Phantom Blend (A Paramour Bay Cozy Paranormal Mystery Book 12) Read online

  I was actually attempting to carry on a normal conversation with her, Raven. That was me being nice, and now she ruined it. I’m letting you know that if there is an oven with her name written on it over at Agnus’ house, I won’t erase it.

  “Leo, I don’t know what you’re saying,” Heidi said cautiously as she leaned down to pick him up, “but I do know that tone. Your meow gets a growl when you get cranky, and I have a bowl of tuna just waiting for you inside. Let’s go grab a bite to eat before we are possibly made a meal of by the ancient druid in the woods.”

  She so gets me, Raven. We’re a match made in heaven.

  While Heidi carried Leo off to the front door, I made my way to the open garage with my collection of multi-colored bins. We’d all made plans to visit Agnus this evening, believing it was better to go as a group. Agnus was less likely to try anything if she thought that Heidi was a mere human instead of a practicing hedge witch.

  “Mom, I didn’t misunderstand,” I reiterated, waving at Mrs. Sanchez as she closed her garage door across the way. “Gertie specifically said that she recalled Agnus’ mother stopping into the inn to pay them visits from time to time. It’s almost a certainty that she was the one who imprisoned Bernard’s soul. Agnus would be able to undo her mother’s spell and set Bernard free.”

  “You’re not curious as to who murdered the poor soul?” my mother asked, not offering to help dismantle the table. I sighed and hoisted the table over onto its side in order to fold the legs. “I mean, isn’t that what you do in your spare time? Solve murder mysteries and save humanity?”

  “Leo and I like helping the residents of this town, Mom,” I said, trying to impress upon her that giving back to the community was important. “You live here, too, in case you hadn’t noticed.”

  “I’m well aware that I’ve moved back to my childhood home, Raven. I also believe that good fences make good neighbors.” My mother lifted a hand and inspected one of her long red fingernails. “Why do you think I convinced Beetle to install a six feet tall privacy fence around our backyard?”

  I didn’t want to think about how my mother and Beetle were shacking up, so I quickly changed the subject. I’m pretty sure it said something monumental when I’d rather discuss confronting a druid instead of dealing with my mother’s relationship with my part-time employee.

  I also had a sneaking suspicion that my mother and Beetle might use the hot tub for something more than taking a relaxing soak in the evenings.

  My ears! My ears! Why would you think of something that revolting, Raven? I already told you that I don’t have a problem with my hearing.

  “This is why a privacy fence is important,” my mother muttered, glancing toward Leo who’d materialized from somewhere inside of the garage. “Don’t you have a—”

  “Leo, what’s wrong?” I asked, lifting the table by the side and carrying it into the garage. “Heidi said she was going to give you a tuna dinner.”

  That was before Bernard suddenly materialized and I dumped it on the floor. My soulmate is cleaning it up now, with a promise to get me a fresh plate. In the meantime, Bernard would like to speak with the Mistress of the Dark. If the mist shooting out of his head is anything to go by, I’d say he’s a tad bit upset with her red herring from earlier.

  “You need to go and apologize to him, Mom.” I walked back and motioned that she had to get out of the chair. It was the last thing that needed to be put away until tomorrow morning. “And sound sincere, please. You have a tendency to brush off someone’s hurt feelings, and then you only make it worse.”

  Wait! Wait! I need a front row seat for this upcoming train wreck.

  Leo would have most likely executed his disappearing act, but he caught sight of a group of ladies walking down the street with smiles on their faces from their haul of today’s event. He began to waddle as fast as his munchkin legs would take him back to the garage.

  “I will have you know that I always apologize when it is warranted,” my mother said rather haughtily, patting the back of her upswept hair. “I’ll meet you inside.”

  I took my time collapsing the chair, not wanting to be inside when Bernard finally set his gaze on my mother. Leo would definitely enjoy the next few moments, but I wanted the additional time to think over what we’d learned today.

