by Zoe Arden
"I'll call my deputies now and tell them to begin an investigation."
"There's no need to bother," I said, rising from the bed. Lincoln attempted to push me back down but I refused to budge.
"There's only one person on this island who would use demigone," I told Lincoln and Grayson. "And she's going to be sorry she ever messed with me and my family."
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CHAPTER
THIRTEEN
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"What do you want now?"
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The bell chimed when I entered the shop. Edith looked up. Her smile faded when she saw me approaching her counter.
"Oh, you again," she said. "What do you want now?" She was piping frosting onto some cookies, decorating them with little flowers.
"Demigone," I replied.
Her head shot up.
"I don't know what you mean," she said. "I don't sell that sort of thing in my shop."
"I think maybe you do."
"Demigone is illegal. I may deal in dark elements from time to time, but everything I use in my desserts is strictly legal."
"Sunny was here."
Edith stopped talking and stared hard at me.
"Amelia's cat is not welcome here," she said through gritted teeth.
I would have to remember to give Sunny extra Kibble Tuna later. Heck, I might even give him a whole can of real tuna. He deserved it.
"Sunny saw something red and fuzzy here when he came to visit Nightshade. I didn't think much about it at the time. I knew your shop was full of dark spices and herbs that have no place in a bakery, but when Dr. Wallace's final toxicology report came back today..."
Edith's eyes widened.
"What are you saying?" she demanded. "You think I poisoned your mother?"
"Not just my mother. Mayor Singer's entire party. Including Norbert Clark."
Edith gasped. "It's not true!"
Sunny came running out from Edith's back room just then. "Got it!" he announced and dropped a pouch at my feet.
I picked it up and looked inside. It was filled with demigone.
"Get that alley cat out of my shop!" Edith cried, grabbing a broom and jumping over the counter. She began chasing Sunny around, swatting at him with the bristles. Nightshade came running out.
"Sorry, Mama," Nightshade said, breathless. "Nightshade was outside looking for mice." He chased Sunny around the room. Sunny jumped into my arms.
Edith ran behind her counter and grabbed her wand from a drawer.
"Alla kaboom, alla kaza," she said, muttering an incantation.
A couple of humans walked into the shop just then. They had big smiles on their faces, already planning their sugar high. They froze when they saw Edith with her wand. Edith paused and hid the wand behind her back. Sunny jumped out of my arms and ran out the door.
I didn't wait for another opportunity. "Lincoln! I've got the demigone!" I called into the Voice Bumper I'd hidden in my pocket. It fluttered out the door the humans were still holding open and a second later Lincoln appeared, two deputies in tow.
"What is this?" Edith demanded as Lincoln put her in handcuffs. "I didn't do anything!"
"Edith Woodruff," Lincoln said. "You're under arrest for the murder of Norbert Clark."
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CHAPTER
FOURTEEN
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It was me! It was all me!
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"I didn't kill Norbert!" Edith cried. "Are you crazy?"
"You are also under arrest for the attempted murder of Felicity Redfern, Amelia Redfern, and everyone at Mayor Singer's party."
Edith was sobbing loudly.
"Has everyone gone mad?" she wailed. "This must be a dream. Pinch me and wake me up," she pleaded with me, her eyes already red.
She seemed so sincere that for a brief moment, I wondered if we'd gotten things wrong. But it had to be Edith. All the pieces fit. We had the demigone. Edith clearly had the means and the motive. Well, the motive was a slight sticking point. She did have the mayor's birthday party to look forward to catering, but I didn't think that dismissed her desire for my mother's Oven-Hot recipe. She'd been after it for years and would've stopped at nothing to get it.
"What in the wizarding world is going on here?" a woman cried from the front door.
We all turned to see that the humans had disappeared and been replaced with Blossom and Calista.
"They think I poisoned the mayor's party with demigone!" Edith cried. "Have you ever heard anything so ridiculous?"
"That's impossible," Blossom said. "Let my mother go." She stepped farther into the bakery. Calista whimpered behind her as Blossom pulled a wand from her purse and pointed it directly at me.
Lincoln dove for Blossom before I could even blink. She stepped to the side just in time and managed to avoid being tackled by him.
"Kanincus!" she shouted and pointed her wand at Lincoln. He went flying backward and hit the opposite wall.
"Lincoln!" I yelled, running to him.
His two deputies were wrestling with Edith, who was surprisingly strong for a woman of fifty-five. I wondered if she drank some sort of elixir to make her muscles grow. She managed to get away from the deputies and ran toward Blossom, but Lincoln was already back on his feet. Lincoln was a powerful wizard. He never carried a wand with him on duty because he had no need for one. He could create spells out of thin air.
"Lockin Cufmorus!" he yelled, pointing his finger at Blossom. Handcuffs wrapped around her wrists, and she dropped her wand.
Calista began to wail now, too. She was even louder than Edith.
"Mooommm!"
I felt bad for Calista. No child should have to witness their mother and grandmother getting arrested. I hurried toward the door and tried to push her outside.
"Nooo!" she cried.
