Mysterious Mintwood Murmurs
(Witch of Mintwood, Book 13)
by
Addison Creek
Copyright © 2019 by Addison Creek
Cover Design © Broken Arrow Designs
This eBook is a work of fiction in which names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to real persons, places, or events is completely coincidental.
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Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Epilogue
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Chapter One
“Good morning,” said Bridget from behind the counter of the Daily Brew.
Mrs. Barnett, the owner of the café, was nowhere to be seen. Spring was in full swing in the small town of Mintwood, Maine. The days were slowly warming up and the nights were not so cold as they had been.
I’ve always loved the air in spring. Breezes feel crystal clear. Locals emerge from their homes and come alive. Charlie has stories to write, construction starts up, and Liam works twice as hard as usual.
On this particular spring day, Liam and Bridget were almost ready to open their secondhand clothing shop at the former Bright Lights Cinema. Liam was working frantically to get ready, just as he worked frantically on everything else he threw himself into.
“Are you going to see Liam?” Bridget asked, handing me my coffee. Her eyes brightened at the thought of Liam’s enterprises. She loved fashion, but there weren’t a lot of jobs involving fashion in a small Maine town. Working with Liam at the secondhand clothing store gave her an outlet for her passion, but she also helped her aunt at the Daily Brew, where she earned some money into the bargain.
“Yes, it’s been a while since I’ve been over there. I thought I’d go see how he’s doing,” I said.
Bridget chuckled. “He’s doing what he usually does. Great work at a very high stress level.”
I smiled and shook my head. “That sounds about right. Okay, see you later.”
As I headed out the door I saw André of the Main Street Portrait Gallery arguing with someone who could only be Keith of Mintwood Mucking.
Both men had stores on the main street of town. Andre was famously difficult with everyone, but he had a downright hostile relationship with Liam. At least six times a year they had a relationship-ending fight.
Keith was more easy-going. Nobody really had the same sort of store he did, and he wasn’t interested in competition. Either you needed hiking boots or you didn’t.
The day was sunny, and my light jacket was perfect for the weather. The main street of town was busier than usual, and soon it would get even more crowded with tourists coming to town. The local news cycle was also picking up. Charlie was never idle, but this time of year in particular she was always extra busy writing stories. Road construction was heating up along with the weather, and the city Council was set to vote on a few motions. Hustle and bustle burst forth just as surely as spring flowers burst from the ground.
“Liam?” I yelled. Bright Lights was still closed to the public, but Liam had a key—and a mission.
I heard a yell from my left and followed the sound of Liam’s voice. The former theater building still smelled a little like popcorn. It made my stomach rumble.
The secondhand clothing shop was in a large room that led to a smaller room. There was plenty of space for clothes. Even given how many Liam currently had, he could fit more, and I knew he would surely do so as time passed.
The floor was covered with boxes upon boxes stacked upon boxes. There were clothes spread out on folding tables and old shelves, and clothes hanging on racks. Liam had been gathering clothing from local people and from donations for months. He had stacks of old Bright Lights clothing that had once been used in performances on stage. Not long ago he had also gotten some cast-offs from Mrs. Smith.
Mrs. Smith had offered the clothing to Liam before I solved a mystery for her, and even now that the mystery was solved she was still offering him more. She had saved decades’ worth of things in her mansion, and she was now trying to get rid of them. Most people who met Liam took a liking to him and then wanted to help him out, and Mrs. Smith was no exception.
In fact, the only person who didn’t like him was André, who harbored enough dislike to cover the rest of us as well.
“How are you?” I asked.
Liam looked up at me despairingly. “I have been better,” he said. “I suppose I’ve also been worse. I don’t remember those times, but I’m sure they happened.”
I chuckled as I sat down next to him. “Take a deep breath. Have a coffee. It’s all going to be fine.”
“Did you know that my mother went out of town? Just up and left. She took a week off. Going to Italy or some such nonsense,” said Liam, shaking his head.
“The nerve of adults these days,” I said.
Liam smiled.
“Anyone up here?” The voice was Greer’s. Liam and I looked at each other in surprise.
“We’re in here,” Liam yelled.
Greer came into the shop and looked around in amazement. “Well, you have a few clothes in here, don’t you.”
“We have plenty more than a few,” Liam muttered. “I do love clothing, but sometimes the donations are shocking. Why would you donate a moldy sweater?” He shook his head.
“That’s an excellent question, and one that I’m looking for the answer to all the time,” I said.
“You’re up early,” said Liam to Greer, looking slightly less frantic than when I’d come in.
