Spellbinding Blend Read online

  I had no doubt that Heidi had tucked away a few pennies here and there for such an occasion. She’d majored in finance and had gone to work right out of college at one of the most prestigious accounting firms in New York City. Granted, the cost of living there versus here was a major difference, but Heidi had always dreamed of owning her own firm. She’d been saving her spare change to make that dream happen since way back in high school.

  With the deal she’d made with her company in the city, she would be able to give her clients better service with little upfront capital outlay. It was a win-win for everyone involved, and I’m sure it also kept a few dollars in the bank as a down payment so that she could find the perfect place to live.

  “We’ll find you the right home,” I reassured her with a smile. “I promise.”

  One of the puffy clouds shifted above us to allow more rays of sunshine to brighten the late afternoon. I took that as a sign of happier times to come. Heidi was right about forgetting this warlock stuff. Surely Rye would have said or done something by now that would have confirmed my suspicions.

  Aren’t you always warning me about tempting fate?

  “I’m not tempting anything. I’m packing up our booth,” I explained, shooing Leo out of the cardboard box. He was reluctant to give up such a good spot where he could keep an eye on the squirrels, but I didn’t give him much of a choice. “It’s been over eight weeks, and we’ve done nothing but stress over the situation. I’m officially claiming that you hallucinated…you know…after consuming too much catnip. Let’s forget it ever happened.”

  “That’s the spirit,” Heidi chimed in, used to me talking to Leo. She grabbed a few of the miscellaneous items off the table that still needed to be packed away and made her way around the back of the chairs to our cart. “Jack just texted me. He’s going to park near the tea shop, so why don’t I take these boxes back with me? I’ll tell Beetle that it’s okay to close up, and then we’ll all meet you back here in around twenty minutes.”

  Heidi had begun dating a local state police detective a few months ago. He was the first steady relationship that she’d had in quite a while, and it was one that I think could go the distance.

  I don’t know about that. Hey, maybe those squirrels can come in handy, after all.

  Let’s just say that Leo wasn’t too thrilled with Heidi dating Detective Jack Swanson, because no one could dare be good enough to date his beloved Heidi. I understood where he was coming from, because I only wanted the best for her, too.

  “That sounds good,” I replied before fishing my keys out of my purse. I’d switched to one that was technically the size of a tote bag, but it worked given today’s event. “Beetle is better at closing out the store than I am. You know, seeing as he’s not that good at the sales part of the job, I might have him switch his hours so that he can close every evening and tally the receipts.”

  “Since I’m handling the shop’s taxes, it would be nice to see a little organization in your bookkeeping.” Heidi was smiling as she stacked the two boxes on the small foldup cart I’d found in the storage room of the tea shop. I sighed a little in disappointment when she suddenly remembered to snag the paper cone of candied almonds off the chair. “There isn’t a chance I’m leaving these behind, girlfriend, especially when I know Leo probably already has a plan to use them in order to lure those squirrels down from the tree.”

  She knows me far too well.

  “Thanks for taking this stuff back for me. How about I meet the two of you at the pizza stand?”

  I handed Heidi my spare set of keys before scanning the crowd, hoping to catch a glimpse of Liam. I’d say three quarters of the festival were residents of Paramour Bay, but the small traveling carnival had made quite the attraction and brought in quite a few tourists and residents of other nearby towns. It would be almost impossible to locate him in these crowds. I debated on whether or not to text him, but he’d mentioned earlier this morning that he’d hoped to take a small break for dinner with Jack, Heidi, and me.

  So…you’re saying I’m on my own for dinner? What? You expect me to root through the garbage cans for sustenance? Like a raccoon?

  Ted—the wax golem-like figure I’d mentioned earlier—had assured me that he’d feed Leo his favorite evening meal. I’d already made arrangements with him, because I wasn’t sure how long Heidi and I would be out this evening. She was staying with me until she returned to the city on Sunday evening. Seeing as Leo could read my thoughts, I didn’t have to say anything aloud for someone to overhear me and think I was losing a grip on my sanity.

