Monique was teetering on 4-inch heels. The motorcycle jacket and leather mini-skirt would have looked great on a woman with curves, but she pulled it off like Bad News Barbie Develops an Eating Disorder. Her attire usually dictated the kind of man she was after so her sights seemed set on a biker or a parole officer. Take your pick.
She slid a glance our way, verifying the local Avon lady was still driving the latest model Mercedes.
"So Monica," Cin called.
Here we go.
"What corner you on tonight? Maybe I could shoot you some business."
Cinnamon grinned wide. Monique turned around and put her elbows on the counter, pointing her fake missiles at us.
"Same corner your husband picked me up on, honey," Monique fired back.
Cinnamon jumped off her stool and Monique sprang to attention.
The bell on the door clanged then and in walked Tony. He had a smile on his face until he saw who was in the coffee shop. Then he froze. I'm pretty sure he would have bolted too if it weren't for what happened next.
I slid off my chair, not sure what the hell I was going to do, but on point just the same.
I was relieved to see Iris circle around the front of the counter until she pulled out a notepad and perched on a stool.
My cousin was a foot in front of me. I reached for her arm hoping to calm her down, but instead I knocked my coffee over and it splattered onto my shirt.
HOT! I danced around, blotting up what I could with a fistful of napkins. Cin took advantage of my weakness and lunged.
Monique must have seen it coming because she plucked a jumbo muffin from the cake stand and shoved it in Cin's face without blinking.
Cinnamon tried to shake it off, but Monique must have smashed it in real good. Cin's vision was impaired so when Tony tried to help her she didn't realize it was him through the bits of chocolate chips and muffin crumbs stuck to her eyelids. She punched him right in the jaw.
Or maybe she did know it was him, I couldn't be sure.
Tony flew back and brought down the rope that served to keep customers in line. The garbage can broke his fall.
I stepped over Tony, ready to pull Monique out of the coffee shop by her cotton candy hair, but I missed and she darted out.
So instead, I leaped to my cousin's aid.
"Cin, are you all right?" I gently placed my hand on her shoulder.
"That bitch! Where is she?" She flung her head from side to side, sailing muffin bits into the air. "Did I get her?"
"No," Tony yelled, rising to his feet. "You hit me."
Cinnamon pried muffin chunks from her eyes. "Tony, what the hell are you doing here anyway? You know I come here every morning. Why is that so hard to remember?"
"Oh, so that means I can't be here then?" he asked.
"Um, actually," I interrupted, "that was part of the agreement." Cinnamon made me draw it up and serve as witness while they both signed off.
"Jeez Fine, I give up." Tony threw his arms in the air. He straightened out the rope and righted the garbage can.
Cinnamon stormed off toward the bathroom.
Tony blanched like a scolded puppy.
"You okay?" I asked. His jaw was red where Cin had hit him. "You better put some ice on that."
"It's been a year," Tony said. "She still hates me."
"She doesn't hate you." I hugged him. "She just hasn't forgiven you yet."
I helped Tony clean up the mess and apologized to Iris. Iris assured me that it was all worth it thanks to the column she would get from the scene. Tony limped out the door, holding his jaw and I went to see if my cousin needed help.
I knocked on the bathroom door. "Cinnamon, spice and everything nice?" I called, using my pet phrase for whenever she got into a scuffle.
Cin creaked the door open, her eyes downcast. Most of the muffin mash was gone. “That wasn’t too smooth of me, was it?”
“Not your best moment,” I agreed. “But hey, we all crack up once in a while. According to my calculations, you were due.”
I helped her clean up, gave her my best comforting hug and a pep talk. She seemed well enough for public consumption by the time we left the restroom.
Gus was in line when we walked back to the front of the shop.
“Hi, Cinnamon. Can I buy you a cup of coffee?” he asked.
He seemed oblivious to the crumbs in her hair and the chocolate stains on her shirt.
Cin held up her hand. “No thanks.”
She was heading home to shower and change and I was off to see Birdie.
“How’s Birdie, Gus?” I asked.
