Cursed at First Sight (Cursed Coven Cozies Book 1)

by J. C. Kilgrave

  "No, I don't, but I know that both of them are women. One is a witch and one is a human. When I close my eyes, I can see Alison falling to her death. It keeps replaying my head. It started out foggy, but every time the vision comes over me it gets a little clearer," she said, laying her head back on the couch on the couch.

  “Can you see what they look like?” Sadie asked, laying her head on top of Aggie’s.

  “No, I can only hear their voices,” she said, closing her eyes and shaking her head.

  All three of the Blackwater siblings had a special ability that I knew would be useful to help me close the case. "If it's okay with my Aunt I think you guys should stay here until everything is figured out because all of your abilities could be what it takes to help me free Mason," I said, watching Aunt Misty's face as she thought it over.

  “As long as the boys stay in Christopher’s old room, don’t worry boys he has bunk beds. And if one of you girls is willing to share your room with Daisy I don’t see a problem with it.”

  We all said our goodnights and retired to our rooms. I was glad Sadie offered to share her room because when I slept, I took over the whole bed. If I wasn't taking over every inch of the bed I couldn't get comfortable.

  I laid in bed and wished that the next morning Daisy would have more information for me. At that point, I would have taken any slither of information that could help me find all of the missing pieces of the puzzle.

  That case made me feel bad for taking the hummingbird cake case for granted.

  I did get cake out of that case. The only thing Mason’s case was going to get me was my first grey hair.

  Chapter 23

  “Got anything new for me?’ I asked Daisy, walking in the kitchen for breakfast.

  She looked up from her pancakes and frowned. "Not yet. I'm so sorry. I wish I could control when I saw stuff, but I can't."

  I was anxious to find out who the two women were, but I knew that it wasn’t Daisy’s fault. Her ability was delicate yet powerful at the same time. And it was one of the only abilities that brought the witches who possessed it pain.

  “Don’t worry, Dais. It will come to you when the time is right,” I told her, loaded my plate and sitting down beside her.

  “Malady! Daniel is here!” Aunt Misty called, causing me to make the gun symbol with my fingers and point it at my head. That got somewhat of a giggle form Daisy.

  “Why are you telling me?” I yelled.

  “I thought you would want to know!”

  “Well. You were wrong!”

  Daniels shoes against the hardwood click-clacked obviously. Everything about him screamed I got money He thought everything had to be a social status symbol with him.

  “I missed you too,” he said, waltzing past the table and headed for the fridge. “Sure, come on in and make yourself at home,” I said, sarcastically.

  “She’s in and you’re not picking on her,” Daniel said, gesturing to Daisy.

  He didn’t even ask her name he just started talking about her.

  ”That’s because I can actually sit around her without wanting to jump Dairy Barn,” I told him, taking a bite of my breakfast.

  After eating in silence for ten minutes, Daniel opened his mouth again. "Who are you anyway?" he asked Daisy, just realizing that she was new.

  "She's Abigail's new boyfriend's sister," I told him, making my voice as cold as possible. I'm talking about artic cold and I hoped he got frostbite from it.

  He sipped his coffee before pressing his lips together. "I wish you could have been a little ruder when you said that it would have really taken your distaste for me to the next level," he said, shrugging out of his coat and placing it on the back of his chair. "What happened to Bobby?" he asked.

  “He finally broke up with her for good. She can do so much better anyway,” Christopher said, walking in the kitchen.

  It had felt like I hadn’t seen him in forever and a day. “Where have you been lately?” I asked.

  "Oh, you know just flying around," he said, smiling because he was serious, but Daniel was completely oblivious to that, "Who are you?" he asked, looking at Daisy.

  She was in a daze, so she didn't answer. Her body was tense and she was sweating. I knew she had a vision and hopefully, it was going to be a big one. "Hello?" Christopher said, waving her hands in front of her face.

  “Is she okay?” Daniel asked.

  “She’s fine. Can you back away from my sister?” Cade’s voice boomed through the kitchen.

  "And who are you? Is Aunt Misty renting the house out as bed and breakfast?" Christopher asked, watching as Cole waltzed into the kitchen and fixing himself a plate.

  “I’m Cade Blackwater,” he answered, sitting by his sister and whispering something in her ear.

  Daisy’s body relaxed and her sweating stopped. Whatever her brother showed her really calmed her down. She looked at me and almost said something, but then she looked over at Daniel. She knew couldn’t say anything in front of him.

  Christopher leaned against the kitchen island with his arms folded and his eyebrow arched. “Is that supposed to mean something to me?”

  Cade clenched his jaw, but his expression softened when Abby walked in the room. “Oh, no you don’, Buddy. Don’t look at my sister like that,” Christopher said, diving in front of Abigail like she was protecting her from a bullet.

  “I think that’s your sister’s new boyfriend,” Daniel said, sipping on his coffee. He was enjoying watching the drama. Drama Queen.

