Witch Way to Hallows' Bay: A Brimstone Bay Mystery (Brimstone Bay Mysteries Book 2)

by N. M. Howell

Now it was my turn to rub my temples. “The witness is the widow, so her emotions are certainly clouding her judgment. And Mrs. Pots was running the dessert table, so, of course, she gave him the cookie. But that means absolutely nothing, given the fact that you know she wasn’t the one to poison it.”

  “We don’t know that for sure,” he snapped back at me. “We’re keeping her here until you find something. So, you better hurry up.”

  Mrs. Pots bounced on the couch. “Oh, goodie, another sleep over.”

  I eyed Mrs. Pots, then glanced back to Sheriff Reese. “Don’t worry, we’ll figure this out.”

  We had to, as the alternative would be Mrs. Pots being sent to state prison for murder. Our simply denying her involvement based on character wasn’t going to be strong enough once the higher-ups got involved. We had to act, and fast.

  8

  The walk from the Sheriff’s office to my office was long. The girls decided to stay with Mrs. Pots for the day, and as Rory was the one with the car, I winded up having to walk all the way back to work.

  Luckily, the sun was out, and while the air was cool and crisp, it felt good to get some fresh air.

  The walk also allowed me some time to think. If what Sheriff Reese said was true, then not only did we have one murder to solve, but other people may be at risk, too. If the cookie hadn’t been meant for Trey, then who knows who the target recipient was. I chewed by lip as I walked, trying not to think too hard about whether it was meant for one of us. The only thing that calmed that thought was the hope that we would have been able to sense the magic in the cookie before it poisoned us.

  On that thought, it made sense that the target would not have been a witch. At least, that cuts out those of us in the house.

  I put my headphones on to listen to music, and increased my pace to a jog. It’d been ages since I’d gone running around the bay, and I missed the feeling of the air on my face. It was calming, and I did my best thinking when I ran. With any luck, a brisk jog back to work might stimulate some brilliant ideas for the article I was about to write about the event.

  As it turned out, my mind came up blank. I got so lost in my own thoughts that before I knew it, I had arrived in town and was almost at the office. I slowed down and stretched my arms above my head as I walked, relishing in the feeling of using my muscles for once. Being a journalist means lots of butt-in-chair time, and while my fingers were getting strong from typing so much, the rest of my body really felt the hit.

  I pulled my ear buds out, but still heard music as I approached my office door and noticed it was coming from the cafe downstairs. The windows were still covered in newsprint, but I walked up to the door anyway and placed my ear against the glass. I could faintly hear Metallica playing, and knew that Jordan must be inside. I knocked softly, partially not wanting to disturb him in the off chance that he’s sleeping in there, and partially because a part of me didn’t want to face him right now. His good friend had just died, and I had no idea what to say to him. I felt that nothing I did would help, and I didn’t want to make things worse by asking him about it.

  After a few moments, I withdrew and rummaged through my bag to find my keys to the office door, which was right next to the door to the cafe. It was exceptionally convenient having an unlimited source of caffeine this close to the office. I was sad at the thought that Mr. Bramley’s cafe would never be there in the same way again.

  The door to the cafe opened as I was still looking for my keys and Jordan’s tired face poked out from the doorway to look at me. “Oh. Hey, River.”

  I smiled and turned to look at him. “Hey,” was all I managed to say. I opened my mouth to say more, but I was caught up dry. I closed my lips and looked at him with the most sympathetic expression I could manage.

  “Want to come in?” he asked, pushing the door open wider.

  “Oh, sure,” I said. I dropped the keys back into my bag and followed Jordan inside.

  “Holy crap,” I said, taking in the scene around me. “Were you up all night?” The entire renovation looked nearly complete. The walls had been painted, the new counter had been installed and polished, and the floors had been scrubbed.

  He rubbed his eyes, then nodded. “Yeah, I couldn’t sleep after last night.” He sat down in one of the booths and scooted over so I could come sit beside him.

  “I get that,” I said. “You did a good job.”

