I wrinkled my nose. “He didn’t smell that great.”
“Nick smelt like a garden full of spicy flowers. It made me want to wrap myself around him and snuggle him tight.”
“You have the strangest taste in men. So, what happened the night you were seen together?”
She stroked a finger around the rim of her mug. “I might have invited him here for dinner.”
“You asked him on a date?”
“Sort of. I played it down, but he was happy enough to get the invitation. He was also happy enough to make out with me.”
“Hold on. In what order did this happen? He accepted your date and came to dinner. Then did you make out and eat or eat and make out, or did you do both?”
“A little of both. Nick was very friendly. I didn’t know about his girlfriend. I had seen a woman hanging around him a lot. I didn’t look into it; ignorance is bliss and all that, but I assumed it might have been his assistant.”
I arched an eyebrow. “How convenient not to inquire if Nick had a girlfriend before kissing him.”
“Hey, I’m the innocent party here. Nick knew he was involved with Rachel and decided to forget about it when our lips locked. He’s the one who cheated.”
“Okay, so you had a make-out session and then served him dinner?”
“Yes, I thought it was going so well. It was busy here that night, but I’d saved him a special table, one by the counter so I could join him as much as possible. He had his starter, which he loved. Then I served him my speciality ale and tarragon pie. You know the one with the crispy puff pastry top and rich sauce?”
“Of course, I love your pies.”
“Exactly, everybody loves my pies. No one has ever complained about my pies.”
I tilted my head. “Until Nick?”
Tilly nodded sagely. “Until Nick. I was telling the truth about him complaining about my food. He left half the pie. I jokingly asked if there was something wrong with it. I expected him to say it was fabulous, but he was too full or was saving room for dessert. No, do you know what he said?”
“Nothing good about your pie?”
“He said it wasn’t his sort of thing. I was disappointed but decided not to push him. We had a glass of wine together, and I gently prodded about the food to make sure he wasn’t unhappy. He brushed it away and made out like it wasn’t anything important, but I knew something was wrong.”
“I’m guessing it was important to you? More important than impressing a hot non-magical?”
“Of course. This is my pie on the line. More than that, it’s my restaurant on the line. If word gets out that people aren’t finishing their food, it will look bad on me.”
“One unfinished pie will not ruin you.”
“It’s a slippery slope to bankruptcy and empty tables,” Tilly said. “Anyway, I walked him out of the restaurant, and we had a friendly smooch good night. That’s when I got him to admit it.”
“What did he admit?”
“Nick said my pie had a soggy bottom. Can you imagine it! I’ve never cooked a pie with a soggy bottom in my life. My bottom is always perfection.”
“You do lovely bottoms,” I said.
“And that was it, no more kissing with Nick. I was devastated. I’d wasted the whole evening on a guy who was not only cheating on his girlfriend but thought my pies were substandard.”
“Does that mean you’re no longer interested in non-magicals?”
“I won’t be interested if they’re going to be rude about my bottoms.” Tilly took a sip of herbal tea and leaned closer. “And that’s not the only thing. Nick’s conversation was boring. He kept going on about this ring he wanted to find.”
I sat up in my seat. “The Ring of Halo?”
“He didn’t give it a name.” Tilly’s eyes widened. “That’s not what he was looking for, was it? He can’t have thought it was a good idea to dig up that nasty piece of magic.”
“Most likely he did. The ring has gone missing. Nick sounds like he was obsessed with it. I’m reckoning that’s what got him killed.”
Tilly drummed her fingers on the table. “I have terrible taste in men. They hate my food and are trying to use dark magic items they should have no business knowing anything about. He was so cute, though.”
“No, he wasn’t. You do have terrible taste in non-magical men.”
“Oh, come off it. Even you have to admit Nick was cute.”
“He was too floppy-haired for my liking. I like my men a bit—”
“Rough around the edges? Stubbled and sitting astride an enormous motorbike? The leader of a certain biker gang?” Tilly waggled her brows at me and grinned.
