Nefarious Nine by Cindy Stark

Author:Cindy Stark [Stark, Cindy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-02-15T05:00:00+00:00

Twelve

Hazel reached for a canister of dried lavender from one of the higher shelves in the backroom of her teashop and then resumed her seat. She lifted the lid and inhaled the soothing scent. Rumors of a witch in Stonebridge had circulated to nearby towns, and more than a few neighboring residents had made the trip so that they could purchase teas from a real witch.

From a financial aspect, she couldn’t complain.

Though she was spending more and more of her time crafting in the backroom.

Still, the late autumn day had bloomed bright and cheery. The atmosphere soaked into her soul and made it easier for Hazel to forget the turmoil swirling around Stonebridge.

Samhain loomed on the horizon, and Hazel wished she could mend the divide of the town and celebrate in the open with her witchy sisters. An unlikely scenario, but she could hope.

Her phone rang, and she glanced at the screen. Peter.

She pressed the answer button. “Hello there, Chief Parrish. How can I help you this fine morning?”

He chuckled. “Good to hear a happy voice. I need it today.”

She knew her predicament had spilled into his life like a sticky mess, making his job more difficult. “Is there something I can help with?”

Unfortunately, with her being in the center of the town’s spotlight, she’d had to keep her sleuthing to a minimum. Hard to be discreet and discuss others’ problems when the focus was on her. She’d sent Gretta out with most deliveries, which put a serious damper on her ability to ask questions about Gracie’s murder.

Peter sighed. “Yeah. It seems everyone around here has an opinion, and they all think I want to hear them.”

She understood that too well. “I’m sure it would help if we could find Gracie’s killer.”

“I’m working on it. I spoke with Samuel this morning, but, as you can imagine, he gave me nothing. He insists he was with Timothy in Salem at the time of the murder. He has a gas receipt and a coffee shop receipt showing purchases for two people just before the time of Gracie’s death. No way they could have made it back to Stonebridge in time.”

Hazel senses tingled, and she wasn’t buying their story. “That’s convenient. What if only one of them was there but purchased coffee or whatever for two to give the other person an alibi?”

He cleared his throat. “That’s why I called. I’m heading to Salem in a few minutes to interview the coffee shop clerks and to see if the shop has surveillance video to corroborate Samuel’s story. Wondered if you wanted to come with and grab lunch while we’re out? Is Gretta available to cover the shop?”

Escaping into anonymity for a while sounded like heaven. “She should be. I have her sister working here this morning, too. Business has been kind of crazy.”

He chuckled. “You know what they say. Any publicity is good publicity.”

“I suppose. But it wasn’t my intent to profit off this. Especially not after Gracie lost her life trying to help me.

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