Chili Cauldron Curse: A Delightful Culinary Mystery with Magic

By Lynn Cahoon

Meet a new cozy star with her own special brand of culinary magic in this first story in New York Times bestselling author Lynn Cahoon’s Kitchen Witch series.
 
When Mia Malone’s grandmother asks her to take a week away from her restaurant job and come to Magic Springs, Idaho, she’s happy to oblige. Like Mia, Grans has witchcraft running through her veins, and life with her is never boring. Plus, the cause is a good one—helping Grans get the local food bank up and running again. But there’s an unappetizing surprise in store. While Mia is knee-deep in boxes of donated produce, she encounters the body of Dorian Alexander.
 
Dorian was a warlock, leader of the local coven. He was also her Grans’ new beau. There’s no potion that’ll make this trouble disappear. But if Mia wants to keep her Grans—now a prime suspect—from serving a spell in prison, she’ll have to unearth the real killer fast. . . .
 
Praise for The Tourist Trap Mysteries
 
“I love the author’s style, which was warm and friendly . . . [A] wonderfully appealing series.”
—Dru’s Book Musings
                                                                                                       
“Light, fun, and kept me thoroughly engaged.”
—The Young Folks

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kensington Books
• Release date: Aug 25, 2020
• ISBN: 9781496730466

Book preview

Chili Cauldron Curse

Also by Lynn Cahoon

The Cat Latimer Mysteries

A Story to Kill

Fatality by Firelight

Of Murder and Men

Slay in Character

Sconed to Death

A Field Guide to Homicide

The Farm-to-Fork Mysteries

Who Moved My Goat Cheese?

Killer Green Tomatoes

One Potato, Two Potato, Dead

Novellas

Deep Fried Revenge

Have a Deadly New Year

Penned In

The Tourist Trap Mysteries

Guidebook to Murder

Mission to Murder

If the Shoe Kills

Dressed to Kill

Killer Run

Murder on Wheels

Tea Cups and Carnage

Hospitality and Homicide

Killer Party

Memories and Murder

Novellas

Rockets’ Dead Glare

A Deadly Brew

Santa Puppy

Corned Beef and Casualties

Mother’s Day Mayhem

A Very Mummy Holiday

Table of Contents

Also by Lynn Cahoon

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Letter to my readers

Woodstove Chili

Teaser Chapter

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Chili Cauldron Curse

A Kitchen Witch Novella

Lynn Cahoon

KENSINGTON BOOKS

www.kensingtonbooks.com

To the extent that the image or images on the cover of this book depict a person or persons, such person or persons are merely models, and are not intended to portray any character or characters featured in the book.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons living or dead is entirely coincidental

KENSINGTON BOOKS are published by

Kensington Publishing Corp.

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New York, NY 10018

Copyright © 2020 by Lynn Cahoon

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First Electronic Edition: September 2020

eISBN-13: 978-1-4967-3046-6

eISBN-10: 1-4967-3046-1

Dedication

To the ones who volunteer their time to make our world just a little bit better.

Acknowledgments

I feel like I should acknowledge my long hours of watching different paranormal shows on television. Shows like Charmed, Supernatural, or even Dark Shadows. Or maybe the hours of reading Stephen King. But really, I should thank my husband for giving me the space to create my worlds. I also want to thank my editor for her wise words. And my agent for her gentle guidance in this crazy world of publishing.

Chapter 1

Mia Malone stood in front of the Magic Springs Food Bank, staring into the crowded space and trying not to breathe. For a small Idaho town, the powers that be had set the food bank up in a great space. However, the lack of attention to the place over the summer showed. Boxes filled the open floor plan. Metal shelving units sat empty, lined up against the wall. And somewhere, the smell of rotting fruit was making the building almost uninhabitable. She turned to her grandmother, Mary Alice Carpenter, who was holding a napkin over her nose.

Something went bad somewhere. Mia knew she was stating the obvious but she couldn’t stop the words from coming out. How long has this food been here?

It’s been a warm summer. The Lodge trucks stop by every week and make a drop. Tasha Newton sighed. She stood between Mia and Grans, and ran a hand through her graying hair. It was just me when school closed and I wasn’t able to be here every week. I tried to keep up with it, but the parents of the school kids were our primary clients. Once they went out on summer vacation, I guess they forgot we had the supplies here. My hip replacement kept me from being here at all for the last month.

Mia didn’t have a year to fix the problems at the Magic Springs Food Bank. She had exactly a week before she was expected back at her job as head caterer for a restaurant in Boise. The only reason she’d been able take this amount of time off was her boss—and boyfriend, Isaac Adams—knew the favor was for Grans. Apparently, her boyfriend was either afraid of her grandmother or really in love with her. Okay then. We’ve got some work to do before school starts again.

I can help with the boxes. Grans offered.

Mia looked at the two women with her. Tasha had to be in her late sixties, if Mia was being generous. Grans, well, she didn’t discuss her age, but Mia’s mom had let it slip that her last birthday had been the big seven-oh. I called Christina and she’ll be here tomorrow. Isaac and Roxanne are picking her up at the airport and then she’ll drive up here. So, I have muscle coming.

I’m sure Roxanne will have some words of wisdom for her wayward daughter. That woman. Grans didn’t have much good to say about Isaac and Christina’s mother, Roxanne Adams. For that matter, Mia didn’t either.

Mia nodded to the small office. Why don’t you two go and make some flyers for the chili cook-off on Saturday? I think we need to let people know we’re here. And then you can be in charge of getting them out to the community while Christina and I get things organized. I think we need to do an inventory of what we currently have, then a received date. That way you can easily rotate stock to make sure nothing goes bad. Mia looked at the jeans and tank she’d dressed in today. The Goddess had guided her well in her clothing choice because she was going to be filthy by the time she left for Grans’s tonight.

Well, if you think you’re okay here alone. Grans darted to the office, not waiting for a response.

Tasha quickly followed, shutting the foul smell out with the slam of the door.

Great, don’t ask for help. You can do everything by yourself. She took a deep breath. Coughing, she didn’t control her hand quickly enough. With a flick of the wrist and a quickly whispered spell, she wasn’t affected by the smell anymore. She knew it was still there, she just didn’t have to suffer through it. She rarely used her magic for her own comfort, but she thought the Goddess might just give her this one without a cost. Or She would, if She could smell the room.

Mia sat her tote and jacket on a table near the door. She pulled out a notebook and a pen, then headed to the first stack of boxes. She’d gather like items together, first. Then she’d try to estimate what she had so she could start stacking the food in groups.

Magic Springs, Idaho, was just north of Boise and near Sun Valley. The ski lodge had been built in the sixties and catered to the rich and famous, then and now. The problem was, people who worked in the area didn’t always have the money for basics like food and school supplies. Especially in the larger families. Her grandmother was on the local sorority who supported several community outreach programs like the food bank. Unfortunately, they hadn’t taken responsibility for the program until last week, when Tasha had called for help. Mia loved her grandmother, but looking at this mess, she thought this time Grans might have bitten off more than she could chew.

She started opening boxes, making notes, then moving boxes to their designated areas. Fruits, vegetables, meats, soups, snacks, and paper products—they all had their own section. From the amount of peanut butter and jelly she’d unpacked, she might make that a section of its own near the snacks. And there were random