  You had a grip?

  I once again focused on the faces in the crowd. Otis and Karen were walking down the middle of the now mostly empty tables that would be taken down one by one by the hired festival workers. I gave the former sheriff and his wife a quick wave before going back to scanning the numerous faces. Unfortunately, not one of them was the man I was looking for.

  I crossed the street and blended in with the crowd, holding my wristband up to show the lady at the gate that I was allowed free access to the carnival as one of the local vendors. It had been an added benefit to leasing a booth for the afternoon. She smiled and waved me through.

  There was something to be said about the noises and competitive shouts coming from the numerous attractions that held various games, from popping balloons to tossing rings. Laughter and hollering rang out from the players, while the carnival barkers did their best to coax more onlookers to join in the games.

  Maybe Liam was already near the food stands, given that it was around dinnertime and that’s where the majority of the crowd would be gathered. I debated taking the long way around, which would have led me through the twirling rides and a small rollercoaster for the really young attendees, but it would be quicker for me to cut in between the kissing booth and the dunk tank. Neither booth was currently occupied, but both sported a sign that the fun began at six o’clock with various members of the town’s elite.

  I was grateful I’d brought a light sweater with me today. The weather during this time of year could be unpredictable once the sun went down, and the leftover chill from the cold season seemed to linger around in the later part of the evenings. One of the gathering clouds must have glided in the sun’s path, and I had to suppress a shiver when the shade began to cascade over me ever so slowly.

  I stepped over a small hole in the ground, beginning my trek that would save me much-needed time. The delicious aroma of funnel cakes and popcorn drifted toward me on the light breeze, which was most likely why I’d focused my attention ahead of me. Unfortunately, removing my gaze from where I was walking prompted my accident-prone tendencies to spring into action.

  There was nothing I could do when I tripped over…a pair of worn black boots?

  I’d caught sight of them as I reached my hands out to cushion my fall.

  “I’m so sorry,” I immediately claimed, managing to catch myself from stumbling even farther. I wiped my hands together to get any remaining dirt off my palms, wondering what the man could be working on that had him lying on the ground at such an odd angle. It was then I noticed the tingling sensation in the middle of my right palm. “I was just trying to take a shortcut through…”

  My words eventually trailed off when I realized that the legs attached to those boots weren’t moving at all.

  Literally, there was no movement from the body.

  My throat instantly closed when I realized the tingling in my hand had nothing to do with my close collision with the ground, and everything to do with the fact that the earth had been trying to warn me that something was out of balance.

  Hey, Raven. We need to talk about Ted. He had the audacity to try and feed me those leftovers in the—

  Leo had suddenly materialized next to me, and I didn’t have to look down at him to know that his left eye was bulging a bit more than usual. I understood his disbelief all too well, because I still hadn’t been able to swallow. As a matter of fact, I’m pretty sure t
he waves of contractions in my throat were going in the opposite direction.

  Please tell me that isn’t a body. Let me clarify—please tell me that isn’t a dead body.

  I wish I could reassure Leo that he was hallucinating again, but I was still having a bit of trouble keeping those candied almonds where I’d put them. Quite frankly, I was starting to really doubt that Leo had hallucinated anything.

  I suddenly feel a hairball trying to come up.

  You see, the man lying dead behind the kissing booth was none other than the same carnival worker who I had seen talking with Rye Dolgiram not an hour ago. As a matter of fact, the dead man was still clutching Rye’s brochure in his hand.

  Chapter Two

  “Raven, I can’t believe this happened again,” Heidi murmured, scooting closer to me on one of the picnic tables so we could conserve some heat. Darkness had fallen, but several bright klieg lights had been set up all around the grounds of the carnival to advertise the nighttime festivities. Inside the carnival, long lines of Edison bulbs surrounded each attraction and colorful strings of multicolored Chinese lanterns had been strung between all the booths and the food trailers. No one could have anticipated that a murder would take place here, and now the area was deathly quiet. “What are the odds that you stumbled across two bodies in the span of six months?”

