Southern Fortunes: Sweet Tea Witch Mysteries Book Ten Read online

  “Are you okay?” Amelia rushed to her. “Do we need to call the doctor?”

  Betty shook her head. “No, girls. This is nothing a doctor can solve.”

  “Then what is it?” Cordelia slid the rocker over so Betty could slump into it.

  Betty inhaled a deep shot of air and glanced at each of us in turn. “It’s the mayoral race,” she said dramatically.

  The three of us cousins exchanged confused looks. I spoke first. “What about it?”

  “Gilda is pulling out all the stops in this one. She’s playing to win. Girls, she’s going to bury me. Bury me! Me! And I run this town.”

  I hugged her shoulders. “Aw, it can’t be that bad. What could she do that would beat you?”

  “She’s bringing up—the family history.”

  Okay, I still didn’t get it. “What family history?”

  Amelia’s eyes enlarged to plates. “You don’t mean the family history, do you?”

  “She can’t mean that,” Cordelia said quickly. “There’s no way.”

  I fisted my hands to my hips. “Will one of y’all please explain what the family history is?”

  Betty rocked back and forth several seconds before her mouth finally opened. “Years ago, before I was born, it was rumored that one of our ancient ancestors dabbled in black magic.”

  Cordelia and Amelia both stared at the floor.

  “Is that it?” Give us a real problem. I didn’t deem rumors to be important.

  “Oh no, it gets worse,” Betty said. “I thought the rumors were dead, buried, but it seems that Gilda’s bringing them out.”

  “Okay,” I said, patiently waiting for someone to blurt out exactly what was going on.

  “There were other rumors that our family dabbled in dark magic in order to attain certain secrets.” Betty pressed her lips tightly as if she didn’t want to tell me the truth. Either that or she didn’t want to admit it to herself. Either way, I was waiting and listening.

  When Betty didn’t speak, Cordelia took over. Unlike Amelia, who was all fluster and wide doe eyes, Cordelia filled a room with her presence, embodying the confidence—if not pompous righteousness—that went with being a witch.

  It’s an observation I’ve made since living in Magnolia Cove.

  “The stories go that our original Craple ancestors possessed knowledge that held arcane spells-old spells capable of harnessing more magic than we’re currently capable of.”

  “What sort of spells?”

  “The kind that can teach you how to control a person—completely.”

  “Like a zombie?” I gasped. Gross and weird.

  “Yes, like that. But other things.”

  “Let me put it this way.” Betty snapped back to life. “If mortals knew we existed, there would be another Salem witch trials, and this time it would be much, much worse. There’s a reason we live here, in Magnolia Cove, away from them.”

  “I thought it was because y’all just wanted to live next to folks like you.”

  “That’s part of it.” The rocker creaked as Betty moved back and forth. “But the other part is that we only live here because mortals can’t know what we are.”

  “The knowledge in our family history suggests there’s a spell that can fool mortals when we’re around.” Amelia fluffed her pixie cut. “That we can work magic that stops mortals from knowing what we are.”

  “So we’d be able to blend in?” I smirked but was still a bit confused.

  “Yes,” Cordelia answered. “We could blend in and wouldn’t be noticed. We’d be able to live and move freely.”

  “Even work magic freely,” Betty said. “If we were able to work magic in front of mortals and not worry about it, we wouldn’t have to fear what they would do if they really knew we exist.”

  I rubbed my temples. “So then that’s what Gilda said. She accused the Craples of holding on to this knowledge that could essentially be a game changer for witches everywhere.”

  Betty poked the air. “Exactly right. She accused us of keeping secrets. Now the entire town thinks we’re a bunch of liars.”

  I rubbed her shoulder. “Aw, it can’t be that bad.”

  Her gaze zeroed in on me. Fear shone bright in her eyes. It sent a sliver of fright straight to my heart. If Betty was afraid, then I should probably be terrified.

  But I shrugged it off. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

  Betty craned her head to stare at the front door. “They could show up and throw the lot of us in jail.”