Greer smothered a yawn with her hand and nodded. “I’m supposed to be getting together with Deacon. He’s going away tonight for a few days. I wanted to see him off.”
“Why aren’t you wearing that enormous engagement rock he gave you?” Liam demanded. “If I had a ring like that I’d wear it all the time. In fact, I’d wear it on my nose to make it easier for everybody to see.”
Greer and I frowned at him. “That seems a little weird,” I said.
“We heretofore know I would love a ring like that. She isn’t wearing hers. I want an explanation,” said Liam.
Greer sat down on one of the empty plastic crates. It groaned, but held.
“I do pl
an on getting furniture in here at some point,” said Liam, “but it’s kind of low on the priorities list. I’m planning to go for secondhand shabby chic when I do get around to it.”
“I am sure that it will look mesmerizing,” I told him.
“I’m on my way to see my mother. That’s why I don’t have the ring on,” said Greer.
“You say that as if it explained something. Why wouldn’t you wear the ring in front of your mother?” Liam asked.
Greer had finally gotten engaged to her high school boyfriend a couple of weeks ago. She had told Liam the happy news a few days later, when she was still floating on clouds. It had been the first time she had worn her ring out and about. At moments when she didn’t think I was paying attention, I had been catching her just looking at her hand and smiling.
Greer didn’t usually like fancy things. She wore jeans and a white T-shirt most of the time, yet she loved this incredibly big ring that Deacon had given her, a custom-designed creation built on a ring that had belonged to her favorite great-aunt. Greer had loved it for its beauty and sentimental value, and now she loved it for other reasons as well.
“I’ll tell my mother when I’m good and ready,” said Greer.
Liam nearly spit out his coffee. “Excuse me? You haven’t told your mother?”
Greer’s face darkened. I hadn’t addressed this issue with her, even though I knew she hadn’t told her parents about the engagement. It meant that Deacon hadn’t been able to tell his mother the special news, a fact that I thought was starting to irritate him.
Greer scrubbed her face with her hands and muttered, “It’s just that when I tell her, all autonomy will be over.” As she thought about it, she picked up steam. “All happiness will get sucked into her black wedding planning hole. I won’t have a moment’s peace. We’ll have to argue endlessly about the endless guest list she’ll want. I’m sure she thinks five hundred people is a small wedding. I mean, when money is no object, you might as well invite everyone and show off how wonderful your family is. I have no interest in being put on display like that.”
Liam and I exchanged looks. “That’s a dark future,” Liam murmured.
I had known for ages that Greer’s family demands would be a problem once she and Deacon finally got engaged, and I had wondered how they’d handle it when the time came. Now I was finding out.
“You’re going to have to tell her at some point. Waiting only makes it worse,” said Liam.
“Putting it off makes me happy. Doesn’t that count for anything?” Greer asked.
“I mean, sure. Just not enough. You have to tell her! If she finds out that you were engaged for months and didn’t tell her, she’s going to be even more furious,” he explained patiently.
Greer shifted uncomfortably and kept on grumbling. “I suppose so, but I feel like she’s used to it. She has very low expectations for me at this point. I worked hard over the years to achieve that.”
“You’re describing exactly how my teachers felt about me in high school,” said Liam. He grinned slightly, then got serious again. “Just tell her at lunch today. Doesn’t Deacon want to tell his family?”
Greer hung her head. “Yeah, that’s the bit I feel bad about. They don’t know either. But his mother is almost as bad as mine. The two of them are literally going to go to war over this wedding.”
“Good. Great. Grand. Let them fight it out,” Liam said.
“Speaking of that, Lemmi, I was wondering if you’d go with me to the bridal shop today,” said Greer, chewing her lip.
My mouth opened slightly. Greer’s mother knew most of the established dress shops in the area. If we went to one, news was likely to get back to her in a jiffy. Then the earth would quake.
Greer saw the expression on my face and quickly said, “No, I was thinking of that newish kind of hippie one. My mother would never set foot in there. I wanted to try on dresses first. You know, just to get an idea of what I might like.”
“Have you ever thought about simply eloping?” Liam asked.
Greer’s face pinched. “I’ve thought about eloping weekly for the past five years. Part of me would love that, but another part knows that I just can’t. It isn’t even about what my mother wants. I’m sure that if I really wanted to, Deacon would agree. He’d do anything for me if he knew it would make me happy, but I think he’d regret not having his family there in the end.”
“That’s why you’re marrying him. I get it,” said Liam.
“Right. That and he’s really cute,” she giggled.
