The Chocolate Magic Cozy Mystery Box Set Books 1 to 7 Read online

  “You need that flippin’ stone altar.” Magda grinned.

  “No, they don’t. It must have been horrible,” Irene told her. “You will be a great success anyway.”

  “We are visiting it again in the morning, if you would like to see it.” Jonno offered and Magda said she would love to.

  “Me too,” Sam added. “I love these new ventures.”

  “Got one of my own,” Irene added, and she smiled. “I asked Ricky and his friends to clean out the house and get rid of everything except the odd things I really want to keep. Next week the estate agents are coming to value it and it goes up for sale.”

  “That is fantastic, Irene,” Alison said.

  “A whole new start,” Sam pointed out. It was a happy group that sat and talked about everything that was about to happen. They drank to all of the new starts and then broke up saying that they would all meet the next evening.

  Sam and Magda settled into the comfortable double bed with little Jezebelle at the foot and told each other how lucky they were.

  “I love it here, but I do miss my café,” she confessed. He kissed her and agreed that his mind was already turning to the new commission waiting on his desk.

  Morning swiftly rolled in as Jonno and Branna picked them up and they drove to the caravan park. It was in a pleasant spot beside the river and there was a lot of land not being used. The owner met them and showed them around. The place was well-looked-after and clean, but Magda thought it needed to be modernized.

  She pulled up some pictures of the dude ranch that her cousin managed and showed them to Branna.

  “This is supposed to be a vacation ranch but the ‘cowboys’ have hot tubs on the decking, a spa pool, restaurant and all the mod cons you might need. I think if you gradually put those sorts of attractions, you could probably charge a lot of money.”

  “I think they need things for the kids as well - play areas, swimming pool, those trampolines set in the ground and stuff like that,” Jonno added.

  “But the price is quite low because it needs work done. It still has a good trade in holiday bookings and room for those that roll up in motorhomes,” Branna said.

  “I think it’s a great idea. Are you going for it?” Sam asked.

  “The bank says that we can get a mortgage,” Jonno told him. “So, the answer is that we want to do it.”

  “Good luck. It is exciting,” Magda said. They thanked the owner and headed back to the shops to buy extra food and drink. Magda finished buying for everyone at home and by then it was time to wait for the others to arrive.

  Barbara and Jenni had brought mountains of food and the same applied to Branna and Olive.

  “We will never eat all of this,” Magda said, “but it looks wonderful.”

  Ricky arrived and joined the party. They were enjoying the food and plenty of drink when there was a knock at the door. Sam went to answer it and found Cameron on the doorstep.

  “Sorry to be a bother,” the man started and saw that there were a number of people inside. “I’ll come back another time.”

  “No, no, come in,” Sam said. “Is there something wrong?”

  “Well there might be.” He hesitated and then quietly told Sam that the person in the shed had been his mother and she was hiding. She had actually been threatened when she saw a car drive up and stop so she took off to be safe.”

  “Good heavens. Who has been threatening her? Have you told the Garda?”

  Cameron shook his head.

  “Not as simple as that because the folk who try this demonology rubbish think that she has something that they want. I think, and this is not a complaint, that by you asking about the history maybe started something off.”

  “Look, come inside and tell the rest of them. Do you know Barbara from the crystal shop?” He nodded and allowed himself to be propelled inside.

  “I am so sorry to interrupt your party,” he apologized again. “I think that maybe some of you could be in danger.”

  “We did tell the others about you looking at the old foundations. You can speak out if you feel it is important,” Sam told him. He explained to the others what had happened with Colleen Carty and why she was in the explosive shed.

  Cameron took a breath.

  “If you don’t know, I have what some people call a gift for helping people whose loved ones have passed over. I work with the spiritualist church in Glenmore and try to help if I can, but I don’t take money for it and I do not advertise.” He paused and looked around. “I do hear things sometimes that show me that there are folks out there who would like to make evil happen.”

  “Those people have always been around,” Jenni told him.

  “Yes but since Sam and Magda started to look into the history of the cottage, there have been some worrying developments and then after my uncle was killed - sorry Aunt Irene - my mother didn’t tell us but she has had threatening phone calls saying that she would go the same way as Uncle Patrick.”

  Irene’s hand flew to her mouth and Magda gasped.

  18

  “Has she told the Garda?” Alison asked and he shook his head.

  “We had the same thing happen to us as happened to the door, but the dead chicken was left on my mother’s car and the pentagram was painted at the shed where the explosives are kept.”

  “Oh, no,” Branna exclaimed. “Can we help at all?”

  “I don’t think so, but I thought you should know. We really have no idea what it is they want.” He looked at Magda and she smiled.

  “You are right, I am thinking about those newspaper cuttings. The ones from nineteen twenty. You have to wonder if somebody knows where the awful satanic altar is. Maybe it is lying in somebody’s garden.”

  Alison went and pulled out the papers.

  “Fresh eyes might spot something.” There was silence apart from rustling paper as the people, who had not seen them before, read the articles and reports.

