Whisker of a Doubt (Mystic Notch Cozy Mystery Series Book 6)

by Leighann Dobbs

  It made Pandora nervous because she didn’t want Willa to focus on Felicity and ignore the real killer. But if that killer was Nathan Anderson and the cats could do something to catch him today, maybe she wouldn’t have to worry about Willa’s safety much longer.

  Pandora turned and raced toward the section of town where her instincts told her the other cats were hunting Nathan. She didn’t have a minute to lose.

  The High Street Clinic was shiny and modern. It was fairly new, built in the past few years, and the waiting room was pungent with the scent of rubbing alcohol. We asked for Hattie’s niece and were told to wait in the plush waiting room, which was practically empty.

  A soap opera played on the wall-mounted large-screen TV, and we waited patiently. Soon, a perky woman in her late thirties, dressed in pink scrubs, came out to greet us.

  “Hi, I’m Elise.” She held her hand out and looked at us expectantly.

  I shook her hand. “I’m Willa Chance, from Last Chance Books. I’m a friend of your aunts, Hattie and Cordelia.”

  “Oh. They’re actually my great aunts. Aren’t they a hoot?” Elise said.

  “They sure are.”

  Concern flickered in her brown eyes. “I hope nothing has happened to them.”

  “Oh no, not at all. I just came by to give you this.” I shoved the coupon at her. “I’m running a promotion for friends and family of my favorite customers. Hattie and Cordelia told me how busy you are, and I had an errand nearby, so thought I would drop it off.”

  She looked down at the coupon. “Why, that’s very nice. Thank you.”

  Her eyes fell on Pepper, and Pepper shoved the travel mug at her. “And I’m Pepper St. Onge. I run The Tea Shoppe downtown, and I brought a special tea to introduce you to my herbal blends.”

  Elise took the mug and looked at it, apparently not sure what to do with it.

  “There’s tea in it. It’s hot and freshly made. It’ll taste the best if you drink it now,” Pepper added.

  “Okay.” Elise took the mug and sipped then smacked her lips together. “Well, it is quite tasty. What is it?”

  “It’s a blend of herbs and flowers. It’s supposed to give you energy for your workday. I figured it would be especially good for you, since you work with a lot of sick people, because it also has medicinal properties that will help bolster your immune system.”

  I glanced sideways at Pepper. Had she just made that up, or was it really true?

  “That sounds perfect.” Elise took another big gulp.

  I glanced at Pepper again. Was it okay for me to start questioning her? Pepper nodded subtly.

  “Have you heard about Albert Schumer, the retired postmaster? I think your aunts knew him.”

  “Oh, yes. Terrible. Albert was a nice man. He used to come in for his lipid tests.” Elise made a face as if she realized she shouldn’t have told us that.

  “Right, and his son-in-law, Desmond, came here too for his carpal tunnel.”

  “Oh, yes. That’s right. He did. Dr. Green operated on him. I believe that was about a month ago, but his stitches got infected. Now, you know, I told him to watch out for that. Not to get it wet. Keep it covered. Not to get anything on it and to clean it very carefully because infections can set in easily.” Elise covered her mouth with her free hand and glanced at the tea. She hiccuped then added, “In fact, he was right here at the very time Albert died. The police came and asked me about it. I could vouch because I happened to be on duty.”

  So much for him faking his alibi.

  “Are you sure?”

  Elsie slurped more of the drink. “Yes, I even double-checked in the system for the police. It’s all computerized with the time the patient comes in and so on.”

  “I’d heard a rumor that he didn’t even really need that operation,” I said.

  “Oh, no. He needed it. His job is very repetitive, and he had a strain in his arm. I know it was quite necessary.”

  “Really? And you don’t think he could work?”

  “Oh, no. There’s no working for at least eight weeks after it, and he’s still not even in his eighth week.”

  The receptionist slid the glass window open. “Elise, Dr. Martin needs you in room five.”

  “Oh, gotta go.” Elise held up the mug and coupon. “Thanks for stopping by.”

  She disappeared through a door, and I turned to Pepper. “Will she be okay to work?”

