Fried Chicken & Fangs (A Southern Charms Cozy Mystery Book 2) Read online

  Cupping my chin, my grandmother gazed at me with fierce love. “And I am mighty glad this bird did not fly to the great beyond last night, even when she put her own life at risk for the rest of us.” Her eyes pooled with wetness, and we both shed tears of relief and thankfulness.

  When our sniffling stopped long enough, I swung my feet out of bed. “Okay, okay, I’m up.”

  “Good.” Nana wrapped me up in a quick hug and released me. “Get yourself clean, dressed, and fed. You’ll wanna fuel up before the guests arrive.” She headed out the door, but before she got to the bottom of the stairs, she yelled back up, “And you better bring an empty glass down with you. You know I’ll know if you don’t drink it all.”

  It was tempting to pour the contents down the drain of the shower, but Nana definitely would figure it out, so I endured the nasty stuff, wondering if there would ever come a day when I wouldn’t have to drink it in the first place. About the time I finished a second helping of scrambled eggs with onion and ham mixed in, someone rapped on the screen door.

  “Ms. Vivi, is she finally up?” our town’s sheriff, called out from the front porch.

  Nana glanced at me. “Better pull on your big girl britches. When you get through everything, I’ll give you the biggest slice of chess pie you’ve ever seen.” She left to greet whoever waited at the door.

  Downing the rest of my coffee and finishing off the last crumbly bite of my cheesy buttermilk biscuit, I shoved myself away from the old kitchen table.

  “I’ll help you get the tea, Ms. Goodwin,” Mason called out, on his way to the kitchen. He pushed the swing door open, his eyes catching mine. “Charli. You’re looking better than I expected.”

  “Thanks?” I hated it when a compliment sounded more like an insult.

  He attempted a couple of times to correct himself before giving up with a sigh. “I meant, I’m glad to see you. After the other night, I wasn’t sure how you would be.”

  I frowned. “How long was I out?”

  “You’re grandmother didn’t tell you?”

  I shook my head, a little bit of worry creeping in. “It’s been that long?”

  He counted on his fingers. “Three nights and two days. We’ve been forced to come by every day to see if you were ready.”

  “You and Big Willie?” Confused, I sat back down.

  Mason scratched the back of his head. “A few more than that. It’s been hard putting them off, but seeing as you’re the most important part of the investigation, they had to wait.”

  My eyes darted toward the back door. “Any chance you’d let me make a run for it?”

  He chuckled. “Only if you took me with you.” His burning gaze suggested there might be some truth to his words. “Come on. I’ll be right there with you, and it will be over before you know it.” The detective held out his hand to help me up.

  I accepted his assistance and relished his warm touch. He pulled me upward, my body launching into his. For a brief moment, nothing else existed.

  Nana cleared her throat. “If you two are quite finished, they’re waiting for you in there. I’ll bring out the tea, detective.” Her eyes twinkled with mirth at my burning cheeks when we passed her.

  Mason escorted me to the parlor, and I stopped in the doorway. Three other people occupied the available seats while one hovered near the sofa. Their eyes snapped in my direction, and I tried not to squirm under their scrutiny. As a tall Sasquatch unable to fit in any of our seating comfortably, Big Willie stood on the other side of the room. He nodded his hairy head at me, and nodded with purpose at Mason.

  The detective cleared his throat. “I think the first thing we need to do is make some introductions. Everybody, this is Charlotte Goodwin. Charli, let me introduce these two first.” He gestured at the man and woman sitting in adjoining chairs. “This is Chief Investigator Lilith Marsden and her colleague, Deputy Investigator Thomas Pine. They’re from the World Organization of Wardens.”

  “Pleased to finally meet you, Miss Goodwin,” the female investigator replied in a stiff tone.

  I shook her hand. “Wow.”

  “What? Surprised that a female witch could make it this far up the chain?” she asked. Based on her quick reaction, she’d faced her challenges getting where she was.

