A Southern Charms Cozy Potluck Box Set

by Bella Falls

  “That’s not how things work for me,” I explained. “And I think it’s time that you alert the wardens. If you turn yourself in voluntarily, then you might have a better chance at explaining yourself. If you don’t, then you’ll put yourself at higher risk.

  Hope turned to fear in her alarmed gaze. “I can’t. Not until I can prove for sure that it’s not me. Otherwise, they’ll lock me up.” She jerked in circles in the air, searching for a way out.

  Wanting to believe my friend, I held up my hands to stop her. “Juniper, look, the wardens are on their way here now. You know that thing I dropped on the floor? It should have alerted them to come here any second. You need to be prepared to go with them.”

  One final turn and she spotted the shimmering door she’d created still open, offering her an easy exit. Looking back at me, she bit her lip in indecision.

  Because of our friendship, I had to try and help. Giving it my best shot, I made my desperate plea. “If you run, the guilt will follow you. Stay and fight for your innocence.”

  My words hit home, and she backed away from the magical door. Juniper dipped in the air, her head hung in defeat. “Okay.”

  “Charli, where are you?” Mason’s voice cried out. A rush of footsteps pounded on the wooden floor below.

  “Stay steady,” I cautioned Juniper. “Up here,” I directed.

  My brother made it to us first. “Nana!” Matt rushed by me and knelt by our grandmother.

  Mason stood at my side, his arm extended and power emanating from his hand. “I am arresting you, Juniper, on suspicion of theft and murder."

  Juniper squeaked with dread. She struggled against the authority of the wardens’ power, more and more dust falling from her desperate efforts. With a squeal bigger than she was, she broke free, blue-green dust exploding off of her.

  She circled around and zipped to the portal. Before Mason could do anything, her body disappeared through the opening, and the door began collapsing. Before it vanished, her voice tinkled through the last crack. “I’m sorry. Help me solve this, Charli.”

  With a light shimmer, the portal evaporated.

  Matt lifted Nana from the floor with mindful care and laid her down on her bed. He called Doc Andrews and promised to stay with her.

  “Find the fairy,” he said to me, venom dripping from his tone.

  I nodded. “I will, but I don’t think she did this.”

  “Then figure out who did,” my brother demanded. Brushing a strand of hair out of Nana’s face, his eyes betrayed his unease. “What if…” His voice cracked, and he couldn’t finish his question.

  I touched him on his shoulder, squeezing my reassurance. “But she’s fine. Stay with her, and I will do everything I can to help. I promise.”

  Mason waited for me at the bottom of the stairs. “How did she get away?” Frustration rolled off of him.

  “I don’t know,” I chewed on my lip, throwing out an unlikely theory. “Maybe your magic can’t hold her because she’s much stronger than you think.” Something that Lavender had said came back to me. “Hey, maybe we’ve been underestimating her. What if fairies have greater powers than we imagine? They can rip holes through space. What else can they do?”

  “I don’t have time to get into a philosophical discussion about what fairies can and can’t do. We have to find one fairy. Do you know where that portal led to?” Mason pressed.

  I held up my finger to give myself a moment to process the newly connecting information. “Lavender said she couldn’t detect Juniper’s aura. That she has trouble reading fairies in general.”

  The detective indulged me with restless impatience. “You think that’s why she broke free from my warden’s power. Fantastic news. And?”

  I smacked his arm out of the excitement of realization overtaking me. “And maybe fairies aren’t the only ones who have abilities we underestimate.”

  Mason rubbed his arm where I’d hit him. “I don’t follow.”

  An idea formed, and I rushed out of the house, picking up Lily’s bike out of the bushes. “I have to go.” If I could prove my guess right, then I could clear my friends’ names and catch a murderer all at the same time.

  Mason called out to me from the porch. “Wait a minute. You can’t leave without telling me where Juniper is. I know she’s your friend, but you can’t deny that she needs to be questioned. Where is she, Charli?”

