Painted Spirits: A Chocolate Magic Cozy Mystery - Book 7 Read online

  Painted Spirits

  A Chocolate Magic Cozy Mystery - Book 7

  Olivia Swift

  Copyright © 2020 by Lirios Publishing

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Notes

  Afterword

  Notes

  About the Author

  Also from Lirios Publishing

  1

  Sam and Magda Barnes arrived back home after the wedding of their good friends Declan and Katie. Declan and Sam worked together in Sam’s architectural and building contractor company. Katie managed the art gallery which their group of friends had purchased and renovated. It had been a superb day! The happy couple was on their way to a week’s honeymoon.

  Magda went into the beautiful extension to the house that Sam had built. Sam’s Aunt Alison, who had attended the wedding, but not the reception, was beside the stroller which held Sam and Magda’s 9-month-old daughter Samantha who was sound asleep.

  “Did you enjoy the reception?” Alison asked.

  “Wonderful,” Magda said and came to sit beside her. “Oh, oh,” she added. “I’m getting that disapproving look from Crystal.”

  Alison laughed and said the cat had been pacing back and forth to the door for quite some time.

  “After all this time she’s still unbelievable,” Magda said as she kicked off her high heels. “Crystal.”

  The cream Birman cat gave her a look of disdain and walked to the baby stroller. Then she looked at Magda and walked stiffly away to go up the spiral staircase which led to the roof terrace.

  “She has appointed herself chief guardian to Samantha. To think I worried that she might be jealous of the baby. I’m in her black books. It will take several treats to make it right again.”

  Alison said the cats and the baby had all been good and she had taken Samantha for a nice walk.

  The other three cats came to climb onto Magda’s knee for a cuddle. She saw Crystal out of the corner of her eye. She was watching but had decided not to join them yet. Crystal’s sister, Abigail was a lovely cream Birman but with darker points than Crystal. “Pushkin and Irina were the other two cats. A mixture of black and white that had been dumped on the doorsteps of Magda’s previous house.

  “Sam, can you bring those cat treats in with you please?” Magda called out to Sam.

  Sam, who had changed into jeans and a sweatshirt, handed over the treat bag.

  Magda smiled and gave one each to the other three cats. They had eaten two more each before Crystal gave in and joined them. “You’re a good girl Crystal. We won’t go out again for a long time.”

  When Alison had heard all the details of the reception, she started to leave for home with many thanks and cuddles.

  “I have Gina as a guest just now and she’s looking after the house today.”

  “Give her my love. We should meet up soon,” Magda added.

  “Oh, I’m so glad for Declan and Katie. The wedding went off so well,” Magda said, as she sat on the sofa and snuggled against her husband, “ but next week will be hard work.”

  “I can’t take time off to help you because I haven’t got Declan at work,” Sam added.

  “Mikey is taking charge of the gallery while Katie is away and we’ll take turns to help him out,” Magda said.

  They made an early start in the morning, leaving the cats still asleep in a heap on the sofa. Sam roared off in his truck to his architect and building office. Magda topped up the bowls for the cats and drove to the café that was still her pride and joy. It was a little more difficult to organize now that Samantha had to be added into the picture. Magda loaded the car and popped the baby into a car seat.

  When she arrived at the Chocolate Magic Café, she opened up the wrought iron gates between Mikey’s hiking shop and the building that had once been a bank. It was now their art gallery and exhibition center. As the alley widened out into the courtyard of the café with its brightly colored tables and chairs her heart gave a little flip. The old stable which had been left to her by her aunt had been made to look like an old mining cabin outside but once the double doors were open, inside it had a gleaming modern kitchen.

  She ran a hand over the original doors and then turned the key. Declan had done a wonderful job of restoring them. She stepped onto the original stone floor that Sam had installed when he restored and renovated the stable into the café.

  Flicking on the lights as she went, the baby stroller was propelled to the rear of the huge kitchen and into the little nursery area which Sam had created when the baby arrived. Leaving Samantha sound asleep, she took a cloth to wipe down the outside tables and chairs. The double doors into the gallery had been made to match the ones to the café. Suddenly they opened as Mikey arrived. He had come into the gallery via the front entrance. His wife and Magda’s best friend Rula, came along the alley.

  “I’ve opened the shop and the girls are in there. I’ll stay in the gallery,” Mikey said.

  Rula turned on the chocolate vat and the girls swung into the well-known routine of preparing for customers.

  “Katie really put some time in to help build the stock for the week,” Magda said. “I’ll make a few truffles as and when I can, but we do have a good supply.”

  Magda had built a profitable business with her handmade truffles before she opened the chocolate café and they were still immensely popular. The café had been expanded into a small shop as well. Magda walked through to check all was well. The little colored lanterns were turned on overhead and she took out her phone with the app to start up the model railway.