  “Oh, no. Sorry, I just meant that you work for WOW. Not wow, I can’t believe you’re a girl.” I stumbled. “A woman, not a girl, although you don’t look old either. I am just swallowing my foot whole, aren’t I?”

  Nana joined us, handing me a glass of tea from the tray she carried. “Here, put some of this in your mouth and see if it clears it out.” She passed around the rest of the drinks. “My granddaughter here is more than used to seeing a woman in charge, considering I occupy the highest seat in our town council. Now, let’s move things along, shall we?”

  Mason stepped forward again. “These two are working in cooperation with Agent Dryope of the International Magic Patrol.”

  The stoic countenance of the tall, willowy woman with light green hair prevented me from commenting on what the initials of her organization spelled. “Pleasure to meet you, Agent Dryope.”

  She shook my hand with the lightest of touch. “It’s pronounced like Calliope,” she corrected. “And as you’re staring at the leaves in my hair, I will inform you that I’m a dryad.”

  If I could have summoned a hole in the ground to jump in, I would have.

  “And this is Agent Giacinta,” finished Mason, ducking out of the room at the end of his introductions.

  “Con piacere.” The beautiful fairy replied in a high-pitched lilting accent, her wings flickering a light purple dust with her greeting. “Our many thanks to you and your nonna for hosting us in your fine home.”

  “It is most unusual to hold an interrogation in one’s domicile.” Agent Dryope flicked a strand of leaves from her face. “But I suppose, given the circumstances, we can make do.”

  “Interrogation?” I asked, overwhelmed by everything.

  Mason reappeared, carrying a dining room chair. He placed it down for me to sit on. “We need you to fill everybody in on what happened from the first night of the election speeches to the last thing you can remember.”

  Placing my exhausted behind on the cushion, I did my best to recall all the details. The four strangers took notes and clarified when needed, seeming to be familiar with most of the timeline. Once I got going, the information poured out of me, and my hands gesticulated in the air while I told my story.

  When I got to the part of figuring out that having the stolen goods in the presence of a vampire or even a fairy blocked my magical talents, I clapped my hand over my mouth, suddenly realizing that I might have shared too much. Damien’s voice echoed in my head, warning me that others outside of my town would be interested in what I could do.

  “Non ti preoccupare, bella,” reassured Agent Giacinta. “What you say here to us is strictly for our files. You need have no worries that your information shall be shared outside of here.”

  “Although, having a tracker on hand would come in handy,” the female warden investigator commented, her colleague nodding and eyeing me with too much interest.

  Agent Dryope shook her leafy head. “Let us remain focused on the issue at hand. Tell us about what Damien Mallory said to you when you confronted him.”

  I held up my finger. “Hold on. What happened to Blythe?” I couldn’t believe that I had forgotten to ask about my friend.

  Nana touched my shoulder. “She’s doing better. After Raif got his precious dog back, he sent word to Lady Eveline to return home. I guess she has some experience in helping those who have been…influenced by someone like Damien. She got back yesterday, and is already working with Blythe.”

  I’d have to stop by to check on my friend soon. I hated that she’d gone through that entire experience. The memory of how Damien had come to Honeysuckle trickled back into my brain, and I slumped forward. Regret penetrated all the cracks and crevices of my spirit, and I confessed th
e truth to Nana, aware that the others heard it and added my guilt to their notes.

  Inspector Mallory uncrossed her legs. “Miss Goodwin, we’re aware of his involvement in the investigation in Greenville as well as the person you were working with at the time. You did not drag him to your town. He made that choice for himself along with doing all the other actions that he did.” She nodded at me, and I appreciated her attempt to ease my conscience.

  Wanting to get things over with, I sped through the stuff that happened in the abandoned broken down house and got to the Founders’ tree. The image of Moss’s last breaths sent shivers down my body. Agent Giacinta’s wings quivered in agitation, and I wondered how unbiased she could remain, knowing that one of her kind was involved.

  “This misuse of the fairy path. It is a problem in your town, no?” she asked.

  I shrugged. “It’s not like that’s how we all move around. For the most part, the fairies don’t use it.” I didn’t want to have to admit how many times I had taken the shortcut or who had provided it for me most of the time. Gossamer had enough on her plate to deal with.

