A Spell Of Trouble (Silver Hollow Paranormal Cozy Mystery Series Book 1) (13 page)

I
ssy was pacing
the small beach behind her house when Raine and Ember arrived almost simultaneously.

“What happened?” Raine’s eyes fell on the jack-in-the-pulpit and widened. “Where did you get
that
?”

“Someone put it here,” Issy said.

Raine knelt down beside the plant, her hand stroking the leaves, her eyes closed as she tried to get any information she could from it.

“Anything?” Ember asked impatiently while Endora and Bellatrix ran circles around the plant.

“Not much. I’m getting a lot of energy. Someone with paranormal abilities put it here,” Raine said.

Issy stopped in front of the plant, chewing nervously on her bottom lip. “The jack-in-the-pulpit plant is the suspected method of poisoning Louella in the
non
-paranormal investigation. Owen’s investigation.”

Ember raised a brow. “So?”

“So why would a
paranormal
want to implicate me in the
normal
killing? That would just mean that Owen would arrest me. But if the paranormal killer was trying to frame me so that they could go free, wouldn’t they want to implicate me in the paranormal killing so that the FBPI or the committee thinks I’m guilty?”

“Maybe they’re framing someone else for that?” Ember suggested.

“Like Gray.” Raine stood. “Someone planted his knife in Louella’s desk, right?”

“Right. You think it was the same person?” Ember craned her neck to look around the side of the house. “And where
is
Gray, anyway?”

“He should be here any second,” Issy said. “It could be two different people that planted the knife and dropped the plant here. Or maybe the same person. Maybe the person is dropping evidence for both me
and
Gray. You know, hedging their bets. Everyone knows we both appear to have motive,” Issy said.

“Great. But
who
is doing it?” Ember asked.

“
Yip!
”

Issy glanced down at Bella. “Too bad you can’t tell me who dropped off the plant, Bella. But you were with me or in the shop all day.”

“Maybe Brimstone was around and can tell us who brought the plant.” They glanced around the yard. There was no sign of Brimstone.

“We can’t wait for him to show up. We need to put our heads together and figure out a plan.” Raine scrunched her face up. “Where the heck is Gray?”

“He’s probably just closing up. Remember he stays open late tonight,” Ember said.

“Right. There’s something that’s bugging me that I want to talk about without him anyway,” Issy said.

“Really? What?”

“Dee Dee. I’ve noticed some… things, and Gray seemed rather defensive of her before.”

“I noticed she’s looking spiffy lately. Do you think she and Gray…” Ember wiggled her brows.

Issy didn’t think so. She sensed a loneliness inside Gray, and if he had something going on with Dee Dee, he wouldn’t seem lonely. “I don’t think so, but something is going on with her. When I came home tonight, I found her standing over the jack-in-the-pulpit plant. She said she’d sniffed it out.”

“Well, she does have a great sense of smell,” Raine said. “You don’t think she’s the one that put it here, do you? She is paranormal.”

“I’d hate to think that. But she has been acting a little weird lately. And Stan alluded to there being some sort of evidence down at the police station that made me look guilty. If that were true, why wouldn’t she warn me about it?” Issy asked.

“Stan’s probably lying,” Ember said.

“Probably, and anyway, why would Dee Dee kill Louella? What would she care about the rezoning or the salamanders?” Raine asked.

“I was thinking about that,” Issy said. “I don’t think she cares about either of those, but somebody else cares, and that person might think it was a good idea to have a friend in the police department to shuffle around evidence for them and make sure the case goes the way they want.”

“You mean like how Dee Dee works the cases for
us
?” Ember asked.

“Well, yeah, but we do it for good reason, and we never obstruct justice or frame people—we just make sure nothing looks like it was done by magic.”

“Okay,” Ember said. “But why would Dee Dee help
them
?”

“Haven't you noticed how she’s changed?” Issy asked. “Guys are looking at her now. And it’s not just because she’s using a different shampoo—something has happened to her… something that could only come from magic.”

“So you think Dee Dee might’ve hooked up with the dark witch. Traded her services down at the police station for a beauty spell or something?” Raine’s question was skeptical.

“I know. I hate to think she would do that, too. But she’s been acting so strange. It would take a lot of energy for that spell, and she’d have to sacrifice something important…” Images of the acorn-shaped amulet she’d charmed for Dee Dee came to Issy’s mind. She'd been surprised that the charm she'd put on the amulet could've been so powerful as to have brought on the major changes in Dee Dee. Now she realized Dee Dee's improved appearance probably had nothing to do with her charm. Had Dee Dee even been wearing the amulet tonight? Issy didn't remember seeing it around her neck.

