Frosty Blend (A Paramour Bay Cozy Paranormal Mystery Book 15) Read online

  “I’m sure you’ll be fine,” I replied wryly before I could stop myself. Unfortunately, Billy was casting me a wary look from the dining room table. I’d been caught seemingly talking to myself, so I attempted to cover up my mishap by making it appear that I’d been talking to him. “Cecelia. She seems to be enamored with you, and I do hear that she’s single. I’m sure that she’ll say yes if you’d like to ask her out after the reception.”

  That was the worst recovery in the history of recoveries. On the bright side, it got my mind off this ruthless heartburn.

  “I’ve already turned the woman down twice in as many months,” Billy whispered after he’d wiped his mouth with a napkin. He shrugged in acceptance before tossing the used napkin onto the paper plate that he’d used for his pastry. “What can I say? It comes with the job. Your mother was the only one who didn’t fall for all the lights and fame, but I accepted that a long time ago.”

  I still have enough mental antioxidants to know the math doesn’t add up there, Raven.

  “I didn’t realize that you knew Cecelia,” I replied with curiosity.

  “I met your mother through Conrad many years ago,” Billy shared with me before pushing his chair back so that he could get up from the dining room table. He then picked up his paper plate and walked it over to the small trashcan that Gertie and Beverly made sure was emptied at least three times a day. “We all used to make sure to get together every so many months before she moved back here. The rest of us still do, though it’s not the same without your mother. Anyway, it’s good to see her so happy.”

  My doppelgänger would undoubtedly benefit from some blueberries. I’m just going to chalk it up to the fact that these people don’t know the true Mistress of the Dark. Anyway, we didn’t obtain any clues with this visit, Raven. The only thing that I managed to accomplish was getting heartburn, so our next visit is to the bakery. Onward and upward, as they say!

  Chapter Eleven

  “Why are you just coming to me with this now?” Rye asked, running a hand through his dark hair. He’d sat with Leo and I at one of the tables near the front window of the bakery, so no one was really around to hear us. With that said, he was dating the owner and she just so happened to be looking our way with a look of curiosity. “I’d heard about Otis getting hurt yesterday morning, but I thought it was an accident that had something to do with the metal reflector at top of one of the heaters.”

  You should wave to the cupcake lady. Did I happen to mention that she’s too good for you, cheater? Not only did she give me a bowl of fresh cream for my heartburn, but she also told me how much she appreciated my help with the squirrelpocalypse.

  That wasn’t exactly what Bree had said to Leo upon bringing him a bowl of cream, but Leo was content, and I needed some help with this case. I’d let him get away with stretching the truth this time around. He had already finished his treat and was lounging in the chair next to me looking like he’d actually won the so-called squirrelpocalypse singlehandedly.

  Have you not heard about putting something out into the universe and getting it back? Oh, yeah. I will conquer all who underestimates me!

  “Ignore him,” I muttered before wrapping my hands around what was left of my coffee. It had taken a good five minutes to catch Rye up on our current mystery. The banter between him and Leo hadn’t exactly helped in that area, either. “Liam does think that Otis’ head injury was just an accident, but there are still things that don’t add up. Add in this woman who was murdered, and I can’t shake the feeling that her death has something to do with the notes that my mother has been receiving.”

  Rye had turned in his chair to wiggle his fingers and give Bree a wink.

  Hairball!

  Bree wasn’t sure what had happened to the circuit breaker, and Rye had worked all morning to get them up and running. Bree was currently in the midst of making her fresh baked assortments for today’s crowd, though she had promised to try and get a few batches of those cupcakes that Mom had wanted added to the wedding cake table. The wedding cake and the cupcakes had nothing to do with the other desserts that Chef Amereldine and his assistants would bring to the event this evening.

  “Anyway, I was hoping that you’d speak with Aunt Rowena to make sure that the coven wasn’t trying to stop the wedding.” I caught the look of disbelief on Rye’s face, but I pushed forward with my theory. “Some of the members of the coven can get rather creative. I know they could have simply cast a spell or two, but what if they wanted to steer the blame toward one of the local residents?”

