by Amy Boyles
Amelia snapped her fingers, and the spoon whizzed from Cordelia’s hand back to Amelia’s. Cordelia rose from the bed. “Come on. Let’s go find the car.”
We washed off our masks and changed from our pajamas into dark-colored clothing. We padded down the stairs softly, trying to avoid Betty. Donovan was sleeping on the screened-in back porch, so I wasn’t worried about him waking up or even caring.
Garrick Young had kept all of us at the festival pretty late doing interviews. He hadn’t arrested anyone while we were there, so I was pretty sure us finding Carl’s vehicle and digging through it was a great idea.
Okay, maybe just finding the vehicle was a good idea. If Garrick went dusting for fingerprints and found mine and my cousins, we’d probably be in big trouble.
But this was Magnolia Cove. Maybe Garrick had more sophisticated means of searching for clues besides dusting.
Maybe.
We sneaked out the front door and into the cool night.
“I wish I’d brought a sweater,” Amelia said. “It’s pretty chilly.”
“Do some jumping jacks,” Cordelia said. “That should help.”
“I’m not doing jumping jacks in the middle of the street.”
“Then stop complaining about being cold,” Cordelia snapped.
“Would you two stop?” I practically snarled. “We’re here to work. Let’s go to Bubbling Cauldron and see if it’s there.”
The night was dead still. Debris and litter filled the grassy area where the party had been. Once Carl was killed, all the energy and excitement at Donovan’s arrival had deflated. It was as if the same spell that had alerted the town to his presence had evaporated, taking all the energy with it.
“If I were a witch hunter, where would I have parked?” Amelia mused.
“In the shade to keep the car cool,” I said. “No one wants to work up a sweat and then get back in the car and be all sticky. Even though fall is almost here, the days are still hot.”
Cordelia threaded her fingers through her hair. “And where are the most trees?”
“In the park,” I said.
On the other side of Bubbling Cauldron, the road was lined with magnolias. We crossed the grassy area and found the street quiet except for a single vehicle parked on the curb.
I grabbed Cordelia’s arm. “That’s it. That’s the car.”
We reached it seconds later. It was a shimmering silver two-seater sports car.
“That’s weird,” I said. “If you were a witch hunter, wouldn’t you want a vehicle with a bigger trunk for all your gear?”
Amelia shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe he kept all his tools on him.”
I ran a finger over the waxy hood. “He did wear a Batman-like utility belt.”
Cordelia placed a hand on the handle. “Let’s see if this baby is unlocked.” She pulled, but the door stuck firm.
“And I thought my granddaughters were smart enough to figure out how to break into a car and wouldn’t need my help.”
I turned around to see Betty clad in black with what looked like a knitted baby booty on her head.
“Is that a baby’s booty?” I said.
She glared at me. Yes, even with only lamplight spilling on us, I could see she was glaring.
“What’s it to you?”
“I mean, other than the fact it must’ve come from a giant baby, I was just wondering.”
She shrugged. “Let’s get down to business. Why in tarnation are y’all here in the middle of the night? Other than the fact that you look like complete and total deviants by being out this late?”
I gestured like Vanna White over the vehicle. “This was the witch hunter’s car.”
“Looks small,” she said gruffly.
“That’s what we thought,” I said. “We came to look for clues.”
“Cordelia couldn’t get it open,” Amelia said.
“I only tried the handle,” Cordelia snapped. “I didn’t work any magic.”
Betty cracked her knuckles. “Let me try.”
I frowned. “You can break in?”
Betty placed a finger over one nostril. “What do you think I am, just a pretty face? I can unlock things. Since Garrick and his band of merry men haven’t figured out that this is the victim’s car, he won’t have spelled it to stop nosy rosies like yourself from breaking in.”
“Well, why didn’t you say so?” I said.
“I just did,” she replied.
Betty released a line of magic from her open nostril. It floated in the air before dissolving over the vehicle.
Snick.
The locks popped as if on cue. I fisted the air in victory.
