by Sonia Parin
Gerard glanced at them and shook his head.
“Okay. Here’s what I’ve been able to put together. Lana and Daniel went to see the shrink to address their marital problems. Marcela’s notes said they attended a group session.”
“And how is that significant?” Gerard asked.
“The group session included several other couples. Lauren and Lance McCullen were among them.”
“And?” they all asked.
“When I spoke with Lana Andrews, she said they’d been confronting their marital problem head-on. She also added, being at Gainsborough Mansion would put them back on track. Lana finished by saying there’d be no more straying.”
Gerard brushed his hand across his face.
“I think the detective is frustrated by your lack of evidence.”
“Luna, you have exemplary observation skills,” Lexie remarked. “I believe you can help me to convince the detective.”
“Here we go again,” Gerard growled.
“As Marcela can also hear Luna, she will assist by conveying the key points. Agreed?”
Marcela nodded.
“Right. Luna, you remember noticing Lauren and Lance at lunch?”
“Yes, indeed I do. They had fierce scowls on their faces, much like the detective’s.”
Marcela repeated Luna’s remark verbatim.
Gerard glanced at Luna and growled.
“We assumed there was trouble in paradise. Well, did you happen to notice who was sitting directly opposite them?”
Luna stilled and gazed into the distance. Several seconds ticked by. Everyone waited for her response.
“Yes,” Luna finally said, “The blue couple. Lana and Daniel Andrews.”
“I’m guessing Lauren and Lance were not happy to see them. Isn’t that strange. These are people who’d met at the group sessions with the shrink. And yet, they didn’t even acknowledge each other. Marcela’s folder also revealed other pertinent information about the guests. For instance, she knew Luna had come with a pre-existing condition.”
Luna stuck her nose in the air.
“Lana, her husband, Lauren and Lance all had one pre-existing condition. Betrayal. Their marriages had been on the rocks because they had strayed.” When Lana had talked about her marital problems, she’d left that juicy bit of information out...
“I read those notes carefully, and I didn’t join the dots,” Marcela said, “Are you suggesting they had an affair, with each other?”
Lexie nodded.
“So which one of them had the affair?” Gerard asked.
Lexie bit the edge of her lip. She hadn’t worked that part out. “Look, they’re stepping on it. We’re going to lose them.”
“I believe you’re trying to avoid answering the question,” Luna said.
Lexie’s hand clamped around Marcela’s mouth, thinking the detective didn’t need to know that, but it didn’t stop Marcela from murmuring, “If you can’t make us go faster, can’t you at least do something to stop them? Give them square tires.”
Square tires...
The stray thought ricocheted in her mind, gathering momentum until it shot out of her.
They all gasped as they watched the Andrews’ car wobble to a halt.
“You gave them square tires!” Luna bounced on her lap.
She had.
Lexie gaped in astonishment.
The detective brought the beach buggy to a screeching halt. “Everyone. Stay in the... buggy.” He then untangled himself from the buggy and sprinted toward the Andrews’ car.
“Shouldn’t he be wielding a weapon?” Marcela asked.
Luna purred. “He doesn’t need to. He’s an O’Rourke.”
“What about back-up?” Marcela insisted.
“Oh, he has that.” Lexie leaned forward. “In fact... I think he might call on them now. Lana and Daniel are emerging from the car.” And she could see a gathering of sparkles around them. They were about to make their real getaway.
“Halt,” the detective called out.
The force of his O’Rourke voice flung Lexie and Marcela back in their seat.
“What was that?” Marcela asked.
“His back-up.”
The sparkles around Lana and Daniel brightened. “They’re about to get away.”
As they braced themselves, they heard Gerard’s voice boom as he called out, “O’Rourke.”
A hundred voices echoed back and descended upon the scene, surrounding Lana and Daniel.
Lexie jumped out of the buggy. Marcela followed, asking, “Who are they?”
“That’s the buck-stops-here back-up.”