  I hesitated, pondering whether telling him would be the best choice. Knowing that my fairy friend chose to fly away instead of help herself made up my mind. “Her door to the fairy path opened to her place of business. When you go there and see what there is to find, please remember that I’m pretty sure that she’s right. She’s being set up to take the fall.”

  “Zeke,” the detective yelled, waiting for the young warden to join him. “Gather a few other wardens and go to Fairy Dust & Clean. See if you can find Juniper there. If not, proceed with caution to Horatio’s house. We need to bring the fairy in if she’s guilty. And if she’s not, then she could be in danger. Go, and let Big Willie know what’s going on.”

  Something about the way he barked out orders impressed me and sent warm tingles I had no time to entertain down to my stomach. “If I figure out what I think I will, I’ll let you know immediately on my—” I patted my empty pocket. “Oh, wait, I can’t. I fried my spell phone.”

  “How did you…never mind.” He went to his car and opened the passenger door for me. “Hop in. I’m going with you.”

  “You don’t even know where I’m heading.” Leaving the bike, I obeyed.

  “Wherever it is, I’m sure it’s got trouble written all over it. Buckle up,” he demanded.

  We got to my house in record time. Calling out for my roommate, I dashed around the rooms with impatience, looking for him.

  Beau appeared on the landing upstairs, leaning on the banister. “What?”

  I didn’t have time to comment on his attire, which consisted of a white undershirt and droopy boxer shorts. A little of his rotund belly peeked out under the slightly too-short shirt. “We need your help.”

  The vampire scratched his behind, still waking up from his nap. “With what?”

  “Just stay there,” I directed him, returning to the porch where the detective waited for me. “Mason, do you have anything on you that’s personal? Something you have a particular connection with?”

  Instead of asking me why, he patted his upper body down. “I don’t have anything on me. Wait.” He pulled out his wallet and handed me his license. “Here.”

  I didn’t even take it from him. “That’s not what I mean. Shoot, I need something of value to test out my magic.”

  The detective’s curious countenance demanded an explanation. I told him what Lavender had said about reading vampires and gave a shortened version of Beau’s description about their varying abilities. “I need to run an experiment, and you’re going to help me with the control to set the standard,” I finished.

  Mason caught on. “And then with Beau’s help, you can either prove or rule out your theory.”

  “Exactly.”

  Holding his wallet, he unfolded the leather and took out something with extra care. He held the object in the palm of his hand, gazing at it with an expression I couldn’t read. I reached out to open his fingers so I could see what it was. A simple gold ring lay in the middle. My heart dropped with every sparkle of the diamond in the light.

  He watched me with careful eyes. “Charli, there’s a long story, and I don’t have time to go into it. However you need to use this, please be careful.”

  I swallowed hard and cleared my throat, attempting to talk without giving away my conflicted emotions. “Uh, actually, you’re the one that’s going to handle it. Go inside and hide it somewhere in the house. Doesn’t matter where.”

  Staying out on the porch, I paced around. I’d always wanted to see a guy pull out a diamond ring, but it had never occurred to me that when it did happen, it might not be meant for me. I remembered
that he’d said before that he had been engaged, but the concept never seemed quite real until now. Why did he carry the ring with him, tucked away in his wallet instead of in his home?

  “Finished.” Mason approached me with caution. “I, uh, assume you need to hold my hand.” He offered me his.

  I wiped my own on my pants, getting rid of the nervous sweat. “Yeah.” It took more than one deep breath to calm me, and my focus wobbled off center, too caught up in the ring.

  “Think of the object you’re seeking. Aim all your attention on finding it.” Opening one eye, I added, “Try not thinking about where you hid it. The point is for me to track it down.”

  With a last lingering gaze, he nodded and shut his eyes. “Got it.”

  Too many questions clogged up my brain, killing my ability to cast a rhyming spell. I’d have to rely on my pure talents. In a flash, the ring appeared to me, buried in a box in the bottom of a drawer of a highboy dresser in Tipper’s old room. The clear picture in my mind wavered and fizzled when Mason’s thumb stroked my skin.

