Witches and Kittens (A Small Town Paranormal Cozy Witch Mystery): Witches of Willardville, #2

By Brad Wolf

Willardville used to be safe. But now there's been another murder, and it's got the two small-town witches scratching their heads.

Small town Willardville's bookshop owner Miles Cranston owed money all over town, and now he's been found dead behind his cash register. The police have no clues to go on, and local town witches Zoey Stansfield and Tina Wallace can't imagine who could have done this. They scour the town looking for clues, but clues in this case are very hard to come by, so Zoey enlists the help of her black cat Shadow, whose keen feline senses might help them solve the mystery.

In a town as small as Willardville, everyone knows everyone... And everyone is a suspect.

Witches and Kittens is book 2 in the Witches of Willardville series by Brad Wolf.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brad Wolf
• Release date: Jan 29, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224117666

Book preview

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter One

Jonathan Donnellan walked into Miles Cranston’s used bookshop at ten a.m. and began to browse. He was an avid reader, and since his retirement from the steel factory two years back he had grown even fonder of the hobby. His nose would be stuck in a book at practically all hours, and the first thing he thought of when waking up in the morning was flipping open the spine of an old, vintage paperback and getting back to the world he loved – fiction.

He’d make his morning coffee, fry up some eggs, sit down at the kitchen table and crack open whatever book he was currently reading. He was currently on a mystery kick, and so after exhausting his collection at home by reading and rereading each book at least twice, he figured he would pop into Miles’ shop and see if he had anything fun he hadn’t read before, or at least hadn’t read in a while.

The shop was quiet and empty, with Miles nowhere to be seen behind the counter. Jonathan thought nothing of it. Miles was often upstairs shelving books or sweeping, or maybe he had gone for a quick trip to the corner store, not bothering to lock the door considering crime in Willardville was almost nonexistent – but when he did that, he typically left a note.

Jonathan shrugged and embarked on his quest to find the perfect mystery. He often went by the cover alone, which he knew was a no-no in the book world, but it was fun to pick up a book, see an enchanting cover, and then flip open the first page and see where it took you. Besides, he didn’t like when the back cover of these vintage paperbacks gave too many spoilers, which he often felt was the case.

He thumbed through the mystery section. Most of the titles he recognized, either from reading them or hearing about them online. One of them grabbed his attention – an illustrated picture of a man aiming a gun at what looked like a villainous ghoul heading towards him. It looked like a fun Saturday read, and he smiled and dropped it into his cart, and then continued to browse. One book wasn’t enough – this one looked short, and he’d finish it by evening, so he figured he’d pick up a few to tie him over for the next few days.

That’s when he heard something. A noise that sounded like it was coming from just a few feet away. Jonathan felt frozen with fear. He wasn’t particularly the bravest man, and there was something truly bone chilling about the noise he was hearing. It sounded like a whispering hiss of some sort.

It almost sounded like it was saying, "Help..."

Jonathan dropped his cart on the ground and turned. The sound was coming from behind the counter. And it was a voice, most certainly, calling for help. Jonathan rushed towards the old wooden counter and peered over it. His heart was thumping in his chest, and then it felt like it stopped once he saw who was down there, right below the register.

Oh... Oh, no, Jonathan gasped.

The doors jingling bells made Jonathan almost jump out of his skin. Spinning around, he saw Carl Simpson, the town barber, stroll into the shop without a care in the world. He began to pick books from the science fiction section and thumb through them. He didn’t even notice Jonathan as he stood there at the register.

Jonathan said in a croaking voice, "He’s dead!"

Carl glanced at him and looked confused, furrowing his brow Huh?

Miles is dead, Jonathan pointed.

Carl Simpson hesitated for a moment and then quickly walked over and looked behind the counter. "Oh my goodness, oh no, not Miles..." Rushing behind the counter, Carl checked Miles for a pulse and then looked back up at Freddy with a mortified expression and shook his head without saying a word.

Miles Cranston may have been alive a moment before, but now he was long gone. Dead. There was no doubt about it. Jonathan began to sweat as he reached down to check as well, just like Carl had done. There was no pulse. He stood up, took a series of labored breaths, and pulled out his cell phone very quickly to dial the police.

Officer Alisha Stone answered on the first ring. Not a busy day at the station, as it rarely was, but it was about to be. In fact, it was about to be a big day for everyone in Willardville.

Especially the two town witches.

