by Tonya Kappes
“She invited me to supper at her hotel tonight and she was all over my lipstick. I thought it would be a nice gesture to take her a tube or two for inviting me.” I leaned up against the bathroom door between the bathroom and her room and watched her put her sling-back black heels on.
“Sure. I have some in my bag or if you want you can come by the office after you leave the diner and I’ll get a basket of goodies together.” Lilith stood up.
“That’s great.” I would definitely get on Angela’s good side, even though she really didn’t want to invite me. I was just in the right place when she asked and she had too good of southern manners not to invite me.
Lilith and I headed downstairs just as there was a loud banging on the door.
“Can I help you?” I asked in a sarcastic tone when I flung the door open and nearly missed receiving the palm of Mrs. Hubbard on my face where the door had been. Her hair was spun tight around several pink sponge curlers all over her head. She had on her khaki pants and today she wore a white cardigan as her choice of color.
“Where is that sister of yours?” Mrs. Hubbard spat.
“She went to work.” I pulled the door tight to my body so Lilith could slip by and head down the hall and out the back door to escape Mrs. Hubbard. “Aren’t you coming to the diner this morning?”
“I am, but your sister did something to my Brian.” She pointed to her house.
Brian Mingo was lying in the middle of the green between our houses. His clothes looked like they’d been clawed up and he was passed out.
“Why on Earth would you say that?” I asked.
“When I found him a minute ago, he was muttering Lilith’s name and told me she was a tigress. Then he passed out again.” She huffed and puffed. “My Brian is a high profile art dealer from New York City.”
“Yeah, you told me.” I glanced back over at Brian a little thankful that Lilith didn’t put a full twenty-four hour spell on him because Mrs. Hubbard would’ve been going nuts looking for him.
“You have no regard for real jobs.” Her eyes narrowed. “I want to talk to your mom.”
“I’m sorry, Mom is still asleep and Auntie already left for The Brew.” I noticed Auntie’s bike was already missing from the front porch where she parked it every day after she got home from work.
She claimed it was good cardio exercise, but that didn’t make much sense to me since the bike flew in the air like a broom. Granted, she pedaled it in the air, but not enough to get any exercise. It wasn’t my place to argue with her. After all, she was a couple hundred years old.
“Something needs to be done about this.” Mrs. Hubbard pointed to him just as Susie Brown and the group of other women who lived on Belgravia Court who loved to walk early in the morning nearly fell over each other looking at Brian lying on the grass among the leaves.
“Good morning, Gladys.” Susie Brown walked in place but stood at the bottom of my porch with Shay Hannagan taking a much longer gander at Brian. The rest of the women continued to walk ahead. “What is your nephew doing in the middle of Belgravia Court with his clothes all ripped up?”
“Why do you think I’m over here this morning?” Mrs. Hubbard jutted a finger at me.
“I didn’t do anything to him.” I pulled my hand up to my chest.
“I told you Susie, there is something strange about this family.” She looked over at Shay. “Stop looking at him.”
“He looks drunk to me.” Shay trotted over to us.
“He’s not. He’s a big art dealer. . .” her lips pursed when Susie Brown finished her sentence.
“From New York City. Yes, Gladys, you’ve told us a million times.” Susie’s brows cocked. “You left out the part where he is a drunk from New York City.”
“Yes, I heard there are a lot of drunks and homeless people in New York City,” Shay noted, keeping her eyes on Brian.
“He’s not drunk or homeless!” Mrs. Hubbard’s voice cracked as it escalated. She scurried back down the steps and gave Brian a nudge with her foot.
He rustled a little before she bent down and gave him an earful of something.
He stood up and stumbled over to her house and up her steps, but not without King taking a chunk out of his ankle.
Chapter Seven
“Good morning, Maggie.” Vinnie greeted me when I got into the car. “Your mother put a bag of herbs on the seat that Meme is going to need for the daily specials. She said that you were sleeping when she finished making them and didn’t want to disturb you.”
