A Spell Of Trouble (Silver Hollow Paranormal Cozy Mystery Series Book 1)

by Leighann Dobbs

  “No.” He shook his head and walked over to flip his shop’s sign to Open. “I told you I was alone. But you're right. Louella couldn't have taken the knife. I took off right after her as soon as she snapped the picture. She ran off away from the circle. I chased her clear out to the road, so there was no way she could have doubled back, but when I got back the knife was gone. I didn't see anyone else out there that might have taken it."

  His tone turned defensive, and Issy’s guilt tripled. This was her cousin, one of her closest friends. No way would she ever believe he had any involvement in Louella’s death. She rushed to his side and laid a comforting hand on his arm. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

  Gray tensed beside her, and Issy tracked his gaze out the window to where Christian Vonner and Brittany Chase were walking arm in arm down the sidewalk. Brittany glanced over at Gray, her smile falling, then met Issy’s gaze before she turned and whispered something to Christian. He too looked over at Issy and Gray, scowling, then tugged her away at top speed.

  “Well, that was weird,” Issy said. “Not to mention unfriendly.”

  “Are they together?” Gray asked, still following the couple’s movements down the street.

  “Pretty sure they are. I saw them together at the Vonners’ house yesterday.” Issy kissed Bella’s head. “Why? Do you know him?”

  “No. Not Christian, anyway.” Gray lowered his head and sighed, leaning one brawny shoulder against the wall near the windows. “Brittany, though…”

  “What?”

  Small dots of crimson blotched his high cheekbones beneath his tanned skin. “Well, I think she’s got a crush on me.”

  Issy snorted. “So do three quarters of the women in Silver Hollow. I still think you put some kind of love charm on your clients.”

  “Nah. Believe me, I get more than enough attention without it.” In a lot of men, that statement would’ve sounded vain and arrogant. But Gray was so unassuming about his looks, so kind and generous to everyone he met—not to mention blessed by the gods in the looks department—that it was just a statement of fact. Still, Issy knew him well enough to recognize the hint of sadness and loneliness beneath his teasing tone. Poor guy. Maybe he was ready to settle down. Before Issy could say anything, though, Gray continued. “Besides, Brittany’s not my type. Hopefully, if she’s with Christian, she’ll start leaving me alone.”

  Issy frowned. “Has she been bothering you?”

  He shrugged and went over to Cosmo’s perch to feed him a treat. “Not really, just being her usual aggressive self. Demanding I work her into my schedule last Tuesday then hogging the mirror to primp and preen when I was trying to work with the next client.” He gave his familiar a kiss on the beak then turned toward Issy again. “Then there was the whole fainting scene.”

  “Fainting?”

  “Yeah. After I asked her nicely to move out of the way, she complained of feeling lightheaded then practically swooned to the floor. I caught her before she hit the ground, but I’m almost positive it was just a ploy to get my attention.”

  “Huh. That’s weird.” Bella wriggled in her grasp, eager to get back outside, and Issy glanced up at the clock on the wall. Time to get to her own shop anyway. She grabbed her bag off his counter. “Have you gotten any word from Dee Dee about the camera?”

  “Not yet.” He followed her to the door and held it open for her. “Why?”

  “The police and FBPI arrived at Louella’s while I was searching yesterday. I had to leave in a hurry to avoid getting caught and didn’t have a chance to find it.”

  Gray put a hand on her shoulder and forced a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Well, don’t worry. I have faith in Dee Dee. If law enforcement gets ahold of it, she’ll erase the pics before they can see them.”

  Issy nodded then stepped out onto the sidewalk as Ms. Weber headed for the entrance. “I’ll talk to you later, cousin,” she called to Gray.

  He waved then guided his elderly client into the shop.

  She made her way back across the square, feeling even less confident than she had before. That visit with Gray had only created more questions than answers. And with the strange way Dee Dee had been acting lately, Issy wasn’t as confident as Gray that Dee Dee would act in Gray’s best interest if the FBPI happened upon those photos.

