I was trying to figure out the best way to assemble the trap when a knock on the front door startled me. I peered out into the sales room and was surprised to see Franny standing outside.
“What are you doing here?” I asked after opening the door a crack. “We’re closed.”
“Oh, darn. I had a craving for more of those delicious sea-salted caramels, and when I saw the light on, I thought perhaps I could get some.” She frowned. She still had that white Fendi bag, I noticed. Clutched tight to her chest, as usual. You’d think the thing was made of gold or something. “Please, I promise not to take too much of your time.”
Fine. After all, I hated to cost Lilly a sale if I didn’t have to. I let Franny in and went in search of the chocolate-covered sea-salted caramels. Unfortunately, there were none, which was odd because there’d been at least one more tray of fresh ones in the back this morning. I glanced sideways at the beginnings of my trap and frowned. Most likely the rest of the caramels had been pilfered by a sugar-crazed gnome.
I could hardly tell Franny that, so I made up an excuse on the fly. “Oh, dear. Well, I’m so sorry, but it looks as if we’re all sold out. Lilly only makes so many per batch, and they go super-fast. You’ll just have to try again another day.” I started to usher her toward the exit but had to stop when she dug in her heels.
“Wait just a minute!” She gave me an irritated stare. “I know for a fact there were more of those caramels in the back. I think maybe you just don’t want to sell them to me.”
“Believe me. That’s not it.” I opened the door and waited. “If I had any, I’d give them to you.”
Franny crossed her arms, her expression mulish. Judging by her attitude, she wouldn’t be budging anytime soon. Perfect. Not what I needed tonight. “What’s going on here, and why exactly are you running this shop all of a sudden anyway?”
“As I’m sure you’re aware, the owner is indisposed.” I still couldn’t bring myself to say that Lilly was in jail. It just seemed so very wrong. “I’m doing her a favor.”
Franny gave an inelegant snort. “Don’t know why. Her nephew’s a chef and perfectly capable of running this place. If anyone should be in charge here, it’s him. At least he’d know how to keep track of his inventory properly.”
She was trying to bait me, but I refused to fight. Instead, I took a deep calming breath and forced a smile. “I’m sure you’re right. Tommy would be a much more sensible replacement for his aunt, but he’s too busy with his restaurant. Besides, my shop is right next door, so it’s easier for me to jog back and forth as needed.”
“Hmm.” Franny didn’t look convinced. “And why were you asking me all those questions about Amelia the other night at the bar? Wanting to know who she went to dinner with and all. How should I know? And I didn’t kill her, either, if that’s what you’re thinking.” She sidled around me and walked to the display cases. “Maybe you did it so you could take over her shop.”
“Why would I want to do that? I’m plenty busy with my own shop next door.”
Franny stared at me for a few seconds before looking away. “Fine. If there are no caramels left, then just give me a box of those milk chocolate squares with the hazelnuts, please.”
I assembled them then rang up her purchase, half-expecting some mythical creature to rise out of that dumb Fendi bag of hers when she opened it to pay. Nothing so exciting happened. She took out a matching wallet—also inherited from Amelia, I assumed—and handed me her credit card. She left in a huff after we consummated the transaction.
Glad to see the back side of her, I locked the door, shut off the lights, and got back to building my gnome trap. That wily little sucker had outmaneuvered me earlier, but he wouldn’t get another chance.
I turned the Yeti on its side, with the top propped open, and set it in the middle of the shop floor. Next, I attached the wind chimes. Gnomes go crazy for shiny things, especially if they make noise. I smeared slug slime all over the perimeter of the cooler and attached the spider web on all four corners. I crushed the lily stamens and spread the residue around the cooler. I’d already enchanted all the items, so once the gnome stepped inside the cooler, he’d be stuck. The slug slime would make it too slippery to get traction, and the webs would keep him pinned inside if he did. Not to mention that the trigger of his weight would snap the lid closed like the mouth of a crocodile. Now all I needed was some sea-salted caramels to entice him inside. Except … darn. They were all gone.
