Spells and Sleuths - Chapter 1

I'm back from a terrific writers' workshop in Las Vegas, but I've got to get Spells and Sleuths finished. Here's a little taste of what's coming out next week!

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When the front door of Aunt Jo’s coffee shop slammed open, Kirsten Wilson jumped. The coffee pot filled with the day’s special, a fresh, hot Kona blend, slipped from her damp hand. She watched in slow-motion horror as the glass pot dropped toward the tile floor.

Instinctively, she reached out with her powers. Unfortunately, her elemental specialty was water, not earth. The pot shattered against the ceramic tiles, but the java swirled and steamed in midair. Freezing wind blew through the doorway as Rose Gleason struggled to close the coffee shop door against the Ohio mid-morning storm. Aunt Jo rushed over to help the elderly lady.

Kirsten grabbed a clean, empty pot. She concentrated a bit more and shifted the hot coffee from her bubble of magick into the new pot. Thank goodness, no one else was in the shop. Even though the existence of supernaturals had been exposed due to their efforts to save the Normals who couldn’t evacuate Puget Sound when Mount Rainier had erupted twelve years ago, there was still a lot of suspicion and fear among the Normal community.

Not to mention, Mom and Dad always said not to show off.

“I’m so sorry, ladies.” Miz Rose panted. “Darn wind.” She turned seventy last month, and from the way her fingers curled, her arthritis was getting worse. Between that, the drop in temperatures, and the fierce wind, no wonder she lost her grip on the door handle.

“What can we get you, Miz Rose?” Kirsten wiped her hands on her orange apron as Jo helped their only customer out of her coat.

“A cinnamon latte, please.” A frown creased Miz Rose’s face. “But I’m not here for just coffee.”

“Tarot card reading? A little gossip?” Jo grinned. Even though both women were the same age, the life expectancy for witches was one hundred-thirty years. Jo could have passed as Kirsten’s older sister with the right hairstyle, clothes, and makeup. No gray marred Jo’s mahogany braid, the same mahogany both Mom and Kirsten had. Thank goddess, Jo didn’t wear elastic-waisted polyester pants, but sometimes, she said something incongruous with her physical appearance. When Kirsten’s twin Kaley teased Jo about seeing the first moon landing live on TV, their great aunt said the Rainier Outing was the best thing that ever happened. Otherwise, she would have had to sell her coffee shop and move to another town by now to avoid the scrutiny of Normals.

Miz Rose toddled to her left, checking the side tables leading to the restrooms and making sure they were alone in the coffee shop. Kirsten started the espresso brewing while she kept an eye on their visitor. Despite Miz Rose knowing about the supernaturals long before the Outing, she and folks who were Mom’s age or older still had a problem talking about woo-woo stuff in public.

Miz Rose turned back to Jo. “Actually, I think I have a ghost problem.”

An even deeper wrinkle appeared above Miz Rose’s bright orange glasses that matched her Halloween sweater. She shuffled to the closest table and gestured for Jo to join her before she carefully lowered herself into the wooden chair. This month’s coffee shop seat covers featured black cats and pumpkins appliqued on cream broad cloth. Jo sold them for Mary Levy. Kirsten never quite understood why the Amish community were more accepting of the supernaturals than the rest of the Normals in Millersburg. Maybe because they were used to being outsiders, too.

Though in Mary’s case, her great-great-aunt Anne had been a vampire until the cure for the disease had been discovered. Jo slid into the chair beside Rose where she could keep an eye on the front door. “Sweetie—” She patted Rose’s hand. “—I told you before. Your mom has passed on. She’s not there.”

“I don’t think it’s Mother.” The elderly woman’s eyes glistened behind her thick lens. “I think it’s Dick. Wouldn’t his death count as unfinished business?”

The giant picture windows at the front of the store shivered from a blast of wind. Kirsten listened intently to the women as she steamed the milk for Rose’s latte. Rose’s brother had been murdered by the Millersburg Monster before Kirsten and her twin Kaley had been born.

There wasn’t really a monster. Just a trapped Native American water spirit forced to kill against its will. But the monster version sounded cooler, and one of the Normal farmers used the idea for his cornfield maze every year. The event drew so many people from Cleveland and Columbus it drove Sheriff Birkheimer a little crazy trying to find extra help for traffic control.

