Speaks the Blue Jay

by K. J. Emrick

  His eyes got wider as he caught on to what Miranda was saying. Of course the mud came from the lake. This was most likely the car used by the person that had dumped the body there. “Exactly,” she said to him, a little smug about figuring that out before he did. “Now, if this was the same car that made the tracks where we saw the dead man, then there’s a very good chance this might belong to our killer.”

  “Who is inside the Bed and Breakfast!” he exclaimed, his voice rising in pitch and urgency. “We should warn Jack, don’t you think?”

  “Exactly what I was thinking,” Miranda said. “Come on. Let’s get in there quick before…”

  Before something bad happens, was going to be the end of that sentence. There was no chance to get the words out of her mouth before she saw Jean-Paul flying out of the front door of the Bed and Breakfast, and right up to the van. He looked into the window, and the panic on his face made his mustache quiver.

  Then he turned around frantically to find Miranda. “Where is she?” Jean-Paul said breathlessly. Miranda raced to see what he meant, Butter and Kyle right beside her. “She wouldn’t have got out of the van, surely? She was terrified!”

  Sapphire. He meant Sapphire was gone. Miranda looked in the van to be sure. Jean-Paul was right. The way Sapphire had been acting earlier she should have stayed right here with her crystal until the police arrived. Why would she have gotten out? Where would she have gone?

  “Jean-Paul, I’m sorry,” Miranda said. “I only stepped away for a little bit to have a look at something. She’s probably in the Blue Jay. She’s probably fine.”

  At least, Miranda hoped she was.

  “But I was in there just now,” he said, waving both hands at the Blue Jay. “I was there, and I came out, and she was gone! I would have seen her go in, non?”

  “Were you at the front of the house the whole time?”

  “Of course I was—!” His eyebrows scrunched down low. “But no, I was not. I went to the loo. I went to use the toilet and when I came back Jack was gone. He must have gone to use the phone and maybe… maybe Sapphire was with him?”

  “Yes, that must be it.” Miranda looked back at the car with its muddy wheels, just visible around the corner of the building, and wondered again if they were standing within sight of a murderer. “She’s, um… she’s fine.”

  “Fine? In there? But she sensed the bad aura, remember? She would not have gone in there on her own, I am sure of it.”

  Miranda couldn’t help but wonder at his sudden upset. “Jean-Paul, it’s okay. Besides, I didn’t think you believed in dark auras and all that.”

  “Well, Sapphire believes in them,” he said, suddenly unable to meet her gaze. “Isn’t that enough?”

  Miranda could clearly see Jean-Paul’s anxiety over Sapphire. They were both very close friends of Miranda’s and she had noticed that he maybe paid Sapphire a little more attention than a friend would. Maybe his feelings for her were a little more than just friendly after all.

  “Is there something going on between you two?” Miranda asked.

  “What? Pshaw,” he snorted. “Of course not. I would never… we are just friends, of course. I’m worried about her. That’s all.”

  Kyle made a rude noise. “Huh. I thought those two were going to start planning first dates and weddings and anniversaries and stuff.”

  Miranda slid her eyes his way, but it was hard to be mad at him, when she believed he was right.

  “Come on,” she said to Jean-Paul. “Let’s go inside and look for her. I think I see a little bit more than friendship here. Honestly, I think it’s great. No reason to be embarrassed.”

  “Ah, you see through me, Miranda Wylder. I hate to say it, but I wish you didn’t know me quite as well as you do.”

  “Jean-Paul, being known isn’t such a bad thing.” Miranda reached out to lay a hand on his forearm. “I get the feeling you think that makes you vulnerable. It doesn’t. Having people know you and letting people in makes you strong, not weak.”

  “Hmm. That is just exactly the sort of thing that Sapphire would say.”

  “Yeah, leave the poor guy alone.” Kyle said, floating ahead of them and waiting by the door. “Seriously, who died and made you the matchmaker?”

  The best Miranda could do was stick her tongue out at him, so she did. Just as hard as she could.

  Kyle acknowledged her gesture with a deep bow and a smirk.

