A Drop of Magic (A Sugarcomb Lake Cozy Mystery Book 3)

by Alaine Allister

  “No, I don’t think so,” Clarissa insisted. “The cat is very, very selective. It doesn’t care for many people. Sometimes I’m not even sure it likes me…and the feeling is mutual,” she grinned. “It looks to me like you’ve got a friend there.”

  “Meow,” the cat agreed.

  It jumped onto the couch next to Parker and began kneading the cushions while purring loudly. After a moment of parading around in circles, it plunked down right beside him. It couldn’t have been closer to him had it tried!

  “Hmm, looks like we only got one fortune cookie,” Clarissa noted. “Want it?”

  “You go ahead,” Parker said. “I’ve already had my good fortune.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yeah…meeting you,” he winked.

  “Oh you smooth talker!” Clarissa teased. But secretly she was delighted.

  The cat was smitten with Parker Tweed and so was she.

  Their relationship was fantastic, and it felt like things were becoming rather serious. Clarissa just wished the love potion would hurry up and wear off. Until then, she would continue wondering if Parker’s feelings for her were sincere or merely the product of witchcraft.

  Chapter 12

  On Tuesday afternoon, Clarissa did something terrifying.

  She sat in on Matilda’s History 101 class.

  Clarissa had never seen her aunt deliver a lecture before. Actually, she still couldn’t quite wrap her head around the fact that Matilda taught for a living. Not to be rude, but the free spirited redhead could be, well, kind of ditzy sometimes. Plus she was awful at explaining things!

  When Clarissa snuck in and took a seat at the back of the classroom, she didn’t know what to expect. As mean as it was, she kind of figured it would be like witnessing a car wreck. She hoped for Matilda’s sake that she was wrong, but even so…she braced herself for the worst.

  The class started off about how Clarissa had expected: Matilda was late.

  She tumbled into the room five minutes after three. Her wild, fiery hair was askew and her long, flowing paisley skirt was on crooked. But despite her frazzled appearance, there was something about her presence that commanded attention.

  Clarissa could instantly see that the students in the room not only liked Matilda; they also respected her. A hush fell over the room as Matilda picked up a piece of chalk. Everyone watched intently as she began to draw giant, messy diagrams on the blackboard.

  As she began to talk, the students hung on her every word.

  Clarissa, too, was transfixed.

  She had never seen her aunt like this before, so focused, so enthusiastic. Matilda was talking a mile a minute, but she was speaking with purpose. The things she was saying were interesting and they made sense. She was truly in her element up there at the front of the lecture theater.

  Perhaps Clarissa had underestimated her.

  The hour-long lecture flew by. When it was over, Clarissa waited for Matilda’s students to disperse. Then she made her way down to the front, where Matilda was dancing around in circles like a crazy person.

  “Are you okay?” Clarissa asked, alarmed.

  “There was a bee!” Matilda replied breathlessly, still spinning around and flapping her arms.

  “Bees are usually fairly harmless,” Clarissa assured her aunt, who by now was practically hyperventilating. “If you leave them alone, they won’t bother you. There are tons of bees out in my garden and I’ve never been stung.”

  “Okay,” Matilda agreed.

  She grabbed hold of her lecture podium and took a few deep breaths. Then she shut her eyes and her lips began moving as she whispered something to herself. She seemed to be meditating…or perhaps losing her marbles. She swayed back and forth slightly, humming under her breath.

  Clarissa wasn’t sure whether to say anything or keep quiet.

  “Um…?” she began uncertainly.

  “I’m calm now.” Matilda announced suddenly. Her eyes popped open then. “Hey! You’re here!” she exclaimed as though she had only just realized it. Yep, her kookiness definitely hadn’t gone anywhere.

  “Yes, I came to sit in on your class. You were great,” Clarissa said earnestly. “If you’re not busy now, do you want to grab a coffee with me?”

  “Sure,” Matilda agreed. “There’s a place with good muffins downstairs.”

  “I’m in!” Clarissa hesitated and then added, “I’m sorry for flipping out on you. I shouldn’t have yelled. I know you wouldn’t ever do anything to hurt me. And I know you spilled the love potion on me by accident.”

