A Corpse at the Polls: An Ella Sweeting Aromatherapy Magic Cozy Mystery (Ella Sweeting: Witch Aromatherapist Cozies Book 3)

by Lisbeth Reade

  She wiggled her fingers and a pinked iced cake lifted gently up off the coffee table and floated over to drop into my hand. "Easy!"

  "Is it?" I asked.

  "No," Auntie Joe said. "I still squish the cakes."

  "You like squishing the cakes," Hazel countered.

  "Still this is pretty advanced magic," Aunt Sarah said. "Don't be disappointed if you end up with icing on the cats."

  "Great," I said biting my lip. "How do I do it?"

  "Same principle as guiding the bubbles," Aunt Hazel said. "Except you need to provide the lift first. So concentrate on the cake and imagine it is as light as a bubble. Just do that for a minute."

  "Can't we just go back to the bubbles? I can't imagine Mother loving it if I spatter icing all over her nice sitting room." I asked, rubbing my hands together nervously. Solving murders was easier than magic training.

  "Stop your moaning and try," Aunt Hazel said. "You'll never know if you can do it if you don't try."

  I closed my eyes and concentrated on feeling that weird pull that was magical. I opened my eyes and focused on that cake. I imagined it was made of air. But it didn't move. Grimacing, I tried again. This time I imagined it was made of hot air. It lifted a hairsbreadth above my palm and dropped back down.

  The aunts whispered to one another behind me. Hazel shushed them saying, "Don't help her. She can do it on her own."

  I nodded to myself and thought about it. I concentrated until I felt a bit tingly. I was either holding my breath too long or being magical. Felt the same. But this time instead of air, I made the tea cake full with helium. To my immense surprise the tea cake in my hand raised up an inch.

  Auntie Joe clapped and the cake popped like a balloon. Icing spattered my face and hands. Aunt Sarah burst into laughter. Aunt Hazel glared at both of them until they stopped. The cats slunk into the room. Livvie approached me and sniffed.

  "Someone levitates like Joe," the cat remarked.

  "Hey!" Auntie Joe exclaimed. "I do not always explode them. Watch me."

  Aunt Sarah opened up an umbrella from a nearby hat stand and earned herself a dirty look from Joe but Trouble went to hide behind it too. Auntie Joe cracker her knuckles, wiggled her fingers and focused on a tea cake. Aunt Hazel didn't hide behind anything but she took a step back away from the target.

  I closed one eye in anticipation of being covered in more icing. The tea cake sat still for several long seconds. Auntie Joe grinned and it gently lifted off of its plate and hovered. Aunt Hazel visibly relaxed. I did too as the tea cake started doing a gently victory lap around the room. Aunt Sarah dropped her umbrella and clapped. I joined her. Soon we were all cheering the little tea cake as it made a second loop.

  The front door opened. I rushed to see who it was and spun back to see the cake doing a loop di loop. I waved at the laughing aunts. Oh goodness! Mother and Father came into the foyer. Father took their light jackets and vanished but Mother turned and headed towards us. She was going to see the cake floating! Yipes!

  "Hello Mother," I said as loudly as I dared.

  "Hello darling! I am so excited!" she exclaimed moving past me and breezing into the sitting room.

  I spun her back to me and saw three sets of surprised eyes over my shoulder. I waved at the tea cake and Auntie Joe waved at it than frowned. It was not lowering. I kept Mother's eyes one me.

  "How was dinner?" I asked. My voice was a bit high. Mother frowned at me.

  "Fine dear, what's wrong?" she asked and spun in time to see Trouble arc through the air and snatch the tea cake. Mother frowned. "Oh honestly! You're feeding them cakes? Don't toss cakes to the cats. What if Trouble gets sick?"

  "I won't," Trouble remarked around a mouthful of icing. "Iron stomach, me."

  "Oh that one was 'cat friendly,'" Hazel covered. "I wouldn't poison my own cat, Jeanie."

  "Well," Mother said composing herself. "That's not what I wanted to tell you, anyway. I had some exciting news. But if that cat does get sick I won't have Girard cleaning up after your pets, ladies. Anyhow, your father and I ran into Mike Hutchinson in the restaurant."

  Oh, one of my suspects! I was all ears. "The candidate right?" I asked.

