Witching for the Best

by Samantha Silver

  It was tempting to put a shot of whisky into my next cup of coffee, but I had to stay focused.

  That, and “started drinking at nine in the morning in front of us” probably wouldn’t look very good on the review my guests were going to leave.

  Chapter 13

  “Luna, that’s going to give you a stomach ache. You know that, right?” I scolded as I turned around to see my familiar licking the remnants of spicy sauce and egg yolk from one of my guests’ plates at the kitchen bar. She looked up at me with an expression of flat-out indifference.

  “I’m here for a good time, not a long time,” she replied simply.

  “Okay, but if you get all queasy on me while we’re flying around town today solving a crime, I’m not going to have any pity for you. You’re bringing this storm upon yourself,” I told her, holding my hands up. She sighed, rolling her big green eyes at me.

  “Ugh. Fun-ruiner. You just have to ruin the fun.”

  “I know, I know. Who am I to warn you not to make yourself physically ill with people food, huh?” I said sarcastically. I took the plates from her and placed them in the sink. Normally, I would wash my own dishes by hand. This was partly because I was admittedly a little uptight about making sure I got every last stain and bit off the plates so that there would be no question of whether they were clean enough or not. I wondered if maybe I should invest in a dishwasher, one of those human contraptions, when renovating the place. I decided against it; I could always just use magic if I didn’t want to wash things by hand.

  “So where are we going, anyway?” Luna chirped. “I almost hate to ask. I think I might already know the answer and I’m kind of dreading it.”

  “The Senior’s Center,” I replied, and Luna groaned.

  “Of course. There it is. Well, maybe I’ll just stay behind and hang out here. You know, keep an eye on the Manor and take care of business,” she began rambling. I held up a finger to stop her, raising an eyebrow.

  “Nope. You wanted in on the investigation. You begged me, remember? You made a huge deal out of feeling left out and pushed aside. Remember that?” I said, putting my hands on my hips.

  “Yes, yes. It’s all very embarrassing for me. Let’s dredge it all up right now, shall we?”

  “So, you’re in. Right?” I verified. She let out a snort of exasperation.

  “Yes! Fine. I’ll come along to Oldsville,” she relented. Then, with a shiver she added, “That place gives me the heebie-jeebies, Artemis.”

  “Oh, come on. It’s not that bad,” I said, although I had to admit, the bingo game was really eye-opening. I couldn’t believe bingo could be such a high stakes game.

  “It smells like disinfectant in there,” Luna quipped.

  “Isn’t that a good thing? It means they keep the place clean,” I replied, waving my finger over the dishes in the sink. “Purgoroa,” I said, and they instantly cleaned themselves, returning to their previous white and shining glory. I began to put them away quickly as Luna went on ranting about how awful the senior center was.

  Once I was done, I took off my apron and hung it back on the hook by the pantry, then walked over to scoop Luna up into my arms.

  “Okay. I need to grab a jacket. It’s supposed to get really cold today,” I murmured, walking into the foyer. I opened a small closet and took out a well-worn black faux-leather motorcycle jacket and slid it on over my top.

  “What about me?” Luna complained, pawing at my shoulder. I laughed.

  “You really want something to put on?” I asked, dubious at first. She grimaced, then nodded, clearly at war with herself over the decision. “Okay, then,” I said. I took out a tiny cat-sized sweater my mom had knitted a couple months ago during her knitting phase. Luna gingerly wiggled into the sweater. It was a deep purple with a white crescent moon on the back. I had to admit, she looked adorable. But by the moon, I knew I could never tell her that.

  “Ugh. I probably look like so cheap,” she whined. “What kind of self-respecting cat dresses up?”

  “Stop your whining. It’s cold outside. And you look fine. Now let’s go,” I said authoritatively. We went outside and hopped on my broom, both of us shivering in the cold air.

  It only took us a short time to make it across town to the Senior’s Center – Moonlight Cove didn’t exactly have traffic jams. When we arrived, I leaned my broom against the building and the two of us went inside. I had to sigh in relief as soon as we stepped through the doors and a rush of warm air washed over us. Luna, too, was reveling in the heat. She hopped down from my shoulder and stretched, her little paws curling. I went straight to the front desk to register in for the day.