One hundred O’Rourkes circled around the couple. Standing a head taller than Lexie, they presented a formidable front. And yet...
She caught a glimpse of a shimmer.
They were there, but they weren’t.
“Is it safe?” Marcela asked as Lexie made a beeline for the trapped couple, her intention clearly fixed on breaking through the circle and confronting the murderous duo.
“Umm... I don’t know. I think so.”
Luna sprinted alongside Lexie. “I’m with you all the way because that’s what true friends are for. Besides, I’ve already singed my tail once. What’s the worse that could happen?”
Marcela grabbed hold of her arm and pulled her back. “I don’t think I want you going in there with my powers.”
“Oh, relax. Nothing’s going to happen to me. But you should stand back. Just in case.”
The sparkles swirled even faster around Lana and Daniel. Any second now, they could disappear...
“If you’re taking my powers anywhere near that, I’m coming too.”
Lexie surged ahead, Luna on one side and Marcela on the other.
“I must say,” Luna exclaimed, “You cut a fine figure in your black boots, jeans and t-shirt. All that’s missing is a light breeze to lift your unruly hair and the picture of a true heroine would be complete. I hope Jonathan is capturing all this. Let’s hope he takes a few artistic liberties and throws in the light breeze.”
Oh... heavens.
To her relief, when she reached the circle, the O’Rourkes stepped back to let her through.
“Lana and Daniel Andrews. We have some questions for you.”
“I don’t think they heard you,” Marcela said, “Those spinning, sparkly lights must be buzzing in their ears.”
When their forms began to fade, Lexie stepped forward. Although she had no idea what she’d do...
“What are you doing? Don’t you dare go anywhere near them with my powers... Just throw a... monkey wrench at them.”
Monkey wrench?
The words bounced around in her mind and shot out of her. In an instant, the spinning stopped. The couple stared at her, their eyes wide with panic.
Marcela gave her a bright smile. “You did it.”
Gerard O’Rourke looked at her. “You’re getting the hang of that... whatever that is.”
Lexie grinned. “I sure am.”
The one hundred O’Rourkes who had descended upon them, shimmered and humming their approval, they faded away.
The detective gestured for her to proceed.
And say what?
“You have no right to hold us here,” Lana complained. “We didn’t do anything.”
“So what were you running away from?”
Lana squared her shoulders and insisted, “You have no right to hold us here.”
“We know you placed the order with Lexington Catering for an incantation and that you used the house phone instead of a cell phone.” Or at least, she thought they had...
Had Lana made an attempt to look puzzled and confused, Lexie might have relented, back-pedaling in an instant to save face. After all, she had a one hundred percent success strike rate to protect. If she failed to do so, Luna would never forgive her...
However, Lana raised her chin and tried to stare her down.
“We also know you tricked Lauren into reading the incantati
on inside the bathroom...” Lexie searched for a tidy word to continue her accusation with...
“Thereby,” Luna suggested.
“Thereby triggering the gateway to open and startle her into falling into the bathtub where...”
“Wherein,” Luna offered.
“Wherein, she... proceeded to electrocute herself and her husband...involuntarily...”
Luna cleared her throat and murmured, “Resulting.”
“Resulting in the death of the man you had an affair with and the woman who hated you for it.” Lexie ran through the accusation she’d just flung at Lana and belatedly remembered Lana had given her husband a murderous look which meant...
He had been the one to stray. Not Lana...
“I don’t hear your husband defending you, which means... he is actually the culprit.” She pointed at him. “He had an affair with Lauren. Remorseful of his actions, he suggested going into therapy. Little did he know then that he would be faced with Lauren’s husband because Lance had also sought counseling with Doctor Shrink. Desperate to salvage your marriage, Daniel found out Lauren and Lance had signed up for the Gainsborough Mansion program and so he schemed and plotted to follow them here and kill them so that you could both have a clean slate. You said it yourself. This will put us back on track. No more straying.” Neither one blinked.
