by Louise Lynn
Her eyes sharpened. "What you mean? I didn't do anything. I got some tea and went to work. You saw me."
Goosebumps rose across my flesh. No one else left the memorial hall, so Maggie and I were alone on the walkway. "Yeah, but what about the whole kettle of tea you spilled on her. I saw that, too."
Maggie’s lips thinned into a frown. "I tripped and bumped into her. I didn't do it on purpose."
At the time, I thought she'd tripped too. But now, I wasn't so sure. "I still think that's information the police might be interested in, don't you?"
She put her hands on her hips, and her face hardened in a way I'd only seen her do with Jenny Walker. My heart thumped against my ribs. I didn't want to shove one of my best customers away, but what else was I supposed to do?
At the end of the day, it was my name and innocence on the line.
"Are you accusing me of something? Because I must get back to work. I shouldn't have come here. It was a mistake,” Maggie said and turned toward her car.
As she climbed in and quickly drove off, Ivy walked up next to me and held a plate of half eaten sandwiches under my nose.
"What did you say about you being subtler and having more tact than me?"
I grabbed the plate. "Shut up. It's hard to be tactful when you're trying to solve a murder. But she was being really suspicious. Super vague."
Ivy grinned. "Does this mean we get to go to the aquarium and see the baby otters? Because I love the baby otters."
I shoved a cucumber sandwich in my mouth and chewed before I answered. "Fine. Otters first, questions later. She's hiding something, and we have to find out what it is."
We were about to head to my truck when a familiar voice called my name. I froze in place and shrugged on my coat, which Ivy had brought to me.
"Olive," Dean called and trotted down the steps toward us.
I gave him a tight smile and shoved three sandwiches in my mouth. That way I had time to think before I had to talk to him.
"Hello. We were just going to wish Matthew farewell before we leave,” I said, swallowing my food. “Have to get back to the shop. You know, business calls."
Dean frowned, though the expression was so fleeting that I almost didn't notice. "Oh. Sure, yeah. I just wanted to say that definitely wasn't a sonnet. And Mrs. Myers was not happy about it."
I groaned. “Is she still teaching English?"
Dean grinned and shrugged. "It looks like. So, you're just headed back to the shop?" he said, and his voice took on a more businesslike tone.
It reminded me of when I just tried to interrogate Maggie White, and I’d failed miserably. If I lied to Dean outright, it might come back to haunt me later. But I couldn’t turn him toward Maggie until I knew the truth. I held my tongue. That way, I couldn’t lie to him.
“Well… good luck on your investigation,” I said and walked away, a new cold pit forming in my stomach.
And this one had nothing to do with poetry.
We hadn't even gotten inside the church when we heard Matthew’s voice. But it couldn't have belonged to the sweet old man who worked at the library. This voice was hard and scathing.
“You know what I have to say on the matter! The offer has been refused.”
“You can't do that, Mr. Walker. The documents were signed and have been for several months. The escrow is already being finalized.”
Wyatt? The English gingerbread muffin guy?
Ivy and I exchanged a worried glance, then we pushed up against the alcove wall. Silent, we hid ourselves in the shadows that crept down from the ceiling.
“They are null and void!” Matthew spat. “Now if you'll excuse me, I have to bid farewell to my dead wife.”
“I really am sorry, Mr. Walker, but I must remind you that as of today the contact still stands. You'll have thirty days to vacate the premises. Now, under the circumstances, I’m willing to extend that to ninety.”
“Oh, you are, are you? Then here's what I have to say to that.”
The sound of paper shredding apart carried its way to my ears, and a huff from Matthew as he stormed away. I wasn't surprised when Wyatt made his way to leave, and I smiled at him as though we had just walked in.
“Hello,” I said, grabbing Ivy’s shoulders.
Wyatt’s gaze flickered between us, and he tugged his tie loose from around his neck. “Good morning, ladies. It was a beautiful service,” he said, and then he stormed off.
