”

  “Who’s at the door, Beulah? I want to see.” Al’s craggy face appeared in the doorway. His eyes went wide. “Oh boy! A kitty cat!”

  Beulah gasped as he shoved past her and came out of the trailer. He squatted down and petted Kali with gentle strokes of his massive fingers.

  “Now this guy knows how to treat feline royalty,” Kali quipped.

  “You should help her, Beulah. You’ve been complaining about how bored you are.”

  Beulah rolled her eyes. “Oh, fine. It works best when the moon is at its zenith. We should try it then.”

  “Thanks Beulah. I won’t forget this.”

  Beulah sighed. “You realize I’m only helping you so I can get rid of you faster, right? Al, stop petting that cat and get back inside. You’re making a fool of yourself.”

  Ember and Kali strode back to her car, surprised at their easy success.

  “Thanks Kali, I owe you one.”

  “I accept payment in catfish,” Kali said with a twitch of her tail.

  Five

  Ember swung by the Broken Broom Pub in the hopes Ash may have stopped by there. She popped into the kitchen and blew out a sigh at how well organized it was when Ash and Kate took over duties there.

  She felt the keen absence of Talako, though there were other spirits about. Ember didn’t want to speak to any of them at that moment. She dialed down her psychic sensitivity and focused on the mundane task of making lunch for herself and Cedric.

  Wherever Ash had gone, she had vanished without a trace. Ember hoped Cedric’s all points bulletin would bear some fruit. Ash’s car had to be somewhere.

  Ember made a chicken salad sandwich on a Kaiser roll, split it in half and ate half while wrapping the other for Cedric.

  She added a pickle in a paper sleeve and folded it up inside of an insulated container. Ember hoped Cedric had discovered something about the skull icon. Hopefully it wasn’t just part of a board game left behind by a previous tenant and an actual clue.

  Ember heard a sound outside the rear entrance. A sound of flapping wings. She banished thoughts of the dark-winged Glawkus from her mind and tried to remember it was Sage. Her friend.

  She opened the rear entrance and Sage stood there, long, thin arms crossed over her chest, slightly upturned nose twitching.

  “Have you found Ash yet?”

  Ember shook her head. “Not yet. Her car is missing, so Cedric is asking the highway patrol to keep an all points bulletin out for it.”

  Sage came through the threshold and embraced Ember. After a moment Ember hugged her back.

  “You’ve had just a terrible time lately, Ember.” Sage squeezed Ember tightly. “First your new husband loses all his memories of you, and now your sister is missing.”

  “I’m trying to count my blessings these days, that’s for sure,” Ember said. She held Sage at arm’s length. “D’you eat yet?”

  Sage smiled weakly. “I could use a bite.”

  Ember could justify dragging out the roast pork butt since she had company. She shaved bits of it off onto platters of sauerkraut, then topped it off with a horseradish sauce. Sage dug into the meal with gusto, her eyes rolling back into her head.

  “I forgot how much I love this dish.”

  “Yeah, I need to use this pork butt up, and fast. I’ve been running around so much lately I haven’t had much time to keep the Broom open.”

  “Ash was helping,” Sage said with a sigh. “I might as well help out, too. It’s not like customers are beating down the door of the general store these days.”

  “It’s just that time of year, a slump. Things will get better.”

  “Will they, though? I’ve wondered about the people who want to develop the town. Maybe they’re not wrong? It sure would be nice to splurge on Christmas decorations this year.”

  Ember cocked an eyebrow. “Growth on a municipal scale always brings in big box, brick and mortar store chains, Sage. You think people are going to come to the Broom for a drink when they can hit TGI Friday’s and get an appetizer for ten bucks? Or that they’ll stop in your general store for a roll of duct tape when they can get fifteen of them in all the colors of the rainbow at WalMart?”

  “Well, I for one am tired of scraping by,” Sage said. “Besides, what are you going to do? Run the Broken Broom forever?”

  “I—I haven’t given it a lot of thought,” Ember said, running a hand across her eyes. “I like running the tavern.”

  “And I like running the general store. But the world changes, Ember. Are we just living in the past?”

  “That’s a heck of a thing to say to someone whose husband has lost his memories.”

  Sage gasped. “Oh, I’m sorry.”

