The Case of the Poisoned Pumpkin (Witch Haven Mystery - a fun cozy witch paranormal mystery Book 11) by K.E. O'Connor

Author:K.E. O'Connor [O'Connor, K.E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: K.E. O'Connor
Published: 2022-02-20T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

The next day, I was up early and in my office. I’d spent most of yesterday afternoon with Pepin, and he’d been politeness personified. He hadn’t once interrupted me as I’d told him about the connection between Lord Valdemar and Chance.

He studied the letters and the certificates and agreed the situation was serious and we needed to act fast. And while I was happy to go along with his plans, I wanted to make my own.

I leaned back in my seat and waited for my call to connect to John Smith, my favorite sleazy warlock with connections in all the wrong places.

“Storm Winter. I’m happy to hear you’re not dead.”

“Not today, John.”

“You never told me how that screaming skull case rounded out. The curse didn’t get you, then?”

“Not unless you’re talking to a ghost.”

“Boo! Ha!”

“I got the skull, with a little help from some friends. It won’t be back to bother anyone else.”

“I knew a cursed skull wouldn’t stop you. What can I do for you?”

“I need an in with a royal family. Specifically, the Grimlows. Can you help?”

A burst of laughter shot along the phone line. “Do you now? Trading up?”

“You have connections, so I figured you’d know a back way in.”

He chuckled some more. “I may be able to help. For a price.”

“Of course. What’s your connection to them?”

“Details first. Who are you looking into?”

There wasn’t much I could tell John without revealing the secret royal baby connection. “Someone was poisoned. We think the poison was concealed in a pumpkin pie.”

“Poison. Interesting. And funny you should mention pumpkin pie.”

“What’s funny about that?”

“It’s Lady Arabella’s favorite dessert. She insists on having it at least once a week.”

“How would you know that?”

“Because of my connection. I dated a kitchen servant at their home in Greenville. That girl was as cute as a button, but she loved to talk. She’d tell me all about the food she made, who enjoyed it, and how much they ate. And she was always going on about Lady Arabella demanding pumpkin pie.”

I tapped my fingers on the desk. Had Lady Arabella found out about her husband’s first marriage and the baby? She’d sent someone with that poisoned pie with the intention of getting Chance. She wouldn’t have delivered it herself but could have used one of her aids to get the poison to the right person. Or rather, the wrong person. It was her calling card. A sign to her husband that she knew the truth and wasn’t playing nice anymore.

“I need to speak to this girl you dated. You still friendly?”

“That won’t be possible. She hates me after I ditched her. All that talking was giving me a headache.”

“You need to un-ditch her. She could have useful information in a murder investigation.”

“It’s not worth my while. I don’t want her getting the wrong idea and thinking we’re getting back together. No amount of money is worth that.”

“Then find me another way to talk to other people in the kitchen. Someone could remember something useful about a pumpkin pie being made and sent.

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