Mystical Murder: A Whiskers and Witches Cozy Mystery, Book 1 (Whiskers and Witches Cozy Mysteries)

by Patti Benning

  “It’s best for people like us not to get involved in these sorts of things,” Aunt Loretta said.

  “So, we aren’t supposed to use our powers to help people?”

  “The little things, sure. But something big like this… well, even if I could find out who killed him, then what? Am I supposed to take justice into my own hands? The police aren’t going to believe me without some sort of evidence, so my options would be to either do something about it myself, or live with the knowledge of who the killer is and that he or she is walking free. And I’m not a vigilante, so we’re not going with the first option.”

  Tess gritted her teeth. She couldn’t imagine having the power to solve a crime, and not doing it.

  “Can you just tell me how to do it, then?”

  Loretta sighed, then reminded Tess, not unkindly, “You can’t even make a pencil float. Something like tracking down a killer would take a lot of very complex spells.”

  “I unlocked the door,” Tess grumbled. “Speaking of that—how did I do it? It didn’t unlock until I got mad at it.”

  “The anger must have helped to focus your power,” Loretta said. “You weren’t doubting yourself, even subconsciously. You told the lock to open and expected it to obey you, so it worked.”

  “The lock is just a hunk of metal. Why are you acting like it could understand me?”

  “Part of being a witch means coming to the realization that things are more than they seem.”

  “You don’t have to be so mysterious all the time. Can’t you just explain things normally for once?”

  “Tess, there aren’t any rules to this. I’m telling you what my teacher—your great-aunt—told me. Sometimes things work just like they’re supposed to—” she waved her hand and the cup of tea in front of her floated smoothly up to eye level and rotated slowly, “and other times they don’t.” She tried the same thing with Tess’s cup, which started to violently shake. “Sometimes you need to sweet-talk an object before it will do what you want, especially if it belongs to another person. I guess in your case, getting angry at it worked just as well. We all have to find the method that works for us. There was a witch I met in Prague that could only cast successful spells when she sneezed. Remember, moving things around with your mind isn’t all there is to being a witch. It’s just the easiest part for a beginner to grasp.”

  “It sounds like you’re saying that your training might not even help me at all. I might never figure out how to control my powers.”

  “I’m here to help guide you and keep you from getting hurt. I’m not an instruction manual.”

  Tess sighed. It was late, and she felt suddenly very tired. She had gone from being elated about her new powers to feeling defeated and hopeless. “I just want to help.”

  “I know, dear. But you have to remember, millions of crimes get solved by using completely mundane methods. I’m sure the police have this well under control. Magic is a useful shortcut for some things, but you can’t use it to solve all of your problems.”

  The next morning, Tess woke up before her alarm went off and lay in bed thinking until she heard the twittering of birds from the sounds of nature clock. She didn’t feel like going into work at all. Between her aunt’s big revelation about her powers and the murder, the weekend had been an emotional roller coaster. She wasn’t one to call in sick without good reason, though, so she dragged herself out of bed and got ready for the day anyway.

  Ann was the dental assistant on staff today; an unpleasant surprise for Tess on top of an already bad morning. She couldn’t put her finger on what exactly bothered her so much about the woman, but from their first meeting, the two had always rubbed each other the wrong way.

  When she was working with just Vanessa and Deidre, Tess found work at worst a bit tedious. When Ann was there, a tedious day turned into a stressful one. On a good day, she could let the other woman’s snide remarks and nit-picky nature go right by without taking anything to heart, but on a day like today when she was already upset, it was hard not to react to the jibes.

  “Tess, you need to tell new patients to get here early to fill out the forms,” Ann said, walking up to the desk, her voice tight with annoyance. “I know you don’t have anything better to do than sit there all day, but my time is valuable and so is Dr. Morrow’s.”

  “I told them to arrive fifteen minutes early, just like I tell every other new patient,” Tess replied, trying not to lose her temper. Why did the woman have to be so rude? “I can’t control what they do after that. I’m sorry you had to wait for them, but on the upside, there’s still half an hour until the next appointment, so the delay didn’t put us behind.”

  “Time is money,” Ann snapped. “I don’t know why I would expect a secretary to understand.”

  As the dental assistant walked away, Tess took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Now wasn’t the time to lose her temper, she couldn’t risk her job. She had to…

  A crack, a huge splash, and a short scream made her eyes blink open. She looked across the office to see a drenched Ann standing in front of the fish tank, the front of which seemed to have spontaneously shattered. Did I do that? Tess wondered. The sight of the fish flopping around on the floor spurred her into action. She hurried to the back and grabbed a plastic container from the small kitchen. She filled it up at the water dispenser, then ran back into the waiting room to do what she could to fix the mess that she had made.

  Once all of the fish had been saved—there had been no casualties, thankfully—Tess joined Ann and Vanessa in an examination of the fish tank. Her face burned with guilt. There was no explanation for what had happened besides magic. She watched the other two women, worried that they might somehow blame her, but after a few minutes Vanessa shrugged.

