Edited Cozy Mystery Sample

Fiona walked down the misty shoreline. It was just before dawn, and she had been wandering the village of Portree since the previous evening.

The town was small, yet she saw something new every night—not new people, as there were never new people. But they were always doing new things. Creating new secrets.

The small-town folk were simple, as she had come to know in the past few centuries of her life, but Portree was something special.

The beach rocks sounded behind her. She turned, ready to disappear at the first sign of danger, knowing that witches were not accepted among humans.

Relieved, the witch sighed, “Ruby, my friend, you startled me.” The witch flounced down the chilled path to her beloved cat. They had been together since her magic birth; the day she chose to become something more.

“Fiona, you must be on guard. That crystal heart in your chest may give you an immortal body, but not an indestructible one,” Ruby whispered. The cat was overly cautious.

“Learn to enjoy the time we were given!” Fiona shouted to the clear sky.

“Quiet!” the cat insisted, and the girl’s body bowed to the authority of her familiar.

The witch nodded. She often forgot how powerful her friend truly was.

“Now then," the cat started, "what secrets did the village reveal?” Ruby sauntered toward the witch’s place by the water, her tail tickling the girl’s knee as she rubbed against the skin with soft ebony fur.

“Oh, many things,” the girl whispered. “Mrs. Johnson made the mistake of leaving her kitchen window open.” She smiled. “The secret ingredient to her famous chicken soup isn’t chicken… but rats.” The witch twirled where she stood, too excited to stay still.

“What else?” the cat prodded.

“The smith is too old to wield his tools and makes his little son do it for him, yet he sells the pieces at the same high price.”

“Is this all you’ve found? Petty sins?”

“What else is there?” Fiona asked.

Just then, a scream sounded from the forest. The mist was thick, and the witch could not see far, but one look at Ruby told her that they must go.

The two magical beings ran quietly through the mist. Once the witch and cat wished it to be, they could not be seen or heard. Hide and Seek was their favorite game, after all.

With Ruby’s sensitive nose, it wasn’t long before they found the source of the scream. The witch sucked in a breath, and said, “She’s dead.”

A young girl lay upon the damp moss. She wore a red dress that was stark against her pallid skin, but the color hid the blood that was surely there.

“Who could have done this?” The immortal girl grasped a blood-covered locket hanging from a nearby branch.

“Another secret you must discover it seems,” the cat answered.

“It’s the witch!” a man yelled from the tree line. Footsteps quickly followed his words.

Despite her familiar’s acute hearing, the cat had not been able to warn Fiona of the approaching mob. The two beings ran deep into the forest, refusing to end up like the girl in the red dress.