Wrong Side of the Claw

by Leighann Dobbs

  “Let’s go over what we do know, then,” Snowball suggested.

  “Good idea.” Inkspot stood and began to pace the inside of the circle they’d formed. “We know the break-ins are related to the ingredients.”

  “Yes.” Hope sat up. “And we also know that Sarah and Felicity have been trying to locate them.”

  “They must not be having any luck.” Otis gave a derisive snort. “Because they’re still looking in the same area.”

  “One good thing, Elspeth has made the tea that will hopefully counteract the hex on Gus,” Truffles offered. “I heard her say she’s going to drop it off at the bookstore tomorrow. She seems to think that Willa will have a better chance of persuading Gus to drink it.”

  “Good. Good.” Inkspot stopped and sat at the center of the circle. “What about this hex, then? Who could have cast it?”

  “Felicity and Sarah both claim to be witches,” Otis said. “My vote is with them. And since we know they are looking for the ingredients, they wouldn’t want Gus to investigate too thoroughly.”

  “But why would they be looking inside the stores?” Sasha asked. “The buildings weren’t even here in Hester Warren’s time.”

  Inkspot’s tail twitched as they all considered the question. “Perhaps someone dug the ingredients up at a later date and hid them inside.”

  “It’s possible,” Otis said. “Three hundred years have gone by.”

  “Whoever hexed Gus would have had to make her drink the hex potion a couple of times,” Pandora said. “Her personality is strong. It would take a lot to make her change.”

  “True.” Kelly shuddered. “Reminds me of those vaccines my owner makes me get at the vet’s office. Booster shots, they call them.”

  “Yes, Gus must have needed more than one dose for the hex to truly take effect.” Hope glanced over at Pandora. “Makes sense. She is contrary, as you say.”

  “So it would have to be someone Gus trusted, which leaves Felicity and Sarah out,” Kelly said. “Let’s not forget there are others who wish ill on the town.”

  “Indeed. We must not slack off on our end of the investigation,” Inkspot said. “The clues are confusing, and one person is already dead. I don’t want another human murdered on our watch.”

  “Agreed,” the cats said.

  “I’m no fan of Felicity Bates,” Pandora said, frowning. “And I don’t really know Sarah Delaney all that well, but I just don’t understand why either of them would murder Jack McDougall.”

  “Perhaps it was an accident,” Sasha said. “We know both of them were looking for the ingredients. Maybe one of them went into his store, looking for them, and he caught them by surprise.”

  “That still doesn’t explain why Jack’s dead, though,” Pandora said. “Why kill him, when they could’ve just knocked him out with a spell or a hex? Or better yet, wait until the store was empty to go in and search, like they did with the other break-ins?” She shook her head then stood and stretched. “It makes no sense.”

  “Maybe the spell went awry, and he ended up dead,” Kelly suggested.

  “We all know they aren’t the sharpest broomsticks in the closet,” Sasha said.

  “True,” Pandora agreed. “But we might also want to broaden our suspect list. My human has other suspicions. She’s been talking to Duane and Anne Crosby and Mrs. Quimby at the yarn shop.”

  Snowball gasped. “Surely she doesn’t suspect Mrs. Q! She’s a nice old lady.”

  Pandora shrugged. “Wouldn’t be the first time the one who seemed least likely ended up being the killer.”

  “I’d rather see it be that Crosby character. He never lets us lick the ice cream remnants out of the containers. Locks them right up in that trash bin out back. Such a waste,” Sasha said.

  “He would know all about Jack’s bank deposit routine,” Inkspot added.

  “And what about the wife?” Tigger purred. “I heard from Elvira, the cat at the library, that she was in the alley, rummaging in the trash.”

  “Investigating herself because Gus isn’t doing such a great job, I’m afraid,” Pandora said.

  “None of this bodes well. I have to wonder if there are multiple motives involved here. We need Gus’s help. I think our main priority is making sure she drinks that potion from Elspeth. It’s good that Elspeth is dropping it off at the bookstore.” Inkspot turned to Pandora. “We’re counting on you to use all of your powers of persuasion to get her to drink it.”