She really did seem giddy with happiness, and I hoped that the stress of the wedding wouldn’t ruin it. My grandmother used to say that some people just got married for the party. Those were the people who divorced soon after, when they came to realize that they actually had to live with the person they’d married.
The thing with Greer and Deacon was that they were the exact opposite of that. They each knew exactly who the other one was, what got on the other one’s nerves, how to fight fair. And they saw the best in each other. More specifically, they each knew who the other one’s family was, and it hadn’t ruined their relationship yet. I simply worried that there was still time. This wedding was going to be an enormous test.
Greer knew it too.
“I’d love to go dress shopping with you. Do you also want any moral support while you’re telling your mother?” I asked.
“No, I’ll go do it after we’re finished dress shopping. If she sees you there she’ll know I’m afraid,” said Greer.
“Right. But you are,” Liam pointed out.
She glared at him. “Yeah, but you don’t need to remark on it,” she said.
“You can do it. You just tell her. You’re a strong and independent woman. You have your own job. You have your own life. I have faith in you,” Liam said, pounding his fist into his hand for emphasis.
“That makes one of us,” she muttered. “Okay, I’ll do it. I think. How bad can it be?”
Liam made a face that said it could be terrible, but he wasn’t going to say so. “Excellent. Good luck with all of that. Come by and see me sometime. I’ll probably be here until I have to leave for your wedding,” he said dejectedly.
Greer threw her head back and laughed. “We don’t even have a date yet.”
“Yeah, that doesn’t matter. I’ll still probably be here,” he muttered.
We said our goodbyes to Liam, then headed toward our cars. We would drive separately to the wedding shop, since Greer was going on to see her mother afterwards.
“I’m just going to stop at home and pick up my ring. I’ll see you there?” she asked.
“Yes,” I said. “Sounds good.”
Chapter Two
I had never spent much time in the town of Connors, where the wedding shop was located. Still, I knew the place she was talking about; it was right next door to a hip new café, where I also had never been. No coffee could beat the coffee at the Daily Brew, so why bother to go far afield for the daily fix?
I drove to Connors knowing that I’d have a few minutes to look around before Greer arrived. I found a parking place easily on the cute Main Street of a very small town. It had only a handful of buildings in the business district, and I was reasonably certain that a couple of them were houses. Each one had flowers out front, some hanging off porches while others filled window boxes.
We were all celebrating spring.
The dress shop was easy to find. There were two mannequins in the window wearing wedding dresses. Both of them were ugly.
Much to my dismay, the woman in the bridal shop looked as if she had been crying. I stopped short on my way in the door and glanced at her with concern. She hadn’t heard the bell twinkle and she didn’t seem to know I was there.
I made a quick calculation and wondered if I could get back out without her noticing me. I decided I probably couldn’t, so instead I put as much distance between us as I could in such a small shop.
I started to wander slowly through the
racks of dresses. They looked like traditional dresses to me, but I didn’t know anything about wedding dresses, or what made a hip bridal shop versus one that Mrs. Dice would approve of.
Greer apparently thought this place was cooler than any place her mother would suggest, and I figured she was at least right to try on a few dresses before Mrs. Dice got involved.
“Goodness. I didn’t hear you come in. I am so sorry,” said the woman, bustling over to me. She was small and round and had red cheeks and a pleasant face. The decor in the shop was dominated by neutrals, creams, and white roses. It was a pretty and inviting place. If only Greer liked those things, I thought, she might find a dress here.
“That’s all right. I just came to look. I’m waiting for my friend to get here,” I told her with an awkward smile.
She sniffled a couple of times and dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief. “Look at me. I’m ridiculous. How can I run a shop like this? It’s just usually quiet at this time of day. Do you know what kind of dress your friend is looking for? What kind of wedding she’s going to have?”
“She’s hoping for one with peace and quiet, but I don’t think she’s going to get that until after the wedding,” I told the woman.
She gave a loud laugh, but I continued to feel guilty for making her talk to me at all. She probably wanted to disappear into the back of the store and take a breather.
“My name is Henrietta. This is my shop. It used to be my sister’s place, but . . .” She cut herself off and offered a tight-lipped smile. Collecting herself once again, she bustled back to the counter. “Just let me know if you need anything.”
I wandered around a bit longer, but Greer arrived shortly after that with her engagement ring back on. When she saw me she made a show of pulling back her shoulders and lifting her head.
“Liam is right,” she declared. “I can totally tell my mother the good news.”
Henrietta came bustling over and gushed a bit. “You must be the bride.”
“That’s what my fiancé keeps telling me,” said Greer dryly. Her cheeks had turned a light pink, a clue that the visit to the shop was triggering an array of emotions.
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