Crooks and Crystals (A Hocus Pocus Cozy Witch Mystery Series Book 3)

by Constance Barker

  Helen placed three items onto the counter. “I’m sure that’s not true, is it?”

  Celestial just smiled and began ringing up her items.

  Helen took an audible inhale and placed her forearms on the counter. “Wow, that smell is intoxicating. Are they rose petals? I think I’ll take a couple of those pot pourri bags too. I’m feeling in a generous mood.” She stood, raised her eyebrows and slapped Celestial on the shoulder.

  Celestial bagged her goods and took the money. She couldn’t help thinking that Helen appeared awfully cheerful for someone who just lost the love of her life.

  Chapter 19

  Celestial was mixing some soaps at the counter of her shop when George walked in with an older woman. Celestial smiled at them as the little bell above the door signaled their entrance.

  “Hello,” she called out to them. “Is there anything I can help you with today.”

  George led the older woman up to where Celestial was standing at the counter.

  “Hello, Celestial,” he said. “This is my mother. We’re on a little outing today.”

  “Oh, that sounds like a lot of fun,” she said. “Were you looking for anything in particular?”

  “Well, you see, my mother unfortunately is having to move to a new place where she can get more help when she needs it. I’m afraid I work too much to be able to do it myself.”

  “You’ll see what that’s like when you get old too, sweetie,” she joked to Celestial.

  “I wanted her to have some good smelling things to make the new place a little bit more pleasant. I’m thinking of some soaps and potpourri?” he suggested.

  “That sounds wonderful,” Celestial said. “What sort of scents do you like, Mrs. de la Cygne?”

  “I think lavender for the linens,” she said. “I’ve always liked the way lavender smelled on linens.”

  “Oh, I have just the thing for that.”

  Celestial led her over to a display of potpourri. Mrs. de la Cygne went through her wares and selected a few things that caught her eye. Celestial led her back up to the counter.

  “Is this all for today?” Celestial asked.

  “Well, unless you have any lemon and mint soaps. They’re so hard to find and I just love them.”

  “I can whip you up some,” Celestial said. “I’m afraid they won’t be ready right away, but I guarantee I’ll make something you like.”

  “Oh, I don’t want to be a burden, darling,” she said.

  “Nonsense,” Celestial said. “I want all of my customers to be happy. Just give me a day or two to make them.”

  Mrs. de la Cygne started digging through her purse. “How much will it be?”

  “You don’t have to worry about paying for it right now,” Celestial said. “You can pay when you pick them up.”

  “You won’t be paying for them regardless, mom,” George said. He handed Celestial his credit card. “I’ll get these things for now, and I’ll come pick them up when they’re ready.”

  “George, dear, you don’t have to do that,” Mrs. de la Cygne said. “I’m sure things are hectic with the business right now. Please, I can get this.”

  “Don’t worry, mom. Things are doing fine. We both made sure well before this that the other person wouldn’t lose the business. It’s all to do with life insurance and wills… Nothing to worry about now while we’re shopping.”

  “I don’t know…” Mrs. de la Cygne sounded unsure. “I’m your mother. I’m supposed to be the one taking care of you.”

  “You’ve spent enough years doing that, mom. Now it’s my turn to repay you.”

  “George, darling, the assisted living facility is already so expensive…”

  “Don’t you worry about that. The business is doing well, mom. I can take care of it, no problem.”

  “You know what?” Celestial said. “These items are on the house. Neither of you have to worry about paying.”

  “Oh, are you sure, dear?” Mrs. de la Cygne asked.

  “Of course. Consider it payment for giving me a new scent combination,” Celestial said, smiling. “I’m sure the lemon mint soap will become a bestseller.”

  “It is an underrated combination,” George joked. “I’m sure you’ll be the only store in the whole tri-county area with it.”

  “If you’re having trouble finding it, then maybe other people are too,” Celestial said. “If you hear about anyone else looking for it, be sure to send them my way.”

  “I’ll be sending the whole facility over here for your soaps and potpourri,” Mrs. de la Cygne said. “You sure have made this old woman’s day.”

  Celestial’s smile grew. She loved making people happy. Even without magic, she put a smile on a customer’s face.

  George gave Celestial his business card. “Please give me a call once the soaps are ready.”

  “I will,” Celestial promised. “I hope you two have a wonderful rest of the day.”

  “Oh, I’m sure it’ll be great. What’s better than being able to take care of my dear ol’ mom?”

  Mrs. de la Cygne beamed up at George. Celestial was pleased that she was able to see such a tender moment.

  Celestial packaged up the soaps and potpourri. George thanked her, and the de la Cygnes headed out to enjoy the rest of her day.

  Celestial immediately got started on the order. She grabbed one of her mint plants and got to work.

  She was halfway to the perfect recipe when Nikoli walked into the shop.

  “Nikoli, what brings you here?” Celestial asked. She was expecting him to be at work. He hadn’t mentioned he was stopping by.

  He held up an envelope. “I just got something I think you would be interested in seeing,” he said.

  “Really?” She asked. “What is that? What’s in the envelope?”

