by D. S. Butler
Beside me, the Mayor was jumping up and down with rage. “Did you hear what she accused me of. Did you hear that? Why are you just standing there?” He shouted at me. “Do something. Shut her up.”
I looked at him as if he was crazy. He’d already tried and failed to get Grandma Grant to shut up, so why did he think I was going to be able to do it?
But I had to try. I rushed up to the car and swatted Grandma Grant’s leg to attract her attention.
“Grandma,” I hissed. “What are you doing? You’re going to get in serious trouble.”
Grandma Grant stepped back and looked down at me. “I’m not the one who is going to get in trouble. I’m not the one who’s done anything wrong. That’s the Mayor’s department. He is the dodgy dealer. He was seen by Betty in Cherry Town, conducting one of his secret meetings. He is taking payments to get the resort plan through the committee.”
If I thought the Mayor had been angry before, it was nothing compared to now. His face was bright red, and I thought he was in danger of bursting a blood vessel.
He slapped a hand down hard on the bodywork of his car.
“Get. Off. My. Car,” he yelled, punctuating each word with a loud slap of his hand on the hood.
“Please, Grandma Grant,” I begged, trying to pull her off the car.
The slippery surface of the paintwork played into my hands because Grandma Grant slid off. Thank goodness she didn’t hurt herself on the way down.
Murmuring apologies, I dragged Grandma Grant away. I needed to get her out of there before the Mayor had a heart attack.
Grandma Grant wasn’t happy. “What did you do that for, Harper? I was just about to get him to admit the truth.”
“You were just about to give him a coronary,” I replied. “You can’t go around doing things like that. You don’t have any evidence to start with. What would Chief Wickham say if he’d caught you during that little display?”
“He’d probably say exactly the same things as you are now,” Grandma Grant said, sulkily folding her arms over her chest. “Neither of you are very imaginative.”
“Well, let’s just hope he doesn’t find out,” I said. “Promise me you won’t approach the Mayor again. I have to go back to work, and I can’t do that if I’m worried you’re going to hijack the Mayor’s vehicle again.”
“You’ll be sorry you didn’t pay attention to me,” Grandma Grant warned. “The whole town will soon realize I was right all along. But by that time, it will be too late!”
Chapter 13
It had just turned four o’clock. The diner was quiet when Louise walked in. I couldn’t believe my luck. It was all I could do to stop myself from rushing over to her and asking questions immediately. I knew that would put her on her guard, and she would just think I was a weirdo, or worse— a gossip.
I managed to control the urge to question her straightaway and took over a menu as she sat down in one of the booths by the window.
“Hi, Louise, isn’t it? I was very sorry to hear about what happened to Yvonne.”
Louise’s dark hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail. It made her features seem even more severe. She looked up at me sharply. I could see the irritation written all over her face.
“It’s all everybody wants to talk about,” she muttered. “I suppose it’s the most exciting thing that has happened for decades in this silly little town.”
I was insulted and wanted to defend Abbott Cove, but as I didn’t want to get on Louise’s bad side, I ignored her comment.
“How are you bearing up?”
Louise shrugged. “As well as can be expected, I suppose. Of course, I’m furious at having to stay in this pokey little town. It’s stupid. I mean, do I look like a killer to you?”
At that moment, with her lip pulled back in a snarl and her eyes flashing angrily, I thought she did look like a potential killer. She was the most likely candidate I’d come across so far if appearance were anything to go on. Of course, I didn’t say that.
“It must be difficult. I suppose you’re used to big city life.”
Louise nodded absently as she looked down at the menu.
“I did find it strange that somebody like Yvonne would want to open a yoga retreat in Abbott Cove. I thought it was far more likely she’d set up a base in New York,” I said and waited to hear how Louise would respond.
“Well, that was because—”
She seemed to remember herself and shook her head as she changed the subject. “Never mind. I’ll have the club sandwich and a side of seasoned fries, please,” Louise said, handing me back the menu.
