The Strongman's Spell

by Amorette Anderson

  “Alyssa is... struggling, to be honest,” Beatrix said. “Please keep this just between us.”

  Everyone in the tub agreed.

  Beatrix went on. “The timing was very bad for her, you know. She was planning to introduce her father and me to her fiance this weekend.... Last night, in fact.”

  “You mean, you haven’t met the man she’s going to marry?” Shauna said, sounding shocked.

  “I know it sounds bizarre,” Beatrix said, “but you have to understand how it was with Carlisle... he was very protective of his daughter. No one was good enough for Alyssa, in his opinion. In fact, he took to writing up very harsh records on every new potential mate that she introduced us to, so she started keeping her dating life private. I don’t blame her.”

  “Whew!” Shauna said. “Sounds like having a record keeper for a father would be very difficult.”

  The man spoke up. “I am so glad my record is clean. Having a tarnished record on the RKR site can make it almost impossible to find work these days.”

  Lee agreed. “Employers are sure to check the new site. It’s so efficient to use. Much easier to access than the Akashic Records ever were. And once a negative record is entered in, it’s there forever. I can see why your daughter started to keep her relationships hidden.”

  “Carlisle was far from an easy father to have,” Beatrix said. “But I truly believe it came from a good place. He just really thought that no one was good enough for his daughter. He couldn't help but see the faults in every man she dated, and once he saw those faults, he had to write about them. It was his nature as a scribe.”

  “So she was going to introduce Carlisle to her fiance on Friday night?” Shauna asked.

  I was beginning to feel annoyed. This was vital information. Why had neither Alyssa nor Beatrix brought it to my attention?

  “Exactly,” Beatrix said. “She told me as soon as we checked in to our suite about the surprise she had planned, but she never had the chance to tell her father. And since her father died, I have a feeling she’s struggling with guilt. One never knows how much time one has with their loved ones. I’m sure she’s regretting her decision to wait so long to get her father’s blessing on her relationship. If she’d been more open with him, he could have met the man she wanted to marry. As it is, she’ll never know if he would have approved or not.”

  “So sad,” Shauna said.

  “It’s a good reminder for all of us that our days are numbered,” the man said. “And we can’t take anything for granted.”

  “Very true,” Lee said. “So have you met her new fiance yet?”

  “Not yet,” Beatrix said. “Alyssa’s been a terrible mess since her father died. She’s overwhelmed with grief.”

  Or guilt, I thought to myself.

  “She said that she’ll introduce me to him at some point this weekend,” Beatrix went on. “But she’s not ready yet.”

  Shauna spoke. “It sounds like she has enough to process as it is. Adding on another emotionally taxing event might just put her over the edge.”

  The man cleared his throat. “It seems like more of an emotional burden to try to hide her relationship than to be open about it,” he said. “At least, that’s how I’d imagine it would feel for myself. I can’t even fathom the strain of keeping my mother away from the person I was planning to marry. It sounds like Carlisle was the one who made life difficult for these fellows, not you...?” his voice rose up at the end, as an invitation to Beatrix to say more.

  There was a lull, and I imagined they were all waiting for her response. Finally, she spoke. “I admit, I may not have been easy on her other boyfriends, either. I’m not as judgmental as Carlisle, by any means, but I’m not going to sit by while she makes bad choices, either.”

  No one said anything. When Beatrix spoke again, her voice was raised and defensive. “The poor girl has terrible choice in men, and someone has to try to get her to see the truth about the losers she picks.”

  I saw Geoffrey grimace. I was sure I was doing the same. It sounded to me like Beatrix would not be an easy mother-in-law to have. I almost felt bad for Alyssa’s fiance for a minute, as I imagined the sense of pressure he must have about finally meeting Beatrix for the first time. Then I remembered that he might be the killer, too.

  I shouldn’t waste empathy on this guy, I thought, until I know he’s innocent.

  As I thought about it, I realized that this Adam guy had real motive for killing Carlisle. Adam was going to marry Alyssa, which meant that he’d benefit from the inheritance right along with her. In addition, the meeting with Carlisle that was planned for Friday evening could have resulted in a serious mar to his permanent record.