  Jordan smiled. It was a half-smile, and he had a haunted look about him, but it was a smile nonetheless. I squeezed his hand and smiled back.

  “We’re going to find out who did this,” I said.

  He nodded. “I’m more worried about the why part.” Jordan looked down at his feet then closed his eyes. I could tell that he was truly heartbroken about his friend.

  “I’m so sorry, Jordan.”

  We sat in silence together, his hands resting in mine. After a few moments, he squeezed my hands back, then stretched and shook his head.

  “There’s no sense feeling sorry for myself about it,” he finally said. “It’s done, and we can’t change that fact. What I can do, though, is finish setting up this restaurant and making it the best it can be.”

  I gaped at him. “You’re going through with the restaurant?”

  He nodded. “It was Trey’s dream, and I’m going to see it through. Besides, Grace was half the talent and she can help me run the place.”

  I laughed at that, knowing full well that Grace wouldn’t agree to living in this small town in a million years. “Good luck with making her stay. Where is she, anyways?”

  Jordan sighed. “She went back to the city to be with her family. It was too hard for her to stay here.”

  “I don’t blame her,” I said. “I’d have done the same. The poor girl.”

  Jordan shook his head and yawned. “She left last night. Couldn’t handle being here without him. I can’t imagine what she’s feeling right now.”

  “I’ll call her sister and check up on her today, see how Grace is doing.”

  “That would be great, thank you.”

  I stood up and pulled Jordan up with me. “You’re going to get through this, you know.”

  He nodded. “Yeah, I know. It’s just a lot to handle.”

  “I know. But you’ve got the restaurant to keep you busy. I’ll come down and help out when I can, okay?”

  He smiled at me and pulled me in close and kissed me.

  I couldn’t help the wide grin that spread over my face, and my knees buckled a little bit. I recovered quickly, grabbing hold of his arm to stabilize myself.

  “What was that?” Jordan asked.

  “Nothing.”

  “Did I just make you weak at the knees?”

  “No,” I said hurriedly. “Nope, just tripped.”

  “Liar. I made you swoon.” He was grinning down at me, and I could feel my cheeks growing warm.

  “Shut up. No, you didn’t.” Oh, my God, I was humiliated. I was a grown woman, not some stupid high school girl who faints when a cute boy walks by. At least, this seemed to cheer him up.

  “Well, why don’t I take you out for dinner tonight. I’ll see if I can make it happen again.”

  I shook my head. “Nope, nothing to happen again. I didn’t swoon. Your traumatized mind is imagining things. It’s common after an event like last night…” I trailed off, trying not to sound like a mumbling lunatic.

  “Mmm hmm, sure.”

  “Well, I gotta go,” I said quickly, then turned to leave.

  Jordan grabbed my arm and pulled me back and kissed me again. This time I locked my knees to be sure I wouldn’t collapse like an idiot again.

  “So, dinner tonight?”

  I nodded. “Yeah, it’s a date.”

  The door to the Brimstone Press office was unlocked when I left the cafe. Or, restaurant, I knew I should start calling it. That’s going to be a hard thing to adjust to.

  The lights were on, and JoAnn was busy typing away at her computer when I entered our tiny second floor off
ice.

  “Hey, you’re up early,” I commented as I threw my bag down on the chair next to her desk.

  She smiled up at me. “So are you. Coffee?”

  My jaw dropped at the sight of two large steaming hot takeout coffees on her desk.

  “For me?” I asked, then beamed wildly when she nodded. “Where did you find such a glorious thing?”

  JoAnn laughed. “What with the cafe downstairs closed, a girl’s gotta be resourceful.” I raised my eyebrow at her as a mischievous look crossed her face. I sipped my coffee and waited for her to continue.

  “The inn. I got it at the inn,” she said, rolling her eyes at my intent expression. Ah, I was hoping she was going to say a new coffee shop had opened up nearby or something. I’d just have to make a point of ensuring Jordan’s place is equipped with excellent coffee. I made a mental note of expressing the importance of this to him next time we speak.

