All's Fairy in Love and Murder

by K. M. Waller

  I remembered Agent Fisher telling me that ongoing investigation information had to be kept secret. “Should he have told you all that?”

  “I have my ways of getting people to talk.” She sat back, satisfaction radiating from her as we all soaked her words in.

  Emory tsked. “That’s quite bold of her to keep all that evidence right there in her office.”

  Allondra shoulder’s shook with a humorless chuckle. “Criminals aren’t smart. I watch those late-night drama reenactments on ID Discovery and the police always catch up with the crazies.”

  “Do you think they’ll do one of those made for tv movies here?” Emory asked.

  I sat back and toyed with the edge of the teacup in front of me. I should have felt something more like relief at the capture of John’s murderer, but instead something didn’t sit right in my gut. One thing I’d learned in the past few days is that nothing was uncomplicated when it came to humans and their actions. If Mayor Caldwell had been the one to falsify the receipts to steal the petty cash and had the cash in her office, why wouldn’t she hand it over to Vinnie when he threatened her with the gun?

  Allondra poured hot water in her cup and added a tea steeper. “The city council will need to hold special elections, and soon. We don’t have a mayor or deputy mayor anymore.”

  Gladys nodded in agreement. “The mayor’s crime spree took out a third of the mayor’s office in one swoop.”

  “Well, I never.” Emory pointed outside of the café.

  Dr. Caldwell and Brianna walked hand-in-hand down the sidewalk.

  “Brianna didn’t waste any time, did she?” Gladys asked. “She’ll have Dr. Fool Around divorced and remarried before Mayor Caldwell’s trial begins.”

  “Those two deserve each other,” Emory added.

  Allondra placed a hand on her chest. “I just had the worst thought. What if they cancel the May Day Festival? I’ve so been looking forward to the pet psychic tent, Juniper.”

  In all the excitement I’d forgotten about faking a psychic talent. “Ladies, I have a confession to make.”

  Gladys narrowed her eyes at me. “We don’t need any more confessions. We chose you for our tent and you’re going to be there to talk to some dogs.”

  I nodded, deciding it was wise not to go against Gladys and her gossip club. “Of course I will.”

  I’d already faked being human for a couple of days, I guess I could fake talking to pets too.

  Emory patted my hand. “I found the perfect outfit for you in the back of my closet. An old Halloween costume I’d worn in the 50s. I’ll drop it off at Mossy’s before tomorrow afternoon.”

  “Sounds fun,” I said. It really did. I looked forward to spending my final night in Lilac Cove with my new friends.

  We finished our tea and gossip and shortly after I returned to Fairyland Flowers to assist Mossy with customers for the rest of the day.

  After she locked the door at six, she turned to me with a smile. “We haven’t had a proper dinner since you’ve been here. And since I don’t cook other than with a microwave, I’ve decided to take you out.”

  We headed toward her car and before we could get inside the clunky monster, a Lilac Cove police car pulled in beside it. Chief Rayburn exited. He came around the side of Mossy’s car and gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze.

  “Juniper, the mayor is asking to see you.”

  “What? Why?”

  He glanced up and down the sidewalk to make sure no passersby were within earshot. “She’s admitting to hiring the hitman and then canceling after she lost her nerve last minute, but she says she didn’t kill John Bleaker. She thinks you can use your psychic abilities to prove her innocence.”

  Mossy shook her head hard, her silver hair whipping around her face. “Juniper has done enough. It’s your job now, Greg, to finish this thing up.”

  “I really don’t know what more I could do,” I added.

  “I thought as much but now I can go back and tell her you said no.”

  “Can I ask one question, Chief Rayburn?” I continued when he nodded. “How did John know about her plan to hire a hitman?”

  “Now, keep this to yourself. She used her laptop to contact the man she hired. John somehow found it and planned to show to the FBI agent. Best we can figure, she killed him to get it back. She’s denying all of it though.”

  Mossy wrapped an arm around my shoulder. “She’s obviously a very troubled woman.”

