Did you miss part one of Chapter One?
From Brewing up Murder
Chapter One Continued…
The server brought Maeve her drink and took her order quickly
before disappearing again. Maeve continued skimming through the
book. Some of the spells were very easy and only required an incanta‐
tion while others were much more complicated and required potions
or some sort of sacrifice on the witch’s part.
Toward the back of the book, there was a list of rules and regula‐
tions for practicing magick, the first of which forbade the use of black
magick.
“Interesting,” Maeve said. “I wonder who makes these rules? And
… what qualifies as black magick?”
The server appeared, placing a plate of bacon and eggs down in
front of Maeve. Wanda whined, and Maeve gave her a piece of
bacon, and the hash browns. Then order an entire side of sausages
for Wanda. The dog nearly shook herself silly wolfing down the
food.
Maeve ate while perusing the book, the question of black magick
lingering in her mind.
Why would anyone ever want to practice black magick anyhow?
Well, there certainly was evil in the world. Maeve couldn’t deny
that. So, she supposed that evil witches shouldn’t surprise her.
After paying, Maeve and Wanda climbed back into the Volkswagen
and hit the road again. When they finally arrived at the Los
Angeles police department Wanda followed her inside. Maeve
introduced herself to a uniformed officer at the reception window,
and the man informed her that the station’s senior officer, Officer
Gary Wolfe, was working the missing persons case.
After a few minutes, a large burly man ambled down the hallway
and introduced himself.
“Maeve O’Dare, we appreciate you coming out this way,” the man
began.
“Not like I had much of a choice,” Maeve said, then immediately
regretted it as she watched the Officer’s face turn from friendly to
annoyed.
“Listen, I’m sorry,” she said “It’s been a long day for me. I’m staying
in town, and I was hoping we could maybe chat tomorrow. I only
wanted to pop in to let you know I was here and that I want to
cooperate with your investigation as much as I can.”
Officer Wolfe nodded. “I understand.” He glanced at his watch. “It’s
pretty late in the afternoon. Are you staying locally?”
“I’m staying at the DoubleTree just down the street from here,”
Maeve said.
“Alright. Check in with me tomorrow morning. Say 9 am?”
“I will,” Maeve said.
They shook hands, and Maeve and Wanda headed out of the police
station. They drove a short distance to the DoubleTree hotel. It was
the closest hotel that allowed dogs, and it had beach access, an added
bonus.
They pulled up front where a valet waited to take her car to the
hotel’s parking garage. Maeve got out of the Volkswagen and went
around to open the passenger side door for Wanda.
“I’ve been told we get freshly baked chocolate chips cookies here,”
Maeve said, making small talk with the valet.
“Yes, ma’am!” he said. “On your pillow.”
“Yummy,” she said, pressing the button that opened the truck.
As she did so, a large black bird squawked, “Nevermore!” in a weak
voice.
The valet shrieked and cursed slightly under his breath in his
surprise.
“Damien?” Maeve cried out. Wanda ran around to investigate, and
the dog looked just as surprised as Maeve felt. Damien was the name
of the raven that lived outside her house in Wisteria Pines. How it had
managed to get into her car, she had no idea.
“You poor thing! Have you been in there all day?” Maeve nervously
reached toward the bird. It was a wild animal, so she wasn’t sure how
it would react to being held. She knew that this was the bird that
perched outside her home because she’d worked tirelessly at teaching
it to say Nevermore.
The enormous raven allowed her to pick him up, and it curled its
head against her chin.
GRAB YOUR COPY OF BREWING UP MURDER HERE
“Oh!” Mave cooed, enjoying the soft feathers tickling her face.
“Let’s get you inside and blast the air conditioner, you crazy bird!
And, get you some water! I’m so sorry. I don’t know how I managed to
lock you in my trunk!” She handed the confused valet her car keys,
holding the bird with one hand while snatching the handle of her
suitcase with the other. Wanda followed close behind. From the looks
the bird and Wanda kept giving each other, it seemed like they were
having a conversation, and it made Maeve giggle.
If only animals could talk.
Maeve quickly checked herself in, casting a little spell to make the
woman working the front desk stop asking about the bird. Dogs were
permitted, untamed ravens were another story.
“You’re already checked in,” the woman said, and Maeve frowned.
“I just got here. How can I already be checked in?” Maeve
questioned.
The woman looked at her blankly, so Maeve figured perhaps her
spell had confused her. Maeve accepted the keycard and headed
toward the elevator, taking it up to the top floor of the building.
“When we get inside, I’m going to need to check you over,
Damien! I can’t believe you’ve been in that hot trunk all day,” Maeve
said, still a bit surprised at how tame the bird was in her arms.
It’s probably half dead, Maeve thought, her stomach churning.
They walked down the hallway to her corner.
Just as Maeve was about to open the door, Wanda growled. The
dog’s ears perked up, and her hair stood on end.
“What is it, girl?” Maeve asked, and then she heard music blaring
on the other side of the door.
Maeve jolted upright, anxiety zipping up her spine.
Is someone in my room?
GRAB YOUR COPY OF BREWING UP MURDER HERE
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐”I couldn’t stop reading!”
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐”Fast-paced and fun. I love these mysteires!”
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐”Diana Orgain is my new favorite author!”
Stay up to date and Join the fun!
GRAB YOUR COPY OF BREWING UP MURDER HERE
Share the love!
