“I’m not a child, and I’m not without some powers,” I said. “I can handle myself. Also, I have Gus and Emmy as an early warning system. They’ll know immediately if someone tries to get in.”
“We will,” Emmy said. “We should have been watching earlier.”
“Nothing will happen to Elle on my watch,” Gus added.
“See?” I said. “I have all the protection I need.”
“Listen to me,” Jason said. “There's no reason to tempt the fates here. If Tabitha wants something from this house, she can get it, without hurting you—if you’re with me.”
I shook my head. Tabitha’s intrusion had stoked a fire inside me, and I had the idea that I would welcome the opportunity to “settle her hash”, as my mother was wont to say. I crossed my arms and listened to Jason’s arguments, but I wasn’t about to abandon my house—not even for him.
In the end, Jason gave up. He made me promise to call him if Tabitha returned. While I promised, I knew that the call would be made after Tabitha and I had reached an “understanding”.
After Jason left, I sat down with Gus and Emmy.
“Here’s the deal,” I said. “We need to make sure nothing happens to any of us. So, you two need to stand guard. Now, I know Gus needs sleep, but you, Emmy, can go without rest till morning. If you don’t mind watching, that is.”
“I don’t mind at all,” Emmy said. “I’ll be ready to start throwing things if that person returns. I’m not the greatest thrower but I'll make sure not to miss.”
“Great. Gus and I will come to help. Just wake us.”
“I have some talents,” Gus said. “And rather sharp teeth, if I say so myself.”
We laughed. I could just see Gus latching onto Tabitha. That would cause all sorts of problems.
At that moment, my phone rang. I picked it up and looked at the caller ID, which read, “PRIVATE”. That made me a bit leery about answering, but I knew that I would learn nothing if I ignored the call.
“Hello,” I said.
“Listen hard and listen well,” a voice said.
I couldn’t tell if the voice was male or female. I had a feeling that the person was deliberately trying to disguise the voice.
“People who don’t mind their own business end up minding no business, if you catch my meaning.”
“Who is this?” I demanded.
“Don’t put your nose where it doesn’t belong, or you and that little mutt of yours will not like what happens.”
“Tell me who you are, coward,” I said.
“You’ve been warned.”
The connection was severed, and I heard nothing. Anger surged through me. Who had the gumption to threaten me? I wanted to find the person and have it out. That wasn’t a good reaction, but it was true. Then, a little voice inside my head reminded me that Jason was only a call away. He would certainly help.
I looked at the phone and shook my head. If I called Jason, he would come back and either take me to his place or stay in mine. That wasn’t what I wanted. I didn’t need him to babysit me. I needed to ferret out the person making the threats. Once that was done, I could have my old life back. I wanted my old life back. I was tired of Tabitha’s visits and the dark phone calls.
“What are you going to do?” Gus asked.
“I’m going to find out who’s threatening me,” I answered.
“And how do you intend to do that?” Emmy asked.
“I don’t know yet. But I’m going to do it.” I looked about my house, which still hadn’t been put to rights. “I’m not used to being on the defensive. So, now, I intend to go on the offensive. No more Ms. Nice Witch. If they want to play rough, we’ll play rough.”
“That’s the spirit,” Gus said.
“Ooooh, I like this,” Emmy said. “I can’t wait to find out who it is so we can put the hammer down.”
“We’re a team,” I told them. “We’ll look out for each other. But right now, I’m tired. I’m going to bed.”
“After you set the spells,” Gus reminded me.
“After the spells.”
I locked my bedroom door, knowing that if Tabitha returned, the lock would be useless. No matter. With Emmy on guard, I would have ample time to prepare for Tabitha.
The night passed without incident. The morning sun smiled at me, and I remembered my vow from the night before. I was going to take the offensive. I was going after whoever was after me. I wasn’t sure how I was going to accomplish that, but I was determined.
Since the night was short, I decided to stop by THE GRINDER, a coffee shop I liked. As I walked in, I recognized the person at the counter.
David.
