The Locked Room Murder: A Witch Cozy Mystery (A Bluebell Knopps Cozy Mystery Book 1)

by Nancy McGovern

  “Okay,” she said. Taking deep breaths, she tried to get herself under control. She had seen a man, but apparently Nolan hadn’t. She parked the car and pushed her head back against the headrest.

  “You wished I’d vanish, so I vanished. Now you wish to talk, so here I am,” a voice said in her ear. Jumping, she whirled around, and found Steve lying in the backseat, his feet propped up on the window sill. He gave her his signature lazy grin. “What’s up, Bluebell?”

  “Don’t do that!” Bluebell said.

  “Do what? Blue, are you okay?” Nolan asked. He looked around at the backseat, confused. “Who are you talking to?”

  “I’m…” She remembered what Oliver had said. This was just a shadow of Steve, not Steve himself. Steve was dead. So naturally, Nolan couldn’t see him.

  “I never liked this jerk,” Steve said, putting a finger in Nolan’s ear. “Always struck me as a little too much of a good boy, you know?”

  “Nolan,” Bluebell said, “I need some time alone. To process what I just heard. Do you mind maybe giving me ten minutes?”

  “Sure, take all the time you need,” Nolan said.

  “Yeah… well…” She reached over and unlocked his door.

  “Oh. Right. I’ll just go for a short walk, I guess,” Nolan said, getting out. “You aren’t going to leave me stranded, are you?”

  “No, just come back in ten minutes. But please, give me time alone,” Bluebell said.

  “Okay. I’ll be over by those trees. Give me a honk when you want me to come back.” He sounded concerned, but left her alone. She gave him a grateful smile.

  Once he’d walked away, she turned back and scowled at Steve. “You!” she said.

  “Me.” He smiled.

  “Why are you here?” she asked. “Actually, who killed you?”

  “I wish I knew,” Steve said. “That blow to my head must have scrambled my brains. The only thing I remember is meeting you at the diner and breaking up.”

  “Are you real or just a fiction my brain’s made up?” she asked.

  “Well, I feel real to me.” Steve pinched himself. “Hmm. That doesn’t hurt. Let’s see…” He shoved his head back violently, trying to bang it against the door, only to have it pass right through. Straightening up, he grinned. “Nope, that doesn’t hurt at all. You know, being dead isn’t half bad. I can pass through doors.”

  “This is a really terrible time for you to develop a sense of humor,” Bluebell said. “Now, if you are Steve, tell me, who is this woman who’s claiming to be your wife?”

  A scowl spread across Steve’s face. “Do you have to bring up my past all the time?” he asked angrily. “Anyway, we broke up, right? So you shouldn’t care anymore.”

  “Steve, you’ve been dating me for years and now I find out you had a wife? You were only four years older than me! The thought never even crossed my mind. Of course I care that you lied!”

  “Yeah, well. Mainly, I cared about myself,” Steve said with a sigh. He sat up cross-legged. “You know, if it weren’t for you, I’d have moved on to the afterlife by now. You should feel bad too, instead of trying to rake up drama.”

  “This isn’t drama!” Bluebell took a deep breath. “Now I need some answers from you, Steve. First off, how are you even here?”

  “I don’t know,” Steve said. “I only know that I’m connected to you. So, like, deal with it. You brought me back somehow.”

  The backdoor opened, and Oliver slid in. “I can explain how,” he said.

  Bluebell gaped at him. “What, why are you here? How are you here?”

  “Well, I’d set up a spectrometer to tell me when any entities emerged,” Oliver said. “When you called Steve here, they went off, and it was easy to trace you.”

  “I don’t even know how I called him.”

  “You made a wish, so here I am,” Steve said.

  “Yeah. Well… I wish I had all the answers to this mystery. See? Wishes don’t work that way.”

  “With Steve, it does,” Oliver said. “You’re bonded to him.”

  “How? Oliver, I’m begging you, tell me what’s going on.”

  “All right, look. It’s simple enough. Last night, you and Mathilda clearly performed a spell that brought Steve back to life and linked him to you. Well, not all of him, but enough of him. He’s fading fast, see?”

  “I am?” Steve looked down at his hand and gave a little yelp. It was almost transparent.

