Six Stunning Sirens

Book 6: Kitchen Witch Mysteries

by Lynn Cahoon

Genres: Amateur Sleuth; Culinary Cozy Mysteries; Mystery

Synopsis

New York Times bestselling author Lynn Cahoon continues her enchanting Kitchen Witch Mystery series featuring everyone’s favorite, spellbinding kitchen witch Mia Malone.

In a triumph for Mia’s catering business and cooking school, Mia’s Morsels is chosen to host a fall festival event in their Idaho mountain town—which means managing a bunch of stage moms and their social-media obsessed daughters as they get ready for the big beauty contest. There’s a lot riding on the results of the Harvest Moon Festival—it’s where the local coven leader is chosen for the following year.

But after one contestant is found in a compromising position with a judge, and another drops out when her mother is killed in a freak hiking accident, the coven suspects magical meddling. With a week to go before the coronation of the new queen, Mia must draw on her sleuthing powers to find out what’s going on—and whether this competition has gotten a little too cutthroat . . .

Release date: September 24, 2024

Publisher: Kensington Books

Print pages: 288

Sample

Fall was imminent. The season always arrived too fast in the mountains of Magic Springs, Idaho. At least for Mia Malone’s wishes. The bright sun that warmed Mia as she sat outside her constantly remodeled schoolhouse would soon just be a memory until next May or maybe as late as July. But she wasn’t worried about fall’s colder temperatures just because she was holding on to summer.

Today, she was drawing out plans for hosting the Miss Magic Springs Harvest Pageant here at the school, outside, at the end of the month. The backyard was still beautiful with a row of mums in alternating colors circling the area. Her herb garden was still a vibrant green. Pumpkins, cabbages, and gourd plants had replaced the summer’s bounty in her main garden.

All she had to worry about was a sudden freeze, or worse, an early snowfall. She stared at the craggy mountains that bordered the town and wondered if there was a spell she could do or ask Grans to cast to keep the cold weather away until the festival was over.

Who knew, maybe the local coven, the Magic Springs Society for Magical Realism, already had the weather spelling covered. They had been the ones to set the date and to choose Mia’s schoolhouse for the pageant and the opening reception. She could be worrying over nothing.

She quickly drew out a staging plan for the part of the three-day event hosted by Mia’s Morsels. On the weekly planning call that morning, her boss at the Lodge, Frank Hines, had been snippy about Mia’s Morsels getting the Harvest Queen contest contract. Mia worked hard to present the Lodge’s proposal, but the coven had gone with Mia’s Morsels proposal that Abigail Majors had submitted instead. And they’d rented the school for the event.

James Holder, the Lodge’s head chef, had come to her defense on the call, saying Mia’s Lodge proposal had been solid, even better than the one they’d submitted last year. Abigail Majors, the current manager of Mia’s Morsels, just knew the right people.

In a small town like Magic Springs, it was all about networking. Abigail had connections in the town and the coven. And after living here for more than a couple of years, Mia was still a newcomer.

Mia had the feeling that she couldn’t serve two masters much longer. She’d taken the job as the Lodge’s catering director because Frank had banned any outside caterer from using the Lodge’s facilities. Which had cut Mia’s annual catering by more than fifty percent. Until the company could stand on its own, she needed the income from the Lodge job to keep the mortgage paid on the old school, as well as buy food and pay the utilities.

Christina Adams brought out three plates with what looked like a ham and turkey sandwich, potato salad, and a dill pickle and set them on the table next to Mia. The only other employee of Mia’s Morsels, Abigail Majors, followed Christina out of the kitchen with a tray holding glasses of ice and a pitcher of iced tea.

“You need to eat something,” Christina said as she sat next to Mia. Christina was her best friend and now was also a full-time employee for Mia’s Morsels. Once, she had almost been Mia’s sister-in-law, but their friendship had lasted longer than Mia’s engagement to Isaac. Mia knew that Christina had gotten several higher-paying job offers when she’d graduated in June that she’d turned down. Christina was dating Levi Majors, Abigail’s youngest son, and the couple had decided to wait at least a year before moving out of state.

Christina brought her back to reality as she poured the iced tea. “You’ve been stewing on that setup since your catering department leadership meeting ended at nine. Frank must have been his usual charming self.”

“He basically called me a liar when I said I didn’t give Abigail our contract estimate. He thinks we underbid the Lodge.” Mia closed her notebook and put it on the ground under her chair.

