Pawsitively Swindled

by Melissa Erin Jackson

  Bianca cursed colorfully. “I don’t know why I bothered. I’ll figure it out myself.”

  The call went dead.

  Chapter 6

  As Amber lay awake, Bianca’s words cycled through her head: He knows you can get to the bottom of this. What’s the point in having magic if you don’t help people with it?

  When the looping guilt became unbearable, Amber quickly got dressed and went downstairs into the shop.

  Chief Brown had told Amber on numerous occasions that she wasn’t an officer of the law. She had no business getting involved in another murder investigation. Especially when it hadn’t happened in Edgehill, the victim was a police chief in a town full of corrupt cops, and the key suspect was two hours away in a county jail.

  This one might be too big for her, even with magic at her disposal. After all, at the end of the day, Amber was still only a toy maker.

  Doing her level best to stay distracted, she had been so caught up in restocking the shelves that when a knock sounded on her front door sometime later, she jumped. Standing out on the sidewalk was Amber’s across-the-way neighbor, Betty Harris. Amber hurried over to unlock the door and let in the sixty-something African American woman with short hair, shrewd brown eyes, and a penchant for collecting the town’s best gossip.

  “Hey, sugar,” she said, stepping inside. “Have you heard?”

  Amber waited for Betty’s shop cat, a fluffy gray-and-white Maine coon named Savannah, to saunter into The Quirky Whisker after her owner, before Amber closed the door. The bell above it jangled. Savannah strolled past the humans and around the end of the counter, where Amber always kept a small bowl of cat treats.

  Then she turned her attention back to Betty. “Is this about Chief Jameson?”

  Betty nodded, and given her raised brows, was clearly a little surprised that Amber had learned this nugget of information so soon. “My friend June lives in Belhaven but works at Marbleglen General. She was there when Chief Jameson was wheeled in. He was pronounced dead shortly after. Gunshot to the chest.”

  Amber pursed her lips.

  “June says there’s been a bit of a crime spree in Marbleglen lately. Robberies, vandalism, and now this?” Betty shook her head and clucked her tongue. “Do you know if Chief Brown knew him?”

  Amber shrugged helplessly. “No idea.”

  I don’t know why I bothered, Bianca’s voice echoed in her head. I’ll figure it out myself.

  Her phone chimed in her back pocket. Then Betty’s chimed too. Amber pulled hers out to see a message from the mayor’s office—Mayor Deidrick had started a program when he took office that would allow citizens of Edgehill to be informed of important events by text. It was how word had spread so quickly two months ago when a maid had been found murdered in the Manx Hotel. Amber had feared then that the “elderly woman found deceased under unusual circumstances” had been her aunt.

  The message now read, “Town Hall Meeting tonight at 5PM. Topic of the evening: Safety.”

  Betty frowned at her phone’s screen. “Between what’s happening there and what’s happened here recently, it makes a person a little anxious. If Edgehill and Marbleglen aren’t safe anymore, it seems like no place is.”

  Amber, Betty, and her husband Bobby all rode over to the community center together. They met up with the Here and Meow Committee, as well as Nathan’s wife Jolene, and one of Amber’s shop regulars, Henrietta Bishop. As they chatted outside the center for a few minutes, Amber, looking just past Henrietta’s unruly mop of wild red hair, saw the Terrence brothers heading across the parking lot. She and Jack waved to each other, but he moved past her group, Larry looking between Amber, his brother, and back again.

  A few minutes before five, the whole group had taken up their seats near the middle of the auditorium-like room. Amber had Betty on one side and Kim on the other. Kim and Ann Marie were in a heated discussion about parade floats on one side, and Betty and Bobby were discussing something about baking equipment on the other.

  Amber’s leg started to bounce, her energy—and thereby her magic—needing an outlet of some kind. There was a nervous quality to the energy in the room. Amber wondered if anyone on the Here and Meow Committee knew that the prime suspect in the murder was the Bianca Pace’s father.

  The mayor arrived at the podium, joined by Chief Brown, Mayor Sable, and a man Amber didn’t recognize. The man looked to be in his mid-to-late fifties, of medium height and build, and mostly bald. The trio stood to the left of Mayor Deidrick.

