“Miss Cassandra must have fought back when the killer made his move,” Detective Grey said. “She tried to stop the killer.”
“And since the murder weapon was something that was in the room, it might be hard to determine if this was premeditated or was a crime of passion,” Lydia said.
“We’ll follow all the leads and get to the bottom of this,” Leo said. “Don’t you worry. We’ll catch this killer.”
However, Lydia couldn’t help worrying. Leo still wasn’t acting like himself. Even though the words he said were reassuring, the way he said them made it seem as if he was full of doubt. The psychic’s words must have truly rattled him, and her death did nothing to remedy the situation.
Lydia hoped that investigating this murder wouldn’t be too unsettling for her brother and that he would still be able to do his job. She didn’t like seeing Leo upset, and she didn’t like the idea of a murderer loose in town.
5
Grey’s Request
Lydia was walking out of the police station and trying to figure out what she should do with her day after such a shocking start when Detective Grey followed after her.
“Lydia, may I have a moment?” he asked.
She nodded, and they stayed near the outside entrance to the building. She wondered if he had any last-minute questions that he had forgotten to ask because of Leo’s repetition or if this would be a request for salt water taffy. Detective Grey was always very serious, but he seemed to have a soft spot for her sweets.
However, when she noticed a look of worry behind his eyes, she wondered if there would be more to this meeting than she originally thought.
“What is it?” asked Lydia. “Something about the case?”
“Yes and no,” he said. “I’m worried about Detective Doherty.”
So, Leo’s behavior hadn’t just been noticeable to her. She shouldn’t have been surprised that Detective Grey had noticed. After all, he was a detective whose job was to pick up on clues, and he had worked with Leo for a long time.
“I was concerned too,” Lydia admitted. “Miss Cassandra said that she talked to our deceased Uncle Edgar and whatever else she told him seemed to unnerve him.”
“I know your uncle’s passing was very difficult for him.”
“It was for both of us, and it seems that Miss Cassandra was opening up old wounds. If she was doing that for many of her customers, then that might be a motive.”
“We’re going to look at all her customers that we can. She dealt with walk-in customers more than with appointments, but between credit card receipts and Mona Little, we might be able to track down a good amount of them. But it’s not really the case I wanted to discuss,” said Detective Grey. “It’s your brother.”
“Okay,” Lydia said, inviting him to continue.
“Leo Doherty is my partner. He’s like family to me too. I would lay down my life for him if it came to it,” Detective Grey said matter-of-factly. “And usually we work quite well together. My methodical and by-the-book approach is complemented by his understanding of people and how crimes occur. But he doesn’t seem like himself right now. I’m partially worried about how this will affect his work, but I’m more worried about him as a friend. However, I also don’t know if I’m the person who can help him.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve never been completely comfortable with emotion. Mine or anyone else’s. And I often get a good-natured ribbing from my colleagues about being a robot. Or being boring. These facets of my personality normally do not impede me, but I do feel out of my element comforting my partner,” Detective Grey said, looking away. “I was hoping you might be able to talk to him and see if you can help his mental state.”
“Of course,” said Lydia. “I’ll invite him over for dinner tonight and see what I can do.”
Their business being concluded, Detective Grey gave her a thankful but curt nod and returned to the building. Lydia started walking away, wondering what she could whip up to help heal a fear of ghosts and of disappointed loved ones.
* * *
“It was delicious,” Leo said after finishing his second helping of Lydia’s meal.
“Nothing says comfort food like Aunt Edie’s macaroni and cheese,” Lydia said, gesturing to the star of the dinner. “And after the day we had, we needed some comfort.”
Leo nodded.
“So, how was the rest of your day?” Lydia asked.
“You’re not looking for insider information on this case, are you?” Leo asked. “You’re not thinking of interfering in another investigation, right?”
“If I ever interfere, I have a good reason for doing so,” Lydia reminded him. “But I really wanted to hear about how you are doing. After what Miss Cassandra said to you, I imagine this is a difficult case to work on.”
Leo shrugged. “It’s never pleasant when there’s a dead body and a killer on the loose.”
“No arguments from me. But it’s not often that you have a victim who claimed she could talk to the dead.”
“I don’t believe in that sort of stuff,” Leo said dismissively. “I really don’t. No matter how convincing she sounded, moving her long red nails over the crystal ball as she intoned that the spirits were sending her images.”
“She couldn’t have been that realistic if she told you that Uncle Edgar was disappointed in you,” said Lydia. “Nothing could be further from the truth.”
Leo set down his bottle and looked Lydia in the eyes. “Let’s not pretend. I obviously did something wrong. He had to have been unhappy with me.”
“He never said anything except how proud he was that you fulfilled your dream of becoming a detective and that you were protecting Ocean Point.”