“Thanks.” I glanced over at the passenger seat. Instead of seeing herbs, I imagined Mick.
“Maggie, where is your mind this morning?” Vinnie asked and pulled out of the garage and down the alley.
“I can’t help but think about Mick and if SKUL uncovered anything about those women.” I watched as Vinnie’s circuit went nuts, rolling red lights back and forth.
“I don’t know what SKUL uncovered, but I came up with a list of women Agent Jasper has been associated with in more than a friendly manner.” Vinnie’s voice was static. “I must warn you that it’s a pretty extensive list.”
“Why would you warn me?” I asked brushing him off.
“Because I know you, Maggie Park and that heart of yours gets in the way every time.” I hated it when Vinnie was right.
I was definitely attracted to Mick Jasper when I first met him at the diner before I’d even tried to put the spell on him that night at The Derby.
“We are partners. My Life’s Journey.” I knew Vinnie knew my words were my cover, but if I said them enough, my ear might help my brain to believe them.
“The women that have been murdered were in the same order as Mick had dated them. I’m wondering if you need to see the next woman on the list and warn her.” Vinnie had a good point. It couldn’t hurt and it might give Burt a good lead to check into.
“Who is she and what is her address?” I asked and noticed Auntie’s bike pulled up in front of the diner and the lights in the kitchen were burning bright behind the dark dining area.
“Angela Fritz.” Vinnie’s words stopped my heart.
“No,” I said in astonishment. “He didn’t date her.”
“Oh, he did.” Vinnie put up all sorts of photos of a younger Mick Jasper and a young, but still beautiful Angela Fritz at a couple of parties. “They became very chummy right before Agent Jasper had gone into the Army. They spent a couple of weeks together. In fact, Angela Fritz continued to mail Agent Jasper while he was overseas in Iraq.”
“What happened to their relationship?” I didn’t want to really know the answer but I knew I had to in order to figure out what was going on.
“Agent Jasper came back after his tour of duty and became part of Interpol and that’s how he landed right back at home as an agent for SKUL.” Vinnie shut off his engine. His circuit board shut down.
“You. . .” I waved my fist at him. He knew he’d given me a lot of information to chew on until I could do something about it.
I didn’t know Mick Jasper at all. All I figured was that he was my Life’s Journey and the rest would fall into place. Sure, I’d changed records of my history so SKUL could hire me as the civilian consultant, but I’d been completely relaxed on who I was actually working with.
“Good morning.” I walked into the kitchen where Auntie Meme was standing in front of the stove watching the ladle go around and around in circles.
I gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.
“Is Gladys on her way?” Auntie Meme asked.
“I’m not sure. She’s pretty mad at Lilith.” I handed Auntie the baggie full of herbs Mom had left in Vinnie.
She took the bag.
“Fill up a couple of pots of water and stick them on the stove,” she instructed me.
“What about the condiments?” I asked about the tables in the diner.
She clapped a couple of times above her head.
“Done.” She went back to the herbs.
“But you don
’t let me use magic,” I reminded her.
“Well, you don’t have Gladys Hubbard standing over your shoulder while you try to cook either.” She scooted her finger at me and the pots to hurry up.
I did what she told me to do and watched as she sprinkled some of the herbs in each pot. Instantly the water turned into delicious stacks of all different pancakes, bacon, sausage, the mini-cakes Mrs. Hubbard made, and many more different breakfast items.
While I took the orders and served the food, Auntie would look as if she were cooking more breakfast items, but really she’d be working on the lunch specials at that time.
I took the plated cakes into the diner and put them on the platter underneath the glass dome.
Mrs. Hubbard had her nose pressed up against the diner’s front door with her hands over her eyes, looking in.
“Mrs. Hubbard is here,” I said and walked to the door to let her in.
“You’ve already been busy.” She harrumphed and waddled back to the kitchen.
