The fact that Gerry was a lifelong Mintwood resident just added to the pandemonium. Lena had insisted on writing her own article, contending that because Gerry was the mother of one of Charlie’s best friends, Charlie wouldn’t be able to write a straightforward, journalistic piece.
“At first I was angry, but then I realized she had a point. I had been there during the arrest of my friend’s mother. I wasn’t going to write an unbiased article.”
“I’m not sure I’d call this unbiased either, though,” Greer muttered. She had gotten up at ten (early for her) after the shock of the events of the night before and come down to make us breakfast. We would need our strength that day, she explained, given the stress of the situation.
“We just have to prove Gerry innocent,” I said, “that’s the main thing.” I bit my lip. There was something I hadn’t addressed yet, but it was the main reason I wished Harriet was around. Charlie, as smart as ever, brought it up for me.
“Is this really bad because she’s a witch?” Charlie asked after Greer had set down heaping plates of chocolate chip pancakes in front of us and started to eat.
I paused for a split second, then nodded. “I think so. They can’t find out that she’s a witch. There’s just no way. I have no idea what to do when a witch is arrested, like, if there’s any special protocol. I do wish Harriet hadn’t left town at exactly the wrong time.”
“We could break Gerry out of jail and let her go live in the mountains of Maine,” Greer suggested. “That’d be fun.”
Charlie rolled her eyes. “You know how we all feel about hiking.” The Murder on Mintwood Mountain had taught us that we just weren’t meant to climb mountains, even small ones.
“Anyhow, how would living as a fugitive be easier than just having us prove she’s innocent?” Charlie asked.
Greer shrugged. “I guess there’s a chance she might be guilty.”
“I don’t believe that for a second. She would never kill someone. She’s Liam’s mom,” argued Charlie.
“She wasn’t Liam’s mom when it happened,” Greer pointed out.
“We have to find out what evidence the police have,” I said. “We also have to have a look at that crime scene again. Jackie might still be there.”
“But the body has probably been taken to the morgue. What’s left of it, anyway,” said Charlie, scrunching up her face.
“Yeah, but the ghost was in that storefront for decades. It might not have left yet. We can check the morgue next if she isn’t there,” I said. “Also, we can start reading about Jackie Morris’s missing person case. That might shed some light on all of this. After that we can see if we can get in to visit Gerry.”
“Sounds like a busy day,” said Charlie. “Library?”
Now that Jackie Morris had been identified, at least I didn’t have to worry about knowing the victim’s name before the police.
I nodded. We’d do that first, then head to the Twinkle to check on Liam, who was no doubt desperately upset. Not only had his mother been arrested for murder, but she had lied to him. She had had her best friend go missing long ago, but when we told her about the skeleton she had pretended she knew nothing about it.
“Let’s get cracking,” said Charlie, rubbing her hands together. She was dressed in a crisp white dress shirt and a pencil skirt. Before she went into her room to grab her tote bag she glared at Hansen’s article about the arrest.
“I suppose he sensationalized everything and made it sound like she did it without a doubt?” Charlie muttered.
“Actually, I thought he did a good job of saying that the police hadn’t revealed what evidence they had,” I said. “Maybe they just brought her in for questioning and she’ll be released soon.”
“We can only hope,” Greer agreed.
Chapter Ten
We had a busy day coming up. Greer was going back to bed, so that by the beginning of the afternoon she’d have a chance of not being grumpy. But Charlie had no intention of resting until every stone in this case was overturned. The library opened at nine, and Charlie and I planned to be there when the doors were unlocked.
“At least Detective Cutter hasn’t released Jackie’s name to the public yet,” said Charlie.
“Do we know where her family is?” I asked.
“No, but we should have a better idea after we get to the library. That might be what he’s waiting on,” said Charlie.
When we got there, a handful of people were waiting outside the library to be let in. The librarian showed up shortly thereafter, smiled at everyone, and ushered us inside. All the townsfolk streamed to their separate niches.
The library’s rows upon rows of books greeted us, all stacked neatly on locally made wooden shelves.
We hurried over to the section where we could look at old newspapers on film.
“What year would this have been?” I asked.
“Seventy-eight,” said Charlie.
We spent the next hour searching, both of us looking up articles on Jackie Morris’s disappearance.
“It must have ruined graduation,” said Charlie.
“Here’s an account of what happened the night before,” Charlie said. She leaned closer to the screen and read for a minute or two, then said, “It sounds like she was out with a friend. She told him she was heading home, but she never made it.”
“What about her parents now?” I asked. There was a chance that they were still alive.
“I’ve been searching,” said Charlie. “It looks like her parents live in Florida, so interviewing them is out, but they weren’t suspects in her disappearance. The last night anyone saw Jackie was the night before graduation. Her parents were having a dinner party, so there were a lot of witnesses.”
“Hum, so who was she out with?” I asked.
“A guy named Keith,” said Charlie.
We exchanged looks.
“No Gerry?” I said.
“No, but another article mentions Gerry. It says that she and Jackie were best friends. I wonder why she wasn’t there that night,” said Charlie.
“Maybe she was on a date or something,” I suggested.
