Over the Broom Read online

  “Is that the footage of the incident?” I asked as I pulled up a chair next to him.

  “Yes, and I’ve watched it several times. I can’t figure out what happened. It’s like she ate a sample and keeled over. I’d say she was poisoned, but nobody else was affected at all,” Bob said.

  “Can I watch?” I asked.

  “Sure,” he said and started the video again.

  It was exactly as he’d said. She walked up, took a sample, and then dropped dead. When Remy came into the frame and attempted to save her, I asked Bob to stop the video.

  “What do you make of it?” he said.

  “I don’t know. Maye she really did just have a heart attack or something,” It was a lie, and by the way he looked at me, we both knew it. “It just doesn’t make any sense any other way.”

  “I know that, but something else is going on here. I can feel it,” he said.

  I changed the subject. “I can’t really see the sample woman’s face. Does she work here?”

  “No. There’s some sort of company that handles all of that. They just come to your store and hand out samples. The thing is, I called them right after this happened to find out who they’d sent. The woman who was supposed to be here today called in sick this morning. The company apologized for not getting ahold of me about it sooner.”

  “So the woman in the video just showed up and started handing out samples?”

  “Yes, I asked one of the women who runs a register if she saw her. Apparently, the woman showed up and bought the food she was handing out as samples. Said she left what she was supposed to be handing out at home and paid for it with cash. She did have little plates to use for the samples, though.”

  I began to wonder if the suspect had done something to the real sample woman. I hoped she hadn’t killed her to take her place here, but I had no way of knowing. I wasn’t going to raise those suspicions with Bob.

  What I couldn’t figure out was why the witch who died had taken a sample at all. The witches of Coventry knew not to eat anything they hadn’t prepared themselves. It must have been a moment of carelessness, and it cost her life.

  “You’re right about that,” a voice behind me startled me.

  “You okay?” Bob asked.

  “Yeah, didn’t you…”

  “He can’t see me, Brighton,” the voice said. “Or hear me. You could see me if you turned around and looked.”

  I did, and sure enough, the specter of the dead woman floated in the doorway. She smiled at me reassuringly.

  “Thanks for the information, Bob. I think I’m going to go home and lie down. I’m a little under the weather.”

  “More like a little up the duff,” the ghost said with a chuckle.

  “I’m sorry, Brighton. I hope you feel better soon.”

  “Thank you,” I said. “Oh, and call if you find out anything major. I’m interested in figuring this out.”

  When I left Bob’s office, I practically ran into Remy. He narrowed his eyes at me like he was going to get upset, but he ultimately smirked.

  “Keeping tabs on you is like herding kittens,” he said.

  “I sent you a text message telling you what I was doing,” I retorted.

  “Which had completely changed from when I left to take Annika to work and you said that you were going to rest.”

  “I didn’t lie.”

  “I didn’t think you did,” he said and took my hand. “My guess is that once I was gone, the temptation to start working on solving this murder was too much for you to bear.”

  He walked me out to my car, and we shared a kiss. “We’re going to be parents,” I said.

  “Yes, we are,” he said. “And all of this is going to work out, but I still want you to be safe.”

  “I will take all the precautions I can, but I’m not staying cooped up in the house.”

  “You’re right,” he said with a sigh. “It’s not fair for anyone to expect that of you either. I’ve called Amelda. I didn’t want to tell her the news over the phone, but I couldn’t help it. She knew there was something big when she answered. She’ll be back tonight or tomorrow morning.”

  “Good, maybe with Amelda back, you’ll stop worrying so much.”

  “I’d be careful, or you’ll end up living at her house with the Aunties acting as prison guards until our baby is born,” he said with a chuckle.

  “There is literally no way I’m going to let that happen,” I said.

  “She can be pretty persuasive.”

  Remy followed me home, and we went inside. Meri was waiting on the sofa for me, and I could have sworn he looked relieved to see me.

  “I guess I need to make a doctor’s appointment,” I said.

  “You’re going to go to a regular doctor?” Remy asked.

  “Well, yeah. I mean, I know we’re witches and all, but I figured I should still see a regular doctor.”

  “My Aunt Brigid is a midwife,” Remy said.

  “Oh, I hadn’t thought about using a midwife.”

  “She’s also a nurse practitioner. So, it’s kind of like the best of both worlds. It’s your decision, though.”

  “I think I’d like to at least meet her. I hadn’t considered it as a possibility, but I’m not going to just write it off. Where does she practice?”

  “She actually has an office at the clinic in town. Um, if you want to see a regular baby doctor, you have to go into the city, but Brigid has a practice here.”

  “Well, that is far more convenient.”

  “I can call her and make an appointment. I know she’s pretty solidly booked up most of the time since she’s the only practitioner in town who specializes in women’s health, but for you, I’m sure she’ll find a way to fit you in.”

  Remy called, and when he told Brigid that I was pregnant, she agreed to see me the next day. My appointment was for an hour before the clinic opened.

  “Is everyone going to treat me like royalty while I’m pregnant?” I asked.

  “My family most definitely is,” Remy responded.

  “Because our baby is the first born between the families? Is it really? The first ever?”

