“Is that proof enough for you?” she said. “I told you Nick and James hated each other.”
“Hated each other enough for it to lead to murder?”
Rachel frowned. “I don’t know about that. They mainly messed up each other’s work, playing mean pranks that sort of thing.”
“You don’t think James killed Nick?”
“Killing for a job? That suggests desperation. And although a position on Ivan’s paper pays okay, it’s not the New York Times.”
“If you say so. You’ve never seen them actually fight?”
“It was always verbal sparring. I imagine the last time either of them had a fist fight, they were in the playground wearing short pants.”
“When we spoke at the hotel, you mentioned Nick talked about a ring he was looking for.”
“An engagement ring? Did he say something to you about getting me an engagement ring?” Rachel’s eyes flashed with a look that had to be desire.
I repressed a sigh. “No, but he talked about his search for a ring while he was here.”
Rachel shrugged and looked out the window, her interest vanishing. “I didn’t listen to his boring work stories. He said something about an old ring, but I lost interest.”
I shook my head. I was not surprised that the only time Rachel listened was when the information related to her bare finger getting a huge rock on it.
“I need to get out of here,” Rachel said. “I’ve had enough of small towns.”
“You’d better not go anywhere too soon.”
Rachel’s eyes narrowed. “Why not?”
“You’ve proved that you’re a liar, and you’re deceitful, which suggests you could have had something to do with Nick’s death.”
“Me! I had nothing to do with it. Can’t you tell how upset I am?”
I couldn’t. She could turn on the water works when she needed to, but I’d never seen anyone less distressed over losing a loved one.
“Make sure you stick around until you hear otherwise,” I said. “You might have more information that’s useful to the investigation. After all, you do want to find out who killed Nick, don’t you?”
“I guess. If I stay much longer, I’ll die of boredom.”
“It’s better than being dead because someone smacked you over the back of the head. You can survive a few more days here.”
Rachel scowled at me. “I can stay a couple more days.”
“Tempest, you’ve got a message from Dazielle,” Petra called from behind the bar.
I welcomed the chance to get away from Rachel. I left the table and walked to the bar.
Petra pointed to the snow globe tucked discreetly in one corner. “She says she wants to see you over at the standing stones immediately. When does Dazielle get to order you around?”
“Since we formed a temporary alliance. Can you let her know I’m on my way?”
“Will do,” Petra said. “Has this got to do with the dead journalist? You think she’s found out who did it?”
I nodded as I hurried to the door with Wiggles by my side. “Let’s hope so. Then everything can get back to normal and our... tourists can head on home.”
Petra looked over at Rachel. “Here’s hoping.”
As I hurried away from the Ancient Imp, hope fluttered inside me. Maybe the information I’d passed on from Suki had led Angel Force to the killer. They could have found evidence at the standing stones and were about to make an arrest.
This mystery was about to be solved, and I couldn’t be happier not to have to deal with uptight, lying girlfriends and sneaky journalists.
Chapter 15
I slowed as I hurried past Sprinkles on my way to the standing stones. I spotted Auntie Queenie coming out of the bakery with a box of cakes.
Wiggles immediately abandoned my side and raced over to her. He sat neatly in front of Auntie Queenie and raised one paw.
I jogged over to catch up with him. “Are you celebrating?” I pointed to the box.
“There’s always a reason for cake.” Auntie Queenie looked down at Wiggles. “But you’re not getting any.”
He whined and nudged her leg with his nose.
She chuckled. “You can stop that. Where are you off to in such a hurry?”
“We’re on our way to the stones. Nick was killed there.”
Auntie Queenie’s eyebrows shot up. “There you go then. That proves my innocence.”
I tilted my head to the side. “Not that I think you’re guilty, but how come?”
She pursed her lips. “As if I need to prove my innocence to you. But it would make no sense for me to kill someone at the stones and then move the body to the place I spend most of my time. Only an idiot would do that.”