  The railway which ran overhead in the café had only been meant as a Christmas feature, but they had all fallen in love with it and it certainly gave a unique atmosphere to the place. Not to stop there, Magda had decided to install a model railway outside which had tracks that went into the cellar of the gallery. She would leave it to Mikey to start it up if he wanted it running.

  Rula had the huge coffee and hot chocolate machine working as the first customers started to trickle inside. Magda checked on the baby who was still contently asleep. The sound of the railway, the coffee machine, and sometimes a little background music seemed to soothe her really well. Magda smiled and went to work in the kitchen.

  The arrival of Samantha nine months ago had started Magda thinking about another set of flavors for the truffles. The alcoholic ones were always popular and the old favorites like pecan and marzipan, which was Sam’s special treat, were well known. She had been pondering about old candy flavors from childhood and was making cinder toffee1 to crush into a caramel flavor. She and Rula both tasted the mixture and thought it was too dry.

  “Cola as an ingredient?” Rula suggested and Magda found a bottle to test it out.

  As they were testing again, Magda’s cousin Branston and his wife Merle ca
me to sit at the counter.

  “Cousin Magda, we need some service here!” Branston called out jovially. He was wearing his dude ranch outfit and looked resplendent in a cherry-red shirt with silver metal edges on the collar and cuffs. He had taken off the gigantic Stetson which took up a whole seat to itself.

  “Wonderful day they had,” Merle remarked about the wedding as she sipped her hot chocolate. Hers was a simple cup but Branston’s had cream, marshmallows, grated chocolate, and about three other ingredients.

  “Don’t know how you stay slim,” Magda grumbled as she handed her cousin his enormous confection.

  “Lots of hard work and a lot of horse riding,” he answered.

  “Talking of horse riding,” Rula said and came over to talk. “You know we’ve been pulling the old barn to bits at the house. Mikey really has to learn to ride properly and we have enough land at the back for a couple of horses.” She paused and looked at them.

  “Has anything happened?” Merle asked.

  “There’s a staircase to the upper floor. I guess it was a hayloft. The staircase is very old. Out of the corner of my eye, I could have sworn I saw a cowboy on the stairs. It was a split second and then I told myself it was my imagination. I never see things like that.”

  “Wow,” Merle said. “That sounds fantastic.”

  “What a pity Declan is away for a week. He would be able to see if there was anything there,” Magda added.

  “We could give it a try and see if I sense anything,” Merle offered.

  “Right on cue, here comes Bart and Mikey,” Rula said and went back to the machine to produce their usual beverages.

  As he took his drink, Mikey said that one of the girls from his hiking shop was working at the cash register in the gallery. Bart, the local newspaper reporter, slid onto his favorite corner stool where he could sit back and see everything that was going on.

  Rula repeated what she thought she had seen in the barn while Magda served customers.

  Magda heard the baby and went to bring Samantha out to see her fans. Merle held out her arms for Samantha and Magda handed her over. Then she told the others about Crystal and how the cat disapproved of her being out all day.

  “That cat is a self-appointed baby protector.”

  “Well at least she’s not giving you messages about things to worry you,” Branston pointed out.

  “Don’t hold your breath. She’ll start again.” Then she said that she would feed Declan’s cats after the café closed if someone would do the morning routine on their way to work. Bart volunteered.

  “How old is this barn?” he asked Rula.

  “The barn is older than the house, but we’ve never really researched it.

  “So, there could have been a cowboy there once upon a time,” Bart suggested.

  “You’re welcome to come over and have a drink, look at the barn, and see what you think. We’d like your advice on corrals and horses anyway,” Mikey said to Merle and Branston. “Nothing fancy like your ranch but how best to set the place up for a couple of horses.”

  “That would be lovely,” Merle said. They all agreed, and Merle said about seven thirty would be fine. Bart added that Gina was staying with Alison for a few days and she could come as well.

  They talked about the wedding and a few other things and Mikey said that he would clear a space in the gallery for the exhibition that was on the following week.

  “I’m looking forward to that one,” Rula said. “All of those different craft workers with loads of skills.”

  “We open Monday, but Katie will be back and can take over. I’ll just mark out the spaces and set the tables up at the end of the week,” Mikey said. He went off back to the gallery and called over his shoulder for Magda to start the outside model railway going. She grinned and pulled out her cell phone. They all glanced outside as the beautiful model train made its stately way around the courtyard and disappeared down the slope where the steps to the cellar used to be. The cellar was now a showcase for all things railroad and it was surprising how many people were intrigued by the age of steam engines and the way it transformed the country.

  Bart said that he had to work and left to do just that.

