Poor Little Witch Girl: Witch Cozy Mystery (The Reluctant Witch Book 2)

by Maeve Hart

  I picked up my bag and then my cell phone fell out. I gasped, hoping it wasn’t the throw away one Jacques had given me, but luckily it was my iPhone.

  “Careful,” Detective Andrews said as he reached down to retrieve it. As his sleeve rose, I saw an intricate tattoo on his wrist. It was exactly the same one as I’d seen on Seamus’ wrist. A chill ran through me. Why would he have the same tattoo as a shifter?

  I wondered what the tattoo meant, but I wasn’t game to ask. It was a perfect circle. Inside the circle was a row of dots along the center, splitting the circle in two. There was an eye on the half closest to his hand and on the other half was a tree with its roots pointing toward the hand. It had to mean something.

  Looking away, I took the phone and thanked the detective.

  “I can have someone drive you home and you can come and collect the car tomorrow,” he suggested.

  “It’s not my car. I borrowed it from a friend and she’ll need it.”

  “Okay. Just trying to help.”

  “I know and thank you.” I bit my lip. “Any chance you can call me later and tell me how he died?”

  “Okay.” He nodded.

  “We started to get along well today. I was even staying back to help him clean.”

  He stared at me with his clear blue eyes and I backed out the door.

  “Goodbye. Um, I guess you’ll find the keys and sort everything out and lock up?” I asked.

  “We will.”

  I took a deep breath and hoped I was okay to drive. I walked out the door, glad I wasn’t being arrested for something but upset that I’d destroyed the printed email.

  It was weird driving away from the house and leaving the police, paramedics, and forensic investigators behind. Hours ago I’d had no idea that the day would turn out this way. Life continued to surprise me with twists and turns.

  As soon as I was on the open road, I reached into my bag and called Jacques from the safe phone he’d given me.

  “Where are you?” I asked as soon as he answered.

  “At the penthouse.”

  “Something’s happened. We need to talk.”

  “What is it?”

  I took a deep breath and blurted, “Peter’s dead.”

  “The Peter you were meeting at Don’s house?”

  “Yes. I’m just driving away from there now. The police are there.”

  “I’ll come to the loft, or better still you can come here. Are you okay?”

  “Just have a strong drink waiting for me. Oh, wait. I’ve got Abbie’s car.”

  “I’m leaving now and I’ll meet you at Abbie’s. Are you fit to drive?”

  “Yes.” I ended the call.

  As I drove, I wondered whether to tell him that Don knew the detective. I decided it was best to tell him, but I’d keep the information about Detective Andrews’ tattoo to myself. My best guess was that there was a connection between Seamus and Andrews—maybe they had been associated in their pasts in some way.

  When I got to Abbie’s house I knew she’d still be at work, so I hid her keys in the flowerpot by the back door as we’d arranged that morning.

  When I walked back to the front of the house, Jacques’ car had just pulled up. I quickly headed over and got into the front seat.

  He put his arm around me. “You must’ve had a terrible shock.”

  I felt much better being close to him. “It was awful. He was alive one minute and the next he was dead and I’ve got no idea why. There wasn’t a mark on him.”

  He started the car. “Tell me everything that happened from the time you got there.”

  I told him about everything, including the email I found, the fact that Don’s computer had been stolen, and the visit from Gina, the ex-wife.

  “So Don was working for Andrews?”

  “Yes. At least we know what that report was all about.”

  “Now all we have to do is find out who mailed it to you.”

  I sighed. “I wish I hadn’t destroyed that email.”

  “You weren’t to know. It was good you found it—now we know Don was reporting back to Andrews.”

  “I thought they might arrest me and I think that might be why I blacked out.”

  “You didn’t tell me that part. How long did you black out for?”

  “Not long. I think I was still on the phone to the operator and then the paramedics and police arrived. I didn’t change.”

  “Are you certain?”

  “Yes.”

  Jacques sighed. “I think they know a lot more about both of us than we originally thought.”