  The receptionist gave me a brilliant smile. She was a young woman who looked vaguely familiar. I hadn’t paid attention the other day, but now I noticed that I knew her from somewhere, probably long ago. She gave me a little wave.

  “Hi, there! You’re Artemis Mani, right?” she said in a high-pitched, chipper voice. I was instantly worried. Why did she know my name? Were they expecting me? Had Officer Forsetti come by to warn them that I might be sticking my nose around in their business? Was I going to get in trouble for being here?

  “Oh, uh. Yes. That’s me. Though I usually go by Arti,” I answered quickly.

  “Good to see you! You probably don’t remember me. I used to have dark hair, but I went blonde once we graduated,” she said, giggling.

  I squinted as I tried to remember who she was, and her cheeks flushed pink. “My name is Janelle Roberts. We were classmates at the Academy. It’s okay. I was really, really quiet back then.”

  “Oh. Oh! I’m so sorry. I’m really bad with faces and names,” I said quickly, feeling awful for not recognizing her. Had it really been so long since high school that I couldn’t even recognize my old classmates? Great.

  “No problem! Anyway, what are you here for today? Got a relative to visit?” she asked cheerfully, not at all perturbed. I froze up for a moment. Should I lie?

  I lied. “Yes. Well, sort of. A friend of a relative, actually.”

  “How lovely! Well, have a nice visit! Oh, and you have the cutest cat, by the way,” Janelle said, leaning forward to point at Luna, who was clearly lapping up the praise.

  “Thanks, Janelle. Uh, see you later!” I said with a sheepish smile. I moved away and looked at the interactive map. Of course, there were no names on the moving dots, but I hoped I could find some hint there of where I might find Edith. I stared at it for a moment, then my instincts kicked in, made stronger by the full moon. There was a green dot moving around in a room on the fifth floor. It appeared to be pacing around in circles. Perhaps it was her suite. I gestured for Luna to follow me and we headed down the hall to the elevator.

  This time, the elevator walls turned to a tropical scene. It was warm and balmy in the elevator, the walls showing a wide expanse of white sand and turquoise waters. Palm trees shook gently in the breeze. The air smelled of salt, coconuts, and pineapple. The soft cry of seagulls in the distance made it to my ears. I wondered if the elevator scene was a reaction to the cold weather outside. Maybe it wanted to provide a warm, tropical antidote to the freezing cold Washington winter. Ok, well, freezing cold by my standards, anyway. The elevator dinged and we stepped out into the hallway of the fifth floor. To my relief, these rooms were labeled with surnames to mark who lived in which room.

  “What name are we looking for?” asked Luna softly. She was padding along beside me.

  “Hagen, I believe,” I told her. She nodded. We kept going for a while until we arrived in front of a door with HAGEN emblazoned on the rectangular plaque. Luna and I exchanged triumphant looks, and then I took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

  There was a long silence and I thought maybe I had read the map wrong. Maybe Edith wasn’t in her room right now, after all. But just as we were beginning to turn away, the door creaked open and Edith’s face peered out at us. The expression on her face was right in line with the way she acted at the bingo tournament: f
ierce and defensive.

  But when she saw it was me, she squinted in confusion. “You were there, at bingo yesterday. Sitting next to that wretched woman, Gertrude.”

  I blushed. “Yes. That was me.”

  “What do you want? What is it? What are you doing here?” she asked, genuinely curious as well as suspicious.

  “Sorry to bother you, Ms. Hagen.”

  “Edith. Just call me Edith,” she interrupted.

  “Edith. Yes. Sorry, I know it’s odd for me to just turn up like this but-”

  “You have questions,” she finished. I blinked a few times.

  “Uh, yeah. I have some questions,” I verified.

  She sighed, rolling her eyes. “The police have already been by to interrogate me. I really hope you haven’t come to do the same thing.”

  The police had already questioned her? My heart pounded. Maybe I was on the right track, after all.

