Hallow Haven Cozy Mysteries Bundle Books 1-3 by Mara Webb (books to read fiction .txt) 📕

“Steamy!” Kate laughed. “Did Meredith make a move on him? I bet she did, she probably hasn’t seen a guy that hot in real life before.”

“She was very friendly, yes,” I smiled. “I could eat again; I need to make some sort of plan for looking into all this.”

“I do all my best thinking over pancakes, personally. Let’s head to the café and get Effie caught up on the gossip. She’s in The Sand Witch all day every day, if Jake was involved in any drama then she would know about it.”

“Come on Fitz, you can’t stay here,” I said, beckoning him over with a hand gesture.

“Urgh, can’t a cat sleep in peace?”

“Fitz, shift back into your human form and go to your own house,” Kate yelled. “You are an adult man cat, use your head!”

“Pretty sure no one has ever needed to say that sentence before,” I laughed.

“She says it to me all the time,” Fitz complained, rolling his eyes at Kate as he strutted past us. At the top of the stairs he changed form and was wearing his Dentist’s tunic. “Peace out!” he yelled, jogging down the stairs.

“Bye then!” I shouted back. “I thought familiars were more useful than this, or did cartoons lie to me?”

“It’s all a lie,” Kate smiled. “Come on, we can leave your boyfriend to search for the inventory while we stuff our faces full of carbs.”

“He’s not my b—” I began, but Kate was already halfway down the stairs. I followed her and saw that she was explaining our lunch plans to Miller.

“I should go with you,” he said, looking over at me. “If someone is running around the island with a loaded gun then—”

“Then these two witches will destroy them. I’m also proficient in Muay Thai, Miller. Try and attack me right now, see what happens,” Kate teased. He didn’t seem convinced. “I know you are her guardian, or whatever, but I am also capable of protecting her.”

“You were friends with Greta too, but she got murdered,” Miller said, looking a little more stern.

“Oof, low blow!” Kate hissed.

“We won’t be gone long,” I said.

“Okay, I’ll stay here with the body. I’ve called the station and they are gonna get the funeral home to come and get him, he’s best off in a morgue at this point,” he explained.

“Just what you want to hear about before you go and eat,” Kate joked. A faint buzz from her pocket prompted Kate to pull her phone out and read something. “Dang, the phone call wasn’t recorded,” she sighed.

“Oh. We probably wouldn’t have heard anything that you hadn’t heard the first time,” I said, trying to reassure her.

“Be careful,” Miller said. He moved his arm as if he was about to reach for my hand again but thought better of it. I wish we could have a moment alone. Since the day I arrived it has been one thing after another that has kept me busy. I wish we had the time to go out to dinner, somewhere that we wouldn’t be interrupted.

The high street was getting crowded with people that were trying to get a look at the guitar store. I guess that this was viewed as big news around here; they didn’t even know about the dead body inside.

“Have you guys kissed yet?” Kate asked. I felt my cheeks glowing red with embarrassment. My mouth opened and I spluttered a few sounds to demonstrate my shock but was unable to say anything. “I’m just kidding, but you should see your face!” she laughed.

“Why don’t we talk about your love life instead?” I smirked.

“Oh, please do! Okay, so first of all I think I’m in love with a guy named Tim. The annoying thing about that is that I never pictured myself dating a guy with a name like Tim, but the heart wants what it wants,” she sighed.

“Tell me everything!” I shrieked, surprised by my own enthusiasm. We were nearing the beach now and the café was coming into view. I knew that she would probably stop talking as soon as we got within earshot of her sister so I wanted to get as much info as I could before then.

“We met playing GPS roulette. I got sent to a location up on the mountain and ended up in a clearing that I hadn’t seen before. Who should wander into that very same spot, but Tim! He likes bands with angry lead singers and he’s allergic to garlic. Not a vampire though, I checked,” she laughed.

“He told you that the first time he met you?” I asked.

“Yeah, I ask a lot of in-depth questions, so I learn about people quickly. Anyway, we’ve been on three dates now and I’m pretty sure that GPS roulette lead me to my soulmate. It’s all super cheesy, I know,” she sighed. She had a sparkle in her eye as she spoke about him.

“Does Effie know?” I said.

“Heck no! My sister is like a guard dog when it comes to my dating life. She has scared off almost every guy I’ve ever introduced her too. I get that she is trying to protect me, but she would happily keep me single forever. Don’t say a word,” she urged. I mimed zipping my mouth closed and throwing away the key.

We stepped into the café and Effie gave us a nod of acknowledgment as she rushed past us both with a plate of eggs in each hand. Kate took a seat at the breakfast bar and I walked around to the cash register to help with the line of customers waiting to pay.

“Have you heard about that funny business on the high street? Someone said there were fireworks going off from that music place. Won’t someone think of the birds,” an old lady cried as she handed over a pile of coins.

“It wasn’t fireworks ma’am,” I assured her. I think she would have been