“Some random woman?” mom burst out, throwing her hands up. “I ran this bed and breakfast for decades, Artemis.”
“Yeah, I know that. But they don’t,” I told her, lowering my voice.
She sighed, her shoulders slumping. I could tell her anger was quickly melting into sadness, which I felt bad about, but I could understand. She was nostalgic for the days when she ran the Manor. Even though she busied herself in her retirement, she had spent so much of her life here it was hard for her to move on. I could understand that.
“It’s just that this place means a lot to me, Arti. I poured my heart and soul into the Manor for so long. I like it the way it is. I have so many beautiful memories here. Not just from working, but from raising my kids here. You know? I remember giving you and your sister baths in that leaky clawfoot upstairs. I remember when we restored these old antique light fixtures and you used to stare up at them in amazement when you were a baby. You were just fascinated by them. Stuff like that, it sticks with you. And I don’t want you changing it all around, dumping those memories into the trash,” she concluded, a little sniffly.
I walked over to her, Luna leaping off my shoulder and running off in the opposite direction. She could tell this was going to be the kind of emotional human conversation that she did her best to avoid. I pulled my mom into a tight hug.
“Mom, listen. I don’t want to ruin the beauty and memory of this place. I just want to give it a little refresh. Breathe new life into the building,” I told her softly. She shook her head.
“But Arti, that makes it sound like it’s dead already. Breathe new life? Sweetheart, it’s already breathing. This place is alive with love and history. It’s been this way for so long, why change it now?” she asked, wiping at her eye. I felt so guilty. But I knew I needed to stand my ground here. The Manor was mine now to take care of, even if my mom still felt like she was the one in control. But it would be tricky to navigate.
“I promise I’m not going to tear it down and start over. I would never do anything to compromise the historical significance of the building. Or the sentimental significance. Mom, I know you love this place. But you have to believe me when I say that I love it, too. I wouldn’t change a thing if I could keep it exactly the same forever, but there are things that need fixing. The plumbing upstairs in one of the guest bathrooms is leaky and dripping,” I brought up.
“So? Just fix that and move on,” she said. I could tell she wasn’t understanding me.
“Mom, I need to do more than just slap a bandage over the leak. The reason it’s leaking in the first place is because the plumbing is old. Ancient, really. It’s outdated. Any day now the pipes could burst and then what would happen? It would cause so much more damage to the whole building. Don’t you want to avoid something awful like that?” I reasoned.
She shrugged. “Use magic. Protect it. Make the old plumbing work. That’s what I always did for ages and ages and I never had a problem with it.”
“I get that. I do. And sometimes magic can work, but it would just keep needing to be repaired over and over again. The spell would wear off eventually, Mom,” I explained.
“So? That’s the beauty of magic. You can just do it again.”
“But why would I do that when I could just get it properly fixed and not have to worry about it anymore? It doesn’t make sense,” I told her, being brutally honest. She frowned.
“Every little thing you try to modernize threatens the integrity of the style and decor here, though! Don’t you get it, Arti? The Manor is perfect as it is. I never had a guest complain. Not a single time in all the years I ran this place,” she boasted.
“I know. And neither have I,” I said.
“Then why change it? Why mess with perfection?” she exclaimed. I sighed heavily. This was going absolutely nowhere. My mother was one of the only people on the planet as doggedly stubborn as I was. I could hear the tell-tale sound of footsteps on the staircase. The guests were coming down, probably to see what all the commotion was.
“Okay, mom. You’ve got to go. We can talk about this tomorrow,” I told her firmly. I hooked an arm around her shoulders and started more or less shoving her toward the front door as she protested and pouted.
“Artemis. Artemis!” she said indignantly as I opened the door and gently prodded her toward the open exit. She turned and gave me one last scandalized look before she said curtly, “Fine. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight, mom. Tomorrow, okay?” I said, closing the door just as my guests started to walk over. I turned to them with a broad, apologetic smile. “So sorry about all that. Hazards of a family business, I guess. But she’s gone now.”
