The Chocolate Magic Cozy Mystery Box Set Books 1 to 7

by Olivia Swift

  “It really works,” Branston said. “I always thought that it would be somebody cheating.”

  Sam said that he had seen people dowse for foundations under the ground successfully.

  “Have you tried the pendant?” Merle asked and Magda brought it out and handed it to her. “Oh, I can feel that it is centuries old. How wonderful.” She was about to hand it back to Magda when the crystal in the stone vibrated. “It moved,” she exclaimed, and Magda took it back.

  “Dowse with it,” Sam said. “Ask it a question.” Magda was not as sure as Sam had become with that and she handed it over.

  “Use your new expertise,” she smiled, and Sam stilled the pendant with his hand.

  “I have to see how it replies to me. Is my name Sam?” he asked and after a few seconds the pendant moved clockwise. “Is this place a hiking shop?” he asked as he had looked at Mikey. The pendant went anticlockwise. Sam stood up and held the necklace over Merle’s head. “Is this Merle?” The stone moved in a yes reply. He paused. “Is she in danger?” The stone said no.

  “That’s a relief,” Merle said. Magda took back the stone and held it in her hand. Then she held the leather thong and asked the necklace if it felt at home here. She was not expecting a response at all, but the pendant turned strongly in a clockwise direction and on top of that, the stone glowed briefly and then went back to normal.

  “Whoa,” Declan asked. “Did any of you see Pushkin?” They all shook their heads. The ghost cat had a name.

  “He never appears these days. The café seems to have settled down,” Magda said.

  “Try again,” Declan said, and Magda held the pendant still in front of her. When she asked if the stone felt at home, it turned clockwise as it had before, and Declan pointed to the chair where Magda sat.

  “I see him,” Sam said.

  “Me too,” Katie added.

  “I know he’s there,” Magda smiled and stopped the pendant from swinging. “Just like I seem to have brought the family heirloom to the right place.”

  “Wow. Magic,” Rula said. “Put it somewhere safe.”

  “Well I guess it’s back to work tomorrow,” Magda said and wrapped up the pendant in the little bag. She tucked it into her pocket and felt a slight warmth. She let that go and told nobody. Enough was enough for one day and there were truffles to make tomorrow - Guinness, Bailey’s, Jameson’s, shamrocks and witches. She mentioned that to Katie and asked her to think about a painting of the garden for Alison.

  “If anyone spots a house she might like, let us know,” Sam said, and they all filed outside. The beautiful double doors were locked.

  “I do love my café,” Magda said as she and Sam stood together on the step.

  “And I love you, Magda Barnes. Even with bright plum hair and a magic pendant.”

  She slipped her arms around his waist. “I’ll have you know it is silver chrome plum. I told that to the wife of the devil worshipper. I hope she doesn’t try it. I don’t want to have the same shade as somebody who leaves dead chickens on people’s doorsteps.” She stopped and gave him a little push. “You have dowsing magic of your own, Sam Barnes. I am one very lucky girl.”

  They roared back home in the truck and stopped to buy a pizza on the way. The cats were in full possession of the sofa, so they sat in the kitchen and devoured the pizza.

  “Home sweet home,” she said. “You are thinking of a spiral staircase like the one here for the cottage, aren’t you?” He nodded and told her that he thought the loft would look like a New York apartment when he had finished.

  “That would be the surprise inside a three-hundred-year-old cottage. And the downstairs one can be traditional. I’ll see the real estate people tomorrow and put my house on the market.” They left the clearing up and unpacking until the next day and went hand in hand to the bedroom. The four cats all sneaked in quietly behind them and Crystal settled on Magda’s feet.

  “I think Jezebelle took over from Crystal when we needed her,” Magda murmured.

  “I wonder if they will like each other when they meet?” Sam pondered and kissed his wife on her nose. Crystal came and pawed Magda gently on the head.

  “Go to sleep, Crystal,” Magda said and then her cell phone rang.

  “Oh no. I hope this is not bad news,” she said and swiped the screen. Then she smiled.

  “Those psychic cats,” she said and passed him the phone. Alison had not accounted for the time difference and sent a shot of Jezebelle sitting on the sofa. Crystal took a lazy paw and knocked the phone onto the bed.

  “You win, Crystal,” Magda said as she turned off the cell and fitted herself snuggly into the curve of Sam’s body.

  “Love ya, Mr Barnes.”

  “Love ya right back, Mrs. Barnes.”

  There was a slight glow from the pendant inside its little bag.

  THE END … until next time!

  Lonesome Spirits

  A Chocolate Magic Cozy Mystery - Book 4

  Copyright © 2019 by Olivia Swift

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  1

  The café was Magda Barnes’ pride and joy. It was a cheerful, bustling place. The outside of the café looked like an old-world gold miner’s cabin. Inside, there was a gleaming, modern kitchen. A large vat, used to make Magda’s signature chocolates, sat in the middle. Her truffles were becoming legendary which meant she was always looking for more ideas and flavors. The kitchen once had been an old stable inherited from her aunt. It sat at the foot of a cliff and since the land had not been of any use to the estate, it had never sold.

