Witches, Recipes, and Murder Page 10

  "I'm afraid I have to agree with your aunt," said my dad. "From now on, you're not investigating this case alone. I would be crushed if I could not participate in rubbing it all in Dean's face. The next time you go to Mack's Bar, you must promise to take me with you. I'll make sure to take a picture and send it to Dean's Facebook page. He'll be thrilled to know we're doing the exact opposite of what he ordered us to do."

  We broke into peals of laughter so loud and for so long that Trixie finally poked her head into the back room to see what was going on.

  "We've all become detectives," Eleanor told her. "Are you in?"

  Trixie looked at us and scratched her head. "Sure, I've always thought it would be fun to be a part of the Pinkerton Agency."

  "I guess this is the Rose-Fortune Agency," my dad laughed, and we all wiped our eyes. Trixie looked bewildered, but that didn't stop her from joining in with the laughter. A minute later, she was wiping her eyes, too.

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  CHAPTER

  NINETEEN

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  The next day, I went out for lunch with my dad. It was sort of a treat for me; my dad and I rarely got to eat lunch together. There was a deli not too far from Mystic that we both enjoyed, so we headed over there.

  We got a couple of sandwiches and some sodas and sat on a bench in town square beneath Wanda's Willow, a giant willow tree that legend said could take away your anxiety when you were feeling nervous. It seemed a fitting choice given the events surrounding my life of late.

  "Hear anything from Colt?" he asked as we ate.

  "Yeah. He texted me a couple more times this morning. He's still apologizing."

  "Well, don't be too hard on him. Colt's got a difficult job to do. It's probably just as hard for him to keep secrets from you as it is for you to have them kept."

  "Funny, that's just what Snowball said."

  "I'm thrilled to know that Snowball and I think so much alike," my dad said sarcastically, but he was smiling.

  His phone buzzed, and he checked the text that had just come in.

  "Is that Eleanor wondering where we are?" I asked him.

  "No, it's Sadie, wondering if I'm free this evening."

  "Are you?" I asked him with a glint in my eye.

  "For Sadie?" He laughed. "For her, I'm always free."

  We finished our sandwiches a little early and my dad said he wanted to stop by the hospital and say hi to Sadie. He just couldn't wait until tonight.

  "You don't mind if I ditch you, do you?" he kidded me.

  I smiled at him. "I'm used to it."

  He frowned for a second, and I had to assure him that I was only joking.

  "I like Sadie," I told him, which was true. Sadie was a spunky, redheaded nurse who had fixed me up more than once when I'd gone into the hospital for one reason or another. It was funny, I'd never been in the hospital once growing up that I could remember, but since moving to Sweetland Cove from New York City, I'd lost count of how many hospital visits I'd had.

  Since my dad was off on his own, I decided to swing by Colt's apartment instead of going back to the bakery right away.

  I was still mad at him, but after talking things over with my dad just now, and Snowball last night, I decided that whatever secrets he was keeping for me were part of his job, nothing more. He wasn't a murderer. So what if he had been friends with Mack? That didn't mean he killed the guy. It didn't mean he knew who'd killed him either.

  I knew that keeping secrets was a part of Colt's job. It didn't mean I had to like it, but it did mean that if I wanted to be with him, I had to accept it. At least to an extent. I realized my internal monologue was quoting Snowball and had to laugh.

  Snowball was surprisingly good at helping me to see things in a reasonable light. I'd have to pick up a can of tuna for her on my way home from work this evening.

  I had another motive for wanting to see Colt, though, other than making up with him. I was hoping he might have some insight into Mack's debts. I knew he was looking into the murder along with Sheriff Knoxx and wondered if either of them knew that he owed so many people money. If he did, maybe he could tell me who he owed the most money to. That seemed like a good place to start looking for his killer.

  Colt lived on the second floor of an apartment building a short walk from the bakery. It wasn't even out of the way. I could stop by his apartment, give him a quick make up kiss, and still make it back to the bakery on time. The last thing I needed right now was to be scolded by Eleanor for not getting back on time. Chances were high that my dad would be late. Sweetland Hospital was further out than Colt's apartment. He'd have to rush to make it back in time; I could be a bit more leisurely about it.

  I rounded the corner, thinking how surprised he was going to be to see me at his door. I almost didn't look up in time. I was picturing Colt sweep me into his arms and kiss me. When I finally looked up, I was almost to the stairs that would take me up to Colt's apartment. The stairs were on the outside of the building, not the inside. So I could see his door clearly without having to stand right in front of it.

  Colt's door was already open, and my dad was standing on the other side of it. Their faces were both red and even though I couldn't hear exactly what they were saying, I could make out the tone. It was angry.

  I paused, wondering what to do. Curiosity won out and I moved closer, inching along the side of the building and staying close to the wall so that I wouldn't be seen.

  "You shouldn't be here," Colt said. His voice was even angrier than I'd imagined.

  Were they arguing about me? I hoped not, but it was the only thing that made any sense. Maybe my dad was angrier about Colt's secret-keeping than he'd let on. He'd always been incredibly protective of me. It would make sense that he wouldn't like my fiancé keeping things from me.

