A Spell Of Trouble (Silver Hollow Paranormal Cozy Mystery Series Book 1) (6 page)

Either way, he knew one thing for certain.

He wasn’t going to let Issy Quinn suffer for a murder she didn’t commit.

I
ssy tossed
and turned most of that night, unable to sleep for worrying about why her cousin’s knife had been hidden in Louella Drummond’s desk and picturing the temptation of Dex Nolan in the woods. She ended up getting out of bed before dawn, showering and dressing, then sitting out on the small deck overlooking the lake while the sun rose, sipping herbal tea and idly stroking Bella’s silky orange fur.

Finally, when it was time for the shops to open, she gathered her things for the day then bundled herself and Bella into Brown Betty and headed into town. Confrontations weren’t exactly her forte, but she needed answers, and the only way she was going to get them was to talk with Gray.

She parked her truck in her usual spot in front of Enchanted Pets and let Bella out to potty then walked across the small town square to Shear Magic. The lights were on and glowing merrily through the front windows on this overcast day, as if mocking the seriousness of the conversation she and her cousin were about to have.

“Hello?” she said, pushing inside the shop. A string of silver bells jangled above the door, but no one greeted her. That was weird. Gray was always at his shop early, and Issy knew that old Ms. Weber would be coming in for her weekly blue tint any minute. Issy closed the door behind her and reached down to pat Bella on the head. From one corner, Gray’s familiar, Cosmo, squawked loudly.

“
Welcome to Shear Magic,
” he said in his birdie singsong tone. “
Welcome to Shear Magic. Bwaaakkkkk!
”

Bella yipped and ran over to stand near the large bird’s perch, watching the cockatoo prance and weave with rapt fascination.

At last, Gray poked his head out of the back of the store, his black hair uncharacteristically disheveled and his aqua eyes wary. “Oh, it’s you.”

Issy raised a brow at him. “You were expecting someone else?”

“No.” He walked out into the room, wiping his hands on a towel. “I’m just a little out of sorts this morning.”

“I can see that.” She set her small bag on the counter then crossed her arms and gave him a once-over. Gray was the resident stud in Silver Hollow, all solid muscle and six-feet-plus of gorgeous. Today, though, there were shadows under his dazzling blue eyes and a tightness at the corners of his mouth. For a man who prided himself on his charm and ability to make women swoon over his abilities to make them look younger and thinner with just a twitch of scissors, it was a startling change. The unease that was planted in Issy’s gut at Louella’s the day before took root and sprouted slithering tentacles inside her. She tried to play it off with concern. “Anything I can help with?”

Gray sighed and tossed the towel aside, frowning. “I’ve just got a lot on my mind.”

“Like what happened to Louella Drummond?”

“Among other things,” he said, not quite meeting her eyes.

“What exactly was going on between the two of you?”

“Nothing.” He walked over to his cutting station and started organizing his brushes and curling irons. “Like I said, she took photos of me, and I wanted them back. That’s it.”

“Yeah?” Hands trembling slightly, Issy reached into her bag and pulled out Gray’s athame. “What about this, then?”

Her cousin looked up then, his expression shifting from shock to dread to stoic in the span of a few seconds. None of those emotions made Issy feel better about her discovery. “Where did you find that? I’ve been looking for it since the night of my ritual.”

“It was in Louella’s house. In her private desk drawer, to be more precise.”

“What were you doing in her house?”

“Why was your knife in her house?”

Gray cursed under his breath and turned away, running a hand through his hair and making it even messier. “I don't know. After she snapped the photo, I gave chase, as I said, but when I got back to my circle, the knife was gone. That’s all I know.”

Issy exhaled slowly and handed him the knife. Her intuition told her more had happened that night than Gray was telling her, but she couldn’t understand why he would keep it from her if he’d done nothing wrong. The Quinn cousins had never kept secrets before. “Are you sure there wasn’t more going on with you and Louella? You can tell me, Gray. No judgment here. Promise.”

“What?” He set the athame aside then faced her again, his nose scrunched. “No. I barely knew her, I swear. It’s just…”

“Just what?”

“I can’t imagine why she’d take my knife and keep it.”

“I can’t either.” Issy bent to pick up Bella, who had returned to her side and was now whining for attention. “She would’ve had to be awfully quick to grab your knife and run away before you could grab her, and she never seemed all that fit to me. Was there anyone else there that night?”

