Back Room Bookstore Cozy Mystery Boxed Set: Books 1 - 12

by Susan Harper

  “Honestly,” Jonathan said after a moment, stepping around Rosemary toward Clowdia. “I hope you can forgive us, Clowdia. We know you wouldn’t have given someone a love potion. That’s ludicrous.”

  Clowdia huffed. “You think I wouldn’t give someone a love potion, but you all did think I would murder someone!”

  “We’re sorry,” Jonathan said again. “Clowdia, we were wrong. I am so sorry. Really. You’re our teammate just like Leopold was. We love you, you know?”

  Clowdia’s angry expression turned into a slight smirk. “Okay, fine,” she said, waving her hand. “Can we just put this aside for this evening, though?”

  “Awesome,” Jonathan said, putting his arm over Clowdia’s shoulder. “See, now? This is a team no one is going to break apart.”

  “Someone did,” Trixie said, and Monica looked down at the dwarf woman whose arms were crossed. “I believe that Clowdia didn’t do this, but who did? Who would want to kill Leopold? What did he ever do to anybody? It doesn’t make sense.”

  “Exactly,” Gale, the werewolf with the goalie gloves, huffed. “Everyone loves Leopold. And what would be the point in giving him a love potion? If the point was to kill him…why a love potion?”

  “Maybe whoever gave him the love potion meant for something else to happen?” Coach Joanne- Jo said, fluttering around and eventually landing on Gale’s shoulder.

  “We’ll figure it out,” Jonathan said, his arm still around Clowdia, seeming quite desperate to apologize for their accusations.

  “Okay, that’s enough,” Deimus said, stepping forward. “We should get started now.”

  The team all nodded in agreement with their captain before returning their attention to the service. Everyone stood around, and Deimus and Coach Joanne-Jo both spoke about Leopold and what a good addition to the team he had been both on and off the Romp-A-Roo field. Monica was surprised to see that no one in Leopold’s family had shown up, but she learned from Mona that other than Leopold’s brother, Leonardo, Leopold did not have much family left, and Leonardo was still in prison.

  “Does Leonardo even know what happened to his brother?” Monica asked as the service started to wind down.

  “I don’t know,” Mona said, looking to Deimus for an answer.

  “I don’t think he’s been informed yet,” Deimus said. “And, as much of a creep as that guy is, I think someone probably should.”

  “You don’t think the prison guards would have told him?” Mona asked.

  “Doubtful,” Deimus said. “He’s not very popular in the prison, from what I hear.”

  “Most Remembrance members aren’t,” Monica said. “Even prisoners have higher morals than Remembrance.”

  “Either way, Leonardo is still his big brother,” Deimus said. “Maybe we should pay him a visit?”

  “I promised Ida I’d help get her home,” Mona said. “Her pack lives pretty far out, and if she winds up going all werewolf before getting home, she could get herself into some trouble.”

  “We’ll go with you,” Holly said to Deimus, and he smiled.

  “Okay, good,” he said. “I’d rather not go to the wizards’ prison on my own.”

  “Will they let you in to speak to a prisoner this late?” Monica asked.

  “I think so,” he said. “One of my buddies is a prison guard, and I think he’s working tonight. He might be able to talk the warden into letting us in. Since it’s to tell someone about a relative’s death, I think they might be willing to let us talk with him after hours.”

  “Plus,” Monica added, “maybe we can ask Leonardo some questions about his brother.”

  “Not sure what good that will do,” Deimus said. “I don’t think they were very close.”

  “You never know,” Monica said. “If you do recall, there was a member of Remembrance there that night. It sounds like Leonardo shared some values of the Remembrance members—he might have made friends with some of them in prison, and he might have information that could help us.”

  “That, or he could try to get you information,” Abigail said. “A man on the inside. That is, if he’s willing to help. He might be glad his brother is gone.”

  “I would like to think not,” Deimus said. “But I suppose there is only one way to find out.”

  Monica threw her leg up over her broom. “Cycle,” she said firmly, and her broom transformed into a large black and purple motorcycle with a sidecar.