Walking back into the church, I said to Ivy, “Okay. Things just suddenly got interesting. Was Matthew selling his house? And is Wyatt some kind of realtor?”
“Looks like it. Either way, Matthew didn’t seem too happy about moving.”
“No,” I agreed with her. “He didn’t.”
I had thought Matthew was about to strike Wyatt there and then.
“What about Maggie White?”
I scanned the rows of people all dressed in black, nibbling on buffet food. “Let's have something to eat first, then we’ll go to the aquarium.”
“Now you're talking,” Ivy grinned, patting my shoulder gently.
Chapter Fourteen
The San Bastion Bay Aquarium sat on the hill to the south, and overlooked both the bay itself and the beach that housed the boardwalk. Like most of the town, we had annual passes, and got to forgo the line because of them.
Not that there was much of a line on a Tuesday afternoon in December.
The latest whale watching cruise had left twenty minutes prior, which meant a many of the tourists were on it. The gray whale migration passed the bay that time of year, so it drew people to our town more than anything.
The whale cruises were almost like the tide. When one was out, the streets were much emptier than when one came in and the tourists needed their fix of either food or trinkets. They usually hit the aquarium before or after the cruise, depending on when they departed. Since this was an early afternoon cruise, I bet they’d hit it when they got back.
Unlike the rest of the town's quaint Victorian and craftsman architecture, the aquarium was a blocky modern building. The front rose from the hillside like a great wall of blue. I'd heard the color was supposed to match either the sky or the ocean, but it failed on both counts.
True, it wasn't pretty to look at from this side, but from the bay, the aquarium was a huge wall of windows that offered impressive views while inside.
Not to mention the exhibits. Ivy and I hadn't been in several months, not since Ollie the orphaned otter had been taken in. Though, he wasn't yet on display.
I worried my bottom lip as Ivy approached the front desk with our passes and leaned across it on her elbows. We hadn't bothered changing, and I wasn't sure what more I could say to Maggie White to get her to talk about Jenny Walker.
But I couldn't doubt that she had been suspicious enough for us to follow up on her, at least.
"Which way to the otters?" Ivy said and grinned at the attendant on duty.
He looked like he was barely out of high school, and his cheeks flushed at Ivy's proximity. She didn't notice. “Sorry, Miss. The o… otter exhibit is closed right now. But we have the new jellyfish exhibit, t… the tide pools and the m… m… manta rays. Oh, and the sea lions are out on the beach too,” he stammered out and smiled.
Ivy pouted and leaned back, her brow furrowed. "No otters. Well, this is disappointing."
"Do you know when the otter exhibit is going to reopen?" I asked.
The kid shrugged. "I just work the front desk, so I d… d… don't really know anything. But there have been a lot of people coming in and out that don't u… usually work here, so maybe?"
Maggie had said something about Ollie staying on permanently. Strange that she hadn't mentioned the whole otter exhibit was closed. She usually brought up stuff like that. Unless she’d been too preoccupied with her plan to murder Jenny Walker to mention it.
I frowned at my own line of thought, and tugged Ivy deeper into the aquarium.
"If the otter exhibit is closed they should hav
e a sign out front," she said and crossed her arms.
I shook my head. "I see why they don't. Then people wouldn't even want to come in. They need to make money too," I said and wandered in the direction of the kelp forest exhibit.
Even if the otters were off-limits at that moment, Ivy always liked the kelp forest when she was a kid. I had to admit, I did too. It was like wandering through an underwater forest made of seaweed and local sea life, minus the otters and sea lions, of course, since they would probably feast on the fish.
I smiled at the dark green seaweed that moved around us in a wavelike formation. Our mom used to bring us there when we were younger and tell us all about the animals that lived in the sea—especially how they could be utilized to aid meditation. She was never going to let us slouch in that department, even if I was slightly dubious about it.