“All right, girls, let’s see what this witch hunter was all about.”
Betty opened the driver’s side door, and Cordelia opened the passenger.
“It’s pretty clean in here,” Cordelia said, swiping a hand over the seat. She opened the glove box. “There’s only the manual.”
“What about insurance cards?” I said.
“There aren’t any,” she said.
I gnawed the inside of my cheek. “That’s strange. You know State Farm or whoever always wants you to keep one card inside the vehicle at all times.”
“Yeah, well he didn’t bring along Molly Insurance to keep him in line,” Betty said.
“Is that a real person?” Amelia said.
“No,” the three of us answered in unison.
“Oh,” she said quietly.
Betty popped the trunk. “Amelia, take a look in the back.”
Amelia hustled to the rear and opened the lid. “It’s empty.”
I crossed to her. Sure enough, all that greeted us was a dark hole lined with gray carpet.
“If you were a witch hunter here to do a job, why would your trunk be empty?” I said. “Wouldn’t you need things? Like weapons, rope? Wouldn’t he need supplies?”
Betty scratched the base of her skull. “Something strange is going on here, that’s for sure.”
“Agreed,” I said.
I crossed to the front and slid into the passenger-side seat. I placed my hands on the dash. This wasn’t adding up. Not that I was some sort of genius detective or anything, but there was definitely something fishy going on.
Cordelia had closed up the glove box, but I punched the button. The lid flipped down, and I gazed at the incredibly neat contents. If you asked me, that was pretty amazing. In every car I’d ever owned, the glove box became a catchall for napkins, receipts, hair ties—anything I wanted to hide away. It made my car look clean on the inside when in reality all the mess had just ended up being shoved into the one hiding place I could find.
I grabbed the manual and peeled it open. I laughed.
“What is it?” Amelia said. “Are the directions to change the oil funny?”
“I doubt that’s what she’s laughing at,” Cordelia said.
“That’s not what’s so funny,” I admitted.
Betty boobed her way between my cousins. “Well, what is it? Tell us what’s so funny before we explode with anticipation.”
“Ew,” Amelia said. “That’s a horrible image.”
Cordelia folded her arms. “What is it, Pepper?”
I opened the owner’s manual so they could see for themselves. Betty leaned forward, squinting.
“Bewitching Rentals?”
I pulled the business card from the flap in the manual. It had a picture of a witch flying in front of a full moon.
“Yep. Looks like this isn’t Carl’s car after all. It’s a rental. If we want to know more about our victim, then they’re the first folks we need to get in contact with.”
Looked like I had a job to do in the morning, because I had a feeling there was more to this “Carl” than met the eye.
SEVEN
“He reserved the car under the name Carl Carlsburg.”
Axel stood in Familiar Place, extending a sheet of paper for me. Hugo, perched on my shoulder, leaned over to sniff the page. Since
it was Sunday and the store was officially closed, I’d come in to feed and water the animals. Axel had called and said he had news, so I asked him to swing by.
I stroked Hugo’s head and read the invoice. “Carl Carlsburg?”
Axel clicked his tongue. “That’s the name.”
“Do you think it’s a fake?”
Axel rolled his shoulders.
“You probably should’ve listened to the doctor and kept that sling on.”
Axel rubbed the spot where the bullet had penetrated him. “Everyone’s a critic.”
“Don’t you mean MD?”
“Everyone’s an MD,” he said with a curled lip. His blue eyes danced with amusement. I felt a blush creep up my neck. “I have the feeling my time ‘off’ is over. Now with Donovan returned, a murder investigation and the werewolf mafia in town, things are looking pretty combustible in good old Magnolia Cove.”
I smirked. “But Johnny hasn’t started any trouble, has he?”
“Not that I know of, but they’re werewolves.”
“So are you.” I uncoiled Hugo from my neck and laid him on the floor. The dragon padded away, sniffing at the animals.
Tell him to stay away from me. I scratch, one of the kittens said.
Can he teach us how to breathe fire? one of the puppies barked.
