The Chocolate Magic Cozy Mystery Box Set Books 1 to 7

by Olivia Swift

  “Yes. If we know what we are looking for, we might discover something,” Mikey agreed.

  They followed Zak who had the key and turned on the lights in the basement. It was the same clean and tidy empty space they had seen before. Mikey opened the cabinet. It was bare. He moved it out from the wall and there was nothing to see. They looked in the second room as well.

  “We don’t need to see a camera or a speaker,” Jeff said and started to run his hand around the top of the walls in the first room. The wall was not a very high one and he could easily reach the ceiling. He tapped and listened and felt his way around as the others watched. He reached the corner where the cabinet stood.

  “Pull this out again, Mikey,” he said and the two of them moved the piece of furniture for Jeff to step behind. He looked at the corner and tapped it with his finger. It crackled. He tapped again. It crackled.

  “Wow!” Sam said. “Well done, Jeff.”

  “Can I scrape away the plaster?” Jeff asked and Jemima nodded. Zak went for a tool to use and when he brought it, they all watched as Jeff carefully scraped away at the corner and revealed something small. He picked it up gently.

  “There is no mike, so I think we can talk. It is just a speaker.”

  “So, somebody is trying to frighten her,” Zak said. “How do we catch them?”

  “Put this back and keep a lookout, I suppose,” Sam answered.

  “They must have seen us come down here tonight,” Jemima observed. “If we just go back as if nothing was found, they might think we are fooled.”

  “If the noises start again, you know it is just a loudspeaker,” Magda told her. “We are another step closer to solving the problem.”

  “You had better all drive away and it will look normal if someone is watching. I wonder where the camera is.”

  “In daylight, I might be able to pick up a signal if I just put my truck in the road as if I was working at another building,” Jeff offered. “Would that be okay? I won’t contact you. I’ll just pretend to be working across the street. I work with technology anyway,” he added.

  “Sounds like a good idea,” Sam said. “And whoever is watching won’t know you anyway.”

  They said goodnight and went their separate ways. Jeff told them he would let them know if he found anything.

  Magda called everyone else when she got home while Sam brought Alison up to date. Bart was very excited about the technology.

  “He is wary of press,” Magda said. “His model railroad setup is top secret.”

  “I’ll promise not to publish anything when I meet him. Let’s hope he finds something because if we know where the camera is, we can put on a display to fool them.”

  “Speak to you tomorrow,” Magda said. She and Sam sat with hot chocolate and went over what they knew.

  “We have two different things here. The little girl and her dog and the humans that are being horrible to Jemima,” Magda said.

  “Maybe we should try another séance. I know Branna will be beside herself to miss it, but we can do another when they get here.”

  When she opened up the café in the morning, she found Bart waiting at the entrance.

  “I have some extra news,” he said, walking over and sitting on his usual stool. He let the girls open up the café for customers before he showed them the tablet. He had found the family of Beth Deronda and it was another sad story.

  “Oh, dear,” Katie said. “That poor family.”

  “I had to just keep going forward because the computer never came up with any other item about them. Six months later the mother committed suicide.”

  “So, the next step would be to find out where she is buried,” Magda suggested.

  “I’ll keep looking,” he said.

  The girls all made calls to tell everyone what Bart had discovered and suggested another meeting that evening. Magda also called Jeff and brought him up to date as well.

  “I know where the camera is,” he told her. “Didn’t take long to find. Maybe the person is not as clever as they think.”

  Halfway through the afternoon, Detective Southern made an appearance and sat at the counter to talk. Magda made him a drink and asked how the investigation was going.

  “Not that well,” he admitted. “I wondered if you had noticed anything different about the bank and its routine.” She shook her head.

  “We are behind the building and we only see folk if they come in for a coffee.”

  “I am convinced it is something to do with his work, but the bank has moved staff up to cover what he does and nothing else has happened. We will keep slogging on with routine inquiries.”

  “Sad at Christmas time for his family,” Rula added.

  “Your decorations here are excellent,” he said. “I love the festive train display. An outdoor one would be good around the tree as well.”

  “Don’t make her worse than what she is already,” Katie joked. “She is fast becoming a model railway nutcase.”

  The detective stood up and she waved away his money for the drink.

  “If we notice anything, we’ll let you know.”

  The three girls talked about the poor man who had been murdered.

  “I can see why they think it must be a job connection. He was a good guy with a family and no enemies as far as anyone can tell. Maybe he was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Rula speculated.

  Magda looked outside the double doors.

  “Don’t you dare ask us to set up an outside model railway,” Katie called out. Magda grinned and came back to work.

  They finished the day with arrangements to meet at Jemima’s.

  The whole group was gathered in Jemima’s living room and Bart told them that he had discovered two things. For those who hadn’t heard, Beth’s mom had committed suicide six months after the accident. The father had moved away. There was no sign of where he had gone but the mother was buried in a local graveyard.

  “That is great,” Merle told him. “Now we can see if we can find her spirit.”

  Jeff reported where the camera was hidden.

  “Well, it isn’t hidden really. It is on the post across the street in full view. I guess we are so used to them we never notice anymore.”