  “What have your investigators found out?”

  “Not as much as you. I should sack the lot of them.”

  I nibbled on the end of a fingernail. “I wonder if Gina killed Peter.”

  “It would be unlikely unless the woman’s stupid.”

  “She didn’t seem that way at all. I think she’s smart. I only hope the results don’t come back as Puff Adder poison.”

  Jacques raised his eyebrows and looked over at me. “You didn’t see a hole in his neck, did you?”

  I glanced at Jacques, not wanting Peter to have been poisoned. “No, but I wasn’t looking.”

  Chapter 16

  I had a quiet night with Jacques at the penthouse and the detective never rang me to let me know the probable cause of death. Although it looked like Peter had a heart attack, I was certain that many things did until they discovered the real cause of death.

  All night I’d tossed and turned and hadn’t slept. Now I sat down at the breakfast table with Jacques, sipping black coffee and trying to calm my nerves.

  “Are you worried you’ll be arrested again?” Jacques said, putting his hand on my shoulder.

  “Yes.”

  “I’ll get you out like I did the last time.”

  I pouted and figured he could only call in so many favors or bribes or whatever he’d done to get me out. “I don’t want you to be put in a position to have to get me off, if you know what I mean.”

  “Things seem worse now that we know Andrews is investigating me.”

  I stared into his eyes. Everything kept turning full circle to my grandmother killing the Alpha. Something I had brushed aside as a mere fairy tale—a fantasy—was now running my life and making me wonder whom I could trust. “Is there anything else you need to tell me?” I figured there was a lot.

  “Nothing to do with Peter’s death. I can’t work out why anyone would kill him, but I can see now that Andrews could’ve had him rubbed out if he didn’t require any further information from him. The timing seems right; as soon as Don delivered his report to Andrews he was killed in a weird and confusing way to throw investigators and forensics off the track, or on lots of different tracks.”

  “Would he do that after Don had done so much for him?”

  “They don’t care about the individual, Destiny. They care about the greater good of humanity. Single people are expendable.

  I drained the last of my coffee.

  “Another one?”

  “Please.”

  He reached out, took my cup from me, and headed to the coffee machine. I needed two coffees on an average morning to clear my head and this was no ordinary morning. Not if I had to go and speak to Andrews knowing he knew about Jacques and my grandmother—and going from the tattoo, he also had some connection with Seamus, the untrustworthy, hard-to-control shifter. Somehow, I still had a feeling I should keep the tattoo information to myself.

  An hour later, I was sitting in a cold, gray interview room at the police station waiting for Andrews. I’d been down this road before. This was where I’d give my official recorded statement of the events of the day before.

  Andrews burst through the door. “Okay, Ms. Stephens. This interview will be recorded and will form part of your official statement.”

  “Do you know how he died?”

  “According to the coroner, it was a heart attack.”

  “Are they sure?” I frowned at w
hat had slipped out of my mouth. Of course, I’d expected he’d been murdered just like Don and I’d heard the screech of tires just before I’d found his body.

  “I can only go by what I’m told.”

  “Did you find Gina?” I was certain Don’s estranged wife had something to do with it.

  “Please, Ms. Stephens. Let’s get this interview over with and then I’ll answer all the questions you have.”

  I leaned back in the chair. I hated being kept in the dark.

  “We found rubber gloves in the kitchen and a bottle of bleach with your fingerprints on both.”

  I froze. It looked like I was trying to cover up a crime with bleach and gloves. “I was about to clean out the fridge, that’s why. And you said he wasn’t murdered.”

  Thankfully, he seemed to accept what I said. After all, there’d been no crime committed if he’d died of a heart attack. Then he asked me to start from the beginning and I ran through everything I remembered. All the while, I hoped to get another look at the tattoo on his wrist, but his long sleeves covered it too well.

  I cleared my throat. “Before Peter died, he mentioned something about Don being arrested on some kind of embezzlement charges.”

