“The police will be here soon,” David said. “They need to know Leticia caused this.”
“I’m shocked none of us spotted her,” Tess added. “That orange hair is hard to miss.”
“She has her hair hidden beneath a white ski cap,” I said. “And she’s dressed as a mime. Scariest-looking mime I’ve ever seen, and they’re already strange looking.”
“The Lake Lady as a mime.” Max whistled. “Now that must be a sight.”
“You think Lake Lady start all the trouble?” Natasha asked me. “That woman with ugly hair? She look like Kikimora.”
David cocked his head at her. “What’s a Kikimora?”
“Is bad spirit. Russian children afraid of Kiki-moras. They are souls of people who drown.”
“Could be why Leticia never goes into the lake,” Dean remarked.
I thought of the drowned nanny and wondered if the guilt of that death had unsettled Leticia’s mind. “Maybe,” I murmured.
“Ms. Jacob, there you are,” Ainsley Sable said as she approached us. “I worried you’d been caught up in that mess in the vendor room. I’m relieved you’re not hurt.” Her husband Patrick accompanied her. They both looked troubled.
“A miracle someone wasn’t killed in there,” Patrick said.
“I’m glad to see you made it out of the vendor room safely, too.” I quickly introduced everyone. When I got to Natasha, she waved her hand.
“I know Sables,” my Russian friend said. “I take charge of their skin care workshop this morning.”
“Ms. Bowman was our moderator. Such colorful comments.” Ainsley’s voice dripped with sarcasm. “My mother-in-law and I learned things about our products that we never knew.”
It sounded like Natasha had chosen to improvise. Half of it was probably in Russian. “How did you make it out of there?” I asked Ainsley.
“I left before anyone saw the smoke,” she explained. “In fact, I had joined my family at the end of the annex. Thank God we were nowhere near that insane mob.”
“If you’d been trapped in the rush for the exits, you might not be so quick to label us insane,” I said with irritation. “Or a mob.”
Ainsley narrowed her eyes at me while Dean said. “We were outside the room where your workshop was scheduled. Piper left as soon as she got your text. She seemed upset.”
“I’m not surprised.” Yet again, I wondered where Piper was.
“I see Chief Hitchcock. I’ll tell him what’s going on.” David hurried off.
“What is going on, Ms. Jacob? And what exactly happened in the vendor room? I demand an explanation.” Since Patrick hadn’t just been crushed by a panicked crowd, I thought his bad mood a tad unjustified.
“They think crazy lady with orange hair start trouble,” Natasha replied. “The Kikimora.”
The Sables looked confused. “What are you talking about?” Ainsley asked.
“It’s nothing,” I said. “We have a town eccentric who likes to pull pranks.”
“Starting a fire is hardly a prank.” Patrick regarded me with disapproval.
“I agree, however—”
“Marlee, I saw the Lake Lady! She was here!” Theo ran up to us. “I was eating my tuna sandwich in the car when I saw her in the parking lot.”
This wasn’t how I wanted the Sables to learn about Leticia. I took Theo’s hand and pulled him close. “I know. I saw her, too. We’ll talk about it later.”
“But the police said to tell them if we saw her,” he insisted. “And she was here. I saw her walk to her scooter. She had white paint on her face.”
“How did you know it was Leticia?” Tess asked.
Patrick and Ainsley looked suddenly alert. “What did you say?” Ainsley asked.
“I asked him how he knew it was Leticia,” Tess told them. “Leticia is one of our more unusual residents. We call her Leticia the Lake Lady because she likes to look at the lake.”
Ainsley gasped, while her husband barked, “Are you certain her name is Leticia?”
“Yes.” Unlike my friends, I understood why the Sables were shocked to hear the name Leticia.
“This is impossible,” Patrick said to his wife, who now wore an expression of dread. “Who would dare be this vicious and unkind?”
Tess shot me a confused look.
“Are you sure it was the Lake Lady, Theo?” Max asked.
