Page 21 of Seven Secret Spellcasters (Kitchen Witch Mysteries #7)

T he next morning, Levi arrived for breakfast with a note from Thomas.

He handed it to Trent as he sat down at the table.

“Here’s the guy’s name who booked the adventure.

And the credit card. Two nights, two guests.

Dad said the charge went through, but the number he was given to contact the client was disconnected when he called Friday at noon to confirm arrival.

Then they never showed. Dad got paid upfront since the booking was done within his cancellation period. ”

“Does that happen often?” Mia looked at the paper when Trent passed it to her.

Levi nodded. “According to Dad, yes. That’s why he has a thirty-day no-cancel policy. He provides all the meals and food, so when he got burned by a bunch of bankers a few years ago, he implemented the policy.”

“So he didn’t even question it.” Mia wondered if the client had known that not showing up wouldn’t throw up a red flag. “The killer could have taken Thomas’s trip, then killed Howard on the way. Accidents happen.”

“Not on Dad’s watch. He doesn’t let people get out of his sight. He’s got a perfect record so far.” Trent tapped the paper that Mia had set on the table. “I wonder if he’s a local? They would know that Dad’s trips are super safe.”

“Maybe he didn’t know that when he booked it. Or maybe he always planned on having the body found on Trent’s property?” Christina set her coffee down. “It’s misdirection. Look here at the rafting trip, but really, I’m going to kill him before he even gets on the boat.”

“Possibly.” Mia ate a bite of her cheese omelet.

When Christina made a face at her, she grinned.

“Something is missing. I don’t think he planned on killing Howard on the rafting trip.

Besides, what if he pushed him out of the boat and he survived?

Howard could point a finger at the culprit.

According to the book, leprechauns are hard to kill. ”

“There’s the Emerald Potion,” Grans said as she took a bite of fried apples.

“If he gave him that, maybe mixed into an energy drink or baked into a cookie, Howard would have been dead in minutes. Anyone would be affected, since it has foxglove or fairy thimbles in it. But the compounds were first used in Ireland to weed out some of the less-than-kind leprechauns when they were trying to settle the land.”

“Mark needs to run a tox screen soon, before the chemicals disperse. If they haven’t already.” Mia was already texting Baldwin. She also told him about the missed appointment with Thomas Majors for a fishing trip. “This is good stuff, guys. We’ll have his murder solved before tomorrow’s ceremony.”

Grans met her gaze. “I think you have something to say about that, right, Mia?”

“Oh, yeah. I need a circle, and you all are family, so will you be my circle?” Mia smiled at the five sitting around her table. “I mean, you’re all here enough, and our lives are already entwined. Why not add one more level of connection?”

“That sounds so sweet—almost.” Christina laughed. “But Levi and I will be in Portland. Is that going to be an issue?”

“No,” Mia answered, then looked at her grandmother, who nodded her confirmation. “Basically, as I understand the group, you’re my mastermind group. You vow to help me when I ask and when I don’t.”

“Which you never will ask, so we’ll have to guess when you need help.” Christina shrugged. “I’m in. If you and Trent ever get married, we’ll be sisters-in-law, at least. This is like you said, one more level.”

As they each listed off what they were doing for the day, Mia started to relax.

She had an event to get ready for—two, actually.

But she was hoping her initiation would be a small family gathering.

Most of the group went downstairs to start cooking and getting the gym ready for the Halloween party on Friday.

Grans was in the living room paging through the book Mia had left on the coffee table.

“What are your plans for today? Anything I need to get done before my ceremony tomorrow?” Mia sat down and put a full cup of coffee on the table for her grandmother. She wanted to talk about this level thing.

The parking lot alarm went off, and Mia saw the florist van again. “Seriously, more flowers?”

“Let Abigail or Trent handle that, dear. I don’t want you to bark at the poor delivery guy. He’s only doing his job.” Grans pulled her down onto the couch. “So, who else are you going to invite to your circle?”

“I thought I was done?”

“You need at least seven. Thirteen, counting you, would be nice, so two to seven more is common.” Grans closed the book.

Mia leaned back and threw her hands over her face. “I don’t even know two more people that I trust.”

“I’m sure that’s not true. Think on it for a while, and if you don’t come up with anyone, I’ll reach out to my charms class. Maybe one or two of them could stand in until you get a quorum. But don’t dawdle in replacing them. They’re all older than dirt.”

