Cupcakes, Crystals, and Chaos Read online

  Noelia chuckled slyly from the corner. “Your money is always on her,” she said. “She’s odd but—”

  “No,” I said, nodding along with what Allegra had said. “This isn’t the first time Bridget has tried something like this. Before you came, before your mother passed away, we’d been dealing with Bridget and her dislike toward us for some time.”

  Noelia’s face flushed. “Oh, sorry.” She approached the three of us. “Lucky we did the full-moon ceremony then.”

  Tana sighed heavily, blowing the pile of ash. “People think we have something to do with this horrible incident.” She turned in the chair to face the group.

  To that, I knew she was referring to the dead man in the docks. “Did anyone see—him?” I pressed a hand to my chest, feeling the oxygen trapped in my lungs as I wondered what type of person could commit murder.

  Eva held a hand out. “It didn’t look pretty. I mean, there was a crystal down a man’s throat.”

  “Oh, Goddess,” Tana gasped.

  “Crystals. Witches. How much more would they need to point the finger?”

  Allegra scoffed. “Not much.”

  When the slightest inconvenience happened in this village, everything stopped; shops closed, and people peddled information through the rumour mill.

  “What are we even being accused of?” Noelia asked. “I’m still trying to finish the house for when the new owner arrives.”

  “I didn’t want to see.” Tana stood, her arms shaky as she held to the frame of the chair. “A man was found with a crystal in his throat. I tried not to know, but when people are so angry, it’s all that’s on their mind. I saw images,” she said. “Looked like he suffocated.” Her eyes darted around the room at the collections on display.

  “What type of crystal?” I asked.

  She dipped her chin to her chest. “I don’t want to think about it.”

  “They covered his body with a cloth, so I couldn’t see either,” Eva added.

  “They’re going to turn this into a witch hunt then,” I said through my clenched jaw. “We each have a number of clients we loan crystals to for all number of ailments.” A short gasp left her mouth as she fanned her hand. “Of course, I’m not saying it was, but we can’t exactly say it wasn’t until we know what type of crystal it was.”

  A knock came at the door. It was a familiar hefty knock. I answered it to see Detective Hodge’s eager eyes stare directly into mine as he stood squarely in the doorway with his notepad in hand. “Can I come in and have a little chat?” he asked, puffing out his chest and pinching his face as he concentrated on the going-ons behind me.

  “We can talk outside,” I said immediately.

  I left the backroom with the women following behind.

  “You know we might have to search the entire building,” he said. “So, please co-operate.”

  Pressing my lips together before I spoke, I was unsure whether he was threatening us. “Do you mean someone is already searching the property or that you will have someone search my property?”

  His stifled red face coughed. “No, no, no,” he said. “But I would like to speak with you each individually.”

  “Well, aren’t you here to discuss the window?”

  He shuffled in his shoes to see the large window frame without glass. “We have more pressing matters to tend to first of all,” he replied. “Can we have some privacy?”

  I gave way to an argument and nodded. “We can use my baking studio,” I said, inching him away from the backroom’s door.

  Alone in the baking studio I handed Detective Hodge a hairnet while I bunched my hair into a net for health and safety reasons, although he was more-so a hazard given he was balding.

  “I hate to ask these questions,” he said into a sigh, although it didn’t strike me as sincere. “When the entire village all say something, there has to be some truth in it.”

  I stepped backward. “No, there doesn’t,” I said. “That’s called a witch hunt, Detective, and I would rather appreciate it if you didn’t accuse me or any other woman in a coven of anything so heinous.”

  “I’m only doing my job,” he replied, scribbling notes in his pad. I assumed he was writing about how I wasn’t cooperating, but I had to, otherwise they’d go through my backroom and catalogue every one of my possessions. It was the last thing I needed in my life right now. “You may have heard by now, but a man was found dead with a rather large crystal crammed down his trachea.”

  My hands were clean, and other than a small burn across the palm of my right hand from a hot tray, they were unscathed. I lifted my hands to him. “Are these the hands of someone who could do that?”

