Witch and Famous--A Westwick Witches Cozy Mystery

by Colleen Cross

  “Lock her up, Gates.” Brayden pointed at Aunt Amber. “Don’t let this one get away too.”

  My mouth dropped open in shock at Brayden’s hostility. While there was no longer any love between Brayden and me, he had actually been quite fond of Aunt Amber back when we dating. Yet now he saw nothing wrong with sending Aunt Amber to the slammer while eating Mom’s pie.

  “Wait! I lied—I didn’t do it. But my life’s in mortal danger.” Aunt Amber stifled a sob as she scanned the dining room. She had a captive audience. Every single person in the dining room had stopped eating, talking and whatever else they were doing to stare at her. “I need to be in protective custody. Sheriff Gates, my life is in your hands.”

  For a few more minutes at least, Aunt Amber was the star attraction.

  If only she knew that it came at a terrible cost.

  19

  We finally managed to move Aunt Amber out of the limelight and into the kitchen where she couldn’t create more trouble. But the damage was already done.

  Grandma Vi, on surveillance duty in the dining room, had just rushed in to inform us that Brayden had just placed a call to the Washington State Police. He was looking to get them in on the investigation without Tyler requesting it.

  Aunt Amber fidgeted with the handcuffs. “These cuffs are killing me, Tyler. Why do I need to wear them in the first place?”

  He sighed. “You asked for them, remember? You gave me no choice but to act.”

  “Tyler’s about to get fired because of you,” I added. “Don’t you feel the least bit guilty?”

  “Why would I feel guilty?” Aunt Amber pouted. “I was only trying to help. You know, make it look like Tyler was making progress. Why is everyone so touchy all of a sudden?”

  I shook my head. “Murder confessions can’t be undone, Aunt Amber. No one’s going to forget your little performance out there.”

  She immediately perked up. “Really? Was my acting that good? Did I convince you?”

  Tyler shook his head. “This is no time for acting, Amber. I’ll take the cuffs off, but you have to promise me that you’ll keep your mouth shut this time. Go upstairs to your room, don’t talk to anyone, and don’t leave for any reason.”

  “But what if—”

  “No exceptions.” Tyler pulled me close and whispered in my ear, “I can’t solve a murder and deal with your crazy family all at the same time. Can you make sure they all stay out of sight, at least until Brayden leaves?”

  “I’ll keep them busy.” I turned to my aunt. “C’mon, Aunt Amber, let’s go upstairs.”

  I had no idea where Aunt Pearl was. Her absence from the Inn worried me because she was likely stirring up trouble somewhere else. But I already had my hands full, so I put her out of my mind for the moment.

  After escorting Aunt Amber to her room and getting her settled in with some Hollywood gossip magazines, I headed back downstairs to help Mom with kitchen cleanup. It had been an exhausting day. Morning would come early, and keeping my aunts out of the way also meant I’d have to do Aunt Pearl’s housekeeping job in addition to helping Mom with everything else. We needed a plan to keep everything on track and deal with the guests.

  It turned out to be good timing. Mom already had a task for me: take a room service dinner to Steven Scarabelli. Between his jail stint and drinks at the Witching Post, he had missed dinner.

  I grabbed the steaming plate of roast beef, vegetables, and gravy and headed out of the kitchen. I was relieved that he finally had gone up to his room for the night. Maybe the cast and crew weren’t out to get him, but Dirk Diamond’s rabid fans most certainly would be seeking vengeance. It was probably a blessing in disguise that he was stuck in our little town.

  In fact, in the short time since we had returned to the Inn, a half-dozen die-hard fans had shown up. I hadn’t seen them with my own eyes, but according to a recently arrived crew member, Dirk’s fans were camped out at the Inn’s property line at the bottom of the hill. More followers were gathered around a temporary shrine of candles and flowers at the Main Street movie set.

  While the fans couldn’t see the happenings at the Inn as long as they stayed camped out at our front gate, they were sure to see anyone coming and going. Tyler had closed the gate as a precaution earlier, so any guests had to call for admittance. That provided a semblance of calm, at least on the surface.

