“Yeah, of course he did,” I hastily lied. “I knew that.”
Charlie was giving me a skeptical look, but I quickly turned around to the barn door, straightened the hem of my shirt, and raised my hand to knock. Before I had a chance to rap on the door, it opened, and there stood Jasper.
Oh, man, did he look good.
My insides started to melt and I wondered if it showed.
He smiled.
I was a goner.
The light from inside the barn was streaming out around Jasper. He too was dressed casually in jeans and a gray Henley. The shirt was just tight enough to show off his well-defined arms, but not so tight that it was obnoxious.
“You’re here,” he said. “Dinner should be ready any minute. So glad you could make it.”
“I brought a salad,” said Charlie, stepping up next to me. She saw that I wasn’t holding anything in my hands, and she realized – knowing me well – that I was about to stammer something embarrassing about why I hadn’t brought a contribution. Coming to my rescue, she corrected herself with, “We brought a salad.”
“That’s perfect, thanks,” said Jasper, reaching out and taking the large bowl from Charlie’s hands.
“You put a salad together?” I whispered to her.
“Don’t be silly. I’ve been busy investigating a murder. I bought a salad and put it in a bowl. Modern convenience and all that. By the way, I want to talk to Jackie Morris.”
“Somehow I knew you were going to say that,” I whispered back.
We followed Jasper into the large open space of the barn, where a long rectangular table had been set up for dinner. The barn was warm and inviting, and I was very glad to plop myself into a seat, because I now felt tense and strange. I had been sure this was a date, but it wasn’t, and I had no idea what to make of any of it.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw Jasper give me a searching look.
I quickly looked away and tried to avoid any further eye contact.
Charlie sat down next to me, also eyeing me.
Smells of fresh wood and dinner cooking mingled, contributing to the cozy atmosphere.
Was I going to spend the whole evening avoiding the scrutiny of my friends?
Before I could begin to answer that question, there was another knock at the door. When Jasper excused himself to go answer it, Charlie leaned close to me and said matter-of-factly, “You look like road kill.”
“Sometimes less honestly would be better,” I muttered.
“Did you get a chance to talk to Paws?” Charlie asked, obligingly changing the subject.
“Yeah, but he’s upset about something, so he wasn’t much help. He was busy being all dramatic and stuff,” I said, rousing myself a bit.
Though I was trying to help Charlie help me get into the swing of the evening, my mind kept rolling back into the same rut: Jasper and I weren’t on a date. Of course we weren’t. I reminded myself that is grandfather hated me and would probably disown him if we went on a date, so why had I ever thought tonight was going to be different?
My heart ached as I watched his broad shoulders walk away to answer the door. You can call a crush silly all you want, but the feelings are real.
“Have you heard anything new from Detective Cutter?” I asked Charlie, making my own effort to change the subject.
Charlie scoffed. “Just that the investigation is ongoing. He’s not happy that the reporters got wind of it so quickly, but I don’t know what he expects. There were three cop cars on Main Street this morning. He might as well have hung up a sign saying there’d been a murder. Nothing else merits three cop cars.”
“True enough,” I said. “Do you think he’s figured out who she is yet?”
“I don’t know. If he hasn’t, it’s only a matter of time, which is why we have to get to the library first thing in the morning.” Charlie sounded very determined.
“Is that so important to you because you want to beat Detective Cutter, or someone else?” I wondered. Hansen Gregory would be hot on the heels of this story too, even if he did have a lot on his plate in Caedmon.
For the first time since we’d sat down, Charlie looked away from me.
“I don’t know who you could possibly be talking about besides Detective Cutter,” she said through gritted teeth.
“Right, it’s not like you have a nemesis or anything,” I said.
“Exactly,” Charlie agreed.
“Hi there,” said Liam, as he and Gerry walked up to us. Gerry, true to her usual form, was wearing a feathered hat and a purple feathered scarf to match.
