The Halloween Love Spell

by Morgana Best

  “No.” Kayleen yawned. “Oh well, I had better go and find my boyfriend, Craig.” She shot me a triumphant look. When I first arrived in Bayberry Creek, I had briefly dated Craig before I found out what sort of person he really was. Since then, he had been dating Kayleen, and she seemed to think she had landed the prize of the century.

  After Kayleen took her leave, I grabbed my handbag. “Okay, I’m outta here. I won’t be long.”

  I drove the short distance to the shop, but got stuck behind a farmer driving an old red tractor. I couldn’t pass him because there wasn’t a break in the oncoming traffic. Just as I reached the centre of town, the driver decided to do a reverse angle park right in front of me. I slammed on the brakes and said a few rude words under my breath.

  His first attempt at reversing failed, so he straightened up the tractor and tried again. There was nothing I could do but wait, so I looked around at my surroundings. One of the local coffee shops was right beside the road. I looked in the window and gasped. Alder was in there, sitting opposite Paulette Pinkerton.

  I sat there, gaping in the window, and would have done so for longer, only the car behind me honked its horn. I realised the tractor driver had managed to park, so I drove off, shaken. Why was Alder having coffee with that woman? He told me he had to get back to the office and do more work. I certainly wouldn’t have coffee with a man without telling Alder. A nasty feeling settled in the pit of my stomach.

  I parked at the front of my shop and carried the empty trays inside. There were no customers—maybe they were all at the park for the bake sale. “How did it go?” Ruprecht asked me from behind the counter.

  “I sold out of most of the Halloween cupcakes and all the red velvet cakes,” I told him. “I’ve just popped in to get some more. How has business been this morning?”

  “We’ve been run off our feet,” Camino said from behind the big coffee machine. “This is the first break we’ve had this morning.”

  “My timing is good then. I’ll just pop out the back and get more cupcakes.”

  “Do you need a hand?” Ruprecht asked me.

  “Yes, please. I’ll take five assorted trays back to the car. I won’t take any more Halloween ones, though. We’ll need those.”

  When we were in the back room, I remembered about the poison. “Ruprecht, I almost forgot to tell you. Dawson told Thyme that it’s definitely strychnine.”

  Ruprecht stroked his chin. “That’s a fast acting poison, to be sure.”

  “And that’s not all! That strange woman was there. She said she knew I was a Dark Witch, and that Alder was, too.”

  Ruprecht was visibly taken aback. “She did?”

  I nodded vigorously. “And she didn’t tell us her name, and Kayleen said she’s been standing outside my house.”

  “Outside your house, or outside your fence?”

  I knew where he was going with that train of thought. “Exactly. Outside my fence. She must know she would be in danger from the house, and that means she can’t be good. She completely creeps me out, and she was wearing the same clothes that she was wearing the other day.”

  “That is awfully strange,” Ruprecht said slowly. “I don’t like it at all. We will have to discuss it tonight at your Halloween dinner.”

  When I got back to the park, I took half the trays over to Thyme, and was relieved to see she wasn’t dealing with a crowd of customers. There was only one woman there. When I got closer, I saw it was Kristen Woods.

  “Amelia, I was waiting for you. I wanted to thank you for your generosity.”

  I muttered something, and then realised that now was a good time to bring up the subject of the victim. “I was sorry to hear about your husband,” I said.

  A slow red flush travelled up her face. “There was no love lost between us, I can assure you,” she said in clipped tones. “We were enemies, to tell you the truth. I’m surprised I’m not already behind bars, but I’m sure the police are up to their ears in suspects.”

  “I was the second last person to see him alive,” I said. “I was in his office applying for a loan. I think I’m high on the police’s suspect list as well. I wonder how many suspects they have.” I waited to see if she would take the bait.

  She did. “The police probably have more suspects than they can poke a stick at,” she said with a wave of her hand. “I couldn’t begin to guess who killed him, but I’d be lying if I said I was sorry. I hope it wasn’t that poor woman, Carol Hope. I wouldn’t be surprised if he drove her to murder.”

  “What did he do to her?” Thyme and asked her.

