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

  "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.

  * * *

  CHAPTER

  FIVE

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  * * *

  I hadn't even been a witch for one full day

  yet, and already I'd lost my wand. …

  * * *

  .

  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 tingled 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."

  My bottom lip trembled. I quickly scooped up my belongings, wishing I could transform myself into a snail and hide in my shell. I'd been here exactly five minutes and already I'd fallen in the water, embarrassed myself, and broken a major rule of the witching world.

  The two men in the boat were arguing with each other now. I had no idea what they were saying, but they looked mad. Somehow, I had the feeling they were arguing about me. But that was ridiculous.

  "It's okay," Eleanor said, calming down. "I don't think anyone saw."

  I didn't want to upset her again by mentioning the guys in the boat. I'd made enough mistakes for one day.

  "You know," Eleanor said, smiling now as she led the way toward the taxi the porter had secured for us. "That was actually pretty great. You successfully cast a spell on your first try! Not many w
itches can do that. You must take after your mother."

  "You think?" I smiled at the idea of having something in common with my mom.

  Settled into the taxi, Eleanor seemed more at ease.

  "When we get home, make sure you lock your wand up good and tight," Eleanor said. "There's a special drawer in your room where you can keep it. We'll show you. If you're ever uncertain where we keep something, just ask. Tootsie and Rocky will be glad to help you out as well."

  "Tootsie and Rocky?" I asked.

  "Our familiars. Tootsie is Trixie's cat. Rocky is my wolfhound. He looks vicious, but he's just a playful pup."

  "Oh, okay. Um, thanks," I said as we drove away from the pier. Familiars? I didn't want to sound stupid, but I was dying to know if Tootsie and Rocky could talk. Like in the movies.

  I reached into my purse to check my phone. My dad had already sent me a dozen text messages pleading with me not to go to Heavenly Haven. I'd read them, but not yet responded. I didn't know what to tell him. I guessed I could start with telling him it was too late. I was here.

  I opened my purse, but my phone wasn't there.

  "Oh my roses," I said, remembering now that I'd had it in my back pocket when I fell into the water.

  "What's wrong?" Trixie asked.

  I reached into my pocket and checked for my phone, but it wasn't there.

  Something pricked uncomfortably at the back of my neck as a new, even worse thought occurred to me. I sat straighter in my seat, looking around the cab. It felt like a brick had just landed in the pit of my stomach. A large lump formed in my throat. I dumped everything out of my purse.

  Nothing.

  I felt in all my pockets. Still nothing. My heart began to race.

  "What's wrong?" Trixie asked again.

  "I lost my phone," I told them, looking out the window at the pier now fading in the distance.

  "That's too bad," Eleanor said. "But normal phones don't work very well on Heavenly Haven anyway. We'll get you a proper witching phone after you've settled in."

  "Thanks," I said, biting my lips so hard I tasted blood. The phone wasn't the problem. Or rather, it wasn't the big problem.

  I had no idea how to tell my aunts, so I said nothing at all. The fact was, I hadn't even been a witch for one full day yet, and already I'd lost my wand.

  * * *

  CHAPTER

  SIX

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  * * *

  She lay on the ground. She wasn't moving. …

  * * *

  .

  I stood in the back room at The Mystic Cupcake, my head swimming with all the information Trixie and Eleanor had gone over with me since early this morning.

  I'd awoken at five to Trixie and Eleanor's smiling faces hovering over me in the dark. They had startled me so much that I'd screamed and socked Trixie in the mouth with my fist. Luckily, she'd thought it was hilarious. It had taken some prompting on their part, but I'd gotten out of bed and dressed, ready for my first day as a full-fledged witch.

  Tootsie, Trixie's feline familiar, wove his way between my ankles as Eleanor tested me.

  "What's this?" Eleanor asked, pointing at a container of bronze powder.

  I tried to concentrate, but my mind kept returning to the wand I'd lost the day before. I still hadn't told Trixie or Eleanor.

  Tootsie coughed lightly, and I looked down at him. His long orange fur fluffed out in all directions. Like he'd been through the fluff cycle one too many times. "Meowww... luffernut roo—"

  "Tootsie!" Eleanor glared at him. "Do not help her."

  Tootsie sat down and blinked innocently at Eleanor, licking his paw. "What did Tootsie do?" he asked, pretending to be interested in a piece of cookie that had fallen on the floor. He batted it around with his paws.

  I was still trying to get used to the idea of a talking cat. Rocky, Eleanor's gray and white wolfhound, lay silently in the corner, his head buried under one paw while he tried to get some sleep.

  "Don't mind Tootsie," Eleanor said. "He was your mother's familiar before... before he was Trixie's…" Her voice trailed off. "He's eager to help you. But don't you listen to him. You have to learn these things for yourself."

  I stared down at the orange ball of fur. Tootsie had been my mom's familiar? My heart suddenly warmed that much more toward him. I stroked the top of his head with one finger and he purred loudly.

  "So?" Eleanor asked.

