Stony Blend (A Paramour Bay Cozy Paranormal Mystery Book 16) Read online

  Stony Blend

  A Paramour Bay Mystery

  Book Sixteen

  KENNEDY LAYNE

  STONY BLEND

  Copyright © 2021 by Kennedy Layne

  Kindle Edition

  Cover Designer: Sweet ’N Spicy Designs

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  Dedication

  Jeffrey—The gargoyle came in quite handy, and I can’t wait to use the other creatures that go bump in the night! We’ve created quite the magical world…

  Cole—Nothing is ever set in stone. Remember, you set your own destiny!

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  About the Book

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  About Cocoa Blend

  Books by Kennedy Layne

  About the Author

  Complex hexes and intricate spells are boiling up trouble in the next puzzling whodunit of the Paramour Bay Mysteries by USA Today Bestselling Author Kennedy Layne…

  The residents of Paramour Bay have no idea that something sinister might be lurking in the snowy shadows along the main thoroughfare of their quaint coastal town. They are all a bit curious about what could possibly be leaving odd footprints in the snow, though. It’s all anyone can talk about until a spree of vandalism begins happening to the local storefronts.

  Raven Marigold’s familiar is the only one who believes that the town is under attack by the new upright adornment that has been strategically positioned right outside of the local bakery by none other than the baker herself. The intimidating gargoyle statue carved into granite has been set upon a matching pillar, and Leo insists that the thing actually moves. Can he finally convince Raven that he’s right before those odd footprints lead right to their own front door?

  You might want to bring a chisel and a hammer along if you want to follow the dark, snowy trail all the way to the end of this quirky mystery!

  Chapter One

  The first month of the year was always the longest, and it was most certainly the gloomiest. All of the Christmas decorations had to be taken down and stored away, there was no major holiday to look forward to until Valentine’s Day, and there were no more good excuses to eat gingerbread cookies for breakfast.

  All in all, it was quite disheartening.

  Even the teashop had been relatively quiet all morning, mostly because my December sales for the teashop had been the best month’s receipts yet. Unfortunately, such an amazing milestone meant that my customers were well-stocked up for at least the next month or possibly two. The subsequent few weeks were going to be super slow, and there was no doubt that I was going to go stir-crazy waiting for the bell above the door to ring.

  “Do I want to know what Leo is doing right now?”

  “No,” I replied confidently to my best friend before tucking a strand of garland into one of the many plastic storage boxes that I’d gotten out of the backroom. Upon a second glance, I realized that I had finished, and all of the Christmas decorations had finally been tucked away until next year. Somehow, that made me even more sullen. “Not unless you want to hear about his recent bout of hallucinations. He’s been rambling on and on about statues coming to life or some such nonsense for the last hour. I think the fact that all of the holiday festivities are over has him a bit bored and looking for something to do.”

  I glanced over at the display window of Tea, Leaves, & Eves to find my familiar upside down and half-in, half-out of his cat bed. He was awkwardly smushing his face against the windowpane in hopes of getting a better look at the bakery down the street. To me, it seemed that his mission might be a bit skewed considering the topsy, turvy point of view.

  Bree, our local baker, had set an adornment of sorts right next to the entrance. Not everyone was in love with it as she apparently was, given the huge smile on her face when she’d had the delivery people position it on the sidewalk right outside the door and next to the bakery’s display window.

  Trust me, it was a thing hard to miss.

  It turned out to be a large, rectangular base capped with a perch on which sat an ostentatious, granite statue in the form of a gargoyle.

  Yes.

  A gargoyle.

  I’ll admit that it was a bit of an odd fixture, especially when Paramour Bay was a quaint coastal town, located in the state of Connecticut. Think more of a New England, Norman Rockwell coastal community, because we were home to a historic inn, charming cobblestone intersections, old-fashioned gas-style lampposts, and even the antique tailored awnings that hung over every storefront on River Bay. The apt name just so happened to be of the main drag through town.

  Let’s just say that gargoyles didn’t technically fit in with our beachfront motif, if you know what I mean. It seemed the statue would be more appropriate to a gothic Catholic cathedral rooftop or possibly an older marble courthouse designed in the late 1800s.

  Since Leo was otherwise occupied and Heidi was fixing her coffee, now would probably be a good time to introduce myself. I’ll try to keep things simple, because a lot had happened since I’d discovered my family’s little secret. I mean, doesn’t everyone have a few family skeletons in their closet?

  Oh, my name?

  Raven Lattice Marigold, and yes…I’m a bona-fide, hereditary witch.

  It had been great to embrace a lineage that I’d had no idea even existed until my grandmother had passed away two and a half years ago. Nan had left me a sizable inheritance here in Paramour Bay, and I’m not referring to the monetary kind, either. Think more in line with a long history of witchcraft, a witty yet flawed familiar, a wax golem, and an eerie cottage located at the edge of town.

