Bella yipped, and Issy smiled. “Mr. Crandall didn’t tell us much either, unfortunately. Only that he saw Jerry Blaisdale at Adele’s place yesterday afternoon for a reading appointment. Mr. Crandall said he didn’t see anyone else come or go.”
“No one else, huh?”
“Nope,” Issy said.
“Darn,” DeeDee said around a mouthful of buttery popcorn. “Well, that won’t help us much. Unless Jerry doubled back later to kill Adele, there’s no way he could’ve done it. Ursula put the time of Adele’s attack time around three a.m. And with that bright-red car of his, I’d think Mr. Crandall would notice Jerry pulling up in the middle of the night.”
“I hate to bring this up,” Issy said. “But do you think it might’ve been one of the homeless people Scott associated with?”
“Owen already thought of that too. Sent officers out to question them about an hour ago.” DeeDee finished the last of her popcorn then set her empty plate aside. “We looked for an appointment book but didn’t find one at her place.”
“It was stolen?” Gray asked.
“Most likely,” DeeDee said. “We figure that’s why the bookcase was ransacked. They were looking for it.”
“Interesting,” Issy said as DeeDee stood to leave. “Guess we’ll have to find it, then.”
DeeDee stopped and turned back to Issy. “Oh, one other thing. Dex Nolan is now officially working with us on the case.”
6
The next morning, Dex stood in Owen’s office at the Silver Hollow Sheriff’s Department. Not nearly as impressive as it sounded, the offices were basically one-quarter of one floor of the Silver Hollow municipal building downtown. Owen had another one of his garish Hawaiian shirts on, and Dex had to wonder where exactly the guy managed to find the things in the northern woods of New Hampshire. Hard to believe someone would special-order a blue-and-orange shirt festooned with palm trees and surfboards, but then again, to each his own, he supposed.
“What evidence have you collected so far from the murder scene?” Dex asked as Owen plunked down in his chair and kicked his boat-shoe-covered feet up on his desk. Honestly, the guy looked way more like a surfer than any law enforcement officer Dex had ever seen. “Any suspects in custody?”
“Nope.” Owen shook his head, sending his shaggy blond hair dancing around his head. “Not likely to bring any in soon either.”
“Why not?” Dex frowned. “I thought you found the murder weapon.”
“I did. No fingerprints on the log, though. Appears it came from Adele’s own house.”
“Which supports my theory the killer didn’t go there to murder her.” Dex leaned against the edge of Owen’s cluttered desk. “If it was premeditated, they would’ve brought a weapon.”
“Not necessarily.” Owen narrowed his gaze. “Perhaps the killer did bring a weapon, but then they got into a fight with Adele. In the heat of the moment they picked up whatever was handy—a heavy log—and hit her. Or maybe they were planning on murder and knew they could use the log as a weapon. It works better for the killer if we can’t tie the log to them, right?”
Dex sighed. “I guess it’s possible. Either way, though, I’d say we’re dealing with a person who’s not an experienced killer, since they left the job unfinished. Poor Adele lingered for hours before she finally died. Just when help had finally arrived too.”
DeeDee walked in, waving to both men. “Hey, guys. Just grabbing some paperwork, don’t let me disturb you.”
“No problem, Deputy.” Dex continued to ponder the case. “What about your whole ‘killer being a client’ theory? I’m not sure that’s valid. What could Adele possibly have told her client that would be bad enough to kill for? She was basically running a fortune-telling scam out of her home. Everybody knows that stuff isn’t real.”
Owen shrugged. “Some people around here take that stuff really seriously, though. Right, DeeDee?”
“Right, boss.” DeeDee glanced from Owen to Dex then back again.
Now that he thought about it, Dex couldn’t exactly write Adele off as a fraud altogether. Given the weird stuff he’d encountered in Silver Hollow thus far, maybe Adele Brundage really could see into the future with all her crystal balls. An unexpected pang of sadness filled him. “Too bad Adele couldn’t have foreseen her own demise.”
Dex looked up to see both Owen and DeeDee watching him.
Oops. He hadn’t meant to say that last part out loud.
