Misdemeanor: A Missy Rae Mystery, #2

By Ava Mallory

Reluctant witch Missy Rae is at it again in Book Two of the Missy Rae Mysteries!

Find out what happens when an outdoor adventure, a long-held vendetta, and a band of well-meaning and slightly neurotic do-gooders try to help solve a murder.

 

When the annual Halloween Trail Hike ends in murder, resident witch Missy Rae finds herself in a sticky conundrum. Legend has it that her ancestors committed a series of similar crimes in the past, so it's only natural she and her meddling family members are to blame. Although they can't yet prove their innocence, they can do what they do best – create chaos – to root out the killer and expose a sinister scheme to rid their hometown of all witches.

Can Missy, her precocious Granny, a heavy-drinking cousin, a retired witch hunter, and her eternally angry mother find the culprit before he or she strikes again?

The Missy Rae Mysteries are written as standalone novels in the same witch-tastic world!
 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ava Mallory
• Release date: Apr 21, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393778356

Ava Mallory

Ava Mallory is brilliant, worldly and multi-talented - in her dreams. In reality, she spends her days catering to the often nonsensical, utterly impossible, never-ending needs of four children between the ages of 24 and 10.  When she completes every task on their "Mom, can-you-do" list, she sneaks off into her home office - most often without sleep, but always with coffee & chocolate in hand - and writes until her brain and her body finally give way or one of the many streaming television programs she's addicted to returns with new episodes. Either way, words make it on the page and her fans will not stage a revolt.  Currently, Ava is hard at work on future Mercy Mares novels and developing two new Cozy Mystery series'. 

Book preview

Chapter 1

The smell of death filled the air as I fought my way through the first three miles of the Poppy County Halloween Trail. My legs threatened to give way. I knew I should have listened when they told me to do practice hikes before the big day, but what can I say? I’m stubborn, and apparently, not that bright. My legs hurt. My back hurt. My clothes were covered in mud, and we’d only just begun. I still had days to go before this hike was over ... if I survived. The way things were going, my survival was questionable at minimum.

In the darkness, every noise in the thick brush, overlooking Poppy County, an unincorporated area, one hundred miles away from civilization, sounded louder. Every step more difficult than the last. Every shadow was suspect. I covered my mouth to stifle a potential blood-curdling scream, threatening to escape if anything dared make its presence known. My heel flattened a pile of discarded bones, or at least what I thought sounded like bones, cracking under the weight of my brand-new pink hiking boots.

What is that smell? The inside of my nose feels like someone set it on fire. I can feel the cilia melting away. Jake, my longtime best friend, and employee at my grandmother’s custom furniture and salvage shop, let loose a litany of disgusting noises unbecoming of domesticated human beings, but who could blame her? This place had Hikers Gone Missing; Assumed Dead written all over it.

I chuckled. I don’t know what’s worse. Your whining or the fact you know what the word cilia means? Is this the word of the day thing again? Because this isn’t the time or place to expand your vocabulary. Our lives are in danger, and whoever or whatever, wants to eat us alive won’t give us a vocabulary test before they kill us.

She pointed the flashlight toward her face, so I could see the scowl on it. It had become a fixture ever since I told her I wanted to do the hike. Tell me, why did we agree to do this again? I swear, next time you ask me to do anything outside of work again, I’ll sock you in your good eye. The one with the good lashes. She plastered a wide smile on her face and winked, her long, curly lashes taunting me, like everything else about her perfect eyes, cheekbones, and hair did. I swear, whoever doled out good looks in this world had a cruel streak. Jake got flawless beauty. I got will someone please tell that girl to wear makeup potential. At least, that’s how I saw it.

Shh! I signaled toward the brush. They’ll hear us. And by the way, both my eyes are good, and I think my eyelashes look great today. They better. I wouldn’t pay as much as I did for them if they didn’t.

She pointed her flashlight at me. Let go of your vanity and admit you can’t see. Glasses are in style. Everyone has them these days. They’ll make you look smart and sophisticated. She grumbled some more as she tried to catch her footing along the slick, muddy path. It’s the middle of the night. It’s cold, raining, and I’m irritated as all get out, and it’s only the first night. What has it been? A few hours? Remind me to never hike with you again.

Maybe if you hadn’t complained during the drive here, I wouldn’t be in such a bad mood. I don’t get it. You act like I forced you into it.

She scanned the area. You better hope someone finds us before the animals do, or worse, one of your creepy ancestors does. I know you don’t like to talk about it, but everyone says your family dragged innocent people up here and did who knows what to them a hundred years ago.

That story isn’t true. How many times do I have to tell you that? I asked.