“No worries,” said the man, smiling brightly. They were a hip, middle-aged couple from Spokane, dressed sharply with perfect hair. Even though they were a couple decades older than me, something about them reminded me a little bit of the popular kids who used to tease me sometimes in school. So even now, as an adult, they put me a little bit on edge, like I needed to impress them.
“Are you hungry? I was just about to start dinner soon,” I told them.
“Oh, we were going to go on a quick walk before dinner,” said the woman. She bit her lip for a moment and then gushed, “You’ll never guess who we saw while we were out today!”
“Lara Lancaster,” I suggested, with less enthusiasm than they’d hoped. They both looked a little bit put out for a moment.
“Yes! Oh, she was even more beautiful in person than I expected,” said the woman, whose name was Judy. And her beau was Roger.
“And such a gorgeous familiar. I’ve never seen such a pretty cat,” Roger piped in.
“And he’s not even a cat person!” laughed Judy. I could positively feel Luna bristling up with anger and jealousy somewhere in the house. She was going to rant and rave about this later, that much I could tell already.
“It’s so crazy to see her here. Especially with what’s happened in the news today,” said Roger. “Did you hear about that? The rumors are saying it’s a murder or something?”
I nodded slowly. “A local resident was found dead, yes,” I answered gravely. My moon, news traveled fast. And wide. These people weren’t even local and they already knew.
Their eyes got wide and round. “Wow! That’s almost unheard of here, isn’t it?” said Judy.
“Yeah. It is very unusual,” I agreed.
Judy and Roger looked at each other. “You’re not in any danger, I assure you,” I added.
“Oh no, we’re not worried about that,” said Roger. “We’ve been to the big city. We’ve seen much, much worse on the news. Of course, the small town near Spokane we’re from doesn’t get stories like that. But we are interested in the case. I mean, it’s intriguing, right? A suspicious death in a small town known for being safe?”
“I suppose it is interesting,” I said reluctantly.
“Anyway,” said Judy. “We’re just going to head out for a little walk around. We’ll be back soon for dinner. Later!”
And with that the two of them hurried out into the cold. Luna came trudging into the room, looking highly offended.
“I know, I know,” I said, before she even had the chance to open her mouth.
Chapter 12
My eyes sprang open, and with a burst of early-morning energy I leaped out of bed, ready to tackle the day. Luna jumped too, but straight up in the air with a yelp.
“What’s going on?” she asked with a start.
“Nothing, Luna,” I said, stretching, then doing a couple of quick hops in place and shaking my body out. “I just feel wide awake suddenly and I’m going to take advantage.”
“Oh, so you’re having a stroke,” Luna grumbled, curling back up in the same spot and getting comfortable again. “I’ll get up when you’re back to normal.”
I didn’t care about what Luna thought, though. I’d had a surprisingly refreshing night’s sleep thanks to some lavender-chamomile tea with a little bit of a spell in it, and I was having one of
those rare mornings where you just wake up and feel like you want to hit the ground running.
My morning routine flew by. I brushed my teeth, had a quick shower and dressed in a dark green blouse, black skirt, black leggings, black boots and threw on a a raspberry beret to add a splash of color to the outfit.
Black cardigan in hand, I hurried downstairs to the kitchen to start prepping a recipe I’d been saving for a morning like this.
I washed four red potatoes, placed them in a bowl of water, and brandished my finger over them. “Paulumis califaceroa,” I whispered quietly so as not to wake the guests. The potatoes heated up nicely, swelling up just a bit with the heat as they jostled in the water. I carefully drained them and set them aside while I tended to the vegetables.
I diced the sweet red pepper and onion by hand. Sure, there were ways to make magic do the cutting, but I liked the precision that came from doing it manually, and I found the rhythmic chopping to be calming as well.
