A Witchy Valentine (Harper Grant Mystery Series Book 4)

by D. S. Butler

  “Yes. I’m fine. Now stop gassing, and get in the truck.”

  I helped her up into the cab and then dashed around to the passenger side to get in. Monty hovered across me, inserting himself between Grandma Grant and me.

  I’d only just buckled up when she stamped on the gas. We shot forward, and the tires squealed. I put my hand on the dashboard to brace myself.

  “Grandma Grant, we’re trying to avoid drawing attention to ourselves.”

  She eased off the gas a little. “I was making a quick getaway.”

  “I’d prefer a safe getaway.”

  Grandma Grant huffed out an irritated breath, but she did stick to the speed limit all the way home, which I considered a win.

  Chapter 20

  Fortunately, Grandma Grant’s sprained ankle was not as bad as we’d first thought. I made her a mug of cocoa, and we left her with her foot elevated, in front of the fire. I did offer to stay in case she needed me, but she ordered me to leave and told me to stop fussing.

  When Monty and I walked back to the cottage, my adrenaline levels were slowly returning to normal.

  The muddy ground beneath my feet was rock hard and had frozen solid as the evening temperature dropped.

  “Thank you for helping me, Harper,” Monty said. “That was a very risky situation I put you and your grandmother in. I’m sorry.”

  “You couldn’t have known what would happen. We were only supposed to be making a trip to your house to gather information. None of us expected to run into a masked intruder. I just wish we knew who it was.”

  Monty nodded as he floated along beside me. My breath puffed out in front of me, forming little white clouds, but Monty didn’t seem bothered by the cold in the slightest.

  “I’ve been thinking about the intruder and trying to fit him to the suspects.” Monty sighed and looked up at the starry sky. “I know it wasn’t Barbara or Laura.”

  “Are you sure?”

  Monty hesitated. “Well, not one hundred percent sure. It was quite dark. But I think the intruder was too tall to be Barbara or Laura.”

  “That’s a start,” I said encouragingly. “It certainly narrows down our list of suspects.”

  Monty smiled at me, but the smile didn’t quite reach his eyes.

  I let myself into the cottage and waited for Monty to float inside before shutting the door. I took off my coat and boots and followed Monty into the living area.

  Jess barely looked up as I walked in. She was curled up on the couch, nursing a cup of tea. Her e-reader lay beside her, but she wasn’t looking at it.

  The fire was roaring in the hearth, and I sighed in gratitude as I stood beside it, trying to warm up. The heat from the fire was comforting after the cold walk back from Grandma Grant’s.

  “Where’s Pete?” I asked my sister. “Has he gone home?”

  Jess nodded silently. She didn’t look like she was in the mood to talk.

  “We had quite an adventure tonight. Grandma Grant and I decided to go to Monty’s house. We thought we might be able to find something there to help identify who killed him.”

  A spark of interest lit up Jess’s eyes as she looked up at me. “And?”

  “We certainly got more than we bargained for.” I rubbed my hands together and shuffled a little closer to the fire.

  “Just tell me what happened, Harper. I’m not in the mood for unnecessary drama.”

  I raised an eyebrow at my sister’s reaction. She was in a bad mood.

  “That was uncalled for,” Monty commented, frowning as he looked at Jess.

  Under normal circumstances, I would have agreed with him and probably started to quarrel with Jess, but I knew how much she was suffering and worrying about Pete, so I ignored her snappy comment and continued, “When we got there, we discovered somebody was already inside.”

  “Who?” Jess demanded, resting her cup of tea on the coffee table and sitting up straight.

  “We don’t know. We think it was a man, but he was wearing a ski-mask.”

  Jess’s eyes widened. “Did you tell the police?”

  I shook my head. “We didn’t need to. One of the neighbors must have called them and reported a break-in. Officer Tardy turned up as we were making our getaway. We must have looked really guilty. I think we got away with it, though. Officer Tardy is either very trusting or not very bright.”

  Jess nodded slowly but didn’t look as pleased as I’d expected.

