A Trick for a Treat (A Wayfair Witches' Cozy Mystery #3)

by A. A. Albright

We decided to question Emily and Nan inside Caulfield’s, just for now. Any evidence was purely circumstantial. Anyone could have planted the chocolate, and it hadn’t even been tested yet.

  We asked Nan all of the straightforward questions. She didn’t think she’d seen the werewolf before, but so many people frequented Caulfield’s that she couldn’t be sure. As for the chocolate itself, that was purely Emily’s department. A new endeavour, along with her ice cream. It was selling well, and so Nan left Emily to it. Emily made it and stocked it, Nan only sold it. And she’d sold a fair few boxes that day, too. She wrote down what customers she could remember selling to, but we probably would have heard by now if someone else had died of Jinx poisoning.

  As for Jasper Jaunt, Nan had no idea who he was. ‘A lot of cocky young werewolves come in and out of the place,’ she said. ‘I wouldn’t know a rock star from a piece of rock, to be honest.’

  ‘So Emily’s never mentioned this lad?’ my mother asked.

  ‘No.’ Nan smiled. ‘My Emily’s as shy as they come. Twenty-six next birthday, she’ll be, and she’s never been on a date in her life. I seriously doubt she’d look at some bass player, whatever that is.’

  Emily sat across from us next. She was wringing her fingers, and her skin had grown pale. ‘I don’t know anything,’ she said before we’d asked a thing. ‘I swear to Gretel, I don’t know a thing.’

  Gretel looked up from her work – currently, she was struggling to close the evidence bag that contained the offending chocolate. ‘Someone call me?’

  Finn shot her an all-enduring smile. ‘She wasn’t calling you, Gretel. She was just referring to the other Gretel. You know, your namesake.’

  Gretel’s face turned blank. She had taken off her helmet at some stage, despite Finn’s insistence that it wasn’t impeding the photographs. Her hair was long and black, plaited down her back. She was pretty – if a little vacant behind the eyes. ‘My what?’

  ‘Never mind.’ Finn shook his head. ‘Just go back to bagging up the evidence, Gretel.’ He returned his attention to Emily. ‘You were saying you didn’t know a thing. I can’t believe that. You know quite a few things, as far as I can tell. How to make cakes, chocolates, ice cream. A fabulous cup of coffee.’ He raised his cup.

  Her lashes fluttered and she began to pull a napkin apart. ‘You know what I mean. I don’t know anything about all of this. I never saw that werewolf before today. And I’m not going out with Jasper Jaunt.’

  ‘So you know who he is then?’ Finn questioned.

  My mother sat forward. ‘Have you read the papers lately, Emily?’

  Emily shook her head. ‘No, why?’

  ‘I just wondered if you heard that Jasper’s gone missing. Kidnapped, apparently.’

  Emily finished destroying the first napkin and started on another. ‘Really? I hadn’t heard that.’

  ‘So what did you think his girlfriend was talking about then?’ I asked. ‘I heard her ask you if you were hiding him upstairs.’

  Emily’s lower lip began to shake. ‘You know perfectly well he’s not upstairs. The Peacemakers have gone through the whole flat with their great big dirty boots.’ She glared at Finn.

  My stars, this was hard. I liked Emily so much, although I didn’t know her very well. Judging by how she looked at Max, I guessed that Jasper Jaunt definitely wasn’t her type. But she was hiding something. I felt it in my bones. ‘Nan’s already told us that you’re the only one who makes that chocolate and the only one who stocks it,’ I said. ‘Can you tell me, did you see anyone else hovering around the counter today? Anyone who could have planted the chocolate or messed around with it?’

  For the first time since the interview began, Emily looked like she was concentrating hard. ‘I don’t think so. But I really couldn’t say for sure. You saw what it was like in here today. We were rushed off our feet.’

  I sighed. ‘I know. Hopefully Christine’s scrying bowl will turn something up.’ I raised a brow at my mother. ‘That’s all my questions for now. What about you?’

  My mother gave Emily’s hand a kind squeeze. ‘Go on, love. Have yourself a nice cup of chamomile tea and calm your nerves.’

  ≈

  Things wound up fairly quickly after that. My mother and Christine went home to scry. Ronnie rushed off to her lab at Crooked College with all of Caulfield’s food. The healer disappeared with the werewolf’s body, and poor Nan and Emily were left with a messy shop and two Peacemakers to stand guard all night. They were told it was for their protection, but I doubt they bought that story.

