by Morgana Best
Before he could say any more, I clapped my hand over my mouth. “He’s headed straight to my aunts! He thinks they captured his brother.”
“Why would he think that?” Lucas asked me. His tone sounded innocent enough, but I didn’t know if there was more to it.
“He last saw his brother when they both murdered Talos Sparkes,” I said. “He confessed to that. He said his brother put an explosive device in your uncle’s car when he was in northern India.”
I heard Lucas’s sharp intake of breath.
“He must’ve left his brother behind when he killed Talos Sparkes,” I said. “I suppose he rushed off because he knew my aunts would call in the murder, and he didn’t see his brother after that, so he figured my aunts had caught him. You know, given it all happened at Mugwort Manor.”
“But that makes no sense,” Lucas said evenly. “Even assuming your aunts had somehow managed to catch a murderer, why wouldn’t they hand him over to the police?”
I nodded vigorously. “Exactly! Either Owen’s gone completely mad, or there’s something he didn’t want to tell me.” It sounded lame to me, but I hoped Lucas bought it. “I’ve got to call the police.”
Lucas pulled his phone from his pocket and handed it to me. “Call them back. I have Detective Anderson’s number in my contacts.”
I called Detective Anderson, and mercifully, he answered at once. I told him that Owen had kidnapped me and locked me in the basement in his home. I told him that Owen was headed for my aunts, thinking that they had his brother, Ethan, and Owen had confessed to me that they had killed both Henry Ichor and Talos Sparkes. I told him he must hurry to Mugwort Manor, because Owen was headed there now, convinced that my aunts were holding his brother hostage.
Mercifully, the detective didn’t ask me any questions, but said he would speak to me later.
I cast a quick glance at Lucas. “I hope they get there in time.”
Lucas didn’t respond. The car was travelling fast, but I wasn’t scared of the speed. I was only worried what Owen would do to my aunts.
When we reached Mugwort Manor, the detective’s car was outside, as were two marked police vehicles. Lucas and I hurried up the flagstone path. A uniformed officer tried half-heartedly to stop us entering the house. “Linda Williams is in the car,” Lucas said. “She has a head injury, and the ambulance is on its way.” The officer nodded and rushed over to the car.
I was at the top of the flagstone path when I heard the ambulance siren, but I hurried inside. I was overwhelmed with relief to see that all my aunts appeared unharmed.
Both Owen and the man I now knew to be Ethan lay on the floor, unconscious. “What happened?” I said to no one in particular.
Aunt Dorothy hurried over to me and enveloped me in a giant bear hug. “Valkyrie, are you are all right? We were so worried.”
“Owen kidnapped me,” I said, once again fighting back the tears. “I think he might be doing drugs or something. He confessed to murdering Talos Sparkes and Henry Ichor, and he said he left his brother here after he murdered Talos. He thought you were holding his brother here in an attempt to blackmail him. He wanted to trade me for him.” I wiggled my eyebrows as I said it.
“How strange,” Aunt Agnes said. “We heard someone ringing the doorbell and we thought it was you, Valkyrie. When we opened the door, both men rushed inside. They didn’t tell us what they wanted, because they were yelling at each other and then I’m afraid they became silent.”
“Did they hurt you?” I asked in horror.
“No, dear, they were punching each other,” Aunt Dorothy said. “We didn’t know what to do, so we called the detectives. By the time they came, the men had punched each other so much that they knocked each other out.”
“Oh.” I realised that of course the aunts had invented the whole story. It was obvious that they had somehow managed to overpower Owen, and then brought out the other Shifter as a cover for the police.
“So none of you were hurt?” I asked them.
They all shook their heads.
“We’ll have to take your statements later,” Detective Anderson said. “All you ladies have had the most horrible shock, so I think you should all sit down and have a nice cup of tea first.” He gestured to the living room. “Constable Walker, would you make these ladies some tea?”
