Pumpkin Blend (A Paramour Bay Cozy Paranormal Mystery Book 14) Read online

  The nice thing about our exchange was that she truly seemed interested in the process, and I had a feeling that she might now be a returning customer. I would have to remember to thank Dottie on her next visit to the shop by adding something special to her shopping bag.

  Referrals were important in my line of business.

  “Thank you, dear,” Mrs. Marinus crooned as I came around the counter with her small shopping bag. She seemed pretty eager to head home and make herself a cup of Pumpkin Crème tea. “I appreciate the tips on how to steep the baggies, and I’ll—oh! Where did you come from? Don’t you look dashing in your pirate costume!”

  It was a good thing that Mrs. Marinus hadn’t tripped over Leo. He made it seem as if he’d come out from under one of the high-top tables, but I knew for a fact that he’d materialized in the blink of an eye.

  Speaking of eyes…

  I would like to clarify that it wasn’t my fault. You can put all the blame on my off-again soulmate. It’s a shame, really. She was so close to being my on-again soulmate. Oh, well.

  “Good gracious,” Mrs. Marinus muttered as she tried to frantically put on her reading glasses in order to get a better look at Leo. “What happened to his eye?”

  I would like to know the answer to that question, as well.

  Fine. That cretin is the reason that you owe her owner for the damages done to the scarf section. I take no responsibility for the fact that she attacked me for absolutely no good reason!

  “Leo is just fine,” I reassured Mrs. Marinus as I began to slowly escort her to the door so that I could get the full details on what sounded to be a chaotic mess over at the boutique. “He was visiting Cupcake at the boutique and it seems the two were playing a bit too rough.”

  I’m pretty sure that the cretin wanted to scratch my eyes out, but I managed to avoid her lethal claws. I somehow ended up running into one of the metal stands that was holding some of the scarves as I was trying to save myself. You didn’t happen to cast a spell that I don’t know about, did you? Your accident-prone tendencies seem to have worn off on me, and I can’t figure out how that happened without me noticing. How do you live like this?

  I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing at Leo’s commentary. He was right about my accident-prone tendencies, but I hadn’t done anything that would take my shortcomings and pass them onto him.

  You could have fooled me. On the bright side, I only bumped my eyebrow. The swelling isn’t hindering my vision at all. Which reminded me to tell you what I saw when Heidi and I went to speak to that cheating wizard.

  “Mrs. Marinus, I hope you enjoy the tea,” I said with a smile, stepping forward and opening the glass door so that she could walk outside. There was one thing that I wanted to mention to her before she left. “Listen, I was heading to the pumpkin patch later on today. Do you need me to pick you up some pumpkins for your front porch while I’m there?”

  “Thank you for asking, but I was able to buy those cute miniature ones that Monty had sitting out front of his hardware store the other day. I’m too old to go all out with the decorations for most holidays. You have a nice day, dear.”

  I frowned, really having thought that Mrs. Marinus would have taken me up on my offer. The miniature pumpkins that she’d been referring to weren’t even the kind that one could carve. It was seeming more and more like Mrs. Marinus wasn’t involved with the missing pumpkins.

  What was I missing?

  Oh, maybe the fact that my week has gone from bad to worse. That cheating card shark wizard just told me that our Wednesday night poker game is cancelled! Raven, that was my only bright spot for the foreseeable future. Well, with the exception of dining on my blueberry-filled catnip edibles, but that’s beside the point. This travesty has to be corrected, Raven! Right now!

  Chapter Twelve

  Your right now is clearly not my right now. We need to work on our synchronization, Raven.

  “It took an hour to clean up the scarf mess, another hour to locate Cupcake, and then we had to eat dinner,” I explained after having changed into a darker outfit. I walked through the living room to where I’d set my black knee-high boots for tonight’s escapade. “Besides, Ivan is usually hanging around the cemetery after dark. You know that he doesn’t like to mingle with the town’s residents. He doesn’t like to get to know them on a personal level, because then it makes it quite awkward when he has to escort them through the veil. I don’t blame him.”

