Magic and Macaroons
Page 1
PRAISE FOR THE MAGICAL BAKERY MYSTERIES
Some Enchanted Éclair
“A tight mystery packed with charming characters and drool-worthy baked goods.”
—MyShelf.com
“Be warned—[this book] will work its spell on you, and you’ll find yourself looking forward to more enchantment.”
—Kings River Life Magazine
“[A] subtle blend of magic and mystery.”
—Cozy Mystery Book Reviews
“A puzzling mystery with just the right amount of paranormal intrigue. . . . [This series] just keeps getting better and better! Highly recommended to fans of light paranormal and culinary cozy mysteries.”
—Book of Secrets
“An enchanting treat . . . well written, well put together, with characters that stay with you long after.”
—Lily Pond Reads
Charms and Chocolate Chips
“A culinary cozy with a magical twist. . . . Cates does a fantastic job of creating a magical atmosphere that is both believable and enchanting.”
—Debbie’s Book Bag
“Ms. Cates’s writing is maturing as the Magical Bakery mystery series progresses. While I enjoyed the first two books, this one really gripped me . . . hard to put down.”
—Fresh Fiction
“Full of delicious recipes and descriptions of food, warm relationships and exchanges between Katie and her family, and a very interesting progression in her life and loves . . . [a] charming and magical mystery.”
—Kings River Life Magazine
“Full of its own brand of allure and intrigue, with a side of various delicious treats: friendship, romance, magic, and mystery.”
—Once Upon a Romance
“Delightful . . . exciting mystery, enchanting setting, and bewitched baked goods. Looking forward to Katie’s next adventure.”
—Book of Secrets
Bewitched, Bothered, and Biscotti
“Cates is a smooth, accomplished writer who combines a compelling plot with a cast of interesting characters that are diverse and engaging without falling into simplistic stereotypes . . . a charming addition to the food-based cozy mystery repertoire, while the story’s magical elements bring a fun, intriguing dimension to the genre.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“[A] promising series.”
—Library Journal
“Cates delivers a tale of magic and mayhem. . . . The mystery plot will have readers guessing ‘whodunit’ all the way to the very end . . . a great read.”
—RT Book Reviews
“With a top-notch whodunit, a dark magic investigator working undercover, and a simmering romance in the early stages, fans will relish this tale.”
—Gumshoe
“Brimming with positive magic, delicious characters, and a tasty batch of clues, this book should satisfy the appetite of the most voracious mystery reader. If you enjoy books like Ellery Adams’s Charmed Pie Shoppe Mystery series, and Heather Blake’s Wishcraft Mystery series, you are destined to enjoy the Magical Bakery Mystery series.”
—Myshelf.com
“Complex and intriguing. If you like a little magic, you will want to read this series.”
—Fresh Fiction
“I see so much more coming from Bailey Cates. She pens a bit of magic for the reader.”
—Once Upon a Romance
“Bewitched, Bothered, and Biscotti continues to showcase the charming characters, humor, and fun . . . displayed in the promising debut of this series . . . engaging, compelling, and quite tasty.”
—Kings River Life Magazine
Brownies and Broomsticks
“Katie is a charming amateur sleuth, baking her way through murder and magic set against the enchanting backdrop of Savannah, Georgia. With an intriguing plot and an amusing cast of characters, Brownies and Broomsticks is an attention-grabbing read that I couldn’t put down.”
—New York Times bestselling author Jenn McKinlay
“Let Cates cast her spell over you with this charming debut series entry that brings in the paranormal but never forgets the warmth that cozy readers often request.”
—Library Journal
“Ms. Cates has most assuredly found the right ingredients . . . a series that is a finely sifted blend of drama, suspense, romance, and otherworldly elements.”
—Once Upon a Romance
“A very comfortable world with interesting characters and a well-paced plot that will leave readers anxious to return to Savannah and the Honeybee Bakery.”
—The Mystery Reader
“Filled with red herrings and a delightful tour of the Downtown District, fans will enjoy this whodunit, which is a very special reading experience.”
—Genre Go Round Reviews
ALSO AVAILABLE BY BAILEY CATES
THE MAGICAL BAKERY MYSTERIES
Brownies and Broomsticks
Bewitched, Bothered, and Biscotti
Charms and Chocolate Chips
Some Enchanted Éclair
OBSIDIAN
Published by the Penguin Group
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A Penguin Random House Company
First published by Obsidian, an imprint of New American Library,
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Copyright © Penguin Random House, 2015
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OBSIDIAN and logo are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) LLC.
ISBN 978-0-698-14059-2
PUBLISHER’S NOTE
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
The recipes contained in this book are to be followed exactly as written. The publisher is not responsible for your specific health or allergy needs that may require medical supervision. The publisher is not responsible for any adverse reactions to the recipes contained in this book.