“Evening,” said Charlie. “How are you?”
Gerry looked tired, but she gave us a weak smile before she sat down.
“We’re good,” said Liam when his mother didn’t answer. “I thought it would be good for us to get out of the house, and this invitation was a great opportunity.”
“I’m excited for tonight. Good for Jasper for setting up a dinner among friends,” said Charlie, beaming.
I wished he had told me earlier that that was what he was doing.
“Any more news at the store?” I asked Liam. He shook his head.
“No, everything’s gone quiet. It’s still the talk of the town, though,” he replied. “Obviously, I guess.”
Greer and Deacon arrived not long after that and Jasper went to get dinner. Gerry followed him, offering to help bring the serving dishes from the kitchen
We had a very nice meal, with hardly a mention of the events that had taken place on Main Street. I was so caught up in having a good time that even I forgot about them.
“Remember that time the road out of Mintwood flooded?” Charlie asked. “We were in high school and Greer had a softball game that she couldn’t get to?”
“It was the regional finals,” said Greer. “We were prepared to walk around the flood and get on another bus on the other side if we had to, but no way were we going to miss that game.”
“Mayor Clabberd was so mad. He was like, ‘How dare it rain today?’” said Charlie.
“He’s funny, but at least he supported the town,” said Deacon. “I remember that. He insisted that the game not be canceled. He even threatened the mayor of the other town.”
“What other mayor?” Greer asked. “I never heard that part of the story.”
“You were playing Stonetown High School, right? I guess the mayor of Stonetown and Mayor Clabberd danced ballroom together, and he said he wouldn’t be her partner anymore if she didn’t figure out a way for the game to be played.”
“He danced ballroom?” I asked incredulously.
“What’s wrong with a man dancing?” Jasper’s eyes sparkled out at me.
“Nothing. I just have a hard time seeing Mayor Clabberd doing it,” I said defensively.
“I’m sure he dances beautifully,” said Liam.
“He does,” said Gerry, just before taking a bite of chocolate cake.
We all turned to her in surprise.
“Mother, please don’t tell me you’ve been holding out on me,” said Liam, squinting at his mother as if he were disappointed in her.
Gerry flushed at the realization that she had just admitted – shock of all shocks – to having seen the mayor dance.
We were laughing uproariously at a story Gerry was telling when the barn door swung open. We all turned to look, only to see Detective Cutter walk through the door.
He was still in his uniform and he looked grumpy. It struck me that while he had probably had another very long day, evidence of our merriment was all over the table. We had enjoyed our three-course meal and topped it off with dessert. It was a happy group, and I was glad to have enjoyed dinner among so many good friends.
Detective Cutter was clearly here to ruin all of that; there was no way this was a social call.
Everyone looked confused except Liam’s mother. Murmurs went up around the table, and Jasper swung around in his seat to look.
“I’m afraid I’m here on official busine
ss,” said the detective.
Jasper nodded encouragingly, trying without words to indicate that that much was clear. When the detective didn’t answer right away, Jasper stood up and asked, “What can we help you with?”
“I have an arrest to make,” said Detective Cutter. “I came alone because I didn’t want there to be a fuss.”
“You only found the body yesterday. How could you have made an identification so quickly?” Charlie asked.
Detective Cutter gave her a beady-eyed stare. “We made the identification quickly because we found ID and some scraps of clothing in the wall, and the clothes were consistent with a known missing person case.”
Watching Charlie’s head slowly explode was interesting. She’d be up all night writing this story, that was for sure.
Detective Cutter’s eyes skated around the table. At first I thought they were going to land on Liam, who clearly agreed; he shifted uncomfortably at the attention. But the detective’s eyes kept going.
To everyone’s surprise, Gerry clapped her hand over her mouth and stifled a scream. Detective Cutter turned to her, his expression suddenly hard. “Yes, that’s right. I had a feeling you wouldn’t be surprised.”
