by Tonya Kappes
“Let’s not bring that up.” He brought me in for a kiss to shut me up.
I giggled remembering the little spell I’d put on a date he had a year ago. That was when I knew I’d fallen—hook, line, and sinker—for him and there was no one going to get in my way.
Instead of taking his cruiser, I let him take the Green Machine. Something about being in a cop car wasn’t appealing to me. I didn’t want to tempt fate and see into the future. Because that was where I was going to be transported if we didn’t figure out what happened to Gwendolyn.
We settled on a little Indian place in the strip mall in Locust Grove. Once inside, you were transported into what I could only imagine an authentic restaurant would look like in India. The tables were low to the ground; large pillows on the floor was where everyone was seated.
After placing our order, I knew I couldn’t dance around the big elephant in the room.
“Did you find out if the autopsy is back yet?” I asked.
“Not yet.” Oscar shook his head. “Colton said any day. But he did tell me there was a match found in the attic along with a trail of some sort of mixture.”
“Like gasoline?” I asked.
“I guess.” He pinched his lips. “Colton isn’t letting me get in on the evidence at all. I guess it’s best so Petunia and her family can’t claim I’m leaving out details because you are engaged to me.”
“You know, I’m not the only one who had words with Gwenie.” I hated to rat people out, but I wasn’t going to be the only one with the pointing finger.
Oscar jabbed at his plate of Chicken Shahi Korma.
“Izzy and Raven had words with Gwenie. Not only did she put my shop down, she put theirs down as well. She told Raven her tarts were tart, not good. And she said Izzy’s shop wasn’t run right. So why aren’t they being investigated?”
“Maybe they are. Colton isn’t telling me anything.” Oscar’s brows furrowed. “I’m sure he’s on top of it. But you also have to look at the fact that she wasn’t found dead in their shops. She was found dead in yours.”
“Thanks for reminding me.” I forked a piece of his chicken off his plate. “Chandra mentioned something to me about how everyone said Gwenie was being nasty to everyone.”
“I need to tell Colton this.” Oscar tapped his fork on his plate. “Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
“And I’m not so sure Petunia has forgiven me for stepping on her toes and taking the presidency when I moved there because her family and her friend have all mentioned it to me.”
“I don’t think Petunia is the killer if that is what you are thinking.” Oscar stared at me.
“Who said Gwenie was murdered?” I gulped. “What if she was trying to get back at me for hurting Petunia in the past? I didn’t lock the door behind me that night. She probably knew it and slipped back in.”
“What?” Oscar shook his head. “Tell me word for word what happened.”
“After I made the IBS remedy for her, which had no potion in it. Strictly herbal.” It was important I was clear about no potion so he would know I didn’t put anything funny in my cauldron. “She told me she was going back to Glorybee. I went back up to the ceremony and she never showed up. I bet she waited for me to start the ceremony and she went back in the shop. Did her little voodoo or whatever she did and set the place on fire. Only,” I paused, “she didn’t get out in time and her plan backfired. Literally.”
“Not bad.” Oscar’s eyes squinted. He had a faraway look. “Not bad, June Heal. Maybe you should be wearing the badge, not me.” He smiled, sending my heart into all sorts of spirals.
“I’m just trying to look at it from all angles.”
“Or you could’ve been framed.” His head tilted to the side.
“Which brings me to another conclusion.” I took a bite of food.
“I don’t like the sound of that.”
“Let’s say someone was trying to frame me. They knew I was talking to Gwenie in my shop. They saw us go in or something.” I didn’t know what the something was, so I just went with it. “When we left, they saw I didn’t lock the door. They killed Gwenie, dragged her into my shop and set it on fire. Only they wanted to catch her body on fire, trying to disguise how she was really killed. The fire was put out before her body got burned.”
“She wasn’t burned.” Oscar’s jaw dropped when the realization that her body was perfectly intact and burn free. “She wasn’t burned at all.”
