Witch Cake Murders (Sweetland Witch Women Sleuths) (A Cozy Mystery Book) Read online

  "There you are," Lance said, walking toward me. "We were wondering where you got off to."

  I looked around the alley, my eyes attempting to adjust to the darkness I was now encased in. My aunts were nowhere in sight.

  "The door locked behind me when I took out the trash," I told him.

  Lance glanced nervously back at the door he'd just come through. He pulled on the knob and the door opened easily. "It's not locked now," he said, sighing with relief. "Come on. It's almost midnight. Let's get out of here."

  I followed Lance back into the diner, wondering if Trixie and Eleanor had anything to do with my getting locked in the alley. I hung up my apron, double checking the pockets for tip money. Inside one of them was a card.

  THE MYSTIC CUPCAKE

  121 BELL AVE.

  SWEETLAND COVE, HEAVENLY HAVEN

  I flipped the card over and found a message written in long loopy letters.

  If you decide to come back with us—and we hope you do—we're at the Cumberbun Hotel. 555-6510

  — Aunt E.

  I drove home, so lost in thought I almost drove right through a red light. My dad was still up when I came in, even though he had to get up just as early as I did for the morning shift.

  "I was just getting ready to send out the diner police." He smiled, making a bad joke.

  I tried to return the smile but failed. I had too many questions burning in my brain and no idea how to ask them. What did I really know about my mother, anyway? My father had one picture of her. And I'd spent the last twenty-one years thinking her last name was Albert.

  Heck, what did I really know about myself? Until tonight, I didn't even know I had a middle name.

  "Ava Rose," I murmured. It felt strange on my lips.

  "What's that?" my dad asked, looking up from the bag of cookies he'd been snacking on.

  "Nothing."

  I went into the kitchen and warmed the dinner plate he'd left out for me. He took the seat at the table across from me. I picked at my spaghetti.

  "What's up?" my dad asked. "Not hungry?"

  I pushed my plate away, suddenly angry at my father. Had he really been lying to me all my life?

  "Who are Eleanor and Trixie Rose?" I asked.

  My father's jaw hit the table.

  "Are they my aunts?"

  "How... what makes you..." My father's voice cracked and trailed off. Clearly, this was the last thing he’d expected me to ask.

  "I met them," I told him. "They seem nice."

  He reached across the table and took hold of my water glass. His hands were shaking. He swallowed the water and smacked his lips together.

  "They are nice," he finally replied. "And yes, they're your aunts."

  Somehow, hearing it from him made it all more real. I felt anger swelling in me. "So what they told me is true? Are they..." I gulped. "They're witches?"

  "Ava—"

  "Does that mean Mom was a witch? That I'm a witch?"

  "In a manner of speaking, yes. But that doesn't mean—"

  "What do you mean in a 'manner of speaking?' How could you not tell me this? How could you keep a secret like this from me?" I rose from the table, too angry to even look at him.

  "Ava, I have my reasons," he said, rising with me.

  I stared at him, unbelieving.

  "You have your reasons? That's it? Really? That's the best you've got?"

  His lips thinned to a grimace. "Ava, I am your father, and you have to trust me when I tell you that everything I've done has been for your benefit."

  "My benefit?" I yelled. "Dad, how can you say that? I don't even know who I am!" I turned away from him and crossed my arms over my chest. "They asked me to go back with them. Aunt Eleanor and Trixie. To Heavenly Haven."

  My father's face tightened. "Absolutely not!" he yelled. "I forbid it."

  "You forbid it?" I yelled, turning back to face him. "Dad, I'm twenty-one. I'm an adult. There's a whole other life out there I've never known."

  "You are not going to Heavenly Haven," he screamed.

  "Oh yeah?" I screamed back at him. "Watch me!"

  I slammed the door behind me when I left. I pulled my phone from my purse as I ran toward my car, too angry to even cry.

  Eleanor answered on the first ring.

  "It's Ava. How soon can we leave?"

  * * *

  0 4

  * * *

  I looked out at the water as the ferry sailed toward a bright green island a few miles ahead. The plane ride to Florida had been fast. Everything had been fast. The ride to the airport. The way I'd quit my job at Stuffed. I'd snuck back into the apartment when my dad was at work and packed a small handful of items.

