Witch Pie: A Witch Squad Holiday Special (A Witch Squad Cozy Mystery Book 4)

by M. Z. Andrews

  Char waved a hand up as if to dismiss my concern. “Oh, don’t worry about me. I’m used to celebrating Thanksgivings alone. Usually, I just have one of those Hungry Man turkey TV dinners, but this year, I actually splurged and bought a turkey. I thought I’d be cooking for Art - I mean, Tony and myself.”

  Something inside me told me what the right thing to do was. I looked at Alba. She was still clinging to Tony with happiness. She’d gotten her Thanksgiving wish. Tony had been returned to her, unharmed. I looked at Char, the lonely woman’s Thanksgiving had just been ruined. I swallowed hard. “We’re having a big Thanksgiving get together tomorrow. Lots of people are coming – to a restaurant my family owns in town. Would you like to join us?”

  Char’s eyes began to water once again. “Oh, you don’t want an old witch like me ruining your Thanksgiving. Why, I almost ruined it once already!”

  “But you didn’t ruin it. And strangely I think your intentions were good. Ultimately you did the right thing. You gave us Tony back. We’d love it if you joined us,” I said.

  “You’ve got to come, Char. Mercy’s mom is a great cook,” Jax promised. “And it’s going to be so fun. My whole family is going to be there. My Uncle Merrick, and my cousin Reign, and my Aunt Linda, and my boyfriend, and all my friends, and my bestest cousin in the whole wide world, Mercy, here,” she said and squeezed my arm, squealing excitedly.

  Char gave it thoughtful consideration. “It’s very sweet of you girls to invite me. I’ll definitely think about it.”

  “Do you have a pen? I’ll write down the address for you.”

  Char got up and handed me a little notepad and pen she had sitting on the roll-top desk behind the arm chair. “Here you go.”

  “We’re having an early dinner. Come around two.”

  “I appreciate the invitation, I promise. I’ll think about it,” she said.

  “Are you girls ready to go?” Alba asked as she and Tony moved into the living room. Tony’s arm was around Alba’s waist, and her arm was around his.

  “Aww, you guys are back together!” Jax gushed excitedly.

  “Omigosh, I never thought I’d see Alba with a man before me,” Holly said, raising her eyebrows. “Has hell just frozen over?”

  “Can it, Cosmo,” ordered Alba jokingly.

  “Well, glad to see that good mood didn’t last too long,” Holly said with a smile as she stood up from the couch.

  “I’m ready to go,” Sweets said. “It’s dinner time, and I’m starved!”

  “Me too,” I agreed, rubbing my rumbling belly. “Will we see you tomorrow Char?”

  Char looked at Tony and the rest of us with sadness in her eyes. “You know what? You will. I have a feeling Thanksgiving is going to be special this year.”

  16

  I’d never gotten to enjoy a big family Thanksgiving dinner before. You know, the kind they put on TV shows and in movies? All the crazy relatives show up, and there’s an argument or two, and someone’s crazy Uncle Al ends up drunk and ruins the meal, but in the end, they all get along.

  I didn’t grow up in a family like that. My mom and I always had Thanksgiving dinner at our house, and my gran would come over. We’d watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in our pajamas in the living room and eat turkey sandwiches and apple pie until we were ready to burst.

  Having a real Thanksgiving dinner always sounded like something I’d like to do, but I also sort of enjoyed my own family’s little tradition. So there was something both awe-inspiring and sad when the guests started to pile into Habernackle’s on Thanksgiving afternoon.

  Jax, Sweets, Holly, and I were the first to arrive. Reign and Mom had been super sweet and offered Alba and Tony a complimentary room upstairs to spend their first night as a reunited, married couple – and they were still upstairs getting ready for the party. Hugh and Tristan arrived next, followed by Detective Whitman.

  “Oh! My favorite flowers!” my mother gushed as she let him in. Her eyes sparkled when she saw the beautiful bouquet of fall colors including sunflowers and lilies.

  Detective Whitman, who had exchanged his bland 80’s sports coat for a more formal charcoal jacket with a white shirt and black tie, shot me a thankful wink as he pulled a bottle of wine out of a bag and handed it to my mother. “And I brought this for dinner,” he said proudly.