  Well, I’d like to personally boot him through the veil. Our local grim reaper has never, ever cancelled one of our poker games. This is unacceptable, Raven!

  “Ivan has a job to do, too,” I reminded Leo as gently as I could, sighing in pleasure when the overstuffed chair felt like heaven. I’d been running non-stop today ever since the alarm went off way too early this morning. “He can’t help it if his calendar unexpectedly filled up on Wednesday night. You can talk to him about maybe changing the game to Thursday night and see if that works better.”

  Why didn’t he do that to begin with? He’s the host of these games, so he should be handling all the details. I have too much on my plate with the impending squirrelpocalypse and figuring out why my former perfect mate might have helped them steal those pumpkins. I still say there is a good chance it was the neighborhood squirrels, and they’ve resorted to making this personal. They could want me to suspect my former perfect mate. They might have framed her. If that is the case, she would technically be my perfect mate once again, which is why I have been doing my best to act natural when I’m in her presence. What if those ninja squirrels are using the seeds as their hibernation stash? Did you ever think of that?

  “There’s an awful lot of conversation going on in here,” Heidi said as she began her descent on the spiral staircase that led to my bedroom in the loft above the kitchen. “I wouldn’t mind canceling this excursion to the cemetery, if that’s what you two are talking about. Besides, didn’t we decide that the pumpkins probably weren’t being used to ward off an evil spirit?”

  Heidi had borrowed one of my black turtlenecks to go with her black jeans, black knit cap, and black boots. She never took any chances when it came to meeting with Ivan, as if somehow he couldn’t tell it was her underneath the black smears that she’d purposefully rubbed on her cheeks like she was about to play a football game.

  That reminds me. You need to switch my eyepatch to the other side. I can’t have any vulnerable spots showing when we enter the land of the dead.

  “Liam is helping Virgil and Beau install the new security cameras that they bought, so it’s not like I have anything to do tonight anyway.” I leaned down and began to put on my boots. “It shouldn’t take long to talk to Ivan, though it’s doubtful that he’ll tell us anything that has to do with his work.”

  “I really don’t want to know the particulars, anyway,” Heidi mumbled as she made her way over to the couch. I’m pretty sure she tried unsuccessfully to suppress a shiver. Leo had jumped from the coffee table over to one of the cushions, lifting his head in anticipation of her switching the patch to his left eye. “Hey, my handsome tomcat. You’ll protect me tonight, won’t you? You’ve always been my strong protector, haven’t you?”

  She is working so hard to be my on-again soulmate. These scratches underneath my chin might be swaying my better judgement. I might have to give in, Raven. She gives the best chin scratches ever.

  “Leo wants you to switch his eyepatch to his other eye so that he doesn’t have any weaknesses showing,” I explained as I finished pulling up the inside zipper on each boot. It appeared as if we were both ready to drive to the cemetery. “Just so you know, Mom called earlier and wanted us to know they are having a great time in Transylvania.”

  Don’t distract her, Raven. Two very important words—chin scratches.

  “I can’t believe they actually took Count Cuddles with them.” Heidi leaned back slightly to evaluate Leo’s eyepatch that she’d used to cover his left eye. She nodded in approval before giving him
a kiss on top of his head. I didn’t bother to hide my smile at the fact that I could hear him purring from where I sat in the overstuffed chair. “Isn’t there customs to deal with, and a slew of other laws that they probably broke flying him over there?”

  Look what you’ve done. You owe me one hundred chin scratches later.

  “I don’t worry about the magical side of things when its being used for good,” I replied, wondering if that was why I was so bewildered by this case. I ignored Leo and his insinuation that I didn’t pay him enough attention. I always made sure that he had plenty of chin scratches, as well as behind-the-ear scratches. “My intuition is telling me that the missing pumpkins have everything to do with the supernatural, yet there is nothing pointing toward that direction. Mrs. Marinus didn’t say one bad thing about her departed husband, although she did mention a brother. He didn’t pass away here in Paramour Bay, though. I want to check with Ivan about souls that pass away in other states. I’m fairly sure that another grim reaper takes that appointment, right?”