At this rate, we’ll be dead by morning. Her eyes lit up. They wouldn’t kill one of their own, would they? What about me? I may not be a witch, but I’m witch centric. I’ve been hanging out with you all my life.

I had it up to high-heaven with her complaints about the hike, the weather, the phony lore, people in town had spread about my witch ancestors and everything else under the sun that bothered her this year. When we agreed to participate in the weekend hike through the hills, she promised she wouldn’t whine and complain the whole way. Enough. It’s only been a few hours. We still have two more days. If you speak ill of my family, dead or alive, I’ll pull out the family book of spells and make your life miserable.

You mean more miserable than you’ve already made it? She cast the flashlight at the trees. Did you hear that? I think there’s someone out there. I can feel it in my bones. What about you? Can you sense anything? If ever there was a time to figure out how to use your abilities, now would be it.

Don’t rely on my abilities. Everyone tells me, they’ll show up, but so far, no such luck. You might want to think about lowering your voice. I don’t know why you have to be so loud all the time. The whole world can hear you, megaphone lips. I searched my back pocket for my cell phone and dug it out. There’s no signal.

I’m shocked, she dead panned. You mean to tell me there’s no signal up in these here hills? She faked a thick country accent, which annoyed me about as much as her attitude problem.

I snapped a photo of her with the flash on to irritate her. If you don’t stop with that horrible accent, I might leave you up here alone. I’m sure someone or something will find you ... eventually. Hope you survive, bestie.

She swung around, her hair slapping me across the face as she aimed her flashlight behind us. I’ll ignore that because you get mouthy when you’re terrified. This is way too creepy for my taste. I swear there’s someone out there, waiting in the wings to murder us. She nudged my shoulder. Go look and tell me what you find. I hoped that was a joke because I had no intention of wandering off on my own. Didn’t this used to be your land? Don’t you know your way around?

Chills ran up and down my spine. The whole reason I agreed to this hiking adventure was to prove my bravery, not only to myself but to everyone in town who believed those unfounded rumors. I’d heard the stories told so many times, I made it my mission to disprove them and reverse some of the damage done.

My grandmother, affectionately known as Lola the witch, by the locals, bet me that I couldn’t make it one day on the trail, disturbing rumors or not. I had an aversion to sleeping outside. It didn’t align with my goals. I liked indoor plumbing, electricity, and sleeping with no fear of being mangled by flesh-eating bears. My grandmother liked to remind me that I wasn’t like our ancestors. No magic skills to speak of yet. No long list of suitors begging me to marry them and not a brave bone in my body. Normally, my rational mind would have advised me to admit she was right, but I wasn’t thinking when I decided to join this adventure. I never thought things through when tested. I preferred to let my emotions dictate my life, and on that day, my emotions ran high. I’d had an argument with my boyfriend about something so insignificant, I couldn’t remember it. To show him I could do fine on my own, I signed us up. So far, it hadn’t proven to be the best decision, but it would make for an interesting story to tell ... if Jake and I survived.

This trip wasn’t my only spur of the moment decision. The others, though not quite as drastic, would come to bite me in the behind soon. I had no doubt about it. The hike promised a non-stop adventure for adrenaline junkies. I wasn’t a thrill-seeker, but if the task involved outshining Jake, then, I was in. Those who survived the three-night long stint would win a cash prize. The money would come in handy because a two-day long shopping trip to the city left me strapped for cash and my grandmother refused to give me an advance on my paycheck, so I needed the money – like yesterday.

"No. It’s not on the itinerary. You should do it. You’re the brave and bold one. Now is your time to shine." I pulled the tattered brochure out of my backpack and pointed to the rules. Stay on the trail. If you see any otherworldly phenomenon, do not engage. Any deviation from this guide could result in your death. Travel at your own risk, because there will be plenty. The organizers of this event bear no responsibility in the event of death or disaster.

What possessed me to agree to those terms? Had people died on this trail? Weren’t death and disaster the same thing?

Jake flashed the flashlight in my eyes again. It doesn’t say anything about backtracking. If we turn around now, we can make it to your house before Lola wakes up. She buried her nose in the crook of her arm. Does it smell like death to you? It’s worse than the time your cats took off for a week and came back smelling like they swallowed a sewer. Wait. Do you think they followed us here?

The stench had been with us since we’d crossed a ravine about a mile back.

It’s an animal, but not my cats. They’re too lazy to climb up a hill and through the woods ... unless there’s something to eat or destroy on the other side. I think it’s a squirrel or a raccoon. Don’t worry, they don’t bite, I said more to convince myself than her. I had no idea if either would attack people, but I didn’t intend to find out.