Hugo ignored them and instead flapped his wings and settled on an empty perch in the bird bin. The macaws and parrots shuffled over, keeping a watchful eye on the dragon, who glanced at them with a bored gaze.
“They don’t know what to think of him,” Axel said.
“Join the club. Hugo’s still figuring himself out,” I replied. “He’s only a baby with a lot to learn.” I turned to Axel. “But going back…”
His gaze bored into me like I’d annoyed him something good. Fine by me. Didn’t bother me to pinch a nerve on Axel every once in a while.
“Yes, the werewolf thing. You’re not going to let it go.”
I scoffed. “All I’m saying is—should you place the prejudice thrown at you on a clan of wolves you don’t even know?”
Axel raked his shoulder-length dark locks from his face. His gaze speared me. “One word—mafia.”
“You got me there. Anyway, what about this Carl Carlsburg? If indeed that is his real name.”
Axel sank onto a stool. “So glad you asked. I’ve been doing research and discovered he has a very interesting lineage.”
I leaned on the counter. “Tell me more. In fact, tell me everything.”
“You’ll be interested to know the Carlsburgs are an old family originally from Eastern Europe.”
“Where exactly?”
“Transylvania.”
I stared at him, unblinking. “Transylvania? As in where Dracula is from?”
“That’s right.”
I watched Axel for some sign that he was lying, that what I was hearing wasn’t true, but he didn’t flinch.
I decided to call rotten eggs anyway. “You’re kidding, right? There’s not really a Dracula from Transylvania.”
“There was a Vlad Dracula who lived in Hungary—also known as Vlad the Impaler. But vampires do exist, and they did originate in Transylvania.”
I rubbed my temples. “Let my head stop spinning for a moment. Okay, so the man who tried to kill Donovan has ties to vampires—comes from their line. But he couldn’t have been a vampire, right? Unless these vampires are like those from Twilight and can go out during the day. Oh, but Carl didn’t sparkle when I saw him in my shop.”
“I don’t think so,” Axel said. “If he had been, he could’ve killed Donovan easily.”
“Unless he wanted Donovan to know why he was being killed. Wanted a big show about it—which is how it seemed to me. He wanted to end Donovan’s life and let everyone know. He wasn’t ashamed, so it begs the question—did he feel this killing was justified and not simply a hit that he was hired for?”
Axel stared at me a moment and then placed a hand over his heart. “You are so stinkin’ smart. Do you know what that does to me?”
“Gives you heartburn?”
“The good kind, not the bad kind.”
I laughed. “Anyway, so for some reason or another Carl felt justified for the killing. Donovan seemed oblivious, and Johnny Utah wanted the whole thing called off.” I wiped a speck of dust from the counter. “What does Garrick know?”
Axel folded his arms and winked. “Now what would I know about the present sheriff of Magnolia Cove’s ongoing murder investigation?”
I dipped my head and glanced at Axel from underneath a fringe of bang. “You can’t fool me. I’m well aware you know exactly what’s going on.”
“I know that Johnny Utah’s keeping his mouth shut about his mob connections.”
“But Garrick can figure that out.”
“He can and probably will. But in the meantime Donovan’s not saying much either.”
“Why not?”
Axel brushed his fingernails on his shirt. “Think about it—if it were you, would you tell the authorities that a mob guy who wanted you dead is in town?”
I cringed. “You think that would ensure that Johnny would move against Donovan?”
“Almost one hundred percent.”
I sank into a chair and tapped my foot. “So what do we do now? Somebody killed Carl—but who and why?”
Axel rotated his wounded shoulder back and grinned. “I say we start with the main guy.”
Cold fear trickled through my veins. “You mean Johnny?”
A brilliant smile flashed at me. “The one and only.”
Let me just say that it wasn’t difficult to track down three newcomers in the small town of Magnolia Cove. We found Johnny and the brutes at a diner called Silver Bullet. As ironic as it was for werewolves to be eating in a joint with that name, the place was shaped like a bullet, having been constructed of corrugated steel with a pointed tip at one end.