“Oh, she’s doing just fine. Scully’s there with her. I’m just about to head back myself. I gave her extra pillows and blankets and everything. She's doing just fine. Honest," said Gus.
I asked if I could hitch a ride with him back to the station to see her and he agreed.
Gus escorted me through the little gate back at the police station, steering me in the opposite direction as the interrogation room Birdie was in earlier.
My grandmother was sitting on a wide bench, her skirt spilled around her. Her right foot was propped up and her eyes were closed as if she were meditating.
"I thought you said Scully was with her?" I asked Gus.
Gus bobbed his head, blinked, and said, "Shoot."
He spun around to hurry back down the hallway just as Leo rounded the corner. Scully shuffled in front of him carrying a six-pack of Budweiser.
"Gus, did you lose something?" asked Leo, hands outstretched. His face was hard and his tone sharp. I was glad it wasn't me he was mad at, although it did boost his sex appeal.
Scully sucked on a beer.
"Give me that," said Leo, yanking the can from his hand.
"Hey!" Scully shielded the rest of his beer.
"You let him just walk out of here," Leo said to Gus.
I laughed and snorted a little.
"What's so funny?" Leo asked me.
"Oh come on. It’s just Scully," I said.
"I came back, though," Scully mumbled to Leo, hunched over and clutching the six-pack.
"Yes and you brought back beer," Leo said. "You were in for public intoxication and you went on a beer run?"
He had a point.
"Don't matter. I came back." Scully did not see the problem.
"Get in." Leo thumbed towards the cell and held out his hand for Scully to turn over the six-pack.
Birdie chimed in then. "Don't you have somewhere else you could put him? No offense Scully, but you snore."
Scully bowed his head. "None taken, ma'am."
I said. "Why don't I pay his fine and maybe Gus could drive him home?"
"That sounds fair," said Gus, nodding.
Leo glared at Gus and turned to me. "When did you earn a badge?”
"Gee, Leo, you forgot to say, 'I'm the law in these here parts'," I said.
Gus laughed.
Leo clenched his jaw. "No. I enforce the law. I don’t pull strings for anyone, unlike some people.”
"What are you talking about?" I asked.
Birdie walked over to the bars.
"I just got a call from your friend the judge," Leo said. He cocked his head towards the cell. "She's out if you can pull together ten grand. No bond hearing necessary."
"Anastasia," Birdie said. Her eyes shot arrows at me.
Leo's eyes were still on me, giving me a look usually reserved for parents of wayward children. I had completely forgotten that I asked Cinnamon to find Birdie a lawyer. I guess she decided to skip the middle man.
"Gus, take Scully home,” Leo said. Then he strolled back down the hallway without another word.
Birdie grabbed me by my jacket collar and dragged me forward. She slid the door open and pulled me inside. Apparently Gus had left it unlocked. I’d have to remember that if I ever got arrested.
"Ow, stop it," I said.
"Sit down. You and I need to have a chat."
I sat on the bench and lifted my eyes t
o Birdie towering over me, completely confused. What the hell did I do? She’s the one in jail for attempted murder.
"How dare you call Judge Kellerman," she spat. "Do you want to destroy your uncle's good name and the family's reputation in this town? The Geraghtys have never called in a favor. Not once. We take care of business on our own terms. And that includes abiding Celtic law."
Oh hell. Was she serious?
I decided not to throw Cin under the bus. "You'll have to forgive me, Birdie. I left my Celtic law book at home.”
She was itching to pinch me, I could tell. Instead, she threw her arms in the air and leaned against the back wall. I followed her movement with my eyes. "Don't you remember the triads? Words of wisdom for every situation under the sun? Think, Anastasia."
I thought. I thought this whole thing was nuts. What on earth did she want from me?
"Birdie, we are not in the Old Country. We are in the New World and in this century, people who confess to poisoning their ex-spouses call judges and hire lawyers."
She ignored me, paced and began reciting. "No law for the sake of law. Always do right. Responsibility for our actions."
Responsibility for our actions? What was she getting at? Doubt came knocking at the door again.
"Birdie, please tell me you did not harm Gramps."
