“Suzie Q!” Daniel’s infuriating voice called from behind me. I chose to ignore him. Daniel and his tiresome banter would have to wait.
“Leave me alone!” I called back, attempting to find Bobby and Ricky.
“Whatever you say,” he said, laughing.
Finally, he was going to give in and realize he couldn't boss me around. He was in my hometown; he was on my turf, and I was in charge. Well technically Aunt Misty was in charge, but she wasn't there. And I was a Norwood, so by default, I was in charge. He was just going to have to learn to deal with it.
I was starting to think that the break room was a figment of Mr. Langley’s imagination. Maybe his age was finally getting to him. Either that or he was lying through his teeth because he didn’t want me to question his employees and cause a ruckus in his mill.
“Daniel, did Mr. Langley say the second floor or do I need to clean my ears out?” I asked, expecting a smart answer, but I got nothing. Looking behind me, I saw no one there. “Daniel?”
Hearing men's voices, I followed them until I saw a door that was clearly labeled ‘BREAK ROOM.' Opening the door, I saw Daniel mid conversation with Bobby and Ricky.
Daniel spotted me, and that caused Bobby and Ricky to look my way.
“Well, well if it isn’t Malady Norwood. How have you been?” Ricky asked, taking a bite out of his sandwich. I hated to ruin their lunch, but I had to work fast if I was going get Mason from behind bars and out of the hideous orange jumpsuit.
Taking a seat next to Daniel and sitting my briefcase on the table next to his. My briefcase failed in comparison to his to his super fancy one. He probably paid insane amounts of money for his whereas mine came from a barging bin from an office supply store. I had gotten it before I left for college and it was a little beat up, but it has done what I needed it to do, and that was okay with me.
"I'm doing well, Ricky. How about you?" I asked, pulling my legal pad and pen from my briefcase so that I could jot down their answers.
“I’ve been better, Malady. I still can’t believe Alison is dead and Mason is in jail,” he said, shaking his head in disbelief. I understood the way he felt.
Bobby kept giving me a funny look and at first I thought I was imaging it, but every time I looked up he was just sitting there staring at me. "Bobby, is there something you want to say to me?" I asked, raising my eyebrows as high as they would possibly go.
“Is there something wrong with Abigail?” he asked, bringing up my least favorite cousin. I loved her but dealing with that girl was as hard as trying to have a conversation with a rocket scientist.
"I mean she's crazy as a bat and as mean as a rattle snake, but other than that she's just a peach. Why do you ask?"
“On our date the other night she never uttered one word. She just nodded and smiled a lot,” he said, looking very concerned. He was lucky she couldn’t talk, but I didn’t tell him that.
“She was probably just nervous. You know how long she’s had a crush on you,” I told him, wondering why he wanted her to talk. I preferred quiet Abigail. She was much easier to deal with.
“Yeah, now that I think about it I bet that’s what it was,” he said, his ego inflating bigger and bigger by the minute.
“Can we ask you guys some questions about Mason? I meant not that I’m interested in your love life because I am. We just have a job to do here” Daniel said, tapping his sliver pen against his pad. They both nodded letting him know it was fine to ask questions. “What time did Mason leave work on the day Alison was murdered?” Daniel questioned, writing something down.
Ricky and Bobby shared a look that told me they weren't sure if they should answer that question. "Guys, you have, to be honest. Mason is depending on you to help clear his name," I told them, hoping they would spill the beans.
And they did.
"We get off at five. Everyone was getting ready to leave, but then Mason just disappeared. I'm talking like now you see me now you don't disappear. It was crazy," Bobby said, recalling the strange occurrences. That wasn't going to work in Mason's favor.
Writing that down, I looked over at Daniel and I knew that by the look on his face he was thinking exactly what I was thinking. “And about what time was that?” I asked, hoping I was going to get something that could help me help Mason.
"About 5:45. Like Bobby said it was almost like magician performed a disappearing act on him. Have you spoken to Mason?" Ricky asked, reminding me that he wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed. When we were still in high school, Ricky showed up on my doorstep wanting the kind of ‘help' only my family could offer. He wanted us to concoct a spell to help him be able to graduate high school. He didn't care much about college.
He should have just asked to be smart forever instead of high school only. “Yes, Ricky, I have spoken to Mason because I’m his lawyer. Speaking with my client is part of my job description,” I told him, speaking slowly and making sure to annunciate each word. He made an ‘Oh, that’s right’ expression before laughing.
Daniel looked at Ricky in disbelief before turning to me with an expression that read ‘is he serious?’ He was as serious as a heart attack. “Moving on to the next question, leading up to that day had Mason been acting out of character?” he asked, unbuttoning his coat and leaning back in his chair.
“He always seemed to be in a daze lately. Oh, and he was starting to act differently with Alison,” Bobby said, recalling Mason’s weird behavior.
“How was he acting differently? Give me an example,” I said, not liking where the conversation was going.