  19

  By midmorning the next day, I’d finally finished logging my new inventory into the system and was stocking and reshelving things while discussing Jack’s case with Pandora. I knew it was silly, but she was a good listener. Besides, if I didn’t pay too close attention, it almost seemed like she would nod in agreement at things or meow in response. Anyway, business was slow again, and I needed someone to talk to.

  “I don’t know how exactly, Pandora,” I said, shoving a heavy volume of Shakespeare’s classics back into the top row. “But Felicity Bates is involved in all of this somehow.”

  Pandora meowed loudly.

  “Right.” I picked up a stack of atlases and carried them to the map section. “Gus did have a point about Felicity being rich. She doesn’t need the money, so why would she steal Jack’s bank deposit?”

  Pandora hopped up on the bookshelf where I was working and cocked her head to the side.

  “Makes no sense, right?” I sighed. “And what about the lipstick on Jack’s collar? Brenda wasn’t wearing that shade. In fact, when I checked her bathroom drawers yesterday, I didn’t find any lipstick at all. Only clear lip gloss.”

  I leaned back slightly to see around the end of the row I was working in. From this angle, I could just see Jack’s card shop down the street. The crime scene tape was still crisscrossing the door.

  “I feel bad for Brenda McDougall,” I told Pandora as we walked back toward the counter. “She was a victim here too. Now she’s a widow, and since Gus is being a slacker, she’s trying to find her husband’s killer, and he might very well have been having an affair.” Pandora hissed, and I smiled. “I agree. Not nice of him at all. I don’t think Brenda knew… or did she?”

  New suspicions formed in my head. “If she did, would that make her mad enough to kill? But then why investigate?”

  “Meow.”

  “Right. She has an alibi. She was helping Mrs. Quimby find her car. And Mrs. Quimby corroborated that she did forget where her car was.”

  Shaking my head, I went back behind the counter again. I now had two reasons to solve this case. To help my sister and to help Brenda. Now, if only I could get Jack’s ghost to be more helpful and answer my questions, I would be all set. I doubted that would happen, though. Most likely he had ghost amnesia, an affliction of the newly dead. Still, I couldn’t help but feel he was holding back something from me during our previous two conversations. Then again, that could’ve been guilt over his infidelity.

  Just then the bells above my door jangled, and Elspeth walked in, carrying a large mason jar filled with yellow liquid that looked like ginger tea, my sister’s favorite childhood drink.

  “Hello, dear,” she greeted me, her smile sweet and kindly. “You said Gus was feeling under the weather, so I made her favorite tea. She can drink it hot, cold, or lukewarm. It’s good for what ails her, you know. And we can’t have our sheriff getting sick, with this crime spree in town. Anyway, I figured I could drop it off here, and you could give it to her later. The sheriff’s office is out of my way. Don’t worry about leaving it out. It won’t go bad.” Elspeth set the jar on the counter then stepped back. “Just make sure she drinks all of it. That’s very important. It should help her get back to her old self. Promise me, dear.”

  “I promise. I’ll do my best.” I eyed the jar, skeptical that a drink was going to help Gus. Elspeth was so sweet, though, I didn’t want to burst her bubble. She’d been kind enough to make the tea and bring it here, and I would see that Gus got it. Getting my sister to drink it
all was another matter, but it was the thought that counted. I doubted the drink would make her start acting like the old Gus again.

  “And how’s my beautiful Pandora?” Elspeth asked, walking to the window and bending to pat the preening cat’s head. She stayed there, stooped over, for several long moments as Pandora purred loudly.

  Elspeth straightened finally and waved as she left, making me promise once more to make sure Gus drank all of the tea. It struck me as odd that she was so insistent about it. My thoughts went to the old cookbook that wasn’t really a cookbook at all on Elspeth’s counter. Was there something extra special about that tea?

  Honestly, I’d never believed in magic at all before I’d moved to Mystic Notch, but now that I’d been here awhile, I was starting to rethink things. I’d seen enough strange occurrences in my time here to make even the most fervent critic a convert.

  I stared at the jar of tea and exhaled slowly. It wasn’t like Gus could get any more messed up than she already was, so yeah, I would do my best to make sure she drank it all. I set the jar beneath the counter until my sister dropped by again. She’d been coming into the bookstore pretty regularly lately, so hopefully today would be no exception.