“Our bid was higher than any other bid, according to the coven. We just had a few boutique offerings that no mortal company could offer. Like a room for spell detection during the competition. Last year, the coven had to park an RV in the Lodge’s parking lot, and still, there was an incident with a judge and a contestant’s mother.” Abigail poured the tea, sitting down at the table afterward. “Don’t feel bad about losing the contract. They came to me because we understand the problems having an active coven in town has on a beauty competition.”

“All great information, but nothing I can tell Frank to ease his mind about my loyalty.” Mia sent a blessing to the Goddess for the food she’d been provided, then opened her eyes to see Abigail and Christina watching her. “I’m fine. I just don’t think I’ll be able to keep the Lodge job much longer after Mia’s Morsels becomes solvent. I understand why it could be seen as a conflict of interest.”

“Which is why I’m doing the management for the company. Don’t worry about Frank. He isn’t going to fire you because he knows what an asset you are to the Lodge.” Abigail had run Majors Groceries for years with her husband before officially retiring. When Mia offered her a cake decorating job, she’d jumped at the chance to get out of the house again. Then that job had turned into managing Mia’s Morsels a few months ago. Oh, and she was Trent Majors mom as well. Mia and Trent had been dating for the last few years. Magic Springs was a typical small town. Everyone knew everyone.

Mia met Christina’s gaze. They both knew that sometimes Abigail was a little bit of a Pollyanna. Especially for a witch. But they loved her anyway.

“So, I think we’d be fine having the reception and the competition out here. Especially since we ran lights around the yard. We’ll have to have a dais built over in that corner. But if it’s too cold or rains . . .” Mia paused, glancing at the large mountain peak behind the yard again. She shook her head. Focusing on the negative was a great way for that unwanted outcome to come to pass. “We can move to the gym if there’s a weather issue. I wish we’d painted it this summer.”

“We replaced the van with that money,” Abigail reminded her. “Anyway, eat. I don’t want to talk about problems while we eat lunch. It upsets the digestion process.”

Mia knew Abigail was right. Good or bad, the school was going to host the competition this year. And if they didn’t totally blow it, Mia’s Morsels could probably count on the annual contract. Small towns didn’t like a lot of change.

“Where’s Trent taking you for dinner tonight?” Christina asked, trying to change the subject.

“The new restaurant in Twin. We’ll probably be late getting back.” Mia took a bite of her sandwich. Christina still lived with her and would probably be there until she and Levi moved in together. Or got married. Christina’s parents weren’t pushing for the wedding vows because Mother Adams was still hoping that her only daughter would see the errors in her dating choices and find someone more suitable with a few seven-figure bank accounts. “Can you babysit Cerby? The last time Trent left him alone, he manifested a goblin to play with.”

“Hellhounds can be a problem to raise. Especially if you’re not with them all the time.” Abigail sipped her tea. “If I wasn’t working full-time now, I would have insisted that Trent let me raise Cerby. I bought him the How to Train Your Hellhound Puppy book last week.”

“Where did you even find a book like that?” Mia set down her sandwich.

Abigail shrugged. “Off the internet, of course. They have everything. Of course, most mortals think it’s a joke book, but it’s by the most respected hellhound trainer in the world. Well, the only one who’s actually still alive, that is. There was a guy in France who had more experience, but well, he’s no longer with us.”

“Old age?” Christina asked.

Abigail glanced up, nervously. “No, a training accident with a new student. The host animal was a Bengal tiger. Cats don’t seem to assimilate hellhound spirits quite as well as canines.”

“And with that, I’m texting Levi to come over tonight and help babysit. I love Cerby, but I’m not equipped with all the extra magic stuff if something goes haywire in his head.” Christina picked up her phone.

“He’s a six-month-old Maltese,” Mia reminded her.

“Small dogs can be vicious. Think of Mr. Darcy’s safety.” Christina grinned and held up her phone. “Besides, it’s already done. Levi says he’ll be glad to be my knight in shining armor. Especially if I cook him dinner.”

“And there’s my youngest son, always looking for his next meal.” Abigail turned toward Mia. “So what else is going on with you guys? We don’t get a lot of time to chat now that the Lodge has you busy.”

The three women talked about their days. They’d just finished eating when several cars pulled into the parking lot. “Is it a food sell day?”

Abigail shook her head. “No, those are the parents and contestants for the contest. The contest coordinator called me last week and asked if they could come to walk through the school today. I’d totally forgotten about them stopping by.”