  “Mark! You’re so thoughtful,” she said as she stood on her tippy toes to wrap her arms around the detective’s broad shoulders. “And you look amazing!”

  I had to agree with her. Detective Whitman was a dead ringer for an 80’s Tom Selleck, but with the change in duds, he actually looked current and dare I say, hip?

  “You do look good, Detective Whitman,” I said with a playful smile. “Dressing to impress?”

  He poked me in the ribs, sending me skirting out of his reach and right into Hugh’s arms.

  Hugh swung me around and planted a kiss on my cheek. “I’ve missed you this week! Where’ve you been, darlin’?”

  “Oh!” I sighed. “I’ve got so much to tell you! We found Alba’s husband!”

  “You talking about us, Red?” Alba asked as she and Tony made their way down the stairs to the dining room.

  Jax and Sweets cheered happily as they came down the stairs – causing the rest of us waiting below to break out in a round of applause.

  Alba’s cheeks reddened as did Tony’s. “So this is your new family?” Tony asked, looking around at all of our beaming faces.

  “Something like that,” she said with a shrug. “You met Linda, Reign, and all the girls last night. Tony, this is Hugh and Tristan, a few of our friends from the wizard school next door. And this is Detective Whitman. He’s the one I was telling you about that wouldn’t give me Char’s address,” Alba told her husband grumpily.

  “Hey! I was just following protocol. I still can’t believe you just went over there and started knocking on doors. You girls got lucky. What if Charlotte Maxwell had been a sinister old woman?”

  “Then we’d have broken ankles right now!” I said with a laugh.

  “Broken ankles?” Hugh asked curiously.

  Alba and I exchanged tiny laughs. “Nevermind,” I said.

  There was another knock at the door. Reign slipped past me to answer it. “Father!” he said excitedly.

  My eyes rolled back in my head as I audibly sighed. My mother shot me a look that clearly read, be good.

  “Merrick!” Mom said as he entered the dining area with a big beautiful floral centerpiece. “What in the world is this?”

  Merrick nodded at the group of us. “Hello, everyone. Happy Thanksgiving. This is for you, Linda. I brought a centerpiece for your table.”

  Mom’s eyes widened, “Oh, how sweet of you! It’s gorgeous! Mercy, would you please put this on the dinner table for me?”

  Grudgingly I took the centerpiece from her as Reign took Merrick’s coat and hung it on the coat rack next to the door and then shook his father’s hand. “I’m so glad you could join us today, Father.”

  “I’m thankful for the invitation,” he said.

  “Well, come on in. There are drinks at the bar, everyone feel free to help yourself,” my mother said encouragingly.

  There was another knock on the door. Mom quickly moved towards the door, with a buoyant little leap, signifying her excitement over having both Merrick and Detective Whitman in her presence. Chesney jumped around her ankles excitedly, waiting for her to open the door.

  “Hello?” she said. By the sound of her voice, she didn’t recognize the person in front of her.

  I let go of Hugh and quickly dodged through the small crowd to see who was at the door. Just as I had suspected, it was Charlotte Maxwell. “Char!” I said. “Mom, this is Charlotte Maxwell. She’s the woman who looked after Tony. Char this is my mother, Linda Habernackle.”

  Charlotte sucked in a breath. “So you are Linda. I saw the sign, and I wondered if that wasn’t who you were. Isn’t that interesting,” she said, peering up at my mother wistfully.


  “Interesting?” my mother questioned.

  Char waved a hand in front of her face. “Oh, we can talk about that later, dear. May I come in?”

  My mother stepped backward awkwardly. “Oh, I’m sorry. Yes, come in, come in. I’m so happy you could join us for dinner.”

  Char pointed towards the leash she was holding and gave it a small yank. “Is it alright if I bring Regis in? He doesn’t like to be alone, especially on holidays.”

  My mother gave her a soft smile and nodded. “Of course Regis can come in. Chesney will enjoy the company.”

  Char reached down and unleashed Regis’ tether. “Go play with this nice little puppy, Regis, go,” she said and shoved the Chihuahua’s little butt forward. That was all the encouragement he needed to go tearing after Chesney towards the kitchen.

  “Char, there are drinks on the counter, please, help yourself!”

  As Char made her way into the dining area, she got swallowed up by Alba, Tony, and the rest of the Witch Squad. I had a moment alone with my mother.

