The Case of the Exploding Luck Pumpkin_Casino Witch Mystery Short Story Read online

  Contents

  Dedication

  Also By

  Back Cover

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Author's Note

  Author's Bio

  Copyright

  To Teresa Johnson and Monkey for helping to inspire me and Patagonia

  Nikki Haverstock’s Amazon Author page with all her books

  https://www.amazon.com/Nikki-Haverstock/e/B014GIZH0Y

  Casino Witch Mysteries

  Of Mages and Murders

  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074X8L6S9/

  Target Practice Mysteries

  Death on the Range

  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B014GDO5C0

  Death at the Summit

  www.amazon.com/dp/B016CX2RZO/

  Death at the Trade Show

  www.amazon.com/dp/B017HWLGNS/

  Death Indoors

  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01C0NTKRI

  Death in the Casino

  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01EPE1KEQ

  Death from Abroad

  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XZ96GM2

  Target Practice Mysteries 1-5 (includes the first 5 books in the series)

  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MXEHMY8

  Reality TV Cozy Mysteries

  Lights, Camera, Murder

  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GQRGDCY

  Crossover Murder

  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N51U14G/

  The Case of the Exploding Luck Pumpkin

  Vanessa is home in Rambler, Nevada for the biggest holiday of the magical calendar, Halloween and some time off from her mage training. When the traditional Luck Pumpkin disappears prior to the party, Vanessa makes a bet that she can find it. What’s at stake? Only midnight’s kiss with a handsome man! She will have to out navigate spells gone awry, slippery desserts and an exploding pumpkin if she wants to win the bet.

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  CHAPTER ONE

  When I snapped my fingers, a flame burst into life and danced on the tip of my thumb. Slumped over the desk with my cheek pressed to the blotter, I watched the yellow lights sway in the breeze from the air duct in the corner of the office before slowly dying out.

  I sighed before repeating the trick. “Another year”—snap, pop!—“and no one to kiss at midnight.”

  Vin swept into the room and grabbed me from behind in a headlock. “Hey, I always give you a kiss on the cheek.”

  Digging his knuckles into my hair, he gave me a mega noogie. I flailed my arms around my head, attempting to ward him off, while little flames burst from my fingertips in the excitement.

  “Hey, Vanessa, where’s Auntie Ann?” Olivia breezed through the room and unlocked the door to her office.

  “Mom got a call last night and took off for Utah first thing this morning. Some emergency with a hurt familiar or lost familiar? I don’t know. It was all very confusing. Get off me, butthead!”

  Laughing, Vin let me go and stepped back to bat at the smoldering burned spots on his clothing. I snapped my fingers then flicked the flame onto the tail of his shirt. It caught on fire and spread between his thighs. He slapped at the flames over his crotch then swore and staggered backward into the wall when he used a bit more force than necessary.

  Olivia ignored our battle. My brother was always messing with me. It was the curse of being a younger sister. “Oh no, will she be back in time for the party?”

  I ran my fingers through my disheveled hair and pulled it back into a normal shape versus the rat nest Vin had created. “No idea. She said she would try but would be out of cell phone range all day.” Of course, she could get ahold of me if there was an emergency, but it would use up too much magic for anything short of life-threatening.

  Olivia stopped, her eyebrows flying up. “Will the spell on the pumpkin be okay if she isn’t there? She’s never missed the Luck Kiss before.”

  In order to get the luck at midnight, you had to receive or give a kiss within a minute of when the spell connected to the pumpkin went off. The pumpkin would explode then rain down confetti, glitter, and good luck for the next year on all present. It had been out in the ballroom all week, collecting good thoughts from mages flying in from all over the world. They would marinate in there and multiply until the clock struck midnight. It had been a family tradition for generations until the family had decided to make it the centerpiece of the casino party. “It will be fine. The spell on the pumpkin is all set to go off at midnight like always.” The conversation was boring me, and I focused on my hand to snap another little flame to life and debated tossing it at Vin’s hair.

  I blew out a long sigh. When I was little, my father had always kissed my cheek and called me his special little girl. When he passed away, Vin had taken over the tradition as man of the house, though it had never been the same. Vin did the best he could, but he was no substitute for Dad. I looked at my brother. Little wisps of smoke rose from his groin. “I don’t want a kiss from a family member at midnight. I want a real kiss from a handsome man.”

  He shuddered. “No! Not until you’re fifty. It’s a family tradition. I have to make sure you have all the best luck for this next year.”

  I missed most of what he said as Raymond Marcus walked in and everything disappeared. All I could focus on was his lean frame and chocolate-brown eyes. He was Vin’s best friend and right-hand man at Vin’s freelance security firm. He was always really vague about the services they provided, but I had heard from others that Vin took care of situations that needed special attention and a lot of discretion.

  My heart raced and my cheeks warmed when Raymond gave me a quick wink. He turned to Vin, and I crashed and fizzled out. “The pumpkin’s gone.”

