The Fifth Curse_A Cozy Mystery

by Cindy Stark

  He lifted his hand in a frustrated gesture and pushed his fingers through his hair. She smiled at his mussed look and stroked the strands back into place.

  Then she placed her hand on his cheek. “Have faith. We’ll get it figured out.”

  “I’m concerned since I’ve had a hard time connecting with the groom. Arthur hasn’t returned my phone calls or answered his door when I’ve sent officers. We had the landlord let us in his house for a well-person check, but the house was empty.”

  Her suspicions woke with a jolt. “Like he took everything and disappeared?”

  Peter gave her a reassuring shake of his head. “No. More like he’s gone out of town on vacation.”

  “Maybe he went away for a few days? To grieve? Some people need to get away from everything.”

  Peter exhaled and a grin slid across his face. “I should have thought of that. His mom has been avoiding my calls, too. Maybe I’ll pop by and inquire if that’s what he did.”

  He booped the tip of her nose. “You’re so smart,” he said teasingly, and she laughed.

  “Have you considered Arthur as a suspect?” she asked.

  “He’s on the list, but we haven’t found any sort of a motive. From what everyone says, they were very much in love.”

  She snorted. “For three months.”

  He smiled and nodded. “Yeah, only three months. But who can argue with true love?”

  She grinned. Certainly not her.

  Peter whistled and shook his head. “I did meet with Carol’s mother. She’s a nasty piece of work.”

  “How so?”

  “Overbearing. Snide. Just downright rude. She corroborated that Fiona had swindled them out of ten thousand dollars. Fiona had taken money to pay for certain things for the wedding, but apparently, when Carol and her fiancé had to switch their wedding dates, Fiona told Carol and her mother that she couldn’t get a refund.”

  “That’s awful, but it does happen.” She’d learned that with some of her vendors, too. Though not at that great of an expense.

  “Yeah, except the venue said they did refund a good portion of the money. When Mrs. Yardley confronted her, Fiona denied the amount and said the small portion she did receive went to cover the charges for the extra work Fiona had to do to reschedule the wedding. Apparently, there was a long list of things like redoing the wedding invites and…whatever. I don’t know that much about elaborate weddings other than they’re a pain in the behind.”

  She chuckled. “But you had a wedding. Did you make Sarah do all the work?”

  He eyed her with a sideways look, letting her know he knew she’d baited him. “She wanted to do it all. Said I was in the way. Besides, ours was a small wedding. I don’t think it was much work.”

  She snorted. “Don’t fool yourself. Even small events require keeping a detailed eye on many things.”

  He slid an arm around her waist and pulled her closer. “Why are we talking about my wedding?”

  She squirmed but eventually leaned her head against his shoulder. “You’re the one who brought it up.”

  “No, I’m not… Am I?”

  She tilted her head back and looked up at him. “You’re adorable.”

  He squeezed her tighter. “A grown man doesn’t want to be called adorable. How about hot or sexy?”

  His request brought Victor to mind, and she considered telling him about her unwanted adventure that afternoon. Then again, Victor wasn’t invited to their party by the stream, so he could wait until later.

  “You’re definitely hot and sexy.”

  Pleasure rumbled deep in his chest. “Keep going.”

  She smiled at his playfulness and relaxed in his arms, perfectly content to sit where she was the entire day. “Umm…smart. Strong. Amazing green eyes.”

  “You like my eyes?”

  “I love your eyes. It’s the first thing that attracted me to you.”

  “Not this hot bod, huh?”

  She giggled. “Oh, I definitely noticed the hot bod.”

  “We should get married.”

  She gasped and shifted so she could check his expression. “Are you proposing?”

  He smiled and shook his head. “No. Not like this. If and when I do, it will be more special. But…what would you say if I said it could happen sooner than later?”

  She realized he was serious, and his intentions shook her to the core. “I would say…”

  Her brain fought to create an intelligent answer, but the dopamine flooding her senses left her dizzy.