“On the contrary, I’m pretty sure she looks surprised,” muttered Greer. Deacon put his hand over hers, silently telling her not to argue with a policeman on official business. Greer lapsed into silence, still looking argumentative but stifling any further comment.
“I . . . is it really? After all these years?” Gerry whispered, her hand semi-uncovering her mouth.
“I’m afraid it is Jackie Morris,” confirmed Detective Cutter.
There was another sob from Gerry as she heard the young woman’s name.
“Mother! Who is that! What’s going on?” Liam demanded. Then his face turned white. “Is that your friend that went missing at the end of high school, and no one ever found out what happened to her?”
Gerry was now crying and looking very upset. She nodded to her son, but scarcely looked able to speak otherwise.
“I’m afraid you’re under arrest,” said Detective Cutter.
The whole table burst into unintelligible shock.
“You’ll have to come with me,” said Detective Cutter, unperturbed as he came around the table to where Gerry was sitting.
“You must be mistaken,” said Liam, still looking like he’d been rolled over and crushed by a large boulder. “She didn’t kill anyone.”
“I’m afraid this isn’t an argument we’re going to have,” said Detective Cutter, sounding kinder than I expected him to.
Trembling, Gerry stood up, gathering her purple layers around her. For a split second I thought she might throw pixie dust and disappear, but then I told myself not to be silly. It was fairy dust that would do the trick, but we didn’t have any of that handy either. Then I thought: of all the weeks for Harriet to be out of town, she had to pick this one.
Deacon and Jasper were both stony-faced.
“If you could just explain, I’m sure we could figure this out,” said Jasper. He sounded calm, and I knew he was intervening for Liam’s sake, but Detective Cutter wouldn’t be swayed.
“I want to go with you!” Liam insisted.
“You’ll have to get your own ride,” said the Detective.
“It’s okay,” said Charlie. “I’ll drive you. We can call a lawyer on the way.”
“I don’t know any lawyers,” said Liam. “Most wouldn’t be caught dead at the Twinkle. They prefer drab to fab.”
“I’ll call my lawyer. He’s the best. I can tell him to meet you there,” said Jasper.
Before I could stop myself, I gave him a grateful smile, just as his eyes happened to flick to me for a split second. He’d been giving me confused looks all evening, ever since I had showed up and found out that I wasn’t the only dinner guest, and hadn’t been able to hide my acute disappointment at the latest evidence of no-date syndrome.
“Don’t worry, son. It’ll be fine,” said Gerry, turning to Liam. He nodded mutely, but it was clear that he thought what was going on was anything but fine.
Once Detective Cutter had left with our friend’s mom, we all exchanged glances.
“Wanted to come alone and not make a scene . . . Who on earth thinks Gerry would run from an arrest?” Charlie muttered.
Chapter Nine
After that, it went without saying that our lovely dinner was over. Deacon and Jasper assured us that they’d clean up while we followed Gerry as quickly as possible.
“Just keep us updated,” Jasper asked, walking us to the door.
“Yeah, keep us in the loop,” Deacon added. He had decided to pile all the plates on top of each other and then walk Greer to the door, but the plates were heavier than they looked, and he was now staggering a little. Jasper took half the stack, and they headed back inside.
Once we were out in the cool night air, Liam power-walked to his car. I could just see the blue lights of Detective Cutter’s car fading down the road; it must have taken him some time to get Gerry settled in the back seat.
“Did you notice the one thing Gerry didn’t say?” I asked Greer. We were driving to the police station in my car, following Charlie and Liam in his, since we couldn’t very well leave my car at Jasper’s. Charlie would ride home with us eventually, but right now we thought that one of us should stay with Liam.
“Why are you arresting me? I’m a nice lady you’ve known my whole life!” Greer said, mimicking what Gerry hadn’t said.
“She didn’t say she didn’t do it,” I said grimly.
“She is a witch, after all,” said Greer, biting her lip.
