Pawsitively Secretive by Melissa Erin Jackson

Author:Melissa Erin Jackson
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Tags: Mystery, paranormal mystery, Paranormal, Fiction, cozy mystery, Cats, Witches
ISBN: 9781732413481
Publisher: Ringtail Press
Published: 2019-12-10T06:00:00+00:00

After Edgar left, Amber was filled with a nervous energy. She knew she should sleep, that her magic—which felt sluggish—needed her to rest. But she couldn’t get Alan’s client’s words out of her head: His hands might be clean in the sense that he didn’t pull the trigger himself, but his money is dirty.

Had the mayor’s dirty money bought the assistance of the man who’d chased Chloe through the woods? But why would the mayor, if he truly adored his daughter as much everyone claimed, kidnap her? It couldn’t be simply to keep her away from the mystery boy from Scuttle. It went deeper than that.

She snatched her cell phone off the coffee table and called her aunt using the video function. Her aunt had the ability to figure out technology far faster than Amber had the ability to figure out tinctures.

“Hi, little mouse,” Aunt Gretchen said, her face smeared in something mint-green colored.

“Ahh! What on earth is on your face?”

“An exfoliant,” she said. “You look like you could use one. Why do you look like death warmed over?”

Amber told her about the memory spell she and Edgar had used.

“Ah, well, that would explain it,” she said. “And since you have that wild look in your eye right now, I’m guessing you want to resume work on the premonition tincture? Your mother got that same look. You Henbane women get a bug up your butt about something and you don’t give up until you see it through.” She sighed. “Go get your supplies, little mouse. Let’s see if we can get through the lesson this time without smoke, hmm?”

“And you say I have the bedside manner of a rotting toadstool,” Amber muttered as she propped her phone up on the counter and got to work getting the necessary ingredients together.

Aunt Gretchen merely laughed.

It took two hours, but when Amber added the final pinch of wild asparagus root to the glass bowl, the tincture turned bright red and then, seconds later, the color vanished altogether, leaving behind a bowl of what looked more like water than anything. There was a very faint pink hue.

“Perfect!” Aunt Gretchen said, clapping.

Amber sagged against the counter, staring at the bowl in disbelief. No smoke, no stench of burnt plastic, no black sludge. “It’s safe to drink?”

Aunt Gretchen nodded. “For tonight, since you’re already so exhausted, I would take a smaller dose. Only a teaspoon in your drink of choice tonight. Tomorrow evening, you can take a full tablespoon. That batch there should last you a couple weeks. Keep it in a sealed container in the fridge and it will hold. If the pink darkens to purple, toss it out and start again.”

“Okay,” Amber said, rubbing her eyes. “Thanks again, Aunt G. I know I’m not the best student.”

“Pah, you’re a fine student. Tinctures just aren’t your specialty; you’re definitely your mother’s daughter.” Aunt Gretchen smiled warmly at her. “Sleep well, little mouse. I expect a report in the morning.”

“Will do,” Amber said, yawning so deeply that her eyes watered.

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