Christmas Witch List--A Westwick Witches Cozy Mystery Read online

  Actually, only Merlinda, Gail, and Dominic had sampled the cake. The rest of us had stashed our cake, uneaten. But Mom didn’t know that. I patted her shoulder, relieved that so far Gail and Dominic showed no symptoms. Yet. “Aunt Pearl didn’t mean—”

  “Damn right, I meant it, Cendrine. It’s Ruby’s fault that Merlinda’s dead.” Aunt Pearl paced back and forth, clearly distraught. “I’ll never have another student like Merlinda. All that talent, destroyed by a few crumbs of poison cake.”

  Mom sucked in her breath. “It can’t be my cake, Pearl. It’s the same recipe I make every year. How can there be anything wrong with it?”

  “Uh…Ruby, there’s something I need to ask about.” Earl shifted uncomfortably on his feet. “You know how I was helping you with that rat problem?”

  Gail sucked in her breath. “You have rats in this place?”

  “Afraid so,” Earl said. “Thing is, I set the measuring cup of rat poison on the counter for a minute, and when I went back for it a couple of minutes later, it was gone.”

  Mom gasped. “You don’t think that…you mean the white powder in my measuring cup wasn’t flour? I used it in the cake.”

  “If you didn’t fill the measuring cup yourself, then why did you use it, Ruby?” Tyler asked. “How did you even know it was flour?”

  Tears ran down Mom’s cheeks. “I-I wasn’t thinking, I guess. I thought it was weird because I didn’t remember using that measuring cup. But I’ve been run off my feet lately and just thought I had measured it out earlier and forgotten all about it. I’ve been so busy organizing the dinner with all of Pearl’s last-minute guests that I lost track of things.”

  I scowled at Aunt Pearl’s insult to Mom’s cake and, indirectly, my Pearl’s Charm School dropout status. “Even if Merlinda was poisoned, it could be from anything. Like your herbal tea, for instance.”

  “Hey, I ate that cake and there’s nothing wrong with me,” Dominic said. “It can’t be the cake.”

  “You probably weigh twice as much as Merlinda,” Brayden pointed out. “You can absorb the poison better. Either that, or it just takes longer to affect you.”

  Dominic’s hand flew to his mouth. “I don’t feel so hot all of a sudden.”

  Gail nodded. “I ate some too, and I’m not sick. You sure it was rat poison? I feel just fine.”

  ‘Some’ was a bit of an understatement. Gail had probably eaten four or five pieces by my count. Yet she showed no signs of poisoning.

  Aunt Pearl pulled her hand from her pocket and gave me the finger. As she did, a crumpled piece of paper fell to the floor.

  “Such a tragedy.” Aunt Amber stooped to pick up the paper. She frowned as she unrolled it and read the writing. “Uh-oh. Your milk thistle tea remedy has a mistake, Pearl. Instead of milk thistle, it says mistletoe. You know mistletoe is poisonous, right?”

  “Of course I know—let me see that.” Aunt Pearl snatched the paper from Aunt Amber’s hand.

  Aunt Amber shook her head as she stared at Merlinda’s lifeless body. “Oh my god, Pearl. What have you done?”

  14

  “You killed Merlinda,” Dominic screamed. “She was finally going home and leaving you for good. You knew you couldn’t keep her trapped here at your stupid school forever. So you poisoned her tea and killed her.”

  “Pearl didn’t do it on purpose. It was an accident.” Mom’s words hung in the air as we all fell silent.

  Dominic lunged toward Aunt Pearl. “I’m going to kill you, old lady.”

  Brayden and Tyler intercepted Dominic just as he reached Aunt Pearl. Each grabbed a shoulder and restrained him, but just barely.

  I had no idea what Dominic meant about Aunt Pearl keeping Merlinda in Westwick Corners, but there was probably some basis in truth. Aunt Pearl sometimes resorted to drastic measures when she didn’t get her way. But killing Merlinda to prevent her from leaving? No way. I couldn’t imagine her doing that.

  It was the kind of stuff you heard on Dateline. People got desperate when love was at stake. And even though Aunt Pearl’s relationship with Merlinda was more of a mentor and protégé arrangement, Aunt Pearl was very attached to her. In fact, she was obsessed with her. If Merlinda had really planned to leave Pearl’s Charm School for good, then I didn’t doubt that Aunt Pearl would mete out her own brand of vigilante justice.

