by Molly Fitz
"I did what had to be done! But you wouldn't understand that, would you?" More heavy footsteps.
"Go!" Guy shouted, pointing toward the exit. "Get yourself out of here.”
"No, I've got an idea.” The deck of cards bounced back and forth against my leg. I hated to use them like this, but I needed a diversion. Reaching into my pocket, I quickly opened the bag and threw the cards into a pile on the floor. Their slick, glossy texture would be easy to slip on. If she stumbled even a little, it would give us time to get to the call box...
I didn't dare to look behind me. The cards had served me well, and I sent up a silent plea that they helped me out one more time.
We made it to the corner, now well within the reach of the camera, but there was a problem. I hadn't exactly planned this far ahead.
"Go!" Guy said again. "Those cards won't slow her down for long."
As I looked down the corridor in both directions, a hand came out of an alcove and wrapped itself around my neck. "Nice try, though. You're smarter than you look."
Hey, I recognized that voice! “Stella?! What are you—?”
“Doing what needs to be done.” Something hard struck me on the back of the head, and the world faded into darkness just as the alarms started blaring.
Chapter Nine
You know, for all the elaborate schemes criminals plan sometimes, they tend to overlook even the simplest things. Like assaulting a staff member and confessing to a crime in full view of a security camera.
Seriously. Ouch.
I woke up in the medical ward with a lump on my head and an IV in my arm.
“Wha—“ I croaked. My throat felt like sandpaper and I coughed, which sent even more jolts of pain through my head.
Someone stirred next to me. I turned my head ever so slightly — ouch, again — to see Guy sitting there.
He stood and stepped over to my bedside. “Oh, thank goodness.”
“Where—“ I started, but no. There was an even more pressing question than that. “What happened? Did you catch her?”
His face softened. “Thanks to you and Darwin, yes. I never would have suspected that Stella and Agatha were working together. Guess your cards were right once again.” He smiled.
“Darwin…” I breathed. I looked up at him, suddenly remembering that sickening thud when Agatha threw him off of her. “Is he okay?”
“He’s fine,” Guy promised. “It’ll take a lot more than that to put that cat off his game.” He paused. “He seems to have taken a liking to you. Stood outside the door here the whole time after we brought you in. Wouldn’t move, even after the nurse tried to shoo him off.”
My face cracked into a smile. “Really?” I whispered. “Is he out there now?”
“Should be. Let me go look.”
The moment he opened the door, Darwin bolted in, running to my bedside and hopping up onto the mattress. He let out a high-pitched meow and rubbed his head against my arm.
“Hey there,” I said softly, my voice still shaky. “You waited for me.”
Darwin didn’t say anything, but simply looked up at me with those huge blue eyes. He blinked twice, then curled up in a ball next to me, head resting on my leg.
Had this whole thing been a dream? Was I just imagining Darwin talking to me? My head spun, and not just because of the injury.
A knock at the door brought none other than Captain Eckers in to see me. He removed his hat and came to my bedside. “Ah, Rose. You’re awake. I wanted to come see you personally.”
“Why?” I asked, but it ended in a cough. I looked around to my left and right. “Is there any water?”
“I’ll go get some,” said Guy. Now it was just me and the Captain.
“I gotta thank you, Rose,” he started. “And I’m sorry I ever doubted you. Those ladies…well, I never knew they had been scheming for so long.”
“They were in on it together?”
“Looks like. We got statements from the both of them, as well as the security footage.” He nodded in appreciation. “Smart move, that.”
I shrugged. “It’s what anyone would have done.”
Captain Eckers waved his hand. “You could have run. You could have hidden. But you didn’t. Regardless, you and Guy managed to trap them at just the right time. To be honest, I knew Guy was aboard doing some kind of investigative work, but I didn’t know it had to do with Mr. Hawthorne.” He lowered his voice. “I’m sure you’ll hear it on the rumor mill eventually, but it sounds like Mr. Hawthorne’s reputation isn’t all it was cracked up to be.”
Vague snippets of conversation floated through my mind. Something about women, and freedom. And it had to do with Evan in some way?
“What happened?” I asked. At that moment Guy came back in with a glass of water, which I downed gratefully before continuing. The cool, fresh water soothed my parched throat and brought a little more color back to my face. I hadn’t realized how thirsty I was.
“I guess I might as well tell you the details,” Guy said, sitting down in the chair next to me. “You see, Mr. Hawthorne had a complicated arrangement with his employees and business partners. He owns a large share of the hotel industry, as you know, but it goes further than that. New businesses connected to him have popped up all over the country, breaking into new industries far and wide.
The problem is that Mr. Hawthorne’s umbrella corporation has so much money and power that they are able to out-compete just about any local mom and pop shop.” His eyebrows knitted together. “You can see how this would be a problem for small business owners across the nation. If that wasn't enough, though, he appeared to be targeting solely female business owners."
My mouth dropped open. Yeah, I was going to need another sip of water to digest that one. “Why?" It was all I could come up with. "Did he just hate women, or want to put them out of business, or what?"
