by Tonya Kappes
I’d put Madame Torres next to the pallet where I’d lain until it was time to get up. I also had her put a clock on display so I could mind the time. We were just shy of midnight. I got up and parted the opening of the teepee to look out into the camp.
There were a few teepees with lights on. I noticed Adam had a visit in his teepee, only I couldn’t make out whether it was a female or male silhouette. All I knew was that there were two people in his teepee, causing me to raise a brow.
“Why aren’t they napping?” I asked out loud.
“Coo-coo, coo-coo.” Madame Torres’s globe flashed a bright light.
I turned to look at her. There was a shuffling outside just as the clock in her waves turned midnight.
“Cowl, cowl.” The loud screech of a crow pierced the outside just before a blood-curdling scream echoed around me. Mr. Prince Charming jumped on his hind legs and began to bat the air with both front paws and growled up to the sky.
I ran to the opening of the teepee, and just as I emerged, a crow flew directly in the path of the full moon, sending me to my knees.
For a second, I watched the crow as it circled around, not noticing how Mr. Prince Charming had darted past me. The bird’s beady black eyes stared at me. Its beak glowed golden. I doubled over, holding my stomach like the beak was pecking at me. The pain continued as my head swirled with iridescent golds and greens.
“The Spangled,” I whispered, steadying myself with my hands as I tried to push up to my feet. “The Spangled.”
I wobbled to my feet and tore my eyes away from the soaring crow. I sucked in a deep breath and straightened my back. My eyes drew up from the ground to the tree line where the trail started and where Mr. Prince Charming waited patiently for me.
After we’d made eye contact, he darted off into the dark night. A line of lightning bugs trailed behind him, giving me a lighted path.
The sounds of my feet hitting the dirt path, my shallow breaths, and the quick beating of my heart were thunderous in my ears.
In the distance I could see the tip of Mr. Prince Charming’s tail waving before it pointed like a human finger. Immediately the teenagers took flight in the direction Mr. Prince Charming showed us to go.
The brush was thick, and the sounds of the deep forest were unfamiliar, but when I saw Eloise standing there, I stopped, though she didn’t see me. My breath went back to normal, and my pounding heart slowed down.
Mr. Prince Charming trotted past me and headed straight toward Eloise. He did his signature figure eight movements around her ankles, forcing her to look down then slide her gaze to me.
The lightning bugs flew over to them, their tails focusing on the body that lay on the ground next to her. A pool of blood congealed around the head.
“Adam Vedder,” I gasped, bringing my hand over my eyes.
Chapter Ten
“How did you get here so quickly?” I asked in a shaky voice.
Oscar stood over Adam Vedder’s body. Eloise was next to me, still eerily quiet.
“This is very odd.” Eloise broke the silence. She closed her eyes and lifted her arms in the air. “The bees live here. No one had traveled this trail for years. I get all my honey here. Ask Petunia. She keeps the bees occupied while I get what I need from their hives.”
Oscar put an arm around me to stop me from trembling, but it didn’t help. Eloise spoke in a tone that chilled me to the bone.
Oscar had gotten to the trail within seconds after I’d arrived. He had tried to get a pulse and even revive Adam, but after a few minutes of that, he stopped, realizing Adam was not coming back to life.
Adam’s head was split open, and his hiking stick appeared to be the weapon. It lay next to his body. They must’ve hit him so hard: the gold tip of the bird’s beak, which was the handle, had frank blood and hair on it. Blood was still coming from his head.
“I’d asked Faith to call me at the station if she heard anything.” I loved how Oscar had used other spiritualists’ gifts to help out in his job. “She took it a bit further and sat at the station with me. When she perked up, I didn’t have to wait to see what she was hearing. I looked at the clock and used my wand to get here.”
I glanced down at his waist. Though it was covered by his officer’s coat, I knew his wand was tucked in his pants.