Lexie glanced over at Luna who shrugged.
“I must say, I can’t decide who did the deed, but you gave it your best shot.”
Gritting her back teeth, Lexie turned to the killers. “You took the team building program to its extreme by colluding. Yes, you both colluded to kill them.”
Lana wailed and Daniel shook his fists at Lexie.
“They laughed us,” Lana spat out, “All that time we sat through Doctor Shrink’s group counseling, they pretended nothing had happened. They were both notorious flirts, having one affair after another, leaving a trail of wrecked marriages behind them. They came here looking for their next prey. We couldn’t let that happen...”
“Oh, thank goodness for that outburst,” Luna exclaimed. “I thought your valiant attempts to expose their nefarious actions might have been foiled by their stony determination to plead ignorance. While I would have stuck by you, no matter what... The burden of embarrassment would have been too much to bear.” Luna sighed. “Despite all that, I can’t help feeling sorry for them. Lauren and Lance appear to have deserved their end.” Luna leaped up into her arms. “I believe we have found our ultimate K word. Killers.”
* * *
They stood back watching a couple of the O’Rourke detectives taking Lana and Daniel into custody.
“I suppose the Council of High Chairs will now take over,” Lexie mused.
“Yes. It’s all up to them now.” The detective turned to her. “Well done, Ms. Mackenzie.”
“Thank you. I had help. Luna is the one who first suggested we should look for other connections, but at the time I was fixated with finding out how the killer had gained access to the suite.”
“Did you just acknowledge me?” Luna asked.
“Credit where credit is due.”
The detective surprised her by extending his hand.
Luna twitched her whiskers and looked askance.
Chucking under his breath, the detective bent down and gave her a scratch behind the ear. “Well done, Luna.”
Whoa. This is a first. You’re speechless.
The detective straightened and looked at his watch. “I have a mountain of paperwork to get through. I’m sure our paths will cross again.” Giving her a salute, he turned toward his... beach buggy.
Lexie laughed at the slight hesitation in his step.
“You really should try and do something to restore his vehicle,” Luna said. “He’s not a bad sort, after all. Go on, give him a bright, sparkly new car.”
The words danced around her head. Lexie smiled and released them.
As he drove off, his beach buggy shimmered and turned into a turbo charged car.
Smiling, Lexie stretched and yawned. “I don’t know about you, Luna, but I think I’m going to spend the next week sleeping.”
“Are you sure about that? You know what happened the last time we did that...”
Marcela coughed and spluttered.
Lexie turned.
“Um...” Marcela cleared her throat. “I suppose you’ll... eventually come back to Gainsborough Mansion... When you’re ready, of course. I wouldn’t want to pressure you into handing over... My powers.”
“Powers?”
Marcela’s chin wobbled.
“Oh... Your powers.” Lexie enveloped her in a bear hug. “I really wouldn’t want to put Octavia’s nose out of joint. They’re all yours.”
“Just like that?”
“I think you were primed and ready for them. That’s probably why you could hear Luna.”
Marcela stepped back and glanced at her watch. “I can feel the surge of organization coursing through me.” She smiled with relief.
“By the way,” Lexie said, “About the agreement you get your guests to sign. Does it have anything to do with your grandfather disapproving of magic?”
“No. Using powers would defeat the purpose of all my team-building exercises.”
“I see your point. Hear that, Luna. We don’t need magic to work well together.”
Luna scratched her boot. “As touching as this moment is, how are we going to get back to the mansion? We’re out in the middle of nowhere.”
Ooops.
She turned to Marcela and grinned. “Not to worry, Gainsborough Mansion has spacious closets...”
Epilogue
“Home, sweet—” Lexie brushed her hair away from her eyes. “What’s that smell?”
Luna screeched. “Please tell me I’m not on fire again.”
“Is that smoke?”
Luna rolled around the closet floor. “I can’t be on fire again. I can’t be.”