“Her hat fell off,” Theo said. “That’s when I saw her orange hair. And only the Lake Lady has hair that color. She drove right past me just as the fire trucks got here.” The mention of the fire trucks made Theo look around. “Is there a fire?”
“We don’t think so,” I reassured him. “Only smoke.”
“If he is speaking about the woman who pulled this so-called prank—a prank that could have gotten people killed!—then I insist you inform the police,” Patrick ordered.
“Does this Leticia person have a last name?” Ainsley’s shock had turned to outrage. “And where does she live? She needs to be arrested.”
“She is Kikimora,” Natasha said in a hushed tone. “It will be hard to arrest her. They travel through keyholes.”
Theo looked disapproving. “No one can do that. You shouldn’t tell lies, Natasha.”
Natasha reeled off something in Russian to him. Given her tone, I’m sure it wasn’t polite.
“Why don’t we let the fire department and the police secure the building first,” Max suggested. “Then we can talk about whoever may have caused it.”
“Did I miss your berry talk, Marlee?” Theo glanced down at his wristwatch. “Am I late?”
“I never got the chance.”
“The building has been evacuated,” Tess said. “If I had to guess, the rest of today’s workshops have been canceled.”
“Postponed. I refuse to cancel a single event.” Piper appeared in our midst looking as aggravated as an avenging angel. For the first time, Piper’s lacquered blond bob was mussed. And her black silk pantsuit wrinkled. I recalled hearing her voice in the vendor room, which meant she’d been trapped in there along with me.
“When am I giving my talk?” I asked her.
“Tomorrow morning at nine o’clock. And if you’d been at the meeting room fifteen minutes early as I requested, you would not have been caught up in the stampede. Instead, I got your text and had to play traffic cop in there. It’s a wonder I wasn’t flattened to the floor.”
“Exactly what was so urgent about Marlee’s text message?” Patrick inquired.
Piper’s severe expression softened at the sight of the Sable couple. “Marlee informed me that a person of interest had been spotted in the vendor room.”
“This Leticia woman, I assume.” Patrick looked angry.
“How do you know about Leticia?” Piper turned to me. “Did you tell him?”
“I didn’t have much choice. Since she’s the person who caused the mayhem in the vendor room, that won’t remain a secret for long. Especially now the police have been called.”
Ainsley cleared her throat. “Is there some reason we shouldn’t know?”
Piper and I exchanged uncertain glances.
“We need to tell the police, Marlee,” Theo said with emphasis. “If they find her, maybe they’ll find the book her ghost wrote, too.”
“What book?” Ainsley looked as if she wanted to shake all of us.
“This is a matter for the police,” I said.
“Marlee’s helping the police,” Theo broke in. “She’s helping the Lake Lady, too.”
“That’s not quite true, ” I said. It took all my willpower not to clap my hand over his mouth. Theo had not only lost his fear of people, he seemed well on the way to spreading gossip faster than the Cabot boys.
“But you did help her when you gave her the mulberries.” Theo turned to the rest of the group. “And we’ve been trying to find her. That’s why I had to let Marlee know I saw Leticia leave a few minutes ago on her purple scooter.”
“She got away?” Piper swept a hand thr
ough her already-mussed hair. “Again?”
“Does this crazy woman have something to do with our vandalized cars?” Ainsley asked.
“Yes,” I said. “And I suspect she planned for the smoke to begin at the display of Sable products. She has a grudge against your family.”
“Then she admits she knows us?” Patrick asked as Ainsley reached for his hand.
Chief Hitchcock and David arrived in time to hear his question.
Hitchcock nodded at the couple. “David informed me that you’re members of the Sable family. That means your family does indeed know this woman, only not under the name Leticia. You knew her as Ellen Nagy.”
Patrick shut his eyes. Ainsley took a step back. “Ellen Nagy is here?” she said in a stunned voice.
Piper took a deep breath. “She’s lived in Oriole Point for the past four years. As nutty as a Christmas fruitcake, of course, but she’s never posed a threat to anyone. Until now.”
“She told me she’s only doing this so that you and your family will go away,” I said.
