“What do you mean?” Skyla asked through her sniffles.
“Well, take Garnet, for example. She’s been trying to put me out of business for years. If it weren’t for her, I might not have pushed as hard to be the best. I’ve had to be smart and dedicated to overcome everything she’s thrown at me. It’s made me a better businesswoman and baker. Plus, the fact that her coven is a rival of mine, they’ve done nothing to rein in her behavior. I think they encourage her attempts to destroy me. It can be a mess sometimes.”
“Wow. I had no idea. And my sister invited you both to the shower. That must have been tough for you. What kind of stuff has Garnet done?” Skyla asked.
I smiled softly. Not because of Garnet’s shenanigans, but because I’d distracted Skyla from her own misery. “One time, she waited outside my house and used some sort of ritual to freeze my front and back doors shut. She thought she’d trapped me in my house, but the spell to seal the doors used all her power. I had to sneak out a window to get to my bakery on time for opening. It’s stuff like that. She’ll do just about anything to make me look bad in front of my customers.”
“Wow… that’s kind of nuts,” Skyla said. “I bet my sister knows nothing about any of that.”
“Most people don’t. I try to keep quiet about it and act professionally,” I said. “But my point is that just about anything can be overcome. You’ve fallen down, but you’ll get back up. Every time we fail, it’s an opportunity to learn something. You know what mistakes you’ve made. Your family will help you out, and then next time, you’ll be even better prepared to succeed. You just have to keep trying. The only true failure is giving up.”
“Thank you,” Skyla said. “You’ve made me feel so much better. No wonder the charms in your baked goods are so powerful.”
I was about to thank Skyla for the compliment, when a shadow dashed down the hall. It caught both of our attentions, and we shot up from our chairs.
It wasn’t just any shadow. I could have sworn it looked like that of a tiny puppy.
Chapter Thirteen
“My luck is already changing!” Skyla exclaimed as she darted out into the hallway. “That has to be Bearberry. It just has to be.”
Before Skyla could run off too far into the dark. I blew out the candle and switched on the flashlight app on my phone.
I followed behind Skyla as she ran after the shadow that could be her pup.
We moved quickly through the hotel and found ourselves outside of the kitchen. I shined my light into the room and it was nearly empty. The staff had finished cooking and had cleaned up the best they could for the day.
“Do you think he went in there?” Skyla asked.
“He might have. It wouldn’t hurt to go in and look.”
“We could get in trouble for going into the kitchen,” Skyla said. “We’re guests.”
“I think if your puppy is in there, Mr. Pope will let it slide,” I reassured her.
We went inside and walked around the entire kitchen. It wasn’t until we got to the back where the walk-in cooler and freezer were located that Skyla let out a gleeful shriek.
There sitting next to the freezer was little Bearberry. He let out a little bark, and Skyla’s eyes went wide.
“He said something, and I understood it,” she said and clapped her hands. “Bearberry is a familiar.”
“That’s great,” I said. “So… what did he say? I couldn’t understand him.”
“He said we need to look in the freezer,” Skyla said.
She bent down and scooped the puppy up. The two of them sort of disappeared into their own world. Skyla was cooing at her puppy, and Bearberry was licking her face and wiggling so hard I wasn’t sure how she was able to hang onto him.
“The freezer, huh,” I said, but they were too busy with their reunion.
That left me to see why Bearberry wanted us to look inside the walk-in. I stepped around Skyla and her pup and grabbed the freezer door.
Cautiously, I pulled it open. At first, I couldn’t see anything, but I turned the light and shined it inside.
There I found Garnet Guillory tied to a chair with her mouth gagged. Briefly, and very uncharitably, I contemplated closing the door and telling Skyla that Bearberry had made a mistake. She’d probably have been so happy to have found her puppy that she’d leave without questioning it.
As if she could see the wheels turning in my head, Garnet’s eyes went wide with terror. She’d put herself in a position where the only person who could help her would just rather… not.
I took a deep breath. I wasn’t that person.
The whole thing did make it obvious that Janice Brown really had been murdered and the killer was at the bridal shower. When Garnet said she thought she’d figured out who the killer was, I thought she was just showing off. Her being tied up in a freezer meant she might have actually found something.
I had to wonder if the killer might be a witch.
Chapter Fourteen
I snapped out of my unkind thoughts and rushed to free Garnet.
“Run,” she said as I undid her gag. “We need to run. She’s still around.”
“Who?” I asked as I untied her hands.
Of course, Garnet began monologuing instead of telling me who had killed Janice. “I was right about who killed her. I told you I figured it out, but she got to me before I could prove it for sure. I thought I was going to freeze to death in there when the power came back on. I couldn’t free myself because I couldn’t say any spells, and my hands were tied too. It made it impossible to use any real magic. That’s the only reason I couldn’t get myself out.”
“Garnet, who did it? Tells us who did this to you and killed Janice?” I said as I pulled her to her feet.
“Let’s get out of here first. I’m sure she’s lurking around.”