As I tossed the vegetables into the pan to sauté and put on some bacon to cook, I began counting down the minutes until the aroma wafting up to the guest rooms would wake the guests and bring them downstairs. My record was five, but it was usually around fifteen.
While those cooked, I diced the potatoes as quickly as I could and added them to the mix, and I felt the familiar satisfaction that came from everything coming together in the pan, as a vaguely southwestern aroma filled the kitchen. I salted and peppered the mixture and set to the next thing on the multitasking list.
Beginning with a tablespoon of butter in a separate pan, I started on the sauce. Next came a tablespoon of flour, salt, and pepper, then three-fourths of a cup of milk over a few minutes while I brought the mixture to a boil, resisting the urge to hurry things along with magic. When it started to thicken, I added chopped green chilies and about a quarter cup of cheese. Okay, more like a third of a cup. And a few more chilies than usual. Because hey, why not?
I heard the sounds of footsteps heading down the stairs right as I zipped over to rescue the potatoes from burning.
“Oh my gosh, what is that?” gushed Roger.
“Southwestern eggs benedict in the making!” I announced proudly. “With a bit of a northwestern touch,” I admitted. “I haven’t got a drop of southwest in me, so I’m playing it by ear, but don’t worry, you’re not my guinea pigs for this one.”
“Smells heavenly!” Judy said as they slipped down to take seats at the bar behind the kitchen to watch me work. “The reviews for this place said you were a natural, after all.”
I felt a little color come to my cheeks, and I couldn’t hold back a smile as I brought a third pot of water and a little vinegar to a boil to get ready to poach the eggs. “Thanks! I stopped reading reviews because they just stressed me out too much, so it’s nice to know they’re good.”
I looked over to them for confirmation, and they just laughed, nodding.
Poaching eggs was a learned art, but I wasn’t too bad at it. I cracked four eggs into little custard cups, careful not to break the yolks, and I stirred the water with one hand to create a sort of little cyclone in the pot with one hand while pouring an egg in with the other. The idea was to cook the egg like a little pouch.
And yes, there was a spell for stirring water, but it looked a lot more impressive to an audience to do it all by hand.
As I cooked the eggs, I glanced over to the guests, who were talking quietly with excited looks on their faces.
“So, enjoyed your stay on the coast?” I asked. Today was their last day, which was partly why I was going all-out for the meal. “How was your last night here?”
“It’s been such a great visit!” Roger said, his personality a seemingly bottomless well of energy that his wife shared. “We heard all about the murder!”
I winced and nearly dropped the last egg as I took it out of the water. “Yes, you were saying that last night. I hope it hasn’t scared you off.”
“Oh, don’t worry, it’s kind of exciting!” Judy said as I served up the plates of food, each smelling of strong spices and perfectly cooked egg and browned potatoes that even drew Luna down the stairs to start poking around.
I raised my eyebrows in surprise as I went to serve juice and coffee. “Oh! Well, I suppose that’s good, then. Not the murder, of course.”
“Don’t get us wrong,” Roger said with a laugh, “We’re sorry for what happened of course, but nothing this exciting happens in Little Egg where we’re from. I think the last big “crime” case we had was when one of my cousins rode his horse through town square in the middle of a Fall parade and accidentally destroyed the mayor’s float. We hear about that sort of thing happening in Spokane, but not in our little town.”
“That actually sounds a little more appealing than what’s going on right now,” I half-joked with a laugh. I picked up the plates of steaming, hearty food and carried them over to my guests, who looked ravenously at them. “I’ve got a few hot sauces laid out here if you like. Enjoy!”
Grabbing a plate for myself and sitting at the counter to eat it, I looked down and had to admit I was pretty proud of myself. The sauce was thick and spicy, but not too thick, and the egg yolk spilled into the crispy potatoes so nicely it was almost sensual.
“So, what all have you heard about the incident?” I asked, wondering if there was a chance I might actually get a little information from these two.