  Miranda was really going to give it to Kyle when this was over. He knew she couldn’t start talking to him in front of people who didn’t believe in ghosts, unless she wanted to find herself fitted for a straightjacket. Jean-Paul wasn’t ready to see her talking to thin air.

  “All right, Jean-Paul,” she said to him in a soothing tone. “Just let me put Butter in the van and we’ll go see what’s going on inside.”

  Just as she was about to open the sliding side door, they all heard the sound of shouting from inside the Bed and Breakfast. Butter lowered himself on his front paws and whined. Miranda tensed. The feeling about this place deep inside her grew stronger.

  “What was that?” Jean-Paul was immediately frantic again, racing for the front steps while Miranda stood indecisively holding Butter’s leash. She wasn’t sure whether to take the time to put him in the van, or chase after Jean-Paul to find out what was going on inside. She decided it was too hot to put the dog in the van anyway. She hesitated a moment more when another burst of shouting erupted out of the open front door of the B&B.

  Jack was inside. That was the thing that finally made her move.

  Time to find out where this mystery was taking her.

  Chapter 5

  The moment they walked in through the front door of the Blue Jay Bed and Breakfast, Miranda breathed a sigh of relief. Beside her, Jean-Paul did the same.

  It wasn’t that the argument had calmed down at all. If anything, it had grown louder and more heated. That kept her standing back by the entrance, ready to run in case small objects started flying. From the way the argument was going, she felt that was a definite possibility.

  At least they found Sapphire, standing with Jack on the other side of the spacious front room.

  They were watching the two people arguing as well, Jack with the sharp interest of a police officer and Sapphire with a wide-eyed, worried expression. Miranda could imagine her ‘sensing’ dark auras around the two people in the argument. A man, and a woman, their faces red and their expressions furious.

  Miranda made a quick study of the two. The woman with her long golden hair was strikingly attractive, even if her black dress was remarkably plain. This must be the pretty blonde that Kyle had mentioned. Now Miranda understood that her jealousy had been a premonition. How could anyone stand in the same room as that woman and not feel like second best?

  The woman’s eyes flared in the heat of her argument with the man in front of her. He was an older man, his face rough and weathered from years of working out in the sun. A fisherman or a sailor, Miranda thought. His shirt was a flannel button up, and his jeans had seen better days.

  “You’re a liar, Skye!” the man said harshly.

  Miranda thought that was an odd name, but it did seem to fit the woman. Bright and beautiful. The string of curse words she hurled back at the man were anything but sunny, however.

  “Hey, hey!” Jack said now, stepping between the two of them with an arm extended to each like he was refereeing a wrestling match. “No need for that language, right?”

  The woman scowled as the other man hurled a few curse words back at her.

  “That’s enough!” Jack’s steely voice broke through between them.

  “Well, that’s what she is!” the man insisted, jabbing a finger in the woman’s direction. He backed away a few steps, calming down now that Jack was squaring off on them. Even without displaying his badge, Jack had that demeanor of a police officer that people seemed to respond to. “She’s trying to say Caleb did something to deserve his death. That’s not right, that’s not true
, and she knows it. She’s just a liar!”

  “Hold on,” Jack said, still playing the part of peacekeeper. “We don’t know that was your friend Caleb that we found out there by the lake. When my officer’s get here—”

  “Of course it was him!” the woman, Skye, said as she crossed her arms under her breasts. “You described him perfectly. We know our friend, Detective. That’s Caleb Owen, and no doubt. He’s dead, and he must have been up to some of his usual ways to end up like that. I’m not a liar for speaking the truth, and I’m not that other name either, no matter what Alfie here says!”

  “Ha! That’s a laugh,” the man, Alfie, said. “I’ve only ever heard you speak highly of him, Skye, until now. You were as much a friend of his as I was but the moment he’s dead, off you go with your nasty comments. I just can’t understand you. You’re a real piece of work, you are!”

  He took a step closer to Skye, but with a single glance from Jack he stepped back again.

