“Sheesh, he got into a fight with them? And then she’s found murdered? That doesn’t look good for Eric,” Jesse responded, shaking his head. “He’s part of your family, right? Y’know... same last name? Not a lot of Beals in this town, anyway.”
“He’s related to me, but if you asked me in what way, I wouldn’t be able to tell you. Distant cousin, I’m guessing,” Thea said with a shrug. “But that Coburn guy came by to my house early in the morning to ask about what happened. They’re looking into Eric, that’s all I know.”
Jesse frowned. “That’s horrible.”
“He also mentioned something about some other woman...” Thea trailed off, as she tried to remember her name. “Miranda Hoff! I had no idea who he was talking about.”
“Wait, what?” Jesse asked, doing a double-take. “Miranda Hoff? Why did he bring her up?”
“Beats me,” she responded. Noticing his stunned reaction to her comment, Thea furrowed her eyebrows. “Wait, why? Do you know her?”
“Of course I do! I took a class with her a while back. She works in the art department at the college,” he explained, still in disbelief that Miranda would even get brought up in this situation. “And now she’s suspected of murder?”
“Hey, that’s what Blaine said,” Thea said, putting her hands up.
Every time she mentioned that detective, she wondered why she kept feeling as if she had crossed paths with him before. Was she hallucinating things or was the early morning grogginess still getting to her? She figured that it was a mix of both.
“But that’s crazy! Miranda wouldn’t do something like that. She didn’t even like killing the small house spiders that would sometimes come into the studio. How is she gonna be capable of killing a whole person?”
As Jesse continued to ramble on, Thea’s eyes glazed over as she scoured her thoughts for any prior mention of Blaine Coburn. Was he a customer at her shop? No, that wasn’t it. She would have recognized his face otherwise.
“Wait, that’s it!” Thea suddenly blurted out, which earned a confused look from Jesse. “Sorry, I was just figuring out where I knew Blaine from before. We went to the same high school together!”
“You guys were... friends?”
“No, not really. I mean, I think we shared a class or two, but we didn’t really talk. He was always the silent type, you know? I remember that he was a jock. A football player. Now that I think about it, he didn’t change much appearance-wise. I was so sleepy when talking to him, it didn’t hit me until right now!”
“So if you know this guy, does that mean it’s possible you can help convince him that Miranda isn’t actually the killer in this case?” Jesse asked. When Thea showed her reluctance, he sighed. “Please? I know she’s not the killer, Thea. She may be a little odd, but let’s be real. Everyone in this town is a bit weird.”
Thinking over his words, she had to agree. “I guess you’re right.”
“You’ll help out with this, right? Miranda is a sweet person! I don’t want to see her caught up in this case when she had nothing to do with it in the first place,” Jesse persisted, following Thea around the shop until he received a clear answer.
“Okay, Jesse, okay!” Thea eventually said, which evoked a bright grin from Jesse. “I’ll talk to Miranda and try to figure out what’s going on. If she’s innocent, then she’ll have nothing to worry about.”
“She is innocent, Thea. She’s just associated with Rebecca, for some reason. All that’s left to do now is clear her name, that’s all.”
Even though Thea didn’t know for certain whether Miranda Hoff was innocent or not, she did want to help with the investigation of this case. From her sudden recollection of Blaine to Jesse’s adamant defense of Miranda, she figured that Rebecca’s murder was something worth looking into.
After all, as long as the killer was still free in Ardensville, no one was going to be completely safe. The mere thought sent shivers down Thea’s spine.
Chapter 4
Although she wanted to talk to Miranda as soon as possible, Thea didn’t want to go alone. She didn’t know the campus that well and she knew that the likelihood of getting lost on the way was pretty high. Jesse would have offered to come with, but somebody needed to watch the shop while she was gone.
Fortunately, he wasn’t the only person she knew who was a graduate student at the school. Thea’s best friend, Pippa, was working on her Master’s degree in folklore studies. She was more than happy to accompany Thea to campus and help her find the right building.
