Southern Curses

by Amy Boyles

  Princess fumbled in his pocket and pulled out a rock. “Uncle?”

  “Hmmm?” he said.

  “You want me to make some of that cobalt tea for you? That’ll help you feel better. Or do you just want to shoot cobalt at some targets with that special gun you had made?”

  Axel stepped into the doorframe. Our gazes met. He squeezed Garrick’s shoulder. “Got your handcuffs with you? I think we know who our killer is.”

  Garrick slowly lowered the stake gun he’d used to skewer Arnold. He pulled out his cuffs, crossed to Johnny and said, “You’re under arrest for the murder of Carl Carlsburg.”

  TWENTY-TWO

  “Why did Johnny kill Carl?” I said.

  It was the next day. Axel and I sat on a bench downtown. The wind had kicked up, and it blew my hair into my mouth. Axel brushed it away.

  He smirked. “Johnny said he did it because Carl was disobeying orders and insisted on killing Donovan.”

  I clicked my tongue. “Johnny did say that folks didn’t cross him. He is werewolf mafia, after all.”

  Axel nodded. “At first he thought Carl would back down, but he didn’t. When Johnny saw that Carl was going to kill Donovan, Johnny decided to kill him in order to keep his promise to Eva.”

  “At least it was the real Eva.”

  He nodded. “Her body was recovered late last night. There was enough evidence to place Arnold at the scene and to have charged him with the murder if he’d lived.”

  I shook my head. “So what about the cobalt?”

  Axel threaded his fingers through mine and studied my hand before letting them both drop to his thigh. “Johnny had been buying up cobalt for years from Rock, who was his dealer, and using it to charge his power. It wasn’t a secret since Princess knew all about it.”

  I leaned back and tipped my face toward the sunshine. Warm beams alighted on me. I inhaled deeply. “The only thing we still don’t know is why Carl wanted to kill Donovan so badly. I don’t get it. Why kill a familiar shop owner? All he ever did was put witches and their matches together. It wasn’t like he was out there in the world messin’ with people’s lives.”

  Axel raked his fingers down my arm, sending a tingle straight to my stomach. “Some things we may never know.” He rose and tugged me with him.

  “Now. How about you and I go out on a date?”

  I quirked my brow. “A date? Sir, you must be mistaken. I’m stuck here in little old Magnolia Cove until the day I die.”

  Axel laughed. He slipped a hand around my waist and pulled me to him. “Come on. I know this great little place to eat not far from here. It’s got the best peach cobbler you’ve ever tasted.”

  I shook my head. “I’m giving up sweets.”

  His jaw dropped. “Since when?”

  “Since I ran out of jelly beans yesterday.”

  Axel laughed. He brushed his lips over mine. “Don’t worry.”

  “Why’s that?” I murmured between kisses.

  “’Cause I’ve got a bag of jelly beans in my vehicle. I’m not about to let my girl run out.”

  I pulled away and cocked a brow. “Your girl?”

  Heat flushed his cheeks. He nodded. “My girl. What do you think about that?”

  “Sounds like I should be wearing daisy dukes and a cowboy hat.”

  “We can make that happen.”

  I laughed. “How about we start with peach cobbler first.”

  “You changed your mind? I knew the ‘my girl’ thing would work.”

  I laughed again as Axel pulled me into a kiss. I guess this whole being his girl thing wasn’t that bad after all.

  I got home late. By the time we’d finished supper, I was so full of food I was surprised the seams of my clothes still held.

  Elastic is a beautiful thing, y’all.

  I found Betty and Donovan in the living room. They stopped talking when I walked in, so I must’ve interrupted something good.

  Betty rose and shuffled over to the fire, where she stoked the flames and spat into the hearth.

  “That’s attractive,” I said.

  “When you get to be my age, you don’t care what’s attractive and what’s not. You do what you want.”

  “Apparently,” I said.

  Donovan cleared his throat. “So Johnny Utah had the cobalt and killed Carl all along.”

  I sat and kicked my feet up on the coffee table. “Sure did. I didn’t see that one at all. I thought the guy was innocent. I mean, I know he’s werewolf mafia and all, but I still figured he hadn’t killed Carl. But in the end he’s the one who lost the most. He lost Eva to that horrible Arnold.”

  “And you almost got yourself killed,” Betty said.

  I shrugged. “I had to keep Princess safe, and if Arnold had one night with her, she’d have been stuck as a bat for the rest of her life thanks to him.”

  Donovan rose. “Well, I’ve got to get packed. I’ve got a train to catch in the morning.”

  I shot him a look full of surprise. “You’re leaving so soon?”

  Donovan pushed his glasses up his nose. “There’s no point in staying. The shop is yours now, Pepper. To do with as you wish. My time there, though it was wonderful, is now done.”

