by January Bain
“I loaned it out earlier this week. Your best friend Emma has taken a recent interest in Christie’s backlist. Wonderful, eh!”
Awash with emotion, I stood and stared at the happy librarian. I had not seen this coming. Still, it didn’t really mean anything, did it?
“Aha, here we go. Take a gander at this one.” She handed me a book.
“Oh, you got it in!” I reverently ran my fingers down the glossy, futuristically designed cover, checking out Michio Kaku’s coveted latest, The Future of Humanity. “Thank you! I really appreciate it.”
“You’re more than welcome.”
“I have to get back and help bake cookies.”
“No problem. I’ll renew your books. You wouldn’t happen to be baking any of my favorite triple chocolate macaroons?”
“Sure. Stop by later and we’ll have some freshly baked for you.” It hadn’t been on my initial list, but it had just got added. I needed a whole lot of baking to get my mind off this weird day and a proper thank you was in order for my favorite librarian.
I hurried from the library, my feet pounding the pavement until I made it back to the café. How soon until we knew what killed Mrs. Hurst? It couldn’t happen soon enough.
“Hey, Granny.” I greeted her on the fly, racing to wash my hands to get down to work.
Three hours of slave labor later and the café had blossomed with all the tantalizing fragrances of a multitude of cookies. I took the last tray out of the oven, setting it aside to cool, and swiped at my perspiring forehead.
“There. That should get us through tomorrow at least.”
“You talk about me working too hard, child. You need to slow down a bit as well.”
“Granny, I’m young and strong. This is the time to work like a wild woman.”
“You take on so much for someone so young.” She shook her head, her expression filled with concern.
“I’m fine. Now, Miriam’s coming by for a bag of the triple chocolate so make sure to save her some. I’ve got to go upstairs and check on something.”
“Okay.”
I ran up the stairs two at a time, locking the door for good measure. In my small bedroom, I pulled out the folder. I had to know if there was anything to my suspicions.
When I was tracing my finger down the rows of numbers, the first thing that stood out was how very well off the woman had been. I’d known she was rich, but this was more than I’d counted on. And fair sums were being deposited into her account each and every month, though she’d had no visible form of employment since her husband died ten years ago. Of course, John Hurst had been the first gold miner in the area and had made his fortune before anyone else knew of the find. She must have been living off the stock market and investing. But the regular cash deposits were odd. And the amounts had increased of late. Maybe she owned more property that she collected rents on and they paid in cash? Or maybe she was a darn drug dealer? Yeah, right! But it was odd. Worth investigating if this thing went south like I worried it was going to any minute. There would be receipts somewhere in her house for receiving all that cash if her business was legit.
A loud knock resounded through the apartment. “Charm. Are you in there?” More banging came on the door.
Sighing, I closed the folder and slid it back into the nightstand. With so many suspects, I was going to have to get completely organized about doing this thing right. Starting with taking notes. I grabbed a pen and paper from the drawer and quickly wrote down the five suspects, pausing over my friend’s name. No way. Emma couldn’t hurt a flea.
The knocking continued. “Charm, I know you’re in there!”
I laid the pad aside and got up to answer the door. Time alone was the biggest threat to getting to the bottom of this thing.
As soon as I saw Star’s face, I knew.
Chapter Eight
Star threw herself at me. “It’s terrible. I’ll never be able to show my face in this town again!” She moaned, holding on to me for dear life.
“Calm down. Nothing can ever be that bad.”
“But everyone’s talking about us. The coroner says it was cyanide that killed Mrs. Hurst. And it was found in our jam!” At that confession she burst into a flood of tears, drenching the shoulder of my formerly dry T-shirt.
Though I’d suspected, it was a different thing to hear the words spoken out loud, I admit. Way different.
“Who told you this?” My body filled with icy anger. Why hadn’t that darn pesky Mountie prevented this? Kept his report private until the real murderer could be unmasked? I wanted to rip a piece off him now and if he’d been in the room he’d have been in for it. Big time.