  My eyes flew open and caught him observing me. “You almost made me lose it.”

  “Sorry.” Something about his tone suggested he wasn’t. “So where is it?”

  I called out to Beau and told him where to look. The vampire appeared at the top of the staircase, the ring flashing in his fingers. “Well done. Now what?”

  “I want you to take the ring anywhere in the house. For this run, keep it in your hand.” I waited a few moments to give my roommate a chance to find a good place to hide. This time when I took Mason’s hand, I squeezed it hard. “Same routine, but be good and stay still.”

  The corner of his mouth twitched. “I’ll do my best.”

  We went through the same motions, and I waited for the detective’s ring to appear in my head. Nothing. No line of connection. No sense of the piece of jewelry at all.

  “That’s what I thought.” I let go of Mason, shaking out my hands, my adrenaline pumping through me. “Go tell Beau to leave the ring where it is but to stay in the same room.”

  When we tried for the third time, I still came up with zero. “Amazing.” Finding out the reason why my magic didn’t work filled me with relief. I wasn’t broken at all. My spirit soared, but we had more to do.

  The three of us did a few more tests, moving Beau further and further away from the ring’s hiding place. When my roommate stood outside on the porch with us watching me use my talents, I could get a faint sense of the ring’s location. “Beau, really? The bathroom?”

  “What can I say? I had needs. Did your experiment work?” he asked, heading back inside.

  My heart thumped hard in my chest. “Better than I expected. Mason, listen. The number of stolen item reports filed at the same time as the election. My inability to find things like Raif’s pug or Ms. Alma’s ring. And the sudden return of them to find Mrs. K’s brooch. Someone is playing a clever shell game.”

  “And you think it’s a vampire,” he said.

  “Not just any vampire,” I continued. “The one who wants to win more than anything and who conveniently hasn’t been affected. And now that you’ve helped me narrow down how things might have happened, you can see that I’m not accusing out of personal bias.”

  “You know, you’re incredibly inspiring when you get going like that.” Mason brushed his thumb against my skin again, reminding me that I still held his hand.

  I let him go, my cheeks heating. “I’m a girl of many talents,” I dared in the moment.

  “And it’s a privilege to discover more and more of them, Miss Goodwin.” He took a step closer.

  Beau returned. “Your ring, Detective.” He held out the valuable piece of jewelry, and Mason returned it with care to his wallet. A round worn spot in the leather marked where the ring usually rested. Too many questions, not the right time.

  His spell phone rang, and he answered it. “Detective Clairmont. What, Lee? When did he…we’re on our way. Yes, I’ve got Charli with me. Tell everyone to stay clear of him.” Ending the call, he grabbed me by the arm and dragged me to his car. “We’ve got to go. Now.”

  “Why?”

  “Because we have to get to Raif’s house.” He started his car. “Before a mad troll destroys him and half the town.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  A roar of indignation thundered from inside Raif’s home. Glass and other breakables smashed in loud explosions. A couple of nervous wardens gathered on the front lawn, waiting to come up with a plan to handle the dangerous predicament.

  “I should get in there.” I pushed through the crowd of magic enforcement.

  Mason grabbed my arm. “What are you thinking? There’s a raging troll inside, and there’s no telling what he’ll do.”

  “It’s Horatio. If anyone has the ability to think through a situation, it should be him,” I said.

  Zeke approached the two of us. “We found Juniper at home with him. When we took her away, he, uh, didn’t approve.” The young warden flinched as a wooden table smashed through a side window and landed in pieces on the ground outside.

  “Somebody has to calm him down. We need to talk to Raif, and that’s not gonna happen if Horatio knocks him out…or worse.” I didn’t want to consider the possibility that my verbose friend might turn savage, but I’d seen what a misfired potion could do to his intellect. No telling how pure rage might affect him.

  The rest of my gang, except for Blythe, showed up and broke through the throng of onlookers. They gathered around me, my girls offering me their support while Mason pulled Lee aside for a word.

