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

by K. E. O'Connor

  Chapter 11

  I jumped up and grabbed Lula by the shoulders. “Tell us everything you know.”

  “That’s it,” Lula gasped. “Someone trashed Petra’s place, and she was injured when she discovered the burglar.”

  I shook my head in disbelief. “Angel Force think Aurora did that? How dumb are these angels?”

  “They seem certain she’s involved,” Lula said. “I ran to your house to let you know, but you weren’t there. I figured I’d find someone here at the crypt.”

  Mom looked at me, her expression thunderous. “Tempest, you have to get your sister out of the cells. If she keeps being arrested, people will talk.”

  “Let them talk,” I said. “It’s none of their business.”

  “I’ll come with you,” Granny Dottie said. “We can sort out this mess.”

  “No, you need to keep an eye out for that demon coming back. If there’s a weakness in the prison, you all need to be here.” New cracks were notorious for breaking open again. Once the demons found a weakness, they exploited it.

  Lula glanced at the crypt behind us, and her cheeks paled. “You’ve got demons on the loose?”

  “Not anymore,” I said. “Maybe you shouldn’t stick around, though. They like pretty things to play with.”

  Lula backed away. Her gaze went back to the carrot cake, and a determined look crossed her face. She was nothing if not persistent. “I can stay a few more minutes.”

  “I’ll go see Petra, find out what she knows about whoever attacked her. She must make the angels realize Aurora isn’t involved.”

  “Take your grandpa with you,” Granny Dottie said. “He has a thing about nurses’ uniforms.”

  That was something I didn’t want to know about. “Send him a message. I’ll meet him at the hospital.”

  “Here’s your reward, Lula.” Granny Dottie cut a slice of carrot cake and handed it to Lula.

  She grinned. “Lovely. Thanks, so much.”

  “Where’s mine?” I asked.

  “I’ll save you some for later. You need to get to the hospital.”

  I sighed and ran out of the cemetery with Wiggles, Lula struggling to keep up as she ate her huge slice of cake.

  “I hate to say this, but...”

  I glanced back at Lula. “Tell me.”

  “Your sister seems really involved in what happened to Deacon,” Lula said. “First, he dies, and now his girlfriend is attacked.”

  “His ex-girlfriend. If you listen to all the rumors, you’d know Deacon had finished with Petra before asking Aurora on a date.”

  “Sure, but people are beginning to talk. They think Aurora might be involved.”

  “Then they’re idiots,” I said. “Spread the word; anyone who goes badmouthing Aurora will have to answer to me. Make sure they know that.”

  “What will you do to them?” Lula asked.

  “Make sure they never tell another lie again.”

  Lula slowed as we reached her hairdressers. She had a smear of cream frosting on her chin, which I decided not to mention. “I’ll let everybody know.”

  I left her to her sticky carrot cake encrusted fingers and gossip and ran the length of Sweet Briar Lane to the hospital.

  The hospital in Willow Tree Falls was small. There was never much call for sick beds. If someone was ill, they used magic to get better. Now and again, someone would develop a serious illness or an injury that needed rest. Magic was not the solution to everything. Whatever had happened to Petra must be bad if she had to stay in the hospital to recover.

  As I reached the hospital doors, I saw Grandpa Lucius materialize. As usual, he was dapperly dressed and sported a pair of bright blue chinos and matching bow tie.

  “I heard you needed a bit of help.” He kissed my cheek.

  I gave him a brief hug. “You don’t need to be here, and you could have walked. The hospital is ten minutes from our house.”

  “It’s good to shake out the old magic now and again. I haven’t done a transportation spell for a while. What’s the situation?”

  “Aurora’s been arrested again. Angel Force think she tried to kill Petra.”

  Grandpa Lucius’s bushy eyebrows rose. “Petra is in the hospital?”

  I nodded. “I need to talk to her and find out what happened before Aurora’s name gets any more mud attached to it.”

  “Lead the way, dear girl.”

  I looked down at Wiggles. “Sorry, buddy. No dogs allowed.”

  “Why don’t you tell them I’m your assistance dog?”

