The Midsummer Murders

by Jill Nojack

  Ling Li beamed at her guest as Natalie approached the counter, not returning the welcoming smile.

  “No time for pleasantries,” Natalie said. “I’m trying to trace the origin of an item you sold to young Twink Johnson, our shop girl. I’m hoping there are additional items from the same estate here. It came from an estate, didn’t it? Perhaps a Salem estate?”

  “She has bought a few small things over the past few weeks, so I cannot say without more information. Which item are you interested in?”

  “A hair comb. Gold with ruby rhinestones.”

  “Yes, I know it. I am afraid I cannot help you with its source. It was left at the back door of the shop with a few other items.”

  “Left?”

  “Yes. It was unusual to get items for the shop that way, but there was a note with the comb asking that it be sold to someone young and pretty who could appreciate it. I offered it first to my daughter, but she shows no interest in the items of the shop. She thinks it is all ‘old junk.’ It was only luck, I think, that your Twink was so taken with it.”

  Natalie looked around for the first time and agreed with the daughter’s assessment for much of the shop’s stock. But there were a few things of interest, she realized. Was that a Von Furstenberg wrap dress from the seventies peeking out from that rack?

  Forbidden fruit. Too colorful with its bright red leaves printed on a black background. Still, William might like it on her.

  She pulled her eyes back from the distraction.

  “You said there were other items in the box. What were they?”

  “There was a hat pin—not a lot of interest in those, mostly from collectors. Although I have been told some wear them as stickpins. I still have it. And a perfume bottle. As I understand it, Twink wished to purchase it, but she did not have the money required.”

  “Yes. You were selling it dear, based on the advance she asked for, for something you obtained for free.”

  Ling shrugged. “You are a businesswoman, too. I am sure you understand. My husband thinks this shop is only to keep me occupied. I wish to turn a profit to benefit the family. Is that wrong?”

  “No,” Natalie admitted. “Forget I said it. Business is business.”

  She was also glad Twink hadn’t been able to afford any more of the items in the abandoned box. Who knows what they might do?

  “I’d like to see those items,” Natalie said.

  Ling’s smile brightened. “Very good. The bottle was sold, but I still have the pin.” She opened the back of a glass case that sat on the counter and pulled out a box with a hat pin nestling on a velvet background. “It is beautiful. You will not be disappointed.”

  Natalie bent over it. It was a fine item, there was no doubt of that. It even had an original Victorian cork-and-metal clutch, which was an essential protection for the end of the long, sharp pin, which would otherwise ride dangerously close to the back of the wearer’s unprotected neck. She was also sure that the large ruby was not just a rhinestone, although she would have to have a gander at it through her jeweler’s loupe to make sure. She’d never considered using a hat pin as a stickpin, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t consider it now. She turned over the small white tag at the end of its string and a loud “humph” escaped her.

  Pricey for a hat pin. But not real-ruby pricey. For that, it was cheap. A second humph followed the first for emphasis, and she shook her head as though she were mulling it over.

  “I could offer you a 25% discount as a fellow shopkeeper.”

  “Well...” Natalie said, straightening. She moved her hands to rest against her lips with the tips of her fingers pressed together in a steeple, faking thoughtfulness. It was a given that she would purchase it. Once she had it in her hands, she could determine if it contained magic. Then, if it contained a harmless spell, she could add it to her collection as is, but if she couldn’t determine what the spell did, she’d ward the pin to contain it. Either way, she’d own a quite nice ruby hat pin for only a small investment.

  “I’ll take it.”

  “I will box it up for you!” Ling replied.

  “Now, about that perfume bottle...is there a possibility that I could talk to whomever purchased it?”

  “It had been possible, but sadly, the purchaser bought the bottle for her grandmother, and after the grandmother died, it was stolen from her nursing home.”

  “Nursing home? Which one?” Not that she needed to hear the answer. Her brain was charging ahead a mile a minute. She already knew what the answer would be.

  “I think it is the one in Giles?”

  Natalie’s lips pursed as her assumption was verified. “That’s very helpful. Now...what kind of deal can you do on this dress?”

  She held the Von Furstenberg up on its hanger, and the hem swished through the air like the falling leaves it depicted.

