Cozy Mystery: Cake Spell Disaster (A Haven Witch Woman Sleuths Book) COMPLETED

TEN

The next morning, I'd decided I would go to The Golden Goose as soon as I'd had my coffee. I'd slept badly during the night. So badly, in fact, that I'd dipped into my mother's Fluffernutter tea. It had put me out like a light in a matter of seconds.

There was still something about the Fluffernutter in the baked goods that bothered me.

I dialed Doctor Wallace as I put on my coffee. It rang three times before he answered.

"Doctor Wallace here."

"Hello, Doctor, it's Felicity Redfern."

"Felicity," he said. "How are you, my dear?"

"I've been better," I replied as honestly as possible without getting into it. I could almost hear him nodding sympathetically over the phone.

"Listen, Dr. Wallace, I was calling because there's been something bothering me about the Fluffernutter you found in my mother's pastries."

"Yes?" he asked. I was grateful he was willing to listen to my questions.

"Well, Fluffernutter root is a sleep aid. It doesn't generally make people sick. It can explain the coma my mother and Mayor Singer fell into, but it doesn't explain the green slime they both coughed up."

"That's true," he said carefully. "I had the same thoughts. That's why I've actually been conferring with a witch regarding some of the magical elements of the case."

"You have?" I asked, surprised.

"Yes. I recognize that I'm no expert in magic. I've learned a lot living on Heavenly Haven, but I'm still learning new things every day. For example, did you know that the Wildebeest Mushroom can actually turn a person into a wildebeest when mixed with maple syrup?" He sounded more excited than alarmed by this information.

I tried not to laugh. Every witch and warlock in first grade knew that. Sometimes, I forgot just how human Doctor Wallace was. When he'd first taken his position at Mistmoor Hospital, there had been a paranormals town meeting to discuss whether or not he should be informed of the different types of people he might encounter in his work.

It had been decided that, for the safety of the wizarding community, as well as the odd shapeshifter and fairy who sometimes made an appearance on the island, he had to be told the truth. Though witches and humans weren't so different anatomy wise, there was a wide disparity between illnesses that humans and witches might suffer from. No human had ever gone to the hospital suffering from a hammerhead hex. How was Dr. Wallace going to know how to treat them if he didn't even know that witches and warlocks were real?

"So, what do you think? Is there more to this than just Fluffernutter root?"

Dr. Wallace hesitated and I got a sneaking suspicion I knew why.

"Did Lincoln ask you not to talk to me?"

"No, nothing like that. He just... encouraged me not to lead you on about the case. He's just worried about you, Felicity. He doesn't want to see you upset."

"Humph."

"But I don't think I'm violating any oaths if tell you that it's likely the Fluffernutter root was mixed with something that, when combined, created a toxic poison."

"So then whoever mixed them might not have even realized they were creating anything poisonous."

"It's possible. This may have been a simple case of misidentification. According to Amanda Hollyberry, the simplest addition of basil or thugwort could have resulted in a catastrophic reaction."

"Thank you, Doctor Wallace," I said, hanging up.

My head was spinning on the way to see Grayson. My conversation with Dr. Wallace had done nothing to help my headache.