  "Yes, dear," Mother confirmed. "Mr. Hutchinson was in the restaurant and your father waved him over. Bold as brass, he just calls out to him. I didn't even know they were acquainted."

  I made a mental note to ask Father about the candidate tomorrow.

  "So he does, and Mr. Hutchinson is not only an avid musician, politician and philanthropist, he is also a gardener. He has a Variegata Di Bologna that he is willing to part with. Oh Ella! I need it. The petals are like peppermints! The blooms are enormous! He said if I pop by tonight he will have one potted for me." Mother said breathless with excitement.

  "Oh that is a lovely variety of rose, dear," Aunt Hazel said. "You should take advantage! And you should take Ella with you."

  My eyes must have widened in surprise because Aunt Hazel held up the suspect list, my suspect list and pointed out Mike Hutchinson's name. She arched a brow at me. I beamed at her and Mother. She was looking at me with wide hopeful eyes.

  "Oh would you, dear? Your father says there is no reason to rush over there tonight. He says it's going to be there tomorrow. But what if he changes his mind? My garden needs this rose, Ella! Needs it," Mother begged.

  I pulled her into a hug and gave the aunts a thumbs up. They beamed. The cats ignored all of us because they were too busy sneaking around the room and cleaning up the rest of the tea cakes.

  Candidate Mike Hutchinson lived in a large mansion on the other side of town. He was actually on the edge of a large forest of pine trees. The air smelled so much like Fathers cologne that I was tempted to jump out and grab a bough. I could distill that balsam down into an essential oil that would make everyone think it was Christmas. But Mother was practically bouncing on the seat beside me. So, I contained my desire to run off into the woods. With any luck the new variety of rose would smell fantastic and I could help myself to a bloom or two when Mother was feeling generous.

  Mother waited for me to open the door for her. I was the chauffer after all. I grinned and took her hand, helping her out. She was beaming at me. Her blonde hair was a bit mussed by the wind and she was positively giddy. We walked up large concrete stamped steps to an elegant large blue slate porch. A bright porch light was glowing cheerfully for us and the foyer was glowing with warmth. I rang the bell.

  A tiny woman with black hair streaming down her back and twinkling green eyes opened the door. She positively swooned over Mother. "Jeanie! You're here! Michael said you would be coming for one of his roses! How lovely! Is this your daughter?"

  "Marina! Yes, my husband thought it could wait but it really could not! Do you garden as well? This is my daughter Ella. Ella, this is Mike's wife, Marina." Mother ran through the intros so fast it would have been rude if Marina had not already taken my hand and was half leading, half dragging us through a large living room, through and arch and to a large glass door.

  She was chatting the whole way. "My husband is a good politician, but he is a better gardener. If he gets elected, I told him to create at least one park in that overgrown area downtown. Of course, after the tragedy today I am so worried! You think it is related to the election?"

  "Oh, you mean poor Helen?" Mother asked, her face falling. "No one knows anything yet. Who can tell? I wouldn't borrow trouble."

  Marina was nodding. She opened the glass door and we were slapped in the face with humidity. My hair began to bounce up into chestnut ringlets. Mother's perfect blonde hair started to frizz. She barely noticed. The scent of roses and fresh mud was overwhelming. Large blooms smiled at us from standard roses. Trellises of climbing roses blocked off the view of the rest of the greenhouse but there was also a pineapple growing near the entrance and several varieties of orchid.

  "In here, girls," a friendly voice called from behind the climbing roses. "Past the roses, left at the double hibiscus and you'll s
ee me."

  Mike Hutchinson was elbow deep in potting soil. He had a lovely peppermint colored rose next to him in a large black grower's pot. He was patting the soil down gently. "I knew you wouldn't wait!"

  Mother laughed. "Oh I couldn't resist! This is my daughter Ella. She's an aromatherapist."

  "Well," Mike said, slapping his hands onto his pants to clear the mud. "I'll have to check your pockets on the way out. So many temptations in here."

  "I'll try to be on my best behavior," I said with a laugh. He was definitely charming. His pictures in the paper did him little justice. He was taller than portrayed and well-built with ropy, muscled arms. His hair was as dark as Marina's and gently curling. Mike had a long sloping nose and sparkling blue eyes. I was hard pressed not to just keep smiling at him.