“Maybe he never said anything, but his actions indicate otherwise,” said Leo. “He left me out of the will for a reason. I just don’t know what it is. I don’t know what I did.”
“You didn’t do anything,” Lydia protested. “The money was probably just uneven because of how pitiful I was at the time. I had just left my fiancé, and I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do with my life except that I liked making candy. I needed a little help, but you’ve always been sure of what you wanted and self-sufficient. That was something Uncle Edgar admired.”
“You’ve never been pitiful, Liddy.”
“It sounds like Miss Cassandra preyed on people’s pain and insecurities,” Lydia said. “I wouldn’t give her fortune telling another thought. Unless it could somehow point to her killer.”
“The problem is that I can’t stop thinking about it,” Leo admitted. “I visited her to tell her that we wouldn’t allow any scams in town. She said that she was a true mystic and a medium and then offered to give me a demo. I was so skeptical, but she knew things that I couldn’t see how she knew. She channeled Uncle Edgar and spoke about a Fourth of July picnic that we went to when I was a kid. She told me what I ate that day.”
“Most picnics serve similar food,” Lydia pointed out.
“And she told me exactly what I was wearing. And I remembered it too. Because I was so proud of my new baseball cap. And then she said that Uncle Edgar had been really disappointed with me near the end of his life. Then, she lost the connection with the spirit. She didn’t finish saying why he had been upset with me. And I guess now I’ll never know why.”
“There’s no way that she was really channeling him,” said Lydia and Sunny chimed in with a bark of agreement. “That doesn’t sound like Uncle Edgar at all.”
“Thanks for dinner,” Leo said, rising from his chair. “I think I should go home and get some sleep.”
Lydia nodded and stood up too. “Maybe a good night’s sleep will help.”
Leo gave Sunny a final pet and then headed to the door. Lydia followed him.
“I just wish I could have talked with Miss Cassandra one more time,” Leo said. “I don’t know how she did what she did. But I would have liked to know what she thought I did wrong.”
He left before Lydi
a had the chance to tell him again that he didn’t do anything wrong and that Uncle Edgar loved him. She looked down at Sunny.
“I don’t think my dinner did much to improve his mood. I’m going to have to take more drastic measures.”
Lydia knew exactly what she was going to have to do. She was going to have to get to the bottom of what Miss Cassandra was up to in order to help Leo. Lydia knew that Uncle Edgar would not have said something like that to his nephew, so Miss Cassandra had to have been up to something. She just needed to discover what it had been.
6
Distractions and Disappointments
The next day at the taffy shop, Lydia was so lost in her thoughts as they prepared to open that she didn’t realize how silent it was at first. However, her new employee Quinn was naturally quiet, and something seemed to be on Kelsey’s mind too.
“Is everything all right?” she asked Kelsey. “Did Miss Cassandra’s death upset you?”
Kelsey shook her head as if to clear away her worries. “I’m sorry if I’ve seemed out of it this morning. I wasn’t even thinking of Miss Cassandra. I don’t like to think of anyone getting killed on the boardwalk, but I never met her. My thoughts were more self-involved.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“In the grand scheme of things, it’s not important. Especially if we consider that a murderer is loose in town. But I was thinking about the play I’m in.”
“Trina and I planned on coming opening night,” Lydia said supportively. “And I think your coworkers were all planning on going to see it that weekend too.”
Quinn nodded in agreement.
“It’s going to be a good show, and I like the cast,” Kelsey said. “I was just thinking about the part I have in the play. I was excited when I first got it, but now I feel like I was just cast because they think I’ll be cute in the role. I wish my acting was taken a little more seriously and that I could have something challenging to play.”
“Maybe that will happen in the next show,” said Lydia. “We’ve seen how well you give taffy making demonstrations to a crowd, and we’re all excited to see you on stage.”
“Thanks,” Kelsey said. She set down the rag she was using to clean the counter and tried to look more business-like. “But we should switch topics. Are you going to investigate Miss Cassandra’s murder? Do you need us to look for clues?”
“That sounds terrifying,” Quinn said quietly.
“It’s actually pretty fun,” Kelsey assured her. “Though Lydia has never let me do any of the really dangerous parts.”
“And I never will,” said Lydia. “But I am interested in the case. I’d really like to know what Miss Cassandra was up to before she died. I feel like there was more to her game than just telling fortunes.”
“When my cast members saw her, they said that her fortunes were somewhat generic, but that she was very convincing when she talked to the dead. She channeled an actress who died in town on stage and gave everyone advice on the show. And she channeled one lady’s aunt. They said that was a little creepy because of all the details she knew.”
“I wonder if she found out these details someway other than through a crystal ball,” Lydia mused.