  “Abigail, please tell me this clown is not your boyfriend,” Christopher said, putting his hands on Abigail’s shoulders.

  “He’s not a clown and yes, he is my boyfriend. It’s all very new, so stop trying to ruin it. Now, move out of my way, Birdie,” she said, making a shooing gesture with hand.

  My mind was going crazy trying to guess what Daisy had seen. I needed to know. Getting up from my chair, I leaned down to whisper in Daisy’s ear. “Do you want to go for a walk?”

  She nodded and then we excused ourselves leaving the drama squad behind. It was a beautiful day, so I walked Daisy through Aunt Tilly’s enchanted garden. The great thing about enchanted flowers is that they endure and that was good because Aunt Tilly hadn’t been around to take care of the plants. She was the only one with a green thumb in the family.

  “This is beautiful,” Daisy said, walking up the steps of Aunt Tilly’s pink gazebo that sat in the middle of the garden.

  “It kind of is isn’t it?”

  She nodded and smiled taking in the view. “Daisy?” I asked, wrapping my hands around one of the columns of the gazebo.

  "Yeah?" she asked, her hair blowing in the light breeze. "What did you see?" I asked.

  She was quiet for a while before turning to me. “I saw the woman who pushed Alison,” she said, closing her eyes. I guess having to watch a murder over and over could take its toll on you.

  “What did she look like? What do you remember?” I asked, wanting to know every detail.

  “She has blonde hair, like platinum. Alison knew her and asked why she wanted to her to die. The woman told her that she ruined everything,” Daisy said, recalling as many details as she could.

  “Anything else?” I asked, trying not to push her, but I needed to know everything.

  An innocent man depended on it.

  “She had long red nails and she was wearing red lipstick,” she said, shaking her head like she knew those details weren’t that important. But, they were.

  Everything I had learned from investigating the case started flooding my mind. Alison making sure she led me to Aaron to show me that she wasn't in love with Mason and that they were victims of a love spell. Aaron telling me that to find Alison's killer I needed to look closer to home and stay out of Cold Creek. The long scratch down his face that only a woman's nails could have done. The heated conversation between Aaron and Julie. Julie's lack of emotion at her daughter's funeral. And Daisy's description of Alison's murder that made all of
the pieces fit perfectly in place.

  Julie Talbot was Alison's murdered. She murdered her own daughter; now I just had to find out why.

  Talk about a plot twist.

  Chapter 24

  Standing on the steps of The Talbot’s two story mansion, I looked over at Cade and Cole. Their abilities were going to help me get Julie to admit to everything and find out who helped her with the spell because I knew there wasn’t a magical bone in that woman’s body.

  “Thank you guys for doing this,” I told them, ringing the doorbell.

  They looked at me and smiled at the same time. "Stop that. It's weird," I told them.

  “We’re twins it’s what we do,” They said in unison, shrugging their shoulders.

  We waited what seemed like forever before Julie Talbot opened the door dressed like she was going to The Oscars. “What do you want?” she asked, sighing dramatically.

  “Aren’t you going to invite us in?” I asked.

  She laughed and flipped her hair. “And why would I do that?”

  "What would your neighbors think if they see me standing at your front door?" I asked, smiling at her.

  She poked her head outside looking around to see if anyone was outside and then she stepped to the side. We slipped in the house and she slammed the door behind us. “Now, will you tell me what you and the wonder twins are doing here?”

  Cade and Cole shot each other look. They didn’t like being called the wonder twins and I couldn’t blame them. “We’re here because we know what you did,” I said, letting know we had her.

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she said, playing dumb. She was good at that.

  "Quit the act, Julie. We know you killed your daughter, but what we need you to tell us is why? What were you thinking? And how could you let an innocent man take the fall for a crime you committed?" I asked, clapping my hand together loudly and sending her flying onto a chair before she could run. I mean I knew she couldn't get far in those heels she was wearing, but using magic on her was just so much fun.

  “I’ll never talk,” she said, making me feel like I was in a mobster movie.

  "You don't have to. This is my friend Cade Blackwater, you know one-half of the wonder twins, and he has the most incredible talent. Do you want to know what it is?" I asked, waving my hands over the top of hers creating invisible handcuffs. She was sealed to the chair.

  “Let me guess, is his talent doing his hair? What, is he going to give me a haircut and style it? And what about you, Thing Two, are you the stylist?” she asked, doing what she did best, attacking people verbally.

  They both ignored her.

  Cade sat down on the floor in front of her and gently placed his hand on top of hers. “What’s he doing?” she asked, her breathing becoming heavy, “Why is my arm tingling? Am I having a heart attack? I’m having a heart attack! Why are you just standing there? Call an ambulance!” she yelled, her face turning red as she screamed louder and louder.

  "He's getting in your head, Julie. He can see your innermost thoughts. He knows your deepest fears and every bad thing you've done," I told her, tossing myself back on her couch. It was like a cloud.

