Easy Bake Coven: Book One of the Vivienne Finch Magical Mysteries
Page 23
“So the conclave punished her?” Vivienne shuddered.
“It was the only way to stop her. She was becoming far too dangerous. We had always suspected that she killed her mother, but we had no way to prove it.”
“Until I came into the picture, that is.” Vivienne paused for a moment in thought. “How did you get her to write a confession?”
“The elder witches are experts with spell work. She was easy to charm and once under their control she had no choice but to spill all the gory details on a long detailed note.”
“Where is Sheriff Rigsbee?” Vivienne asked.
Nana Mary chuckled. “He’s under the control of one of witches gifted with mind control at his office. Right now, he’s been fed the information he needs to finish the investigation and free Suzette Powell.”
“Isn’t that just one piece of the mess to fix?” Vivienne wondered. “How are we going to make this look like a natural event?”
“The conclave is on top of it. When something of this magnitude occurs, they call in a specialist team to clean up the damage. You’d be surprised to know how many world events have actually been staged to cover things like this up.”
“So no one will ever know the truth about us?”
“They’re not ready for such knowledge, darling granddaughter.” Nana Mary winked. “Perhaps one day they will be, but in the mean time we must remain hidden from site.”
Vivienne leaned over and gave Nana Mary a hug. “I don’t know what to say except ‘thank you’.”
“You’re welcome, my dear. Now, I better drop you off and then head back to my apartment. The specialists should almost be done with the cleanup and we need to be in our places before the time wrinkle spell is cast.”
“Do I want to know what a time wrinkle is?”
“Let’s just say it stitches events together so it all makes sense to mortal minds.” Nana Mary laughed. “But when it occurs, you’re going to feel a little bit nauseous.”
“Great.” Vivienne groaned.
“It only lasts a few seconds. If you head home and go to bed, you might even sleep through it.”
“That sounds like a plan.” Vivienne yawned. “I still have a business to open tomorrow morning.”
“Good girl.” Nana Mary smiled and then drove her back home. “Save an apple blossom for me.”
* * *
“Thank you so much. I’ll have that cake ready next Thursday.” Vivienne waved goodbye to the last customer of the day. She was dead tired, but the raw energy from everything that had happened propelled her through. As she walked over and locked the door, she turned the little sign over to closed.
Stephanie printed out the daily cash receipt and nodded with a smile. “Wow. I think this will make you happy.”
“How much did we make?” She walked over to a bistro chair and sat down.
“Seven hundred and forty-three dollars and some change.” Stephanie beamed. “What do you think?”
“I think I’d love to sleep in tomorrow morning.” Vivienne smiled back. Her adventure the night before had pulled muscles she didn’t even know she had.
“You’re the owner, you can do that.” Stephanie replied as she tore off the receipt and began to count down the cash drawer.
“I can do that, can’t I?” Vivienne mused. “Oh, but it wouldn’t be fair to you.”
“I love this job.” Stephanie replied as she counted out a stack of twenties. “If you think I can handle it, that is.”
“I know you can handle it, Stephanie.” Vivienne agreed. “So you open and I’ll come in around ten.”
“I’ll be here.” Stephanie jotted down a figure on some lined notebook paper and moved on to the pile of tens and fives in the cash drawer.
A knock on the door interrupted their conversation. Vivienne turned around and noticed Suzette Powell waving from the other side of the glass. “Suzette?” She rushed over and unlocked the door. “How are you doing?”
“I don’t know how to thank you.” Suzette stepped in from the chilly evening air. “I didn’t think anyone was going to believe me.”
“It wasn’t just me. Sheriff Rigsbee was running an investigation the entire time that I wasn’t even aware of.” Vivienne felt a little guilty with sticking to the conclave’s cover story, but she knew it was for the best. “Samantha Charles was the one who found the memory stick in her purse.”
“But you were the one to put them on the right track.” Suzette gushed. “I would never have thought a nail biting habit could have almost landed me in prison for murder.” Without thinking she stopped her right hand from going into her mouth.
“It almost worked.” Vivienne replied. “But thankfully, her suicide note was quite detailed.”
“It was almost like she couldn’t live with the guilt.” Suzette pondered. “Well, you look extra busy today. I just wanted to stop by and thank you for all you’ve done.”
Vivienne gave her a warm hug. “Just throw some catering gigs my way now and then and we’ll call it even.”
“Do you happen to have Samantha’s number? I wanted to call and personally thank her too.”
“Sure.” Vivienne wrote it down on one of her business cards and handed it to Suzette.
“Thanks.” Suzette waved goodbye and then disappeared onto Main Street.
“She’s lucky to have friends like you.” Stephanie said.
“We’re all lucky.” Vivienne added and locked the door once more. “Now, let’s make a list for tomorrow’s baking.”
Stephanie finished counting the drawer and handed Vivienne the bank bag. “Here you go. The first official bank deposit.”
“May there be many more to follow.” Vivienne smiled.
Chapter 26
Five weeks later, on Halloween, Vivienne set her fat pumpkin on the front step next to Joshua’s. She had carved a happy face with a gap-toothed grin on the pumpkin to welcome the children arriving for trick-or-treat in contrast to Joshua’s fearsome looking pumpkin with sharp teeth and slanted eyes. Dressed in a black cape and wearing a purple witch’s hat with little foil spiders dangling from the brim, she lit each of the candles and admired the view. Tom Cat cast a wary eye from his comfy perch she had installed on the living room windowsill. He gave a little meow and then curled up for an early evening nap.
