Cornbread & CrossroadsA Southern Charms Cozy Mystery Bella Falls Copyright © 2020 by Bella Falls This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination, or, if real, used fictitiously. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by electronic or mechanical means, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the express written permission of the author, except where permitted by law or for the use of brief quotations in a book review. All Rights Reserved. Created with Vellum Contents Also by Bella Falls 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 Epilogue Hextra Free Stories Series Order Series Order Acknowledgments About the Author Also by Bella Falls A Southern Charms Cozy Mystery Series Moonshine & Magic: Book 1 Lemonade & Love Potions: A Cozy Short Fried Chicken & Fangs: Book 2 Sweet Tea & Spells: Book 3 Barbecue & Brooms: Book 4 Collards & Cauldrons: Book 5 Red Velvet & Reindeer: A Cozy Short Cornbread & Crossroads: Book 6 Preserves & Premonitions: Book 7 Southern Relics Cozy Mysteries Flea Market Magic Rags To Witches Pickup and Pirates Vintage Vampire Bargain Haunting *All audiobooks available are narrated by the wonderful and talented Johanna Parker For a FREE exclusive copy of the prequel Chess Pie & Choices, sign up for my newsletter! Share recipes, talk about Southern Charms and all things cozy mysteries, and connect with me by joining my reader group Southern Charms Cozy Companions! For the real Nicky D Chapter One A deafening crash jolted me out of sleep. I bolted upright in bed, holding my hand over my heart to keep it from jumping out of my body. My mind struggled out of my sleepy fog, wavering between my fading dream and reality. A slight breeze blew the gauzy curtain back from the window, revealing an almost full moon glowing in the dark sky and a beam of moonlight filtered through the gap in my curtains onto my quilt. I crossed off the option of a wild storm causing the terrible noise and held my breath, tense as I listened for the slightest sound in the nighttime stillness. Another couple of loud bumps set my teeth on edge. The noise was definitely coming from somewhere inside my house. I picked up my spell phone from my bedside table to text Beau and make sure he wasn’t entertaining a lady friend and making an unnecessary racket while wooing her. Pixie poop! I’d forgotten to plug in the charger before falling asleep, making it totally useless. Climbing out of bed, I crept to the door and placed my ear against it. The heavy thud of my worried heartbeat was hard to ignore, but I strained to interpret any other sounds from the other side. My imagination went into overdrive. Maybe that scraping noise I could hear was someone dragging a body across the wooden floors downstairs. Glass shattered from somewhere below. Was someone breaking into one of Uncle Tipper’s old curio cabinets that still held some of his prized possessions? With shaky fingers, I turned the knob on the door with caution until the latch unhooked. As a last-second measure, I fumbled in the dark and grabbed some unknown object off my dresser, raising it in the air to strike any intruder who dared to bust into my place. The door opened just a crack and something small rubbed against my leg as it burst into my room. It took all my strength and my hand over my mouth to hold in a scared squeal until the tiny creature leaped on top of my bed and mewed at me. “Peaches!” I scolded in a low voice. “Little girl, you nearly gave me a heart attack. You best be glad I didn’t hex your little behind to kingdom come.” She cocked her head to the side and meowed in response. “No, I will not scratch your head. Not unless you can tell me who was making that noise.” The little fuzz bucket licked her paw in indifference, circled three times, and settled at the foot of my bed. “Fat lot of good you are as a guard cat,” I whispered, gathering my wits about me and making my way into the hall. The other side of the house on the second floor was pitch black. Either Beau was in for the night or he hadn’t made it home yet from one of his many dates. But a dim light emanated from downstairs and upset voices echoed up the stairway. Based on the high-pitched tones of the argument, I guessed whatever was going on involved a few of my recent houseguests. I flicked on the light so I wouldn’t trip and fall down the stairs and made my way to the general kerfuffle. After sticking my head into the formal parlor and making sure nothing was truly broken, I followed the din until I stood in the doorway of the small kitchen at the back of the house. Two pixies were holding onto either side of a glass pie plate while floating in the air. They dodged a third companion who dive-bombed them in an attempt to steal the prize away. Underneath the three, a brownie wrung her hands and reached up to rescue the dish. “Don’t!” she admonished, jumping as high as she could but missing as the pixies pulled their prize out of her reach. “That pie belongs to Miss Charli, and if you don’t stop, she’ll kick us all out.” The little minx who had been trying to take the pie dish away from the other two stopped midair and placed his hands on his hips before fussing at the small fae underneath him in a shrill shout. When he finished, he stuck his tongue out at her and resumed chasing the plate. He misjudged the angle of his attack and the other two pixies didn’t react fast enough. The glass plate flew