  11

  Issy pulled her cell phone out as she left Shear Magic and headed across the street to her own store. She was hoping to see a text from Dee Dee about Louella’s camera, but there was nothing. Where was it? Did the police have it, or was it still hidden somewhere in Louella’s house?

  She looked up to see someone dressed in a long black skirt and flowy black top peering into the display window of her shop, a little white bag clutched in her hand, long fingers curled around the top like red-tipped claws. Her heart constricted when she realized it was Karen Dixon. Karen had been there the morning Louella died. Issy and her cousins had never gotten along with Karen. She was mean and snippy, and Issy had heard rumors that Karen had started to dabble in dark magic, and she wasn’t surprised since it suited her personality perfectly.

  Issy’s hand went into her purse, searching for the cool comfort of the obsidian talisman. It would offer a measure of protection against any bad magic vibes Karen might send her way. But the stone wasn’t there. She must have left it at home, lying on the sand beneath the big pine tree in her backyard. That was where she put it to soak up energy from the sun, earth, and trees. She’d have to use her own inner strength if Karen tried to whammy dark energy at her.

  Karen turned, the fake smile on her bright-red lips not quite reaching her heavily mascaraed eyes. Her long black hair hung down past her shoulders in limp strands framing her pale oval face.

  “Those are beautiful gold skinks you have there.” Karen nodded her head toward the terrarium tank on display in the front of the window where Issy had two beautiful gold skinks, Ozzie and Harriet. The tank was outfitted with mossy areas, stones, and even a real log for the skinks, which sat contentedly on a flat rock, their golden scales shimmering in the sun.

  A surge of protectiveness washed over Issy. There was no way she was going to sell those skinks to Karen. If she was into dark magic, she’d probably use them for some kind of harmful spell. That wouldn’t be good for the skinks or the recipient of the spell.

  “They’re not for sale,” Issy said. “Are you looking to buy a pet?”

  “Maybe. That was something that happened to Louella, huh?” Karen’s dark eyes drifted to the spot on the sidewalk where Louella had fallen, and Issy shuddered.

  “It was. Do you know anything about it?” Issy asked.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “You were here that day, and you know full well that kind of spell takes a lot of energy and works best when the person is close to the recipient.”

  “You were standing right next to Louella, and you have a motive,” Karen pointed out.

  “Well, it certainly wasn’t me. Just because Louella didn’t like me is no reason to kill her. Plus, I don’t do dark magic.”

  “Neither do I… anymore.”

  Issy’s eyes narrowed. So Karen had dabbled in dark magic. But was it true she didn’t do it anymore? Issy didn’t trust her but had to admit she didn’t sense any dark vibes coming from her. That didn’t mean Karen didn’t do dark magic, though—it just meant she wasn’t doing it now.

  “So what are you doing here?” Issy gestured toward her store.

  Karen held up the little white bag in her hand. The gold logo for Divine Cravings was stamped on the front. “I was just satisfying one of my cravings.” Karen opened the bag and tilted toward her. “Want one?”

  “No.” Issy didn’t trust her not to have put some sort of a charm or spell on the chocolates.

  “Suit yourself. Anyway, I was thinking it might be best if we stuck together. With the… you know.” She leaned toward Issy and lowered her voice. “FBPI in town. That can’t be good for any of us.”
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  So that was what she was up to. She didn’t want the FBPI finding out she was a witch. But why come to Issy? Unless she was involved in Louella’s death somehow and wanted to find out what Issy knew. By now the fact that she and Gray had talked to the FBPI was probably all over town.

  “Sure. What do you know about Louella’s death?” Issy asked.

  “Nothing much. I think Louella knew something about that land. She didn’t want it rezoned.”

  “That’s common knowledge. She lived near there, so it’s no surprise. Doesn’t really help with figuring out who killed her, though.”

  “It could be someone who wanted the rezoning done.” Karen stared at Issy for a second. “What do you know? I know you were at the police station.” So she was digging for information.

  “Not much. Owen is investigating it as a poisoning.”

