by Tonya Kappes
I truly should’ve stayed in my classes at Hidden Hall, A Spiritualist University, but one thing after another piled up on me and I couldn’t commit. I had no idea how to read Madame Torres when she gave me my clues. Everything she said was in my life, everything but bitter and revenge.
Okay, bitter maybe. Yes, I was bitter a bit toward Petunia and her family for making me leave Whispering Falls. Yes I was bitter for them storming up the hill with torches in their hands. But revenge? Never. I would never seek revenge. As all spiritualists know, revenge was never a good tool for our gifts. It muddied the waters and made the spells go all cock-eyed.
The light clicked back on just as a message rang in on my phone. It was Oscar letting me know he was going to be staying in Whispering Falls because Colton was working on the case.
The phone chirped again. It was Peony.
No luck with the June’s Gems. BUT! I found a bottle that looks like it might have come from your shop! The ingredients: plantain, calamus root, black thorn, rue, night shade. Does this mean anything?
I reached for the Magical Cures book and thumbed through the ingredients. I didn’t recall making a potion with all of those because most of mine contained four or less herbs.
Night shade. My finger stopped when I felt a shock.
“Night shade,” I whispered, tapping Madame Torres’s ball.
“Night shade,” she repeated back, instantly turning purple with a skull and crossbones taking over her ball. “Poison.”
“Oh god,” I groaned and reached for my phone.
Yes! I need you to keep your phone on you. I’m going to have you meet me later. Can you steal it? My thumbs flew over my keyboard. I had to get the potion in my hands and confront Amethyst. Plus I might have you give Amethyst a message where she has to meet me. My dream might just come true tonight and I’ll expose her.
Peony responded: Got it! Can you make it soon? I’m getting a little nervous here.
Keep your phone on you! I typed, wondering if I should get in touch with Oscar. There wasn’t nothing to tell, yet. And I could always get in touch with him when I decided on my plan. If only I knew what the plan was.
All I knew was Amethyst gave Gwenie the poison in a potion, then set my place on fire. But why would she do that to me? Why would she do that to Gwenie or even Petunia?
“Show me Treesort,” I said to Madame Torres again.
Madame Torres filled with the inside of Treesort. The fire was roaring. Everyone was there. Colton, Ophelia, Gerald, Faith, the Karimas, everyone. And there was a big display of June’s Gems on the table along with food from The Gathering Grove.
“What on earth is going on?” I brought Madame Torres up to my face to see if I could get a better look. “Good girl.” I grinned when I saw Peony talking Amethyst’s head off.
I put Madame Torres deep in my bag. It was decided. If I was going to go Whispering Falls, it was now or never. Everyone was there and it was time to get some clues on what the hell was going on. And get that potion bottle from Peony.
“Let’s go,” I instructed Mr. Prince Charming.
He curled up on his toes, arching his back into a tall bridge, reminding me of the yoga class with Adeline.
“No time for yoga tonight,” I said to Mr. Prince Charming.
He yawned and didn’t make a fuss about being woken up. We got in the Green Machine and set our sights on the edge of Whispering Falls. Just like the night before, I parked the car in the deep wooded area off the road and we made our trek through the trees and into the side lot of Two Sisters and a Funeral.
There was no denying it, the tug at my gut told me to go inside, snoop around. Everyone was at the Treesort and it would be perfect timing. It was like the stars and moon were lining up, only the stars weren’t out and the moon was still covered up by clouds. The faint light down the street caught my peripheral vision.
There was a light on at Wicked Good. Gwenie was dead. She wasn’t coming back; maybe Raven was at the bakery and she might have some answers I needed. I didn’t see her at the Treesort, while I did see her sister Faith. Hopefully Raven was alone.
It wasn’t hard to get from the funeral home to Wicked Good. The moon was cast in a shadow, leaving the evil lingering in the air. It was almost hard for me to breathe, but if I was going to get anywhere, tonight was the night.