  “Who?” I shot a worried glance to my cousins.

  “The townspeople,” Betty said. “The residents of Magnolia Cove.”

  I swallowed a knot in my throat. This was bad, y’all, very bad.

  TEN

  “There really isn’t anything we can do about that right now, though, is there?”

  My gaze bobbed from my cousins to Betty.

  “No,” Betty admitted. “All we can do is dispel the rumor.”

  “So is it a rumor or was there knowledge written down somewhere?”

  No one answered. The first sign that something is wrong in happy land is when no one answers a simple question.

  “Well,” I said forcefully. “Is there something with that sort of information? And if there is, why isn’t it in the Vault?”

  The Vault was Magnolia Cove’s very own place where magical objects—both dangerous and not—were safeguarded.

  “The thing is, we don’t know.” Cordelia sank onto the couch. “No one does. We don’t know what it was written on. But there’s no doubt that there’s a lot of power in the Craple family.”

  Amelia pointed to the fireplace. “Look at the hearth fire. It keeps the magic alive in Magnolia Cove. That fire came from an ancestor. So if there was a secret, it’s not that hard to believe.”

  I studied the three women. “But where is it?”

  Betty caved first. “We don’t know. That’s the truth.”

  I clapped my hands to signal we needed a change of topic. “Well, since there’s nothing we can do about this and there’s a murder investigation going on, I say we leave it. Until the population of Magnolia Cove appears on our doorstep and demands our secrets, I say we forget all about it. Agreed?”

  Amelia and Cordelia nodded.

  “Betty?”

  She grumbled something unintelligible.

  I crossed my arms and glared at her. “Betty, what do you say?”

  “Fine.” She yanked her pipe from her pocket and shoved it between her teeth. “But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  “The best thing to do is campaign.” I put some spunk in my voice to signify this was a call to action. “Remind the folks why you’re a better choice than Gilda.”

  “Sure. I’ll remind them that I run this town.” There was no energy in her words, but I wouldn’t let that stop me from injecting my own life in them.

  “That’s the spirit. Now if y’all will excuse me, I’ve got a phone call to make.”

  I hefted Sylvester the Snake up the stairs to my bedroom. I settled him on the floor and slid my phone from my pocket.

  Sylvester’s tongue flickered from his mouth. You look like a tasty treat.

  My gaze swept from the snake to Mattie lying by the window.

  “Snake, you even think one thought about eatin’ me and I will run my claws down your back while you sleep.”

  Feisty.

  “Stop it, you two,” I snapped. “Snake, the other animals in this house or in my shop are off-limits. Understand?”

  Hugo padded into the room. He sniffed the air and stared at the snake. Smoke curled from his nostrils.

  “Calm down, Hugo.”

  The snake danced back and forth in a challenge. “Sylvester, I would take the dragon’s warning seriously.”

  Sylvester coiled into a ball and watched us, his eyes glittering.

  Hugo slumped to the floor but kept a watchful gaze on the serpent.

  I thumbed my phone on and dialed. Axel answered
on the second ring.

  “Hey.”

  “Hey,” I said.

  Long pause. Usually Axel would ask me how my day was or what I was doing for supper. If he’d already heard about Betty’s encounter with Gilda, he’d wonder how she was doing.

  But none of that happened.

  I’m not gonna lie. It hurt. My chest tightened. It wasn’t like we were broken up. I needed to decide if I wanted to be mated to him. That was a huge question. I would do anything for him, but what he was talking about was that our relationship could go no farther until I made a decision.

  It made me wonder if he’d been reading teen vampire novels. You know, the one where the guy won’t consummate the relationship unless the girl marries him? That’s exactly what I felt like. Except there wasn’t a hunky shape-shifter in the background screwing with my emotions.

  Wait. Just another wizard/sorcerer who’d given me a protection stone.

  I closed my eyes and thought I was the biggest idiot ever. Of course Axel was angry about the stone. The locket he’d given me for Christmas had its own protection spell.

  Why did I need two pieces of protection?