We turned to leave, but our path was blocked. Bearberry began to bark wildly in Skyla’s arms.
“Shut that mongrel up or I’ll shut him up with this,” Becky Byrd said and shoved her gun in Skyla’s face.
Skyla pleaded with Bearberry to hush, and he did. I tried to think of something we could do, but none of us had any magic that could safely stand up to a gun. It was too big of a risk.
“You two and that dog will be joining Ms. Guillory in the freezer,” Becky hissed. “Get in there.”
She waved the gun at us, and I tried to stall. “Why would you risk so much just to kill your friend?” I asked.
“Ha! Janice Brown was anything but a friend,” Becky retorted. “She was going to turn me in to Mr. Pope because she caught me going through a guest’s luggage. I would have been fired. He probably would have called the police too.” Becky turned to Skyla and pointed the gun at her again. “And you! You never should have taken that locket off the beach. I need you to tell me right now where that sister of yours put my locket. I searched her entire suite, and I couldn’t find it anywhere. I need it back now!”
“I don’t know,” Skyla said. “I don’t know where she put it.”
“Get in the freezer,” Becky snarled.
She pushed forward and forced us back inside. Garnet had been right about one thing. If we were in there when the power came back on, we could all freeze to death. Someone might find us, but how would they even know we were in there?
Before Becky could shut the door, Bearberry barked sharply and sparks flew from his paws.
Becky was knocked back by the mini explosion and fell on her butt. It was enough of a distraction that Skyla, Garnet, and I were able to run past her and out of the kitchen.
“What do we do?” Skyla cried.
“Follow me,” I said and took off running in the direction of the banquet hall.
All I could do was hope that Detective Landry and his team were still around.
Chapter Fifteen
The three of us barely made it to the banquet hall. Becky was right behind us the entire time, and we had to dodge a couple of stray bullets.
I almost didn’t hear
her shooting at us because the thunder outside was so loud it almost entirely drowned out the sound of the gun firing.
At least we were moving too fast and it was too dark for Becky to shoot us. My life flashed before my eyes at least once, and I almost cried thinking of never going home to Gumbo.
I spotted Elizabeth as soon as we ran into the banquet hall. I ran over to her with Garnet following right behind.
“Elizabeth, do you have that locket Skyla gave you? Where is it?” I panted.
“You have to give it to us,” Garnet demanded before Elizabeth could say anything.
“Becky Byrd is after us. She wants it,” I said. “She ransacked your room looking for it. That’s why you thought someone broke in, but we have to give it to Landry. You’re not safe if you have it.”
Elizabeth pulled the locket out of her pocket of her slacks and handed it to me. She’d had it on her the whole time.
“Give it here,” Garnet said and snatched it from me.
Instead of taking it immediately to Detective Landry, Garnet tried to open it. While she was doing that, Becky walked into the banquet hall. I saw her slip the gun into the back of her pants and plaster a big, fake smile on her face.
Skyla saw her and yelled, “She’s a murderer,” while pointing at Becky. The whole room turned to look at Becky. Skyla wasn’t done though. “She pushed Janice out of the window, and she’s got a gun. She tried to shoot us.”
Panic ensued as some people tried to flee the room. Some of the witches that were still around surrounded Becky.
“That’s crazy,” Becky said. “I would never hurt Janice.”
“Liar!” Skyla roared. “She killed Becky for that stupid locket I found on the beach.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Becky sneered. “Of course a locket isn’t worth a life.”
Chapter Sixteen
But it was too late. Detective Landry ran across the room and apprehended Becky. He made her drop the gun on the floor and then put her in handcuffs.
Exasperated at Garnet’s failed attempts to open the locket, I grabbed it back. There was a knife on a nearby table, and I grabbed it.
After jamming it into the locket, I was able to pry it open. Inside I found a little piece of paper with 13C written on it.
“That’s evidence,” Mitch Landry said.
I handed it over to him. He smiled and pulled a little plastic evidence bag from inside his suit jacket. After bagging the locket, he turned to Becky.
“So, now we’ve got you on murder and that number, 13C, was the locker number where we made a huge drug bust yesterday.”
Becky’s face paled. She knew she was going away for a long time.
“What’s up with the locker thing?” I asked Mitch after two officers took Becky to a room to secure her until the storm passed. I wondered if Mr. Pope ever thought Praline Manor would be a temporary prison.
“So, I think what they were doing was Becky’s contact would leave stuff on the beach with drop locations. It was a really low-tech way for them to pass information, but we’d been onto it for a while. They weren’t as smart as they thought they were,” Mitch said proudly.
“She was working with drug smugglers?” I asked.
“Yep, and her job here at Praline Manor was apparently all part of it. The beach where Skyla found the locket was accessible to guests and staff only.”
“Becky said that Janice was going to turn her in to Mr. Pope for going through a guest’s luggage,” I said.
“That makes sense why she killed her, then,” Mitch said with a sigh. “She needed the job here or her drug smuggler employers would have cut her loose.”
“Or worse,” I said.