When Axel approached Johnny, the boss had his men move to the next booth and greeted us like we were family.
After we all sat and ordered some breakfast, Johnny turned to Axel. “You’re blood, right?”
Axel sipped from the black coffee he’d ordered. “Half. Other half is wizard.”
Johnny made a face of disgust. “You must not be as big as one of us full bloods.”
“I beg to differ,” I said. “I have seen the wolf in action, and he is huge. Big as a tree.”
Both men stared at me. But I wasn’t going to back down. So I clicked my tongue. “No lie.”
Axel cleared his throat. “I can howl with the big boys, trust me. And the wolf blood only increases my abilities as a wizard, having the animal instinct.”
“Hmm,” Johnny said. “I didn’t think of that. You got a job?”
“Not in the market for one.”
Johnny squinted one brown eye at him. “I could use a guy like you.”
“You could use a lot of guys like me, but I’m not looking, like I said.”
Johnny poured syrup on his pancakes. He picked up a fork and knife and started slicing away. He took a bite large enough to choke a hippopotamus and spoke while chewing his attractive cud. “You change your mind, you come find me. But it seems to me you’re looking for something. Why else would you be here?”
“It’s about last night.”
Johnny slurped his coffee. “You police?”
“No.”
“You talk to Donovan?”
“I have,” I said, rubbing a finger over the lip of my glass of sweet tea. “He told us what happened with the bat.”
Johnny eyed me. “You must be the niece.”
“I am.”
“He tell you that bat stole my niece and we’re looking for her?”
I nodded. “He did, and that you sent a witch hunter after him.”
“Shh,” Johnny said, “not so loud. I want to make it out of this town alive.”
Axel dragged his gaze from me and rested it on the mobster. “What about Carl?”
Johnny tucked a napkin into his shirt. “Oh, when I discovered my niece was gone and it was all that vamp’s fault, I wanted Donovan dead, I won’t deny it. He made me look like a fool.”
“He didn’t know,” I said.
Johnny nodded. “I know the guy’s had a good store for a long time. That’s why I reached out to him in the first place. I figured he could get me something legit.”
Axel scoffed. “There’s nothing legitimate about a vampire who’s been cursed to remain in bat form. It’s a curse. You and I both know what it is to be cursed.”
I frowned. “What?”
Johnny wiped syrup from his chin. “That’s the basis of the werewolf legend. We’re cursed to roam the earth as animals one night a month, killing those we love and feeding off their flesh.”
“That’s downright horrible,” I said.
He shrugged like only a mobster who’s been around more blood than is decent would do. “That’s how it is. Anyway, once I got wind that Donovan wasn’t dead after all, I called Carl and told him about the job. But then something happened.”
“What?” I said.
“I got this new girlfriend.”
Not what I expected to hear.
“Love will change things,” Axel said.
I gave him a double take, but his gaze didn’t even flicker to me.
“Yeah,” Johnny said, taking another ginormous bite. “I fell in love with this total doll. Name’s Eva. When I was thinking about doing the hit, Eva said to me, ‘Johnny, what if it’s all a big mistake? That poor guy, he didn’t mean for anything to happen to Princess. For me, don’t kill him.’”
Johnny wiped a tear from his eye. “It gets me every time I think about it. Her sweet little mouth all puckered up as she begs for the life of a man she don’t even know.”
“Did she come with you?” Axel said.
“What? Eva? No. She’s back in Witch Vegas laying by the pool and staying beautiful.” Johnny tucked the napkin back in place. “So I agreed, but the problem was, I couldn’t get ahold of Carl. Sucker turned his phone off.”
“Well, he was working,” I said as if that made perfect sense.
“Yeah, that’s what I figured, too,” Johnny said. “So me and the boys, we came down here. I didn’t know last night was a time when anybody can get in. That’s just dumb luck. So when I showed up and Carl was going to do what I didn’t want him to, I was ticked.”