"He seemed to be annoyed with her a lot, and he was never annoyed with Alison. And you knew Alison she could annoy people like it was her job. He seemed to be the Mason he was before that infamous dance with Alison at prom,” Bobby said, scratching his head as he tried to think of more information. “I’m sorry Malady, but that’s all I got.”
Whoever put a spell on Mason was one smart cookie, and they knew exactly what they were doing. The question I needed to find an answer to wasn't who would want Alison Talbot dead because that would have been everyone in Cat's Cradle and probably the surrounding town as well. I needed to figure out who was using magic on Mason.
I gathered my things and stood to leave with Daniel doing the same. “Thank you for all your help, boys. Enjoy your lunch,” I told them, walking to the door. I hated the fact that I was leaving with the same way I came, with no information to help Mason. I had only information that made him look even guiltier than he already did.
"Malady, wait!" Bobby called, causing me to stop in my tracks. I knew it was about Abigail. They had on and off more than a light switch. "Yes, Abigail likes you, Bobby. And I'm positive she will go on another date with you. I mean Y'all have already been on about three hundred dates," I said, rolling my eyes. They were like a repetitive soap opera story line.
"This is not about Abigail. Mason started to get cold before he started falling out of love with Alison." I wasn't sure what good knowing about a common cold was going to do me.
“I’m not sure where you’re going with this, Bobby,” I told him, turning the doorknob to leave the room.
“No, listen to me. He started coughing up pink dust and then he started acting differently. It was the strangest thing,” he said, shaking his head. I had never heard of anyone coughing up pink dust or any dust for that matter.
“This town is a freak show,” Daniel said, getting dirty looks from everyone in the room.
That case was getting stranger by the minute.
Chapter 10
"I still can't believe you are making me do this," Agnes said, dragging her feet through Mrs. Abernathy's yard. She didn't want to do it, but I drug her out of the door kicking and screaming. She was my only hope to get Mrs. Abernathy off of my back
"At least you have the voice for the day," I told her, smiling. I didn't care if she was an introvert who didn't want to leave the house. I was a lawyer who was working on a murder case and didn't have time t
o deal with a lady who thought a dog was stalking her. So, that meant I needed her help.
“A voice that I am using to talk to a dog. What’s his name again?” she asked, sighing.
“Rex, his name is rex,” I answered, looking around the yard for any signs of the dog. It didn’t take long to spot him. Rex was sitting in Mrs. Abernathy’s front porch and growling, but there was no one there. The dog needed a chill pill.
"This is how every horror movie starts, Malady, every single one. The dog is always the first one to get creeped out, and everybody knows that when the dog has creeped out it's time to leave. It's like horror movie 101," she said, turning around to leave.
I grabbed her arm and spun her around to face me. “Oh, no you don’t, missy. You are going to help me. I don’t have time for Mrs. Abernathy’s crazy problems. I almost brought Daniel with me because he’s a dog too,” I said, pulling Agnes in Rex’s direction.
“I thought Daniel was a human and a very handsome at that if I remember correctly,” she said, smirking at me. That was the only time in the history of my life I wished Abagail had the voice.
"Oh, honey, you misunderstood me. He is a two-legged dog, the worst kind. I would never compare that cute dog to Daniel. It would be an injustice to Rex," I said, causing her to laugh. She could laugh all she wanted I was serious. I would have rather had to work with Rex any day.
“I think you like him,” Agnes said, smiling and wiggling her eyebrows at me.
She was so close to losing her title of my second favorite cousin to Abagail.
Gasping dramatically, I playfully swatted her shoulder. “Agnes Marie Norwood, don’t me make me clean your mouth out with soap,” I said, placing my hand over my heart.
“Look, if you want to pretend like you don’t like his face and those dimples than that’s fine by me, but can we please get this over with? I have important things to do unlike you,” she said, walking to Rex and kneeling down beside him.
"Like what? Watch Hallmark movies and eat hot Cheetos? That's hardly important. And I have the stuff to do that's important. Like you know to get an innocent man out of jail for a murder that he didn’t commit and find out who’s using their magic bad,” I said, getting an eye roll from Agnes.
"He better not talk about bacon or chews toys because if he does, I'm leaving," she said, with a deadly serious expression.
She leaned down to look in Rex’s big brown eyes and gently rubbed his head. “Hey there, Rex. My name is Agnes, it’s nice to meet you,” she said, using the gentle tone of the voice she shared with her sister. Abagail was much fonder of the sassy tone.
Rex stopped growling the empty front porch and looked at my cousin. He started barking, but it was friendly like he was telling Agnes it was nice to meet her too.
Laughing, she looked at me. "He just said it's nice to meet me too. Also, he has a British accent for some reason," she said, playing translator and actually enjoying it.
“That’s fabulous. I’m sure you two will be fast friends, but can we please get to the part where you find out why he’s stalking Mrs. Abernathy, please?” I begged, tapping my watch letting her know I didn’t have time for her to make small talk with a stalker dog.
"Oh, all right. Rex, why do you show up in Mrs. Abernathy's yard every day and growl? It's kind of freaking her out, and she won't quit bugging my cousin here." Rex's eyes landed on me, and he smiled.