  “She really will be.”

  “I find it so hard to believe that in a town this small, two people from the families never found themselves together.”

  “The feud was more intense than you probably imagine. It doesn’t seem like it now because they accepted you, but it was bad in the past.”

  “I can imagine given what happened to Maude. The Tuttlesmiths can be an unkind bunch,” I mused sadly.

  “Do you want me to stay home with you today?” Remy asked.

  “No, it’s okay. You’re already so late for work. We can have a celebratory dinner tonight when you come home.”

  He looked like he was about to ask me what I had planned for the day and changed his mind. It was a good thing too, because Remy would not have liked my answer.

  Chapter Five

  “Hey, Bob. It’s Brighton.”

  “Hello, Brighton. What can I do for you?”

  “I was hoping you might give me the name of the woman who was supposed to be doing samples in your store today. The one who called in sick.”

  “Oh, sure. Let me look really quick,” I heard him shuffling papers around. “Here it is. Her name is Martha Blanche. You looking into what happened this morning?” He knew I was.

  “I want to see what happened to her and why she was sick. I’m also a little concerned as to whether she’s still alive or not,” I said.

  “Oh, yeah. I hadn’t thought of that. I hate to involve law enforcement, but should we?”

  “Let me look into it first,” I said. “It could be that she really is just sick and the killer took advantage of that. I don’t know how that would be possible, but I’m sure it is.”

  We ended the call with Bob telling me to be careful. Meri was giving me the stink-eye when I hung up the phone.

  “You did not tell Remy that you were going to go looking f
or witnesses,” Meri said.

  “He didn’t ask,” I said. “And he’s not the boss of me.”

  “Whatever, I’m going with you,” Meri declared.

  “Whatever.”

  I looked up Martha Blanche’s address on the internet. It still amazed me how much information people put about themselves out on the net. It was no wonder she’d been the person the killer picked. Her whole life was on social media. All I had to do was check her Bookface account and county tax records to get a street address.

  I wasn’t surprised that she didn’t live in Coventry. I probably would have heard of her before if she had. Her address was in a little town two over from Coventry. It was a quick drive for Meri and me.

  As soon as we pulled into the driveway, I had a bad feeling. The house felt dark and ominous from my perspective outside.

  “This isn’t good,” I said to Meri.

  “Maybe we should go home. I can feel it too,” he said.

  “We can’t just leave. She could be hurt in there and need help.”

  “I don’t think she’s just hurt, but if you’re worried about it, we can call the local police and ask for a welfare check before we go,” Meri said.

  “I’m not just going to leave and call for a welfare check,” I said. “We could be her last chance.”

  I started across the front lawn of the small blue house before Meri could protest further. I wasn’t surprised to find the front door not only unlocked but also open a crack.

  “Hello,” I called out into the heavy dark of the house. “Hello, Martha? My name is Brighton Skeenbauer, and I wanted to check on you. Can I come in?”

  There was no answer. The silence was like a blanket covering my senses. It was more than just quiet. There was sadness too, and a touch of anger. That could be a dangerous combination. A combination I’d felt before, but never like that from the living.

  “Martha?” I called out as I pushed the door open further. “I can help you,” I said. “You might not think that I can, but I can.”

  I walked into the living room and found a paper plate with a half-eaten breakfast biscuit sandwich and a sprig of grapes sitting on an end table. The television was on, but it was muted.

  “She must have heard something,” I said to Meri.

  “This is not good, Brighton.”

  “I know that, but I doubt we’re in danger. The killer isn’t actually going to be here, Meri. I doubt they are stupid enough to use a victim’s house as a base camp.”

  “Okay,” Meri said. “Let’s see if we can find her.”

  We did. In more ways than one. Whoever had killed Martha Blanche had dragged her body down to the house’s small cellar. We found her there and her spirit knelt down next to the body.

  I was a bit scared at first, but there was nothing but sadness in the specter’s eyes as she looked at me. Martha didn’t say anything before turning back to stare at her body again.

  “Martha?” I asked gently.

  “There’s no point in talking to me,” she said. “It’s pretty obvious I’m dead.”

  She didn’t know I could see her spirit, so Martha was a little surprised when I answered her. “I know, but I can see you, Martha. We can talk.”

  “You can see me?” Martha’s ghost asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Thank goodness. I thought you were some kind of weirdo coming in here to talk to a corpse, or worse. Maybe you were too stupid to see that I was dead.” She let out a big sigh.

  I chuckled. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to laugh,” I said.

  “It’s okay, dear. What else can you do in situations like this?” she said.

  “Do you know what happened to you?” I asked.

  “A woman came to the door. She said she was with the corporate office for the sample company and wanted to discuss some upcoming opportunities with me. I thought it was a little strange that she’d showed up without calling, but I didn’t want to be rude, so I invited her in for coffee. At first, she said she didn’t want cream or sugar, but when I brought the coffees into the living room, she said she changed her mind, and could I get some cream after all. I did, and when I came back into the room, we chatted for a bit. Then I felt a fierce pain in my belly, and everything went black.”

  “She poisoned your coffee while you were getting cream,” I said.