The back door of Wicked Good was propped open, the music was blaring and flour was flying. Raven shimmied and shook to the music, singing a word here and there as she mixed and stirred her delicious creations.
I gave a light knock on the door, making Raven jump around, throwing raw dough at my face.
“Whoa!” I ducked in time for the weapon to whiz past my head.
“God! June! You scared the crap out of me.” Raven pushed her black hair back with the back of her hand. Her face dusted in flour. “Get in here before they come for you.” She waved me in and shut the door behind me when I was safely inside. “What are you doing here?”
“Nothing is being done to get me back in town and charges haven’t been filed so I need to find answers out for myself.” I looked over the counter of the goodies.
“I heard they were going to file a charge against you tomorrow so you had to come back and stay. Something about you having all the fun in Locust Grove not caring a thing about your shop or Gwendolyn.” She shook her head.
“You don’t think I had anything to do with burning down my own shop, let alone killing Gwenie.” I was getting a feeling of disconnect from my friend.
“It’s strange how you just up and went back to Locust Grove and started your booth back up, that’s all.” She shrugged and went back to kneading the ball of dough in front of her.
“I think it’s strange you are supplying Amethyst with a product named after me.” My eyes lowered. I could feel the heat rising. “Especially after you left me the box of June’s Gems on the steps of Mystic Lights cellar last night.”
“I did not.” Raven turned her face toward me. “I did no such thing.”
“Right.” I wasn’t buying it. “How did they get there?”
“June, I reluctantly made those for Amethyst. A few of her customers told her they loved them. She bought some for the rooms and insisted they be at her big grand opening party tonight. I had to keep her in mind when I was making them because. . .” abruptly she stopped. Her hands deep in the dough. Her words not coming out.
“What?” I asked. When there was no movement from her I knew she saw something in the dough, I begged, “Please tell. I have a right to know.”
“I can’t.” She bit her lip. “I can’t break the rules anymore.”
“Break the rules? You are my friend. What are you talking about?” I asked.
“Petunia took over as Village President. She put an article in the Whispering Falls Gazette stating Rule Number One was going to be enforced. No spiritualist is allowed to read another one in the community until the investigation of her cousin is over.” She gulped.
“She can’t do that,” I protested.
“She can do what she wants. She’s in charge. Maybe you should go.” She took her hands out of the dough and walked over to the door, opening it.
“Are you serious?” I asked. “Do you honestly think I did this to my own shop?”
“I think people do strange things when they are up against a wall. But no. I know you didn’t do it and we have to figure out who did. In fact, Faith is going around the village asking questions and going to do an exposéeon the murder along with reasons why you wouldn’t have done it.” Raven walked over and gave me a hug. “I know you didn’t do it. I also know there is evil and it will rear it’s ugly head. I guarantee you we will all be here standing right behind you when it does.”
“You are right! I didn’t do it. And I really appreciate everything you do hear or find out because I have a couple theories that I want to keep to myself until I have a couple solid leads.” I wanted to blurt out all the things I had learned about Amethyst and the potion
, but my gut told me I needed to keep it to myself. What if I was wrong? What if Amethyst wasn’t the killer? I had to be sure.
Seconds later, an explosion sent me flying in the air. My bag thrown from my body. Madame Torres rolled out and lit up, bright red flames flickered on her surface. I reached my hand out for her. Something red and sharp dug into my leg. I winced at the pain radiating through my body. The object came down again, I rolled to the right to get out of the way as it pierced the dirt.
Madame Torres was just out of my reach. A picture of The Gathering Rock appeared in her globe.
“Do I need to go to The Gathering Rock?” I asked.
The back door of Wicked Good went up in flames. I covered my head.
“Raven!” I screamed looking back. “Raven!”
Hisss, hisss. The sound turned my eyes back toward Madame Torres.
The yellow snake I had seen at Eloise’s curled and wrapped around Madame Torres, dragging her off. The smoky air cleared. Mr. Prince Charming’s tail danced a few feet from me. The snake slithered away just in time for the red object to miss him.