  Pandora had pretended to be napping in her bed by the window while Elspeth was in the store, but once the older woman left, she lazily stretched and looked at the jar of tea and considered how she could best help Willa get Gus to drink all of it.

  Pandora started her grooming routine while she thought about that, but a few minutes into it, she got a tingly feeling, and her hairs stood on end. She looked out the window to see Felicity and Fluff walking down the other side of the street. As if on cue, Fluff turned to smirk straight at her, the sequins on that ridiculous pink harness of his glowing in the sun. Pandora growled and looked away to find Sarah Delaney coming out of a nearby side street with her Yorkie, Skeezits, on a leash. Ha! Served Fluff right. He’d been so busy smirking at Pandora, he’d not seen the little dog.

  Yip! Yip! Yip!

  Pandora laughed as Fluff jerked sideways in shock then tucked and rolled on the sidewalk, getting tangled up in his pink harness and leash. What an idiot. Tufts of his white hair went flying everywhere and…

  Wait!

  Eyes wide, Pandora’s mind began to swirl with a new idea. White hairs. White hairs.

  Of course. The picture that Striker had shown Willa the other night from the robbery. Those hairs in the photo weren’t blond. They were from Fluff. That proved that Fluff, and likely Felicity, were behind the break-ins.

  Outside, Sarah gave Felicity a dirty look and jerked the tiny Yorkie away from the bigger cat. The two women gave each other a wide berth as they continued on in opposite directions.

  Soon, Gus came out of Jack’s card store, and Pandora’s hopes soared. Maybe she’d been investigating, finally. She glanced back at the jar on the counter. If they could get Gus to drink all of Elspeth’s tea, she would be doing a lot more than just investigating. Determined, Pandora meowed loudly. She would do everything she could to force the human sheriff to drink it then find a way to make Gus reevaluate the hairs from the crime scene.

  Gus headed toward her squad car, parked at the curb, and Pandora closed her eyes, willing her to come to the bookstore instead, her whiskers twitching and her kinked tail swishing back and forth in concentration.

  Finally, Gus stopped and turned slowly, her gaze narrowed on Last Chance Books. She started toward the bookshop, and Pandora filled with satisfaction. It worked! Good. Her powers of persuasion were getting stronger. Now, if she could just use them to get Gus to drink the tea…

  The sheriff came into the store and plopped down on one of the purple microsuede sofas near the front of the place. Pandora walked over and hopped up on the counter to stand in front of Willa, over where she’d stored the jar of tea on the shelf beneath, hoping to remind her to push it on her sister.

  Willa for once, however, did not seem to need the reminder. She reached down and pulled out the jar, then twisted the top off an insulated stainless-steel tumbler, filled it halfway with ice from her mini-fridge, and poured the concoction inside. Willa took a seat in the armchair adjacent to the sofa where her sister sat and held out the drink. “Hey, sis. Elspeth stopped by earlier with a jar of your favorite iced tea. Here.”

  Gus took the cup and sniffed it, grimacing. “I haven’t had any of this since I was a kid.”

  “I know, right? So considerate of her to make it for you,” Willa said. “Go ahead and try some.”

  “Nah.” Gus tried to hand her back the cup. “I’m not really thirsty right now.”

  Pandora jumped up next to Gus and nudged her outstretched arm, concentrating hard again, trying to get her to drink the stuff. But no dice.

  When Willa didn’t take the cup, Gus set it on the coffee table then sat back. “I’m really only here killing time. I’m supposed to be working on the robbery and Jack’s murder case, but hey, things will happen when they happen. A good investigation can’t be rushed.”

  Willa gave an exasperated sigh and shook her head. “Speaking of the case, have you talked to Duane Crosby yet? From what I’ve heard, he would’ve known about the bank deposits Jack made. He claims he was home the night Jack died, though, watching TV with his wife and—”

  “You know, Willa,” Gus said, holding up a hand to stop her. “I’m just really not that interested in any of this. Since when did you become such a bore, sis? Always harping on about crimes.”