“No.” He shook his head and walked over to flip his shop’s sign to Open. “I told you I was alone. But you're right. Louella couldn't have taken the knife. I took off right after her as soon as she snapped the picture. She ran off away from the circle. I chased her clear out to the road, so there was no way she could have doubled back, but when I got back the knife was gone. I didn't see anyone else out there that might have taken it."

His tone turned defensive, and Issy’s guilt tripled. This was her cousin, one of her closest friends. No way would she ever believe he had any involvement in Louella’s death. She rushed to his side and laid a comforting hand on his arm. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

Gray tensed beside her, and Issy tracked his gaze out the window to where Christian Vonner and Brittany Chase were walking arm in arm down the sidewalk. Brittany glanced over at Gray, her smile falling, then met Issy’s gaze before she turned and whispered something to Christian. He too looked over at Issy and Gray, scowling, then tugged her away at top speed.

“Well, that was weird,” Issy said. “Not to mention unfriendly.”

“Are they together?” Gray asked, still following the couple’s movements down the street.

“Pretty sure they are. I saw them together at the Vonners’ house yesterday.” Issy kissed Bella’s head. “Why? Do you know him?”

“No. Not Christian, anyway.” Gray lowered his head and sighed, leaning one brawny shoulder against the wall near the windows. “Brittany, though…”

“What?”

Small dots of crimson blotched his high cheekbones beneath his tanned skin. “Well, I think she’s got a crush on me.”

Issy snorted. “So do three quarters of the women in Silver Hollow. I still think you put some kind of love charm on your clients.”

“Nah. Believe me, I get more than enough attention without it.” In a lot of men, that statement would’ve sounded vain and arrogant. But Gray was so unassuming about his looks, so kind and generous to everyone he met—not to mention blessed by the gods in the looks department—that it was just a statement of fact. Still, Issy knew him well enough to recognize the hint of sadness and loneliness beneath his teasing tone. Poor guy. Maybe he was ready to settle down. Before Issy could say anything, though, Gray continued. “Besides, Brittany’s not my type. Hopefully, if she’s with Christian, she’ll start leaving me alone.”

Issy frowned. “Has she been bothering you?”

He shrugged and went over to Cosmo’s perch to feed him a treat. “Not really, just being her usual aggressive self. Demanding I work her into my schedule last Tuesday then hogging the mirror to primp and preen when I was trying to work with the next client.” He gave his familiar a kiss on the beak then turned toward Issy again. “Then there was the whole fainting scene.”

“Fainting?”

“Yeah. After I asked her nicely to move out of the way, she complained of feeling lightheaded then practically swooned to the floor. I caught her before she hit the ground, but I’m almost positive it was just a ploy to get my attention.”

“Huh. That’s weird.” Bella wriggled in her grasp, eager to get back outside, and Issy glanced up at the clock on the wall. Time to get to her own shop anyway. She grabbed her bag off his counter. “Have you gotten any word from Dee Dee about the camera?”

“Not yet.” He followed her to the door and held it open for her. “Why?”

“The police and FBPI arrived at Louella’s while I was searching yesterday. I had to leave in a hurry to avoid getting caught and didn’t have a chance to find it.”

Gray put a hand on her shoulder and forced a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Well, don’t worry. I have faith in Dee Dee. If law enforcement gets ahold of it, she’ll erase the pics before they can see them.”

Issy nodded then stepped out onto the sidewalk as Ms. Weber headed for the entrance. “I’ll talk to you later, cousin,” she called to Gray.

He waved then guided his elderly client into the shop.

She made her way back across the square, feeling even less confident than she had before. That visit with Gray had only created more questions than answers. And with the strange way Dee Dee had been acting lately, Issy wasn’t as confident as Gray that Dee Dee would act in Gray’s best interest if the FBPI happened upon those photos.

I
ssy pulled
her cell phone out as she left Shear Magic and headed across the street to her own store. She was hoping to see a text from Dee Dee about Louella’s camera, but there was nothing. Where was it? Did the police have it, or was it still hidden somewhere in Louella’s house?