“I don’t know how she did it, but it was effective,” said Kelsey. “My cast member planned on going back to hear what else her aunt might have to say.”
“Maybe that was the extent of Miss Cassandra’s plan,” Lydia said with a frown. “Maybe she wanted customers to keep returning to hear more about what their deceased loved ones might say. And I guess it would have done the same for my brother. He wanted to hear why our uncle was upset with him and would have returned.”
“Sometimes it’s easier to believe bad news instead of good news,” Quinn said, piping up with an idea. “Maybe it made her seem more believable as a psychic if she didn’t say the nice things that people expected to hear.”
“You might be on to something,” Lydia agreed.
“But would that have been enough to make someone kill Miss Cassandra?” asked Kelsey. “I don’t know if a bad reading would have been enough to make me murderous.”
“But I don’t know who would have gained anything from Miss Cassandra’s death,” Lydia began. “Except for…”
She had just started to think that Madame Waverly might have benefitted from the death of the rival mystic when someone knocked on the door. She smiled as she saw Daniel there. He must be stopping by on his way to the beach for his shift at the lifeguard stand.
It was only a few minutes until they officially opened, so Lydia flipped the sign on the door around as she opened it to greet Daniel. He took a step inside to speak with her.
“I just have a moment before I need to get to the beach,” he said.
“I figured,” said Lydia. “Were you craving some of the cotton candy taffy? Or is this about the New Jersey Symphony?”
“It’s about the symphony, but I’m afraid I have some bad news. I don’t think I can go with you. But I’ll be happy to give you both of the tickets.”
“Okay,” Lydia said, stifling her disappointment. “Do you have to work that night? Or did something come up?”
“I don’t want to lie to you. The truth is that I’m just not ready to go out for a night like this with another woman.”
“I wasn’t expecting anything,” Lydia said, starting to feel small. “I know that our friendship is new. I wasn’t thinking of this as an official date or anything.”
“You’re a wonderful person, and anyone would be lucky to date you. But I’m not fully healed. Talking to that psychic further confirmed this.”
“Wait,” Lydia said, holding up a hand. “You had this change of heart because of Miss Cassandra?”
“Not exactly. I know that the prediction she gave me for my future was generic. And she guessed some things about my wife when she supposedly channeled her, but I knew it wasn’t Delilah. She couldn’t answer the important questions, and I didn’t believe the excuses. All in all, I wasn’t very happy with the psychic pretending to be her. It felt like she wanted to take advantage of a widower. But the experience still reminded me that I’m not ready to move on. I’m sorry.”
Lydia didn’t feel like arguing with him. She had never lost a spouse, but she knew how painful it was to lose a loved one. If space was what he needed, then she would give it to him. After all, she still wasn’t completely sure that she wanted to jump into a new relationship herself. She had just begun to enjoy spending time with him.
“I understand,” Lydia said. “Thank you for the honesty and the tickets.”
Daniel left, and Lydia sighed. She knew the phrase “when it rains, it pours.” However, it felt like Miss Cassandra’s work had escalated her troubles into a hurricane.
7
The Fan, Fortunes, and Fear
Lydia kept busy helping customers and preparing taffy that morning, but she was feeling glum. She was more disappointed than she wanted to admit about Daniel canceling their not-quite-date. She was bothered that she hadn’t been able to assure Leo that Uncle Edgar loved him like a son, and the more she heard about Miss Cassandra’s conversations with the dead, the more upset she became.
When they reached an afternoon lull (when customers seemed more ready to have their lunch then stop in for a bite of taffy), Lydia decided it was time to do some investigating. She asked Kelsey and Quinn to keep their ears open in case Miss Cassandra was mentioned at the shop, and then Lydia started walking down the boardwalk.
Before Daniel had stopped by Doherty’s Taffy and Trinkets, Lydia had started to consider Madame Waverly’s motive. Madame Waverly seemed to have the most to gain by disposing of a rival. Now, she wouldn’t lose any business to the newcomer. Perhaps she had even used the crystal ball as the weapon to commit her crime because she thought it was poignant. Someone had tried to edge in on her business, and she destroyed them with one of its tools.
Lydia reached Madame Waverly’s place. This storefront had much more décor t
han Miss Cassandra’s and was covered with colorful, mystical symbols. The setup inside was very similar, though. There was a small waiting room, and curtains covered the back room where Madame Waverly made her predictions.
Madame Waverly was just finishing up with a customer when Lydia entered. The curly-haired woman was gushing over her reading.
“Madame Waverly, you always give the best advice. I don’t know what I would do without you.”
“It’s really the stars that are giving you the advice, child,” the psychic proclaimed.
Cotton Candy and Corpses Page 3