“Colton Lance should be here soon.” Oscar looked around at the surroundings as he referred to the other officer of Whispering Falls.
Oscar started his investigation by taping off the crime scene, using the trees as the borders.
“How did you come up on him?” Oscar asked his aunt Eloise.
“I’d heard the crow and watched as he flew past the moon at midnight. Chills had crawled up my arms and the back of my neck,” she said in a mysterious tone. “I was minding the garden. I put down my hoe and followed the crow.”
Working in a garden in the midnight hour might seem odd but not for Eloise. It was the perfect time for her to work on her special herbs and rows of ingredients only a spiritualist would love. Eloise’s main waking hour was midnight, and her day usually ended in the morning cleansing ceremony through Whispering Falls.
“June?” Oscar asked.
“I was in my teepee after I’d given the group some Mr. Sandman Sprinkles in their stew Petunia had made. It was enough to put them in twilight sleep.” I recalled everyone having a bowl in their hand, even Adam. “I’m not sure how Adam got here and certainly have no idea who would’ve been awake enough to hit him so hard to have killed him.”
“Did you see anything out of the ordinary at the campsite?” asked Oscar.
“Everything was going well until we went to take a nap.” My jaw dropped, and my eyes popped open. “Oscar,” I gasped. “Did my sleeping potion not work?” It was always one of my greatest fears for the potions to lose their magic.
“Obviously, someone didn’t eat it.” Oscar’s words made me think back.
“Everyone had a bowl and chatted.” I recalled seeing even the small group that consisted of Paris, Webster, and Tammy, remembering them talking.
“Did Adam?” Oscar asked.
“You know, I didn’t see him eat any because he was too busy trying to convince everyone to let him take the Spangled Smoky Momoko if they did catch one.” My jaw tensed. “He even had something planned out on paper and distributed it to everyone.”
“Everyone but Cindy,” Petunia said. “Oh dear. This isn’t good.” She shoved her hand deep in her hair. “The Spangled is getting restless. I thought we were going to have a couple of hours and let him come out in my teepee.” She sounded angry. “I’m afraid I’m not going to be able to keep him in much longer.”
“Is it such a bad thing for them to see him?” Oscar asked her.
There was a flash in the woods that only Petunia, Oscar, and I would recognize with our eyes. Then Colton walked down the trail leading to the crime scene.
“If we don’t want national attention brought to us, then yes, it’s a bad idea,” I reminded him.
“I tried to catch up on all the details of your report.” Colton looked at Oscar after he’d walked up and nodded to me and Petunia.
Oscar quickly caught him up on what I’d told him about the camp and the sleeping potion and how Adam had tried to convince the group to let him get the bird for his exotic zoo.
“I wish Oscar could just wave a wand so we could know who killed him,” I said to Petunia while Colton and Oscar talked.
“You and I both know that’s not how our gifts work.” She was right.
As much as I wanted to try to create a potion or see into Madame Torres to learn what had happened, our magical world didn’t work like that, which meant Oscar and Colton actually had to investigate to get to the killer.
“I had left Madame Torres at the campfire to record any conversations.” My eyes grew, meeting Petunia’s.
The sound of sirens echoed into the midnight hours, followed up by some screeching tires and the rattle of wheels barreling down the trai
l.
“Here, seester.” I heard Constance Karima from the tree line before she appeared, her eyes focused on the body of Adam Vedders. “I’ve got him!”
She hurried over; her housedress swooshed around her.
“We aren’t ready for you to take him yet.” Oscar stopped her shy of the body but didn’t get to Patience in time.
“Seester!” Patience yelled and pointed. “It’s our ghost.”
Oscar looked over his shoulder, giving just enough space for Constance to shove past him and practically knock Colton out of the way.
“Are you sure?” I bolted over to them with Petunia on my heels. “I thought your ghost was a woman.”
“Who said that?” Constance grinned ear to ear as she looked down at the corpse. “He’s delicious, and I can’t wait to dig into him.”
