by Tegan Maher
“My Aunt Addy overheard her talking to some guy about getting you to sign something. Frankie said she’d taken care of it.”
“Who’s your Aunt Addy and how did she overhear that?” she asked, suspicion lacing her tone.
Addy, with her immaculate timing, chose that minute to pop in. “I’m Addy, and I overheard her talking to him in her car.”
Mercy’s hand shot to her chest and she gasped, floating backwards a little. “Sweet baby Jesus, you about gave me a heart attack! You can’t just pop in like that.”
“First, a heart attack won’t hurt you a bit. You’ve already kicked the bucket. Second, I can pop in like that.”
“To be fair,” I said, wrapping my hands around what was left of my second cup of coffee, “it still gives my heart a jolt when you do it, too, and you know that. But that’s beside the point. Addy, meet Mercy. Mercy, this is my Aunt Addy.”
“Pleased to meet you, ma’am,” Mercy said, bobbing her head.
“Likewise,” Addy said. “Now that we’ve got the niceties out of the way, let’s work on figurin’ out who killed you, shall we?”
Mercy nodded. “I have some theories, but only a couple make sense right now.”
“All right,” I said. “Let’s start with Frankie. What was she trying to get you to sign?”
Mercy lifted her shoulder. “I have no idea. She didn’t mention signing anything. She was just doing everything in her power to convince me to come home. She was almost weird about it, as pushy as she was bein’.”
“And what did you tell her?” I asked.
“I told her she was out of her ever-lovin’ mind if she thought I was goin’ back to that nightmare. No way, and I told her so in no uncertain terms. She seemed to give up on it after that, though the last thing she said to me was to think about it. I told her there was nothing to think about.”
“Then there’s a discrepancy,” I said. “Who’s she camping with?”
“Camping?” she barked out a disbelieving laugh. “Frankie doesn’t camp. Trust me.”
“Oh, Frankie’s campin’ this time,” I said. “And she’s not alone.”
“Show me,” she replied, and Addy nodded. “Follow me.”
They were back just a few seconds later. “There was nobody there. Again.” Addy told us.
“Did it look like they’d slept there?” Addy shook her head. “No. The camp was cleared.”
“I told you, Frankie would never camp.”
“Be that as it may,” I said, “she was. We couldn’t find her in any of the hotels around here.”
Hunter was just snapping the lid on his to-go coffee when his phone rang. He answered it and gave a couple, “uh-huhs.”
“Okay, then. Thanks Sherry. You’ve been a big help.”
He hung up. “That was Sherry over at the Holiday Inn. Frankie checked in there last night and the night manager didn’t see the message to call me if she did.”
“See,” Mercy said, crossing her arms. “I told you she wouldn’t camp.”
I held up a hand when Addy started to say something. “Just don’t. It doesn’t matter.” I turned to Mercy. “Were you and Frankie close?”
Sadness flitted across her expression. “Since we were kids. We were best friends. Through thick and thin, or at least until I started working for my parents. She couldn’t understand why I loathed it the way I did. She saw it as easy money.”
“So you had a big fight about it or something?” I asked.
Mercy shook her head. “No, not so much a fight as she couldn’t get it into her head that I was really leaving. When I stopped by her house to tell her goodbye on my way out, she was truly shocked even though I’d been telling her it was going to happen for years. We had a little bit of an argument, and things didn’t end as well as I wished they would have, but it wasn’t ugly.”
A shadow crossed her face, but she didn’t say anything else. It made me curious.
“Did you stay in touch?” Addy asked.
Mercy shook her head. “No. I wanted to, but at first, I was too hurt by how we’d left things. Then after a while, I just didn’t think about it as much. I did drop her a postcard a few times, but I never heard back. Of course, there wasn’t really a way for her to contact me. I changed my number when I left.”
“And you don’t think she’s the one who killed you?” Hunter asked the million-dollar question.
“No. I’d stake my life on it.”
Realizing what she’d said, her shimmering face pinked. “Well, it looks like I’m gonna have to change some of my turns of phrase.”