“Help me,” I gasped reaching out for anything, anyone. Another explosion propelled me forward.
The sound of footsteps ran toward me.
“June!” Oscar’s voice echoed through the smoke. Sounds of footprints and voices mixed in his. “Oh God.” He sounded desperate.
His hand rubbed my head. He bent down, helping me to my feet. He put my arm around his shoulders, letting me lean against him.
“What are you doing here?” His eyes held disappointment in them. He swept me off my feet and into his arms, running across the street to A Charming Cure.
“Hold it right there, Oscar!” Colton screamed. His footsteps getting closer. “You can’t save her this time!”
The sound of fire trucks and emergency vehicles sped down the street, stopping at Wicked Good. Oscar didn’t stop. He whisked up into the shop and into the storage room.
“I said stop!” Colton stood at the storage room door. His wand pointing right at us. “I have more experience than you. Hand her over and no charges will be filed against you.”
Oscar put my feet on the ground but still held me up.
“Good. Now put her on the ground and walk over here with me.” Colton kept his wand and eyes on me.
In a flash, Oscar drew his wand. Smoke and fireworks surrounded us. The next thing I knew, I was in the comfort of Eloise’s garden with Oscar by my side.
Chapter Twenty-One
“Madame Torres.” I gasped, holding my leg. “She’s gone. Some snake took her.”
“Forget her. She’s not been much help to you now.” Oscar bent down and waved his wand over my leg. “Bend your leg.”
I did what I was told.
“It worked.” I bent my leg a few times. The pain was gone. “You are using your wand.”
“That’s what night classes can do for a wizard.” He laughed, though worry was written all over his face. “Now, what are you doing here?”
“I had to come.” I knew he wasn’t going to like what I had done. “It seemed no one was getting anywhere with what was going on. The evidence keeps piling up against me. Someone was there tonight. Someone stabbed my leg.”
Oscar helped me up to sitting. Eloise came outside.
“What is going on?” she asked. She bent down to get a look at me. “Something evil is here.” She moved her head side to side, her eyes darting back and forth. “Get her inside.”
Oscar and I didn’t hesitate. He got me to my feet and with his help, I put more pressure on my leg. It was feeling much better since he waved his wand over it.
“There is something very, very evil that wants to kill you.” Eloise was chopping away at some herbs she had picked from the vines of the tree inside her house. “And I’m not so sure it’s not from the mortal world.”
“What are you saying?” Oscar stood next to his aunt watching her dice the concoction she was making. “I’m sensing a breach in the system.”
“As in a mortal?” I asked, not knowing what any of this meant.
“Yes. I feel someone has figured out who we are and they are using you to help destroy the community. I also feel Madame Torres is safe, so you need to know she will come back to you.” Eloise got out her steel ball with the long chain she uses for the nightly cleansing of the streets. “Someone is definitely trying to destroy us and I’m going to walk the streets all night in order to help uncover the intruder.”
“Oscar,” I put my hand on him. “Do you think Adeline knows?”
“Why? Did you tell her something?” he asked.
“No,” I shook my head. “But I was careless. When she helped me with the booth this morning, I didn’t really let her help me.”
“What did you do?” Oscar was getting good at making me feel bad. “God, June.” He ran his hands through his hair.
“Well, when she wasn’t looking I sprinkled a potion around the booth to get it set up in a matter of seconds. Everything was done when she got back. She did question it, but took my explanation for what it was worth. Plus when Peony came to see me. . .”
“Peony came to see you?” Eloise asked.
“Yeah, and she’s so young and innocent, she doesn’t realize the things she says and I had to send Adeline off when Peony was talking about Gwenie’s death.” I could just kill myself for being so careless. “It’s just that I’ve been around here so long, it’s my way of life. I forget not everyone is a spiritualist, especially outside of Whispering Falls.”
“What did Adeline say?” Eloise asked.
“Nothing. But Peony had plenty to say.” I gulped. “Did you know Gwenie has been in trouble before with fire?” I looked at Oscar. “Plus she wasn’t cremated because the Karimas are looking at other ways she might have died.”