  The detective stared at me blankly. “He told you that?”

  “Yes. Is that true? He said the charges were dropped suddenly and his record wiped clean and I thought you might be able to tell me why. I was thinking that might have had something to do with Don’s murder.”

  He looked away from me. “I’ll look into it.”

  “You didn’t know?”

  “As I said, I’ll look into it.” He stood up. “Thank you for your statement. I’ll be back in a few minutes when we have it ready for you to sign. Do you want tea, coffee, anything?”

  I shook my head and then Andrews walked out, leaving me alone. It was clear he didn’t want me to know about Don’s charges or what had happened afterward.

  When he came back, I knew something wasn’t right from the look on his face. He was as white as a sheet. My best guess was they’d found Peter hadn’t died of natural causes.

  “You’ll never guess.” He sank into the chair and put the papers in his hands down on the table.

  “What is it?”

  “Jennifer is pleading guilty.”

  I frowned, confused. It seemed odd that she would plead guilty—I thought the case against her was flimsy with the lack of DNA evidence and only one eyewitness who said he saw her leaving the apartment.

  He continued, “She’s pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter. She’s going before a sentencing judge in two weeks.”

  I scratched my head, trying to figure it out. “How long do you think she’ll get?”

  “It depends on the judge. It’s hard to say.”

  “I wonder if she felt under pressure with Peter dying.”

  “No doubt that would have had some effect on the truth finally coming out.”

  I was in the clear. I just hoped Peter hadn’t been murdered too. That would be my worst nightmare.

  Gina will most likely end up with all Don’s money. Maggie is a wealthy woman so she probably won’t be too concerned. She’ll be more concerned about Jennifer facing a judge for sentencing.

  He pushed my statement towards me to be signed along with a pen. I carefully read it to make sure they hadn’t added something that I hadn’t said. When I was satisfied, I signed it and pushed it back to him.

  “Thank you for coming in, Ms. Stephens.”

  I gave him a little smile. “Is that it?”

  “For the moment.”

  Chapter 17

  The next night, I was back at the compound. While I was in Jacques’ bedroom getting ready to go for a run with the pack, my cell phone sounded. It was Aunt Flora calling.

  “Hello.”

  “Remember when you asked me to do a divination about who killed Don?”

  She never said hello, or asked if it was a convenient time to talk. “Er, no, I don’t remember that I did.” I sat down on the bed.

  “Well, you did. I saw a full circle.”

  The circle of the tattoo immediately came to mind. “What does that mean?”

  “It could mean lots of things, but in this case it means that he was killed by someone on the same side as he was. Does that make sense to you?”

  “Um…” It kind of did, if Don had been working for the cops and one of them had killed him to make sure he’d keep quiet.

  “Let me tell you a different way. If he’d been on a football team, it would’ve been someone on his own team.”

  “Thanks, Aunt Flora, I’ll keep that in mind,” I said. “Mom said you were in Brazil. Are you still there?”

  “I was at a Mayan temple with Frizelle and while he was soaking up inspiration from the surroundings, I thought of what was troubling you and I did a divination while I was waiting.”

  “That was good of you, thanks.”

  “It was no trouble. I suddenly thought about you. I should’ve done it earlier.”

  “I’m not sure if that helps. Could you come up with a name?”

  “It’s not as easy as that, Destiny.”

  Oh no, I’d made her cranky. I hated people being angry. The vibrations disturbed me. “I know, but—”

  “Ask your Grandmother. She does this kind of thing on a daily basis.”

  “I don’t like to meddle in that kind of thing or let someone else do it on my behalf.”

  “You’re a strange one, Destiny. You should embrace your heritage. You will before too long.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “I resisted, and then when I delved into magic, I didn’t know why I’d held myself back for so long. You’ll be the same. Oh, I’m coming,” Flora yelled out to someone in the background. “I have to go.” She ended the call.