  “I would say that I would be honored to be asked.”

  He dropped his chin to her shoulder, and she could feel his breath on the side of her neck. “But you’re not answering yes or no…”

  She giggled. “Not if you’re not officially asking.”

  He squeezed her until she gasped with happiness. “You are a tease, my little witch Hazel.”

  “No more than you, my sexy, hot police chief.”

  Thirteen

  Hazel added sugar to the pitcher of refreshing hibiscus and lemon grass iced tea and stirred. First pot of tea she’d made in her new house, she thought and smiled.

  She opened the refrigerator and placed it inside. By the time she and her helpers had been working for a couple of hours to move the furniture inside her new house, it should be cold enough for a refreshing break.

  Then again, with the heat the way it was, they might need it sooner, in which case, she could pull ice cubes from the freezer.

  She glanced about the kitchen trying to sense Clarabelle, though she hadn’t once since she’d arrived that morning, and very little on the other days when she’d come to clean. She suspected she was in hiding, embarrassed over her curse gone astray.

  “If you could turn off the heat,” she said to empty air. “That would be really nice.”

  No answer.

  Of course.

  A knock sounded on the door and startled her. She glanced at the clock on her phone. Too soon for Peter and Charlie, though she did remember Charlie liked to show up early.

  She made her way to the front door and opened it. Carol stood on her porch with a hesitant smile on her face. She’d tugged her hair into a ponytail and wore a tan polo that washed out her complexion.

  “Good morning, Hazel.”

  “Carol, I…wasn’t expecting you. I have movers coming.”

  “I know,” she said, cutting her off. “Your neighbor at the old house told me and said I could probably find you here.”

  Hazel stepped back. “I can invite you in, but there’s really nowhere for us to sit. Furniture won’t be here until later.”

  She gave her a grateful smile. “That’s okay. I won’t take too much of your time. If we could just sit here on the porch for a minute, that would be great. It’s shady.”

  Hazel sent a silent prayer of thanks to the Blessed Mother for the number of trees that surrounded her house. Otherwise, she’d be roasting.

  She stepped out, and they both sat on a stair. The hour was early enough that the scorching temperatures hadn’t come out to play yet. “Is there something I can help you with?”

  Carol hesitated. “I’m not sure how to put this, so I’ll just blurt it out. I think Sondra and Gwen are trying to make it seem like I killed Fiona.”

  Hazel opened her senses to get a feel for Carol’s underlying emotions. Nervous. Scared. But then again, those could also be associated with a murderer.

  “What makes you think they’d do that?”

  She shook her head. “I can’t say exactly. Just some of the things that the cops keep asking me. Like at what time did I take the shoes? Where did I put them? Stuff like that.”

  Carol inhaled a shuddering breath, and the stress she endured wafted out from her like a damp fog. “My answers never change, so I don’t know why they keep asking unless they think I’m lying. And the only reason they would think that is if one or both of the other two have decided to make me the scapegoat to save their butts.”

 
An odd feeling nudged her. “But Carol, those are both important questions to the case. I don’t think it’s strange that they’ve asked them.”

  Why on Earth was Carol telling her this? They weren’t friends or confidantes.

  Carol released a frustrated breath. “It’s not that they’ve asked. It’s that they keep asking. The same thing over and over again. Like they think I’m lying.”

  “I’m sure they’re doing that to everyone. It’s a tactic to see if someone will change her story.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t think so. The worst is they also keep asking about my mother and interviewing her. She wasn’t even at the wedding. Every time they question her, she rants at me all over again. I can’t take much more.”

  Hazel remembered Peter’s comment about Carol’s nasty-tempered mother. “I’ve heard that your mom was really angry with Fiona, too. That Fiona took a lot of money from you.”

  “Nearly ten thousand dollars. It would have been the down payment on our house. Even though that money came out of Steven’s and my pockets, my mom was livid. She keeps saying I paid for the wedding, and Fiona stole her money. That she might as well have flushed that ten thousand down the drain.”

