The three of them nodded in joint agreement.
Chapter 18
“Jeez. Look at this place,” Jesse said as they entered the university auditorium together. “It’s more packed than I expected.”
Jesse, Pippa, Thea, and Blaine managed to arrive right on time before the event began. The crowd was boisterous and rowdy, excited for the night of entertainment. In the dim lights, it was difficult to make their way through without bumping into a few people here and there.
Soon enough, Thea heard her name being called. She turned around and spotted Kim, waving at them from afar. Smiling, Thea made her way over with the rest of the group in tow.
“I’m so glad you guys were able to make it.” Kim said, gazing at each of them. Her eyes lingered on Jesse for a few seconds longer, but she looked away before she was caught staring. “I’ve saved some seats over here for you all.”
“That’s really nice of you, Kim. Thank you,” Thea replied.
Taking a seat, she was soon flanked by Blaine and Pippa on either side of her. Out of the corner of her eye, Thea watched as Kim enthusiastically took the chair next to Jesse. From the look on Pippa’s face, it was clear that Thea wasn’t the only one who noticed that. Pippa fidgeted uncomfortably, a frown beginning to form on her face.
Thea leaned in. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Nothing to worry about,” Pippa replied indifferently. However, as she heard Kim giggling as she talked with Jesse, she rolled her eyes.
On the stage, a speaker announced the beginning of the open mic night. Introducing the first couple performers, the auditorium was quickly filled with booming laughter that bounced off the walls. Smiles could be seen all around as each performer made jokes and poked fun at themselves and others. As Thea wiped away a stray tear that sneaked out of her eye from laughing too hard, she thought about how worthwhile the decision to come was.
Before they knew it, Gage was up on the stage, just as Kim promised. Thea didn’t know what to anticipate from a comedy workshop, other than the fact that it was going to be funny in some way or another. However, as Gage’s act went on, and as he evoked more pitiful chuckles from the crowd than the belly laughs his predecessors caused, the performance proved more cringe worthy than entertaining.
“Should I start clapping now?” Blaine whispered, noticing the tense silence in the auditorium. “I’m starting to feel bad.”
Thea swatted at his arm. “If you start clapping now, you’ll probably make this even more awkward.”
“More awkward?” Blaine replied with a brief laugh. “Oh, c’mon. What’s awkward is the fact that I can hear the crickets outside while this performance is going on. That’s how quiet it is in here.”
“Rude.”
“I don’t think the crickets are finding this funny, either.”
Just as Thea narrowed her eyes at Blaine for his comment, Gage uttered a “thank you” that marked the end of his performance. The auditorium burst into an abrupt applause.
Pippa hummed to herself. “I think they’re cheering loudly because the performance ended.”
“You think?” Thea asked.
Blaine cut in. “I’ll go throw him some roses if he promises never to do that type of thing again.”
Before Gage managed to slip away, Thea caught up and congratulated him on his participation. To stand up in front of a crowd of people and tell jokes on a whim takes a lot of courage. If Thea was in his position, she wasn’t sure she could manage it.
Whether or not his performance was any good was a topic for another day. Instead, she focused on diverting the conversation towards Rhianna and Nichole.
“So are you doing alright? After everything that happened?” she asked carefully.
Gage shrugged. “I guess so. I broke up with Nichole because of the way she was acting about the whole thing. It was petty and childish. I didn’t want anything to do with that.”
He seemed to have noticed the way Thea’s eyebrows knitted together, out of concern for what he said. His eyes widened.
“Don’t worry. I’m pretty sure Nichole had nothing to do with Rhianna’s murder. She just isn’t that great of a person to be around. That’s all.”
Giving him the benefit of the doubt, Thea nodded gradually. “And what do you think about Shawn Morgan’s involvement in all this? Do you think he had something to do with it?”
“I... I really don’t know. I knew that there was some stupid beef that Shawn had with Rhianna. Something about cheating her way through school or something. As far as I knew, she worked hard in her classes and earned her grades the right way. She didn’t get anything easily, that’s for sure.”
“Rhianna had some tension with the custodian at Ardensville High, didn’t she? Did you know anything about that?” Thea asked.
Gage’s nostrils flared as he recalled the memories. He ran a hand through his hair, taking a deep sigh before speaking.
“It was a stupid high school joke that the administration ended up taking way too far,” he explained, shaking his head. “Rhianna would joke around with the idea that Leroy had been taking pictures of her without her permission. It was a dumb idea to kid around with, of course, but she didn’t think there was anything wrong with it in the moment.”
“Until those words reached the wrong person, huh?” Thea reasoned.
With a somber expression, he nodded. “Leroy ran the photography club. He was always taking pictures of a bunch of people, including students. There wasn’t anything creepy about it. But when the administration heard about Rhianna’s comment, they took the worst version of this story and ran with it. Caused a whole mess, but I think they settled everything out of court in the end.”
“So you don’t think Leroy is guilty of anything? No retaliation against Rhianna for what happened?” Thea prompted.