  “She’ll be fine. The tea wears off quickly.” Pepper held the door open for me, and we exited out into the sunshine. “It may cause her to confess to any doctors she has a secret crush on them, though that may not necessarily be a bad thing.”

  “So I guess Desmond can’t be the killer,” I said as we got settled in my Jeep.

  “Seems like his alibi is airtight if it’s tracked in the system, and Elise would have told you the truth.” A self-satisfied smile played on Pepper’s lips. “Because she drank my tea.”

  “I’m not sure if I’m happy about that or not.” I pulled out of the parking lot and headed back toward our shops. “I’m glad for Albert, but Desmond seemed sketchy. He had dealings with Nathan Anderson, and I saw Nathan with Felicity outside my shop.”

  “Nathan and Felicity could be in on it together,” Pepper said. “Emma told you she saw Nathan driving away from the post office that morning, and we know Felicity isn’t exactly one to want positivity in Mystic Notch.”

  “I also saw Nathan following Barney Delaney… Either that, or he was spying on me.”

  “Maybe he was spying for Felicity.”

  “Hmm… Good point. I hadn’t thought about that,” I said. “Either way, I think I’ll warn Barney to be careful. He’s a bit of a grouch, but I don’t want to see anything happen to him.”

  “So you don’t think he might have killed Albert to win the checkers tournament?” Pepper asked.

  I glanced over at her. Was she serious? “That would be kind of drastic, wouldn’t it?”

  “Yeah, I suppose. Hester’s letter is a much more compelling reason for murder, and we don’t even know if it had a rare stamp. Desmond might have tried to sell it to Barney, but then it would likely just be the envelope.”

  “And Barney would have just bought it, not waited around to kill Albert for it,” I said. “According to Albert, he gave Desmond post office memorabilia, so that might have been what Desmond tried to sell to Barney. Desmond probably didn’t know a thing about the letter and its magical ramifications.”

  “Yeah, and Desmond isn’t from an old Mystic Notch family, but Nathan and Felicity are,” Pepper pointed out as I parked at the curb.

  We said our goodbyes and headed toward our individual shops. A quick glance at Pandora’s empty cat bed perked me up. The fact that she wasn’t lazing around made me feel better about her health. She was probably in back, scheming up some kind of payback for leaving without her.

  For once, I might not mind that she’d knocked all my pens on the floor or clawed all the toilet paper off the roll in the bathroom and papered my back hall with it. I wouldn’t even mind a hairball under the couch if it meant Pandora was back to her usual perky self.

  As I dug out my key, my mind drifted to Felicity. I’d seen her outside the shop, arguing about a letter with Nathan. And why would they be arguing? Only one reason. One of them had it, and the other one wanted it. I mentally crossed Desmond off my list and moved Felicity and Nathan to the top. I really wanted it to be Felicity—and I was sure she wanted the letter—but it was Nathan’s car that had been seen fleeing the murder scene.

  But then why had Nathan been following Barney? Why wasn’t he running around town, digging up the ingredients? Hmm… Maybe not all the ingredients were buried in the earth.

  Pepper had said that Hester Warren had buried and hidden ingredients. Maybe some of them were hidden in other items. Antique items. Barney had a lot of strange old antiques. Maybe one of the ingredients was right in his shop. But if so, why wouldn’t Nathan just buy it? Barney had seemed disgusted with Desm
ond and Nathan before. Was it possible he’d refused to sell it to Nathan, and Nathan was planning to take it by force? Perhaps use the tools he’d claimed had been stolen from his shed?

  Had Nathan been stalking Barney to try to figure out when he could break into his shop and take the item? But he hadn’t broken in. If he had, Striker would have told me. He might still be intending to break in, and if he got desperate enough, he might not care whether Barney was there or not. My gut clenched—Barney could be in danger.

  As I fished out my key, I noticed a blue Post-it note stuck to the side window. Speak of the devil, it was a note from Barney. He wanted me to stop by his shop to settle up for the book I’d let him take. I was sure he’d still be open.

  It was late afternoon, and the street behind me was practically empty. No sign of Nathan Anderson’s silver Prius. No sign of Felicity either. That made me feel safer. The promise I’d made to Striker about being careful rang in my ears, but walking to Barney’s antique store could hardly be dangerous if Nathan and Felicity were nowhere about.