  Hazel grimaced. That was a lot of money to lose. She’d probably feel the same.

  “I told my mom that she paid for the wedding, and that the money that was lost was mine because the wedding still went on, but purchasing the house didn’t.”

  Hazel did feel a genuine sense of loss from the woman and was sorry for that. “Did Gwen and Sondra know where you hid the shoes?”

  She nodded. “We all agreed to arrive at the church early in the hopes that we’d have an opportunity to sabotage her. We discreetly kept our eye on the hallway by the bride’s room. The moment it was clear, Gwen snuck in while we kept watch. She dumped itching powder all over the bodice of Fiona’s dress before she stuffed her shoes and veil into a big bag that she had.”

  Once again Gwen seemed to be the mastermind behind the pranks. “Sondra said that all of this was Gwen’s idea.”

  Carol tilted her head and drew her brows together. “Really? I thought it was Sondra’s idea. Gwen invited me to join them for lunch, and we talked about how Fiona had ruined us.”

  She paused for a long moment to think. “It might have been Gwen’s idea. I’m not sure. I know Sondra and Gwen talked first before they invited me to join them in their revenge. Three helping would make it easier than two, and God knows, I didn’t mind making her pay for what she’d done to me.”

  The vehemence in her last words surprised Hazel.

  Carol’s face blanched, and Hazel figured she must have realized it, too.

  “I was angry, Hazel. But not that angry. A person would have to be psycho to kill someone.”

  Or at the end of her rope. “Agreed.”

  Hazel glanced down the lovely tree-lined street and wondered when Charlie and Peter would arrive with the first load of furniture.

  Then she turned her gaze back to Carol. “I can appreciate everything you’ve said. I’m sure you’re under a tremendous amount of stress, and I can’t speak as to whether or not Gwen and Sondra are trying to frame you.”

  Carol’s shoulders sagged, and she nodded. “You’re wondering why I’m telling you all of this instead of someone else.”

  Hazel scrunched her features into an apologetic smile. “Yeah, just a little bit.”

  “I really don’t have anyone else to talk to. I don’t have close friends, which was why it was so nice to have Gwen and Sondra to commiserate with. But, to be honest, I’d heard you’re dating the police chief, and I was hoping you could put in a good word for me.”

  Hazel snorted a laugh before she could stop herself, and then regretted it when Carol’s expression dropped. “Sorry. I don’t mean to laugh. This is a serious situation. But Peter’s a strictly-by-the-facts kind of man. I don’t think I could convince him one way or the other unless I had something to back up my story.”

  “You could tell him you know me, and I’m a good person. That might help. And tell him my mother was nowhere near the church that day.”

  “So that she’ll stop hounding you.”

  Emotion clouded Carol’s eyes, and she nodded. “I’m barely keeping myself and my marriage together at this point. If something doesn’t give, I’m going to break and lose everything.”

  Which didn’t go far when Carol was trying to make herself appear that she wasn’t crazy enough to commit murder.

  Hazel gave her a kind smile. “I don’t know if it will help, but I’ll put in a good word for you and tell Peter what we’ve talked about.”

  Relief broke over her face, and she exhaled. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

  Carol stood. “I’m sorry to have kept you so long. I know you’re very busy.”

  Hazel stood, too. “Moving into a new home is daunting for sure.”

  Carol winced, and Hazel realized the mention of moving into a new house might be hard for Carol to hear.

  She placed a hand on her arm and sent warm thoughts her way. “Hang in there. Things will get better. Be good to your husband and stick together. You’ll make it through this.”

  Carol nodded, and a tear slipped down her cheek. “Thanks.”

  She hurried off after that, and Hazel feared the woman was in for a good cry. Then again, maybe that was exactly what she needed.

  Fourteen

  After Carol’s departure, Hazel emptied more of the kitchen boxes she’d packed the day before while she waited for the men. Her phone rang, startling her, and she dug it out from beneath the box that held all her kitchen utensils.