  “Still, perhaps you might want to discuss it with your local fairy folk. It is not a typical privilege given to others, and it can have effects on those who abuse it that are more dangerous than you think,” she added.

  “Hey, how did you find me that night?” I asked Mason, avoiding the accusatory glance from the fairy agent.

  “Spell phone,” he replied with a slight grin.

  “How?” My own device had fried before then.

  “I slipped mine in your back pocket when you were talking to Raif and Horatio.” He lifted his left eyebrow at me, and I recalled the light pat of my behind with an audible gasp. Sneaky detective.

  Deputy Inspector Pine took a bigger phone with a screen on it out of his pocket. “How are cell phones working here? Mine won’t even power up.”

  I shook my head. “We have spell phones. One of the people here spellworked old flip phones to work off of magic rather than having a system that tries to combine magic with human electricity like you have out there.”

  “A magic-only device for communicating. That’s pretty ingenious. I’d like to know who provided this for you before we leave,” he said in awe. “We might be able to make him a deal.”

  My grandmother replaced my empty glass with the rest of her iced tea. “Ladies and gents, if we could finish, my granddaughter needs to rest and recover.”

  When I told the part about Damien’s possession of my adoption papers, I couldn’t look at her, afraid that she might think my desire to know about my past meant I was rejecting our family. The fact that I burned the paper voluntarily impressed all of the magical authority sitting in the room.

  Nana kissed the top of my head. “Sweet bird, you have no idea how proud I am of you. If there’s something you want to find out there, I will do everything I can to help you. And no piece of paper determines whether or not you’re my granddaughter. There’s no way you’re gettin’ rid of me.”

  “Also, Damien Mallory was a con artist,” filled in Agent Dryope. “There’s a good chance that what he had was nothing. Maybe even blank.”

  “Was? Did I…did I kill him?” The pit in my stomach expanded into a canyon.

  “No,” Mason replied before the others. “He’s being detained down at the station.”

  “He’s annoying everyone there, always askin’ us where he is, what his name is, what time is it,” added Big Willie. “The poor fool seems to have a problem in his noggin’.”

  “Yes,” sniffed Agent Dryope. “The power you wielded that night affected both of you, it seems. You managed to wipe out his entire memory, which is a great inconvenience to us as he could have been an important lynchpin in taking down other organizations. In addition,” she turned to my grandmother, “I still advise that your granddaughter accompany us back to our headquarters. An uncontrolled amount of magic like that should not go unchecked.”

  Anxiety gathered in my chest. “I feel fine,” I protested.

  “She is being cared for quite thoroughly, I’ll have you know,” Nana huffed.

  “No offense, ma’am, but the agent is right,” chimed in Deputy Pine. “There are better facilities which could handle her right now.”

  My heart raced, and a tingling sensation crawled over my skin. “I’m not leaving Honeysuckle.”

  “Charli,” Mason said, approaching my chair.

  “No. There’s nothing wrong with me,” I insisted. “They can’t take me away from here. They can’t,” I shouted. All the glasses of tea shattered at the same time, splashing the liquid everywhere.

  Sweet honeysuckle iced tea, what was happening to me? I stared down at my body, scared down to my bones. Because I had done that.

  “That right there.” Agent Dryope stood up. “That is precisely why she should not stay in your town. She could be a danger to you all if she channeled as much magic as you suggest that she did from your tree.”

  Nana faced off with the agent. “It’ll probably take some time. She’s like a light bulb that’s had a little too much juice sent to her wires. She’ll burn bright for a while, but eventually, she’ll calm down.”

  “Or she’ll burst, and no telling how big that explosion might get.” The agent’s green leaves rustled with her irritation.

  “Now, now, everybody needs to calm down. Nobody’s takin’ anybody anywhere.” Big Willie held up his hairy arms at all parties. “In my personal opinion, it’ll take fillin’ her belly with some good ol’ down home cookin’ to work things out. Y’all should stay and try out some of our real good food here. I’m tellin’ you, it’s the best medicine in all the world. In the meantime, how ‘bout we promise that if things start goin’ wonky with Miss Charli that we’ll contact you for further information?” He ushered the four magical authorities toward the door.