She hiccupped, her tears slowing as she thought about it. “I remember, it all started with Sean Blackmore. He talked to just about everyone at the festival. People began to look at me and Tulip strangely. Then I overheard some people talking and found out what was going on. What are we going to do, Charm? This is really, really bad.”
“Well, we know we didn’t do it, right?”
“Yeah, that’s true.”
“Then we just need to prove who did.”
“How are we going to do that?” Her tear-stained face made my stomach hurt, tied as it was in twisted knots of equal parts anger and worry. “No one will ever buy our jam again.” A fresh flood of tears accompanied the wail.
“Don’t be silly. I will get to the bottom of this, I promise you. The real murderer will be found out. I’m already working on it. And I’ve got a list of suspects that saw Mrs. Hurst on that final day. But I’ll need yours and Tulip’s help more than ever now. You’ll need to keep things running while I investigate. I can use my analytical skill from reading all those murder mysteries.”
“But solving a mystery is not like reading a book, Charm.” Her eyes were still very worried, though I was trying my best to console her.
“I know. But I have other gifts as well. I’ll tap into them.”
“But you’ve always said they’re kind of hit and miss. What if it doesn’t work? And the café goes bankrupt? What will happen to Granny?”
“I’d never let that happen.” A righteous thrust of ancient anger seared my mortal soul, and my fingertips lit up with white-blue sparks. Shocked, Star stepped back from me, looking at me as if she didn’t recognize her own sister. I turned my hands over and stared at their familiar shape and contour. Did that really happen? I shook my head. Must have been a hallucination brought on by the depth of my pain and despair. No one hurt my family, no one.
“Static electricity, nothing more, sis.” I dismissed it, not wanting Star to worry. But her big eyes with their damp lashes proved that wasn’t going to be so easy.
“What do you want me to do?”
Good. She was pulling herself together. “First thing. We need to show the world we’re not afraid of this thing. That we know we didn’t do it. And we must protect Granny at all costs.”
Star nodded.
“Go and put a cold cloth on your face and reapply your makeup before she sees you. ‘A McCall always shows the world their best face.’” I recited one of Granny’s sayings.
She dutifully headed for my bathroom while I hauled out the pad of paper again. Now it was serious. I tamped down my anger and got to work.
Sean was still at the top of my list. But the others needed checking out as well. Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer came to mind. Much as I wanted to bash a certain Mountie who would remain nameless over the head with a frying pan, I needed his help. Gritting my teeth, I worked out a plan.
Star came back from the bathroom as I finished writing. “Good, let’s go. You head back to the fair, do your sets, and I’ll join Tulip at the booth. I want to talk with people. Mostly, find the suspects and get a reading on them. Can you do that? Pretend it’s no big deal?”
She raised her chin defiantly, her blue eyes narrowing. “You bet. Someone’s trying to frame us—that’s not going to happen to a McCall.” Star and I had often not seen eye-to-ey
e, but on this, we were united.
“Good. I’m proud of you.” Darn it, her eyes were awash with tears again. But this time she swiped them away, blessing me with a tremendous smile.
“Okay, catch you later, sis.”
I used the bathroom facilities myself, making sure my own appearance would pass muster with a crowd seeking any signs of weakness, then rushed down the stairs and into the café, as fast as my feet could carry me. “Granny, I’m off to work the booth with Tulip. You need anything?”
“No. It’s been quiet. Oh, there’s Tegan Jane sprinting across the street. You know, for an old gal, she sure can move fast.”
No, you don’t. I raced out of the front door of the café, intent on stopping one of the town’s biggest gossips.
“Charm!” Auntie T.J. grasped her sides, wheezing and out of breath, apparently having run all the way from the fairgrounds. We met on the sidewalk, nearly colliding.
I grabbed her shoulders. “Now you listen here, Auntie, I will not have you upsetting Granny. She’s been through enough. Do you hear me? Do not tell her about this coroner’s report, or so help me, I’ll spill the beans on the New Years Eve’s party where you went after Granny’s new boyfriend. And bedded him in the back room.”