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Contents
Praise
Also available by BAILEY CATES
Title Page
Copyright
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Recipes
About the Author
I’m incredibly lucky to have such an able and creative group of people who participated in various stages of this book. My team at Penguin/New American Library includes editor extraordinaire (and paragon of patience) Jessica Wade, Isabel Farhi, Ashley Polikoff, and Danielle Dill. Kim Lionetti continues to offer stellar advice and expertise. Other writers in my life who have helped shape this story and the words that tell it include Mark Figlozzi, Laura Pritchett, Laura Resau, and Bob Trott. My sincere gratitude for their feedback and counsel. Dana Masden first served me Brazilian cheese bread and inspired me to try my hand at it. Thanks also to any and all voodoo practitioners and experts who answered my questions, and one in particular who wishes to remain anonymous. I learned so much about this ancient and multifaceted religion and am richer for it.
And, as ever, thank you to Kevin, who buoys me, makes me laugh, and keeps me grounded.
Chapter 1
“Abracadabra?” Mimsey snorted. “Lord love a duck. No one who can so much as cast a circle would use that word in an actual spell.” She tossed her head, causing her white pageboy haircut to whip against her round cheeks. The sky blue bow affixed to the left side of her hair didn’t budge.
Aunt Lucy nodded. “It does create a certain, er, doubt about the author’s experience.”
Jaida banged her mocha latte down on the coffee table. “You think? Not to mention her abilities in general. Who picked this one for us to talk about?”
Bianca’s eyes cut to Cookie, who sat to my left on the poufy brocade sofa in the Honeybee Bakery’s reading area. It had been best for everyone’s schedules to hold our monthly spellbook-club meeting in the bakery after hours. My Cairn terrier, Mungo, snoozed in his bed at the bottom of one of the many bookshelves that reached from floor to ceiling. Lucy’s orange-striped tabby cat, the very Honeybee that the bakery was named after, sat in the window, watching the sporadic traffic out on Broughton Street. The tip of her tail twitched every few seconds as she studiously ignored us. Heckle, Mimsey’s colorful parrot, perched on the back of her chair.
Cookie’s eyes flashed jade green. “I’d never select this ridiculous spellbook!” The vestiges of a Haitian accent lilted beneath her words.
I raised my hand and twiddled my fingers. “I did. Remember when I missed the meeting last month and asked Cookie to pass on my suggestion?” I wrinkled my nose. “Sorry. It’s pretty awful, isn’t it?”
Jaida raised one sardonic eyebrow. For a moment I felt like a witness on the stand. It didn’t help that she still wore a conservative linen suit from her day in court.
Aunt Lucy shifted on her oversized chair, slipping off the Birkenstocks she typically wore to work at the Honeybee and tucking her legs up under her tie-dyed maxi skirt. She had already freed her mop of gray-blond hair from its twisted bun. “Why did you choose this book, Katie, honey? I’m sure you had a good reason.”
I felt heat in my cheeks, and it wasn’t from the ovens in the kitchen. At six p.m. we were long done with the day’s baking, and, mercifully, the sweltering August evening outside was held at bay by the building’s efficient air-conditioning. “I did have a reason, but I don’t know how good it was,” I said. “I was browsing online, and the description said Rowanna Bronhilde was a young witch who had recently come to the Craft and wanted to share with others what she’d learned from her mentor.”
Lucy beamed affection at me, which made me feel a bit less foolish. She was one of the sweetest people on earth, and I could always count her on my side.
Jaida made a noise of derision. “Rowanna Bronhilde? There couldn’t be a more made-up name.”
“Made-up!” the parrot screeched, loud enough to make me jump.
Ignoring him, Mimsey let her expression soften. “Many witches take on new names for whatever reason. Perfectly reputable ones, too. That’s certainly not the most unusual name I’ve heard. What about Rainbow Daxel and Amethyst Angeline? Or Juniper Sunbeam?”
“I kind of like Juniper,” Bianca’s red-limned lips pursed in amusement. “Not so much Sunbeam, though.” She crossed her long legs, and as she turned, a huge Tahitian black pearl strung on a silver chain glinted from the V of her white silk blouse. I marveled at the understated elegance money like hers could buy. Of course, Bianca possessed so much natural grace that it would have shone through a burlap sack.
Jaida looked somewhat chastened, something only the oldest member of our spellbook club—and informal coven—could effect. Not that Mimsey was trying to put anyone in their place, but she would have been our high priestess if our group had been so formal as to have one. Jaida respected her as much as any of us did.
“I should have read it first,” I said, “before bringing it to everyone. It’s just that I was curious how Bronhilde’s experience as a new witch compared with mine.”
Bianca tossed her long black braid over her shoulder and grinned. “So what do you think?”
