Witch and Famous--A Westwick Witches Cozy Mystery

by Colleen Cross

  I parked my car and ran across the driveway to The Witching Post. The music and voices that drifted outside told me that we still had a full house.

  I spotted Arianne first. She sat at the bar with Rick Mazure, who had beaten me to the bar by only a few minutes. My pace quickened as I walked towards them. I stopped suddenly. Something told me to back off.

  I nodded at Rick and Arianne and slid into an empty seat a few feet away on Rick’s left. I smiled at Aunt Pearl, who was bartending. She nodded at me, then turned her back. A split second later, she wordlessly dropped a coaster on the bar in front of me followed by a glass of red wine. She was uncharacteristically quiet as she retreated to the opposite end of the bar to serve beers to a couple of locals.

  Even over the loud country music, I could tell Rick Mazure was already drunker than a skunk again. He had seemed to sober up somewhat at City Hall, but in just fifteen minutes he was back to his former state. Maybe it was understandable given that he was suddenly out of a job. Or maybe Aunt Pearl was up to her old tricks again. I strained my ears to hear their conversation.

  “What was I saying?” Rick’s words slurred as he tossed back his glass and drained the rest of his whisky.

  “You were telling me how you were going to make me a star.” Arianne Duval twirled her plastic cocktail stir stick. She sounded a little sarcastic, like she wasn’t buying whatever it was that Rick was selling.

  “A star? You’ll be the whole damn constellation.” He placed his hand on top of Arianne’s. “I got a great series idea, but it’s a secret right now.”

  I wondered if it was the same script that Rick had been pitching to Dirk earlier.

  Arianne Duval lifted her hand at the pretense of stirring her drink. “What’s the premise?”

  I studied her hands. While she had rings on both hands, they were far more delicate than the one in the photograph. And her rings were gold, not silver.

  Rick leaned towards her. “Girl down on her luck, discovered in a drugstore. You’re just perfect for the role.”

  “Let me guess. A Hollywood and Vine setting?” Arianne didn’t wait for a reply. “You’re kidding me, right? It’s all been done before.”

  “Everything’s been done before, Arianne. It’s a formula, and I know how to work it. That’s the reason Dirk got so successful. My writing is what made him shine. I’ll make you famous too.”

  “I’m famous already. You’ve got to do better than that.”

  “Hitch your wagon to me and I’ll guarantee you’ll be putting your feet in cement, and fans will be stepping in your footsteps on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.”

  Arianne rolled her eyes. “I think you’re giving yourself a little too much credit.”

  “Look, I know how to write a blockbuster. In fact, it’s already written.” Rick tapped his glass for a refill. “It’s not like you have anything else going on. You want in on it or not?

  Arianne was silent for a moment as she sipped her drink. “Maybe.”

  “I wouldn’t wait too long if I were you. Kim’s finding me more talent right now, as we speak,” he said.

  “Okay, fine. I’ll take a look at the script.” Arianne downed the rest of her drink. “What have I got to lose?”

  “You’re in.” Rick held out his hand. ”Let’s shake on it.”

  Arianne shook his hand as Rick pulled a sheath of papers from his jacket and stuck them in front of her. “This script is for your eyes only. Promise you won’t breathe a word of it.”

  Arianne nodded.

  “Good,” he said. “I’ll have a contract drawn up for you in the morning. I can pretty much print money with my scripts. Everybody’s going to be sorry they didn’t take me more seriously.”

  I had a feeling some people already were.

  29

  Aunt Pearl caught my attention with a wave, motioning me over to the opposite end of the bar. I got up from my seat and headed towards her with my wineglass. I sat down on a stool next to Kim Antonelli. She glared at me and I dropped my gaze to her hands, one of which cradled a drink.

  No rings.

  Kim slammed her margarita glass down on the bar, spilling green liquid all over the bar. “It’s not fair. Dirk Diamond was my only client. He monopolized all my time until I gave up all my business. Now he’s gone and all of a sudden I’ve dropped to zero income. I’m basically out of a job.”

  Her rant seemed more for show than anything. The words and actions were there, but there seemed to be no emotion behind it.

