Fairly Hexed: Cozy Witch Mystery (Witches of Winterfield Book 3)

by Sara Bourgeois

  “Thank you, Belladonna. It will be good to be home again.” Francine said as she exhaled a deep breath she’d been holding for a little too long.

  “What are you going to be doing with your time while you’re here? We need to know where you’ll be and what you’re up to at all times.”

  “I’m going to move back into my old house. I still own it. I’ve got a job at a market in New Salem. The Pick n’ Quick. They hired me to work at the customer service desk. My hours will be ten to six, Wednesday through Sunday, and I’ll have Monday and Tuesday off.” Francine said.

  “You’ll have Monday and Tuesday off from the Pick n’ Quick, but on those days you’ll need to show up here by 8 a.m. You can sweep the floor and do shampoos for me. I want you where I can keep a close eye on you. I can pay you twelve dollars an hour.”

  “I don’t suppose you’re giving me much choice in the matter, and I guess that is entirely understandable,” Francine said, but she did look a bit overwhelmed.

  “Don’t worry, Francine. Once you’ve proven yourself, you’ll get a day off.” Belladonna said with a wink. “Now, go home and get some sleep. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  Belladonna watched as Francine walked out the door. She grasped her wand and muttered a binding spell. It was short, but it was the strongest incantation for binding her mother had ever taught her.

  It would come in handy for keeping Francine in check, but it had the added bonus of giving the former dark witch a faint blue aura that only the Nightshade witches could see. That way if Francine did anything to tamper with the binding, Belladonna and her family would know about it immediately.

  Once Francine was gone, Bella waved her wand over herself and turned her gown into a pair of dark jeans and a black t-shirt. Her heals were transformed into a pair of black combat boots, and Belladonna breathed a sigh of relief. As fun as it was to dress up sometimes, she much preferred to be dressed in what was known as her uniform when she was younger.

  Just as she was about to lock up and head home, Ben came into the Salon. The look on his face made her stomach tighten up into a knot. What she didn’t know yet was that Ben had taken a call from Luke, and now he had twice the bad news.

  “What is it?” She asked.

  “Maybe we should go back to your house and get a cup of cocoa first. By the way, was that Francine I saw walking away from the salon?” Ben asked.

  “Don’t try to change the subject, Mister.”

  “Alright. You got me.” He said with a chuckle and put his hands up in front of him in surrender. “But, that’s Detective to you Ma’am.”

  “Transformicus Anphibioso,” Belladonna said and pointed her wand at Ben’s hands.

  “Oh my gosh, Bella. Baby, I was just kidding.”

  “I was too.” She said with an impish smile. “That’s not even a real spell. But, spill it because I know a real spell or two.”

  “Okay, Sweat Pea. Okay.”

  Town Square

  Linda wasn’t sure where she’d dropped her phone, but she really wanted to find it before going home for the night. This would be her third replacement this year, and the phone company wouldn’t let her use her insurance anymore. If she couldn’t find her cell, Linda was going to have to pay full price for a new one.

  Not to mention she wanted to erase the text messages between her and the deceased. No one would understand that the text message she’d sent to Leonard saying:

  If I catch you flirting with that adorable new cop again, I’ll totally kill you

  It was a joke. Linda and Leonard had only gone out on a few dates, but she’d really liked him. There were pictures of the two of them together on her phone, and if she couldn’t find it, those photos would be lost forever.

  Linda intended to tell Detective Ben everything tomorrow when she went in to talk to him, but she wanted to be the one who controlled the message. It would look much better for her if she could tell Ben about her relationship with Leonard.

  She chastised herself inwardly for worrying about how any of this looked to outsiders, but the last thing Linda wanted was to lose her new boyfriend and her freedom in the same weekend.

  Tears spilled over her cheeks when she thought about their plans for tonight. She and Leonard were supposed to go dancing in a little country western bar in New Salem after the wedding. He was going to teach her line dancing.

  Linda chuckled when she thought about her French boyfriend teaching her country line dancing. It would have been fun, though. Instead, he was dead, and she was scouring the town square for her cell phone so that she didn’t end up in prison for killing him.