  Hollywood news traveled fast…really fast. No official announcements had been made about Dirk yet. Westwick Corners was remote, tucked away in Northeastern Washington State, several hours’ drive from Seattle. Yet people already knew of the tragedy that had unfolded here.

  I expected the town to be swarming with Dirk’s followers and the Hollywood press by tomorrow morning. That gave me an idea. For once our off-the-beaten-path location gave me an edge, and I intended to use it for an exclusive interview, if I could wrangle it.

  I carried Steven Scarabelli’s dinner tray upstairs to his third-floor room, fully aware that for now, at least, I was the only reporter with access to him. I intended to use that to my full advantage.

  My stomach growled from the aroma wafting from the roast beef sandwich and beef dip I carried upstairs. The plate was heavy with a double helping of roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, carrots, two scoops of mashed potatoes, and a separate side dish of gravy. My mouth watered as I realized that I hadn’t eaten anything since morning.

  I almost collided with Aunt Amber as she descended the stairs, suitcase in hand. “Aunt Amber, where are you going? You know you can’t leave.”

  “I can’t stay here, Cen. Not in the same place as a stone cold killer. What if he targets me next?”

  “He’s not going to do that.” I balanced the tray in one hand as I held onto the banister.

  “You don’t know that. He betrayed Rose, Dirk, and finally me. I’ve had it with that man.” She put down her suitcase on the carpeted floor on the landing.

  As usual, Aunt Amber had somehow made it all about herself. “But Dirk’s the one that wanted you fired. I was there. I heard it with my own ears.”

  “I wish you’d stop saying that.” Aunt Amber sucked in her breath. “You’re just mistaken.”

  “No, I’m not. Remember when you introduced me to Dirk? You headed to the set but I didn’t. I saw Steven and Dirk arguing outside the old bank building. It wasn’t the script they were talking about. It was you.”

  Aunt Amber’s hands flew to her hips in indignation. “Of course it was me. Dirk was taking a stand for me. He’s a very loyal colleague.”

  I shook my head slowly. “I’m afraid that’s not the case. Dirk gave Steven an ultimatum. Unless Steven fired you, Dirk walked, right then and there. Steven protested, but in the end, he had to agree to Dirk’s demands. He couldn’t film the movie without Dirk. Since he had signed all the contracts, he still had to pay the cast and crew. Dirk would force him into bankruptcy. And the entire cast and crew would be out of a job. What choice did Steven have?”

  “You’re wrong.” Amber’s eyes filled with tears. “Or maybe you’re just on Steven’s side. He’s turned everyone else against me.”

  “Do you really think I would lie to you, Aunt Amber?”

  “I-I don’t know,” she sniffed. “Everybody else I trust has turned on me. I’ve had it with this place. I’m going back to London.” She picked up her suitcase and headed down the stairs.

  I sighed, frustrated. Aunt Amber was still seeing this whole tragedy from her point of view, not Steven’s. “You can’t leave. You promised Tyler, remember? You need his permission to leave town.”

  Aunt Amber was already at the bottom of the stairs. She turned her head up and glared at me. “I don’t need anybody’s permission. I’ll do what I want, when I want.”

  I sighed. I didn’t want Brayden to have another excuse to fire Tyler. “Please don’t go, Aunt Amber. Stay for Tyler’s sake. For mine.”

  “I just can’t believe—” For the first time there was a trace of uncertainty in her voice. Her eyes flitted bac
k and forth between the door and me.

  “You want proof? Maybe I can arrange that.” My magic was barely adequate to take me back to the scene of Steven and Dirk’s argument, let alone bring Aunt Amber along. “We could do a rewind spell and I could show you.”

  “We?” Aunt Amber made quote marks with her fingers. “You’ve got to master magic on your own, Cen. We won’t always be around to help you.”

  “I wasn’t implying—”

  “You just have to apply yourself.”

  “Okay, fine.” I kept my voice even, trying not to betray the hurt I felt. Some way, somehow, I had to show Aunt Amber the truth. “I’ll figure it out, you’ll see.”

  Aunt Amber rolled her eyes. “I don’t see how a rewind spell will help anything. I was never with you when you overheard Dirk and Steven. How can I go back to somewhere I never was at in the first place?”