  Ember sighed. “No, don’t be. I’m a little reactionary right now is all. Haven’t been getting a lot of sleep.”

  Sage swallowed hard. “Any more dreams lately?”

  Ember shook her head. “Not that I remember. I’m hoping that whatever killed Rose has a mundane explanation. I’m afraid I’m spreading myself pretty thin of late, trying to put out magical fires here and there.”

  “Who else is going to do it? Meredith?”

  They burst into laughter, though Ember’s dark thoughts returned to plague her soon enough.

  “We’ve made pigs out of ourselves,” Sage said, looking at the prep table.

  “Come on, we’ll pack up what’s left for Cedric.”

  Sage glanced over at her. “How are things with you? I mean, how are you handling living together?”

  Ember stuffed the leftover meat into a Tupperware container, her brow furrowed in thought. “We—we make it work as best we can. Cedric’s been, um, sleeping in the guest bedroom.”

  Ember paused, wiping a tear away. Sage embraced her from behind and the two friends rocked back and forth for a time.

  “I’m so sorry.”

  “It’s not your fault.”

  “Don’t give up. His memories are out there somewhere, and if anyone can find them it’s Ember McNair-Jamison, master sleuth.”

  Ember chuckled. She parted ways with Sage and drove to the police station. She saw Cedric’s patrol car parked out front, giving her hope he hadn’t gotten lunch yet.

  “Here comes my wife now,” Cedric said as Ember pushed the door open. Ember sighed. He seemed so handsome in his uniform, the sun gleaming off his bronzed, toned skin. If only he could remember their love…

  “I brought your lunch,” she said, moving to deposit the bag on top of the reception desk.

  “Thanks.” Cedric cleared his throat. “So the toxicology report came back on Rose.”

  “And?” Ember asked.

  “And…” Cedric’s lips became a grim, tight line. “We know what killed her.”

  Six

  Ember swept toward the desk, her brows climbing her face. The jet of air-conditioned cool blasting from the overhead vent was a welcome relief from the heat of the day, but nothing could cool her curiosity.

  “How did Rose die?”

  “Nervous system shock from an allergic reaction,” Cedric said, both citing and striking the coroner’s report with his finger.

  “Oh. That doesn’t sound like foul play was involved at all, then.” Ember relaxed a little. It could be that Rose’s death, while tragic, had a non-sinister explanation.

  “Maybe, maybe not.” Cedric frowned as he flipped pages in the report. “The thing is, the coroner could
n’t identify the agent which caused her allergic reaction in the first place.”

  Ember cocked an eyebrow. “Remember that Clyde Radley fellow? Kept swelling up with hives?”

  “Yes. Turned out he was allergic to the fungus in his drywall.”

  “Exactly. Just because they can’t identify the foreign substance which caused the allergic reaction doesn’t mean there’s something evil going on here.”

  “I’m not making any assumptions at this point.” Cedric looked at her pointedly, pursing his lips. “I don’t suppose you’d mind examining the body? Using your magical abilities, of course.”

  Ember looked out the window, her belly tightening.

  “You don’t have to, if you don’t want to.” Cedric came around the desk and stood near her.

  “No, it’s a good idea. I want to do it, just…I knew Rose. She was a friend. I’m not sure how I feel about pawing over her dead body.”

  “Think of it this way; we’re making sure that she can rest in peace.” Cedric cleared his throat. “Speaking of which, I don’t suppose, um…”

  Ember shook her head. “As of yet, I haven’t sensed any apparitions bearing Rose’s likeness about. Either she’s moved on, or her apparition aspect hasn’t manifested itself on this plane of existence yet. In either case, I can’t consult with her departed shade for information on how she died. Sorry.”

  Cedric nodded. “Her body is in a truck out back.”

  Ember nodded. Cedric’s small station house didn’t have the capacity or the ability to store bodies, so they often rented a refrigerated truck for such purposes. Ember followed Cedric through the station house and out the back door. Cedric used the keys at his belt to undo the padlock holding the truck’s rear bay door shut.

  With a grunt and a wave of his powerful arm, Cedric sent the door retracting upward. He clambered up into the back of the truck, cool mist spilling out and becoming visible when it hit the hot air outside.