“Yeah. Or a lot worse,” Mitch said. “So, what was that stuff about Skyla’s puppy shooting sparks out of his paws?”
“That sounds crazy,” I said.
Not everyone was tuned into the fact that magic was really real the way Elizabeth’s friend Veronica was. The town and surrounding area had a spell in place that made people who didn’t know just sort of ignore it. If they heard something that sounded like magic talk, they’d often think they heard something else entirely. It’s why we didn’t have to try too hard to hide. Unfortunately, sometimes, something got through.
“Yeah. I guess it does,” Mitch said with a chuckle. “Probably her just trying to distract us.”
And just like that, he dropped it. I breathed a sigh of relief. Mitch wasn’t ready for the truth yet. Maybe he never would be.
Chapter Seventeen
One Week Later…
The storm had hit its crescendo around the time Becky was trying to shoot us. It was bad because she’d almost been able to kill us and no one would have heard.
The good news was that the storm passed, and we only had to spend one night at Praline Manor. Staying at Praline Manor would have been amazing if the power was on. Being stuck there in the dark with nothing but chocolate pralines and no air conditioning was less fun.
When the flooding receded and the road cleared the next day, Jenny Mae and I couldn’t wait to get out of there. She was a little mad that I’d almost gotten killed without her, but admitted that it was better to not be almost killed.
“You’re the one that wanted to split up,” I said when she brought it up again that morning as we were opening the bakery.
“You’re right. I’ll never suggest splitting up again. Next time you almost get yourself murdered, I’m going to be there,” Jenny said.
“So you have a front row seat?” I teased.
“No,” she protested. “That’s not what I meant.”
“Uh huh,” I responded. “Could you please finish getting the front of the shop ready for opening?”
“Sure thing, Boss.”
I just shook my head and walked back to my office. There were a few invoices I needed to go over before I went back to baking. I also wanted to check on Gumbo.
It had been hard to let him out of my sight since I’d returned from Praline Manor. I was being a bit of a helicopter mom, but I didn’t care.
“You know, I had to go without dinner that night,” Gumbo groused as I walked into the office. “I don’t know what she’s complaining about.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. He was never going to let me live it down that he’d had to go a night without dinner, but even though he’d been angry with me for “abandoning” him to “starve”, Gumbo had slept in my bed every night since I’d been back. He’d press himself right up against my back just to make sure I was right there.
Ask him about it, and he’d never admit it. I knew, though. I did feel bad for “abandoning” him too. He’d gotten extra treats, carrot cake was his favorite, every day even though I usually only let him have them a couple of times per week.
As soon as we opened the shop that morning, Elizabeth Sullivan came in. “Can I speak to you for a moment?” she asked.
“Sure, would you like a coffee or pastry?” I asked.
“A cappuccino would be great. Do you have raspberry syrup?”
“A raspberry cappuccino coming up,” I said.
Elizabeth took a seat at one of the tables while I made us both a cappuccino. She was doing something on her phone but set it down when I approached the table with our mugs.
“That smells delicious.”
“I hope you like it,” I said.
“Well, given how good your cake was, I’m sure this will be wonderful too.”
“Thank you. I wasn’t sure how you felt about the cake. We didn’t get to talk much after the shower.”
“That’s why I’m here. I would have come sooner, but things were hectic after the storm. I want to hire Blue Moon Bakery to do my wedding cake,” she said with a smile.
“Really? That’s great.”
“Well, your cake was the best. The flavors in Garnet’s cake were a little too… aggressive. Just like her.” Elizabeth grimaced when she said the last part. “Plus, she used too much unicorn extract in her merriment spell, and
it had side effects.”
“I noticed that some people who ate both cakes were having issues,” I said.
“That wasn’t your cake. It was totally hers. In fact, that extra unicorn extract turned some of my friend’s nose hairs purple for three days. She was not happy.”
“Oh, my,” I said.
“Yes, and you made that excellent tonic when everyone started being loopy. Don’t think I didn’t notice your efforts. I really appreciate it.”
“It was the right thing to do,” I said.
“You helped my sister too. She was having such a rough time,” Elizabeth said. “But some of the things you said really straightened her out.”
“I just hope things look up for her soon.”
“Oh, they already have. She’s getting brand deals as an influencer left and right. Some of them had already made offers, but she was being so picky. Skyla finally realized she needed to put in the work to get what she really wanted. As soon as she stopped turning down work for picky reasons, she got even better deals. It didn’t hurt that her social media exploded after what happened at Praline Manor. We’re both very in demand right now, and with the wedding coming up… let’s just say I see big things in the future for all of us.”
Thank you for reading!
I hope you enjoyed this little glimpse into the life of Fern Moonfall, her rival Garnet, and her sassy familiar, Gumbo. There’s much more to come in Brookdale. Grab the next book in the Wicked Witches of Brookdale series and meet even more of the town’s colorful residents:
Ghosts and Gateaux
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© Sara Bourgeois 2020
This story is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons alive or dead is a coincidence.
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