  “Whoa!” Deimus yelped in surprise as Holly climbed into the sidecar and Abigail hopped up on the back.

  “Wasn’t sure how your flying was,” Monica said. “So figured Holly and Abigail would prefer to ride with me.”

  “Aren’t you an unnatural witch, though?” Deimus asked. “That’s some serious magic, Monica!”

  “Oh…” Monica said, somewhat embarrassed. “Yeah, well, Mona kind of put the spell on the broom for me. It can turn into a bicycle too.”

  Deimus, realizing he had hurt her feelings slightly, immediately apologized. “Sorry, I kind of misspoke, didn’t I?”

  “It’s fine,” Monica said, and she pulled back on the handle of the bike, causing it start up and lift into the sky. Deimus flew behind them on his broom, and they zipped toward the wizards’ prison on the outskirts of Wysteria.

  9

  Monica walked closely behind Deimus. She personally had never been anywhere near the wizards’ prison in Wysteria before. It was a large, abandoned castle surrounded by ghouls as guards as well as a number of wizards flying around the exterior walls on broomsticks. None of the guards looked particularly friendly. Deimus explained to the gentleman manning the guest entrance that he was a friend of the one of the guards, and after a few minutes went by for this information to be confirmed, a portly young man with a large nose and beady eyes came hobbling out of the haunted-castle looking building.

  “Deimus,” the wizard said and stuck his hand out to shake.

  “Monica, Holly, Abigail, this is Edgar Stein,” Deimus began, but Monica immediately got excited.

  “Edgar Stein, the former Romp-A-Roo champ?” she asked, feeling absolutely giddy. “You played for the Transylvania Terrors the year they went international!”

  “Don’t talk to him like that,” Deimus said, nudging the man. “He’ll get a big head.”

  “What are you doing as a prison guard in Wysteria?” she asked, ignoring the teasing.

  “I’m from here originally,” Edgar said, looking as though his head had indeed inflated to twice its original size. “Lot of people don’t know I used to be a Wysteria Werewolf before I was transferred to one of the heavy hitter teams. Course, now with Wysteria going to the finals, looks like the world’s got a new team to look out for. What are you doing here in the middle of the night, Deimus?”

  “Just came from a memorial service for one of my teammates,” Deimus began.

  “Yeah, read about that,” he said. “I’m sorry about your loss, kid.”

  “Truth is, I don’t think anyone’s told his brother,” Deimus said. “I think the man has a right to know what happened, even if he is a real creep.”

  “That’s right… I forget Leonardo’s brother is a Romp-A-Roo player,” Edgar said. “Read the story about the murder in the paper this morning and didn’t even make the connection. You really want to be the one to break the news to that lunatic?”

  “Someone has to,” Deimus said.

  “All right, I’ll bring you in,” Edgar said. “But so you know, Leonardo’s not all there anymore. Not all witches and wizards take well to the long-term magic dampening we do here for the prisoners.”

  “I imagine not,” Deimus said as they followed Edgar into the building.

  Monica and Holly stood close by. Monica could feel Holly shaking a bit from nerves. The place really did look like a giant house of horrors. Eventually, though, they were taken to the most obscenely normal-looking white room that clashed terribly with the rest of the building’s feel. It was simply a large, colorless room with clean floors and
walls along with a large table in the center. “You folks sit tight,” Edgar said. “I’ll see if Leonardo is up for speaking to anyone. He doesn’t get visitors, so I suspect he’ll be delighted.” Edgar disappeared, and they all gathered around the table. Abigail sat on Monica’s lap.

  Soon Edgar returned with Leonardo, who was dressed in a slimming black robe. He sat down across from them, and Edgar waved his wand around Leonardo, and a glowing light seemed to circle around his seat. “Step outside the circle and you’ll fry,” Edgar warned Leopold.

  “Yeah,” Leonardo said, staring at them. “You folks really came to see me? Who are you anyway?” he asked as Edgar found himself a chair in the corner and opened a book.

  “We’re friend with Leopold,” Monica said, waving a hand to Deimus as a silent sign to wait before breaking the news. “And with Clowdia.”

  Leonardo beamed. “Aww, you’re friends with my little selkie girl?” he asked. “How is she doing?”

