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  Road Trippin' with My Witches

  A Witch Squad Cozy Mystery

  M.Z. Andrews

  Road Trippin’ with My Witches

  A Witch Squad Cozy Mystery: Book #9

  by

  M.Z. Andrews

  Copyright © M.Z. Andrews 2018

  ISBN: 9781729471982

  VS: 10302018.02

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  This book is dedicated to Kris, my old road tripping buddy.

  May your car always drive in the right direction.

  May the roads always be clear of barbed wire.

  May the ditches be shallow.

  May you always find enough change between the seats to share a cheeseburger with a friend.

  And may the cops never be able to keep up with you.

  Love you,

  M

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Epilogue

  A Note from M.Z.

  Also by M.Z. Andrews

  1

  I ground the remnants of a midafternoon nap out of my eyes and peered up at my overly zealous sprite of a roommate. “Seriously, Jax?” I groaned. “I was trying to take a nap.”

  Jumping onto my bed on her knees, she bounced up and down animatedly. “You’ve been sleeping forever, Mercy. It’s time to start packing! Come on, get up!” she begged, her high-pitched voice squeakier than usual. “Get up, get up, get up.” She chanted the words in rhythm with her bouncing.

  I groaned, rolled onto my back, and hooked my elbow over my eyes to block the light she’d just turned on. “Omigosh, Jax. Can you be any more annoying?”

  “Probably,” she said with a giggle. “Now, come on. It’s time to pack.”

  “Pack? Jax, we’re not leaving until tomorrow, and we’re only gonna be gone for three days. It’s gonna take me like five minutes to throw a couple pairs of shorts and tank tops into a duffle bag.”

  Sniffling, Jax swiped a hand across the bottom of her nose and then stared at me like I’d just cussed her out. “Mercy!” she breathed. “You have to bring extra clothes. You know, just in case.”

  “Just in case of what?”

  “You know. You need your swimming suit in case we stay somewhere that has a pool. You need a nice dress in case we meet some cute boys and get invited to a party. You need sneakers in case we decide we want to go on a hike. You need a sweater in case it’s chilly. You know it gets chilly in the mountains even if it is almost summer.”

  “Jax. Jersey City is literally like a five-hour drive from Aspen Falls. With bathroom breaks, six hours at the most. I seriously don’t think I need all that stuff. Plus we can’t all bring tons of stuff or it’s not all going to fit in Sweets’ car.”

  Jax sniffled again. “Reign said he’d help us put whatever doesn’t fit in her trunk onto the roof.”

  I pulled my arm off my face and peered at Jax with one narrowed eye. “Why are you sniffling? Are you getting sick?”

  She put her flattened palm against her nose and wiggled it. “No. I think it’s just allergies.” She sniffled again like she was trying to hold back a sneeze.

  “You better not be getting sick. I don’t want to ride around in a car with you for three days and have you get me sick. I hate being sick.”

  “I’m not going to get you sick, Mercy.”

  I hooked my arm back over my face again. “You better not.”

  Just then our door flew open and Holly came breezing into our bedroom. “Guys! It’s here! My package is finally here!” She tossed a large cardboard box onto the bed.

  I heard the bathroom door down the hallway open, and seconds later, Alba appeared in our room behind Holly with a spell book tucked beneath her arm. “The mail came? Was there anything in there for me?” Hope filled her voice.

  “It wasn’t the mailman,” said Holly as she grabbed a pair of scissors off Jax’s desk and sliced the packing tape off the large box. “It was the UPS man.”

  Alba’s shoulders folded inward and her face crumpled. “Oh.”

  Resigning myself to the fact that nap time was now officially over, I forced myself into a sitting position. “What’s in the package?”

  Holly rubbed her hands together and let out a little squeal. “My new summer wardrobe. Just in time for our trip.”

  Jax looked over at me triumphantly as if Holly ordering a new wardrobe had somehow justified her wanting me to start packing.

  I rolled my eyes. “You had to get an entire new wardrobe for a three-day road trip?”

  Alba curled her lip. “Sounds excessive if you ask me.”

  “Well, I wasn’t asking you, now was I?” snapped Holly before plowing into her box, pulling out blouse after blouse, a few dresses, several skirts, a couple pairs of shorts, and even a few pairs of coordinating sandals. She held up a strappy pair of gold wedge sandals. “Oooh, girls! Look at these! Aren’t they fabulous?”

  I stared at the mountain of clothing she’d unpacked. “Geez, Holly. How can you afford all that?”

  She blinked her crystalline-blue eyes back at me like she didn’t understand the question. “It’s a care package from Daddy.”

  “Must be rough,” said Alba gruffly.

  “Your dad seriously picked out all those clothes for you?” asked Jax, her own blue eyes wide.

  Holly waved a hand dismissively. “Oh, I doubt it. His new girlfriend probably picked everything out. Daddy said she did costume design on his last film. I think she’s, like, into fashion or something.”