  I’m not going to say it had been an easy adjustment to go from being an ordinary person to a newfangled witch, who literally had no idea what to do with these new abilities. Oh, and let’s just say that my accident-prone tendencies hadn’t helped in the early stages, either. That’s when Leo had entered the picture, who had technically been Nan’s familiar and companion for many years before she died.

  I hate to even admit this part, but an itsy-bitsy bit of dark magic had been utilized in order for me to keep Leo as my own mentor and close friend. I know, black magic in the form of a necromancy spell is a huge no-no, and there had definitely been consequences.

  Raven, are you seriously going to ignore all the signs staring us in the face? The residents have been claiming to find odd footprints that are being left in the snow on the sidewalks for the past week. Well, when it actually snows hard enough to leave a blanket of white stuff on the ground. Anyway, that’s how long that hideous thing has been staring at me from down the street. I told you that there was something not
right with that stone monolith. No matter what you say, I know that gargoyle comes to life when no one is watching late at night, and who knows what it’s doing while it’s out there roaming free in the middle of town square!

  “What did Leo say?” Heidi asked as she took the travel mug that she always brought with her over to the counter next to the register where she’d set her purse. She owned the local accounting firm, and she’d just entered her busiest season gathering information for the annual tax filings on behalf of her clients. This impromptu visit during work hours was only because she had a meeting in a few minutes with the couple who owned the malt shop next door. “Never mind. It would take too long to explain, and I have to figure out how to break it to Desmond and Cora that it’s not a good idea to open another malt shop down by the beachfront. Too much established competition, not that they are going to agree with me. Anyway, thanks for the coffee. I’ll text you later tonight.”

  I gave Heidi a quick wave before securing the lid to the last of the Christmas containers that I still needed to move back to the storage room. Only witches, wizards, and druids could converse with familiars, so it was fair to say that I spent a lot of time being a translator to those who couldn’t hear Leo’s witty comments. That pretty much consisted of Heidi and Sheriff Liam Drake, the two ordinary people whom I’d confided in about my abilities.

  Since informing Heidi of the existence of witches and incantations, she’d become a hedge witch, though she would never have the natural abilities of a traditional or elemental witch. Still, experienced hedge witches could cast some low-level spells, even though they lacked the elemental bond with nature, which carried in the bloodstream.

  Are we going to waste the entire morning by discussing your propensity to go against the coven’s rules on the strict secrecy of our order, or are we going to do something about the monstrosity across the street? I never thought it possible, but I’m going to feel sorry for Skippy and his band of ninja squirrels when they wake up to a brand-new apocalypse of walking, talking, giant stone statues with wings.

  “Leo, I’m not a fan of Bree’s latest departure from traditional ornamental decoration outside the bakery, either. That doesn’t mean I think the statue can come alive and walk around on two legs,” I replied wryly.

  I managed not to groan when I hoisted the heavy plastic tub and began to make my way across the shop to set it on top of another one that I’d placed near the backroom.

  “The tracks that were seen before the snow melted last week were most likely from some sort of wildlife that wondered into town. Besides, you’ve only got around three more months before Skippy and his friends come out of hibernation. Weren’t you going to spend the rest of winter searching for their hidden hibernation stash? That should keep your afternoons busy.”

  It was well known by everyone who resided in Paramour Bay that Leo had an annual battle with the neighborhood squirrels. What they didn’t know was that he truly believed a squirrelpocalypse was right around the corner, and he believed that he was the only one who could stop it from happening.

  Can you think of anyone else who would take such a heavy burden onto their broad shoulders? Seriously, Raven. Sometimes I think that you’ve switched your coffee to decaf and you’re experiencing withdrawals.

  Before I could reply, the bell above the entrance chimed to let me know that I’d finally received a customer.

  Make that two! I can’t believe I’m saying this, but these two old biddies are right on time, too! Don’t give me that look, Raven. They practically run the gossip mill in this town. Get them to tell you about the footprints that old fuddy-duddy found last Thursday morning. You’ll see that I’m not making this story up, and then we can get on with casting a spell to blast that piece of granite into a million tiny pieces! Scotty, we need more power!

  “Good morning,” I called out to Elsie and Wilma, feigning a smile while intentionally ignoring Leo’s obvious reference to Star Trek. The two ladies began to unwrap their thick scarves away from their faces. They never failed to bundle up with their latest knitting creations. Apparently, the latest color in style was a very dark green. “How are the two of you this morning?”