  “Thank you all for being here tonight,” Mayor Deidrick said. “We wanted to call this meeting to discuss safety concerns afflicting Edgehill and Marbleglen alike.” Hardly a sound went through the crowd at the name of Edgehill’s rival town. “As some of you know, there has been a recent uptick in criminal activity in Marbleglen. Cars have been vandalized, murals have been destroyed by graffiti, and livestock and crops have been harmed or destroyed. It is with a heavy heart that I must tell you all that Chief Eric Jameson of Marbleglen was murdered last night in his own home. I speak for all of Edgehill, Mayor Sable, when I say that we are sorry for your loss.”

  The Edgehill crowd shifted uncomfortably in their seats, but there were no gasps of surprise. By noon, news had traveled like wildfire through most of the town.

  The mayor turned to his left. “Chief Brown, would you like to say a few words?”

  Chief Brown nodded awkwardly and took the spot behind the podium that Mayor Deidrick had just vacated. His blond hair had recently been cut short, and his face was clean-shaven, as usual. His blue-eyed gaze scanned the room for a moment, and Amber wondered if he had been searching for her. It felt like a self-centered thought until she heard what he said next.

  “Because of events several weeks ago when a pair of vehicles on Edgar Henbane’s property were set on fire by supposed vandals,” the chief said, “both Mayor Deidrick and Mayor Sable believed it would be in both towns’ best interests to compare notes on any suspicious behavior.”

  Amber knew then that the chief’s scan of the audience had been for her. Because, given that he was an exceedingly honest man, he wanted to at least share a look of “you’re making me be less than truthful with all these people!” before he continued to pretend he didn’t already know who had caused so much destruction to Edgar’s property. But the chief of police certainly couldn’t stand up there and tell them that Edgehill was safe from the Marbleglen Bandit, as the “supposed vandals” who torched two cars was a single person—a cursed witch, to be exact. A cursed witch who had since been neutralized by Amber Blackwood who, by the way, was also a witch.

  “I knew Chief Jameson and was devastated by the news of his passing—especially one as violent as this. They currently have a suspect in custody, but we still ask that you report any suspicious activity,” Chief Brown said. “I will be offering any resources I can to the Marbleglen police department while they get to the bottom of this heinous crime. Any assistance or information you can provide law enforcement would be greatly appreciated. We have every reason to believe that the incident at the Henbane residence was unrelated to what is happening in Marbleglen now, but clearly whatever is happening in that town is escalating. Keep your eyes and ears open. Marbleglen needs our help.”

  For once, there was no protest from the Edgehill crowd.

  Mayor Sable switched places with Chief Brown behind the podium and angled the microphone down a couple of inches. “I just wanted to take the time to thank Chief Brown and Mayor Deidrick with their help in this matter. There has been quite a bit of unrest in Marbleglen as of late, but it has been such a comfort to have the support of these two fine men. The third man up here with us is one you all likely don’t know but is someone who has worked tirelessly in Marbleglen for years: Nicolas Daniels. He worked alongside our chief for nearly a decade and is the best person now to help us heal as a community. Please give a warm welcome to Chief Nicolas Daniels.”

  Chief Daniels then took his place behind the podium to the sound
of a smattering of lukewarm applause. He smiled out at the Edgehill crowd and gripped either side of the podium. He puffed out his chest as he said, “As Mayor Sable said, I may be new to you all, but I’m not new to Marbleglen. I know as well as anyone that Marbleglen and Edgehill have a long-standing rivalry, but I hope we can look past our differences now. Marbleglen has been known as a safe town—the safest town in Oregon—for decades. I want nothing more than to get back to a place where everyone feels safe, especially as we head into this busy festival season. I look forward to working with both Mayor Deidrick and Chief Brown as we navigate these new waters together.”

  Amber wondered if it was standard for the position of chief of police to be filled so quickly.

  Within twenty minutes, the meeting had come to a close, and people slowly started to trickle back out into the parking lot. Amber was just about to follow her group out the door when she got a text message. It was from Chief Brown. Need to talk when you have a chance.