  My actions made Axel think that I wanted Rufus to protect me as well as him. Of course he wasn’t going to push our relationship any farther.

  Axel was right. I did have crap to figure out. I had a lot of crap to figure out.

  I shook my head and sighed.

  “Are you okay?” he said.

  Sheesh, I’d been so lost in my own thoughts I almost forgot we were on the phone. Boy, did I need to pull it together or what?

  “I have Beverly Unk’s familiar.”

  “Interesting. How’d you get that?” Did I hear amusement in his voice?

  “Saltz Swift gave it to me.”

  “And he didn’t think to hand it over to Garrick?”

  I wiggled out of my jacket and sank onto the bed. “Garrick doesn’t speak to animals.”

  “Good point.”

  Long pause. “The snake’s sexist.”

  Axel barked a laugh.

  “I’m not kidding,” I stammered. “Sylvester—that’s his name—told me a few things around Burt Tweedle, but when I got home, it clammed up. Said it won’t speak again unless there’s a wizard in the room.”

  “So you called me.” He almost sounded bitter.

  “That’s not the only reason. I wanted to talk to you.”

  He didn’t say anything.

  I sighed. Time to go for broke. “Look, I’m confused. You’re talking about big things.” I raked my fingers through my hair in frustration. “You own my heart, Axel. There’s no doubt about that. You own every bit of me, but the whole mating thing makes me clam up. Don’t ask me why.”

  He exhaled. When he spoke, his voice sounded weary. “Come over. Bring the snake.”

  My heart jerked with joy. “Can I come now?”

  “Yep. I just started dinner. You’ll be right on time.”

  I arrived at Axel’s a few minutes later. I left Betty still sulking by the fire. I hated to tell her, but sulking wouldn’t help. She needed to get up and get moving.

  She’d figure it out sooner or later.

  Anyway, when I arrived at Axel’s, the smell of roasted tomatoes filled the house.

  “It’s pasta night.” Axel heaped a mound of noodles into a bowl and topped it with sauce. “I hope you’re hungry.”

  “Starved.” I settled on a stool at the counter. Before I picked up my fork, I pulled the locket from under my sweater.

  Axel’s gaze flickered to it and then darted away. He didn’t hide the smile curling his lips.

  “You still have the protection stone in your pocket.” As soon as the words escaped his lips, my stomach tightened. He was right. I’d forgotten to remove it.

  “How do you know?”

  “I can feel its magic.”

  I squinted at him. “You can feel its magic?”

  He sat beside me and picked up his fork. Energy, raw powerful stuff, wafted off him in waves that nearly knocked me over. Or was that simply testosterone?

  “You could too if you focused on it.”

  “I think you’re simply a more powerful wizard than I am witch.”

  His jaw twitched, but he said nothing more about the stone. Instead our conversation switched to our days and what had happened. I explained what I’d learned from Sylvester about looking into the people closest to Beverly, but that was all.

  Axel listened and ate. His eyes darkened. He was thinking, but he didn’t say what.

  When the dishes were cleared and cleaned, Axel picked up the cage. “The cellar,” was all he said.

  I followed him down. Axel’s cellar thrummed with power. An electrical surge fissured up my spine and made my scalp tingle.

  The snake felt it too. Sylvester uncoiled and became much more active. He slithered as if hunting prey.

  Axel peered down at him. “Do you want out?”

  Yes, yes!

  “He wants out,” I said. “I tell you what. I’m going to stand all the way over on the other side of the room, and you can release the snake.”

  Axel squashed a smile igniting his face. “He’s a constrictor, Pepper. He’s not venomous.”

  “I don’t care.” I crossed to a corner and backed up until my spine touched the wall. “Okay. Go ahead. I’m ready.”

  Axel unhinged the lock. I exhaled, waiting for him to open the door. That snake would sense freedom and slither away faster than you could say lipstick on a pig.

  I was sure of it.

  The door swung open. The snake poked out its head and tasted the air. “Come on,” Axel coaxed.

