“Fat lot of good calling those incompetent fools will do you,” she hissed and made a move toward the bar opening.
“Becky, that’s enough,” Sol said and took a step in our direction. “I’ll call the Sheriff myself if you don’t leave.”
“Traitor,” she said, but I could tell she was thinking it over. “Fine.”
Relief washed over me as I watched Becky walk out of the bar. I hadn’t anticipated having such a heated confrontation on my first night.
“Is it always that bad?” I asked as Sol took a seat closer to the middle of the bar.
“No,” Sol said. “Becky is usually pretty toasted, but she’s also normally quiet. Something must have gotten into her.”
“What do you think happened?”
“I don’t know. It could have been anything. Becky isn’t really a functioning alcoholic anymore. I imagine she can’t handle any kind of challenge, really,” Sol said.
I started to wonder where she got her money to drink and live on the island, but my thoughts were interrupted by a group of loud women spilling through the door.
“Bachelorette party. Good grief,” Sol said. “Must be a destination wedding on the island tomorrow. They usually stick to the more touristy places, but occasionally they make it in here.”
The women, all dressed in pink sparkly cocktail dresses, except the bride, who was wearing a white sun dress and massive crystal tiara, began pushing tables together. “We want champagne,” one of them crowed.
She stumbled over to me and handed me a black American Express card. It had a man’s name on it. I figured it must be daddy’s credit card. “The best you’ve got. Do you have any Dom or Moet?”
I looked at Sol, hoping he could help. “There’s a case of White Star in the back. It’s Roger’s special stash, but I’m sure he’ll let you sell it by the bottle,” he said.
I had to look up on the internet how much a bottle of White Star Champagne sold for in bars. When I told the bridal party, they said they wanted three bottles to start. I had to go into the back of the bar to find the case of champagne and some flutes.
Ten minutes later, I returned with the bottles of champagne. As I was about to go back into the back to get the flutes, I heard a scream outside of the bar. Without thinking, I ran out the front door.
I didn’t see anything at first, but another scream tore through the evening humidity. It was coming from the side of the bar, so I ran around the building.
What I found was one of the bridesmaids standing there with an unlit cigarette in her hand. She was standing over a dead body. It was Becky.
Sol was outside with us a moment later. He had his cell phone and called the sheriff. Five minutes later, a man about my age with dark chestnut hair and sapphire blue eyes, wearing a black t-shirt and dark jeans showed up. He had a badge clipped to his belt.
A lot of what happened next was a blur. There weren’t many murders on the island, so the sheriff wasn’t really equipped to handle it. He took as many photos of the crime scene with his phone as he could and tried to collect evidence.
Eventually, someone from the island’s small hospital came to get the body so they could store her in the morgue until a coroner could make it in from the mainland.
Sheriff Orion Kane interviewed everyone in the bar, and he eventually got to me. I wanted to be helpful, but it seemed that he already didn’t like me.
“Some of the other people I’ve interviewed have said that you got in an altercation with the deceased,” Sheriff Kane said.
“I don’t know that I would call it an altercation,” I said.
“Well then, what would you call it, Ms. Shadowend.” The way he said my last name had a blatant tinge of disdain.
“She was intoxicated, so I cut her off. Becky didn’t like that. She got agitated, but Solomon and I convinced her to leave.”
“Are you trying to downplay what happened, Ms. Shadowend? Because it sounds to me like it got a lot more heated than that.”
“Am I a suspect?” I asked indignantly.
“Should you be? I mean, I asked you a question and you answered it with a question. You’re downplaying the severity of the altercation and evading my question.
I bristled at that. I couldn’t believe I was a suspect. It had to be because I was new on the island.
“I’m not downplaying anything. The confrontation was uncomfortable for me, but it wasn’t anything that rose to the level of me murdering someone. Jeez. No, I shouldn’t be a suspect. I guess you’re treating me this way because I’m new to the island.” I huffed and crossed my arms because I suddenly felt very exposed.
“I’m just doing my job,” Kane bit back.
“I understand that. You just seem like you’ve already decided that I’m guilty. That makes me nervous.”
“Here’s my card. Call me if you think of anything,” he said. “You need to plan on staying on the island, too.”
“I wasn’t going anywhere.”
I watched him walk away, and I tried not to enjoy the view too much. It should have been a crime against humanity for such a grumpy man to have such a fine rear end.
“Are you Starla?” A voice startled me out of my hypnotic state.
“I am.” I turned around to find an attractive redhead half smiling at me.
“I wish we’d met under better circumstances. Sol filled me in on your first night at the Blue Saloon while the sheriff was interrogating you. I’m Annabeth. I run the bar during the day. I got a call that a crime had been committed on the premises, and I came right down. I didn’t expect it to be murder.”
“Yeah, I should have called you. I’m sorry. I didn’t even think about it.”
“That’s okay, Starla. You’re handling all of this extremely well, in my opinion. You should go home. I’ve got some paperwork to sign for the police, and then I’m going to lock the doors. We’re not reopening until tomorrow morning. I hope that’s okay. I’ll make sure you still get paid for the whole night.”