  Bernard had come to town to find the gold that his great-great grandfather had stolen from him, only to discover that the gold nuggets had been used to buy the inn. Mabel agreed to give Bernard his cut of the business, but then he was killed before their arrangement ever took place.

  Had Mabel changed her mind?

  Was it possible that Mabel had known of Helena’s abilities and struck some sort of deal with her to take Bernard out of the picture?

  “How was today?”

  I turned to find Liam walking up Heidi’s driveway.

  He was wearing a black t-shirt and a pair of jeans instead of his sheriff’s uniform. Due to him helping so many of the older women in the neighborhood set up their tables, he’d opted to dress more casual than usual. He was still armed, and his badge was attached to his belt.

  “Better now that you’re here,” I replied with a smile. Everything from today’s sale had been put away in the garage for tomorrow morning. The only thing left to do now was to visit Agnus. I made sure to get a kiss from Liam before saying anything else. “I do have some news to share with you.”

  “I know that tone,” Liam muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. I wish I could have eased the tension that had just settled over his shoulders, but that was far from happening. If anything, the knowledge that a druid lived so close to town was liable to have him on pins and needles for many years to come. “How bad is the situation?”

  “A druid might have been involved,” I blurted out with a wince, pressing my fingers against the black tourmaline necklace that Liam had given to me for my birthday last year.

  “A druid?”

  “A powerful druid.” I was getting a sense of déjà vu, but it was important to the safety of this town that the sheriff understand what was going on around them. “Apparently, there was a woman named Helena Ritchie who used to visit Mabel Watson at the inn. The only way for Bernard to have been cursed the way he was back in the 1920s was by someone whose abilities were unparallel to that of the coven.”

  “Are you sure that it wasn’t the coven?” Liam asked with a frown.

  “Not completely,” I replied truthfully, “but we’re pretty confident that it was Helena. My mother is still waiting to hear back from an old friend of hers. Once it’s confirmed, we’re going to drive out to Agnus’ home, located on the west side of town.”

  “Agnus? Raven, I know her,” Liam said with a hesitation that he usually didn’t show during our discussions. “I pay her a health and safety visit every Monday to make sure that she’s doing okay. She’s got to be at least a hundred and one or a hundred and two years old. Old Man Johnson at the grocery store has one of his baggers deliver her groceries every Thursday, and Mauve makes sure that Agnus’ mail is delivered twice a week. She’s a very nice elderly lady who has never, ever given me any indication than she was anything other than…well, human.”

  I never tried to be like my mother in any way, shape, or form. Unfortunately, my right eyebrow rose at Liam’s words. It got a laugh out of him, but I was still uneasy about the whole druid thing.

  “I get it,” Liam said, crossing his arms as he regarded me carefully. “I didn’t know that you were a witch, so what makes me think I’d know Agnus was one, too?”

  “Liam, she’s not a witch,” I said with distinction. It was important that he understand the difference. “Rye spilled the beans that Agnus is a named druid. A name level druid is a supernatural being of the highest class. If you go back in folklore, druids were advisors to many kings over the course of history.”

  “Why do you think I wanted to date you?” Liam jested with a smile. “It’s not easy to run a town of this size by myself, especially one full of supe
rnatural beings.”

  “Did you find out anything about Paulie Russo?” I asked, hoping to fill in a missing piece of the puzzle.

  “I stopped by the office, and I couldn’t find a thing in the old files about either a Bernard Williams or a Paulie Russo,” Liam responded, holding up a hand when I would have asked a lot more questions about the two men. “I also ran their names through the system. Paulie Russo died in the late 1950s of natural causes in New York City. There were pending investigations into him at the time of his death, though—OC related.”

  “Organized crime? You mean the mafia?” To my knowledge and research, witchcraft wasn’t affiliated in any way with mob business. “So, there’s a good chance that Paulie Russo had nothing to do with Bernard’s murder and subsequent soul imprisonment. That’s good to know. What about Bernard?”

  “That’s where I’m going to have to tread lightly here,” Liam warned, rubbing his chin in thought. “A man by the name of Bernard Williams did exist, and everything he has claimed so far about his family being from the West Coast is true.”