  “It’s just too awful.” Kristen shook her head. “Carol’s husband died after a long illness, and the bank was going to foreclose on her home. Carol would have been able to pay the bank what they owed her if they put her loan on hold for six months. Myles refused to do that, and the bank foreclosed on her home.”

  “That’s awful!” I said. It did not at all surprise me that the man had done that. “I suppose she wasn’t the only one he was awful to,” I said in an attempt to probe more information from Kristen.

  “I’m sure she wasn’t,” she said with a grimace. “Well, keep up the good work, ladies.”

  When she was safely out of earshot, I turned to Thyme. “What was that name again? Carol Hope? Could you put her name in your phone notes, and I’ll go and get the rest of the cupcakes?”

  I walked over to my car, thinking of the new suspect we had to add to our list, and Alder. What was going on with him? It would be interesting to see if he mentioned he’d had coffee with Paulette. If not—well, that was cause for concern.

  I unlocked the boot, and spun around when I heard a noise behind me.

  “Amelia, are you all right? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

  I clutched my throat. “Marina! I didn’t expect to see you. I was off in my own little world.”

  “Do you think your spell did all this?” she asked in a worried tone.

  I couldn’t follow her reasoning. “Did all what?”

  Marina leant forward and spoke in a conspiratorial whisper. “Killed Myles Woods?”

  “Oh my goodness gracious me, no!” I said in horror. “Why would you say such a thing?”

  She patted my shoulder. “I didn’t want to upset you, Amelia. It’s just that you did a spell for the truth to come out, and then the next thing I know, Myles Woods is dead.”

  I wrapped my arms around myself. Surely this couldn’t be true. Surely my spell couldn’t harm anyone? I was horror stricken. “But Myles Woods’ death won’t help Alex clear his name, will it?” I asked her.

  “That’s exactly it,” she said. “That’s what I was coming to tell you. The detectives have just spoken to Alex. They found documents in Myles Woods’ house detailing exactly how he had set up Alex. Alex will be able to clear his name now. Of course, it makes him look like a suspect in the eyes of the detectives, but they’ll find the real culprit sooner or later.” She enveloped me in a big hug. “Thank you so much for doing the Halloween love spell, Amelia. It worked. You’re a powerful witch.”

  I managed to nod as she walked away, still smiling at me over her shoulder. I couldn’t be responsible for Myles Woods’ death, could I?

  Chapter 10

  I was feeling quite down after Marina said she thought my spell was responsible for killing Myles Woods, and I was also upset about Alder having coffee with that woman, Paulette Pinkerton. I don’t know why I decided to make cupcakes to make myself feel better. Sure, the day was already heading downhill rapidly. Could my attempts at baking make it any worse? I guess I was about to find out.

  The house was distracted watching yet another recording of The Voice, so I made a batch of cupcakes, following the recipe as I always did. I hadn’t set anything on fire for the last few months, so that was encouraging. I had also improved the texture of the cakes. I could no longer use my cupcakes as doorstops. They were still sinking in the middle, but at least they were edible now—almost. Maybe to someone with no
tastebuds.

  Everything seemed to proceed according to plan, so I spooned the cake dough into the baking tray and put the soon-to-be-cupcakes in the preheated oven. Some of my baking disasters had happened when I was distracted, so I sat on a chair at the kitchen table and stared at the oven.

  The recipe said that the cupcakes would take ten to fifteen minutes to bake, so after ten minutes I turned on the oven light and peered inside. To my dismay, they had all sunken in the middle. Maybe they just needed more time. I gave them another five minutes, but they still hadn’t risen. I didn’t want to leave them in too long, so I opened the door and lightly touched the top of the closest one. Camino had told me that a cupcake was ready if I lightly touched it with my finger and it bounced back.

  It did bounce back, unless that was my imagination, but I saw to my dismay that the cupcake’s bottom was burnt. I took out the whole tray. I let the cupcakes settle for a few moments, and then tested one with a knife to see if the cupcake would easily come away from the sides. It did.

