by Sonia Parin
A Mackenzie Witch Collection 2
Jingle Purrs
Potion Heist
The Power of Two and a Half
Sonia Parin
Copyright © 2018 Sonia Parin
All Rights Reserved
No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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Contents
Jingle Purrs
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Potion Heist
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
The Power of Two and a Half
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Epilogue
Preview: Witch Fairy Tale
Jingle Purrs
A Mackenzie Coven Mystery Short
Sonia Parin
Copyright © 2018 Sonia Parin
All Rights Reserved
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Dear Reader
Jingle Purrs first appeared in the Paranormal Shorts Anthology Spells & Jinglebells, A Collection of Paranormal Cozy Shorts.
About Jingle Purrs
It’s days before Christmas, the first one Lexie and Luna will spend together, and Lexie has a missing cat to find and a feline companion to appease. Luna has expectations and dreams of a magical Christmas, and that means shopping for presents… not exactly Lexie’s favorite pastime. Without any solid leads to pursue, Lexie unwittingly enlists the help of the elements she has recently connected with, but the breeze assisting her has some strange ideas of how she should go about investigation the case of the missing cat as it leads her to another crime scene and the most unlikable O’Rourke detective she has ever met…
Chapter One
Lexie tapped her small notebook and asked, “When did you last see your cat?”
Mimi Hargreaves shifted and reorganized the cushions on her chintz sofa. “This morning. I fed Frederick his breakfast. He’s always been a fastidious eater and refuses to even look at food served by anyone else.”
Lexie glanced around the sumptuous living room and caught sight of a maid dressed in a light blue uniform hovering by the door.
Still fidgeting with her cushions, Mimi Hargreaves looked up. “That’s Marcie. She’s been with me for over a dozen years.” Leaning in, she whispered, “Marcie doesn’t like cats. They pick up on it. But she’s an angel and I could never think of letting her go.”
Lexie introduced herself to the maid and asked when she’d last seen Frederick. Apparently, he’d been sticking to his usual routine of curling up in the terrace garden to soak in the morning sun.
“And you’ve searched the apartment.”
Mimi nodded.
“Would you mind if we look around?”
Luna’s little head popped out from within the lush branches of a Christmas tree, golden tinsel falling around her little face. “Frederick didn’t leave of his own accord. What cat in their right mind would abandon such a splendid abode? Just look at the luxurious furnishings. The carpet is lusciously thick. I love the feel of sinking my dainty paws into it. It’s such a lovely change to the hardwood floors in your apartment.”
Lexie gave a small shake of her head and returned her attention to Mimi. “How long have you had Frederick for?”
“Five years.”
“Ask her about his breed,” Luna suggested.
Lexie waited a few moments to see if Mimi Hargreaves had heard Luna. Mimi Hargreaves had contacted Lexie after hearing about her P.I. services from a friend who’d heard about Crafty Investigations from a friend. She had no way of telling if any one of those people recommending her had affiliations with a coven. Word about Crafty Investigations had been spreading with little effort from Lexie. She’d had business cards printed and had considered taking out an ad but her dear cousin Mirabelle, the High Chair of the British Isles and all Circumferential Domains Pertaining to the Mackenzie Coven, had vetoed it, saying she required more information before making a sound decision.
As the incoming High Chair of the American Continent... Lexie had made the executive decision and had gone ahead and pinned a few business cards around her neighborhood.
“What breed is he?” Lexie asked.
“My Frederick is an Ashera.”
Lexie looked at Luna who sniffed. “It’s a la-de-dah breed.”
Lexie wrote the name on her notebook. “I take it Ashera cats are expensive.”
“I have never thought of dear Frederick in terms of dollars, but acquiring him was a costly venture,” Mimi said.
“How costly?”
“One hundred and fifty thousand.”
Dollars? “W-what makes him so expensive?”
Mimi retrieved a framed photo from a side table.
A leopard?
Luna pranced up to her. “It’s nothing but a hybrid of genes from several cats, namely the domestic housecat and the Asian leopard cat. Only a handful are bred every year, hence the hefty price tag.”
Mimi hugged a cushion against her chest. “Please find my Frederick. The thought of him out there all alone is tearing me apart. He’s not accustomed to the outdoors.” Mimi glanced at the Christmas tree. “I’ve been counting down the days to Christmas morning when we can open his gifts. We always have such great fun.”
“All these gifts are for him?” Luna sniffed them. “What am I getting for Christmas? Are we getting a tree? Please tell me we’re getting a tree.” Luna scurried over and sat by Lexie’s feet. “I know you think this is not the appropriate time to talk about it, especially as you’re the only one who can hear me and any response might be perceived as a sign of mental instability, but a little nod will suffice.”