  She fired a message back. I can call you when I get home. I got a ride here with Betty, so I don’t want to hold her up.

  I’ll drive you back.

  It wasn’t a demand, but the message was clear: he wanted to talk to her right now. After relaying this to Betty and Bobby, they nodded good-naturedly and left, hand in hand.

  Kim, however, pulled Amber aside. “Just to confirm,” she said tentatively, “you and the chief are not … canoodling?”

  “Kim!”

  “Sorry!” she said, throwing up her hands in innocence. “I know! I’m sorry. I was just so sure for so long that you two were … you know … knocking boots!”

  “Kim, I need you to leave,” Amber said, face flushed.

  “Okay! I’m going! I’ll talk to you later.” Kim started to walk away, then came back and gave Amber a quick, bracing hug.

  Amber laughed and shooed her away.

  With her back against a far wall, Amber waited as the community center slowly emptied out. Chief Brown, Chief Daniels, Mayor Deidrick, and Mayor Sable were each cornered by worried Edgehill residents peppering them with questions. Shoulders were squeezed and hands were patted as the group of authority figures nodded with brows furrowed as they listened. Daniels, however, looked more like a smarmy politician who was pleased as punch to win his election because his opponent had just been hit by a bus.

  After a few minutes, Chief Brown glanced past the residents before him and spotted Amber waiting on the other side of the room. He apologized to the man he’d been talking to, excused himself, and then walked over to meet Amber.

  “Hey, chief, I can wait if—”

  Without breaking stride, he gently grabbed Amber’s elbow and guided her out the door. “That last guy wasn’t even talking about safety concerns or Chief Jameson’s death. He was going on and on about root rot afflicting his potted trees.” He unhanded her but kept his pace. Glancing at her sidelong, he asked, “Do I look like a man who knows anything about root rot?”

  Amber managed a laugh.

  He didn’t speak again until they were in his cruiser. Then he let out a gusty sigh. “Okay.” He turned to face her. “Is it true you were at Simon Ricinus’s house on Sunday?”

  Amber gaped at him. “How would you know that?”

  “I believe it was you who once said the people of Edgehill are very nosy,” the chief said. “That seems to be even more true about the people of Marbleglen. What’s important is whether or not this rumor is true, and if it is true, why were you meeting with a man in Marbleglen of all places just days before the man is accused of murdering the head of police?”

  It all sounded so terrible when he worded it that way.

  Amber turned in her seat, too, then told him about Magic Cache and how she’d ended up at Simon’s house. “I swear this is all a really awful coincidence.”

  “Geez,” the chief said. “How am I suddenly surrounded by witches?”

  Deciding the question was rhetorical, Amber said, “Bianca seems to think the entire police force in Marbleglen is rotten.”

  “Not all of them,” he said. “There’s a new guy—Reyes. I’ve worked with him a few times, and he helped us with the Chloe case. He’s a good guy. The rest of them though …” The chief’s nostrils flared in distaste.

  Simon had mentioned Reyes, too.

  Amber said, “Bianca thinks someone at the party drugged her father and then pinned the murder on him.”

  The chief looked less than convinced. “This isn’t … magic related, is it? Are the Penhallows back?”

  “Not as far as I know. Simon lives mostly magic-free,” Amber said. “I just can’t figure out why Simon would be framed. If people in attendance at that dinner thought Simon was a threat to whatever shady business the department was involved in, why kill Jameson and not Simon?”

  “Maybe Jameson wasn’t privy to whatever is going on,” the chief said. “Perhaps he was the weakest link.”

  Amber recalled her conversation with Simon. “As much as I like the guy, we have to keep the possibility open that Simon actually did it, right?”

  “Always,” the chief said.

  “Before I left his house, he said he wanted to get rid of ‘useless’ Chief Jameson. He said, ‘Marbleglen will be much better off once he’s gone.’ I’m sure he meant that figuratively, but—”

  “What if he didn’t,” the chief finished for her.

