Crooks and Crystals (A Hocus Pocus Cozy Witch Mystery Series Book 3) Read online

  Crooks and Crystals

  by

  Constance Barker

  Copyright © 2020 Constance Barker

  All rights reserved.

  Similarities to real people, places or events are purely coincidental.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

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  Chapter 1

  Morgana Adams strode purposely past the produce in the shopping mart; her brunette bob bouncing with each step; her eyes focused on her prey: Martin Zeller.

  He looked up as she approached; his usually handsome features warped into a look of shock when he saw the rage apparent on her face. He knew this woman had a temper.

  Morgana stopped in front of him and poked a manicured finger into his chest. “You have hurt my sister for the last time, you despicable excuse for a human being!”

  Martin remained motionless, eyebrows raised and mouth open like he was about to say something. Morgana poked him again and stared directly into his large brown eyes. She spoke slowly through gritted teeth, enunciating every word. “I am warning you. Stay away from my sister.”

  Martin glanced sideways as he noticed a crowd gathering around them. He was not about to be ridiculed in public. He pulled himself up to his full height. “And what if I don’t?” he said with a smile.

  The shoppers fell silent as Morgana took a step closer so her face was an inch from his. She could feel the warmth of his quickening breathe. “Then you’ll regret it for the rest of your very short, very miserable life.” She didn’t move; she wanted him to be the one to back away.

  Martin shrugged his shoulders and laughed nervously before taking a step back, turning and walking past the gathered shoppers. Morgana watched after him, his confident swagger exaggerated for appearances.

  Martin Zeller had been dating her sister, Jenna, on and off for a while and Morgana hated him with every fiber of her being. On the surface he was a tall, charming and smart man with a smile that could melt steel, but he had a darker side. He was a womanising toad who was a little too handy with his fists. Jenna had been the most recent recipient of his abuse.

  Morgana gathered herself and looked up at the crowd of shoppers who quickly averted their eyes and began to disperse whilst talking in hushed tones. Morgana’s temper was well known among the locals but threatening someone in public was a step up from her usual confrontations.

  * * *

  Celestial Meadows sat with her feet on a stool drinking her tea, enjoying the peace and quiet of the morning. Her store, Herbal Heaven, had been extremely busy lately. Her soaps and lotions were flying off the shelves, which she attributed to the peace and wellbeing spell she had begun adding to each bottle or tub before sealing them. It felt good to know that she was bringing something positive to all those who used her products.

  She smiled and took a deep cleansing breath as her dragonfly familiar, Athena, landed on her left shoulder. She let go of her breath expelling any negative energy.

  “Morning Athena,” Celestial said with a smile.

  Before Athena could return her greeting, Stella and Bella slid through the wall appearing in front of them. The ghostly sisters haunted the local B&B but often liked to pop in to see Celestial, especially when they had shocking news to share.

  “Morning Celestial, you look relaxed,” said Stella who was bouncing from one foot to the other.

  Celestial looked at each of her ghostly friends in turn and placed her tea on the table next to her. “Can I assume with all you guys sliding in to see me at once, that you have some news you want to tell me?”

  Stella pushed in front of Bella who was about to speak. “You’ll never believe . . .”

  She was interrupted by a loud crash against the wall. Celestial shook her head and called out, “Dakota is that you?”

  Everyone looked at each other before hurrying outside. Celestial was right, Dakota’s lanky limbs were twisted into a pretzel, his eyes spinning in his head. Her dear friend could never quite grasp apparating with any precision. She grabbed his hands and helped him to his feet.

  Dakota shook his head to settle his eyeballs then grabbed Celestial by the wrist. “There’s big trouble, Celestial,” he said panting and holding his other hand to his head. “Martin Zeller was murdered in the woods!”

  Stella placed her hands on her hips. “I was going to tell her that!”

  Celestial shot Stella a look and turned back to Dakota. “Where in the woods?”

  “They found him sprawled out in the middle of a circular clearing. His body was exsanguinated.”

  “What the heck does egsanq . . . umibob mean?” Bella asked with a confused look on her face.

  Dakota shook his head at her, “Drained of all his blood you silly ghost. Don’t you know anything?”

  Bella gave him a hard stare. “I bet it was the ‘Word of the Day’ on your calendar this morning.”

  Stella gave her sister a high-five for the excellent ‘burn’ and Athena just shook her head.

  “Carry on,” said Celestial.

  “Get this,” Dakota continued. “The blood they drained from him was in a pot next to his body along with a lock of his hair and some rose petals.”

  * * *

  “How strange,” said Celestial, placing her cool fingertips to her temples. “Do you know exactly how he died?”

  Athena landed onto the wall next to Celestial. “According to those at the scene . . .” she paused for effect, “. . . nobody has a clue.”

  There was a collective groan from the others.

  Celestial opened her hands out “And that’s it?”

  “There were some whisperings about witchcraft,” said Athena, “but according to a couple of witches that were there, it doesn’t seem likely because there are no spells, even dark ones, that would use that configuration.”