  I cast another glance at the empty cat bed. Maybe it was a good time to pay Barney a visit and collect my money. I could warn him to watch out for Nathan. Hopefully, by the time I got back, Pandora would be done wreaking whatever kind of havoc she had in store for me inside the shop. I shoved the Post-it note in my pocket and headed toward Barney’s.

  23

  Pandora approached the group of cats silently. “He’s acting very suspicious,” Tigger whispered. “What’s he doing?”

  Inkspot narrowed his gaze on the human clawing through the dirt with his hands. “Obviously trying to find another ingredient for the spell.”

  “Well.” Otis snorted. “Must not be buried very deep if he doesn’t have a shovel.”

  As if hearing their hushed conversation, Nathan stopped digging and glared over his shoulder in their direction. All five cats hunched back into the shadows. Pandora’s mind raced. Had he heard them? No, it was impossible. Unless a feline chose to reveal themselves to a human and formed a telepathic connection with them, their quiet murmurs would only sound like whispers of wind to humans.

  “This one is different. I am sure he is up to something,” Kelley said.

  Nathan straightened slightly, brushing his hands against the legs of his jeans. Then his gaze locked on Kelley, and he strode toward them, his expression furious.

  Panic surged through Pandora.

  Inkspot hissed loudly, baring his teeth. “Attack!”

  The cats charged Nathan, claws sharp as they leapt onto his legs and arms. Nathan stopped in his tracks, yelping as he was scratched and bitten. “Wait! Hold on!”

  Pandora, who’d dug her claws into Nathan’s thigh, noticed the hands he held up in surrender in front of her. No scratches. Kelley had said the killer had cut themselves on the glass container of the first ingredient. A sinking feeling bubbled up inside her. This might very well be a mistake.

  “Please stop!” Nathan pleaded. “You’ll ruin everything.”

  Inkspot leaned back from where he was hanging off Nathan’s arm and stared into the man’s eyes. “Are you speaking to us?” he said telepathically.

  “Yes,” Nathan said, his tone low. “Do you see anyone else around?”

  “But we’re cats.” Otis slowly retracted his claws from Nathan’s ankle. “No one talks to cats.”

  Nathan exhaled slowly then crouched down to allow the rest of the felines to climb off of him. “Some of us do.”

  All the cats exchanged a look then convened off to the side of the clearing to discuss the situation.

  “How is this possible?” Pandora asked.

  “I’ve heard stories of a rare lineage descended from Hester Warren who can actually speak to cats,” Tigger said. “It is rumored Hester spoke to her cat, Obsidian. Maybe Nathan is one of them.”

  “If that’s the case, then why is he trying to dig up the ingredients?” Inkspot asked, his words laced with suspicion. “Makes no sense to me.”

  “He doesn’t have any scratches.” Kelley sniffed in Nathan’s direction. “I cannot make out his blood type, but whoever dug up the first ingredient was cut. I am sure of it.”

  Otis narrowed his eyes in Nathan’s direction. “Then there are two perpetrators. This one is most dangerous.”

  “I can hear you, you know,” Nathan said.

  “Tell us why you killed Albert Schumer and where you hid the letter,” Inkspot demanded.

  “Listen, I swear I’m not Albert’s killer,” Nathan said, walking over to join them. “I know about the letter, though. My grandmother told me about the list a long time ago. Our family is sworn to protect it. So, when Desmond mentioned Albert finding an old, undelivered letter from Hester Warren, I suspected that’s what it was. But I give you my magical oath that I did not kill Albert Schumer. I did, however, follow him that day that he went to the post office to make sure he made it there safely to mail the letter. Turns out I was too late. He was already dead when I arrived, and the letter was gone.”

  “Why should we believe you?” Hope asked.

  Nathan frowned. “I… well… I’ m not sure.” He paused for a minute then rolled up his sleeves. “Look, you said whoever has been digging the ingredients up was cut. I don’t have any cuts.”

  The cats craned their necks forward. It was true, not a scratch on him.

  They exchanged a glance, their eyes luminescent slits in the darkening twilight.