It sounded oh so gross, but it was their gift and they were passionate about their ghosts and all things dead bodies.
“I just thought…” I blinked a few times and wondered where on earth I’d gotten the notion their ghost was a female. “Anyways, where is the ghost now?”
“Not around.” Constance bent down and looked at Adam’s head. “Knocked out just at the right spot to give him sudden head trauma.” Still squatting, she twisted her head over her right shoulder. Her eyes grew dark, her voice low. “Someone knew exactly where to hit him in order to have instant death.”
The evidence was enough for Oscar to walk over to the group and tell them he would have to take them to the station for official statements.
“We have to find out who didn’t eat the stew and who has medical knowledge,” I whispered to Petunia and gestured my head to the side so we could get some privacy to talk.
“I’m not sure where we went wrong.” There was a deep worry in her eyes. “Can we go back to the teepees and discuss this? The Spangled is driving me nuts. Very active.”
I took one more look around. Oscar and Colton had gone back to consulting with the Karima sisters. The group had stood up and were waiting on what to do next. Cindy was the only one who was still sitting down and had a blank expression on her face.
Petunia and I slipped out without anyone seeing us and headed back down the trail. Once we were inside of her teepee, the Spangled Smoky Momoko flew out of her hair.
The majestic creature took my breath away as he spread his wings. The purple, thin feathers had an iridescent glow, making it hard to look away.
“They are one of the oldest birds, dating back to 40 million years.” Petunia started to tell me about the bird. “The closest thing to the same look today are butterflies.”
“How? I mean, what makes their glow?” I watched as the bird turned, making different colors appear.
“It’s the light that is scattering off the feathers’ surface and a smooth surface of melanin pigment granules within the feather protein.” She was so knowledgeable about animals that she amazed me. “Birds of today do not have this type of pigment granules, and that’s one reason the Spangled is so rare and sought after.” A tear dripped down her cheek.
She cocked her head to the side and started to chirp.
The bird responded, and they carried on a dialogue I wished I could hear. The bird flew past her head, and I tried to shield myself as it came toward me, but it landed on my forearm.
“June, I’d like you to meet Adam Vedder.” Her words sent my head spinning in all sorts of direction. “His ghost… is now in the bird.”
Chapter Eleven
It was late. Oscar had come back to the camp and woke up all the Audubon members. None of them seemed extremely upset, though Paris and Tammy did shed a tear. Webster mumbled something about Adam getting what he deserved, and Cindy remained tight lipped.
Instead of making the members of the Audubon Society head to the station, Oscar and Colton had given them warnings not to leave Whispering Falls until the group members had given them statements.
“What about the sighting?” Cindy looked at Oscar. “We are here to do the Spangled sighting. He wasn’t even part of our group. So why do we have to suffer?”
Her lack of empathy didn’t surprise me, since I’d been able to watch her body language toward Adam. In my head, I put her at the top of the suspect list.
“If the Spangled is in Whispering Falls, you’ll be able to camp out another time.” He didn’t leave any room for more discussion. “Petunia, can you please lead the group back to the Full Moon Treesort while Colton and I check out the campsite?”
Petunia nodded.
“I need everyone to leave all of their equipment here.” Oscar’s words were met with groans and moans.
“I’m not leaving my camera here.” Webster’s jaw tensed.
“That’s fine.” Oscar pointed from Colton to Webster. “Colton, do you mind taking his camera and putting it in an evidence bag?”
“Evidence bag?” Webster seemed offended. “Why do you think it’s evidence?”
“All the cameras might have some photos on there leading up to Adam’s death.” Oscar watched as Colton practically pried the camera from Webster.
“You better be careful. That’s a five thousand-dollar camera.” When Colton took the equipment bag, Webster sighed even louder. “That’s got at least ten thousand dollars worth of equipment in there. Be careful.”
Not long after that, Oscar and I went home.