“That’s fine with me. Do you need me to stay and help you lock up?”
“Nah, that’s okay. I’ve got Sol here. He’ll probably walk me home, too.”
“Okay. Goodnight, Annabeth.”
“Oh, Starla?”
“Yes?”
“I don’t know what time Roger had you come in tonight, but I usually get off at five. Can you be in by five every night? I’m sorry for the sloppy way this was handled. If I’d known you were coming in, I would have done things differently.”
“Yeah, that’s no problem at all. I’ll see you at five tomorrow.”
“Good. And if you need help with anything, I’ll stick around until you are comfortable.”
I didn’t go home. The Blue Saloon was right off the beach, so I walked out and sat in the sand until I was sure that Annabeth had locked up and gone home. Back home, I could have used a scrying spell to tell who had been with Becky right before she died. I didn’t think it was going to work on the island since my magic was depressed, but I had to try.
I needed something with water in it, and I’d found a pretty good-sized half shell on the beach. I’d filled it with a little bit of sea water and hoped that the extra elemental boost would help me use my magic.
The words weren’t really important, and that was good because I didn’t want chanting to draw attention to what I was doing. Instead, I just focused all of my attention and intention on the dark pool of water in the shell. After clearing my mind so that the universe’s energy could flow through me, I closed my eyes and envisioned myself happy that I’d found the answer. I saw myself going to Kane and telling him exactly who had killed Becky. I could see him smiling and embracing me as one of the island’s own. Then, I opened my eyes.
Nothing happened.
Chapter Five
I made it to the weekend unscathed. The day after the murder, Annabeth hung around after her shift to make sure I was comfortable before leaving. Sol was a nightly regular, so he was there, too. By the time Satu
rday rolled around and I had a day off, I knew how to make every one of the regulars’ favorite drinks without using the bartending book. I also knew how to make several of the tourist favorites as well. Margaritas, mojitos, pina coladas, and daiquiris were no problem for me.
Saturday morning, I woke up with the sun, despite having a late night at work. Well, I think I woke up with the sun. Presto was sitting on the end of my bed staring at me. He may have had something to do with rising early.
“I’ve been looking at some maps and there’s a spot on the island I want to explore today,” he said.
“You’re a cat. I can’t take you out exploring. What if the tourists see you?”
“It’s on the other side of the island from where the tourists usually gather. And why can’t you take me exploring? I’m not a normal cat. I’ll stay right by your side.”
I eyed him skeptically. “You won’t run off.”
“If I ever get too far away from you, then the next time you take me out, I’ll wear one of those horrible harnesses.”
“If you run off on me, there might not be a next time,” I answered.
“Agreed.”
Presto wanted to get out before the islanders and tourists got started with their day, but there was no way I was going hiking without breakfast. I gave Presto a can of his favorite food and looked in my cabinets for something I could use to make a fast and satisfying breakfast.
At some point, I would need to go to the island’s grocery store, but for now I had enough food. The fridge and pantry were stocked when I moved in, and I hadn’t made a huge dent in my supplies yet.
After a minute of contemplation, I pulled a small can of baked beans out of the pantry. Two slices of bread went into the toaster. I had an English cousin who had introduced me to the wonders of beans and toast, and that particular morning I thought it sounded like a delightful breakfast.
It was also easy to make. While the beans nuked in the microwave and the toast toasted, I also heated up some water for coffee. Most coffee snobs thought it was disgusting that I drank instant coffee, but after I added sweetener and creamer, I thought it tasted good.
“Where is this place you want to go?” I asked as we stepped out the front door.
“It’s about two miles this way,” Presto said and took off walking.
I followed behind him and was glad that I’d packed sunscreen and water in my bag. Two miles wasn’t a super long walk, but under the tropical sun, I would have turned into a shriveled lobster.
An hour later we arrived at a beach that was backed up by an area of tropical forest. “Why did you want to come here again?” I asked. I hoped that Presto didn’t want to go into the forest. I had no idea what could be living in there, and I had no magic to protect us.
“The island’s power is rumored to be tied to some sort of magical artifact.”
“How do you know that? And what power? There seems to be no magic here at all.”
“The internet,” Presto said. “And it’s not that there’s no magic here. It’s that your magic doesn’t work. Don’t you think that could be because there is some other force at work?”
“I hadn’t really thought of it,” I said. “I suppose that could be true.”
“I know you hadn’t thought of it, so that’s why I thought of it.”
“What is the artifact?”
“I don’t know yet,” Presto said. “From my research, I think it has something to do with a nautilus.”
“That circle shell thing?”
“Yes,” Presto said.
“Hey, what are you doing?”
I whirled around and a woman in a yellow polka dot bikini was walking up the beach toward us. “Is that your cat?”
She walked up and plopped down in the sand next to Presto. He didn’t protest when she began to pet him between the ears. Apparently, she hadn’t heard him talking to me.
“I’m Blossom. Who are you?” she asked as Presto rubbed up against her.
“Sorry about my cat,” I said and shot him a look to let him know he was being undignified.
“Oh, that’s okay. I love cats.”