Addy laughed. “Nah, it doesn’t feel so weird after a while. You get used to it.”
Mercy tilted her head at my aunt. “Why are you still here? And what comes next?”
Addy’s expression softened. “I can’t answer that for you, sugar. I don’t know for sure. All I do know is it’s different for everybody. Some folks report seein’ a light. I did, but I chose not to go. I wanted to stay behind and take care of the girls. My Calvin, on the other hand, he went before me. I don’t know if he chose to go into the light or if it just took him, or if something else happened. I find it hard to believe, given that we’re all witches, that Cal would have chosen to leave, but who knows.”
“This might be all there ever is for some people? Maybe for us? Just watching everybody else go on livin’ while I’m stuck like this? I was a medium all my life, but I never thought about the actual mechanics of it. All the ghosts I ever helped just went away after I did whatever they needed me to. I never thought about where they went in concrete terms.”
Addy pulled in a slow breath and released it, studying Mercy. “Have you met Cheri Lynn?”
“Cheri Lynn who?” Mercy asked.
“The other ghost who was with us yesterday,” Hunter said.
“Oh. Yeah, I haven’t seen her except for that one time.”
Addy held up a finger and called for our favorite party ghost.
“You rang?” Cheri Lynn said as she appeared. Then she saw Mercy. “Oh, hey, sugar. How you doin’? Did they find out who killed you yet?”
Mercy stared at her, curiosity etched across her features. “You’re wearin’ different clothes than you had on yesterday. How’d you do that?”
“Oh, that’s easy,” Cheri Lynn said, flapping a hand. “Just picture in your mind what you want to wear, and it’ll replace what you have on now.”
“You mean I just have to think these hideous robes away?”
She was still wearing her Madame Mercei clothes, right down to the heavy makeup.
“Can I do it right now? In front of everybody? I won’t be, you know, naked?” She was excited for the first time ever.
“Nope. Go ahead and give it a try,” Cheri said.
Mercy closed her eyes and smiled. Within a few seconds, she was wearing cutoffs, a pink tank top, and surfer flip-flops. Her hair was in a ponytail, and the stage makeup was gone.
She opened her eyes and looked down at herself, then put her hand up to feel her hair. “Ahh, that’s better!”
Cheri Lynn and Addy smiled.
“See?” Addy said. “It’s not so bad. I mean, obviously having flesh and blood is better, but bein’ dead is just another situation you make the best out of.”
“Oh, I do much more than just make the best of it,” Cheri Lynn said. “My post-life is much more fun than anything I ever did when I was alive. It’s different for everybody, but no matter where you end up, you just have to make the best of it.”
“So you chose not to go into the light?” Mercy asked, then flushed. “Or is that a question we’re not supposed to ask each other?”
Cheri Lynn shrugged. “From what I can tell, most people don’t mind answerin’ questions about their deaths. Some do, but they’ll get over it. Those are usually the ones who died doin’ somethin’ either stupid or embarrassing. I met one bitter little man once who died when he stood up off the toilet, tripped in his own pants, and smashed his head on the sink. He lied about it for
years until his ex-wife died and ratted him out. What are you gonna do, though? And to answer you, I wasn’t given the option of goin’ into the light. I just woke up dead.”
“Yeah,” Mercy replied. “Me too. It’s a little disappointing, actually. All your life, you figure you’ll at least find out what comes next when you die, yet here we are, just as clueless about it as ever.”
“Yup. That about sums it up,” Addy said. “Now, let’s get to work findin’ out who killed you.”
Chapter 15
My first stop was, of course, Brew even though Raeann wasn’t working. She was spending the day with Dave, her boyfriend, at the fair. Still, I needed an extra jolt of energy, and her Mocha Loca was the best. The little something extra she added was just enough to get the day started right. I needed to fill the pastry case, too. I’d stayed up the night before baking so I wouldn’t have to get up early.
Levana was behind the counter.