  “So you mean that blood draining, petals and locks of hair don’t come together in any spell you know of?” asked Bella.

  “Nope,” said Athena. “This one looks like a real mystery.” She looked at Celestial and spoke slowly. “And we all know who has a magic touch when it comes to solving complex mysteries, don’t we?”

  Chapter 2

  The air had settled somewhat by the time Nikoli arrived. Dakota had only appeared a few minutes before him with his spectacular, magically challenged, entrance.

  Celestial saw Nikoli coming straight towards her and inwardly debated asking him if she should be on the payroll. She had been involved in every case so far and she was feeling more like a professional investigator and less like a witch these days.

  “Celestial,” Nikoli started, only giving the others a nod. “Did you want to listen while I question Morgana? All the fingers are pointed at her, even if most people wouldn’t mourn Martin’s passing.”

  “Sure.” she said, looking over at the seating area outside her shop where Morgana sat over a cup of tea. “Thank you, Nikoli.”

  “Don’t thank me,” he scoffed. “If you don’t solve the cases for me, then you always point me in the right direction!”

  Celestial smiled, glad that she had been of help so far.

  As they started to walk towards her, Morgana shifted her sunglasses and looked around. She appeared
to be trying not to look at them when all she wanted to do was watch their approach. When they sat down near her, she just adjusted her glasses again and gulped hard. Celestial felt sorry for her immediately.

  It was clear that Morgana was under an incredible amount of stress. Celestial held back her judgement for now, knowing that stress did not necessarily equal guilt.

  “Morgana, we’re just here to ask you a few questions.” Nikoli said softly. Morgana gave him a firm glare, even though her bottom lip trembled.

  “Aren’t you going to take me in?” She held up her wrists almost defensively.

  Nikoli shook his head. “I don’t want to do that, Morgana. I don’t have the evidence to arrest anyone yet.”

  She nodded, pulling her glasses off and blinking into the light. Her eyes swiveled up and found Celestial’s. She was too tense to actually smile and ended up grimacing instead.

  “What would you like to talk about?” Nikoli looked at his notepad and pen, inviting Morgana to open up without prodding her.

  “I suppose you all know we had an argument.” She looked at the tabletop, not daring to watch Nikoli or Celestial’s reaction to her words. “Everyone thinks I did it.”

  “That’s not true.” Celestial said immediately, earning her a withering look from Morgana.

  “Really?” Morgana said sarcastically. “It was a brutal fight we had. I told him I would kill him. Right there in front of the whole town. You couldn’t paint my guilt any clearer than that.”

  “You don’t look guilty to me.” Nikoli said firmly. “Unless you’re also going out for the academy award.”

  Morgana gave him a very real, but wry, smile. “Is that supposed to be a compliment?”

  Nikoli smiled back. “If you like.”

  “What did you fight about?” Nikoli focused on his notepad again, scratching out a few observations.

  “You don’t know? Come on, Nikoli, don’t play dumb with me.” Morgana said sarcastically.

  “I’m not interested in innuendo.” Nikoli replied. “I want to hear it from you.”

  “My sister.” She said, voice trembling. “You should have seen her. She was all bruised up, the worst was a black eye, but she had a few more injuries. I thought for sure her eye socket or cheek bone would be fractured. If you had seen what he did to her—”

  Morgana’s fists clenched as she looked away.

  “Yes, I told him I would kill him! I was so angry, not just at what he had done but because he had already abused her so much! I can’t understand how he could break her, put her back together, then break her all over again! What kind of monster—” Morgana turned her head away, gulping.

  “She was breaking up with him for the last time.” Morgana looked up, taking a deep breath. “He cheated with Samantha and finally, Jenna had enough. I was helping her move away from him. I wanted him to back off. Just enough to give us time to get away.”

  Nikoli made a note on his pad, but Morgana wasn’t paying attention to him anymore. She was watching birds play in a nearby tree, her vague gaze focused on them as if their simple movements brought her peace.

  “We pressed charges against him. A detective came to the hospital to take pictures of her bruises. Jenna is still in the hospital. She’s lucky to be alive after what that animal did to her! He was going to be arrested in the next twenty-four hours. I just lost my temper when I saw him, but really, why would I need to do anything else if I knew he was going to jail?”

  Morgana looked up at them both, her eyes still holding an edge of fear, but far more determined than she had been.

  “Why would I kill him? Celestial—you have to believe me.”

  Celestial felt the truth in the words. Morgana sounded like a woman at the end of her rope.

  “I do.” Celestial stepped forward and squeezed Morgana’s shoulder. “I really do.”

  Morgana reached up and squeezed Celestial’s hand. The look they gave each other was full of warmth.

  Nikoli excused himself and after a few moments, Morgana did too. Celestial headed into the shop, thinking about everything she had heard so far. Just as she was about to get back to work, a brightly patterned butterfly swept through the shop and landed on the front counter.

  “Tamara.” Celestial rolled her eyes as well as sighed.

  “What?” Tamara stretched herself across the counter, grinning.