  As I put my phone back in my bag, I thought more about the circle, the eye, and the tree of the tattoo. I headed to the main living area.

  The pack had already left. Jacques was waiting for me and we both walked out into the cold night. My eyes were drawn to the dark blue sky with thousands of glittering stars. On my hand I felt a wet nose. I looked down and saw a large black wolf beside me, looking at me through intelligent amber eyes. It was Jacques.

  I stripped off, closed my eyes, and let go. Turning my face up to the night sky as the familiar pain rippled down my back, I was transformed in an instant. Jacques was already yards in front of me and I bounded fast to catch up with him. As soon as I drew close, he bounded faster.

  The pack had gathered under a clump of trees, waiting for us. When we caught up with them, we all pounded our way through the forest, jumping over fallen logs and ducking the low branches of the undergrowth that smacked against our faces as we ran through the tall grass.

  I no longer shivered with the cold, and I was no longer fearful of anything. All my human failings were left behind. It was as though I had found sanctuary—utopia, and peace.

  After running for miles, we stopped. Some of us sat, some lay down, and we all panted. I looked around at everyone, grateful to be accepted as one of them. I’d always been an outsider and considered a little bit strange.

  Most of the friends I’d had were more acquaintances or workmates. Abbie was the only one who’d accepted me for who I was, but even she didn’t know that I was now a shifter. A shiver went through me when I heard a howl. I turned and saw that it was Jacques. He was telling us to head home. Our brief night foray into the forest had come to a close.

  As soon as I reached my discarded clothes I changed back into human form and pulled them on before going inside to join the others.

  After we had a large meal of vegetables and roasted meats, we moved with the pack from the dining room into the large communal room with the bar, the pool, and the tennis table and other games.

  Someone pulled Jacques aside to talk to him and I was left sipping my sparkling white wine and talking to Byron behind the bar. He was a big man but seemed quiet and gentle.
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  Kylie sat next to me and started talking to me, ignoring Byron completely. “I didn’t think he’d choose you. I was shocked. I thought his mate would be Eloise.”

  I wasn’t normally a jealous person. Jacques had never given me a reason to be and Don had been so suspicious that I never had a chance to wonder what he’d been up to. “I’ve never heard him mention Eloise.”

  “Men don’t mention their mistresses.”

  Byron shook his head and walked away.

  “I could’ve had him if I’d been willing to share him with Eloise.”

  Seamus’ brother, Lewis, walked between our two stools, separating us with his body. “Don’t listen to a word she’s saying, Destiny. She’s only stirring the pot. Cut it out, Kylie,” he snarled at her.

  I stared at Lewis. “Who is Eloise?” I was sure there was no one in the pack with that name.

  He glared at Kylie so intensely that she walked away.

  “She’s a figment of Kylie’s imagination that she invented solely to upset you. Don’t listen to her. Kylie is a dreadful liar and everyone knows it. And just for the record, Jacques has never had another mate. We mate for life.” He placed his hand softly on my shoulder and smiled.

  I gave a weak smile back but my stomach was doing somersaults. What none of the pack knew was that Jacques and I hadn’t consummated our love and that made me uneasy. My position and relationship with Jacques wouldn’t be secure until then and that wouldn’t happen until all the business with Don’s murder was behind me.

  “How long have you and Seamus been in the pack?” I asked.

  “Around two years. We didn’t know there was anybody out there the same as us.”

  “You’re both single?”

  “For the moment, yes, but we’re hoping that’ll change soon.”

  “I’m new to this, as you know. I’m gathering there’s a hierarchy within the pack. You and Seamus seem to be above the others in some way. And then there’s Jimmy who wears a suit all the time and he seems different from the rest of you. I met Jimmy at the penthouse at the same time I met you and Seamus.”

  “Jimmy’s different on the outside, but he’s the same as the rest of us. Seamus and I are what we call Betas to Jacques’ Alpha. Seamus is treading a fine line in that regard. I have a feeling Jacques will have enough of him soon and run him off.”