  The odds are next to zero, but that didn’t stop it from happening again. I should have known that history was bound to repeat itself with Barney Fife guarding the festivities. It’s like we’re stuck in that one movie where that blonde gal has to relive her birthday over every single day. It’s a vicious time loop we can’t get out of and no amount of catnip can make it any better.

  Leo remained invisible to those around us, but I could only imagine that he was pacing back and forth in worry at our feet. Of course, he was exaggerating. Well, not about the history part, and it had nothing to do with the security Liam provided the town. You see, on the very first day that I arrived in Paramour Bay, Heidi and I had found a dead body in the back of the tea shop. The victim had turned out to be a total stranger to everyone in town.

  The man’s death had been the first murder to happen in Paramour Bay for over fifty-three years. So yes, my arrival had caught the attention of the local residents. With that said, the case had been solved and life here in our wonderful small town had returned to normal.

  I think you’re some kind of weird magnet for death and bad karma.

  “Heidi, this particular dead guy was the same man who was talking to Rye when you were standing in line for those candied almonds,” I whispered, not wanting Liam or anyone else to overhear me. I’d eventually tell him, but I also had to worry about the ramifications of such a disclosure. What if Rye actually was a warlock? What if he’d used his magic to attack and kill someone? I couldn’t very well explain that to Liam, which meant Leo and I would have to do some investigating of our own. “We need to find out how the man died, just in case it’s linked back to the coven and witchcraft.”

  That was so not what I was thinking. I have a better idea. What if we let good ol’ sheriff Liam do his job for once? It’s good to be seen as a productive member of society, especially if you’re the one filling a position in an elected office.

  “I’m sure Liam or Jack will be over this way soon with more information.” Heidi hadn’t brought a jacket with her, so she was wearing one of Jack’s state police windbreakers. She pulled the black nylon material around her shoulders a little tighter, never taking her worried gaze off the two men as they did their duty. They were currently talking with the county medical examiner while two members of her staff zipped up the body bag. “Maybe we have nothing to worry about and the man died of a massive heart attack.”

  Heidi’s got the right idea. We shouldn’t assume the worst. For all we know, it was those darn pesky squirrels involved in a massive conspiracy to assassinate a man for his role to rid the East Coast of furry-tailed rats.

  Squirrels had nothing to do with the carnival worker’s death. As much as Leo was attempting to get my mind off the fact that I’d somehow ended up tripping over another dead body, I was pretty sure this was fate’s way of saying we needed to get involved.

  Where are you getting this stuff? Do you have a crystal ball that I’m not aware of or are you receiving coded signals from space aliens over your fillings? I’m pretty sure that fate doesn’t want me to do anything. Well, maybe to go home and spark up a fresh pipe of premium catnip. Good ol’ fate…she’s got her own things to worry about. If you’re referring to our reputation in the afterlife as paranormal amateur sleuths, I’ll have you know that no one ever lives up to their afterlife reputation. No one. Literally. Do you know why? Because we all die in the end, just like that poor carnival worker—a man who by chance choked to death on a random flying acorn he just happened to accidentally ingest while his mouth was hanging open as he walked under a tree filled with squirrels. I, for one, can’t afford to die a squirrel-related death and leave you here all alone. Could you imagine the trouble you would get into without me here to warn you off? Not to mention the wrath of my beloved Rosemary, who’s probably still trying to find a ticket back here to find out why I’m slacking in my duties by trying to teach you how to cast the most basic spells without setting fire to the entire town. Little does she understand that you’re impossible to mentor.