I swatted Tilly’s hand. “Enough of that. This information still makes you a suspect. You could be seen as romantically involved with Nick, and he insulted you. How far would you go to keep your soggy bottom a secret?” I wasn’t being serious, but the horrified look on Tilly’s face was worth it.
“I hated him for not loving my pies, but I wouldn’t kill him for it. My plan was to make a special pie and leave it for Nick. He’d know then my pies are lovely. It’s just a shame I never got the chance.”
“Your soggy bottom secret will go to the grave.”
“It was a soggy bottomed lie!” She smiled at me. “You don’t seriously think I’m involved, do you?”
“No, and the more I learn about this, the more I’m convinced it’s one of the non-magicals. In fact, after this fight Jenny was in, it could be Rachel.”
“The jealous girlfriend, who lied about a pregnancy and seems more interested in her social climbing than finding true love. She sounds like the perfect killer.” Tilly stood from the table. “I’d better get on. Let me know how things go.”
I grabbed a couple of filled baguettes to go and left Tilly to her work. I was glad she’d finally come clean about her involvement with Nick. I’d never taken her seriously as a suspect, but Dazielle would only start hounding her if she got desperate enough and the real killer wasn’t found quickly.
But our chat hadn’t helped me figure out what had gone on between Jenny and Rachel at the standing stones. I had to get to the hospital and see if Jenny had regained consciousness, so I could find out who she was fighting with and what the fight was about.
Chapter 18
“Play charades with me.” Wiggles nudged me with his nose.
“We’re in a hospital waiting room. It’s not a place to play games.” I dropped the dog-eared magazine I’d been reading.
“How about name that tune? I’ll bark a tune, and you guess what it is.”
“No barking. You’ll upset the patients. I snuck you in here without anyone seeing. If a nurse discovers you, you’ll be kicked out.” I had to admit I was as bored as Wiggles. We’d been waiting for three hours to get news on Jenny. So far, she’d done nothing other than mutter in her sleep and twitch a lot.
The door to the waiting room opened, and Dazielle walked in.
I jumped up from my seat. “Any news?”
“Jenny has regained consciousness. She keeps saying Rachel’s name over and over again. She said Rachel was like a crazy person, her eyes were gleaming and she was foaming at the mouth before she attacked her.”
“Rachel sounds like she’s had a bite from a rabid dog.”
“She sounds possessed. You don’t have any demons unaccounted for from the prison who might have gotten to Rachel, do you?”
I scowled at Dazielle. “You’re not pinning this on my family letting a demon go. The prison is locked tight, same as always.”
Dazielle nodded. “I figured as much, but it would have been an easy explanation.”
“What now?”
“Jenny’s awake if you want to talk to her,” Dazielle said. “Keep it brief and no stressing her out. She keeps falling asleep and is sedated, so she might not make much sense.”
I left Wiggles in the waiting room and headed out with Dazielle along the clean white hospital corridor. We walked into a small private room.
Jenny lay in the bed, her hands bandaged.
She looked at me and a small smile crossed her face. “Hi, Tempest. It’s nice of you to come to see me.”
“Sorry to say, it’s on official business.” I glanced at Dazielle, and she nodded. “We’re hoping you can help us shed light on what happened between you and Rachel in the stone circle.”
Her smile vanished, and a worried look entered her eyes. “I wish I knew. She was so scary. She kept lunging and scratching me. Her nails felt more like claws every time they made contact. My hands will be sore for weeks.”
“Why did she attack you?” I asked.
Jenny chewed on her bottom lip. “She was jealous of me.”
“Of what in particular?”
“I had a good relationship with Nick. Rachel is suspicious of anyone who spent time with Nick. She was insecure about their relationship. And she lied about it, as well. Do you remember the night Nick died, and Rachel said she was his fiancée?”
I nodded. “Sure. I also remember how surprised you looked when she revealed that.”
