Murder & Macarons (A Stella Storm Cozy Witch Mystery Book 2)

by Amy Casey

  She took a sip back on her whisky.

  “And that’s a promise I intend to keep.”

  I tried to stretch an arm out, to mutter a few of my magical words; to end all of this.

  But then my mouth closed.

  My eyes sealed shut.

  Darkness surrounded me.

  Chapter 42

  I felt myself drifting into darkness; darkness stronger than any I’d had to pull myself back from before.

  I lost sense of where I was. I lost sense of what had happened. I knew something bad had happened—something that had torn things apart for me, spun my whole world upside down. But it was out of reach, somewhat. Like I couldn’t quite reach out and touch it.

  And I wasn’t sure I had the strength to, even if I’d wanted to.

  I was cold. And it wasn’t just the coldness that people were used to feeling. It wasn’t like being without a coat on a chilly day. It was a real coldness. And it felt like it was getting even icier by the second.

  I looked around, but all I could see was darkness. And just like the coldness, it felt like that darkness was getting darker. Like it was growing more and more progressively suffocating. And if it didn’t stop, it felt like it was going to swallow me up whole, leaving nothing left of me.

  I turned my head, tried to look around. Even though it was totally dark in here, it didn’t feel like I was alone. It didn’t feel like this was any kind of void. It actually felt like I was just a part of a greater location; a location I couldn’t see, that I couldn’t reach out to.

  But the more I pushed, the more I tried to reach out with my weak, withered body, the more it felt like I was getting closer to finding some kind of secret. Closer to some kind of truth.

  And then it hit me.

  Gina Carter.

  I’d been at Gina Carter’s house.

  I’d learned that she was the one who murdered her husband. Poisoned him with that lipstick.

  The very same stuff she’d so carefully put onto my hand when she shook it.

  And she’d spotted me biting my nails and my cuticles.

  Bloody observant. I’d give her that.

  As the dread started to settle in, I began to realise what a position I was in. I knew about Gina. I knew what she’d done. And sure, she might’ve had valid reasons for doing it. She might’ve had a genuine reason for wanting Andy Carter dead.

  But she was still a murderer. She was still a killer.

  And she’d made it abundantly clear that she was willing to go to any lengths in order to keep her secret… well, secret.

  I couldn’t risk someone else getting close to the truth. God forbid somebody worked out the secrets I’d worked out. Who knows what might happen to them, too…

  And yet I was stuck. I was stuck here and there was nothing I could do about it. I’d ingested the poison so there wasn’t any way out for me. There was only descending into this darkness. Heading further and further into nothingness…

  But then I saw something.

  She was above me. Her figure was blurred, and I couldn’t make out her face properly, but she was definitely there.

  And even though I couldn’t see her properly, even though I could only see her tall silhouette, an overwhelming wave of emotion poured over me.

  Because I knew deep down, in my delirious state, that this wasn’t just any silhouette.

  This was my mother’s silhouette.

  I felt tears building in my eyes. And I felt warmth in my chest. It might not be that warm, but compared to how the rest of me felt, it was like a furnace.

  And the more that furnace grew, the more it felt like I was getting closer to my mum. Like her figure was becoming more solid; less abstract.

  And the more that furnace grew, the more I began to realise she was whispering something.

  Leaning into my ear and whispering something…

  “Find the strength in yourself, Stella. Believe in yourself. Because you aren’t alone. You’re never alone. And you must never give up. You must keep on going.”

  I tried to reach out my hand but it was so hard. The burning was more intense than ever now.

  “I can’t,” I said.

  “No,” Mum said. She was so close I could almost reach out and touch her now. “You can. You can.”

  I didn’t believe her.

  I didn’t believe her because she wasn’t me and she didn’t know exactly how I felt.

  “You have to believe,” she said. “If you believe, you’ve already won.”

  I heard the voice in my head shouting at me that I couldn’t do this; that I was already as good as dead.

  I heard the voice in my head screaming at me, telling me to give up.

  I heard this voice threatening to take me over.

  And then when the burning and the darkness threatened to take me over completely… I opened my mouth.

  “No,” I said.

  The darkness stopped progressing.

  The coldness receded.

  The warmth grew stronger.

  “No!” I said.

  And as my mum started to fade away, I wanted to reach out. I wanted to cling on to her. Because she’d felt so close. She’d felt so real.

  But I knew what I had to do.

  I knew I had to keep on pushing.

  “No!” I shouted.

  My mum faded away completely. The warmth turned into burning. The burning was the opposite of the cold, so hot that I wasn’t sure whether I could keep going; whether I could stop myself.

  But I gritted my teeth and I felt all the strength through my body.

  And then I felt vomit surging up my throat, and my eyes opened.

  I spat out the vomit.

  Then I wiped my tearful, sticky eyes and turned to look around the brightness of the room.

  Gina Carter was looking down at me.

  Shock on her face. Surprise on her face.

  I wiped my mouth and I stood to my wobbly knees.

  I was awake.

  And it was time to stop Gina Carter.

  It was time for her secret to die.

  Once and for all.