“Well, Blossom, he’s Presto and I’m Starla.”
“Presto change mo!” Blossom said and began scratching Presto under the chin. “So what are you guys doing out here?”
“Looking for enchanted artifacts,” I said plainly. Sometimes it was better to just tell the truth because no one believed you anyway.
“That sounds like fun! I know a spot where we can look!” she said and shot up, almost knocking Presto over in the process. “But I’ll only show you if you promise to go to the beach with me alter. Oh, and have a scoop of ice cream too.”
At first, I thought she was completely nuts, but Blossom seemed so genuinely excited that I couldn’t tell her no. She was exactly the kind of bubbly instafriend I’d tried to avoid in my old life, and yet I felt oddly drawn to her.
“Sure. What do you say, Presto?” I asked, and he gave me a wink that Blossom didn’t see.
She set off trudging down the beach through the sand, and I was relieved that we weren’t going into the forest. We came upon a spot on the beach where there was a circle of boulders in the sand. A quick count of the massive stones told me that there were thirteen. If there weren’t witches on Clownfish Cay now, there had been in the past. What we’d found had to be a sacred circle. Of course, I couldn’t tell Blossom that.
But, did she already know?
“I think that if there was going to be any kind of magical artifacts on this island, they would be here,” she said and hopped up onto the stones.
“What is this place?” I asked innocently.
“I don’t know for sure. It looks like a witch circle to me. Thirteen stones make a coven, right?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
I was still playing it off like I didn’t know at that point. We looked around for a while, but no one found anything. After about an hour, I decided to move down the beach. A few hundred feet away, I found a rock face with a cave in it.
“What’s in there?” I asked when Blossom and Presto caught up to me.
“I don’t know. I’ve never been brave enough to go in by myself.”
“Well, let’s check it out,” I said.
“Oh no. I’ve been far enough into the entrance to know that you’ll need flashlights and good hiking boots to go in there. And it’s definitely not safe for Presto. We could come back sometime. We’ll have to come back at night. The sheriff doesn’t patrol far enough to get to the witch circle, but he does check this cave to make sure tourists don’t wander in. If we keep walking in this direction, we’ll come up on the resorts eventually.”
I knew Presto wouldn’t like it, but I had to agree with her. Blossom knew this island better than either of us, presuming she was a local and not just a crazy tourist.
“Okay,” I agreed. I knew Presto wanted to protest, but he couldn’t talk in front of Blossom. We’d have to discuss it later.
“Now, let’s go to the beach,” she said and started to head back the way we came.
“We’re at the beach,” I said and pointed at the water.
“Not this beach. There aren’t any shark nets out here, and you never know what is out in that water. We need to go back to the other side of the island, where it’s safer. You also need a swimsuit and we have to drop Presto off at your house. There’s no cats allowed on the swimming beaches.”
I knew Presto wouldn’t like that either, but a promise was a promise. Blossom had shown us a lot of the island we didn’t know about, and in return, I told her I’d go to the beach. I wasn’t sure about the whole wearing a swimsuit thing or the swimming beaches being safer from sea monsters, but I figured I needed to suck it up. Hundreds of tourists a day used the beaches, so how scary could they be?
Back at the house, Blossom insisted on rifling through my closet to find a swimsuit for me. I’d insisted that I’d be fine in a t-shirt and shorts, but she was having none of that.<
br />
She emerged from the closet carrying a robin’s egg blue bikini that was covered in little white stars. “No,” I said as she thrust it toward me. “No way.”
“Oh come on, Starla. It’s got stars on it. Like your name? It’s perfect,” Blossom said, and I swear she stomped her foot a little.
“I can’t wear that. I’ve never worn anything like it in my entire life,” I said.
“Then why is it in your closet?”
That was a can of worms I was not going to open. “It was a gift.” That wasn’t a lie. It was a gift from the Grand Coven.
“Just try it on. You need the sun. It’s perfect for you.”
Before I went into the bathroom and put it on, I grabbed a cover-up from the closet. There was no way I was putting on a show for Blossom, and I hoped that once we got to the beach, I could convince her that leaving my cover-up dress on was a good idea.
“I’ll take it off on the beach,” I said when I came out of the bathroom.
“Suit yourself, but you are totally rocking that bikini once we get there.”
The beach was less crowded than I thought it would be, but that was because it was the start of lunchtime. A lot of the tourists had filtered off the beach and to the nearby restaurants. It appeared that the locals ate at food stands that lined the boardwalk running the length of the public beach.
“We should grab some food first,” I said, and it wasn’t just a stall. I felt my stomach grumble.
“Sure. I like the fish taco stand. They have a few other things too, but the fish tacos are to die for.”
“That sounds good to me.”
The fish tacos were, in fact, to die for. The food on the island was great. Food back home had been good, but everything on the island tasted brighter. If that’s a thing.
“Okay, sister. Take it off,” Blossom said when we got to the spot on the beach where we were going to set out our towels.
“I can’t. I’ll burn to a crisp out here,” I protested.
“I figured you were stalling. But we can’t go in the water unless you take off the dress.”
Mojitos & Murder Page 3