  “What does that one do?” she asked, pointing at Cole.

  “Oh, Cole talks to the dead. He’s become fast friends with Alison. They chat every day,” I replied.

  After learning that she wouldn’t make eye contact with Cole.

  “She killed Alison because her husband left her. She was jealous of Alison’s relationship with Mason,” Cade said, looking at Julie as if she was the most horrible person he had ever come in contact with and she was. She was the most horrible person anyone had ever come in contact with. I would have rather went out for coffee with Hitler than Julie Talbot.

  “Are you that insecure? You wasn’t happy, so you daughter couldn’t be either?” I asked Julie.

  I knew the answer to that without her telling me. She was that insecure and her children’s happiness meant nothing to her. The only person she cared about was herself.

  "Oh, now we're getting to the good part. A witch from the Parker coven in Cold Creek helped her with all of the magical elements. When Julie was eighteen, she sought out the help of a witch out of town witch because she wanted Harrison Talbot, the star football player, to love her, but he wouldn't give her the time of day. So, she asked Willow Parker to put a love spell on him. Willow did, but she didn't tell Julie the ins and outs of how the curse worked," Cade said, closing his eyes and taking in all of the information he was getting from Julie's messed up mind.

  “What are the ins and outs?” I asked.

  “The spell only lasted on Julie and Harrison until their oldest child started to like someone. The night Alison and Mason dance at the prom the spell unraveled for Julie. Harrison left the next day. She decided to kill Alison because she blamed her for taking her happiness.”

  “Why did she wait so long to do it?” I asked Cade, counting up how many years ago prom night was.

  “She was working her way up to it. She had thought about many ways to kill, but up until that day she couldn’t go through with it,” Cade said, shaking his head.

  I would have bet anything I owned that he had never been in a crazier mind than Julie Talbots. “What about the symbol? Why was it in Mrs. Abernathy’s house? And how does she know Aaron?”

  “The symbol was put there because Julie’s family lived there when she was eighteen. The attic is where Willow conjured up the spell. Aaron is Willow’s estranged son. She kicked him out when he was sixteen when he accidently gave her boyfriend a heart attack while practicing spell. Willow helped Julie get Mason to the scene of the crime and make it look he was the one that took Alison’s life,” Cade said, pulling his hand off of hers.

  "Alison's here," Cole said, looking at the top of the staircase, "And she has something to say to you, Julie."

  Julie’s eyes were glued to the top of the staircase as Alison appeared out of thin air. “Why did you do it mom? Didn’t you love me? Didn’t you want me to be happy?” she asked, tears rolling down her face.

  Julie looked the ghost of her daughter in the eyes and for a minute I thought she was going to apologize to her baby. I was wrong.

  “I wanted to be happy and you got in the way of that! You ruined my life,” she said, spitting when she talked, “I killed her because I wanted Harrison back. I couldn’t stand seeing Alison getting to be in love while I had lost the love of my life. It wasn’t fair! But, nobody will believe you three. I’ll continue to play the grieving mother and Mason will rot in the jail for the murder of Alison Talbot,” she said, snickering. She was proud of herself. I could see it in her eyes and it made my stomach turn.

  She had just spilled her guts and she thought she was going to get away with it, but what she didn't know was Cole was recording the whole thing.

  “I bet the police will believe your taped confession,” Cole said, pulling the small black recorder out of his pants pocket and taunting her with it.

  “Malady?” Alison asked, causing me to turn and face her.

  “Yes?” I asked, waiting for the insult I knew was coming.

  “I’m sorry for treating you how I did. I really am. Thank you for everything. Now call the police and send her to jail. Let Mason go home and eat some real food,” she said laughing, before walking back up in the steps and disappearing into the light.

  Picking up my phone, I dialed the police and turned Julie in. Twenty minutes later, they showed up and arrested Julie Talbot for the murder of her daughter.

  Mason Blanchard was a free man.

  Chapter 25

  “I can’t believe that cracked the case without me. I should have been there,” Daniel said for the millionth time as we waited for Mason to be released.

  Julie Talbot was found guilty and was sentenced to life in prison and Mason was a free man. Everything worked out in the end. I made sure I didn’t get too happy about it all though because I didn’t want anything bad to happen.
I needed some peace and quiet.

  "You space out a lot," Daniel said, waving his hand side to side in front of my face. That's when it hit me with him around I wasn't going to get any peace and quiet. The only way he would have shut his mouth was to buy him a muzzle or buy me some earplugs.

  “When are you moving back to Atlanta?” I asked.

  “Um, never. Cat’s Cradle is so exciting and Ms. Etta’s hummingbird cake is off the chain,” he said, licking his lips and rubbing his stomach in a circular motion.

  I hadn’t heard someone say ‘off the chain’ since Christopher got stuck in his hip hop stage in middle school.