Ruby sank into a wooden chair. “Please, call Estelle and tell her to come here, now.”
”It’s about time something was done about her,” Pricilla said.
“It’s so unlike you to speak with venom, Pricilla,” Senna said. “You’ve always been so amicable with Estelle, so unlike your sister, who liked to rock the boat. I see no reason that we can’t all get along.”
Pricilla grew quiet. Pansy jumped in Petunia’s lap. “And here I thought this would be the conclusion of our case, not a petty disagreement amongst witches.”
“I agree, but I think it’s about time that we listen to what Estelle has to say. I have a feeling that she’s overstepped her bounds one too many times.”
Chapter Sixteen
While they waited for Estelle and Maria to show, Petunia brought up the subject of the spell book that Pricilla had hidden in the basement. “Why did Iris say there is a curse on the spell book?”
“What spell book?” Ruby asked.
“The one that Iris claimed was hidden somewhere in the hotel and the real cause of the Grand Witch’s deaths,” Claudia said. “We never did look for that book.”
“Why not?” Petunia asked.
“Because we knew how the Grand Witches died and there was no point.”
“How many witches knew about this spell book that was reputed to have a curse attached to it?”
“It was quite the rumor, I must say,” Claudia said.
“Noah and I found a spell book hidden above a ceiling tile in Marta’s office, but Pricilla hid it in the basement.”
“What?” Ruby said, jumping up. “Where?”
“I could show you, but Pricilla told me it would be better if it was never found.”
“Take us there, please, Petunia.”
Petunia stood, and when Pricilla attempted to get up, the elder witches ordered her to remain seated. Ruby, Petunia and Pansy went to the basement, and Petunia showed Ruby where Pricilla had hidden the book.
Ruby pulled the brick out and removed the case containing the book. She examined the book. “I wondered where this had gone. It’s a very old book. There’s hardly a curse associated with it, although it should remain under glass to protect it. Why, the pages could disintegrate if exposed to the light. I hope you didn’t open the book.”
“No way was I going to open a cursed book. Even my aunt told me it was cursed.”
“That’s a rumor that has taken on a life of its own, but not to worry, it will be safe from here on out.”
They went back upstairs. Estelle and Maria were seated at the desk next to the one Pricilla sat at.
“I hope this won’t take long,” Estelle said. “I need a good night’s sleep to prepare for the auditions.”
“I’m sure you do, but I wasn’t aware that your son was here playing detective at a crime scene,” Ruby said. “I’ve told you in the past he has no place at Witchataw.”
“But he’s my son.”
“One who was supposed to have filed a report about Marta’s murder, Petunia tells me. But when Petunia asked about it, you refused to share it, which makes me think that you made up the entire thing.”
Estelle bit her lower lip. “You know Maxine is guilty of murdering Marta.”
“And how would I know that?”
“She barged into Marta’s office.”
“Which takes me back to why Maxine was summoned here in the first place.”
Estelle’s eyes widened and she quieted, giving Maria a chance to say, “Petunia refused to join Witches Affairs and she made us both bald.” For emphasis she pulled off her wig to show her hairless head.
The board laughed until Ruby silenced them. “That will be enough. Did you really do that, Petunia?”
“Yes,” Petunia admitted. “But they were pressuring me to whip up a potion and it was all I could make in a hurry.”
“You do know, Estelle, that there are no rules pertaining to whether a member of a witch’s family declines to join Witches Affairs, although I highly recommend they join.”
“I plan to join now,” Petunia said. “But I’ll have to have access to ingredients and a place to make an antidote for the hair tonic I gave them.”
“Very well. It seems that Petunia is trying her best to make amends,” Ruby said. “You’ll do the same by dropping the accusations about Maxine Patterson. I have seen the doctor’s report, which states that Marta’s body contained a high concentration of a poison that killed her. The time of her death was estimated to be one hour before Maxine entered that office.”
“We found Estelle and Maria in Marta’s office after she died,” Petunia said.
“But we’re allowed to be in there because I’m in charge until the next election,” Estelle insisted.
“Why were you trying to get into the computer?” Petunia asked.
“You know as well as I do that turned out to be Danny’s laptop.”
“But you didn’t know that then, did you.”
“We were hoping to find out where she had hidden that spell book,” Maria admitted. “I thought I might find a clue in her computer.”
“So we’re back to the spell book?” Ruby asked.
“But isn’t that book supposed to be cursed?” Petunia asked. “Why would you want to find a cursed book?”
“So when my mother is elected Grand Witch she doesn’t end up dead like the other ones.”
Petunia sighed. “There is already a person in prison for three of those deaths, although I’m still not certain who would have poisoned Marta.”
“I’ll say this one final time and I hope that will be the end of it,” Ruby said. “There is no cursed spell book anywhere in Witchataw. That was a rumor spread after the second Grand Witch, Mary, was found at the bottom of the stairs. Petunia did find a spell book hidden in Marta’s office, and it’s now in my hands so that it’s properly preserved, as all centuries-old spell books should be.”
“Why shouldn’t we believe you killed Marta if you had planned to search that office,” Claudia asked. “It’s hard to believe you were only searching for a spell book. We all know how much you want to become the next Grand Witch, Estelle.”