  I drummed my fingers on the armrest. “Well, that makes sense.” I met his gaze. My uncle seemed sad. I smiled. “I’ll be happy to take you to the station tomorrow.”

  “Thank you,” he said. “I’ll see you then.”

  I said my good nights and padded upstairs. I heard Cordelia and Amelia chatting in Amelia’s room. I knocked softly.

  “Come in,” came my cousin’s voice.

  I stepped inside to find Amelia draped across her bed and Cordelia sitting in the desk chair painting her toenails.

  “I didn’t get a chance to thank y’all for your help last night. If it hadn’t been for y’all, Arnold probably would’ve finished what he started on Princess.”

  Cordelia swatted the air. “That’s what family’s for. To help one another.”

  Amelia nodded. “That’s right. We’re here for each other. Through thick and thin. I’ll say right now that was one of the thin parts.”

  I laughed. “Sure. One of the thin parts. I’d hate to see the thick parts.”

  “Oh, that was when Zach came and asked Cordelia for her hand in marriage.”

  Cordelia scowled. “You’re lucky I don’t throw Cajun Shrimp at you.”

  Amelia wiggled her brows. “Take your best shot. But I warn you, I’m a sweet tea witch. I’ve got backup.” She eyed me.

  I nodded. “Sure. I’ll be all the backup y’all need.” There was silence until I broke it. “Donovan’s leaving.”

  Cordelia waved a hand over her nails. Magic trickled from her fingers, drying the polish. “Yeah, it’s time for him to go. Says he’s got places to see.”

  I nodded. “Yeah, I can understand that. I guess I’m surprised that he isn’t staying any longer.”

  “I don’t know why he would,” Cordelia said. “The store’s yours. Him staying only causes confusion.”

  I sat on a corner of the bed. “What do you mean?”

  Amelia shrugged. “People wonder if he’s going to run the store. Stay and take over.”

  “I didn’t realize that.”

  “That’s one reason he’s stayed out of things,” Cordelia said. “He wants the town’s loyalty to be to you. Not to him. That’s why he stayed here, out of the spotlight.”

  “I didn’t see any spotlights,” Amelia said.

  “Figure of speech,” Cordelia replied, rolling her eyes. “But yeah. The shop’s yours, Pepper. Donovan’s part in it is done.”

  I tapped a finger against my lips. “I suppose I should thank him. I knew he wasn’t staying, of course. But I hadn’t realized it was partly because he wants the town to be behind me.”

  “Well, that and if he stayed too long, people would start asking questions,” Amelia said.

  I saw Cordelia flash our cousin a scathing look.

  “What
?” I said.

  Cordelia sighed. “You might as well tell her since now the cat’s out of the bag.”

  “Oh,” Amelia said. She sat up on the bed and wedged her back against the headboard. “Well, the thing is, he doesn’t want people to find out about his cobalt use, either. You saw that Johnny Utah used it. Some people abuse the stuff. They think it makes them more powerful.”

  “It doesn’t do that,” Cordelia said. “It just helps them hold on to the magic they have.”

  I sighed. “So he’s afraid of what people will think. I can understand that.”

  We spoke for a few more minutes; then I went to my room. I found Mattie on the window seat and Hugo was lying on my bed. I gave them each small hugs and opened my phone.

  I pulled up the town newspaper and looked up the details of Carl’s death.

  I took a look at the picture they’d printed of Carl. They happened to find one before his death.

  I gasped.

  Carl wore a suit and tie. Pinned to the lapel was a small silver coin that I’d seen the match to a couple of days ago.

  My fingers trembled as I closed the screen. I went back downstairs. Betty was gone, but light glowed from the back porch. I gave a small knock, and Donovan motioned for me to come inside.

  I sat on the edge of a chair.

  “Everything okay?” he said with a scratch of the head.

  “It’s fine.”

  A pile of loose change from his pocket lay on the table. I reached in and grabbed a coin.

  “Carl Carlsburg wore this exact coin on his suit,” I said slowly. “I saw it a moment ago when I was pulling up information on his death. See, I knew something bothered me. Why did Carl insist on killing you? It didn’t make any sense until now.”

  He frowned. “Carl stole this coin from me once, years ago. I was able to recover it, but he never forgave me for stealing it. See, the value isn’t in the silver or in the imprint. The value is in the magic. This coin wards off evil.”

  It took me a moment to realize what he was saying. “You mean it’s because of the coin that Johnny called off the hit.”

  “I wouldn’t say that exactly, but the magic surrounding it offers a well of protection that is unprecedented. Carl knew it. He knew without it, his time was limited. He’d screwed over too many people. His actions were catching up to him, and he saw this small piece of silver as his get-out-of-jail-free card.”

  I sat back. “So that’s why he wanted to kill you so badly. But you didn’t tell anyone.”