  He continued to write. I knew any response he gave would’ve been him testifying that I couldn’t have anything to do with it. “Have any crystals gone missing?”

  I smiled. “It isn’t just us witches who have crystals.” I sauntered around the baking studio, trailing around as I thought. “We also have clients, people we provide crystals for healing, might I ask what type of crystal it was that killed him?”

  A grumble broke his silence. “An independent examiner is coming to look at it.”

  His answer didn’t surprise me, it was unlikely he wanted me to look at the crystal, at least not when he was putting me on a mock trial for murder. “If I could be any assistance, I’m more than—”

  “Yes, in fact,” he responded, scratching his earlobe with a pen. “I have a few more questions.”

  “Oh, by all means,” I said, rolling my hands in a welcoming gesture.

  He glanced at his notepad and tapped on the ring binding. He hummed in thought, most likely creating new questions as a show of his quick-witted detective abilities. Clearing his throat, I prepared myself. “Where were you last night?”

  “Last night?” I said as he confirmed with a nod. “I was home, that’s where I usually am, and I know you’re going to ask for someone to corroborate my story, well, I don’t have that. You know I live alone now.” And unfortunately I couldn’t have August testify.

  “And what about the night before then?” he asked.

  “That was the full-moon ceremony,” I said without another thought. “And I have several people who can attest to that.” I waved a hand in the air with dramatic flair. “Let me guess, Detective, you’re going to question them as well.”

  He scoffed. “How do we know this wasn’t part of your ceremony?” He placed two-finger air quotes over the word ‘ceremony’, mocking the craft.

  “I do hope you’re not going to keep insinuating we have something to do with this.” My eyes widened, I’d seen disrespect before, I’d experienced it, even as far as the café window.

  A smile crossed Detective Hodge’s face, smug. “We have a man with a crystal down his throat, we have a village with several witches.” He dotted his pen twice on the notepad. My eyes crossed his physique in judgement, he was getting on a bit and not the fresh daisy he used to be. The longer he made notes, the more enflamed I found my thoughts. “Now, tell me that doesn’t sound suspicious.”

  I slapped my hand against the metal counter. “Like I said, we’re not the only people to have crystals, many people have them in their homes, some purely for decoration.”

  He barely lifted his eyes from me while he jotted notes. “That’s all, can you send in another please?”

  I complied, leaving my baking studio to send in another witch. Eva prepared herself at the door, always ready to go to war for what she believed in, or what she knew was fact. None of us killed him, it was non-verbal knowledge. If the detective knew anything, he’d know that a suspected sacrifice would be dangerous magic and going toe-to-toe with a witch of that power wouldn’t be pretty, and he wouldn’t be here if he thought that. He clearly had it out for us.

  “How was it?” Allegra asked, digging a fork into a slice of chocolate cake. She gestured with her fork. “Delicious.”

  The other women surrounded me. “He’s out for blood,” I said. “I mean, he can
’t see any other way around this. Connecting two and two, the crystal and the fact we’re witches.”

  Tana squeaked before a cough came and her voice creaked. “He’s incredibly nervous,” she said. “I can feel it on him.”

  It wasn’t newsworthy. When wasn’t the detective a bundle of nerves, especially when a real crime was committed. “Anyone been about the window yet?” I asked.

  “We can fix it up like that,” Noelia said, clicking her fingers.

  I shook my head. “We’re not using magic in front of everyone, the last thing we need on our hands is the village chasing us with pitchforks and torches.”

  Noelia chuckled. “Calm down,” she said. “It’s a suggestion.”

  “But you’re right, Gwen,” Allegra added. “We’ve been good at not being open with our magic, the last thing we need is to have an abuse scandal break with the Witches Council.”

  I rolled my eyes. The Witches Council was made of incredibly powerful witches, they were known as the Highgrove Garden Witches because of where they came from; wealth. They rarely acted on anything unless it directly affected them. They had investigators who would travel in search of mislaid magic or witches behaving badly, and the Witches Council ultimately had final say in what happened to you.

