by Naomi Muse
When we finally reached the house, all the lights were off except for one in the basement. Basement windows are notoriously small, so I wasn’t really worried about her grandson catching us. I had bigger things to worry about.
The berries on a nightshade plant are dark in color and round, similar to the blueberry. They would be easy to spot during that day, but nighttime was another story. I know that all dark things have power. I was hoping to let that power guide me. I took one last look around to make sure no one was watching and carefully sat in the middle of the garden. I made sure I didn’t break any branches or stems.
Angelo sat right next to me without missing a beat. I took a deep breath and opened myself up to the energy of nature. I felt the grass growing, the leaves unfurling and the wonders of nature. I concentrated on the dark energy. It tends to give off feelings of death, longing, and despair.
This garden was alive with all kinds of energy. A few of them were grandmotherly and kind. The sinister stuff was lurking underneath. There was definitely something dark going on here. I felt a huge burst of energy to my left.
I opened my eyes and carefully kept my feet creeping towards the edge of the property. There, against the fence, was the nightshade. There were several berries there, and I could feel the energy. Death was here. I didn’t touch it. Just touching it was enough to get the toxins in your skin. Angelo made a move to sniff it, but I held up my hand to still him. He stopped and fell back to my side. This was the house. This is where the plants had come from.
Chapter 13
Since the chief wasn’t going to be much help, I had to take this to a whole new extreme. I needed to put myself at risk. There’s nothing I hate more than making myself a target, but if I wanted to go back to work this case needed to be wrapped up. I started doing what any self-respecting dummy would do, I made myself look guilty to the guilty.
I walked past the Johnsons bakery several times a day. Sometimes with Angelo, sometimes without. I made sure to stop and pretend to tie my shoe. Regular ridiculous things that they couldn’t possibly miss. I was happy doing this until I noticed they had a new cupcake. The sign said, Better than Bewitching cupcakes. There was no excuse for that. It wasn’t even tongue-in-cheek. Just right blatant in-your-face rude. I decided to lay it on a little thicker.
I went in, and I ordered a cupcake every day. Nothing else, just order the cupcake and I made a big show of how I was checking out the competition. They didn’t like me. They had no reason to turn me away, if anything, it would make them look bad. I waited, pointing at everything but the cupcakes after I had the first one. I insisted that nothing was better than Bewitching Bakery and I should know. I made them. Of course, this wasn’t true, but they had no reason to know that.
The owners were getting rattled sure, but no one was as rattled as Ms. Rudy’s grandson, he hated me. And he was very clear about it. The feeling was quite mutual. I wasn’t too worried about himself. He was just some punk kid. I wanted the big guns. I wanted a murderer, and I wasn’t going to stop until I had him dead to rights. Wasn’t quite sure how I was going to get him dead to rights. At least not yet anyway.
Then one day the special was just for me. The special of the day was a lemon blueberry cupcake. Not only was it tacky, it probably was poison. If I had to pick the most poison cupcake in the world, it would be that one. The owner asserted to me with the smuggest look on his face I’ve ever seen. It would be the best one ever. I made a big show of how this was to be the final test. This would prove that Bewitching was the better bakery. And then I asked for it to go. He was baffled. But I mean what I say. I paid for it, I could eat it wherever I wanted, but Sunny Jim Corey had other plans. He was furious. He physically tried to block the door. His behavior even surprised the owners.
“You think you’re going with that? You buy here, you eat here. This isn’t some fast food joint.” He was he was so mad he was spitting.
I took a step back, shocked by his evident anger, the owner didn’t even know what to say.
“I’m so sorry ma’am, he normally doesn’t react like this. I mean, I know you’re the competition all, but you are still a customer and I just— “
“You don’t apologize to her. She’s crazy, she probably just wants me to say she was at my house.” Corey broke in again.
I was warming up to Mr. Johnson ever so slightly. At least he recognized that this kid was an ass. Once they manage to get the kid out of my way, I made a beeline for the door. I didn’t even bother going home I headed straight to the police station and dropped the tainted treats on the Chief’s desk.
“I think you’ll find I have a copy of the murder weapon. I just got this from the Josephs Bakery, and I will bet my life that it’s poison. It was given to me by Mr. Joseph himself, and that punk kid went ballistic. There are a dozen witnesses that will say the same.”
Chief Rowan looked shocked. He clearly thought I had lost my mind, but he knew better than to say so. He just took the cupcake and rushed out of the room. I assumed he was taking it to the lab or wherever it is detectives take these things. I didn’t think that is was a good idea to follow him. I sat, and I waited. I can imagine taking that long now they knew exactly what to test for.
My hands were shaking. Not because of the attempt on my life, although that had been scary. I just hoped that I was right and it was the poisoned cupcake. If it wasn’t, I would look pretty dumb. I was more shocked by the level of violence coming from Corey. What a freak. The chief came back and took my statement. Looks like the poison checked out. He went to make his arrest.
I went home. A hot bath was definitely in store for me.
When I got home Angelo was waiting by the door in a state of agitation. I had never seen him like this before. I tried to soothe him and give him treats, but he would have none of it. I just wanted to relax now that I had done my good deed of the day.