“I’ll clean this up, you guys go play hostess.” Christina took the trays and quickly cleared the table.

Abigail went to greet the organizer, and then the group moved toward Mia and into the backyard. Mia could hear the parents talking as they walked in her direction.

“We’ll need to build pathways, so the girls’ heels don’t get stuck in the grass if the competition is held outside,” a tall woman in a blue suit said into her phone. Mia assumed she was taking notes.

The woman next to her said, “The grass will ruin the evening gown competition. You know how thick the dew gets this time of year. Maybe we should focus on the gym, or better yet, go back to the Lodge. At least there they aren’t trying to hold the event outside.”

“You just want the Lodge because some of your family works there. You think you’ll be able to glamour your girl to the winner’s circle,” another woman, dressed in a pink dress and standing on the other side of the Blue Suit woman, chimed in.

“That’s not why.” The other woman, who she now saw was dressed in upscale jeans and a cropped sweater to show off her toned stomach, stopped and reached for Pink Dress woman. There was going to be a fight.

“Stop it. We’re the adults here,” Blue Suit said, marching the group forward. And then they were in front of Mia.

Abigail took Mia’s arm. Mia could tell she was ignoring the conversation between the women. “Ladies, Mia’s the creator and owner of Mia’s Morsels. She owns this entire property and has done amazing things restoring the outside, including planting an herb garden.”

“Miss Malone. Thank you so much for meeting with us. I know you have a busy schedule.” Bambi Parry, the event coordinator, smiled. “I’d like to introduce a few of this year’s contestants for the Magic Springs Harvest Queen contest and their mothers. Crissy and Tatiana Evans, Rachel and Marnie Carter, and finally, Kristin and Carla Manson. Oh, and Melody Sellers. Melody’s mother was an MSHQ back in the day.”

“An MSHQ?” Mia was confused by the acronym.

“Sorry, we shortened the title years ago. Who wants to say Magic Springs Harvest Queen a hundred times a day?” Bambi shrugged. “Besides, it doesn’t fit on the sashes.”

Mia welcomed the group to the school. The woman in the blue suit was Tatiana Evans. The one in the jeans was Marnie Carter, and Carla Manson was in the pink dress. She knew she’d remember the moniker she’d given them long after she’d forgotten their names. But Mia needed to try. Abigail played these social graces games well. Maybe Mia should keep her on as an assistant when she came back. Maybe the head of marketing or some cool title like that.

Mia kept her gaze unfocused, hoping she wouldn’t show that she’d heard their earlier argument. “I bought the Academy a few years ago so it wouldn’t be torn down and turned into a strip mall. I’m still renovating the building and lands, but I hope to have it totally remodeled sometime next year.”

“A strip mall would have brought in a nail salon and probably a Starbucks.” A blond teenager in the back glanced around the backyard.

“Crissy,” Tatiana chided her rude daughter. “Please let Miss Malone talk.”

Mia shrugged. “It’s okay. I get it. Sometimes it’s easier to just wipe away the past and create something new. But when you remodel old buildings rather than destroy them, you don’t lose the spark that the building held. You keep the shared history and the town’s story. When you tear down the past, you forget the lessons that our ancestors have already paid for, sometimes in blood.”

Crissy stared at Mia like she had three heads. Then her phone beeped with a text, and she dropped her gaze.

“Well, wasn’t that an amazing social history lesson of why historic buildings should be preserved? Thank you, Miss Malone. Tell us, what were you thinking about for the setup?” Bambi asked, moving the conversation back to the contest. Bambi had a large name tag pinned onto her off-white vintage Chanel suit.

Mia walked them through the setup ideas she’d created for the outside, using her sketchbook as a guide. Now she was glad she’d taken the time to outline the event that morning. The indoor setup was more traditional, although the moms were right about the high heels and the grass. She needed to set up a walking path around the yard as well as crisscrossing the area. But that wouldn’t get done before the contest happened. Maybe she could ask Trent to figure out a temporary fix.

Abigail stood by the doors to the gym as the group finished looking around the backyard. Mia pointed the group toward the open doors, then trailed behind them, her sketchbook tucked under her arm. Christina had come back out and met her at the door. To Mia’s delight, Abigail had taken over the tour.

Christina rolled her eyes when one of the moms asked about lighting for the pageant. “I used to be that kid following her mother around. I would be so embarrassed when she’d say things like that.”