  Those witches and wizards are sneaky little magicians, aren’t they?

  “What would they gain?” Rye asked, shaking his head in disagreement. “Raven, I don’t even need to call Rowena. She told me a couple of weeks ago that she changed her mind and decided to attend the wedding. She’s completely fine with the ceremony taking place, and she should be here before noon today. I’m actually meeting her for lunch over at the diner.”

  Great. The Wicked Witch of Windsor is paying us peasants a visit. What else could possibly go wrong today?

  I waited for the palm of my hand to warm or give me some indication that having Aunt Rowena here for the wedding would be a complete disaster. There were many ways that such a scenario could create utter chaos, but not one piercing tingle shot through my palm. On the other hand, Leo might have just jinxed us.

  It was a rhetorical question, Raven. No answer required.

  “Those are the ones that usually get us into trouble,” I muttered in defeat, leaning my head back and staring up at the ceiling. “I just don’t get it. Who would want to stop Mom and Beetle from getting married?”

  Rye half chuckled and half groaned, but he ended up being a great sport about joining in on all the people that Leo and I wanted to talk to today. He even got out his phone and unlocked it.

  “I’ll go talk to the seamstress, which takes me past Leland Jeffries’ residence. I can make up some excuse about his shutters needing to be more secure. I went past there the other day, and one was practically hanging on by a single nail.” Rye went through a few other names that he could speak to before he needed to meet with Aunt Rowena. “I’ll text you if I find out anything, but you and I both know that it’s more than likely someone either from the catering service or the band is behind this.”

  “I agree with you, but I can’t come up with who would do something like this to Mom, and more importantly why. Then there’s the fact that three of the band members haven’t even arrived in town yet.” I shook my head in confusion, which only had me inhaling the delicious aroma of the fresh baked pastries and donuts. I’d eaten some yogurt before leaving the house, but I wasn’t sure I could resist such a temptation of Bree’s famous bear claws. “Everyone I spoke to this morning seems to want Mom happy.”

  You should really have a blueberry muffin or maybe a blueberry scone, Raven. Trust me. The rush of mental antioxidants is simply amazing.

  “Is that why you have Leland Jeffries, Benjamin Holland, and Desmond Barnes on that list of yours?” Rye asked before shutting off his phone and tucking it away in his coat pocket. “Desmond and Benjamin are happily married, and I simply can’t see Leland sneaking around on that scooter of his. You know he has bad knees.”

  Have you seen how fast that scooter can go? Trust me, it’s lucky that Skippy still has that bushy tail of his.

  “I know,” I basically groaned aloud before pulling my head forward and leveling Rye with a frustrated glare. “It was Leo’s idea that maybe someone from Mom’s past was still in love with her, but at least he had an idea to put forth. I’m at a complete loss.”

  That’s what this cheating wizard is going to be come Wednesday night’s poker game.

  Rye seemed to want to add something to the conversation, but then he hesitated and evidently changed his mind.

  “Spit it out,” I urged, sitting forward in hopes that he had another way of figuring out who was behind the notes. “I tried to cast a few different spell
s, but Mom’s chaotic energy seemed to have contaminated the residual energy the suspect left on the notes. The only thing that I could get was her panic and anxiety all rolled together in a big wave that kept crashing down on me during the spells.”

  “A witch’s negative energy can definitely hamper some spells, and I honestly don’t know a way around that particular problem.” Rye tapped his fingers on the table before injecting a bit of hope in the rather overcast day. “What you need is something else to do the spell on that your mother hasn’t touched.”

  You’re trying to one up me, aren’t you, cheater?

  “Rye, you’re right!” I exclaimed, almost knocking my coffee over when I leaned forward in my excitement. I lowered my voice so that no one would overhear us. “The circuit breaker! If someone did tamper with it, then we should be able to cast a spell on the equipment. I’ll call Ted and have him meet you here in an hour. Is that okay?”