Knowing she’d never hear the end of it, Lexie nodded. “Has there been any suspicious activity in your life lately?” she asked Mimi Hargreaves.
“What do you mean?”
“Strange people hanging around the apartment building.”
“You’ll have to ask our doorman, Smithers.”
Lexie made a note of the name. “Anyone else? Most apartment buildings have at least one resident who tends to notice things.” A resident busybody, Lexie thought.
Mi
mi shifted in her seat. “Mrs. Edgar McAvoy likes to keep herself informed.”
“And does she like cats?”
Mimi’s pursed lips suggested Mrs. Edgar McAvoy might be a person of interest. Lexie surged to her feet. “With your permission, we’d like to inspect the rest of the apartment.”
“We?”
“Oh, my feline companion and I. Luna has a superior sense of smell.”
“I see, yes... Of course. Marcie will show you through.”
The rest of the apartment didn’t yield any clues other than an obsession with snow globes. They were everywhere. Summer scenes. Fall. Winter. Spring. She had them all.
“They’re very pretty,” Luna said. “Why don’t we have snow globes?”
Lexie shrugged. “Because it’s something else for me to dust?”
“I would spend endless hours entertained by them,” Luna said.
“Only after asking me to shake them for you.”
“Of course, that goes without saying.” Luna made quick work of inspecting the contents of each room and remarking on the splendor enjoyed by Frederick. “Mimi Hargreaves cherishes her feline companion.”
Lexie chuckled. “Yes, she definitely dotes on him to the point of spoiling him.”
Lifting her chin, Luna pranced around. “You call it spoiling, I call it appreciative pampering. A little indulgence would go a long way with me.”
“Your food has taken up all the available cupboard space in my kitchen. I had a fainting couch custom made for you.” Lexie’s voice hitched. “What more do you want?”
Luna sighed. “Do you actually require an answer or are you trying to suggest I already have more than enough?” When Lexie didn’t answer, Luna said under her breath, “I am still waiting for my handmade Amish quilt.”
Lexie checked the windows. She turned to the maid and asked, “Are these windows ever opened?”
The maid shook her head. “Never. The temperature in the apartment is kept at a moderate level all year round for Frederick’s comfort.”
Lexie thought she’d picked up a hint of resentment in Marcie’s voice but she guessed the maid valued her job too much to risk putting it in peril.
“I enjoy admiring him from a distance,” Marcie said, “But I’ve never touched him. You’d understand if you saw him.”
“Ashera cats are rather large,” Luna murmured. “And they make a ferocious sound when they eat. Personally, I’d keep my distance.”
They checked cupboards and closets, under beds, inside the chimneys, and still saw no sign of Frederick.
“More snow globes,” Luna said as they strode into another room. Mimi stood by the fireplace, a snow globe in her hands.
“I’m trying to distract myself,” she said.
“We were just admiring your snow globes.”
Mimi smiled. “I find them charming. They’re my little bubbles of dreams.”
The wistfulness in her tone didn’t make sense to Lexie. The woman clearly had everything her heart desired.
“We’ll keep looking,” Lexie told her. As they strode out to the hallway, she turned to Luna and said, “Come on, let’s go check out the rooftop garden.”
Luna took a backward step. “You go out first. He might be hiding out there.”
A glass door led to a sumptuous outdoor rooftop garden. No expenses spared, Lexie thought as she admired the flower beds and trees. With no adjoining buildings, there could only be one way out of there, Lexie thought as she peered down at the street below. A long way to go from the 5th Avenue tenth floor penthouse apartment.
Luna purred. “Frederick would have to have been pushed. Or...”
“Or he might have jumped of his own accord,” Lexie suggested, “How much mollycoddling can one cat take?”
Luna lifted her chin. “If you are calling on my personal experience being coddled, I’m afraid I have only scant knowledge. Sorry, I can’t help you.”
“Okay. We’re not going to find anything here. Let’s try the doorman, Smithers. I’m guessing Mrs. Edgar McAvoy will make an appearance at some point. Otherwise, we’ll have to hunt her down.”
“You could try willing her to step out,” Luna suggested as they made their way down to the lobby.
Could she? “Are you encouraging me to acquire a new skill and force someone into doing something that will possibly go against their will?”
Luna scratched her ear. “Being a witch has been a steep learning curve for you. I suspect you might still be in the throes of denial.”
“The throes of... Never mind. Please get to the point.”
“There is an easier way,” Luna offered.
“I’m listening.”