  “Yes. Now any play with entities is strictly forbidden, unless you’ve taken ten no-objection certificates from the highest rectors of the Magical Ministry,” Oliver said. “Seeing as Mathilda performed an illegal spell and then vanished, I have to find her and bring her back to justice. And seeing as Steve here is an illegal entity, I have to send him back where he belongs pronto.”

  “Oh.” Steve sounded disappointed, but not very sad. “Is it a good place, where you’re sending me?”

  Oliver didn’t look him in the eye. He pulled back his sleeve and tapped his Rolex twice. A glow began to emanate from it.

  “But we didn’t perform an illegal spell,” Bluebell protested. “Unless a love spell is illegal. Is it?”

  “Depends on the strength,” OIiver said. “A 24 hour spell is legal-ish as long as the person you’ve used it on clears you afterwards. A lifelong spell will get you put away forever. I guess this was a 24-hour spell, given how fast Steve here is fading. If that’s the only spell Mathilda used, and it was in conjunction with your 21st birthday godmother rites, then she shouldn’t have any problems. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to do my duty.” He turned to Steve. “You ready for this? Any last words?” he asked.

  “Sure I’m ready,” Steve said, sounding glum. “I mean, it’s no fun floating around and if I’m going to go, I’d rather just choose my own time. Do me a favor and tell Selena that I’m dead. She must be worried.”

  “Who’s Selena?” Oliver asked.

  “Selena Boyer. You’ll meet her soon enough. Oh and one more thing…” Steve took a deep breath. “Blue, I was a total jerk, and all I ever cared about was money. But in the end, I was planning to come back to you. I always thought you and I were endgame. An epic couple destined to be happily ever after.”

  “So why did you break up with me?” Bluebell asked, tears slowly falling from her eyes.

  “Money,” Steve said. “Selena was going to give me a chance to be a multimillionaire, and we were too young for me to give that up for you. But I loved you. No matter what you find out about me, no matter how complex it all gets, I want you to remember that what we had was based on the truth. I loved you most of all.” With that, he vanished, leaving Bluebell curled in a ball, utterly wrecked.

  *****

  Chapter 8

  Casanova Talzer

  When Nolan saw Oliver get out of his car, he came running back to it. “You!” he exclaimed. “How did you get here?” He looked at the driver’s seat, where Bluebell sat mute, hugging herself with her knees to her chest. “What did you do to her!”

  “Relax. She’s just upset about Steve.” Oliver opened the door, and tried to coax Bluebell out.

  Nolan shoved him away. “You stay away from her!” Nolan said, pointing a shaking finger at him. “I don’t know what you said or did, but she was fine until… like five minutes ago.”

  Oliver raised his hands and took a step back. “As you please. Who are you again?”

  “Her best friend.” Nolan raised his chin defiantly. In a softer voice, he bent and asked, “Blue? Blue? Are you all right? Come on, babe. Pull yourself together. Justice for Steve, remember?”

  “He loved me.” Blue shook her head, tears collecting around the edges of her eyes.

  Nolan had his doubts about that, but agreed. “Of course he did. That’s why you have to keep it together now. The rest of us love you too, and we don’t want you in jail.”

  “Nolan.” Blue wrapped her arms around him, and he pulled her into an embrace. Her shoulders shook as she cried. “I hate him,�
�� she said. “I hate him so much, but I also love him. I loved every inch of who he was. He was greedy, and passionate and ambitious and kind and… how can a single human being be so many things at once?”

  “I wish I knew,” Nolan said. “I knew who he was to you, and I’m so sorry, Blue. I’m sorry about all of this. He didn’t deserve to die.”

  “He lied to me. He left me. I would have killed him myself if I’d known he was married all along,” Blue said. “But he loved me too. I can’t wrap my head around it. How could he?”

  “Don’t say that. That thing about how you could have killed him.” Nolan took a step back, held her shoulders and gave her a little shake. “I know why you’re saying it, I know what you’re feeling, but don’t ever say that in public again, got it? It could be very dangerous. The sheriff-”

  “Never mind the sheriff.” Oliver stepped up, sounding interested. “I’m your lawyer aren’t I, Blue? What’s all this about a wife?”

  “Selena Boyer,” Bluebell said. “He had a wife. She’s staying in Irma’s B&B.”