  Finally, he had access to Alyssa’s hairdryer. He could easily have found a way to grab it from her room—either with Alyssa’s approval or not—and then take it with him to Carlisle’s suite.

  I made a mental note to track down Adam and try to get his alibi for Friday afternoon from 3:10 to 4:10.

  “It must be difficult,” Shauna said sympathetically. “My daughter is only six, so I have plenty of years to go before she starts dating, but I know that my husband and I are going to have a very hard time meeting the guys who take her out—not to mention the one that she decides to be with for life. Good gracious!”

  Lee laughed. “You’re stressed enough about who she shares a lunch table with in her first grade classroom. I can’t imagine how wound up you’ll get about the guy she wants to share a bed with.”

  “Ugh!” Shauna exclaimed. “I don’t even want to think about it! Anyway, Beatrix, I’m sure this guy your daughter is with is just fine. He must be different than the others. After all, he’s the one she’s deciding to marry. Sometimes, a girl just has to figure out what she doesn’t want before knowing what she wants. I personally dated some not-so-wonderful men before finding my husband.”

  “I remember those days,” Lee said. “You sure did refine your taste. Remember Jerry the mattress salesman?”

  “Oh, good Lord!” Shauna said. “I found out he was doing more than selling mattresses... he was also testing them out—if you know what I mean—with more than a few of his customers.”

  Shauna and Lee laughed, and then Shauna added, “At least we can laugh about it now. The point is, Beatrix, your daughter may have dated a few Jerry’s of her own before refining her taste.”

  “When are you going to meet him?” Lee asked.

  “When she’s ready, I suppose,” Beatrix said. “To tell the truth, I’m not in a particular rush. I’ve been busy dealing with the logistics of Carlisle’s passing.”

  “There’s a lot to take care of?” Shauna asked.

  “Yes,” Beatrix said.

  The man spoke up. “Hopefully, you have a good lawyer. That can help.”

  “I do,” Beatrix said, “Robert Bongo of Bongo and Chide. Surely you’ve heard of the firm.”

  No one had.

  She went on. “But even with his help we’re having a bit of a struggle...”

  The rest waited for her to go on. She hesitated for so long, I started to wonder if she was making the mental decision to keep the details of her struggle to herself. However, the relaxing minerals in the bath must have been doing their job, because she decided to open up. “Again, I ask that you keep this just between us,” she said.

  Her company agreed. I felt a twinge of guilt, but I did my best to ignore it. If I was going to figure out who killed Carlisle, I had to stick my nose into places that I usually wouldn’t. This was definitely one of those places. Under normal circumstances, I would have walked out of the room long ago. However, the circumstances were far from normal. I stayed put.

  Beatrix spoke. “The lawyer is in a tough spot because it’s his responsibility to carry out Carlisle’s last will and testament. That’s impossible at the moment, seeing as our son broke off communication with the family almost five years ago, and we don’t know where he’s currently living.”

  “Oh, my!” Shauna said, />
  “Why?” Lee asked.

  “Like I said,” Beatrix said, “Carlisle isn’t an easy father to have. He was just as critical of his son as he was of everything else. Nothing our son Liam did was ever good enough for Carlisle. Liam got tired of it. He moved out at age 18 to go study with some Light Sorcerers in the Fire Realm. He’s a natural with Light Magic—always was, too, since he was a boy. At first, we heard from him now and then, but then even the conversations on the phone got to be too much. He and Carlisle argued relentlessly, even when Liam was out of the house. Liam stopped calling.”

  “Tragic,” said the man.

  “I’m so sorry,” Shauna said.

  “Family dynamics can be tricky to navigate,” Lee said.

  There was a splash—bigger this time than the ones I’d heard before. Then Beatrix said, “I’d better be going. I told my lawyer I’d give him a call back. He’s trying his best to locate Liam, so that Liam can claim his quarter of the inheritance.”