“Right.” I gulped. “Which means someone really is trying to frame me.” My heart beat rapidly, my palms were sweating. Suddenly I wasn’t so hungry anymore. “But who?”
Chapter Sixteen
Oscar was too excited with the sleuthing we had concocted at dinner to stay over. He said he was going to go back to Whispering Falls and run it all by Colton. I encouraged him to stay the night there at his place since it would be too late to drive back, not to mention I had to go to Mystic Lights without him knowing.
“Are you sure?” he asked standing under the porch light of my house. “I don’t know.”
“I’m going to be fine.” I pointed down at Mr. Prince Charming, who was batting around a few cicadas on the step before flicking them off onto the ground into the cicada cemetery with all the other victims who fell prey to him.
Oscar ran his fingers down the side of my face, tracing my lips with his finger.
“I swear to God.” He rested his palm on my cheek. “If I find out someone is trying to frame you, they will have to deal with me.”
“It’s all going to be fine.” I tried to keep my voice steady when the images of the latest nightmare shook my memory.
Unfortunately, my intuition told me it was going to get much worse before it was going to get better.
I rolled up on my toes, wrapped my hand around his neck, bringing his lips to mine. I was shocked at how eager I was to kiss him.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to drive back?” he whispered, his breath hot against my lips. “There will be more of this.”
There we stood. On the porch of my childhood home making out like a couple of horny teenagers.
Ahem, someone clearing his throat made me pull away, but Oscar continued to try to kiss me.
“Oscar.” I poked Oscar in the chest, and then slid my finger over to Mac McGurtle.
“I get it. I get it.” Oscar put his hands in the air like he was surrendering. “Mac, I’m expecting you to take care of my gal.”
“I’ll do my best.” Mac cleared his throat and waited for Oscar to make his exit.
“Tell Mac what you told me.” Oscar pointed to me. A stern look on his face. “I’ll let you know about that body.”
I waved Oscar off and waved Mac in. Mr. Prince Charming took his spot on the radiator. When Mac passed, he gave Mr. Prince Charming a good scratch.
Purr, purrrr. Mr. Prince Charming had a smile on his face.
“Let’s get down to business, shall we.” Mac used the briefcase in his hand to point in the direction of the couch in the family room.
When I followed him in there, it hit me that there weren’t any family pictures in my house. The only picture I had of me and Darla was hanging on the wall in A Charming Cure.
“Are you okay?” Mac asked.
I bit my lip and nodded my head. I wasn’t. I had to get that picture. Tonight.
Mac smacked his briefcase down on the coffee table, catching my attention. He rolled the fancy lock with his thick fingers and slid them open. He pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose before he opened the briefcase. He took out a file folder with Gwenie’s name across it.
“The autopsy is not back yet.” He looked at me over the rims of his glasses. “At least that is what I could get out of Patience. Not that she is much help, but I gave her some lettuce for her ostrich.”
Patience would do anything for her pet ostrich. I couldn’t say that for the feathery bird. Every time I saw them, he looked like he was trying to get away from her.
“Good move.” I smiled, knowing how happy that probably made Patience.
“Anyway.” He lifted his hands. “They are hoping to have it complete in the next two days. Something about the family wanting them to send off the samples to their village in Florida.”
“Understandable.” Some relief sat in my gut. At least it gave me a couple days minimum to figure it all out.
“The samples are all taken and sent off, which means the body is ready for burial.” He opened the file. “The family is going to hold a service for them at Two Sisters tomorrow and tonight the sisters are going to cremate her.”
“Cremate?” I asked. It was unusual for a family to have a cremation without some sort of ceremony.
“Yeah, around midnight or something strange like that.” He shrugged. “Each village is different.”
I was going to have to get around Whispering Falls without anyone seeing me. Evidently there was a lot going to be happening around midnight.
“Full moon!” I smacked my leg, which hurt since my dress didn’t cover all my thighs.
“Excuse me?”