“Yeah, I know, but she would never have used those powers to kill her friend. If she had, my grandmother would have dealt with her a long time ago,” I said.
“That’s true,” said Greer. “So should we stop at the farmhouse to pick up Paws?”
I shook my head. “We can fill him in when we get back. He won’t want to come out twice in one night.”
“What are you talking about?” Greer asked.
“We have to go to the hair salon,” I said. “We can’t do it now, because they might still be processing the scene. But they have to sleep at some point, and that will be our chance.”
Greer groaned, “Which means we probably won’t. Sleep, that is.”
I gave my friend a rueful look. “Afraid to say, probably not.”
All the way to the police station I tried to process what was happening, but I couldn’t make any sense of it at all.
Charlie was waiting outside with an anxious look on her face when we got there.
“That was quick,” said Greer. “Should we wait for Liam?”
Charlie shook her head. “He told me I should get some rest. I think he wants to be alone. Jasper’s lawyer should be here any minute, and that should help hold Liam together. You’re going to drive past the salon now, aren’t you?”
“Of course,” I scoffed. “What do you take me for, an amateur?”
Charlie chuckled. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have underestimated you.”
“We’re going back later to investigate too,” said Greer.
“Obviously,” said Charlie.
Just then Liam came outside, nodded to all of us, and looked at Charlie. “I know you’re itching to write your article,” he said, hanging his head. “You’re on a deadline, after all. Just . . . don’t say anything bad about my mom, okay?”
Charlie promised not to convict his mother in the press, but she didn’t go any further. Luckily, Liam didn’t notice.
We all gave him a hug and assured him that everything would be fine, then, at his insistence, left him to wait for the lawyer.
“Do you think she did it?” Charlie asked on the way home.
“I hope not. I really do,” said Greer. Then she took her phone out and texted Deacon an update.
“That’s good,” I said bobbing my head.
Greer quirked an eyebrow at me and looked down at her phone ag
ain.
Deacon and Jasper didn’t both need to be texted, or so I told myself.
In the middle of the night I woke up to a text coming in. Heading downstairs, I found Charlie and Greer already there, both dressed in black.
“Liam says not to bother,” I yawned. “Detective Cutter has a guard at the salon.”
“How are we ever going to get any information if we can’t break the law?” Charlie complained.
I shook my head. This was definitely a setback. “Let’s get some sleep. Maybe there will be more information in the morning. We’ll definitely be talking to Liam by then. Did you finish your article?”
“Yes, Hansen thwarted again,” said Charlie. She was trying hard not to brag, because seeing her dear friend’s mother arrested was upsetting, but she couldn’t help appreciating a front-row seat and the opportunity to provide a firsthand account.
“What do you think he’s going to say?” said Greer.
“He’s probably going to speculate about how Charlie always manages to be in the right place at the right time,” I said.
“Skill,” Charlie said, lifting her chin.
“What’s the deal?” Paws asked from outside the window.
“The deal is that we can’t go tonight,” I said.
“I could go and scope it out,” the cat offered, uncharacteristically helpful.
“Paws unsupervised on the streets of Mintwood,” Greer mused.
“Maybe it would be better if you didn’t,” I told him. “Only if we get desperate.”
“Rude,” said the ghost cat.
After I woke up I nearly bounded outside. Charlie had finally agreed to let me subscribe to the Caedmon Chronicle instead of just buying it at random when we thought something interesting might be covered. She said it was for practical purposes, that studying the competition would be useful. We were never to tell Hansen Gregory about it, and if he ever did anything nefarious again, like dropping by unannounced as he had done once before, we were to hide all the papers immediately. If there was time, we were supposed to burn them.
Of course, Gerry’s arrest was front page news everywhere. The discovery of the skeleton had caused a sensation the day before, but that was nothing compared to the arrest of the alleged murderer.
Witch Raising Situation (Witch of Mintwood Book 5) Page 6