  No, it is not okay. Have you lost your mind again? That big lump of wax has to remain with my VVBFF to make sure that nothing happens to him. He’s my one good supplier, cheater! I will not have him sacrificed because you’re too lazy to gather your own spell components.

  “Have you forgotten that Beetle is a vampire?” Rye whispered, having caught sight of Bree heading our way. “I can’t do the spell without the right ingredients, and Ted is the one source for certain rare herbs. He is practically ever supernatural caster’s best source for spell components in Paramour Bay.”

  “No, no,” I murmured back to Rye, agreeing with Leo that we shouldn’t leave Beetle by himself. “Ted is of my house, and therefore he serves our interests first. We can’t be sure that the coven isn’t involved. Until we can completely rule them out, I’m with Leo. Ted should stay with Beetle until the ceremony.”

  Remind me to mark this day on the calendar. You know what happens when my short-term memory kicks in, and this is too good of a moment to forget.

  “How is everything going over here?” Bree asked with a bright smile. She slid an arm around Rye’s shoulder, causing Leo to feign another hairball. “You poor fella. Do you need some more cream?”

  It’s a good thing that I met my soulmate first, because this beautiful baker could have been—

  Rye ruffled Leo’s head on purpose to stop him from continuing, much to the dismay of my familiar.

  Energy bolt! Take this cheater out with one of your energy bolts, Raven!

  “This big tomcat was just about to accompany Raven in her quest to finish some of the errands that need to be done before Regina’s wedding,” Rye said with a grin now that he’d gotten Leo all stirred up. “I know that the circuit breaker is fixed, but I still want to take a closer look to see if I can figure out what made the circuit flip to begin with. I need to run a couple of errands first, though. I’ll be back in an hour.”

  Don’t rush on our account.

  “I’ll have your favorite cranberry and orange scones done by the time you get back,” Bree promised, stepping to the side so that Rye could stand up from the table. They shared a kiss before he nodded toward me to let me know that he had things taken care of with the incantation. “Good morning, Otis! I heard that you should be at home and resting. How’s the head?”

  Now might be a good time to suggest those blueberry scones to the former sheriff. The mental antioxidants will help with his noggin.

  Otis and Rye had passed one another at the entrance, and it wasn’t long before the former sheriff was standing next to Bree. His white mustache curled above his smile as he used his knuckles to knock on his head.

  Did you hear that? I heard rattling, Raven. That can’t be good.

  “Karen has always told me that I have a hard head,” Otis replied with a laugh. “And I’m fine, thank you for asking. I certainly feel a lot better knowing that me getting hit in the head was nothing but a fluke accident. I was worried that someone might be going around Paramour Bay and mugging people.”

  If only the former sheriff knew about the vampire and werewolf walking the streets. I wonder where our local grim reaper would be on his scale of fears. I mean, robbers are one thing, but when you start adding in fangs, claws, and scythes…well, that’s when things get serious. Hey, how come we’ve never seen our local grim reaper with his famous harvest instrument of choice?

  “I’m glad that you’re feeling better,” Bree said as she patted Otis’ arm. “The usual this morning?”

  “Please and thank you.” Otis motioned toward the back where he saw some of his fishing buddies. “I’ll be sitting with Hank and Teddy. I’m using them to practice the important parts of my officiating speech. Are your mom and Beetle ready for the big ceremony tonight?”

  “Yes, they are,” I replied, waiting until Bree left to go grab Otis’ usual order. “Otis, can I ask you a question about yesterday morning?”

  You should have had the cupcake baker bring me some more cream. With the cheating wizard about to cast a spell on the circuit breaker, there’s really nothing for us to do. He’ll get all the credit, but I’ll one-up him when I claim victory in the squirrelpocalypse.

  “Sure,” Otis replied as he began to take off his winter gloves. “Karen has been fussing over me ever since the accident. If Liam has sent you hear to check up on me, you can tell him the same thing that I keep telling her—I’m fine!”

