Luck of the Witch (Crypt Witch Cozy Mystery Series Book 1)

by K. E. O'Connor

  “How are the witches?”

  “Having fun.” Merrie removed a pair of devil horns that had been stuck on her head. “Someone has bought a variety of amusing willy-shaped items.”

  “They’ve also asked for the same shape of cake,” I said. “It’s in the kitchen when they request it.”

  “I’ll pass on that if I get offered a slice,” Merrie said.

  “It’s bright pink with sparkles,” I said. “You’d be wise to pass.”

  “You’ll be warning me next there’s a stripper booked.”

  “It is a hen party,” I said. “What do you expect? And I think it’s two strippers for our ladies.”

  Merrie shook her head. “Please tell me I’m getting a bonus for working this.”

  “You’ll get something.” Merrie worked hard and never let me down. I always rewarded her for that.

  Once I was sure the witches and elves were happily drinking and eating, I headed back to the bar. “Can you handle them on your own for half an hour?”

  “It shouldn’t be a problem. If anyone gets too rowdy, I’ll be in touch,” Merrie said.

  “Thanks.” I dashed upstairs to find Wiggles standing in the middle of the apartment, a guilty look on his face and couch cushions scattered around.

  “What are you up to?”

  He ran behind the couch. “There’s nothing to see here.”

  “We’ll discuss this another time. Come on. We have a witch to question.”

  Wiggles bounded down the stairs, and we hurried out of Cloven Hoof.

  “What’s the plan?” he asked as we headed to the main street.

  “We’re quizzing Petra.” It was getting late, and the Ancient Imp would be closing soon. That should mean it wasn’t too busy, and she’d make time to see me. Even if she didn’t, I’d convince her she had to.

  “Do you think she was lying about her feelings for Deacon?”

  “It’s possible. If she did, and she still loved him, it must have stung to see him getting together with Aurora.”

  “She could have been jealous enough to put a stop to his dabblings with Aurora.”

  “Dabblings? I don’t think they dabbled. They went on a couple of dates.”

  “That’s all you need. Dinner and a drink and a dabble.”

  “Please don’t tell me what you think a dabble is.” My talking hellhound had a dirty mind.

  He chuckled. “You know what a dabble is. I bet you dabble when the mood takes you.”

  “Nope, no dabbling allowed. So, if Petra couldn’t bear the thought of Deacon being with anyone else, maybe she snapped, killed him, and is trying to frame Aurora?”

  Wiggles growled. “First, she frames your sister, and then she squashes me. This lady needs me to take her for a long walk off a short pier.”

  I shook my head. “That makes no sense. If you were walking with her, you’d fall in as well.”

  “You know what I mean. We need to teach her a lesson.”

  We did. Petra would benefit from a scare. It might convince her to give up driving or at least stop wearing such impractical shoes. I pushed open the door to the Ancient Imp, magic flaring on the tips of my fingers.

  As soon as Petra saw me, she raised a hand and shook her head. “Not in here. I value my bar.” Her gaze shifted to Wiggles, and her eyes widened. “Wait! I thought he was...”

  “You thought you’d killed him?” I pointed a finger at her, magic dripping from it and sizzling on the ground.

  The drinkers in the Ancient Imp turned to stare at Wiggles and me, all conversations stopping.

  “Keep your voice down,” Petra hissed as she gestured me to the bar. Her gaze didn’t leave Wiggles. “I was so sure I’d hit him.”

  “You did.” I approached the bar and rested my hands on the top, crackling my magical energy across it.

  Petra’s gaze turned concerned, but she let out a relieved sigh. “I’m glad he wasn’t hurt. It wasn’t my fault. I didn’t see him until it was too late.”

  “You shouldn’t be driving. You’re dangerous behind the wheel. I’ve seen you knock over dozens of trash cans.”

  “I’m short. I have trouble seeing over the hood of the car. That’s why I wear such high heels.”

  “Wearing heels doesn’t make you taller when you’re sitting down. And it’s lazy. Everything is within walking distance here.”

