Poison and Paint Read online

  “Did someone break in and use the kitchen?” Courtney waved her arm at the remains of the mess, her bangles jingling.

  “Just me and the girls.” Avoiding eye contact, Sophia grabbed the rough broom handle.

  “What happened to paint night?” Courtney asked.

  “I don’t want to talk about it.” Sophia started sweeping, not looking at either Courtney or Emerald.

  Emerald sniffled.

  “You’ll be all right.” Sophia glanced up at the girl.

  “I thought he was the one.” Emerald wiped at her eyes.

  “Sweetheart, you’re what? Nineteen?” Sophia swept the flour and spilled chocolate chips into a neat pile.

  “Almost twenty-one.”

  “You’ve got a long life ahead of you,” Sophia said. “There’s plenty of time to find the one.”

  “Mom told me the same thing, but neither of you has found the one.”

  Sophia choked.

  “Emerald!” Courtney gasped, a hand to her throat.

  “It’s true! You’re both single. I don’t want to be old and single.”

  Sophia clutched the broom tighter. She wasn’t old, was she? She was younger than Courtney by about four years. But when Sophia was twenty, thirty-four had seemed old, too.

  “It doesn’t mean we didn’t have fun.” Courtney grinned a wicked grin. “Or that we’ve stopped having…fun.”

  “Eww. Mom!” Emerald smacked her mom’s arm.

  “I’m sure talking to Makayla when she comes in after lunch will make you feel better.” Sophia let herself smile. She could forget about the night before. As awful as it was, it hadn’t been her fault, and it wasn’t a murder. Nikki had a heart attack or an allergic reaction or something. That was all.

  Despite Jaeger’s threats, Sophia wasn’t wrapped up in another murder investigation. That was good, since Ben might lose his mind if she were.

  “We’re expecting the cyclists today. They make us pretty busy.” Sophia headed towards the lobby to straighten the furniture. “Once the comfort cookies are ready, you can have a couple on the house.”

  Someone knocked at the door, and Sophia looked up to see her sixth-grade teacher, Mrs. Pulido, waving. She wore a pale green pantsuit and a matching headband adorned her short hair. Mrs. Pulido had asked her to call her Deborah more than once, but Sophia couldn’t bring herself to do it.

  Sophia rushed to the door to let the older woman in. “I’m running a smidge behind today. I’m so sorry.”

  “Must be the murder you were at last night.” Mrs. Pulido ignored the mess in the lobby and headed straight for the register. “It’s almost routine.”

  Sophia blinked, taken aback. “That wasn’t a murder.”

  “That’s not what the coroner said.” Mrs. Pulido studied the display case, her brows knit together.

  “Someone died?” Courtney asked.

  “Yes, dear, please keep up.” Mrs. Pulido pulled her wallet out of her purse. “Now, where are my muffins?”

  “Three more minutes on the timer.” Sophia pushed the broom into Emerald’s hands, then slipped behind the register.

  “No wonder you didn’t want to talk about paint night,” Courtney said. “Who died?”

  “Murdered,” Mrs. Pulido repeated.

  “Nikki went into that bathroom under her own power.”

  The reading glasses hanging on a chain around Mrs. Pulido’s neck clunked against the counter as she leaned in. “Dr. Braun said it was poison or anaphylactic shock.”

  “An allergic reaction isn’t murder,” Sophia insisted, but it felt like a losing battle.

  “Dish.” Courtney folded her arms across her chest.

  “That’s why the place was a mess this morning.” Sophia said as she rang up Mrs. Pulido. “After a lot of wine and paint night getting cut short, we needed to sober up. And comfort cookies always help. Especially when someone accuses you of murder.”

  “What?” Emerald stopped sweeping the lobby. “Like, for reals?”

  Courtney’s eyes grew wide. “You just said it wasn’t murder.”

  “Tyler was pretty upset.” Sophia pressed her lips shut, refusing to mention Jaeger’s accusation.

  Mrs. Pulido touched the glasses hanging at her neck. “That boy will be the death of you yet. You’re no murderer, Sophia.”

  Courtney cocked an eyebrow. “Who?”