  Nowadays, the cliff was a climbing wall which was used by the hiking shop next door. It brought in several clients who would normally never have come into a chocolate café. Mikey, who owned the shop was often in the café himself. Rula, Magda’s best friend who ran the cafe, and Mikey were definitely falling for each other. It was good to see the two of them happy.

  The café had been slightly enlarged to provide a seating area when Sam, Magda’s husband, had done the original restoration. Now, she was looking at the other side of the building and imagining a small shop. She said as much to Rula as the two girls walked over to where the extension would be.

  “It would use up some of the outdoor seating area, but we can live without that,” Rula remarked.

  “I thought we needed a place where we could have some things based on local history … the old west and anything native American as well. There is a lot of interest in the history of the area.”

  “That is what visitors come for,” Rula agreed. “There is all of the outdoor activity, the sailing, climbing, riding and so on but they also like to take home a bit of the local history.”

  “Merle and Branston certainly have a lot of clients for the dude ranch. That’s all about pretending to be a cowboy,” Magda laughed. “My cousin loves his over-the-top cowboy outfits. Merle always says he has a feel for what the customers want to see.”

  “Well, luckily, Sam is an architect and builder. I guess he will rustle up an extension for you.”

  Magda laughed as she agreed and went back to creating the marzipan and pecan truffles that were her husband’s favorite.

  “I did sort of mention it to him. He said that he and Declan might have to fit it into spare time.”

  “That would be better for the café,” Rula answered. “If work was being done during the day, it might drive customers away.”

  “Good thinking, Batman.” Magda smiled and passed the truffle centers over to Katie to dip them into the chocolate. “Some of your pencil drawings of cowboys might go down well, Katie.”

  Katie said that she would think about some drawings. She went on with the chocolate coating as she suggested that some of the new truffles could be the rose flavor.


  “There are folk stories about native American girls turned into roses with thorns to protect themselves.”

  “I thought maybe gold nuggets as well. They could be shaped like rocks and have yellow marzipan inside and edible gold leaves on the outside,” Magda suggested.

  “Wow. That sounds awesome,” Rula said.

  “What else is awesome about my wife?” A male voice joined in and Sam Barnes came to kiss Magda on the cheek.

  “I am guessing that you would like sandwiches,” Magda smiled.

  “Both of us,” Sam told her and waved a hand in the direction of the doorway. Declan joined them and took a seat.

  “Yes, I need to research and find some new ideas,” Magda agreed and answered her cell phone. “Hello, Alison!” she exclaimed with a smile and moved over to the back of the kitchen to hear what Sam’s aunt had to say.

  “Change of plan, sorry,” Alison told her. “I have another flight and it gets in on Monday at eleven in the morning. Is that still fine with you?”

  “Of course, it is.” Magda was genuinely pleased. “That means we see you sooner than expected. Email me the flight information and we’ll pick you up. What about Jezebelle?”

  “Booked in to travel in the crate beside me. It will be a big change for a little cat from an Irish village to start her new life in the USA,” Alison answered. The two chatted for a little while longer. Then Magda told Sam that his aunt was arriving Monday morning.

  “Be great to see her again,” he said.

  “Is she still going to look for a house?” Katie asked.

  “Yes. She’s staying with us in the meantime,” Magda answered. She took the opportunity of having Sam and Declan in the café to bring up the subject of the extension.

  Sam smiled. “I am ahead of you Mags,” he said and produced a paper from his pocket and unfolded it. It had one of the sketches that he had made which showed a glass wall between the café and the new shop so that customers could see what was on offer and be tempted inside. The sketch showed a rough view of what the place would look like outside and how much of the seating area would disappear.

  “That is just fantastic,” Magda said, ignoring the fact that he called her Mags. She passed the paper to Rula and Katie. They were all chattering about it. Rula was serving customers at the same time. One or two of the regulars knew that something was being planned and asked her about it. They made some extra comments and ideas that Magda was pleased to hear.

  The plan was folded and put away when Magda’s cousin, Branston, and the woman he managed the dude ranch for, came in to join them.

  “Wow. No oversized Stetson today,” Magda laughed at her cousin. He was wearing normal jeans and a checkered shirt that still had a cowboy look but not his usual extravagant outfit.

  “Not working with clients today,” he answered. “Merle got me looking at the spot for this new idea.”

  “And luckily,” Merle added, “Sam and Declan are right here.”

  “Oh, yes?” Sam asked suspiciously and Merle laughed.

  “At the spot where you turn off the highway onto the entrance road to the ranch, I would like to make a drive-in diner. People don’t turn off and drive all the way to the ranch because they think it is private, but I think they would stop for a burger. We could advertise to show folks they are welcome to drive into the ranch itself.”

  “Sounds good to me,” Rula said as she handed them their usual drinks.

  “Need an architect. Anybody know a good one?” Branston joked. Sam shook his head and just smiled.

  “Thing is,” Declan put in (normally a man of few words), “when you’ve been on the site, did anything strike you as being unusual?” They all stopped what they were doing and looked at him.

  “I forgot what you said about that,” Sam said.