  As a former student, I knew that first-hand.

  But kill Merlinda? Never.

  “Don’t be ridiculous.” Aunt Pearl smirked, her voice suddenly calm. “I’m a reasonable person, and I would never stand in Merlinda’s way. It wasn’t me she wanted to leave, you know.”

  Tyler’s eyes narrowed. “What are you implying, Pearl?”

  Aunt Pearl rolled her eyes. “Figure it out yourself, sheriff. Do your job.”

  “Aunt Pearl, answer Tyler’s question.” Her flippant answer struck me as really odd. A minute ago she had been hysterical.

  “I didn’t kill anyone.” Aunt Pearl shook a fist at Dominic. “Why on earth would I poison my own student? Dead students aren’t exactly a testimonial for Pearl’s Charm School, now are they? How could I attract new students?”

  I wondered that myself but hadn’t dared to ask. As far as I knew, Aunt Pearl didn’t advertise or even have a website. Everything was word of mouth, which was how Merlinda had found Pearl’s Charm School in the first place. She’d traveled halfway around the world to attend, only to suffer such a sad fate.

  Dominic struggled to break free from Tyler and Brayden, but they held him firmly by the arms. “I’ll tell you why you killed her. Because she was better than you. Merlinda told me you were jealous of her talent. You didn’t want her out in the world upstaging you because then everyone would know that she was better than you. Admit it.”

  At least he hadn’t added that Aunt Pearl was better as a witch. Brayden knew about our witchy talents—sort of. He dismissed us as new age nutcases, not witches. He figured that our herbs, talismans, and potions were just a bunch of strange family hobbies and was oblivious to whatever went on right under his nose. He had no idea about all the stuff Aunt Pearl pulled on him enchantment-wise, purely for her own personal amusement.

  Tyler, on the other hand, knew about our supernatural secrets. Aside from Brayden’s willful blindness, it was really only Gail who had no clue that we were witches.

  And it had to stay that way.

  Aunt Pearl snorted. “Jealous? Why would I be jealous? I taught Merlinda everything she knew.”

  “Now Pearl, take it easy on Dominic. He just lost Merlinda.” Mom placed an arm around Aunt Pearl and steered her out of the hallway and into the living room. Aunt Amber and I followed.

  Mom and Aunt Amber collapsed onto the sofa, one on each side of Aunt Pearl like sisterly prison guards. I stood by the doorway, ready to block Aunt Pearl in case she made a run at Dominic.

  “Well, I just lost my protégé. Doesn’t anyone care how I feel?” Aunt Pearl flushed with anger as she wrested her arm away from Aunt Amber. “What kind of teacher poisons her own students? Certainly not me.”

  Aunt Amber held up her hand. “I’m not saying you poisoned her on purpose, Pearl. You just got a little sloppy and wrote the spell down wrong. We all make mistakes sometimes. You know, milk thistle, mistletoe…easy to mix up.”

  Aunt Pearl scowled. “Maybe you’re sloppy or confused, Amber. Not me. I’m much too sharp to make a mistake like that. How can you even suggest such a thing? We have a killer in our midst.”

  “We don’t know that’s the case,” I said. “Merlinda’s death sure seems suspicious, but only the medical examiner can determine the cause of death. All we can do is preserve the evidence.”

  “Evidence?” Mom shuddered. “I don’t like where this is going.”

  “Cen’s right,” Aunt Amber said. “With the storm outside it will be awhile before the medical examiner gets here, so we have to make sure everything is left exactly as it is.”

  We had to at least convince Aunt Pearl to keep her hands�
��and witchcraft—to herself. Covering up a mistake could have dire consequences.

  “You honestly think I poisoned her?” Aunt Pearl searched our faces for answers. “I think someone is trying to frame me. I’ll bet it’s that damn Sheriff Gates.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous, Aunt Pearl,” I said. “He had nothing to do with Merlinda’s death. He hasn’t been anywhere near her.” Tyler had arrived late and sat beside me on the opposite side of the table. He had never been out of my sight.

  Aunt Amber and Mom exchanged worried glances. I knew what they were thinking. We had to do something before Aunt Pearl took drastic action.

  Whether it was an accident or a calculated crime, Aunt Pearl was an unlikely suspect on either count. She was a perfectionist and hardly ever made mistakes. She rarely made mistakes with her spells, certainly not with a simple tea concoction.