  Chapter 43

  I stood up and stared at Gina, vomit dribbling down my chin, and I was well aware what an undead mess I no doubt looked.

  But hell. If it added to the fear factor then I couldn’t exactly complain.

  The room felt bright, especially after the dark void I’d found myself trapped in just moments earlier. I wasn’t sure how long I’d been there, in that near-death state. I wasn’t certain, but it didn’t feel like Gina had moved much, so perhaps that whole turn of events had taken place in a matter of seconds.

  And that could be why Gina was looking at me so hesitantly, now. As if she was just assuming this was part of the process. Like she was expecting me to just keel over at any moment, for the poison to take full hold.

  But as much as I wanted to topple over, as much as my knees felt like they were close to failing me, I held my ground.

  Because there was a different kind of strength running through me now. A deeper kind of strength.

  And I was going to make the most of it as well as I could.

  “You… you aren’t supposed to be alive still,” Gina said. And it was that calm way she said it that got to me. The same calm manner in which she’d told me about her husband’s murder. The same calm way she’d delivered the news that she’d poisoned me, too.

  And I knew right then that as much as Gina Carter had her own reasons for killing Andy Carter… she was a psychopath. She was a cold-blooded killer.

  And she’d kill again if anything got in her way.

  “Well, I’m not,” I said. Speaking was hard. I still felt like I was lacking in strength, somewhat. But I held my ground. I had to battle on. I had to invoke my magic. I had to stop Gina.

  “Well,” Gina said. “That’s a shame.”

  And then she reached into the drawer beside her and pulled out a knife. That cold look still on her face. Totally devoid of emot
ion.

  “I guess I’ll just have to try something else. I’d appreciate it if you stayed on the hard floor, though. It’ll be easier to clean up.”

  She walked over to me then. And as she walked, I found myself lifting my hands. I found myself summoning hard magic, muttering my strength spell. “Hardus Brachiatis.”

  But Gina kept on coming.

  And I didn’t feel any stronger.

  She stepped closer towards me, knife raised. I closed my eyes, as wary as I was about doing it. I held my ground. Because I could do this. I had to believe I could do this. I had to believe in myself. That was what Mum had told me. My doubt, it had been holding me back all this time. But not anymore. Not anymore.

  “Hardus Brachiatis!”

  But again, nothing happened.

  And Gina was still getting closer.

  I opened my eyes, then. Stared defeat in the face, just inches away from me. And as Gina got closer, I found myself accepting my fate. I found myself facing up to what was going to happen. I found myself embracing it rather than resisting it.

  Then, out of nowhere, I found myself smiling.

  “You should watch your step,” I said.

  Gina stopped. Frowned.

  And then she heard the cracking underneath her.

  The cracking that I had caused.

  She looked up at me, frown on her forehead. “What—”

  Then the floor opened up beneath her and sent her tumbling below.

  I stepped back, heart racing. I still couldn’t believe I’d managed to find the strength to invoke that magic so readily.

  But then I remembered what my mum had said. I remembered the words she’d uttered to me.

  I wasn’t alone. I was strong. If I just believed in myself, I could succeed. If I believed, I’d already won.

  And that’s exactly what I’d done.

  I stood to the edge of the hole in the floor. Started wondering how the hell I was going to explain this one.

  Then I got a more immediate concern.

  A more immediate concern in the form of Gina Carter grabbing my foot and dragging me down the hole with her.

  I tumbled down. Tried to make my fall somewhat more gracious. But I hit the rubble below head first, with a blow that made me want to pass out all over again.

  I lay there, my side aching, my ribs sore as hell. I rolled over. Tried to get back to my feet.

  Then I saw Gina Carter standing above me, piece of rubble in hand.

  Blood rolled down her cheeks. Her hair was matted and covered in dust and sweat. And for the first time in this entire exchange, she looked mad. Totally mad.

  “Goodbye, Stella,” she said. “I’d love to say it’s been a pleasure. But it hasn’t. It really hasn’t.”

  She brought the piece of rubble down at my head.

  She brought it down with a lot of force.

  Only…

  Well. Let’s just say I’d learned a new trick about rocks and faces.

  The rock flew back. Hit her on the head. And she’d brought it down so quick that it hit her own face with quite some force.

  Enough force to send her flying back, almost comedically.

  She fell on her back. Frowned at me, then tried to stand again.

  She went to throw the rock my way.

  But again, I grabbed her arm. Made her spin around.

  And at the end of that spin, the rock collided with her face again.

  I stood over Gina Carter, watching as her beauty drifted from her face in a rather painful manner.

  I watched, and I felt myself smile.

  “You had a chance, Gina,” I said. “A chance to confess for what you did. A chance to make amends. A chance to be different. And more than anything, you had a chance not to let your husband’s murder define you.”

  Another hit to her head.

  “But it will define you,” I said. “It will.”

  Gina looked up at me, pain and fear in her eyes.

  I stopped the rock hitting her head.

  “Now I just need to do something. Something that’ll keep you calm until the police come over.”

  I closed my eyes and then I cast one of the spells I’d pre-prepared before I got down here.