The constable hurried in the direction of the kitchen. I felt sorry for her, given that her police partner was a Yowie Shifter. Not that she knew that, of course. I hesitated. Or did she? There was more to this town than I had ever suspected. I would have to keep a close eye on that woman, especially as she still could not keep her eyes off Lucas. I was only glad he didn’t offer to help her in the kitchen.
“How did he kidnap you?” Detective Banks asked me. “That is, if you’re up to talking yet.”
I nodded. “When I realised that Marius Jones was robbing the house, I called Owen. After the police arrested Marius, I told Owen that I’d seen Marius acting furtively in the sand dunes, and he asked me to show him where. He overpowered me, and the next thing I knew, I woke up in the wine cellar on what I assume was his property.”
Detective Anderson came into the room, talking on his phone. “Would that be the wine cellar with a large barred door?”
I nodded. “Yes, that’s the room he locked me in. He kept the key on the opposite wall—it was a huge metal one, an antique, I suppose, like the door. I threw a few bricks at the key hook to break it and some cricket balls, too, and then I managed to dislodge the key and drag it to me with a heavy rope.”
“That was very resourceful of you,” Lucas said. I thought I detected a note of admiration in his voice, but that might have been wishful thinking. Perhaps it was simply sarcasm.
“And then Lucas found me,” I said, my face heating as I remembered the almost-kiss.
“Do you have any idea why Ethan and Owen Carteron suddenly turned up at your house?” Detective Banks asked my aunts.
“No, I didn’t know the man was the sergeant’s brother until you told us.” Aunt Agnes was a picture of wide eyed innocence, and I half believed her, even though I knew what was really going on.
I risked a glance at Lucas. His face was impassive. I wondered if he was swallowing their story, because it sure seemed like the detectives were.
“Was his brother on drugs, too?” I asked them.
Both detectives turned to focus their attention on me. “Drugs?” Banks said. “What do you mean?”
“I just assumed Owen was doing drugs,” I said. “He was raving at me and speaking nonsense. What he said didn’t make any sense at all, so I figured he was on drugs.”
“You may well be right,” Banks said. “We’ll soon know, once we get the results of the drug screening back.”
I saw Agnes and Maude exchange glances, and the corners of their lips twitched. I suspected they had slipped both men something, no doubt as a cover story.
One thing was still puzzling me. “What was that dog hair you found around the tree?”
“Oh that.” The detective waved his hand dismissively. “That was from a wolf.” The constable had returned, and handed me a cup of tea. I snatched my hand back and she nearly dropped it.
“A wolf, you say? I didn’t think there were any wolves in Australia.” I clutched my throat in fear. I was thinking of werewolves. Owen and his brother were both Yowie shifters. Did the wolf hair found near the tree mean there were other Shifters, specifically werewolves, in town too?
“Nothing to worry about, Miss Jasper,” Detective Anderson said. “It was just a ruse, intended to throw us off the track. Owen and his brother had obviously collected some hair from a zoo and put it there to confuse the forensics tests. It doesn’t make any sense, but perhaps the drugs drove them out of their minds.”
“They went to some lengths, then,” I said, noticing my aunts were avoiding looking at me.
“They did indeed,” the detective said, “including how they managed to drag that man to the roof. I know there we
re two of them, but…” His voice trailed away and he wiped his forehead. “Maybe we’ll never know.”
My three aunts sat opposite me, sipping tea delicately, looking for all the world like three elderly ladies. They were right; no one would suspect they were up to anything. Society did underestimate elderly ladies—it was the perfect cover.
“I never did trust Sergeant Carteron,” I said to no one in particular.
“That was just because he wouldn’t let you order dessert,” Aunt Agnes said.
“You can never trust a man who doesn’t order dessert,” I said lightly, feeling some of my courage return. I wanted to have a glass of Witches’ Brew, only that wouldn’t be appropriate in front of the detectives, and would only serve to make Lucas suspicious. I didn’t know how much he knew. The aunts didn’t think Lucas was a werewolf or a vampire, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t.