“Nothing.” I played it off, but during a full moon, cremation was big. It was said the spirits of evil were kept at bay from the glow of the full moon, leaving only loving spirits. This made sure the deceased person being cremated wasn’t brought back as someone’s familiar or as an animal, like the fireflies.
Since Petunia was an animal reader, most of her clients lived past lives as spiritualists. They would make sure Gwenie moved on. That had to be it, I just knew it. Regardless, I was going to steer way clear from them and Two Sisters and a Funeral.
“What did Oscar want you to tell me?” Mac grabbed a pen and paper. I told him my two theories. He agreed it could be plausible and he’d use his resources to check into it.
Unfortunately, his timing wasn’t as quick as my timing. I would be one step ahead of him and anyone else Oscar decided to tell.
When Mac left, I changed my dress into a pair of jeans and comfy sweatshirt. I had a couple hours to kill. I didn’t want to wait around, so I decided to make a quick house call to Adeline.
“You stay here.” I instructed Mr. Prince Charming.
He darted in between and around my legs in protest. I bent down to pick him up and he swatted at my wrist.
“Ouch!” I grabbed my wrist, realizing he only wanted me to wear my charm bracelet. “Fine. Fine. But you don’t have to be a jerk.”
Rowl! He darted off underneath my bed.
Madame Torres lit up next to the bed. The hot pink words glowed in the depths of her black ball. Anger, bitter, annoyed, death.
“I’ll be fine,” I said one more time. I wasn’t sure whom I was trying to convince. Mr. Prince Charming, Madame Torres, or me.
I drove the Green Machine down Adeline’s street. It was the typical neighborhood in Locust Grove. The houses were all cape cod style, but Adeline had the best yard in her subdivision. Her flowerbed running along the front of the house was neatly kept and the yard was perfectly manicured. Adeline’s car was in the driveway.
I pulled behind hers.
The porch light flipped on when I knocked on her door.
“June,” Adeline’s voice escalated. She pulled the door wide open. Her small frame stood there in her pajamas. She tucked a strand of her sandy blond hair behind her ear. “What are you doing in Locust Grove?”
“I’m staying at my old house for a while, so I thought I’d stop by for a quick hello.” I didn’t technically lie. I just didn’t tell her I was a number one suspect for murder.
“Come in if you don’t mind me in my pj’s.” She stepped aside, making enough room for me to come in.
“Of course I don’t.” I stepped into the grey foyer. I loved how she decorated with black hardwood floors and the wainscoting on the bottom half of the wall. A delicate crystal chandelier hung from the center of the ceiling making her romantic shabby chic style of decorating stand out.
“Don’t mind my house. It’s a little messy.” Adeline used her good southern charm when we both knew there was no mess.
“Can I get you something to drink?” she asked.
“No, don’t make a fuss. I wanted to get a schedule of your yoga classes.” It sounded like a good idea. If I was going to be in Locust Grove, I might as well hang out with my friend. . .until they came for me with the paddy wagon.
“I have a schedule in here.” She motioned me to follow her into her kitchen.
Her style of decorating ran flawlessly throughout the house. She plucked something out of a cute wire rack that was nailed on the side of one of the whitewashed kitchen cabinets. She handed me piece of paper. It was a schedule from the YMCA and her classes were circled in pink.
She leaned on the butcher-block island, using her elbows to prop herself up. She looked at me. “I’d love to have you. Tomorrow night will be perfect.”
“It just might work.” I tapped the paper. “I’m going to go to the flea market tomorrow to get an application to open a booth.”
“You are?” She drew back.
“Why not?”
“Okay…” Nervously, she walked over to the window and started to adjust the lace curtains in the window. “Not that you would tell me or anything, but what about your shop?”
“My shop.” I let out a heavy sigh. “There was a fire and I can’t work there until after the fire marshal finishes up the investigation report.”
“Fire?” Adeline’s mouth formed in disbelief. “Really?”