  “I’m so jealous,” whispered Jax.

  “I know, right?” Holly giggled. Then, right in front of us, she pulled off the soft V-neck she wore and wiggled out of her white cut-off shorts.

  “Seriously, Cosmo? You can’t even do that behind a closed door?” barked Alba, rushing to shut the door.

  Holly watched her curiously. “What’s the big deal? My mom and I used to walk around our house in our underwear all the time. We’re all girls here.”

  “Yeah, except my brother’s just downstairs,” I said.

  “Oh, I didn’t think of Reign,” she said, a wicked smile on her face.

  I rolled my eyes. “Sure you didn’t.”

  Holly put a hand on her hip. “Besides, women should be proud of their bodies. I know I’m proud of mine.”

  “We’ve noticed,” said Alba.

  Standing in only her panties and little more than a Band-Aid for a b
ra, Holly pulled on one of her new dresses. It was formfitting and clung to her shapely assets. She spun around several times, watching the short skirt flare at her hips. “This is so adorable!”

  “It’s really cute,” Jax agreed. “You gonna let me borrow it sometime?”

  Holly lifted a shoulder. “Sure! If it fits, of course.”

  I snorted air out my nose. We all knew it wouldn’t fit. Even though Holly wasn’t much taller than Jax, she filled out every piece of clothing she owned, while clothes typically hung off Jax’s super slender frame.

  But Jax seemed satisfied with that answer. She shot Holly a megawatt smile. “Yay!”

  Alba hitched her thumb over her shoulder. “Listen, I’m gonna go downstairs and see if the mail came yet.”

  “You expecting something?” I asked her.

  “Yeah. Hey, why don’t you guys bring the map downstairs, and we’ll plan out our route for the trip tomorrow? Sweets is supposed to be off work any minute, so we can go over it together.”

  Holding up a flattened palm, Holly quirked a brow. “Easy, there, Indiana Jones. We’re not looking for the lost ark. I’ll just Google the directions on my phone. Easy peasy.”

  Alba rolled her eyes. “Yeah, well, alright, genius, and what happens if we’re going through the mountains and we lose our signal?”

  “I don’t know. Then we’ll follow the sun.”

  “And if it’s dark?”

  “Geez, Alba, relax! Then we’ll pull over and get directions.”

  “Yeah, well, if we had a map in the car, then we’d always know exactly where we were, wouldn’t we?”

  Jax cocked her head sideways. “You sure they even make maps anymore, Alba?”

  “Of course I’m sure they still make maps. Red was supposed to pick one up the other day at the gas station.” She glanced over at me. “You managed to handle that between naps, right?”

  “Your humor astounds me, Alba,” I snapped. “Yes, as a matter of fact, I handled it.”

  “Good.” She shook her head as if she were tired of talking to us. “I’m going downstairs. Just meet me down there, and bring the map. We have work to do.”

  After Alba disappeared into the hallway, Jax pointed at an envelope at the bottom of Holly’s box. She plucked it out and held it up. “What’s this, Holly?”

  “Ooh, a letter from Daddy!” said Holly, her eyes lighting up. She tore open the envelope and unfolded the paper. A small black card dropped onto the floor. Ignoring it, she read the letter aloud. “My dearest Holly, I’m so proud of you for completing your first year of college. I’m sorry you weren’t able to make it home with the ticket I bought for you. Just let me know when you’re ready to come home and I’ll send you a new one. Since you weren’t able to do spring break, I think a road trip with your girlfriends is an excellent idea. In addition to the new wardrobe that Abby picked out for you, I’m enclosing a credit card, which should take care of all necessary expenses for you and your friends on your trip. Enjoy! You’ve earned it! Love, Dad.” Holly squealed excitedly as she picked the black card up from the floor. “Girls! He gave me his black card!”

  “What’s a black card?” asked Jax.

  “What’s a black card?!” breathed Holly, astounded by such a question. “Only the most elite of all credit cards! Wow! I can’t believe he actually gave me his black card. He’s never even let me touch it before!”

  I shook my head. “I can’t believe he just gives you whatever you want, Holly. I didn’t realize how spoiled you were.”

  “Spoiled? I’m not spoiled.”

  I surged forward and snapped the black card out of Holly’s hands. “Your father just gave you and all of your friends an all-expenses-paid road trip and an entirely new wardrobe. That’s not spoiled?”

  “I wouldn’t say I’m spoiled. Maybe I’m lucky.”

  “Holly, Mercy’s right,” said Jax with a shrug. “You’re spoiled. But I don’t see anything wrong with it. I wish my dad were around to spoil me.”

  I frowned. “I don’t. My dad never wanted to be in my life so good riddance. I don’t know why you’d want your dad around either, Jax. You’re in the same boat as me.”

  Jax shrugged. “I’m a lot more forgiving than you are, Mercy.”