  The snake slithered up Axel’s arm and coiled around his bicep.

  Ah, a wizard. Where I belong.

  I swear Sylvester sighed with relief.

  “He likes you.” The snake raised its head and inspected the room.

  “Good,” Axel said. “Maybe he’ll tell us some things.”

  I took a tentative step forward. “What would you like to know?”

  “Anything that will help your friend Rufus.”

  His words came cold as ice, and they pierced my heart like a shard of glass. I pulled my lips into my mouth and nearly bit them off to tamp down my anger.

  “I’m not trying to help Rufus. I’m trying to help Burt. Sylvester, tell me more about Beverly and her friends.”

  The light caught the snake’s eyes, and I swear they twinkled.

  Beverly made money with her friends.

  “How did they do that?”

  The snake unwound slightly from Axel’s arm and shuddered. Ah, a wizard, it said again.

  “Yes, I know. You like being near a wizard. I get it. Now. How did Beverly make money with Prissy and Valerie?”

  With false divinationsss.

  “What?”

  Yesss, they would read the divinations of young, uneducated witches. But the foretellings would be falssse.

  I frowned. “I don’t understand. Why would they give witches the wrong futures?”

  For money. The serpent waved its head back and forth as if in a trance. It would be wrong. The witch would pay for it to be changed.

  “For it to be changed?” I shot Axel a confused look.

  He nodded in understanding. “Beverly took money to tell the future. But she sold witches on the wrong future and then took more money to work a spell that promised to bring better luck into that witch’s life.”

  “Oh!” My hands flew to my cheeks. “She conned people.”

  He nodded. “Exactly. Now the question is, who did she con? That’s the information we need to take to Garrick.”

  There was one. Sylvester lifted his head.

  “There was one what?”

  One who was angry. You know him.

  I immediately thought he was talking about Rufus. My breath hitched. “What do you mean, I know him?”

  You spoke to him today. I didn’t want to say more in front of the man, but Beverly had offer
ed her services.

  I dropped my forehead into my palms and sighed. This was bad. This was very, very bad.

  “What did the snake say?”

  I shook my head. “Sylvester said that Beverly used her divination power on Burt. She cheated him.”

  My gaze locked on Axel. “Basically, the snake is saying that Burt had motive and opportunity to kill Beverly.”

  Axel unwrapped Sylvester from his arm. “Sounds like something Garrick might want to know.”

  “Yep.” I exhaled a deep shot of air. “You’re right. It sounds exactly like something Garrick would want to know.”

  Axel scrubbed a palm down his jaw. “We need to tell him.”

  ELEVEN

  “I thought you said this guy was a friend of yours.” Garrick Young shook peanuts from a bag into his palm and tossed a handful into his mouth.

  It was the next morning. Axel and I sat in Garrick’s office watching him eat a meal of peanuts and Coke.

  Breakfast of champions, y’all.

  “He is my friend, but I thought you needed to know this.”

  “And how’d you hear about Beverly selling bogus divinations?”

  I sighed. “From her familiar.”

  “Hmm. You think it’s telling the truth? It’s a snake, you say?”

  I shot Axel a confused look.

  He lightly tapped my wrist with his finger. “Snakes have been known to lie.”

  “Y’all mean like Adam and Eve?”

  Axel nodded. “It goes back that far, but that isn’t the only incident in history. There have been others.”

  Garrick shook the bag into his mouth and chewed loudly. “Like Axel says, throughout history serpents have been known to be good fibbers.”

  “For what it’s worth, Garrick, the serpent seemed to be telling the truth,” Axel said.

  Garrick rubbed his chin. “If Burt had been cheated out of a substantial sum, that might be enough to murder. If the whole thing about the divinations is true. Snake,” he said again.

  “The women seem capable of it.” Garrick couldn’t completely discount everything Sylvester had told us. Surely there was a gem of truth in there somewhere.

  “Yes”—he kicked his feet off the desk—“it has potential. That strikes me as a possible lead.” He took a swig of Coke. “You say her friends were in on it?”