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  Liz’s will power had abandoned her that morning. That’s what Meg was worried about. She knew trouble was brewing. The worry was all over Liz’s face.

  “This has the makings of a pastry emergency,” Meg said.

  “I wish it was just that. It’s more like life 911.”

  Meg furrowed her brow. “I’m confused. I thought you’d be happy. Your acting dream just came true.”

  “It did.”

  “So, what’s the problem?”

  “That dream turned into a nightmare after the show last night.”

  “Uh oh.”

  “You don’t even know the half of it,” Liz revealed.

  Meg handed Liz a donut. She promptly began to devour it.

  “Fill me in,” Meg insisted.

  “The show has been canceled.”

  Meg’s jaw nearly dropped. She stammered her reply. “What? Wait, but ‘Enchanted Nights’ has been running longer than we’ve even been alive. How could it have been canceled?”

  “Two words--Ethan Wakefield.”

  Meg was even more puzzled. “The carpet king?”

  Liz nodded.

  Every small town had their local hucksters that insisted in starring in their own cable access-quality commercials. Ethan Wakefield would go down in infamy for some of his awful TV spots. They were schlocky affairs, with cheesy lines and horrible video quality. Apparently, they worked. Twenty years ago, Ethan Wakefield had proclaimed himself as the local carpet king when he opened his first upholstery warehouse, and to this day, no one had been able to steal his crown. Who knew a man that lived to sell upholstery also had an interest in dabbling in the theater as well?

  Liz continued her explanation. “Ethan bought the theater, promptly canceled the show, and is going to be staging a new play that his wife wrote.”

  Meg’s heart went out to her friend. “I’m so sorry.”

  Liz sighed. “Yeah, it’s crazy. In one night, I went from being on top of the world to out of a job.”

  “I’m so sorry. I know getting that role was the opportunity you’ve been waiting for.”

  Liz nodded. “Life sure has a crazy sense of humor sometimes. I finally get the role of a lifetime; then I barely have time to enjoy it before the rug is completely pulled out from under my feet.”

  “This calls for more donuts.”

  For once, Liz didn’t turn down seconds. Then again, with her acting future on the skids now, she didn’t have to pay such close attention to her figure.

  “The fact is, I didn’t even get the worst of it. This news is tough enough for me to deal with, but I can’t even imagine what it’s like for Owen Goodman. Or Vanessa McMillan. Not to mention Sebastian Brown. It must be the hardest on Daphne Scott, though. Her ex-husband buys the theater, and then shuts down the show she’s worked so hard to produce.”

  Liz had thrown out a whole slew of names. Meg took a moment to get them all straight. They were all involved in the production of the musical in some way. Owen Goodman was the director of the show, Vanessa McMillan was the writer, Sebastian Brown was the lead actor, and Daphne Scott produced the musical.

  Meg agreed with Liz. Ethan had sure found a way to screw over his former wife.

  “You have to really hate your ex to do something like that,” Meg said.

  “The fact that Ethan is going to use the theater to stage a play his third wife wrote is the real kicker.”

  “It’s good to know nepotism is alive and well,” Meg deadpanned.

  “Tell Wyatt Wakefield that. He’s been looking to get the stage show he wrote produced for a while. Instead, his father chooses to put on his new wife’s play instead of his,” Liz explained.

  Meg’s head was spinning just hearing about all the backstabbing and hurt feelings. “That’s a whole lot of drama.”

  “That’s the theater world for you.”

  “Yeah, but the drama should be on stage, not off.”

  “You never know what to expect from a group of thespians.”

  Meg switched gears. “Speaking of, what are you going to do now?”

  “Other than eating donuts? I don’t know,” Liz replied.

  “I have a great idea. It’s time we have a girl’s night out. Let’s just hit the town and cut loose,” Meg suggested.

  “Don’t you have a date with the hunky detective?”

  “I did, but my plans have suddenly changed.”