She looked up to see someone dressed in a long black skirt and flowy black top peering into the display window of her shop, a little white bag clutched in her hand, long fingers curled around the top like red-tipped claws. Her heart constricted when she realized it was Karen Dixon. Karen had been there the morning Louella died. Issy and her cousins had never gotten along with Karen. She was mean and snippy, and Issy had heard rumors that Karen had started to dabble in dark magic, and she wasn’t surprised since it suited her personality perfectly.

Issy’s hand went into her purse, searching for the cool comfort of the obsidian talisman. It would offer a measure of protection against any bad magic vibes Karen might send her way. But the stone wasn’t there. She must have left it at home, lying on the sand beneath the big pine tree in her backyard. That was where she put it to soak up energy from the sun, earth, and trees. She’d have to use her own inner strength if Karen tried to whammy dark energy at her.

Karen turned, the fake smile on her bright-red lips not quite reaching her heavily mascaraed eyes. Her long black hair hung down past her shoulders in limp strands framing her pale oval face.

“Those are beautiful gold skinks you have there.” Karen nodded her head toward the terrarium tank on display in the front of the window where Issy had two beautiful gold skinks, Ozzie and Harriet. The tank was outfitted with mossy areas, stones, and even a real log for the skinks, which sat contentedly on a flat rock, their golden scales shimmering in the sun.

A surge of protectiveness washed over Issy. There was no way she was going to sell those skinks to Karen. If she was into dark magic, she’d probably use them for some kind of harmful spell. That wouldn’t be good for the skinks or the recipient of the spell.

“They’re not for sale,” Issy said. “Are you looking to buy a pet?”

“Maybe. That was
something
that happened to Louella, huh?” Karen’s dark eyes drifted to the spot on the sidewalk where Louella had fallen, and Issy shuddered.

“It was. Do you know anything about it?” Issy asked.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You were here that day, and you know full well that kind of spell takes a lot of energy and works best when the person is close to the recipient.”

“You were standing right next to Louella,
and
you have a motive,” Karen pointed out.

“Well, it certainly wasn’t me. Just because Louella didn’t like me is no reason to kill her. Plus, I don’t do dark magic.”

“Neither do I… anymore.”

Issy’s eyes narrowed. So Karen
had
dabbled in dark magic. But was it true she didn’t do it anymore? Issy didn’t trust her but had to admit she didn’t sense any dark vibes coming from her. That didn’t mean Karen didn’t do dark magic, though—it just meant she wasn’t doing it
now
.

“So what are you doing here?” Issy gestured toward her store.

Karen held up the little white bag in her hand. The gold logo for Divine Cravings was stamped on the front. “I was just satisfying one of my cravings.” Karen opened the bag and tilted toward her. “Want one?”

“No.” Issy didn’t trust her not to have put some sort of a charm or spell on the chocolates.

“Suit yourself. Anyway, I was thinking it might be best if we stuck together. With the… you know.” She leaned toward Issy and lowered her voice. “FBPI in town. That can’t be good for any of us.”

So that was what she was up to. She didn’t want the FBPI finding out she was a witch. But why come to Issy? Unless she was involved in Louella’s death somehow and wanted to find out what Issy knew. By now the fact that she and Gray had talked to the FBPI was probably all over town.

“Sure. What do
you
know about Louella’s death?” Issy asked.

“Nothing much. I think Louella knew something about that land. She didn’t want it rezoned.”

“That’s common knowledge. She lived near there, so it’s no surprise. Doesn’t really help with figuring out who killed her, though.”

“It could be someone who wanted the rezoning done.” Karen stared at Issy for a second. “What do
you
know? I know you were at the police station.” So she
was
digging for information.

“Not much. Owen is investigating it as a poisoning.”

“Double investigation. That can’t be good unless Owen comes up with the same killer as the FBPI. Then again, the FBPI won’t necessarily take the killer—they’ll take anyone they think is paranormal.” Karen paused for a second as they both reflected on that. It was true—they really weren’t here to seek justice and wouldn’t wait around to see who the culprit was. If they got evidence that someone was superhuman, they’d bring them in. “Okay, well, if you find anything out, let me know. I’d hate to see the FBPI take anyone here in town and do… whatever it is they do to them.” Karen’s eyes drifted over toward Shear Magic.

“Right. Will do.” As if. Issy wasn’t about to give any information to Karen until she knew exactly what the other witch was up to.

Karen started off down the street, and Issy watched her walk away for a few seconds then peered in at the skinks just to double-check that they were okay before digging out her keys and stepping into the alcove of the front door.