The kelp forest tapered off into a darker area, which housed creatures from the deep-sea shelf right off the bay. The tanks were smaller, not floor-to-ceiling like the kelp forest had been, and only dimly lit. Ivy stuck close to me and peered into each tank in turn.
"What a weird fish," she said, and I nodded my agreement.
Its oversized teeth hung out of its mouth, and it looked like it would give someone a nasty bite.
We took another few steps, and I swore I heard footsteps shuffle behind us. Yet, when I turned around, no one was there.
I narrowed my eyes and squeezed Ivy's arm. Was it Maggie or someone else? Were we being followed?
I thought of the destroyed wreaths in front of the shop and a shiver shot up my spine. If whoever had done that was the same person who killed Jenny Walker, they weren't above escalating violence.
And I wouldn't want to be caught alone with them.
My eyes scanned the displays as we went, heart pounding in my throat and ears straining to hear any extra sounds. It could just be another person enjoying a lonely afternoon at the aquarium, but something in my gut told me otherwise.
I wanted to hurry through the deep-sea exhibit and into a more brightly lit area with people, but Ivy insisted on stopping at each tank to read the little placard that accompanied it. The walls around us looked like an underwater tunnel, painted a deep navy blue, and the only light came from a few glowing points along the floor to prevent tripping into the tanks themselves.
It made it impossible to see into the distance, and since the walls twisted like a cave, it was also difficult to see around each corner.
We took another step.
One.
Two.
Three.
An extra footstep.
I swallowed my heartbeat. We were being followed.
"Look at this octopus. He's so cute," Ivy said and pointed at one of the tanks.
I tore my eyes away from the hall behind us, and saw the multicolored octopus curled in the corner of the tank. I nodded absently. "Yeah. Adorable."
Something clogged in my throat and kept me from warning Ivy of the danger. I wasn't sure what she might do—either charge toward it with her purse, or look at me with those big green eyes filled with terror. Plus, I couldn't deny the fear that pumped through my own veins in that moment.
My eyes trained on the area we’d been, and I squeezed her hand.
Finally, the deep-sea trench exhibit curved to an end and the hallway split into two.
"Tidepools?"
Ivy eyed both hallways. Of course, she turned toward the dark one. "Yeah, but I want to see the jellyfish first."
I let out a heavy sigh through my clenched teeth and nodded. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. If whoever killed Jenny was following us, that meant we could catch them. Especially since it was a public place.
And it wasn’t like they could force us to drink poisoned tea like they tricked her into doing.
Somehow.
I fought the urge to look over my shoulder as we walked into the jellyfish exhibit. It was better lit than the deep-sea trench, but not by much. The tanks filled the room, both the sides and the center, and the eerie glowing bodies of jellyfish floated through them. Each tank had a different species, a different shape, with their long trailing tentacles flowing behind them like underwater hair.
I had to admit, like this they were beautiful. On the beach they were nothing but a gelatinous goop that hurt to step on.
Soon after we entered the room, I heard the footsteps again.
Deliberate yet careful.
Though, when I glanced around the tanks, I didn't see who they belonged to. And there weren’t exactly tons of people.
That was definitely suspicious.
Then, Ivy tugged on my jacket sleeve. "Olive. Look at this."
“What?" I said and didn't tear my eyes away from the entrance.
If anyone came in, I'd see them.
Catch them.
"I said look at this, which means with your eyes. What was the name of that other poison?"
I pulled out the folded piece of paper from my purse and squinted at my handwriting. “Something like glycosylation. Why?"
"Because I think I know where it came from," Ivy said and yanked me harder.
This time I tore my eyes away from the entrance and looked at the placard next to the jellyfish tank. Her finger pressed into the name of the poison that we hadn't been able to source: glycosylation.
Of course!
The jellyfish exhibit was new, and we hadn't been to see it yet. Hadn't even thought they would have a variation from Australia here. But they did. Floating innocently in the tank in front of me, the tendrils of the box jellyfish were undoubtedly fatal.