Thea picked up Pippa at her place. Pippa rushed out, dressed in a russet sweater and a gray pleated skirt. When she climbed in the car she reached across the console to hug Thea. Pippa was a big hugger.
“Okay,” Pippa said. “You’re going to fill me in on the way? Gosh, you sleep in one time and you miss out on the most interesting gossip in town.”
Pippa and Thea had been friends for as long as they could remember, naturally drawn to each other like magnets. Not even their jobs could keep them apart, since Pippa worked at an independent bookshop only a small distance away from A Stitch in Time.
Pippa was a fox shifter who loved helping Thea as much as she loved learning about gossip. Considering this opportunity gave her the chance to do both, she was eager to lend a hand.
The school wasn’t too large, but the campus certainly was labyrinthine. Thea would have spent the entire day searching for the correct building if she was by herself. Luckily, Pippa knew all the shortcuts to get there within minutes.
Before they knew it, they were walking through an empty hallway until they reached Room 231. Pippa pointed out the plaque engraved into the door, telling them that the office belonged to “Professor Hoff.”
“This is it,” Pippa whispered, knocking a few times on the wood.
Within seconds, a voice from inside called out to them and told them to enter. When they did, they were met with a disheveled scene. Miranda was doing her best to clean up the papers scattered across her desk, messily putting them into whatever folders were nearby. Looking up at Pippa and Thea, she let out a wispy breath.
“H-hi there. Is there something you need?” Miranda asked, straightening out her clothes and tucking a hair strand behind her ear.
“You’re Miranda Hoff, right? I’m Thea Beal and this is Pippa Paulson,” she said, motioning to herself and Pippa. “I hope we didn’t come in at a bad time.”
“Oh, it’s all right. I-I was just caught off guard a bit, that’s all,” she replied, feigning indifference. There was a slight tremble to her hands. “Just a bunch of silly nonsense. Something about a police case and a murder.”
Thea perked up, realizing immediately what she was referring to. “Did somebody already visit you about this case?”
“I was summoned to the police station but I just missed the detective I was supposed to talk to,” Miranda explained. She stilled once she internalized Thea’s comment. “Wait, how did you know?”
“We...” Thea began, exchanging a quick look with Pippa before continuing. “We wanted to come talk to you about the same thing. Jesse actually encouraged me to visit you.”
“Jesse? Jesse Woodman?” Miranda asked, lighting up at the mention. “Oh, that’s so nice! How is he? Is he doing well in Ardensville? How are his studies going? It’s been a while since I’ve seen him around the building.”
“He’s doing fine! He actually works with me in my shop, A Stitch in Time. He’s a great help,” Thea replied.
Miranda clasped her hands together happily, a bright smile illuminating her face that was once taut with nerves only moments prior.
“That’s amazing! I’m happy to hear that. He has such a fine talent for creating art. Really a gifted student,” she said, sitting on her desk. “What did he say?”
“We were talking about Rebecca’s case and when he found out that you were one of the suspects, he asked me to help clear your name. He was pretty persistent,” Thea replied.
At that, Miranda nodded sl
owly. “I see.”
“And that’s why we’re here,” Pippa added on. “We just wanted to make sure that you weren’t involved with the case, that’s all.”
Crossing her arms over her chest, Miranda turned somber at the mention of Rebecca. “I don’t see why I was even mentioned in the first place. I didn’t have anything to do with that girl.”
“Really? Was she never your student, or...?”
Miranda tensed. “I have lots of students.”
Thea noticed her sudden shift in tone and hoped that they weren’t pushing things too far. They only needed answers.
“What were you doing last night, if it’s all right for me to ask?” Thea asked gently, knowing that she was walking on eggshells.
However, Miranda didn’t seem to mind. She loosened up, letting out a sigh.
“I was at home, actually. I didn’t have much else to do that night, so I just curled up on the couch and watched T.V. with my cat. I had no reason to be outside.”