  Click! went my brain. Things were starting to fall into place. Now I knew who the third beneficiary to Carlisle’s will was: a quarter of his money was going to go to his son, Liam.

  “Good luck,” the man said.

  “If you need help with anything, please let us know,” Shauna said. “Lee and I are right down the hall from you, you know. We’re in room 308. Just stop by if you need a hug,”

  “Or a shoulder to cry on,” Lee said.

  “I’m sure I’ll be fine,” Beatrix said curtly.

  I tried to imagine her crying on anyone’s shoulder, and I couldn’t. She just didn’t seem like the type. “Have a nice soak.” Beatrix said primly. Then I heard a door close.

  “That poor woman,” Shauna said. “You know, this is exactly why a place like this is so important. To think that she’s been dealing with all of that—long before her husband died, even. The relationships in her life were a mess, by the sound of it. And we all know we can’t fix relationships without doing a little self-work.”

  “So true,” the man said. “That’s why I’ve been so intent on visiting places like this. I want to heal on a very deep level. Two months ago, I went to a retreat run by Asho Gosho in the Water Realm. We did some water immersion therapy. Asho’s theory is that the primary trauma that must be healed was the moment we exited the womb, so the baths are supposed to...”

  I backed away from the vent. I’d heard enough. I didn’t really want to hear about a rebirthing experience. I had more pressing issues to deal with—namely, the two new suspects that were now on my list: Adam and Liam.

  I had to figure out more about them, and that would require some digging. I knew just where to start.

  Chapter Fourteen

  For the rest of that afternoon, I crept around the resort, spying on my suspects when I found the opportunity. I knocked on the door to room 300, hoping to have a word with Adam. He didn’t answer, so of course I snuck in and snooped around, but I didn’t find anything of interest. Just a few dirty clothing items, some clean clothes, a science fiction novel, and a couple toiletries. I then watched Alyssa lounge on the deck on a chaise lounge under a heat lamp, soaking up the bright spring sunshine and reading a magazine. I hoped that she might have another secretive meetup with her man, but she did not.

  I moved on, and tracked down Beatrix. Again, I was hoping to gather some more information. I thought if I followed her for long enough, I might overhear a conversation between her and her lawyer, or her and another guest. I was out of luck.

  I was about to abandon the idea of following her covertly, and question her directly instead, but just before I could she retreated to her room and put up the “Do Not Disturb” sign.

  No matter how intent I was on finding Carlisle’s killer and saving my resort, I couldn’t bring myself to knock on her door. She was a woman who’d just lost her husband, after all. I needed to give her some space.

  While I was up on the third floor, I happened to be stopped by two elderly wizard men. They said they’d been trying to connect with me to book massages. Though it was the last thing I wanted to do, I scheduled 60-minute massages with each of them, for the five and six o’clock hours.

  After working on the men, I made it to the lobby to check out the buffet by seven. While I ate, I kept my eyes peeled for Adam or Kitty, but I didn’t see either of them. Alyssa and Beatrix weren’t in sight, either. Since the buffet had been set up since five, I thought perhaps I’d missed them, due to my late arrival.

  I did have some luck when I was able to talk to Margie the fairy godmother while she was tidying up dishes. I gave her a hand while I asked her about Friday afternoon. She said she was in the meditation room, polishing the wood-paneled walls, which were smudged. She recalled seeing Beatrix enter just after 3:00, and stay in the room until 4:00.

  I was feeling frustrated as the evening wrapped up. It was Saturday night, and I knew I only had one more day to figure out who killed Carlisle. I visited Adam’s room one more time, but he still wasn’t in, which only added to my frustration.

  My eyes were heavy with sleep as I laid my head down on my pillow inside my van. I could see the silhouette of Skili, up in a high branch, through the window. My mind turned over the events of the day, but the facts began to warp in my exhausted mind. Soon, I gave up even trying to track my thoughts or make sense of them, and I slipped into a fitful sleep.