  “Double investigation. That can’t be good unless Owen comes up with the same killer as the FBPI. Then again, the FBPI won’t necessarily take the killer—they’ll take anyone they think is paranormal.” Karen paused for a second as they both reflected on that. It was true—they really weren’t here to seek justice and wouldn’t wait around to see who the culprit was. If they got evidence that someone was superhuman, they’d bring them in. “Okay, well, if you find anything out, let me know. I’d hate to see the FBPI take anyone here in town and do… whatever it is they do to them.” Karen’s eyes drifted over toward Shear Magic.

  “Right. Will do.” As if. Issy wasn’t about to give any information to Karen until she knew exactly what the other witch was up to.

  Karen started off down the street, and Issy watched her walk away for a few seconds then peered in at the skinks just to double-check that they were okay before digging out her keys and stepping into the alcove of the front door.

  She’d barely gotten her key in the lock when her cell phone chimed. She pulled it out, her heart jerking as she read the message from Dee Dee.

  Owen’s office. Pronto. Something is going down, and you’re going to want to be here.

  Issy spun around and raced for Brown Betty. There were a few cars on the road, and she dodged a red sports car and a white pickup before wrenching her car door open and jumping inside.

  Issy’s pulse pounded as she skidded down the hallway and into Owen’s office. Her worst suspicions were confirmed when she noticed Dex and Stan sitting in chairs in front of Owen’s desk. Dee Dee stood in the doorway, her arms folded over her chest. With the four people and now two chairs in front of the desk, the small room was already crowded, but Issy pushed her way in.

  Owen held a digital camera in his hand, his eyes flicking up from the LCD screen to Issy. “Hey, glad you could make it.”

  Issy shot a questioning look at Dee Dee. Owen had been expecting her? Issy had gotten the impression from Dee Dee’s text that it was a tip-off so Issy could rush down and stop them from doing something rash. Like arresting Gray for the photo Owen was probably looking at right now.

  “What’s up?” Her voice was shaky. Her eyes fell on a round, smooth striped agate that lay on Owen’s desk—a gift she’d given him after he’d commented on her own obsidian stone talisman lying in the sand under the pine tree at one of her beach parties. She wished she’d had time to go home and pick her talisman up. She could use its comfort.

  “I searched Louella’s house yesterday and found this digital camera. Judging by the pictures, it’s pretty obvious now why the FBI is really here,” Owen said.

  Issy’s eyes jerked over to Dex, but the expression on his face didn’t give anything away. Was it possible Owen knew they were after paranormals? He was acting kind of nonchalant about it, but then again not too much fazed him. He was cool as a cucumber and didn’t get riled up, which was one of the reasons they’d elected him. She glanced at Dee Dee out of the corner of her eye, and an emotion that Issy couldn’t read flickered across her face. Guilt because she couldn’t erase Gray’s picture?

  “Well, I’m sure whatever it is there’s a good explanation… ” Issy started.

  Owen frowned. “Explanation? I don’t know how you could explain this.”

  Issy glanced at Dex and Stan. Had Owen already shown them what was on the camera? She inched toward the desk. “You know my cousins. They do some wacky things.”

  Out of the corner of her eye she could see Dex frowning. Maybe she shouldn’t have said that.

  Owen chuckled. “They sure do. Remember the time when Ember—”

  Dee Dee cleared her throat. “The camera, Owen.”

  Owen glanced down at the camera in his hand. “Right. So anyway, we were thinking maybe you’d be able to help us out with this.”

  “You were?” Issy glanced at Dee Dee again, but the werewolf’s face was impassive. The FBPI guys shifted in their seats as if they were already tired of the conversation and ready to take action. Did Owen think that Issy would be able to help them explain the picture of Gray? Was he eagerly accepting that Gray was a witch and now thinking she was one, too? What were the FBPI guys thinking?

  And come to think of it, where was Gray? If they had a picture of him, why hadn’t the FBPI taken him away? She was sure he was still at his salon. There was still time to make up some excuse and save him. She racked her brain, frantic for a way to explain the photo of Gray naked in the moonlight.

  “Yeah, so you know Louella had her quirks, and she spouted off to some people about taking these pictures, but it turns out she really stumbled onto something,” Owen said.