  I pulled up another chair and set my laptop on the edge of JoAnn’s desk.

  “I’ll finish that article on the party today for you,” I said. “I’m assuming you want me to touch on the murder, as well.” I made it a statement and not a question, hoping she would just agree and let me write the damn thing.

  JoAnn shook her head. “Don’t worry about that, Zack’s going to cover the murder.”

  I sighed and rubbed my temples. “You know, just because I don’t have as much experience as he does, doesn’t mean I’m completely useless.”

  She eyed me, but held her silence.

  “Please,” I continued. “Let me help. Let me be useful. I’ve felt like an idiot since he arrived, writing nothing but birthday updates and yesterday’s news.” There, I had said it. I wasn’t sure what prompted me to spill my thoughts at that moment, but I was proud of myself for at least admitting my feelings to her.

  JoAnn sat back in her seat and folded her fingers together on her desk. “I’m sorry you feel that way,” she began, “but you must know that this is nothing against you or your skills. You are a very talented journalist, but we brought Zack on because of his extensive experience in things like this. We want to be put on the map as a professional news organization, and we needed that little extra push to get us there.”

  After I didn’t reply, she continued, “You’ll get your chance again, River. Don’t worry. Just hold tight for now.”

  I sighed. “Fine. Yes, of course. I’m sorry, I’m just really tired. It’s been a long night.”

  She nodded. “Oh, I hear ya.” She then went back to typing at her computer.

  “Did you end up making it to the party?” I asked, trying to rack my brain to remember if I even saw her there last night.

  “Yes, just barely, though,” she said. “Zack and I arrived late, just before the murder happened, unfortunately. We left straight away, not wanting to get in anyone’s way.”

  I nodded. “Thanks for that,” I said. “Took a while for Mrs. Brody to clear out the yard.”

  “I expect you’ll be filling Zack in on the details,” she said after a pause. “He should be in later today. In the meantime, do you mind finishing up his article on the restaurant opening downstairs? I’m going to be moving him from that coverage to the murder, and it would be great if you could help wrap that one up.”

  “Sure, no problem,” I said. At least, this would give me something to focus on.

  After a few more minutes of frantic typing, JoAnn shut off her computer and put on her coat. “I need to go out of town for the day. Let me know if you need anything. Try and get that article done by this evening, if possible. You can e-mail me what you’ve got when you’re done.”

  “Sounds good. See ya.” She waved her hand back at me as she left the office. I got up and locked the door behind her. I didn’t want anyone else bothering me as I wrote. I knew that anyone who would possible come bother me had their own set of keys, but for some reason knowing the door was locked offered a small bit of comfort.

  I sighed, then pushed JoAnn’s stuff to the side of her desk and took over the work space.

  I would have to wait until Zack got to the office to really get started on his article, so I figured I might as well finish my bit about the party. I’d have to leave out the details about the end of the night, but I could at least talk about the preparations that went into it, and maybe a bit on the history of the party.

  I sighed out loud to myself, and resigned to typing up the lame article.

  About an hour went by, and Zack still hadn’t arrived. I was lost in my thoughts, typing away at the computer, when a loud buzzing made my jump.

  My heart raced and I looked around the room for the source of the noise, and traced it over to Zack’s desk. My desk, really, but whatever.

  I went over to find the source of the buzzing, more so just because I wanted it to stop than the fact that I was curious as to what it was, and found Zack’s phone ringing in the top drawer of his desk.

  I blinked a few times as I stared at the phone in my hand, seeing the name “Grace” flash on the screen. I stared at the device, trying to figure out why Grace would be calling Zack’s number. Could this be Trey’s phone, maybe? It’s not out of the question for the newspaper to collect things for research on an article. Maybe Grace was trying to track down where his phone had gone to?

  The sound of footsteps came from beyond the door, and I frantically scrambled to put the phone back where I found it and close the drawer. Zack walked into the office just as I barely had a chance to step away from his desk, and my heart was racing a mile a minute.

  “Oh, hey Zack,” I tried to sound cool.