“What makes you think it’s Dick?’ Kirsten asked. “If he was still hanging around, wouldn’t he have made himself known long before now?”

At Jo’s pursed her lips and glare, Kirsten ducked her head and reached for the whipped cream.

“Rose, maybe it’s time to think about—”

Kirsten rolled her eyes. Sometimes, Jo wasn’t the most subtle person on the face of the planet. Miz Rose’s explosion of temper would have been expected by anybody else who dared suggest she was too old to be living alone in a giant Victorian.

“I am not moving!” The elderly woman’s frail body shook. “That house has been in my family for six generations! I am not leaving!”

Kirsten set the hot cup in front of Miz Rose. “What if I come over after the lunch rush?”

This time, both Miz Rose and Jo glared at her.

“Shouldn’t you be in school?” Miz Rose said.

“Teacher in-service day.” Kirsten squared her shoulders and faced Jo. “I can check out Miz Rose’s house. If there’s nothing, it’ll relieve your mind. And if there’s something—”

“You’ll come get me.” Jo leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. “The last thing we need is a ghost possessing you, young lady.”

Oh, geez! Like she’d be stupid enough to let a ghost kick her out of her own body. But somehow, Kirsten squelched the urge to roll her eyes again. If she did, Jo would forbid her from going to Rose’s house.

Right before Jo tattled on her to Mom.

“If there’s something in Miz Rose’s house, I’ll come straight back here and let you know.” Kirsten shut up and waited, a trick her twin never understood. She knew the I-just-turned-eighteen argument wouldn’t fly with her great-aunt.

Finally, the crinkles around Jo’s eyes eased, and her nostrils flared as she exhaled. “Fine. But I want you to stop by here before you go home, and let me know either way.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Jo inclined her head toward the kitchen. “When you get started on lunch prep, just slice up two tomatoes.” She turned to watch the street. A couple of minivans rolled by, but no pedestrians. Raindrops smacked the huge picture windows with sharp little reports. Jo shook her head. “I don’t think we’ll get much business with this weather.”

* * *

Turned out, Jo was so very wrong on that count. Between the cold wind and spitting rain, half of Millersburg decided they wanted something hot, whether it be soup or coffee. It was well after two before business died enough for Kirsten to clock out.

“You still going to Rose’s house?” Jo eyed Kirsten.

“Yes, ma’am, I am,” she answered as she slung on her jacket.

Jo inclined her head toward the back of the shop and lowered her voice. “There’s some white sage sticks in my desk. Bottom drawer on the right.”

“Thanks, Aunt Jo.” Kirsten grinned and headed toward the storeroom cum office. Once she secured two of the sage sticks, a pack of matches, and a Ziploc bag of salt in a larger Ziploc to keep everything dry inside her backpack, she returned to the front to find Kaley wearing her varsity jacket and jeans. Her twin leaned against the pastry display case.

Like cheerleaders should get to wear a varsity jacket.

“I don’t get your fingerprints all over that,” Kirsten snapped. “I just cleaned the glass.”

“Be nice to me if you want a ride home in the rain,” Kaley shot back, flipping her bottle-blond hair back in the process. “Mom sent me to get you.”

“Fine. But I have a stop first.” Kirsten turned and waved. “See you Saturday morning, Jo.”

Their great-aunt waved absently before turning back to Augusta Wright who was ordering pastries for next week’s Ladies Auxiliary meeting. Once they were outside, Kirsten could feel her sister’s eyes on her despite them both ducking their heads against the wind and the rain.

“What gives?” Kaley said over the ropes slapping against the flagpole across the street in front of the courthouse. “You normally go two more rounds of insults.”

“I’m heading to the old Miller Mansion.”

“Miz Rose’s place?” Kaley tapped the key fob to unlock the doors of Mom’s little sedan. “You really want to walk there in the rain?”

Kirsten sighed. No, she didn’t. On the other hand, she wanted to prove to both Mom and Jo she could handle things on her own. Kaley didn’t take her magick studies as seriously, and their older relatives assumed her twin’s lack of focus applied to Kirsten as well.

They both slid into the front seats before Kaley said, “Why are you going over to the Miller Mansion?” “Miz Rose says she has a ghost.”

“Awesome!” Kaley flashed a maniacal grin before she pressed the button to start the car. “I’m coming with you if you’re going to bust a ghost.”