“Hey, girlfriend,” she said, her eyes bright as she pulled an espresso. “What’s shakin’?”
Levana was from a different time, literally, and it was hilarious when she tried new American slang with her British accent. At least now she was using the correct terms. The first time she’d used that particular phrase, she’d asked me what was wobbling.
“Nuttin’,” I replied, sliding the pastry case open and filling it from the box I’d carried in. “Same old, same old. Makin’ furniture while tryin’ to solve a murder.”
She shook her head, and I marveled yet again at the perfect brunette ringlets hanging from her intricate hairdo. She’d adapted to modern life well, but she’d refused to give up on doing her hair and makeup to perfection, and she still felt awkward in cutoffs. Ladies in her time didn’t show that much skin to their husbands a lot of times, let alone the world in general.
“I don’t know how you do it,” she said, handing me the espresso once I’d put the goodies away.
“Do what?” I asked, dumping the hot brew into my cup and filling the basket with Raeann’s special energy blend.
“Stumble onto bodies the way you do. Why, I’m from a time when shooting people was a regular occurrence, and yet I’m fairly certain you’ve seen more than I have. At least in the same time frame.”
I poured some milk into the tin and frothed it while my second shot of coffee brewed. “This one wasn’t me! I was there, but I’m not the one who found her. Plus, Hunter’s the sheriff so it stands to reason that when someone turns up dead, he’s gonna be right at the center of it, and where he goes, I go.”
She lifted a shoulder. “I suppose. Just be careful and make sure to get some sunshine. All that negative energy is bad for you.”
“I know. At least this time we have some help, if you want to call it that. Her ghost showed up right after we found the body yesterday.”
Levana’s eyes widened. “Does she know who did it?”
I shook my head. “She says she doesn’t, but I think there are some things she’s not telling us. She gets a little cagey when we ask her about it directly, or at least she did yesterday. This morning, she seems a little more motivated to find who did it.”
Her expression became thoughtful. “Well, I suppose being dead is a lot to take in. Maybe she just needed some time to wrap her head around it.”
“Maybe,” I replied. “I guess we’ll find out. Her best friend came down to make amends with her after three years, but there’s something off about her, too.”
“It sounds like you have your work cut out for you, then,” she said, turning when the bell above the door let us know a customer had arrived. “And so do I. Keep me posted.”
“Will do.” I remembered about girls’ night. “Oh, and we’re going out to Fancy’s tomorrow night if you’re interested.”
She nodded. “That would be lovely. Rory is hanging out with some friends from work, so I’m free. And I could certainly use some girl time. Seven o’clock as usual?”
“Yuppers. See you then.”
The man who’d entered wasn’t from Keyhole for sure. His suit cost more than my entire wardrobe, and his expression was sour. I put him at about forty, but it was a hard forty. His skin was sallow, and you could carry enough clothes for a weekend ski trip in the bags under his eyes.
“Hello,” Levana said, smiling. “What can I get for you?”
“I’ll take a Chai tea and a venti latte, two extra shots.”
Just the use of the word venti confirmed my suspicion that he was a city boy, even if the suit and the rode hard and put away wet look hadn’t.
“Coming right up,” Levana said. “Would you like anything to eat?”
He curled his lip as he gazed at the case. “Thanks, but I’ll pass on the freshly unwrapped Hostess garbage.”
That pissed me off. My pastries were beautiful, and I put a little of my magic into everything I made. A couple of years ago, I would have let that pass, but I wasn’t that girl anymore.
“Excuse you,” I said, slamming a fist to my hip. “Everything in there is homemade. And I don’t know where you’re from, but around here, we don’t go out of our way to be rude.”
He raised a brow at me. “I’m sure the kindly little old cat lady who made them would appreciate you sticking up for her.”
“I’ll have you know I don’t have any cats,” I said, giving him a couple seconds to process that.
To his credit, he blushed. “Look, I didn’t mean to offend you. This hasn’t been the best week for me.”
“That’s no excuse to take it out on everybody else,” I said. “If you don’t have something nice to say, zip it.”
