A Charming Voodoo (Magical Cures Mystery Series Book 10)

by Tonya Kappes

  “Does your secret with Patty have anything to do with you being a Dark-Sider?” My gut told me I was on the right track.

  She nodded.

  “Please let me tell you on my own time.” Her eyes dragged up to mine. “Please promise me you will do everything in your power to figure out who killed Patty and get Colton off the hook.”

  I stared at her.

  “Promise me,” she begged.

  “I promise.” I wasn’t sure if I’d just made a deal with my new enemy or my old best friend.

  Chapter Twelve

  The smell of freshly brewed coffee wafted through the house, tickling my nose. Or at least I thought it was tickling my nose.

  When I opened my eyes, Mr. Prince Charming was standing on top of me, dragging his tail under my nose. Oscar was sitting on the edge of my side of the bed with a cup of steaming coffee waiting for me in his hand.

  “I wanted to make sure I saw you before I went to work today.” He handed me the cup of joe as I pushed myself up to sitting.

  “Thank you.” I accepted the warming kiss on the lips right after Mr. Prince Charming jumped off of me.

  “I’m not going to ask you where you took Ophelia last night because I have a pretty good idea.” He was on to me. “But I am going to ask you to tell me anything pertinent to the case if it involves her.”

  “I can’t tell you much because she didn’t tell me much, but I can tell you that she claims neither she nor Colton killed Patty.” I knew it wasn’t much to give him, it wasn’t much for me to go on either, but it was what I knew.

  I did leave out the Dark-Sider part because I wanted to get in touch with Alise and she see if she knew something. I had her name and address since she was a client of A Charming Cure. She had me ship items to her regularly.

  “Colton swears up and down he didn’t do it and in the light of the boric acid discovery, I had a better idea of what to look for, but didn’t find any evidence of it in Ever After Books.” Oscar had obviously gone through the bookstore with a fine-tooth comb since Colton and Ophelia did live there.

  “If what she says is true and they had nothing to do with it, then someone certainly is trying to make me believe they did.” He pulled out his phone from his pocket. It was a note from the note section of his phone. “I have a sworn witness statement that says they saw Patty and Ophelia walk off together the night he died. They walked into the woods.”

  I read what was on his phone.

  “Who was the witness?” I asked.

  “I can’t tell you that. It’s part of the open investigation.” He wasn’t budging.

  “Not even for a kiss?” I asked.

  “Not even for a kiss.” He grinned. “But I do have a little time before I have to go into work.”

  He drew me in his arms.

  An hour later, I was off and running down the hill to the shop, where I was going to be late opening up for the day. I had really wanted to stop by Wicked Good and put a bug in Raven’s ear about the argument Faith had had with Patty, but it would have to wait.

  Or not.

  As soon as I opened the door to A Charming Cure, Faith was inside working on the display tables.

  “Hi.” Her chipper voice rang out in the empty shop. “I wasn’t sure if you needed me this morning or not.”

  “I’m a little surprised to see you.” I walked over to the counter and hung my cloak up on the hook and set my bag on the counter.

  “You are?” Faith’s big blue eyes stared back at me. “Why?”

  I walked back to the front door of the shop and flipped the sign to open. I noticed the table of goodies and treats Faith had set up next to the door.

  “I’m sorry.” I shook my head and looked at the cauldron-shaped crock-pot she’d put apple cider in to simmer and the cute pumpkin mugs for the customers to use. There were a plate of June’s Gems that were in the shape of pumpkins and a couple of apple tarts along with brochures on the All Hallows’ Eve festivities for the customers to take. My guilt set in because I knew in my heart Faith could never hurt a soul. “I’m having a hard time coming up with who would want Patty dead.”

  “Well it wasn’t me if that what’s going on inside of that head of yours.” Faith walked through the store and tugged on the edges of the display tablecloths so they were straight and wrinkle free. “Just because he got angry at me for taking his picture gives me no reason to kill him.”

  “You’re right.” I bit the edges of my lips.

