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

by A. A. Albright

  I stood up, looking down at Will. He had fallen to the floor, but he was recovering fast, standing up and staring fiercely at Gabriel like he was about to return the favour.

  Our drinks were spilling over the floor, having been dropped by Gabriel before he threw the punch. Will found his feet, wiped Superbrew from his face, and got ready to swing.

  ‘Stop!’ I rushed out of my seat, stood in the middle of them and glared at them both. ‘There’s nothing to fight about here. Okay?’

  ‘You think I’m going to let this idiot get away with that?’ Will was seething, his eyes narrowed and focused on Gabriel.

  ‘Me?’ Gabriel spat. ‘You’re the one annoying Wanda. Never mind slagging off me and my best mate Max. You think you can just go around being a prejudiced moron and the rest of us will just stand by and say nothing?’

  I was just about to hit them both with a freezing spell when Will’s mother arrived.

  She stretched her hand through the two men towards me. Not knowing what else to do, I shook it.

  ‘I’m Will’s mammy,’ she said with a smile. ‘It’s nice to finally meet you, Wanda.’

  Unable to help myself, I smiled back. She looked tired, but kind. I felt a sudden jolt of sadness. Only a few weeks ago I had seen the same in Will’s eyes, and I had been so very wrong about him. I stopped smiling, and pulled my hand away.

  ‘I understand why you’d be wary,’ she said.

  Will and Gabriel had both finally parted, and were now looking on in confusion at the exchange between myself and Will’s mam. Mandy arrived on the scene, looking even more confused than the guys.

  ‘You haven’t exactly had the best experience of my coven,’ she went on. ‘And not a lot of them like you, considering you put my husband and his sister in jail. But ...’ She fixed a sad smile on her face. ‘Seeing as my husband happened to be the one who murdered my brother, I hope you believe me when I say that I, for one, am incredibly grateful for what you did.’ She grabbed Will by his arm. ‘So you, young man, are going to leave this nice young lady to enjoy her evening out. Because if anyone deserves some time off, it’s her. And also – if I have to spend another second alone with that insipid girlfriend of yours, I will do something she regrets.’

  She marched out of the pub, with Will trailing behind her. A moment later, Mandy cast one last glare in my direction, and scurried out after them.

  Gabriel sank into his seat, shaking his head. ‘I ... she ... what the ...’

  ‘Yeah. My thoughts exactly.’ I reached for his hand. ‘I’m not into the whole caveman thing, Gabe. But if anyone deserved that, it was Will. He had no right to talk about Max like that.’

  Relief washed over Gabriel’s face. ‘So I haven’t messed up?’

  I shrugged. ‘Jury’s still out. How about we get another couple of drinks while I make up my mind? Y’know, seeing as the last ones wound up all over the floor.’

  ≈

  We spent another couple of hours in the tavern. Throughout that time, I tried my best to forget about how horrible Will had been. But even the Superbrew couldn’t keep away my hurt and confusion. Will had gone from acting like the wounded party to being downright nasty. I needed to be able to trust my gut if I wanted to be a Wayfair. Will’s actions, though, made me wonder just how reliable my gut feelings really were. If I could have been attracted to someone who turned out to be such a monster, how was I ever going to tell the criminals from the innocents?

  ‘Silver star for them?’

  At the sound of Gabriel’s voice, I realised I’d been quiet for a little too long. ‘I could lie and tell you I’m thinking about bunnies and kittens,’ I said with a frown. ‘But I think you’re well aware that I’m sulking over what happened a while ago. I can’t believe I got Will so wrong.’

  Gabriel gave me a bemused smile. ‘Wrong? You spied on him, didn’t you? When you were investigating his aunt’s bottling factory. I would have thought you always knew he was a scumbag.’ A look of sudden understanding crossed his features. ‘Oh yeah – I remember now. At the hospital you were convinced he tried to save you when his dad was draining your power. Yeah, I still have a hard time believing that one. The only person Will Berry helps is himself. If he was trying to get on your good side in that graveyard, he’ll have had an agenda.’

  I resisted the urge to say, ‘You weren’t there.’ Will really had tried to save me from his father. Even my mother and the other kidnap victims in the Wizard’s Graveyard had attested to the fact. And sure, Will might have been a little annoyed with me even then, but it hadn’t stopped him acting like a decent person. Now? Now, he was acting like he actually hated me.