  “If he is working with someone else, then the other person could have dug up the first ingredient,” Otis said. “Pandora’s human was told Nathan was seen fleeing the scene of the crime.”

  Nathan frowned. ‘What? Oh no! I can explain.”

  “Can you also explain why you were arguing with Felicity Bates outside the bookstore? Perhaps you are working with her,” Pandora said. They already knew Felicity didn’t have the letter, though. And if she didn’t have it and wasn’t the one who dug up the ingredient in the glass container, then she couldn’t be the one working with Nathan.

  “I’m not working with Felicity Bates.” Nathan sounded disgusted. “She’s descended from the evil side. Oh, sure, I pretend to get along with her, but that’s only to keep an eye on her.”

  Hope cocked her head to study Nathan. Pandora could see her skepticism was diminishing. She was starting to believe Nathan, and so was Pandora. “You did say they were arguing, Pandora. He may be telling the truth.”

  Nathan nodded eagerly. Encouraged that someone believed him, he rushed on with his explanation. “Of course she knew the letter had surfaced. She tried to bribe me into getting it for her, but until Desmond mentioned Albert having it, I had no idea how to find the letter.”

  “So Desmond knew the importance of the letter?” Pandora asked. Could it have been Desmond all along? He had an alibi for the murder, but if he was working with someone else…

  “He said he thought the envelope contained a valuable stamp. He even tried to sell it to Barney Delaney, but Barney turned him down.” Nathan looked off into the distance. “In fact, Barney wouldn’t buy anything from Desmond, so I pretended like I wanted to work with him, selling stamps and post office memorabilia, so he would hand over the letter. But by that time, it was too late. Albert had already noticed the letter had never been delivered and was determined to bring it to the post office.”

  “And that’s why you followed him,” Inkspot said.

  “Yes. To make sure the letter got mailed, like I said. The recipient, my great-aunt, is long gone, but my family still lives in the house, so I just needed to make sure the letter got delivered, and it would be safe.”

  “Then you must have seen the killer,” Sasha pointed out.

  Nathan’s face fell. “No, unfortunately, I stayed far behind Albert because I didn’t want him to see me following. I knew he was going to the post office, so I waited about ten minutes. But when I got there, Albert was dead, and the letter and the killer were both gone.”

  Pandora’s whiskers twitched. �
��But how is that possible? You would have seen the car at least.”

  “You’d think, but I didn’t see any car.”

  “The killer must have been on foot,” Tigger said. “He or she escaped through the dense shrubbery at the edge of the parking lot onto the side street.”

  Sasha nodded. “They could have parked on any of the side streets.”

  Inkspot trotted over to the place where Nathan had been digging and sniffed at the disturbed earth. “Nothing magic was buried here. Why were you digging?”

  “And why use your hands?” Kelley added.

  Nathan looked down at his dirty hands. “It’s the weirdest thing. Someone broke into my toolshed and stole my shovel, so I have nothing to dig with. I assume whoever it is is trying to frame me.”

  “But what made you come here to this spot?” Inkspot persisted.

  “I’ve narrowed down the list of people who could be interested in the letter to two. I’ve been following them around. I want to protect the letter, and now that I think I’m being framed, I need to make sure the killer is apprehended. I followed one of my suspects here and thought she might have been digging up one of the relics. She didn’t walk away with anything, though, so I hoped she’d dug in the wrong place, and I thought I’d try to recover the ingredient myself.”

  Inkspot’s eyes narrowed. “She?”

  “Felicity Bates. From what you said earlier, it sounds like you suspect her too.”

  Inkspot’s tail twitched. “We did, but it can’t be her. We’ve determined she does not have the letter or the first ingredient.”

  “You have? But…” Nathan frowned. “Oh dear… Yes, now it makes perfect sense.”

  “It does?” Otis asked.

  “Yes, it couldn’t be Felicity, so it must be my other suspect.”

  “And who is that?” Inkspot asked.

  “Why it could only be one person,” Nathan said. “The antique shop owner, Barney Delaney.”

  The hairs on Pandora’s spine stood on end as her blood chilled. The last thing she had seen as she trotted away from the bookstore was Barney leaving the note for Willa. If Barney was the killer and he knew Willa had been asking around, then she could be in grave danger!