There was a rumble of words between the two enemies. Mrs. Hubbard was mad that Auntie had already made the cakes and Auntie was fussing about how Mrs. Hubbard was late. Mrs. Hubbard followed up with how she wouldn’t have been late if it weren’t for Lilith and her desire to snatch up the most eligible bachelor in New York City. Auntie said that Lilith wouldn’t waste her gorgeous time on someone who liked to play with crayons.
It went back and forth until the first customer came into the diner.
“Have a seat anywhere,” I yelled over my shoulder as I rolled up on my toes to turn on the TV that was hanging on the wall behind the counter.
Our regulars loved to watch TV and catch up on the news as they ate their food and drank their coffee.
“I’ll have my regular,” Joe Farmer said and eased onto his stool. He was sweet on Auntie Meme. “Don’t forget to give me the aprons before I leave.”
Joe was the owner of Farmer’s Dry Cleaners down the street and he did all of The Brew’s laundry for free since he was trying to score a date with Auntie. I’ve tried to persuade him to find other women, but he insisted Auntie would give in one day. So every day he was generally the first person at the diner and kept an eye on Auntie and if any man tried to compliment her on her cooking, Joe would eyeball them.
“Sherry.” I was a bit shocked to see Sherry walking into the diner and not at SKUL.
The last time she’d been here, I’d taken her spot on the SKUL investigation team where she was to play the role of Mick’s wife but someone on the bad side knew her from school. Needless to say, Burt had her work my shift at the diner while I worked at SKUL. Of course, Auntie put a spell on Sherry to be a good worker and not have to train her. But what was she doing here now?
“Can I get you something?” I asked as she took a stool at the counter at the opposite end of the counter from Joe.
“I’ll take a coffee and have a talk with you.” She glanced around. She had on her usual SKUL outfit. Blue trouser pants, gun in her holster, badge on her belt, and a white button down neatly tucked in.
Auntie stuck her head through the window. Joe straightened up on the stool in anticipation that Auntie would give him the time of day, but when she only addressed me, he slumped back down.
“What’s she doing here?” Auntie asked with a critical tone.
“I don’t know. Give me a couple biscuits and gravy, hold the spell,” I warned Auntie Meme. I grabbed the coffee pot and moseyed over Sherry’s way.
“Shucks,” she grumbled and disappeared back into the kitchen.
That was how the food at The Brew worked. Auntie used magic to make the best food. She put a little spell into each order that left the customer full from not just filling their belly, but with a full heart of joy and happiness. That was her Life’s Journey. To keep the citizens of Louisville happy and healthy. She claimed there was so much crime and sadness in the world that it was up to her to bring our part of the world a little peace. It seemed to work for her because we were always busy and most days had a wait list or line out the door.
“Here you go.” I flipped over the white coffee cup in front of her and filled it to the brim. “What’s up?” I asked and nodded at the customers walking in the diner so they knew I saw them.
“I’ve been thinking about Mick.” Her hands curled around the steaming cup of coffee.
I leaned a hip up against the counter. “I’m listening.”
“You and I only want what is best for him since we are his partners.” She was right. “Maggie, he’s in a lot of trouble. Burt sent me a message last night saying he believed the police were going to question Mick and might bring some sort of bogus charge against him to help ease the public’s fear.”
“What?” My jaw dropped.
“Yes. I think that maybe you and I should join forces, without Burt knowing of course, because he’d never go for it.” She was right. Burt wouldn’t want me poking my head around, even though I’d already planned to do so. “I’ll see what I can dig up about the women.”
She slipped a piece of paper across the counter. I picked it up and looked at it.
“What is Diggity Dog and these numbers?” I asked.
“That is my intelligence code and undercover name. Those will help you get into any system with any SKUL computers while you are at the office. It might help with something.” She looked around again. “That’s highly classified and Burt will fire me if he knows I gave that to you.”