“Or maybe you’re being extra clever. You could have taken Nick’s body to the cemetery, thinking you could conceal him in a grave. Someone disturbed you before you could finish the ghastly deed, and you had to abandon the body.” I didn’t mean it, not seriously, but it was always amusing to wind up Auntie Queenie.
She jammed one hand on her hip. “As if I would desecrate our cemetery by doing that.”
“I’m just trying to think like an angel. They might think that exact thing and haul you in for questioning.”
Auntie Queenie puffed out her cheeks. “Then I’m glad I’ve got all these cakes. It’s stressful being a murder suspect. I’ll be comfort eating all day at this rate. I might have to take up jogging to shed the extra pounds gained if this doesn’t get wound up quickly.”
“That’s your fault. You shouldn’t conceal information.”
Auntie Queenie’s eyes widened. “What information have I concealed?”
“You were hiding something when I came to breakfast. You wouldn’t have said anything about threatening Nick if Uncle Kenny hadn’t put his foot in it.”
“That’s why I always tell him it’s best if I do the talking. Don’t worry. I’ve had words with him. He won’t be doing that again any time soon.”
“That’s not really the point. Why hide it if it’s not important to this investigation?”
“I didn’t do it because I’m guilty of murder. I did worry it made me look bad.” Auntie Queenie sighed. “Your uncle is right. I did sort of threaten Nick. He was being so sure of himself. He acted like he knew everything about magic. I only said those things to spook him and give him a little humility.”
“What exactly did you do?”
Auntie Queenie looked around, not meeting my gaze. “I might have shown him inside the family crypt.”
“Did our ancestors’ remains creep him out?”
“Nick said it wasn’t the first time he’d seen a pile of old bones.”
That didn’t seem so bad. We never encouraged non-magicals in the crypts, but he wouldn’t have seen anything he shouldn’t. “That’s it?”
“I might have mentioned the demon prison.”
My jaw dropped. She had to be kidding. “Why would you do that?” We always worked so hard to make sure non-magicals had no clue what went on there.
Auntie Queenie waved her hand in the air. “He didn’t believe me. Nick thought it was some silly tourist folktale. He said he was surprised I didn’t charge him to come into the cemetery, which is actually a good idea. We could make every non-magical who wants to poke around pay to enter. It would help with the upkeep of the prison, and I’d have more money to spend on cake.”
“That’s an excellent plan,” Wiggles said, his gaze fixed on the cake box. “We can start a treat fund for hungry hellhounds.”
“We aren’t doing that. The last thing we need are hordes of non-magicals traipsing over the graves. Think how much it will irritate the demons. An irritated demon means a tougher job for you.”
“We can threaten the demons with it. We’ll tell them, if they don’t behave themselves, we’ll set the non-magicals on them.” Auntie Queenie chuckled to herself.
I grimaced. That would certainly work on me. “Is there anything else you’ve decided not to
reveal?”
Auntie Queenie opened the cake box and sniffed. “These do smell lovely. Can I tempt you with one?”
“Go on,” Wiggles said. “I’ll take two.”
“No, stop distracting me with cake.” I pushed the lid back down. “What else did you tell Nick?”
“It was nothing serious. I simply suggested he should come back that night. I told him I’d show him a demon.”
“Were you being serious?”
She shrugged. “There was something about that young man that intrigued me. For all his bluff and confidence, he had a genuine interest in magic. He wasn’t a wide-eyed Goth looking to commune with the Devil or a New Age type smelling of incense. He wanted to believe so badly.”
“You sensed his latent magic abilities?”
“I believe so. I was curious to see what he really knew and how far I could push his belief before it became too much.”
“Did Nick come back to meet your friendly demon?”
“That’s just it; he never showed. I was shocked when his body was discovered in the cemetery. I hoped he hadn’t come looking for me and his killer jumped out and got him. I’d feel terrible.”
“You were on duty that night, weren’t you?”