“Where were you at the time of Marta’s death, Estelle?” Ruby asked, taking over the interrogation.
“I was in my quarters making plans for the Witches Affairs meeting.”
“Was anyone with you?”
“Maria was with me the entire time.”
“Is there anyone else who can verify that?”
Estelle frowned. “I’m not sure—but wait—we had room service delivered.”
“Who delivered it?”
“Danny,” Maria said. “He’s the main person who delivers during the day.”
“And Danny was in Marta’s office looking for something after she died,” Petunia said. “Danny could be your accomplice because he also delivered room service to Marta’s office.”
Maria laughed. “We all know why Danny was in Marta’s office so frequently, and I highly doubt he would have poisoned you if he had killed Marta.”
“She’s right. Danny was Marta’s lover,” Estelle informed them.
Petunia shook her head. Nothing was panning out as she had hoped. “I’d like to hear it from Danny. It might explain why he wasn’t willing to tell us about his friendship with Marta.”
“Maeve, have Danny come down here so we can speak with him, and call his sister, Barbara, too,” Ruby said. She turned back to Estelle. “It’s apparent that you haven’t displayed objectivity in regard to Marta’s murder, choosing to single out only Maxine, who I felt was never a viable suspect because she’d never even met Marta before. And you’ve gone out of your way to thwart the investigation by having your son show up and play detective.”
Estelle’s fingers clutched the fabric of her dress. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Did your son take any evidence?”
“No. His appearance was meant to get Petunia out of Marta’s office.”
�
��You must have known we would have discovered your son was here,” Ruby said, “and begin to ask questions.”
“I’m sorry is all I can say, but I truly believed that Maxine was guilty of killing Marta.”
“You may leave now, but you’re no longer in charge until the next election. Maeve will take over, and your name will not be on the ballot for the next election.”
“You can’t do that!” Maria exclaimed. “You know how important being Grand Witch is to my mother.”
“Then she should have acted more professionally.”
“Will someone else be taking over the candidate auditions?” Estelle asked sadly.
“No. It’s too late to replace you, and I do feel you’re qualified in that respect. Perhaps in time you can regain my trust. You’re dismissed.”
Estelle and Maria were led out the back door. Maeve called for Danny to come in.
“Do you want me to leave?” Pricilla asked.
“I need you to stay.”
Danny shuffled in and was instructed to sit down. “Petunia would like to ask you a few questions.”
Petunia was shocked at what Ruby said. She walked to Danny’s table. “Were you Marta’s lover?”
Danny’s face paled and he bowed his head. “I’ll take that as a yes,” Petunia said. “Why did you go into Marta’s office after she died?”
He looked up with tears in his eyes. “I wanted to make sure there was no trace of me there. I even removed the firearm that I gave Marta for protection.”
“Why would she need protection?”
“After what happened to the former Grand Witches, wouldn’t you want protection?”
“Maybe. That explains the missing gun. I found it, but chose to keep it there.”
“Why didn’t you tell me that?” Ruby asked.
“I didn’t think it was that important. Marta hadn’t been shot. I assumed it was for protection.”
“I loved Marta very much” Danny said, “even though she was ten years older than me.”
Petunia could see that Danny had loved Marta. “Are you sorry for poisoning me? I could have died.”
“Yes, I can see that wasn’t wise, but what I gave you wasn’t enough to kill you, only make you sick. I swear.”
“Except that Noah’s eggs contained glass, and Marta was poisoned.”
“What? I was told she was stabbed.”
“Who told you that?”
“I can’t tell you,” Danny said, looking down again. “I don’t want to get anyone into trouble.”
“I see. Well, you’ll have to tell us what poison you used so we can determine whether it matches the poison used to murder Marta before we can clear you as a suspect.”
“My sister could let you in my room. It’s under the counter in my bathroom.”
“Take Danny back to his jail cell. If we find that the poisons don’t match, you’ll be released,” Ruby said.
Petunia waited while Danny was taken from the room. A phone rang, and Ruby answered it. “Hello. Send Barbara in.”
Barbara hurried inside and asked, “Is Danny being released?”
“Not yet. Please have a seat.”
Barbara sat down, gripping her purse as Petunia smiled. “What is the relationship between Marta and your brother?”
She swallowed hard. “What would it matter to tell you now?”
“It might make the difference between his release or serving a sentence for attempted murder.” Or so Petunia thought, because Ruby claimed she had planned to release him if he told all.
“Danny and Marta were intimately involved, but I had no idea to what extent until he poisoned you, Petunia. But I swear, if I had known he planned to do such a thing, I would have stopped him.”
“Marta was poisoned.”
Barbara’s eyes widened. “I know it couldn’t have been Danny. He visited Marta around lunch time and I saw her alive hours later.”
“We’ll have to see if the poisons match, or Doctor Baldwin will. Danny has already told us where the bottle is in his room,” Petunia said. “If you could get me into his room, I can take it to the doctor.”
“Yes, right away! I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Danny and Marta earlier, but I promised him I wouldn’t, and I didn’t want him to be accused of murdering her.”