I wondered what would happen to the Witches’ Brew. Owen had said it was by far the superior product in the whole of Australia. Did that mean my aunts would have to import some for our use? Or could we find an Australian winery that made half decent Witches’ Brew?
I certainly hoped so. What if there was a shortage of Witches’ Brew, and vampires had to go back to biting people? I shuddered.
“Are you all right, Miss Jasper?”
I looked up at Detective Banks. “I was just letting my imagination run away with me,” I said truthfully.
“Well then, when you ladies are up to it, we’ll take your statements.”
“Can I just get cleaned up first, and then my aunts and I will come down to the station?” I asked.
Detective Banks agreed readily enough. I was relieved; my aunts and I needed to get our story straight.
The detectives made to leave, and I was afraid Lucas would question us closely before my aunts and I had time to compare notes. My aunts must have thought so too, because Aunt Agnes stood up. “Off you go, Valkyrie. Hurry, we don’t want to keep the nice detectives waiting.”
I shot her a grateful look. I hurried it out of the room, pausing only to shoot Lucas a surreptitious look. I avoided eye contact, the memory of that almost-kiss still fresh on my mind, and hurried up the stairs. I knew he would likely ask my aunts questions, but I was sure they were more than a match for him. After all, they had been doing this for years, centuries even.
Chapter 23
I was sitting in the garden at the back of Mugwort Manor, stroking the black cat. My aunts had prepared cheese and olive platters, and had invited Lucas O’Callaghan for an evening drink. They said it was to thank him for saving me, and although I had pointed out that I had saved myself, they ignored me.
The air was thick. It was a hot evening after all, and a storm was brewing, judging by the black clouds gathering volume at an alarming rate, yet the humidity was low. There were no flies, so that was something to be grateful for. A gentle breeze moved the garish blue umbrella above my head, and I wondered if my aunts had assembled it correctly.
I was in two minds about Lucas coming over. The time since my arrival had been eventful, to say the least. I wanted to lie on the couch for the rest of the day, eating junk food and drinking Witches’ Brew. The police questioning had been easy, considering that my aunts and I had ensured that our stories matched before we had given our statements to the police.
All had gone smoothly. Of course, Owen and his brother were not going to admit that they were Shifters, so they were remaining tight-lipped, or so I had been given to understand.
Aunt Agnes’s voice broke me from my thoughts. “I’m so proud of you, Valkyrie, keeping your head and releasing yourself from the prison. You always did say there was something funny about the sergeant.”
I nodded, turning my face towards the cool breeze.
“Here comes Mr O’Callaghan now,” Aunt Maude said over her knitting.
“Call me Lucas, please,” he said.
I fidgeted in my seat. I still felt embarrassed around him, although I told myself that his lips had moved towards mine just as much as mine had moved towards his.
Lucas handed Aunt Agnes a bottle of wine. She thanked him, and added, “Will the winery have to close now?”
He looked taken aback. “Why would you say that?”
“I meant to say, this is special label wine. I suppose you can’t produce any more special label wine, what with your uncle and the wine scientist both murdered.”
Lucas took the seat offered to him at the big round table opposite me. “Oh no, that won’t be a problem. I’m a wine scientist, too.”
“You are?” The words were out before I could stop them. All three aunts shot me a warning look. It could have been worse—had I been drinking wine when he disclosed that little gem, I would’ve coughed it right up, then and there.
Lucas did not appear to have noticed. “Oh yes, I did a degree in wine science in Queensland.”
Oh, so that’s what he meant. He meant a normal wine scientist, not a witch-vampire wine scientist. “Uncle Henry left me detailed instructions on how to make the special label wine,” he continued. “It was all in his will.”