I half smiled. “She seems like more of a newbie than I was last year. I feel like I could tell her a few things. I wonder why she decided to write a book when she’s still such a neophyte.” I paused, then: “There’s something else that bothers me.”
“What’s that?” Cookie asked, tipping her head. The gesture reminded me of a playful colt, as did her slim physique, which was shown to advantage in a green miniskirt and striped crop top. In the two days since I’d last seen her, she’d changed the blue streaks in her dark hair to deep magenta.
“Well, her attitude,” I said. “As if spell work is supposed to be a bunch of pat formulas, simple recipes a witch follows without any . . .” I trailed off. After all, who was I to criticize? I called my own grimoire, where I kept track of spells and techniques, my recipe book.
“Without any intention,” Lucy finished for me. “It’s disturbingly lacking in everything she says. She forgets that spells are tools by which we send intentions into the universe. Not to say that physical things like water and salt and herbs and stones—”
“Flowers,” Mimsey broke in with an enthusiastic nod. “And colors.” Two areas of magic in which she happened to have special skills.
“Yes,” Lucy continued. “All those things have power of their own to be tapped and shaped. But without intention, that power is chaotic and ineffective.”
Cookie leaned forward and put one hand on the book that sat between us and her other on the arm of the sofa. It was a simple gesture, but it garnered all our attention. “Perhaps this Rowanna didn’t forget. Perhaps she never knew.”
“But,” I began. “She has a mentor—”
“Not a very good one,” Jaida said.
Mimsey turned over her copy of Spells for Everyone and perused the back. Shaking her head, she opened the front flap and scanned the copy. She looked up at the group. “Her mentor goes by the name Astroy.”
We exchanged glances. Jaida asked, “Astroy what?”
“Just Astroy.” Mimsey leafed through the pages. “There’s a picture of them together at the end of the text. He looks much older.”
“Oh?” Bianca flipped her book open, too. “Oh! You’re not kidding. She barely looks twenty—if that. Do you think they’re . . . ?”
“It’s not impossible.” Mimsey sounded resigned.
“If not, they soon will be,” Cookie said with conviction. “He is a sham, a fake guru, and she’s an innocent.”
I stared at her, surprised at her fervor.
She met my eyes and said, a bit defensively, “I know that look. The mentor is too self-satisfied. Unfortunately, that expression on the author’s face, this Rowanna girl, is devotion. Blind devotion. It’s easy to fool the young, and I suspect this one has either been fooled for a very long time or is a very young soul to begin with.” She frowned. “Their union will not end well.”
Silence settled over the six of us, broken only by Mungo’s soft grunt as he rolled over on his back. At twenty-five,
Cookie was four years younger than my twenty-nine, and I found it intriguing to hear her make such a proclamation about someone she’d never met. Still, I couldn’t disagree with her.
“Well!” Lucy said with forced cheer. “Did anyone find a spell or two in here they would like to discuss?”
I sprang to my feet. “Who needs a refill? More coffee? Or I can brew tea.”
Jaida directed a pleading look up at me. “I don’t suppose there’s any wine?”
I laughed. “What kind of joint do you think we run here? Of course there is—and mint julep blondies were the special today. I’ll grab what’s left.” Faces brightened at that.
“Winos!” Heckle squawked.
“Oh, hush,” Mimsey absently said to her familiar. “This is why you aren’t invited to our meetings very often.”
“Lushy witches,” he announced, ignoring her admonition. She turned and gave him a firm look. He quieted immediately.
Grinning, I hurried to the kitchen to retrieve the bottle of Malbec breathing on the counter and a chilled Moscato from the industrial fridge. As I piled a variety of biscotti on one plate and sweet, bourbon-laced treats on another, I listened to the murmurs of my friends. A deep gratitude settled into my chest. How lucky I was! More than a year before, Aunt Lucy and Uncle Ben had invited me to quit my loathsome job in Akron and use my pastry-school training to open the Honeybee Bakery in Savannah with them. I’d bought the cutest carriage house in Midtown and gone from practically being dumped at the altar in Ohio to dating a sweet, good-looking fireman who liked to cook for me. Yeah, maybe Declan McCarthy and I had encountered a few bumps as our relationship got off the ground, but things were going smoothly now. On top of all that good fortune, I’d discovered my true nature as a hereditary hedgewitch, and now had the amazing opportunity to learn the different aspects of magic from the ladies gathered in the other room.
Okay, so I had to admit the whole witchcraft thing had started off a little rocky, too, with a woman murdered in front of the bakery and my reluctance to believe in my own power. However, the spellbook club, and Lucy especially, had guided me to both belief and understanding. Not to mention that we’d brought a killer to justice and saved my uncle Ben from being arrested for something he hadn’t done.