  Holly smiled. “She’s got you there, Merc!” She bounced on her toes and headed for the door. “Okay, enough depressing chitchat. I’m gonna go downstairs and see what Reign thinks about my new dress.”

  When she’d gone, Jax looked over at me. “Come on, Mercy, let’s go downstairs and plan our route. You’ve got the map, right?”

  I pointed across the room. “Yeah. Over there. But Sweets isn’t even here yet. Maybe I’ll just nap until she gets here.” I yawned and slumped sideways onto the pillow beside me. It’d been a busy year, and I still didn’t feel like I’d caught up on my sleep.

  Suddenly our door burst open again. “Hey, girls!” said Sweets, dropping her purse on the bed. “Alba said we’re going to go over our route for tomorrow. Mercy, do you have the map?”

  I groaned. My nap would have to wait for another day. “Ugh. Yeah. Let’s go.”

  2

  With both a Pennsylvania map and a New Jersey map spread across one of the dining room tables, the five of us pored over our route while devouring Habernackle’s dinner special: fried chicken, corn, mashed potatoes and country gravy. It was comfort food at its finest.

  “Mmm,” said Sweets, licking the grease from her fingers. “This is sooo yummy.”

  “Yeah,” agreed Jax with a drumstick to her lips. “It’s amazing.”

  Alba wiped her fingers on a napkin and then pointed at the map. “I think we’re just gonna go down to the turnpike and take that all the way to Harrisburg. Then we’ll take I-81 and then eventually I-78. It looks like the fastest route.”

  Sweets stopped licking her fingers to look up at Alba sharply. “Get off on I-81? Why can’t we just stay on the turnpike?”

  “Because that takes us south, and we wanna go north, hello?”

  “Yeah, but I wanna go through Philadelphia!”

  Alba looked appalled. “Through Philadelphia?! Why? That’s totally out of the way.”

  “Yeah, but I was looking online and there’s a Magic Garden in Philadelphia. And a giant glowing paintbrush! And the tallest tombstone in the—”

  Cutting in, Alba put a hand up and shook her head. “Are you kiddin’ me? No, no, no. We don’t need to see a giant glowing paintbrush or the tallest anything. That’s ridiculous.” Shaking her head resolutely, she pointed at the map. “No. We do what I said and take I-76 to I-81. It turns into I-78 and takes us right into the city. If no one drinks anything past, say, noon tomorrow, then we won’t have to stop and use the restroom. We’ll leave the minute Sweets gets off work, and we’ll be at my house by eleven at the latest.”

  Jax, Sweets, and Holly all stared at Alba, horrified.

  “B-but it’s supposed to be a road trip,” said Jax with a long face. “I thought we were gonna do some fun stuff. You know, eat lots of snacks and stop at cool places and sing road trip karaoke. I made a mixtape.”

  Sweets nodded. “Yeah. I thought that was the point of all of us driving together. Alba, you said the wedding isn’t until Monday anyway. Why do we have to be there on Friday night? What’ll we do all weekend?”

  Holly wrinkled her nose. “And while you’re at it, can you explain to me why anyone would want to get married on a Monday?”

  “Not that it’s any of your business, but if you must know, my brother’s getting married on a Monday because it’s cheaper than getting married on a weekend. And they picked Memorial Day because it made more sense to close the business on a holiday than a regular day. That way no one has to take any time off work, and it’s not gonna cost anyone much money.”

  Holly lifted her brows and swung her eyes down towards the table. “Sounds like a fabulous wedding,” she muttered under her breath.

  Wiping my mouth, I glanced across the table at Alba. “Yeah, you
know, Alba, the girls have a point. This road trip isn’t just about driving you home for the summer. It’s supposed to be kind of our last hurrah until the fall. I figured we’d at least stop at a couple of cool roadside attractions along the way.”

  “Sweets, what time are you getting off work tomorrow?” asked Alba.

  Sweets shrugged. “It depends on how long it takes me to clean the place up. The absolute earliest would be five thirty, but it might not be until six.”

  “Let’s just say we don’t leave until six. What exactly do you think is gonna be open after six o’clock on a Friday night along the interstate?”

  It was obvious I was going to have to talk some sense into Alba. “Fine, then we don’t take the interstate. We drive partway tomorrow night. We crash at some cheap motel, and then we finish the trip Saturday. Even if we dinked around all day in Philly on Saturday, that still gets you home in plenty of time for the wedding. And we have time to turn around and get Sweets back in time to get to work on Tuesday.”

  Alba let her head roll back on her shoulders. “Five broads in a cheap motel on the interstate? Yeah, Red. That sounds like an incredible idea.” She shook her head. “Incredibly stupid.”

  “First of all, we’re witches, Alba. We can defend ourselves, right?”

  Alba wouldn’t make eye contact and instead just shrugged.

  “And second of all, we don’t have to stay on the interstate. We could stay somewhere in Philly. If Sweets wants to stop at a few touristy places there, then we find a decent place to stay and we head out in the morning.”