Auntie tapped the bell. I tucked the piece of paper in my apron and headed over to the window where Joe’s breakfast was ready along with Sherry’s biscuits and gravy. I grabbed Joe’s plate and stuck it in front of him. I turned around and grabbed Sherry’s, only to turn around to the dinging bell over the door and Sherry walking out.
Chapter Eight
“You mean she just gave you her code?” Vinnie asked on my way over to Mystic Couture to pick up that package from Lilith after I’d cleaned up The Brew after the lunch shift.
“Yes. I thought it was strange too,” I said.
“That was easy.” Vinnie knew I could’ve gotten the code myself if I’d gone to the office and did some witchy things, but this was way better.
I had the piece of paper in my hand and was looking at it as Vinnie zoomed down the street by the river, which was where Mystic Couture’s manufacturing facility was located. I read off the code to Vinnie. He repeated them back to me so he made sure he could process the right information with the code.
“I’m going to go in here and get the package. You process that code.” I got out of the car and headed into the guts of Mystic Couture’s front office.
The chic office was exactly what you’d expect from a fancy company like Mystic Couture and Lilith fit right on in. There was red leather furniture and modern lighting all over the office. The desks weren’t the normal wood, they were translucent and very modern. The designer hit the mark on the head with this cool design.
“Hi there, Maggie.” The receptionist greeted me and immediately picked up the phone to call Lilith.
Within seconds, Lilith had come to the front with a huge basket of Mystic Couture products packaged together in cellophane. Her head peeked around the side of it so she could see where she was going.
“I hope you slam this in her face as soon as she opens the door.” Lilith shoved the basket in my arms.
“Why? What happened?” I asked.
“After we’d gotten the best makeup artist in the world to fly here and do some sort of abstract makeup with the Mystic Couture line because Angela Fritz,” Lilith said her name in a snooty way, “didn’t want to show her real face, so she agreed to this abstract crap and then we got all the products she wanted, which isn’t cheap. We hired the best photographer and the one she recommended all for a no show.”
“No show?” I asked.
“Yeah. No. Show.” Lilith turned on the balls of her feet and waved ’bye over her shoulder.
Angela seemed to be a lot of things, but she
sure did seem to keep her commitments when it came to her job.
I said a quick goodbye to the receptionist and stuffed the basket into Vinnie’s passenger side, which barely fit.
“We need to head straight to the Galt House,” I said as soon as I got inside. “Angela Fritz was a no show.”
“Maybe she had something to do,” Vinnie said, starting his engine.
“Well, I’d like to know what that is. Plus, I’ll give her this basket which will give me the in to ask her about Mick.” I couldn’t help but wonder why Mick had told me he hadn’t dated her when clearly he had. “What did you find out about the codes?”
“Sherry is pretty good at her job. She takes it very seriously. Agent Jasper is her second partner. The first was killed while they were in the middle of an investigation. It took a toll on her and Agent Jasper stepped up to the plate to be her next partner.” Vinnie read off her stats on solving the crimes and her personal stats on our way over to the Galt House.
The Galt House was the most popular hotel in Louisville. It was the official hotel of the Kentucky Derby and most celebrities that visited the area. Angela Fritz was no different.
The open glass dome interior with grey accents was a beautiful backdrop against the sunny, but chilly fall afternoon. There were guests milling around.
“Can I help you?” the concierge asked when he saw my big basket.
“I’m going to see Angela Fritz at the penthouse.” I continued to walk.
“I’m sorry.” He stopped me. Inwardly I groaned knowing I was going to have to use some magic. On him. “You are going to have to leave that with me.”
“I’ve got it. I know Angela.” I smiled and continued to walk.
“And your name?” He scurried next to me on my way to the elevator.
A big huff of air escaped me when I stopped at the elevator. I pulled the basket to the side of my body and blew a steady stream of air out of my mouth and into his face making him become very sleepy. His body slid down the wall and ended up on his butt with his head hung down.