  Donovan pressed his thumbs into his forehead. “What other people will do for that coin is unfathomable. No. No one needed to know. But now you do.”

  I inhaled a sharp breath and thought. After several seconds I reached over and patted his hand.

  “Your secret’s safe with me.”

  Epilogue

  About six weeks had passed since everything with Donovan occurred. Life in Magnolia Cove had gone back to normal. Or at least as normal as life in a magical town could be.

  In fact, Halloween was upon the sleepy hamlet. Orange and black streamers hung from the storefronts, blowing in the autumn breeze. Purple and green floral arrangements sprouted in window boxes. Even the scent of an apple harvest seemed to float in the air.

  With Donovan’s blessing that I keep Familiar Place, I embraced my shop and all its quirks—you know, like embracing my like for animals.

  I’d just accepted a delivery from Magical Services, Inc., a magic shipping company. It was a crate that was supposed to hold a small colony of bats. Donovan assured me that whenever Halloween rolled around, witches liked to buy bats as familiars.

  Don’t ask me why. I was still trying to figure out how to keep a dragon as a pet, much less try to decipher what to do with a bat. I figured having spent time with Princess was enough for me.

  Axel strode in as soon as I placed the box on the counter. “Get me a present?”

  I chuckled. “Um. Yeah. If you consider about a dozen bats a present, then they’re all yours.”

  He slid onto the counter and drummed his fingers on the glass. “I was hoping it was more along the lines of one of those boxes you get for the man in your life. You know they have barbecuing equipment, survival stuff, that sort of thing.”

  I grabbed a crowbar and proceeded to lift the lid. “You think very highly of yourself.”

  He laughed. “I think very highly of you. Here. Let me help you with that.”

  I handed him the crowbar. “Thank goodness. Opening crates is not something I’m good at. But I bet with all your muscles you could make short work of it.”

  “As long as it’s not magically locked, this should be easy.”

  Axel propped open the lid. A plume of smoke burst from the top, hitting the ceiling and spilling out into the room.

  I coughed and waved the air. Axel grabbed me and pulled me to the side. “Get back, Pepper.”

  He coughed and raised a hand. A sudden burst of air whirled from his palm, clearing the room.

  When the magical smoke settled, a form was revealed. He wore black leather pants and a matching duster. Chains dangled from his belt. He had long dark hair, and eyeliner rimmed his eyes.

  “Rufus,” I said, shocked.

  How the heck did he get in Magnolia Cove?

  Axel kept a hand raised. “You’re not supposed to be here, Rufus. The police find out about this and you’ll be arrested. Thrown in jail.”

  Rufus gave us that smug smile. “I wish it was that easy. You see, I’m here because I need your help.”

  Axel scoffed. “Fat chance I believe that.”

  Rufus stepped forward. “You must. You have to believe me. I’ve come to warn you. If you don’t help me, all of Magnolia Cove might be in danger.”

  Axel and I exchanged a look that seemed to last for forever. Finally he lowered his hand and took a protective step in front of me.

  “Talk, Rufus. Tell us what’s going on.”

  * * *

  <<<<>>>>

  THANK Y’ALL!

  Pepper’s adventures continue in Southern Karma, the next book in the Sweet Tea Witch Mysteries Series.

  Click HERE to order.

  I love to hear from you! Please feel free to drop me a line anytime. You can email me amy@amyboylesauthor.com.

  Also by Amy Boyles

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  SOUTHERN MAGIC

  SOUTHERN SPELLS

  SOUTHERN MYTHS

  SOUTHERN SORCERY

  SOUTHERN CURSES

  * * *

  BLESS YOUR WITCH SERIES

  SCARED WITCHLESS

  KISS MY WITCH

  QUEEN WITCH

  QUIT YOUR WITCHIN'

  FOR WITCH'S SAKE

  DON'T GIVE A WITCH

  WITCH MY GRITS

  FRIED GREEN WITCH

  SOUTHERN WITCHING

  Y’ALL WITCHES

  * * *

  SOUTHERN SINGLE MOM PARANORMAL MYSTERIES

  The Witch’s Handbook to Hunting Vampires

  The Witch’s Handbook to Catching Werewolves

  The Witch’s Handbook to Trapping Demons

  About the Author

  Amy Boyles grew up reading Judy Blume and Christopher Pike. Somehow, the combination of coming of age books and teenage murder mysteries made her want to be a writer. After graduating college at DePauw University, she spent some time living in Chicago, Louisville, and New York before settling back in the South. Now, she spends her time chasing two preschoolers while trying to stir up trouble in Silver Springs, Alabama, the fictional town where Dylan Apel and her sisters are trying to master witchcraft, tame their crazy relatives, and juggle their love lives. She loves to hear from readers! You can email her at amy@amyboylesauthor.com.

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