  “So, should we try and draw them out somehow?” Sam wondered.

  “Let’s try a séance. It might give us an idea of what to do next,” Merle said and went through her routine. “Join in if you feel it will help,” she told them and started to ask if any spirit person was there. They waited and nothing happened and then there was a small tap. Declan said that Beth was trying to come forward.

  “She is looking back and holding out a hand.”

  “Waiting for the dog?” Magda suggested and Merle nodded.

  “That feels about right. Beth Deronda, please come and talk to us. Your lovely dog will come as well.” She repeated the request and this time Declan saw Beth come into the room.

  “The dog is there but wants to go back out,” Declan said.

  “I can see a little orb of light,” Gina joined in. “It is moving about. I don’t think it is the girl.”

  “It’ll be the dog,” Merle said.

  “Beth, listen to me. We know where your mom is buried, and we’ll try and find her for you. Will that be alright?” There was an instant bang beneath their feet and Merle smiled.

  “Is the dog trying to show you something?” she asked. There was a tap. “Is it something to help Jemima?” Another tap. “Thank you, Beth. Can you go and see what the dog wants, please?”

  “The dog has moved to the door to the outside,” Declan told them, and Gina said that the glow had done the same. “Should I go and see if I can see anything outside?” Declan added. Merle nodded and he went to the door. Gina went after him. They opened the door and went to the corner of the building. The people inside the room waited.

  “Can you see what the dog is showing you, Beth?” Merle asked and had a tap in response. Declan and Gina came back inside.


  “I could see the orb,” Gina said and handed Merle an envelope. Inside was a Christmas card with Santa’s elves in the workshop.

  “It isn’t signed and has not been outside for very long,” Merle said as they passed the card around.

  “And underneath the stone that the card was on -,” Declan said as he held up a key. “A duplicate key to the basement door. I tried it and it works.”

  “You know,” Magda said as she looked at the card, “Santa’s elves are putting gifts onto a model Christmas train.”

  “Hello, Beth,” Merle said. “We found the Christmas card and the key to the basement. Thank you. Your dog is happy now we followed him.” There was a tap.

  “Does the card help Jemima?” Magda asked and there was a loud and decisive bang under the floor.

  “Is something going to happen at Christmas?” Gina wondered, but there was no response.

  “Something to do with the railroad?” Jeff joined in unexpectedly and there was a bang right under his feet.

  “Is somebody trying to frighten Jemima?” Merle asked and there was another tap.

  “Is that connected to the railroad as well?” Jeff tried again and again was rewarded with a response.

  “Is the person watching Jemima’s house?” Bart asked and the tap came under their feet.

  “You are such a good girl,” Merle said. “And your dog is very smart as well. Thank you.”

  “We will try to find out about the railroad,” Magda told her.

  “And we will try and find your mom. Thank you again.”

  They all heard the sound of a little child sniffling. Magda wiped at her eyes with a tissue.

  “Poor little girl and she is still trying to help Jemima.”

  Jemima had a tear of her own. When Merle had closed the circle down Jemima made coffee for everyone.

  “What next?” Bart asked.

  9

  “Let’s find this cemetery and see if we can help Beth before we do anything else. If we get that done, I will have to go back to planning the big Christmas dance at the ranch as well as all of the other festivities,” Merle said.

  “Yes, it’s a busy time even though we love it,” Magda agreed. They were thanking Jemima and heading for the door when someone knocked on it. They all stopped dead and looked at Jemima who opened it.

  “Oh, Burton. Hello. Come in. Come in.”

  “Sorry, Aunty Jem. I didn’t realize you had friends in. I can catch up another time.”

  “We were leaving anyway,” Sam said. “Don’t worry about it.”

  “This is my nephew,” she told them although he’d already called her Aunty Jem. “He pops in to see if I’m okay.” She turned to Burton. “These people have discovered that there is a camera watching my house. Somebody is obviously trying to frighten me.”

  “Didn’t I say that anyway? Do you know where it is?” he asked, and Jeff nodded. “Well if you just take it down, whoever is looking at it will know they are discovered.”

  “That is a good idea,” Mikey said. “We can do it in daylight.”

  “I am fine anyway. Thanks for coming by. Zak is staying most of the time.”

  “She has agreed to marry me,” Zak told him.

  “And the wedding is booked at our Panhandle Dude Ranch.” Merle added and glanced at Gina who gave a brief nod. This man was being friendly, but his aura said that he was unpleasant underneath the charm.

  “So, you will finally be able to sell and find somewhere else,” Burton said. “The offer to take it off your hands is still there.”

  “You know I need to get enough to pay off the mortgage,” Jemima answered.

  Rula had seen the looks that passed between Merle and Gina and she knew one other thing. She did not like this Burton one little bit. In the times they had been trying to help her, she had become warmly fond of Jemima. She broke into the conversation about the house.

  “And she has just agreed to a deal this morning to sell it to us. Didn’t you, Jemima?” That got the man’s attention in no uncertain way, and he snapped his head around to look at who had spoken.

  Jemima drew a sharp breath but covered it well, and Zak managed to look unsurprised as well.