  Magda nodded and smiled, “Me too.”

  “What?” Merle asked and then she looked as if she remembered something as well. “You saw something there, didn’t you?”

  Declan told them that sometimes when he had been on the road or turning into the entrance to the ranch, he saw the outline of a log cabin, a garden and a woman working in the garden.

  “Picking vegetables I think, but she disappears pretty quickly. It’s almost as if I had imagined it but I didn’t.”

  “We know you see these things,” Magda told him. “We believe you.”

  “Did you feel anything there, Merle?” Sam asked.

  “I suppose I have been ignoring the fact that there is a certain sadness to it. I am always left feeling a little bit worried after I have been on the site.”

  “Do you know what was on the land before it was a ranch?” Rula asked, but Merle shook her head.

  “It was a working ranch before it was a holiday place but earlier than that I don’t know.”

  Sam and Declan agreed to run down and have a look.

  “You can explain what it is you have in mind. You’ll need parking space but that can be expanded.”

  “Thanks, Sam,” Merle replied. “I would very much like the place to look like a log cabin, especially as Declan says that’s what was there before. The rest of the ranch is that sort of building style as well.”

  “Great things going on,” Rula remarked and pointed out where the new shop extension would go. The men had eaten the sandwiches and stood up to go back to work. Merle and Branston also left and Mikey turned up to ask Rula if she would soon have a break. Magda smiled and said that she would man the counter while Rula took her time out. The two of them went off down the main street together.

  The café was quite busy. Katie and Magda had no time to experiment but when the rush was over, Magda decided to try making the gold nuggets. She had bought some of the edible gold leaf to play around with her new idea.

  Basic yellow marzipan with an injection of whiskey, shaped very roughly and dipped into the vat of chocolate were left to dry. Katie and Magda had tasted the center before it was chocolate coated and declared it to be very tasty. They were impatient to add the gold leaf and put the truffles into the freezer to cool. Once cooled, they were brought out and the gold leaf process started. The regular customers were all very curious and peered over the counter to see what was being produced. On a plate they did look remarkably like gold nuggets and the girls cut some up to let the clients give them a try.

  “Wow. I love that. Actual gold-coated chocolate,” one lady exclaimed. “They’ll be a great success.”

  The girls were happy with the reactions and stored the rest in the chiller for the others to try. Magda took several home with her. Sam was a great tester of her ideas.

  The two of them had eaten and settled for the evening in the new two-story addition that Sam had made to his bungalow. The couple, along with all of their cats had moved into the house when they married. The said cats were ensconced on one sofa and the two humans left them and settled on big, comfy chairs.

  Magda had been looking through books with pictures of old miner’s cabins and those depicting the time of the gold rush.

  “The nuggets seem to be a success,” she said. Sam tried one and agreed.

  “It feels strange to actually put gold into your mouth and swallow it,” he observed. “Tastes good though. Maybe they could use a touch more whiskey.” Magda laughed and agreed. Crystal, the lilac tortie Birman cat with fluffy cream fur and slightly darker ear tips, stalked across the room and looked at Magda with those remarkable blue eyes.

  “Oh, no,” Magda exclaimed. “She has that look in her eye.” Crystal looked at the coffee table, jumped onto it beside the books and swiped one of them onto the floor. It fell open, the cat glanced at it and then walked elegantly back to her position on the sofa.

  The picture in the book was a log cabin.

  “How does she do that?” Magda asked as she felt a little flicker of apprehension. Crystal often knew what was going to happen before it did. The cat looked at Magda’s cell phone and it rang.

  2

  Magda took the call.
It was Merle.

  “Hi Merle,” Magda said, “Is something wrong?”

  “Why would you ask that?” Merle replied.

  “Crystal doing her sixth sense thing again. She just knocked a book off the table and it opened at a page with a log cabin.”

  “Oh, Lord,” Merle said. “I went online and found a reference to the ranch when it was a working ranch and there was a note about a small settlement near the homestead. There was nothing more, but I will have to search properly.”

  “Tell her Declan and I will drive over there tomorrow,” Sam called across the room and Merle said that she heard him.

  “Tell him coffee is always available,” she answered. There was a little bit of general chatter before the call ended.

  Magda came and sat beside Sam. “Be interesting to see if Declan sees anything when he is there.” The two Birman cats both came straight over and jumped up onto both of them.

  “These two are both so jealous,” Magda said and stroked Abigail, the blue tortie who had a darker cream fur than her sister and darker ear tips. Both cats looked at them with their blue eyes and patted at the humans with their paws.

  “Okay, I give in,” Magda said and went for the cat treats. That had the desired effect. The two black and white kittens joined the Birmans and followed Magda to the treats. Pushkin and Irina had been dumped along with their sister on Magda’s doorstep. Declan had their sister.

  The four cats ate the treats and had a short time of playing up and down the spiral staircase before settling happily in a heap. Magda and Sam tiptoed away to bed.

  The couple separated at the door in the morning. Sam roared away in his enormous truck and Magda drove her smaller car to the café. When the café was open and running, she mentioned to Rula that she would like to see the site of the new diner. Rula laughed and told her to call Sam.