  “Maybe you should have diversified.” Aunt Pearl placed a coaster on the bar in front of me, followed by a frosty glass of cold water. “Having only one client is a recipe for disaster.”

  “Maybe you should mind your own business,” she snapped. Her anger towards Aunt Pearl at least seemed genuine.

  I frowned at Aunt Pearl before turning to Kim. “Who do you think killed Dirk?”

  Kim threw her hands in the air. “Who knows? Everybody—and I mean everybody—hated him. Even his wife Rose. She wanted a divorce, but he promised to make her live to regret it. Only she died, because he killed her.”

  I gasped. ”You think Dirk killed Rose?”

  “I know he did,” Kim said. “He didn’t want to lose any money in a divorce. He even said as much. He said the only way his marriage would end was if one of them died.”

  I motioned to Aunt Pearl to bring Kim a refill. I had to keep her talking. “I guess he got what he wanted. For a while, at least.”

  I remembered Tyler’s comments about Aunt Amber being the sole heir. “Did Dirk have a will?”

  Kim nodded but didn’t elaborate.

  I gulped my water, the cold liquid soothing my parched throat. “Who inherits?”

  Kim glanced around and lowered her voice. “I do.”

  I choked on my water, spewing it all over the bar and adding to the green liquid puddle in front of us. Kim’s claim conflicted with Tyler’s. “You inherit everything?”

  Kim frowned. “That’s what Dirk’s lawyer told me when I called him about Dirk’s death. Apparently, Rose’s estate went to Dirk, but then when Dirk died, I was bequeathed everything after Rose.”

  I was a little surprised that Kim would have called his lawyer already. And that the lawyer would have told her. But maybe Hollywood agents managed a lot of personal stuff for big-name stars like Dirk.

  Aunt Pearl arrived with a towel and mopped up the mess. She took Kim’s glass and replaced it with a fresh margarita.

  Kim promptly downed half her drink.

  Or maybe Kim and Dirk’s relationship was more than professional. “You must have been surprised about his will.” It struck me as odd that she had apparently just inherited millions, yet still worried about losing her job.

  “A little. I thought maybe he did it as a temporary thing when Rose filed for divorce, but the lawyer said no, Dirk had changed everything without consulting him. That was typical Dirk, but it still blows my mind that he would leave me his fortune. I know what you’re thinking, but Dirk and I were strictly professional. Ask anyone. Who knows why he left everything to me? Dirk did weird things like that sometimes. I just worked for him.”

  “Rose filed for divorce?” If that was true, then maybe Rose’s death wasn’t accidental. Dirk had a strong motive to kill her. Yet both her death and divorce proceedings hadn’t been reported in the media. My head was spinning with all the conflicting information. Somebody, or maybe even everybody, was lying. Both Rick and Tyler believed that Amber was Dirk’s heir. Yet Kim claimed otherwise. How many times had Dirk changed his will?

  Dirk had probably counted on Kim’s loyalty for some reason. Or just knew that he could control her. No decent lawyer would advise a client to make such an arrangement, so naturally he had wanted to keep the change to his will secret—never expecting he would actually die while his temporary arrangement was in place.

  “Who knew Dirk had changed his will?” I asked.

  Kim threw her hands in the air. “No idea. I certainly d
idn’t know. Maybe no one did except Dirk. He was very secretive about certain things.”

  We both jumped as something crashed behind the bar, followed by breaking glass. A shelf had collapsed, sending bottles of expensive liqueurs smashing to the floor.

  “Oops!” Aunt Pearl surveyed the damage, sounding suspiciously cheery. “I can fix that in a jiffy.”

  I held up my hand, fearing she was up to no good. “You’re not going to—”

  But Aunt Pearl was already whispering a rewind spell. “One, two, three…make it not to be…”

  Kim appeared not to notice. Not that it really mattered. A rewind spell only erased Kim’s recent memory and reset everything back to moments earlier. History would just repeat itself as the erased moments were relived.

  I was annoyed with Aunt Pearl because I had been making real progress with Kim. I hated to start questioning her all over again. It just wasted valuable time when we couldn’t afford any delays. But start all over I did until I reached the same point in our conversation.