  “Are you going to buy some horses when the whole thing is done?” Merle asked Rula.

  She nodded as she made a drink for a customer. Then came back over.

  “Mikey needs a horse that is well-behaved. I really want him to enjoy riding. We all grew up with it out here.” She smiled at Branston, “And I would like a really flashy looking mare to show off.”

  Magda’s cousin grinned back.

  “I’m sure we can find you something.”

  “We do keep an eye out for stock all of the time. It’s amazing how we just think we’re okay and something changes. The customers who stay at the ranch come in all shapes and sizes as well,” Merle said.

  Mikey came back in. He had a man with him who was carrying what looked like a portfolio of pictures.

  2

  “This is Shelby Bentley,” Mikey announced. “Katie isn’t here, and I have no idea about taking on works for the gallery.”

  “Hi Shelby, “Magda said. “Have a seat and a coffee and we’ll have a look at them.”

  Rula asked how he took his coffee and went to make it as Rita the small, spirited, older woman who came in to help had started to serve customers and clear tables.

  They explained about Katie being on her honeymoon for a week and Shelby told them he loved her work and that was why he wondered about bringing along his own to see what she thought.

  “Let’s have a look,” said Magda.

  Merle and Branston had been going to leave but stayed to see the artwork. Shelby opened up his folder and started to spread his art on the counter. They were all very atmospheric and done in a mixture of pencil and pastel.

  “I like them,” Merle said. “I do love a bit of mystery and imagination.”

  “I would frame them if they are good enough to display but it’s easier to carry them like this,” Shelby explained and then looked up as Rula gasped and grabbed for Mikey’s hand. She pointed at one of the pictures and could hardly get out the words.

  “What?” Magda asked.

  “That, that, that staircase! It’s the one in the barn. It’s exactly as it looks. Almost like a photograph of the real thing.” They all looked at the one she was indicating. “How did you do it?” she asked him.

  Shelby Bentley looked embarrassed and hesitated before he answered.

  “I see stuff in dreams sometimes and then I try and capture it before I forget about it.”

  “Wow!” Merle said. “Did you see some of these other ones in dreams as well?”

  “Sometimes I just see snatches. I see a broken window or an old stove. That’s why I thought Katie might understand because she does small parts of walls and plants that suggest a whole landscape from just a couple of items.”

  They all looked at the art more closely and the others looked at Merle. The woman smiled. She knew that they would all want to know if she sensed anything from either the paintings or the man.

  “Shelby, do you believe in spirit things at all?” she asked. He looked around the group uncertainly.

  “Do you?” he answered with a question and they all nodded.

  “Really?” he asked.

  “I can sense things,” Merle told him, “and strangely enough, I can tell that you have an empathy for horses although that is not in any of these paintings.”

  “Lord above,” he said. “I love horses and I sometimes draw them for myself, but I just keep them for me.”

  “Merle and I own The Panhandle, a dude ranch ,” Branston explained. Shelby took in what they said and then laughed and held out a hand.

  “I have been trying to build up enough courage to ask if I could paint some of your ranch and livestock but always chickened out.”

  Branston shook his hand.

  “I’m Branston. This is my wife Merle and the ranch is hers rea
lly. She built it from nothing. I just love riding more than anything else in the world.”

  “And he’s good,” Magda said. “I’m his cousin and the owner of the café.” She looked up. “And right on cue, my husband, Sam, has arrived to be fed.” Sam grinned, and the baby held up her arms. He swept her away from Merle and she gurgled with delight.

  “To finish the introductions,” Branston said. “This is Mikey from the hiking shop next door and his wife Rula who is the manager in here.”

  “Katie and Declan are on honeymoon and she would normally choose what goes in the gallery, but I think we can agree that these are special. I love them anyway,” Magda stated. There were nods all around and Sam looked over Merle’s shoulder to see them.

  “I’m impressed,” Sam said. “What do you do for a living?”

  “I work for my dad who has a nursery garden. We grow stuff and sell it basically. Most of it’s for wholesalers who sell it on.”

  “Thing is, Sam,” Magda said. “That this picture of the staircase is the one in Rula’s barn and he has never been there.”

  Sam looked around them.

  “And your plan?” he asked. They all grinned except for Shelby who had no idea what they were talking about.

  “Séance tonight at Rula’s,” Magda said, “and that was planned before Shelby arrived.” The visitor looked even more puzzled.

  “I was in the barn and for a split second I thought I saw a cowboy on the stairs. Then I told myself not to be so silly. I never see stuff like that,” Rula explained. “Seven thirty?”

  Sam agreed.

  “If I last that long without food,” he added. Magda went to make him some sandwiches and he found a seat to rest the little one on his knee.