  “You don’t have to cancel your date for me,” Liz insisted.

  Meg would not be thrown off. “Connor will understand. Besides, if this situation doesn’t call for an emergency girl’s night out, I don’t know what does.”

  “Thanks for trying to cheer me up.”

  “I’m not just trying. I am going to find a way to cheer you up.”

  “You’re such a good friend,” Liz said.

  “Is that a yes on the girl’s night out?” Meg asked.

  “Sorry, but I’m just tired and mentally exhausted. Besides, I really have to try to find a new role in a show somewhere.”

  “I understand. At least let me pack up some more donuts for you.”

  Surprisingly, Liz refused those too. She looked down at her stomach. “No, I can’t.”

  “But they are on the house.”

  “Trust me, I want to say yes, but I’m afraid I have to say no. Anyway, I should really be getting home. I can’t afford to be out of work for long. Otherwise, I might have to beg for my old waitress job back at Al’s Diner.”

  “Are you sure there’s nothing else I can do?” Meg asked.

  “You’ve done plenty already,” Liz insisted.

  When Liz left the donut shop shortly after, Meg knew she’d done her best to cheer her friend up. Unfortunately, Liz was still noticeably rattled. It was understandable. Her whole life had been turned upside down. At the same time, Meg could sense there was something deeper going on than just Liz’s recent and wildly unexpected unemployment. Meg couldn’t place exactly what else was bothering her friend, but maybe Liz would reveal it to her during their night out. In the meantime, all Meg could do was speculate.

  Chapter Four

  Meg hated to see her friend having such a hard time. Life barely gave Liz time to enjoy the stroke of good luck before throwing some seriously bad luck at her. It just didn’t seem fair. Meg was still rattled by her conversation with Liz two hours later when her mother showed up at the shop.

  Beth Walton had a habit of waking up on the grumpy side of the bed. The first rule of a happy life was to never cross a witch. So if Meg’s mom refused to believe that the day started earlier than ten in the morning, Meg wasn’t going to risk getting on her bad side. It was wise not to mess with a witch that didn’t know what the phrase “morning person” meant.

  Even given her crabby history with the morning, Beth came in looking more bothered than usual that morning.

  Beth shook her head and ranted with an exasperated look on her face. “What’s this town coming to?”

  “Uh oh. Sounds like someone has a serious case of the grumps,” Meg joked.

  “This is no laughing matter,” Beth replied.

  Meg looked into her mom’s eyes. She could tell immediately that it wasn’t just the usual “there goes the neighborhood” rant, which her mother used for occasions as trivial as people leaving their Christmas lights up until June. No, this was serious. Meg gulped. She wasn’t sure she wanted the answer to her next question.

  “What’s the matter?” Meg wondered.

  “I saw a half dozen police cars in front of Ethan Wakefield’s house,” Beth revealed.

  Meg’s eyes opened wide. “Ethan?”

  The mention of his name stopped Meg dead in her tracks. After what Liz had told her earlier, Ethan managed to make a slew of enemies last night when he shut down “Enchanted Nights.”

  Meg continued. “What happened?”

  Beth shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know for sure. I wasn’t about to get out of my car and ask the police what had happened. It sure looke
d like a crime scene to me. What’s happening to our town?”

  “A crime scene like someone robbed the place, or--”

  “I just said I don’t know.”

  That only made Meg panic even more. “Mom, this is really important. Did you see the police talking to Ethan?”

  “I didn’t see Ethan at all, just the police.”

  This was just what Meg feared.

  Beth continued ranting. “This used to be such a quiet town. A happy place, peaceful. I miss the days when the biggest problem were raccoons knocking over our neighbor’s garbage cans in the middle of the night.”

  Meg’s heart started beating out of her chest. She could sense trouble. Before her anxiety grew out of control, she decided to take a step back.

  Beth stopped ranting when she saw her daughter’s face turn white. “Honey, are you ok?”