  “I love my car as much as you love Wiggles.” Petra leaned against the bar. “Listen, no hard feelings about hitting your dog. I promise you it was an accident. Don’t destroy my bar.”

  “You might need to buy him some expensive dog treats to make up for it,” I said as I pulled back my magic and felt it absorb into my skin. “He’s not going to forgive you easily. Neither will I.”

  “I will. I am sorry, Wiggles.”

  Wiggles pretended not to have heard her as he snuffled chips off the ground and ducked behind the bar out of sight, no doubt on the hunt for more food.

  I dropped my hands and shook the residual tingles of magic from them. “Why did you run off?”

  Petra shrugged and ducked her head. “You spooked me.”

  “You were spooked because you have something to hide. No one runs like that unless they have a guilty conscience. What’s on your mind? Feeling bad about Deacon?”

  Petra gestured for me to stop talking. “I told you I’m not interested in him.”

  “I’ve been told that you were basically stalking him. He lost interest, and you hadn’t. You kept pestering him long after he’d moved on.”

  Petra’s cheeks flushed. “Rubbish. Who told you that?”

  “I have my sources.”

  She huffed and polished a glass with a cloth. “Your sources don’t know what they’re talking about.”

  “You didn’t follow him around in the hope of bumping into him and making Deacon realize he still loved you?”

  “Our paths crossed now and again. This is a small place; it was going to happen. I’m not a stalker.”

  “You didn’t mind the fact Deacon was seeing my sister?”

  Petra frowned. “I wasn’t thrilled about it. I always assumed he saw me as the perfect match in the lead up to his campaign to become mayor.”

  I gestured around the room. “The owner of a bar might not have been the quality of girlfriend he was looking for.”

  “Hey! The Ancient Imp is respected. Everyone comes here.”

  “Sure, you serve great beer. But the attractive owner of a white magic store is more acceptable on the arm of a future mayor.”

  Petra shrugged. “Deacon made his decision, even if it was a bad one. I’d moved on.”

  “You still liked him. Admit it.”

  She sighed. “Okay, I did care about him, but I had nothing to do with what happened. I’m sorry Deacon is dead, but if he goes around treating people like they’re objects and upgrading to help himself, something like this was bound to happen.”

  “You felt like he used you?”

  “Not right away. It was only when he got serious about running for mayor that he changed. I got the impression someone was telling him how he should behave to win over voters. I guess they told him I wasn’t the right sort of woman to have in his life if he wanted to be a winner.” Petra polished the same spot on the bar so hard it squeaked.

  “And you’re sure you were home eating pizza the night Deacon died?”

  “Go check the trash if you like. The pizza box is probably still there with the receipt in it. That’s what I did.”

  “Someone killed Deacon, and it wasn’t Aurora,” I said, feeling a spark of magic fire in me as I grew frustrated. “Angel Force will have to look into everybody who had a motive for wanting him dead, and that includes you. They will find out if you went after Deacon.”

  “It wasn’t me! I already told you, if you’re looking for the killer, you should talk to Mannie. He has to be involved. He’s such a sleazebag.”

  Mannie Winter was known for his underhanded dealings. He wouldn’t be above pullin
g a few tricks to get what he wanted in order to become the new mayor of Willow Tree Falls. Would he go as far as murder?

  “Please, Tempest. I don’t know anything about this.” Petra placed her hand over her heart. “I miss Deacon, even though he was a jerk to me. How about a beer on the house? My treat. A tiny way to say sorry for what happened to Wiggles.”

  I looked around. Wiggles was nowhere to be seen. “No beer. I’ll take a lemon water but a small one. I need to get back to Cloven Hoof. We’ve got the place full of overexcited punters tonight.”

  “What would Wiggles like? I owe him one as well.”

  “A bowl of water will be fine if you can find him.” The door behind me slammed against the wall, and I jumped in my seat.

  Petra looked up and blinked in surprise. “Oh! What are you doing here?”

  As I swiveled in my seat to see who’d come into the pub, I was overwhelmed by a wall of white and feathers and blasted in the chest by a bolt of magic.