I frowned. The aunts had said that no one would be able to produce Witches’ Brew unless that person was actually a witch-vampire. I thought it strange that Henry Ichor had left instructions. Was Lucas lying? I would have to ask my aunts about that later. Meanwhile, they were going about their business, pretending simply to be gracious hosts. They were gracious hosts, but I was sure they had an ulterior motive for inviting Lucas for drinks. Maybe they wanted to extract information from him about the wine.
I looked up to see Lucas nodding. “Yes, I’ll have to bring one of the first bottles of the new wine I make over to you, and you can tell me if there’s any difference,” he said.
“I wouldn’t be able to tell,” Aunt Agnes said. “One wine tastes the same as the other to us, but Pepper would be able to give you an opinion. Young people tend to drink more these days, don’t they?”
I nodded politely, not really listening. I wondered if Lucas was, in fact, a witch-vampire, hiding his identity from us. Still, I supposed he had no alternative. After all, he couldn’t go around shaking hands with strangers and saying, “Pleased to meet you. I’m a witch-vampire, are you?”
I dismissed that fanciful notion and chuckled. For all I knew he was a werewolf, or some other sort of Shifter. I looked up to see everyone looking at me. “What are you laughing at, Valkyrie?” Aunt Agnes asked me.
“Nothing,” I said with a smile. “I was just thinking how nice it was to be here, relaxing in the evening, smelling the salt air, and drinking good wine with friends. Oh, rather with friends who are my aunts, and a guest.” I didn’t want Lucas to think I considered him my friend. And he wasn’t a friend—he was simply an object of desire and a rather rude, conceited man at that. I pulled my eyes away from his broad shoulders and that stubble running across his handsome jaw.
“And a cat,” Lucas added, bending down to stroke the cat.
I jumped and tore my eyes from him. “I’ll have to give her a name,” I said. “I can’t keep calling her The Cat.”
“She already has a name,” Aunt Dorothy said.
I looked up sharply. “You never told me that!”
“Didn’t I?” she said absently, and then took a sip of wine.
“Well, what’s her name?” I prompted.
“How should I know?” Aunt Dorothy sipped more wine. “She hasn’t told me,” she said after an interval.
“But you said…” I stopped and scratched my head.
“She surely has a name, but she hasn’t told us what it is,” she said.
I leaned back in my seat. I thought Lucas was trying not to laugh, but did he ever laugh? The man was an enigma. I wondered if my aunts actually were eccentric, or whether it was all part of their act.
Still, I considered that it didn’t matter. My aunts were family. Even if they were centuries older than I was, we had a bond. I was happy and secure for the first time in years.
Sure, I was a vampire, and my aunts were vampires, but I wouldn’t let a little thing like that worry me. I was certain I would be happy in Lighthouse Bay.
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Next Book In This Series
Witches’ Secrets
Witches’ Secrets
Practising witch, Pepper Jasper, thinks she’s had more shocks than anyone should have in one lifetime, yet more sinister secrets lie in wait for her. And when one of the guests is murdered, Pepper discovers a Shifter Wolf is staying at the Manor.
Can Pepper remain hidden from those who wish her harm?
In the cozy Australian town of Lighthouse Bay, the weather heats up, but will the romance?
Lucas O’Callaghan is hiding something, and Pepper is determined to find out what it is.
As trouble brews, Pepper races to sift through the clues, and does her best to stay alive.
Also by Morgana Best
Miss Spelled (The Kitchen Witch Book 1)
Amelia Spelled has had a bad week. Her boyfriend dumps her when she inadvertently gives him food poisoning; her workplace, a telecommunications centre, fires all their staff as they are outsourcing offshore, and she is evicted due to smoke damage resulting from her failed attempts at baking. Amelia thinks her luck has changed when she inherits her aunt’s store and beautiful Victorian house.
Yet has Amelia jumped out of the frying pan into the fire? The store is a cake store, and her aunt was a witch. To add to the mix, the house has secrets all of its own.
When a man is murdered in the cake store, will Amelia be able to cook up a way to solve the crime? Or will her spells prove as bad as her baking?