It was obvious he wasn’t used to people standing up to him. I glanced down at his puffy hands to see if some poor soul had the misfortune of being tied to him, but there was no ring and no tan line or impression where one might have recently resided.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” he said.
“Levana, sweetie, wrap him up a strawberry muffin to go.” I’d been feeling especially cheerful when I made those because Shelby had popped in to say hi, so some of that should have made it into the muffin. Plus, kill ’em with kindness was one of my favorite mottos. Grouchy people never knew how to respond to that.
“Thanks,” he mumbled, confusion crossing his face. “That’s nice of you.”
“Yeah, well pay it forward,” I replied, then pushed out the door and to my truck.
I climbed in and kicked on the AC. The heat was already rising even though it wasn’t even ten yet. I glanced in my rearview to see if anybody was behind me, and gave a little jolt when I saw the cameo I’d found yesterday hanging from it. I sighed.
“You’re gonna be one of those, huh?” Objects had a way of finding me, then using me to find their way to where they were meant to be. I wasn’t sure what had triggered the gift, but it had started happening a year or so ago with a living room set I’d salvaged. I didn’t mind, though, because it never failed to bring happiness to the intended owner, and the world could always use a little more of that.
It glinted, seeming to answer me. “Okay, then. Lead on.”
I smiled and shook my head. I was talking to an inanimate object. Maybe I should fall into the stereotype and get a cat. Nah, a smart-mouthed donkey was bad enough.
My shop was only a few doors down from Brew, so it only took me a minute to get there.
“Helloooo!” I called as I stepped through the door.
“Hey, Noelle,” Erol replied, gliding in from the back room where his TV was. He was wearing the same clothes he’d had on yesterday, which was decidedly unlike him.
“Hey yourself,” I said, wagging my brows at him. “I see somebody had a good time.”
“Oh, it was the best!” he replied, grinning from ear to ear and literally glowing. “The food was amazing, and Juan, the man who cooked, was the best! We sat up all night swapping restaurant nightmare stories. He owned a steak restaurant when he was alive, so you can just imagine the horror stories he had.”
I hadn�
��t seen him this happy, well, ever, and I was happy for him.
“Plus, now that I’m dead,” he said, waving a hand, “I don’t have to worry about a single calorie. I can eat as much as I want whenever I want.”
“Now that is an upside.” I wasn’t kidding. As a witch, I burned a lot of calories, but I still watched it a little. I had a bit of junk in the trunk already, and if I wasn’t careful, I’d need a bigger car to haul it around.
“The beach was absolutely gorgeous. I’d never been to the French Riviera, so the whole experience was new to me. He rattled on about watching sailboats come in, then moved to what people were wearing. “And Rupert is just a doll. He and Cheri Lynn are adorable together. I see a real future for them.”
He went quiet for a minute, and I turned to him. His expression had gone a little wistful.
“And I finally see a future for myself,” he said. “Not that I don’t love you to bits, but hanging around here day in and day out was getting a bit tedious. Sometimes it would get me down because I’m obviously going to be here for a while. The thought of spending eternity watching TV alone wasn’t pleasant. And it’s not good to have that much time to dwell on things, either. Now I can see myself traveling and having friends, and actually having fun with this whole post-life existence.”
At that moment, two little rats scurried into the room and up the little ramp I’d made for them so they could get on the counter. The biggest one chattered a little, then motioned to the shelf.
“Hey, guys,” I said, reaching for the box of Goldfish crackers I kept up there. I shook a few out and laid them on the counter. “Have you all been out and about?”
Sammie picked up a cracker and nodded her head, her long whiskers twitching as she smiled at me. It had been odd at first, getting used to rats who actually communicated, but once I’d gotten used to it, they’d turned out to be good company. They’d even learned to work the remote control so they could change channels for Erol.
“Does Hunter have any leads on that murder?” Erol asked. “It’s just awful, that poor girl getting killed. I know how much you like going to the fair. This isn’t going to tarnish that is it?”