  Just as she was wiping her tears away, Linda heard her ringtone. Her heart leaped with relief, but her elation was short lived. Linda’s phone was just five feet away in the hands of Officer Lucy Cornwall.

  Eight

  “What’s going on here?”

  Linda felt her heart sink into the pit of her stomach when she heard Ben’s voice. She’d really hoped to just get her phone back from Lucy and go home, but just her luck, Ben and Belladonna were coming out of the salon right as her phone turned up in Officer Cornwall’s hand.

  “I lost my phone after the wedding. It appears that Lucy found it.” Linda said.

  “Okay, well then why is Lucy still holding it?” Ben said to Linda, but he was looking right at the rookie cop he knew little about.

  “I’m still holding it because Linda here just got a call from the victim’s phone. She’s also received three text messages from him in the last hour. That should be impossible because he’s dead.” Lucy said smugly.

  “How do you know she got text messages from the deceased?” Ben asked.

  “Because there was a notification that she had three unread messages,” Lucy answered.

  “Okay, but how do you know they’re from the victim’s phone?” Ben was starting to get irritated with Lucy, and Ben rarely got annoyed with anyone.

  “Because I read them,” Lucy stated matter-of-factly.

  “Did Linda give you permission to search her cell phone?” Belladonna put a hand on Ben’s shoulder when she sensed him moving from irritated to angry.

  “She didn’t need to because it was in plain sight. I found the phone here in the park. I don’t need a warrant when the phone is in plain sight. I looked through it to see who the owner was so that I could return it, and found the evidence by chance.”

  “First of all, it isn’t necessarily evidence…” Ben said, but Lucy cut him off.

  “It is when there are text messages threatening to kill the victim on the phone,” Lucy said.

  “And second of all, are you 100% sure that if it were evidence, it would be admissible in court? Your assertion that you don’t need a warrant because the phone was in plain sight is on shaky legal ground at best. The smug look on your face tells me that you think you’ve all but gotten this case wrapped up, and that’s a typical rookie mistake. What’s actually happened is you’ve jeopardized this case, my case, with sloppy police work and a bad decision. Now, give Linda her phone back, and we’ll talk about this later. ”

  The look on Officer Cornwall's face told Ben that he’d perhaps been a touch too harsh.

  He couldn’t help it, though, because Linda was a good friend and Ben felt protective of her. She looked relieved when Ben stepped in on her behalf, and he hoped he was right. There would be hell to pay if he’d made a mistake.

  Ben drove Belladonna home. They held hands, but neither one of them said anything. Bella had never seen Ben get so upset, and she figured it was because Linda was like an Aunt to him. She’d get the same way if someone were accusing Aunt Sumac of murder.

  He was quiet because he was embarrassed. This case was too close to home. Not that the previous cases he’d worked on in Winterfield hadn’t been, but this time it was too much. Ben was starting to crack up under the pressure of having so many murders occur in his quiet, small town. Every time it happened, people he cared about were suspects, and it was happening
far more often than he’d ever anticipated.

  In the city, he would have just handed the investigation into Leonard Stonebrook’s death off to another detective, but there were no other detectives here. He wanted to wish it all away. Ben was a jinn, after all, and he could do that if he desired.

  What would be the cost?

  He shivered to think of what price he and his loved ones would have to pay if he wished away this case. Restoring the cosmic balance would carry a hefty price.

  That wasn’t an option. Ben was just going to have to cowboy up and handle this case. He looked over at Belladonna in the seat next to him, and suddenly it felt like a weight was lifted. In reality, it was. He didn’t have to carry this all by himself. Ben had found his partner.

  “Belladonna, I know this is horrible timing, but I want to ask you something.”

  “Oh look, everyone is at my house.” She said as if she hadn’t heard him. “What was that? You want to ask me something?”

  “It can wait. Let’s go talk to everyone. I’m sure Luke wants an update on the murder and he probably wants to discuss Old Man Jenkins.”