  “Well, a man has been killed.” Willa’s tone indicated she was a bit disturbed at her sister’s lack of urgency and empathy. Pandora couldn’t blame her, though she knew the real reason.

  “Right and having my sister go around town, accusing people, isn’t helping. I have a list of suspects. I’ve talked to the Crosbys. I’ve had tea with Mrs. Q, talked to the women from her knitting class, and yes, I have looked in the trash behind the stores.” Gus gave Willa a pointed look. “Is there anything else I should look into?”

  Pandora jumped from the sofa to the coffee table, pushing the cup of tea closer to Gus with her nose, but the human wasn’t catching on. Ugh. Perhaps she should try to get the hint about the hairs across. Gus hadn’t even mentioned interrogating Felicity in the little speech she’d just given. She hopped to the floor and twined around Gus’s ankles, leaving a trail of cat hair on the cuffs of her dark-brown pants. But again, Gus still remained oblivious.

  “Welp, I need to go,” Gus said, standing.

  “Wait! Don’t you at least want to try your tea? Elspeth went through all the trouble of making it for you, and I just put fresh ice in.” Willa picked up the tumbler again and held it out to her sister. “Please?”

  “Fine.” Gus snatched the tumbler from Willa, her expression annoyed. “Do you have a cover? I’ll take this with me and drink it later, okay? Stop bugging me.”

  Willa screwed the cover onto the tumbler, and Gus left. Willa slumped down on the couch. Her aura shifted from a hopeful bright blue to a darker indigo. Not good. She was depressed. Pandora jumped up into the chair with her, thinking that even though Gus hadn’t picked up on the clue about the hairs, Willa might. She needed to redeem herself for failing to persuade Gus to drink the tea. If she could get Willa to clue in to the hairs, at least she would have made some progress.

  She rubbed against Willa’s black T-shirt, making sure to leave as many hairs on the fabric as possible. Though not as noticeable as white, the grays stood out nicely.

  With a sigh, Willa stroked Pandora’s fur then began brushing off her pants. “You’re a good kitty, but I really need to invest in a lint roller company when you…”

  Willa’s voice trailed off as she plucked one of the hairs from her shirt and held it up to the light. Realization dawned in her eyes, and her aura brightened up to a sparkling yellow. Pandora purred with satisfaction as her human got it.

  “Hey!” Willa glanced over at Pandora. “This reminds me of the hairs found at the burglary scene. They were only a bit longer
than this, and I thought they were short for human hair. I thought they were blond, too, but maybe they were white. White like Felicity Bates’s cat.”

  20

  When Pepper stopped by later that afternoon, I was bursting to tell her about my cat hair theory, but I had a lot of other things to fill her in on first. She’d brought tea and cinnamon scones, so we made ourselves comfortable on the sofas, and I nibbled a scone while she poured tea.

  “I saw Elspeth.” Pepper’s green eyes assessed me over the rim of her teacup. “She said she made a special drink for Gus to perk her up a bit.”

  I nodded. “I gave it to her, but she’ll probably just toss it out. Anyway, I don’t think a simple tea is going to fix her.” Was it? A quick glance at my friend told me that she disagreed.

  “Oh, you’d be surprised. Elspeth’s concoctions have an effect on people. Sort of like how my teas have effects,” Pepper said.

  Okay, she had a point. I used to doubt Pepper’s claim that her tea had magical effects, but I’d seen it in action firsthand. Maybe I should just have faith in Elspeth’s tea. Maybe I should just believe. I might regret wishing for Gus’s recovery because my sister and I could butt heads sometimes, especially when it came to investigating the crimes of Mystic Notch, but anything would be better than the muted version of Gus we had now.

  “I hope it does help,” Pepper continued. “Gus has been so lackadaisical about her work these days.”

  “Tell me about it. I’ve had to fill in for her. Did I tell you I stopped by Duane’s shop to talk to him about his whereabouts the night of Jack’s murder?” I asked.

  “Nope.” A customer came in and began browsing the shelves. Pepper leaned closer to me, lowering her voice. “What did he have to say for himself?”

  “Well, Duane says he was home that night, watching TV. His wife corroborated his story.”

  “Interesting.” Pepper frowned. “Would Anne do that if she thought her husband was a killer?”