  Grandpa Lucius chuckled. “Dottie mentioned your pooch had an upgrade.”

  “Not enough of an upgrade to get inside the hospital. Wait here, Wiggles. We won’t be long.” We headed through the doors and into the clean corridors of the hospital. I strode to the desk where Virginia Mackenzie sat. She was a round-faced witch with a mess of dark curls and a tiny snub nose.

  “I’m here to see Petra,” I said.

  Virginia’s gaze ran over me as she chewed on the end of her pen. “Family only.”

  “My sister’s in prison because of Petra. I need to see her now.”

  “She’s recovering. Petra’s had a shock. She doesn’t need any more unwelcome shocks.”

  “How badly injured is she?” Grandpa Lucius said.

  Virginia smiled at him. “She’s had a knock to the head and is under observation. Petra was unconscious when she was found, so we’re keeping a close eye on her to make sure there’s no serious damage.”

  I shook my head and scowled. Why couldn’t Virginia have told me that? “What does she know about who attacked her? Has she said anything?”

  “Not to me. That’s the job of Angel Force to investigate. From what I’ve heard, Aurora hurt her.”

  “There’s been a mistake,” I said. “Aurora wouldn’t injure Petra. She has no reason to do so.”

  Virginia arched an eyebrow. “Didn’t she steal Petra’s boyfriend?”

  I kept my irritation in check. “If you mean Deacon, he dumped Petra ages ago, long before Aurora was on the scene.”

  “That’s not what I heard,” Virginia said. “Still, whatever happened, Angel Force think your sister attacked Petra. You’re not getting anywhere near her. For all I know, you might be here to finish the job.”

  I opened my mouth to protest when Grandpa Lucius squeezed my elbow and gently pushed me to the side.

  “Has anyone told you the color purple makes your skin shine?” he asked Virginia. “It makes you look positively radiant.”

  I resisted the urge to roll my eyes as I discreetly stepped back. Grandpa Lucius could sweet talk anybody, and it looked like his skills weren’t failing on this frosty receptionist.

  I heard her giggling and watched her cheeks redden as he continued to shower her with compliments.

  Only when he gave me a discreet wave behind his back did I sneak off and start looking for Petra.

  I found her at the end of the corridor in a private room. Her eyes were closed when I sneaked the door shut behind me.

  Petra’s sleepy gaze didn’t seem to register me at first as she blinked her eyes open. Then her gaze widened, and she stiffened in the bed.

  “Don’t scream.” I hurried to her bedside. “I heard what happened to you.”

  Petra licked her lips. “Don’t be mad with me again. I never said it was your sister who did this.”

  “Even if you didn’t, they still arrested Aurora. What happened?”

  Petra glanced at the closed door before giving a small shrug. “It’s all a blur. It was late last night, and I was having trouble sleeping. I often go down to the bar and make myself a cup of cocoa and read a book until I get tired. I got to the bottom of the stairs and heard somebody creeping about in the bar.”

  “Who was it?”

  “I couldn’t see them. I wasn’t alarmed to begin with. It wouldn’t be the first time I’d missed someone who’d fallen asleep on a bench by the fire. It gets cozy back there, and after a few too many, it�
��s easy to doze off. I figured it was just another drunk who’d woken up and was trying to fumble his way out of the door.”

  “But it wasn’t a happy drunk who’d lost his way?”

  She shook her head and winced. “I’ve never seen a drunk move so fast. I’d just walked into the bar when I was slammed from the side. They shoved me to the ground and landed a good kick on my head.” Petra touched the lump on her forehead.

  “Did you get a glimpse of who did it?”

  “No. The lights were off. I know my way around that place so well I don’t need to put a light on at night. It only attracts attention if I do. Then I’ll have someone looking to get a late-night drink and banging on the door to be let in.”

  “You have no clue who was in the bar?”

  “All I know is that they messed the place up.” She frowned. “It was a neat sort of mess, though.”

  “A neat mess? That doesn’t make sense.”

