by Amy Boyles
“I know. What else can go wrong today?”
I hoisted my purse higher on my shoulder. A loud snap sounded and next thing I knew, the strap had broken and the contents—pens, tampons, pads of paper, had splayed across the grass.
Questioned answered. That could go wrong. Now, I just had to start making things go right.
Chapter 24
I called Earl Granger, who said that Payne Owens had an alibi for the previous night.
“What about what I told you? That he had been at Knight’s house?”
“He said he had a key, that his brother had given it to him.
“That’s a lie,” I argued. “I saw him use a screwdriver. Saw it with my own eyes.”
The officer sighed. “Clem, the truth is, no one lives in that house currently. No one reported the break-in. You saw what you saw, but there wasn’t a report filed. There’s really nothing I can do. And his alibi was rock solid.”
I thanked Officer Granger and hung up. There was still so much that bothered me, mainly about Harlow. Her attitude shift seemed a little off. Sure, I know, I know, I never should have gone in, guns blazing.
But if she had been innocent, wouldn’t she simply have said so and not gotten all worked up about it?
Yes, that’s what I think, too.
So no, I wasn’t crazy to think there was something off about her reaction.
Which meant that I needed to look harder into Harlow—really try to figure out what she knew. Which also meant that I would have to watch her—tonight.
I spent a couple of hours cleaning my house and straightening up, ticking off the minutes in my head.
About an hour before darkness would fall, I started picking out dark clothes to wear.
Lady padded into my room. “Just what are you doing?”
“I’m going out this evening. I’m going to Harlow’s current house to see if she’s hiding something.”
“Like a dead body in her closet?”
“That would be something to hide.”
Lady tutted. “Clem, you’re gonna wind up getting yourself in trouble.”
“Never,” I said with a twist of the lips.
The phone rang. “I’ll get it,” Lady said.
She made her way to my phone, which was stashed in my still-broken purse.
“No, you won’t,” I said, beating her to it. “The last thing I need is for you to start answering my calls.”
She slumped to the ground. “Party pooper.”
I swiped to answer. “This is Clem.”
“It’s John.”
Rufus. Just the sound of his deep, sultry voice sent of fissure of lust zinging straight to my girlie parts. Okay, I guess it was time I went ahead and started admitting things to myself.
“Hey,” I said, making my voice husky.
“I was wondering if you’d like to do a little hunting tonight?”
“Sounds tempting. Where?”
“I’m looking at a new place. This one’s outside town. I don’t know if it’ll pan out, but I’m hoping.”
This might be good. If I spent an hour or so hunting with Rufus, then I could be back to spy on Harlow by the time the clock struck around eight p.m. Might be a good choice.
“When? I need to be back early for something.”
“We can leave now if you like, though it might be easier to see them as soon as the sun sets.”
“I’ll take now. Can we stop by a drive-through and get some dinner?”
“I know one better. There’s a pizza truck on the way.”
“I like the way you think.”
Thirty minutes later we sat in his truck, waiting on our pizza to be made. We opted for a simple cheese, tomato and basil.
I stared at the pizza truck, which sat outside someone’s house on a two-lane road. “How’d you find out about this place?”
Rufus eased back onto his chair. “It pays to be a spell hunter. I do a lot of driving, looking for fields to explore. Of course, Malene and her friends have given a lot of advice, too.”
“Shocker,” I said sarcastically.
Rufus smiled. It was like seeing the heavens break open. I know. I had a problem when it came to him.
He laughed. “Malene does have a lot of opinions, but she’s been right about where to find spells pretty much one hundred percent of the time.”
“Did you ever give Sykes Laffoon the mimic spell?”
He winked. “I did find two of them. I’m holding on to one. Just in case.”
“Just in case, what?”
“Just in case, just in case.”
I laughed. “That makes no sense.”
Rufus replied, but I didn’t hear him because a car rumbled past. I instantly recognized it as Harlow’s. She was driving, but it was the passenger that caught my attention.
The man who sat beside her was curled up like a bear in a vehicle, as if he were too big for the cabin. Which he was, because the man beside her was none other than Knight Owens.
I grabbed Rufus’s arm. “Knight Owens and Harlow just drove past. Let’s go. Follow them!”
A guy carrying our pizza walked up to the passenger window. I grabbed it just as Rufus started the Rover and threw it into reverse. Gravel slung out from the tires, and a cloud of dust mushroomed into the sky.
“I bet they’re going to Harlow’s. Hurry up!”
“Are you sure it was Knight you saw?”
“Yes.”
Then I started to piece it all together. Knight and Harlow had been in on it from the beginning. It was exactly as the other Owens had said, only I hadn’t listened. Knight had faked his own death to get away with not having to pay the money back to his mother. I was sure that Julie Bender must have mentioned that I found something to Harlow. She told Knight, and he broke in. That was why Lady had smelled a man in the house.
It had been a man—it had been one that was supposed to be dead.
And it had probably been Knight who went into Harlow’s construction site and left all the lights on. He must not have thought that she had done a good job searching, so he returned to do the job himself.