  As we walked out of the café a short while later, Finn moved closer to me. ‘This boyfriend of yours. The weredog. He trustworthy?’

  ‘Argh! Why does everyone keep calling him my boyfriend? He’s not. But yes. I trust him with my life.’

  ‘Fine.’ Finn nodded briefly. ‘I’ll tell my lot I’ve questioned him and the girl. What’s her name again?’

  ‘Lassie,’ I supplied. I saw his lips quiver. ‘Do not laugh.’

  ‘I’m not.’ He clearly was. ‘I’ve just got something caught in my windpipe. Excuse me a moment.’ He turned away, laughed for a good three seconds, then turned back to me. ‘Sorry. As I was saying ... I’ll tell my lot I’ve already questioned Max and Lassie and they’re in the clear. The last thing we need is your friends becoming scapegoats. Otherwise we’ll never get to the bottom of this.’

  I looked up at him, studying him carefully. ‘I can’t tell if you’re for real or if this is just some elaborate plot to bring about my coven’s downfall. But it doesn’t really matter to me if it is.’ I placed my hands on my hips and held his eyes with mine. ‘Because I’ll tell you this, Little Finny Plimpton. The Wayfairs aren’t going anywhere. We would do what we do for no money.’

  He tilted his head to the side. ‘From what I’ve heard, you nearly do.’ He grinned, put his helmet on and walked towards his unit. ‘Adieu for now, Wanda Wayfair. But here’s to a future filled with many co-interrogations.’ He bowed low, sat into his armoured carriage and, with a flash of light, the vehicle disappeared.

  6. Staring at the Precipice

  Even though it felt like I’d been stuck at Caulfield’s for ages, it was just after five when I got home. Christine and my mother were gathered around the table, gazing into two bowls.

  ‘Anything?’ I asked hopefully.

  ‘Nothing yet. It’s a lot to sift through,’ said Christine. ‘We don’t want to miss anything, but at the same time we don’t know what we’re looking for, so ... we just have to look at everything.’

  I heard a jangling noise, and looked up to see Max clipping Wolfie’s lead to his collar.

  ‘Did Lassie get home okay?’ I asked.

  He nodded. ‘She’s a bit unsettled, but she’s got her flatmates to look after her. I’m just taking Wolfie out for a walk. Wanna come?’

  ‘Sure. I’ll just grab a coat. It’s getting chilly.’

  As I shrugged my coat on, Melissa appeared in the room.

  ‘Where are you going?’ she demanded with a panicked glint in her eyes. ‘You can’t go out now! I need a chaperone.’

  Max and I shared a look of bemusement. ‘What? Why?’

  As soon as we asked, the front doorbell began to ring.

  Melissa groaned. ‘That is why. I finally had that date with Callum. Lunch in Dublin today. It went spiffingly, thanks for asking. He swears that Jasper’s disappearance isn’t a publicity stunt. Says he has no idea where Jasper is, and he thinks someone left that note just to stop the Peacemakers searching for him. Knowing that my lovely coven-sister would want to know more, I asked for a second date.’ She gave me a theatrical scowl. ‘A date on which you will be accompanying me.’ She turned to Max. ‘And you, too. The more buffers between me and Callum, the better.’

  Melissa marched to the door and pulled it open. ‘Callum!’ She beamed at him. ‘I can’t believe you really came.’ She giggled and gave him a shy gaze, looking at him from beneath long, fluttering lashes. I’d have to
get some pointers later on, because even I was beginning to believe she had a thing for the drummer.

  ‘Of course I came.’ He puffed out his chest. ‘You don’t think enough of yourself, Melissa. You’re all I’ve been thinking of since we had lunch today. So are you all ready to go?’

  Wolfie lunged for Callum, licking him all over.

  ‘I missed you, Callum,’ said the dog, while the drummer stroked his back.

  ‘I missed you too, buddy.’

  ‘Where’s Jasper? I miss Jasper.’

  Callum sighed. ‘I miss him too, buddy. I miss him too.’ He smiled at me. ‘Melissa told me what a Jasper fan you are, Wanda, so I know you’ll love this tour of his house.’

  Melissa pretended to fix the collar of my coat and whispered, ‘Play along.’