Pippa prodded further. “So you didn’t see Rebecca or her boyfriend at all yesterday?”
“Absolutely not,” Miranda replied, straight to the point. “I have no affiliation with her. I wouldn’t have wanted to see her.”
Even though she hesitated, Thea knew that there was nothing to lose if she just asked. She wanted to make sure.
“Miranda... have you heard any mention of a blood feud since this whole murder happened?”
The woman knitted her brows together in confusion, trying to understand what Thea was asking. “A blood feud? I’m sorry, but what is that? Is there something I’m missing?’
“Never mind,” Thea said, waving it off. “It was just something that popped into my mind.”
By the look on her face, both Thea and Pippa knew that Miranda was feeling odd about all of their questions. They knew that they had to get leaving soon, they had heard enough. However, the case just became a bit more complicated for them. For one, Miranda didn’t have a clear alibi, so it would be difficult to prove the truth in what she was saying.
Not to mention, Miranda didn’t know what a blood feud even was. How was that going to explain the note found at the scene?
Just as the two of them were about to depart from her office, Miranda called out to them.
“You know, since you two are asking around about this... I’d recommend looking into Rebecca’s older sister, Ashley.”
Thea raised a brow. “What does she have to do with this?”
“I know it’s not my place to gossip about these sorts of things, but since it could be useful...” Miranda trailed away with her words, ending her sentence with a shrug. “I might as well. Ashley was always jealous of her sister. It’s possible that a sister’s envy had a role to play in this case.”
“We’ll look into that, then,” Thea reassured her.
She and Pippa said their goodbyes before returning to the hallway outside her office, shutting the door behind them. Pippa had a pensive look on her face as they made their way towards the exit.
“Is it just me or does Miranda really not like talking about Rebecca?” Pippa asked, looking to Thea for confirmation.
“It’s not just you,” Thea responded. “I felt that too.”
Even though Miranda seemed harmless, Thea found it strange how her words became engulfed with a strong tint of spite when they first mentioned Rebecca. In her pursuit to find the truth, she tucked that information away for later.
Chapter 5
After their chat with Miranda, Pippa and Thea promptly returned to Ardensville. Pippa had used her morning to help Thea out with this, so she needed to hurry and open the bookshop.
Meanwhile, Thea made her way back to A Stitch in Time, feeling a bit guilty for leaving Jesse alone for so long. She planned to brief him on everything she talked about with Miranda, hoping that it would give him some peace of mind.
“Hey, Jesse,” Thea greeted him as she walked through the door.
He sent her a wave as he reorganized some supplies near the back of the store. “How did it go? You saw how she acts, right? She can’t be Rebecca’s killer!”
“Yeah, Pippa and I went to see her. I don’t think that–”
Suddenly, the door she just entered from was slammed open. Thea flinched, whipping around to see the person who burst into her shop so violently. Lo and behold, it was Eric. Sweaty and red-faced, he pointed an accusatory finger at her once he managed to catch his breath.
“What did you do? What did you tell them?” he asked, clenching his jaw.
“Eric, what are you even talking about? And be careful with the things in my shop! You almost destroyed my door!”
“Who cares about your stupid door? My freedom is at stake here!”
“Okay, now you’re just being dramatic,” Thea said, crossing her arms. “It’s not my fault that the police came asking questions. And I didn’t lie to them either, I told them the truth of what happened that day.”
“What exactly did you tell them, Thea?” Eric demanded, balling up his fists. “Are you trying to frame me for Rebecca’s murder?”
“No, Eric,” Thea replied, exasperated at this point. “I was asked about the altercation you had with Rebecca and Zach. I said that you were screaming at them, talking about some blood feud and almost scaring them off. And can you calm down for a second? I’d appreciate it if you could come into my shop like a normal person for once.”
“I have a right to be angry,” he snapped back. “You’re making me look like some crazy villain.”
“Well, if the shoe fits,” Thea mumbled, quiet enough so that he didn’t notice. “What were you even going on about? A blood feud? What does that even mean? I’ve been trying to ask other people and they don’t even know what that’s about.”