  “You’re going to kill me, Hazel.” Peter’s frustration came across the line, pinging her anxiety.

  “Why? What’s wrong?”

  “Just got a call on a large, angry swarm of bees that has Mrs. Lemmon and four of her grandkids trapped in a small shed. With these sweltering temperatures, we can’t wait for the bees to move along. I’ve got two other officers who are helping, but I need to be there. You know how dangerous those bees can be.”

  Oh, yes. She’d been unlucky enough to enjoy the sting of one of them.

  She worried about his safety, though. “Are you sure you’re the best person after what happened to you last time?”

  His voice softened. “I’ll be careful. But I feel bad that I had to bail on Charlie. My truck is half loaded so I left it at your house and walked to the station. He was going to see if he could find someone else to help. I’ll come over as soon as I can.”

  “Of course. Please be careful. We’ll handle things here.”

  “Thanks,” he said with relief in his voice. “See you soon.”

  “Okay.”

  “Love you, bye.” The line went dead.

  Love you, bye?

  Her stomach turned topsy turvy. Had he meant to say that, or was it just a phrase he’d used, perhaps with Sarah or his family?

  It wasn’t an actual declaration, but…

  “Love you, bye,” she whispered and pocketed her phone.

  A grin pushed out her cheeks. Whether he’d meant it literally or not, she liked it.

  Twenty minutes later, the sound of vehicles approaching grew louder, and she abandoned her task in the kitchen and headed toward the front of the house. Charlie had backed his truck into her drive, while Peter’s sat parked on the road.

  She pushed open the screen door and stepped out just as Victor exited Peter’s truck. Oh, no.

  No, no, no, no, no.

  Peter was a decent, calm man for the most part, but knowing Victor drove his truck might send him over the edge. She marched directly for her ex-boyfriend.

  “What in the Samhain are you up to?” she said with a vicious tone. “You need to hit the road right now.”

  Victor held up both hands. “Whoa, goddess. Chill out. I’m just trying to do a good deed.”

  Her heart thudded in wild beats, heating her blood and sending her common sense running for the shadows. �
��You’re driving my boyfriend’s truck. I think we both know how well that will go over. How dare you?”

  Victor chuckled. “This has nothing to do with driving Peter’s truck, though I admit it is a nice ride.”

  “If you don’t get your sorry butt out of here, off my property right now, I’ll hex you with a pox that will make certain parts of you fall off.”

  The grin on his face riled her even more. “Come on, Hazel. We both know you don’t have it in you to do that. You’re too kind.”

  She was feeling anything near kind right now. “I will—”

  “Hazel?” Charlie called from behind her.

  She turned to find him striding across the lawn toward them, and she swallowed the rest of her response. For now.

  “Hazel,” he said again as he joined them. “Did Peter call? I guess he has some emergency he has to handle.”

  Her pulse thudded loudly in her ears making it feel like her whole head vibrated. “That’s what he said.”

  Charlie glanced between Hazel and Victor, oblivious of the raging undercurrents. “This guy was driving by and stopped to offer help. He’s Victor.”

  As if Hazel didn’t know that. “Yes.” She turned a dark glare toward Victor. “We’ve met.”

  Although she wished they never had.

  “Oh, good.” Charlie smiled. “He totally saved my butt. I’d called my brother to help, but he’s in Salem for the day. Looks like God was watching out for me.”

  More like the devil. Or Karma coming back for her.

  One thing was abundantly clear. If she sent Victor away now, she’d be punishing Charlie as well. It didn’t seem right to deny him the help he needed just because she had a personal problem.

  Maybe a hard day’s labor would be just what Victor deserved for meddling in her life. As long as she drove Peter’s truck from here on out and didn’t mention what Victor had done, things might work out after all.

  Charlie clapped Victor on the shoulder. “Let’s get the bed in first.”

  Victor winked at Hazel. “Let’s do it, man.”

  She buried her nose and mouth in cupped hands and sighed her frustration. Why, oh why, oh why?