DeeDee gave him a kind smile. “Unfortunately, it doesn’t work like that, at least from what Adele told me. She said she never could see anything about herself or her family. She tried, during Scott’s trial. Hoped to get some information to clear him, but it never happened.”
“What about her son’s homeless friends?” Dex asked.
“I don’t think it was one of them. I had my officers go down there last night, and they came up empty.” Owen tucked his hands behind his head. “Given Scott’s history, he would’ve been my first suspect. But with him dead, that marks the guy off the list.”
“He was accused of murder, right?” Dex asked.
“Yeah. Happened ten years ago in Florida. You know how rowdy those spring break parties get.” From the grin on Owen’s face, Dex suspected Owen had firsthand experience with just how rowdy things got at those parties. Owen’s grin dimmed. “Anyway, things turned bad in this case. A girl was strangled and left naked on the beach. Scott and his friends were seen with the girl earlier that night, and the police pegged him as their number one person of interest. Still, they never presented enough evidence to convict him, and he was acquitted. Poor guy always maintained his innocence, but his public image was forever tarnished.” Owen shook his head. “Things only went downhill from there for Scott. He got involved in drugs and lived on the streets for years until his overdose last week. Sad story.”
Dex straightened. “Would you mind if I tried talking to some of Scott’s friends myself?”
“Not at all.” Owen dropped his feet from the desk and stood. “He was living with the homeless group just north of town on the riverbank under the old bridge. You can talk to Jerry Blaisdale too, if you want. His name keeps coming up in relation to Adele.”
7
That same morning, Issy unlocked the door to her shop, Enchanted Pets, and stepped inside, only to find three toads following her through the open doorway. Gently, she shooed them back outside, where they squatted on the curb and glared at her angrily as she shut the door in their faces.
Sighing, she tossed her keys on the counter before switching on the lights. She’d noticed several more toads hopping around in her yard this morning and again in the town green across from her shop. Not enough to cause widespread alarm amongst the good citizens of Silver Hollow yet, but enough to be worrisome. They needed to find Adele’s killer, and fast.
She and Gray had planned to go talk to Jerry Blaisdale around eleven, which would hopefully give them time to catch the guy before he went to lunch. Jerry was the local mechanic and tended to spend far more time with his cars and engines than he did with people, so they hoped by going directly to his garage, they might catch him off guard and get him to open up about what happened during his last meeting with Adele.
Take Dex, a sweet, singsong voice said inside Issy’s head. Cutie Dex. Cute and courageous, Mommy! We like Dex, Mommy!
Shaking her head, Issy bent and picked up Bella—who was dancing around her feet and yipping. The little Pom’s messages were still hit or miss, and these in particular didn’t really help Issy’s mission to keep her mind off the sexy FBPI detective.
Much as she hated to admit it, Brimstone was right. Bella’s training still had a way to go.
Not that she’d tell him that.
As if on cue, the large charcoal-colored cat strutted by Issy and took his usual perch on the top shelf across the room. Issy would bet money he sat up so high because it gave him the advantage of looking down on everyone else in the room. She loved Brimstone, but man, that feline had an e
go that wouldn’t quit.
Bella yipped in Issy’s arms again and licked her chin, and she kissed the cuddly dog on her furry little head. “You’re mommy’s good little girl, aren’t you, Bella? Yes you are. Yes, you’re so good. Such a good girl.”
Brimstone rolled his hellfire-orange eyes and commenced his usual busy schedule of grooming and napping while Issy got ready to open her store for the day. Thankfully, the morning ended up being fairly busy, between the new shipment of salamanders and several local paranormal customers coming in to buy a new familiar or two. Even a few tourists stopped in to look around, though the out-of-town crowds were dying down a bit now that summer was over.
Eleven a.m. arrived before Issy knew it, and Gray texted her he’d meet her at Jerry’s Auto Body. Apparently he’d gotten stuck finishing up a perm for Mrs. Wiggins, and she was, in his words, “super picky.” Raine and Ember had bowed out the night before, saying they’d been away from their shops too much lately, so Issy was on her own to head to the garage.