“And to drink?” I asked.
“I’ll have lemonade.”
I nodded and went to give Archie the order. I longed to ask more questions, but I didn’t want to make her suspicious. Yvonne was still in the back room with Loretta. They’d gone from hating each other’s guts, to chatting away like old friends. It was rather disconcerting.
I considered going to get Yvonne so she could listen in on my conversation with Louise, but then I thought better of it. Yvonne was a distraction I didn’t need when I wanted to concentrate.
I hadn’t gotten anything concrete out of Yvonne’s sister, so Yvonne’s assistant was really my only hope.
I prepared her lemonade and took it over to the table.
The diner was still quiet, so I could linger and talk to Louise on the pretense that I was just being friendly.
“I spoke to Yvonne’s sister, Carol, earlier. She seems ever so upset.”
Louise gave a noncommittal grunt.
I tried again. “She said you didn’t always get on well with Yvonne. I have to say from what I saw of her when she was in the diner, she seemed like a difficult person to please. I know I shouldn’t speak ill of the dead, but I wouldn’t have enjoyed working for her.”
Louise took a sip of her lemonade and then put it back down on the table and studied me carefully. It was as though she was trying to work out my game plan.
“Yvonne and I got on fine,” she said, cutting off that line of questioning.
But I wasn’t prepared to let it rest. “That surprises me since she tried to push you both around. I couldn’t believe it when she tried to shame Carol into not ordering a muffin. I was mentally cheering you on when you defied her.”
A small smile twitched at the edges of Louise’s mouth. “I’ve never been good at being bossed about, and Yvonne could certainly be bossy.”
At that moment, I saw Yvonne swoop across the diner and come to a stop beside me. “Ah, I see somebody is talking about me,” she said.
I did my best to ignore Yvonne and decided to push my luck with Louise.
“Carol told me you had an argument with Yvonne the night before she died.”
The smile disappeared from Louise’s face, and she frowned. “That’s not true. Yvonne and I had a good working relationship.”
That was open to interpretation. Yvonne hovered beside me, but she didn’t contradict Louise.
“Are you saying Carol was mistaken? You didn’t have an argument?”
Louise sighed impatiently. “We had a discussion. I would hardly call it an argument.” She pushed her glasses back on her nose and peered at me. “If you must know, she was late paying me, and I wanted to know when I would get what was owed to me.”
Well, I hadn’t expected that.
Neither had Yvonne by the sound of it. She swooped in front of Louise, putting her face right up to her ex-assistant’s, and screamed liar at the top of her voice. It was pretty hard to ignore, but I did my best.
Louise, of course, didn’t flinch. She had no idea Yvonne was currently threatening to pour lemonade over her head.
“Oh, that must have been a difficult situation,” I said, trying not to flinch as Yvonne swooped across the table and made repeated attempts to pick up the glass of lemonade. Thankfully, she couldn’t quite manage it.
Yvonne was going crazy. “She’s lying! Don’t believe her! We argued because I told her s
he wasn’t pulling her weight. She wasn’t working hard enough!”
I studiously kept my gaze averted from Yvonne’s ghost cavorting on the table in front of Louise, but it wasn’t easy.
“Do you have any idea who might’ve wanted to kill her?” I asked desperately, running out of options. I was too distracted to try to be subtle.
Louise narrowed her eyes and stared at me. “Why are you so interested anyway? Small towns are far too gossipy for my liking. You’re young, you should get out while you still have the chance. Go and see the world. Don’t concern yourself in other people’s business and become a busybody like the rest of the old women who live in this town.”
I opened my mouth to reply, but I heard Archie calling for service,
“Right, I’ll just go and get your order.”
I hurried over to the hatch to pick up Louise’s club sandwich, and then Mrs. Townsend caught my eye at the other table, asking for the check. I smiled brightly at her and told her I’d be over in just a moment.
Louise thanked me for the sandwich and then refused to talk about Yvonne any longer. I guessed I’d burned my bridges there. Louise thought I was a nosy local. She wasn’t going to trust me with any suspicions she had.