Angelo wouldn’t let me rest. He whined at the door to the bath the whole time. If I had learned anything about his sunny disposition, this was definitely unusual behavior for him. Finally, I tried putting in headphones to drown out the noise, but the guilt was too overwhelming.
I cut the bath short, put on my coziest pajamas and went out to comfort Angelo. We had settled onto the couch with some dessert. There was a bowl of ice cream for me and a shot of whipped cream for him. Just when Angelo had calmed down, there was a loud rapping at the door. I expected him to go into a barking frenzy, but he just continued to lap up his treat.
I opened the door and was surprised to find the chief standing there. He didn’t look very pleased with me. I thought he might appreciate me cracking his case.
“Hey, chief. How can I help you?”
“You could help me by stopping your faulty police work. The cupcake was poisoned, but when we confronted Mr. Joseph, we found out he didn’t make it. Imagine our surprise when we discovered that he only serves the food. As a matter of fact, his wife usually does the baking. Mrs. Joseph happened to be out sick today. It seems that Corey made your cupcake. We marched in their guns blazing to arrest an innocent man, and our real killer got away. I don’t know why the kid would try to poison you. I don’t know why he would poison anyone else, but now I can’t find them anywhere. I hope you’re happy.”
“Where else did you look for him?” I asked
“I don’t think that’s any of your business.”
“Well, maybe I can help you find him.”
“I don’t see how that’s possible we already went to his job and to his grandmother’s house either.
“Have you tried his girlfriend at the library?”
“He didn’t have a girlfriend. His grandmother was more than happy tell anyone that would listen.”
“She’s half right. Anita isn’t his girlfriend, but I got the feeling he would like her to be.”
“I’ll tell you what, while you wait here, and I’ll go check the girlfriend angle. Wouldn’t want him getting spooked again.”
Before he could reply I w
as gone.
Chapter 14
Angelo and I rushed through the streets. I wasn’t sure where Anita lived, but the library seemed as good a start as any. I hoped that the chief would be trying to find out Anita’s info before heading this way.
Dusk was starting to settle in. I normally liked in between times like dawn and dusk. Those times where it wasn’t quite day or night always seemed a little more magical to me. I was hoping that the magic would be on my side today.
We made it to the library in record time. Angelo was warily sniffing the air. That had to be a bad sign. Everything appeared to be in order on the outside. The door was unlocked so Angelo, and I walked right in. Immediately, we were met with crushing silence. It was not the usual silence you would expect in a library, it was heavier. The library was worried. I was too.
I heard a soft whine and looked down to see Angelo looking up at me with a look of concern. I gave him a reassuring pat on the head before motioning to him to keep quiet. We crept through the stacks of books, looking for any sign of Corey.
Then, the shouting started.
“Why are you hiding from me, Anita? I didn’t hurt anyone. I just scared them out of the library. We needed some alone time.”
Corey waited for Anita to respond. She didn’t.
“Don’t be like this. I just want us to be together. You know you were meant for me. We’ve known each other since we were small. We’re friends, but we can be more.”
If he kept shouting like this, he should be easy to find. The shouting was clearly coming from the back of the building. Angelo and I headed in that direction. I almost wished that Anita would reply so we could find her and get her out of there.
“I know how you feel about your precious library. If you don’t answer me, I’ll just have to start breaking things,” Corey shouted.
There was a loud crash as something, probably a TV or a computer monitor, crashed to the ground. At least he was a man of his word. I gave Angelo’s leash a tug, we had to hurry if we were going to get to him before he got to Anita.
“I’m trying to get rid of anyone that hurt you or got in our way. That critic? He wrote those awful reviews about you. I watched you cry at this very library.”
Another crash. It sounded like bookshelves.
Angelo and I circled to the right trying to stay in the shadows. A hand grabbed my ankle. I pitched forward, narrowly missing landing on my dog. I rolled on to my back, hand out, ready to hex whoever grabbed me straight to hell. Before I could utter a curse, I saw Anita’s tear stained face looking back at me.
Thank goodness I didn’t scream. She reached out and hugged me. Poor Anita was trembling.
“Stay here. We’ll take care of it,” I whispered to her.
Her eyes went wide. She shook her head and tried to cling to me. I cupped her face in my hands.
“Don’t worry. We’ll keep you safe.”
I touched my forehead to hers and whispered a soothing spell. The tension drained from her face instantly. I turned Angelo.
“Keep an eye on her.”
He snorted in protest but sat down beside her. I headed towards the last place that Corey’s shouts had come from. More crashing and banging was coming from that direction. It sounded like he was throwing books. The bookworm in me was outraged. The books had nothing to do with any of this. My belief was confirmed when a book crashed down not too far in front of me.
I ducked behind a bookcase. I was going to need some magic on the fly. There was no time for a spell. An energy ball would have to do. I crept around until I had a clear view of Corey. I rubbed my hands together warm them up. I set them a few inches apart and focused my magic. It was tough to focus and keep an eye on Corey, but I made do. Heightened emotions helped.
The ball of magic was big and purple, with white spikes. Even my magic was dramatic. It was giving off enough light to draw Corey’s attention. He turned in my direction.