“Because it wasn’t true. Nick never asked Rachel to marry him. He never would.”
“Are you suggesting you and Nick had a romantic connection?”
“No, nothing romantic. I saw him more as a big brother, a sort of mentor. He might have had a little crush on me, but I liked to keep things professional. We worked well together and were talking about partnering up when he got his staff position at the paper. It was a professional relationship but with the bonus of us being friends. It made Rachel’s blood boil. She was always making snide comments and ordering me around like I was her assistant. That was the only thing that annoyed me about Nick. He never stood up to her. He let Rachel walk all over him just for a quiet life.”
“That must have annoyed you,” I said.
“It did. I mentioned it a few times, but Nick said he was dealing with it, and Rachel wouldn’t be around for much longer.”
“He was planning to ditch her?”
“I think so. Maybe that’s what tipped her over the edge. Rachel was so clingy and annoying. Nick had had enough. He wanted out.”
“Rachel wanted you both dead because of that?” Dazielle asked. “She killed Nick because he rejected her and decided to get even with you because she was jealous of your friendship with Nick?”
“It’s the only reason I can think of for her to attack me so savagely,” Jenny said.
“What about the broken stone?” I asked. “What do you know about that?”
“A broken stone?” Confusion crossed Jenny’s face.
“Yes, the ancient hunk of rock that has stood in the same spot for thousands of years and got ripped out of the ground when you fought with Rachel.” I glanced at Dazielle and raised my eyebrows.
“Oh, it was already like that,” Jenny said. “When I got there, the stone had fallen on its side. I figured it must have been done during the celebration. It’s an old stone, so it could have crumbled when people jumped on it.”
That couldn’t be true. Those stones withstood anything. “What were you doing at the stone circle?”
“Getting a few last shots. It was something Nick taught me to do. Always get more footage than you think you’ll need. It can come in handy during editing. I was going to splice it together when I got back to work.”
“And Rachel just happened to find you there?”
“I guess so,” Jenny said. “I can’t figure out why she’s still hanging around. There’s no reason for her to be here now Nick has gone.”
“I told her to stay,” I said. “I’m glad I did if she’s involved with this attack on you, as well.”
Dazielle’s pocket vibrated. She pulled out a small flat version of a snow globe and turned away discreetly to look at the message. To a non-magical, it would look like she was checking her mobile.
She shoved it back in her pocket and turned to the bed. “Rachel has been spotted.”
Jenny sat up in the bed, bright dots of color appearing on her cheeks. “I must see her.”
“You need to stay where you are,” Dazielle said. “You’ve had a shock and are in no condition to leave the hospital.”
“I have to know where she is and what she’s up to,” Jenny demanded. “She tried to kill me.”
“We’ll get the answers you need.” Dazielle looked at me. “She’s apparently being... difficult. The others could do with a hand.”
I interpreted difficult as out of control crazy because she was using magic she couldn’t control. I nodded at Dazielle. “Let’s go.”
“Wait! What about me? I need to come with you.” Jenny struggled to the edge of the bed, flipping up and down because she couldn’t use her hands to balance herself.
Dazielle touched her shoulder. “Stay here. We’ll keep you up to date. I’ll post an angel outside the hospital, so you don’t need to worry about your safety. Rachel can’t get to you in here.”
Jenny’s lips pressed together. She nodded and slid down the bed. “Okay, I guess I feel better. Make sure you get Rachel, though. She’s evil.”
“What do you think of her story?” Dazielle asked as we hurried along the corridor toward the exit.
I ducked my head into the waiting room and whistled for Wiggles to join us. “I believe Rachel is the jealous type, but to kill Jenny because she had a good working relationship with Nick doesn’t seem right. This has to do with that ring Nick was after.”
“You think Rachel has this ring? That’s why she’s acting out of character?”
As we stepped out of the hospital, the air was thick with an unhealthy throb of murky feeling magic. “That’s what we’re about to find out.”