“Yeah.” I shook my head. There was no way I could tell her the truth. She already had her suspicions about the real magic happening around Whispering Falls. She didn’t have it all figured out but she was close. “It happened at night. I guess I forgot to turn off my cauld. . .” I stopped myself. “My stove where I make my herbs.”
“That is awful.” Sadness appeared in her eyes. “What are you going to do?”
“For now I need to keep busy and make a living until the investigation is over so I’m going to stay in my home here and work at the flea market.” I smiled. “You never know, I just might have two A Charming Cure locations. One here and one in Whispering Falls.”
“Look at you going big.” She grinned ear to ear.
Chapter Seventeen
My visit with Adeline was exactly what I needed. A little girl time without all the talk about burning buildings and dead bodies. I told her to expect me at the yoga class. It was going to be a good relief after what I thought was going to be a long day. And she said she’d help me set up my booth in the morning.
The back roads to Whispering Falls were dark. I’d rely on my intuition to get into the village.
I stopped the Green Machine on the edge of town and read the old beat-up wooden sign, “Welcome to Whispering Falls, A Charming Village.”
I turned the lights off on the car and tapped the wheel.
“Charming alright,” I groaned, trying to decide my next move.
The lynching mob wouldn’t be around because according to Mac, they were all going to be at Two Sisters and a Funeral for the cremation of Gwenie. It wasn’t like I could roll the car through town and up to my cottage because they would see me.
This was the moment I wished I had Aunt Helena’s broom or even the gift to drive the darn thing. Instead, I had to pull the El Camino in a wooded area off the side of the road and hoof it through the woods into town.
Two Sisters was the first business into town and I made sure I wasn’t seen. I kept hidden in the deep shadows of the trees, even with the moonbeams beating down. The sounds of chains and chants caught my attention.
I tiptoed from behind, tree-to-tree, getting closer and closer to the singing. In the distance, Eloise swung the ball of incense down Main Street.
“Incense, sweet and fine, cleanse this area of mine. Purge this place of magical space. Mother Earth cleanse us free for this is the space we want you to be. Hands to the sky and hearts to the heavens, make us whole an even leaven.” E
loise swung the chain up and down each side of her body. The smell of cinnamon filled the air with each puff of smoke.
The lights of Two Sisters were on. Through the windows, I could see shadows moving about.
“It’s about time you got here.” Eloise stood next to me.
“You scared me.” I jumped around, breaking a few branches beneath me. My hot breath caught the nip of the night air. “I guess I should’ve known you saw me.”
“The incense lets me see your aura over here hiding and rightfully so.” She swung the incense around me. “It couldn’t hurt to cleanse you too.” She winked.
“Ya think?” Sarcasm dripped in my tone.
“Oscar did give me a hint about what has been going on. He said you were going to reopen your flea market shop,” she said.
Her eyes held the sympathy gaze I hated. I didn’t want people feeling sorry for me.
“It doesn’t sound good.” She rubbed her hand down my arm. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“I would love to, but I’m not supposed to be in town.” I was probably wasting my breath because I bet she already knew that. “I’m on my way to officially resign my position as Village President.”
A faint light came from the inside of Mystic Lights and it was my cue to get over there.
“You know I will be more than willing to help you if you need me.” She said her words as if she had a deeper meaning but I didn’t have time to question her.
“I appreciate that.” I turned back to Eloise, but she was gone as quick as she had appeared.
The nighttime wind whipped and howled around me. The moon was still full and a low cloud hung around creating enough shadow for me to slip past the side windows of Two Sisters.
Petunia, Peony, and Amethyst were talking to Constance. By the looks of it, Constance was holding a file. Unfortunately, I couldn’t see what was on it, other than a doodle or two, which was probably made by Patience because she was sitting at the table doodling on something while the other four huddled.
What I wouldn’t give to get my hands on the file. Inwardly, I groaned and moved with the moon’s shadow as the cloud moved along the surface, leading me to the back of Mystic Lights. The cellar door was propped open, which was my invitation to go on in.