Her eyes widened to owl size. “You knew about that?”
“Yes. And if you want Granny to continue talking to you, you will keep quiet about this thing until I solve the mystery.”
“What can you do about the case that the new Mountie can’t?” she about hissed in my face.
“This is my town. I will get to the bottom of it. Just give me twenty-four hours.”
“Phttt. You expect me to believe you can do that. What are you not telling me?”
“Never you mind. Do I have your word that you will not tell Granny?”
“Someone will. You can count on that. Best it comes from family.”
She was right, whether I wanted to accept it or not.
“Then you go right in there and say you need her to drive you to see your friend Rose in Winterville. That she’s not feeling well and that you need to see her today, to make sure she’s okay. You need Granny to drive you because you’re too upset. Tell her to close down the shop—no business today anyway—and take you. Now. I don’t care how much you need to lie—just do it already. And make Rose play along. Stay overnight there as well. That should give me just enough time to get this thing figured.”
She nodded, her face suggesting how unhappy she was with how her day had turned out. A twinge of guilt stuck my gut.
“You had nothing to do with Mrs. Hurst’s death, right?” Auntie T.J. asked, not quite meeting my eyes.
I gave her a full-on glare. “Of course not, how could you even ask that?” Any guilt I had over blackmailing her vanished like a fart in the wind.
Hmm, blackmail. Wouldn’t put it past the old bird.
I stomped off, making my way to the fairgrounds as quickly as a crow flies. Or a wolf taking down its prey. Strange. I hadn’t envisioned wolves since my first foray into town, when our mother had abandoned us all those years ago, and I didn’t like the reference any better now.
I joined Tulip, noting the lack of any customers at our booth. Bad news travels fastest of all. We’d replaced the strippers as the topic of conversation. Lucky us. It looked like I wouldn’t be needing to bake any more cookies that weekend, or maybe for days to come. The thought made me swallow hard. This was so bad, but I couldn’t waste a moment thinking about it or I was sunk.
“The Mountie came by looking for you.”
“Good.” I gritted my teeth. “I’d like a word with him as well. Have you seen Boyd Thompson or Fred Smith?”
“Haven’t seen Boyd all day, but Fred walked by about five minutes ago. Headed due south.”
“Hold the fort. I’m going after him.”
“Why?”
But I didn’t take the time to answer, hearing the darn clock ticking relentlessly in my mind again. Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick tock.
Of course, I didn’t make it, getting confronted by the Mountie soon as I stepped away from the booth. What special ability does he have? X-ray friggin’ vision?
“Charm. I need to talk with you.”
His pleasant demeanour looked like it had headed south as well. I crossed my arms over my chest and gave him a full-on glare, double what I had blessed my auntie with moments ago. And she’d better be headed for Winterville right now or so help me!
“I take it you’ve heard the result of the diagnostics on the jam and on Mrs. Hurst.”
“I have.” My teeth began to hurt from the pressure. I eased up on the biting down.
“There was enough cyanide in the jar of jam to take down an ornery buffalo.”
“Well, Mrs. Hurst was pretty darn ornery. I’m surprised it was enough.” My sharp tongue was known for making a bad situation so much better. Not.
He took off his hat and rubbed the back of his neck then plunked his headgear down again, twisting his full lips into a grimace.
“I need to ask you some questions.”
“Okay. And I need to speak with someone. Can I get back to you later?”
His eyes narrowed to slits.
“I won’t be long. It’s really, really important. And where can I go anyway? I promise, I’ll be right back to talk. On this spot.” I pointed to the space under my feet. “I just need five minutes. Have a cookie or three on me.”
“Okay. I’ll give a fellow science nerd a break. Just this once. But if you’re not back here in ten, I’ll be coming after you.”
“Fine.” I hurried off, aware every person at the fair was watching us intently. Heading toward the south end of the fair, I kept swinging my head back and forth, peering into the booths and games of chance, searching for Fred Smith, our town banker.