“We will revisit all of this in the morning.” Oscar suggested we go home for the night. I thought it was a great idea. “It’s too dark to see.”
The familiar smell of home curled around my nose, giving me the first real sense that I was safe.
“Any of them could be the killer,” I told him and fell down into the fluffy couch in the combination family room and kitchen. “But I do think Cindy is hiding something.”
“Like what?” Oscar pulled his tucked sheriff’s shirt out of his pants and started to unbutton it.
“I’m not sure, but she really dislikes Adam. It was all over her face.” I recalled a few times I’d seen her glaring at him. “Did you notice she was the only female who didn’t shed a single tear or even gasp at the fact he was murdered?”
“We will definitely be digging into all of their backgrounds and see who was connected to Adam.” Oscar always started investigations with people’s backgrounds. It was the most logical place to start.
Me… I might’ve just laid into Cindy to see how she knew Adam and not waste my time looking into her. That was why Oscar was the cop and not me.
“You coming to bed?” Oscar had started down the hallway leading to the bedroom.
The little family room had all the comforts of home. The natural wood crown molding accented the vibrant orange fabric on the chairs and couches. There were two bedrooms, only one of which I used. The kitchen window over the sink had a very nice view of downtown Whispering Falls. There was a kitchen table in there too, but Oscar and I rarely sat there to eat.
Down the hall were the two bedrooms and one bathroom.
“Not just yet.” I smiled.
“Come on.” Oscar put his hand out for me to take. Mr. Prince Charming had jumped up on the back of the couch behind my head, and Madame Torres glowed from my bag, which sat on the coffee table. “A good night sleep is something we can both use.”
“I’ll be there in a few,” I assured him but met with a reluctant look. Oscar knew better than to try to convince me to go to bed with all the swirling in my head, though.
“Fine, but you don’t leave this house.” He looked at me from under his thick brows before he kissed me and disappeared down the hallway.
When I heard the bedroom door shut, I leaned over and dragged my bag off the coffee table.
“What do you know?” I pulled Madame Torres out of my bag and lifted her to my face.
The globe was black with gold stars floating all around.
“Madame Torres,” I called and tapped her glass globe with my finger. “Wakey, wakey. I know you’re up. I saw your light.”
I
hated to pull out the big guns, but she left me with no choice.
“You know if you don’t respond to me, I can take you to the Goodwill in Locust Grove and donate you.” I let out a happy sigh. Mr. Prince Charming was purring so loud because he knew what I was going to say, and I was sure he’d wished for this situation to occur. “After that, you’d be stuck in there. Never ever be able to communicate again.”
“Purrrrrrr, purrrrrr.” Mr. Prince Charming was humming right along.
“Oh shut up!” The green glow illuminated the ball, which made her red lips stand out on her purple face. She’d put on a turban over the top of her red unruly hair. “I was trying to get some much-needed shut-eye.”
“I bet you were.” I eyed her suspiciously. “I need you to play back the conversation at the campfire.”
“It’s late,” she spoke in a tone of flat boredom. “I’m tired.”
I gripped around her glass globe and gave it a good shake up and down, back and forth.
“Stop it! I’ve got a sensitive stomach,” she cried out. “I get seasick.”
I steadied the ball and brought her back up to my face.
“Are you going to play back the conversation?” I asked.
Madame Torres disappeared, and like a movie, the conversation started to play along with some video footage.
The group was around the campfire. I could see Cindy, Paris, Tammy, and Webster, but not Adam.
“Do you honestly think those two know anything about birds?” Tammy had asked the group after Petunia and I walked off.
“I think they are keeping an eye out for their own sake,” Paris noted. “I’m telling you that I saw the Spangled Smoky Momoko in her shop. The one with the short hair.” She was referring to me. “That cat of hers scared it off. That’s when the messy one ran after it. I did a little digging and noticed she owned a pet store. Do you think she knows about the bird and is keeping it there?”