“Ok, so,” Roger said, spreading out his hands and looking excited to be part of our little town’s sudden drama scene. “Everyone we talked to thinks Edith did it.”
I fluttered my eyes and gave my head a little shake as I blew on my coffee. “Wow. That was fast.”
“I know, right? But after talking to people around town, it sounds pretty cut and dry,” Roger said. “She had the attitude, she had the motive, and I mean, have you been to that retirement home? It’s like Roman gladiators in there!”
“Wait, motive?” I asked.
Judy rolled her eyes. “Roger and everyone we talked to seems to think that an advantage at a bingo game is all the motivation you need for murder. I think he’s been reading too many of those books of his.”
“You never know!” Roger protested, taking a bite of potato off Judy’s plate in retaliation as the two giggled at each other. “Some of those prizes are nice. And I mean, what have they got to lose?”
“What do you think, Judy?” I asked. It was a little weird that they were treating this actual murder case like a murder mystery game, but hey, I wasn’t in a position to judge. “Sounds like you don’t buy it.”
“I don’t think she could have done it,” Judy said, “or if she did, she hired someone else to do it for her. There’s no way that little old lady could haul another little old lady out to the water like that.”
“That might be true if we were humans,” Roger said. “But this is a witch who’s probably a professional bingo cheater, she’s got to have some tricks up her sleeve. You’ve spent too much time in the human world, watching those crime dramas on TV, Judy.”
“Well, when you put it that way, I suppose it could have been her,” Judy said with a sigh. “But I don’t know, there’s just not enough information out there to know for sure.”
“That’s why they call it a rumor mill,” I said with a wink. “So, besides solving the great murder case of Moonlight Cove, anything else on your agenda today?”
“Well, we’re checking out in the afternoon, but we won’t be leaving until after sunset, since we don’t really mind traveling at night,” Roger said. “We’ll be stopping by a few other B&Bs on the way home, too. None of them quite like this though, I’m sure, this was the main destination.”
I felt a little quiet pride and held back a smug smile.
“But we’ve got one more little outing on the schedule,” Judy said with a flash of excitement in her eyes. “We signed up for this glass-bottom boat tour where they take you outside the cove, and there’s this big coral reef out there that starts glowing right aroun
d sunset! Supposedly, it’s got all these colors that sort of flicker around with this haunting music you can hear. The brochure said it used to make human sailors think the cove was haunted.”
I smiled, knowing exactly where they were talking about. It was a place that used to be considered special for my coven, since it tended to act up more often on the full moon.
“There’s no guarantee the coral will do its thing, but tonight’s the full moon, so your chances are pretty solid, I think,” I told them. That also explained why I’d woken up in such a good mood. With my coven being so closely linked to the moon, whenever the moon was full, I was always filled with a strange energy.
“Maybe we should get there early so we have better chances,” Roger said, and Judy just shrugged as she finished off her coffee.
“Either way, I want time to stop by the shops and get a souvenir coffee mug. You promised.”
“I did,” Roger said gruffly.
“Oh, hush,” she said. “You know you love drinking out of a different vacation memory every morning.” Roger peeked up at me and gave a quick wink, and I snickered.
“Before that, though,we’ve got a lot of time to kill, so we’re going to pack up and go out and walk some of that breakfast off, maybe grab a coffee,” Roger said, putting his hands on the able and standing up.
“As if you need more,” Judy teased.
“No problem,” I said, taking their empty plates. “Just slip the key through the mail slot if I’m not home when you leave.”
“What about you?” Judy asked, putting her hands on her hips as I got to washing up the dishes and cleaning up my mess of a kitchen “Got any fun plans for the day?”
“Oh, you know,” I said. “Just a little bit of this and that.”
Definitely not chasing down a bunch of old people who might be murderers. Oh wait, yes, that was exactly my plan.
Rumors might have been rumors, but if Edith was the prime suspect, it meant that she was the one I had to go follow up with. And that wasn’t a prospect I liked very much at all.
Witching for the Best Page 9