She waited until her assistant, Hannah, arrived for her afternoon shift, then left Enchanted Pets in her capable hands. Heading back out into the crisp autumn day, Issy double-checked her outfit of jeans, brown sweater, and brown boots, then glanced over at Bella trotting along beside her on her leash. She could’ve driven but figured why not take advantage of the lovely day. Besides, Jerry’s business was just a few short blocks away. The exercise would do her and Bella good.
She passed by Brown Betty parked near the curb and stopped to check her reflection in the side mirror, fussing with her hair and applying a quick coat of lip balm. While she was at Jerry’s, she should schedule an oil change. It had been a while since she’d had her ancient pickup serviced, and with winter coming, she wanted to be ready. Plus, it would give her a good excuse for being there.
They walked slowly around the town green, passing The Main Squeeze, Silver Hollow’s popular juice bar. She waved to Karen Dixon, the owner, as she walked past. Karen stood behind the counter with Luigi Romano by her side. He worked officially for The Committee, sent by them to keep an eye on all the paranormals in Silver Hollow. Unofficially, he wasn’t very good at his job and preferred chasing his dream of opening the best pizza joint in the state of New Hampshire. Based on the line of patrons waiting for one of his slices, he was on his way toward making that dream a reality.
Too bad Issy didn’t have time to stop for a juice or a slice of Luigi’s delicious pizza today. She checked her watch again then picked up her pace.
Jerry’s Auto Body sat on a large corner lot off one of the side streets. The front of the place had two bays for vehicles and a small office to the side. Stacks of new tires and various hoses and pumps littered the small parking lot wrapped around the whitewashed building. Typical garage, the air smelled of oil and gasoline and motor grease. She went to the office first but found no one inside, so she headed through a doorway into the first auto bay.
Issy picked up Bella and covered her delicate ears as a loud, high-pitched whine whistled through the air from some kind of hydraulic, pneumatic tool. Then she spotted a pair of black work boots sticking out from beneath a car hoisted up on a set of jacks.
She waited for the noise to stop then cleared her throat. “Jerry, is that you?”
He wheeled his dolly out from beneath the vehicle and squinted up at her, his blue mechanic’s overalls smudged with dirt and grime. Jerry wiped his hands on a rag then struggled to his feet. In his midfifties, Jerry stood several inches shorter than Issy’s five feet seven. She had to wonder exactly how he fit under that car, given his large beer belly.
Jerry flashed a small, nervous smile, his teeth white against his reddened skin. “Hello, Miss Quinn. What can I do for you today?”
“Well, I stopped by to schedule an oil change,” she said, snuggling a trembling Bella closer.
“Sure thing.” Jerry led her back into the office and pulled out his scheduling book. “What day and time would you like?”
“Oh, whatever you have, I can make just about anything work, with enough notice.” She stroked Bella’s soft fur and did her best to ignore the little dog’s ramblings inside her head. Where’s Dex? Cutie Dex. We should go see Dex. It smells funny in here, Mommy. What’s that noise, Mommy? Can we stop at the park on the way home, Mommy? I want a treat, Mommy!
Yeah, more training was definitely in order.
“How about next week? I’ve got Wednesday at two o’clock open.”
“That should be fine, Jerry. Thank you.” Issy watched while he scribbled her information down into his book. “Terrible thing about what happened to Adele Brundage, wasn’t it?”
Jerry’s hands visibly shook as he wrote. In fact, he pressed the pencil so hard against the paper, the lead snapped. He mumbled something under his breath and grabbed a different pencil. “Yes, yes. Awful.”
“You were a customer of hers, weren’t you?”
Color drained from his pudgy face. Jerry looked up at her, his dark eyes guarded. “I went over there a few times, yeah. Only to help her with her car, though. She never did none of those readings on me. Those things scare me.”
“Huh.” Issy shifted Bella to her other arm and frowned. “I spoke to Adele’s neighbor, Mr. Crandall. He said he saw you at Adele’s house the day before her murder. That you fought with her and left in a hurry, flying down their dirt road like a bat out of hell.”
Expression darkening to a scowl, Jerry stepped back from his small, cluttered counter. “What? No. I never fought with Adele. I liked her. We got along just fine. We were friends. Why are you here asking all sorts of questions anyway, Miss Quinn? You working for the cops now or something?”