  “She’s grasping at straws now that she’s caught,” the chief agreed. “She’s going to prison for a very long time. We’re releasing John’s remains to his family in a few days. They plan to have the funeral out of state.”

  Mossy dropped her arm and I could sense that she had some unfinished business with John.

  Chief Rayburn headed to his car and gave a short wave goodbye.

  “Still want to go out for dinner?” Mossy asked.

  I noted she tried to add cheerfulness to her voice but failed.

  “Actually, I’d prefer it you microwaved me something and we chatted about all the years we haven’t been together.”

  She smiled. “Let’s do that.”

  Chief Rayburn backed out his police cruiser and headed in the direction of the police station. Weird that the mayor thought that I could or would help her.

  I followed Mossy through the shop and into her apartment. She removed the frozen waffles from her freezer. “This is all I have, I’m afraid.”

  “That’s fine.” I opened Pip’s cage and he joined us at the table.

  Mossy heated the waffles in the toaster and placed plates, forks, and a bottle of syrup on the table.

  When she put the waffles on our plates and sat down opposite me, I took the opportunity to ask her questions that she’d been good at avoiding the past few days. “Why did you send John the flowers?”

  She forked a piece of waffle into her mouth and chewed slowly.

  I tore a piece of my waffle, handing it to Pip and waited.

  She put her fork down. “I saw him in the park a few days ago. He looked troubled, and I always hated the way we’d ended our relationship. I didn’t speak to him but I wish now that I had. Sending flowers was my way of saying hello, I guess.”

  “Why did your relationship end?” I pushed even though it wasn’t my business.

  “John snooped into everything and when you’re a banished fairy, that snooping isn’t a good thing. He found a small packet of fairy dust that I’d kept for emergencies and…”

  A pink blush started on her chest.

  “And?” I asked.

  “He thought it was drugs and flushed it down the toilet.”

  I snorted a laugh and put my hand over my mouth. “Oh my. All that magic dust in the sewage system.”

  She nodded, a smile forming on her lips. “John had strong morals and most people don’t know this but he dumped me on the spot. He gave me a few rehab pamphlets and suggested I get my life right.”

  “Ouch.”

  “Surprisingly, he didn’t tell anyone.”

  “Is that why you were acting suspicious about his death and not wanting me to get involved?” I asked.

  She picked up her fork and started eating again. “If I say yes, can we move on to another conversation? I’d really like to hear more about your best friend Iris and this captain of the guard that is courting you.”

  I still had many questions about Mossy’s life after leaving the kingdom, but I respected her enough to back off. Pip nudged my hand, and I gave him another piece of waffle.

  The rest of the evening we spent time as a reunited aunt and niece should, talking boyfriends and shoes and making promises we’d find a way to stay in touch when my time there ended.

  After Mossy crawled into bed and the snoring began, I settled with Pip on the sofa. He settled near my shoulder and nuzzled my neck.

  “Everything seems to have turned out happily ever after,” I whispered to him. But the messy, complicated lives of humans seemed anything but
that. At least I could go home knowing I’d done my best to clean up the mess I’d created.

  Chapter Seventeen

  The next morning, I regarded myself in Mossy’s mirror. I looked ridiculous. Absurd, one could even say.

  “Come out and let us see, my dear.” Mossy called from the other side of the screen. She and Emory waited for me to show off my pet psychic costume.

  I wore a thick black curly wig with a shiny scarf that had fake gold coins hanging on my forehead. A matching necklace with the fake gold coins stacked in rows hung from my neck. The white off the shoulders blouse sleeves ballooned all the way to my wrists. The long red skirt stopped above my ankles and I had three scarves in pink, yellow, and blue tied at my waist.

  Gladys had stopped by to do my makeup and she’d drawn thick black eyebrows that gave me a look of constant surprise. She’d set the look with bright red lipstick.

  But the worst of the costume were the faux fairy wings Mossy had asked me to clip on my back. She’d insisted that if I were going to help the gossip club with their tent, I could at least assist with promoting her business by wearing the wings. I didn’t connect the two and figured she only did it as a joke to see me squirm.