  “Now Colton, he’s a different story.” She ran her fingers down the wall display and turned all the potion bottles around so the labels were facing out. “I don’t know why, but he was going to beat Patty to death. Didn’t you see his eyes?” There was a chill in her voice.

  “I didn’t. It all happened so fast.” I sucked in a deep breath.

  “I can’t wait to see my photos displayed at Blue Moon Gallery because not only did I probably get a good one of the fight,” she paused and smiled, “I caught a spiritual love connection later after the fight.”

  “What?” I wrinkled my nose. “Who?” I asked and walked over to help her finish tidying up the shop because I saw a couple customers walking up the shop steps.

  The bell rang their arrival.

  “Good morning,” I greeted the two women. “Please help yourself to some hot cider and a pastry this fall morning.”

  The women scurried over to the goodie table which gave me time to pump Faith for some much needed gossip to get my mind away from the murder.

  “Patch Potter and Violet Draper.” Faith made kissy noises.

  “Oh,” I shoo’ed her. “That can’t be.” I shook my head.

  Faith nodded. “I’m telling you, it is brewing.” She tapped her ears, which probably meant she heard it in a breeze.

  “He’s not her type. Trust me. When Oscar and I were on our honeymoon, I saw and met Gene’s dad. A mortal hunk.” I leaned in to whisper so the customers wouldn’t hear me, “I’m mean hot hunk, not Patch Potter cute.”

  “Maybe she’s changing her taste in men. But I’m telling you, there could be another wedding on the horizon.” She grinned and excused herself to help one of the customers.

  It wasn’t the gossip about the possible romance between Patch and Violet that sat on my mind all day long, it was the fact that Faith said she had taken pictures the night Patty was killed after the fight. The activity in the shop had been nonstop with customers and I’d made my fair share of extra potions as Faith continued to help customers with everyday homeopathic products like lotions, bath salts, antacids, and other home remedies.

  Before I knew it, it was lunchtime and I’d yet to have breakfast. I did count coffee as its own food group, but it wasn’t enough to sustain me all day.

  “I’ll go grab us lunch from The Gathering Grove.” I glanced around the shop and noticed it was a perfect time to leave, grab lunch and check in with Cherry Merry to see if they’d started to put up Faith’s gallery.

  “Perfect. I’ll take a BLT on rye with a cup of his chili.” There was a distinct pleasure on Faith’s face. She was right. Gerald did make good chili.

  I grabbed my bag and strapped it across my body before retrieving my cloak off the hook and throwing it around me. Every time someone opened the shop door, the cool breeze drifted in even though the sun was shining.

  Mr. Prince Charming and I ran across the street, darting in and out of traffic to get to The Gathering Grove. One thing was for sure. Since we opened up the village to mortal living, traffic had increased as well as business.

  All of the café tables along the front of the tea shop were filled with smiling customers and steaming bowls of soups and warm drinks. In the middle of the tables, Gerald had put an All Hallows’ Eve flyer in a plastic photo frame along with a stack for customers to take one.

  Everything would be perfect if it weren’t for the pall of the murder investigation of Patty Potter. All the shops were excited. The pumpkin patch was an added bonus and the shop windows were all
decorated. I loved the large coffee cup surrounded by leaves that Gerald had painted on his windows. He didn’t have the extra space in the shop to build a big display like A Charming Cure. He had to use that space for more customer tables, so he was very inventive with this window paintings.

  “June!” Gerald waved from one of the tables as he cleared the dishes.

  “Hi.” I waved back and we moseyed on over to him. “You are busy.”

  “Crazy.” He muffled under his mustache. He dropped the rag on the table and gestured for me to sit down as he took a seat. He curled the edge of his mustache with his finger. “Does Oscar have any leads on who murdered Patty Potter?”

  Mr. Prince Charming jumped up on the table and Gerald snarled. I ignored him.

  “I don’t think so. Or at least I haven’t heard.” I let out a deep sigh. “Obviously Colton Lance is the main suspect and Oscar has him down at the station doing filing and odd jobs, but outside of that.” I shook my head.