Gage shook his head. “I doubt it. From what I could tell, Leroy was an okay guy. Always minded his business and did his own thing. People were expecting the worst out of him, which wasn’t fair. Since it was Rhianna’s word against his, people were more willing to side with her instead. It wasn’t right, but...” He shrugged. “What could you do?”
Chapter 19
Thea walked through the door of her old Victorian house. Sybil followed her in. Her stomach and face both hurt from laughing. She was grateful for the distraction, but even though she was just filled with mirth, many questions about the case were still rattling around in her head.
She walked across the foyer. She nearly jumped out of her skin as she passed the kitchen and saw Granny unexpectedly sitting at the kitchen table.
Thea put her hand over her heart. “Granny, you scared me. I thought you’d be in bed already.”
“Oh, I just felt like being a bit of a night owl tonight. I made some tea while I was waiting for you to get back. Why don’t you have some?” Granny said.
Thea could smell the chamomile tea coming from Granny’s mug and the flowered ceramic teapot on the table with her. She grabbed a mug from the cupboard and went over to the table. Sybil jumped onto the table and curled up. She let out a sleepy yawn, not prepared for her bedtime to be suddenly pushed back.
Granny poured some of the tea into the mug. Thea wondered if Granny’s actions may have been motivated by a sense that something would be wrong.
As if answering her silent question, Granny asked, “My, you’re awfully quiet. Didn’t your night go well?”
Thea sighed. “It went well. I guess there’s still some stuff on my mind though.”
“Well then, come on. Tell your Granny about it then.”
Granny sat back in her chair, waiting for Thea to tell her about everything on her mind.
“I’ve been thinking about my mom.”
“What about her?”
“I talked to Tiegen and a few other people. She didn’t come back just to be with my dad. No one knew any details, but it seems like someone was stalking her in Chicago.”
Granny raised her eyebrows. “Stalking? My Selen
a?”
“Yeah. I don’t know much. That’s just what I could gather. No one knows very much. She didn’t talk about it, I guess.”
Granny frowned and looked down into her cup of tea.
Thea began to feel guilty for bringing the matter up. “I’m sorry, Granny. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
Granny shook her head. “No, no, darling. It’s fine. These things just manage to take one by surprise. I’m just sorry I can’t help you more. I didn’t know anything about it. Maybe if you get me a range of time, I can go look at the library and see if they have some old microfiche.”
Thea gave Granny a comforting smile. “I’ll see if I can get more details.”
Granny coughed and straightened up in her chair. She gave Thea a slightly strained smile. “Now, don’t let me go adding to your stress. Tell me about what else is on your mind. Has Jesse made a move yet?”
“It’s funny you should say that. I think Pippa got a little jealous the other day.”
“Is that so? She shouldn’t wait so long. He won’t be pining after her forever.”
“I don’t think it was anything serious. Kim, a girl from the college, one of Rhianna’s friends stopped by the shop. Jesse was helping her with something. Pippa got a little testy about it.”
Granny laughed. “Oh poor Pippa, getting jealous of a pretty young thing.”
“I think Jesse knows she’s way too young for him. He was keeping it very professional.”
“That girl needs to nail him down. Before she knows it he’ll figure out what a catch he is. It’s like I said the other night: you need to help move that along.”
“I’ll think about it. I’m still not convinced it’s the best thing to do.”
“My darling, they can’t be stuck in will-they-won’t-they forever. I think you’d save some broken hearts if you just gave them a gentle nudge.”
“I’ll think about it. Really.”
“Alright. I trust your judgment Though I think the two of them could be as happy as you and Blaine.”
Thea stayed quiet and took a sip of her tea.
“I don’t like that silence,” Granny said. “Don’t tell me there’s trouble in paradise. Are you and Blaine okay?”
“Oh no, it’s nothing like that,” Thea said. “I guess I’ve just been thinking about my parents and me and Blaine and everything.”
“I think it’s time you spilled the beans,” Granny said. “What’s really going on in that head of yours?”
“It’s just that my parents were together for years before they got married,” Thea admitted. “And I think about me and Blaine and while it feels like I’ve known him forever, we haven’t actually been dating that long.”
“Oh honey,” Granny reached across the table and tightly squeezed Thea’s hand. “There is no timeline for love. You just have to follow your heart. Not everyone’s journey is exactly the same.”
“It just feels like there’s a super obvious answer and I’m not seeing it, I guess.”
“There’s no answer, obvious or not,” Granny said, gently. “So many things in life aren’t that exact. Goodness, even our magic wouldn’t be able to give you the exact right answer. You just have to weigh your options and follow your intuition.”
“I don’t know what my intuition is even saying.”
“It says that you care very deeply about Blaine, right?”
“Right. Of course.”
“Well then, just start there. That’s one thing you’re sure of.”
“Your parents were on the young side too,” Sybil pointed out. She was sitting up on the table. In her conversation with Granny, Thea didn’t even notice she was still awake.
“Yeah, I guess they were,” Thea admitted.
“Then I’m willing to bet they didn’t have much more figured out than you,” Sybil said. She let out a yawn. “So are we going to bed or what?”