“Rachel was last seen outside Mystic Mushroom. I’ll meet you there.” Dazielle took flight and soared along the street on her enormous white wings.
“Come on, Wiggles.” I raced after Dazielle.
“This place has a bad vibe to it,” Wiggles said. “It smells like three-day-old barbecue meat that’s been re-heated and covered in sauce to hide the rot.”
I grimaced. The place did feel out of sync with its normal healthy brew of magic. The feeling of dense, sticky dark magic grew stronger as we neared the main street.
“What’s the plan?” Wiggles asked.
“Find Rachel and take her down if she’s got her hands on magic she can’t control.”
“Simple but effective.”
The closer I got to the dark magic, the more Frank twitched and pulsed inside me.
“Not now,” I said to him.
“You’re going to need me for this one,” he whispered.
“I can handle this.”
“Let me handle it for you,” Frank said. “I have met this power before. It’s more than one little witch can handle.”
“Stay down. I don’t trust you.”
“Right now, you have no choice.”
I lurched to the side, stumbling over my own feet as Frank’s energy zoomed up my spine and prickled on the back of my neck.
I gritted my teeth and focused on keeping him under my control. He could not get out, not now. Dark magic twitched all around us, only encouraging Frank’s energy to pulse harder through me, making my heart pound and sweat trickle down my back.
Wiggles whined and nudged my hand. His eyes showed concern. “Do you need help?”
“Get out of here. I’m not safe to be around. Frank wants to come out to play.”
“Shall I get anyone?”
“Just stay back. You can’t be caught up in this.”
Wiggles was a tough hellhound, but if he got caught in the middle of a fight between Frank and this dark energy tainting Willow Tree Falls, he might not come out looking too good.
He whined a couple more times but knew better than to be too close to me when Frank took over.
I breathed a sigh of relief as I saw him turn and race along the street. I couldn’t be sure, but it looked like he was heading to Mom’s house. He’d better not bring the family into th
is. I couldn’t risk any of them getting hurt when Frank emerged.
I sucked in a deep breath, knowing I was losing the fight. “Do not kill anyone,” I said to him.
“Not even the dark power that is making the whole of Willow Tree Falls quake?”
“It can be contained.”
“We’ll see about that.” His energy smothered me from head to toe. A gross tasting sulfurous belch shot from my lips as Frank gained full control of my body.
The world took on its usual red tint as Frank surveyed the surroundings. I strode along the street, heading toward Mystic Mushroom and the growing crowd of white clad angels.
Dazielle’s head shot up as I approached. She gestured the other angels back. “Take your positions. Focus on keeping everyone else safe.” She backed away as I neared. “Tempest, I can’t help you this time.”
“I need no help from an angel,” Frank said. I willed him to slow down and not attack Dazielle. She was not a threat to us.
But Frank had no interest in the angels. He looked over Dazielle’s shoulder at the wild-haired woman standing in the middle of the street. Her shoulders were hunched, and she was missing a shoe.
Even though Frank was in control, I felt shocked when I saw the state Rachel was in. It wasn’t the state of her clothing that was alarming. On her right hand sat a glowing purple ring.
“Tempest, be careful,” Dazielle warned. “Rachel has already taken out two angels.”
I heard her but couldn’t respond.
Frank made a dismissive gesture at Dazielle as he strode past and stood facing Rachel. “We meet again.”
Rachel’s head rose slowly. Her eyes were a dense swirling black. “I thought I smelled something sour, a traitorous demon.”
“What is controlling Rachel?” I asked Frank.
“Her name is Eligos.”
My fear only made Frank stronger. “Isn’t Eligos male?”
“She can be. I prefer her in her female form.”
“Your preferences are of no interest to me,” Eligos said.
“It has not always been that way,” Frank said.
“It is since you’ve been schooled by a witch.” Rachel’s mouth moved, but the voice coming out of her was anything but human.
Hell of a Witch (Crypt Witch Cozy Mystery Series Book 2) Page 17