It must be a big animal, she mused. What team are we on again?

For the umpteenth time, we’re the Ghosts. I thought I heard someone behind me again. I think the Goblins are close behind us. They should be. We’re headed in the same direction.

The Goblins team consisted of experienced hikers. They boasted and high-fived each other during the mandatory safety meeting, while the rest of us took notes and oohed and awed our way through the hour-long training session. Their smug leader, Kyle, couldn’t get enough of our newbie questions and concerns. He mocked us during the entire session, telling us frightening horror stories of hikers getting lost in the woods, never to be seen or heard from again. Apparently, other people’s horror stories were comic relief for him.

We’d just met him, but neither Jake nor I liked him. He was the antithesis of the kind of person we’d want to hang out with. I told him as much before we started our hike. He didn’t appear bothered by the idea. In fact, he laughed it off because – his words – ‘what did women know about anything?’ Men like him were the scum of the earth or something equally vile and wrong.

I hope you mean the team and not the other kind, Jake said as she braced herself for what would jump out at us from the woods.

Is there another kind? I checked behind me. Huge trees. Pitch blackness. Strange noises. And we only had flashlights and heavy backpacks for protection. Our dim light sources didn’t make me feel confident about our survival.

Jake moved again. Come on. We need to find someplace to set up camp for the night before it gets too late.

A cabin, I hope, I said. Of course, the organizers insisted we stay in our tents or be disqualified. The cabins were off limits. I guess maybe we should have warned them that neither one of us had ever camped before, so the likelihood of us erecting a tent were slim.

Do you think we can sneak into one undetected? Jake asked.

We can’t even hike up one hill without making a ruckus. I doubt we’d manage to keep quiet while breaking into a cabin, I said. What is that smell? It’s following us. Check your shoes.

She picked up the pace. I can’t see.

I could taste the smell now. What is that?

A branch snapped behind us. Our initial reaction landed us behind the first tree we could find.

What was that? My voice shook. What if it’s a bear or a lion, or worse, a serial killer?

The flashlight beam bounced up and down as she fought to still her hands. It better not be a bear.

I pulled mine up and scanned the area. Branches, tree limbs, leaves, but no people-eating bears. Did you say you hope it’s not a bear? What’s wrong with you? I scanned the perimeter. I don’t see anything.

She pointed her light in the distance. Doesn’t it smell like bacon on a griddle?

Only you would think about food when our lives are on the line, I huffed as I followed the light. Something is on fire. There wasn’t a flame, but I smelled smoke coming from somewhere nearby. I can’t breathe.

She covered her mouth. If you couldn’t breathe, you wouldn’t talk. She focused the light out farther in the distance. I can’t see anything. What was the commercial about forest fires? Did it tell us to put them out or to get out if we saw one?

The smoke grew thicker, burning my eyes. I can’t remember. Let’s stop. We should call someone and let them know before the whole place burns down.

No signal remember? she reminded me. Cover your mouth. We have to get closer, so we know what we’re up against. She took tentative steps to go deeper into the woods, while I hiked my shirt up to cover my mouth and nose.

Wait. We can’t go in there. It’s not part of the trail. I think we should try to find someone from our group and let them know, I begged.

She didn’t listen. I hear a voice. She ran through the smoke, leaving me in the dark by myself.

I can’t breathe, I said as I backed away from the pungent fumes.

After a few seconds, I called out to her, Are you there?

No answer.

Jake! I didn’t care who heard me. In fact, I hoped someone would hear me. Hey! Say something. This isn’t the time or the place for pranks.

Nothing. Panic started to set in. My palms grew sweaty. My teeth chattered like a swimmer in the middle of an Alaskan winter. Goose pimples blanketed my skin from the top of my head to the bottom of my frozen toes. I was convinced my death was imminent. That’s how it happened in the movies. The one left behind always died a horrible death.

Say something, I begged.

Still nothing but me and the smoke.

Please, come back. I don’t want to be out here alone, I begged.

The sound of cackling startled me so badly, I thought I might have a heart attack.

Who is that? I turned to see, but the smoke clouded my vision. Is it you, Jake? Are you okay? Say something.

The distinct sound of branches cracking under pressure filled the terrifying void.

Help. I could barely get the words out of my mouth. No, no, no. Don’t do this to me. Not here. Not now. Not on the Halloween Trail.

A tap on my shoulder sent me lunging forward.

HELP! I screeched before I realized who it was. You’re a jerk! Where did you come from?

As if someone had flipped a switch, a stream of flashlights came on around me.

Jake held her stomach as she laughed, mocking me. "I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe.