Read Spells and Scones for Free Online

doorframe. Gently, I pushed my friend to one side and stepped up to stand beside her. Adrenaline thrummed through my veins as my mind scrambled to process what I was seeing: dim light, cartons stacked on metal shelving units on either side, a haphazard pile of books on a small table, and a box half-full of more volumes on the floor. Straight ahead, the door to the alley hung open, and a slight breeze stirred the air.
    Between where I stood with Mungo quivering at my feet and that open door, Dr. Dana lay sprawled on her back beside an overturned chair. And hunched over her was the woman Croft had kicked out of the bookstore.
    AngieKissel.

Chapter 4
    â€œOhmagod!”
Margie rushed forward.
    Angie held up her hand. “No. Don’t come any closer.”
    â€œBut she’s sick!” Margie protested. “We have to get her to the hospital.”
    The other woman met my eyes. Slowly, she shook her head.
    â€œAre you sure?” I asked, understanding at once.
    â€œI’m sure.” She stood. “I was just feeling for a pulse.”
    Margie gaped. “But . . . but . . . are you saying . . . ?”
    Declan shouldered past me. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to take a look.” He looked over at my uncle. “Try to keep everyone from coming in here.”
    Ben nodded.
    Angie Kissel looked peeved but took a step back. “She’s not breathing, and her heart isn’t beating.”
    Beside me, Margie let out a small hopeless sound.
    â€œHe’s a fireman,” I said. “With medical training. He just wants to make sure.”
    She gave a nod and stepped back farther.
    Declan quickly knelt beside the author and checked her with a professional air. Then he looked up at me and shook his head in confirmation.
    Behind us, I heard voices becoming louder, and then a shout. “That’s my wife! Let me through!” Nate Dobbs pushed through the door, despite my uncle trying to stop him. He saw his wife on the floor and stared in disbelief. “Dana?” He looked around with bewildered eyes. “What happened?”
    Declan stood. “I’m afraid she’s gone, sir. I’m very sorry.”
    Nathan Dobbs blinked a few times, then rushed toward his wife and kneeled beside her.
    â€œDana?” Phoebe said from behind me, and pushed forward. “Dana! What happened?”
    â€œSir, I apologize,” Declan said to Nate, “but I think it might be best if we cleared the room.”
    Something in his voice. I felt the skin tighten across my face.
    â€œI’m very sorry,” Declan continued in the smooth, calming tone he reserved for the worst emergencies. “But it’s possible the authorities will deem this a suspicious death. We all need to go out front until they arrive.”
    Angie’s mouth dropped open at the same time I heard Phoebe’s sudden intake of breath. Nate rose as if in a trance and shambled over to stand with the rest of us huddled just inside the room.
    So I hadn’t misunderstood the meaning in Declan’s tone. He didn’t think Dr. Dana had died of natural causes. From my vantage point, I could see that her face and one hand were flushed a dark crimson, but I couldn’t tell if there was any evidence of injury. Still, my boyfriend knew his stuff.
    I stifled a sad sigh. Since moving to Savannah I’d learned that I was not only a hedgewitch, but also a catalyst and a lightwitch—meaning things sort of
happened
around me. In practice, that meant I stumbled into an unusual number of wrongs that required righting.
    Wrongs that involved murder, unfortunately. And more often than not, some kind of magic.
    But this was getting ridiculous. I’d already been involved in five murder investigations in less than two years. Now this? I had no connection to Dr. Dana, at least not that I was aware of. I bowed my head and sent an intention of grace to the soul who had so