  Skye took it as something of a win for her. “You just won’t listen to the truth, Alfie, that’s your problem. It’s pointless for me to try arguing with you, because you just won’t listen. You’re your own worst enemy, Alfie Parker. So was Caleb. He got in his own way and now he’s dead because of it!”

  “You just remember who owns this place, Skye Rogers!” Alfie said, shouting again. “You might be a guest here, but I’ll put you out on your backside faster than you can bat those baby blue eyes if you don’t start showing me some respect!”

  Miranda covered her ears when Jack placed his finger and thumb in his mouth and trilled out a sharp whistle to stop the two warring parties once and for all. Butter barked in response, maybe thinking Jack was calling him out to play, and the barking dog more than the whistle stopped the two of them from hurling anymore harsh words at each other.

  “That’s better,” Jack said, shaking a finger at both Alfie and Skye. “Now then, before we got into this little argument here, you both need to remember that I’m a police officer. You were nice enough to let me use your phone, and now there’s even more police coming. So. Let’s everybody calm down before people start getting arrested. How does that sound?”

  Skye kept her arms crossed and shrugged her shoulders. Alfie sniffed and shoved his hands deep in his pockets as he turned his face away, suddenly very interested in the archway on the other side of the room that led to some sort of den or sitting area.

  Miranda loved to see him like this. In control and in his element. Jack was a strong man, both physically and deep in his heart. She wasn’t the only one to notice it, either. She saw the way Skye Rogers was looking at him, and the way her lips twitched to keep a smile off her face. Maybe Jack didn’t have any interest in this pretty little blonde, but she was certainly beginning to take an interest in him.

  Miranda did not like that. Not one bit.

  “Good,” Jack said. “Now that I’ve got your attention, let me ask you…”

  He was interrupted as they heard someone walking down creaky stairs further into the rundown little Bed and Breakfast, and then a man stepped in through the archway. He made straight for them and as he did, Miranda couldn’t help but take notice of his confident air. Anyone hearing the argument would have known there was trouble, yet this man walked in like there was nothing to worry about. Like he was the owner of the place, rather than Alfie over there. He was tall and broad shouldered, too, which definitely added to the air of superiority about him. Flecks of silver in his hair lead Miranda to believe he was probably somewhere around her own age.

  “Guys,” the man said, levelling a glance from piercing gray eyes at everyone, including Jack and Miranda, “can you all just keep it down a little? Ginger is really upset about Caleb and this isn’t helping.”

  “I’m not surprised she’s upset about Caleb,” Skye said sarcastically, before Miranda could even wonder who Ginger was. “After all, if that is Caleb out there then Ginger just lost her sugar daddy, didn’t she? Tell me, Ben, did she manage to trick Caleb into changing his will to include her? Hmm?”

  “That’s a bit harsh,” the newcomer, Ben, said to Skye. “Don’t you think?”

  “Ha. I wouldn’t put anything past Ginger. You’re the one in there comforting her.” Skye managed to put a twist on the word ‘comforting’ that made it highly suggestive. “You tell me.”

  “Now that’s a low blow,” Alfie snapped, coming back into the conversation. “Ben is just being a good friend.”

  “Hmph,” Skye chuckled. “Ginger Peck doesn’t do friends. She just does whatever man will give her the most buck for the—”

  “Enough,” Ben told her. He didn’t raise his voice. He didn’t shout. He said it without the slightest hint of anger, and yet Skye immediately clamped her mouth shut and stepped back like she’d been scalded with acid.

  Miranda took the opportunity to sidle up next to Jack. “Exactly how much have I missed?” she whispered in his ear.

  He shook his head as the three occupants of the Blue Jay kept talking to each other. “There were four of them here when I first came in. Alfie, Skye, and Ben here, and the other one they just mentioned, Ginger Peck. I got as far as making the phone call to the station but when they heard me saying that someone was dead in the lake, and then his description, it all broke down into shouting and crying.”

  “So, this Ginger woman couldn’t handle staying out here to see what the police would do?”

  “Yup. I found it just as suspicious. Ben pressed me for a few details, not that I had much to give, and then he went off to comfort her. And now, here we are.”