  “We should go talk to her,” Nolan said.

  “I’m not sure that’s very smart,” Oliver said. “I mean-”

  “We’re going,” Bluebell said grimly. “You two can walk there if you like, but I’m going right now.”

  “Looks like I don’t have a choice,” Oliver said. He looked at his watch and frowned. “Actually, something’s come up. Why don’t you two carry on, I’ll… er… I’ll make my own way back.”

  “How?” Nolan looked one way, then another. “We’re the only car around, and the town’s five miles away.”

  “Right.” Oliver looked a little irritated. “But I bought my own car. It’s that black one parked next to yours. Right? I’ll take that back to town.”

  “What black car? I don’t see any car.” Nolan gaped at him. “Are you mad?”

  Oliver maintained eye contact with Nolan. “The black one parked next to yours. I’ll be leaving in it. Now why don’t you go sit in the passenger’s seat?”

  Nolan’s eyes glazed slightly. “Right. The black one. I see it now.”

  “Entry level hypnosis,” Oliver said to a frowning Bluebell as Nolan went and sat in the passenger seat.

  “Shouldn’t it be illegal?” Bluebell asked.

  “Well, there are regulations against using it for evil purposes,” Oliver said. “But it’s perfectly acceptable to use it for mild trickery, especially if it means that wizard secrets aren’t revealed. I’m going to disappear now, and he’s going to assume I took a car. Simple, no harm done. You’ll learn it soon enough. I guess if Mathilda goes to jail, you’ll have a new tutor assigned to you.”

  “I don’t know if I even want one,” Bluebell said. “This whole witch thing… it’ll just make my life more complex. I’m happy as I am. It’s not like all this magic helped us prevent a crime, and it’s not as if you’re able to magically figure out who killed Steve.”

  “Yes, well. Magic is a tool, not a solution,” Oliver said. “You’ll figure that out as you practice it.”

  “What’s the emergency about anyway?” Bluebell asked. “Why aren’t you coming with us?”

  Oliver said, “We’ve found Mathilda.”

  “Oh.” Bluebell hesitated, not knowing what to feel about this. “Is she going to be…”

  Oliver shrugged.

  “Oliver, we already know that Mathilda didn’t do anything illegal, don’t we?” Bluebell asked. “She didn’t murder Steve. Why would she? She only cast a love spell on him, not knowing that he had died already. When she did that, Steve bonded to me, and part of him stayed behind for a little while.”

  Oliver gaped at her. “That’s brilliant! How did you figure that out?”

  “It’s obvious, isn’t it? It’s logical. Steve said it himself, that I’d bought him back from the dead. When Mathilda realized she’d accidentally brought him back, she panicked and ran.”

  “Well, I still need to bring her into custody,” Oliver said, a little doubt plain on his face. “I have to go, but look…” he handed her a bracelet. “Just twist on this if you need me. I’ll appear.”

  She slipped it on, tracing a finger over the bracelet next to it, the one that Steve had once given her. “It would be easier if you just gave me your number, you know,” she said.

  Oliver laughed. “But where’s the fun in that?” With that, he vanished.

  *****

  Irma’s B&B was a cozy place about three miles outside of town. It was a quaint little cottage with a wraparound porch and pink trim. Irma was always seated on a floral rocking chair outside, either knitting or browsing the internet on her iPad. She looked up as Nolan and Bluebell approached, and motioned to the pitcher of iced tea that sat next to her.

  “Help yourselves,” she said.

  “Hey, Irma.” Nolan smiled. “Mom said you beat her at scrabble last week. You devouring any dictionaries lately?”

  “Breakfast, lunch and dinner.” Irma smiled. “It was just a fluke, though. Your mom’s going to beat me next round. How’s your dad?”

  “Not too bad,” Nolan said. “I’m trying to convince him to buy an iPad, but he hasn’t graduated from his desktop PC yet.”

  “Hello, Irma.” Bluebell nodded at her.

  “Bluebell Knopps.” Irma shook her head, stood up, and embraced her in a hug. “I heard everything. Terrible! I don’t know what Catherine was thinking, arresting you like that. Everyone knows it can’t be you.” But there was a sliver of doubt in her eyes as she said it.

  “Right.” Nolan coughed. “Irma… we wanted to talk to a guest of yours. Um…”

  “Selena Boyer,” Bluebell said.