I glanced at the locked storage cabinet on the left. Maybe not all. That one tray of stale candy was still there, the one that Lilly had told me not to sell. I searched through the drawers and register to locate the storage cabinet key and pulled out the tray.
Yep, still there. A bit discolored and hard as rocks, but still there. Good thing gnomes aren’t particular about the freshness of their treats. I put two inside and stood back. Not necessarily the prettiest creation ever, but it would hopefully do the trick. To finish it off, I said a binding incantation to hold everything together, just in case.
I cleaned up my mess and made a mental note to come back early in the morning to take care of this right away. Wouldn’t do to have a nonmagical person find this and start asking questions. Goddess knew Franny had done enough of that earlier.
I could finally head home and clean up and then maybe just sit quietly in my favorite chair with another glass of wine and Clover on my lap. Maybe I’d even invite Penuche to join us. My disenchantment would need to be done at dawn, so I’d be up bright and early. A good night’s sleep would do me good.
The ride back to my cottage was uneventful. Not a gnome or rolling gazing ball in sight. I parked my scooter in the garage and took Penuche and Clover inside, where they reminded me that it was time for their dinner.
After making sure everyone was fed and watered, I took a quick shower, pulled on my favorite pj’s, and settled onto the sofa in the living room after double-checking that I had the lapis secured and the mud from the mud baths ready for my disenchantment the next morning. To my surprise, both Clover and Penuche jumped up to sit with me. Clover snuggled on my lap while Penuche sat on the cushion beside me, staring up at me as if he had important things to discuss.
When I couldn’t stand his gaze burning a hole through me a second longer, I relented. “What?”
“What’s going on with my human?” Penuche asked.
I gave him the rundown of what had happened when Tommy and I had been at the jail earlier and how Buddy believed he had a solid case. I also told him they were planning to move her to the mainland tomorrow.
“Well, that’s just wrong.” Penuche gave a dismissive sniff. “She couldn’t have done it if it happened after midnight. Lilly was home that night after the moon was high.”
“Yes, but a cat really wouldn’t be considered a reliable source, so unfortunately, I can’t just waltz into the police station and tell Buddy you’re her alibi.” I attempted to comfort Penuche by petting him, but he was having none of it. He swiped at me with his claw, and I pulled back. “I’m not saying I don’t believe you. I’m just saying that I seem to be the only person who can hear you talk. And besides, what you told me happened that night wasn’t exactly accurate.”
“How so?” Penuche started to arch his back in anger.
“Calm down. I didn’t mean to insult you. I just meant that you said Lilly went to her knitting group the night that Amelia Pendleton was killed, but that’s impossible because the group meets once a week, and it didn’t meet that night.”
“Pardon me,” Penuche said, his voice drenched in that superior tone only felines can achieve. “But I did not say that she went to her knitting group. What I said was that’s what she usually does when she goes out in the evening. I have no idea where she went that night, just that she came back and smelled like Veal Oscar. But we were home by eight p.m. because she watched Wheel of Fortune, and I know that’s what time it’s on. So, based on what you’ve told me, my Lilly can’t be the killer.”
There was a loud ruckus in the closet, and soon the Roomba of Doom zoomed out again, Jerusula’s voice blaring as I poured the last of the white wine into my glass. Based on how my evening had gone so far, I was going to need it.
“Zola Meadows, what is happening with the creature situation?” The Roomba skidded to a stop in front of me. Penuche stared at it with large eyes. He hopped down and started sniffing at its back end.
“What is that?” Jerusula’s face appeared on the shiny surface of the Roomba, turning this way and that to glare at Penuche.
“A cat.”
“One of our familiars?” Jerusula asked. “I hope it is not that nasty hairless thing, Tut.”
“No, it’s just a regular cat.” I gulped wine. “What do you want?”
“The creature. We’ve been hearing reports of mass destruction.”
“I would hardly call it mass destruction. And I’m working on it. It’s a gnome, but I’ve set a trap for him. Hopefully, by morning, I’ll have caught him and can wrangle him back through the hole.”