  “This is good news, Jess,” I said. “It means that if the person who broke into the house tonight killed Monty, Pete is innocent.”

  Jess looked at me blankly.

  I gave a sigh of exasperation. It looked like I was going to have to spell it out for her. “If the killer was in Monty’s house tonight, it couldn’t have been Pete because Pete was here with you, wasn’t he?”

  Jess’s face clouded with anger. “No, he told me he had something important to do and had to leave.”

  “Oh.”

  That certainly took the wind out of my sails, and I exchanged a worried glance with Monty. Things weren’t looking so good for Pete.

  “What time did he leave?”

  “Nine PM.”

  My face fell. Then it could easily have been Pete at Monty’s house. He didn’t have an alibi.

  “Okay, but that doesn’t prove anything. I’m sure it wasn’t Pete,” I said.

  Jess stood up abruptly, grabbed her cup of tea and stalked out to the kitchen. She was covering her real emotions with anger, but I could tell she was close to tears.

  I followed her into the kitchen, asking Monty to leave us alone for a moment.

  Jess stood beside the sink, gripping the counter with her back to me.

  “I know it’s hard.” I put a hand on her shoulder. “But we will get to the bottom of it, and Pete will be cleared.”

  Jess turned around from the sink to face me. Her eyes were red, and she blinked away her tears.

  “The trouble is, Harper, Pete’s been acting very strangely. He won’t answer my questions, and he’s been very evasive.”

  I met my sister’s gaze and waited for her to continue. I wanted to give her a hug and tell her that everything was going to be all right, but I knew she needed to get this off her chest first.

  “He’s hiding something, Harper.”

  “But you don’t think…” I began to say.

  Jess cut me off quickly. “No, I’m sure he didn’t kill Monty, but he is keeping a secret from me.”

  After dropping that bombshell, Jess went to bed, and I sat in the small seating area in front of the fire. Smudge wound around my ankles, and I scooped her up, placing her on my lap.

  “Are you staying home tonight?” I asked, scratching her under the chin. “I think that’s very smart. It’s cold out there.”

  “Everything seems to be getting so complicated,” I said to Monty as I looked down at Smudge.

  I hadn’t told Monty that Jess thought Pete was hiding something from her. I didn’t want him to jump to the wrong conclusions, and I still didn’t believe Pete could be the murderer. As Smudge curled up and began to purr on my lap, I felt myself relax.

  The first day of our investigation hadn’t given us many answers, but tomorrow was a new day. I had a shift at the diner from eight until two. I smiled as I realized I would have to introduce Monty to Loretta for the first time. That would be interesting, to say the least.

  As soon as my shift was finished tomorrow, I would have a serious conversation with Pete. I needed to uncover the secret he was hiding because I didn’t want my sister to get hurt.

  I stroked Smudge’s soft fur as I stared into the fire. One way or another, I would get the truth out of Pete.

  The shrill beep from my alarm woke me the next morning. I’d fallen asleep attempting to learn some more spells, but once again, I hadn’t gotten past the first couple of pages. The spell book Grandma Grant had purchased for me was sprawled across my chest.

  I smothered a groan, picked up the book and put
it on my nightstand. Then I pressed the snooze button.

  I snuggled back under my comforter and looked out of my bedroom window. The early morning light was still tinged with gray, but I couldn’t see any fresh snow. The frost-covered tree branches close to my window looked like they’d been dusted with confectioner’s sugar. It looked pretty but cold. I shivered and then reluctantly got out of bed.

  After I had showered and dressed, I went downstairs to say good morning to Monty and Jess. Monty greeted me warmly and appeared eager for our investigation to continue.

  “I’ve been thinking,” he said as soon as I stepped into the kitchen. “Last night, the masked intruder was rifling through my desk, looking through my paperwork. Do you think that could be a clue?”

  I nodded. “Possibly.” I needed coffee before I could think about clues. Luckily for me, Jess had already made a pot. I poured myself a delicious, hot, steaming mug of coffee and then turned to Monty. “Where is Jess?”