  "See to it Ella and I'll supply you with the more exotic blooms," he said and I nodded eagerly. "Well, Jeanie, I hope two of these bad boys will be good?"

  "Two? Mike you are too generous!" Mother fawned.

  "It's been a trying day for the world," he remarked, smile fading. "If I can bring some joy to a pretty lady, then I am duty bound. Besides your husband and I have had friendly business dealings in the past. Now I can gently bully him into more in the future. Favor for a favor and all that."

  "Is that how you do politics?" I asked, keeping my tone friendly.

  "No," he drawled. "Everything is above board in my political career or Marina would have my head She's incredibly religious. Lying is not allowed." He gave his wife a fond grin. But it faded. "Wait, Ella Sweeting... I have been hearing your name more and more often these days. But your mother said you were an aromatherapist and the Ella I'm thinking of is an amateur sleuth."

  "Yes," I told him. "Both are me. I hope you don't mind my tagging along."

  "Why?" he asked giving me a shrewd look. "Am I under investigation? My colleague did die today most tragically."

  "I'm just here to keep my mother from stealing all your roses," I said. "But if you feel the need to confess to anything I'm sure the police will get around to all of us eventually."

  He frowned.

  "I was the one that found Helen," I explained.

  Marina engulfed me in a hug. "Oh, my poor dear," she whispered into my hair.

  "Ah," Mike said with a bitter smile. "So you're a fellow suspect then?"

  I didn't correct him. Mother snorted. I shot her a look and she subsided. Mike rinsed his hands off at his potting bench and approached me. Marina had let go of me but was still holding my hand in a friendly way.

  "Helen Christianson and I were in school together," Mike Hutchinson confessed. "I had a crush on her a long time ago. She was a beautiful, elegant woman and I hope her killer is caught soon. The police are sending a man over to keep an eye on the house... if he's not already out there. I have my own guards, too."

  "My condolences," I said.

  "I also haven't been alone in months, Ella," he remarked.

  "Ah, an alibi," I said.

  "A curse," he said with a wink. "Politicians get into trouble when they're alone too long."

  I laughed.

  Mother moved in to give him a gentle hug. "You are a generous man," she said. "I love the roses!"

  "Have I secured a vote or two tonight, Jeanie?" he asked sweetly.

  "Maybe," she replied with a laugh.

  "Then my work here is done."

  Chapter 6

  I woke up to some good news. A text message from Rory said my new cop friend Andy Daniels was fine. He and Rory had even reconnected and were going to try and get a poker game together. I had better brush up on my five card stud. I had been great at it when I was ten, although Father might have been letting me win.

  Cheered, I showered and dressed in slacks and a simple blouse. Ruby wanted me to meet her at the hospital. We planned to check on Garza before seeing the candidates. There was going to be a debate in the evening, so they would all be at the town hall, having a pre-debate rally. Pretty convenient for us.

  A tea cake zoomed past my room, closely followed by two cats. I shook my head, grinning.

  Downstairs, Aunt Hazel sat at the dining room table enjoying toast and tea. She had a new needlepoint project beside her and she was busily separating the strands of floss with a wave of her hand. The thread easily coiled itself up into individual piles. I walked over to watch her work her magic. She caught me looking and waved at me to try.

  "Same as the levitation spell, just with added fiddly bits," she informed me.

  I looked around.

  "Your mother is in the garden," Aunt Hazel said, correctly guessing the reason for my hesitation. "She's clucking over her new roses. She won't remember we exist until she's got them planted, watered, fed, and elegant images posted to the internet."

  I laughed. Aunt Sarah wandered in, looking disgruntled. "Your sister has been exploding and zooming tea cakes all over the house the whole night long."

  "Oh, she's my sister now? When she was so conveniently yours when she learned how to do dishes with the power of her mind? Or when she bailed you out of jail the last seven times... But one tea cake explodes near your pillow and she's all mine?"

  "She told you," Aunt Sarah groaned. "Did she tell you it woke me out of a sound sleep? In pitch black. The cat then leapt onto my face and scared me half to the next life!"

  She wandered over to the sideboard to get herself a coffee, muttering to herself all the way. Aunt Hazel watched her with amusement. Auntie Joe was smart enough to not appear.