  Is this all a huge mistake?

  I'd been asking myself that question for the last hour. I was on a boat with two women I barely knew, on my way to a home I had never known. Still... every time I wondered what I'd gotten myself into, the thought of adventure was enough to calm me. I'd had so little adventure in my life I didn't want to second-guess my decision to leave New York.

  "We'll be there soon," Eleanor said, taking a spot beside me at the railing. Her long skirt billowed in the strong ocean breeze.

  Trixie hovered behind her, fiddling with thick purple shoelaces that ran up her even purpler stockings. She tried to stretch one of the laces up over her knee in a criss-cross pattern and the lace slipped through her fingers, falling to the ground.

  "For rose's sake!" Trixie muttered, starting over.

  "There are a few things you need to know before we arrive," Eleanor continued.

  "More things?" I squealed, grasping hold of the railing.

  They'd already told me so much on the plane that my head was still aching. Humans and witches had lived together for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Only a handful of humans knew witches were real, though. Heavenly Haven was a small island off the coast of Florida that had managed to evade every hurricane that ever went by it. It also maintained a year-round spring climate, courtesy of the Witch's Council, which sounded more or less like the city councils I had grown up with in New York. Except, of course, they were witches.

  "I'm not sure my brain can process anything else right now," I told Eleanor.

  She gave me a sympathetic look. Trixie came up behind me and thumped the back of my head with her thumb.

  "Sounds like there's still some room in there to me," Trixie said, smiling. Eleanor rolled her eyes. I was wearing the witch's hat necklace my father had given me. My fingers brushed against the silver pendant and a wave of comfort washed over me.

  "Your mother always loved that necklace," Eleanor said. "I'm glad Eli kept it."

  I sighed and looked back out at the water. The island was so close now. I could see buildings tucked in amongst the lush green tree tops.

  "Come with us a moment," Eleanor said.

  She locked elbows with my left arm. Trixie locked elbows with my right. They spun me around before I could say anything and led me back into the ferry's interior. We took a seat on a bench in the corner. Most people were outside watching the water and basking in the sun, so the inside was empty. I suspected that was exactly what Trixie and Eleanor wanted.

  Eleanor pulled a box about twelve inches long and three inches wide from a pocket in her dark blue skirt. It was wrapped in bright magenta paper with a white ribbon. I had no idea how she'd managed to stuff a box like that inside her skirt but didn't ask. Since meeting my aunts, I was learning to expect the unexpected.

  Trixie's feet began dancing on the floor as we sat there. She was clearly excited about whatever was inside that box. Eleanor handed it to me and I began tearing the paper open.

  "Tttzzt!" Eleanor hissed. Her lips tightened and her hand shot out, stopping me. "Always make sure there are no humans around when you are practicing magic."

  "Magic?" I asked, looking down. What kind of magic could fit inside a box?

  Eleanor scanned the room. There was no one in sight. "Okay, go ahead," she said.
r />   I ripped the paper open. Inside the wooden box was a long, thin stick. "Um... thanks," I said, not wanting to sound rude. Maybe in the witching world sticks were a collector's item, like figurines or china patterns.

  "Guard it with your life," Eleanor said seriously.

  I looked down at the stick again. It looked like something that had fallen off a sick tree branch.

  "Er, I will."

  Trixie's face turned pink. "I don't think she knows what it is," she whispered to Eleanor.

  "Of course she does," Eleanor said. "She's Lorabelle's daughter, for witch's sake!" But when she looked back at my blank expression, she sighed and shook her head.

  "Your father's really taught you nothing. Pick it up."

  I reached out and grasped the stick. The second my fingers touched it, I felt something jump and pull at me. It was like a kitten nipping playfully at my fingertips. I looked up at Eleanor, my mouth open. Her face lit up.

  I held the stick tightly in my hand. It felt like it was part of my arm. Like it belonged there.

  "That's your wand to keep," Eleanor said. "A gift from us to you."