  “Please don’t let the fairy godparents be watching from the fountain,” I whispered into the air.

  I pulled the screen back and gave my audience a twirl. The wings bounced behind me. Emory clapped and Mossy let out a slow wolf whistle.

  “Off to the festival,” Emory said.

  I left Pip’s cage on the counter and gave him a scratch under the chin before securing the door. As much fun as it would be to have him in the tent with me, I didn’t want any of the cats or dogs to scare him.

  We walked out the front door and followed signs pointing toward the May Day Festival.

  The streets around the town square had been marked off for the day and the majority of the vendors set up tents in the park. Mossy stayed behind to capture any customers that would browse the square shops before heading home. She promised she’d check in on me at some point.

  I hoped that meant a rescue.

  Gladys and Allondra waited for us beneath the tent, and I couldn’t hide how impressed I was with the set up. They’d hung red sheets over the tent and had the door secured with velvet ribbons to create an entrance. Mini-lights were hung across the top. A painted sign standing by the entrance said Pet Psychic, $5 to know your pet’s thoughts.

  Inside there were two small tables draped in a white cloth, one with dog treats in a bowl and the other with a fake crystal ball. Allondra had put a picture of Killer inside the fake crystal ball. A larger table sat in the middle with a red tablecloth and two white chairs. Several dog beds were situated around the chairs.

  Oh dear. This was serious. An ache started in the middle of my chest that I recognized to be a bout of anxiety. I hope I didn’t let the gossip trio down.

  “Our first customer,” Allondra said and pushed me toward the chair. She pretended to adjust my head scarf as she whispered, “It’s Molly Fergland’s Chihuahua, Spanky, and he has abandonment issues since she’s gone back to work.”

  A woman with short cropped hair came through the entrance holding her dog who squirmed. He wore a thick knitted sweater and hassled with his tongue hanging out.

  She sat down and I smiled at her. “How can I help you and Spanky today?”

  “Poor Spanky hasn’t been himself lately.”

  “Since you went back to work?” I offered.

  Molly sat a little straighter. “Yes. I put this comfort sweater on him but he’s been very lethargic.”

  I let Spanky sniff my fingers before giving him a soft rub on the head. I reached for a treat and when I offered it to him, he snatched it up. “When did you start putting this sweater on him?”

  She fidgeted with the edge of her dog’s collar. “The night before I started. He’s been wearing it for two weeks.”

  “It’s May and too hot for a dog in Florida to have on a sweater this thick. Take it off and put it in his bedding if you think he really needs it, but nobody wants to run around in this heat with something like that on. I’d be lethargic too.”

  She nodded her head.

  Allondra stood behind her and rolled her hands for me to continue.

  I touched my finger to the tip of his nose as if I could actually absorb his thoughts. “He’s going to miss you no matter what. Give him extra cuddles in the evening when you’re home and he’ll eventually come around to the new routine.”

  Molly thanked me and began pulling the thick sweater off of Spanky before she’d made it out the door.

  Allondra giggled. “One down and we already have a line of five or six customers waiting with their pets. The mysterious events of you popping into town unexpectedly and catching the mayor by talking to a raccoon will make certain that we win Most Donations Received this year.”

  I blew a hard breath and it lifted one of the fake coins off of my forehead.

  Emory leaned in the tent. “Brianna and her poodle B.B. are next.”

  Allondra rolled her eyes. “That poor dog needs a different owner. That’d be the best advice you can give her.”

  “Just because she had an affair with the mayor’s husband?”

  “No, because I hear her yelling at the poor dog all the time.”

  Emory led Brianna and B.B. to the table. B.B. sank down on a pet bed and Brianna snatched the harness with a jerk. “Sit up, B.B., you lazy animal.” She gave me an apologetic shrug. “She’s supposed to be a purebred.”

  “Maybe she just wants to be a dog.” I grabbed two treats from the bowl and tossed them to her. B.B. gobbled them up and sniffed the air searching out more.