Chapter Two

The crowd gathered outside quickly once the two officers showed up. Tony Willis was there, reliving the awful recent memories of finding Freddy Hawkins lying dead in his bakery. Now it had happened again, and he couldn’t believe it.

Nobody could.

He watched as Officer Stone and Officer Joe walked into the shop. Jonathan Donnellan and Carl Simpson were standing out front. Jonathan was shaking and Carl had his hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort him. He seemed to be taking it better than Jonathan was.

Timmy Stanton came jogging up in his spandex running gear. He popped open his water bottle and took a long swig before pulling off his sunglasses and staring in confusion at the crowd. He walked up to Tony, wiping sweat from his brow as he said, Hey there, Tony. What’s going on? They got a famous author to come visit little ol’ Willardville for a book signing? He laughed.

Tony turned to him with sadness in his eyes. Jonathan Donnellan over there and Carl Simpson just found Miles Cranston dead in his shop.

What? Timmy’s smile quickly faded. "He... Did he have a heart attack or a stroke, or... Or what?"

Nobody knows. But everybody’s on edge because of what happened with Freddy Hawkins. Maybe it was natural causes. Maybe it wasn’t.

Of course, Timmy said, gazing at the shop. His eyes were narrowed as he frowned, and then he shook his head and waved it off dismissively. No, no way. we’ve got to think positive. Come on. What are the odds of that happening again? Here in Willardville? Not a chance.

I thought that the first time with Freddy... Didn’t think something like that could happen here. But it did.

Timmy frowned. Let’s just see what the officers say when they come out. He crossed his arms, trying to appear confident. But goodness gracious – Miles Cranston of all people. He wasn’t particularly young, but he looked to be in decent shape.

I’ve got a bad feeling about this, Timmy, Tony said.

The stunned crowd of worried onlookers watched while conversing in hushed voices until the officers came out a few minutes later and approached them. Officer Joe looked a bit shaken as he pulled his cell phone out and stood beside Officer Stone.

Pops, he said into the phone. We just found a body. Miles Cranston. Uh, I’m not sure, Pops – I don’t think this was a heart attack.

There were a few gasps from the crowd as they heard this. Officer Joe put his phone back in his pocket and said to Officer Stone, Sheriff Dawson’s heading back to town. He should be here in a few hours, I think.

She nodded and then turned to the crowd, trying to speak calmly. Ladies and gentlemen, everyone please remain calm.

Was he murdered? Someone shouted from the crowd.

How did he die? Another voice stammered.

Officer Stone paused, putting her hands on her hips. She looked down at the ground. She didn’t want to cause any more commotion or anxiety, but she also knew that honesty was a part of her job – and more importantly, a key trait of her personality. She sighed and looked up at them all. He appears to have been murdered. Just like Freddy Hawkins.

This sudden revelation caused an uproar in the crowd. Gasps filled the air, followed by a stream of questions yelled loudly by various residents. Officer Stone waved her arms and shook her head. Folks, this is a developing case. We don’t have any information we can disclose to you at this time, because to be honest – we don’t know any more than you all do. Please be patient, calm, and try not to panic.

Tony turned his head and stared at Timmy Stanton, who was staring with his mouth hanging open. Timmy turned his eyes towards Tony and said, "You were right. I never would have thought this would happen again."

Me either, Tony sighed.

Timmy looked like he was still trying to process what was going on. His eyes were glazed over as he let out a long breath and shook his head from side to side. What’s happening to our town? What’s going on with Willardville?

I don’t know, but I’m locking my doors tonight – and I suggest you do the same, Tim, Tony said drearily.

Timmy stared at him and slowly gulped.

Chapter Three

Zoey Stansfield liked gardening with her black cat Shadow by her side. She would have liked it even more if he had been able to help her with planting the seeds and picking the fruits and vegetables. But his mere company was enough to put a nice, wide smile on her face. He sure was a quirky cat.

"I don’t like the smell of those," Shadow made a funny face as Zoey picked some strawberries and put them in a little bucket. They would make for a nice strawberry shortcake later in the afternoon.

Zoey smiled at the little cat, I know you don’t. You like the smell of tuna fish, chicken, and cat treats.

"You’re right about that, Shadow meowed to her, adding, and salmon."

And just about every other food I cook...

"Macaroni and cheese, and shrimp, and the cheesy lasagna that you and Tina like to bake..."

That stuff’s not good for kitty cats, Shadow.

"But I like it," the cat proclaimed.

I know you do. And you can have teeny tiny bits every once in a while. If I let you eat like you want to, you’d be as big as our house.

The cat huffed and