  “Wilma has her annual head cold,” Elsie complained as she shot her friend an irritating glance. “She’s afraid that she won’t be up to going to bingo this Wednesday night over at the church, so we thought that maybe you could whip her up some of that holistic tea blend that you made for her last year. She was up and around within twenty-four hours of drinking the first cup of that elixir last time she was ill. You really do take after your grandmother, Raven.”

  I couldn’t help but smile at the compliment. It had taken me a pretty long time to be able to make the standard magical blends for what most people would consider everyday ailments, such as the common cold, arthritis, and eczema. Nan’s regular clientele had come to trust me, and I didn’t take such a gift lightly.

  “You’ll be happy to know that I spent all of yesterday making a few batches of the holistic tea blend that I recommend for the common cold,” I revealed as I walked around the storage containers. “I’d heard about Candy and Dee coming down with their colds last week, so I figured it was only a matter of time before the virus made the rounds. Give me a moment, and I’ll grab you a small tin.”

  I slipped my hand through the ivory-colored strings of fairy beads that Nan had purposefully hung to separate the main area of the teashop from the backroom, disappearing from their view temporarily. This special area was technically my domain for creating various and numerous magical tea blends for the local residents who came to me for help. The unusual strings of charming figures held a special ward that prevented anyone from hearing me chant spells or hold private conversations that I might have with Heidi, my mother, or the sheriff.

  Did I happen to mention that I’m seeing Sheriff Liam Drake?

  I was head over heels in love with the man, which was the reason that I’d determined that I had to share with him all of my most important secrets.

  You’d agree with that, right?

  I mean, how can a relationship be truly healthy if there wasn’t honesty involved?

  Just thinking about how much closer we were now than then brought about a joyful smile on my face as I located the small box of loose tea leaves that I’d separated into small tin containers. Those customers who suffered from the common cold wouldn’t need more than three days’ worth of the special beverage, so I was very extremely careful when measuring the appropriate amount and adding the proper spell components.

  “…scarf back over your face,” Elsie grumbled as she stood in front of the counter. She’d already opened up her purse and had her wallet in hand. “I’ll pay for this. I don’t want you getting me sick. I’m feeling lucky this week, and I’m not going to miss bingo on Wednesday night.”

  I always forget how exasperating it is being in these two old biddies’ presence. I’m going to need more of my blueberry-filled premium organic catnip, Raven. They’ve managed to destroy every single one of my mental antioxidants in just under thirty seconds of listening to the two of them squabble. I do believe that is a record.

  Wilma mumbled something back from behind her dark green scarf, but I couldn’t quite grasp what she’d said over Leo’s commentary about catnip and mental antioxidants. He’d been on a kick for the last few months about blueberries and the benefits they give him when infused with his premium organic catnip edibles.

  Don’t knock it until you try it, Raven.

  “Wilma, I’ve told you every day this week that there isn’t some serial killing large cat roaming the streets of our town.”

  Elsie gave a frustrated sigh as she lifted her head and looked down her nose at the numbers that I’d punched into the cash register. She handed over a twenty-dollar bill from her wallet without losing her place in the conversation, which just so happened to catch Leo’s attention from the way he gasped in horror.

  On the bright side, the current topic was enough for
him to take his face off the windowpane and spin around on his haunches in anticipation of more details.

  “…two old fogies, is what they are,” Elsie complained as she waited for me to take her change out of the drawer. “Albert and Eugene have nothing better to do than make up stories while they sit there all day and play chess. It’s probably some poor stray dog who can’t find his way back home.”

  They’re talking about the footprints, Raven! Footprints! Don’t waste this opportunity, do you hear me? Ask them what those two fuddy-duddies know about the tracks in the snow. Hurry!

  “What’s this about a serial killing cat?” I asked, knowing full well that Elsie was talking about the two older gentlemen who played chess every morning over at Monty’s hardware store. He probably got them both wound up tighter than a drum about what could possibly be roaming the streets when no one was around.

  It was too cold for Albert and Eugene to enjoy their daily game in their usual spot, so they’d had to set up a table right inside the hardware store so that they could still see the comings and goings of everyone in town. They didn’t want to miss out on anything, and the owner of the hardware store didn’t mind at all. As a matter of fact, it was pretty obvious that Monty liked the company.

  Could you take any longer? Wait! Don’t answer that. Just get this conversation moving so that you can admit that I was right and you were wrong.

  “I’m certain that Liam would have told me something that important,” I said with an arched brow, more at Leo than toward Elsie and Wilma. I truly did want to know how Albert and Eugene had made such a connection from tracks left in the snow to a serial killing large cat. That wasn’t just merely a small step. That was a flying leap and jump that made absolutely no sense, and I pointed that out with my next statement. “There’s a big difference between animal tracks and a serial killing mountain lion.”