  Ben had a few last whispered words for Skye and Alfie, and then he squeezed Skye’s elbow almost possessively before leaving the two of them behind to come over to where Miranda was standing with Jack and Butter, eyebrows raised in question. He then looked over at Jean-Paul who had now been joined by Sapphire with more questions in his eyes, clearly wondering why they were here, too. Then he seemed to dismiss them entirely and turned his attention back to Jack.

  “Well, Detective, I’d like to thank you for going out of your way to come here and let us know about Caleb.” He shook his head sadly. “The man was never the most careful of people. I promise you, I’ll look into it. If I find anything out, I’ll be sure to give you a call.”

  “Look into it?” Miranda said, unable to hide the surprise in her voice. “Don’t you think that’s a job for the police?”

  “Yes, I do,” he said, with an air of disdain. “I guess we haven’t been properly introduced. I’m Ben Clark, and I’m a bona fide police detective. No worries. I’ve got this.”

  He reached into his back pocket to pull out a wallet, and flipped it open, showing off a shiny silver-plated badge: a star with Victoria Police written around a blue circle with a cross in the middle, the words ‘Uphold the Right’ underneath and topped with an image of the Queens crown.

  Miranda leaned forward to examine the badge closely. It looked real. Then again, Miranda had never seen a fake one, so she supposed it could be a really good forgery. Either way, the plastic ID on the other side of the badge case also identified Ben Clark as a Detective with Melbourne’s police force.

  “Isn’t this just a little bit out of your area, Detective Clark?” Miranda said in a tone just as cold as he had used on her. “Melbourne is a good way off.”

  “Yes. It is. Either way I’m the first cop on the scene so I’ll take over until a more senior officer of the Moonlight Bay PD can get here.”

  There was something about this man that Miranda didn’t like. He was arrogant and dismissive and as far as she was concerned he was way too sure that he was going to take control of everyone. Miranda did not take well to men like that.

  “Actually,” Jack said, reaching in his back pocket for his own badge, “I was the first cop on scene, and I’m the senior detective with the Moonlight Bay PD.”

  “Oh, well,” Ben Clark said, clearing his throat as he closed his badge wallet. “I guess that’s lucky. Here we were, t
wo cops waiting for the agency with local knowledge and here you are already here. It’s, uh, good to meet you, Detective. I’ll hand it over to you now, then.”

  “Thanks. And it’s good to meet you too, Detective,” Jack said, his voice friendly. Miranda could see through the mask he was wearing, though. No one who didn’t know him as well as she did would have noticed the way the lines around his mouth pinched.

  Jack was a professional, though. Whatever he was really thinking, he was keeping it to himself.

  Miranda couldn’t help wondering why a police officer from Melbourne was here in this poor excuse for a Bed and Breakfast in the first place. It wasn’t like he would have known that a murder was going to take place and would need investigating, so what was he doing here?

  Kyle floated right up to Ben, nose to nose, and nodded his head curtly. “Yes. I definitely don’t like this one. Something about his shifty eyes. Although I have to say, he’s seriously cute…”

  If Kyle’s opinion of their suspects was going to be based on which one would look best without their clothes on, he wasn’t going to be much help in this or any investigation. Before that thought had even finished taking shape, Ben Clark shifted his gaze in Kyle’s direction, and blew out a breath like he was trying to shoo away a fly.

  Kyle zipped backward, not from the force of the air he couldn’t have possibly felt, but from the shock of being seen.

  Then Ben swatted at the air with a hand. “Pesky insects.”

  He smiled at her, but Miranda was almost completely certain he hadn’t been swiping at a fly. He’d just seen Kyle… but that was ludicrous.

  Wasn’t it?

  Her ghostly friend whooshed up to her. “That was weird. Right? That wasn’t just me imagining it? That was weird?”

  “Yes,” she whispered to him. “Now shush.”

  “What was that?” Sapphire said, keeping her voice low. “Did you see this Caleb person’s ghost? Is the dead man here?”

  “Just this dead man,” Kyle muttered, watching Ben Clark as he walked away. “Me, the invisible, unseen ghost.”