I spied him in deep conversation with Boyd Thompson. Somehow Tulip had missed Boyd, the owner of Boyd’s Wheels, entering the fair. But thank you, goddess. Two for the price of one.
I skipped over to the shady tent set up as a place for people to take a break. Picnic tables lined the space. Most weren’t occupied, and Fred and Boyd had one all to themselves.
“Hi, guys. How’s it going?” I sat down beside Fred on the bench, giving the two men the sweetest smile I could paste onto my twitchy lips. My stomach roiled, not pleased at all with the outcome of this day.
“I’m surprised to see you, Charm. Have you spoken to the new constable yet? He’s looking for you,” Boyd asked, his tone nervous and annoyed.
It was all I could do not to scream that the sky was falling in. “Thanks. I’ll catch up with him.”
I reached across Fred the Banker to nab a few unshelled peanuts from the dish, clutching at his forearm in the process. When I closed my eyes, a vision came to the forefront of my mind. My first lucky break. Fred was thinking about recent events. He was feeling relieved, happy Mrs. Hurst was gone, but he had no idea how it had happened. He thought I had done it. I took a deep breath, feeling tainted by the unspoken accusation. Why was he so happy that Mrs. Hurst had been murdered? That didn’t make any sense—he stood to lose business when her assets were divided up among her living relatives. Okay, who stood to gain by this? Following the money trail usually revealed the culprit. I ignored that this would again point a finger at my best friend. Surely others would benefit from the estate as well?
“You okay, Charm? You look a little pale,” Boyd asked.
“Sure, I’m fine.” I unshelled a peanut like I had not a care in the world, popping the nut into my mouth. I chewed and swallowed. It tasted like dirt.
I stood up and groaned. “Oh, actually, not feeling quite right here.” I swayed, praying the right man came to my aid.
Fred leaped to his feet, steadying my elbow with his hand, repeating, “You okay, Charm?”
Well, Boyd was no gentleman, I’d give him that. He continued sitting, watching the show, munching on peanuts. It explained his three divorces, though. He also had an iffy reputation
as a car dealer out to make a buck any way he could—probably to pay all that alimony.
“Yes, I’m fine now, thanks. I should be going.”
With a target on my back, I stepped away from the men.
“Do you think she did it?” Boyd asked Fred while I was still within earshot, further endearing himself to me.
I stomped back to our booth.
The lawman waited, standing straight as an arrow beside Tulip, who was busy chewing on her fingernails, a habit she’d given up years ago. Right then, what I wouldn’t have given for a quick stress releaser. I didn’t smoke and didn’t drink, which didn’t leave much except burying myself in a good book. Later, I promised myself.
I strode right up to him, my fingers twitching. “With a staggering two billion trillion possible Earth-sized planets orbiting a sun-like star in the visible universe, you just had to walk into my backyard.”
“Not much choice, darlin’,” he said with a chuckle, tipping his hat back to observe me with a half-grin. “I go where I’m needed. So, about that little talk? Here or down at the station?”
“Here’s fine. Come on.” I led the way back to the curtained-off partition of our booth.
I gestured for him to precede me.
“After you,” he said, sweeping off his hat and stepping in behind me.
I sat down on a chair and he did likewise. Face-off.
“Did you spread the rumor about our jam being poisoned?”
“As it happens, I did not. But it’s not a rumor.” His voice turned solemn. “Now I need to know who had access to the jam?”
“It was perfectly fine before Mrs. Hurst took it. The adding of cyanide must have happened after it left our place. She had a string of visitors that afternoon. Any one of them could have laced it with the poison. I’m working on it. I’ll figure out who did this. You can take that to the bank.”
“I will be the one investigating this, Miss McCall. It’s my job.” The stern look accompanying the warning did not sit well with me.
“I know this town. I can find out more in an hour than you’ll find out all day long. In fact, I already know one suspect who didn’t do it. The banker, Fred Smith. I’ve been able to rule him out.”