The Midsummer Murders

by Jill Nojack

  ***

  William squatted down next to the bed, balancing on the balls of his feet to take a closer look at the dried-up thing that had once been young Josie Caldwell.

  This had to be magic. Natalie had to be wrong. Even she’d thought it made no sense the first time; maybe she’d find the magic this time. He sure hoped so. He didn’t want to have to work any more scenes like this one.

  He nearly toppled over, startled, when a voice from the doorway said unexpectedly, “You know you could be breathing in a pathogen that’ll suck the juices right out of you, don’t you?”

  When he’d composed himself and turned to face the coroner, Doc Don tossed him a paper mask and rubber gloves. “I thought you knew better.”

  William did know better than to touch anything that would contaminate the evidence, but he never thought about his own health. There was no need. Being unable to get sick or die had its advantages.

  It also had its down side, but he tried not to think about that, about Natalie keeping him at a distance because of his immortality. This wasn’t the time.

  “Golly, doc, does this make it more likely it’s something contagious?” He hoped not. If it was, then his not-at-all immortal Natalie could have been infected when she examined the first body. “This poor girl worked out at the same nursing home where Clotilda Bentwhistle lived. That means she could have spread it all over town in the past two days. And if the other workers...”

  “Don’t panic, Bill. I’m not thinking disease. I didn’t find a speck of anything in the first body, dead or alive, active or inactive. Far as I can tell, it’s as clean of foreign biological material as it is of moisture. I’m testing what’s left of the tissue for various poisons, but there aren’t many that can do anything like this. Rat poison, maybe. But not this fast. And it would have to be a massive dose. Still, that’s top of the list.”

  The tension left Wiliam’s shoulders. “How’d the other Miss Caldwell look when she let you in?”

  “Anxious to be away from here, if I don’t miss my guess. I’ll take charge of the scene if you want to talk to her now so you can get her on her way.”

  “Thanks, Doc. But what questions do you even start with on something like this?” He sighed and shook his head as he approached the living room where Janie sat in an easy chair, leaning forward with her head held in her hands.

  He lowered himself into a chair across from her and said, “I’m sorry I couldn’t let you leave earlier. But the longer we let these things go, the more details people forget about what they saw or heard. Or their brains fill in the blanks with false details to try to make sense of it. I’m hoping you’ll have noticed something this morning or in the past few days that’ll help us understand what happened to your sister.”

  She looked up, her mouth twisting with grief as she tried to maintain control. “I can’t think of anything. I visited her last night, and she was fine. I just stopped by on my way to work to pick up some things I’d forgotten”

  “Nothing bothering her? Love life? Work?”

  After hesitating, she answered, “Just that someone at the nursing home had accused her of stealing from the residents, and she was pretty mad about it.”

  “I expect she would be,” He said, nodding. “Any truth to it, do you think?”

  “I guess you should probably look in her pillowcase.” Janie sighed, then a tear rolled down her face until she moved a hand slowly upward to brush it away. “That’s one of the places where she’s always hidden stuff. I think she likes having it close to her. It gives....” A tear slipped again. “Gave her a feeling of power, like she’d put one over on people. She could be rotten like that, but she was still my sister. I still loved her.”

  William patted her hand gently. “Love can be complicated. I understand.” He pulled his hand back and asked, “Is there anyone you can think of who held a grudge against her? An ex boyfriend? Someone she stole from, maybe?”

  “You think a person did that to her somehow? No way. It’s got to be one of those mutated diseases, like ebola or something.” Her expression moved from grief to anxiety. “Could I get sick?”

  “The doc doesn’t think so. And I trust him. We’re looking at the possibility of foul play. That’s why I have to ask uncomfortable questions.”

  “It’s no big secret that Josie had her problems.” She paused for a minute, blinking away the moisture gathering at the corners of her eyes. “She was court-ordered to a class for kleptos a couple of years back. But she thought it was no big deal because there were some prominent people who’d been arrested in town for the same kind of thing. You probably know Natalie Taylor, right? She was the head nurse at the hospital for years. Mom said she was on duty when both Josie and I were born and helped deliver us. She’s involved with town politics, too. That’s why I figured you’d know her, being a cop and all.”

  William nodded and suppressed a smile as he thought about Natalie helping bring bright new lives into the world. “I know her.”

  “Then you know she kind of has a reputation. I mean, she’s a big cheese around Giles, but she once got caught shoplifting at the magic shop downtown. It made the headline in the Giles Gazette. But now she works there. So Josie always felt like seeing what you could get out the door with was the kind of thing even successful people did for a thrill.”

  “I can see where an impressionable young person might make that mistake.”

  “Me too. But I didn’t like it. That’s why I told you about the stuff probably being under her pillow—unless she’s already sold it. It’s not like she has to worry about a reputation anymore, I guess....” Her voice trailed off, and she took a small, gulping breath of air as it did.

  William stood, not wanting to upset her any further. “I appreciate you telling me. If we find anything, we’ll get it back to the owner, and that’ll obviously be the end of it. No need to mention where we found it.”

  “Thanks.” Janie gave him a weak smile.