  “It was as if they’d done it deliberately. It was too staged to be the work of someone looking for money or to steal booze. I heard no noise, but when I got downstairs, there were chairs turned over and drawers opened. Everything was placed just so, messy neatness. Almost like the scene of a movie set.”

  “Was whoever broke in looking for something specific?”

  “I was pretty out of it when I was found. I was awake for a couple of minutes but didn’t see anything missing. I had Angel Force check, and the bar takings were in the safe completely untouched, so they weren’t after money.”

  “Why do they think Aurora is involved?”

  “It beats me. The first I knew about it was when Dazielle came in and told me she was back in a cell.”

  I shook my head. “It couldn’t have been her. Aurora has no reason to break into the Ancient Imp. She’d never hurt you. She’d never hurt anybody.”

  “Whoever it was, they were dressed in black, and they were strong despite not being very tall. If it was your sister, she had to be using some sort of magic to give her extra strength. She slammed into me so hard, I blacked out for a second before landing on the floor. And that kick, it was meant to hurt. It was meant to frighten me. Maybe it was a warning to keep my mouth shut.”

  The door behind me opened. “What do you think you’re doing in here?”

  I turned slowly on my heel. Dazielle stood in the doorway, her hands on her white clad hips. I pasted on a smile. “I was passing by and heard Petra had taken a fall.”

  “You cannot be in here. Your sister is the prime suspect in this investigation. You could be manipulating our only eyewitness.” Dazielle stalked into the room.

  “No, she’s not. I’ve already told you I saw nothing,” Petra said swiftly.

  “Not another word,” Dazielle said. “You are still in shock.”

  “I need to know why you’ve arrested Aurora,” I said to Dazielle. “What makes you think she had anything to do with Petra’s accident?”

  “Being kicked in the head isn’t an accident,” Dazielle said.

  “Have you seen the ridiculous shoes my sister wears? She couldn’t hurt anyone with those.” Aurora liked peep-toed sandals in summer and sparkly ballet pumps when it got colder. The worst she’d do if she trod on you would be to give you a sore toe.

  “We have strong evidence to show she is involved. That’s all I’m going to tell you,” Dazielle said. “Now, you have two choices: you leave, or I’ll arrest you and you can spend time with your sister, discussing how you both ended up behind bars.”

  I gritted my teeth and glared at Dazielle. I couldn’t afford to end up behind bars again, but I had to find out why they thought Aurora was involved in Petra’s attack.

  “What’s it going to be?” Dazielle asked.

  I huffed out a sigh. “I’m leaving. But I’m not leaving this alone. You’re not going to keep Aurora in a cell. She didn’t do this.”

  “She will stay there for as long as I need,” Dazielle said. “This time, it’s more than circumstantial evidence I have against her.”

  I raised my eyebrows, but she refused to say any more, simply glaring at me and pursing her pouty lips.

  I stomped out of the room and headed back to reception. Grandpa Lucius was now behind the reception, perched on the desk with a mug of what looked like coffee in his hand.

  He winked at me as I passed. He seemed more than happy to carry on his flirting with Virginia, so I left him to it. He never meant anything when he flirted; it was just his way. Granny Dottie was the same when it came to any hot guy showing off his toned stomach. They both liked a good flirt but always ended up back in each other’s arms.

  As I headed out of the hospital, Wiggles met me by the door. “Any luck?”

  “Petra has been hurt, but she’s not sure it was Aurora who kicked her. She saw nothing. The angels have something on Aurora, though. Dazielle looked smugly confident that she hadn’t made a mistake.” I stopped as I spotted an Angel Force bike parked. Sitting astride it was my favorite gorgeous but dumb angel, Dominic.

  I sauntered over and gave him a smile.

  He returned the smile. “What’s up, Tempest?”

  “I was visiting a patient.”

  His smile faded. “Of course. Yes, that makes sense. You don’t come to the hospital for fun.”

  I gave him my most flirtatious grin. “What case are you working on?”

  “I’ve got all sorts of things open. Too many open cases and not enough shut; that’s what the boss always tells me.”

  “A smart angel like you should be able to figure everything out easily.”