“Mother Adams put you in pageants? What was your talent? Cooking?” Mia teased as Abigail took them out to the lobby area, where they would hold the Monday introduction reception. Mia closed the doors to the gym and walked toward the other set of doors.

“Actually, I sing.” Christina blushed at the memory. “Mom wanted me to play the piano, but even my teacher told her I’d never be good enough to make it in that world. And don’t get me started on ballet. I wanted to learn to ride horses, but Mom told me I was never going to be a Rodeo Queen unless she was dead and buried. Honestly, I don’t think she would have let me even after her death. Vengeful spirits would rise and all that.”

Mia wondered what it would have been like to have a mom who’d pushed her to do things. Mia liked reading and cooking, and when she was in high school, she had participated in track. She enjoyed being outside and alone with her thoughts as she ran. Her mom would drive her to any extracurricular club or activity she wanted to join, but she didn’t push one thing over another.

And when Mia said she didn’t want to do something anymore, like when she quit Girl Scouts, they’d talk about it, but mostly, her mom had agreed with her decision. Not like these moms who seemed more committed to the contest than their daughters, who were on their phones checking social media.

Only one girl stood alone and took in all the views as well as the bones of the old school. She walked over to Mia, who was standing by the fireplace. “Do you know if this works?”

“It’s original to the school, and yes, it works, but we don’t usually have fires downstairs. Maybe I will this winter if we host a smaller event.” Mia watched as the girl took in the elaborately carved woodworking around the room. “Do you like old houses?”

“I adore them. I live with my grandmother in an old Victorian on Main Street. It’s been here since Magic Springs was a gold rush town.” She smiled at Mia and held out her hand. “I’m Melody. I think they ran out of senior girls who could fit into the dresses when they chose me to participate.”

“I’m sure that’s not true. Is your grandmother here?” Mia swallowed the laugh and looked at the crowd of mothers around Abigail and Bambi. She assumed Melody had been included since her mom had won the competition. What did they call those kids, legacies? The group was fawning over the staircases and how lovely it would be to use them in the contest. Maybe for the evening gown competition.

“No, my grandmother isn’t well. And well, my mom isn’t around.” Melody looked over at the group, and a touch of sadness showed on her face. “Besides, Crissy is going to win. She’s the queen bee at the high school. Head cheerleader, president of the student body, etc.”

“You never know,” Mia said as they watched the group.

Bambi seemed to collect herself and appeared to be looking for a way out of the conversations. “Okay, ladies, I told Mrs. Majors that we wouldn’t take up much of her time and we’ve been here five minutes past the time I’d promised we’d be out of her hair. Say goodbye and thank you for letting us tour the area. I’m sure it was very helpful to both the moms and their lovely daughters.”

“I’m being called back into the cow herd.” Melody touched the carved monk and his large belly that sat on the fireplace. “See you at the contest.”

“I’ll be here. Good luck.” Mia watched her walk away, toward the girls. No one greeted her or even acknowledged her existence as she rejoined the group. Mia wondered what had happened to Melody’s mom. Melody didn’t seem happy to be part of this group.

No one knew what went through the mind of another person. Especially the underdeveloped mind of a teenager. Wild and varied couldn’t begin to describe their emotions or thoughts.

Mia hoped this event was going to be worth the trouble she could already see coming.

The lighting in the restaurant was muted, making the candle in the iron moose holder on the table sparkle even more. Mia loved eating at new places and trying to figure out what the owner was thinking when they made décor decisions. Working in the catering department rather than running a full-menu restaurant day in and day out was more her style. By focusing on catering, she could change the menu she offered to fit a client’s needs or her whims. But sometimes, she wondered what it would be like to know exactly what she was going to be cooking each day.

“I’d offer you a penny for your thoughts, but from the look on your face, it would probably be much more expensive. What’s got you dreaming again?” Trent sipped the wine they’d ordered that had been produced at a new vineyard just down the road. “A bad day with Frank?”

“Are there any good days with Frank?” Mia picked up her glass and took a sip of the rosé. The sweetness was surprising, especially considering the hot desert climate where the grapes grew. “That’s tasty.”

Trent nodded his agreement but didn’t speak. He knew that sometimes she just needed a little more time to format her thoughts.

She looked up at him, wanting him to say something. Anything. If she said it twice in one day, the chance she’d quit sooner than she’d planned would be more. . .