  Gabriel leaned towards me. ‘You know what I think you need? Pizza. Proper Italian pizza. We could fly there right now.’

  At the thought of flying all the way to Italy, my mood began to lift. Flying had become one of my favourite things in the world. ‘If we took my wizard broom we could be there in under an hour,’ I said.

  Gabriel grinned. ‘Exactly what I was thinking. Because like you were saying – it’s the Year of the Lotus. So I have absolutely no problem wrapping my arms around your waist while you fly me to Italy.’

  I looked away from him, feeling my face flush. After three drinks, I was beginning to feel giddy – and now that I’d had a run-in with the new and unimproved Will Berry, Gabriel was looking better by the second.

  He reached across the table. ‘Wanda,’ he said softly, ‘I know I should have been clearer about how I feel. I know it’s all come as a surprise to you. But ... I like you. A lot.’

  He seemed so sweet, sitting there in the dim light making declarations of like. I leaned in closer. ‘That’s okay,’ I said. ‘I’m starting to like you too.’

  ‘Starting?’ There was a flirtatious edge to his voice. ‘And here was me thinking I had you in the palm of my hand. I guess I’ll leave off asking if I can kiss you until I’ve made you like me a whole lot more.’

  I heard a husky laugh come out of me. How surprising. I wasn’t aware that I had husky at my disposal. ‘I’m not a very patient person,’ I said. ‘And I hate wasting time. I think you should ask if you can kiss me right now.’

  He let out a husky laugh of his own – unsurprisingly, his was far sexier than mine. ‘Wanda Wayfair, can I please kiss you?’

  I leant towards him. I could hear his heart thumping, see his eyes closing as his lips neared mine. This was it – the moment I didn’t even know I’d been waiting for.

  ‘I’d hold off on your smooching plans for now, lovebirds.’

  12. Something Fishy

  Gabriel and I moved our heads away from our almost-kissing position and gawped at the latest arrival. Finn Plimpton was standing next to our booth, his helmet in his hands, his face a picture of fury. Before I could say anything, he slid into the booth next to Gabriel, grabbed my tankard and drained what was left of my Superbrew. ‘It’s all right. I’m off duty.’ He picked up Gabriel’s tankard and finished that off, too. ‘And if it wasn’t for the fact that I now have to repair my biggest fudge-up yet, I might just swear off the Peacemakers for good.’

  I blinked at him, feeling suddenly sober. ‘What are you talking about?’

  ‘I’m talking about our little excursion today. Turns out, we played right into my aunt’s hands. I mean, what kind of an idiot am I?’ He banged his fist on the table.

  Okay, so I was quickly going from sobering up to feeling like throwing up. ‘Just spit it out, Finn. What happened?’

  ‘What happened? Let’s see now. While you and I were working together, the rest of my unit was off following my aunt’s orders. They made their way to a little flat in Riddler’s Edge, and found lots of evidence against a certain gorgeous weredog who lives at that address.’

  ‘Lassie?’

  He answered my question with a bleak nod, then let his head fall into his hands.

  ‘So ... what’s happening now?’ I lifted his head back up again. ‘Come on, Finn, we’re wasting time here. What
did they find? What could they have found?’

  He kicked the edge of the table. ‘They supposedly found a cauldron with a batch of the same potion that killed Saskia Monroe, and enough supplies left to make a lot more of the same. Lassie’s just been arrested. She’ll be at the Wyrd Court by now. And no, I can’t be in the interrogation room with her. Neither can you. Minister Plimpton herself is overseeing things, with a hand-picked lawyer to help her along. An evil little twerp called Rundt.’

  I gulped. I recalled that name from a recent trial. At the time, Lassie had been in the witness stand, and Mr Rundt had made it abundantly clear that he wasn’t a fan of weredogs.

  ‘She needs her own lawyer. Someone on her side. She needs–’

  Gabriel shook his head, softly rubbing my arm. ‘You know that’s not going to happen, Wanda. Lassie’s not entitled to a defence lawyer. And because she’s a weredog who has allegedly killed a werewolf, our coven has absolutely no say in what happens now. This is Peacemaker business.’

  ‘No.’ I stood up, scowling across at the two men. ‘We worked with you, Finn. We let you question Emily with us. You can’t go back on your deal. You have to let us into that interrogation room.’

  Finn gave me a genuinely sorry frown. ‘I had no intention of going back on it, Wanda. But it’s been taken out of my hands.’

  ‘But wait a second,’ said Gabriel. ‘What does this mean for Emily? How can they both be accused of the same crime?’

  I nodded furiously. ‘Exactly. And not only that – a Jinx potion is only as good as the spell that made it. Lassie’s not a witch.’ Okay, so I wasn’t going to mention the fact that she had witch blood. She had no power, I was sure of it, and that was all that mattered here. ‘She couldn’t have brewed Jinx.’

  I didn’t think it was possible, but Finn’s expression grew even more miserable. ‘My aunt has gotten her hands on a so-called witness – whose identity she refuses to reveal. This witness told my aunt that they saw Lassie and Emily together on a number of occasions. The current theory is that they were working together. So ... that would be the witch part of the equation sorted out.’

  ‘What? No. Lassie only just met Emily. They barely know each other.’

  Finn gave a tired shrug. ‘Tell that to the Minister.’ He pointed to his breastplate. ‘I thought this stupid star meant something. I was supposed to be a captain, for Gretel’s sake. I was supposed to have some say in how investigations were run. I swear, I don’t know what’s going on in my aunt’s head at all.’

  ‘Yeah, well welcome to my world,’ I drawled. ‘Now please, do not drink any more. You are a captain. It’s time to start acting like it. You’re going to take me and Gabriel to the Wyrd Court, and you’re going to get us into that interrogation room.’

  Just as he was about to retort, a commotion reached our ears. There was shouting and panic, somewhere at the front of the pub.

  ‘Is there a healer here?’ I heard Ronan’s voice cry out. ‘We need a healer!’

  The three of us rushed towards the noise. Dozens of customers were encircling something on the ground.

  ‘Out of the way,’ Finn commanded. ‘I’m a Peacemaker.’

  The crowd parted, and we made our way through. There, on the ground, a woman was lying. Her eyes were wide open. Her mouth was slack and covered with vomit. Her hands were clutching her stomach.

  As we bent down to the body, Finn’s face paled. ‘It’s Holly Golly!’ he gasped.

  I doubted I’d recognise the woman even if she wasn’t covered in puke. ‘Who’s Holly Golly?’

  ‘She’s a singer,’ Gabriel explained. ‘Super famous.’

  I bent down to get a closer look at her. ‘No,’ I said. ‘She was a singer. Right now, she’s dead. What else do you know about her?’

  ‘Other than the fact that she was one of Jasper Jaunt’s many girlfriends?’

  I groaned. ‘We have to find that jerk.’

  Finn picked up the handbag that was lying on the floor beside her. It was filled with chocolate wrappers. He sniffed and passed the bag to me.

  ‘Jinx?’ he mouthed.

  I nodded.

  ‘Well, on the plus side,’ he said. ‘She’s a witch. And she died after Emily and Lassie were arrested. Which means that until my crazy aunt can blame this murder on a weredog, the investigation is yours. Isn’t bureaucracy grand?’

  ≈

  There was so much going on that I didn’t know where to begin. Ronnie and a dozen or so Wayfairs arrived at the scene, along with a healer, and started questioning the patrons of Three Witches Brew. Agatha Oster informed me that my mother was at the Wyrd Court with Max and Melissa, doing what little they could for Lassie.

  ‘It’s definitely Jinx,’ said Ronnie. ‘I knew it could take a witch down, but I never thought I’d see it used on one. This case gets weirder by the second.’

  ‘You’re telling me. Ronnie, I don’t know what to do. Finn says I can go with him to question Lassie. But I was here all evening, so I can probably help you guys, too.’

  Ronnie put a hand to my shoulder. ‘Gabe can stay with me. You go with Finn. I know that the weredog is your boyfriend’s cousin.’

  Gabriel seemingly overheard, because he took a break from the customer he was questioning and approached us. ‘Are you sure that’s a good idea? We still don’t know Finn Plimpton’s angle. Maybe I should go with him and Wanda can stay here.’

  I glanced over at Finn. He was on the phone, arguing with someone.

  ‘I think Ronnie is right,’ I told him. ‘It’ll be better for Lassie if I’m there with Finn. She knows me better than you.’