  “I guess it just happened, somehow. There must have been a fault in the glass. It’s just bad luck that you were walking by at the time, Ann. You can run home and change if you’d like.”

  Tess was amazed. Her aunt was right; people did tend to explain away things they didn’t understand. She wondered how many times she had done the same before she had learned about magic. Even if she never became a powerful witch like Loretta, Tess knew that she would never see the world the same way now that the veil had been lifted.

  Chapter Eleven

  * * *

  “This is Desmond Bryce bringing you your local news. I’m live in Elk Hill, where the lead detective has an important message for all locals.”

  Tess sat up straighter on the couch and leaned forward. She had been practicing moving objects from one spot to another with just her thoughts, with the television on as background noise. She hadn’t been expecting to see Detective Vance walk onto the screen.

  “Yesterday evening a man was killed during what looks like a B&E gone wrong. We are still looking for the perpetrator. I would like to encourage everyone to lock their doors and be aware of their surroundings, especially at night. If you know anything about this crime, please call your local police department or contact me directly at…”

  He recited his number, then the news moved on to a piece about a teenager who had jumped into a frozen lake to save her dog after it fell through the ice. Tess turned the information over in her head. It sounded like they hadn’t made much progress on the case whatsoever. She was itching to help, but didn’t know what she could do. She barely had any control over even the simplest magic as it was.

  She looked down at the table, where the fork that she had been practicing on was sitting unmoving on top of a napkin. She closed her eyes, scrunched up her face, and believed. She knew that when she opened her eyes the fork would have moved, and sure enough, when she looked it was now laying on the other edge of the table. Tess smiled. It wasn’t much, and she still hadn’t gotten the trick of the whole floating thing—she kept wondering how something so heavy could float and she had the feeling that her doubt was a large part of the problem—but at least this was something. Teleporting small objects might not be the most useful skill
in the world, but it was immensely satisfying to know that she was using magic.

  Her phone buzzed and she looked down at the screen. It was an email from Meals on the Move. They had finally sent her the updated schedule. She opened the message and read the apology letter.

  So sorry, Tess, it turns out that you weren’t in our email system yet either. I’m glad that you still made your deliveries. Your schedule is pretty much the same, but you are no longer delivering to Frederick Colt. Instead you will be delivering dinners to Anastasia Cross. She lives much closer to the other two people on your route. Let me know if there are any issues with any of the dishes or the schedule.

  -Linda Carey

  Tess downloaded the new schedule and saved it to her phone. If she had gotten this just twenty-four hours ago, then she wouldn’t have been the one to find Frederick Colt dead. It was an odd thought. She would have put it down to coincidence before, but now she was wondering if maybe everything happened for a reason.

  Maybe I’m supposed to find his killer, she thought. I might be able to figure out a way to help if I just give myself the chance.

  She closed her eyes and transported the fork again, this time to her hand. It was getting easier each time she did it. Her aunt might not be interested in solving crimes, but hadn’t she even said that Tess had to find her own way in the end? If she could help catch a killer, then there was no telling what good she might do in the world. This could be just the beginning.

  She twirled the fork around in her fingers. A moment later she had made up her mind. She was going to make a difference in the world, and she was going to start now.

  Frederick Colt’s house was dark and gloomy. One edge of the crime scene tape had come undone from the door frame and flapped in the wind, snapping loudly when there was a gust. Tess had waited until well past midnight, when the town of Elk Hill was more or less asleep, to come out here. She had parked her car half a block away, around the corner, and was feeling less and less like this was a good idea every minute. If the police hadn’t marked her down as a suspect before, they would definitely do so if she was found at the scene of the crime in the middle of the night.

  I just have to be careful, she thought. No lights, at least none that can be seen from the street. I’ll lock the door behind me, so if anyone tries to come in I’ll have warning. Not that a few extra seconds of warning would do her much good if the police showed up, but it was better than nothing. She was burning with the urge to do something with her powers. Thirty years old, and she had never felt so driven in her life. Her aunt might be happy to use her magic to live a comfortable, domestic life, but Tess wanted more.

  After making sure no one was around to see her, Tess walked quickly up the walkway and tested the doorknob. It was locked, not unexpectedly. Remembering what her aunt had said about other people’s property being more reticent to do what she wanted, she bent down and addressed the deadbolt.

  “I know we got off on the wrong foot last time, and I’m sorry. I’m trying to find out who killed the man who lived here, so if you could let me in, that would be great.”

  She closed her eyes and scrunched up her face, and sure enough heard the satisfying thunk of the deadbolt sliding open a moment later. Grinning to herself, Tess reached out a gloved hand and opened the door. Stepping over the crime scene tape, she went inside.

  The inside was dark and chilly. There was still tape on the floor, outlining where the body had been found. Tess looked around the living room, not sure what she was hoping to see. The police probably would have taken anything obviously connected to the crime. She would have to follow her intuition and try to find something that didn’t belong.

