Cat-astrophic Spells Read Online Free PDF Page B

side, plus Jake’s discreet information regarding the weird writing on the walls.
    “Yeah, what about all that stuff?” I had to ask how it got all over the walls. Why would a witch make a man’s heart explode in his chest from a distance yet take the risk of being seen at the crime scene and leaving crucial evidence? It didn’t make any sense.
    Sounds like trouble , Marshmallow said to me telepathically, looking up and licking her paw as I scratched the top of her head.
    “I’ll bet if we were to go back to that house, all those sketches and symbols would be gone,” Aunt Astrid said. “You said this was done from a distance. I believe that. And those images were just an attempt to scare the victim. They emerged from the wall as they were uttered by the witch. But I’ll bet they’re gone now. This person, who is so magically sloppy and careless, decided to show off a little to Marvin. ‘Look at what I can do. I can scare you. I can cause you pain. I can kill you. I am in charge.’”
    I was still worried about narrowing down the search. “So you don’t think this was like a loan-shark arrangement gone bad, or a union dispute or something?”
    “Not at all,” Aunt Astrid said. “That wouldn’t make sense. I don’t think loan sharks deal in witchcraft. And as far as I’ve heard, the Teamsters don’t have a clause allowing for heart explosions in their contracts.”
    Laughing a little, I could see Aunt Astrid’s point.
    “No.” Her eyes narrowed. “This was personal. Whoever did this wanted to make sure Marvin took notice of them immediately. My guess is that he didn’t move fast enough for them.”
    “Well, we know it’s magic. We know it is an amateur trying to do what I’d call ‘big girl magic.’ And this person killed Marvin intentionally. Who would have a motive like that?” I thought out loud.
    Bea scratched the side of her head. “He didn’t have any business partners. He grew Sweetie’s with his own hands, so I don’t think it was over the business.”
    “His wife died years ago,” Aunt Astrid said.
    “Yeah, I remember,” Bea said. “It was the only time he ever closed his doors for so long. I think he was out for two weeks. He had that black wreath on the door and that pretty note to the customers about her going home and the angels and such. It breaks my heart to think of it now.”
    I nodded. I sadly remembered that, too. “I think it’s safe to say it was no jaded wife or her ‘other man.’”
    Aunt Astrid shook her head, agreeing with me. Then her eyes widened as they did when she had an idea. “Does he have any children? Anyone being left out of a will or looking to inherit the business? People in desperate situations resort to desperate means.”
    Bea and I shrugged. We knew Marvin as a businessman and associate, but we didn’t know his family other than his late wife. Everyone in town knew about her death.
    “Disgruntled employees?” Bea offered.
    Suddenly, I slapped my hand to my forehead. “I hate to say this.” I rubbed the back of my neck.
    “What? You’re hungry again?” Bea looked at me with a smirk.
    “What? No.” I bumped her with my elbow. “Darla.”

Arch Nemesis
    “ W hat would Darla have to do with Marvin?” Aunt Astrid asked.
    Darla Castellano was my arch-nemesis in high school. She had decided our sophomore year that her proverbial claws needed continual sharpening, and I was to be the instrument used to keep them pointy and dangerous.
    Like a young Clark Kent, I had powers no one would let me use. Unlike Clark Kent, who could run and had super strength, I possessed the ability to afflict Darla with warts. I could have caused her to have a paralyzing fear of pencils, or I could have made the grass and trees pull and yank at her as she walked by. But I never did. Instead, I had to take her abuse.
    Darla was wealthy and beautiful and spoiled rotten. The boys loved her, but most of the girls were scared of her wrath. After seeing how she