Free Sit for a Spell (The Kitchen Witch, Book 3): (Witch Cozy Mystery series) by Morgana Best

Perhaps his divinations had revealed more to him than he was letting on.
    “Speaking of suspects,” Camino said, “Barbara, Sue’s sister, will arrive in town tomorrow morning for the funeral. I’ve offered to let her stay at my place so I can keep an eye on her.”
    Ruprecht looked aghast. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? After all, she is a suspect—at least to us, if not to the police.”
    Camino smiled, the first genuine smile I had seen on her face since that night. “Yes, and that’s exactly why I want to keep an eye on her. I’ll be in no danger, because if she did murder Sue, it was to get the inheritance. It’s not as if she’s a serial killer going on a killing spree, if she even was the murderer in the first place. I’ve met her before, over the years, when she came to visit Sue, but I don’t know her very well. Nevertheless, having her under my nose will give me a good idea of what she’s up to—if she’s up to anything, that is.”
    Ruprecht shook his head. “All right, Camino. I can’t tell you what to do and I would never presume to do so. But I don’t have a good feeling about this.”
     
     

Chapter 14
     
    Early the next morning, I staggered, pre-caffeine, out to the street to collect my two trash cans. I dragged them down past my house into my backyard. I noticed that my gardenias looked a little droopy, so I filled the watering can and gave them a thorough watering. I returned to the house, ready to have a lovely cup of coffee after feeding Willow and Hawthorn. Both cats were already quite put out that I hadn’t fed them before bringing in the trash cans.
    When I got back to the front door, I saw that it was open. Surely I hadn’t left it open? I usually remembered to shut it behind me due to the persistent summer flies. I shrugged and walked inside. As soon as I set foot inside the house, I heard a noise from the living room and saw that the door was shut. I never shut that door, so with some trepidation, I crossed to it and opened it.
    “Argh!” I screamed as I jumped back. There was a strange woman in my living room.
    “Thank goodness you’re here!” She said. “The door shut behind me and I couldn’t open it.”
    “Who are you?” I said. The woman didn’t look dangerous, and she wasn’t carrying a weapon. Apart from that, the house had not attacked her, so I supposed she was harmless. I crossed the room to turn off the television. Once again, the house had the cooking channel on. I think the house had a thing for Jamie Oliver.
    “I’m Barbara,” she said. “Where’s Camino? I thought she was expecting me.”
    “Camino?” I said. “Yes, she is expecting you, but I think you have the wrong house. Camino’s house is next door.”
    The woman clutched at her throat. “I’m so sorry!” she exclaimed. “Camino said she was just popping down to the grocery store, and she’d leave the door unlocked for me if she wasn’t home. I must have got the number wrong. Silly me. I’m so sorry. The door was unlocked, so I came straight in.”
    The woman’s distress appeared to be genuine, and I had no reason not to believe her, apart from the fact she was a suspect. However, the one thing that did concern me was that Camino would leave a murder suspect alone in her own home.
    “It’s no problem at all,” I lied. “I’ll take you to Camino’s now.” And stay with you until Camino comes home , I added silently. I was not about to let a murder suspect snoop around Camino’s house.
    “Is something wrong with your television?” Barbara asked me. “The television got louder and louder. I tried to turn it down, but it didn’t work. It kept getting louder and louder and then it kept flipping back to the cooking channel.”
    “It’s just the wiring,” I said. I wanted to glare at the house, but I had no idea in which direction to do so. “I’ve been meaning to get it fixed for ages.”
    “The wiring?” Barbara asked. “Does the house wiring affect the