She rolled her eyes, took a deep breath that sounded a lot like a disappointed sigh. "If I were to poison your grandfather, believe me, he would be dead."
Nice thing to say while you’re stuck in the slammer. No fear, this woman.
"Then why on Earth would you confess?"
"Because there is a danger lurking at our door and the sooner it is sucked out the better off we all will be. What happened to Oscar was no accident, be sure of that. Should whoever made him so sick think that all eyes are on me, that person will grow careless, daring, perhaps try again. That, my dear, is where you come in.”
Oh, this was not good. "What does that mean?"
"It is up to you to find out who hurt your grandfather."
"Birdie, I'm a reporter. I'm not Nancy Drew."
"Nonsense. People will talk to you here. They don’t trust outsiders like Leo. But there will be more to it than just asking questions. You'll have to rely on that intuition you try so hard to shun. Use the magic you were born with.”
The magic I was born with? All I was born with was a grandmother who believed that singing to a pile of burning leaves before the first moon of spring would make the tomatoes grow bigger. "This isn't a game, Birdie. You are in trouble."
She clasped my jaw between her knuckles. “And you, granddaughter, can fix it. Follow the signs. Heed the messages. Darkness is drowned by three lights; nature, knowledge, and truth. Start there."
Once she started speaking like Yoda there was no point in arguing with her.
“Anything else you can tell me? Anyone you think would hurt Gramps?”
“Darling, if I knew that, I wouldn’t be here.”
I passed Leo filling out paperwork on the way out of the police station and paused, but I wasn't sure what to say. So I said nothing and continued towards the door.
"She didn't do it," he said to my back.
I turned around.
"But she's mad as a hatter, so I feel safer with her locked up."
I laughed. "If that's a new law, you don't have enough cells for this town."
We locked eyes and I wondered what it would be like to make out in a holding cell.
"Look, Leo, I didn't mean to offend--" I started.
Leo shook his head. "Let’s forget it. I over-reacted." He stood up and pushed his sleeves past his elbows. I imagined those Popeye forearms wrapped around my waist.
“Maybe you can make it up to me,” I said.
Chapter 12
When I left the police station, dark clouds stained the sky and thunder clapped in the distance. I was on foot and I really didn’t want to get stuck in a downpour so I made my way back to the Black Opal, in hopes of borrowing Cinnamon’s car.
She didn’t hesitate, but she asked if I could do her a favor.
“What do you need?”
I heard a high-pitched yelp and Cin glanced down. "Dammit, Thor, if you wouldn't sneak under there I wouldn't step on your tail." Cin looked back at me. "Lately, he’s been afraid of thunderstorms."
I raised my eyebrows. Thor. God of thunder. Afraid of thunderstorms.
"I'm aware of the irony," she said.
I leaned over the bar and peered down. "Hey, Thor. How's my good boy?"
Thor's ears perked up and he hoisted his massive head. He scrambled to rise to his feet when he saw me and his tail wiped out a shelf of wine glasses.
"Dammit, Thor," Cin said.
"Hey, bartender," shouted a man a few feet down. "I've been waiting here for ten minutes trying to get a drink."
"Oh yeah?" Cin turned to face him. "Why don't you make a complaint on my website? It’s kissmyass.com."
The man huffed away and she turned back to me. "Stacy, can you do me a huge favor? Can you please take Thor home? He keeps getting under my feet. I don’t know what the deal is, but he just won’t go lie down. I'll pick him up later."
"Sure, I can do that," I scratched Thor's back. Thunder erupted and he ducked his head under a barstool.
"Thanks. I better go," Cinnamon hurried away.
The crowd parted as Thor led the way and we headed for the back door.
I heard a noise near a dumpster, then voices. I loaded Thor into Cin’s Trans Am and slammed the door. Then a head popped out from around the corner and there was Pearl’s niece puffing away on a cigarette, chatting on a cell phone.
I thought she was into natural healing?
“Hi there,” I said. “Didn’t know they made holistic cigarettes.”
Gretchen forced a smile. “It’s my one vice, what can I say?”
Something was nagging me about that woman but damned if I could nail it down. Thor began barking and clawing at the window as lightning streaked the sky.