  “Tyler, my very ex boyfriend.” Sophia turned to Mrs. Pulido. “We thought she was allergic to something in the wine or was on drugs. In high school they—”

  “Sophia! Tyler might have been a bad boy, but not that bad.” Mrs. Pulido held up the front page of the Gold Valley Gazette. “Besides, the paper’s calling it suspicious.”

  Courtney sucked air in through her teeth. After her father’s arrest that summer, she ran the Gazette with her mom.

  “Do you know anything about this?” Sophia asked.

  “I’m not involved in the paper like my dad was. But my mom and I made a rule that the Gazette won’t do smear campaigns.”

  “It doesn’t say you killed the woman or that you’re a suspect, not like that other time,” Mrs. Pulido said.

  Sophia avoided Courtney’s eyes. Her friend’s father had run a smear campaign on Sophia to draw attention away from himself as a murder suspect. “What does it say?”

  “The article lists people at the scene, including you and Lemon.”

  “It calls the death a murder?” Sophia asked, reaching for the paper.

  “Oh, no. A suspected poisoning.” Mrs. Pulido slapped the paper into Sophia’s outstretched hand. “Still I doubt Nikki poisoned herself.”

  “No. No. No.” She couldn’t be a suspect in another murder investigation. This had to be the curse’s doing.

  “Why don’t you go take a break? Pull yourself together,” Courtney said. “Emmy and me will run the shop until you feel better.”

  “I’m fine.” And somehow she was, even though she wanted to blame her curse.

  For a few hours Sophia put the investigation out of her mind, then her fox senses snapped into focus. The sweet scents and background conversation in the bakery amplified becoming a rich tapestry. A second later, Detective Schmidt stepped through the door. His suit, as always, was rumpled.

  He always made her smile—well, after he’d realized she wasn’t a murderer that first time. She’d been one of the prime suspects in his investigation at Magnolia Winery.

  “Good morning, foxy lady,” Ben said with a wink.

  Sophia’s heart fluttered. But she needed to stop flirting with him or her family curse would destroy them both. Sophia didn’t want the curse to kill Ben the way it had her father.

  Sophia pulled out a Never-the-Rose cupcake she’d frosted just for him. Usually, she saved these for special events.

  His jaw dropped when he saw her pulling out the chocolate cupcake frosted to look like a dark red rose. “For me?”

  “They’ll sell well with Valentine’s Day coming up.” And he liked them.

  “Thank you.” Grinning, he dipped his finger in the buttercream frosting.

  His joy warmed her, but she needed to tell him about Nikki. “Detective Jaeger…”

  When she didn’t say anything else, he said, “I thought we settled that conversation a long time ago. Yes, he is a jerk. I am sorry he was in charge of your mother’s murder investigation.”

  Sophia pulled him behind the counter. “No. That’s not it at all.”

  “What then?”

  “Not out here.” Sophia grabbed her jacket from a hook, then led him through the kitchen and out the back door into the crisp winter sunshine. The sunshine would make everything seem better. She plopped into one of the two folding chairs they kept outside for breaks.

  She didn’t need any gossips hearing this conversation. Mrs. Pulido and Bob would have to assume they were making Valentine’s Day plans. A little bird hopped along the bottom of the hedge that separated the back of her shop from the road.

  When he stayed standing
, she tugged his hand toward the other chair.

  “What did I do to get this treatment?” He laughed, eyes sparkling green.

  Sophia chewed her lip, tears brimming in her own eyes. She loved how his hazel eyes changed from brown to muddy green.

  “Sophia?” He leaned forward. “What’s wrong?”

  “Jaeger called me and Amy furries.”

  “What?” Ben lowered the cupcake to his lap.

  “Who told him?” Sophia asked.

  “I don’t know.”

  “And we, us, we can’t do this anymore.” She turned away.

  “I thought we agreed you’d try to unravel the curse before we commit to anything.”

  “The girls were trying to get me to plan Valentine’s Day with you when…” Sophia pressed her lips together, tears pricking her eyes. She didn’t blame her magic, but the curse might be responsible for Nikki’s death.

  “When what?” Ben asked.

  She squeezed her eyes shut. Jaeger arresting her would end things between her and Ben for sure.

