Every Witch Way But Wicked (A Wicked Witches of the Midwest Mystery) Read Online Free PDF Page B

plans and dessert would make things more pleasant.
    I wasn’t surprised to see that Chief Terry, the head of the local police department, was already seated in the den. He was an imposing figure, standing nearly 6’0” tall, and his uniform and graying temples gave him a distinguished look.
    Chief Terry was a regular fixture at the inn – and it wasn’t just because my mom, Marnie and Twila were locked in a battle to secure his undying love. I couldn’t be sure, but I think he got off on their subtle squabbling. Plus, the fact that they chose to battle with food items was just an added bonus in his book.
    I caught a glimpse of Thistle at the front door. She was talking to someone. My guess was Marcus. She closed the door to the den when she entered the room, shooting me a “butt out” look when she saw the question on my face. The interrogation would have to wait until we were back at the guesthouse.
    “Marcus seems nice,” my mom said to Thistle.
    “He is,” Thistle averted her gaze.
    “Will we be seeing more of him?”
    Thistle looked horrified at the thought. “I think our next date will just be the two of us,” she said finally.
    “That’s probably wise,” Aunt Tillie said knowingly. “You don’t want to scare him off.” Aunt Tillie looked Thistle up and down. “Although, if that hair didn’t scare him off you’re probably alright.”
    I choked back a laugh.
    “What are you laughing at? Your date is an ass.”
    “He wasn’t my date,” I shot back. “He was a guest at the inn and Thistle is the one who invited him to dinner as payback to me for inviting Marcus.”
    “You’re learning,” Aunt Tillie said to Thistle before turning her attention back to me. “You should learn to stay out of your cousins’ business.”
    “Like you stay out of our business?”
    Aunt Tillie narrowed her eyes. “I am not a busybody.”
    Whatever.
    “You should be glad to have someone with my vast knowledge working on your side,” Aunt Tillie informed me.
    “Except you’re usually working against me,” I grumbled. “Ow!” I swung on my mom angrily. “Why did you pinch me? That hurt?”
    “Don’t start a fight with your aunt,” she admonished me. “If you drag out this meeting longer than it has to be then your aunt isn’t going to be the only one cursing you.”
    Chief Terry looked surprised at my mom’s statement, but she easily deflected his curious glance. “I made apple pie, would you like a slice?”
    “Apple pie is my favorite,” he said appreciatively.
    “I know,” my mom said, shooting Marnie and Twila a triumphant look. For their part, they didn’t look especially terrified by her pie seduction powers.
    We all looked up when the door to the den opened and Mrs. Little – the town’s pewter unicorn aficionado herself – entered the room. “Sorry I’m late,” she said apologetically.
    “No one missed you,” Aunt Tillie muttered.
    Marnie shot Aunt Tillie a murderous look. The truth was, none of us liked Mrs. Little. She was a mean little gossip – and she didn’t like us anymore than we liked her. The problem was, we had to work with her if we were going to participate in any of the town activities because she was almost always the primary organizer. This wasn’t the time to antagonize her.
    Mrs. Little was still sharp – her suit choices notwithstanding – and I had no doubt she had heard Aunt Tillie’s dig. “Tillie, so good to see you,” Mrs. Little said with fake enthusiasm. “It’s especially nice to see you when you’re not poisoning the coffee at the senior center because you lost a hand of euchre.”
    Uh-oh. I had just recently found out that while I was out of town and working in Detroit, Aunt Tillie had created quite the stir at the senior center when she poisoned the community coffee with belladonna because she was convinced they were all cheating her.
    “So, what do we have planned for the mystery weekend?” I broke in smoothly.
    Chief Terry shot me a