  Chapter 9

  My head pounded, and my throat felt raw as my eyes flickered open. “What the...” I blinked slowly. The last thing I remembered was being in the Ancient Imp and Petra groveling and offering me free drinks.

  This was definitely not the Ancient Imp, and I wasn’t about to enjoy a sparkling lemon water while I guilt-tripped Petra.

  Feathers! I remember lots of fluffy, pristine angel wing feathers and a thump of halo magic slam into me.

  I twisted my head and frowned. From the shocking amounts of white surrounding me, I was at the Angel Force headquarters.

  Anger rolled through me, and it stirred Frank into action. His hot unstable energy flooded my veins.

  I sat up slowly. My chest ached from where I’d been slammed with magic. What in all of hell’s fire breathing demons did Angel Force want with me?

  “I can take them down if you let me out,” Frank whispered.

  “It’s tempting,” I muttered. I had two choices. I could wait it out and see what the angels wanted, or I could let Frank out and blast my way free and wring some angel necks as I did so.

  “Those angels can’t keep you here. They’ve locked you in a cell for no good reason. You have every right to break out,” Frank said.

  “I do have questions that need answering.” I rolled off the bench and onto my feet. I made sure to keep Frank in his shackles as I tried a spell on the door. The magic wavered and then faded before it had any impact.

  “A null shield,” I said with a grimace. It was hardly a surprise. Angels had the ability to create voids that prevented anyone’s magic from working. They’d need it on the cells since everyone they arrested had some kind of magic.

  My frustration grew and, along with it, Frank’s power and control over me.

  “Let me out. I can get us out of here. No angel shield can stop me.”

  It was so tempting to let Frank take over. He was a pain to carry around, but he was a powerful demon. But once he was let out, chaos would ensue. He’d stop at nothing to get what he truly wanted, and that was Aurora.

  “Stay where you are. These feathery numpties must have me here for a reason.”

  I heard a door open and close. A moment later, Dazielle arrived holding two coffees and a brown paper bag.

  “Are those peace offerings so I don’t sue you for wrongful arrest?” I pointed at the bag.

  She looked down at the bag and shrugged. “I figured you might be hungry. You’ve been out all night. It’s almost noon.”

  I groaned and rolled my shoulders. “Perfect. What am I doing here? I wasn’t breaking any laws that I know of.”

  “You’re here for two reasons.” Dazielle opened the hatch and passed me a coffee. “Do you want a muffin?”

  “I’ll take two.”

  She smirked and handed me one blueberry muffin.

  “I’m waiting.”

  “First of all, someone in the Ancient Imp reported the dangerous use of magic. They were worried about the safety of the building and Petra.”

  “For crying out loud! I didn’t actually use magic. I might have suggested the use of magic, but no spells were cast. Petra was never in any real danger.” She hadn’t been on that occasion, but if an angel had happened upon me choking her after she’d hit Wiggles, it would have been a different story.

  Dazielle raised a hand. “They thought your demon had you in his control. They needed to be careful.”

  “I was in control.”

  “And how is Frank?” Dazielle blew on her coffee as her brilliant blue gaze traveled over me.

  “Hating on you right about now.”

  She nodded. “So long as he knows his place.”

  “Sadly, he does.” I bit a piece off my muffin. It was good, obviously from Sprinkles. “I was angry when I went to visit Petra. That’s what the drinkers at Ancient Imp must have sensed. I had a right to be. Petra ran over Wiggles yesterday.”

  Dazielle’s eyebrows quirked. “She did? He looks fine to me.”

  “Where is he?”

  “In the break room. He spent the night there after following you when you were brought in. That dog snores loudly.”

  “He does it because he knows it annoys people. What’s the second reason I’m in here?”

  Dazielle placed her coffee down. “I can’t afford to have you distracted. Your job is not to investigate Deacon’s murder. Your job is to help your family keep the demon prison safe and bring back any rogues we need capturing.”

  “That’s not totally true. Besides, I can do both.”

  “Finding out who killed Deacon is our job.”

  “You don’t get to tell me I can’t look out for my own sister.”