CHAPTER 18
For a moment, I hung back, wondering if I should engage him. If he was the caller, then I certainly didn’t want to say word. But if I turned and ran, he would have won, without so much as a glare. I wasn’t going to allow that. With a smile, I marched to the counter.
“Good morning, David,” I said.
He turned and said nothing, turning away again quickly. The rudeness of his actions surprised even me. I wasn’t going to stand for that.
“You could return the greeting,” I said. “Or, are you too good for that?”
“I don’t talk to those who would do me harm. And I don’t want to be seen with the likes of you. So, if you don’t mind, leave me alone.”
“The likes of me? What are you talking about? Betty and I were good friends.”
“Oh, yes, you fooled her. You had her thinking you were some sort of Sherlock. Well, you’re not. You and deputy know-nothing couldn’t solve a game of Clue, let alone a murder. You’re the most incompetent duo since Dumb and Dumber.”
David’s anger made me step back a step. He was sincere in his contempt for me and Jason. I found it hard to believe, since we both, seemingly, wanted the same thing, the murder to be solved. If he didn’t want the murder solved, there could be but one explanation. He had killed his wife. That brought out the anger in me, and I stepped back up to him.
“All right, David,” I said. “Did you kill Betty? Did you murder your wife?”
The sneer on his face wasn’t a fake. He totally abhorred me. “You really think you’re something, don’t you? Little Miss detective. Well, let me assure you that I did not and could not have killed my wife. In fact, I was at work that morning, from four-thirty A.M. until I reached the Farmer’s Market, many minutes after she was found. If that’s isn’t good enough, you can check my timecard, which I dutifully punched. And if that doesn’t clear your small mind, you can ask my boss and coworkers. They will be happy vouch for me. Now, charm lady, if you don’t mind, I don’t want to remain in your presence.”
With that, David pushed past me and headed for the door. His hand touched my arm, and I felt something, something dark and angry. The touch made me shiver. I hadn’t felt anything like it in a long time, not since...well, I couldn’t remember. I watched him burst out the door, as if he couldn’t wait to get away. That convinced me he was guilty of something. The innocent didn’t need to flee.
“May I help you?”
I turned to the girl behind the counter and ordered my coffee with cream and sugar. Some people accused me of liking the cream and sugar far more than I liked the coffee, and they weren’t far off. As I waited, I considered David’s alibi. I was almost certain that Jason had checked it out. Jason was thorough about details. Yet, I knew I would trace Jason’s tracks. I wanted to know for myself if David’s boss and coworkers would stand by David’s time sequence. Killers sometimes went free because a detective was too lazy to check every little detail. Not that I was a detail person. I wasn’t. But with David, I wanted to chase down everything he said. I owed it to Betty.
On the way to my shop, I remembered sixth grade. I didn’t know why I remembered sixth grade. As grades went, it wasn’t anything special, a long slog through math, English, health, and science. There were the usual number of pluses and minuses, the coming and going of friends, the
pains and pricks of the self. I took myself too seriously and not seriously enough. Every day was a rollercoaster of young girl emotions. I never considered it my finest year.
Except for Marian.
Marian.
She joined the class in November, two weeks before Thanksgiving. She wasn’t a pretty girl. In fact, she was kind of homely, skinny with bad skin. Some girls said she came from a bad family, where her father beat her mother. In fact, her father beat her mother to death, which was why Marian was shipped to Abbot Rise. Marian lasted till Christmas break. She ate a dozen Santa cookies at the Christmas party and grabbed two presents, when she was supposed to take one. No one complained. We all had plenty, compared to Marian.
On the way to the bus, Marian smiled for maybe the third time since she came to school. Sixth grade. She sat by me on the bus, and she finished another three cookies. She turned to me and nodded.
“They can’t take them from me now,” she said. “Not now.”
I wasn’t sure what she meant, and I never got to ask her. Because she didn’t come back after New Year’s. No one really knew what happened to her, although there was a rumor she had been shipped to an aunt in Maine. That was probably a lie.
Marian.