“What the hell are you supposed to be?” he asked with irritation.
“Your reckoning,” I replied.
I wish I had thought of a cool one-liner ahead of time. It still sounded pretty fierce. There was no time for a do-over, it would have to stand.
He laughed. The little jerk actually laughed at me. That was just rude. I let my magic fly. It blazed a path to him, crashing into his chest. He was propelled back into the wall behind him. He came crashing down on to the old school card catalog. He didn’t move.
I heard a commotion. Loud voices were yelling from every direction. The police had arrived. It took them long enough.
“Hands in the air!” someone shouted.
Several beams of light were on me, blinding. I had seen enough cop shows to know that they were flashlights that most likely had guns behind them. I screamed.
“Hold your fire! She isn’t a suspect,” Chief Rowan called out.
I never thought I would be relieved to hear his voice, but at that moment it sounded like a choir of angels. The lights shifted. I still couldn’t see anything. I remained still.
“Relax guys. We’re looking for a male remember. Has anyone seen the kid?” the chief asked while pushing one of the flashlights down.
I pointed to Corey’s body. All the lights simultaneously turned towards the body. There was a flurry of action as officers rushed to check on him. When they confirmed that he was alive, I almost wept with relief. I wanted to stop him, but I wasn’t a killer.
The lights flickered then came back on at full strength. Chief Rowan was glaring at me. Of course, he was.
“What the hell did you do to him, Ms. Bell?”
Before I could reply, Anita came tearing around the corner screeching my name. Angelo was at her heels.
“Nova! I’m so glad you’re ok. When I heard all the crashing and shouting, I thought Corey hurt you. He killed all those people.”
She flung herself into my arms and began sobbing into my hair. I hugged her and murmured to her to try and comfort her. Angelo was practically climbing my leg. He stood between the officers and us. I reached out a hand to still him. He licked it briefly and went back to barking. I glanced over at Chief Rowan, his frown softened.
“I’m not sure what happened Chief. Maybe, it was some sort of electrical short? He was throwing around a lot of electronics,” I said.
His frown came right back.
“Once the paramedics are done with Corey, I’ll have someone take a look at the both of you. My officers will take your statements then.”
Chapter 15
A few days later, Angelo and I were invited back to the bakery. The Quinns hadn’t reopened it, but they wanted to treat us. Anita was already there when we arrived. The Quinns had really gone all out.
There was chocolate hazelnut filled croissants, a triple berry trifle, and an apple pie. The usual juice selections were replaced with grapefruit mimosas. They knew me so well.
“Hey everybody. What’s the occasion?” I asked.
“As if you need to ask,” Mrs. Quinn said.
“I really didn’t do anything.”
She pursed her lips and put one hand on her hip.
“Sure, you didn’t,” she said.
“Leave the girl alone, Heather. We’re celebrating,” Mr. Quinn said coming from behind the counter with a plate of treats for Angelo.
This place really felt like home. Angelo went straight for his snacks. I sat at the table beside Anita. She gave me a small smile. I patted her hand and passed her a mimosa. The poor girl could use it. I knew that she was probably blaming herself. I made a mental note to boost her up with some spell work later.
“This seems like a pretty dreary celebration. Maybe we should lead with some good news,” Mrs. Quinn said.
“I thought we would eat first,” Mr. Quinn replied.
“They can eat while they listen.”
I didn’t wait for them to work it out. I dove into the food like a starving man. It tasted even better than it looked. Maybe the Quinns worked a little magic of their own.
“Now that we have you both here, we have an announcement to make. We’re retiring,” Mrs. Quinn said.
I almost choked on my food. Was this my last meal?
Anita burst into tears. Poor kid. She was really having a rough week.
“Heather you have to lead with the upside,” Mr. Quinn said rolling his eyes.
“That is my upside. It isn’t easy working with you,” she replied with a mischievous glint in her eye.
“As my lovely wife was trying to say, we are retiring. But, the bakery won’t be closing down—”
“We’re giving it to Nova!” Mrs. Quinn interrupted, clapping her hands.
“I wanted to tell them.”
“You were too slow,” she replied firmly.
“Can I interrupt here? Did you say you were giving the bakery to me?” I asked.
“Absolutely. We talked about it over and think you would do well as long as you never try to bake.”
“That only happened once.”
Mr. Quinn held up a hand to stop me.
“You know that we don’t discuss that,” he said.
“Anita, we want you to stay on here too. If you go away to school, you will always have a job when you come home. We’ll set you up, throw some money your way, and give advice. This whole messy murder business made us realize that we need to take time to enjoy each other more.”
Anita smiled a genuine smile this time. I was stunned. Who would have thought that a pendulum and a murder would lead me to a new life?
Coming April 25th!
Nova Bell is settling into her new life as a bakery owner in a small town. Her attempts at baking lead a lot to be desired. She thought hiring a new baker would be easy until one of the bakers turns up dead!
Now, Nova has to solve the murder and find a replacement. With sinister men on the loose, and a secret baking community of organized crime, will Nova ever get her hands on any sweet honey buns?
Find out in the second Witchy Bakery Book! Order here!
