Chapter 6

“Here you are,” I said, offering the best fake smile I could muster as I handed the customer her order. I would have loved to flash a real smile, but it was getting harder and harder to compose one.

Thyme and I had been working furiously all morning to serve the influx of customers. Since I had accidentally cast the spell over town, every working day was a nightmare, even if it was a profitable one. Just about everybody in town was coming in to buy cupcakes for their friends and family, and they all left enormous tips. I could hardly complain, but the money felt ill-gained, on top of the work being exhausting.

I briefly wondered how I should spend the money that the store had earned. I was in something of a pickle, as I imagined Camino would say, because it was impossible to tell how much the store would have earned without the spell. I thought maybe I should give back to the town somehow, but I’d been too busy selling cupcakes and solving a murder to think much on the subject.

After spending several minutes explaining to a customer that he really didn’t need to pay five times the price just because his cupcake was, I quote, ‘mind blowing,’ I decided Thyme, Camino, and I should take a break. I scrawled, ‘Closed for lunch,’ on a piece of paper and stuck it the front door.

“Since we’re taking a break, why don’t you try cooking again, Amelia?” Thyme asked me.

As always, the notion struck fear into my heart, but I knew I had to try. Besides, my last attempt had gone relatively well until I’d turned the cakes into premature fossils. “Okay, I’ll give it a shot. At least the fire officers will be nice about it,” I muttered. I’m fairly sure Thyme heard me and mercifully decided not to say anything. It was good that Thyme was so nice even without the influence of a spell.

I steeled myself for the worst as I prepared the mixture. I was becoming something of an expert at this, even if I hadn’t gotten the actual baking part quite right just yet. I mixed all the ingredients at record speed and put them in the oven. I closed the door and gulped, hoping that they would turn out anything other than something that could be used in chemical warfare.

“How are you doing?” Thyme asked from behind me.

I turned around and sighed. “Oh, not too bad, all things considered. It’s a big relief that you’ve all regained your senses, but I still feel terrible for causing all of this in the first place.”

“Oh, don’t be silly, Amelia,” Thyme said. “You couldn’t have known what would happen. If you had known, you wouldn’t have done it. Besides, we don’t really know if the spell had any effect on what happened to Nick Smith or not. You have to stop blaming yourself.”

I knew she was right, but it was hard to feel that way. Even if there was no solid evidence, it was likely that my spell had caused Nick to go to meet Selena, and then he’d been murdered. I almost certainly had some hand in it.

Thyme, Camino, and I had a quick, simple lunch as we waited for the cupcakes to cook. I had asked Thyme not to tell me when she thought they were done so I could figure it out for myself, but it was a decision I immediately regretted. I set a timer as per the recipe, of course, but I knew that the exact moment they were done would vary from batch to batch.

Finally, I gave in and decided to go and check them. I turned off the oven, grabbed my mitts, and pulled out the hot tray, setting it carefully on the bench.

“Amelia,” Thyme said, her jaw dropping wide open. “You’ve done it!” She was overjoyed. “These are great! The outside is nice and crispy, and the inner ring is a good size.”

I sighed. “Thyme, there isn’t meant to be an inner ring. I was cooking cupcakes, not donuts. They’ve sunk so far in the middle that the middle has disappeared.”

“Oh.” Thyme looked a bit embarrassed. “Still, they’re the best batch you’ve ever cooked. You really are improving. Honestly, I think these are almost edible! Though, to be safe, I think I’ll make a batch for the customers.”

Even though the cupcakes hadn’t turned out too well, they were by far my best ever batch. There wasn’t even any smoke or charcoal. Better yet, I had made an almost edible food, even if it wasn’t the food I was aiming for.

I handed Thyme the ingredients as she prepared a batch of cupcakes for customers. It was going to be a busy afternoon, if this morning was anything to go by, so she made extra.

Eventually, we were ready to reopen the store. Moments after I removed the sign, hordes of hungry customers rushed inside, all politely asking for their favorites. Thyme and I busied ourselves for another hour or so serving as quickly as was humanly possible. Camino made coffee non-stop. All things told, it was a dream come true. Customers would come in, politely ask for whatever it was they were after, and then pay extra. The workload was exhausting, but it also made time fly by. Even though I wouldn’t want to cast the spell again, maybe it had some upsides as well.