  Deimus looked angry, but Monica didn’t pause long enough to give Deimus a chance to speak on her behalf. “We want to hear your side of what happened between you and Clowdia.”

  Leonardo huffed. “There isn’t anything I can tell you that you can’t find in the papers.”

  “I want to hear it anyway,” Monica said.

  He crossed his arms, staring at her. “Okay, fine,” he said. “Couple of years ago, I spotted Clowdia hanging out on the beach. Gorgeous. Never seen a finer looking selkie. In the days before the split from the mortal world, it was pretty common practice to steal a selkie’s skin, you know? I know it’s been illegal for a century or so—”

  “Not long enough,” Deimus huffed. “That should have been on the first charter after the split.”

  “Agree to disagree,” Leopold said. “I stole her skin. That’s how one would have gotten a selkie back in the day. Steal her skin. Condemn her to land and get her to marry you. I mean, that’s the way it’s always been done, you know? She overreacted, of course. An inferior creature like that should have been honored I chose her.”

  “Wow, you’re disgusting,” Holly said, glaring at him from across the table. “How can you sit there and say something like that about someone?”

  Leonardo stared at her. “You’re not a witch, are you?”

  Holly leaned back. “So?”

  “I can tell,” he said. “Something about you. What are you? A werewolf? No, it’s a full moon tonight… You’re a mixed breed, right?”

  “Shut up, Leonardo,” Deimus said. “You’re just as sick as your brother always said you were. No wonder he testified against you. I always wondered about that, if I’m honest. Even knowing what you did, I found it hard to believe that Leopold would have so willingly send his own brother to prison, but I see it now.”

  Leonardo raised his hand, pointing a finger in their direction. “You judge me? I can tell looking at you that you’re a pure-blooded wizard. Our values should be the same.”

  Abigail suddenly hopped up on the table. “Look at his wrist! He’s got Cinur writing on his wrist!”

  The man laughed. “Like it? It says Salem in Cinur.”

  “You’re part of Remembrance,” Holly said, sounding shocked.

  “Mine and Leopold’s old man was too,” he said. “Don’t know what happened with Leopold, really. He was always so self-righteous. So much so he couldn’t see that what we believed was right. I’m hoping he’ll see the light now.”

  “He’s dead,” Deimus said at last, and it was cold and heartless.

  Leonardo paused. His hand lowered, and he looked at Deimus as though he believed him to be a filthy liar. “What?” he asked.

  “He was murdered,” Deimus said. “That’s why we came here. We thought you would care to know.”

  Leonardo’s entire demeanor changed. He had been mocking them before, but now his shoulders slumped and his face contorted. “My little brother is dead?”

  Deimus’s face softened but only a little. “Yes. He was murdered after the Romp-A-Roo game.”

  “During the afterparty…” Leonardo said, and he looked pale.

  “Yes, how did you know that?” Monica demanded.

  “Remembrance members in prison keep in contact with our friends outside of these walls through visitations. I know about Noah being arrested,” he said, and his voice grew hoarse. He raised his hands above the table, and Monica could see them both shaking. “How did he die?”

  “Drowned in a nearby creek,” Monica said. “After being given a strong love potion to make him fall in love with Clowdia, the selkie whose skin you stole.”

  Leonardo’s eyes reddened, and he visibly fought back tears for a moment. “This is my fault,” he said at last. “This wasn’t supposed to happen.”

  Edgar looked up from whatever he had begun reading in the corner.

  “What do you mean?” Monica demanded.

  “I sent a message out to Remembrance. I wanted them to give Leopold a love potion to make him fall in love with Clowdia. The point wasn’t to hurt him… It was to hurt the team. He cared a lot about Romp-A-Roo, and he cared about Clowdia and his girlfriend, that mixed breed witch, Rosemary… It was revenge for helping to put me in prison. I didn’t want him to die!” Leopold covered his face and lurched forward, his nose evidently crossing the magic line Edgar had drawn a because he jerked back when his nose started to smoke. He sat upright, and he let out a loud, scream-like exhale. “This wasn’t supposed to happen!”