I hadn’t thought of her in a long time. I hadn’t remembered her sitting next to me, touching her leg to mine. I hadn’t remembered the nasty feeling I had received from her touch, the guilty vibe of having eaten all those cookies, so she wouldn’t have to share. She felt guilt when no one felt ill will towards her taking extra.
Marian.
Guilt.
It came from inside. Just as it came from inside David. I had no idea what he was guilty of, but I knew he was guilty. And I wanted to find out if he was guilty of killing Betty. I owed it to Betty.
I unlocked my shop and stepped inside, and I wondered what had happened to Marian. I supposed I could find out, if I was willing to search the Internet for an hour or two. But I didn’t owe anything to Marian. She had taken her guilt to Maine. David carried his guilt through Abbot Rise. I needed to find out about David.
Gus trotted past me, and I knew exactly how I was going to proceed.
CHAPTER 19
Megan was a charm fanatic. For some reason, she adored the charms and bracelets I made. It wasn’t the tiny bit of magic attached to the charms and bracelets. There wasn’t enough magic to turn anyone into a collector. It was just that she loved charms. Whenever she came into my shop, she would be wearing several bracelets, loaded with charms. And she was always looking for the charm she didn’t have. I was hard pressed at times to show her something new. But I managed.
I once asked her what was so important about the charms, and she said she didn’t really know. She had never considered it. She loved them, and she could afford them, so why not have them? That made as much sense as most of the reasons I had heard for buying things. But Megan’s obsession for charms wasn’t why I called her. I knew Megan worked with David. Since Megan was also something of a nosey Parker, I suspected she would be able to verify David’s alibi. In fact, I was almost certain Megan had taken it upon herself to learn as much about David as possible.
“Elle,” Megan said over the phone. “Can I call you back. I’m busy at the moment.”
“Sure,” I said and killed the connection. I knew the waiting would gnaw at me. I wasn’t good at waiting. In fact, I was terrible at it.
“You’ll just have to hold your horses,” Gus said.
“You know me too well,” I said. “I’m not sure that’s a good thing.”
Gus laughed. “Patience is not your strong point.”
“Where is Emmy?”
“She’ll be along soon. You know ghosts. They don’t have any sort of fixed schedule.”
Emmy arrived before the phone call, and she seemed more calm than before. I had the notion that she had come to accept her new status. She had settled into the truth that she was a ghost, and that most people would never see or hear her. That was something a lot of people would never be able to accept. Minutes later, Megan called.
“Hey,” I said. “I have some new good luck charms you might be interested in.”
“Ooooh, that sounds wonderful. I need all the luck I can get.”
“But that’s not the real reason for my call,” I said. “I’ve been looking into the murder of Betty Hassens.”
“I heard that. You know, Elle, you have a lot of fans in Abbot Rise. Everyone knows you’ll find the murderer. In fact, we have a pool, here at work. We’re betting on how long it will take. If you could solve it in three days, you would make me very happy.”
I laughed. “I’ll do the best I can, Megan. But if you really want me to solve it, you can help me with some information.”
“Of course. I’ll be happy to.”
“Great. I know David Hassens works in the same place you do, and he claims he has an alibi for the time of death. I need to verify that. Think you can ask around and confirm that he was at work the morning of the murder?”
“Not a problem,” Megan said. “I’ll call you right back.”
“Thanks.”
While I waited, I designed a new charm. It was a flower, a sunflower, something I thought Betty would have enjoyed. Sunflowers always buoyed the spirit. The sun was an eternal friend. I was partially through the design, when Megan called.
“Good news and bad news,” Megan said. “The bad news, from my point of view, is that David was at work that morning. Lots of people saw him. It was a regular workday. So, he couldn’t have done it.”
“Well, it was worth a try. And the good news?”
“David and his stepson, Thomas, were seen and heard arguing in the parking lot. Apparently, Thomas was always asking David for money. And, David didn’t want to support Thomas’ habit. It seemed Thomas owed his drug suppliers a lot of money, although I’m guessing Thomas always claimed the money was for rehab. I never saw rehab in Thomas’ future. Not successful rehab. Thomas claimed he wanted to get clean, but no one really believed him.”