She’d barely gotten her key in the lock when her cell phone chimed. She pulled it out, her heart jerking as she read the message from Dee Dee.

O
wen’s office
. Pronto. Something is going down, and you’re going to want to be here.

I
ssy spun
around and raced for Brown Betty. There were a few cars on the road, and she dodged a red sports car and a white pickup before wrenching her car door open and jumping inside.

* * *

I
ssy’s pulse
pounded as she skidded down the hallway and into Owen’s office. Her worst suspicions were confirmed when she noticed Dex and Stan sitting in chairs in front of Owen’s desk. Dee Dee stood in the doorway, her arms folded over her chest. With the four people and now two chairs in front of the desk, the small room was already crowded, but Issy pushed her way in.

Owen held a digital camera in his hand, his eyes flicking up from the LCD screen to Issy. “Hey, glad you could make it.”

Issy shot a questioning look at Dee Dee. Owen had been expecting her? Issy had gotten the impression from Dee Dee’s text that it was a tip-off so Issy could rush down and stop them from doing something rash. Like arresting Gray for the photo Owen was probably looking at right now.

“What’s up?” Her voice was shaky. Her eyes fell on a round, smooth striped agate that lay on Owen’s desk—a gift she’d given him after he’d commented on her own obsidian stone talisman lying in the sand under the pine tree at one of her beach parties. She wished she’d had time to go home and pick her talisman up. She could use its comfort.

“I searched Louella’s house yesterday and found this digital camera. Judging by the pictures, it’s pretty obvious now why the FBI is really here,” Owen said.

Issy’s eyes jerked over to Dex, but the expression on his face didn’t give anything away. Was it possible Owen knew they were after paranormals? He was acting kind of nonchalant about it, but then again not too much fazed him. He was cool as a cucumber and didn’t get riled up, which was one of the reasons they’d elected him. She glanced at Dee Dee out of the corner of her eye, and an emotion that Issy couldn’t read flickered across her face. Guilt because she couldn’t erase Gray’s picture?

“Well, I’m sure whatever it is there’s a good explanation… ” Issy started.

Owen frowned. “Explanation? I don’t know how you could explain this.”

Issy glanced at Dex and Stan. Had Owen already shown them what was on the camera? She inched toward the desk. “You know my cousins. They do some wacky things.”

Out of the corner of her eye she could see Dex frowning. Maybe she shouldn’t have said that.

Owen chuckled. “They sure do. Remember the time when Ember—”

Dee Dee cleared her throat. “The camera, Owen.”

Owen glanced down at the camera in his hand. “Right. So anyway, we were thinking maybe you’d be able to help us out with this.”

“You were?” Issy glanced at Dee Dee again, but the werewolf’s face was impassive. The FBPI guys shifted in their seats as if they were already tired of the conversation and ready to take action. Did Owen think that Issy would be able to help them explain the picture of Gray? Was he eagerly accepting that Gray was a witch and now thinking she was one, too? What were the FBPI guys thinking?

And come to think of it, where was Gray? If they had a picture of him, why hadn’t the FBPI taken him away? She was sure he was still at his salon. There was still time to make up some excuse and save him. She racked her brain, frantic for a way to explain the photo of Gray naked in the moonlight.

“Yeah, so you know Louella had her quirks, and she spouted off to some people about taking these pictures, but it turns out she really stumbled onto something,” Owen said.

“It’s probably not what you think,” Issy blurted out.

“Oh, there’s no mistaking what this is. I mean, we don’t know the exact specifics, but it’s pretty clear,” Owen said.

“Well, I’m sure there’s a logical explanation. You know Gray is a little eccentric, and sometimes he does stuff.” Issy shrugged, glancing sideways at the FBPI guys. Were they buying any of her excuses?

Owen’s eyes narrowed. “What is wrong with you, Issy? Why are you rambling on about Gray? Is he into reptiles too?”

“Reptiles? What do you mean?”

Owen flipped the camera around so Issy could see the display. She stared at it, hardly believing her eyes.

“The purple spotted salamander. I figured with your experience you could verify that that
is
what these are. Turns out Louella found them over on the parcel of land that’s up for rezoning. They’re endangered, you know.” Owen turned the screen toward the FBPI guys. “Isn’t that
really
why you guys are here? To protect the endangered salamanders?”