Witching for the Best

by Samantha Silver

  “I’m the mastermind of everything we do,” Luna said in a self-satisfied purr.

  It was time to tack on “breaking and entering” to my growing list of unique skills I’d picked up as a B&B hostess.

  Moonlight Cove Police Station was nothing to look at from the outside. This was a small town, and the murder that took place a month ago had been the worst thing that had happened here in living memory. Or at least, in my living memory.

  The building was a testament to that fact. It had been a travel agency’s office before that went out of business, and before that, the police station was just run out of a trailer house the Forsettis owned. When Xander got back into town and took over, he decided that was not exactly a professional way to be running a law enforcement station, and they took over the lease on this building.

  I just hoped that tighter security around the place wasn’t also high on Xander’s priority list.

  “Infuscoroa,” I whispered, tapping myself with my wand and feeling my appearance distort. Luna looked up at me and instinctively shivered a little.

  “You know I hate that spell,” she grumbled. “It makes you look weird.”

  “That’s because you’re a cat,” I whispered. “You see things differently. To humans, I’m not invisible, but it just kind of blurs me. So if someone comes in after me, I can hide in a corner or under the table and look like nothing more than a weird dark spot in the corner of your eye.”

  “You definitely look like Captain Stranger Danger to me,” she said.

  “That’s why the spell doesn’t work so well for burglars,” I whispered. “It sets off all the pets in the neighborhood.”

  “I am not a pet!”

  “We’ll debate that later,” I hissed.

  “Fine, fine,” she said with a flick of her tail. “I’ll be your lookout. Moon knows you need one, with that disguise.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Thanks.”

  Leaving Luna by an air conditioning unit, I made my way around the building to the back until I got to a window. My mind raced, and I bit my lip. Surely there was an alarm spell in place to detect unlocking spells, right? There had to be. That was just common sense.

  But what about more blunt methods?

  I got up to one of the windows and saw the simple window lock in place. It was dark inside. Xander and Morgan must have gone home for the night already. Biting my tongue, I put a hand on each side of the window and just kind of wiggled it in its frame. I moved it back and forth, over and over, until the motion started to push the rotating lock open ever so slowly. My heart was racing and my hands were sweaty, but I kept going despite my burning arms.

  Finally, the window opened a little! My heart sprang into my throat, but I didn’t hear any blaring alarms go off. I pushed the window the rest of the way open, early evening moonlight filtering into the near-darkness.

  I’d done it! I beamed proudly as I hoisted myself up and into the office, thumping loudly once inside and wincing.

  Still, no bolts of lightning or bear traps sprang out to stop me, so I looked around.

  It looked like I’d hoisted myself right into Xander’s office. There was a big desk, a picture of his family on a shelf on the wall, and a few files sitting around. It was a pretty tidy place, the guy was obviously the organized type.

  I thanked the moon for being nearly full, lighting most of the place up for me without having to turn on a lamp and worry about drawing attention to myself. Making my way to the desk, I peered down at whatever Xander had been working on that day.

  As I had hoped, Susanna’s name stuck out as soon as I glanced at the file.

  I sat down in Xander’s chair and started peering through it. I grimaced immediately when I saw photos from the crime scene. I wasn’t exactly close to Susanna, but I knew her to some extent. Seeing her like this gave me a shiver I didn’t like. A few of the photos gave me pause, though.

  They showed Susanna’s neck. There was a thick, bruised, red streak across the front of her throat, and Xander had scribbled some of the measurements down. I looked on the page after that and saw more notes commenting on the state of the body and what looked like a sort of medical report.

  The first two spaces filled out made my eyes go wide.

  Time of death: approx. 8:00 PM

  Cause of death: Strangulation. Victim was strangled from behind with braided manila rope, 1 inch diameter, same rope used to tie victim to buoy postmortem

  I started to read further into the report, but a click from the front of the office made my heart skip at least five beats.

  No. No way. This couldn’t be happening. No.