  "A wand?" I murmured in awe of the energy I could feel swelling from within it. The hairs on my arm were standing on end.

  "Yes. There's nothing wrong with using a wand. When you've had some time to practice, you won't need it," Eleanor said quickly. "Only children and dim-witches need wands. But we thought under the circumstances—"

  "Since you’re so new to this," Trixie interrupted. Her face had grown into deep shades of red and violet.

  "—that it would be helpful for you to have. It's not that we don't think you can handle yourself without one. Every witch and wizard starts out with a wand, you understand."

  "What's a dim-witch?" I asked.

  Trixie's face turned purple.

  "Er, a witch who has never reached her full potential. Even with a wand, they still have trouble casting spells." Eleanor looked down at the floor.

  I suddenly realized that they were embarrassed. My aunts seemed to think that giving me a wand was some sort of insult. A reflection on my lack of ability to perform magic.

  "I love it," I told them. "Thank you."

  Trixie's face began to change back to her normal color, and Eleanor expelled the breath she'd been holding.

  "You can use it tomorrow when we take you to the bakery," Trixie said, smiling again.

  "Bakery?"

  Trixie and Eleanor exchanged a look.

  "Didn't you tell her?" Trixie asked.

  "No! I thought you did," Eleanor replied.

  "Tell me what?" I asked.

  "The Mystic Cupcake," Eleanor said. I remembered the card she'd left in my apron's pocket. "It's our bakery. Trixie's, mine, and... your mother's. We all opened it together years ago. Now that you're here, we thought..." Her voice trailed off. She bit her lower lip. I realized I was doing the same thing.

  "Of course you don't have to work with us at the bakery if you don't want to," Trixie chimed in.

  "My mother owned a bakery?"

  "She was an expert at mood extracts," Trixie replied. "I'm a frosting expert. Eleanor is a cake expert, or at least she claims to be." Eleanor pinched Trixie's arm.

  "What's a mood extract?" I asked.

  "It's way of enhancing foods, particularly baked goods, to make people... feel a certain way," Eleanor said.

  Trixie rolled her eyes.

  "Eleanor makes it sound boring." Trixie turned toward me conspiratorially. "It's how you make people feel good even when they want to feel bad. Or give people confidence when they don't have any. Or trick your parents into thinking spending the weekend unchaperoned in Fiji is the best idea ever!"

  Eleanor pinched Trixie's cheek. "Don't tell her that!"

  "Why not? It wasn't our idea! Lorabelle was the one who came up with the 'parental sway' extract." Trixie turned back to me. "We never thought it would work, but then your mom made these brownies, and the next thing you knew we were in Fiji."

  "Wait, you mean my mom actually tricked your parents into letting the three of you go to Fiji? Alone?"

  "It wasn't a trick," Eleanor said. "It was... skill. Your mom was the best extractor on the island. If only we'd known it would lead to her death, we might not have boasted about it quite so much."

  "What?" I asked, my ears perking up. "What do you mean? Didn't my mom die in a plane crash?"

  Eleanor and Trixie exchanged a look. Just as Eleanor's mouth opened to answer my question, the boat came to a stop.

  "We're here," Eleanor said, relieved.

  I looked out the window, too excited to press Eleanor and Trixie for answers just now. I filed this new information away for later and concentrated on the lush green trees that were touching the sky. Sprinkles of plants colored pink, purple, and orange stretched far and wide. The beaches were golden with sand that sparkled like glitter.

  Heavenly Haven.

  I was home.

  * * *

  0 5

  * * *

  The crowd quickly exited the ferry. I followed along with them. My eyes never stopped looking up. They couldn't. There were too many colors. Too many things I had never seen before. A giant bird with a wingspan of at least fifteen feet glided silently through the air. Bowling-ball-sized coconuts were commonplace. The sun seemed brighter somehow, like it was glowing gold, yellow, and orange all at once.

  Trixie and Eleanor sent our bags ahead of us with a porter. I finally managed to tear my eyes away from the clouds and found myself staring at the people. I tried to decipher who amongst them was a witch and who was a human. I had no clue. Everyone looked the same to me.