  “The man was probably in his forties,” I pointed out softly, wrapping my arms tight around my waist as Leo carried on with one of his tangents. Due to the carnival being shut down for the rest of the evening, the only people left behind were those who were colleagues and friends of the victim, along with a few of us witnesses. They all seemed to be in shock, and I was right there with them. Well, except for the clown. Those jesters never seemed quite right. The smile on his face was kind of creepy. “I don’t think he died from natural causes. My right palm was tingling when I tripped over his legs. I sensed danger.”

  Being a witch, I had been given the amazing gift of sensing when something was amiss. The warmth usually began in the center of my palm, allowing my body to draw in the energy the earth provided me for a sense of self-protection. I was still somewhat new to all of this, but I was learning more each day.

  Raven, you tripped over a dead body. Your palm should have been shooting off fire bolts, not tingling from lack of circulation. Let’s face it. You’re a bit defective.

  Leo wasn’t going to like my theory as to why I hadn’t been forewarned when I’d stumbled upon the body, so I purposefully continued to watch the scene unfold in front of me. With the town of Paramour Bay being so small, Liam usually handed off the felony cases to the state police. Enter Detective Jack Swanson, who thankfully had already been on the scene due to Heidi’s attendance. He’d been able to call in forensics, the medical examiner, as well as additional officers who could help take statements.

  What harebrained theory are you talking about?

  “Let’s just wait to decide on anything until Liam or Jack tells us how the man died,” Heidi said, bouncing her knee up and down in worry. “If his death was due to natural causes, then there’s nothing to be done.”

  Let’s get back to this critical theory of yours.

  “Beetle wanted me to let you know that he’ll work all day at the tea shop tomorrow, seeing as it’s Saturday. My morning with him today was productive, so we were able to file a lot of his clients’ taxes.” Heidi was doing her best to keep my mind off the chaotic scene in front of us. “I say we sleep in and have a late breakfast with huge piles of bacon. Oh, and loads of coffee. Then we can look at some of those houses on my list, and make a girl’s day of it. What do you say?”

  Count me in if there’s catnip involved, and we’ll leave this investigation in the hands of the true professionals. If we do that, you don’t have to tell me about any of those theories you have rattling around in that head of yours. Sound like a plan?

  I was prevented from answering Heidi when Liam began to walk our way. He was rub
bing the back of his neck, which told me all I needed to know. We’d been dating since New Year’s Eve. I’d gotten to know some of his tells, and his neck rub told me that he had bad news.

  What’s to say he doesn’t have a pulled muscle from riding the kiddie rollercoaster one too many times? Sure, it’s all fun and games until you need a chiropractor the next day. You always assume the worst.

  I actually considered myself an optimist. Unfortunately, tripping over a dead body had the strange effect of being shot with a syringe full of realism.

  I hate shots. Now that I think about it, shots rank right up there with my phobia of spiders, the international squirrel conspiracy…and clowns. Did that red-nosed crayon eater just take a step toward us?

  “How are you holding up?” Liam asked gently, stroking my arm with concern.

  Not good now that I’m thinking about that clown. He’s staring at me, and I’m not even visible. Raven, make him stop. You don’t think he’s in league with those darn squirrels, do you? I bet he smells of acorns.

  “Raven would be better if you told us that the man died of a heart attack,” Heidi interjected, looking up at Liam with a half-smile and false hope. Leo’s comment had me glancing over at the clown, who did seem as if he’d come a bit closer to the picnic table than he had before. “I would be, too.”

  I’m going to take a walk…far away from that clown and that half-baked theory you think you came up with in the last few hours.

  “I wish I could.” Liam thinned his lips and shook his head in regret. “The victim’s name was Kevin Paul. He was one of the carnival’s new additions for the season. From some of the preliminary statements, the carnies don’t know too much about him other than he joined them on their last stop and that he mostly keeps to himself.”

  Heidi’s blue eyes glanced my way as if she were waiting for me to come clean about Kevin Paul visiting Rye’s vendor table. It wasn’t like I’d been the only other business owner out front, though. Numerous people had seen the two conversing at the table, and I didn’t want to be the one to bring it to Liam’s attention just in case magic had been the motive.