  “Kim, were you and Dirk having an affair?” I watched her carefully, looking for any slips in her expression or body language.

  “What? No! He’s so old! I know he’s a star and all, but he’s twice my age! Besides, I would never steal another woman’s husband.” Kim’s slurred words grew louder. The rewind spell had somehow reversed history without restoring her sobriety.

  “But he left you all his money….”

  “Oh, that.” She waved her hand in dismissal. “I’m sure it won’t really come to me. He just did that until he could figure out what to do next. After Rose died, he decided to leave his money to charity but he didn’t know which one. So he put my name in there just for a month or so while he figured it out. It’ll be contested, I’m sure.”

  Even more of a bombshell the second time around. Her answer had changed oh so slightly before and after Aunt Pearl’s rewind spell. Which meant she was lying the first time.

  “And if anything happened while he was figuring things out…you stood to inherit millions.” If Kim really was behind Dirk’s death, she had a very short window of time to execute her plan. “As it turns out, you did.”

  “Are you accusing me of killing Dirk? I don’t believe this.” Kim traced her finger around the rim of her margarita glass and licked the salt from her finger. She smacked her lips. “I’m the last person who would have done such a thing. I’m the only person he trusted in the end.”

  “So you were friends?”

  “Well, the closest thing to a friend, since Dirk didn’t have any. I’m the only one he confided in. I knew things about him that even his wife didn’t.”

  “Like what?” Whatever she was to him, she didn’t seem sorry he was gone. I supposed that the promise of all his money eased the pain a little.

  Kim paused for a few seconds, considering what to say. “Dirk planned to start his own production company and make his own movies, rather than working for Steven. That’s the real reason he was so difficult and why he wanted to quit. He delayed things as much as possible because he didn’t want Steven’s movie to compete with the movie his new company was about to make.”

  “Let me guess…a new action thriller?” I flashed back to Rick Mazure’s suspicions about Steven Scarabelli. Maybe there was something to it.

  “Yep.” Kim leaned back on her barstool, almost losing her balance before grabbing the bar to steady herself. Whatever feelings everyone had for Dirk, his passing had triggered a universal desire to get drunk.

  “Does anyone else know about Dirk’s new company?” Again things pointed to Steven. If in fact, he already knew of Dirk’s betrayal.

  Kim shrugged. “I doubt it. Dirk wanted it kept secret until he was ready to pull the plug.”

  “Too bad he didn’t live long enough to do that,” I said. “That might have spared him.”

  “I don’t see how that has anything to do with their deaths.” Kim looked as if she was personally offended. As the person who stood to inherit Dirk’s millions, she wouldn’t say anything to incriminate herself.

  “What if somebody did know?” I doubted it was a coincidence. “Dirk walks, and a bunch of people are out of a job. Dirk had lots of enemies. Maybe even some who wanted to kill him. Can you think of anyone who would actually carry it out?”

  “I didn’t want to say it, but there is one.” Kim lowered her voice. “Amber West had threatened him about acting roles. She seemed to think he owed her favors or something. Always having a temper tantrum if she didn’t get what she wanted. That woman is a piece of work.”

  “Hmm.” I hid my shock as best I could. I just wanted to keep Kim talking, but it pained me to hear her deflect blame onto other people, my aunt in particular. Judging by her comments, she had no idea that Amber was my aunt, or that Aunt Pearl and Aunt Amber were sisters.

  Aunt Pearl inched closer and wiped the bar with a cloth. “Amber’s just passionate about her craft. She’s such a talented actress.”

  I frowned at Aunt Pearl. Her exaggerated comments were sure to trigger Kim.

  Kim acknowledged her with a nod and then turned back to me. “The more I think about it, the more I’m sure Amber did it. That woman has a crazy temper. She looks like a sweet little old lady, but she’s really mean.”

  Everyone seemed to point fingers at Aunt Amber, yet that couldn’t be. She had no time to kill Dirk, and she had seemed genuinely surprised when we discovered Steven dead in his room. It couldn’t be true, but it worried me all the same. Amber had admitted being upstairs around the time when Steven was killed.