Charlie nodded her head slowly, never taking her eyes off the film.
“This is interesting,” said Charlie. “It says that Jackie was president of her class and the first in her family to get admitted to college. She was out for a movie and was supposed to head straight home afterwards. Her friend had picked her up, so she told him to drop her off on Main Street, and her dad would pick her up from there. That was the last time anyone saw her. Keith said she seemed normal when he dropped her off, and he didn’t mention anything being amiss. But the article also says that after the fact it seemed unlikely that her dad was planning to pick her up, since he was at the dinner party.”
“So she lied to Keith about getting home?” I mused.
“Sounds like it,” confirmed Charlie.
“I wonder who she was meeting on the Main Street,” I mused.
“Whoever it was, there’s a good chance it was her killer,” said Charlie.
“No one on the Main Street came forward as having seen her after she was dropped off, but it was late by then, and everything was closed.”
“Clearly she went into the barbershop,” I said. “Maybe we should start there. I’ll look into it.”
“Should we talk to Keith?” Charlie said.
“We’ll have to,” I said.
Charlie kept looking up articles about Jackie, while I turned my attention to the Downtown Barbershop. The store had closed during Jackie and Gerry’s senior year of high school, and the space was already empty by the time Jackie went missing.
“It says that the family was fighting over what to do with the space and the business, and the two employees, a Mike and a Newman, went to work elsewhere.”
“You know the other person we have to talk to?” said Charlie, rubbing her eyes.
“Ms. Ivy?” I asked, and Charlie nodded.
We had a lot of interviews to do t
o get to the bottom of this mystery. It would also be nice if we could find Jackie tonight, preferably with Paws by our side.
“I can’t believe she doesn’t know who killed her,” said Charlie.
“I guess she was hit from behind or something,” I mused, “but even so, I agree it’s strange.”
“Did she say anything about going to meet someone when you talked to her?” Charlie asked.
I shook my head. She hadn’t said anything like that at all.
“Is there anything else we should look into?” I wondered.
Charlie bit her lower lip. “We’re going to talk to Liam and then Ms. Ivy. After that there’s a chance Detective Cutter will have made an announcement. Liam should give us better idea of when we can see Gerry, and I think that’s the most important part. We have to find out where she was that night and why exactly Detective Cutter thinks she was the one who killed Jackie.”
“After we’ve done all that, maybe we’ll have some new questions to ask Jackie,” I proposed.
“Right. I wonder if she thinks it was Gerry who killed her,” said Charlie.
“I’m surprised there isn’t more about Jackie Morris here,” said Charlie, frowning.
“Maybe back then they weren’t as meticulous about keeping records,” I suggested.
“Maybe,” said Charlie.
With all of that in mind, we left the library.
One thing was certain. We weren’t going to solve this mystery without speaking to Gerry. And we had to do it quickly.
Chapter Eleven
The Twinkle wasn’t open. People walking past on Main Street looked at it curiously but kept moving. The headlines that morning had been shocking, and everyone knew who owned the shop and what relation he was to the woman who had been arrested.
Gerry’s arrest was the biggest news in Mintwood, possibly since Jackie’s disappearance. Sure, events like the discovery of a dead body in the barn or the re-re-re-election of Mayor Clabberd were newsworthy, but an arrest of one of our own, on murder charges no less – that was hard to take in.
A police officer still stood guard in front of the Mintwood Mirror, and crime tape blocked off the entrance, but there was no evidence of activity inside.
Greer was coming out of the Daily Brew as we walked up to Liam’s door.
“Good morning,” Charlie beamed as Greer walked up to us with four coffees and a small bag from the café.
“If you say so,” Greer muttered. She was wearing sunglasses and a hat.
“You okay?” I asked.
“Rarely feel human before two p.m.,” Greer muttered.
Nothing happened when I knocked on Liam’s door, and I wondered if he was even there. But since he’d said he’d be there waiting for news, I tapped again to make sure.
When the lock turned and the door opened a crack, passersby looked at us curiously. But they looked away again quickly when Charlie glared.
“Hey,” said Liam softly, stepping back inside.
“How are you feeling?” Greer asked, handing him a large coffee and a chocolate croissant.
“I’ve been better,” said Liam, taking the cup gratefully and immediately setting it down. Neither Charlie nor Greer commented. Liam was obviously in rough shape.
“What did the lawyer say?” I asked.
“Nothing yet,” said Liam. “He couldn’t get her out of jail, but he thinks he might be able to soon. I still haven’t heard why Cutter thinks she did it.”
Before Liam could say anything more, someone tried to open the door. Liam had locked it behind us, so he just rolled his eyes.
“Customers have been trying to get in all morning, like I’m in any condition to sell daywear.”
The door knob rattled again and then there was an insistent knocking.
“For Mintwood sakes!” Liam cried, heading over to tell the offender off.
But when he flung the door open, instead of a nosy customer it revealed none other than Mayor Clabberd. As usual, the mayor was dressed flamboyantly in a white suit and top hat. He was even carrying his black cane.
“May I come in?” he asked, ignoring Liam’s theatrics.