  There was one man with a long bushy white mustache. He was wearing a vest and a hat and looked like he could have stepped out of a Norman Rockwell painting. It made me feel underdressed in my jeans and t-shirt. I couldn't help staring at him. There was something about him... I wasn't sure if 'aura' was the right word, but he had a positive energy about him that even I could sense. He caught me staring and winked at me as he walked past.

  "That's Mayor Singer," Trixie whispered. "He's a powerful warlock."

  "The Mayor of Sweetland Cove?" I asked, following him down the long pier we had docked at.

  "No, Mistmoor Point," Trixie replied. "It's a little town on the opposite side of the island. Actually, it's the only other town on the island. Heavenly Haven is so small there's not really room for more than two towns."

  I knew Heavenly Haven was small, but for the first time, stepping off the ferry, I was beginning to understand just how small it really was. It almost seemed like I could see the other side of the island from the shore.

  Mayor Singer got into a car that was waiting for him and drove off. I found myself watching him go, wondering just how powerful a warlock he really was. There was so much to learn about this place. My eyes were darting all over, taking in everything they could. What looked like a giant pink palm tree stretched toward the sky. I stared up at it as I was walking. I'd never seen pink palm leaves before.

  "Aunt Trixie, what's that tree? It's not a palm—"

  My question was cut off as I plunged feet first into the water. I'd been so transfixed on the things around me that I'd stepped right off the pier and into the ocean. My head surfaced, and I wiped the water from my eyes. The salt stung them but not unpleasantly. I'd never been in the ocean before.

  Eleanor and Trixie were standing with their mouths open. A small crowd had formed around them. They were all watching me. A few people tried to hide the fact they were giggling. My wand floated in the water nearby. My purse, however, was starting to sink. I grabbed them both before they could get away.

  Two men paddling in a small boat a good distance from the ferry stopped to watch as well. The men were hard to make out with the salt stinging my eyes and making them water. All I could see was a mass of shaggy blond hair on one man. The other was tall with long dark hair. Even from so far away, I could feel his eyes piercing into me. Warm electricity tin
gled in my toes.

  For some reason, knowing his eyes, in particular, were on me made me blush. It was like I'd just embarrassed myself in front of the popular kid at school.

  "For witch's sake, get out of there, silly," Trixie yelled. She let out a loud laugh and Eleanor smacked her arm. Then she laughed, too.

  I was close enough to shore that my feet touched the bottom. I made my way onto the sand. The crowd was dispersing. The two men in the boat were still watching me. My heart beat fast as the one with long dark hair came into better focus. Blue eyes the color of sapphire stared back at me.

  "Goodness," Eleanor said, shaking her head and drawing my eyes away from the boat. "I can see we'll have to keep an eye on you until you get settled in." She sounded serious, but her lips were curved up at the ends.

  "You can use your wand to dry yourself off!" Trixie exclaimed, jumping up and down. "Your first spell! It's an easy one, too!"

  Eleanor looked at her sister. "That's not a bad idea, actually. All you need to do is hold your wand out and say 'semta pemu.'"

  Eleanor turned toward the road where several taxis were lined up. Trixie followed her. My clothes, heavy with water, made me lag behind.

  "When we get into the cab..." Eleanor was saying. But I was transfixed by the wand in my hands, and didn't hear the second part of her sentence.

  "Semta pemu," I said loudly. A gush of hot air blew against me, like a nuclear-powered blow dryer. It came from nowhere and everywhere all at once. I felt the heat rise between my toes and continue up my legs, my stomach, my arms, and finally my head. It happened in a matter of seconds and then the feeling was gone and I was dry.

  "It worked!" I cried, astonished.

  "Ava!" Eleanor screamed so loud it made me jump. I dropped my purse and wand into the sand. When I looked at Eleanor and Trixie, their faces were ashen.

  "I didn't mean for you to use your wand now," Eleanor sputtered. "You never... you shouldn't..." She was looking all around us. Frantic.

  "Ava," Trixie said, calmer than her sister. "You can't perform magic where humans might see you. It's one of the top rules of the Council on Magic and Human Affairs."

  "Oh!" I cried, feeling stupid. "I'm sorry."