  I turned the tray onto the cooling rack, and to my delight, the cakes didn’t squash the cooling rack as had so often happened with my previous efforts. I beamed from ear to ear. I was definitely improving. However, when I turned the cupcakes over, the smile fled from my face. All the cupcakes had sunken so far in the middle that they had almost turned into doughnuts.

  Thyme had once told me that icing covers a multitude of sins. I had assumed the cupcakes would be more badly burnt, so I had prepared black icing with the intention of turning the cupcakes into bat cupcakes. Now I just had to wait for the cakes to cool.

  Fifteen minutes later, I covered each cupcake with black icing and spooned the icing into the holes in the middle of the cupcakes. Luckily, I had made plenty of icing. I made a small amount of white icing and put two white eyes on each cupcake, and finished it with chocolate triangles for the bat wings.

  I stood back and admired my work. I had to admit I was getting better by the day, though I really was challenged in the baking department. Ruprecht had told me time and time again that my baking was tied in with me being a Dark Witch. For some reason, my Dark Witchy powers had a bizarre effect upon my baking. Ruprecht had explained it to me at length, but given that his explanation was punctuated with quotes from Plato and Aristotle, and even Pythagoras, I had zoned out and not paid attention.

  I figured I would serve my new cupcakes to the first arrivals, and then serve the main food after everyone arrived. As this was a Halloween party, I had brought home several Halloween cupcakes from the shop: chocolate cupcakes topped with white icing, on which were skulls; vampire bat cupcakes complete with white fangs; purple spider cupcakes; bright orange pumpkin cupcakes, and my favourite, multi-coloured cupcakes with cats’ faces on top.

  I walked around the room, lighting all the orange and black candles. I had decorated the mantelpiece with a large black fabric cobweb, and had placed a black and white striped ceramic pumpkin on top, next to a black crow and a real carved pumpkin. I lit the candle inside the pumpkin and stood back to admire my handiwork. I thought the mantelpiece needed another candle, so I placed a pumpkin-shaped candle there, too. I inhaled deeply. The pumpkin-shaped candle was delightfully scented, all spicy and sugary with a pungent aroma of cinnamon sugar.

  When that was done, I sat in the flickering candlelight and wondered about the strange woman. Was she a Dark Witch, too? I had no opportunity to ponder the matter further, because there was a loud knock on the door. I hurried down the hallway, hoping it was Alder. My heart was in my mouth—would he admit he had coffee with Paulette Pinkerton?

  It wasn’t Alder. It was Camino, wearing a giant pumpkin onesie. Ruprecht was next to her, and he was wearing a black blob onesie. “I’m a bat,” he informed me sadly. I took a closer look.

  “Ruprecht, no one will know you’re a bat unless you pull your hood on,” Camino said crossly. She reached over and pulled the hood, complete with bat ears, over Ruprecht’s head.

  I nodded. “Now I can see it,” I said, suppressing a laugh. “I’ve just made some bat cupcakes. We can have them now.”

  A look of fear flashed across Camino’s and Ruprecht’s face. I heard a gasp of alarm, and it was only then I noticed Mint standing behind them. She, too, was wearing a pumpkin onesie. “Camino forced me to wear it,” she said in a small voice.

  Camino thumped her on the back. “I’m so pleased to see you’re getting into the spirit of Halloween.”

  Mint pulled a face.

  “Thyme and Alder aren’t here yet?” Ruprecht asked as he walked into the living room.

  I shook my head. “They should both be here any minute. I invited Dawson, but Thyme hasn’t told him about the house, or the fact that we’re witches yet.”

  “That’s going to be a difficult conversation,” Ruprecht said.

  “And speaking of difficult conversations,” I said, “if I ask you a question, Ruprecht, will you tell me the honest truth, even if it would hurt my feelings, or upset me badly?”

  Ruprecht looked alarmed. “I’ll tell you the truth, Amelia. What is it?”

  I moved Hawthorn out of the way so I could sit down. How does one small cat manage to occupy the length of a two seater sofa? “As you know, Marina wanted me to do a love spell, though I suppose it wasn’t technically a love spell, more like a blockbuster or road opener spell. It was to clear her boyfriend, Alex’s, name.”

  Ruprecht nodded. “Yes, you told us all about it, Amelia.”