At this moment, Ainsley’s large dark eyes did indeed look black. And filled with anger. “Ingrid and Cameron have to be told,” she said to her husband. “Your brother will be upset.”
Patrick frowned “Do you think Scarlett is in danger?”
“Who’s Scarlett?” I asked.
He turned an irritated face in my direction. “Scarlett Beckford is my brother’s fiancée. The last time Ellen Nagy was with our family, she killed a woman out of jealousy. Who’s to say she still doesn’t harbor an obsession for Keith? After all, she’s dangerous!”
“If so, she may come after Scarlett.” Ainsley sighed. “Will this madness never end?”
“I know Scarlett Beckford,” Natasha piped up. “She is at workshop this morning. I recognize her as model who wears wings on runway.”
“Your brother is engaged to a Victoria’s Secret model?” Tess asked.
“Yes, he is,” Patrick said impatiently. “And by bringing her to Oriole Point, he has inadvertently put her in harm’s way. She must leave as soon as possible.”
“I don’t think Leticia cares about any of that,” I said. “When I’ve spoken with her, she never brings up your brother. Or any women he’s involved with. She seems afraid, not jealous.”
“You don’t know a thing about Ellen Nagy,” Ainsley spat the words at me. “Because you don’t, you should stay out of this whole affair. Unless you’re helping her. For all we know, you helped her vandalize our cars. Maybe you set off the smoke bombs in there, too!”
That set all my friends protesting on my behalf, even Piper.
“Are you joking?” I said above the babble. “You do realize I was almost trampled.”
Piper squeezed my shoulder. “Marlee would not sabotage my health fair. She knows I would never allow her a moment’s peace afterward.”
“She’s right,” I agreed.
“All I know is that we were gracious enough to come to Oriole Point after Victor canceled,” Patrick said. “As thanks for our generosity, my family finds itself targeted by a murdering madwoman. And none of you have done a thing to prevent it.”
“Patrick, that isn’t true,” Piper began. “I have tirelessly worked to—”
Chief Hitchcock held up his hand. “This is a police matter, one I would rather not have discussed on the front lawn of the conference center.” He looked at Patrick and Ainsley. “Once your family is assembled, I need all of you to come with me to the police station. The situation is growing worse by the second, and I intend to stop this nonsense before anyone else dies.”
“Who died?” Natasha and Ainsley asked at the same time.
I leaned towards Natasha. “It’s a long story.”
“Has Ellen killed someone else?” Patrick asked Hitchcock.
“Let’s do this at the police station,” he said. “Please find your parents and brother.”
Pulling out their phones, the aggravated Sable couple walked off, texting furiously.
Hitchcock turned his attention to me next. “While they’re tracking down their kinfolk, I have some questions for you. First, what exactly did Leticia say to you in the vendor room? Second, why does Leticia trust you? Third, how do you survive getting into so much trouble?”
I looked at everyone circled around me. “I’ll answer the last question first. I have wonderful friends.” I gave David a wink. “And one of them is the finest chipmunk in the world.”
Chapter Fourteen
“I missed out on all the excitement!” Andrew was inconsolable to learn about the drama at the conference center. “It’s not fair. I’m stuck here babysitting Minnie and selling muffins while everyone else is in the middle of an action movie.”
“A little too much action,” I muttered.
Beside me, David stretched out his legs beneath the bistro table. “Trust me, not even Tom Cruise wants to be part of a stampede.”
All of us had reassembled at The Berry Basket. As soon as we got there, I put the CLOSED sign up. For the past twenty minutes, we had downed a variety of berry teas and coffees, while enjoying the four different pastries Theo baked earlier that morning. Inspired by all the talk of mulberries, Theo had whipped up a batch of mulberry thumbprint cookies using the mulberry jam sold in the shop. A clear favorite, since most of the cookies were now gone.
We must have looked a motley crew to Andrew. Although still in costume, Tess, Max and Natasha had tossed their wigs onto an empty chair. David’s chipmunk head rested on the front counter. White paint streaked my red sweater, and a glance at the mirror by the door told me I looked as shell-shocked as I felt.