  "You're the one who texted me asking me to come over," my dad said.

  "I said to drop by later, not now."

  "Well, I can't later, I'm meeting Sadie. So I came now. I was in the middle of lunch with Ava, by the way, who's still mad at you."

  Colt blanched. "She is?"

  "Don't worry. I calmed her down. I think you'll be hearing from her later."

  Colt sighed, relieved. "Thanks."

  What in the whole wide witching world is going on here?

  It sounded like my dad had just admitted that he'd lied to me. That it wasn't Sadie who had texted him at all, it was Colt. But why would Colt be texting my dad asking him to come over?

  Colt looked out from his door, scanning the area around his building. I ducked quickly back around the corner before he could see me.

  "I think I know who's been after Natalie Vargas," Colt said. "That's why I wanted to talk to you. I'm hoping you'll tell me I'm wrong."

  My dad was quiet a moment. "You think it's me."

  Colt was staring hard at him. "I'm not exactly sure what to think." There was a brief pause. "Maybe you should come inside."

  "Maybe not," my dad countered. "If you try to arrest me, I want to be able to run." I wasn't sure whether or not he was joking.

  Colt laughed. "If I wanted to arrest you, you'd already be in cuffs."

  If my nerves hadn't been shot before, they were shot now. Hearing Colt and my dad talk like this was not only giving me a migraine, it was making me question everything I thought I knew about them both.

  "I'm not the one trying to kill Natalie," my dad said.

  "You and Mack used to be good friends," Colt said.

  "We weren't friends," Dad said, his voice rough. "I knew him, yes, but that was a long time ago. I moved off the island right after Lorabelle was killed and was gone for twenty years raising Ava. I've hardly seen him since I've been back."

  "Hardly or not at all?"

  My dad didn't answer right away, and when he did, his answer was just as evasive as Colt's answers had been to me the other night.

  "I'm not sure
it matters," my dad said.

  "It does matter."

  "I've seen him here and there," my dad said and left it at that. "What makes you think I'm the one trying to kill Natalie?"

  "There are only a handful of people who know what Mack had in that box he asked her to hide. I'm pretty sure you're one of them. Maybe you decided you wanted it for yourself. Maybe you wanted it so much that you were willing to kill for it."

  I waited for my dad to deny Colt's statement, but he didn't. It was unnerving hearing Colt talk to my father like he was a killer.

  "Are you accusing me of killing Mack or trying to kill Natalie?"

  "I'm not sure. Maybe both."

  "Even if I did know what Mack had in that box," my dad said, "what makes you think I'd kill to get it? What makes you think I'd even want it?"

  Colt didn't answer.

  What the heck are they talking about?

  "You knew both Mack and Natalie," Colt said. "The day Mack's body was found behind Coffee Cove, you weren't at the bakery. I checked. There's a large chunk of your time unaccounted for that day, and it just happens to coincide with the time a brown sedan tried to run Natalie over, and the time Mack was murdered."

  "I was having lunch with Sadie."

  Colt cocked his head to the side. "I'll have to verify that with her."

  "Go ahead. I have nothing to hide. I didn't kill Mack, and I certainly haven't tried to kill Natalie."

  Colt paused. "Eli, I know there's something you're not telling me."

  My dad said nothing.

  Colt sighed. "Fine. Get out of here. I'll check things out with Sadie and if she can confirm your whereabouts at the time in question, I'll let it go. For now."

  My dad left, and I ran off before he could get down the stairs and see me. I had no idea what had just happened, but whatever it was, I didn't like it.

  * * *

  CHAPTER

  TWENTY

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  Working side by side my dad in the bakery proved impossible the rest of the afternoon. He'd returned to Mystic shortly after I did, begging Eleanor's forgiveness for being late by saying that Sadie had wanted to talk to him.

  When it came to Sadie, my aunts both had a soft spot. Like me, they had worried my dad would never find another woman to share his life with after my mother's death. The fact that he and Sadie had been going out for some time now made us all feel good—like he was finally moving past my mother's murder and getting on with his life. The man who'd killed her had died some time ago, so it was only right that he should move on.

  He could have been an hour late and, at the mention of Sadie's name, Eleanor would have instantly forgiven him. Trixie felt the same way. Up until a couple hours ago, I would have agreed with them. Now, however, all I could do was wonder what other lies my dad was telling us. I knew perfectly well that he hadn't been at the hospital with Sadie, but should I rat him out or let it go?

  There was yet another question weighing on my mind, as if I didn't have enough of them already. Who should I be angrier with—my dad or Colt? After all, Colt had accused my father of murdering Mack and trying to murder Natalie. It didn't sound as if he had much evidence to back it up with, but still... maybe he knew more than I was aware of? I'd only heard part of the story; what was the rest of it?

  Where had my dad been during the time Mack had been killed? He claimed he was with Sadie, but what if that was just another lie? Colt was sure to question her about it, but how did I know if she could be trusted? Would she lie for my dad? Something told me that if push came to shove, she would.

  "Ava," my dad called, and I looked up. He looked frustrated. "Did you hear me?"