  A flash of inspiration hit and almost knocked me over. “Wait—I have an idea. Dirk and Steven were outside the old bank. Maybe one of the cameras filming the robbery scene was rolling and picked up their conversation.” It was too much to hope for, but it was worth a shot.

  That piqued Aunt Amber’s interest. “If there’s film, I want to see it.”

  “Come with me while I deliver this dinner. Then we’ll go and look at the footage.” Tyler wouldn’t allow it, so I would have to do it without his knowledge. I felt terrible about that, but unless and until Aunt Amber dropped her accusation against Steven, the investigation was hopelessly sidetracked.

  Or worse. An innocent man could be convicted of murder. “You know that Steven couldn’t have killed Dirk. He wasn’t anywhere near him.” I recounted my observations of Steven’s movements, careful not to mention anything from the murder investigation itself.

  “So what? Maybe Steven used special effects to disguise where the bullet came from. I don’t know how, but I’m sure he’s involved somehow. Maybe he hired a hitman to do his dirty work.” She pushed past me on the stairs, her elbow flattening the mountain of the mashed potatoes.

  I looked down in dismay at the smeared potatoes. “Now look at what you’ve done.”

  “Really, Cen? You’re worried about peaks in your mashed potatoes while we’re locked up with a killer?”

  I shook my head. “I can’t take this food upstairs like this. It looks like somebody stuck their finger in it.” Steven would assume that someone was me, and it would seriously lessen my chances of an exclusive interview. “Fix it, please.”

  Aunt Amber rolled her eyes. “You should be able to do that yourself, Cen. It’s Magic 101, for crying out loud. You and your generation take everything for granted these days. You really need to brush up on your craft before it’s too late.”

  I started to protest, but it was pointless to argue. Instead, I appealed to Aunt Amber’s ego. “Please? You’re so much more artistic than I am.”

  It worked. She waved her hand and voila, the potatoes were transformed back into swirly peaks again.

  “There’s something else—we can’t find Dirk’s killer without your help. You know it’s not Steven. Somebody here knows something, and of all the stars…” I paused to let that last word sink in. “You’re the only Hollywood outsider. You’re in a unique position to help.”

  “I am?” Aunt Amber looked both doubtful and suspicious.

  I nodded. “You’re critical to solving the crime because you were so close to Dirk.” And Steven, I wanted to add, but I didn’t dare mention his name. I didn’t want to rekindle her anger at being fired.

  “I was close to Dirk and Rose too. They both looked up to me.” Aunt Amber’s hand flew to her mouth as her voice broke. “Now they’re both gone.”

  I glanced down at the roast beef, which wasn’t exactly steaming anymore. I highly doubted that Aunt Amber was the catalyst for Dirk’s successful acting career, but none of that really mattered anymore. There was one thing I had to know, though. “Did Rose really die from a brain aneurysm?”

  “I-I don’t know anymore. Both of them dying seems far too coincidental.” She wiped a tear from her cheek. “She was the picture of health.”

  “I’m sorry to bring that up at a time like this, but I thought it seemed suspicious too.” I made a note to check on the details.

  “More than suspicious. It seals the case against Steven. He killed them both,” Aunt Amber said. “They both trusted him and now they’re both dead.”

  “I don’t think it’s him, Aunt Amber. He’s financially ruined. He suffers more from their deaths than pretty much anyone. It’s got to be someone else.” I glanced around the hallway, afraid of someone overhearing us. Now that Aunt Amber had calmed down, she was imparting some really useful information. I wanted to keep her talking. “We really should talk in private. Come upstairs with me. I just have to deliver this plate and then we can talk.”

  “Okay.” She ascended the stairs ahead of me, pausing on the second floor to leave her suitcase by the railing. “Where to?”

  “The third floor.” I purposely declined to tell her who the plate was for. If she knew it was Steven, then she wouldn’t come.

  She was in better spirits already. Unfortunately, it meant that her mourning had been replaced by a tirade against Steven. “Steven just flipped out over Dirk for no reason at all.”

  “I can see why. He had all his money tied up in the production when Dirk basically quit on him.” I slowed my walk as we neared Steven’s door. I didn’t want him to overhear.