“You’re not. But I still smell smoke.” She pressed the tip of her boot against the closet door and pushed it open. Peering out, she groaned.
“What?”
“The walls in my bedroom are black. Either my mother has been decorating again or... my apartment went up in flames.”
She crawled out of the closet and slowly got to her feet.
Luna scrambled up her back and sat on her shoulder. “The floor is sooty.”
Turning, she looked at her closet. “Wait a minute. What’s going on here? My closet is empty.”
“That makes sense. Remember you said you tried to get a change of clothes but nothing happened and so you ended up pilfering some from your favorite store. You can’t conjure something out of nothing.”
“That doesn’t answer my question. And... hang on. What about all that stuff you said about the elements being at my disposal...”
“They are.”
“But I can’t see them.”
“But they’re still there. Don’t over think it...”
She heard footsteps hurrying toward her bedroom.
“Either someone is coming to attack us or you have developed a serious rodent problem. Which reminds me, I am not a domestic cat. As a feline companion, it would be beneath me to hunt for mice.”
“Are you about to suggest I hire a domestic cat?”
Luna placed her paw on Lexie’s head. “Thank you for reminding me. I’ll have my list of demands ready for you by the end of the day. We should take tomorrow off, but then we’ll need to start working on ticking the items off my list, starting with my turbo charged broomstick. Followed by a trip back to Lancaster to purchase my quilt...”
“Oh, hello... You’re... You’re back.”
“Octavia?” Her personal assistant looked... disheveled. And that was being kind. Her hair stuck out in all directions, she had soot marks on her face, her usual pristine blouse had been torn at the sleeve and her polished pumps had been replaced by house slippers that had seen better days.
Octavia held up a glas
s bowl. “I got you some potpourri. Isn’t it lovely?”
“Potpourri?”
Her assistant waved the bowl about the room. “It has a lovely fragrance.”
When Lexie strode toward her, Octavia blocked her path.
“Let me guess, I don’t want to go out there?”
Octavia waved the bowl about again. “I didn’t expect you back so soon.”
“Hey, Octavia. I just got off the phone with the furniture store and they can deliver the couch tomorrow but only if we take the green one. Do you think Lexie will notice it’s not black?” Jonathan strode into the bedroom and seeing Lexie, he raked his fingers through his hair. “Hello. You’re...” he sighed.
“Yeah, I’m back. Sorry.”
Luna pressed her little face against Lexie’s cheek. “I suspect this might have something to do with the booby-trapped scroll, but we shouldn’t jump to conclusions...”
“If not the scroll, then what else do you think could have turned my apartment black?”
Luna purred deeply. “Well, you’ve never bothered to befriend your neighbors so you don’t know what they do for a living. For all you know, there could be a mad scientist living next door.”
“And... the mad scientist’s experiment blew up in my apartment?”
Octavia put her hand up. “I can’t allow the neighbor to be blamed. Sorry. In my attempt to follow your instructions, I tried to burn the scroll but it... exploded. Strangely, the damage is contained within your apartment and only affected your possessions.”
“Gee, is this where I have to pretend to be surprised?”
“I have already began the paperwork and will be lodging it with the Council of High Chairs. You shouldn’t have to pay to replace your furniture or clothes... Which, by the way, were not insured. You really shouldn’t let such things lapse.”
Am I imagining it, or is Octavia trying to point the finger of blame at me?
Octavia cleared her throat.
“She heard you and I think you’ve hurt her feelings.”
“Right, so now I have to apologize.”
“It wouldn’t hurt.” Luna jumped off her. “Since Jonathan is ordering furniture for you, I think I’ll get started on my list of demands. I haven’t said anything until now, and don’t get me wrong... I don’t mind curling up at your feet, but I think it’s about time I get my own bed. I’ve always felt my position in this household somewhat diminished by the fact that I had to share your bed... specifically, the foot of your bed. The Feline Emporium carries a whole line of handcrafted feline beds. One in particular caught my eye... A Queen Anne fainting couch...”