As we zipped back into town, the sun vanished below the horizon and darkness quickly approached. I was afraid we’d lose them, but Rufus kept up.
The car zipped past Harlow’s street. “Where are they going?” I murmured.
“Let’s find out,” Rufus said, keeping a modest distance from the vehicle.
When they turned down Apple Orchard Way, my stomach twisted. “They’re going to my house.”
Harlow came to a stop a little ways down the road.
“Pull over on the other side of the street,” I said.
Rufus did as I asked. We watched as Harlow and Knight got out. They looked around cautiously, making sure no one was watching. Rufus and I ducked down, but we kept enough of our heads up to see what they were doing.
“They’re splitting up,” he said.
Knight headed toward the rear while Harlow came up to the front porch. She fished around in my plants until she found my secret key.
“Darn it! Does everyone in this town keep an extra key on their porch?” I said, annoyed.
“Perhaps it would be wiser not to lock yourself out,” he said.
I smirked. “Perhaps I don’t want to talk about it. And why didn’t they use it last time instead of breaking a window?”
“Knight probably came alone, and he wasn’t smart enough to figure out where it was hidden.”
“You’re probably right.” Once Harlow was in, I straightened. “Okay, you take the rear with Knight. I’ll get Harlow.”
He gestured for me to stop. “You’re not going after her by yourself.”
“Did you not hear me? You’re going in, too. You can’t take both of them by yourself.”
“I, at least, have had more practice with my magic.”
I opened the door. “It’ll be fine. Come on. They’re in my house.”
Rufus grumbled that he didn’t like this idea. I flash
ed him a grin and told him to hurry.
As he slinked off toward the back of the house, I entered the front door slowly. The lights were off, and Lady was not barking. That had me worried. Light from the streetlamps filtered through the blinds, making slices on the floor. My gaze pivoted toward a glowing pool and I stopped.
A pair of feet stood smack in the middle of the room.
“You can stop right now, Clem,” Harlow said.
Dread washed down my body in a wave. My stomach cramped, and I did my best to exhale slowly.
Harlow flipped on a light, and there she stood with Lady in one hand and the golden hammer in the other.
She smirked. “You really, really shouldn’t have shown me this little hammer. There’s no doubt that I’ll get a pretty penny for it.”
“You and Knight were in on it from the beginning,” I said.
Speaking of, where was Rufus? Where was Knight? What was taking Rufus so long?
Harlow nodded. “He’s my best friend. His mother would have done anything to get that money back. And yes, Julie Bender did tell me that you had something. I’m taking that, too. Where is it, Clem? Where’s the journal with the money in it?”
“If I don’t tell you?”
Harlow smirked. “It doesn’t matter. I’m going to kill you anyway.”
At that, Lady’s ears perked up. My little dog had been watching us intently, her gaze volleying as if Harlow and I were in a tennis match. But when Harlow mentioned killing me, Lady yelled.
“Oh, heck no! You ain’t gonna hurt my Clem!”
The look of shock on Harlow’s face would have been amusing under different circumstances. She squealed and Lady clamped down on her hand, biting the devil out of her.
Harlow tossed Lady into the air. Luckily, I caught her in my arm. With my free hand I called on my magic, summoning a spear. The magic appeared, the weapon blazing heat against my flesh.
“Don’t move or I’ll throw it,” I said.
Harlow’s face blanched. She swallowed audibly.
“Put my hammer down.” She did as I said, placing it on a table. “Now, turn around slowly.”
Within seconds, I used the spear like a rope and tied Harlow up. “Don’t move,” I commanded, “or the next spear won’t be used as nicely.”
As soon as I was done, I moved toward the kitchen. Where was Rufus? Where was Knight?
“Stop it,” Knight yelled. “I have a gun.”
Finally, I knew where they were. I heard sounds of a struggle and then glass breaking. I raced to the kitchen and flipped on the light.
My heart thudded to a stop. Two men stood in my kitchen. Between them lay a broken mason jar. But that wasn’t what made my heart skip. It was that I was staring at two Rufuses—two of them.
“The mimic spell,” I whispered. “It got out.”
Which was the real Rufus and which one was Knight? I called on the spear again and pointed it at them.
“Who is who?”
The Rufus on the left extended his hands. “Clem, you know that I’m the real John. That is the phony. Can’t you tell?”
The other Rufus spoke. “Don’t listen to him, Clem. I’m the real one.”
This reminded me of that really old movie with David Bowie, Labyrinth. When Jennifer Connelly’s character stood in front of the doors and one guard only tells the truth but the other is lying, and she has to figure out which is which.
A headache bloomed behind my eyes. I stared at the Rufus on the left. “Fine, then. I’ll shoot you and we’ll find out if you’re the real one.”
“No,” he said. “Clementine, I promise that I’m the real John.” He pointed to the other one. “That’s Knight. He attacked me and the jar broke. You know I’m telling you the truth.”
I turned to the other Rufus. “What did we have for dinner?”
“We didn’t,” he said.
Sounded like the right Rufus to me.
“Pizza,” the other one said quickly.
I pointed the spear at the Rufus on the right.
“Do it, Clementine. Hit me with the spear. Go ahead. I’m ready.” He smirked. “This time, just don’t hit me too hard.”