  The aroma of roasting meat hit Belladonna’s nose like a train when she walked through her front door, and her belly growled like a bear. She’d almost forgotten that dinner had been cut short by the untimely death at Murielle’s wedding reception.

  Olwen came bounding down the hall as soon as Bella and Ben walked in, and Sterling sauntered out of the parlor as well. Belladonna bent down and scooped up Sterling. She nuzzled the cat’s face and relaxed as her familiar started to purr against her chest.

  Petunia stuck her head out of the kitchen and looked down the hall at them. “The meatloaf will be done in five minutes. Benjamin, could you be a dear and come down here. I need someone to mash up these potatoes, and it looks like your wife has her hands full.”

  “Mom, We’re not,” But, Petunia was already back in the kitchen before Belladonna said “married.”

  “Oh, would being married to me be that awful?” Ben said playfully, but he was down the hall and in the kitchen before Bella could answer.

  Belladonna made her way into the kitchen and found that everyone was there. Murielle was in the refrigerator looking for butter, Luke was in the pantry looking for the salt and garlic powder. Granny Pepper was standing outside of the pantry watching Luke look for the spices. Aunt Sumac was at the kitchen island making a salad. Ben was standing next to her mashing up a huge vat of potatoes, and Petunia was pulling the meatloaf out of the oven.

  “Aunt Sumac, I didn’t even know you knew how to make a salad.” Belladonna teased.

  “Joke all you want, guess who’s on cleanup duty. We did the cookin, you’ll be doin the washin.” Sumac said as she added more cheese to the salad.

  “I’ll set the table,” Belladonna said with a grumble.

  She set Sterling down and proceeded to set out the plates and silverware. Once all of the food was done, the motley crew carried all of the food into the dining room and set it up on the buffet.

  After dinner, Luke and Murielle went across the street to spend their first night together in their new home. Luke wanted to stick around and discuss the missing person case with Ben, but his new wife dragged him home.

  Bella banished herself to the kitchen while her family made their way to their usual guest rooms, but she was delighted when Ben joined her at the sink.

  “You know, you could just wave your wand and these dishes would be clean and put away.” He said and kissed her on top of her head.

  “I know, but occasionally it’s good to do the work even if you don’t have to. It helps keep me grounded.” She said and scrubbed the meatloaf pan.

  “I can understand that.”

  Together they washed, dried, and put away every dish, pan, glass, and piece of silverware. Neither one of them said anything. They just stood next to each other quietly while Belladonna washed and Ben dried.

  At that moment, Ben wanted to wish for a ring. He wanted to wish the perfect engagement ring into existence and get down on one knee, but he couldn’t do it. The moment was perfect, but he couldn’t imagine summoning the cosmic repercussions just to wish for a piece of jewelry.

  There would be other moments. In fact, there would be a lifetime of perfect moments with Belladonna at his side. After work tomorrow, Ben was going to drive to New Salem and get a ring. He wasn’t going to bother running the idea by her. Instead, he’d get a ring that was right for her and propose the minute he had a chance.

  “I should get to bed,” Bella said and kissed him decorously on the lips.

  “I should get home. You’ve got a full house tonight. I wonder where Olwen is.”

  “Most likely asleep with my mother. You know those two are inseparable when she’s here. You should stay. I’ll make up the sofa in the den real quick. I don’t want you going home to an empty house when my family has taken your dog hostage.” She said and took his hand.

  “You are my family, Belladonna.”

  “It’s decided then. I’ll go get the bedding.”

  As Ben settled down on the couch for the evening, he couldn’t believe the overwhelming feeling of love and belonging that washed over him. Just as he started to feel like his heart couldn’t get any fuller, Sterling jumped up on his chest and he got a full view of her butt.

  “Sterling, if you’re going to sleep on me, you’ve got to get your butt out of my face.”

  Sterling turned around a couple of times and settled on his chest. He petted her soft fur until she was purring happily, and that’s how they fell asleep.

  Nine

  When Ben got up for work the next morning, the house had cleared out. He found a note from Petunia and Belladonna on the kitchen counter along with a tray of cranberry-orange muffins.