But I was sure Yvonne was the one telling the truth. She was so passionate and outraged that Louise would lie about their argument. I wondered whether Louise was lying to save face, or whether she had something more serious to hide.
Chapter 14
On the way home from the diner, Yvonne and I called in at Grandma Grant’s.
It had been quite a disappointing day all round. Although I’d spoken to two people who’d been close to Yvonne and known her well, I was no nearer to narrowing down a potential suspect. I had my suspicions that both Louise and Carol were lying to me, but that didn’t necessarily mean either of them were murderers.
Jess was already sitting at the table when Yvonne and I entered Grandma Grant’s kitchen.
Grandma Grant was preparing a pot of her special chamomile tea, and insisted on saying good evening to Yvonne, even though she looked in the wrong direction as she said it. I suppose it was the thought that counts.
“How did you get on with that book of spells last night? Did you have a look at it?” Grandma asked as she handed me a cup of chamomile tea.
I wasn’t about to tell her I had fallen asleep after reading the first page, so I did the only thing I could do. I lied. I told myself it was because I didn’t want to disappoint her, but really it was to save my own skin. Grandma Grant was scary when she got mad.
“Of course, I looked at it last night as soon as we got home. It was riveting. I read at least a hundred pages.”
Jess looked over at me and raised an eyebrow. “Really?”
I scowled. Jess knew what I was like when it came to learning spells, but I didn’t appreciate her reminding me of that in front of Grandma Grant.
“Did you learn a spell?” Yvonne asked excitedly. “Show me one! Go on, do one now.”
“It isn’t a magic show, Yvonne. I’m not a performing seal,” I snapped. “Magic is a serious business.”
Jess smirked, and Grandma Grant said, “It is serious. It requires a lot of studying, Harper.”
“I know, and I have been studying. My head is full of all sorts of spells.”
“Which ones?” Jess asked me, smiling innocently.
I scowled. Trying to rewind my mind back to last night and picture what was on that first page. For the life of me, I couldn’t remember.
Was it something about a truth spell or truth serum? I was sure it was something to do with veracity, or no, hang on a minute… It was verity, not veracity.
“Verity,” I said, feeling very pleased with myself. “The Verity Spell, encouraging the truth.”
I smiled triumphantly at Jess, and Grandma Grant looked suitably impressed. “Very good, Harper. I thought I was going to have to nag you for months to get you to learn anything.”
I wasn’t that bad surely. Jess and Grandma Grant loved to exaggerate.
I was feeling pretty sure of myself until Jess said, “Go on then, Harper. Don’t stop there. Tell us what’s in the potion.”
“Oh,” I scratched my head and bit down on my lip, trying frantically to remember something about the potion. “The spell and potion combined give the best results,” I said tentatively and then felt more confident when Grandma Grant nodded at me.
“That’s right.”
But Jess wasn’t so easily fooled. “And what ingredients are in the potion?”
Oh, no. Jess just wanted to embarrass me, and it was working. I was going to have to admit I couldn’t remember anything about the spell apart from the title. But before I came clean, I saw the smirk on Jess’s face, and it riled me.
I made a wild stab in the dark. “Well, there’s pondweed to start with, obviously.”
The corner of Jess’s mouth turned up in a smile, but I figured I was on the right track. It seemed to me like pondweed was in every single potion imaginable. I hated the stuff. Mainly because I was always the one told to go and collect it for Grandma Grant’s concoctions, and I hated the way it felt squelching through my fingers.
“And what else?” Jess prompted.
“Something about some gypsophila and er…lily pollen…”
Jess collapsed into giggles, and Grandma Grant frowned at me.
“For goodness sake, Harper. That potion is so simple a ten-year-old could do it. You’re going to have to make more of an effort.”
I scowled and felt sorry for myself. I had more important things on my mind than silly potions. I didn’t see why they were important anyway. If I needed one, I could just ask Jess or Grandma Grant.