  “I should have told you what happened right away,” Matilda admitted. “And I should have been more careful with that potion. I also should have been more precise with my measurements when I was making it! I’m sorry. Has the spell worn off yet?”

  “How can I tell?” Clarissa asked.

  “I don’t know. Has Parker’s behavior changed?”

  “Um, I don’t think so?” Clarissa replied uncertainly.

  Now that she had begun scrutinizing his every move, she was second guessing herself. Had Parker always been so affectionate and sweet, or had it ramped up after the potion was spilled? Clarissa couldn’t say for sure.

  “The spell is probably still active, then,” Matilda concluded. “Is that why you’re here?”

  “No. I actually wanted to ask you some kind of sensitive questions,” Clarissa replied. By now she and Matilda were standing in the coffee queue, so she was trying to be subtle. The last thing she needed was for other people to overhear the conversation.

  “We can go talk over there,” Matilda suggested, pointing to an empty sitting area.

  “Perfect.”

  A few minutes later, Clarissa was curled up on a couch with a steaming hot cup of cappuccino. It tasted delicious! The couch was pretty comfy, too. Sometimes Clarissa missed college life. Those had been some interesting days.

  Matilda sat across from her Clarissa. She pulled her chair closer and leaned in. “What did you want to talk about?” she whispered before taking a sip of her green tea. A banana oatmeal muffin was balanced precariously on her knee.

  “Was Miles Connor separated from his wife?” Clarissa asked, cutting right to the chase.

  “I have no idea. He didn’t really talk about her much.”

  “Oh. What did he talk about?”

  “To be honest, we didn’t talk much. I made it pretty clear to him early on that I wasn’t interested. I know I shouldn’t speak ill of the dead but…” Matilda shuddered. “He wore bowties, Clarissa. Bowties! He didn’t wear them ironically, either.”

  “Wait, back up. Are you telling me Miles hit on you?”

  “Is it really so hard to believe someone might find me attractive?” Matilda pouted.

  “That’s not what I meant,” Clarissa assured her aunt. “Did Miles get flirty with you?”

  “It was a long, long time ago, back when we first met. It was no big deal,” Matilda replied dismissively. “He made an advance or two and I promptly shot them down. He got the message and moved on, end of story.”

  “When you say he moved on, do you mean…?”

  “Academia can be like that sometimes,” Matilda explained. “I’m not saying it’s right, but you’d be surprised how many professors wind up dating each other – or their students. Not Cliff,” she added quickly, even though Clarissa hadn’t mentioned him. “He’s not one of the sleazy ones.”

  “Well what about Miles?” Clarissa demanded, wondering why on earth her ditzy aunt hadn’t thought to mention any of this sooner. “He was married, though I suppose not everybody takes marriage vows seriously. Was he involved with anyone?”

  “He could be very flirtatious,” Matilda recalled. “I’m kind of out of the loop here, but I think he may have had a thing with a colleague of ours at one point. Her name is Nancy Donoghue and she works as –”

  “She works as the guidance and career counsellor here on campus,” Clarissa interrupted. “I know. I’ve met her! I’ve interviewed he
r! Now I understand why she acted so strange when I started asking questions about Miles. Why didn’t you tell me about this sooner?”

  “I guess it never crossed my mind,” Matilda shrugged.

  Clarissa didn’t know whether to strangle her aunt or hug her. All she knew was she needed to investigate Nancy Donoghue more carefully – and find out if she was indeed involved with the murdered dean!

  A minute ago, Clarissa had been honed in on Miles’ wife. But now she was equally as interested in his lover. Daphne certainly had the motive and the means to have her husband killed. But Nancy had acted so nervous when Clarissa had tried to question her! And she had been on campus the night Miles had died…

  Had Miles’ inability to remain faithful ultimately cost him his life?

  If so, which woman was the culprit? Was the killer his wife or his mistress?

  “I have to go,” Clarissa announced, setting her cappuccino aside.