  Noelia chuckled. “Like they’ll do anything anyway,” she said. “I mean, my mother was killed, and they never came to investigate, what’s the deal with that?”

  She was right. When her mother died we’d hoped and expected for a witch to guide us and solve her murder, but there was nothing. It ended up being a demonic force who’d killed her, the exact situation the council should be used for.

  “I have wood,” Ralph’s voice boomed as the tiny ding sounded from the café door. He heaved in a large sheet of plywood through the door. “Got this cheap.”

  I rushed from behind the counter. “Oh, thank you,” I said. “Could you put it over the glass? We might have to close the café for a couple of days while this blows over.”

  He hummed. “Yeah, and there’s people outside.”

  I hadn’t looked. I’d closed the blinds and cut power to the neon sign. “We have Detective Hodge in the bakery questioning us.” Although I had doubt he was going to call on Ralph and Abi, not unless he wished for them to voice against me.

  “Everyone,” another voice boomed. Notably that of Doctor Raymond. “Please can everyone leave.”

  I approached the window to the sound of people arguing back. “Oh, Goddess,” I mumbled to myself, peeking through the blinds.

  The doctor continued to shout over the crowd that had amassed outside the café. “Do you really think one of those women could’ve done something like this? Clearly it was someone strong.”

  My knee jerked at the comment. I didn’t like being called weak, nobody did. I left the blind shut and stepped.

  “Did you hear that?” Allegra scoffed. “The gall.”

  “I’ll give him an earful,” I grumbled.

  “Oo,” Allegra let out before scurrying back to Noelia and Tana.

  Tapping a foot on the floor and a finger on my chin, I waited for him to enter the café. “You think we’re weak?” I asked.

  Oscar Raymond smiled to himself, pulling at the cuff of his tweed jacket. “Gwen,” he said and waved with the hand he carried his dark leather suitcase in. “How’re you?”

  “You tell me, Doctor.”

  “Oh?” He sat his briefcase on a table. “Is it a fever?”

  I stomped my foot. “Not in the slightest, you think we’re weak?”

  “No, no, no, that’s not what I meant at all,” he said, flashing me a smile. If I didn’t already know he was human, I’d think he was a devil with the charm he held in a such a smile. “It can’t be good for business. I came over once I heard about the window, and Rosie’s busy defending the fort back at the practise.”

  “You did?” I asked, already smiling to myself. “Well, we’re all safe, and Hodge is in the bakery questioning us one-by-one.”

  Oscar looked ahead over the counter to the other women. “He thinks it’s one of you?”

  “I don’t think he has all the facts, he seems lost if you ask me,” I said. He didn’t have an image of the man or any other information, all he had was a body and a crystal, and that was circumstantial at best.

  “Doctor,” Ralph said. “Can I have a hand?” Oscar held out a hand. “No. Hold the board while I stick it in place. I’d ask Abi but she went home to tell her mother.”

  “Sure.” Oscar quickly removed his jacket. “Don’t want to get it dirty.”

  The door dinged as Rosie and the local chaplain, Bernard entered.

  “Gwen, what’s happening?” Rosie asked, panting. “There’s a mob out there.” Her eyes darted to Doctor Raymond. “Ah, I left Caroline at the doc’s office, I had to come over Ms. Henderson told me that Hodge was here.”

  “I have no idea what’s going on,” I said. “But yeah, he’s in the baking studio interrogating Eva.” I’d repeated myself for the one-millionth time already.

  “You have a full house of helpers,” Bernard said, edging himself beside Rosie. “I’m just popping in because I heard about the window.” News travelled incredibly quick in the small village, more than ever before. “I wanted to extend an invite to a service I’m holding tonight for the village. I don’t usually do them on Tuesday’s, but given the circumstance I think it might be an ideal way to find peace.”

  “Peace?” I grumbled, recalling the people waiting outside the café. “And bless poor Margery, she was right near the window as well.”

  “Aw,” Rosie gasped. “How is she?”