  Olivia gasped. “Was it destroyed? An accident?”

  Raymond shook his head. “No one knows. It’s just gone… Hey?” He watched as Vin and Olivia raced from the room. He started to follow them, but I hooked a finger in one of his belt loops as he went by. He looked down at my hand then up at my face while lifting an eyebrow in question.

  I dropped my hand from his pants but pulled my elbows together, hoping it would elevate my modest cleavage into something more enticing as I batted my eyelashes at him. “What happened?”

  Raymond’s eyes didn’t dip to my uplifted cleavage that I could see, but he did smile. It was worth it. Definitely worth it. “It’s a mystery. The lady running the party locked it last night at two a.m. in the storage room next to the ballroom, just like all week. When she went to pull it out at eight a.m., it wasn’t there. She tried to cover it up for a bit, but eventually she had to admit it was missing. Can your mom make a new one?”

  I shook my head, the wheels in my head turning with possibilities. “No,” I said distractedly.

  “Why not?” he teased me. “Isn’t she some hot-shot mage?”

  I focused on the hot man in front of me and shook my head. “Yes, but the spell needs a huge pumpkin—they grow one special. This year it was six feet tall. Plus, it takes a lot of prep time then all week to gather good-luck wishes from other mages. But regardless, she isn’t here, and she’s the only one that knows the spell.”

  He leaned against the desk I was sitting at and grabbed a pencil to spin in his fingers. “How does the spell work?”

  I snatched the p
encil from his fingers while trailing my nails across his hands. Biting my lower lip, I looked into his gorgeous chocolate eyes—bittersweet, imported from the chocolatier I adore in Paris, the very best of its kind—and attempted to spin the pencil. It shot across the desk and hit the wall. Raymond’s face twitched, eyes closing for an instant. He had enormous restraint not to laugh.

  I decided to try my signature distracting move again, pushing my elbows together, and leaned forward. I flushed and batted my lashes. “All week, mages come by and give the pumpkin good magic and wishes. The spell helps to multiply all that, then when it bursts, all the people present get the goodwill back several fold over. People swear that after attending a party with my mom’s luck pumpkin, they have the best year ever. But why risk stealing the pumpkin when you can attend the party and get luck for free? It’s such a big risk, like stealing a couple thousand dollars from the mob. I suppose you could do it, but why? Why not steal from someone weaker?”

  He shrugged. “But your mom’s not here—maybe that is why they risked it. Maybe they are strung out on Legacy and not thinking straight.” He knelt down and reached under the desk to find the pencil, which had bounced under it. I craned my head around to get a better look at his rear end and had to grab the desk when I started to slide off the chair.

  He stood up and tossed the pencil to me. “I better go help your brother. I’ll be on the lookout for a druggy carrying a six-foot pumpkin. I hope we can wrap this up soon, or you might not be the only one looking for a last-minute midnight kiss.” He turned to leave.

  “I could find it,” I blurted out. “What will you give me if I can find the pumpkin and you can attend the party after all?”

  He gave a sly smile. “If you find the pumpkin, I’ll take care of that midnight kiss.”

  My jaw dropped open. He reached over and lifted my chin up with a chuckle then headed out the door.

  CHAPTER TWO

  The first thing I did was try to call Mom. When it went to voice message, I texted her to call me the second she had reception. Quizzing her about the spell would be the easiest way to find the pumpkin. If only she had let me help with the spell—but she said I wasn’t quite serious about my studies. I rolled my eyes. Studying was all I ever did. Family tradition was that I would be taught the spell when I was twenty-five, but considering my entire life was devoted to training, it seemed as if I could get some perks.

  After eliminating the option of getting help from Mom, I headed down to the scene of the crime to start the investigation. I was pumped—this was way more exciting than training. Magic should be thrilling. I was meant for more. I should be going on grand adventures with a handsome man. Raymond and I could travel to exotic locations while casting magic in dangerous situations. Then he could sweep me off my feet and…

  I ran into the side of the doorway and fell back on my butt. Flames burst from my finger and singed my shirt. Jumping to my feet, I looked around and waved the smoke away before anyone could notice.

  I caught Raymond’s eye, and he gave me a quick smile before following Vin out of the room. The ballroom was buzzing with activity. As he passed by, he slowed just enough to whisper to me, “There’s nothing on any security cameras showing the pumpkin leaving the building. We’re checking for spells that let it leave the building.”

  I whispered a thank-you, but he was already moving on. Luckily, he didn’t notice the char marks on my cute little top, and I took a few moments to admire the way his jeans clung to his butt and long legs before focusing on the task at hand. My gut said the pumpkin was still here. Someone would have noticed a six-foot-tall pumpkin being wheeled out of the casino. The Golden Pyramid casino had mages throughout the staff, not to mention the thousands of mages that were visiting for the Halloween celebrations.

  The enormous ballroom was humming with activity as people prepared for the party tonight. Mages were everywhere, preparing for all the aspects that only magic could accomplish, like a sound barrier that would keep the music thumping on the dance floor but make it a manageable hum elsewhere in the room.