  Once Sarah was seated, I went back to thinking about the threads. How was it like levitating the cakes? I concentrated on lifting some blue floss off of the table. Helium thoughts were the way to go. It gently twisted in my imaginary wind. But how to separate it?

  Aunt Hazel watched but offered no suggestions. Aunt Sarah rattled her newspaper in a grumpy sort of way, but she was watching me over the paper. Fine. No help from the peanut gallery. What if I made the strands vary in weight so they would fall apart? Or maybe I could spin them...

  Hazel snatched the floss out of the air.

  "Hey!" I protested.

  "Ella darling, you must come see my roses," Mother exclaimed from behind me.

  My eyes widened. Mother had nearly caught me at it. She was good at turning up at just the wrong moment for magic practice. I spun and grabbed at her outstretched hands. "Yes! I do want to see them. But it will have to be later. I need to stay clean. Ruby and I are investigating candidates today."

  Mother's face was a tragedy. But she was adorable in her potting apron and gardening hat. I tweaked the hat, shaping it for her. She grinned. "I am a bit overexcited, aren't I? But they are lovely."

  "I promise as soon as I come home, we will coo over them," I told her. "I hope Mike doesn't turn out to be the killer. You'll never forgive me."

  Mother was brought up short. "Do you think he might be?"

  "Everyone's a suspect," I told her airily. "No idea. But if he really hasn't been alone in months, he should be in the clear. He doesn't wear a lot of scarves, does he?" I asked on a whim.

  "Oh, all those older men do, the fancy ones with swirls or patterns. They don't even really use them properly; just drape them around their necks like towels. Men!" Mother exclaimed. "Your father does it too when he goes out with his friends."

  I bit my lip. Great. I liked Mike. But I wouldn't let that stop me from thoroughly investigating him. If he did wear scarves, then he might be the owner of the missing maroon scarf. It was a manly swirl pattern, now that I thought about it again.

  "I better get to the hospital. Don't want to keep Ruby waiting," I said to cover my prolonged silence. No need to worry Mother... yet." I waved and air-kissed my way outside, where Girard was bringing my car around.

  The hospital wasn't far from the town hall where we would be interrogating the suspects. It was a large hospital with a teaching wing in the back. Garza had been moved from intensive care to a regular room. I asked the receptionist where and he pointed me to t
he third set of elevators. Once upstairs I saw Andy hovering. I waved. He grinned a megawatt smile in my direction. I sighed. He really would be so much better for Ruby than Max. But I was an aromatherapist, not a dating expert. I needed to mind my own business. Still, he was too cute with his curly hair and boyish features.

  "Hiya, Ella," he said when I approached.

  "How's the head, Officer?" I asked.

  "Andy, please, and its, um, not as hard as I thought it was. I'm on desk duty for another week. Here to see the detective?"

  I nodded. "Ruby asked me to meet her here. We're going over to town hall. Know where she is?"

  "In the room with Garza." His expression darkened. "She still hasn't woken up. The doctors look grim. It's terrible. She's the best boss I ever had. I feel terrible about this."

  "Me too," I said, touching his arm in sympathy. "But you were hit in the head too, Andy. This is not your fault. I'll just go and get Ruby."

  Garza seemed tiny in the big bed. Someone had unpinned her hair and brushed it out around her head like a halo. Her skin was a bit wan and her eyes shut. Monitors beeped all around her. Ruby was beside her, holding her hand. She spun when she heard me come in. Ruby nodded. She put Garza's hand back under the blankets and gave it a little pat. "The doctors say she should wake up any moment. I was hoping to be here. Oh well, ready to help me catch a killer?"

  "Yes, definitely," I agreed. "Did you happen to get the autopsy report back?"

  Ruby nodded. "Yes. Cause of death is strangulation."

  I nodded. I already knew that. I had seen the murder weapon after all. But Ruby wasn't done yet.

  "Toxicology report is in, too, and it showed trace chemicals in her blood, possibly an over the counter sleeping aid." Ruby said.

  "So Helen was drugged?"

  Ruby nodded. "Looks that way. Of course it could be as easy as Helen taking sleeping pills. Did you know if she was stressed?"

  "Ruby, she was running for mayor!" I chided. "But she usually called me when she was feeling stressed. Nothing I gave her would make her pass out. We can ask her people if she took anything, just in case."