  “Mom, I need to take a break,” Meg insisted.

  “Was it something I said?”

  “I just need to get some air.”

  “Meg, tell me, what is it?”

  “That’s the thing. I’m getting a really bad feeling,” Meg explained.

  ***

  Meg stepped out back to get some air. Her emotions had a tendency to get the better of her in the heat of the moment. In those cases, she found it helped to stare out at the horizon. Sometimes, a little perspective was all she needed.

  This wasn’t one of those times. All her usual tricks didn’t work. Meg had a terrible feeling that she just couldn’t shake. She listened to her instincts and gave Connor a call. Unfortunately, he didn’t pick up.

  She tried texting him instead. Sometimes Connor was too busy to take a call, but could shoot back a quick text message. She got nothing back from him.

  How frustrating.

  Meg’s thoughts then turned to Liz Donnelly. She was really on edge this morning—all due to Ethan Wakefield’s actions the night before.

  Meg called up Liz and waited impatiently as the phone rang three times. She groaned. Not voice mail again. Like Connor, Liz wasn’t always able to answer a call, but she was usually lightning fast responding to texts.

  Meg shot one her way. She didn’t receive anything back. Waiting did no favors to her anxiety level. She was already a highly impatient person, but during a time like this, a level head was nearly impossible to come by.

  Finally, she reached a breaking point. She couldn’t just wait around. It was time to get answers herself.

  Meg wasn’t the only one with spooked feelings. Her mother exited the shop and joined her.

  “Honey, you’re completely off in the ozone. What’s on your mind?” Beth wondered.

  “Trouble,” Meg said.

  “What kind of trouble?”

  “Mom, I need you to cover for me.”

  “Why?”

  “Because, there’s something I need to go check on,” Meg explained.

  Beth was still completely in the dark. “What is it?”

  “I have a bad feeling about this Ethan Wakefield situation,” Meg revealed.

  Chapter Five

  Despite protests from her mother, Meg left work early to follow up on her hunch. She drove by Ethan Wakefield’s house first. It was even worse than her mother had described. It seemed like the entire Enchanted Bay police department was on the scene. Except Connor, that was.

  How odd.

  Where was he? That question would have to wait until later. Right now, there were a number of other things Meg wanted answers to. Yellow police tape was blocking off the scene, so Meg couldn’t get close enough to see everything that was going on. She did, however, see a forensics team, a coroner's van, and plenty of commotion on site. By the looks of it, the investigation appeared to be winding down.

  Unfortunately, she couldn’t gather any further information without drawing attention to herself. She wasn’t prepared to do that. She decided to move on. The less police activity in her life, the better.

  Besides, she had a hunch she was needed elsewhere. Before she drove away, she couldn’t help but be struck by an eerie feeling. There was a new disturbing trend in town. Crime was clearly on the rise. What a shame. The last thing her quaint hometown needed was big city crime.

  As Meg drove away from the scene, she knew exactly what her next step was. She needed to get to Liz Donnelly’s house and figure out why she wasn’t answering her phone.

  ***

  When Meg arrived at Liz’s place, her suspicions were confirmed. She saw something that sent a shiver down her spine. A police cruiser was parked in the driveway. What kind of trouble was she in? Did this have a connection to the swarm of police officers that were at Ethan Wakefield’s house? Meg’s head was suddenly swirling with questions. The problem was, she feared she wouldn’t like the answers.

  She approached the door and knocked with a sudden queasy feeling. Her stomach was in so many knots that she almost wanted to cast a quick spell to calm herself down. Before she had the chance to do that, the door opened.

  Liz looked like she’d been through the emotional ringer. That wasn’t the only troubling sight. Meg noticed Connor standing in Liz’s living room with his notepad out. Suddenly, there were plenty of concerned faces to go around. Meg let her emotions take hold.

  “What’s going on?” she blurted out.

  As worried as Liz was, Connor suddenly had the most troubled look on his face. It was clearly a nightmare scenario for him, having his girlfriend show up while he was trying to question one of her best friends.