  I stood up from the chair as I heard heavy footsteps coming my way, and I winced at the sound it made. Where was Luna? Why hadn’t I been warned? I looked to the window, but it was too late, whoever was out there was unlocking the office door. I had to act fast.

  Reminding myself that my spell would keep me hidden from all but the most attentive eyes, I ducked down under the desk and crawled under it, curling up in the tightest ball I possibly could. The desk was open to the front, but ideally, I’d just look like a shadow under the desk to whoever was coming in.

  The door opened, and Xander Forsetti stepped inside.

  He looked directly down at me, a flat look on his face.

  “Miss Mani, this might be a new low,” he said with that deep voice and a sigh as he crossed his arms.

  I didn’t say anything back for a few moments. Maybe I was stunned, or hoping that I had just imagined him talking to me, but I just looked around and down at myself as if there were some other Miss Mani in the room he was talking to.

  Xander proved to be psychic. “I’m talking to you, Artemis, and your infusco spell,” he said, stepping over to me and crouching down to look at me on my level.

  I mouthed silently for a moment before speaking. “How did you…?”

  “This is a police station, Miss Mani,” he said as if explaining something to someone a little slow. “The kind where we keep important files that need to be protected with silent alarm spells. And I hate to break it to you, but if you want to fool a police officer, you might want to choose a spell more complicated than one teenagers use to play hooky from school. There’s charms against that kind of magic here.”

  “So I’m just kind of sitting here under the desk in plain sight, huh?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  My cheeks were burning so bright he could probably see them in the shadows.

  “So, are you going come out of there now?”

  “Right, sorry,” I said, and to my surprise, Xander took my hand and helped me up, and he didn’t spin me around and push me against the desk to whip the handcuffs out the next second. “I’m guessing I’m under arrest.”

  “Not yet,” he said, clicking the lamp on and peering around the office. “You haven’t tried to make a break for it yet, and you’re already at the station, so that wouldn’t be accomplishing too much now, would it? But I do need to ask what exactly was going through your head when you decided to break in.”

  I bit my lip. Well, there went my hopes and dreams of a career as an infamous cat burglar, apparently.

  “El- I mea, someone asked me to look into the murder for them,” I said with a sigh, partly because the look Xander was giving me told me he knew that already. “I didn’t mean for it to have to get this far, but, well,” I trailed off.

  “But here you are,” he finished for me, raising an eyebrow and looking down at the files I’d seen before closing it up.

  “I’m sorry, Xander,” I gushed suddenly, wringing my hands and feeling my mouth go cold at the realization of how much hot water I’d landed myself in. “Look, I’m not accusing you of anything, I know you’re doing good work, I was just hitting a dead end and needed to figure out a little more.” I gave a frustrated sigh, putting my hand to my forehead. “Luna was supposed to be my lookout, but who knows where she got off to.”

  “I appreciate you naming your accomplice,” Xand
er said with a booming laugh, looking genuinely amused, “but I saw your ‘lookout’ alright. She was following that white cat of Lara Lancaster’s, just outside. That’s what tipped me off that it was probably you in here, and why I didn’t kick the door down with my finger at the ready.”

  My jaw dropped, and I felt my blood boil, focusing on one part of that explanation. “She was doing what?! That ungrateful little…”

  Xander grabbed me by the scruff of my collar just as I started to march past him to storm outside and do the same to Luna.

  “Forgetting something?” Xander said with a chuckle as I squirmed in protest, then stopped.

  “Oh. Right. I committed a crime.”

  “You did commit a crime,” he said with a thoughtful sigh, releasing his vice-grip on my collar and letting me smooth my clothes out indignantly.

  “Look, I can’t bribe you to let me off the hook, if that’s what you’re angling for,” I said gruffly. “Unless you’re really interested in a stay at the B&B.”

  “No,” he said slowly, then continued almost reluctantly. “And I know I’m going to regret it, but what I’m going to do is pretend I didn’t see you here. As far as I know, Luna could have tripped the alarm chasing that white cat around.”