  And when I opened my eyes, I saw her right before me.

  She was small. She was white. And she had a red collar and lead around her neck.

  I grabbed the lead, which Gina—in her temporary new form—was desperately trying to get away from.

  “Come on, little rabbit,” I said. “It’s time to take you to a new home.”

  The rabbit with the collar struggled as I lifted it.

  But as I stood with it in my hands, I felt strength. Total strength.

  The light of my mother was shining down on me.

  And I knew right then I wasn’t alone.

  Chapter 44

  It was Sunday morning, and Witchy Delights was just as uneventful as it ever was on a Sunday morning.

  Except it wasn’t.

  No. It wasn’t empty like the usual Sunday.

  It was rammed.

  Because much to my despair, Mary had organised our very first “Witchy Taster Day”.

  It was a typical goofy event, really. People dressed up in somewhat offensive representations of witches. Fake little spells, usually food related. And kids. Lots of screaming kids. Which was of course ideal when I had a headache and I’d barely slept.

  But hell. I didn’t have any worries on my plate. Not really. Not anymore. Not now the Andy Carter case had been resolved. Not now that case was closed, once and for all.

  I looked around at the customers, the smell of coffee and sweet treats strong in the air. I saw Margaret White and her kids. I saw Laptop Guy still working away at… well, whatever it was he worked away at. I saw Joan talking a single dad to death, who looked like he was desperately trying to make an escape.

  And I saw someone else, too.

  Steve was sitting at the back of the cafe. He was supping on a coffee, looking very uncomfortable with his surroundings. I’d asked him to come down to help with a few things on his day off, and I hadn’t really needed him yet. But when he caught eye contact with me, he simply lifted his coffee cup, and I nodded back at him.

  I’d turned Gina Carter back to her normal form as soon as I got her down to the police station. I hadn’t explained to Steve what had happened or how I’d done it. But I’d told him the story and I’d provided him with the crucial evidence of the poisonous lipstick, which toxicology now confirmed.

  I kept on looking around the room, and even though there was a sense of normality back in Goosridge, it still felt strange. Chatty Charlie and Stephen Hankinson had left town together. I could’ve pressed charges on both of them, but at the end of the day, they were both caught up in somewhat abusive situations, and they’d wanted a break. A fresh start.

  And sure. They might have lied to me. One of them might’ve tried to kill me.

  But what was it Mary always said? I could be a bit of a nightmare. So I guess I just had to deal with it.

  I thought back to my meeting with Chatty Charlie in her flat all those days ago. I remembered the sadness she’d had about her. And I wondered… was that sadness genuine? Or was it just a ruse; a ruse to cover up the fact that suspicion would be on her if her plans to rob Andy and escape with Stephen came to fruition?

  I couldn’t be sure. But I did have a feeling about one thing.

  Charlie grew to genuinely like Andy. She warmed to him. She saw through his flaws, and she felt tremendously guilty about what she’d been planning to do.

  And when Andy was killed, her guilt only magnified

  I looked through the window, and I saw Herbert Young’s old offices. The blinds were closed, and some press were standing outside it. I smiled. Herbert had finally been arrested for corruption. His drug operation had come to a halt. And although he’d threatened me—although he’d told me that he was far from done with me—I wasn’t afraid.

  Because I
knew now I was stronger than him.

  I believed I was stronger than him.

  I looked up at the sun and I smiled as it beamed down on the streets of Goosridge. Because for the first time in a long while, it actually felt like there was a light at the end of the tunnel.

  I walked away from the counter, needing a break from the heat and the noise of the cafe.

  When I stepped through into the staff area, I sensed the presence right away.

  I stopped. Sighed. “If you’re in here, you might as well show yourself.”

  Thomas’ invisibility dropped. He smiled at me. “You’re getting better at detecting invisibility; I’ll give you that.”

  I shook my head, walked over to the fridge and grabbed a milkshake. Lazy, I know, especially when I was so good at putting things together, but everyone deserved a lazy spell from time to time. “You’re brave showing your face around here. In case you forgot, you were a prisoner.”

  “And in case you forgot, you did aid break a prisoner free.”

  I took a sip of the milkshake. “Touché.”

  We were quiet for a few moments. But I sensed there was something on Thomas’ mind. Something he wanted to tell me.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  Thomas sighed and stepped towards me. “The sheriff over in Nightthistle. He’s just passed away. And we’re looking for a replacement.”

  I looked at him blankly. “And?”

  “And… I’d like to recommend you train for sheriff of Nightthistle.”

  I blinked a few times, not really understanding, not really taking it in. “But I… I…”

  “It’d be a learning process, sure. There’d be a lot of steps to take. A lot of new things to get used to. Things beyond your wildest dreams. But I think you’ve got a rare intuition that could be good for Nightthistle. And besides. If you don’t make the cut, you’ll still be a fully trained cop, which means you’ll be able to keep the peace.”

  I pictured returning to Nightthistle. Pictured that idyllic small town with its delicious sweet smells and its peaceful, laid-back way of life. And as much as I longed for that existence…

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “But I can’t.”