  “Forensics sent this over. They’re the results I asked for. They found out what the white powder you found in the office is.”

  “They tested it?” Celestial asked, excited. She hadn’t expected to hear the results back so quickly. Even though she was standing, she felt like she was sitting on the edge of her seat.

  Nikoli walked over to the counter. Celestial moved her soap making materials aside. She was focused on the soap, but she couldn’t concentrate when they had the test results just out of reach in an envelope.

  “Open it,” she said excitedly.

  “Alright,” Nikoli said.

  Celestial waited anxiously for him to read off the results. She knew that this was an important clue.

  She felt like the killer was extremely close to getting caught. She held her breath waiting for the results. Even if they didn’t solve the mystery, they were still one step closer.

  She knew that the killer would be caught soon.

  Chapter 20

  Celestial couldn’t concentrate. She was going to find out who the killer was if Nikoli just hurried up and read the test results.

  Trying to put together spells or charms was useless when she was this distracted. Examining everyone around her for murderous intent was starting to wear her down.

  “What did you find out?” She asked, eagerly. Nikoli sighed.

  “It turns out, I got the toxicology reports a bit confused. The white powder from Samantha’s desk was a migraine treatment. Mixed with water it has a very fast absorption rate. Samantha had it because she has headaches quite often.”

  “Interesting that it’s powder, not a pill.”

  Nikoli shrugged. “They tell me it works faster as a powder. Not really my area.”

  “Sometimes we break herbs down into a powder. It is more versatile. It just seems messy.”

  “It’s definitely messy if you’re a suspect in a murder investigation.” Nikoli said. “The thing is, the powder in the first aid kit was heroin.”

  “Wow, really?”

  “Yes, really. Anyone could have put it there. Samantha might have, George had the opportunity. When you think about it, getting those keys would not have been a difficult thing to
do.”

  “You’re right there.”

  “I think it’s a useless clue.” Nikoli’s stress was evident. He glanced around, running a hand through his hair. “It doesn’t help us at all.”

  “No, Nikoli, this is great.” Celestial sat up eagerly. “We know that the murder weapon was at his work. It most likely had to be someone who frequented the building.”

  “Likely, but not certain.”

  “No, but I definitely think we could take a closer look at Samantha.”

  “We have checked into her thoroughly, you know that.”

  She shrugged. “It doesn’t mean she didn’t do it. We still can’t prove anything for certain.”

  “That’s the problem, isn’t it?”

  “Can’t you investigate her a bit more?”

  He shook his head. “My hands are tied. I’d have to arrest her to ask more questions.”

  Celestial grinned. “What luck, that I don’t have to follow those rules.”

  Nikoli scowled at her, standing up. “I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that, and I’m leaving now. If you get caught doing your own snooping Celestial…”

  “I know. Horror and brimstone. Thanks, Nikoli.”

  He made a small noise, punctuating his frustration before turning his back and heading away quickly.

  Celestial knew what she had to do. Breaking into houses was becoming second nature to her by now. She went for a walk around town, just to check on Samantha. When she saw her at the bar Celestial knew that she had a few hours at least and headed to Samantha’s place.

  It definitely felt scarier breaking in without Athena for back up. Celestial apparated into the foyer and moved quickly, wondering if she should check the bathroom or kitchen first. Where would someone hide heroin?

  She went through the kitchen, finding nothing and feeling instinctively that this was a dead-end. She checked the cupboards under the sink, just to be sure.

  As she headed up the hall she went past a bedroom and a study. A quick search of the drawers in the bedroom turned up nothing, not even basic painkillers. Celestial didn’t bother with the study just yet. She would only search it if she had to, there were just too many places to look.

  She headed for the bathroom next, opening the cabinet above the mirror. To her surprise, there were a few vials of white powder there. She picked them up, examining them carefully. It had almost been too easy. She had to get these to Nikoli!

  She had only just started looking at them when she heard a key rattling in the lock.

  Listening intently, she could tell it was Samantha and Morgana. It sounded like Jenna was there too. There was definitely a voice that Celestial was having trouble pinning down.

  Helen?

  She couldn’t be absolutely sure. She didn’t even know exactly how many people had come into the house. All the women were talking loudly and laughing, making it difficult to follow the voices. Celestial felt her muscles get hard and tight. Sweat broke out on her brow.

  What if it’s all of them? She thought, not for the first time.

  She wished fervently that she had brought backup. No one even knew she was here, except for Nikoli. He had specifically told her that he wouldn’t interfere and he didn’t want to know. She couldn’t count on him for rescue.

  Heart hammering, she hurried to the linen closet and squeezed herself inside. She couldn’t apparate, they were too close. If it really was Helen down the hall, then she would smell the sulphur and know straight away that a witch was here.

  Who was the busy body that was always breaking into people’s houses? Celestial knew she would be the first witch they thought of if she disappeared right underneath their noses.

  All she could do was crouch here and hope to heaven no one needed a roll of toilet paper.