  “I didn’t want to say anything because I didn’t see it, but when you were away on your honeymoon, Petunia had several meetings with people from Locust Grove about how they were going to tie in the police department with the new development since it was both in their city and our village.” He waved and cleared his throat, “But that’s not what I was going to say. Petunia said something about the pumpkin patch and the land developer having words about his house.”

  “What about his house?” I asked.

  “She said that the developer wanted Patch to be closer to the farm land since he was the main farmer, but he insisted his house lot be next to the pumpkin patch.” Gerald put his hand out to stop one of his waitresses and asked her to bring us over some afternoon tea. “That almost caused the deal to go under.”

  “How so?” I smiled up at the waitress and thanked her when she set the tea cup down and poured me some tea from the teapot. She set a bowl of creamer on the table in front of Mr. Prince Charming and he purred with delight as he lapped it up.

  After she poured Gerald some tea, he continued while she walked away, “The developer is the one who came up with the idea of the agri-hood because he believes our village is an earthy type, Mother-Nature-loving town, if you know what I mean.” His brows lifted and he took a sip of the tea.

  “He’s right.” I shrugged. If anyone who wasn’t a spiritualist came to visit Whispering Falls, they’d only find a nice, loving community of shop owners who care about the world.

  “Indeed.” Gerald agreed. “Obviously Patch was the best applicant for the farmer job and the development company felt that if he weren’t near the farm that he’d let it go by the wayside and only tend to the pumpkin patch.”

  I sat back in the chair with my tea cup in my fingers taking sips as Gerald continued on.

  “Petunia said they had awful words and Patch didn’t like the fact that the developer accused him of not taking his job seriously, because you and I both know that we take our gifts very seriously and Patch Potter is no different.” Gerald stared at me across the table.

  I sat up and set my cup back on the saucer. I folded my hands and put them on the table.

  “You and I both know that Patch can do both jobs with no problem too.” I wiggled my brows knowing with a little help of magic anything was possible.

  “The developer did everything he could to fire Patch before he even started, but the contract, with a little help of Petunia’s sleight of hand, was iron-clad.” His eyes narrowed. “That means they can’t fire Patch unless. . .” He slid his thick pointer finger across his throat.

  “But I’m not sure what this has to do with Patty,” I said.

  Gerald smacked his top hat with his fingers.

  “June,” he gasped. “Could you tell the two of them apart? I know I couldn’t.”

  “So you are thinking that the developer killed Patty but meant to kill Patch?” I never thought of it, but I guess it could be a case of mistaken identity.

  “And boric acid is used in gardens to get rid of pesky critters.” He put his forearms on the table and leaned in. “Don’t tell Petunia I said that or she’ll be over at that farm adding critters and taking away the pesticides.”

  I sat back in the chair and chewed on what Gerald had said. If what he said was true and all of this happened while Oscar and I were gone, Petunia was probably so busy, it’s likely she didn’t remember the fight at the meeting, but Gerald did.

  “From what I’m hearing from Patience Karima, whoever used him as a pin cushion was an amateur. Not a spiritualist. They wanted it to look like they knew what they were doing.”

  “Thanks, Gerald.” I stood up. All the information fell from my brains and soaked into my body. “You might be on to something.”

  That something poked my intuition. It didn’t make alarms go off as if it was the right track, but it definitely lit something up inside of me.

  The knock at the café window made us look over. Oscar was waving and smiling.

  “I’ll be sure to tell Oscar.” I stood up. “Can you fix me two BLT’s and two bowls of your chili? I have to run up to Blue Moon so I’ll be right back to get it.”

  “Sure thing.” Gerald tipped his top hat and dragged my tea cup across the table. He looked down into it. “Who’s the new romance?” he called after he read my tea leaves and Mr. Prince Charming and I headed out the door.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Oscar walked us down the street toward Blue Moon Gallery and Two Sisters and a Funeral. He was going to visit the Karima sisters to follow up on Patty’s autopsy and I was going to make a quick stop in to see Cherry Merry.

  “Gerald said all this happened during the meeting?” Oscar made notes as I told him everything Gerald had told me that Petunia had told him.