“But David never handed over any money?” I asked.
“Not that anyone knows. David never had much to begin with. Keeping a mistress is expensive.”
“It is. Seems that everyone close to Betty needed money, and she was the only one who had much.”
Megan and I chatted for a few more minutes, me promising to solve the case so she could win the pool money. Morbid, but I didn't say that to her. I told her things weren’t looking so hopeful at the moment. When the conversation ended, I thought a moment before I turned to Emmy.
“Emmy, want a job?”
“Job?” Emmy asked. “What sort of job?”
“Do you know Thomas, Betty Hassens’ son?”
“Sure. I’ve seen him. Although, he’s never seen me.”
“Think you can find him?”
“Around town?”
I nodded. “I would very much like to talk to him. So, if you can manage to locate him, that would be a big help.”
“I can go with her,” Gus said.
“Fine with me. In fact, if you split up, you can cover the town that much faster. When you find him, let me know.”
Emmy beamed. “I certainly will. You ready, Gus?”
“Ready,” Gus answered.
I watched them leave, and I wondered if their relationship was a help or hindrance for Emmy. Having a friend was a good thing. Having a friend who was an anchor to this world might not be. I told myself not to worry about it and returned to the sunflower...Betty’s sunflower.
Thirty minutes later, I left the shop and headed for the diner. Emmy and Gus had found Thomas, who occupied a booth, a cup of hot coffee in his hands. I could tell that he held onto the cup to keep his hands from shaking. The shakes were part of coming down. He wasn’t in good shape. I slipped into the booth. I had the feeling that if he could have managed it, he would have run away.
“I’ll make this short,” I said. “I know you and David fought a lot. You’re still fi
ghting, mostly about your drug use.”
“I don’t—”
“Stop! Don’t deny the truth. You’ve been doing that your entire life, and it’s turned you into a wreck.”
He stared at me, and I knew he was trying desperately to grab onto some other explanation for his shakes.
“So, the question is, did you kill your mother?”
He stared at me, and his mouth opened.
“Think before you answer,” I said. “You won’t get many chances to tell the truth. Use this one.”
“I...No, I did not kill my mother. Don’t get me wrong. We fought sometimes. She knew I...did what I did. And she didn’t like it. But she loved me, and I loved her. I would never harm her. I couldn’t.”
Tears came to Thomas’ eyes, and I had the feeling he was telling the truth. He could never hurt Betty. Either that, or he was a pretty good actor. I guessed that drug users eventually became pretty good actors.
“If you want to know who killed her, ask David,” Thomas said. “He’s the one who stood to lose the most.”
I had come to the end of the conversation. If Thomas lied, I couldn’t tell. But I needed some sort of verification. There had to be a way to determine if Thomas was telling the truth. Then, it hit me.
I said goodbye to Thomas and gathered Gus as I walked out the door.
Come on, Gus.
I used telepathy as there were people about.
Where?
To the place I should have searched in the beginning.
CHAPTER 20
Gus trotted by my side, and I could tell he wasn’t wild about our destination. I wasn’t wild about it either. But I had avoided doing what I had to do for too long. That was the nemesis of most people. I had discovered that most people knew the right thing to do. Actually, doing the right thing was vastly more difficult. Since we were out in public, Gus and I had to communicate telepathically.
You don’t want to go there, Elle. Remember Josey?
I did remember Josey. In fact, I remembered Josey all too well. Josey was a witch, a clever witch, who could hold her own, not just in Abbot Rise, but in any city in the country. Despite being young, she was recruited into a coven, where she learned the secrets of the other members. Being a coven member always extends the power of the members. Josey was no exception. She would sometimes dazzle me with rare and powerful spells. She was on her way to becoming one of the more powerful witches around. That was before she found drugs.
Third Crime's a Charm (A Farmer's Market Witch Mystery Series Book 2) Page 7