  “I’m just asking Liz some questions,” Connor replied.

  His damage control efforts didn’t work. Not only did Meg not buy his attempt to understate things, but Liz was quick to point out exactly why he was here.

  “Ethan Wakefield has been murdered, and your boyfriend thinks I’m a suspect,” Liz revealed.

  It took all the willpower Meg had to keep her jaw from hitting the floor. Ethan murdered! And the revelation that Liz was a suspect in this case was what really floored Meg.

  She found herself in an emotional tug of war. Meg was shocked and downright furious that her boyfriend had come to question Liz without telling her first.

  Just as Meg opened her mouth to unload on Connor, he pulled her aside.

  “Can I have a word with you in private?” he asked.

  She nodded. “Yeah. We have a lot to talk to about.”

  Chapter Six

  Meg expected her boyfriend to be apologetic when they stepped outside onto Liz’s back porch. Instead, he was combative with her. She couldn’t believe it. Meg wanted to rip into him but instead remained calm while letting her displeasure be known.

  “I can’t believe you,” Meg said.

  “I was about to say the same thing to you,” Connor replied.

  She shook her head, trying not to let her frustration boil over. “You should be ashamed.”

  “Meg, this isn’t personal.”

  “We’re talking about one of my best friends here. How could it be more personal?”

  Connor didn’t answer her question. He tried to stick to his own script. “I’m a homicide detective, and this is an official police investigation. You shouldn’t be here.”

  “Don’t give me that standard police jargon. I’m not just some random stranger off the street. I’m your girlfriend, and that’s my friend in there you’re questioning.”

  “I know that.”

  “Then why didn’t you tell me you were going to come over here?”

  He exhaled. “Because I knew you’d try to get involved, which would make it harder for me to do my job.”

  Meg tried to get a word in, but Connor wasn’t done.

  “Don’t forget, I have a job to do. A man has been murdered, and it’s my responsibility to find out who did it.”

  “You’re wasting your time talking to Liz Donnelly then.”

  He disagreed. “I wish I was.”

  “Connor, this is Liz we’re talking about here. She made me turn off an episode of Detective Dange
r once because it was too gruesome for her, and yet you’re honestly considering her as a suspect?”

  “Meg, I don’t like this either. Murder investigations are hard enough when friends and loved ones aren’t involved. You keep telling me how hard it is for you, but it’s difficult for me as well. Don’t you see that?”

  Meg looked deep into his eyes. Connor was noticeably torn up inside. She took a step back and tried to see things from his perspective. He was in a no-win situation, caught between his girlfriend and his job, with both demanding for him to see things their way.

  “You’re right. I know you’re just trying to do your job. I just have a hard time believing why you think Liz Donnelly should be a suspect in this case.”

  “As a detective, it’s my job to find out the truth, and the truth is not in Liz’s favor with this one.”

  Meg still refused to believe that her friend could have had any part in this. “Oh, come on. What do you really have on her?”

  Connor remained tight-lipped. “I already told you; this is an official police investigation.”

  She stared him down. “Hasn’t anyone ever warned you about the perils of making your girlfriend angry?”

  He gulped. “Are you really going to pull the girlfriend card?”

  She nodded. “This is my good friend we’re talking about here.”

  He sighed. “All right. You want motive? Ethan Wakefield just canceled the show Liz worked so hard to land the lead role in.”

  “There were a lot of people irate that Ethan canceled the show. Most with far more to lose than Liz.”

  “True, but there’s more. Ethan was killed with the same prop pick ax that Liz’s character carries around in the show.”

  Enchanted Bay was a former gold rush town. Since the musical centered on the town’s early days, naturally a pick ax was used as a prop in the musical. No one could have ever imagined it would eventually be used as a murder weapon.

  Meg was having a hard time wrapping her head around it all. “Ethan was killed with an ax?”