“Go do what you need to do,” Ruby said. “We’ll get together when the results come in.”
Petunia gripped Pansy’s leash on the way back to the hotel, and he said, “This was certainly an eventful night, but you’re still short the killer.”
“I know that. I can’t imagine who it might be at this point, but at least Aunt Maxine is no longer a suspect.”
In Danny’s quarters, Petunia found the bottle Danny described under the bathroom counter.
When they were in the hallway, Petunia thanked Barbara. “Did you kill Marta?”
Barbara looked straight into Petunia’s eyes and said, “I would never kill the woman my brother loved, even if I did think it was a bad idea for him to be involved with her.”
“Thank you, but I had to ask.”
They parted ways. Petunia was exhausted by the time she returned to her room after delivering the poison to the doctor. She found Noah fast asleep on the sofa. So much for him monitoring her. She placed the listening device next to him, threw a blanket over him and then went to her room.
Chapter Seventeen
Petunia dressed in her witch costume. Today was audition day, though nobody told her where she’d be making her potion.
Noah was awake when she walked into the other room. He wore jeans and a white T-shirt. Aunt Maxine, Wanda and Hazel were all dressed in flowing black dresses with pointy shoes peeking from the hems.
Aunt Maxine’s eyes sparkled. “Ruby came to see me this morning and told me that I’m no longer a suspect in Marta’s murder.”
“What?” Noah asked.
“You were fast asleep so I couldn’t have told you if I had wanted to.” Petunia then told them about last night’s developments.
“Where does that leave us?” Noah asked.
“Waiting on the doctor. But I know Danny didn’t kill Marta. He loved her.”
“I need a younger man like that,” Hazel said, nearly drooling.
“You’ve been married too many times as it is, Hazel,” Aunt Maxine scolded. “Besides, a man ten years younger than you isn’t nearly young enough. You need a thirty-year-old husband. You know, one who is physically fit enough to cut your lawn.”
“I’ll have you know Herbert did a good job until he threw out his back,” Hazel said with a laugh.
They chuckled over that until Petunia glanced at her watch. “The auditions start soon, so I’d better get going.”
“Don’t forget to take Pansy,” Aunt Maxine said. “Every witch needs her familiar nearby.”
“Where is Princess?”
“She ran off somewhere, but I’m sure she’ll show up later.”
At breakfast, Petunia smiled at Daria and Belinda, who sat next to Gwendolyn at a nearby table. Petunia was glad Gwendolyn’s spider was a safe distance from Noah.
Petunia told Noah that he’d be bored watching the auditions, so he stayed with Aunt Maxine and her friends, who at least would provide plenty of comic relief.
“Wait up, Petunia,” Daria said.
She slowed and met with her new friends. Daria wore an orange dress while Belinda glowed in a pink one. “Don’t we look a sight,” Belinda said. “I feel much more confident today because Nellie won’t be here.”
“Where is she?”
“Her aunt suggested she wait until later for a private audition.”
“Well, perhaps she doesn’t want Nellie to have a dispute with either of you today. This audition is very important to all of you. This is no place for squabbles.”
“Where are you making your potion today?” Daria asked.
“I’m really not sure.”
They moved to a table and checked in, each of them received a number. Estelle
joined them with a slight smile. “I hope you ladies are ready. It’s make it or break it.”
“Where will I be making my potion?”
“We have a building set up over there,” Estelle pointed out. “You had better get moving before you lose your place in line. I can’t imagine that it will be easy making the antidote.”
“You’re probably right,” Petunia said. “Good luck, girls.”
There was no line at the building, and Petunia walked inside. The room contained only a table surrounded by shelves filled with ingredients. The room was cramped and hot. Petunia didn’t want to think it was Estelle’s way of getting back at her for the events of last night.
Petunia picked up a small cauldron and added full moon oil, coconut oil and olive oil, turning the single burner on low. She added herbs and mixed slowly. Now where did I go wrong the last time? Mint, add mint. She had to channel her thoughts of potions that worked wonders, like the ointment that worked for arthritis. She closed her eyes and breathed the steam in deeply. Her lids then snapped back open and she added a few more ingredients. Petunia strained the fresh herbs and mixed the concoction into beeswax and shea butter once it cooled. She scooped it all into a container and whistled as she screwed on the lid.
“I hope you didn’t make a mistake,” Pansy suggested. “I don’t think Estelle and Maria will be happy if you don’t restore their hair.”
“I had forgotten all about you being in here, Pansy. I wonder what would happen if one of your cat hairs got in the antidote.” She laughed. “Just kidding.”
“Like it’s that simple. I’m sure when you made that potion you had no clue what you were doing.”
“You’re right, but while I’m here I could try to whip up an antidote to change you back.”
“Let’s see how the tonic antidote works first, although I’m quite content being a cat. Look what fun we had last night.”
Petunia cleaned up her mess and went outside, where she spotted Daria shooting sparks from her wand to start a bonfire. It certainly seemed Wanda’s wand was working out for her.
Meows, Magic & Missing (Lake Forest Witches Book 3) Page 14
