Spellbinding Blend

by Kennedy Layne

  “How did Mr. Paul die?” I asked before holding my breath in anticipation while waiting for Liam to answer.

  “The victim had a pretty severe contusion on the back of his head. The medical examiner won’t give a definite cause of death until after the autopsy, but I think it’s safe to assume someone attacked him from the rear. The way he was lying on the ground when you found him suggests he didn’t accidentally trip and fall backward. Raven, did Mr. Paul stop by your table today?”

  I was so engrossed in what Liam had to say that I didn’t have time to consider my answer. The words just poured out of my mouth like a flood.

  “No, but I saw him talking with Rye Dolgiram this afternoon. He gave Mr. Paul one of his brochures.”

  I was such a horrible liar, I couldn’t even tell the truth convincingly. It was a wonder I hadn’t blurted out everything else, and I hated that doubt to keep my secret creeped in and shook my confidence.

  “We found a fistful of brochures from the vendors in Mr. Paul’s back pocket and one in his hand.” Liam might have been talking to Heidi and me, but his gaze was constantly scanning our surroundings. I followed his lead, picking up on a few things myself…such as the clown had disappeared while I was distracted. “I’ll talk to Rye and the others to see if the victim was acting strange prior to his demise. I find it odd that he was visiting the vendor tables when he should have been working the rides he’d been assigned to this afternoon. Listen, are you and Heidi okay to make it home alone? It’s going to be a long night, and the two of you don’t need to sit out here in the cold waiting for us.”

  “We’ll be fine,” Heidi assured Liam with a smile, nudging my knee so that I agreed. “Right?”

  “Yes, yes, of course,” I replied, squeezing Liam’s hand in reassurance so that he wouldn’t worry. “We’ll be fine. Will you call me later if you have a chance?”

  “That I can do.” Liam surprised me by leaning forward and pressing a tender kiss to my cheek. He’d done so in the past, but he was usually always very careful not to show public displays of affection when he was on duty. Granted, Jack was now here and had assumed lead on the murder investigation, but Liam would work the case alongside his friend. “Try and get some sleep. If you need anything, give me a call. I can be out there in one twitch of a squirrel’s tail.”

  Liam didn’t immediately walk back to where Jack and the medical examiner were still talking. Instead, he joined a small group of carnival workers who were standing off to the side. The fact that he was wearing a pair of jeans and worn cowboy boots seemed to put the others at ease. He wasn’t even wearing his usual khaki dress shirt that he considered his official police uniform. Instead, he was wearing a black dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up just below his elbows.

  “I know that look,” Heidi interjected, standing up from her seat on the bench and standing in front of me to block my view. She tucked some of those blonde strands behind her ear when a gentle breeze snuck in between the game stands. “I’m usually the first one to jump headfirst into these things, but we need to take a step back and really think about this now that Rye could be involved. Can’t you do your…”

  Heidi wiggled her fingers, indicating she was talking about magical divination.

  “You know me too well,” I murmured, going through my mind the various spells that could possibly help us in this situation. “I need some small object that belonged to the victim.”

  Heidi arched one of her brows, telling me pretty much what I already knew—that was going to be impossible to do while the police were investigating the crime scene.

  “How do you feel about us coming back to the carnival tomorrow in between looking at those three houses?” I’d come up with a plan. If it worked, we’d have answers by tomorrow night. “We can play a few games, ride the Ferris wheel, and maybe even get our fortunes told by Madam Solaris as an added bonus.”

  Heidi understood everything I was suggesting, which was to talk to as many carnival employees—or carnies, as Liam had called them—as we could in order to locate something of Mr. Paul’s that I could use in a scry spell. The incantations that I’d managed to cast successfully were easier for me to perform than the ones I’d never tried before, and the last thing any of us needed was another spell gone awry.

  Not to get sidetracked, but my last spell was basically me shooting some of Cupid’s arrows at random townsfolk. It hadn’t been pretty. People had been running off together behind the bushes.