  “You better have news if you’re sitting your bare butt on my counter again.”

  “I do.” Tamara sat up eagerly. “I was at the hospital when Jenna was admitted.”

  Celestial felt her curiosity rise a notch. “Yes?”

  “Well, apparently, Jenna told Martin that she knew he was cheating. He said he didn’t care. She had her bags all packed, ready to go, she just needed the courage to actually do it. She went to get her bag, called Morgana, then Martin came at her, punching the hell out of her and screaming that he would kill her before he let her leave.”

  “Whoa.”

  “I know, right? Morgana came straight over and Martin went for her, too. Then the cops showed up and grabbed Martin. Morgana spat on him and told him she would kill him.”

  “So that’s twice she threatened to kill him.”

  “Yeah. Do you really think she would?”

  Celestial shook her head. “I really don’t, but Morgana has always fought for the underdog, especially her sister.”

  Celestial turned and looked out the window, trying to make sense of everything she had heard so far. As always, someone was lying and it would take great care to figure out who.

  Chapter 3

  Detective Nikoli Brewer rolled his neck and shrugged his shoulders before entering the building in front of him. The city morgue was not his favorite place to start his day. The building was plain; a rectangle of dirty gray that gave no invitation to enter. He walked through the large glass doors into the reception and gave a nod to the receptionist, Marta, who smiled politely and waved him through.

  He arrived at Doctor Black’s office, the outer door was ajar but he tapped on it before entering. The doctor looked up from the pad he was scribbling on.

  “Morning detective,” he said with a nod of his head.

  “Morning Doc. I wanted to find out if you had a cause of death yet?”

  “I’m afraid not,” said the doctor as he rose and led Nikoli over to the body on the slab. “What I can tell you is that the blood found in the jar next to his body was not his.”

  Nikoli instinctively held his breath whenever he entered the morgue. The pungent smell of bleach made his wolf senses gag. He breathed out and furrowed his brow. “Do you mean there’s another victim?”

  “Yes I’m afraid there is, but he’s probably being basted on someone’s BBQ at the moment.” The doctor laughed at his own joke.

  Nikoli looked confused for a moment before the realization hit him. “Oh, you mean it’s pig’s blood?”

  The doctor nodded. “Yes, sadly another murder victim. Actually he might be the contents of today’s lunch; my wife always makes me ham sandwiches on a Wednesday – is it Wednesday?”

  Nikoli grimaced slightly. Every medical examiner he’d ever met had the same warped sense of humor. Probably a coping mechanism for the death they witnessed on a daily basis.

  “So where would someone find pig's blood?”

  “It’s pretty easy to find, especially if you raise pigs or even if you’re friendly with the local butcher. Some people turn the blood of animals into a powder...it makes an excellent fertilizer and has the added benefit of being a natural way to keep pesky rabbits and deer out of your garden.”

  Nikoli sighed. “That’s not going to be a narrow search. What about the hair that was found?”

  “Unfortunately, it didn’t have a root on it but we know it wasn’t from our victim.”

  “Are you certain?”

  “Forensics analyzed it and it didn’t match the consistency or color of the victim’s hair.”

  Nikoli rubbed his chin. This investigation was
n’t going to be plain sailing. He thanked the doctor before leaving and heading over to see Celestial.

  * * *

  “Good morning Nikoli,” called Celestial when she saw him enter her store. “And what can I do for you on this lovely morning?”

  Nikoli smiled a genuine smile, as he always did when he greeted her. “Morning, Celestial. I thought I would buy my mother something from your store. She loves your lavender lotion.”

  “That’s good to hear,” she replied. “I’ll get you a bottle.” She moved out from behind the counter to the front of the store and picked up a large bottle with an elegant neck and a pretty lilac label.

  “I’ve just got back from the examiner’s office,” he said as they walked back to the counter. He proceeded to recount his conversation with the medical examiner, including the sandwich story.

  “Oh, that’s not going to be an easy find; there are a lot of pig farmers in this area. How are you going to narrow down the search?”

  Nikoli shook his head, “I have no idea.” He looked briefly around the shop. He could feel another shapeshifter close by...Tamara was here somewhere. He then caught a glimpse of a butterfly and a dragonfly out of the corner of his eye; they were lounging on a lavender plant next to a display of hand lotions.

  He looked back at Celestial and got out his wallet but Celestial pushed his hand away. “Tell your mom I’m really glad she likes my products and I hope she’s well.”

  Nikoli smiled. “She’ll love it, thank you.”

  “No problem. You’ll keep me up to date with the case won’t you?”

  “Of course, and if you happen to discover something, you’ll let me know?”

  “Absolutely,” she said as she moved from behind the counter to walk him out.

  Before leaving the shop, Nikoli turned to the two insects on the lavender plant. “Ladies, if you could please keep this information to yourselves, I would appreciate it.” He bowed his head and left.

  Celestial, Athena and Tamara were about to discuss what the detective had revealed when they were interrupted by the jingle of the door opening. It was Morgana. She was red faced and breathing heavily.