“You need to clearly state your intention,” Luna said. “Focus on her. You can nudge her into stepping out. Have you ever thought of someone and soon after they call you or you bump into them?”
Far too often.
Lexie sighed. Recently, an Oracle had told her to embrace change. “As you’ve often said, practice makes perfect but I really don’t want to overburden myself.” Eventually, she’d graduate from the baby steps she’d been taking and it would all become second nature. Meditating into a state of clarity had helped close in on an evil presence. She’d also been able to connect with the elements. Earth, wind, fire and water. Belatedly, Lexie looked around her to see if merely thinking about the elements had conjured something...
Luna tilted her little head in thought. “I’m glad to see your powers haven’t gone to your head.”
Smithers held the front entrance door open for them and, to Lexie’s surprise, tipped his hat.
“I had no idea Mimi Hargreaves had a cat,” he said, “All the other pet owning residents go for daily walks, but I’ve never seen Mimi stepping out with her cat.”
Mimi had said Frederick was strictly an indoor cat. Lexie had assumed that only meant Frederick didn’t roam around freely. How did he get his exercise?
“Here comes Mrs. Edgar McAvoy. If there has been any unusual activity here, she’ll be the one to know,” Smithers said.
Right on cue, Mrs. Edgar McAvoy emerged from the elevator and strode toward them, giving both Lexie and Luna a head to toe sweep. Twig thin, her snow-white hair sat in a neat bob around her shoulders. Dressed in an elegant powder blue suit, she fiddled with a strand of pearls as she said, “I’ve heard Mimi’s cat has gone missing. What a dreadful state of affairs this is. Smithers, you do a fine job keeping the undesirables out, but someone must have slipped through. How is that possible? Are we to be murdered in our beds now?”
Unfortunately, Mrs. Edgar McAvoy didn’t have any useful information.
Lexie stepped out of the building and looked around her. “Keep your eyes peeled for anything unusual,” she told Luna.
“Such as?”
“Some criminals enjoy revisiting the scene of their crimes. If someone took Frederick by force, they might be hovering nearby.”
“Okay,” Luna said, “I see an elderly woman pushing a stroller.”
“And why did that catch your attention?”
“There’s a tail sticking out of the stroller,” Luna said.
Lexie looked down the street and spotted the woman dressed in a bright purple coat. “It’s a stuffed toy.” Nevertheless, she strode toward her. Tuffs of gray hair stuck out from beneath a purple hat. The woman looked ancient, with gnarled fingers and a stooped posture.
When the woman turned down the street, Lexie hurried her steps and called out to her. “Wait.”
Hearing Lexie, she flung her arm out almost as if to strike her. “What do you think you’re doing?” the woman demanded.
“Sorry, wrong person,” Lexie said as she had a closer look inside the stroller to make sure the tail she’d seen belonged to a stuffed toy. Peering in, she saw a collection of junk. The stuffed toy, a snow globe, an old newspaper and some other items she couldn’t identify.
“What are you doing?” The woman put herself between her stash of goodies and Lexie. “This is all
mine.”
Lexie didn’t want to judge the woman by appearances, but she felt compelled to dig inside her pocket and give her all the money she had. She sure looked as if she needed it.
Apologizing, she turned back. “Like I said,” she told Luna. “It was only a stuffed toy.”
“If you say so. Can we go to the park?” Luna asked as they strode along 5th Avenue. “You could commune with nature. The Coven will like that. Please, can we go? I’ve never been. As you know, my previous companion spent her days drunk as a skunk. We rarely stepped out.”
“Where did she live?”
Luna looked over her shoulder. “A couple of blocks back that way.”
“You were a 5th Avenue cat? It’s no wonder you constantly grumble about your current living situation. How did she afford a place here?”
“Like you, she was an heiress, unlike you, she enjoyed spending money.”
“Hey, I’m on a budget. It’s not my fault if my great aunt placed restrictions on how much money I’m allowed to have.”
“Perhaps you could renegotiate. After all, you’ve proven yourself to be quite frugal, living well below your means and any other acceptable standard of living.”
“Give it up, Luna. Even with full access to my inheritance, I’m not moving out of the Village. I like it there.”
“How can you be sure you won’t like living here unless you try it first?”
Lexie scooped Luna up and crossed the street. When they reached the park, she set Luna down. “Okay, go forth and romp to your heart’s content. But don’t stray too far. There might be a cat burglar on the prowl.”
Luna strayed off the path only to scurry back onto it. “The grass is cold and wet. Perhaps we should return in the springtime.”
“Hang on. I’m sensing something.”
Luna shivered. “Yes, a cold snap.”