  “The campers of the employees are parked out near the back field, but I’m not sure how you think we’ll get access to Kevin Paul’s personal belongings.”

  “We might not need to,” I explained as we both began walking toward the exit. “I overheard one of the carnies say that Mr. Paul worked the tilt-a-whirl. Maybe he left behind something that I could use, such as a water bottle or a shop rag. Most of the male workers seem to have one stuffed in their back pockets to wipe grease off their hands.”

  “I like the way you think,” Heidi praised, linking her arm into mine as we finally hit Oceanview Drive. “One thing I can say with some certainty is that life in this small coastal town won’t be boring considering the increased crime rate since your arrival.”

  After the last eight weeks of constantly worrying that Rye was some type of warlock, boring actually sounded kind of nice. Unfortunately, we now had a murder mystery to solve.

  I was usually against calling my mother when things began to go sideways, but she definitely had more knowledge than I did about the coven. With that said, I knew someone who might have the information I sought regarding Rye Dolgiram. One simple phone call was all that was needed in order to find out if he’d ever been part of the coven.

  Did I really want to play that card?

  Was it worth contacting my great-aunt, who’d all but cut my grandmother out of her life all those years ago when the coven had excommunicated my Nan?

  Just the thought of opening that door made me a bit queasy.

  Not as queasy as what I’m about to tell you.

  “Leo, where have you been?” Heidi asked, catching sight of my familiar as he came galloping across the street to where we were on the sidewalk. She leaned down when he plopped himself in front of us, almost completely out of breath. “Oh, you poor boy. Here. Let me carry you.”

  Heidi hoisted Leo up into her arms, which was no easy feat considering his weight issues. With that said, he’d stopped talking to rub his chin against hers. The two of them started forward, leaving me to hang back while waiting for the bomb to drop.

  Again, there was nothing but the sound of Heidi’s affectionate murmurs and what I’m pretty sure was purring loud enough to cause any squirrels still awake to take notice.

  “Leo,” I called out harshly, quickly marching forward to catch up with them. “Leo, you can’t say something like that and then pretend you didn’t. What did you find out?”

  What did I say?

  “You said—”

  Ohhhh, right back there. Scratch a little more to the left. That’s right. Doesn’t Heidi give the best scratches?

  “What are you two carrying on about now?” Heidi asked, still running her fingernails back and forth underneath Leo’s chin. She even planted a kiss on top of his head. “The poor thing is out of breath. Were you chasing those nasty squirrels?”

  “Leo said that something he found out while he was near the crime scene would make me upset to my stomach,” I relayed, going back through what could only be called a one-sided conversation. “Then his short-term memory loss kicked in, and now I don’t know what he meant.”

  “Any crime scene would make us sick to our stomach,” Heidi pointed out, shifting Leo’s weight so that he was easier to carry. “Leo, why did you go over there anyway?”

  Whatever you do, don’t tell her that I’m scared of clowns. The fact that she knows about my arachnophobia is bad enough. I’m pretty sure we both have the same view when it comes to squirrels, though.

  I had to remind myself
that Leo’s faulty memory was a consequence of Nan’s brief dabble in the dark elements. He wasn’t to blame, and I needed to have a bit more patience and understanding at times like these.

  “Leo, you went for a walk when Liam came to talk to me,” I reminded him, hoping to jog his memory. “Remember?”

  Vaguely.

  We’d walked the stretch of Oceanview Drive and were now at the intersection of River Bay, the main thoroughfare through town. My beat-up old Corolla was parked in front of my tea shop, so we crossed the street in no hurry since there was currently no traffic. Technically, the vacated sidewalks this time of night made Paramour Bay seem like a ghost town.

  Don’t say that word. You’re liable to send a signal to the afterlife and attract something.

  Well, maybe that was why the hairs on the back of my neck were standing at attention and the center of my palm began to tingle. As a matter of fact, a bit of warmth had invaded my fingers.

