MOUSE OF CARDS
A COZY WITCH MYSTERY
ERIN JOHNSON
To my mom. Thanks for all your help with everything—I don’t know what I’d do without you. I love you!
CONTENTS
Prequel Novella
1.
Night Job
2.
The Clinic
3.
Time to Face the Music
4.
A Case
5.
Magical Artifacts Museum
6.
Smashed
7.
Maverick
8.
Cursed
9.
Police Business
10.
Summoned
11.
Outed
12.
Protests
13.
Museum Director
14.
Cursed
15.
Museum Shop
16.
Mrs. Abernathy
17.
A Favor
18.
Peter's Place
19.
Will
20.
The Nightmarket
21.
Archives
22.
Opening Night
23.
Curses!
24.
Forced Out
25.
Negative Energies
26.
The Mouse
27.
Final Confrontation
28.
Trapped
29.
Complicated
30.
Broken
31.
The Secret
32.
Friends
The Summit
Pyramid
The Harder They Fall
A Note from the Author
About the Author
Get the FREE Prequel Novella
A magical academy. A suspicious death. Can an inexperienced cop expose the deadly secrets lurking behind bewitched classroom doors?
Check out rookie officer Peter Flint’s first case with Daisy. Saved by the Spell is the prequel to the Magic Market paranormal cozy mystery series.
Download Saved by the Spell to solve a mystical murder today!
NIGHT JOB
I eyed the trail of slime that now marred my velvet tablecloth with its sprinkling of gold stars and moons and grimaced. At least now I had the spending money to get it washed.
I plunked my cheek into my hand and blinked at the nerdy guy who sat across my kitchen table from me. “So you came in tonight because your pet slug is feeling… sluggish?”
He roughly rubbed his nose. “Snail, actually. And yes, he isn’t his usual peppy self. Can you tell me what’s wrong with him? Is he depressed?”
The little brown creature inched across the table, heading on a suicide mission toward the edge. Luckily, it’d be next Tuesday before he reached it.
I sighed through my nose. Goddess, I hoped Peter had a case for me soon. It’d been rough the last few weeks, having to go back to my day job as a pet psychic (night job, really). I glanced up at the clock on the wall. Nearly 4:00 a.m. and closing time.
I’d already talked to a ferret with a hoarding problem, a goldfish who’d been terrorized by the neighbor’s cat through the window, and a bird who couldn’t stop molting because of a sunflower seed allergy. Talked being the operative word. I masqueraded as a pet “psychic” for cover.
The truth was, I’d been cursed a few years ago and lost all my magical powers, along with the ability to shift, but gained the oh so lovely ability to speak with animals. If I’d admitted to that, it’d basically be advertising the fact that I was a shifter—or used to be—and on the magical island of Bijou Mer that was like wearing a flashing neon sign begging people to discriminate against you.
Still, my powers had earned me a position as a police consultant. I’d helped crack a few cases, and word had spread around my little nook of the Darkmoon Night Market that I was apparently legit. Which meant lots more pet psychic business. Good, in that I had more merkles for putting food on the table, but bad in that I had to have endlessly inane conversations. Oh, from rising star lawyer to this—how the mighty had fallen.
I reached out and tapped the snail’s spiral shell. It stopped its death march across the table and swiveled its eyes, at the ends of long stalks, to look at me. They both blinked, slightly out of sync. Rude.
It was always a challenge, hiding my conversations with pets while right in front of their owners, but lucky for me snail language was basically a lot of blinking.
I winked, then blinked back. Sorry. Hey, your owner wants to know why you haven’t been as peppy lately? You feeling okay?
I glanced up at the clock—only five minutes till I could close up shop.
It winked its left eye several times. Okay? I’m feeling better than ever.
I winked my right eye several times. Really? How so?
“You okay?” The guy leaned away from the table and curled his lip at me. “You look like you’re having a conniption.”
I shot him a flat look and pressed my fingers to my temples. “My powers work in mysterious ways.” Don’t judge me. I turned back to the snail, who was winking and blinking away like mad.
I’m flying over the weeds. I’m on a rainbow trip to a garden of plenty filled with untouched leaves and stalks that reach to heaven and—
Okay. I think I knew what was going on here. I turned back to the snail’s owner and laced my fingers together under my chin. “Are you growing some ‘special’ plants at home?” I made air quotes, then tucked my hands innocently back under my chin.
The guy paled and blinked rapidly behind his glasses.
I cocked my head and plastered on a sickly sweet smile. “You alright? You look like you’re having a conniption.”
His throat bobbed. “I uh—no—why would—”
I nodded. “Thought so. I’m guessing your special little guy here got into your secret stash and ate some of the leaves. He appears to be on the trip of his little snail life.” I was fighting hard not to laugh. The situation was ludicrous.
The guy slumped in his seat, pale. “You’re—you’re not going to turn me in, are you?” He dragged both hands through his dark hair, which left it sticking up at odd angles. “Oh snakes, they’re gonna take Squishy from me, aren’t they?” He dropped his head into his hands. “I’m an unfit snail father.”
A grin tugged at the corner of my mouth. Who? I wanted to ask him. Who would be coming to take away a grown man’s pet snail? And yes, technically growing a certain variety of magical plant was illegal, but really, who was I to judge? It was harmless… unless you were Squishy, apparently. Though even the extra-slow-moving snail would survive.
I cleared my throat, and the guy lifted his face, expression contorted in a grimace. “Please don’t call the police!”
I pressed my lips tight together to keep from snickering. Oh, I couldn’t wait to tell Will and Heidi about this one. Because yeah, I was sure the police would definitely get right on this urgent case of the high pet snail.
I folded my arms and gave him a hard