  I need to make a note to ask our local grim reaper how he got the job, because I highly doubt that was on his aspiration list when he was young. It will make for a good story over a poker game to distract the other players.

  “That makes sense.” Heidi had been addressing my questions, not Leo’s wish to divert the attention of Rye, Ted, and Harry. Beetle had been asked to join their Wednesday night poker games, but he’d wanted to wait until he’d returned from vacation to settle into a routine. “You can be the one to ask Ivan if Mrs. Marinus’ brother kept the meeting with the other colleague. The inquiry makes total sense.”

  I’m sensing a bit of hysteria in my maybe on-again soulmate’s sweet voice, Raven. Do something so that our local grim reaper doesn’t decide to substitute her for someone else to stop the prejudgment of his character. I mean, let’s face it. How many friends does a grim reaper have in his lifetime?

  “We should get going so that—”

  My cell phone vibrated on the entryway table, so I quickly stood and walked over to collect it. Liam said that he would keep in close touch with me throughout the evening.

  “Hi, Liam,” I greeted, grabbing my jacket from the coatrack. “How are things going over at the pumpkin patch?”

  “What supernatural being can walk among us without being seen?”

  “Um, did something happen?” I asked, slowly walking back to the overstuffed chair. I pulled the phone away from my ear and hit the speaker button so that Heidi could hear both sides of the conversation. “You’re on speakerphone, by the way.”

  Thanks for giving him a warning, Raven. We wouldn’t want to hear anything inappropriate that would have me needing to cover my ears. It’s bad enough that I have to walk around with this eyepatch.

  “I’ve been helping Virgil install the security cameras, and I ran a test on one of them.” Liam had that cautious tone in his voice when something happened that he couldn’t make heads or tails out of, which really went against his nature. That’s what made it even more special that he would accept me for who I am. “I had to erase it so that Virgil and Beau wouldn’t notice anything amiss, but I swear to you that one of the pumpkins was on the screen that disappeared in the next frame. I rewound the footage several times. There was nothing in plain sight, Raven. It’s confirmed—this is definitely a mystery that is in your wheelhouse.”

  Sweet angel of mercy, we’re dealing with a whacky malevolent spirit who has its facts wrong!

  I could already see where Leo was headed with his theory, but I highly doubt that a spirit would get so confused as to steal pumpkins in an attempt to help it cross through the veil. No specter could be that perplexed over its situation.

  Right?

  You want me to respond to that question for you, because I’m pretty sure the answer is on that video the good ol’ sheriff just captured on the security footage. Remind me again why we’re going to the cemetery with a deranged spirit on the loose? I can always email our local grim reaper regarding our weekly poker game. No need to see him personally when—ohhhhhh!

  “Oh, what?” I asked Leo so that Liam understood why we weren’t replying back to him right away. “Leo?”

  No wonder this week’s game got cancelled! With a crackpot ghost not knowing which way is up and which way is down, our local grim reaper has a lot on his mind. I’m assuming there is a good possibility he could get fired for allowing a crazed spirit to roam around unattended through town. This makes perfect sense.

  I reiterated what Leo had said regarding Ivan’s reason for cancelling the poker game, and somehow Heidi and Liam agreed with him.

  “Do you know what the likelihood of a confused spirit gathering pumpkins from the local pumpkin patch is?” I asked wryly, rolling my eyes when Heidi and Leo just stared expectantly at me. The fact that Liam was quiet on the other end of the line told me that he was waiting for me to answer my own question. “Are the three of you serious? Let me ask you this to put things into perspective—can a ghost carve a pumpkin into a jack-o-lantern?”

  The moment that answer clicked in their minds was when a chorus of ahhhs and ohhhs joined together.

  “Well, when you put it like that,” Liam said with an uneasy laugh. “Listen, I’m going to finish up here. We have two more cameras to install, but we saved the easier ones for last. Are you still going to take a drive over to the cemetery to talk to Ivan?”