  “Actually, I was wondering about what you thought you heard when you were hit by the metal piece that fell from the outdoor heater,” I said, unable to feel as good as Leo about Rye’s attempt on the incantation. We were still going to have to go and visit all the people on Leo’s original list. Who knew how long it would take for Rye to gather all of the components together? I didn’t want to cut it too close to the ceremony and be stuck without answers. “Didn’t you say that you heard someone make a comment about not allowing you to go through with something?”

  I’d say that we were wasting time with this line of questioning, but I’ve decided to have myself another bowl of cream to celebrate the case coming to a close. Once the cheating wizards gets back here with those ingredients, you’ll have enough time to head home and get ready for the not-so-merry festivities while I come down with that cold I hinted at yesterday. I can already feel a sneeze coming on.

  “I did, but what I overheard must have been bits and pieces of a conversation from nearby. It had to have been, because we now know that the wind caught the metal shield, which broke off from the heater,” Otis pointed out, but I could see the skepticism in his voice. “Anyway, I’ve got some practicing to do before the ceremony today. I’ll see you there.”

  I know what you’re thinking, Raven. Let me point out that you’re letting your imagination create connections where there are none. The cheating wizard has things covered, remember? Forget my bowl of cream. Let’s go get your car from the garage and then drive home where I can give the performance of my ninth life. No one is going to put a bowtie around this here neck!

  Chapter Twelve

  I tried telling you that we were walking the wrong way, but you wouldn’t listen. The old geezer’s garage is on the other end of town, Raven. How are we going to get back to the cottage in time for me to give my Oscar-worthy performance?

  “You’re not giving any kind of performance,” I muttered from behind my scarf as we stepped up on the sidewalk that would take us by the teashop. I don’t believe that I’d ever closed the shop for any reason outside of an emergency, and it was odd to see the closed sign and the darkness within the store. “You’re going to be Mom’s ringbearer, Leo. We still have time left to figure out who is sending Mom those notes, and I don’t want to rely on Rye. Think about it. The circuit breaker’s job is to make sure that electricity doesn’t overload the circuit. I’m afraid that we’ll find an incantation doesn’t work in that situation.”

  Oh, ye of little faith!

  “I saw Desmond walk into the malt shop, so we might as well go with your theory that it could be someone from Mom’s past.” I was still quite skeptical on such
a notion, but we’d solved some cases before that I would have said had been out of the realm of possibilities. “Speaking of a far-flung plausibility, you don’t think this is all one big practical joke, do you? I mean, it’s one thing to pull a prank, but this would be downright mean.”

  In case you hadn’t noticed, your mother doesn’t have any close friends in Paramour Bay who could pull any type of prank. From what my doppelgänger has indicated, all of your mother’s friends were left behind in the city.

  “Yeah,” I agreed, reaching for the door handle to the malt shop. “Mom certainly was a social butterfly, wasn’t she?”

  Hence, the reason why the list is so long of unrequited love from her teenage years.

  Cora and Desmond weren’t too fond of pets in their shop. Leo always went behind a tire of a car in order to do his invisibility trick, returning right by my side as I walked through the entrance. The bell above the door alerted my arrival, though the sound was a bit shriller than that of the teashop’s chimes.

  The malt shop was never busy in the mornings, and I’d often wondered why Desmond and Cora Barnes even had such early hours. Sure, there was one or two customers who liked the smoothies that were on the menu, but I would assume it didn’t profit to be open in the long run. Hiring good employees meant competitive prices in Paramour Bay.

  The heater from above was a welcome respite after being outside for an extended period of time. There were no customers in line, though there were two ladies sitting at a table with their protein smoothies and requisite yoga mats. Heidi and I used to take those types of classes when we lived in the city, but we hadn’t done something like that in ages.

  All of our time was taken up by lessons in witchcraft.

  You’re welcome, by the way.