“I don’t think Dee Dee would do that. She’s one of us!” Ember said. “Besides, how would she get Gray’s knife?”

“Good question… and where
is
Gray?” Issy asked.

Ember tapped her index finger on her lips. “Hey, wait a minute. I hate to say this, but you might be on to something, Issy. Remember when we went to visit Vonner? He said he saw a large wolf running through his yard the night of the full moon. What if that was Dee Dee?”

“If Dee Dee was out there that night, she could’ve gotten Gray’s knife. And she could have easily planted it at Louella’s with her police access,” Issy said.

“Come to think of it, she has been acting a little skittish when Gray’s been around. Guilty conscience?” Ember raised her brows.

“You guys, this is crazy. Dee Dee is one of our friends. There’s got to be another explanation,” Raine said. “And besides, all this speculation about Dee Dee still doesn’t bring us any closer to figuring out who the dark witch is.”

“Probably either Hans, one of the Vonners, or Brittany,” Issy said. “They all had motive.”

“My money’s on Brittany,” Ember said. “She’s mean.”

“If Dee Dee is in cahoots with the witch, then maybe we should put a tail on her. Brimstone might be up to the task. She could lead us right to the killer,” Issy said.

“I don’t think we should suspect her without talking to Gray. He’s been acting wonky, too, so he obviously knows something,” Raine said.

Ember looked toward the side of the house as if expecting him to appear. “Sure. If he ever shows up. He should’ve been here twenty minutes ago.”

“It’s not like him to be late, especially since I said it was an emergency. I’ll just text him.” Issy picked her cell phone up off the table, but before she could thumb in one character, Gray came whipping around the side of the house. His face was flushed with agitation, his hair sticking up as if he’d been scrubbing his hands through it repeatedly. His eyes were stormy with worry.

Issy’s heart leapt. Something was very wrong.

“What is it?” Ember asked.

“Has something happened?” Raine added.

“Cosmo’s disappeared. I think someone’s kidnapped him!”

S
ince Cosmo was
last seen in the hair salon, the cousins piled into their cars and raced downtown. It wasn’t out of the realm of possibility that he’d been startled and had flown off and then gotten stuck somewhere or been injured. They split up, intending to do a full search of every nook and cranny of Main Street.

Gray was frantic with worry but didn’t have any clues as to what might have happened. He’d been in back, cleaning up at the end of the day, and when he’d come out front to collect Cosmo to go to Issy’s, the bird wasn’t on his perch, and the front door was wide open. Cosmo never strayed far from Gray’s side unless Gray sent him out on an errand, so the odds of him having wandered out on his own were slim, but the cousins figured looking around near where he was last seen was the best bet.

But Issy had an idea that might glean them more information. She wanted to use her power of tapping into animals’ thoughts to try to see if they could figure out what had happened to Cosmo. Though she couldn’t read them all the time and she’d only ever done it with the animal being very close, it was worth a try. Even though Cosmo was no longer in the hair salon, he might have left behind some frantic thoughts or energy signals that she could read. If he’d been taken, he certainly would’ve been in an emotional state.

Gray had given her the keys, and while the others were off searching the alleys and giant elm trees that lined Main Street, Issy let herself in the back. Bella trotted along at her heels, silent and well behaved, as if she knew the seriousness of the situation.

The hair salon was eerily quiet. The chairs cast spooky shadows on the floor. Mannequin heads with wigs showing different hairstyles that looked benign and even silly in the light of day were scary in the shop alone at dusk. Issy ignored all that and focused on Cosmo's shoulder-high perch, which stood in the corner, sad and empty.

She walked toward it, focusing on the energy. Normally she would have to be touching the animal or have a special connection, as she was trying to develop with Bella, in order to read their thoughts, but she didn’t have that luxury now. Maybe if she touched something the bird had touched, there would be a transfer of thought energy?

She reached out and placed her palm on the thick perch. A slight tremor of fear ran through her.

Cosmo had not left on his own. He’d been snatched.

Issy closed her eyes and concentrated on the emotional energy. It was fading quickly, and she knew she didn’t have much time. Fear. Pain. But she wasn’t getting any visuals. Or words. She couldn’t tell who had snatched Cosmo.

“Come on. Give me something.”

Issy moved closer to the stand, trying to put herself in as much of the residual energy as she could. She shuffled her feet forward, inadvertently kicking something under the bottom of the stand. It slid across the floor and clacked against the foot of one of the salon chairs then spun to a stop. Bella trotted over, looked at it, then turned her eyes to Issy.