  “Have a hot date?” Matilda teased. “Ooh, speaking of dates, I’m going out with Cliff again!”

  “That’s great,” Clarissa smiled. “Hopefully your second date will be less eventful than the first.”

  Matilda furrowed her brow in confusion. “What do you mean?”

  “Murder,” Clarissa clarified. “Hopefully no one dies this time around.”

  “Ah, right. Yes, that wasn’t good. Ooh, but I’ve got to run! I just remembered I’m supposed to be teaching a class right now!” Matilda exclaimed suddenly, exhibiting that lovable flightiness only she could get away with.

  As Matilda raced off, Clarissa could only stare after her and shake her head. What a woman.

  Chapter 13

  “Hi!” Clarissa trilled.

  She had booked an appointment with Nancy Donoghue under false pretenses.

  It had been underhanded, but Clarissa had been desperate.

  Had she turned up at the guidance counselor’s office to ask more questions about Miles, she was sure she would have been turned away. But if she pretended to be interested in enrolling in some classes, then Nancy pretty much had to talk to her.

  It was, after all, the guidance counselor’s job to instruct and advise.

  Clarissa was rather proud of herself for using the situation to her advantage like that.

  Nancy, however, did not seem impressed.

  In fact, when she laid eyes on Clarissa, her face fell. Just like the last time, her demeanor changed from being friendly and open to standoffish and guarded. It was fascinating, really, to witness the transformation.

  “Why are you here?” Nancy asked suspiciously. Her arms were crossed and she was scowling.

  “I’ve been thinking about going back to school to study, er…English,” Clarissa fibbed.

  “Didn’t you tell me you’re a reporter?” Nancy was giving her an incredulous look now.

  “Yes.”

  “Then shouldn’t you already have a decent grasp of English?”

  “Um…yes, I should,” Clarissa joked. “That’s why I need to go back to school, ha, ha!”

  It was evident from the skeptical look on Nancy’s face that she wasn’t buying it. She pursed her lips in annoyance, her eyes flickering with emotion. “Why are you really here?” she demanded.

  After briefly considering her options, Clarissa decided to go with the truth.

  “I think you know why I’m here,” she told the guidance counselor. “I’m investigating Miles Connor’s death, and I need your help. I’ll be honest: your name has come up a few times now. I would really appreciate it if we could just chat for a few minutes.”

  Nancy’s face went as white as sheet. “I don’t care to discuss this,” she replied tersely. “Miles is dead. What more is there to say? I don’t appreciate you turning up here under false pretenses. You’re wasting my time – and your own. Don’t you have anything better to do?”

  “Look, I know you two dated,” Clarissa blurted out. “Just come clean, would you?”

  Nancy had a sort of deer-caught-in-headlights look about her. She hemmed and hawed for a moment. Then she informed Clarissa, “We only dated very briefly. We went out three times in total and then parted ways. We weren’t a good fit.”

  “Why weren’t you a good fit?”

  “We wanted different things,” Nancy said simply.

  “What did you want?” Clarissa pressed, pleased that she was finally getting somewhere.

  “A relationship,” Nancy sighed.

  “I see. And Miles wanted…?”

  “He wasn’t interested in anything serious,” Nancy confirmed. “That became apparent early on.”

  “Who ended things?” Clarissa asked curiously.

  “It was…mutual,” Nancy replied after a moment’s hesitation.

  “Was there bad blood between you two? Breakups are never easy.”

  Nancy swallowed hard. “After we broke up, seeing him at work every day wasn’t the most comfortable thing ever. But I managed.” She glanced down at her wristwatch and then looked at Clarissa pointedly. “Look, I’m very busy, so –”

  “Do you know of anyone else who may have disliked Miles?” Clarissa interrupted.

  The question seemed to set Nancy off. If she had seemed nervous before, she looked downright panicked now. Her skin was clammy and pale. Her eyes kept darting around as though she didn’t know where to look. Abruptly, she stood up.