  ‘Well, I’m definitely a huge Jasper fan,’ I said. ‘I mean, you’re great too, Callum. But I just love the way Jasper plays that ... bass?’

  Callum whistled. ‘He’s sick isn’t he? Man, me and him really get our rhythm on when we’re jamming.’

  ‘Is it safe, though?’ I asked. ‘His house, I mean. Wasn’t there something weird going on there the day we met you?’

  Callum gave me a condescending smile. ‘No need to worry, sweet cheeks. A few of his favourite hot tubs got destroyed. But whatever was causing the house to fall apart is long over and done with.’

  ‘Was it a spell?’ Melissa pressed.

  He shrugged. ‘It’s doubtful, beautiful. The witches love Jasper’s house even more than the werewolf chicks do. It was probably subsidence. I mean, it’s on a cliff, isn’t it? So ... who wants to sit up front next to me?’

  A shiny new convertible was parked at the end of the driveway.

  ‘Wolfie could do with the walk,’ said Max. ‘You guys can go in the car if you want.’ Judging by the tone in his voice, he wanted to put as much distance between himself and Callum as possible. I couldn’t tell if it was because he hated the werewolf, or if it had more to do with the green-eyed monster. Wolfie was giving Callum a lot of love.

  Melissa linked her arm in Callum’s. ‘I just love walking on autumn evenings, though, don’t you? So romantic.’

  Callum gulped. ‘Yeah. Yeah we should definitely walk. I’ll pick the car up later.’

  ‘Bit dark out there, though,’ said Max with a scowl. ‘I wouldn’t want Callum to trip over his ego.’

  I scowled right back at him, waved my fingers and said, ‘Solas.’ A bright ball of light hovered ahead of us. ‘Good thing you’re with witches then. Isn’t it?’

  ≈

  We were half way into October now, and all of the businesses and houses we passed were lit up with Jack O’Lanterns. Halloween was our most important holiday, and we dragged it out for as long as possible.

  ‘I see some people are going modern this year.’ Melissa nodded to the carved pumpkins outside the nearest house.

  It was traditional for witches to carve turnips in Ireland, but pumpkins were growing more and more popular.

  ‘I like them,’ said Max. ‘They’ve been in the human enclaves for years. With the turnip scrapings you just get soup or ... mashed turnip. With the pumpkin you get yummy soup, yummy pie, yummy seeds, yummy roast pumpkin.’

  ‘I like pumpkin muffins,’ said Wolfie. ‘Can we have pumpkin muffins for Halloween, Max?’ The dog looked at Max with pleading eyes.

  ‘Of course we can. We can have anything you like.’

  Callum snorted. ‘Don’t get too loved up there, doggies. Jasper’ll be back any day now, and he won’t be letting the dog eat sissy muffins for Halloween. It’ll be steak and sausages all the way.’

  Melissa forced a smile on her face. ‘I love how much you care about Jasper. Oh, smell that. Isn’t the sea air delicious this evening?’

  Callum wrinkled his nose. ‘Smells a bit fishy.’ Seeing Melissa’s expression, he did a quick three-sixty. ‘But I like fishy. Fishy is good. If you like it, I like it, Melissa.’

  I linked my arm in Max’s. ‘Not to worry,’ I whispered. ‘Once we’ve had a look around the house we never need to see this guy again.’

  Max huffed a little, but hurried his steps, and we reached Jasper’s house in record time. I couldn’t hear the sound of smashing windows, so Callum must have been right – whatever had been destroying Jasper’s house had come to an end.

  Callum skipped up the steps and stuck a key in the lock.

  ‘You really are close, then,’ said Melissa. ‘I mean, you must be to have a key to his house.’

  ‘We’re close, yeah,’ said Callum, as he pushed open the front door. ‘But I’m not the only one with a key. I don’t think Jasper even knows how many keys he’s handed out at this stage.’

  ‘I know how many,’ said Wolfie. ‘I saw him give them all. Luscious Lips has a key. Dollface has one. You have one. Long Legs has one. Silky Hair has one–’

  ‘Yeah, we get the message mate.’ Callum said, interrupting what was sure to be a very long list. ‘So where would you like the tour to start? Most fans love to see the music room upstairs. The bathrooms are pretty impressive too. There’s still a couple of good hot tubs ready to go, if you know what I mean.’