So much had happened since that fateful night that almost was her last. Richard Clarke had come clean about the alleged affair with Suzette Powell. He explained that Victoria had blackmailed him about how he and Mary Ellen Bryce had influenced the educator’s union for votes. Upon her death and suicide note confession, he once more apologized and moved down to Florida shortly after to start a new life. The city council decided to hold a special election in six weeks time which just so happened to fall on Election Day. Two candidates decided to run, but only one was met with almost universal praise. Cassandra Pembroke was sure to win thanks to her no nonsense approach to situations.
Mary Ellen Bryce was forced to resign from her position in the school and moved out West as the damage to her reputation was too great to repair. The expensive uniforms were ditched in favor of a dress code which still preserved order without hurting the wallets and purses of the parents. She was replaced by a young man from Ithaca who was much more in step with the students and quickly bonded with the staff and mended bridges that Mary Ellen had so easily burned.
The historic commission was disbanded after a generous private grant funded a complete redesign of Main Street, courtesy of millionaire hotel heiress Samantha Charles. She ended up buying the former Clemens residence shortly afterwards and made plans to start using it as her new summer home. True to her word, she had kept Vivienne busy with special orders to be shipped to New York City for all sorts of special events. The famous Treavis Cake, being the most requested item of all.
Nora had calmed down greatly, now that her daughter was in a healthy and happy relationship. She still stopped in at the bakery nearly every day to check up on how things were running. She limi
ted herself to one query a week as to when a wedding day might be set, which Vivienne thought more than fair. But that still didn’t stop her from sending gift subscriptions for bridal magazines every chance she got.
Nana Mary continued to enjoy her life at Whispering Oaks, where she continued with her winning streak at the weekly bingo games. She offered guidance to Vivienne, as she began to study the grimoire and its plethora of spells and charms.
Stephanie Bridgeman continued to demonstrate a talent for decorating that surprised even Vivienne. She was eager to learn new techniques and was soon creating her own loyal following with her cute animal cupcakes that kids couldn’t resist. Her green frogs with a pink taffy tongue had become the most popular with boys and her dragonfly with a candy stick tail proved irresistible to girls.
As for Joshua, he had received a special commendation from Sheriff Rigsbee for his dedication in bringing Mona Clarke’s investigation to a close. He continued to demonstrate an uncanny ability to find missing persons that no one in the office could match. It was all in the nose, he would joke to the others.
A gaggle of laughing children bounded down the road all dressed in their Halloween finery. Vivienne watched them race up the sidewalks with plastic bags flailing in their hands. “Trick or Treat.” They shouted at the pink home across the street.
Joshua stepped outside and joined her on the front steps with a big bowl of candy. He had decided upon a classic Hollywood Wolfman costume and gave her a little nibble on the ear. “Aren’t we flirting with danger here?”
“What do you mean?” Vivienne asked as she snagged a piece of strawberry licorice from the bowl.
“Showing our true colors so boldly to the world?” He winked.
“It’s Halloween.” She smiled at him. “The one night of the year we can be ourselves and no one will look twice.”
Joshua set the bowl on a little plastic table next to the steps and sat down. “What time is the coven meeting?”
“It starts at five minutes to midnight.” Vivienne sat down next to him. “But Nana Mary wants to leave by eleven so we get a good seat for the festivities.”
“I don’t suppose you can tell me what goes on during these meetings.”
Vivienne bit off a piece of the licorice and shook her head. “I’ve been sworn to secrecy.”
“That’s a shame.” Joshua dug through the candy bowl and pulled out a peanut butter cup. “Because I was going to tell you about what we werewolves do when we meet on full moons.”
“You know, there are some secrets I think I can live with.” She laughed.
Joshua chewed the chocolate confection thoughtfully. “Probably for the better, I’m sure.”
“My darling, it’s just a little witchcraft.” Vivienne put her hand under his chin. “I’m a good one, remember?”
“No.” He smiled back at her. “You’re the best.” He kissed her fully on the lips as another group of children ran up the sidewalk to them.
“Oh, gross.” One of the boys dressed as a pirate stuck out his tongue. “If that’s your trick, can we have our treat now?”
Vivienne and Josh laughed and filled their bags with goodies. “Happy Halloween.” They spoke in unison as another wave of children descended upon them.
Coming Soon!
Yule be the Death of Me: Book Two of the Vivienne Finch Magical Mysteries.
It’s the height of the Christmas season in Cayuga Cove and the residents are preparing for the annual holiday gingerbread house competition. With the Sweet Dreams Bakery a smashing success, Vivienne and her assistant Stephanie create a charming reproduction of a Victorian home landmark they are sure will snag the top prize. However, when an anonymous ‘Santa’s Naughty List’ starts appearing on utility poles and community event bulletin boards all over town, exposing the less-than-savory deeds of many local residents, the holiday spirit quickly turns sour. When the first name mentioned on the list is found murdered a few days later, the gift of suspicion leads to holiday panic. Vivienne must catch a cunning killer before her own goose is cooked!
About the Author
J.D. Shaw is a 2008 graduate of the prestigious Odyssey Writing Workshop run by Jeanne Cavelos, former senior editor at Bantam Doubleday Dell. During his six weeks in the program, he worked alongside such award winning authors as Barry B. Longyear and Nancy Kress.
He lives in Elmira, NY with Sam, an indoor tiger cat, who seems to think that sleep is just wasted time between feedings and spending quality outdoor time with his pal, the neighborhood stray, Mister Tommy Cat.
This is his first novel in the Vivienne Finch Magical Mysteries. He is currently hard at work on the next book in the series.
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Table of Contents
Copyright
DEDICATION:
Special thanks
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Coming Soon!
About the Author