  “You invited the woman who stole Tony?” my mother asked incredulously.

  I shrugged. “She was lonely! That’s why she kept him. She swore she was going to return him after Thanksgiving.”

  “Return him? He wasn’t a purse, Mercy.”

  “She just didn’t want to be alone on Thanksgiving!”

  “Speaking of not being alone on Thanksgiving, I invited someone too,” Mom admitted.

  “You picked up a stray?”

  Mom smiled. “Something like that.” There was a knock at the door. “Oh! Right on cue!” She opened the door and let in the final invited guest.

  My eyes widened when I saw him walk in. “Mr. Bailey!” I exclaimed. “Are you joining us for Thanksgiving dinner?”

  “Mr. Bailey?” Sweets hollered from the other side of the room. She came running towards us excitedly. “Mr. Bailey’s here!” she squealed as she ran past Holly and Jax.

  The crowd of people all turned to greet our newest guest.

  “Mr. Bailey! What are you doing here?” Sweets asked him giddily.

  “Mercy asked that I stop by yesterday and give Linda the news about the results of the competition. And much to my surprise, Linda invited me to Thanksgiving! Since I had nowhere else to be, I thought why not,” he said with a hearty laugh.

  I swiveled towards my mother. “Mom! You knew the results of the competition when we dropped Alba and Tony off last night, and you didn’t tell us?”

  Mr. Bailey held up his hands. “Oh, no, no. I didn’t tell her. She said if she knew she wouldn’t be able to keep it to herself.”

  Sweets nibbled on her fingernails nervously. “Gah! I can’t take the suspense!”

  “Sweets, how about we let Mr. Bailey come inside and have a glass of wine before we make him share?” my mother suggested, ushering the elder man along.

  Sweets sighed. “Fine, alright.”

  “Mr. Bailey, let me introduce you to everyone. You know the girls already, right?”

  “Yes, I’ve met the girls many times; they come to see me at my bakery!”

  “This is Detective Mark Whitman, this is my son, Reign and his father, Merrick Stone,” Mom began, one by one introducing the people around the room.

  “And this is Hugh and Tristan. They are friends of the girls. And this is Charlotte Maxwell,” Mom said.

  Charlotte stepped forward and extended a hand to Mr. Bailey as each of the others had done. “Char, you can just call me Char,” she said boldly.

  “Hello, Char. You can just call me Vic, you look familiar. Have I seen you before?” he asked, his eyes twinkling.

  “I’ve lived in Aspen Falls for over forty years,” she replied proudly. “Are you from Aspen Falls.”

  He put his hands behind his back and rocked forward on his toes. “Yes, ma’am. I own the bakery. Bailey’s Bakery & Sweets,” he shared proudly.

  A light went on in Char’s mind. “Oh! Sure! My grandson, Artie and I used to go in there for donuts. My goodness, that was years and years ago, though.”

  “Were they good?” he inquired with interest.

  “The best donuts I’ve ever had!” she raved.

  “Good, good, good!”

  Char leaned forward and looked around. “I haven’t gotten to meet your wife.”

  Mr. Bailey’s big crazy eyebrows rose up to touch his forehead. “Ohh,” he said slowly. “I’m widowed. My wife, Elaine, died about ten years ago. She had a bad heart.”

  Char put on a sad face. “I’m so sorry to hear that Vic. I lost my husband too.”

  “He passed away?”

  “No, he disappeared. I never did find the man,” she quipped, laughing to herself.

  Mr. Bailey opened his eyes and mouth wide and let out a whoop of laughter. “Would you care to get a drink with me, Char?”

  “I thought you’d never ask!” she said and took the elbow that he offered.

  Sweets and I exchanged surprised looks. “Well, there’s a match made in heaven,” Sweets whispered to me when they were out of earshot.”

  “No kidding!” I exclaimed. “Speaking of matches made in heaven. How’s Mom’s special dessert coming along?” I asked, eyeing Mom and Merrick who were in deep conversation.

  Sweets’ eyes opened wider. “Oh! I almost forgot to give Linda instructions. Gah! Come on!”

  I followed Sweets towards the kitchen, grabbing my mother along the way. “Mom, we need to talk to you for a minute. Come here please?”

  “Mercy, we’ve got guests,” she argued, keeping her eyes on Merrick.