  “I thought we had an agreement, Aunt Jem?” Burton tried to disguise the anger that was surfacing.

  “You made some offers, but she turned them down,” Zak said. “She cannot give the house away.”

  “There must have been nothing in writing,” Rula said, acting the part smoothly, “because the real estate agent drew up a deal today. I love the house,” she added, and that was actually true.

  The nephew was not happy.

  “Aunty Jem, my offer still stands. You know I have always liked this house. I’ve got a good job. I can pay for it.” Jemima started to look flustered for the first time, and Merle stepped in because she could feel something was not right.

  “Look, Burton, your aunt has been very frightened by these awful noises. It is not nice being on your own and scared. Give her a break.”

  “She promised me that I could buy the house,” he muttered and barely contained the rage he was obviously feeling.

  “The price was ridiculous,” Zak told him. “Give it up, Burton. You have got a decent job on the railroad. You could easily afford the right price.” Jemima reached for Zak’s hand. The look that Burton gave the man holding his aunt’s hand was filled with hatred.

  “No doubt she’ll be sharing the price of the house with you.” He turned and opened the front door.

  “Don’t come back, Burton,” Jemima called out. “I don’t need your help.”

  “Silly bitch,” he said and slammed the door behind him.

  “Wow!” Magda said. “That was awful.”

  “Come and sit down,” Zak said. “There’s whiskey in that pantry,” he added to Sam, “can you get her a shot, please?” Sam went and brought her a glass. Jemima downed it in one go.

  “How long has he been bullying you?” Rula asked. Jemima looked at her and said that she had not thought of that before, but it was bullying.

  “He plays on the fact that his mom was my sister, and I feel I should be family to him.”

  “You don’t suppose that he could be the one frightening you to get you to leave?” Declan asked quietly. It was what they were all thinking.

  “I never thought so because he always seemed to want to help.”

  “Strikes me that he is a man who only wants to help himself,” Merle told her. She looked at Gina. “You saw his aura as well, didn’t you?”

  Gina nodded and said that it was not a pleasant sight.

  “He was surrounded by anger and something else.”

  “Greed,” Bart added. “I could almost feel it.”

  “What is his job on the railroad?” Jeff asked, and they suddenly all saw another connection to the bad-tempered young man who had just left.

  “Security guard. Loves the idea of pushing everyone around,” Zak said. “He won’t give up on trying to talk her around into a cheap price for the house.”

  “Thanks for stepping in like that,” Jemima said to Rula.

  “I just knew that Merle had spotted something, and I do genuinely love this house.”

  “There is one other thing,” Mikey said and glanced at Rula. “My wife could be just ahead of herself. We could actually put in an offer if you want to sell.” Rula gasped. Magda grabbed Rula by the hand. Jemima looked at Zak and he nodded.

  “Please make an offer. I won’t hold out for a really high price … just a fair one to let Zak and me start a home together.” Rula ran over and hugged the woman and then she threw her arms around Mikey’s neck.

  “You did good there, Mikey,” Sam laughed.

  “I know it puts a damper on things, but do you suppose that we should check out Burton’s friends and coworkers?” Jeff suggested. Bart backed him up and asked if Jemima would mind if they checked out her nephew.

  “Be my guest,” she answered. “I think he is just a bad-tempered person. He wa
s always like that as a child as well.”

  “Is he capable of really hurting anyone?” Magda queried and Zak nodded.

  “I think so. Jemima is far too long suffering with him, but I will just stay here until we can sort something out.”

  Gina smiled and said that an orb was floating around Jemima.

  “It’s the dog,” Declan said. “He obviously wants to protect you as well, Jemima.”

  “We will leave our phone numbers and speed dial will bring some or all of us if you need help,” Branston said and scribbled his and Merle’s onto a piece of paper. The others added theirs and Zak said he would put them into their contacts.

  “I’ll take that camera down in the morning as well,” he added. “Jemima works part-time. When I am at work and she is here on her own, my sister will come and keep her company.”

  “Good thinking,” Branston said. “It feels better when you actually start to take action.”

  “My cousin always was an action man,” Magda laughed. “Let’s see if we can help young Beth and keep you safe.” They all made for the door again and this time there was no Burton at the door. They heard Zak locking the place as they left.

  At the cars, Jeff said that he had a lot of railroad contacts and would ask about Burton in the morning.

  “I’ll trace this burial and give a quick look at the archives for anything that might pop up about the man. Didn’t like him one little bit,” Bart added.

  “Branna and Jonno will have a week here before the big Christmas party at the ranch,” Merle said. “I always love it even though it is hard work.”

  “Keep in touch, everyone,” Sam said.

  While Sam drove them home, Magda called Alison and told her what had happened even though she knew Gina would also give her all of the details.

  Then they flopped onto seats in the extension. The cats had not done anything strange.

  “Do you think Mikey and Rula will buy the house?” Magda asked.

  “They seem keen enough. Rula loves the place.”

  “We had better get young Beth sorted,” Magda laughed. “I wonder if we are still keeping watch tomorrow night.” She called the others and they decided to keep the lookout going.