"Calista, please," I said. "You don't need to be here for this."
"Blossom Woodruff," Lincoln said now that she was cuffed. "You're under arrest. For obstruction of justice, resisting arrest, and conspiracy to commit murder."
"Conspiracy to what?" Blossom cried, looking at Lincoln as though he'd just told her the sky was red.
"Let my daughter go!" Edith cried.
"Let my mother go!" Calista cried.
"I've done no such thing!" Blossom declared.
"You can tell it to your lawyer," Lincoln said. He and his deputies led them toward the front door.
"Wait!" Calista suddenly shouted, jumping in front of her mother.
"Step aside, Calista," Lincoln said. "You have nothing to do with this."
"I have everything to do with it," Calista cried. "I... I'm the one who put the demigone in Amelia's desserts!" Everyone in the room stopped moving. "It was me! It was all me!"
* * *
CHAPTER
FIFTEEN
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"Am I going to jail now?" …
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Calista gulped her water. Her eyes were red and swollen. We all stood hovered around her at the police station. Edith and Blossom were seated nearby, staring at the floor. They hadn't said a word since Calista had made her brief confession at the bakery.
"Start from the beginning," Lincoln said.
Blossom looked up. "You don't have to say a word, honey."
Every in the room turned to look at her, and she shrank back.
Lincoln sighed. "Your mom's right. You don't have to tell us anything if you don't want to. It's your right as a witch not to speak. We can have someone appointed from the Witch's Council to represent you."
Calista shook her head. "I'm not a real witch. I don't deserve any help from the council."
I scrunched my brow together. "What do you mean you're 'not a real witch'?"
"I can't do magic. I never could. I
've tried, but..." Tears ran down her cheeks in rivers, choking her words. "I never meant to hurt anyone."
"Why did you tamper with Amelia Redfern's desserts?" Lincoln asked.
Grayson was standing behind me. I felt him tense at Lincoln's question. I could tell he was angry and prayed that he managed to keep his temper in check. Calista might be responsible for this mess, but she was still a child. From what she was saying, I had the sneaking suspicion that she had no idea how serious the consequences would be when she started down her path.
"I didn't... I mean, not at first. I just wanted to help Grandma."
Edith looked up, her eyes watery.
"Help me?"
"Yeah. I knew that Mayor Singer's anniversary party was a big deal for you. It wasn't fair that Amelia got it. That bakery... it used to belong to both of you. You should have both gotten the job."
"Oh, dear child," Edith cried. She rose from her seat. Lincoln tensed but did not stop her as she went to Calista and put her arms around her. "I wish you'd spoken to me about your feelings. You had no reason to be so upset."
"But it's not fair!" Calista cried.
"Not everything in life is fair," Blossom said from her seat. She finally sounded mad.
"If you'd spoken to me first," Edith said, kissing the top of her granddaughter's head, "I could have told you that Mayor Singer assured me Creams, Cakes, and Creations would be the ones to cater his birthday party in two months."
Calista's eyes widened. "You are?"
"Well..." Edith said. "I don't know about that anymore, considering. I think we may have to wait and see."
Calista's already pale face went even whiter. "I've cost you the job! And all this time I just wanted to help you!" She buried her face in her hands and sobbed uncontrollably.
Lincoln left the room a minute to get her some fresh water. When he returned, she gulped it down in two swigs. Her eyes took on a glassy look, and she began to smile.
"What was in that water?" Blossom asked.
"Just a calming solution," Lincoln said. "And some Deception Detector," I heard him mutter under his breath.
"Now, Calista, just tell us how you poisoned Amelia's desserts," Lincoln said.
Blossom and Edith winced at the word "poison" but said nothing.
"I didn't mean to poison anyone," Calista said dreamily. "I only wanted to make them fall asleep. I thought it would be funny and that everyone would get mad at Amelia. I didn't know that mixing demigone with Fluffernutter root was deadly."
"What about Nightshade?" I asked. "What was he looking for in my mother's bakery?"
"I asked him to find Amelia's Oven-Hot recipe. I figured if my grandmother had it, the mayor would have to use her bakery for his party. Everyone knows Amelia's cakes aren't nearly as good as my grandma's."
Grayson and I bristled. Calista wasn't lying—the Deception Detector prevented that. As far as she was concerned, her grandmother had the best desserts in all of Heavenly Haven. Although I rather thought that saying "everyone" knew that was quite an exaggeration.
"So it was you who left that note on my car?" I asked.
"Yes." Calista nodded. "I only wanted to scare you so you'd stop investigating."
"And when she didn't stop, you tried to kill her?!" Grayson said, rising in anger from his seat.
Lincoln put a restraining hand on him. Calista continued to look dreamily forward. Whatever Lincoln had slipped into her water was potent stuff.
"I didn't mean to hurt Felicity. I put the Fluffernutter in her snacks, thinking she would fall asleep and wouldn't be able to investigate because she'd be too tired."