  Dazielle sighed. “That’s not it. We’re the experts, and we’re already questioning people. If you’re doing the same thing, it confuses the issue. We had Petra on our list to talk to. We know about her involvement with Deacon. We know he wasn’t all that happy with her.”

  “Do you also know she basically stalked him after he dumped her? I’ve been told she wasn’t giving up on him so easily.”

  “We’re also aware of that.” Dazielle leaned against the bars of the cell. “I’ve spoken with Axel. He told me about Petra’s continued interest in Deacon. He also told me that Deacon was much more interested in Aurora.”

  “So why didn’t you drag Petra in for questioning like you did Aurora?”

  “We don’t drag suspects anywhere. If you hadn’t interfered, I might have done so. You can’t get involved in this investigation.”

  “It’s my sister; therefore, I’m going to be involved.” I felt the remains of the muffin squish between my fingers as I clenched my fist.

  “We don’t need your assistance.” Dazielle straightened and glared at me.

  “You need me for everything else. I only help you because Gran dated the old Chief at Angel Force. She twisted my arm and made me promise to help.”

  “Castiel has retired. Maybe you can retire your services as well.”

  “Maybe I will. I can drop you on your feathered butts in a second. You’ll have to go out and deal with those demons on your own.”

  Dazielle shook her head. “I appreciate you leaving Willow Tree Falls to retrieve the demons. But you can’t investigate cases whenever you feel like it.”

  “I’ve already found several other suspects. Suspects who are more likely to have killed Deacon than Aurora.”

  “No! Stay off the case. You’re too close to our main suspect. You can’t remain impartial.”

  I tamped down on Frank’s urge to come out. “Aurora cannot be your main suspect. She’s a white witch. She is not about killing guys she dates.”

  “She’s a white witch who can tap into the energy of the undead. You might not know your sister as well as you think you do.”

  Dazielle was dumber than I’d realized. “I know Aurora wasn’t all that into Deacon. He was pursuing her, and she went along with it, so she didn’t hurt his feelings. I also know Petra was obsessed with him and stalked him. What�
��s to say she didn’t crack when she saw Deacon out with Aurora and did something about it? Then there’s Mannie. He’s sly and underhanded, and he wants to be the mayor. He saw Deacon as competition so bumped him off.”

  “So, is it Petra or Mannie who’s the killer?”

  “Both. Neither. I don’t know. But I will find out.”

  Dazielle’s eyebrows rose slowly. “You have been busy.”

  “Busier than you. Why don’t you pursue Petra and Mannie, rather than chase after my sister?”

  “We might well do that. But we don’t go into any situation without as much information as possible. And you going around terrorizing people into confessing is not helping. There will be more complaints filed if you’re not careful.”

  “I don’t care about complaints.” I tilted my head as I heard several angels in the nearby office shriek and something crash to the ground.

  Dazielle set her coffee and muffin on the table and walked toward the door. As she reached it, it slammed open and knocked her into the wall.

  Wiggles barged in, growling as he ran toward me.

  “It looks like someone’s woken up.” I grinned at him and lowered my voice. “Are you having fun with your angel buddies?”

  “The number of angels who have tried to rub my belly is embarrassing. If they knew what I really was, they’d be running the other way.”

  Dazielle scrambled to her feet and hurried over. “Keep control of your dog, Tempest.”

  I looked at Wiggles and gestured to the sunglasses that had slipped down his nose. It wasn’t the smartest idea to reveal he was a hellhound in the middle of a building full of angels.

  Wiggles bared his teeth and shook the glasses off. “Lady, you have no clue what you’re doing when it comes to helping Aurora.”

  Dazielle’s mouth fell open, and she flapped her lips, no words coming out.

  Wiggles eyes glowed, and he advanced on her, his hackles raised.

  Dazielle backed away slowly. “You’re not Wiggles.”

  I pressed my lips together to prevent myself from laughing. “He is. He got an upgrade. I was telling the truth about Petra. She ran over him. I decided to bring him back.”

  Dazielle stared at me. “Your dog is a hellhound. You own a hellhound. Have you got the proper license for that?”