“Nice seeing you again,” I climbed into the car before Thor tore the seat apart.
A few drops of rain splashed the windshield as I headed toward the grocery store before going home. As soon as I pulled into the parking lot, the downpour began. I told Thor not to worry, that I’d be right back and hoped for the best.
I dashed through the doors and headed for the produce section where I ran into Ed.
"Hi, Stacy.” He was a little more rumpled than he had earlier. More like the Ed who sat on me when I was eight years old and tried to lick my face. That was how he got the scar on his forehead. I had gripped a fallen tree limb and clobbered him with it. To this day, I can't drive through a carwash.
He assessed his rain-slicked slacks and rumpled shirt. He gave me a small smile. "Delivery came in late," he said.
"Hope you have a mop," I said, pointing to the muddy mess accumulating around his black buckled shoes.
"Cleanup on aisle one, as they say.” He ran a hand through his damp hair. “So Stacy, how about we grab a cup of coffee and catch up?”
What was with this guy? We weren’t exactly friends. Why was he acting so chummy? “Maybe some other time, Ed.”
“Shot down again,” he chuckled.
Good grief. “It’s been hectic, that’s all. I won’t have much time to breathe today let alone socialize. After I drop off the groceries, help out the aunts, visit Gramps…I doubt I’ll even get home before midnight.” It was mostly true. “Look, I’m in a hurry.”
Ed stepped aside and swept his arms out in a dramatic gesture. I rolled my eyes, hurried around him and proceeded to power shop. Fifteen minutes later, I was at the checkout counter.
Gladys Sharp, Birdie's neighbor, and Geraghty Girls groupie, was the cashier. I unloaded my groceries and pulled out my wallet, hoping she wouldn’t ask about Birdie.
Gladys totaled up my order and her dentures clicked as she talked. "Shame about your granny." Her Polish accent barely above a whisper.
"Yep," I whispered back.
"You come for tea later, honey, we talk. That cop come around the other day, but I don't tell him nothing." She swiveled her head and made a spitting gesture. "But you," she waved her finger at me, "you I tell."
Tell? Tell me what? Did Gladys know something about Gramps? Or was she just being gossipy? Either way, I decided to take her up on her offer and made plans to stop by her house when her shift ended. She handed me my change and I grabbed the bags and rushed out the door into the rain. Thor seemed content as I shoved the groceries onto the passenger seat of Cin’s car, and I wondered if he was really afraid of storms or my cousin. He lifted his giant snout into the air, sniffed once, then laid his thick head back down on the leather seat.
Back at the cottage, I made Thor sit and wait while I retrieved a towel to dry the both of us. I patted my legs and arms down first, then I ran it along Thor, vigorously rubbing his fur dry. Moonlight came around the corner as I was digging the mud from the dog's paws. He took one look at the Great Dane, hissed and froze in place. His back arched. Thor barked.
"Listen, you two. You're going to have to get along," I said.
Thor considered this for a moment. Then he darted past me and into the bedroom. Moonlight relaxed a little and tentatively stepped in the direction of the dog.
Gladys Sharp stood on her front porch waving as I approached her quaint little miner’s cottage a short time later. The rain had stopped and the sky was trying to open up to the sun.
"Come," was all she said.
I folded myself into a wooden chair painted with daisies. The kitchen was small but charming, with red and white polka dot curtains and placemats to match.
Gladys set a tea tray down on the center of the table with cream, honey, two mugs and a basket of lemon squares.
"I make myself," said Gladys, beaming. Her eagerness to chat hinted at few visitors.
I took a bite out of a lemon square and smiled at my hostess. "Delicious," I lied. They tasted like frosted cardboard.
She poured two cups of tea and after we both spruced up our mugs, I sat back and smiled at Gladys.
"So what did you want to tell me?" I asked.
"I listen, you know. I hear things." She tapped her ear for emphasis. I didn't doubt that one bit. Her house was situated in such a way that she could see into half the bedrooms on the block.
Witch Way To Amethyst: The Prequel (A Stacy Justice Mystery Book 0) Page 7