“No, Jerry. I’m not with the police. I’m just trying to find out what happened to her.”
“Well, I don’t have to answer your questions, then.” Jerry kept backing away, his arms flailing now as his gestures became more animated. Every so often tiny sparks would fly from his fingertips as errant spells were cast. One wave caused the coffeepot in the corner to explode. Another sent a set of wrenches in the auto bay clattering to the ground.
The loud noises caused Bella to jump and twitch in Issy’s arms, their mental bond going haywire the more nervous the little Pom became. What’s happening, Mommy? I’m scared, Mommy. This man is angry, Mommy! Cutie Dex. I want to see Cutie Dex! Dex isn’t scary, Mommy! We like Dex, Mommy!
“I think you better go, Miss Quinn.” Jerry advanced toward her now, his dark eyes wild. He waved his right arm, and the large potted ficus by the door disappeared in a poof. “I need to get back to work now.”
Jerry had her cornered, his arms flailing. She squeezed out from the corner and turned abruptly, running into a wall. No, not a wall. A man. She looked up into the handsome face of Dex Nolan just as he put himself between Issy and Jerry, defusing the tense situation.
“Agent Dexter Nolan. FBI.” Dex’s calm tone was at odds with Jerry’s dark frown. “Is there a problem here?”
Jerry’s expression shifted quickly to nervousness. “Uh, no, sir. No problem at all. I was getting Miss Quinn here scheduled for an oil change next week.”
“Good.” Dex gave the smaller man a cool smile. “Wait here for a moment, Mr. Blaisdale. I have some questions for you. But first I need to speak with Miss Quinn a moment.”
“Uh, sure.” Dots of crimson returned to Jerry’s pale cheeks, and he looked around, anywhere but at Issy.
Still too stunned by the abrupt change in Jerry’s demeanor when she’d brought up Adele, Issy remained rooted to the spot.
Dex took her arm and gently guided her outside the office. “Are you all right?”
“Yes, I’m fine.” She smoothed a hand down the front of her sweater, doing her best to keep a hold of Bella, who was attempting to leap into Dex’s arms. “Thank you for asking.”
He crossed his arms, watching her. The movement only served to highlight his beefy arms and broad chest. Issy was grateful he’d stepped in when he did with Jerry, b
ut seeing him again gave her mixed emotions. Part of her wanted to grab him and kiss him silly. The other part of her remembered a relationship between a witch and a mortal would never, ever work.
Torn, she stroked Bella and did her best to tune out her familiar’s besotted ramblings. Cutie Dex! We want to cuddle Dex and snuggle him and stay with him. Can we, Mommy?
“So,” Dex said, breaking the awkward silence. “Involved in another murder, huh?”
He raised a dark brow, his expression curious. His voice was soft and smooth and as inviting as black velvet. Her resolve to steer clear of him softened. Maybe he could eventually accept her as a witch after all. The kisses they’d shared had been beyond magical…
This was not helping her situation. Not at all.
She took a step back and squared her shoulders.
Issy couldn’t let Dex Nolan distract her. Not now. Not when her friend had been murdered and they had a potential toad apocalypse on the way. “I’m here as a concerned citizen, that’s all. I have every right to ask questions.”
“Is that so?” Dex’s voice grew edgier, and he closed the distance between them once more. “It’s not safe, Issy. You need to stay away from potential killers.”
Issy inched backward again, only to smack up against the cinder-block wall of the building. “You don’t know that Jerry killed Adele.”
Dex continued to move closer, until mere inches separated them. “And you don’t know that he didn’t.”
Once more, she was struck by the heat of him, the power of his muscles beneath his dark-blue shirt, the scent of his cedar-and-sandalwood cologne. They were so close now, if she raised up on tiptoe, she could kiss him again. Her lips tingled. As if drawn by an invisible cord, Issy leaned nearer, nearer…
“Sorry I’m late.” Gray’s deep baritone had her jumping away from Dex.
Nothing To Croak About (Silver Hollow Paranormal Cozy Mystery Series Book 3) Page 4