  I looked down Oceanview Drive, but I didn’t see a thing except the lighted entrance of the carnival. Why did it feel as if someone was watching us?

  Someone’s watching us? Where?

  Heidi was a few steps ahead of me. I’d slowed down to try and take a look around us, but again, I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Leo had popped his head over Heidi’s shoulder, his green eyes slanting at the insinuation we weren’t alone.

  Is it that clown or the squirrels? It’s that red-nosed crayon eater, isn’t it?

  “Why do you say that, Leo?” I asked, prompting Heidi to stop in her tracks so that I could catch up with them. “Did you see the clown when you went for a walk around the carnival grounds?”

  “Clown?” Heidi asked with a frown, clearly not liking the funny-faced carnival attraction, either.

  Do you really think that I would have taken myself anywhere near that horror show in pantaloons? What kind of mentally defective nutbag came up with the idea of putting an orange wig, a red nose, and a painted evil smile on someone and thinking children would find them funny? I’ve seen the It movie. I know what happens when a clown crawls out from a sewage drain, and it ain’t pretty.

  I was getting nowhere with trying to get Leo to remember what he’d wanted to tell me, so I sighed in resignation as we continued to walk to my car in silence. At least the tingling and warmth in my hand had started to subside.

  “We’ll get you home and feed you dinner,” Heidi told Leo as she continued to scratch behind his ears. “Then we’ll snuggle by the fire.”

  Home.

  Leo sighed in contentment and then rested his cheek against Heidi’s shoulder.

  I’m going to love having her here on a full-time basis. It’s going to be so much—

  I’d had the keys in my hand that Heidi had returned to me when Leo’s head lifted up faster than those squirrels had vacated the carnival area upon hearing all the commotion.

  Oh, this isn’t good. This is bad. Really bad.

  “What is it?” Heidi whispered, knowing full well that Leo was talking to me from the way I’d stopped in my tracks. “Did Leo find out that Rye killed Kevin Paul?”

  It’s certainly looking that way. Raven, we need to call in reinforcements. This is an all hands on deck situation, and that includes—I can’t believe I’m saying this—your mother.

  “Why?” I asked, bracing myself for Leo’s answer.

  In hindsight, I should have leaned against the car for added leverage.

  I overheard the good ol’ detective tell the medical examiner that the address on Kevin Paul’s driver’s license is none other than…Windsor.

  Windsor, Connecticut—the very town in which my family’s coven was located, and the one that was on the verge of a war fought with witchcraft.

  Chapter Three

  “Raven. My dear, Raven. You have no worries. I’ve got the day covered,” Beetle reassured me with a pat on the back as he walked past me toward the cash register. The tips of his white hair floated behind him, similar to the way the threads of an angora sweater would when outside in the gentle breeze. “Leo has his catnip, the shelves are completely stocked, and there are no new sales items that I need to worry about coding into the register. No, siree. No worries here at all.”

  Beetle had on his usual grey cardigan sweater and colorful tie, this one a bright purple. He had a tendency to say something twice, but I’d become used to it by now. It was rather endearing.

  What I wasn’t used to was leaving the tea shop all day in the hands of someone so…eccentric. Now that I looked back on the six months I’d been in Paramour Bay, I’d never let anyone take over for an entire day. What if I came back and found that Beetle had turned the tea shop into some type of geriatric time machine?

  On second thought, that might not be such a bad idea.

  I’d give almost anything to go back to last night before I tripped over that dead body. The again, why only go back to last night? It would be even better to go back eight weeks and somehow have Leo not witness Rye use magic on my gate.

  There is still a chance that I could have hallucinated the entire thing. Slim. Well, a little less than slim, but that still constitutes a chance, however slight. Right?

  Leo had consumed his all-time favorite treat on his plush pillow in the display window and was now lying on his back with his short legs straight up in the air, allowing the morning rays of sunshine to warm his belly. His concerns seemed to have mellowed with each lick of the minty herb, so it wouldn’t be in my best interest to trust his somewhat skewed judgement at the moment.