Then I knew who was the real Rufus and who wasn’t. I turned to the one on the left and launched the spear into the air. It shattered the mimic spell, hitting him in the shoulder.
Knight Owens fell to the ground, gasping for air. “Oh, it hurts! It hurts! Why’d you do that to me?”
I handed Rufus another magical spear so that he could wind it around Knight’s wrists.
Lady padded into the room. “Well, I feel like we accomplished a whole lot tonight.”
I laughed and picked her up. “I think we did, too.”
Rufus ran his fingers through his hair. “I’ll call the police.”
I snuggled Lady against my chest. “I think that’s a great idea.”
Chapter 25
The police arrested Harlow and Knight for breaking and entering, plus insurance fraud. Apparently, after Knight’s fake death, Harlow attempted to cash in the policy, but since there wasn’t a body, the insurance company was hedging.
That was why Harlow and Knight decided to steal my hammer. They had mentioned that Knight had a flare for the dramatic, and his old theater days had come in handy.
According to them, Knight had made it look like he had been stabbed using an old stage knife and fake blood. The only problem in his plan was that I was the only one who had seen his body. He vanished by simply getting up and walking out of the room.
Harlow had been the person making the ghostly sounds by using a recording on her phone.
Turned out that in this case, Tuney Sluggs had been right all along. There was never a dead person, never a murder. But now there were two criminals charged with breaking and entering and fraud—which was a big deal.
I handed the journal to Earl Granger. “I found this at the scene of the original crime. I believe it’s money that Knight had received from his mother. She wants it back.”
Earl nodded. “Thank you for giving it to us.”
“It’s the right thing to do.”
He tapped the journal against his palm. “Probably what he was looking for when he broke in originally?”
“Yes,” I admitted. “Sorry I didn’t give it to you earlier.” I shivered. “Those two were about to add murder to their list of crimes.”
He squeezed my shoulder. “We’ll make sure they get the maximum penalty.”
“Thank you.”
He walked off, and Lady, who was in my arms, spoke. “I sure hope they do.”
I frowned at her. “Why didn’t you bark at Harlow when she broke into the house?”
Lady scratched a paw behind her ear. “I suppose because I recognized her. No, I didn’t know what she was doing in the house, but she used a key and she smelled familiar. I didn’t think she was going to do anything bad.”
“Until she said that she was going to kill me, you mean.”
“Yeah, that tipped me off.” Lady glanced around, taking in the scene full of red and blue flashing lights. “But aren’t you forgetting something important?”
“What’s that?”
“What’re you going to do now that Harlow’s going to jail? About her house, I mean?”
“I can answer that,” Martha Owens said, striding up.
“I’m sorry about earlier today,” I said, “when I left your house so abruptly.”
She dismissed me with a heavily jeweled hand. “Nothing to fret over. I’m just glad you discovered the truth. I knew that Knight hadn’t died. He just didn’t want to pay me back, is all. But, since you’re now in a pickle, I may be able to help you out.”
“How’s that?”
Martha smiled at me. “Meet me at the house tomorrow morning, and I’ll tell you my plan then.”
Baffled, I simply said, “Sounds good.” As Martha started to walk off, I called out, “Earl Granger has your money.”
Her mouth quirked into a smirk. “I ha
d a feeling you knew something about what was owed to me. I’m glad you made the right decision.”
I almost felt bad for keeping the money from her. But at the same time, I couldn’t simply give money away to a killer, now could I?
As soon as she walked away, Rufus broke away from one of the officers he was speaking to and came over.
Concern filled his eyes. “Are you well?”
I smiled, amused at his turn of phrase. “Yes, I’m fine. I’m more disappointed in myself for not guessing that Knight was faking than I am anything else.”
“It was an elaborate trick,” he said gently. “Anyone would have been fooled.”
“His family wasn’t.”
He hiked a shoulder to his ear. “His family knew him. You didn’t. Plus, they all had a reason to want him dead—the money.”
I sighed, shook my head. “It was mentioned a couple of times that Knight had a history of doing theater. I should have put more clues together.”
He ran his fingers down my arm, leaving a trail of blazing heat in their wake. “You were doing what you thought was best. You can’t always apologize for that. And in the end, both Harlow and Knight were willing to become murderers in order to get your hammer.”
“All to get out of paying some money.” I shook my head. It was so pointless. “If he’d just paid the money back to begin with, then he wouldn’t be going to jail now with so many charges.”
Rufus folded his arms. “The moral of the story is, it’s best to be truthful and do what’s right from the start.”
Hearing Rufus say this, my mind flittered to what had happened earlier. “You told me to throw the spear at you.”
His gaze dragged from the scene before us to land on mine. A jolt zipped straight to my heart, sending a shock wave running to my toes.
“I did tell you to do that.”
“Knowing that you would be hurt.”
“I hoped the mimic spell would shatter at that point, destroying the link that Knight had with me.”
“Speaking of,” I said, annoyance filling my voice, “what happened to you? I was standing in my living room forever, taking care of Harlow. I figured you’d have made it into my kitchen faster.”