  I bit my lip. “Well, I wouldn’t say “interrogate” but I do have some questions about Susanna.”

  She stared at me for a moment, sizing me up. She definitely did not seem to be in a very good mood. But then, I knew what it was like to be questioned by a cop. It was never a very pleasant experience. And she had gotten the full interview treatment.

  Finally, she opened the door wider to let me in. “Come on. Let’s make it quick, though.”

  “Thank you, thank you,” I said, walking into the suite with Luna following at my ankles. The room was larger than I had expected, but with all the comfort and formality of a hotel room. It looked scarcely lived-in, almost as though she was merely a guest rather than a resident. I wondered if all the rooms were like this or if it was just a weird preference of hers. Either way, it kind of made me sad.

  “Have a seat,” Edith said, gesturing toward a little armchair. I plopped down and Luna went on exploring the room. I couldn’t tell if she was doing it to help the investigation somehow or if she was just doing her usual feline roundabout.

  “Thank you for seeing me,” I told Edith. She nodded slowly.

  “Yeah, don’t mention it. Go on, ask your questions,” she urged me with a wave of her hand. The poor woman looked exhausted and exasperated. That electric energy she gave off at the bingo game was nowhere in sight. She just looked bedraggled.

  “So, I know this is going to sound really accusatory but bear with me, please,” I began slowly. “Edith, can I ask where you were at the time of Susanna’s murder?”

  She barely blinked at the gravity of the question. “I was in bed.”

  “In bed,” I repeated, amazed at how quickly and confidently she said it.

  “Yes. And security monitors everybody here. When we leave, when we return, it’s all recorded in perfect order. There is no possible way I could have gotten out of here to pull off that crime without security noting it. You can check the records,” she explained simply.

  “Okay. Uh, thank you for that,” I said awkwardly. My moon, I was not a good interviewer. “And now, I have some less specific questions. About Susanna.”

  “Fire away.”

  “Would you describe her as smart?” I asked.

  Edith smiled faintly. “Oh, yes. Smart as a darn whip. Too smart for her own good, maybe. I know she was cheating.”

  “Cheating?” I repeated, raising both eyebrows. She nodded.

  “Yes. At bingo. Everybody knew it. There was no other way she could have beaten me three times in a row,” she said.

  “Wow. Well, how did she do it? It’s magically rigged with anti-cheating charms,” I said.

  “She was a clever witch, that Susanna. I don’t know how she did it, but she managed to break through those anti-magic sensors. She couldn’t have done it without magic. It’s simple as that. I don’t know how she did it, but I know she did.”

  I wasn’t sure at this point if I should believe Edith. She was answering my questions coolly, calmly, as if they were easy questions. But was that just because she was a cold, calculating woman? Or because she rehearsed the answers? Or was it just the truth?

  It was time to jump to the big question.

  “Edith,” I said quietly. “Can you tell me who you think killed Susanna?”

  She scoffed. “Do you really want to know what I think?”

  I nodded. “Yes. Absolutely. You seem to know everything that happens here. You know the people who live and work here better than anyone.” I was laying it on kind of thick, but it seemed to be working, because a little flash of appreciation crossed through her eyes.

  “Well, if you want my opinion, there’s only one person in this building who could have done it. Only one man crazy and egotistical enough to pull it off,” she said.

  “And who is that?” I prompted.

  She looked at me hard for a moment, then answered, “Tony Byrd.”

  There it was: that name again. I remembered his face as he threatened Susanna’s grieving beau, Elton Kolbeck. He was cold. He was cruel. And he was a misogynist, for sure. In some ways, yes, it made sense that he could be the killer. Kolbeck certainly thought he was. But why?

  “And if you need a motive, I got one for you,” Edith added. “Tony’s a crazy old man. He’s off his rocker. He likes to be the most important person in any room. He likes attention and prestige and special treatment. He thought Susanna was taking his pudding or something, getting the kind of secret extra treats he thought he deserved more than she did. Susanna was good at making people like her. She was charismatic like that. And kind, even though she was sneaky as heck, too. But Tony? He hated her. I think he was always jealous that he had to use his money and power to get what he wanted, while Susanna could just be her lovable, clever self. I hated that she cheated at bingo, but I can admit, Susanna was liked, especially by the staff here.”