  Chief Inspector Marsden slipped a business card to me. “If you ever want to consider taking a job with our department, let me know. Tracker abilities are very desirable. Thank you for your time.”

  Agent Giacinta hovered on the porch, waiting for the rest to head to their vehicles. “Signorina Charli, if I may call you that.”

  “Sure.” Something about the fairy put me at immediate ease.

  “I do not want you to think that we are all as serious as my fellow agent. There are many of us who enjoy visiting new places and meeting new people despite the reasons why we go. You did well, dealing with Damien, and although Agent Dryope sees the outcome as…how you say…inconvenient to her, I believe that having his memory wiped may be beneficial to you, your town, and any others he would have hurt in the future.”

  “I appreciate you saying that.” I shook her tiny hand.

  She tilted her head. “Do not let fear dictate your life. Si, your magic may have value to others, but you hold your destiny in your own hands. If I had the choice to stay in such a place as this, I am not sure I would want to leave either, no?” she finished in her attractive accent.

  I nodded, happy to have someone who understood me so quickly. “Agent Giacinta, before you leave, make sure you have the fried chicken plate at the Harvest Moon Cafe and a slice of red velvet cake at Sweet Tooths. Tell them to put it all on my tab.”

  The fairy flitted to me and kissed me on both cheeks. “Grazie, Charli. May our paths cross again, but hopefully not for the same reason.”

  “And not on the fairy path,” I joked.

  She tittered, a little purple dust floating off her. “Ciao.” With a wave, she flew off.

  Nana walked back up the steps of the porch, watching the outsiders leave. “They’re going to the station to pick up Damien and take him away. Now that everything’s solved, I guess someone’s gonna have to plan Eugenia’s parting party. Just because she doesn’t have any children doesn’t mean she’s not one of us.”

  I put my arm around my grandmother. “Mrs. K had lots of kids. Leave it to me. I’ll put out the word, and by the time I’m done, she’ll have a part
ing party like no other. I’m thinkin’ a huge pig pickin’. That woman loved her barbecue.”

  “Sounds good to me, Birdy,” chuckled Nana. “Now, how ‘bout I cut you the biggest slice of some chess pie. I think you’ve earned it.”

  Epilogue

  Nana had almost called off the entire election due to the murder, the planted evidence, the almost-arrests, and the coverage in the newspaper. Since Linsey was responsible for most of the scandal that disrupted things, my grandmother convinced her to stick to the facts and stop stirring the pot or else. Having been on the other side of Nana’s or else’s before, I’d bet Linsey would stay on the straight and narrow for a while.

  Mrs. Eugenia Kettlefields had a parting party like no other. Many of her former students who had left Honeysuckle returned home to pay their respects and eat some good barbecue with all the fixings. Thanks to Lee and a few others who dug around in her past, they found out a lot more about her and shared her life with others so that we could all appreciate the woman who considered us all her kids. Although we were too late in life to express our thanks, we made sure to send them to her wherever she rested now.

  Tonight, Jordy and the Jack-O’-Lanterns played on stage while the whole town ate good food. Several people had hot grills going, the smell of sizzling meat filling the air. Plates and dishes stuffed with casseroles and homemade goods filled table upon table, and the sweet tea flowed like a river. A large banner congratulating the election winner floated in the air above the gazebo stage. Nearby, Goss hovered close, decorating everything she could in pink to celebrate her husband’s victory. Pride swelled in my chest for my friends.

  “Where can I put this?” Mason called out to me.

  I turned and spotted a foil container with something slightly brown and off-putting in it. “First, identify what it is.”

  “It’s lasagna,” he said, frowning at the contents. “I made it.”

  “Oh.” I pursed my lips to keep from laughing. “I suggest that you put it over there, then.”

  “You’re pointing at that trash can.”