  On the other hand, we had all eaten the same dinner, but only Merlinda had ingested Aunt Pearl’s tea.

  However, Aunt Pearl had a lot to lose from even a simple mistake. Her school’s reputation, for one. As if she read my mind, Aunt Pearl said, “This was no accident. And there was nothing wrong with my tea.”

  Aunt Amber tapped on the paper with a manicured nail. “But the recipe says mistletoe right here—”

  Aunt Pearl grabbed the recipe from Aunt Amber. “Just stop it, Amber! I purposely wrote it down wrong as a safeguard so no one could steal my recipe.”

  “Admit you’re wrong, Pearl.” Aunt Amber tried to grab the paper back, but Aunt Pearl ripped it up into tiny pieces.

  Aunt Amber rolled her eyes. “Now you’re destroying evidence. Not that it helps you any. Your tea will be tested.”

  “Oh, this is ridiculous! I would never make a mistake like that. I’ll prove it.” Aunt Pearl grabbed Merlinda’s teacup from the coffee table and gulped down whatever remained in the teacup. The teacup rattled as she dropped it onto the saucer. “See. Perfectly harmless.”

  I gasped. “You just drank the evidence.”

  “And poisoned yourself in the process, dummy,” Aunt Amber added. “I hope we’ll be able to save you in time, since this type of poison isn’t instantaneous. How long ago did Merlinda drink the tea?”

  “Oh, I don’t know.” Aunt Pearl turned to me. “When Cen was in the snow globe. Maybe a couple of hours ago? How long does it take to poison someone?”

  15

  We stepped back into the hallway to see what the men were doing. It was hard to move around with everyone jostling for position. Dominic knelt beside Merlinda, and Tyler crouched on her opposite side. The rest of us crowded around them.

  I scanned the hall and noticed that someone was missing. “Where’s Earl?”

  “I thought he was in the living room with you guys,” Brayden said.

  “No.” Normally Earl never left Aunt Pearl’s side. I flashed back to the rat poison and figured he had returned to the kitchen to double check Mom’s measuring cup. But the rat poison didn’t explain why only Merlinda was affected. She wasn’t the only one who had eaten the Christmas cake. Maybe Merlinda’s reaction wasn’t from the cake at all.

  Tyler’s eyes met mine. “Cen, make sure nobody touches anything. I’ve got to make a call.”

  I nodded and watched Tyler exit into the living room. Easier said than done.

  Aunt Amber pushed past Mom and me and tapped Dominic’s shoulder. “Get out of the way and let me have a look. I can tell instantly if Merlinda was poisoned by mistletoe.”

  Dominic dismissed her with a wave of a hand. “Don’t you dare touch her. You’re not a doctor. We’ll have to wait till he gets here.”

  Uh-oh.

  “You just assume that the medical examiner is a man?” Aunt Amber asked. “In fact, the ME is a woman. Why would you assume otherwise?”

  “Because duh, medical examiner. Of course he’s a man. Women don’t do well at that sort of thing,” Dominic said.

  “What you really mean is that you don’t like women doing well at all, do you, Dominic?” Aunt Amber’s eyes narrowed. “You sure didn’t like Merlinda outshining you. You can’t face the fact that I’m an expert in my field, either. Even if that means getting to the bottom of what happened to your wife.”

  Aunt Amber was a feminist, herbalist, and witch in that order. She was also a force to be reckoned with on those rare occasions when she lost her temper. This was one of those times.

  Dominic stood to challenge Aunt Amber. He just had to get the last word in. “I like women in their place—cooking and cleaning. Except of course, when the cooking doesn’t go too well.”

  “You’re skating on thin ice, sonny,” Aunt Pearl warned. “There’s nothing wrong with Ruby’s cooking.”

  “Wait a minute—” Mom stepped forward, but it was too late.

  “Hey! What the hell—” Dominic braced against Aunt Amber as she pushed him away from Merlinda’s body and tossed him toward the living room doorway with one hand. He stumbled backward before he crashed through the doorway and collapsed in a heap just inside the living room.

  Judging by Dominic’s puzzled expression, he was clearly mystified at how tiny Aunt Amber had just out-muscled him. “How did you just do that?”

  “Wouldn’t you like to know?” Aunt Amber didn’t wait for an answer. “I happen to be very good at my job.”