“Why has it taken you so long to do this?” Jerusula’s voice boomed through my tiny cottage, causing the windows to rattle, Penuche to hiss, and Clover to lift her tail. If I wasn’t careful, I’d have Buddy out here again on a disturbing the peace charge. “Gnome traps are an easy enough spell, even for you.”
Ignoring the slight against my powers, I lifted my chin. “I’ve been busy with other things. My friend has been arrested for a murder she didn’t commit, so I’ve been trying to investigate that on her behalf to get her released.”
“Who is this friend of yours?” Jerusula asked, a bit quieter now.
“Her name is Lilly. The police say she’s being transferred to the mainland tomorrow.”
“One moment, please.” There was a low murmur of voices from the Roomba but nothing I could catch distinctly, like a phone line when someone puts you on hold by covering the receiver with their hand. Then Jerusula spoke again. “Yes, we can verify that your Lilly is set to make the journey tomorrow. You don’t think she is the killer?”
“No.”
“I don’t need to remind you that maintaining the island’s reputation is paramount.”
“You don’t need to remind me.”
“Or that a killer on the loose is not good for tourism.”
“Yes, I realize that.”
“If the killer is caught, that is best for all of us.”
“Indeed, but Lilly is not the killer.”
“And you truly believe this?”
I sighed. “Yes.”
The Roomba spun in a circle, zoomed to pick up a tuft of fur lying on the floor, then zoomed back. “We will do what we can on our end to delay the journey and buy you time to prove her innocence.”
I glanced at the wine bottle. Was I drunk? The coven rarely granted favors. “You will?”
“We will trust your judgement.” Jerusula’s voice was soft. She sounded almost nice.
“Okay. Thanks.”
“Enough of this mushy stuff.” Jerusula’s booming voice resumed its normal authoritative tone. “Now you must do your part. That gnome must be banished pronto. I expect it to be gone tomorrow. No excuses!”
And with that, the Roomba spun around and zoomed back into the closet.
Right. No excuses. So what if my spells sometimes backfired? And so what if I actually had spell stink on me right now? I was pretty sure I could handle one candy-drunk gnome. Couldn’t I? At least I’d bought Lilly a little time before she was transferred to the mainland, because once that happened, I feared it might not be so easy to get her back.
Twenty
As the first pinkish light streaked across the horizon the next morning, I was up and in my dew-soaked garden. I still hadn’t moved the rosemary plants, but now I noticed the earth was moist beneath them.
I stretched my back, which cracked, as I inhaled the crisp smell of morning. A blue jay flew overhead, its raucous call capturing the attention from a gang of robins who hopped along the edge of the garden, picking out worms—funny because I was there looking for earthworms.
This disenchantment had to work. And while the truth telling of the spell had worn off an hour after I’d cast it, the bad juju associated with a failed incantation lingered around me like a heavy gray funk. Not good and not what I needed if I was going to send an evil gnome back to the dark side and save Lilly.
I set a piece of old cloth on the ground then cast a spell to raise any earthworms in the area. I wasn’t going to harm the worms, but I needed to collect their slime to mix with the mud from the pits and a bit of fur from Penuche. Ever since the cat familiars had gone rogue, it had been a real bear to cast any spells involving cat hair. Skunk hair just did not work the same. Trust me, I’d tried it.
Maybe having Penuche around would be good after all. He certainly shed enough around the cottage.
As the sun rose, I mixed the earthworm slime, mud from the baths, and cat fur then wrapped them up with the lapis lazuli stone inside the piece of cloth. All that was left to do was toss the package into Blathering Brook, near Cottonmouth Copse, and I’d be clean at last.
Hmm … wait, wasn’t there another ingredient? I would have consulted the spell book, but Kenna had borrowed it last week, and I didn’t want to admit to her that I had to perform a disenchantment on myself. Her teasing would be relentless. No, this was all I needed. I was sure of it.
