Magic and Mayhem: Witchin' Impossible (Kindle Worlds Novella) (Hazed & Confused Mysteries Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

enough, that revelation brightened my evening.
    “Let’s go inside,” Ford said. “We can discuss this over pie and coffee.”
    “Sounds good.” His cinnamon scent had me jonesing for apple pie.
    The place was only half full, sad for a Friday night. We took a booth at the back near the restrooms. Tanya slid in on Ford’s side of the booth, and my heart sunk a little. Why did this guy always get under my skin? Even the years I spent away from Paradise Falls, I couldn’t get him out of my head.
    A young waitress with flawless skin and bouncy, shiny hair and a name badge that said, “Becksy” took our orders. Probably a teenage witch. She was a little too put together as if someone was dipping into a spell book. Besides, no self-respecting Shifter would name their child Becksy. It was silly and pretentious. Our kind could get that way sometimes. It was the same machinations that made rich folks call their kids Biff or Mitsy or Scooter.
    “What do you have on Decker?” I asked, putting on my FBI hat about the time that Becksy came to our table with three pieces of apple pie, three coffee cups, and a carafe. She put the pie down and then the cups, which she filled with steaming hot java.
    “Sugar and cream are there.” She pointed to a silver condiments’ caddy near the window on our table. “Let me know if I can get you anything else.” She paid good attention to detail, and her smile was amiable and professional. I decided Becksy had more going for her than a pretty face.
    When she left us, I turned back to Tanya again. “Decker?” I took a bite of the pie and resisted making mmmm-mmmm noises as I chewed the little slice of Heaven.
    “A rapid toxicology screen showed opiates in his blood, but not enough to overdose him. It was more of a recreational dose. I haven’t counted all the broken bones yet, but much like Daniel Mason, I think all of Boyd’s have been fractured in one way or another.” She pressed on clinically, and I respected her ability to be professional under the circumstances. “It’s my belief he was mid-shift when…the homicide occurred.” Her eyes widened for a moment at the memory.
    “What was the COD?”
    “Cause of death was a rib to the heart.”
    “Like Danny.”
    “Just like,” Tanya agreed.
    “Did Danny have drugs in his system too?” I was so focused on my own dessert, it surprised me to see Tanya had already eaten most of hers, and Ford’s had completely disappeared from his plate. At least I could pretend the cinnamon I was smelling was from the food and not from the sexy furball sitting directly across the table from me.
    “Same as Boyd. Recreational amounts only.”
    Shifters burned through drugs quick, but I knew from some high school experimentation that Lily and I had partaken in occasionally that marijuana had a long lasting calming effect on the two-natured. Lily had been buzzed for hours. The opiates would have been a quick burn, though. Strange that Boyd and Danny both had them in their system at time of death.
    “Any trace evidence?” I asked. “DNA under the fingernails, a stray hair, saliva, anything?”
    “Nothing so far,” Tanya said. “I’m going to examine the body again tomorrow. And I’ll have the lab results for a more detailed tox screen in two days.”
    “Will you keep me informed?”
    “I’ll keep Ford informed,” she said. She slid from the seat. “Thanks for the pie, Ford. I’ll talk to you tomorrow?” She turned the statement into a question.
    “Sure enough,” he replied.
    Her wide smile made me want to throttle myself for caring.
    “Thanks for coming out, Tanya. I appreciate it.” When she put a ten dollar bill on the table, Ford shook his head. “On me.”
    “Next time, I’ll buy.”
    Ford smiled at her, and I wanted to lunge across the table and beat the crap out of both of them. “You’re on.”
    Did they just make a date? Right in front me? Was I freaking invisible? Ahhhhhhhhhh! Outwardly, I maintained my cool.