  Ben studied her. “What happened?”

  “Nikki—Nicole Russell died last night.”

  “Who?” he asked.

  “The artist at paint night…and the girl who stole my high school boyfriend.”

  “Oh.” That was all he said.

  “It’s my fault.” She pushed a strand of red hair out of her face.

  “You didn’t kill her.” Ben took her hands in his.

  “Of course not, but one minute Amy’s talking about Valentine’s Day, the next—”

  “No matter what you talked about—”

  She pulled her hands away. “I called 911 as soon as we realized something was wrong.”

  Heavy footsteps approached the back door. Who was tromping through her kitchen like that?

  “But they don’t know what caused it. Jaeger accused me of losing control of my magic—said I was jealous she stole my ex from me.”

  “It’s not your fault,” Ben repeated.

  Detective Jaeger stepped through the back door.

  Sophia stood, backing away. “Speak of the devil.”

  Behind Jaeger, Courtney mouthed, “Sorry.”

  “Bert, to what do I owe the surprise?” Ben stood, putting himself between her and Jaeger. He set the cupcake on his chair.

  Relief flooded Sophia. Ben had her back.

  “You should be at work, rookie.”

  “And you have a case you should be following up on.” Ben squeezed Sophia’s hand.

  Jaeger growled, “I am.”

  The hedge pressed against her back. She took a tiny step forward. He was going to arrest her on some flimsy evidence. Right here, right now, with nothing Ben could do.

  Courtney hesitated in the doorway.

  How dare he do this in front of her friend? How dare he come into her domain and stomp all over?

  “I’ll be all right.” Sophia glanced at Jaeger, hoping she wouldn’t be arrested. “Take care of the shop.”

  Courtney headed back inside, shutting the door behind her.

  “What do you want?” Ben asked.

  Jaeger folded his arms across his chest. “You shouldn’t sniff around other people’s suspects.”

  Sophia blinked. If she was only a suspect, he wouldn’t arrest her, would he?

  Ben laughed. “Other people’s suspects? If she’s your best suspect, you’d better think about who else was there.”

  “I’ll be the judge of that,” Jaeger said. “I’d like to talk to Sophia alone.”

  “No,” Sophia said, surprising both of them. “I’m not talking to you without a lawyer. I know my rights.”

  Ben took Sophia’s hand and squeezed.

  “And I know about you.” Jaeger pressed closer. “Even if the toxicology report comes back clean, I’ll get you off the streets. Your magic killed her because she stole your boyfriend.”

  “What are you talking about?” Sophia tried to keep pretending she didn’t have magic.

  “I can’t let a killer go free.” Jaeger rested a hand on his gun.

  “You’re crazy, old man.” Ben said, but his voice shook.

  “Half-witch. Half-therian. Abomination.” He spat the words. “You can’t wander around with that kind of power.”

  Sophia shivered. This wasn’t about Nikki’s death. He didn’t care about that. He hated Sophia. Wanted her locked up, or worse.

  “I’m reporting you.” Ben stood chest to chest with Jaeger.

  “For what? Knowing the truth about that monstrosity?”

  “For threatening Sophia. Your hand on your gun is enough to get you written up.”

  “Oh, please.” Jaeger dropped his voice and leaned down over Ben. “When that thing kills you with her runaway magic, you’ll wish you’d listened to me.”

  “Excuse me?” Ben arched an eyebrow.

  “Something like her shouldn’t exist.” Jaeger laughed. He turned to Sophia. “I’ll talk to you later. When your furry boyfriend isn’t around.”

  He sauntered through a gap in the hedge and onto the sidewalk.

  Sophia trembled.

  Ben held out an arm to steady her.

  When Jaeger was gone, Sophia slumped back in the chair. “He thinks I killed her.” Sophia whispered the last part, “Because I’m a therian and a witch.”

  “But how did he find out?” Ben ran a hand through his thick, black hair.

  “He said my mom told him, but she always kept our magic secret. You never mentioned it to him, right?”

  “Why would I tell that a”—Ben seemed to stop himself from saying a stronger word—“jerk anything?”

  “I don’t know.” Sophia trembled.