  Knowing the chief wouldn’t like a word of what she said next, she hurried to say, “Simon used Bianca as a messenger to ask me to help prove his innocence. A chunk of his memory is missing and he wants me to use my magic to find what he can’t remember.”

  Predictably, his cheeks reddened slightly and his mouth bunched up. “Simon is in County. How would you even get access to him? Wait, you know what? Don’t answer that. I don’t want to know. Do not, under any circumstances, do your magic thing to try to solve this case, you hear me? There’s something off about this Daniels guy. The last thing I need is him finding you in the middle of any of this.”

  Amber held her hands up. “I already told Bianca I didn’t think I could help her.”

  “Okay,” he said, after squinting at her for a moment, and then started up the car.

  I don’t know why I bothered. I’ll figure it out myself.

  When guilt for not agreeing to help Bianca started to ease its way back in, Amber changed the subject to something more pleasant—namely the chief’s new daughter, Isabelle. Despite being a somewhat gruff, slightly conservative guy, the way most of that persona slipped away when he talked about his family made him rather charming.

  With only a few blocks to go before they reached The Quirky Whisker, she asked, “Did you know Chief Jameson well?”

  The chief shrugged. “We worked together in Portland for a while—back when I was fresh out of academy in Tennessee. I’d met Jessica in Nashville, since she was going to school out there. When we graduated, we wanted to move somewhere closer to her family in Oregon. Eric—Chief Jameson—and I were on the same beat there for several years, but Eric had a tendency to get in trouble for being mouthy and having a nasty temper. Eventually he got himself relocated to Marbleglen as a kind of punishment since the place saw so little crime. Eric’s father was a DA—called in quite a few favors over the years trying to keep Eric out of hot water. Guess his father figured Marbleglen was a good fit for Eric. He couldn’t get into much trouble out here since there’s very little trouble to find.”

  And yet he’d met his demise in Marbleglen. If that wasn’t irony, Amber didn’t know what was.

  The chief pulled up to the curb.

  “Thanks for the ride,” Amber said as she climbed out.

  “No problem,” he said. “Be safe.”

  She watched him drive away.

  A moment later, the hair on the back of her neck rose. Someone was watching her. She scanned up one side of Russian Blue Avenue and then the other. The lights inside Purrfectly Scrumptious across the street were out, except for a faint hint of yellow surround
ing the door in the back that led to the kitchens. No one was walking down either side of the sidewalk. She saw no faces peering out from shop windows or from behind bushes.

  She shook the feeling off and let herself inside the shop, telling herself she merely needed to get more sleep.

  If Edgehill and Marbleglen aren’t safe anymore, it seems like no place is, Betty had said.

  Amber cast a quick alarm spell on her windows and doors, just in case.

  Chapter 7

  That night, Amber lay awake staring at the ceiling. She’d attempted to turn in early, as she was bone-deep exhausted, but, as usual, once she laid down, she couldn’t sleep. She wasn’t sure if she was worried someone was outside lurking in her bushes or worried about Simon and Bianca. For the dozenth time since Bianca had called her the morning before, Amber hit redial on Bianca’s number.

  Amazingly, this time, she answered. “You change your mind, witch?”

  Amber sat up. Bianca was unmistakably intoxicated, her words slurring. “Have you been able to talk to your dad again?”

  “Why do you care?” Bianca mumbled. “Not your town, not your problem? I bet if it had been your precious chief, you’d be burning Edgehill to the ground trying to find his killer.”

  Yikes.

  “I just don’t know how to help you,” Amber said. “My precious chief, as you call him, is going to help—we just had a town hall meeting about it. He can offer your dad more than I can. And I do care. I’m worried about you. I can’t imagine what you’re going through.”

  Bianca didn’t reply, but Amber could still hear her breathing. If Amber had to guess, she’d say Bianca was outside. Was she out wandering around at night while drunk?

  “His arraignment is tomorrow,” Bianca finally said. “Murder is going to mean a hefty bail for him to get out. I could maybe get twenty thousand together, but any higher than that, and he’ll be stuck in there until his court date.”

  “Can you post bond with a bail bondsman?” Amber asked. “Isn’t that what they do on TV?”