  Chapter 21

  While Celestial crouched in the closet, she tried to calm her breathing. She peered out through the slats of the door, wondering if she should try to slip down the hall and out a window. This was a terrible hiding place.

  Sooner or later, someone would come in. She weighed her chances quickly and was about to bolt for it when she heard a step right at the door. Her heart seemed to press up into her throat and she felt hot and prickly at the near miss.

  “Yeah!” A voice called out, far too close. “But did you see his face when I told him to shove it?” the woman shouted down the hall. Celestial heard the others laugh. As the woman came into the bathroom and shut the door, Celestial moved just enough to see through the slats.

  It was Jenna. She looked in the mirror and pressed her lips together, putting on some lip gloss. She ran a hand through her hair and primped a bit. She looked much better, her bruises almost gone. Jenna touched her face lightly on the remnants of the bruises, frowning as if she was remembering how they came to be there.

  Celestial was too nervous to think about anything except the fact that these women could all be murderers, but it did please her that Jenna was feeling so much better.

  “Hey, Jenna, do you want another drink?” Came the shout from down the hall.

  “Of course!” Jenna smiled as she hurried out the door. Celestial sighed in relief, wondering if now was the time to run for it. Before she could try, she heard footsteps in the hall again.

  “It doesn’t matter, Jenna!” Morgana called as she pushed the bathroom door shut. “It was just a bit of flirting. You deserve to have fun.”

  Celestial realized they were most likely talking about people they had met in the bar, but the conversation was still very suspicious. Celestial tried not to make any judgments, knowing that she was only hearing part of the story.

  She pressed herself as far into the closet as she could, trying not to make any noise. Morgana hummed to herself as she freshened up, calling out to the others when they shouted down the hall. It sounded like they were making cocktails.

  When Morgana returned to the kitchen Celestial put a hand on the door. This could be her chance. She just had to wait for them to be fully distracted and then she could run for it.

  Just as she was about to push open the closet door the bathroom door swung open. Whoever it was had a very light step as Celestial had not heard them coming. Samantha came in, laughing in response to a joke they were telling in the kitchen.

  Celestial watched Samantha at the sink, realizing that she had left the cabinet in disarray. When Samantha opened the door and saw things had been moved, she just shrugged. She probably figured one of the other women had moved things. She didn’t appear guilty at all and she made no attempt to hide the vials Celestial had hurriedly put back on the shelf.

  Celestial still could not be sure if Helen was with them. She had listened as closely as possible and couldn’t even tell if there were three people or four. They kept laughing like hyenas and shouting at each other, voices getting louder as they started throwing down cocktails. It was impossible to tell who was speaking and even harder to figure out what they were talking about.

  Samantha brushed her hair, tossing it over one shoulder before leaving the bathroom. As Celestial heard her footsteps retreating down the hall, she wondered if she could risk apparating. There was a chance the smell would stay in the closet and the women would be none the wiser.

  She couldn’t wait here forever. It was only a matter of time before someone needed a towel or something. Going down the hall and out of a window was out of the question now, even if the others were getting very drunk and probably wouldn’t notice her.

  Finding the white powder had definitely been too easy. Who would keep a murder weapon above their sink? It was a usual place to put medicine, though. Especially one that you needed frequently.

  Celestial’s fingers itched to get those vials back. Maybe she could risk stepping out of the closet to grab them before she poofed. She needed both, just in case one was heroin and one was headache powder.

  Just as Celestial put a hand on the door, she heard something. She couldn’t be sure, but it sounded like someone near to the closet. T
oo close. How had they snuck up on her like that?

  Realizing she had no choice, Celestial worked the spell and apparated out of there. Just as she faded from the closet, someone flung open the door. There was no time to see who it was and no way of knowing if they had seen her. When Celestial became solid a few blocks down the street, she shivered.

  That had been far too close. She could have come face to face with the murderer. She wrapped her arms around herself, shivering. The darkness of the night loomed over her, menacing and full of dreadful promise. Death stalked the streets here and Celestial was starting to feel like she could never outrun it.

  The entire exercise had been a complete waste. She didn’t even get a sample for Nikoli. They were still no closer to figuring out who the murderer was.

  Chapter 22

  Celestial opened her shop the next morning without her usual good mood. She loved her shop. The birds and bugs dancing in the early morning sun still brought her a quiet joy. She just knew she couldn’t fully enjoy anything until she had figured out who the murderer was.

  Her mind worked over the details from last night, not that she had many. Samantha, Morgana and Jenna were suddenly the best of friends and it looked like Helen was with them, too. Celestial supposed it was a good thing that they were able to make peace after all of them had been with Martin. It was better than hating each other for the actions of a dead man.

  Celestial struggled to equate their flippant, celebratory behavior with innocence. The women seemed triumphant and it felt very personal. It could be a response to the stress of the situation, though.

  Celestial was still thinking on it as she strained herbs out of infusions, pouring the liquid into little bottles. She had been open for a little while but no one had come in yet, giving her time to fill a little more stock.

  Just as she finished, Tamara and Athena came flitting through the door, teasing each other in the air. Celestial smiled, glad to have her friends as a distraction.