  He scratched his fingers through his mess of thick blond hair. “Some of us aren’t born detectives.”

  Dominic had followed his father into Angel Force. It was well-known he hated his job but felt obliged to stick with it to keep the family reputation intact. The trouble was, Dominic was hopeless at his job. He was also terrible at keeping secrets, and that played in my favor.

  “Are you working on Petra’s case?”

  “Yes, that’s a nasty business. I love the Ancient Imp. I can’t believe someone broke in and hurt Petra.”

  “My sister seems involved,” I said. “I can’t figure out why you’d think that.”

  “Me neither,” Dominic said. “Aurora is lovely. She always gives me free candy when I go to Heaven’s Door.”

  I stifled a smile. “She is nice like that.”

  “She is. Sadly, the evidence doesn’t lie. We found one of her shoes and some blonde hair. We’re running analysis now. Dazielle is certain it’s going to be Aurora’s hair.”

  “Hair and a shoe! That seems suspiciously convenient,” I said. “That would mean Aurora left the scene of the crime with only one shoe on.”

  “Unless she brought a spare pair to change into,” Dominic said.

  “She changed her shoes and then accidentally left one behind? Aurora loves her shoes. She’d never abandon one.”

  “She might have had to if she was disturbed,” Dominic said.

  “What robber carries a spare pair of shoes?”

  “Maybe she was breaking in a pair and had a backup option in case the new ones pinched,” Dominic said.

  I pressed my lips together. It was a good job he was so beautiful to look at. “It’s an interesting theory. What about the hair?”

  “There was a big mass of it on the floor.”

  “My sister is not a werewolf. She doesn’t go around shedding fur everywhere.”

  “Yes, that was a bit odd,” Dominic said. “It was a big ball of the stuff. It was impossible to miss.”

  “It wasn’t a couple of strands that might have accidentally fallen out when she was fighting with Petra?”

  “Nothing like that. It looked more like a bird’s nest sitting on top of the bar. Still, it’s great evidence. It looks like this is a case of girl on girl rivalry.”

  “Rivalry over what? Or whom?”

  Dominic scratched his chin. “Dazielle thinks they fought over Deacon. This is an open and s
hut case.”

  “Perhaps you should look at other possibilities.”

  “No, it’s an easy one. I tell you what, how about we meet up and talk about it?” Dominic asked. “It sounds like you might have some ideas I haven’t thought of.”

  Frank twitched at the prospect of spending an evening with an angel. “That’s lovely of you, but I’m going to be busy trying to get Aurora out of your prison cell.”

  “Oh, yes, you must focus on family. I’m sure it will get sorted out. Perhaps if she apologizes and pays a fine, she’ll be in less trouble. Of course, Petra will need to agree not to press charges.”

  “That might work, so long as you don’t keep pursuing her for Deacon’s murder. I don’t think killers get let off if they say sorry and here’s some money to make up for being dead.”

  “Oh, no, that is tricky. And Aurora seems like such a lovely girl.”

  “That’s because she is lovely.”

  “What can I say? The evidence is the evidence,” Dominic said.

  “The evidence is horse poop,” I muttered.

  “So, perhaps a date another night?” Dominic asked. “I mean, not a date, but a chance to talk all things criminal.”

  I nodded as I turned away from his bike. “Maybe. I’ll see how it goes.” I hurried away with Wiggles before Dominic could start suggesting places to go for our never going to happen date. He was cute but not smart, but he’d given me what I needed. The evidence they had on Aurora couldn’t be real. It made no sense for her to drop a shoe and a handful of hair. It all sounded too convenient. It sounded like faked evidence.

  I had to see Aurora. It was time to find out what she was really up to last night.

  Chapter 12

  Before I could get Aurora out of Angel Force, I needed to go to Cloven Hoof and drop a big, heartfelt apology on Merrie.

  It wasn’t my fault I’d been stunned by an angel then shoved in a cell. But she wouldn’t know what was going on, and I’d abandoned her to deal with two parties of overexcited revelers.

  I headed inside the cool, dark interior and found Merrie stacking glasses on the shelves behind the bar.