  An hour later, Tess was on the verge of giving up when she found what she was looking for. Next to the fireplace, beneath the mantel, was a small gold piece of jewelry with the initials LC. She didn’t know what it was; it looked like an oddly shaped earring, or maybe part of a necklace or bracelet that had broken off. She didn’t wear much jewelry herself, but she did know that whatever it was, chances were high it belonged to the killer. There were imprints in the dust on top of the mantel, suggesting that something had been sitting there until recently. Maybe the killer had been in the middle of stealing whatever was up there when Frederick entered the room, and in the ensuing struggle, the piece of jewelry had been lost.

  “Well, I found you,” Tess whispered to the little golden initials. “Now what do I do with you?”

  Chapter Twelve

  * * *

  Tess walked into work the next day with the little piece of jewelry sitting in her pocket. Late last night after getting home and retreating to the privacy of her room, she had taken it out and turned it over and over in her hand, wondering who the initials LC could belong to. When no great ideas struck her, she resorted to asking the little hunk of metal outright. To her surprise, her whispered question, “Who do you belong to?” had been met with a shudder from the piece of jewelry. It had grown warm in her hand, but nothing else had happened. It was still warm now; she could feel it even through the material of her pants. She wasn’t sure what she had done, and didn’t yet want to admit to her aunt that she had ignored her suggestion and had gotten herself involved in the murder case, so for now she was stuck trying to figure it out on her own.

  Deidre joined her during their lunch break, as cheerful and talkative as ever. Tess realized that the last time she had seen her friend, her life had been completely normal. Now she had discovered that she was a witch and was knee deep in a murder mystery. She felt like a completely different person, but to Deidre she hadn’t changed a bit.

  “So, how was your weekend? Is your crazy aunt still staying with you?”

  “Yeah, she’s still here.” Tess suddenly remembered that she hadn’t told her friend about the murder. In a town as small as Elk Hill, Deidre had probably heard of it, but would have no idea that Tess had been there. “I’ve got something to tell you…”

  When she was done with an abridged version of her story—she hadn’t mentioned anything about her second visit to the house, or using her powers to get inside—Deidre was staring at her in fascination.

  “Wow, Tess. I can’t even imagine what it must have been like to find him. It must have been terrible. And you still came in to work the next day?”

  “I know I probably could have called in sick, but I would have felt bad about it. Besides, it wasn’t all bad. The fish tank exploded on Ann.”

  They both looked over to the stand where the fish tank had been. The fish were currently swimming around in a glass bowl until their replacement tank arrived. Vanessa had managed to get a free one from the company, claiming that the tank’s issues must have been caused by a defect in the glass. Tess still felt a bit guilty about the incident, but she couldn’t deny that she had enjoyed seeing Ann standing there soaking wet and smelling like fish water.

  “I kind of wish I had been here to see that,” Deidre said. “Well, I was going to see if you were free to go out this evening and meet that guy, Luke, that Jackie and I were talking about—she mentioned he’s back in town for a few days—but you may not be up for it with everything else that has been going on.”

  “No, you know what? I think the distraction would be good for me,” Tess said. “Just tell me when and where, and I’ll be there.”

  Tess walked into the bar that evening feeling out of her comfort zone. The Laughing Goat was the best bar in town, and she’d been there many times before, but somehow everything seemed different. The carefree self of her past was gone. She felt like she didn’t belong there, surrounded by so many happy people, none of whom knew the truth about her. She was just beginning to get an inkling of how lonely it might be to be a witch. Even if she did hit it off with this Luke person, it wasn’t like she could tell him the truth about her. She wasn’t even sure if she was going to tell Deidre and Jackie, and she had known them both for years.

  Her friends waved her over and she joined them at a table in the corner. It wasn
’t a particularly busy night, but there were enough people there to provide a fair amount of background noise. Her friends had already ordered a basket of wings and each had a drink in front of them.

  “Hey,” Jackie said. “Glad you could make it. Luke will be here soon. He’s here to arrange his dad’s funeral, so go easy on him. This is just so you can meet him, plus I figured he could use the distraction.”

  Tess made the connection almost immediately. “Wait, was his dad Frederick Colt? The person who got killed during a robbery?”

  “Yeah, how do you know about that?” Jackie asked. Deidre filled her in.

  “I met Luke last week,” Tess said. “I didn’t realize he was the same person. How do you know him?”

  “He used to be friends with me and Jeff in high school,” Jackie said. “We kept in touch. It’s a crazy small world, isn’t it? I wonder what he’ll say when he recognizes you.”

  Jackie had lived in Elk Hill her entire life, unlike Tess and Deidre, who had both moved to the area for their jobs. Sometimes Tess envied her friend; she was completely at home in the town, and knew just about everyone.

  “This is going to be so awkward,” she said, sighing. “Don’t tell him I’m the one that found his dad, alright? It will just make things worse.”