  “Report him.” Ben rubbed her back.

  “For what?” Sophia asked. “I can’t tell anyone he called me out for being a witch and therian, can I?”

  “No, but you can say he accused you without evidence.”

  Sophia licked her lips. Nikki knew why Jaeger came to paint night. “He and Nikki had it out pretty bad last night. You don’t think he…”

  “He what?” Ben asked.

  “He killed her, do you?”

  “He’s a nasty piece of work, but he’d never be a detective if he killed his own suspects and witnesses.”

  “Are you sure? What if…what if someone is pulling his strings?”

  Ben arched his eyebrows. “You mean what if he’s crooked? First off, there are no massive crime rings in Gold Valley to worry about. And second, I never heard anyone say he’s more than a creep. No one’s suggested he might be crooked.”

  “I hate him.”

  “You and everyone else, but he’s good at his job.”

  “Then why didn’t he find my mom’s killer?”

  “Sophia, it doesn’t always work that way.” His eyes took on a haunted look. “You can’t always close every case. No matter how hard you try.” His gaze followed Jaeger’s path. “Or how many rules you bend.”

  Sophia dropped her voice to a whisper. “But, you saw, he hates me. He said I killed her with magic. Said my ‘runaway magic’ would kill you. And I didn’t kill Nikki, but the curse….Maybe he should arrest me and get it over with.”

  “Sophia! Don’t talk like that, you’re starting to sound like Brianna.”

  “I sound like your sister?” Sophia asked.

  “She worries about me, but you can break the curse. I know it.” Ben looked off into space, thinking. “I can’t report him to internal affairs for accusing you of using magic to kill the artist, they’d think I’m nuts.”

  “Then you have to find the killer before…” Sophia tugged on her braid. “Before Jaeger arrests me or worse.”

  “I can’t get involved in his case. I have a full load, and because you’re a suspect, it would be a conflict of interest.”

  “You have to do something,” Sophia said.

  “I can’t interfere.” Ben licked his lips. “But if it were my case, I’d talk to the boyfriend. Find out what Jaeger wanted last
night.”

  “But I can’t talk to Tyler," Sophia said. “He accused me of killing her because I was jealous.”

  “But you didn’t. You’re not jealous anymore, are you?”

  Sophia shrugged.

  “Fine. But, that’s what’s I’d do next—talk to the boyfriend.” He sighed. “Anyway, Jaeger’s right about one thing.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I’ve got to get back to work. I’ve got my own case to follow up on. But first…” He held out the cupcake. “You might need this more than me.”

  Mama Ginger’s would be okay without her for one day, but not if Jaeger arrested her for murder. Sophia called Lemon to cover her shift so she could track down Tyler. And before she left, she warned Courtney to keep Makayla out of the kitchen when the girl’s shift started at lunchtime or who knew what disasters would happen. That poor girl had a hex on her.

  5

  “‘Talk to the boyfriend,’ he says, as if I knew where to find Tyler.” Sophia caressed Daisy’s furry ears with one hand and stared at Tyler’s profile picture on her phone, which she held in the other. “As if I had a way to contact him other than friending him, which—come on—would look super suspicious.”

  Sophia dropped her phone onto the pile of clean laundry Daisy lay sprawled across. At least his social media had told her he worked as a park ranger.

  “Girls, that dispatcher was useless.”

  Both dogs looked up at her as if they were curious what she was talking about. Daisy’s wet nose nudged Sophia’s hand so that she resumed rubbing her ears.

  “I can’t tell you if he works here.” Sophia mimicked the dispatcher’s nasal voice. “All I can tell you is that park rangers are generally out in the field, somewhere along the parkway.”

  On the floor near her feet, Minnie vocalized at the word park. Her upright ear swiveled toward Sophia, and the floppy ear strained to stand up.

  “We’re not just going to a random spot on the parkway. That’s like four towns’ worth of bike path to search.” Sophia stood, moving Daisy’s head from her lap. The parkway stretched from Folsom through Gold Valley and Liberty Junction all the way to Discovery Park, with one bike trail throughout.

  Daisy settled back on the couch, watching Sophia through her paws.