Thea laughed. Sybil may have been a magical cat, but she was still a cat. This much disruption to her routine made her grumpy.
“Yeah, we’ll go to bed.” Thea quickly drained her cup and gave Granny a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you for the tea.”
“Oh, it’s no trouble. Leave the mug. I’ll clean up before I head up to bed.”
Thea got up and scooped Sybil into her arms. She felt herself growing more and more tired as she went up the stairs towards her bedroom. Though she still had questions rattling in her head, she knew she would sleep easier tonight.
Chapter 20
Thea, Sybil, and Pippa arrived at the college at 9am sharp. They had been up for a few hours already. Pippa had come over for an early breakfast. They wanted to make sure nothing could distract them from their mission.
Though they had a legitimate reason for going, they wanted to stake out the sorority house. They were hoping to catch something they had missed before. There were still missing pieces in the case, and Thea had a feeling that she would find what she was looking for in the sorority house.
Thea, Sybil, and Pippa started walking up the stairs to the house. Just as they were about to knock on the door, it opened. Nichole stepped outside. She looked surprised to see them. Clearly, she was not expecting visitors at this early hour.
Nichole rolled her eyes at the group and pushed past them, not letting them stop her from reaching her destination.
Thea looked down at Sybil and gestured towards Nichole. Sybil nodded her head and ran after her, ready to keep an eye on her.
Thea and Pippa exchanged a look before using the heavy door knocker to signal their arrival. After a few moments, a blonde woman wearing the Kappa Xi letters on her sweatshirt answered the door.
“Hi,” she said with a bright smile. “What can I do for you?”
Pippa smiled back. “Hi, my little sister will be attending the college soon, and she was thinking of rushing Kappa Xi. She couldn’t be here today, but I had the day off, so I figured I’d stop by. Would we be able to get a tour?”
“Of course. Come on in.”
The woman stepped aside to let Thea and Pippa in. Though their drop-in was unexpected, they were able to depend on good old-fashioned Midwest hospitality.
“Do you have any questions about the house or the sorority?”
“Do you know what rooms would be available next semester?” Pippa asked. “I know she’d want to see where she’d be staying. Also, what is the vibe like around here?”
“Oh you know, it’s a college first and foremost, so you can usually find a lot of the girls studying, but everyone is pretty social too. We’re not like a party house, but it’s not exactly a convent here either,” she said with a laugh. “A lot of the girls find it easy to adjust.”
She showed Pippa and Thea around the house. Pippa asked question after question and engaged in conversation as much as she could. That gave Thea the opportunity to slip away while Pippa was asking their tour guide about the history of the chapter.
Thea sneaked off and found exactly what she was looking for: Rhianna’s old room. The door still had her name on it. Thea thought it must be hard for the other sisters to remove her things.
She pushed the door open, and inside she found the room slightly messy and disturbed. Thea assumed that the police department had already been in the room, looking for evidence that would point to the killer.
The room was fairly simple. There was a bed in the corner with a nightstand. Also in the room was a bureau and desk. Rhianna had put up a few pictures around the room. On the long mirror on the closet door, she had put pictures of herself and friends.
Thea went around the room, trying to find something that had been missed. She had to do so quickly too, or else their tour guide would realize she had wandered off.
She went over to the desk and moved some papers around. The papers were clearly from schoolwork. She paused when she found a small desk calendar underneath an English paper.
Thea picked it up and examined it. It was unmarked except for an x at the beginning of the month and smudge on the day Rhiann
a died. She flipped through the rest of the calendar. She saw x’s marking a day every few weeks. The days seemed almost random. They were different from month-to-month.
The door behind to creak open behind her. Thea jumped and dropped the calendar back onto the desk. She spun around, already trying to think up an excuse for why she was in Rhianna’s room with the door shut.
Standing in the open doorway was Kim with a smug smile on her face.
“I knew it,” she said, walking into the room. “Once I saw Pippa dancing around Alexandra asking her a million questions I knew you weren’t going to be far away. I’m not shocked to find you in here.”
Thea thought about trying to lie about her reason for being here, but she knew Kim would see right past it.
“Yeah, you caught me,” Thea said. She picked the calendar back up and showed it to Kim. “Do you have any idea what this is for? There’s x’s on random days. I can’t figure it out.”
“That was Rhianna’s appointment calendar. She would mark days she needed to meet someone.”
“Who was she meeting.”
Kim shrugged. “I don’t know. She never offered that info up, so I never asked.”
Two girls walked past the door giggling. “There’s a kitten outside.” One exclaimed. “It’s literally the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.”
Thea knew that was her signal to go. She set the calendar back down on the desk.
“Thanks, Kim,” she said. “I’ll get out of your hair.”
“No problem.”
Thea pulled Pippa away and the two went outside. There were a few sorority girls taking pictures of Sybil with their phones. Sybil was loving the attention, but ran after Thea and Pippa as they passed.
“Do you want to run one more errand with me before your shift?” Thea asked.
Pippa grinned. “Are you kidding me? I’m always up to play detective.”
Chapter 21
Spooky Magic (Tabby Kitten Mystery Book 4) Page 7