  “Will you be okay getting home? You need a ride somewhere?”

  She stood and washed the tea cup before she put it in the dish drainer. “I don’t think it’s really hit me yet. And I’m only across the street, so I walked. I’ll be fine.”

  “I’ll need the scene for a few days, so I’ll have to ask you not to remove anything right now.”

  “I haven’t. I can’t even, I don’t...” she trailed off with a sudden gasp again, looking down at the floor where her damp umbrella leaned over the top of a bag with balls of yarn peeking out at the top.

  “You call me if you need to,” William said.

  She nodded but didn’t speak as she rose, picking up the umbrella and bag, gripping it so tightly that her hands were white around the strap. She made eye contact one last time with a sad smile, then headed for the door and her own apartment.

  She kept a firm hold on the strap of Janie’s canvas knitting bag as she crossed the street. She was terrified she’d drop it and the sound of shattering glass would give her away.

  She hadn’t enjoyed lying to that nice cop. But she didn’t have a dime for a funeral, so what else could she do? The mirror and perfume bottle had to be worth something. But it had been awful to seek them out where she knew she’d find them, trying not to look at what was left of her sister after she’d calmed down and realized she would need whatever cash she could put together.

  She couldn’t take the medals she’d found with the perfume bottle, though. Someone had fought to keep the country safe to get them. Maybe they had even been wounded. The medals were too personal and too important. Plus, Josie had said she’d been accused of taking them. Janie didn’t need to get caught with them. She couldn’t pretend they’d been a gift from her sister, like the more feminine items, if someone asked her about them.

  But if the perfume bottle really did have magic, it might be worth a lot to someone who could use it.

  Salem was her best bet for a buyer. There was a shop there where the owner didn’t care much about where things ca
me from. Josie had loved that place, but Janie found the owner a little terrifying. Big sis would have had a good laugh thinking about her baby sister intentionally going to Lilith for help. That gave her a little smile before the tears.

  ***

  Marcus glanced at the lock screen on his phone and was happy to see he was right on time. All the spots near downtown had been taken when he’d cruised through, so he’d had to park a block away. He texted Twink to meet him at the gazebo since she’d be getting off work now. If their timing was good, they’d come together at the next corner and could walk to the park together. He was enjoying the warmth of the sun on his skin, but when Twink slipped her small hand into his, he would like that warmth even more.

  He’d just passed the Ling’s Things storefront when he heard someone behind him call his name and turned to see Mindy there. She looked way too dressed up to work at a second-hand store in a short, tight dress, jacket, and three-inch heels. He wondered if trying to balance on them was what made her sway like that as she walked toward him.

  He was glad Twink wasn’t around to see that Mindy’s hair was pulled up on one side and fixed with a hair ornament just like Twink had started wearing hers. She’d light it up, for sure, if she thought Mindy was ripping off her style.

  “Hey Marcus! Where you goin’?” Mindy asked as he stopped and waited for her. “It’s like a graveyard in there. Come in and keep me company for a while.”

  “I’m kind of in a hurry,” he said. “I’m meeting Twink at the park.” He thrust forward a brown bag that contained sandwiches, chips, and juice boxes. “Picnic.”

  “That is so cute.” Mindy reached him and put a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t tell Brett about it, though. I have more expensive tastes.”

  “We like just hangin’ out. We don’t need anything exciting planned to want to be together.” Marcus put his hand on hers, preparing to remove it from his shoulder because if Twink saw it there, she’d go on the warpath. But just as he clasped it, a mass of feathery blackness exploded into the space between them.

  They jumped apart as the crow squawked and slashed at Mindy’s still outstretched hand. She turned and ran back to the shop, protecting her head with her arms as the bird scrabbled at them. She was still shrieking when the shop door closed behind her.

  “What are you doing with her again?” Twink practically screamed from behind him. “I’m sick of finding you touching that skank when you think I’m not looking!” When he turned to face her, her eyes were angry slits, and her arms were folded tight across her chest.

  He knew it had looked bad. He didn’t blame her.

  He rushed toward her, unsure what he could say to ease her fears. The girl had a history of people leaving her.

  And in the back of his mind? This thing with the crows? It was getting weird. And he’d quickly learned that in a town like Giles, weird is almost never just a coincidence.

  ***

  Ella Barton’s stride had an extra air of authority as she pushed her cart along the hall, well aware of the whispers as she passed a small group of aides.

  “I heard Josie didn’t show up because she got caught stealing, that’s what I heard,” said one.

  “I heard she was getting it off with Cap, and he gave her the stuff as payment,” said another.

  “Ewwwwww...you’re so gross. He’s ninety-something!”

  “S’just what I heard.”

  Ella stopped to the side of the loose gaggle of young women and turned her considerable bulk toward them. “You girls got better things to do, so go see yourselves to work. The devil loves gossip.” She held an accusing finger out toward them and shook it forcefully. “But let it be a lesson to you—the good Lord always sees sinners brought to justice.”

  Well, this time, the good Lord with Mama Barton on his team, she congratulated herself silently as she steered her linebacker’s body away from the silenced group of aides, a satisfied smile lighting up her dark face. Another witch getting what was due her. She couldn’t help but rejoice that action had been taken.