  “But?” I asked, hearing the catch in his tone.

  Are you two coming in here or what? The entertainment has already started.

  Leo had materialized on the step near the door that led to Heidi’s kitchen.

  You should know that Bernard is still pretty heated about that trick your mother pulled on him earlier. He’s so overheated about it, that he won’t speak to her anymore. He’s acting like she isn’t even in the room. He’ll only deal with you, which brings me to that vet appointment regarding my sudden onset of agoraphobia.

  “Hush,” I muttered, waving a hand at Leo as he continued to finagle his way out of this whodunit. “Liam was just explaining that Paulie Russo died in the 1950s, but that there was no record of Bernard’s death. And you don’t have agoraphobia, Leo. In case you didn’t notice, you just voluntarily came out of the house. Liam, what’s the but here?”

  Oh, I think I know what the but is, and it’s not good. Can you call Dr. Jameson now? I’m certain he’ll say that there are different levels of agoraphobia.

  “There is no record of Bernard William’s death,” Liam explained, looking toward the street as a car drove past before revealing his thoughts on the murder mystery. He glanced at Leo before settling his concerned gaze back on me. “That means his body was never recovered, Raven.”

  You should know that I’ve spent the last ten seconds coming to a conclusion, Raven. It was difficult, it was soul-shattering, but my mind is made up—I’m moving in with Bernard. C’est la vie.

  Chapter Eight

  “…simply don’t recall,” Bernard repeated for the hundredth time since four o’clock this afternoon. He still couldn’t remember who killed him, and he had no clue what happened to his body afterward. “I was standing next to a blazing fire in the hearth while enjoying my pipe filled with my favorite—”

  We get it, Bernard. We get it. Raven, have you seen my pipe? There is no way that I can live with Bernard for all eternity without some medicinal premium organic catnip. I’m sure there’s a line we can add to the spell to make sure that I can take a never-ending supply with me. Oh, and finagle a flame spell, too.

  “Leo, give it up.” I shut the dishwasher door before using a dishtowel to dry my hands. “We’re going to pay Agnus Ritchie a visit this evening, and you’re coming with us. It’s best if we go as a group. She’s a high-level druid, so we’re not quite sure what to expect.”

  The us included me, Heidi, and my mother.

  We’d all decided earlier that it was best for Liam not to come with us. We might need rescue after the fact, so he’d be our last resort. Besides, we weren’t sure Agnus would be comfortable talking about our abilities in front of the sheriff, who technically wasn’t even supposed to know about witchcraft or the existence of magic in general.

  Heidi was different in that she was being taught to be a hedge witch by an actual witch.

  Do you recall how I said that the Wicked Witch of Windsor could turn us into toads with a flick of her wrist? Well, that is child’s play compared to what a druid can do, Raven. My moving in with Bernard is just me choosing a path before the old hag does it for me.

  A knock came at the door, letting me know that it wasn’t my mother or Heidi on the front stoop.

  It had to be Ted, for a couple of reasons.

  The wrought iron gate hadn’t emitted that horrible squeak that sounded like nails on a chalkboard. It had been warded to let me know when someone who wasn’t trustworthy came onto my property. Also, Ted was pretty formal. We’re talking a complete gentleman, undertaker’s suit and all.

  He’s a walking, talking Crayola crayon.

  “Ted is also filled with knowledge that doesn’t glitch due to memory issues,” I pointed out, quickly walking toward the front door. I’d already had the question on the tip of my tongue before Ted entered the cottage. “How could you have not told me that I had a floating head stuffed into the back of my linen closet?”

  “Good evening, Miss Raven.”

  Ted always had to get pleasantries out of the way first.

  “Look,” I encouraged him, gesturing toward Bernard after I’d closed the door. I’d set the hand mirror on top of the mantel over the fireplace, ensuring it was propped up enough that it wouldn’t fall to the ground. It was bad enough that there was a crack in the mirror. The last thing we needed was for the glass to shatter completely. “Nan put him in the back with the towels and sheets.”