I planned to make a pit stop at Lilly’s chocolate shop on my way. As I got ready, I said a silent prayer to the Goddess that there’d be a gnome in the cooler when I got there. I didn’t want to make two trips to the copse if I didn’t have to.
Dressed and pressed for time, I gathered Clover and Penuche then hopped on my scooter and headed into town. Once I’d gotten the animals settled inside my shop, I went next door to Lilly’s to check the trap.
I peeked in the window of Sweet Satisfaction before opening the door. I wasn’t sure what I expected, maybe to see all the tables overturned or a gooey chocolate mess all over the place. But it looked exactly as I had left it. Which made me wonder … had the gnome even been inside?
I opened the door and examined the shop. I walked around the display cases and the cash register then peered into the kitchen.
My heart leapt. The cooler was flipped over on its top. From inside the cooler, I heard the muffled noises of the gnome attempting to batter his way out. Success!
Grinning, I hauled the much-heavier cooler to the door. I’d need to get it on my scooter for transport to the forest. There were several ways to vanquish the evil creatures that slid out from the other side, but the most effective was to flush them right back into the same hole from whence they came, and that’s exactly what I intended to do. No way was I going to have this gnome bounce back like a bad meal coming back up. Nope, it had to be done the right way.
I got the awkward thing outside and managed to get it loaded onto the back of my scooter and secured with several bungee cords. I then made sure that my shop was locked and the animals were okay inside. Through the glass, I saw Penuche strutting around with his nose in the air as if he owned the place. Clover was in that pile of dirt again, seemingly perfecting the tire track of soil down her back. They were fine for now, and this trip shouldn’t take me long anyway.
Head down, I walked to my scooter only to run smack into Tommy. I looked up into his handsome, smiling face, and for a moment, I couldn’t speak, couldn’t really do anything but stare into his warm brown eyes. For a second, I felt the urge to blurt out all kinds of truths. And then I felt panic. Had the disenchantment not worked?
If he noticed my odd behavior, he didn’t mention it. Instead he chuckled and put his hands on m
y shoulders to steady me. “Whoa there, Zola. What’s the big hurry this morning?”
“Oh, well …” Heat prickled my cheeks anew, and I looked away. I hadn’t planned to run into anyone this early in the day, so I hadn’t prepared any excuses as to why I was zipping around like a madwoman. I struggled to come up with a reasonable explanation fast. “Um, I, uh, have another delivery coming this morning, and I need to make room in my greenhouse. I hate to kill healthy plants, so I was going to take a few out into the woods and replant them there. Let them live free.”
“Right.” Tommy watched me with a narrowed gaze, his expression unreadable. “That’s too bad. I was hoping I could take you to breakfast and maybe we could brainstorm some more about my aunt’s case. See if we can come up with a solution to keep her out of prison.”
Before I could answer, the trapped gnome kicked the inside of the cooler, knocking the whole thing off kilter on the back of my scooter. Then the cursing started again, louder and more vulgar this time. My eyes widened, and I glanced at Tommy to see if he’d noticed. Based on the way he was scowling at the cooler, yeah, he’d noticed.
Crap!
“What’s that noise?” he asked, starting toward the scooter before I grabbed his arm to stop him. “I thought you said there were plants in there.”
“There are,” I said, desperate to keep him from looking inside that stupid cooler. “I think maybe I might have gotten a mouse in there too by accident. Or maybe a rat.”
“A rat?” His dark brows drew together. “That’s a pretty vocal rat. And a smart one, too, given that he’s speaking English.”
“English? Nah, just sounds that way with their high-pitched squeaking.” I glanced back at the scooter, the gnome making a ruckus, the cooler straining against the bungee cords I’d used to secure it to the scooter. A couple more of those and the whole thing would topple over. To try to put an end to the disruption, I ran over and whacked the top of the cooler hard. That worked—for all of about three seconds. Then the caterwauling began again, louder this time.
Spell on Earth (An Elemental Witches of Eternal Springs Cozy Mystery Book 2) Page 12