  Nurse Barnes called out to her as she passed the open office door, “Ella? Could you step in for a moment, please?”

  She pushed her cart against the wall and entered the manager’s office. Maybe Barnes was going to tell her that the witch had not only been dismissed but arrested. That would be a glorious reason for her absence that day. Much better than if she had only called off work because she was upset she’d got caught. At least she hadn’t just come back to work like nothing had happened.

  Giles’s half-pint of a police chief was in the office, too, his hat in his hands. And wearing strong cologne.

  “Thank you for joining us, Ella. We’ve had some sad news about Josie Caldwell, and Chief Denton would like to talk to you about the incident the other day.”

  “Sad news?” Ella asked.

  Denton took over. “I’m afraid Miss Caldwell was found dead in her home this morning under suspicious circumstances. Any information you can give me about what you’ve witnessed during her employment here would be helpful to our investigation. We’ll be interviewing everyone on the staff who came in contact with her.”

  “What circumstances?” Ella’s tone commanded, but Denton didn’t jump like most people would. He shoulda, though, because she coulda easily broken him in two over one thigh like the sawed-off stick he was.

  “There’s nothing further I can say until we have more information.”

  “If there’s a murderer runnin’ around town, then I got a right to know about it. I got to keep me and mine safe. The congregation comes first.”

  “I understand your concern. I see no reason to think you or anyone else is endangered, although keeping your eyes open for unusual situations is generally a good practice.”

  Her eyes narrowed, and she decided he knew very well that she wouldn’t be in danger if it was witches bein’ hunted. After all, the man was in Mayor Andrews’ pocket, everyone knew it. And Andrews was a soldier in Satan’s army, even if he wasn’t a witch. She was sure of that. Him and his living-in-sin partner, Gillian Winterforth, who was nothin’ more or less than a daughter of Satan.

  She felt her lip quirk up on one side as she asked, “She go the same way the other one did?”

  He nodded. “We believe the two recent deaths have the same cause, although we don’t have an explanation for it yet.” He paused, his eyes on hers.

  Expecting her to react with regret? No sir, this was not a regretful thing. She waited for him to finish whatever he had to say.

  “I’d appreciate your discretion,” he continued. “We don’t need a panic in town.” His eyes met hers like they were looking for something there.

  The mayor must be sweating hard now with witches turning up dead one after the other and with Alderman Thomas planning to run against him in the fall.

  “It serves the Caldwell girl right,” Mama Barton said, pulling herself up to her full height, and folding her arms across her wide chest. “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.”

  “Ella!” Nurse Barnes said, “I’ve told you before about this. The witch trials were a terrible time in local history, and some of our residents had ancestors who were caught up in those trials. That kind of talk has no place here.”

  Ella tried to keep her glare on the inside. This was a good job, not too hard because the worst cleanup work was medical and done by the aides. And anyway, she needed it to keep her body fed and housed, although her soul was in no danger of starvation.

  “You had a problem with the victim?” Denton asked her.

  “Just that she was a witch.”

  “So you believe that the people in Giles who call themselves witches have special powers?”

  “’Course they do! The Bible itself says their powers come from Satan. Always been witches in Giles, come over from Salem to live where they can do their dark deeds without the light shone in on ‘em.”

  Denton jotted something in his notepad, then asked, “When was the last time you saw he
r? Josie?”

  “Just before I told Nurse Barnes about her stealin’ from Cap Grazer’s room.”

  “So that was yesterday?”

  She nodded. “Right before the end of my shift.”

  “And where were you last night after you got off work?”

  “Had a church social. I served. Alderman Thomas asked me special. Then I stayed to clean up. And went home.”

  “What time did you get home?”

  “Why’re you askin’?”

  “Just need to be sure of everyone’s movements.”

  “I guess I got home around nine. Watched the news, for what it’s worth these days, then went to bed. And I live alone. That good enough for you?”

  “Not near good enough. You said the last time you saw Tildy Bentwhistle was when you cleaned her room two days before, but there’s a video circulating around town from someone who was in her room after she died. Maybe the night she died. And the voice in that video sure sounds like you.”

  “I made that video, I won’t lie. But I made it in the morning after you all went out to the lobby to talk to the nurses. You gonna lock me up? Because I ain’t ashamed.”

  “No. One of the alderman from city council thinks you should be cut a break on this one. He contacted me as soon as one of the other council members brought it to his attention. The angle of the sun coming through the window already told me you were there in the mid-morning. But if I ever hear of you crossing a police line again, I’ll throw the book at you.” Denton’s face was stony. He looked down after a moment and scanned through his notes when she didn’t say anything. “That’s it,” he said. “Thank you for your time.”

  “Ella?” Charity said. “You and I need to talk at the end of your shift. Please come see me.”

  Ella smiled smugly once she was out of Denton’s and her boss’s view. Alderman Thomas would be glad to hear that the number of witches in Giles had again been reduced. It would be even easier for him to take the town back from the evil forces that possessed it once he was mayor.