  Irma cocked her head. “No one by that name here.”

  “Blue…” Nolan shook his head. From his pocket, he took out the scrap of paper the secretary at Dowell Industries had given him. “Her name is…” He squinted. “Martina Murphy?”

  “But then, who’s Selena Boyer?” Bluebell asked.

  “Who?” Nolan looked confused.

  “Well, we do have a Martina Murphy here,” Irma said, “Sorry I can’t help you with the other girl, dear.”

  “That’s okay.” Nolan turned back to her. “We’d like to speak to Martina, if she’s willing.”

  “Oh… she isn’t here, I think she went to town,” Irma said. “But she promised she’d be back for tea. I’m baking my red velvet cake with rainbow sprinkles. If you wait an hour, you can meet her. Come on inside, I’ll give you a slice.”

  Nolan spent the next hour playing scrabble and chomping on cake, while an exhausted Bluebell fell asleep on the couch inside. Irma whispered to Nolan, “She going to be all right?”

  Nolan looked at her, sighed, and said, “Too early to tell. She’s holding up beautifully, though. She’s a brave one. As long as she doesn’t start brooding too much...”

  “She is brave. Takes after her mom.” Irma nodded. “When I was 14, I used to be bullied pretty badly in class. Jill Knopps gave one of my bullies a broken tooth after he called me a three-legged cow. No one bullied me after that.”

  “What a horrible creep,” Nolan said with some emotion. Irma had lost a leg after an accident when she was 12. She didn’t talk about it much, and could walk well with a cane and a prosthetic leg, but it made Nolan’s blood boil to think about her being bullied nevertheless. She was a meek sweetheart, and had always been lovely to him.

  Irma shrugged. “It happens. Mean kids grow up and become good adults.”

  “Some of them probably stay rotten forever,” Nolan said. “Like that kid with the broken tooth probably did.”

  “Oh he did fine for himself.” Irma smiled. “He’s CEO over at Dowell now.”

  “Blake Dowell did that?”

  A car door slammed, and they both looked up. Bluebell opened her eyes too. So this was her. Martina Murphy, Steve’s wife.

  She had softly curling hair that ended at her chin, and kohl around her eyes that had a few tell tale streaks. She nodded at the
m as she entered, and was about to go to her room when Irma intercepted her, and had a private talk. Bluebell saw her slumped shoulders suddenly straighten, and her chin jut out. She cast a malicious glance at Bluebell, and nodded twice as Irma whispered something. Then she made her way to them.

  Blue sat up on the couch, and Nolan scooted next to her. He put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, and she gave it a squeeze.

  “So. You’re his latest skank,” Martina said. “What have you come to say? I’m still his wife, legally. I own everything now, and if you think I’ll give you one penny-”

  “Martina, I’m not here about his money,” Bluebell said quietly. “I- we just wanted to talk to you about Steve.”

  “What’s there to talk about? Steve was still-water scum. He was an arrogant jerk who thought nothing of trampling over other people if it meant he would succeed. He was an egotistical idiot who thought that intelligence could make up for a lack of kindness.”

  “Now, Martina, be nice. He just passed away,” Irma said.

  “I know he did,” Martina said. “I know I’m not making any friends by cursing him, but I don’t care. Steve ditched me without looking back, and no matter what, I’m going to hate him for the rest of my life.”

  “You don’t have to make friends with us,” Bluebell said. “But we’d love it if you at least told us the truth about his past. Steve never spoke about it. If I’d known he was married, believe me I would never have dated him. I’m so sorry for what he did to you.”

  “Oh.” Martina calmed down a little. “Thanks. I guess it wasn’t really your fault. I should have figured he’d stay mum about the past.”

  “When did you meet?” Bluebell asked.

  “We were in the first year of college,” Martina said. “He was in the computer science program, and the professors all raved about him. He was a rising star. Then I came along, and we fell in love. At least I did. We made a mistake, and I got pregnant three months after we met.”

  Bluebell gasped.

  “Yes,” Martina said. “That was how I reacted too. Steve though, he acted as though I’d ruined his life. He was horrible to me. He shouted, said that I was trying to ensnare him. Said it probably wasn’t even his. Said I’d come in the way of his bright future.”