Liam stepped aside and let the mayor enter. A smile sprang up on his face when he noticed us, and he said, “I should have known you three wouldn’t be far off. How goes it?”
His eyes rested on me as he spoke, letting his other questions remain implicit. I’d had a couple of funny interactions with the mayor of late, and if I hadn’t known better I would have said he knew I was a witch.
“Not the best day,” I acknowledged, since he seemed to require an answer.
“What can I do for you?” asked Liam, glancing around as if an answer to his problems would appear out of the woodwork.
“This store only sells women’s clothing,” Charlie added.
The mayor’s eyes sparked with amusement. “Luckily for me then, I haven’t come to shop. My tailor would be very angry with me if I did anyway.”
“What are you here for then? Would you like to sit down?” asked Liam, trying his best to be polite.
At the mayor’s nod we scattered around the store to bring chairs to the open space in front of the cash register. Liam boosted himself onto the desk, while Greer sat on the floor and the rest of us took the chairs.
“Much better,” said the mayor, sitting down with a sigh. “I came to see how you were taking Gerry’s arrest, and to find out if there’s anything I can do,” the mayor offered.
Liam blinked in surprise. “You know my mom?”
“I know all my constituents. Your mother grew up in town. I’ve known her for her entire life,” said the mayor.
Liam clearly hadn’t thought about that possibility, though Mintwood was so small it should have been obvious. “I’m not doing great, actually,” he said. “I’ll be better when she’s released on bail and I can talk to her. I’ll be even better after she’s cleared of these ridiculous murder charges! Just who does Detective Cutter think he is?” Liam demanded, his voice rising.
“I’m sure he had good reason to arrest Gerry, but that’s only the beginning of the process, not the end,” said the mayor diplomatically.
“You don’t really think my mom is capable of murdering someone, do you?” Liam pressed.
The mayor hesitated just long enough so that I started to wonder if he knew more about Gerry than he was letting on, just as he seemed to know more about me than I thought he should.
“Of course not,” Liam stormed on, not even noticing the mayor’s hesitation.
“You have to let the system work. Don’t do anything rash,” the mayor encouraged. As he spoke, his eyes flicked to me again. I wondered who he was really speaking to.
“I’m not going to do anything rash, because by Monday this is all going to be over with,” Liam muttered.
“Of course,” said the mayor. “I just wanted to offer my assistance should there be anything you need.”
“If this wasn’t total nonsense I might take you up on it, but I really think it’s all going to be fine,” said Liam.
The mayor didn’t look so sure, but Liam was too busy nodding his head to notice.
“We all must prepare ourselves for whatever might come. Your mother is a strong woman. She always has been,” said the mayor.
“She sure is,” said Liam.
Charlie, Greer, and I all murmured agreement.
After the mayor took his leave Charlie said, “It was nice of him to stop by.”
“He was just looking for gossip,” said Liam, sounding hostile. “He doesn’t really do anything as mayor. He only won re-election because this town is so sentimental.”
Charlie gave him a worried look. As understandable as it was under the circumstances, Liam’s temper was clearly fraying, but Charlie was undaunted.
“Are you sure you aren’t being too hard on him?” she asked.
“If he did anything as mayor he would order Detective Cutter to release my mom. She can’t be spending nights in jail,” Liam in
sisted. Then he sighed and went on in a different tone, “I clearly need a distraction. Maybe I’ll open up for a bit after all.”
None of us thought that was a good idea given the town’s love of gossip and Liam’s anger, but there was no use saying so. Instead we told him to stay strong and we’d be in touch.
“Your article was really sweet about my mom,” said Liam, nodding at Charlie. “It’ll make everyone feel bad for suspecting her!”
Charlie bit her lip. Making Gerry look innocent hadn’t entirely been her intention; my reading of the article was that she had walked a fine line and was just relieved that Liam wasn’t mad at her for not loudly proclaiming Gerry’s innocence.
“It’s so obvious, there’s really no point in even writing about it,” said Liam as we left.
Greer had been quiet for a long time, but once we were our way home in the privacy of the Beetle she said, “Do you think it’s as obvious as all that?”
Charlie and I both shook our heads. Mayor Clabberd’s involvement was strange, but maybe not so strange. Interpreting between the lines of things he hadn’t actually said, my conclusion was that he thought Gerry was guilty of murder.
“He probably doesn’t want the Twinkle to close. If Gerry did kill Jackie, her son’s store will be a big tourist trap,” Charlie declared uncharitably.
“Where to now?” Greer asked, apparently not wanting to pursue the subject.
“It doesn’t sound like we’ll get in to see Gerry, so we might as well go see if Ms. Ivy’s at home,” I said.
We stopped to check on Cesar on the way to Ms. Ivy’s, and as per Mr. John’s wishes, my friends stayed in the car. Shaking her head at the ridiculousness of my not being allowed to bring anyone along with me into the house, Greer just muttered, “What does he think we are? Thieves?”
“That’s cool! No one has ever thought I was a thief before,” said Charlie.
“You and I have a very different idea of cool,” said Greer.
Charlie quirked an eyebrow at Greer and said, “No kidding.”
Witch Raising Situation (Witch of Mintwood Book 5) Page 7