  He still looked unsure, but he said, ‘You know best. And Wanda? I promise we’ll have a much better time on our next date.’ He leaned in, gave me a brief kiss on the cheek, and went back to questioning people.

  I stood on the spot for a moment, touching my cheek and feeling confused, when Ronan appeared beside me. ‘You look like you don’t know whether you’re coming or going,’ he said, handing me a tiny glass of clear liquid. ‘This’ll help. It’s my patented Sober-Up potion.’ He waved his finger and a second one appeared. ‘I think your Peacemaker friend could do with one too.’

  By the time I knocked it back, Finn had finished his call. ‘That was the Minister. Lassie’s already been moved to Witchfield. And no – your mother didn’t get to question her before it happened. She hasn’t been allowed to see her at all. But I’ve told my aunt that if she really believes Lassie and Emily are working together, then that means it’s a fifty-fifty case, and the Wayfairs have as much right to it as we do. It was hard to get her to agree, but she eventually gave in. Your mother has been told she can go and see Lassie in Witchfield. She’s on her way there now.’ He clenched his jaw. ‘Of course it’s still ridiculously complicated, and I want to question her too. So I vote for me and you going in together, after your mother. I just wish I hadn’t drunk so much.’

  I passed him the glass of Sober-Up. ‘Drink this. And then let’s get over to Witchfield. But before we go, I need to check something out.’

  I made my way to the body, with Finn trailing behind. Gretel was packing Holly’s handbag into an evidence bag when we approached. ‘Can I just see that for a second?’

  Gretel looked at Finn for approval. When he nodded, she handed me the bag. The chocolate wrappers were everywhere, but I managed to rummage through them and find the heart-shaped cardboard box. Pulling it out, I gave it a quick sniff. ‘Just as I thought.’ I passed it to Finn. ‘There’s definitely something fishy about it.’

  He smelled it and put it back into the bag, handing the whole lot back to Gretel. ‘Sure there is. But then this is a murder investigation. There’s something fishy about the whole thing.’

  ≈

  It really shouldn’t have come as a surprise to me to find that weredogs were kept in a different wing of Witchfield. A grotty, dark and smelly wing. In here, the cells had real, solid bars, and they were even smaller than the cell in which Emily was being
held – a fact I could never have believed possible until I saw it for myself.

  Lassie was hunched on a rough-looking mat in the corner, wearing a grey uniform like Emily’s. Her jewellery had been stripped, except for her horrible Pendant of Privilege. It seemed there was no place you could escape the thing.

  ‘Your mother just left,’ she said when the guard opened the door and let us inside. She glared at Finn. ‘What are you doing with him?’ Her teeth began to lengthen. ‘Why did you do it, Peacemaker? Why did you plant that stuff in my flat?’

  Finn shook his head. ‘I didn’t, Lassie. I swear it to you.’

  Seeing the way he was looking at her, I realised that he hadn’t been merely flippant when he referred to her as gorgeous. Finn had a crush on Lassie, and it was written all over his face.

  ‘But that’s not to say someone else didn’t,’ he added. ‘Lassie, do you know Jasper Jaunt?’

  Her teeth remained frighteningly sharp. ‘That bass player who’s pretending he got kidnapped?’ she said with a lisp. ‘As if! He’s a werewolf.’

  There was nowhere for me to sit but the floor, and it was decidedly dirtier than Emily’s, but if Lassie had to suffer the mess, so could I. ‘I know you don’t know him,’ I told her. ‘Finn’s just covering his bases. He has to ask these questions. There was another murder a little while ago. A witch called Holly Golly.’

  Lassie’s face lit up. ‘Well then doesn’t that prove I’m innocent? How could I kill anyone if I’m in here?’

  ‘I wish that was all it took,’ I said. ‘I really do. But it doesn’t prove your innocence, or Emily’s. The chocolates were from Emily’s shop again. The same poison was used as the poison the Peacemakers found in your flat. Just because she ate them tonight doesn’t mean she didn’t buy them days ago.’

  Lassie sighed. ‘I guess not. So Holly Golly is dead. Wow. I mean, I hated her songs, but crimes against music aren’t really something worth murdering over.’ She brought her gaze to Finn’s. ‘Even though I might think she’s just about the worst singer in the entire universe, I did not kill her. I never even met her. I didn’t know Saskia Monroe, either – other than seeing her swinging her skinny hips down the catwalk on some fashion channels.’