  I couldn’t recall if Kim had been in the dining room at the time of Aunt Amber’s false confession, but she could have been. Or maybe she had heard about it from someone else.

  “Let me get this straight. You think Dirk killed Rose, and Amber killed Dirk? What’s the motive?” Especially since Kim ended up with Dirk’s money, I wanted to add.

  “Who knows? Amber’s old and crazy.” Kim twirled her index finger by her ear. “She’ll do anything to get what she wants.”

  “Amber’s not old!” Aunt Pearl’s face reddened. Aunt Pearl was the oldest of the three sisters, a few years older than Aunt Amber. If Amber was old, that made her even older.

  Kim frowned. “Sure she is…she must be at least sixty. I guess some people don’t mellow with old age. Did you know that she threw a chair at Steven? She was so mean to him, yet he still kept her on as an extra. That’s the kind of person Steven was. Loyal to a fault.”

  An extra?

  I suddenly realized that Kim had completely changed the subject to focus on Aunt Amber instead of her. It also dawned on me that if Dirk made his own movies, he no longer needed an agent to find him acting roles. Maybe Kim was more involved than she let on.

  And, despite her claims about Aunt Amber, she had provided important new information that, if verified, could clear Aunt Amber for good. But I feared a free Aunt Amber might just do more harm than good.

  30

  Kim stood and grabbed her purse off the bar. “I’ve had it with this hick town. See you around sometime.” She pulled out her wallet and peeled off a few bills, which she dropped on the bar.

  Aunt Pearl, who had been cleaning up the broken glass nearby, called after her. “Wait—you forgot something!”

  “No, I’ve got everything.” Kim frowned.

  Aunt Pearl held up a necklace. “You must have dropped this.”

  Kim retraced her steps and grabbed the silver chain. She studied it momentarily before opening the clasp and sliding off the pendant.

  My mouth dropped open as I recognized the pendant. It really wasn’t a pendant at all, just a silver signet ring that hung on the chain. “Where did you get that?”

  Kim tilted her head towards the opposite end of the bar. “Ask that guy.” She removed the ring and rolled it on its side down the bar.

  Rick Mazure jumped from his seat and ran to the middle of the bar, where the ring stood on end for a split second before jangling to a
stop. He clamped his hand over the ring and picked it up.

  “Is that yours?” I walked slowly towards him while I texted Tyler on my cell phone. I had just started to type when the bar door opened.

  Tyler walked in, unnoticed by Rick or the other bar patrons.

  Rick shoved the ring in his pocket. “Of course it’s mine.”

  “It looks a lot like my boyfriend’s ring. Let me see it.” Rick didn’t know that Tyler was my boyfriend. I needed to stall long enough for Tyler to arrive, so I made up a long story about how I had bought the ring for my boyfriend and he was always misplacing it.

  Rick pulled the ring from his pocket. “It’s mine all right. See the initial R? That’s proof.”

  Tyler had walked up quietly behind us.

  “That’s proof all right,” I said. “You killed Dirk Diamond and that ring proves it. We’ve got everything on film.”

  “What? You’re crazy.” Rick scowled. “What is it with this crazy town? I told Dirk we should never have come here. It was all Steven’s idea, influenced by that crazy Amber.”

  “I think you told Dirk exactly the opposite,” I said. “What better place to kill him than a one-horse town with a limited police presence.”

  Aunt Pearl reached up and turned off the music. Not that she had to, because by now everyone in the bar had overheard our conversation. Most of them were already out of their seats, walking towards us in disbelief.

  I glanced at Tyler.

  He nodded as he moved between Rick and the door. “Rick Mazure, you’re under arrest for the murders of Dirk Diamond and Steven Scarabelli.” He read a stunned Rick his Miranda rights.

  “You’re not really going to listen to her, are you?” Rick swore under his breath.

  I smiled at him. “Everyone was frustrated with Dirk’s ridiculous demands and the way he treated people,” I said. “But no one more than you. Dirk treated you the worst of all. You worked like a dog with his constant rewrites, yet he never so much as thanked you.”