Eric snorted. “You can’t be serious.”
“I’m very serious. You kept mentioning some bad blood the Beals and the Smiths have, but I never even heard of that.”
“Maybe you should study your family history a bit more. Who do I look like, your personal tutor or something?” Eric said, which made Thea roll her eyes. “After all, you’re the one with the magic here. You should know what a blood feud is better than anyone.”
“Eric, some people have jobs to get to,” Thea remarked, reaching towards the apron folded neatly on the counter. She tied it around herself since she was going to be working with paint. “Is there anything else you want to yell at me about, or was that it?”
“I’m just telling you, Thea. Stop telling the cops about my business. I didn’t kill that girl. Sure, she was a Smith, so she couldn’t be trusted, but that doesn’t mean I got rid of her.”
Thea huffed out a short breath through her nostrils. Here he goes again.
“Besides, I’m not the one the police should be focusing on. Don’t you know about that Miranda Hoff lady? Now she had a real grudge against Rebecca,” Eric informed her in a blunt manner.
Out of the corner of her eye, Thea could tell that his comment irked Jesse, whose head shot up at his comment.
“Don’t give me that look, Thea. Try to investigate that woman some more, and while you’re at it, lead the police her way, too. Leave me out of this,” Eric continued, taking a moment to eye down Jesse who had been staring at him. “Is there a problem?”
Jesse shook his head, averting his gaze. “No, not at all.”
“That’s what I thought,” he shot back.
As he turned to leave, Eric caught a glimpse at a few bottles of glitter resting on a stand nearby. Without hesitating, he kicked one of the legs of the wooden stand which caused all of the bottles to fall to the floor. In a mess of bright glitter, one of the bottles even shattered on impact.
Thea glared holes into his back as he left her shop, almost tempted to bark back some words that she knew would have made him angrier. However, she bit down hard on her tongue and stopped herself. It wasn’t worth it, she knew that.
From behind her, Jesse came with a broom and dustpan, ready to help clean
up the chaos Eric left behind. With an appreciative nod, Thea accepted the tools and started to sweep.
“You don’t believe what he was saying, right? About Miranda?” Jesse asked softly, holding onto the dustpan as Thea swept the glitter into it. “He’s just talking nonsense since he’s angry.”
“I know, Jesse. Believe me,” Thea responded. “I take everything that Eric says with a grain of salt, but I still worry, y’know? He keeps talking about that blood feud and now he mentioned the animosity Miranda had towards Rebecca. I kinda wanted to talk to you about that.”
She lifted up her gaze to meet his. His eyes were filled with worry.
“Do you know why Miranda didn’t like Rebecca?” Thea asked gently. “Pippa and I noticed that when we talked to her.”
He shook his head, frowning sadly. “Miranda was always kind to her students. This doesn’t sound like her at all.”
Thea shrugged, dusting off her hands once she finished sweeping. She was going to have to look into this regardless, even if it meant upsetting Jesse.
To comfort him, Sybil emerged from the cardboard box she was hiding in and rubbed against his legs. She sensed his discomfort and decided to soothe him, an action that he was grateful for. This entire situation plummeted his mood, unfortunately.
Chapter 6
“Are you sure everything will be okay while I’m gone?” Thea asked as Jesse ushered her out of the shop. “I already left you alone once today.”
“I’ll be fine, Thea, don’t worry! You’ll come back with lunch for me, right?”
There was always a catch. She smiled. “Of course I will.”
“Good! So there’s nothing to worry about. Go get some fresh air,” Jesse replied, waving her out of A Stitch in Time.
After the incident with Eric, she wanted to take her mind off things. Using her break as her time to recompose herself, she decided to take a walk through Ardensville and muse about things. In such a sleepy little town, Thea almost couldn’t believe that a scandal as big as a murder would ever happen.
Familiar Magic (Tabby Kitten Mystery Series Book 1) Page 2