  “That is fascinating,” Cameron said, “but we haven’t got any stone ornaments.”

  “If somebody really believes that the altar will make them rich, they might be determined to find it,” Sam wondered.

  “They must think that either Uncle Patrick or our family had some clue as to where the thing is, but we haven’t.”

  “You know how these people think,” Barbara said. “If they think that you have done well because of having some stone garden ornament, they will want it. If they know you are descended from Seamus, they might really think that you are hiding it away and practicing witchcraft.”

  “But we can’t give it to them. If we could, they would be welcome to it,” Cameron added.

  “Do you think?” Jenni asked them all, “that we could have a séance and try and find out if the altar exists?” They all looked at each other.

  “I’ve never done anything like that,” Ricky said.

  “Count me out,” Alison added. Irene and Olive agreed.

  “In the cave?” Barbara looked at Magda, who nodded.

  “I’ve got candles in the car,” Jenni said and stood up.

  “Have you got the pendant?” Barbara asked and Magda held it up.

  “Exciting,” Branna said and grabbed Jonno’s hand.

  “We will just have a drink and eat of this food while you lot all go and get wet,” Alison told them.

  They headed outside and opened up the well.

  “Are you sure?” Ricky asked and they all laughed and said that they were fine. He followed them carefully down the handholds and gazed around the cave.

  “This is quite unbelievable.”

  Magda and Sam organized the folding chairs. Barbara and Jenni set up the candles.

  “This is starting to feel like normality,” Jenni laughed.

  “Take seats,” Barbara called. She spoke to Cameron and said for him to join in whenever he felt it was useful. She went through the protection routine and they all held hands around the circle.

  “If there is anyone here, please come forward and
talk to us. We need your help from the spirit world. Please come forward and let us know you can hear me.” There was nothing and she called out again. Then she asked Magda to call out and hold the pendant.

  “Hello. Please step forward and talk to us. I have the crystal and stone pendant. Please make a noise and let me know you can see it.” She had to ask twice more before Cameron murmured that there was a woman coming forward.

  “I think it is the same woman.”

  “Belinda is that you?” Barbara asked and was given a small sound like a stone falling.

  “Do that again please to prove it was not just an accident,” she asked, and the noise came again immediately.

  “Thank you,” Barbara said. “We need to know if the stone altar is still used by people looking for the devil, even today. Do you know about the stone altar?” There was a slight noise.

  “Are people still using it?” Cameron asked quietly and there was a noise.

  “Do these people mean us harm?” he added and there was a much louder noise.

  “Thank you,” Magda said and looked at Ricky who was on her right-hand side. The man was shaking slightly, and she grabbed his hand. “It’s okay.” Ricky nodded and asked her if he could speak. She told him that any of them could speak out and to go ahead.

  “Err,” he cleared his throat and Magda shook the hand that she was holding.

  “Say it.”

  “Did these bad people kill my dad?” he asked quietly.

  “Ask again,” Barbara said.

  “She is listening to you,” Cameron said. “Ricky’s dad was my uncle,” he added out loud.

  “Did these people kill my dad?” There was a definite noise below their feet.

  “Phew,” Ricky said. “Are you really Belinda?” There was another slightly less loud noise and he asked Magda if he was really talking to a dead person. She said that they all thought that it was Belinda and that she hadn’t been a witch at all.

  “So, if the devil worshippers have the altar what are they looking for?” Sam queried. Barbara took over the questions again and asked if it was the papers that the killers wanted. There was no response and she was at a bit of a loss as to what else to ask.

  Cameron cleared his throat.

  “Belinda, is it the same person that killed my uncle that is threatening my family?” There was a crash as a piece of rock flew across the cave and hit the wall. Almost everyone in the circle either gasped or shouted out loud. “She’s going away.”

  Then he added that there was another presence. Barbara said that it felt like the bad spirit they had sent away. The flaming candles bent in a twisted dance and finally went out. The wind roared around the cave and everyone felt for their flashlights.

  “Seamus, if that is you, go away again,” Barbara commanded. “There is nothing for you here.” The wind continued to blow and scattered things from the stone shelf onto the floor. Magda held up the pendant and asked the rest to make a circle around her.

  “Go away. You are not welcome here,” Barbara said again. There was a high-pitched sound that could have been a scream or maybe a whistle. It deafened them for a few seconds and then died away.

  There was silence for a few seconds and then the sound of something in the real world above ground. Sam suddenly leaped to his feet.

  “There is somebody at the well,” he shouted and moved as fast as he could in the small space to the bottom of the shaft. He shone his light up the well walls and saw that the grill and the stone above were in place. He climbed up the handholds and pushed at the grill. It was clicked into place and a large stone was on the top of it. He reached an arm through and knew that the stone on the outside was weighted down as well. He climbed back down.

  “Somebody fastened off the well.”

  “Well it wouldn’t be Aunt Alison or the others,” Magda replied and there was a silence as they all took in what had happened.

