“What else is there?” Blaine pressed.
“Ashes and pinecones,” she replied, letting out a discontent noise. “That’s not helpful, either. We could find that anywhere.”
As her eyes continued to drift down the page, she eventually stumbled upon a line that jumped out amongst the rest. It wasn’t specific or broad. The detail was good enough to narrow down a location, that was for sure.
“‘Black truffle sat in the fat of a pig for a fortnight...’” Thea read aloud, meeting Blaine’s bewildered gaze with an excited one. “This could be our clue!”
“Black truffles?” Blaine repeated. “I barely even know what that is.”
From where she sat, Tiegen continued to sip from her drink. As she gazed at Thea, she smiled. However, she continued to keep her thoughts to herself.
Chapter 24
Spreading out the map on Tiegen’s dinner table, Thea and Blaine gathered the same materials they used when they were with Granny. Sybil hopped onto the table as well, eager to help Thea scry for the ingredient.
“Ready?” Blaine asked them as he held the weight over the map.
Thea and Sybil nodded in unison, acknowledging that this was their best shot at finally figuring out the person who killed Maisie.
From afar, Tiegen watched them closely. She didn’t feel inclined to help them, but she was intrigued nonetheless. Her disdain for rituals ran deep and she almost scowled at the fact that they were resorting to these archaic methods to aid in their investigation.
Knowing that her opinion was controversial, Tiegen filled her mouth with tea and kept it to herself.
The lead weight spun around a few times over the map before settling over a specific area. Thea quickly marked it on the map and took a closer look on where the weight swung towards.
The Maline Cuisine.
“Looks like we found our next stop,” Blaine said, exchanging a quick smile with Thea as they began to pack up their things.
Just as they were finishing up, she turned to Tiegen. “Do you have any idea on who could be capable of doing a circle like this? Maybe a powerful witch or wizard?”
Tiegen didn’t hesitate to let out a laugh. She shook her head, amused by the way Blaine and Thea’s faces went blank at her reaction. Eventually, she let out a deep exhale through her nose.
“You see, this is the exact reason why I despise those little ritual circles,” she said, motioning towards the map. “They’re... rudimentary. They don’t require any innate talent to complete.”
Thea frowned. “Really?”
“They are as simple as following a recipe in a cookbook. You don’t need to be a professional chef to effectively accomplish what you’re trying to obtain. The ingredients are the most difficult part to get. From there, the correct circle will get the job done.”
As she took her empty cup to the kitchen, Tiegen observed the map and the ritual circle in the book. She curled her lip in disgust.
“Don’t be surprised if your killer ends up being a mundane. Most powerful witches and warlocks wouldn’t even bother with something like this.”
“SO WHO DO YOU THINK we should be looking out for?” Blaine asked, keeping his eye on the road as they drove to the Maline Cuisine.
“Hmm... I’m not sure. Maybe Francis? We’ll be speaking with him soon enough.”
“Alright. I’ll see if he starts acting weird when the questions roll in,” he said, parking his car in a spot that was close to the restaurant’s entrance. “That would be telling enough.”
Once the two of them made their way inside, they were lucky to catch Francis’ attention as he was making his way to the kitchen. Hurrying over, he wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand.
“It’s so good to see you two again! How are you?” Francis asked, reaching for the notepad in his breast pocket. “Are you here for lunch? I can get going on your orders if you’d like.”
“No, we’re fine, actually,” Thea replied. “We just wanted to ask if you had any black truffles on hand.”
“...Black truffles?” Francis asked, scrunching up his face in confusion. Blaine narrowed his eyes. “I mean... we have a few in the back. But I gotta warn you. They’re pretty expensive and we’ve already had trouble keeping stock of them over the summer.”
“Why?” Blaine asked, tilting his head. “Are they out of season, or something?”
Francis hesitated, noticing how crowded the dining area was and how difficult it was going to be speaking over the noise. After a few moments, he beckoned them to follow him into his office. Thea and Blaine obliged.
“It’s not that they’re out of season,” Francis explained, closing the door to his office once they were all inside. “They’re relatively rare and they don’t last long once they’re out of the ground.”
“So what’s been going on with the black truffles?” Thea pressed.
“I...” he fiddled with his thumbs, almost embarrassed to say it. “I think one of my staff members has been stealing and selling them for a quick buck. It didn’t last very long, but with an ingredient as expensive as that, you definitely notice when the supply has gone down. It cost me a bit to replace what was taken.”
The knowing look was shared between Thea and Blaine. It didn’t take a shot in the dark for them to know why the black truffles were suddenly disappearing from the restaurant. Based on his explanation, it was clear that Francis was not the one responsible for it.
However, this put every Maline Cuisine employee under their radar.
“Francis, do you think we could get a list of all of your employees?” Blaine asked, leaning against the wall.
Thea took a seat in front of his desk. “Preferably one with all the people who have ever worked here.”
Although he was baffled by their request, he quickly opened the main drawer of his desk and flipped through various folders until he found the one he wanted. Pulling it out, he immediately handed it over to Blaine.