That was a simple, foolish thought. The kind only a child could make. I didn't envy Lincoln his job right now. As sheriff, he couldn't just let her go. Not after what she'd done. But she was only twelve. Did she deserve to spend her whole life in jail for a mistake? She hadn't meant to kill Norbert or hurt our mother. It was all an accident. A terrible accident, for sure, but an accident nonetheless.
I didn't think there was a way to resolve this without someone else getting hurt.
Calista looked at Lincoln, her eyes still dreamy.
"Am I going to jail now?"
Everyone looked at him.
* * *
CHAPTER
SIXTEEN
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I'll never understand them. …
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"I knew business would pick back up," I said, smiling at Grayson.
"I guess you were right," Grayson said. The restaurant was packed. After word had gotten out that Amelia had nothing to do with the poisoning, things had gone back to normal. Cakes and Creations had reopened to better business than ever, and The Golden Goose was booked to the max nightly.
Grayson had reserved the best table in the restaurant for us. We sat around it now with Lincoln, Dr. Wallace, and our mother. Mayor Singer and Tazzie were seated at another table nearby. Kayla was with them, and she kept glancing our way. I saw Grayson look at her and smile. I thought I might know who the girl in his car had been. No wonder he'd wanted to keep her identity a secret. The mayor was very protective of his daughter. I'd have to remind Grayson to pay Damon Tellinger the money he owed him.
"I got a letter from Calista today," I said. Everyone stopped and looked at me.
"Well, what did it say?" my mother asked.
"She apologized again for everything and asked if she could do something to make amends when she got released from Witch Hill."
"Like what?" Grayson asked.
"She offered to wash our dishes for a month and teach Sunny how to get his own tuna."
We all laughed. "Sunny might actually appreciate that," Amelia said. "Tell her thanks, but just the same, I think we can manage our own dishes."
I nodded in agreement. The last thing we needed was Calista back in our bakery.
A sudden silence fell over the restaurant. Amelia's mouth dropped open as her eyes turned toward the doors. We all looked where she was staring and saw Edith walking toward us, holding a plate of cupcakes. She slowly approached our table.
"Hello." Her hands were shaking. "I'm sorry to interrupt your party..."
We just stared at her. None of us had seen her since the Witch's Council had ordered Calista to attend wizardry reform school until she was eighteen. They'd also banned her from ever doing magic again.
"Hello, Edith," Amelia said. Our eyes bounced from one woman to the other. "Something we can do for you?"
Edith pursed her lips and took a deep breath. "I wanted to say I'm sorry."
I thought my brain might explode. Edith Woodruff! Apologizing?!
"I brought these for you. Strawberry chocolate happiness cakes." She handed the cupcakes she'd brought to Amelia, who set them on the table. We all looked at them suspiciously.
"Thank you. That's very kind," my mother said.
Edith stood awkwardly at the table for a minute. No one asked her to sit down.
"Well," she finally said. "I should go." She turned and headed back the way she'd come.
"That was weird," I whispered.
"Do you think they're safe to eat?" Grayson asked.
"I doubt she'd try to poison us," my mother said. "At least, I don't think so." She frowned at the cupcakes.
"I'll be the brave one," Lincoln said. "Let me at them." He grabbed a cupcake from off the plate and stuffed it into his mouth.
We all waited to see if he'd drop dead. Nothing happened.
"You know, Amelia," Dr. Wallace said. "When you were in the hospital, Edith came to visit almost every day."
We all stared at Dr. Wallace, shocked.
"You're kidding," I said.
"I'm not. She was more worried than she cared to admit. Whatever's happened between the two of you, Amelia, I think Edith wishes things were different."
My mother shoved her way out of the booth so fast that Grayson fell on the floor. "Edith!" she cried.
> Edith paused beside the front doors and turned around. My mother stopped in front of her, hesitated, then took Edith into a hug. Both women began to cry. I felt my own eyes welling up.
"Women," Grayson said. "I'll never understand them. Friends, enemies, it's all the same to you."
I pinched him, and he jumped in his seat. I caught sight of Kayla laughing across the restaurant. Grayson blushed.
"I may not understand women," Lincoln said, taking my hand, "but I think I understand you pretty well."
I smiled back at him. "What am I thinking right now?"
He squinted his eyes, concentrating. "That you'd like to give me a back massage after dinner."
I laughed.
"I was thinking that I'd better pick up some more Kibble Tuna for Sunny. That cat sure can be demanding."
"Sounds a lot like a certain witch I know," Lincoln said.
I grabbed one Edith's cupcakes and shoved it in his face. Pink frosting stuck to his lashes. Grayson cracked up. Lincoln tried to scowl but couldn't help smiling.
"Strawberry cupcakes always were a favorite of mine," I said, picking another off the platter and taking a bite. "Life just isn't worth anything if you don't have cupcakes."
* * *
Epilogue
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One year later …
The bell over the door chimed. I saw my mother's chin hit the floor and looked up to see Blossom standing in our shop with Calista.
"Hello," Calista said, looking at her feet. Blossom stood just behind her. She nudged her forward and Calista took a step toward us. My mother went around the counter.