  “I have actual appointments with people who actually do want to go to school here,” Nancy informed the reporter. “If you’re not serious about enrolling in classes, then you’re wasting my time. I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

  Clarissa knew better than to put up a fight. She allowed herself to be ushered out of the office. The whole time, the wheels in her head were turning. Could Nancy possibly be a spurned lover who had sought revenge?

  Chapter 14

  There was something pretty fun about pretending to be a twenty year old college student. It was also good for the ego. Or at least it seemed that way in theory. What so-called grownup didn’t want to relive their carefree youth?

  Spending so much time at Green City University had Clarissa feeling nostalgic. On her next visit there, she told herself it was strictly business; she was there to investigate. But truthfully, part of her just enjoyed the atmosphere.

  “This is the way to do it,” Clarissa murmured aloud as she checked her makeup in her rear view mirror. “All of the college fashion with none of the college coursework!”

  She wanted to look the part of a college student. It was part of the day’s undercover mission.

  Sure, she could have opted for an old pair of jeans and a simple t-shirt. But that was basically Clarissa’s everyday attire already. She wanted to have a little fun with her assignment, because why not? It wasn’t like the opportunity to masquerade as a student presented itself every day.

  College had been a long time ago for Clarissa.

  The days when she had followed fashion were also long gone. Oversized sweatshirts and stretchy black yoga pants were her new uniform. Business casual was out and hobo chic was in! Ever since she had started working from home, Clarissa’s wardrobe could be summed up in one word: comfortable.

  Well, that was the word she would have chosen. She had a feeling Liana would have said Clarissa’s wardrobe was frumpy. In fact, she had said that on more than one occasion!

  To be fair, Clarissa did put more effort into her appearance on the days she knew she would be seeing Parker. She might, for example, opt for a button up blouse instead of a rumpled old t-shirt. But truthfully, fashion hadn’t been a priority for the busy newspaper reporter for quite some time.

  That changed today.

  On a whim, Clarissa had picked up a fashion magazine while she had been standing in line at the grocery store that morning. She had flipped through it and studied the contents with interest. She had committed the images she had seen to memory. Then she had gone home and tried to recreate what she had seen.

  It hadn’t been the best use of her t
ime, but it had been fun. Clarissa wasn’t exactly a good seamstress. Actually, when she sewed she considered herself lucky to not jab herself in the finger with the needle. But modifying clothes was definitely a relaxing and enjoyable pastime.

  Thanks to her efforts, Clarissa felt extremely trendy.

  She wore a pair of black stretchy yoga pants, but today they were different than usual.

  Apparently the latest thing was to wear glittery black pants with rips in them.

  Clarissa hadn’t been able to justify spending a hundred dollars on torn clothing, so she had invoked the help of a pair of scissors. Then she had gone a bit crazy with a hot glue gun and a bottle of glitter. It had seemed like a good idea at the time…now, unfortunately, her house looked like a glitter bomb had gone off inside it!

  Of course, the sparkly, ripped black pants were only one part of her ensemble.

  On top, Clarissa wore a trendy off-the-shoulder tunic. It had long, flowing sleeves and a whimsy, fun look to it. Well, it did now. At first Clarissa had felt like she was wearing a tent. Belting the top had helped combat that problem.

  Unfortunately, now she was having trouble moving her arms.

  It felt like she was wearing a straightjacket, but at least she looked good.

  “I look hot,” Clarissa told herself in her car’s rear view mirror. “I am fierce!”

  She gave a saucy flip of her hair to prove her point.

  She was trying to channel a supermodel posing with an invisible wind machine – or perhaps an actress starring in a shampoo commercial. Unfortunately, she got a little too into it and accidentally banged her head against the car window.

  “Ouch!” she hissed.

  Still grimacing, Clarissa got out of the car.

  A guy standing nearby was looking at her. Clarissa could see him staring out of the corner of her eye. She smiled to herself and preened a little bit. He was checking her out, no doubt about it. And could she blame him? After all, she looked like a fashion savvy runway model!

  Obviously Clarissa wasn’t interested – she was way too old for a young man who was barely voting age! And more importantly, she was already dating her dream guy. But the attention was nonetheless flattering. Her ego approved.