  I awoke early, to the sight of a silvery pre-dawn sky. It was about five, I estimated, and though I wanted to roll over and get another few hours of shut-eye, I could not relax enough to do so. Today was the last day of the weekend retreat. I wanted it to go well, and most of all, I wanted to use my time wisely and find Carlisle’s killer,

  “You’re up early,” Skili said as I stepped outside. She was perched on the seat of one of my camp chairs.

  I ran my fingers through my tangled hair a few times, and then started braiding it as I said, “Yeah... I have work to do and a killer to catch. There’s no time to lounge around.”

  “What’s your plan?” she asked.

  “I don’t know exactly...” I said. My mind still felt kind of foggy with sleep. “I think I need a cup of tea to wake up a little bit, and then I’m thinking maybe a trip back to the scene of the crime might help.”

  “That sounds wise.”

  “Maybe there’s something there that we missed,” I said. I wasted no time in brewing up a strong cup of chai tea, and I put it into my best travel mug. I also sliced up an apple and ate that, seeing as I knew the breakfast buffet wouldn’t be up until at least six, maybe seven.

  When Skili and I entered the lobby, we found it empty and quiet. We didn’t see anyone as we climbed the two flights of stairs up to the third floor, and then made our way down the hallway to Carlisle’s room. I used my master key to enter the room.

  I figured it would be empty, but as soon as I stepped inside, I knew that wasn’t the case. The room looked empty, but I felt a strange, buzzing sort of energy present. A quick scan of my surroundings revealed a flicker of bright, strange air, hovering over the king-sized bed.

  “What is it?” Skili asked. She swooped around the room twice, slowly, and then landed on the back of a chair by the window. I stood frozen by the door. “There’s something there, on the bed,” I said.

  “The ghost?” asked Skili.

  I nodded. “I think so.”

  I heard a groan. It wasn’t Skili. I softened my gaze and remembered the way I’d first seen my gran. I tried to be patient as I watched the space above the bed and waited. There was another loud snort and a groan, and then Carlisle’s supine form came into view.

  He was on one side, rolling to the other. As before, he had a soft glow about him, and he was transparent. Unlike before, he was now dressed in ghost-clothes: pale white slacks, a blazer, and even a see-through bow tie.

  “What the heck time is it?” he moaned. “It’s got to be the middle of the night!”

  “It’s almost six, I think,” I explained.

  “Come
on!” he said. “You’ve got to be kidding me. What are you doing here in my room before six o’clock in the morning?”

  “I’m trying to figure out who killed you,” I said. “Sorry, I didn’t think you’d be in here. I didn’t see you at all yesterday. I wasn’t sure how to find you. Where have you been?”

  “In here, of course,” Carlisle said. “This is my suite, and I plan to use it.”

  I saw Skili tilt her head to the side with interest. To her, it must have seemed I was having a one-sided conversation. Her eyes were focused on me, not the ghost figure on the bed. It was clear to me that I was the only one in the room who could see or hear Carlisle.

  “Can you just let me get some sleep?” Carlisle grumbled. “This is supposed to be a relaxing getaway. First, I get electrocuted in the tub. Next, I get woken up at five in the morning. I can’t really imagine a worse weekend.”

  I almost stepped back to the door, just out of habit. I was used to doing what people asked. But then I remembered my mission. “Carlisle, I’m really sorry about disturbing you, but I have to be here. I need to check out the scene of the crime again. It would be helpful if you could answer a few questions, too, while I’ve got you here.”

  “Seriously! You want me to get up... at this hour. What a way to wake up!” he grumbled. However, I was pleased to see his ghostly form sit up, swing his legs over the bed, and then stand. He scratched his head. His thin hair was a mess.

  I led the way to the bathroom. “Thanks,” I said. “Do you think you could just walk me through everything that happened, in detail, between the time I left you here on Friday at 3:10, and the time I found your body?”

  I eyed the tub. It had been drained, but I could still imagine clearly what it had looked like filled with water, a dead body, and a pink hairdryer. Azure had used magic to remove the body, and had left the rest of the room undisturbed. She did, however, unplug the dryer—to avoid fire hazard most likely—but she’d left it sitting in the bottom of the dry tub.