  “It’s probably not what you think,” Issy blurted out.

  “Oh, there’s no mistaking what this is. I mean, we don’t know the exact specifics, but it’s pretty clear,” Owen said.

  “Well, I’m sure there’s a logical explanation. You know Gray is a little eccentric, and sometimes he does stuff.” Issy shrugged, glancing sideways at the FBPI guys. Were they buying any of her excuses?

  Owen’s eyes narrowed. “What is wrong with you, Issy? Why are you rambling on about Gray? Is he into reptiles too?”

  “Reptiles? What do you mean?”

  Owen flipped the camera around so Issy could see the display. She stared at it, hardly believing her eyes.

  “The purple spotted salamander. I figured with your experience you could verify that that is what these are. Turns out Louella found them over on the parcel of land that’s up for rezoning. They’re endangered, you know.” Owen turned the screen toward the FBPI guys. “Isn’t that really why you guys are here? To protect the endangered salamanders?”

  12

  After the meeting broke up, Dee Dee took Issy off to the side and told her she’d gotten the camera first and had deleted the pictures of Gray. Issy texted Gray and the others right off the bat to tell them about what had happened in Owen’s office and set up a meeting for later that night.

  Issy felt like a huge weight had been lifted, but it had been replaced with a new concern. The purple spotted salamander was indeed rare and endangered, but it was also very powerful when used in magic. Especially dark magic. And if a dark witch knew the salamanders were there, they sure wouldn’t want anyone else to find out.

  Clearly Louella had been about to make the discovery public, and an endangered species living on that land would certainly put the kibosh on any rezoning plans, too. Even Hans couldn’t buy his way around that one.

  No matter what the reason for Louella’s death was, it was clear that a dangerous rogue witch was on the loose. Even though the picture of Gray had been deleted, Issy and Gray were still under suspicion, judging by the looks she’d gotten from Stan and Dex.

  Owen, on the other hand, seemed quite pleased with himself for discovering the real reason for the FBI’s presence.

  Now, not only would they have to watch out for the investigation of the FBPI, but Owen seemed intent on proving that he could ferret out the killer before the FBI could.

  After supper, Issy loaded wood into the stone fire pit on the small beach behind her house where the cousins planned to meet.r />
  Brimstone, his fur taking on a black tone in the waning light, watched as Issy got together the fixings for s’mores—a bag of giant marshmallows, milk chocolate bars from Ember’s shop (one of which she ate), and graham crackers.

  Bella followed her around, prancing at her side, casting hopeful glances in the direction of the food.

  “No chocolate for you—it’s dangerous for dogs.” Issy turned to Brimstone. “And for cats, too.”

  Brimstone scoffed. “I don’t care for sweets. I have a much more refined palette than your inferior canine. Lobster or filet mignon is more my style.”

  “Awk! Lobster!” Cosmo swooped past Brimstone’s head and landed in the bow of a pine tree.

  Gray wasn’t far behind. “S’mores! Excellent.”

  His aqua eyes were more green tonight and sparkling with an excitement that had been missing the past few days. Apparently Gray was as relieved as Issy about the picture, though he’d never let on how stressed out he was about it.

  “I figured we’d celebrate.” Issy turned toward the fire pit and held her breath. She flicked her fingers toward the wood. Sparks flew from her French-manicured fingernails, igniting the wood and bursting it into bright-orange flames. “There, that’s better. Now we can cook them.”

  Gray pulled four lawn chairs up to the fire. “I guess we owe Dee Dee one. She really saved my butt.”

  “Your naked butt.” Ember came around the corner of the cottage, Bellatrix and Endora weaving around her ankles.

  Brimstone looked at the kittens and rolled his eyes. “Okay. I’m out of here.” He trotted off into a stand of pine trees, seeming to almost disappear as he blended in with the darkness of the woods.

  “Let’s not talk about Gray’s naked butt.” Raine followed behind Ember, her eyes lighting on the tray of food. “Oh goody. S’mores.” She immediately veered off to the woods to pick out a good branch for roasting the marshmallows.