  “There’s more to it than that,” Aunt Amber said. “Steven was angry with Bill too. You should ask Bill about it.”

  It was hard to read Aunt Amber’s expression in the dimly lit hallway. “Maybe I will.” I knocked softly on Steven’s door, bracing myself for what was to come. I hoped that Aunt Amber would be at least civil to Steven, but maybe it was better for them just to have it out and make peace with each other.

  I needn’t have worried about their spat at all. A much bigger problem faced us, one that I would never have expected in a million years.

  20

  Steven’s door swung open from the pressure of my knock, sending me off balance. The dinner tray swayed precariously, but I somehow managed to right myself and steady it.

  “Hello?” The door was ajar several inches and everything was eerily quiet. I felt weird just walking in, especially knowing that Steven was inside.

  No answer.

  “You sure you have the right room, Cen?” Aunt Amber asked.

  I didn’t answer, instead craning my neck around the half-open door. The lights were off, the curtains were drawn, and the room was dark except for a narrow strip of light that shone from the half-closed bathroom door. The light illuminated something on the floor a few feet inside. It looked like a pile of clothes or bedding. I pushed gently on the door but it wouldn’t budge. Whatever was on the floor prevented me from opening the door.

  As my eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, I spotted a pair of feet. They were connected to the lump on the floor.

  “Oh, no!” I screamed as I recoiled in horror.

  “What? What’s happening?” Aunt Amber pushed me forward as she tried to get a better view.

  I reached inside, flipped the light switch, and recoiled in horror. The floor was covered in blood.

  And Steven Scarabelli’s still body.

  Aunt Amber pushed me again, and this time the door pushed past Steven’s feet and opened wide. The dinner tray flew from my hands and fell to the floor in a loud crash. Potatoes and roast beef spilled everywhere before the tray landed upside down on Steven’s protruding legs.

  I stepped back, only to collide with Aunt Amber whose face was now inches from mine. We both screamed.

  “Oh, no. Not Steven.” My hand flew to my mouth.

  “Cen—what the heck—” Aunt Amber stumbled backward.

  “Don’t look.” My eyes traveled from the protruding feet upwards. Steven Scarabelli’s face was frozen in a grimace, a knife protruding from his chest. My mouth dropped o
pen but no words came out. I pointed helplessly at the body.

  “Don’t look at what?” Aunt Amber pushed past me, only to stop dead in her tracks. “Oh, my God! Somebody help!”

  I surveyed the room. Other than Steven’s dead body, nothing else seemed out of order. Except for the spilled roast beef dinner which, I realized, had just contaminated the crime scene. “Aunt Amber, wait.” I pointed at the blobs of mashed potatoes that coated Steven’s legs. “I think I just compromised forensic evidence. This is a disaster!”

  Her eyes widened as she took it all in. “It’s a mess, all right. I could do a reversal spell.”

  I shook my head. “We can’t do anything at all. It’s a crime scene.” I was mortified that she would even consider such a thing.

  “Oh, right. I guess it is.” A tear fell from Aunt Amber’s cheek as she knelt down beside Steven. “We never even got the chance to patch things up. Who would do such a thing?”

  I pulled her up and away from Steven’s body. “We’d better get of out here before we make matters worse.” I pulled out my cell phone and punched in Tyler’s number.

  “Steven, I found the bott—holy crap!” Bill stood in the doorway, a shocked expression on his face. “What the hell just happened?”

  Aunt Amber sobbed. “Steven’s dead! Cen was bringing Steven some food and…” Her words morphed into an incoherent wail as I guided her and Bill out into the hallway.

  Tyler ran down the hall towards us. He pointed at Bill. “Were you with him?’

  Bill shook his head. “I was just coming to his suite for a drink. I was here a few minutes ago and just went to my room to get us something else to drink.” He held up a bottle of expensive-looking whisky. “I just left him a couple of minutes ago.”

  It had been less than a half hour since Steven had returned to his room.

  “Anyone else in or out of the room?” Tyler frowned as he scanned the room for evidence of anything out of the ordinary. The bed, desk, and bathroom all appeared untouched. The only sign of occupancy was an opened suitcase beside the bureau.