“He said you’re pretty,” she said, getting a kick out of it. I’m glad that made her happy.
Looking at her, I titled my head to the side and looked at her. “I’m flattered. Agnes, can you please do the job I need you to do?”
Rex whimpered and looked down at the ground.
“Aw, don’t be sad. You may still have a chance with her. She has a thing for dogs even if she won’t admit it,” she said, winking at me to let me know she was talking about Daniel. She came close to joining Alison that day.
“What was that, Rex?” she asked him, wrinkling up her forehead. Finally, she was finding out something for me.
She leaned her ear down as if he was whispering something to her. She slowly turned her head to me, and I knew immediately something was going on. And it wasn't good.
“What is it? What did he say?” I asked, wishing I had Agnes’s gift.
“He said that there’s a bad energy in that house,” she said, rubbing his back.
"Ask him for more details. He's even stinger with details than Abigail after a date," I said, looking at the house. It was beautiful red brick home with colorful flowers in every color in the rainbow and a bright yellow door. A welcome mat sat below it, and that's exactly how the home made you feel.
Looking over at Agnes, I saw that Rex was gone. “Where did he go?” I asked, looking behind her.
“He said there’s something bad in that house, but that’s all he knew. He had to go. I tried to make him stay, but he wouldn’t listen,” she said, holding her hand over her eyes to block out the sun.
“We have to get in that house,” I said, placing my hands on my hips and tapping my foot.
"Oh no, I see those wheels turning in your head, and I don't like it. I am not breaking into that sweet old lady's house," she said, looking at me as if I had lost my mind.
I must have missed the part where I asked her to break in Mrs. Abernathy's house. "In case you have forgotten, I'm a lawyer, Agnes. I'm not going to break into her house, but we are going to get inside and find out what was going on."
“What do you mean we? There’s this really great Hallmark movie coming on that I just have to see,” she said, twisting her face into an expression that said I’m sorry.
She was going in that house with me whether she like it or not. Not that I was scared of whatever was in the house because I wasn't. I just didn't want to get sucked into to spending my afternoon watching game shows and eating pimento cheese with Mrs. Abernathy. That had happened way too much for my liking. When her husband passed away, she started seeking out company with anyone who would talk to her for more than five minutes. She was a sweet old lady, but she was just so clingy. She once asked me to move in because Aunt Misty had enough people living in that big creepy house. Her words not mine.
“You need to get out more. There’s a great big world out there, Agnes, and by we I mean us,” I told her, point her and then at myself. “And I know just the way that we are going to get inside.” I knew that she was going to go with me. She liked to act like she wasn’t, but she was way too nice to say no.
She stomped her food and pursed her lips. "I hate you so much right now. So, what's your big plan? Is it legal?" she asked, looking completely terrified. For a witch, she was a big scaredy cat.
“Of course it’s legal. We’re going to run home and have Sadie whip up a batch of those perfect lemon bars and bring them to Mrs. Abernathy. You know lemon bars are her jam. Once we’re inside we are going to search the house for anything that seems weird,” I said, feeling super proud of my plan. It was sure to work.
“And how do you expect us to snoop around her house without her getting suspicious?”
I was starting to think that Agnes wasn’t really a Norwood witch because she sure didn’t think like one.
Grabbing her hand, I pulled her to the car. Climbing inside, I looked over at Agnes who still waiting for an answer. “We’re going to put a spell on them of course. A sleep spell that she wouldn’t wake up even if a tornado blew through town and transported her house to Oz,” I told her, and I would have patted myself on the back if it wouldn’t have looked so weird.
"Whatever, just call Sadie and tell her to prepare the lemon bars. I'm staying in the car because if Abagail sees me she will try to take the voice and I feel like being selfish today," she said, making me so proud. She was finally putting on her big girl panties.
Putting on my seatbelt, I held on for dear life as Agnes sped toward our house.
I couldn't believe I was on my way to pick up hexed lemon bars. I guess there was a first time for eve
rything.
Chapter11
Lemon bars in hand, we waited for Mrs. Abernathy for answering the door. It felt like we were already in the new year by the time she finally let us in. Sadie made perfect time with the lemon bars. When we arrived the house, she was waiting on the porch for us with them ready to go. Perfect as always, but it’s not like that shocked us or anything.
"Sadie made some of her lemon bars, and she mentioned how much you liked them, so we thought we would bring you some by," I said, but before I could finish talking Mrs. Abernathy grabbed them out of my hands and took a bite out of one.
“That was so thoughtful. Yum, everything Sadie bakes is just perfect,” she said, taking another bite.
“Imagine that,” I said, rolling my eyes. If she only knew.
Sadie even wrapped up the lemon bars perfectly. They were nestled in a small wicker basket with a yellow bow perfectly tied on the handle. Some curse she had if you could even call it that. I could never be happy if I wanted everyone I loved to be safe and she could do no wrong. I had broken people's legs and started fires. I was the problem child, and she was the golden child.
Cursed at First Sight (Cursed Coven Cozies Book 1) Page 6