  “He did. And he does have a point. Could you tell the Potter twins apart?” I asked. Mr. Prince Charming found a pile of dried leaves and plopped down, rolling all over before he found a good spot to lay.

  “No.” Oscar’s face was blank. “Did Ophelia give you any clues to why Colton would have reason to kill Patty? Like he abused her when they knew each other? Maybe Colton was defending her honor after all these years?”

  I shook my head.

  “I made a promise that I’d let her get her head on straight.” We climbed the hill and stopped between Two Sisters and Blue Moon. “But I can stop by the house and ask her.”

  “I’m going to run into Locust Grove and talk to Skip Broussert at the development company. The agri-hood was built by Broussert Developers and I know him from some police surveillance the department had done when his homes in a subdivision in Locust Grove were getting vandalized. He might be able to tell me more about that argument between him and Patch.” He dragged me into a hug and kissed the top of my head. “I really want you to be careful.”

  “I am careful. I’m just asking questions and when I find something out I’ll tell you. Just like I did with what Gerald said.” I smiled and was happy to receive a smile in return.

  “Do you think if I stop by the house, Ophelia would talk to me?” he asked.

  “I don’t know. I told her I’d keep her whereabouts a secret and if she’s not in Whispering Falls and you do name her as a suspect, she’s breaking the by-laws.” I chewed on my idea about contacting Alise, knowing Oscar wouldn’t be happy if I left Whispering Falls without him or some backup. “I do have an idea that you probably aren’t going to be to overjoyed about.”

  “What?” There was a little bit of curiosity in his voice tied in with apprehension.

  “When Colton and Ophelia moved here, his mom was with them. I can’t help but think that something in their past is keeping her and Colton apart, but I’m not sure what. I’m not even sure if Ophelia breaking up with Colton had anything to do with Patty’s death, but I do know there is something there.” I continued to talk as Oscar took a step back as if he was creating distance because he was about to shoot down my idea. “Hear me out before you say no.”

  He crossed his arm
s across his chest. “Go on.”

  “Alise is a big customer of mine and I have her address. If I take the express train to their village, I can ask her a few questions and bring up Patty. See what she says.” I put my hands together and begged, “Please? What do we have to lose? I will take someone besides Mr. Prince Charming with me.”

  Rowl, Mr. Prince Charming didn’t like that idea.

  “You can go, but I’d take someone else, like. . .” I tried to think of someone on the spot that wouldn’t mind going before Oscar suggested someone I’d rather not take.

  “Aunt Eloise?” Oscar asked.

  “Yes.” I clapped my hands knowing if she would go, he’d be all over agreeing with me. Though I knew I didn’t need his approval, it was nice to have.

  “If she will go with you, then I have no issues. In the meantime, I’m going to check on Patty’s autopsy and head on out to Broussert’s office.” He nodded.

  “I’m going to go see if any of Faith’s photos show Patty talking to anyone that might be another suspect.” I tapped my stomach. “I just have a feeling we know who the killer is, but we just haven’t gotten the puzzle pieces to fit.”

  I turned around and looked over the shops on Main Street. A dark cloud coming from the east blanketed the autumn day.

  I was close. I could feel it.

  “Me too.” Oscar gave me one last kiss before we parted ways.

  Mr. Prince Charming got up from his bed of leaves and trotted up to Blue Moon Gallery.

  “Oscar!” I yelled over to Two Sisters just as he disappeared into the funeral home.

  Mewl, Mr. Prince Charming purred and looked up at me.

  “I wanted to tell him about what Patience had said to Gerald about the voodoo thing, but I’m sure she’ll tell him while he’s there.” I put that in the back of my head and walked into the gallery.

  Cherry Merry and Perry were both with customers so Mr. Prince Charming and I took advantage of the time and looked around. Unlike yesterday, there were big photos and painted canvases hanging from the ceiling at all different angles and lengths. There was only one that was taken at the pumpkin patch that’d been hung so far with photo credit going to Faith Mortimer. It was a perfect balance of light and color as Faith had zoomed in on a bright orange pumpkin.