  Brianna ignored my comment. “All I need to know is why she’s scared of water.”

  Was Brianna planning a cruise so soon after the mayor’s arrest?

  She held up her cell phone. “Can I take a selfie with you and B.B.?”

  “I don’t think so,” I said.

  At the same time Allondra answered, “Pictures cost extra.”

  Brianna yanked the harness and pulled B.B. over to sit next to me. I let her sniff my hands and I rubbed the top of her fluffy head. She pushed against my hand as if soaking up the much-needed affection. Poor dog. Why have a pet if you didn’t want to give it all the love in the world?

  Brianna pushed her face close to mine and used her thumb to find her camera. As she switched to the right screen, my eye caught a picture. It was the same boat that had been on her screensaver at the mayor’s office. The same boat that had been on the screen saver on the computer on John’s coffee table. The one with the swirly B.

  Weird that their laptops had the same screensaver and she used it for her phone too. But that wasn’t right. The laptop on John’s coffee table was supposed to be the mayor’s that he’d taken from the office. How had that laptop made it back to the mayor’s office and onto Brianna’s desk?

  Brianna took the picture of us and studied it for a few seconds. “I like the way you’re looking over at me in awe. Makes me look important.”

  I didn’t know how to put together what I knew, and as far as motive, means, and opportunity, the mayor did have the three stacked against her. Except, wasn’t Brianna the mayor’s alibi? Had Brianna lied for the mayor and in doing so lied for herself? Would the police question that again?

  Brianna sat opposite me and gestured to B.B. “We’re ready. What’s she saying about me?”

  I toyed with my bottom lip. How could I use B.B. to get answers from Brianna? “B.B. misses your old boyfriend.”

  Brianna rolled her eyes. “John did have a soft spot for her. He spoiled her really. But your new daddy is going to buy us a great big house far away from here.”

  She’d switched her voice to baby talk when she spoke to B.B. about Dr. Caldwell.

  The mention of John hadn’t unnerved her.

  Time to take a bold move. I touched my finger to B.B.’s nose. “B.B. also says that she knows what real
ly happened to John and she’s not happy about it.”

  This bait caught a reaction. Brianna stood and snatched B.B.’s harness, pulling her back. B.B. whined with the force of it.

  “I don’t know what you’re trying to do, you big phony, but this is the second time I’ve had to warn you to mind your own business.” Her face tightened with a hint of quiet rage. “You won’t get a third.”

  She pushed past Allondra and dragged B.B. behind her.

  “What happened there?” Allondra asked.

  Brianna’s motive hit me like I’d hit Vinnie in the face with the fairy dust. With the mayor out of the way she had Dr. Caldwell all to herself. But that didn’t make sense.

  Did she find out that John intended to talk to the FBI about the mayor? I shook my head. The mayor would be out of the way and she’d still have Dr. Caldwell anyway. That didn’t give her a reason to kill John. What would he know about Brianna that would be worth killing for?

  “Hon, you’re starting to worry me,” Allondra said.

  “Does Brianna own a sailboat?” I asked.

  Emory poked her head in and sniffed. “She doesn’t have the money for that. She’d have to rob somebody blind.”

  “But what if she did? Where would she keep it?” I stood up and took the wig and scarf off. “The sailboat, I mean.”

  “There’s a boat dock not far from the beach,” Allondra said. “There are a handful of boats in the boat slips.”

  “What’s the fastest way to get to the boat dock?” All the clues were floating around in my head, but I needed to see the boat to know if I was right before I called Chief Rayburn.

  “What about our booth?” Gladys came into the tent.

  Emory shushed her. “She’s using her psychic stuff right now. We’ll worry about the booth later. Follow your instincts, girl.”

  I rushed out of the tent and the first person I ran into was Callan. He gave me a frown. “Olivia is missing the festival because of you.”

  I grabbed his shoulders. “I know and I’m really sorry, but right now I need to get to the boat dock.”

  “I walked to the square. My truck is at home.” He pulled my hands away from him. “What’s wrong?”