“He could have. Now that he's dead, we might never know. The kicker is that he offered them a choice — and the effects of that choice were what I came here to investigate in the first place.”
I raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to continue.
"He offered to let them remain in business. He would not 'move into their turf', so to speak, but he asked for something in return. Two somethings, actually."
I thought about what both Stella and Agatha had said about working with him. "Let me guess: money, and silence."
"Bingo. It was essentially blackmail, but they knew their businesses — and thus, their livelihoods — were at stake if they said anything about it."
I opened my mouth, then closed it again. "That's terrible." But something still didn't make sense. "What do Agatha and Stella have to do with it, then?"
"That's where it gets even weirder," Guy admitted. "He not only made such a deal to other businesses, but to his own employees as well. Especially the women. To the outside world, he looked like a rich, famous, and handsome bachelor everyone wanted to know. He was an extremely charming man on the outside. But once they got into his circle of influence, well..." He shook his head. "There was no turning back from there."
"Is that what happened to Stella and Agatha?"
“Agatha was the canary in the coal mine, actually. She was brave enough to reach out to Hawthorne’s current assistant, Stella. From there, they formed a secret relationship and swore to seek revenge.” His gaze darkened.
The Captain folded his hands and bowed his head. “It’s too bad that their lust for revenge ended in death.”
"It is," I agreed. "Why didn't anyone say anything, though? Surely they could have reported him to the police?"
Guy shook his head and shrugged. "Sadly, that's how it often is in these cases. You underestimate the amount of power someone like him can hold over other people's lives. It's sickening, to say the least." He swallowed, hard. "That's one of the reasons I got into this business. To root out bad eggs like him."
A million questions still floated around in my head, but there was a sense of relief, too. Stella and Agatha
had been caught, and Evan would not trouble anyone anymore. "Did I..." I fumbled with the words. "Did I help?"
Guy nodded. "It was actually meeting with you and having that conversation over the cards that made everything fall into place. All this time I'd been looking at the wrong clues. The wrong people. Then you suggested it might be in front of me all along, and it just clicked. That, and Darwin's boundless curiosity, and we happened to be in the right place at the right time."
The Captain perked up. "That was your doing?" His eyes were wide, excited. "Oh, I knew having a psychic aboard was a good idea.”
“I—“ The old retort bubbled toward my lips, but you know what? Forget it. Whether it was true psychic power or not, it didn't matter. There was something different about me. Something I could use to help other people. And I couldn't wait to explore more of what that was.
“Ah, and before I forget.” Guy reached into his pocket and pulled out a small package, handing it over to me. “Figured you might want these back.”
With a gasp, I popped open the wrapper — my cards!
The moment my fingers brushed the first card, a rush of energy flowed back into my body. I was still hurting, yes, but somehow I felt more whole with these back in my possession.
I thought about how far I’d come in such a short time. How much I’d learned, and how much I still had to discover. With Darwin at my side and my cards in hand, I could move forward.
“Thank you, mom,” I muttered under my breath. Tears flecked at my eyes. I hadn’t believed her back then, but things were different now. I would take these cards and use them to help people. Along the way, who knows? Maybe I’d even find out more about myself.
“So what do you say?” The Captain asked. "When you get to feeling better, you want to stay on with us? We're at our next port tomorrow, and I understand if you'd rather leave..."
I didn't want to make a decision too hastily, so I thought on that for a moment. I'd only been on the ship a short time, but already I'd gotten tied up in all kinds of drama definitely not listed on the job description. At the same time, though, I was getting to know the crew and starting, little by little, to call this place home.
Add to that Darwin's little secret, and I had more than a few reasons to stick around.
I looked up at Captain Eckers, gave him a mysterious smile, and said, "I don't know, Captain. Guess we'll have to see what's in the cards for me next."
Want More?
We hope you enjoyed Murder in the Cards. This story is a stand-alone.
* * *
But if you liked this, then you'll also love Charmed and Dangerous. It’s a small town paranormal cozy mystery series with witches, werewolves, and more hilarious characters than you can shake a broomstick at!
* * *
Learn more about Morgan Vale’s paranormal cozies at Facebook.com/CozyMorganVale.
Hawaiian Kitten Curse
by Daisy Finch
About this Story
HAWAIIAN KITTEN CURSE
* * *
A “borrowed” kitten is spirited away by plane and enlisted in a murder investigation
What would make a trip to Hawaii even better? A kitten of course!
* * *
It’s a little less fun when I’ve “borrowed” said kitten from my best friend without telling her. Okay fine, I stole little Bubbles.
* * *
But no one can blame me! My best friend’s aunt has gone missing and thanks to a curse on Bubbles, the only way I’ll be able to find the target is with a little help from my four-legged friend.
* * *
So join me as I brave the beaches and local hangouts to solve the mystery of a missing woman. With a healthy dose of kitten harnesses, sunblock, yoga, and a pinch of magic, this trip is going to be epic.