  I ignored Hawthorn who was sitting at my feet, glaring at me for having the nerve to sit on his sofa. “Something happened after I did the spell. There was a flash of light. Actually, I was doing a spell to bring a plant back to life at the time, so it must have been a delayed reaction. I can’t really explain it, but I know something happened, and today, Marina said I might be responsible for Myles Woods’ murder.”

  “Why, that’s utter nonsense,” Ruprecht said in shock. The other two agreed with him. “How on earth could she come to such a dire conclusion?” he asked me.

  “The spell was to clear Alex’s name,” I told him. “When the detective searched Myles Woods’ house, they found the evidence that he had falsely accused Alex. So you see, my spell did clear Alex’s name.”

  Ruprecht shook his head. “Amelia, you asked me to tell you the truth, and this is the truth. His death had absolutely nothing to do with your spell. I can assure you of that. Please don’t let this trouble you any further.”

  I was still doubtful. “Are you sure?”

  Ruprecht nodded. “I’m absolutely positive. Don’t give it another thought. Love spells, road opener spells, and blockbusting spells certainly don’t harm anyone, let alone cause someone to be murdered.”

  I leant back on the sofa and breathed a sigh of relief. “Here’s Alder,” Ruprecht said.

  I looked around. I hadn’t even heard Alder come in. He had his own key, but he always moved stealthily. Alder swept over to me and handed me a bunch of flowers, blood red roses and orange lilies, along with purple cushion pom chrysanthemums so dark they looked black, wrapped in orange and black paper.

  They were so beautiful they took my breath away. “They’re lovely,” I said as he kissed me lightly on my cheek. I automatically smelt the bouquet. I thought the flowers perfect for the Halloween theme, but was this because he had a guilty conscience? Don’t they say men who are having affairs always give flowers to their girlfriends? Sure, Alder had often given me flowers in the past, so it wasn’t out of the ordinary. Maybe I was being overly suspicious. I would just have to see if he confessed to having coffee with Paulette.

  I walked down to the kitchen to fetch a vase, when the house played Karma Chameleon again. It was all my own fault, or, to be precise, it was Camino’s fault. I had hosted a Boy George party months earlier, and Camino had made us all Boy George onesies complete with Karma Chameleon hats. At the time, I never suspected that the house would get in on the act.

  Thyme arrived just as I returned to the livi
ng room with a vase. I opened the door and let her in. “Gorgeous flowers,” she said.

  I nodded. “Alder just brought them for me. How was your time with Dawson?”

  Thyme’s face flushed red and she averted her eyes, so I thought I should change the subject. “It’s definitely strychnine, then?”

  She nodded. “Is the house still obsessed with Boy George?”

  I groaned. “Grandmother, would you turn the music down, please?”

  The house obliged, but at once turned on the TV. It was the umpteenth replay of the latest episode of The Voice. I rolled my eyes. “Could you turn the TV down, please?”

  The house shuddered, but the volume decreased. I placed the vase of flowers on a side table where the cats wouldn’t knock it over, and went to sit next to Alder. Once more, Hawthorn was stretched out, purring, and Alder was stroking him. I picked up Hawthorn and put him on the floor. He stopped purring at once and glared at me. “Go and play with Willow,” I told him. Of course, my words fell on deaf ears.

  I turned to Alder. “I haven’t had a chance to tell you yet that Dawson found out it was definitely strychnine.”

  “A fatal dose is fast acting,” he said without delay.

  “Did you get much work done today, Alder?” I asked him.

  He shot me a strange look. “Yes, I did.”

  I was going to ask him exactly what he did that day, when Thyme spoke. “Let’s all google on our phones to see if we can find out where strychnine can be procured. Like you said earlier, Amelia, that will help narrow it down. It’s hardly freely available.”

  The others looked at their phones while I fetched my laptop. “It’s used in Western Australia for poisoning wild dogs and foxes,” Thyme piped up. “It’s a Schedule Seven poison, which means someone has to register to use it.”

  “Its use in rat poison has been banned in Australia for some years,” Alder added. “I googled it earlier. I didn’t have time to find out exactly what year it was banned, though.”