  “Who gave Leopold the potion?” Deimus asked. “Do you know?”

  “No,” Leonardo sobbed. “No, I don’t know. I just sent word out to a public Remembrance channel that I wanted revenge on my anti-Remembrance brother. I didn’t want anyone to hurt him, I swear…”

  Abigail, who had been watching Leonardo rather carefully, sat upright on the table rather close to him. “Leonardo, you’ve meddled with a terrible group of mystics. This is what happens when you get involved with Remembrance. You outed your brother as anti-Remembrance, and they went after him. No doubt your brother’s values were your father’s well-kept secret from his Remembrance friends.”

  “I know, I know,” Leonardo said, looking directly at Abigail. “Please, believe me, I didn’t want this to happen. Not this. Whoever gave him that love potion was supposed to just leave after he took it. They weren’t supposed to… No one was supposed to get hurt, really. It was just supposed to be petty. I was trying to mess up his chances of winning in the finals tournament by dividing the team. I knew that if he started harassing Clowdia that it would cause trouble with him and Rosemary and with Rosemary and Clowdia… That was all I was trying to do.”

  “Trying to ruin your brother’s dreams of becoming a champion,” Deimus said. “I don’t pity you, Leonardo, just because you’re bawling about it now. Love potions are dangerous to begin with, and you had one of your Remembrance buddies put selkie DNA into one and give it to your own brother! You’re going to be tried as an accomplice to murder for your own brother now, you realize that?”

  Leonardo didn’t seem to care. “You got to find out who did this. Who killed my brother? Who would kill him?”

  “You did!” Deimus snapped, and Leopold began to sob more openly. He appeared almost like a child.

  “Ease up,” Abigail warned Deimus, hissing at him. She turned back to Leonardo. “You have made a terrible mistake, Leonardo—one that seems to have followed a lifetime of smaller errors. Now, it’s blown up in your face. This is what associating with that group does. It comes back to bite you. So now you can sit there and cry about it, or you can help us find out what happened to your brother that night.”

  “I want to know what happened,” Leonardo assured her. “Believe me, I do. I want to know, and I’m not lying to you when I say that I don’t know who was involved. I wish I did because I would tell you right now!”

  “He’s just wasting our time, then,” Deimus said.

  Holly sighed. “We’re sorry for your loss, Leonardo,” she said. “If I were you, I’d
think about getting that tattoo removed.”

  Leonardo looked down at his wrist with the Cinur writing, and he pulled his robes sleeve down to cover it. “If I had something to give you, any information, I would… This wasn’t supposed to happen. This is not what I wanted.”

  “I believe you,” Abigail said. “But your remorse is not going to help us find out what happened to your brother.”

  “I know,” he said, wiping his eyes and then looking directly at Abigail. “Please, find out who did this to my little brother… Find out what happened to him… Bring whoever did this to justice, and I’ll tell you where I hid Clowdia’s skin.”

  10

  With all of the madness of the past few days, Monica was taken by surprise at how rapidly Valentine’s Day had snuck up on her. She found herself rummaging through her closet in her little cottage in Bankstown, trying desperately to find something worth wearing and wishing that Mona or her Aunt Wilma were there to cast a quick-change spell. Bit by bit, she eventually assembled an outfit, drifting away from her typical purple attire and instead opting for something a bit more festive: a pink dress and some glittery silver jewelry.

  “Interesting look,” Abigail said when Monica emerged from her bedroom, her hair straightened and braided back on one side.

  “You think I look stupid, don’t you?” Monica yelped.

  “I didn’t say that. Just not your usual style choice is all I meant,” Abigail said. “I’m not used to seeing you in anything other than purple and black.”

  Monica was contemplating running back to her room to change when there was a knock on her door. “Too late,” she muttered to herself before answering the door and putting on an award-winning smile. “Hey, Brian,” she said.

  “Whoa,” he said, and she immediately felt underdressed thanks to the suit he was wearing.

  “Whoa is right! You’re wearing a suit!” she exclaimed, looking down at herself.

  “You look amazing!” He leaned forward and gave her a quick peck on the nose. “Are you ready to go?”