Issy’s heart froze when she recognized the acorn shape.

Dee Dee's amulet.

She walked over and picked the amulet up, turning it over in her hand, her mind full of disbelief.

Had Dee Dee taken Cosmo, or had her amulet already been in here?

Remembering the odd way both Gray and Dee Dee had been acting about each other made Issy wonder if there was more going on with them. She hoped that was the case, because if not, this pointed to Dee Dee as the culprit.

Time to call Gray and find out for sure.

She reached into her back pocket for her phone, but the phone wasn’t there. She’d been in such a hurry to search for Cosmo that she’d left it in her purse.

The sound of a loud engine caught her attention, and her eyes flicked to the window. A Silver Hollow police car sped past, and Issy glimpsed a splash of auburn hair in the window. It was Dee Dee, and she was speeding out of town.

Issy shoved the amulet into her pocket, scooped Bella up in her arms, and ran for her truck.

* * *

I
ssy didn’t have
time to look for her cousins. Dee Dee already had a head start, and Issy had to follow. She could text them later. She hopped in her truck and raced in the direction she’d seen Dee Dee’s car go. Up ahead, she thought she saw a car turning onto Old Smith Road. Issy floored the accelerator. At this rate she would never catch up.

Dee Dee was heading toward the densely forested areas. There wasn’t much out there, but Issy had a feeling she knew where the werewolf was headed. The road they were on led to the smaller dirt road where Issy had parked the day she went out to look at the salamanders. Was Dee Dee taking Cosmo to that same spot?

Gray had always said that area was rife with magic. That was why he did his rituals out there. Issy’s heart clenched with fear for the bird. Dee Dee was bringing Cosmo to the dark witch in the most magical part of town. Who knows what this person had planned… and why would they need Cosmo to do it?

She turned onto the road, and sure enough, the police car was parked there. It was empty. Dee Dee was already gone. If she’d changed into her wolf form, she could have run far into the woods by now.

Issy screeched to a stop and whipped her door open. Bella jumped over her lap and out into the parking lot, ready to take action. Remembering at the last minute that she should text her cousins for help, Issy reached over to the passenger seat for her purse, but her hand felt nothing but air. Her heart swooped. Where was her purse? She’d been in such a hurry to find Cosmo that she must have left it on her kitchen counter.

Should she go back?

But Dee Dee was already in the woods with Cosmo. Cosmo needed her. She didn’t have time to go back.

“
Woof!
”

Her heart stilled at the sight of Bella poised at the edge of the woods.

“No, Bella! I have to do this alone.” Issy snapped her fingers and pointed at the open door of the truck. The dark witch could be in there, and the thought of fighting dark magic almost made Issy crawl back into her car. But Issy was no coward, especially when it came to those she loved. She
had
to go in and save Cosmo, but she couldn’t risk Bella.

“
Woof?
” Bella gave her a confused look.

“You can’t come with me. It’s too dangerous, and you’re too young.” Issy snapped her fingers again.

But Bella didn’t obey. She let out one last tiny bark then turned and ran into the woods.

“Damn!” Issy slammed the door shut and ran after her.

The sun had set, and the shadows of the trees, which were so welcoming in the daytime, darkened the forest, looming over her like silent sentinels. No birds twittered, but Issy’s heart was thudding so loudly in her ears she wouldn’t have heard them even if they had been.

She jogged along, stumbling on a gnarly root that jutted up out of the ground. She righted herself and picked up the pace, pushing branches out of her way. She didn’t see any sign of Bella and wasn’t sure where Dee Dee had gone, but her intuition told her to head in the direction of the salamanders.

After a few minutes, she saw that her intuition had been right.

Cosmo lay on the ground at the foot of a large oak tree. His white feathers seemed to glow in the moonlight. Dee Dee was bending over him. Bella sniffed him cautiously. Dee Dee spun around when she heard Issy approach.

“What have you done to him?” Issy rushed to Cosmo’s side, putting her palm lightly on the bird’s still body. Relief rushed through her when she felt his chest rise. He was still breathing.

“What are you talking about? I didn’t do anything to him,” Dee Dee said.

“
Woof!
” Bella sat next to Dee Dee.

“Bella, come.” Issy gestured for the dog, which reluctantly trotted to her side. Issy stood up, putting herself between the bird and Dee Dee. “You snatched him and brought him here. Are you working with the dark witch?”

Dee Dee stepped back. “Me? I’m not working with any witch. I got a call to come out here, and I saw Cosmo lying here. The only other person here is you, so maybe I should be asking
you
how Cosmo got here.”

Issy fisted her hands on her hips. “
Me?
What are you talking about?”