Finally, the influx of customers slowed down. It was a much nicer pace, as while we were still slightly busier than usual, it wasn’t overwhelming. Thyme even had time to go out back and bake more cupcakes, although unfortunately she left just as Craig and Kayleen walked in the front door.

“Hello, Amelia!” Craig beamed at me. Kayleen waved happily as they examined the display case diligently.

“Oh, these all look so delicious,” Kayleen murmured.

“Select whatever you like, dear one!” Craig announced to Kayleen. “They all look so good, I can’t choose. You’re a genius at this, Amelia.”

I sighed dramatically. “I didn’t cook them, Craig,” I explained flatly. I appreciated that everybody was nice to me, but I knew that these two wouldn’t be nice if they weren’t enchanted.

“All the same, you run a tight ship. Have you made up your mind, Kayleen?” he asked her.

“Oh Craig, we’ll just get one of each. We can simply give away the others if we can’t eat them all.”

I bagged one of each cupcake at near superhuman speed, desperate to get the two out of my shop. I wasn’t exactly their biggest fan at the best of times, but under the influence of the niceness spell, they really creeped me out. Predictably, they left me an enormous tip and chatted happily on their way out the door. I forced myself to smile broadly back at them, even though it felt wrong to do so.

Right on cue, Thyme returned from the kitchen. “Sell much?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Just my soul,” I said, sitting in a chair and leaning back. “Everybody being this friendly is exhausting. When do you think it’ll wear off?”

Thyme shrugged. “I have no idea. None of us do. This isn’t exactly a common occurrence. Hopefully, soon. Though not too soon,” she said as she glanced at the cash register.

I laughed. “We can’t keep it all, Thyme. It’s basically exploitation. We’ll need to give it back to the community somehow.”

“I think we should invest in upgrading that cupcake store everyone in town loves so much,” Thyme said with a wink. Before I could reply, the door swung open.

I turned around to see Selena walking inside briskly, preceded by a strong fragrance of gardenia. Refreshingly, she was the first person I had seen that day who looked upset, though of course I wasn’t happy to see her that way.

“Selena,” I said, standing up. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s her,” Selena said, spitting the words. “She’s here. I was just walking by and saw her coming this way, so I ducked inside to avoid her.”

“Who?” Thyme asked. She looked at me and I shrugged. I had no idea who Selena was talking about.

“It’s Clara!” she announced. “Clara’s here. That conniving b…”

The door swung open again. A woman entered the store, wearing an expensive looking tailored suit. She had shoulder-length black hair and an intimidating glare.

“I knew I saw you come in here!” she said angrily, pointing at Selena. “You! You killed my husband!”

Camino gasped and hurried to the back room.

I went cold all over. Thyme looked as shocked as I felt, and Selena was wearing a similar expression.

“Of course I didn’t kill Nick,” Selena said nervously.

“You did! You killed him because you couldn’t have him!” Clara said in a raised voice.

I thought that perhaps I should duck for cover, but didn’t want to make a sudden move near either of them.

“You were getting a divorce,” Selena said stubbornly. “He didn’t want to be with you, anyway.”

“That’s not true,” Clara spat back.

“Yes, it is.” Selena glared at her. “You’ll get to keep the whole property for yourself now that he’s dead. It won’t have to be sold in a property settlement. How convenient! He was murdered just before he divorced you!”

Thyme and I looked at each other. It was certainly suspicious. The police would undoubtedly have questioned Clara already if they weren’t acting so nice.

I slowly got up and walked behind the counter to stand next to Thyme. The two women were arguing loudly about the whole situation, insulting and berating each other. Luckily, Clara left after another minute or so. Selena followed her and the two argued briefly in the street before storming off in opposite directions.

“Well, one thing’s for sure,” I said, still unsure of exactly what had happened. “That Clara wasn’t affected by the happiness spell.”

“She lives out of town,” Thyme explained. “I mean, I don’t know her as such, but she’s well known.”

I sighed and rubbed my temples. For once I wished that the happiness spell had spread a little further. Still, Clara was definitely suspicious. She had the motive to murder Nick. She was definitely a suspect, which meant I had to dig up some dirt on her. I groaned loudly.

“You’re thinking of snooping on her, aren’t you?” Thyme asked, laughing. “I could tell because you’re clearly not looking forward to it. She is quite scary, I’ll give you that.”

“I really don’t want to,” I admitted, “but she’s the most likely suspect by a wide margin. She had a wealthy husband who happened to be unfaithful. She’s the only suspect who’s turned up so far.”