“She was poisoned,” there was regret in his voice. “But there was also some dried blood in her hair. Her skull was pierced with a small object, hitting the brain. They are doing the forensics to see if the blunt force came to the head before or after the poisoning.”
“What?” I gasped, nervously tucking a piece of hair behind my ear. I rubbed my head thinking about the object that might have hit her and about the poison Amethyst gave her. “I might have some evidence Amethyst gave her poison.” I bit my lip, knowing Oscar would go nuts if he knew I had brought Peony into this mess.
“The Karima sisters finished the autopsy. Colton said Gwendolyn’s stomach had three substances in it. The IBS cure you gave her, remnants of June’s Gem, and poison.” Oscar said. “How do you know about the poison?”
“I sort of asked Peony to look around.” I pulled the phone out of my bag and showed him the texts. He showed them to Eloise.
“Gwenie didn’t like June’s Gem. She even said so, to my face.” My eyes lowered. “And Amethyst. She’s serving them like they are named after her in her Treesort. None of this is making sense to me. None of it.” I stopped. “What if she laced the June’s Gems with the poison?” I was grasping for straws. “And her history shows she has been in trouble for fires before.”
Things Peony said to me earlier flooded my head.
“Peony said Petunia was mad at me for all sorts of reasons. She was mad because I became Village President, taking it from her. She is mad because Oscar asked me to marry him on her wedding day. She’s mad because I’m breathing!” I slammed my fist on the counter.
“Maybe there is more to it and you aren’t looking at it from the spiritualist prospective.” Eloise opened the ball and stuffed it full with whatever she was making.
“How could you say that?” I asked. “I have all the evidence pointing to Amethyst. We just have to catch her.”
“Have you really let your intuition guide you? Madame Torres and Mr. Prince Charming can only take you so far.” She warned, “I feel it’s only a matter of time before they find you. They are busy now sorting through Wicked Good, asking Raven many questions of why you were there. I believe she’s coveri
ng for you. But I’m going to walk the streets. You,” she pointed at me, “need to get in touch with your spiritual side and let it guide you. Not your head. Not your heart. Not physical evidence.”
I gulped. She was right. I was letting my emotions get in the way of my duties.
“You need to stay put.” She wasn’t letting Oscar off the hook. “Colton will have you locked up in no time for helping her.”
“Understood.” Oscar took me by the hand and we followed Eloise to the front door. We watched her dart into the night.
“I’m going to lay down for a minute,” I said to Oscar.
My leg felt better, but it still ached a little. We walked over to the couch in front of Eloise’s fireplace. With a flick of his wand, Oscar lit the logs inside and sat down on the couch, pulling me to him.
“Think back to Adeline and her visits here.” Oscar pulled me closer, I laid my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes. “I’m not so sure she isn’t the killer. After all, you did put her boyfriend behind bars.”
I gulped. It wasn’t too long ago, her boyfriend had been convicted, thanks to me. But she was past that. We were past that. Weren’t we?
All of Adeline’s visit came back to me. There wasn’t anything signaling me to her knowing how everything around Whispering Falls worked. She was always a good friend. Never asking questions. Accepting me for who I was.
“No, no,” I begged. My weak hands batted at the flames surrounding me. The yellow snake curled his body around my legs. Tighter and tighter. I fought. The grip the snake had on me cut off the circulation to my legs. The red weapon was above me, trying to come down on me like a hammer shattering the tile beneath me. I crawled back on my hands, scooting on my butt, with my back against The Gathering Rock. The snake pulled. The red weapon missed. The yellow serpent pulled again, this time longer, harder. I gasped. I wanted to protest, but my lungs were filled. I could feel my time was coming to an end. The evil one had won. Suddenly, out of nowhere, the killer’s feet stood at my head. Red strappy heels.
“No!” I flung my hands in the air. Oscar grabbed them and held me tight. I fought him. He held tighter.