Free Murder Most Witchy (Wendy Lightower Mystery) by Emily Rylands

fair question, and one she had no intention of answering, even to herself.
     
    Magda stayed for over an hour, listening and offering a surprising amount of comfort. Throughout the tenure of their friendship, there had never been any reason for her to be much of a support to Wendy, but she was stepping into the role with relative ease. She had even prepared Wendy a dish of pasta to be reheated later for dinner.
    When Magda finally left, Wendy spent the rest of the day keeping herself busy. She went for a long run, weeded her little backyard garden, and cleaned her cottage from top to bottom. When she finished cleaning the underside of the refrigerator, she finally had to admit that there was nothing else to do. She heated up the meal that Magda had left behind and ate quickly. All the while her eyes kept darting over to the closet with its heavy lock and unusual contents.
    Wendy sat down on the couch, a book in her hand professing her good intentions, but neither her eyes nor her attention stayed on the pages. She grabbed the nearest pillow and clenched it tightly in a bear hug, willing herself to think of anything else but that closet.
    Eventually, though it was only eight o'clock, Wendy got up and went to bed. She lay awake for a long time, tossing and turning, getting tangled up in sheets and blankets. When she finally fell asleep after seemed like hours, she dreamed. Invisible hands reached for her throat as she struggled and fought to reach a lock that only she could open.
     
    The next morning, as though the sun somehow knew what had happened, was grey and gloomy. The clouds overhead blocked out all the light and held out the constant threat of rain. It was drizzling as Wendy left the warmth of her little cottage. She had managed to avoid temptation for the rest of the night and all morning, but she didn't think it was such a bad idea for her to stay away from home today.
    When she drove up in her little sedan, Gerry was waiting with a plateful of fresh pastry.
    “So you knew I would come?”
    Gerry smiled at her. “Don't I always? Come in. There's coffee.”
    Wendy followed him inside, and despite her personal conflict, she was very happy to see him. He poured her a cup of coffee, and they sat in companionable silence for a time munching on buttery croissants.
    “I never asked yesterday,” Gerry finally said, negligently as though it had slipped his mind and he had only now thought of it, “but are you okay?”
    Wendy covered his large, burly hand with her own. In his own gruff way, he was checking on her, and the baking, which was his one non-magical hobby, was an apology of sorts. He knew how much she loved his croissants.
    “I'm fine. Thank you for asking.” She leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. She honestly didn't know what possessed her to do that. They were not an affectionate family by nature, and she probably hadn't kissed him since she was six years old. She'd meant it though. He was her only family left, and she didn't see him nearly as often as she should.
    “Did you know him well?”
    Wendy thought for a moment and was saddened when she had to admit that she hadn't known Benny well at all. “He worked in the library, but he worked nights. I would see him sometimes when I came in in the morning if I came in early enough. He was always friendly.”
    She thought back to the handful of short conversations that were all the interaction she had ever had with Benny. She knew nothing about his family, his friends, his hopes or his dreams. All she really knew was that he was friendly, and perhaps a bit slow but good at his job. He had seemed to take pride in his work, and she had always appreciated that he attended to all the details around the building. Once she had pointed out a cobweb in one of the back corners, one that no one ever saw because it was behind a rather tall bookshelf. The next morning, not only was that cobweb gone, but every corner in the entire building had been thoroughly