  “That seems like kind of a weak motive, though, don’t you think?” I said, unable to stop myself. Edith gave me a scathing look for a moment, then shrugged.

  “Well, you asked for my opinion and you got it. If you ask me, Tony Byrd is a paranoid old nutbag who should be put down before he causes any other trouble. He’s a menace,” she said, with a shocking dose of cruelty. Luna caught my eye from across the room and I could tell what she was thinking.

  It was time to end this interview before it got too nasty.

  I stood up and forced a smile. “Well, thank you for your time and help, Edith.”

  She stood up to walk me to the door. “No problem. But the next time you want to track down a suspect, maybe go after someone with an actual motive, eh?”

  “I never said you were a-”

  “Suspect. Yeah. I know. But those police sure thought so. It’s not pleasant being accused of murder in your own living room,” she said candidly. “I won’t hold it against you, though. Curious minds need answers. Good luck.”

  And with that, she closed the door. Luna hopped up into my arms.

  “Well, that was weird,” she said. I nodded.

  “Yeah. Yeah, it was,” I whispered. We went back downstairs to the front desk and I managed to finagle my way into getting Janelle to hand over the security check-in chart for the date of Susanna’s murder.

  “Darn,” I muttered.

  “What?” Luna asked, prodding my ankle.

  I knelt down to pick up Luna and told her quietly, “Edith was telling the truth. She didn’t leave the senior center at all during the time of the murder. She’s clean.”

  “So that means we can cross her off the list?” Luna suggested. I gave her a nod.

  I stood back up and looked at the sheet again, this time searching for two other names: Susanna and Tony. Susanna had, in fact, checked out that night to go to dinner. And Tony was out, too, apparently seeing a movie.

  So they were both out that night at the same time. My heartbeat picked up, but I calmly handed the file back to Janelle. “Thanks!” I told her brightly. She nodded.

  “Of course! Have a good day!” she chimed.

  Luna and I walked to the front door and I told her
softly, “Tony and Susanna were both out at the same time. So I guess that leaves us with Tony as our next suspect.”

  “I really thought we had something with Edith,” she said, taking the words right out of my mouth. Could it really be Tony? I mean, he was a jerk, of course. But it was still a big step from jerk to murderer.

  Chapter 14

  “Here’s an idea,” Luna said as we walked outside, “are we sure it’s the real Susanna they found out there?”

  I scrunched up my face as I looked down at Luna. “What?”

  “Think about it,” Luna said wisely. “Maybe Susanna had a big life insurance policy on herself, so she just made a Susanna dummy and put it out in the water, and-”

  “Luna, that’s not how life insurance works.”

  “What?” she meowed, indignant. “But that’s what they do with cars, right? It’s all insurance!”

  I opened my mouth and closed it again, giving my head a quick shake. “You know, you might be onto something here.”

  As I said that, I checked my phone, but the sound of footsteps behind us made me glance back. I quickly looked back down at my phone when I realized it was Elton Kolbeck.

  “Hey, it’s that guy,” Luna said, curling around my leg as I pretended to text. “And he’s alone this time. Hey! Arti! Are you listening to me?”

  For the moon’s sake, Luna, I’m trying to be discreet, I thought as hard as I could. Alas, telepathy was definitely not my special power. I waited until Elton had walked past us to crouch down and scratch Luna behind the ears. “You’re a terrible partner, you know that?” I whispered to her.

  “Okay, but we’re going to follow him, right?”

  “Obviously,” I hissed back, looking up at Elton. He was headed to a wooded area toward the back of the Senior’s Center, where there was a short boardwalk over a pond that passed for a little nature trail. Most people weren’t out and about at this time of day, though.

  Something was unusual about the way he was walking. I realized he was walking with a cane, but it was shaped oddly. I squinted at the cane and realized that it wasn’t just a cane - he was holding his finger forward along the top of the cane, trying to be subtle. Every few steps, the finger’s tip lit up with a faint white light that I could hardly see in the daytime.