  “Seems that way,” Martha answered. “Then she dragged me down to the cellar. I followed her back upstairs. She found my work’s number on the fridge and called in sick for me. I thought that was strange. What happened?”

  “She took your place at the store and poisoned someone,” I said.

  I wasn’t sure if I should share that with Martha after everything she’d been through, but it didn’t make sense to deny it anymore. She was a spirit and had access to all the mysteries of the universe if she wanted them.

  “She poisoned someone? Are they all right?”

  “No, they’re not. She died too,” I said.

  “Wow, why?” Martha asked. “Why was she poisoning someone at the grocery store? How did she get away with it?”

  “Okay, this is going to sound strange but bear with me. Remember that you’re a ghost talking to me,” I said. “The woman who killed you and then killed someone at the grocery store was a witch killer. The woman who died at the store was a witch, and the poison was something specific to witches. It didn’t hurt anyone else at the store.”

  “And you know all of this, and can talk to me, because you’re a witch too?”

  “Yes, and the woman who killed you tried to kill my entire family at my wedding. She wants to get to me, and to do that, she’s got to get rid of the family protecting me. The witches in my coven have all taken to being very cautious with what they eat, but the witch who died must have had a moment of forgetfulness.”

  “The samples for today were a new brand of chocolate chunk cookie with macadamia nuts and sea salt.” Martha said.

  “Oh, yeah, that could do it,” I admitted. I was going to need to make some cookies when I got home.

  “Martha, this is going to sound crazy…”

  “Like everything you’ve already said didn’t sound a little nutty,” she interrupted with a chuckle.

  “Yeah, you’re right. But this is weirder. Okay, I’m pregnant, and the baby is supposed to be an important figure for both witches and humans. That’s why we think this woman wants me dead. I have to find her and stop her to protect my baby. Do you remember her name or what she looked like?”

  “That’s not that weird.” Martha said. “Given everything, anyway. She looked like she was possibly of Scandinavian decent. High cheekbones with a prominent nose, ivory skin, and nearly white blonde hair. Her hair was in a braid that she wore over one shoulder. Her clothes were casual. She was wearing a black t-shirt and jeans. It’s what I wear when I do samples too. We have an apron we wear over our own clothes. I assume she took mine.”

  “I don’t suppose you got her name?” It was a long shot, but I had to ask.

  “No,” Martha’s spirit said. “She didn’t say it. I’m starting to feel… untethered.”

  “I think it’s time for you to go,” I said.

  “Go where?”

  “I don’t know exactly, but it’s good. You’re not afraid, are you?” I asked.

  “Not at all. I feel light and warm. Like a blanket fresh out of the dryer.”

  “Thank you for your help,” I said. “I’m sorry that you had to leave this world before you’re ready.”

  “Mama!” Martha called out. “Mama, is that you? Oh, hello!”

  I realized at that point she was looking past me to somewhere and someone I couldn’t see. Judging by the enormous smile on her face, I had to guess she was going to be all right.

  “What do we do now?” I asked Meri once Martha had faded away.

  “We should probably go home and get some bacon,” Meri said.

  “I meant about solving the murder.”

  “What we should do as far as solv
ing the murder will become much clearer with some bacon.”

  “Do we just leave Martha here and wait for someone to figure out that she’s missing, or do we call the police?” I asked with a sigh.

  “Oh, that. Right,” he said and jumped up onto her sofa. “I suppose we should call the police, but I don’t really want to be involved in this.”

  “Well, if I call from my phone, they’ll know who called,” I said. “Besides we’ve already been inside the house. Oh, gosh, are we going to end up looking like suspects?”

  “How about we start by going outside? I can make sure there are no fingerprints or hairs left behind. We’ll make an anonymous call and leave.”

  “How are we going to make an anonymous call?” I asked.

  Meri just stared at me without blinking for a few seconds before speaking, “Really, Brighton?”

  “Oh, right, magic,” I said and slapped my forehead with my palm. “I think I’ve got baby brain already.”

  “You’ve got some kind of brain,” Meri said. “And it ain’t firing on all cylinders.”

  “Hey, that’s mean,”

  “I’m just saying because you’re hungry. We just need some bacon and everything will be fine.”

  “Yeah, I’m sure that’s what you meant,” I said. “All right, let’s go get some bacon.”

  When I got home, there was a package waiting on the front porch. “What do you think that is?” I asked Meri.

  “Probably nothing good. Maybe we should go get Remy or at least call him.”

  “We’re not going to call Remy because there is a package on the porch,” I said. “It could be a late wedding gift or maybe an early baby gift.”

  “This soon?” Meri sounded dubious.

  “I mean, Annika has probably already spread it around Coventry. Perhaps someone was moved to get me something.”

  “It does kind of look like a present,” Meri said cautiously.

  The package was a little larger than a shoebox and wrapped in pale pink paper. It didn’t exactly look like wrapping paper, but it wasn’t brown packing paper either.

  “Maybe we should just go see if there is a card or something,” I said.

  Both of us were still standing back by the car. We hadn’t moved an inch toward the porch, and it was as if something primal inside of us kept us rooted in place. Burning curiosity scorched through me, but I still didn’t move.