Easy Bake Coven: Book One of the Vivienne Finch Magical Mysteries (33 page)
Mary
Ellen Bryce was forced to resign from her position in the school and moved out
West as the damage to her reputation was too great to repair. The expensive
uniforms were ditched in favor of a dress code which still preserved order
without hurting the wallets and purses of the parents. She was replaced by a young
man from Ithaca who was much more in step with the students and quickly bonded
with the staff and mended bridges that Mary Ellen had so easily burned.
The
historic commission was disbanded after a generous private grant funded a
complete redesign of Main Street, courtesy of millionaire hotel heiress
Samantha Charles. She ended up buying the former Clemens residence shortly
afterwards and made plans to start using it as her new summer home. True to her
word, she had kept Vivienne busy with special orders to be shipped to New York
City for all sorts of special events. The famous
Treavis
Cake, being the most requested item of all.
Nora
had calmed down greatly, now that her daughter was in a healthy and happy
relationship. She still stopped in at the bakery nearly every day to check up
on how things were running. She limited herself to one query a week as to when
a wedding day might be set, which Vivienne thought more than fair. But that
still didn’t stop her from sending gift subscriptions for bridal magazines
every chance she got.
Nana
Mary continued to enjoy her life at
Whispering
Oaks
, where she continued with her winning streak at the weekly bingo
games. She offered guidance to Vivienne, as she began to study the
grimoire
and its plethora of spells and charms.
Stephanie
Bridgeman continued to demonstrate a talent for decorating that surprised even
Vivienne. She was eager to learn new techniques and was soon creating her own
loyal following with her cute animal cupcakes that kids couldn’t resist. Her
green frogs with a pink taffy tongue had become the most popular with boys and
her dragonfly with a candy stick tail proved irresistible to girls.
As
for Joshua, he had received a special commendation from Sheriff
Rigsbee
for his dedication in bringing Mona Clarke’s
investigation to a close. He continued to demonstrate an uncanny ability to
find missing persons that no one in the office could match. It was all in the
nose, he would joke to the others.
A
gaggle of laughing children bounded down the road all dressed in their
Halloween finery. Vivienne watched them race up the sidewalks with plastic bags
flailing in their hands. “Trick or Treat.” They shouted at the pink home across
the street.
Joshua
stepped outside and joined her on the front steps with a big bowl of candy. He
had decided upon a classic Hollywood
Wolfman
costume
and gave her a little nibble on the ear. “Aren’t we flirting with danger here?”
“What
do you mean?” Vivienne asked as she snagged a piece of strawberry licorice from
the bowl.
“Showing
our true colors so boldly to the world?” He winked.
“It’s
Halloween.” She smiled at him. “The one night of the year we can be ourselves
and no one will look twice.”
Joshua
set the bowl on a little plastic table next to the steps and sat down. “What
time is the coven meeting?”
“It
starts at five minutes to midnight.” Vivienne sat down next to him. “But Nana
Mary wants to leave by eleven so we get a good seat for the festivities.”
“I
don’t suppose you can tell me what goes on during these meetings.”
Vivienne
bit off a piece of the licorice and shook her head. “I’ve been sworn to
secrecy.”
“That’s
a shame.” Joshua dug through the candy bowl and pulled out a peanut butter cup.
“Because I was going to tell you about what we werewolves do when we meet on
full moons.”
“You
know, there are some secrets I think I can live with.” She laughed.
Joshua
chewed the chocolate confection thoughtfully. “Probably for the better, I’m
sure.”
“My
darling, it’s just a little witchcraft.” Vivienne put her hand under his chin.
“I’m a good one, remember?”
“No.”
He smiled back at her. “You’re the best.” He kissed her fully on the lips as
another group of children ran up the sidewalk to them.
“Oh,
gross.” One of the boys dressed as a pirate stuck out his tongue. “If that’s
your trick, can we have our treat now?”
Vivienne
and Josh laughed and filled their bags with goodies. “Happy Halloween.” They
spoke in unison as another wave of children descended upon them.
Yule be the Death of Me
: Book Two of
the Vivienne Finch Magical Mysteries.
It’s the height
of the Christmas season in Cayuga Cove and the residents are preparing for the
annual holiday gingerbread house competition. With the Sweet Dreams Bakery a
smashing success, Vivienne and her assistant Stephanie create a charming reproduction
of a Victorian home landmark they are sure will snag the top prize. However,
when an anonymous ‘Santa’s Naughty List’ starts appearing on utility poles and
community event bulletin boards all over town, exposing the less-than-savory
deeds of many local residents, the holiday spirit quickly turns sour. When the
first name mentioned on the list is found murdered a few days later, the gift
of suspicion leads to holiday panic. Vivienne must catch a cunning killer
before her own goose is cooked!
J.D.
Shaw is a 2008 graduate of the prestigious Odyssey Writing Workshop run by
Jeanne
Cavelos
, former senior editor at Bantam
Doubleday Dell. During his six weeks in the program, he worked alongside such
award winning authors as Barry B.
Longyear
and Nancy
Kress.
He
lives in Elmira, NY with Sam, an indoor tiger cat, who seems to think that
sleep is just wasted time between feedings and spending quality outdoor time
with his pal, the neighborhood stray, Mister Tommy Cat.
This
is his first novel in the Vivienne Finch Magical Mysteries. He is currently
hard at work on the next book in the series.
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