“That has a list of all of the regular workers in this restaurant. Some of them come and go, of course, but those are the ones who have worked here at least a month.”
“And are they full-time or part-time?” Blaine asked, already glimpsing through the files.
“Usually part-time workers. Whenever the school year starts, we get a decent amount of turnover. Some of the older workers start to take up more hours to cover the loss of workers. Meanwhile, the college students work less. It can be a bit confusing, but I try to document everything.”
“Thank you for that,” Blaine muttered, handing over some files for Thea to look at. “Makes our job a whole lot easier, that’s for sure.”
Chapter 25
She gnawed on her bottom lip as she glimpsed at the various names on the list. Only a few of them were familiar to her. However, none of them aroused suspicion. Although she felt a bit frustrated, she didn’t let it get to her. Instead, she looked to Blaine and passed him the list.
“None of those names jump out to me,” she said. “We’re going to need a little bit more.”
“It would help if we could get some addresses to go along with these names,” Blaine remarked, organizing the papers in his hands. “If we can figure out who lives where, this would help us find out who lives near the ritual circle in the apartment building.”
Thea’s eyes lit up. “Blaine, that’s a great idea!” She turned towards Francis. “Do you think it’s possible you can give us that information.”
Francis grimaced. He fidgeted uncomfortably from where he stood.
“I... I don’t think I’ll be able to do that for you guys. Sorry. I need to respect my employees’ privacy,” he explained. “Maybe if you guys can come back with a warrant, I may be able to help you. But for now...” He punctuated his sentence with a shake of the head.
Thea deeply exhaled from her nostrils. That was to be expected. It didn’t hurt to try, nonetheless.
“That’s completely understandable,” Blaine said, sending him a smile. “You’re d
oing the right thing, no worries.”
“Thanks for your help, Francis,” she said, getting up from her seat. Blaine soon did the same. “If we have any more questions about this, we can ask you about it, right?”
“Of course! I’d be happy to help with this investigation in any way I can,” Francis replied, hurrying over to open the office door for them.
Thea and Blaine sent him appreciative nods as they passed. Once they returned to the bustling dining area of the restaurant, Thea figured that they were going to head off towards the apartment building to investigate more.
However, a certain framed picture caught her eye. She stared at the photo, noticing the plaque underneath the smiling girl. Maisie. She was the Maline Cuisine’s employee of the month.
Her picture struck a chord in Thea’s heart. So much time had passed since her murder, but they still weren’t close to figuring out who killed her. Guilt settled in her chest. Thea was convinced that there was a detail they were overlooking.
Her eyes continued to drift over the photos of the other people on the wall. They had all won the employee of the month title, assuming a special spot on the partition. All of them were smiling, except for one.
Blaine noticed the way she stopped to stare at the wall. Following her line of sight, he couldn’t understand why she was so captivated by photos. There was something he was missing, but before he could ask, Thea was already in action.
“Francis!” she called out to him, waving him over before he returned to the kitchen.
“What’s going on?” he asked, standing in front of the wall beside Thea.
She pointed out a particular employee pictured alongside the others. July’s employee of the month.
“Her name didn’t show up in the lists you showed us,” Thea said, gazing at Francis and expecting an explanation.
The head chef ran a hand across his tired face. He shook his head.
“She’s the dishwasher. She doesn’t even have as many hours as she used to.”
Francis reached over and took the picture frame of the wall. After staring at it for a few moments, he let out a small sigh.
“We got her from Witt’s End Diner after Maline Cuisine opened. I guess the rates were better for her over here because she jumped at the opportunity to work for us,” Francis explained, letting out a small hum. “I still remember all the dirty work she was willing to do in order to get this title. She worked all summer for it.”
Thea narrowed her eyes. Blaine’s curiosity was also piqued by the comment.
“What kind of dirty work are you referring to?” Blaine asked, wanting clarification for that comment. He chuckled. “How much dirty work is there to do in a restaurant anyways?”
Francis shrugged. “You know. The usual stuff that most people aren’t willing to do unless they were paid extra.” He jutted his thumb in the direction of the kitchen. “Cleaning up all the bacon grease from our breakfast special... dealing with the rotten eggs we came across. No one else was willing to do that, but she was. We liked her for that.”
Blaine scrunched up his nose in disgust, imagining the putrid smell of rotten eggs. It took a brave soul to deal with that voluntarily.
Francis placed the picture frame in its original spot on the wall.
“She’s worked on and off for a couple years now. It’s a shame we couldn’t keep her around for longer. She was a good worker, but I don’t blame her for wanting some change. I realize now that some of the servers weren’t nice to her. I think it was because she was more reserved and quiet than most,” Francis said, letting out a small sigh. “I wish I would have done something.”
Thea’s face turned to stone.
Francis stuck his hands in his pockets, already making the move to return to work. “Unfortunately, there’s nothing I can do about that now. I do wish her the best, though. Never caused a problem while she was here.”
With that, he left Thea and Blaine alone. She didn’t say a word as they quietly exited the restaurant and returned to his car. Sybil, who was sleeping in the back seat, stirred once they entered the vehicle. The familiar yawned, stretching out her paws.