  I blinked at him a few times, then narrowed my eyes suspiciously. “Great, thanks, but why?”

  His gaze hardened. “I’m offering to let you off the hook this once, Artemis, don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. I’m getting the impression keeping you under control is more trouble than it’s worth. This latest murder is making our crime rate look bad enough. I catch you here again, and I won’t be letting it go,” he said pointedly.

  I opened my mouth to speak again, but he gave me a look that made me close it. “Fine, fine,” I finally grumbled, feeling like I was getting chewed out for being out after curfew. “Thanks, Chief,” I said reluctantly. I did mean it; Xander could have easily arrested me.

  Xander returned a sardonic smile and nodded to the window. “You can see yourself out the way you came. Harder to sell the cat story if someone sees you walking out the front door.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” I said with a wave of my hand as I moved to the window and clambered out, grunting,. “You really should get better locks on this place,” I added as a parting shot.

  “Oh, you don’t have to tell me,” he said as I landed on the other side and hurried off to find my cat. Boy was she in trouble.

  I caught up to Luna a little ways up the path. She was sitting by a bush, sniffing around and flicking her tail, agitated.

  “Luna!” I hissed, making her jump.

  “Oh, there you are!” she said, as if nothing was wrong. “I was wondering what was keeping you. Help me find this jerk, would you?”

  “You were supposed to be my lookout!” I snapped, scooping Luna up and holding her to face my scowl as she squawked in protest.

  “Oh. Right,” she said. “Well, this was important! That snobby white cat was taunting me, I couldn’t just let her get away with that!”

  “Taunting you,” I repeated with a flat stare.

  “Yeah! I had to save face! Unlike you, Miss Get Caught By The Cop.”

  “That was your fault!” I hissed, but I then realized that arguing with Luna was about as pointless as, well, herding cats. I dropped her and stomped off. “I’m not carrying you home,” I said pointedly as she trotted up behind me.

  “That’s fine,” she said, not the slightest semblance of guilt in her tone. “I can’t be seen getting coddled anymore for a while, anyway. I’ve got to assert my dominance around this town before Little Miss High and Mighty lets her ego think she’s on top.”

  “What was Lara Lancaster’s cat even doing out here?” I wondered out loud.

  “Oh, Lara was there, too,” Luna said offhandedly. “She was dressed in this ridiculous bright outfit running slowly.”

  “So, jogging,” I said.

  “Yeah, that,” said Luna. “The thing you keep saying you’re going to do after you make pastries for the guests, but never actually do.”

  “Oh, you are so not getting breakfast tomorrow.”

  Chapter 11

  “Come on, let’s get home. I’m sure the guests are going to be wanting dinner before too long. And I need to check in on them, anyway,” I told Luna. She trotted after me as I retrieved my broom. I was still reeling from the adrenaline rush of sneaking into the police station and getting caught. By Chief Forsetti, no less. How come every time I did anything even remotely illegal and risky, he was the one who caught me?

  Maybe because he was the head of law enforcement in town.

  “Good. I need to take a bath,” my familiar announced as she hopped up onto the broom and then up to my shoulder, where she curled up and got comfortable for the ride home. I raised an eyebrow and turned to look at her.

  “A bath?” I repeated incredulously. She shrugged.

  “Yes,” she said simply.

  “You. You want to take a bath. Like, with water? In a bathtub?” I spelled out, still dubious.

  “Yes! Ugh, how dense are you? You know what a bath is, don’t you?” she said, groaning in exasperation, as if she was having to explain the simplest thing in the world to the dumbest person in the world.

  “Luna, the last time I suggested giving you a bath you broke a vase and wouldn’t talk to me for five days,” I told her, trying not to giggle. “So, forgive me for being a little surprised that you’ve suddenly had a massive change of heart on the matter.”

