Read Meows, Magic & Murder for Free Online Page B

bookshelf and took off a rather dusty book.
    “I-I don’t think it’s a good idea, Aunt Maxine. Should you really be messing with witchcraft when you don’t even know what you’re doing?”
    “It’s just a potion book like the one back at the shop. There’s no harm in opening a book, now is there?”
    “I’m not so sure, but I like Pansy more if he’s visible.”
    Aunt Maxine carried the leather-bound book and set in on a table in the dining room. The table was black with a sheer cloth sitting overtop it, and when the book was opened, a breeze blew through the room, moving Petunia’s hair.
    “Great. I thought you knew better than to mess with that stuff.”
    “Listen now, Petunia. Anastasia Cuza told me to never fear opening any of these books if you do so with a pure heart, which we all have here today. We just need to find the right spell—I mean, potion.”
    Petunia sucked in a breath. She just hoped that her aging aunt hadn’t crossed over and dabbled in witchcraft now. The pages were carefully moved since the book was quite old. From the look of the yellow pages, all of the spells and potions were written with a quill pen, of that Petunia was sure.
    “Here’s a potion for an un-vanishing spray,” Aunt Maxine said, pointing it out. “All you have to do, dear, is mix the ingredients.”
    “Except that I’ve sworn off potions, remember?”
    “For any potion to truly work, you have to believe it can,” Wanda insisted. “I’ll grab the sandalwood incense.” She grabbed the incense from a cabinet that had many different scents and brought them back to the table while Hazel brought an empty spray bottle from the kitchen, handing it to Petunia. “We have faith in you, girl.”
    Petunia’s shoulders drooped. “Fine, but I’m doing it under protest. I have more important things to attend to today.”
    They followed Petunia as she went into the kitchen and found a pan, filling it with water. She then added the herbs that the recipe called for.
    “What else could be more important than doing this today?” Hazel asked.
    “Oh, I found a dead body. Helen Patterson. You know, she—”
    Before Petunia could say that Helen lived behind her neighbor, Noah, Wanda’s face paled. “Oh, no. That’s not too good for you, dear. I bet the sheriff thinks you did it.”
    “What makes you think I did it?”
    “Well, you were both dating the same man, and you never cared for the woman.”
    “How does everyone in town know Jeremy was seeing both of us when I didn’t even know at the time?”
    “Are you sure, dear? Because if you didn’t know, then why did you give him that love potion?” Hazel asked.
    “I don’t know. I just made an error in judgment. It’s wrong to whip up a potion and give it to anyone. I’m not even sure I should make this potion.”
    “Go on dear, it’s already boiling,” Aunt Maxine said.
    Petunia grabbed a hot pad and set it aside to cool. “Fine, but this really is the least of my worries. I need to find out who killed Helen Patterson before the sheriff has a mind to arrest me for the crime.”
    “And why would he do that without any hard evidence?” Aunt Maxine said. “Unless he finds something more solid to go on.”
    “Cora stopped by and told me a black car with racing stripes was parked in Helen’s driveway. I wonder who it was.”
    “Looks like you have your first clue,” Hazel said thoughtfully.
    “It’s not much of one, but I’ll have to ask around.”
    “You should ask that handsome neighbor of yours to help out. He has a law enforcement background,” Aunt Maxine said.
    Hazel and Wanda stood at attention now.
    “He’s too busy manning your shop,” Petunia said. “Besides, I don’t need him to solve this mystery. I can do that all by myself.”
    “Aww,” Hazel said. “I’d sure love to help out.”
    “Petunia doesn’t need our help, she’ll do just fine all on her own,” Aunt Maxine said.
    Petunia wondered if she’d be able to figure out who