  “I realize that Mom, but it’s really important. Just for a second,” I said and smiled at Reign and his father politely. “You two don’t mind if I steal her for a second do you?”

  Merrick shot me a yes-I-do-mind look but smiled sweetly at my mother. “Not at all.”

  “Thanks, I promise, it’ll just be a second!”

  I pulled Mom by the elbow around the counter and through the swinging doors into the kitchen.

  “What’s the emergency?” she asked, annoyed with me for interrupting.

  “Sweets wanted to talk to you about that special dessert you asked her to make!”

  Mom’s eyes widened. “Oh! Where’s Sweets?” she asked, looking around.

  “I’m right here,” Sweets said as she emerged from the walk-in cooler with a big smile on her face. She carried a beautiful strawberry and chocolate creation.

  “Oh wow! It’s beautiful, Sweets. What kind is it?” my mother asked, her eyes glowing with excitement.

  “It’s a Strawberry Chocolate Mousse Cake. It’s unbelievably amazing. I only wish I could have entered this into the competition at the bakery. Mr. Bailey would have loved it. But it’s a cake, and he wanted a pie. Anyway – you, Detective Whitman, and Sorcerer Stone all need to have a piece of this cake – and only the three of you – that’s why I kept it back here! I didn’t want it to get mixed up with the desserts I made for Thanksgiving! Those are out there on the buffet. The magic in the cake will take effect immediately, and it will make things crystal clear for the three of you. The two of you that have the strongest connection will remain in love with each other, and the one that has the weaker connection will move on with his life.”

  “That’s it?” Mom asked. “Just three pieces of cake will determine the future of my love life?”

  Sweets smiled proudly. “Just three pieces!”

  “Exciting! Ok, well, I’ll get Mark and Merrick to have a piece with me after dinner! How about we get dinner started?”

  “Definitely!” I agreed.

  “Yes!” Sweets agreed. “I’m dying to hear from Mr. Bailey about how my pie recipe did in the competition.”

  17

  “Linda! That dinner was delicious!” Detective Whitman raved as he pushed his plate towards the center of the table. “I can’t eat another bite!”

  Reign nodded. “Mark’s right. I’m stuffed. That turkey was amazing.”

  Mom smi
led, her cheeks flushed. “Well, I hope you’re all saving room for dessert.”

  “I always save room for dessert!” Mr. Bailey said, patting his round stomach happily.

  “Speaking of dessert, Mr. Bailey. Is it time? Can we hear about the results of the pie competition now?” Sweets asked nervously.

  Holly and Jax, who were sitting next to each other, grabbed each other’s arms. “Yeah, we’re dying to know!” Jax said anxiously.

  Mr. Bailey threw his napkin on the table, gave Char who was sitting next to him a broad smile, and then stood up. “Yes. Now is the time. I’ve kept everyone waiting long enough! The results were very close, and we had a lot of entries in the competition this year – but there were two entries that stood out above all the rest.”

  Holly and Jax squealed excitedly while Sweets covered her face.

  “The winner of this year’s contest was Mrs. Ida Campbell with her amazing French Cranberry-Apple Pie, and the runner-up was your very own Sweets Porter!” he announced excitedly, leading the crowd in a round of applause for Sweets.

  Holly and Jax let out a breath of air and slumped back against the chair in disappointment.

  Sweets uncovered her eyes and looked up at Mr. Bailey with a long face. “I didn’t win?” she asked sadly.

  “You got runner up! To Ida Campbell. That’s huge! Ida wins every year. She’s seventy-two years old and a tough one to beat.”

  Sweets stuck out her bottom lip. “I didn’t win,” she whispered to herself sadly.

  “We didn’t win either,” Jax whined. “What did the judges say about our pie?”

  Mr. Bailey looked around the room as he nervously played with his hands. “Oh, let’s see now. You girls had the healthy pie. Well. The judges thought that it was interesting, but not quite what we were looking for this year.”

  “Don’t you think your customers would love to have a healthy option on the menu at the bakery?” Holly asked.

  Mr. Bailey’s head tilted to the left as he tried to think of what he wanted to say nicely. “I think my customers realize that most of the recipes we use aren’t exactly calorie free. I appreciate the idea, but I’m not so sure it translates into the most delicious recipes.”