  “Well, normally, I can clean myself just fine, thank you. But I can tell that with that new bratty, spoiled princess cat in town I’m going to have to step up my game. I’m talking shampoo. Conditioner. That weird pet-perfume you told me about. I want to smell like a sugar cookie fresh out of the oven. And lilacs. And strawberries,” she rambled. “I need to be the best, Arti!”

  “Okay, okay, I get it! You’re going full beauty pageant on me, aren’t you? Luna, you know you’re already the best cat, right? You don’t have to prove yourself to anybody,” I assured her. But she was too far gone, wrapped up in a confusing combination of her own ego and insecurity. I could see the cogs in her little head turning, churning out new ways for her to improve her likability and prestige. I sighed.

  She finally answered in a quiet voice, “I know I’m the best cat. You know I’m the best cat. But I need everybody else to know it, too.”

  “Okay, Lu. Whatever you say. You want a fancy bath, you got it. If it will make you feel better about yourself,” I relented. “Now, let’s get out of here before Officer Forsetti arrests me for loitering or whatever.”

  I kicked off the ground and propelled us up into the air. We zoomed out of the area, leaving the police station far behind as I picked up the speed. I shivered in the cool evening air. We were deep into autumn now, nearly into winter, and the nights were getting darker and colder every day. I actually really liked this time of year. There was an almost ominous, mysterious feeling to the air as November ebbed away. There was that cold stillness to the air that promised of snow, the skies pure white in the mornings and velvety eggplant-purple at night. It was the perfect kind of weather for curling up on the sofa or in bed to read a good book and cuddle with a purring cat. And if there was a mug of spiked hot cocoa on the nightstand, too, that was even better.

  My moon, that sounded so nice. But I had a feeling I was not going to get a chance for a cozy night in like that for a while. I simply had too much work to do, between the renovations I needed to get started on and the murder case unceremoniously dumped into my lap this morning. Oh, and with my new responsibility of dealing with Luna’s fragile ego. She was going to be insufferable about the whole Lara Lancaster thing for a while. I could just tell.

  As we pulled up to the front of the Moonlight Cove Manor, I had a bad feeling about something. My witchy instincts prodded at me, giving me a warning.

  “Oh boy,” I murmured under my breath. Luna woke up from her little cat-nap.

  “
What? What is it? That prissy cat again?”

  “No, Lu,” I answered quietly.

  As we made our way down the driveway to the front door, I realized what was making me so nervous: my mother’s well-loved and cherished vintage broomstick from the eighties was leaning against the front foyer window. Oh, great.

  I walked into the house, my house hammering, looking around wildly for my mother. She was either here to deliver bad news or because she wanted to make a scene of some sort. Any trace of dramatic flair I may have inherited definitely came from her. While my father was always happy to read a book quietly in the background, observing the world around him with calm and mild interest, my mother had to be neck-deep in everything.

  It wasn’t like she didn’t mean well. She always meant well. But sometimes her boundless energy catapulted her directly into business that she had, well, no business with. And it was a little late in the day for her to just drop by the Manor for a casual visit. Nope. She was up to something.

  “Mom?” I called out anxiously. “I know you’re here. What’s going on?”

  I turned a corner into the main hall and immediately jumped back a step when I saw her standing there with her hands on her hips, wearing an apron and turquoise rubber gloves. Her hair was frazzled, piled into a messy bun on top of her head as she gave me a scathing look and clicked her tongue.

  “Hi mom. What are you doing here?” I asked suspiciously. She scoffed.

  “Cleaning!” she answered.

  “I see that. But, why?” I pressed, shaking my head in confusion.

  “Well, because you obviously don’t think the Manor is up to snuff anymore,” she explained. Then it dawned on me. She was still seething about the renovations plan. I groaned, rolling my eyes to the ceiling.

  “Mom. Go home. I can keep the Manor perfectly clean on my own. I have guests staying here right now. What if they came downstairs and saw some random woman cleaning the hallway?” I reasoned. Her cheeks grew flushed and pink and I knew I’d made a grave mistake in wording.