“Well, okay, I’ll let you know.” Mia rolled her head on her shoulders, hoping to dispel some of the tension. She needed to run or work out or swim or something besides working, but right now, she had no time.

“That’s my girl.” Grans patted her arm. “I’m making good progress with Christina’s genealogy chart. I think we’ll have some answers soon. Finn, on the other hand, she’s a mystery. It’s like she showed up at Nampa High School for her sophomore year. Almost all fully grown.”

“Just don’t get lost in there,” Mia warned. She hadn’t liked the way her grandmother looked the last time when she’d collected her from the library. “I’ll come get you for lunch. Maybe the library will have another book on magical creatures for me. Oh, what do you know about an incubus?”

“Is someone bothering you? With this level of power, you know there are some dangers until we get you sealed tomorrow night.” Grans watched Mia closely. “You don’t look like you’re under a spell.”

“I was yesterday, and you didn’t notice it,” Mia reminded Grans of Steve’s listening spell.

“My bad. I get distracted when I’m tired.

But I have to say, he’s a very accomplished weaver.

That’s not the first time he’s used that spell.

” Grans reached down and rubbed Muffy’s head.

“Do you mind taking him out so I don’t have to go all the way downstairs?

Oh, and I have a moving truck coming today with a few items for safekeeping. ”

“We can put it in your storage room on the second floor,” Mia said. She stood to grab Muffy and call Cerby, who was sleeping in the kitchen with Mr. Darcy.

“That room is already full. Okay to use the next one?” Grans asked as she finished her coffee.

“Sure.” Mia started to ask what was in the room, but Muffy barked at her. It was time to start her day.

When she got down to the front door, Trent was carrying a bouquet of flowers into the storage room. The reception area was filled with the ones that they’d moved out of the kitchen so they could cook.

The room smelled like a greenhouse garden. Mia didn’t wear perfume mostly because it interfered with her sense of smell while she was cooking. As she came down the stairs today, though, she felt like she’d waded into a vat of floral scents.

Trent smiled. “At least we won’t have to do any centerpieces for the event on Friday. We have enough, and Fred from the florist shop said you have a couple more deliveries they were still working on when he left.”

“Can we have him deliver the rest of the flowers directly to some place that needs them? Like the local nursing home? I’m sure we can get one per room if we move some of these we’ve already received.

Since Abigail said I can’t respond to thank anyone, there’s no reason for them to come here first.” Mia waited for the van to leave the parking lot before opening the door for Muffy and Cerby.

“Great idea! I’ll call Fred in a few minutes after Mom picks out what she wants for Friday.

Then the rest will go to the nursing home.

When that’s full, maybe we should think about sending some to the children’s hospital in Twin?

Or a nursing home in another town?” Trent stood near her, watching the dogs climb all over Buddy.

“Either one. Hopefully we won’t be dealing with this long.” With the great flower flood finally dealt with, Mia could deal with her day. Or she could have if she wasn’t getting a headache from the overwhelming floral scents. She headed to the kitchen.

Everyone was at a station, focused on their tasks. Here, the smells filling the air were from bacon and sugar and something tart. She grabbed an apron and moved to Abigail for her assignment. As soon as she came in the door, though, Abigail shook her head. She’d been watching for her.

“Not today. We’ve got this handled. You need to go up and play in your lab. Your grandmother put a list of projects there you need to complete.” Abigail pointed to the door. She glanced over at Finn to see if she was listening. “You need to do the work or you’ll never level up.”

“I’m beginning to believe that leveling up isn’t in my best interest.” Mia glanced around the happy kitchen.

This was where she belonged. Cooking food for others.

That’s why she loved the idea of being a kitchen witch—it played on her strengths.

Now she was managing events and doing the forecasting for both the Lodge and Mia’s Morsels.

Not making cookies. She missed baking freaking cookies.

“Trent’s taking the flowers to the nursing home.

You need to choose what you want for Friday. ”

“I’ll do that.” Christina grabbed her tray and put it in the refrigerator. “I was going to start a new batch of cookies. Mia, we’ve got this handled. Go work.”

Finn glanced up, questions in her eyes, but at least she didn’t ask. Mia gave her a smile and nodded. “I told Grans I’d grab her for lunch, so don’t forget to come get us.”