  I stared at the bronze powder, thinking. A long purple stem with tiny white balls was lying in a box on the table. I absently picked it up and twiddled it between my fingers.

  "Ava!" Eleanor snapped. "Don't touch that!" She grabbed the stem from me and set it back in the box, closing the lid.

  "Sorry," I said, surprised at how upset she seemed. "What was that thing?"

  "Nothing. A plant. They're... delicate." She took a deep breath and when she expelled it her smile had returned. "So?" she asked. "The bronze powder? What is it?"

  "Fluffernutter root?"

  "Correct!" Eleanor said, beaming. "And where does it grow?"

  "Um... in the shade?"

  "Yes, but more specific."

  "A... dark shade?"

  "Whisper Crossing."

  Beside her, Trixie hopped from one foot to another.

  "I knew she'd be a natural extractor!" Trixie shouted gleefully.

  Eleanor's brow scrunched together. "Maybe you should go home and get your wand."

  "No!" I shouted, a little too vehemently. When we'd arrived at the bakery his morning, I'd told my aunts I'd forgotten my wand at home. "I mean, I don't want to stop. Not now. I really think I'm getting the hang of this. Besides, you said I shouldn't need a wand."

  "Once you got good enough," Eleanor interjected. "But you're still learning, Ava. A wand at this stage might help speed things along."

  "Oh, let her keep going," Trixie said. "She's doing just fine without it. She's got her mother's skills."

  I looked at Trixie, grateful for her confidence. I only wished I shared it. The chime over the front door rang. The bakery opened at nine. It was only five after and already people were coming in.

  Rocky raised his head sleepily off the floor. "Cookie for Rocky?" he asked. Eleanor took a cookie from a jar on the table and Rocky carefully ate it out of her hand. He lowered his head and went back to sleep.

  "Come on!" Trixie cried. "A customer!" She grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the door. "Quick, grab your tray!" she said, then grabbed it for me. It was my first official tray of cupcakes. Vanilla cake with coconut frosting and happy, peppy mood extract.

  "Trixie," Eleanor said, "we haven't even tried those cupcakes yet."

  "Oh, they're fine," Trixie exclaimed. "Just look at them."

  The pearl-white frosting sat twirled high on top, a perfect swirl. Coconut flakes cascaded up and down the sides, looking like snow. I still couldn't believe I'd created something so elegant. Until this morning, I'd never touched a pastry bag.

  "Ava's a genius!" Trixie declared. I felt my face flush as Trixie pulled me out front.

  A man with longish blond hair and a light five o'clock shadow stood peering at the shelves. He looked up when Trixie and I came in. His hazel eyes were warm and friendly.

  "Good morning, David," Trixie called, waving at him.

  He looked vaguely familiar, though I couldn't say why. I looked at him with a critical eye. I had still found no way whatsoever to distinguish humans from witches and wizards. I had to remember to ask Trixie and Eleanor if there was a trick to it.

  "Hey, Trixie," David replied. He saw the cupcakes in her hand and his eyes widened. "What's that there? Is that coconut?"

  Eleanor came out behind us and David smiled brightly at her.

  "Hey, Eleanor," he said.

  "Good morning, David."

  I guessed David was a regular. He was in his early twenties and wore tight jeans with a dark button down shirt and sports jacket. He was probably on his way to work.

&
nbsp; "Here," Trixie said, prying his hand open and placing one of my cupcakes in it. "On the house."

  He looked at her quizzically.

  Trixie pushed me forward. "This is our niece, Ava. She's only just arrived on the island and is going to be helping us here at the bakery. This is her first batch of cupcakes. Ever."

  I thought about telling Trixie that I had made cupcakes before, but I supposed that Betty Crocker didn't really count.

  "They smell great," David said, smiling at me. "Thanks." He blinked once and tilted his head like he was trying to place me.

  "Trixie," Eleanor said, trying to keep her voice light. "We really should try them ourselves first, before we start giving them out to customers."

  David's eyes gleamed. "You mean I'm your Guinea pig?" He winked at me. My cheeks reddened. I looked away, pretending to pick a hair off my apron.

  Before Eleanor could stop him, he stuffed the cupcake into his mouth and swallowed it in three swift bites.

  "Delicious," he declared, looking right at me as he said it.

  His shaggy blond hair swiveled around his head and it suddenly hit me where I knew him from. He'd been one of the men in the boat when I'd arrived. I wasn't sure if he'd recognized me.

  "Here," Trixie said. "Take another." Before he could protest, she shoved a second cupcake into his hand.

  "Well, I guess I've got my sweet fix for the day," he said. "I came in for something chocolate, but this is even better." He swallowed the second cupcake even faster than the first.

  "You can always take some chocolates to go," Eleanor piped up.

  He smiled. "That's probably a good idea. Those afternoon munchies tend to hit me hard." He selected half a dozen chocolate cookies that I suspected he would devour before lunch, and left the store smiling. As soon as he was gone, Trixie started in on her happy jig.

  "Oh, Trixie," Eleanor scolded. "If we give cupcakes away for free to everyone who comes in, we'll never make a profit."