  I glanced over into the main living room. It had been tidied up, but there were still slashed cushions and paintings, and a cold breeze blew in through the many broken windows. I could already see the notebook – how the hell had the Peacemakers left that behind? – sitting there on what was left of the glass-topped coffee table. But if we showed our hand with Callum so early, we couldn’t use him again later on.

  ‘Upstairs would be great,’ I lied. ‘I’d love to see the music room. The thought of holding one of Jasper’s instruments in my hands ... I’m getting chills just thinking about it.’

  As Callum led the way, Max whispered, ‘I’d stick to looking instead of touching. Just saying.’

  I shuddered. ‘I was trying not to think about it, but thanks for filling my head with such vivid images.’

  Melissa and I did our best to act impressed by everything Callum showed us. Difficult, when we were being shown beds with animal-print covers and champagne fridges next to them, and stripper poles as the centrepiece of each room. Oh, and don’t get me started on the jokes Callum made about how all of the baths and showers were big enough to share. I kind of felt sorry for the guy. Every time he reverted to type, he’d suddenly remember he was trying to woo Melissa, and instantly backtrack.

  ‘Not that I’d know, of course, about sharing baths or showers.’ He cleared his throat. ‘Never come to Jasper’s parties, so I don’t.’

  You would think that once we made it back downstairs it would have been safer. But there were yet more stripper poles. In the living room, in the study, next to the swimming pool, next to the dining room table, next to the kitchen table. There were swings hanging from every single ceiling (and I like swings, don’t get me wrong, but I probably don’t enjoy them in quite the same way as Jasper’s party guests). There was a clothes rack filled with tiny bikinis in the changing room that adjoined the swimming pool. A sign above the rail said: Only to be worn by my most attractive female guests.

  By the time we made it back to the living room, I was thoroughly grossed out. Callum poured us all some expensive champagne, while Max began to bag up some of Wolfie’s toys.

  ‘And my bed, too,’ said Wolfie. ‘Can we take my bed, too? I like the one you got me, Max. But this one has all my old smells on it.’

  Callum handed Max a glass of bubbly and said, ‘Like I said earlier – don’t get too close to the dog. Because when Jasper gets back, you ain’t gonna win that tug of love, mate.’

  I chose that moment to pocket the notebook, and drag Max out onto the deck.

  It was practically on the edge of the cliff. There was another hot tub outside (because apparently you can’t have too many hot tubs) and some steps leading all the way down to a private cove. We could see right across to another clifftop on the other side.

  ‘The Precipice of Doom,
’ said Wolfie in a shaky voice. ‘Jasper thinks it’s funny. We live on Hope Cliff, staring at the Precipice of Doom.’

  ‘What’s it really called?’ I wondered.

  ‘The Precipice of Doom,’ said Melissa, walking out behind us. ‘Honestly.’ She bit her lip, looking at me in the same weird way she had been doing a lot. ‘I guess there’s quite a bit you don’t remember, isn’t there? We were always told to stay well away from the area. The ground is ... a bit funny. No matter how many spells the town put upon it, it never holds steady. That’s where witches go to say goodbye to the big bad world.’

  As she spoke, the name was back in my mind as though I’d always known it. That seemed to be the way things went for me, these days. During my time in the human world, I had forced everything about my magical background to some cobwebby corner of my mind. But it seemed like all it took was a quick dusting, and there it was again. ‘Oh yeah. There was a creepy house over there, wasn’t there?’ I peered across, and sure enough there were some lights visible on the other cliff. ‘Isn’t it dangerous to live there, though? I mean ... it’s called the Precipice of Doom. Not the Perfectly Safe and Stable Precipice.’

  ‘Seemed safe enough any time I was there,’ said Max. ‘The house is set way back from the danger point. Lassie’s sister owns it.’

  Melissa and I both gaped at him. ‘Lassie’s what?’

  ‘Lassie’s sister.’ Max shrugged. ‘Well, half-sister, really. Her name is Maeve. She’s lovely. We had lunch with her the other day, actually.’ He pulled out his mobile phone and brought up a picture of him, Lassie, and a tall young woman with bobbed blonde hair. They were all laughing together, sharing an enormous margarita. ‘I would have invited you, Wanda, but you had a lesson that day.’

  We were both still staring in shock at Max when we heard Callum’s voice call, ‘Hey, Melissa!’

  He was standing at the sliding door, licking his lips and looking Melissa up and down. ‘I thought you might want to see me pound the drums. I’m really good.’