  “Oh, maybe they are in danger,” Branna said and Jonno reached out for her hand. They all moved back into the cave because it was easier to find space to stand or sit. Magda sat on a chair and held the pendant. There was no response from it. There was a pause, because nobody could think of anything to say or do. Jezebelle appeared from the passageway and climbed onto Magda’s knee.

  “Hello, little one,” Magda said and stroked the cat’s head and then she looked up.

  “Sam, that soil was loose wasn’t it, where the cat comes in. Could we get out?”

  “What?” came a chorus from the others and they explained that the field drain was not far above the stream.

  “Let’s have a look,” Jonno suggested and they cautiously moved the few yards upstream to find the drain entrance.

  “You can feel the air in this area,” Maga said and Sam shone the flashlight around for anything to use to dig.

  “There are bits of metal and wood in the cave,” Jenni said, and they went back to find anything usable. Sam had picked up a fairly large stone from the ground and made a start at poking at the soil above the stream. The debris hit his face and he stood back to think about how to do the digging.

  “We need to stand aside to keep out of the falling soil,” he said, and Cameron stepped across the stream and found a foothold at the other side. He reached across with a piece of fencepost that he had found and started to poke at the soil. It dropped into the stream and Sam and Jonno saw that it was working. They stood at the other side and reached out. A lot of material fell down, but it was more of a task than they had thought and took some time to make any headway.

  “Can some of us give it a try and let you rest your arms?” Ricky asked and Barbara and Magda joined him to give the first three a rest. It was hard work keeping your arms above your head, but they persevered and took turns until the soil was dropping more freely and they attacked it with more energy as they could see an end in sight.

  There was a collective sigh of relief as the night sky could be seen through the first hole that made it through to the outside and they scrabbled away at the rest until there was a space big enough to squeeze through.

  “If I bend over, can you get on my back and climb out, Jonno?” Sam asked and Jonno took a step onto Sam’s back and levered himself onto firm ground. Branna warned him to be careful and quiet.

  “We don’t know who is out there.”

  He pulled himself out of the ground and looked all around. He put his head back into the hole and said that he was at the boundary fence and out of sight of the house.

  “I can pull the rest of you up, if Sam can stand having everyone climb over him.” Ricky went next and then helped pull the others up out of the ground. They sat quietly as everyone else was hauled up and there was only Magda and Sam left.

  Sam let Magda climb up and be pulled to freedom and then he reached up and clutched at the soil. Jonno, Ricky and Cameron all grabbed at his hands and arms and he scrabbled as he slid his feet up and on the side of the tunnel to get as much traction as he could. They all sat and panted for a few seconds.

  “We need to see who is there,” Jonno said.

  “I’ll go and have a look. I know where the path is,” Sam said. “Stay here until I find out what is happening.”

  “I’m coming with you,” Magda told him.

  They tiptoed down into the garden and the courtyard. He held her arm in case anyone was guarding the well but there was nobody in sight. The heavy garden seat had been put on top of the well shaft. Magda shuddered. They went quietly to the window and found a chink of space between the curtains. Magda put her hand over her mouth to stop herself calling out.

  She felt the pendant in her pocket vibrate against her leg and put a hand on it. Sam indicated that they should go back to the others and they hurried away keeping out of sight. The people in the house were so occupied with what they were doing that they were unlikely to look outside.

  19

  “Oh, My Lord,” Magda said. “There are three people in there with horrid masks on their heads.”

  “One
with horns on them,” Barbara gasped and Branna crossed herself. “The main lights are out, and they have a big candle burning.”

  “Irene, Alison and Olive are tied onto chairs and have gags around their mouths.”

  “Oh, no,” Ricky said. “Should we just go in and confront them? There are plenty of us.”

  “One of us needs to ring the Garda,” Jenni said. Cameron pulled out his phone and started to punch in numbers.

  “Can we get into another room?” Ricky asked and Magda said that their bedroom window was open. They moved quietly towards the house and left Cameron talking to the police. There was no obstruction on their approach to the cottage and they found the bedroom window.

  “Very quietly,” Jonno whispered. They helped each other over the windowsill and into the room.

  Magda put her ear to the door and listened and then quietly lowered the handle and pulled the door slightly open. They all heard the sound of chanting that was rising higher and higher and there was the sound of that roaring wind that Seamus had caused in the cave.

  “They are calling the devil,” Barbara whispered. “He won’t come but they think he will. Seamus seems to be helping them.”

  “What can we do?” Branna asked and Cameron climbed in the window to join them.

  “That bad entity is with them,” he said. “They are trying to find something, but heaven only knows what.”

  “If one of us goes around and knocks at the front door to get their attention, the rest of us can make a circle and try and defeat them,” Barbara suggested.

  “They might hurt the three they have tied up,” Jenni suggested.

  “We’ll have to risk it and just believe we can overpower them,” Sam said, and Ricky told them he would go and make a noise at the front door.

  “As soon as we hear the noise, we’ll go in there,” Sam said, and they all nodded. Ricky climbed back out and they all listened to the wailing and almost howling that was going on in the living room.

  “We need to switch the lights on and see everything,” Branna said and the others nodded.