  Such high standards.

  “Beetle, please make sure to provide Candy with those holistic tea blends I made for her customers at the hair salon,” I reminded him, wishing I wasn’t so nervous about leaving Beetle in charge of the shop. Granted, he’d come a long way in the past eight weeks, but I still had trouble delegating responsibilities. “Oh, and Pearl mentioned that she might stop by for that diffuser she ordered. It’s on the top shelf in the storage room. There is even a tag attached with her name on it.”

  “I’ve got this taken care of,” Beetle reassured me, pulling the stool up closer to the counter. He patted the hard surface twice in a display of confidence. “You two go on ahead and find our dear Heidi a nice home to roost in.”

  Roost, Heidi mouthed with a shocked expression. Eventually, she smiled at the old saying. She even pretended to flap her arms like a chicken, but I was too worked up to find her amusing with my current level of anxiety.

  Leo sounded as if he were choking on a hairball, but I’d gotten used to the sound of his laughter. He certainly was enjoying himself over there.

  My BFF never fails to entertain.

  “We’re actually waiting for my mother, so now would be a good time to ask me anything you think might be a problem while I’m gone.” I glanced out the display window, but Regina was nowhere in sight. I’d called her on the advice of both Heidi and Leo, and my mother’s reaction had been what I’d expected—a long drawn-out silence that had me asking twice if she’d still been on the line. “Mom should be here any minute.”

  Oh, joy. Remind me again why I said calling her would be a good idea? Had I consumed too much catnip? I don’t believe I would have made such a suggestion otherwise.

  Heidi was busy brewing up a pot of coffee, most of which we would drink before leaving for breakfast and the other half would be used as samples for the morning customers. We had a plan in place, and a good one if you ask me.

  Oh, that’s right. The dead guy just had to be from Windsor. Have I mentioned that you’re a magnet for bad luck, Schleprock?

  First, we’d get something to eat over at the diner so that we could be front and center for any scuttlebutt making the rounds regarding last night’s murder. I could see the place was already crowded with the staff from the carnival, the tourists who were in town for the festival, and the usual patrons who always started their weekend with a meal at the diner.

  I’m staying here with my BFF. Call me when you…no.
I take that back. You and your mother can handle this one on your own, because I’m going to take a well-deserved staycation day. Most cats don’t have to put up with this much bother, you know.

  Afterward, I’d stop in at the station to see Liam, where in all likelihood Jack would be investigating this case. Heidi and I would attempt to see if any new information had been uncovered since last night and continue to hope that any such evidence didn’t point toward Rye.

  Once the carnival opened its gates at eleven o’clock, we would then begin our search for an object owned by the deceased. Once we had something of substance in hand, my mother and I would be able to cast a spell that would give us an indication of what happened during the last few moments before Kevin Paul was murdered.

  If magic was involved and we discovered that Rye really was a warlock who’d used his powers in the worst way imaginable, we’d have no choice but to put in a call to Aunt Rowena. Granted, we wanted nothing to do with her and whatever war was brewing between the two factions of the coven, but any type of situation that involved a wayward warlock warranted intervention from the council.

  Oh, and Heidi still had to tour three houses.

  Perfect. You, Heidi, and Regina have things well in hand. The day is starting to look up, and it’s not even nine o’clock. I love my morning wake and bake.

  “Regina is visiting this weekend?” Beetle asked, perking up quite a bit. I wasn’t sure why he would be happy that my mom was coming to town, but Beetle had always been a bit of a strange bird. “Isn’t this just dandy? Raven, how does this tie look with my sweater? Oh, this is just dandy, indeed.”

  I exchanged quizzical glances with Heidi.

  Raven, my good mood is quickly evaporating. You’re polluting my karma.

  I guess I had never thought about it, but Beetle and my mother were around the same age minus about five years. Considering Mom hadn’t moved to New York City until her early twenties, chances are that the two of them had gone to school together. It wasn’t like Paramour Bay had a large school system.