  “She’s already left. She wrote you a note and left it on the cabinet by the window.”

  I was surprised Jess had left so early. The library didn’t open until nine AM, and she didn’t need to get there much before eight thirty. I glanced at my watch. It was only quarter past seven.

  I carried my coffee through into the main living area and spotted Jess’s note on the cabinet. She mentioned she had been having trouble sleeping and had decided to go to work early.

  I sighed. This situation was really weighing heavily on my sister.

  “Is something wrong?” Monty asked. He had floated over silently, and I jumped not realizing he was right behind me.

  “Jess is just upset about the whole situation with Pete,” I explained. “I know it’s much worse for you, Monty.”

  “Don’t worry about me,” Monty said. “I’m sure I’ll be fine in the end. Do you know what will happen to me once my killer is caught?”

  His sad, brown eyes fixed on mine, and I wished I had more information to give him. “I don’t know for sure, but you’ll move on.”

  Monty nodded. “So, we are going to the diner today, and then we’ll do some more investigating after you’ve finished your shift, is that right?”

  “Yes, I’ll introduce you to Loretta, who is the diner’s resident ghost.”

  “How exciting. I’m looking forward to meeting her.”

  I grinned, picturing Loretta’s reaction to Monty. I drained the rest of my coffee and carried the mug back through to the kitchen to rinse it out.

  It wasn’t until I put my boots on and reached for my coat that I realized I was missing something. My scarf. I frowned and reached to look behind the other coats, thinking perhaps my scarf might be hiding underneath, but it wasn’t there.

  I buttoned up my coat and then said, “Monty, do you remember if I was wearing my scarf last night, the black woolen one?”

  “Um, yes I think so.”

  I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach. I was sure I had worn it last night, so where was it?

  I pushed my hair back from my face and said, “I think we might have a problem.”

  “What?”

  “My scarf is missing. I think I must have left it at your house last night.”

  “Well, that’s not a problem. We can go back and get it once the dust has settled.”

  “What if the police find it and realize it was mine? They’ll know I was there.”

  Monty grimaced as he slowly realized the implications of what I was saying. “Maybe you didn’t leave it in the house. Maybe you dropped it somewhere.”

  “Maybe,” I said, but I wasn’t convinced.

  Chapter 21

  Monty and I got to the diner half an hour later. As I opened the door, the smells of rich brewing coffee and frying bacon mingled with the sweet, sugary scent of fresh-baked muffins. I waved and called out hello to Archie, who was at the counter serving a customer.

  I’d reminded Monty as we walked down the trail towards the town that I wouldn’t be able to talk to him at the diner, so he hovered silently behind me. I had to admit I was enjoying the company of a well-behaved ghost. It certainly made a change from my other ghostly experiences.

  I was hanging my coat on the peg when Loretta zoomed into view. She looked Monty up and down approvingly. “I’m Loretta,” she said offering him her hand and batting her eyelashes.

  She hadn’t waited for me to introduce them. Considering we were surrounded by people, that was a good thing for me. I wasn’t worried about leaving Monty with Loretta. He was an amiable ghost, and I was pretty sure from the way Loretta was making eyes at him, she’d decided he was worth her precious time.

  “Come with me,” Loretta said. “I know somewhere we can chat in private and get acquainted.”

  I raised an eyebrow as they zoomed past me.

  I spent a moment or two chatting to Archie, and he told me about his plans for a Valentine’s menu. There weren’t many options for dining out in Abbot Cove, and dining options generally came down to a choice between the Lobster Shack and Archie’s Diner. But the fact that he had a captive audience in Abbot Cove didn’t mean he took his customers for granted. He frequently organized special events and often added new seasonal items to the menu.

  I went out to the back room to wash my hands and collect my apron and saw that Loretta and Monty were getting along like a house on fire. Loretta was admiring Monty’s suit of armor as he described, in detail, the significance of every piece. I left them to it and entered the kitchen to say hello to Sarah and collect a waiting order.