  “We might as well,” I replied, taking the time to put on my jacket since I was still standing after having set my phone on the coffee table. “Ivan might know of another reason that a spirit might want the pumpkins. The odds are low, especially considering how much energy a ghost would need to move such a heavy object.”

  You make valid points, Raven. I don’t think I need this costume after hearing your logic, but I’ll keep wearing it just in case. Your track record isn’t so great, you know.

  “We solve all of our cases, don’t we?” I countered with a smile, motioning for Heidi to get her things together. “Liam, I’ll text you after speaking with Ivan. Maybe he has insight on what or who could possibly make themselves invisible.”

  I’d gone through the possible scenarios, figuring maybe Agnus found a way to make something or someone invisible. She really didn’t have a motive, though. I suppose a witch or wizard could cast a spell to do the same thing. Again, neither Rye nor I had anything to gain by stealing pumpkins. My mother wasn’t even in town.

  That left the coven, but Rye certainly would have heard some rumblings about such a caper from Aunt Rowena.

  So, what I’m hearing you say is that Skippy and his ninja minions somehow got super speed and can now evade getting caught on camera. They’ve upped their game, Raven. Even I have to respect their drive and determination.

  “Leo, I never said that Skippy and the neighborhood squirrels somehow gained the power to become invisible.”

  I’d disconnected the line with Liam and stored my phone inside the pocket of my jacket. It was still on silent, and I would leave it that way since we were about to be in a cemetery.

  Odd how the living thought they could disturb the dead.

  What other explanation would there be for numerous pumpkins and the town’s prized jack-o-lantern to go missing if not for Skippy and his ninja squirrels to stash them away for their hibernation? Raven, this is what I’m talking about with your rationality. One minute you’re on the logic train, and the next you’ve clearly missed your stop.

  “I was suggesting that maybe we’re missing some other supernatural being that might need the pumpkins.” I could see that Leo wasn’t having any of my coherent reasoning, so I focused on Heidi. She still seemed to be a bit wary of driving out to the cemetery tonight. I took pity on her, knowing that Ivan was a gentle soul who had the compassion of a saint. He would have to in order to be in his line of work. “Heidi, you don’t have to go with us if you don’t want to. Leo and I can meet with Ivan in order to ask him what other supernatural beings have the ability to be
invisible.”

  “I’m not letting my best friend trapse through a cemetery that has its own grim reaper all by herself,” Heidi stated as she slapped her hands on her knees and stood from the couch. “Even if you are a witch, which brings me to the other half of your discussion. Familiars can be invisible, you know. Is there a chance that—”

  Leo’s gasp of offense had me realizing that he’d misunderstood Heidi’s declaration. I quickly tried to amend her words, knowing that she hadn’t meant it the way he had obviously taken it.

  “Leo, she didn’t mean that you are the one who—”

  It’s me! Sweet angel of mercy, I’m the one who took the prized pumpkin and his little friends back at the pumpkin patch! I’m going to spend the rest of my lives in prison! This is it. The end. No one will be around to stop the squirrelpocalypse. I only have one question, Raven. Do you think prison has premium organic catnip?

  Chapter Thirteen

  “Leo, you didn’t steal the prized jack-o-lantern or any other pumpkins, for that matter. Heidi was just pointing out that there are other supernatural beings that can become invisible at will. That’s all.”

  It’s okay, Raven. I’ve accepted that my short-term memory loss could have morphed into something more sinister. You could literally have a hardened criminal sitting right beside you.

  “Raven is right, Leo. I didn’t mean anything by my previous statement. I don’t believe for a second that you had anything to do with the missing prized jack-o-lantern,” Heidi said with confidence, taking advantage of the interior of her vehicle.

  I’m pretty sure that she believed it was a safe haven from whatever lost spirits might be aimlessly roaming the graveyard in front of us. Her eyes darted everywhere they could, though it was hard to see anything with the low-lying patch of fog that was beginning to drift sideways in front of us.

  “When was the last time we talked about zombies?” Heidi asked hesitantly. “I’m really thinking we might need to cover that topic in one of my upcoming lessons, Raven.”