  She brushed her palms together as if wiping them clean of Dominic. Her job of dispensing justice to Dominic completed, she knelt beside Merlinda. She studied Merlinda’s face, careful not to touch her. She leaned in and inhaled the air near Merlinda’s mouth.

  Mom stood between Dominic and Aunt Amber, ready to act. She had powers to stop Dominic, even though she was reluctant to use them. That was obvious from her deer-in-the-headlights expression.

  “You should have seen that coming, Dominic.” Aunt Pearl’s eyes narrowed. “Now I see what Merlinda was talking about.”

  “You’re bluffing. Merlinda never said anything to you about me.” Dominic looked scared. “Did she?”

  Aunt Pearl placed a finger to her mouth. “My lips are sealed. I never betray a confidence. Merlinda told me everything you were up to, so don’t try anything smart.”

  Dominic reddened. He opened his mouth but reconsidered. He clamped his mouth shut without saying another word.

  Aunt Amber looked up, her face tinged with worry. “Merlinda was definitely poisoned.”

  Tyler finished his call and dropped his cell phone into his pocket as he stepped back into the hall. “Okay, everybody out and into the living room. Except you, Brayden. We’ll move Merlinda into the study and lock the door until the ME gets here.”

  Brayden nodded, though he looked queasy and very reluctant to touch a now lifeless Merlinda.

  Dominic protested but was quickly shut down by Brayden in his usual blunt and abrasive manner. “Tyler is right, Dominic. We can’t leave Merlinda here on the floor in the hallway. We have to move her.”

  Grandma Vi hovered beside Brayden. Of course only us witches could hear her, but she said it anyway. “Any witch worth their salt can get into a locked room. There’s quite a few of us here.”

  That’s exactly what I was afraid of.

  16

  I followed Mom, Gail, and the others into the living room while Dominic sat with his back against the wall just inside the living room doorway. He hadn’t even bothered to get up, afraid that Aunt Amber would assault him again. His gaze flitted back and forth between Aunt Amber in the living room and Tyler and Brayden in the hallway. The two men were still strategizing on how best to move Merlinda’s lifeless body into the study.

  I felt sorry for Dominic on some level, but he made me suspicious too. Not just because his surprise visit to Westwick Corners coincided with his new—and young—wife’s sudden death. The secret wedding was also a red flag. Maybe he stood to gain, financially or otherwise, from Merlinda’s death. Whatever the circumstances, Dominic had plenty of explaining to do.

  I was certain that Dominic’s grief was genuine. He turned and
peered over his shoulder into the hallway. Within seconds he burst into tears. His whole body shook as he sobbed uncontrollably.

  “Somebody make him stop.” Grandma Vi hovered. “I feel like I’m in a really bad soap opera.”

  “I can’t believe all this is happening to me. I should have just stayed home.” Gail perched on the arm of my overstuffed chair even though there was plenty of space on the loveseat and sofa.

  I wished she had stayed home too, but saying so would just infuriate her.

  Gail’s comment was awfully selfish and self-absorbed given that someone had just died. Brayden had somehow managed to find a partner who was just as self-centered as he was. On the other hand, Gail had probably never expected to spend Christmas Eve with her boyfriend at his ex-fiancé’s house.

  I wondered what Gail thought of my crazy family. And me. Brayden had probably told her we were all nuts. Why did I even care what Gail thought in the first place? On some level I wanted Gail to regret ever accepting Aunt Pearl’s suspicious last-minute invitation. But self-centered or not, she hadn’t created the situation she found herself in.

  I glanced beside me, shocked at what I saw. While the rest of us sat in stunned silence, Gail rummaged through her giant purse. She alternated between filing her nails and checking her phone for messages. Apparently, even sudden death wasn’t enough to hold her attention.

  The combined light from Gail’s phone and the candelabra cast a strange glow and accentuated the shadows on the living room walls, adding to the already eerie vibe.

  Aunt Pearl broke the silence. “Why do I always get blamed for everything? I guarantee you there was nothing wrong with my tea. Believe me, when I poison someone, it happens quickly. Just like that.” She snapped her fingers for effect.

  “What do you mean, when you poison someone?” Aunt Amber’s mouth dropped open. “You’ve done this before?”

  As a WICCA executive, Aunt Amber was required to report any witchy wrongdoings, something Aunt Pearl was well aware of. Aunt Pearl was playing a dangerous game, one where we could all bear the brunt of her reckless claims.