“That’s right. I was there with your uncle Kenny and your mom for part of the night. We kept swapping, so everyone got to have fun at the celebrations.”
“Are you sure you didn’t see or hear anyone? Someone would have carried him into the cemetery.”
“Not a thing. Whoever it was, they were swift and quiet. They brought him in, left him, and vanished. It makes me think they must have magic to be so stealthy. Few people get past me in that cemetery.”
“You should be careful. If you were there, the killer might have seen you. You don’t want them coming after you if they consider you a threat. They might be worried you saw them.”
“What nonsense. One little killer won’t stop me.”
“Even so, watch your back. I should know more from Angel Force once they’ve spent time at the site of the murder. If anyone is acting oddly around you or you get the feeling you’re being followed, let me know. The killer is still on the loose.”
“So long as you don’t still think it was me, then I don’t really mind being stalked,” Auntie Queenie said. “But you need to hurry up and find the killer before I stress eat my way to an early grave.”
“That’s the plan,” I said.
“Good girl.” Auntie Queenie pulled a sugared doughnut out of the box and handed it to me. “Make sure you keep those angels off my back. I can’t have my reputation tarnished by them trying to put me behind bars.”
I grinned at her and bit into the sugared doughnut. “You don’t make it easy on me, but I’ll do my best.” I gave her a wave goodbye as I hurried away, Wiggles glued to my side in the hopes of getting some doughnut.
Auntie Queenie had been foolish encouraging Nick, and she had revealed far too much about what went on in the cemetery. Her conversation with him might have sparked his interest in demons, and he’d asked the wrong person the wrong question and gotten himself whacked over the head.
“You know, it’s rude not to share food,” Wiggles said.
I passed him a piece of doughnut and brushed sugar from my fingers. “Let’s hope the angels have found something useful at the stones. It’s time we wrapped up this case and got on with our lives.”
“I’m thinking we need a long holiday,” Wiggles said, “somewhere hot and sunny.”
“You’ve never liked hot and sunny before.”
“Things change. Now, I run hellhound hot. I’m thinking a bit of extra sun will do me good. And I’d like someone cute to rub suntan lotion on my belly.”
“I’ll think about it. But if you’re considering a holiday, you need to get in shape. That means no more doughnuts.”
Wiggles grumbled. “Maybe a vacation is a bad idea. Part of the fun on a holiday is you get to eat as much as you like with no one telling you how fat you are.”
“You won’t get anyone cute to rub your belly if it’s too big.” We headed up the hill to the standing stones. As we got near, I saw Dazielle and two other angels walking around, looking official.
Dazielle raised her hand when she saw me. “I got your message. We came out here to take a look.”
“What did you find?”
“Blood covered over by dirt, just as you said. It looks like Nick was killed here and moved to the cemetery,” Dazielle said. “Although I have no clue why they’d want to move him.”
“To make it harder for you?”
“If that’s the case, it’s working,” Dazielle said. “Any progress on interviewing people?”
I gave her a quick update as to what Auntie Queenie had told me and the conversations I’d had with Rachel and James.
Dazielle scowled at me. “What your aunt says makes sense. I guess it was a long shot thinking I could pin the murder on a crazy old lady who spends all her time in the cemetery eating cake.”
“I’ll pass those kind words on to my aunt.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t,” Dazielle said. “As for Rachel, she definitely needs to stick around. She could be lying about more than a fake pregnancy.”
“That’s my thinking. But would she have the strength to kill Nick and drag his body to the cemetery?”
“It would be a job, and it would be tricky not to be spotted doing it,” Dazielle said. “Even though Nick was killed early in the morning, there should have been a few late-night partygoers around. It was a huge risk moving the body.”
I looked at the dark stain on the ground uncovered by the angels. “What do you think about the information I left about this mysterious ring? Has that got something to do with this?”
Dazielle twirled her long, blonde braid around her hand. “It might, but I’ve got no clue about it.”
“I spoke to Brogan. He suggested it might be the Ring of Halo.”