Besides, I didn’t like spells and potions because you were never one hundred percent sure they were going to work. Take that truth spell, it just made the person you cast the spell on want to tell the truth. It didn’t necessarily mean they would tell the truth. It depended on how much willpower they had and how strong their personality was.
Jess was still howling with laughter, which I didn’t appreciate.
“Don’t you think you are going slightly overboard,” I said dryly.
Yvonne watched Jess with amazement and shook her head. “I don’t think I get the joke,” she said.
“Don’t worry,” I replied. “Neither do I.”
“I’m laughing because if you’d made that spell, you would have ended up with the hovering spell on page one seventeen,” Jess said. “I’m picturing the shock on your face if your subject had started to lift off the ground.”
I looked at Jess in amazement. Firstly, how the hell did she know the book well enough to know which page the different spells were on, and secondly, this was exactly what was wrong with spells. You couldn’t even make someone fly. The most powerful spell you could cast would make somebody hover. Big deal. Since ghosts could do that all the time, I didn’t find it very impressive.
Spells and potions were definitely more effort than they were worth in my opinion.
I decided to shift the subject away from spells. It never ended well for me when Grandma Grant and Jess ganged up and tried to bully me into learning them. Instead, I attempted to use them as a sounding board for what I’d learned today, which granted, wasn’t a lot.
I filled them in on Louise’s reaction to my questions and about Carol’s secret male visitor.
“I think they’re both hiding something,” I said. “But I suppose their secrets and lies could be completely unrelated to Yvonne’s murder.”
I also sensed Yvonne wasn’t telling me everything either, but I couldn’t very well say that with her hovering beside me.
We talked things over for a little while, but unfortunately, Jess and Grandma Grant couldn’t give me any insight. Although Jess was very interested in the possibility Carol could have a secret lover, much to Yvonne’s annoyance.
In an effort to stop Yvonne screeching in my ear and shouting that Carol would most definitely
not have been entertaining male visitors so soon after her death, I turned to Grandma Grant.
“I hope you haven’t been taking part in any more protests, Grandma.”
Grandma Grant topped up our cups of chamomile tea from the teapot and then looked at me and sighed.
“I know you don’t understand, Harper. But it’s all down to me. No one else in Abbott Cove cares that the mayor is corrupt.”
Jess put down her cup of tea and shook her head. “That’s a very strong allegation. You can’t go around saying things like that without proof.”
Grandma Grant shook her head obstinately. “I have all the proof I need. I know the truth.”
There was no arguing with Grandma Grant when she got like this.
“Just promise me you’ll stay away from the Mayor.”
But of course, that would have been too easy. Grandma Grant never gave up without a fight.
“I won’t promise anything of the sort,” Grandma Grant said huffily. “I hope both of you are coming to the meeting tomorrow. It’s at the town hall, and they’ll be telling the residents about the new plans for the resort.”
It sounded pretty boring to me, but I knew Grandma Grant had ways of making my life unbearable if I refused to go.
Resigned to a boring evening tomorrow night, I nodded and so did Jess.
It was then I noticed Yvonne had suddenly become very quiet. She’d been very animated earlier when Jess had been talking about the possibility of Carol conducting a secret love affair, but I didn’t read too much into it. I guessed she just had a lot on her mind.
I was watching Yvonne carefully when I heard Grandma Grant say, “Promise me, Harper.”
I frowned. I’d apparently missed part of that conversation. I sometimes tuned out a bit when Jess and Grandma Grant were talking. Sometimes, I felt it was the only way to keep my sanity.
“Sorry? What was that?” I asked.
“I need you to go and check the restaurant in Cherry Town. That’s where Betty saw him having his clandestine meetings.”
“Why were they clandestine?” Jess asked.
Grandma Grant rolled her eyes and looked at Jess as if she’d come down in the last shower. “Why else would he choose to go to Cherry Town and not use one of the restaurants in Abbott Cove?”