Dee Dee backed up a step, looking at Issy warily. What was going on with her? It was almost as if she were afraid.

“I don’t want to jump to conclusions, but some things don’t add up here,” Dee Dee said.

“You can say that again. Like how I found this under Cosmo’s cage a few minutes ago.” Issy took the amulet out of her pocket and let it dangle in between them.

Dee Dee frowned. “Where did you get that? I lost that when…”

“When what? When you snatched Cosmo?”

“I didn’t snatch him! And I don’t think you’re one to cast accusations. I know you’ve been meeting with the FBPI. What’s that about?”

“Meeting with them? What are you talking about?”

“Did you forget that I have a very good sense of smell?” Dee Dee pointed to her nose, her eyes gleaming gold in the moonlight. “I smelled one of them on you, so you must have been close. Explain that.”

Thoughts of kissing Dex flashed through Issy’s mind, and her cheeks heated. Just how
would
she explain that? But she didn’t need to explain anything to Dee Dee. Dee Dee was the one acting weird.

“I don’t have to explain anything. What about you?” Issy waved her hand up and down Dee Dee’s body. “You’ve obviously changed, and it certainly wasn’t my amulet since you haven’t even been wearing it. The only way you can do that is by the power of a witch’s spell.”

Dee Dee shifted on her feet, uncomfortably glancing around the woods. Her silence said it all.

“So you don’t deny it. You
are
hooked up with the dark witch.” Issy’s voice was soft. Even though the evidence was stacked up against Dee Dee, she still didn’t want to believe it.

“What? No! Are you trying to throw me off track?” Dee Dee said.

“Off track? What are you talking about?”

“You haven’t been straight with me with your dealings with the FBPI and other things. Owen found your talisman at Louella’s house. You claimed to have never been there.”

“Is that true? How did my talisman get there?”

“That’s exactly what we were wondering. You were there.” Dee Dee pointed to her nose again. “But you never mentioned it to me, and you denied ever being there when Owen asked. That’s why I didn’t know to look for something I might have to hide from Owen.”

A pang of guilt shot through Issy. It was true—she hadn’t mentioned being at Louella’s to Dee Dee. And she’d lied to Owen earlier about it, too. Now she knew why he’d been asking. Normally, she would’ve mentioned the intrusion to Dee Dee, but running into Dex outside had thrown her off. If she had mentioned it to Dee Dee, would Dee Dee have been able to hide the talisman and keep it from getting into evidence? Too late now.

But Issy couldn’t be sure that Dee Dee wasn’t the one who had planted it there in the first place. The only thing Issy knew for sure was that she hadn’t brought the talisman to Louella’s with her. The talisman was probably the evidence that Stan had alluded to back in her store. Owen would’ve recognized it as hers—after all, he’d asked her to make him a similar one.

But she couldn’t let that sidetrack her. The truth was that Dee Dee had a lot of evidence against her, not the least of which that she was out here in the woods with Cosmo and her amulet had been found under the perch. Dee Dee was probably working with the dark witch, and this was a perfect opportunity to find out who that was.

“So who is the dark witch?” Issy asked.

“How would I know? Maybe I should ask you the same.”

Issy glanced back at Cosmo. His wing fluttered. She needed to do something about Dee Dee so she could get Cosmo out of there before the dark witch showed up.

Fear clawed at Issy’s heart. She was out here alone. Her cousins didn’t even know she was here. No one except Dee Dee knew. And the witch must have had a reason to coerce Dee Dee into stealing him. Which meant the witch would probably be here any minute.

Memories of her previous fight with dark magic came flooding back. Paralyzing her. Thoughts of her old familiar made her eyes sting. She glanced at Bella, her heart squeezing painfully.

“Bella, run!”

But the dog didn’t budge. She just sat there wagging her tail as if nothing were wrong. Issy knew she had to act right now, or Bella could be hurt. She couldn’t take the death of another familiar because of her inability to fight dark magic. She had to get out of there now, and the only thing stopping her was Dee Dee.

Issy’s vow was to harm none, and she would keep that vow. She didn’t want to hurt her friend anyway, even if Dee Dee had succumbed to the lure of the power of the dark witch. Maybe Dee Dee could be salvaged. Issy would have to use a sleep spell to knock her out long enough to escape with Cosmo and Bella.

“You still didn’t tell me what you are doing out here with Cosmo,” Dee Dee persisted.

Was she trying to stall her? Buying time until the witch showed up?

“You were the one that was out here with him,” Issy pointed out in a low voice. She wasn’t paying much attention to the conversation as she was focusing all her energy on the spell.