Dazielle’s cheeks paled, and she swallowed loudly. “Let’s hope it’s not. Journalists do not want to be writing a story about that particular ring.”
“It’s missing,” I said. “Suki, also known by you as Jane, was looking after it in the forest.”
“Heavens above! Then it needs to be found and quickly,” Dazielle said. “A missing ring and a body being moved that nobody noticed. Someone with magic must be involved. Someone strong.”
Uh oh, Dazielle had that look in her eyes. The one suggesting she was making up a new theory that was most likely wrong. “I’m thinking we find the ring, and we find Nick’s killer.”
“I had an anonymous tipoff come in about someone seen in the woods around the time of Nick’s murder,” Dazielle said. “I didn’t take it seriously at the time. It was so vague, but since the killing took place here, it could be relevant.”
“That someone could have been me.”
“From the description, I’m sure it was Jane, or rather, Suki. And she’s strong and knows a lot about magic. She also had access to the ring and could be lying about it being stolen. Maybe she decided to try it and got in over her head.”
This was her genius idea? “No, she didn’t do that. She was mortified about the ring going missing.”
Dazielle paced around. “I’m onto something here. We’re bringing Suki in for questioning.”
That was a terrible plan. “She won’t be thrilled about that. It took me a while to convince her to come out of hiding when I spoke to her. Suki is never going to agree to leave the forest.”
Dazielle’s blue eyes gleamed with excitement. “Which is why we’re sending a search party in tonight. We’re going to flush her out of hiding and make her talk. Suki is involved.”
A shiver of shock ran through me. She couldn’t be serious. “She’s not. I’ve already talked to her. You don’t want to do that. The forest is her home. Suki is fiercely protective of the trees.”
“Which means she considered Nick a threat and decided to get rid of him.”
“Who
a! Slow down with this crazy theory. Why would she kill someone? She’d just scare him off if he made a nuisance of himself.”
“It would have been easy for Suki to wait for an opportunity when it was late and dark and Nick was on his own. He could have gone into the forest earlier in the day and done something to upset her.”
“Why point me to the blood stain if she killed Nick? It’s too obvious.”
“To make us think she’s being helpful and throw us off her trail.”
“Maybe she is being helpful. Suki was the only one to see the murder take place. She could have kept quiet, and we’d be none the wiser. She’s trying to assist us. Don’t penalize her for that.” The angels were so quick to find an easy target and pin the crime on them. They’d tried to do it to my sister, and now, they wanted to do it to Suki.
“If you’re so concerned, you can always assist with the search for Suki.” Dazielle glared at me. “After all, we are supposed to be working together.”
“I’ll help with the search.” There was no way they were going to yank a confession out of Suki. I would be here tonight, and I would be helping, but I wasn’t helping the angels. I would make sure Suki wasn’t dragged in and terrified into confessing to something she didn’t do. Just because she was a bit different didn’t mean the angels could make her a scapegoat.
“Great. Meet us back here at eight o’clock.”
I nodded as I took a final look around. I’d be in the search party, but it wouldn’t go the way Dazielle wanted it to go.
***
“Are you sure I can’t have a head torch?” Wiggles walked alongside me as I strolled away from Cloven Hoof.
“You don’t need a head torch. It’s not even fully dark, and you have those glowing eyes. They must help you see at night.”
“I have twenty-twenty vision no matter what time of day or night it is. A head torch would look cool.”
“That’s debatable.” I wanted to make sure I got to the search in plenty of time. My plan was simple; be the first to find Suki and warn her what was going on and give her a chance to get away before the angels got her.
“Just keep focused on what you’re doing tonight,” I said to Wiggles. “Remember where we last saw Suki. We’ll head there and see if we can get her attention. Whoever sees her first warns her what’s going on. Then we distract the angels until she’s in the clear.”
Hell of a Witch (Crypt Witch Cozy Mystery Series Book 2) Page 14