  Had to get to work early, have a muffin – Love, Belladonna

  And, underneath that:

  Took Olwen for a walk in the woods. Will be back around lunchtime. - Petunia

  Ben had no idea where Granny Pepper and Aunt Sumac were, and they hadn’t left a note. He grabbed a couple of muffins and then headed out for his house. There was still time for him to go on a quick run and grab a shower before he had to be at the police station.

  He got home and threw on his running clothes. Ben hoped he wouldn’t run into too many people while he was out because while the clothes were clean, they’d been in a laundry basket for a while. The wrinkled looked dang near permanent.

  After a fast two-mile run, Ben showered, dressed and ate the two muffins he brought from Belladonna’s house. Before going into work, he dropped by the diner and got a coffee to go with an order of bacon and sausage. Ben thought it felt like a day where he’d need something a little heavier than a couple of post run muffins in his stomach.

  When he arrived at the temporary station, Chief Frost was in his office with the door closed, but no one else was around. He opened up his laptop and noticed an email from an anonymous address. Inside he found a cover letter from when Nick the cook had applied to be Brynhidr’s personal chef.

  It wasn’t the kind of thing that usually motivated murder, but it was a motive none the less. Ben printed a copy of the email and then contacted the computer forensics team for the FBI. He didn’t want to involve the Feds, but Ben knew a guy who knew a guy that could look into the origin of the email without kicking up too much of a fuss.

  Once he was done sending a message to the computer guy, Ben took out his notebook and opened it to the page containing the times that his suspects were coming in to talk with him. His desk phone rang and startled him so much that Ben spilled his coffee all over.

  He jumped up and ran for paper towels, but by the time he had the mess cleaned up, it was too late. His notebook was ruined, and the ink had run all over. He was stuck sitting in the station all day waiting for his appointments to come in since he had no idea when they were arriving.

  Ben decided to call Jessie and see if she could bring him a coffee from her bakery wh
enever she came for her appointment. He would call Linda next and ask her the same thing.

  The coffee at the station was disgusting, so he could at least ask them to bring him something drinkable. He’d also find out when two of his appointments were coming in as well.

  “Hi, Jessie. It’s Detective Carmichael. I have an odd request for you. I know you serve coffee in the bakery, and I was wondering if you could bring me one to go when you come for your interview today.”

  “Oh, hi Ben. Yeah, I can do that. Actually, Carly just got done helping me bake some pecan tarts. She was going to head over to the station to talk to you. I’ll have her bring some. I just got done brewing a fresh pot.” Jessie said.

  “Jessie that would be amazing. Thank you. What time are you coming in today?” Ben sounded relieved.

  “I’ve got a girl from the high school coming in at three-thirty to help out. I’ll come over and see you once I’ve got her settled. I can be back in time for the after-work rush, right? Nancy’s been working here for a bit, but I’d hate to leave her alone at that time.”

  “Yep, we can make sure and have you back in time,” Ben said.

  “Okay, and I’ll bring you another coffee. I’m sure you’ll need it by then.”

  “Thanks, Jessie. I appreciate it.”

  He and Jessie hung up, and Ben hurried to call Linda before Carly arrived. She didn’t answer her cell phone or her home phone, so Ben tried the diner.

  “Oh, hey Ben. How are you?” Linda sounded rushed, and he could hear the restaurant was packed in the background.

  “Sorry to bother you, Linda. I didn’t think you’d be at the diner today.”

  “I wasn’t supposed to be, but the new girl called in. I’m stuck here until lunch.” Linda was practically shouting over the noise.

  “Can you come by the station when you get off work then?” Ben asked. “And can you bring me a coffee. I’m stuck at the station all day.”

  Ben wasn’t as stuck as before since he knew when most of his appointments were coming in, but he didn’t feel comfortable leaving. He still didn’t find out when Nick would show, and Linda could only tell him that she’d be in around lunch time. She did promise him a coffee and a Monte Cristo with fries, though.