  “It’s good to see you again, Bernard.”

  Normally, Ted’s deliberate ability to take an hour to converse something that would take two minutes would bother me. This time? I’m completely fine with it. I’ll just be on my pillow in the window enjoying my pipe while I look through the family grimoire for a spell in order to make me Bernard’s roommate.

  “Ted, my old friend,” Bernard exclaimed with fondness. “It’s good to see you! You’re looking as dapper as ever. I hear you have a new lady friend. Tell me all about it, and then I’ll spare you some sound advice. My love life was taking off right about the time that I—”

  “Bernard,” I called out after having stepped around Ted so that we could both set eyes on the enchanted mirror. “You two can talk about Ted’s love life in a bit, okay? First, I need to know what Ted remembers about you. Maybe Nan mentioned something to him that will help solve who killed you.”

  Didn’t we agree that we technically didn’t need to solve that particular whodunit? We just need to get him to cross into the afterlife, Raven. That would be relatively simple if it didn’t involve a druid, which is why I’m sitting this one out.

  “I thought you didn’t like his rambling, Miss Raven.”

  “Ted, I didn’t even know Bernard was in the closet,” I explained, holding up my hand toward Bernard when he would have interrupted. “How could I have—”

  A faint memory from the first week that I moved into the cottage began to return, and I realized that maybe Ted had spilled the beans about a phantom after all. He’d been helping me that week to bring in some additional items from my vehicle, and he’d mentioned something about someone talking incessantly.

  I had assumed that he’d been speaking about Leo.

  I’m going to try and not take offense at that observation. I’m in a relaxed state that I won’t allow you to ruin.

  “You were talking about Bernard,” I said in horror, realizing that the phantom would never have been stuck in the back of the linen closet for over a year if I’d slowed down to really hear what Ted had to say. “Oh, Bernard. I’m so sorry. I didn’t know, and I have no excuse for my lack of patience, either.”

  Yes, you do. You were a little shell-shocked at discovering that you were a witch, finding out a cat could talk, and that you’d also inherited a wax golem. That last one would have anyone a bit discombobulated, especially one the color of my least favorite crayon.

  “I remember that time vividly, Mr. Leo,” Bernard exclaimed, nodd
ing his head in a misty agreement. “Goodness gracious, I do declare that you have handled the situation as best as anyone could, being thrown into the world of the supernatural. I didn’t even know it existed until I found myself inside this mirror. You can imagine my surprise when I saw Mabel staring back at me in wonder.”

  Ted nodded, as if he’d heard this story before.

  I hadn’t thought about it, but I should have asked Bernard about his time right after figuring out that he’d been murdered. Liam was worried that Bernard’s body was buried somewhere on the property around the inn, but he was hesitant to actually open up an investigation.

  It wasn’t as if he could write in his report that a mirror held the soul of a dead man.

  Leo cackled, sounding more like he was choking on a hairball than laughing at the vision of Liam explaining to the state police how he’d come to know about a body most likely buried in some flower garden.

  Leo cackled even harder, telling me that he was thoroughly enjoying his favorite evening pastime of smoking catnip in his pipe.

  “Bernard, what do you remember from back then?” I asked, taking a seat on the couch after looking at the time. Mom and Heidi weren’t due for another fifteen minutes. It would be nice to have more information before we paid a visit to a druid. “You saw Mabel?”

  “Oh, yes,” Bernard replied with a big smile. “She was so beautiful, with her long chestnut brown hair falling over her shoulders. Of course, she wore it up most of the time due to all the cleaning and cooking that she was constantly doing for her guests. She appeared so agitated to see me that she put me in a drawer. Time passed by, though not as slowly as you would imagine being stuck in here. The next person I saw was your grandmother.”

  It could have been worse, Leo surmised. A glance over my shoulder showed that he was now on his back with all four munchkin legs sticking up in the air. One of Skippy’s ancestors could have found you first, Bernard. Just think…you could be stuck in an old oak tree with all his misfit cousins.