  “I got here as fast as I could from the warden station. What’s going on here?” asked Ben.

  “An angry troll and a guilty vampire don’t mix well,” I offered, looking up at my tall friend.

  “Oh, good. So potentially more clients,” he said with a furrowed brow. “This day keeps getting better.”

  When he finished, the detective attempted to usher us away from the house.

  “You all need to stay back,” he insisted.

  I ducked under his upheld arm. “Do you have a plan?”

  “Not yet.”

  Another piece of furniture shattered another window and landed on the grass in front of us.

  “Then let me try to talk to him. I’ll stay in the foyer, far enough out of the danger zone,” I promised.

  “I doubt that.” In frustration, Mason gave in with a sigh. “Fine. I’m coming with you. The second you could possibly get hurt, it’s over. If I tell you to leave, you do it. No questions.”

  “Sure.” I rushed up the steps of the house and entered through the opened door. Approaching with caution, I stuck my head around the corner. “Horatio? Are you here?”

  “Yes, he bloody well is,” replied Raif, his face twisted with hysteria. “Get him out before he destroys another antique.”

  Something wooden splintered in the other room. “Tell me why you set my Juniper up and I might spare your furniture. Continue to give false testimony, and I might not spare you,” Horatio bellowed.

  “I’ve been trying to tell you it’s not me, but you refuse to listen. Do not touch that vase,” the vampire implored. More shattering.

  I crept toward the living room, but Mason held me back. “Do not go in there,” he insisted.

  “I need Horatio to listen, and my best way to do that is to see him face to face. You’ve got my back. I trust you.” I slinked around the doorway. “Horatio, stop throwing things. I’m coming in.”

  The noise of destruction ceased, and I spotted the troll holding another item in his hand at the ready. “Charli, you must have deduced by now this scoundrel’s guilt. He acts like he is superior to the residents in our humble town, but he robs them behind the scenes.” He pointed his finger at Raif. “‘False face must hide what the false heart doth know.’”

  “Quoting Shakespeare does not make you any less of a monster right now,” Raif replied, no longer cringing against the beveled glass hutch.


  “You might not want to use words like that right now,” I suggested. “Answer his questions, and maybe we can end it right here.”

  The vampire threw up his hands. “I have. I didn’t set up the fairy. I don’t even know what he’s talking about.”

  Fed up with his game, I fired off my list of accusations. “He’s talking about all the valuables disappearing from people’s houses. Mrs. K’s brooch ending up in Flint’s cookie jar. The pile of stolen goods planted at Juniper’s place of business. Oh, and a dead body lying in the library. Are you telling me you had nothing to do with any of that? You’re the only one who benefits from it all.”

  “You have reached the exact conclusion I came to, Charli,” agreed Horatio.

  Raif regarded me with a level of loathing I’d yet to see from him. “You come to my house, daring to speculate? Where is your proof? The death of that poor deluded woman, while tragic, had nothing to do with me.”

  “You wanted me out of the running, just like you desired to take out Flint and my darling Juniper.” Horatio tossed a nearby lamp in the vampire’s direction for good measure.

  “Watch it,” warned Mason from behind me.

  “If you think I am so guilty, then why don’t you have her find all those items? If she thinks it is here in my home, then make her prove it by using her so-called talents,” Raif demanded. “Otherwise, all of you need to exit my domicile. Now!” he demanded with sharp authority.

  Pixie poop. The vampire had called my bluff. If he did have the stolen goods in his house, I wouldn’t be able to find them with my magic.

  Mason patted my behind, catching me off guard. “He’s got you, but you need to focus on keeping Horatio calm and getting him out of the house.”

  Ignoring my surprise at the strange contact from the detective, I called out to my enormous friend. “Cooler heads need to prevail here, Horatio.”

  “But we are far from finished. The inimitable Sherlock Holmes was not wrong. ‘Eliminate all other factors, and the one which remains must be the truth.’ He has to be the one behind it all,” he insisted.