“It wasn’t exciting, Andrew.” I reached for a boysenberry fritter. “It was terrifying.”
“Row, row, row your boat,” Minnie sang on my shoulder.
I’d dropped Minnie off at the store this morning and had been gone for several hours. Minnie always grew more loquacious after my absence, as though she were eager to fill me in on her day. In order to keep her quiet while the rest of us talked, I placed her on my shoulder. Being in close proximity to me sometimes reduced her contributions to the conversation.
“Only by the grace of God was no one killed or seriously hurt,” I added.
Theo looked up from where he was rearranging fritters in the pastry case. “Did the Lake Lady want to kill everyone?”
“Da,” Natasha said between sips of tea. “She is Kikimora. An evil spirit.”
Minnie whistled. “Da. I want cashew.”
“With all due respect to the world of Russian folklore, I don’t think she meant for anyone to die.” I fed Minnie a cashew. “But it could have easily gone deadly wrong.”
“I don’t understand.” Andrew leaned over the front counter. “Was there a fire, or not?’
“Not,” David and Tess said at the same time.
Max turned to Andrew. “She placed smoke bombs beneath the tables holding the Sable products. The fire department found the canisters.”
I shuddered. “It was a horror. And I don’t use that word lightly.”
“Marlee’s right.” David squeezed my hand. He and I were the only ones in the room to understand what that mass hysteria and fear had been like.
“Oh my Gawd,” Minnie said.
“How did no one see her place the smoke bombs?” Tess asked.
“She wore a VOLUNTEER badge on her sweatshirt.” I nodded at the white badge on Tess’s Wonder Woman outfit. “And she was smart enough to come in costume, like all the other volunteers. If she was puttering around the tables, people would assume she was helping out.”
“But she still had to smuggle the smoke bombs into the place,” Andrew said.
“The place is swarming with hundreds of people,” Max explained, “with products being delivered and moved around constantly. All she had to do was bring in a tote bag with the stuff.”
Theo looked over at me. “Do you think the Lake Lady went back home, Marlee?”
“No. She said she couldn’
t return home until she was out of danger and justice had been served. And since the Sables are still here . . .”
“Sounds like she has more tricks up her sleeve,” Andrew observed.
“Trick or treat!” Minnie shrieked.
“Or what she calls ‘mischief.’” I said. “That’s the only reassuring thing in all this. I believe she has more pranks planned, but nothing she thinks will get anyone killed.”
“See you later, alligator,” Minnie sang out.
Tess didn’t look convinced. “The fact that she uses the word ‘mischief’ to describe her actions should make you uneasy.”
“How so?”
“As former spelling bee champions, we both know words can have radically different meanings. Including mischief.”
Tess and I became friends when we tied for a regional spelling bee in fifth grade. We still played word games with each other, and employed the occasional obscure word as a form of secret code around others.
I thought about the dictionary definition. “Mischief: playful misbehavior, an action meant to irritate, cause trouble, or annoy.”
“Etymology, please?” She threw me a challenging smile.
“It comes from the Old French word meschief.” Now I understood. “You’re right.”
“Give me scritch,” Minnie murmured in my ear.
“How about if you two whiz kids let us in on this?” Max said.
I scratched Minnie on the head. “Meschief is the Old French term for ‘disaster.’ It was derived from the word meschever, which means ‘to meet with calamity or grief.’”
“If that’s how Leticia views mischief,” Tess said, “the Sables better watch their back.”
“Her manuscript was titled Mischief and Murder, too. I thought it was a curious title, combining those words. But it makes more sense now.”
Dean held up his hands. “Let’s get a grip. Most people aren’t word fanatics like you two. How would the Lake Lady even know about these old definitions of words?”
“Piper followed this case years ago. She said the press made a big thing about how intelligent the teenaged Ellen Nagy was. Super high IQ.” I shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe all this time our Lake Lady has been some sort of mad genius.”
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