  "Huh? Oh, no. Sorry. What did you say?"

  "I asked if you could check the brownies for me. I don't want them to burn, and I've got my hands full at the moment."

  "Sure," I said and left my place at the counter to go in the back room. I caught my dad exchange a look with Eleanor as I disappeared in the back. I was glad to get away from them. I needed to be alone and right now, the back room was the best place for privacy.

  I pulled the brownies out of the oven and left them to cool. I wasn't ready to go back out on the floor, so I sat down at my extraction station. I just sat there and tried not to think. It was a hard mission to accomplish. Eventually, the door swung open and Eleanor came walking into the room.

  "Everything okay?" she asked.

  "Sure," I said.

  "You've been back here for about fifteen minutes. What are you doing?" She looked at my empty workstation making sure she wasn't missing something.

  "Nothing," I said. "Just sitting here."

  "Oh." She looked uncertainly at me, then turned and went back out of the room. A moment later, my dad appeared.

  "Hi, honey," he said.

  I glared up at him. He stopped walking and rubbed his nose. "Do I have something on my face?"

  "No."

  "You're looking at me like I'm covered in warts or something." He smiled, and I knew he thought I would laugh, but I didn't.

  There was a long pause.

  "Something wrong?" he finally said and pulled up a stool beside me. "You've kind of been giving me the cold shoulder since lunch." He licked his lips. "I'm sorry for leaving you like that. I should have finished out our lunch, I could have just seen Sadie later."

  I sighed. "That's not why I'm mad at you," I said, realizing that there was no way I was going to be able to let this go. I had to say something or it would eat me up inside. "I know you weren't with Sadie."

  His face froze. "What do you mean? Sure I was."

  "Stop lying, Dad! I went to see Colt, thinking we could make up and I saw you talking to him. I heard everything you guys said."

  My dad's shoulders heaved. "Is that all?" He actually looked relieved.

  "All?" I shrieked. "ALL?!?"

  "I thought you were about to tell me something really bad. Like it turns out your new extract makes people's hearts stop or that someone was trying to kill you now, too."

  "You've been lying to me for who knows how long about who knows what. Not just to me either, but to Aunt Eleanor and Trixie, maybe even Sadie, I don't know. You're just a big old liar."

  Trixie poked her head into the back room. She took one look at us and said, "What in the witching world is going on back here? You're scaring the customers, and with this group, that's no easy task."

  She stepped all the way into the back room and looked over her shoulder.

  "There's a couple of goblins out there. Apparently, there's a major sweet tooth spreading in Goblin Territory. They want five hundred cocoa peanut cookies and another thousand chocolate fudge happiness brownies."

  My dad and I glared at each other, neither saying a word.

  "All right, you two, spill," Trixie said and folded her arms across her chest. "What's this fight of yours all about?"

  "How do you know we're fighting?" I asked her.

  "Because I'm not a fool. Plus everyone knows you're fighting. You're not exactly being quiet about it." She came closer. "Now tell me what's going on. Let me be your intermediary."

  I stared at my dad. He stared back at me. On some level, I knew we were both pouting like children, but on another level, I didn't care.

  "He's a big old liar," I repeated for Trixie's benefit.

  "I may be old, but I'm not a—" He saw the expression on my face and realized his joke wasn't going to go over. "All right. I'm a liar," he said, and then in a lower voice. "I'm sorry."

  I drew in a deep breath. "What was Colt talking about? Why would he think you tried to kill Mack? You were with Sadie the day that Mack died, right?"

  "One question at a time," he said.

  Trixie was watching us with interest.

  "Colt thinks Eli killed Mack?" she asked me. "That's preposterous. If anyone killed Mack, it was Natalie."

  We both looked at her.


  "What did you just say?" I asked.

  She shrugged. "I think Natalie killed Mack."

  This was news to me.

  "Why would she do that?" my dad asked.

  "I'm not the only one who thinks that," Trixie said defensively.

  "You're listening to stupid rumors," I said, incredulous.

  "She had the opportunity," Trixie said, repeating one of the rumors I had just referenced. "He went to her for help. What if she decided to help him by, you know..." She made a slicing motion across her throat with her finger.

  "What about the person who tried to kill her?" I asked my seriously delusional aunt. "I was there both times it happened. There was the car and the dagger. If you believe Natalie, there was also the bear claw."

  My dad shot me a questioning look. I'd forgotten to mention the bear claw incident to him or my aunts.

  The point is, she didn't try to kill herself." I looked at my dad. "Can you believe she thinks that?"

  "Your aunt's preoccupied. She's not thinking clearly," my dad said.

  "No kidding."

  "I'm standing right here," Trixie said. "I can hear you talking about me. And anyway, I didn't say it was a well thought out theory."

  "Sorry," I told her and sighed.

  "On a certain level, you have to admit that it makes sense though," Trixie said. "Natalie and Mack used to date. He comes to her for help, instead of helping him, she kills him." She shrugged. "Simple."

  "If I hadn't seen someone try to kill her with my own eyes, then maybe I could buy it," I told her. "But I did. She didn't try to run herself over."