And that kind of poison had been in Jenny Walker's tea.
I met her eyes and saw her swallow heavily. "Does that mean it was Maggie?" she said in a small voice.
I heard the footsteps enter the room with us. We both snapped to attention and looked to see who they belonged to. I squinted my eyes against the dim lights, and a tall figure in a long black coat, silhouetted the entrance—the light too dull to make out their features.
Fear clogged my throat, but if I didn't act soon, I would regret it.
"Hey, you. Why are you following us?" I said, making my voice as rough as I could.
The figure stood still for a moment, like a deer caught in headlights, then it did something I didn't expect at all.
It turned and ran.
Ivy charged after it first, and I took up the rear. I didn't even have to tell her what happened for her to go on full attack mode.
Typical Ivy—always like a hunting pup ready to sniff out its prey.
The figure turned not toward the deep-sea trench exhibit, which I had expected, but toward the tide pools. In the distance, I saw the long black jacket flapping behind them like the wings of a crow, and it reminded me of the wreath vandal.
First that, and now being followed?
Whoever killed Jenny Walker obviously knew we were investigating the case and didn't want us to find out the truth.
I shoved the fear aside and ran faster, which wasn't easy to do in a dress and flats, but I managed as best I could.
At least I didn't fall on my face—I called that progress.
"Hey," Ivy called and came to a stop so abruptly that I nearly ran into her.
"Where'd they go?"
I looked around the doors that lead down to the tide pools. There were a few empty displays inside that had sea sponges and sea anemones that kids could pick up and touch, but the real fun was the tide pools at the shore.
She pointed at the doors, and I nodded.
Once we stepped out into the cold, winter wind, however, there wasn't anyone there. We ran to the railing that ended at the bluff, and the stairway that went down to the tide pools at its base.
"No one's here," I said, slightly breathless
Ivy shook her head and spun around. The outer walkway wrapped around the whole building, and she pointed in the opposite direction of the tide pools.
I looked and caught the flap of the coat going around the corner.
<
br /> Together, we charged after it.
Or perhaps it was more of a light jog.
I really needed to work out more. I didn’t need Ivy to remind me of that. I could tell by how my legs and feet ached.
Once we got to the corner, Ivy gasped.
The person in the black coat collided with Maggie White.
The papers she had been holding flew into the air and then fluttered to the ground, some of them snatched by the relentless sea breeze. The man in the dark coat turned briefly, enough that I saw the outline of his face, and the blood drained from my body.
Then he was off, running around the side of the building, and Maggie was working frantically to catch all her papers.
“I’m going after him," Ivy cried, but I shook my head.
"She needs our help," I said and started snatching as many papers from the vicious wind as I could.
My heart throbbed the entire time.
It was Wyatt.
The charming Englishman from the tea shop.
The same man I saw argue with Jenny Walker right before she died.
Wyatt Edwards had been following us.
And, even more perturbing, why did he run?
It wasn't like he had something to hide… did he?
Chapter Fifteen
I helped gather as much paper as I could, and offered Maggie a hand, but she refused to take it. Pulling herself onto her feet, she swept a hand through her windswept hair and narrowed her large eyes.
“I’ve been preparing these all day!”
“I’m sorry, Maggie.” Ivy handed her a bunch too, though they were slightly crushed. “Whoever that was, they were an inconsiderate crumpet.”
“Yeah,” Maggie grumbled, glancing between me and Ivy. Judging by the thick line between her eyebrows, she wasn’t particularly pleased to see me. “What are you doing out here anyway? Don’t you have more sonnets to recite?”
Maggie didn’t even wait for an answer. She shuffled the paper into a disheveled pile and charged back into the main part of the aquarium. Ivy and I followed suit, raising our eyebrows at each other.
“I wanted to apologize,” I said, swallowing. “I was an inconsiderate crumpet earlier. I should’ve kept my nose where it belonged. I’m sorry I upset you, Maggie.”