  On one end, a live band was setting up. The party was mage only, so they must be a magical band, though I didn’t recognize them. Maybe they could predict which song to play next based on the crowd or could play music that sounded different to each listener. Or maybe the instruments sounded different. A thrill of excitement went through me, and I had to stop myself from running over to them to find out what their skills were.

  On the other end was a DJ I recognized as one of the employees of the casino. DJ Wiz was the house DJ at Ravishing. It was the hottest club in Rambler, and Wiz had a growing international reputation. For non-magical audiences, he had to tone down his ability to whip a crowd into a euphoric dance party, but tonight he could cut loose. I had hoped to go to Ravishing while I was in town but hadn’t made it yet. If I wanted to dance until dawn, I needed to tie up this investigation immediately.

  I was dying to be kissed. Really kissed like in the movies, where angels sing, your foot kicks up behind you, and hands roam all over each other. I would need to get Raymond out of sight of my brother. There was a palm tree in a large pot in one corner of the room—maybe I could drag him behind it.

  A man walked over to the plant and scooted a dolly underneath it. Tipping it back, he rolled the plant out the door. I focused on the task at hand.

  The center of the room was dominated by a giant circular display of desserts. I drifted over, for research, of course. The display was round and taller than I could reach even if I stood on my tiptoes. It was tiered, so each level was smaller in diameter than the tier below it. Workers were placing desserts on the frosted-glass display. The surface must have been cold, as they were bundled up, and each breath sent out little steam clouds.

  The desserts would be one of the highlights of the event. In order to maintain such fanciful costumes all night, mages in attendance would need a lot of sugar to refuel. The magic wasn’t terribly complicated, but most people were out of shape from only maintaining a false appearance once a year.

  The costumes varied, as they were meant to honor their family that had crossed over on the night when the veil between the living and dead was thinnest. People tended to pick the most famous or extravagant relatives.

  It was funny how many of the Halloween traditions of the magically talented had been co-opted by the humans. From eating sugar, costumes, pumpkins—it was clear that they were jealous of our parties, even if they didn’t understand the meaning. They could have their sad little parties while we really lived it up.

  Mages in the center of the room were preparing an illusion for the ceiling. It was flashing in and out as they tested out different parts. A black sky appeared then a blanket of stars, brighter than anything in real life though totally accurate in their placement. The shouting continued as the mages made adjustments to the image, and people all around paused their work to watch. Suddenly, a gigantic moon burst into being. It was much bigger than reality, the silvery light bathing everything. I gasped and covered my mouth, it was so beautiful.

  The night sky and moon disappeared, leaving behind the gridded ceiling of the casino. Mages around the room that were working on the magic gathered up, and I finally recognized the phlegmy, guttural sound of German being spoken. They growled and grunted at each other as they started to address a wall.

  The theme of the evening was an enchanted forest, and with the ceiling dealt with, they would set something up for the walls to give the fully immersive experience. The centerpiece of the whole room was meant to be the pumpkin, nestled in a delicate garden. At midnight, it would rise up from the faux pumpkin patch and burst to rain down confetti, glitter, and good luck to all those present—mages only, of course.

  People milled around the room, and I needed to figure out who to talk to. Luckily, I had been to the room over the past few days since Mom and I arrived from Spain, and no one had questioned me when I entered, but I had no reason to be there.

  I needed t
o pick just the right person to question. I wanted to know when the pumpkin was last seen, where, and who discovered it was missing. Plus what desserts they were serving tonight, but I should start with the pumpkin-related questions. I eyed the cupcakes and licked my lips.

  At the far end of the room were two doors. Raymond had said that they stored away the pumpkin last night, and when they went to get it in the morning, it was gone. It must have been stored in one of the two rooms.

  A girl had her back to me. Smooth black hair was pulled into a ponytail, and a slight figure put her age as a teenager. I could probably bluff her. I threw back my shoulders and marched across the room while pulling together the questions I would ask.

  I tapped her on the shoulder. “Excuse me, miss. I have some questions.”

  She turned around and narrowed her eyes. She had fine lines around her eyes and deep parentheses around her mouth as she frowned at me. “Miss?”

  I cleared my throat. “Pardon me, ma’am. I’m… uh… I want to know what time the luck pumpkin was put away. Was it in this room?” I gestured toward the door she was standing in front of. A prickle went down my spine as I resisted the urge to fidget under her glare.

  “Who are you?” She carefully formed each word with a light hint of a French accent. She must be one of the party planners who were organizing the event. They were supposedly a big deal in Europe, though it was hard for me to imagine that anyone could do as good a job as Olivia. She normally planned the party, but since she had been training to take over the Golden Pyramid casino from my uncle, she was too busy.

  Her tone made me bristle. “My family owns the casino—that’s who I am. Who are you?” Hopefully she was some lower-level worker that would be cowed by my relationship to the casino owner.