“What happened?” Sybil asked, rubbing at her whiskers. “Did you find anything interesting?”
“I think so,” Blaine responded, staring at the way Thea rubbed at her palms in thought. “You recognized that girl on the wall, didn’t you? That’s why you stopped to ask Francis about her. Is she involved in all of this?”
“Blaine,” Thea said, a solemn expression taking over her features. “That girl is the killer. She’s the one we’ve been searching for.”
Sybil scrambled to an upright position, blinking the sleep out of her eyes. “How do you know for sure, Thea?”
Thea fumbled for her phone, dialing the one person she knew with enough knowledge on this subject. As she waited for Tiegen to respond, she tossed a glance over her shoulder towards Sybil.
“She worked with both of the girls who were killed and had access to the ingredients. I can bet one of my fingers that this is the person who is responsible for everything.”
Chapter 26
“Aunt Tiegen,” she began, holding onto the roof handle with a vice-like grip as Blaine sped through the streets of Ardensville towards the police station. “I need you to check that book you showed us.”
“Hmm. You found some more clues, didn’t you?” Tiegen asked. Based on the ruffle of movement Thea heard over the phone, her aunt was doing as she requested. “What do you need me to find?”
“What kind of ritual would need rotten eggs?”
Tiegen went silent, made uncomfortable by the question. The pit in Thea’s stomach only grew wider, realizing the gravity of the situation as the tense seconds passed them by.
“Rotten eggs...” Tiegen began, clearing her throat. “I’ll tell you right now that they aren’t used for anything good.”
Thea chewed at her fingernails, keeping the phone steady against her ear. “Okay, so what is it used for.”
“The sulfuric element usually means that the person wants to summon some type of demonic intervention. This can manifest in a couple of ways. For example...” Tiegen hesitated before continuing. “They could summon the demon to work... to serve... even to kill, in some cases.”
“...I think this is one of those cases, Tiegen,” Thea whispered, sinking further into the passenger seat as Blaine pulled into the police station parking lot. “What else can these demons be used for?”
“Those are the most general usages for them. There’s also different types of demons that an individual can summon. Malicious demons, demons of intellect, minor demons, major demons. I can go on.”
A shudder coursed through Thea’s spine. She sent Blaine a small wave as he exited the car and hurried into the police station to retrieve the address of the girl they discussed with Francis.
“I’m at the police station right now with Blaine,” Thea explained. “We figured out who killed Maisie and we’re getting the killer’s address right now.”
“Don’t you think it’s a little dangerous to jump headfirst into something like this?” Tiegen asked, her words laced with a hint of worry.
“Remember when you mentioned how mundanes were capable of creating ritual circles like the one we found?” Thea asked, smiling. “I think the killer was a mundane, so it shouldn’t be too dangerous dealing with her.”
“I hope so, Thea. Can’t have anything bad happening to you. Bring Blaine with you wherever you go.”
“Do you think it’s possible she was able to summon a demon to kill Maisie? A mundane is capable of doing that?”
Tiegen laughed. “Using a demon to kill someone would be very efficient, actually. It’s easier for them to get the job done...but...” She let out a small noise of disgust. “They’re a lot messier, to put it simply.”
“Great,” Thea whispered, glancing at the police station’s entrance.
Blaine emerged from the building, carrying a manila folder in his hands. Thea stay
ed on the phone with Tiegen as he re-entered the car and began to discuss his findings.
“You’re right, Thea. Looks like we found the killer,” he said, hands quivering slightly as he flipped through the documents and pointed out the address. “See? It’s the same apartment complex where we found the ritual circle when we scried for it.”
Thea let out a shaky breath. Immediately, Blaine stuck his car key into the ignition. They needed to get to those apartments quickly.
BEFORE BLAINE AND SYBIL departed into the apartment complex, he instructed Thea to stay in the car. He would shout if he needed her help, and although Thea was a little apprehensive about the whole thing, she nodded quietly.
She wasn’t left alone, however. Tiegen was still texting her, sending her photos of the ritual circles that used rotten eggs so that Thea could search for more clues. At the same time, Tiegen sent her various spells that the killer possibly used during the ritual to kill Maisie and most likely Julie. She was frantic, doing her best to figure out what they were getting themselves into.
Although Thea was gradually beginning to build confidence in her own abilities, she also acknowledged that this person was capable of killing two people through the use of magic. They needed to be careful with what they planned to do next.
After a few tense moments, she heard the sound of footsteps approaching the car. She froze up in her seat, ready to defend herself against anything that came her way.
However, she realized that it was just Blaine and Sybil returning from their venture inside of the apartment complex. By the looks on their faces, they came up empty-handed.
“I don’t like being around this place,” Sybil grumbled, jumping into the backseat. “It gives me a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach.”
“Yeah, you’re not the only one feeling like that, Sybil. Trust me,” Blaine replied, putting on his seatbelt once he took his spot in front of the wheel. “The apartment was empty. We waited around for a while to see if anybody would come by, but we got nothing.”
Ghoulish Magic (Tabby Kitten Mystery Book 5) Page 9