  “I helped her up and she left,” I said. “I didn’t know if more attacks would come.”

  Bernard nodded. “I can imagine, a couple years ago we had someone do the same to the chaplain windows, it was a nightmare. We can try and raise some money for repairs,” he said. “As a village, we really need to stick together.”

  Oscar finished up with Ralph and joined me with his jacket folded over his arms. “I’ve not been here long enough to make judgement,” he said. “But it’s chaos out there. I can’t imagine why everyone is going crazy.”

  I hummed. It was a mystery, although I always imagined the village as a united front, but I didn’t think they’d all unite against us, the witches.

  CHAPTER 3

  Detective Hodge finished and ushered the crowd away from outside the café. He held a short conference on the porch advising them of the service being held in the chapel this evening alongside some kind words about not lighting pitchforks. I didn’t catch a glimpse of his face, but I imagined it was smug.

  “Can you drive me home?” Noelia asked. “I didn’t ride my motorbike here, and I don’t feel up to transporting myself.”

  “Absolutely,” I replied, gathering my book of shadows and long beige jacket into my arms.

  Once we were in the car, Noelia sighed. “I’m really glad the house is sold,” she said, referring to the house she inherited after her mother’s death. “The new owner should be here in a few days, then I’m gone.”

  “Aren’t you going to miss it?” I asked, starting the engine.

  She chortled. “Oh, definitely not. If anything, I’ll be happy to see the end of this place. I’m looking to buy somewhere in Wales, I have a couple of friends, not a coven, but we’re looking for somewhere we can all grow as witches.”

  The thought pinched a smile on my cheeks; that was the dream, to live with all my friends so we could practice the craft in our own ways, but I enjoyed my own time and space too much to sacrifice that to have all my friends around me.

  “Well don’t forget about us,” I said. “And we’re still looking for an earth witch, so if you come across any wandering witches, send them our way.”

  Since Noelia’s mother had been our earth witch, and since her passing, we’d been one member down, a hole no coven witch ever wants to feel, but sometimes things happen and death is a natural part of life.
/>   She nodded. “Of course, and if you don’t find another witch by the next full-moon ceremony, you can call me.” Pressing her hands together in prayer, she looked me in the eye. “But please don’t, as much as I love this place, I don’t want to be coming back every month.”

  I knew the feeling too well, when I left my mother and grandmother at eighteen to go explore, I never wanted to go back, I was out on my own for the first time, and my mother’s eccentricities drove me crazy. In fact, her impending arrival knotted my stomach.

  Once I dropped Noelia off, I drove home passed the doctor’s house. Doctor Raymond was a sweet man, and even as a man of science he wasn’t constantly questioning me or the abilities I had, although he’d barely touched the surface of what I could do.

  “Oh, Goddess.” I pulled to a harsh stall before the driveway. The front door of my house was wide open. “Please, not today.” My mouth ran dry as I clenched my throat. I wondered whether the detective had paid a visit or someone else from the village decided to traipse all the way up here.

  In my arms, I clutched my belongings and toyed with the necklace between my forefinger and thumb. It settled my stomach to be surrounded by the calming crystal energy.

  “Gwendolyn,” a faint voice echoed as I crossed the threshold into the house.

  Whoosh. My mother appeared at my side. Adorned in a purple kaftan and a lilac scarf around her neck. I was used to seeing her appear this way, with her arms folded and a large Cheshire cat grin on her face.

  “Mother,” I said in a shallow gasp. “Please, not in the house.”

  “But Gwendolyn, dear,” she said, opening her arms wide. “Aren’t you happy to see me?”

  It depended entirely on why she was here. “Of course,” I said. “Although I’ve been expecting you for days.” I placed my belongings down on the small table by the door. “How’ve you been?” I asked, embracing her in a hug.

  She smelled like petunia flowers, and for someone almost in her seventies, my mother had a thick head of shiny brunette curls and not a single grey hair in sight.

  “Still adverse to using your Goddess given gifts?” she asked.