Copyright © 2021 by Daisy Finch.
* * *
All rights reserved.
* * *
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Chapter One
I waved goodbye to Layla as her old truck tires squealed on the driveway. The poor girl was going to be eaten alive by the townsfolk of Ashland Springs while I was gone.
Hopefully the mayor, Dom, would keep an eye on her. But maybe not too close of an eye, since he had a girlfriend and Layla couldn’t keep her head on straight when a handsome man was involved.
It was one of the things I loved about her. So innocent. So fun. So much more honest than everyone else.
I caught some motion out of the corner of my eye and turned to see Adam walking around the corner of the crumbling vestiges of Craven Manor. Well this was going to be fun.
I smiled mischievously at him as he approached, and his eyes immediately narrowed.
“Hey there, ghost boy,” I said with unhidden joy as I knelt down to give Bubbles, Layla's adorable grey kitten, a gentle head scratch.
He rolled his eyes. “Layla told you.”
I picked up Bubbles and held her against my chest while giving him a knowing grin. “Maybe you haven’t noticed, but we’re, like, besties now. She tells me everything.” I purposefully put as much valley girl as possible into my tone. But it wasn’t just because I wanted to annoy Adam. In fact, I even liked the ghost.
But this was the first time I had him alone, and I had a few choice words for my new best friend’s uninvited roommate.
“Well don’t believe everything she tells you, Poppy,” he muttered as he went up the porch stairs, past me, and to the chalkboard where he looked for any chores Layla left for him to do.
“It’s not lies from her I’m worried about.”
That got his attention. He twisted to glare at me. “Are you calling me a liar?”
“Well you’ve been living in her home since she moved in without telling her. And you know where Carolann is and haven’t told her. I think dishonest is the nicest way to put it.”
“I know I’ve been dead for a while, but last I remember, you don’t introduce yourself by saying ‘Welcome to the house! I’m dead and am stuck to the property for all eternity. What kind of shows do you like?’”
Point taken. And the fact that Layla had found out about Adam while he was saving her life helped. But it didn’t make me less suspicious of him. “If you want to get into my good graces, you’ll tell me how to talk to Carolann.”
He crossed his arms. “I promised I wouldn’t give her location to Layla. She was very particular, and you might be a big deal where you come from, but Carolann is a full-on witch.”
“And because of that Layla has been sucked into a bunch of magical shenanigans and is in no way prepared to deal with them! If you want to prove to me, and Layla, that you’re a good ghost, you’ll tell her about her aunt.”
“Are you just not used to hearing no?”
“I certainly don’t like it. Besides, you know I’m right. You already had to save Layla’s life once. What if the next time she’s in danger, it’s off property? If something happens to her because you were afraid of Carolann, you’ll never forgive yourself.”
And there it was. The slight flare of panic in his eyes. Ugh. Why did I have to be right about everything?
The last thing Layla needed was a ghost who was developing feelings for her. But we had way too much on our plates for me to worry about that right now.
I tried a different angle. "So Carolann made you promise not to tell Layla. She didn't say anything about Layla's noisy neighbor, did she?"
He glanced away from me as though he was thinking about it.
"You're already dead," I pointed out. "What's the worst that could happen?"
"A lot," he muttered.
Bubbles finally wiggled away from me and made her way over to Adam. In the short time I'd known the kitten, she'd already grown out of some of the baby wobble and now stalked Adam like a sl
eek hunter.
The very human-looking ghost bent down and wiggled his fingers, encouraging the kitten to come closer before giving her a scratch behind the ears. "I don't know exactly where she is," he said finally.
I straightened. He was talking! "I'll take a general location."
"I have an email address. But she hasn't gotten in touch in a few days."
A ghost emailing. Some things would just never make sense to me.
"Is the general location an email address?" Because I didn't know how that would help Layla.”
"She's in Oahu. Hawaii," he added as though I didn't know where Oahu was. "But I don't know exactly where."
My mind was reeling. Oahu was a huge island, and Honolulu was a giant city, but it still narrowed down the search a lot from 'anywhere in the entire world.'
"That's a start! Is there anything else you can tell me?"
Bubbles flipped over on her side as though inviting Adam to rub her belly. The second he did, she attacked his hand.
"She said that in case of emergency, Layla needed to bring the kitten to the island and she'd find them."
My jaw dropped. "What?"
He shrugged. "Carolann was never one to make anything easy."
Even if I could convince Layla to go to Hawaii, I had no idea how I'd convince her to bring Bubbles.
"So it's not like I can tell you where she is anyway. Now maybe you can go to your own home instead of bothering us here."
With that, he popped into nothingness. Or wherever the ghost went when he left. He hadn't seemed to want to tell Layla about how the whole ghost thing worked. Or maybe Layla had been too freaked to ask. She was handling the craziness the best she could, but she seemed to be a pretty grounded type. Not one for flights of fancy or to believe in the supernatural.