  He nodded to me, then walked over to his desk. “Sup?”

  I shrugged and went back to my chair and pretended to be in the middle of something on my computer. “Nothing. You know, just the usual.”

  “Cool. I’m just stopping by, have an appointment in a bit.”

  “’Kay,” I said, eyeing him as he rummaged through the piles of papers on his desk, moving random items aside. “Do you mind sending me your stuff on the restaurant? JoAnn wants me to finish it up for you.”

  “Oh, yeah,” he said, then swore under his breath as he kept moving things around his desk. “Sure. No problem. Will send them in a bit.”

  “Thanks.”

  Zack opened the top drawer, then blew out a sigh. “Jesus, there it is. Thought I’d lost it.” He pulled out the phone from the drawer and slid it into his back pocket.

  I saluted him in a mocking gesture. “Always do,” I muttered.

  “Oh, River,” he turned back towards me as he stepped out the door. “You looked good last night. You look good with makeup on, you should wear it more often.”

  I didn’t even see him last night, so I had no idea when he had the chance to check out my makeup. I ignored him and rolled my eyes. “You’d look better with a bag over your head,” I muttered to myself.

  “What was that?” he asked.

  “Nothing. Stay cool.”

  He winked at me, then I watched him leave as his phone flashed in his back pocket.

  9

  “You ready to go?” Bailey asked as she came bounding into my room with Momma Cat in her arms.

  “Go where?” I asked.

  She stared at me for a long moment, then rolled her eyes. “Honestly, River. Where has your brain been all day?”

  I shrugged, still not realizing what she was talking about.

  After I didn’t answer, she continued, “New York, of course.”

  “Ah.” In truth, I had completely forgotten we had agreed to go to New York. I was too preoccupied thinking about what I saw on Zack’s phone, that I totally forgot we were going on a road trip.

  “Rory’s got the car all ready. Have you packed?”

  I looked at the time on my phone. It was just past noon. “You realize it’s at least a six hour drive, right?”

  Bailey nodded and smiled. “Yep, so we better get going, then.”

  I sighed. “Alright, I’ll get my things ready. Be d
own in fifteen?”

  Bailey beamed, then set the giant white cat down on my bed. “Hurry! We’re all excited to go.”

  “You betcha,” I said with a forced smile. I threw myself back on my bed when she left and stared up at the ceiling. My brain was having trouble processing the events of the past twenty-four hours. Everything seemed like a whirlwind, and I was starting to lose my mind a little bit.

  I packed up my laptop and a change of clothes, tossed my toothbrush and a towel into my bag, and then went to add extra food into the cat bowls down the hall. That should hold them over for a day or two, hopefully. Although, with the amount of food that Momma cat was eating lately, I added in a few extra scoops for good measure. That cat sure liked to eat.

  I looked around for Soot to give him a goodbye scratch, but he was off somewhere, likely causing trouble with one of the neighbors or stealing food from Mrs. Brody downstairs.

  “See you guys later,” I said out loud to no one in particular. Who knew, maybe the cats had supernatural hearing and could understand English. You never know.

  I finally joined the girls downstairs, who were already packed away in the car and ready to go, and I grudgingly threw my bag in the trunk and took my place in the passenger seat.

  “Road trip!” Bailey called from the back seat as Rory reversed the car down the driveway.

  I laughed and couldn’t help but absorb some of their enthusiasm. We had never gone away together, and it would be fun to hang out with the girls outside of the house. There weren’t exactly many clubs, or much of a nightlife in Brimstone Bay, and we often stayed in on the weekends and just hung out together at home with a couple of beers. I was looking forward to being back in the middle of everything in New York.

  We were lucky in that it was mid-day on a Monday and there wasn’t much traffic. It was smooth sailing all the way from Brimstone Bay down the coast. We spent the hours chatting away about life and boys and all that typical stuff. I had to admit, I was having a pretty good time.

  “Oh, crap,” I said as I remembered something. I threw my head back against the headrest and sighed a loud and exasperated sigh to myself. “I totally forgot.”