  The morning passed quickly, and I guessed Loretta was keeping Monty well-entertained as I hadn’t seen either of them in the main part of the diner for hours.

  It was just after midday when Joe McGrady pushed open the door and entered the diner with a face like thunder.

  I had an awful, sneaking suspicion his bad mood was my fault.

  I tensed as he approached the counter but tried to smile and act naturally. “Hello, are you here for lunch or your usual coffee and muffin?”

  The smile slipped from my face as I saw what he was holding in his hand. My black scarf.

  Loretta and Monty chose that moment to appear. I could have done without the distraction. I stared straight ahead at Joe, ignoring both ghosts.

  “I think this is yours, Harper.” He placed the scarf on the counter.

  I leaned forward pretending to inspect the scarf. “Um, I don’t think so.”

  Joe’s forehead creased in a frown and a muscle clenched in his jaw. I had never seen him so angry. “Don’t lie to me, Harper.”

  What was I supposed to do? I didn’t want to lie to him, but I couldn’t exactly tell him the truth. He’d think I was crazy.

  “Yes, you really shouldn’t lie to Deputy McGrady. He is a law enforcement officer.” Loretta’s disapproving voice sounded behind me, and I longed to be able to turn around and tell her to mind her own business.

  “It’s just a black scarf. I suppose it could be mine.”

  “It smells of roses,” Joe stated. “It’s your perfume. I recognized it.”

  “Isn’t that sweet? He recognized your perfume. I think he is sweet on you,” Loretta said.

  I gritted my teeth and forced myself not to turn around. “Oh, well I suppose I must have lost it. Thank you very much for returning it.”

  Joe’s expression grew darker, and his eyes narrowed. He leaned on the counter, and his gaze never left my face. “Don’t you want to know where I found it?”

  Oh, no. I was done for. There was no way I was going to get out of this one.

  “Well, I’d like to know where you found it, even if Harper doesn’t,” Loretta said, hovering forward over the counter.

  Monty hushed her. “No, this isn’t good. I think she left her scarf at my house when we were looking for clues last night.”

  “You were looking for clues together? How come I never hear about the good stuff until it’s over?” I could just picture Loretta pouting as she said those words, but
I didn’t dare look at her to confirm it.

  I tried hard to tune out the conversation between Monty and Loretta, but it wasn’t easy.

  Joe continued without waiting for me to answer. “I’ll tell you where I found it. In Monty Brown’s house. Now, what would it be doing there?”

  Yes, I was right. I was well and truly in trouble.

  “Um, I have no idea.”

  Joe’s expression changed. Instead of looking furious, he now appeared hurt. “Are you really going to lie to me, Harper?”

  Oh, heck. Now, I felt guilty.

  I sighed and shook my head. “It’s mine. I must have left it there last night.”

  “Why were you there last night?”

  “I thought I might find something significant… Some clues or something,” I stammered awkwardly.

  Joe’s expression switched back to furious again. “Why would you do that? Why would you deliberately put yourself in danger and interfere with an active police investigation?”

  Of course, when he put it like that, it did sound ridiculous and dangerous. “Well, I didn’t think it would be dangerous. I wasn’t expecting to run into an intruder.”

  Joe held up a hand. “Wait. What? You were there at the same time as another intruder.”

  I bit down on my lower lip. I had just dug myself a deeper hole.

  “Yes, I went to see if I could find any clues from Monty’s house, but there was already somebody there. I didn’t get a good look at them because they were wearing a ski mask. I was only in the house for a few seconds.”

  “That doesn’t make it any better.”

  I nodded and tried to look repentant. It wasn’t hard. I hadn’t meant to interfere with a crime scene. I only wanted to conduct my own investigation and help Monty.

  “He doesn’t look very happy, Harper,” Loretta chipped in unhelpfully.

  I could see that for myself. I shot a furious glance over my shoulder.

  “I hope I’m not keeping you from anything important,” Joe said dryly, noting my distraction.