  Not only would she have something fun to wear if she and William stepped out together some time, but she might have found a magical link to the murders after all. It must be more than coincidence that the perfume bottle that had been bundled with Ruby Averill’s comb had been at the scene of Tildy Bentwhistle’s death.

  Yes, there was magic in this mystery. She could feel it; there was no longer any doubt. There was a bottle to track down.

  ***

  “She’s thatta way,” Daria said, shaking a finger over her shoulder as she opened the apartment door to Cassie. “If it was boys, fashion, or catfights, you know I could deal with it. But this witch stuff? I don’t have the first clue what to say.”

  Cassie moved the few feet to the parlor where Twink had sunk so low on the settee that she hadn’t been visible until Cassie moved to the front of it. Twink’s hands were crossed over her chest where she slumped down into the embroidered throw pillows. Her delicate features wore a sullen frown.

  Cassie’s hand moved to her abdomen for a moment before she sat across from Twink and moved it away. She liked Twink. Liked her a lot. But she sure hoped that her own child had an easier adolescence. Even though Cassie loved being a witch and wouldn’t trade it for anything, she sometimes hoped that her daughter was born without the spark, although she’d never admit it to her friends in the coven. She’d seen how it could complicate a life many times now, her own and her husband Tom’s included. But with both she and Tom carrying the spark, even though his was still bound by a demon’s spell, Natalie said there was a better than fifty/fifty chance her child would be a witch. It was, however, too early to tell. After all, the baby was currently no bigger than a ping-pong ball.

  “What is it, Twink? You look miserable.”

  “I’m surprised your best friend Natalie hasn’t filled you in yet.”

  “Are the two of you still mad at each other about the advance? Look, Twin—”

  Twink’s small shoulders raised and lowered as she huffed at that. “No. It’s...she says that those stupid crows that have been attacking people are all my fault.”

  Cassie’s eyes opened wider. “Really? What makes her think that?”

  “Well, you know my new hair comb?”

  “Yep, the vintage one? With the sparkly red rhinestones? It’s gorgeous.”

  “It’s also enspelled. Which is probably why I had that dream.”

  “Oh. What spell did you put on it?”

  “No, I didn’t do it.” Twink sat up a little straighter, sighing. “It was there when I bought it.”

  “Did you know there was a spell attached?” Cassie hoped she didn’t already know the answer.

  “Yeah. I did. I knew it was there.”

  “And you didn’t tell Natalie, amiright?”

  Twink nodded, and Cassie shook her head.

  “Wow. I gotta say, Twink, not your best move ever.”

  “Like I don’t know that,” Twink said, a spark of defiance in her eyes.

  “So the spell makes birds attack people?”

  “No.” The defiance extinguished itself. “I think it’s me that made them attack people.”

&
nbsp; “Oh.” Cassie bit down on one corner of her bottom lip briefly, then released it. “Why would you do that?”

  “I didn’t mean to! I just got mad about stuff and the birds went after the person I was mad at. You know, like how I used to break things before I knew I was a witch. They went after Marcus once, I think, but mostly they went for Mindy Li.” Twink shrugged. “It doesn’t matter now, because Natalie took it away from me.”

  “You’re mad about that? Really? You know what you did was wrong, don’t you?”

  “It was expensive, and Marcus likes when I wear it. I mean, it looks great on me.” Twink’s mouth compressed into a thin line before she opened it again to say, “I didn’t tell you so you could lecture me.”

  Okay, back to normal, Cassie thought. That’s got to be a good sign. Her tone softened. “I bet Nat gives it back after she nulls the spell. She totally gets the importance of wardrobe. In her own sort of oddball way, I mean,” Cassie said, thinking of some of Natalie’s more interesting wardrobe choices that might have been inspired by Elmer Fudd or the Wicked Witch of the West.

  “That’s the thing. I might have to decide if I want to kill the crow.” Cassie was sure she saw a tear at the corner of Twink’s still angry eyes. “I don’t want to be responsible for that.”

  “Why would she have to kill a crow? That’s not part of a nulling spell.”

  “Because it’s a binding spell. The crow was bound as a familiar through the comb.”

  “Oh. That explains a lot of things, doesn’t it? You had a familiar and didn’t know it.”

  “I guess.”

  “Why don’t you just ask Nat if you can keep the familiar? She won’t mind. I don’t have one because I’m joined with Sheba differently, but lots of witches have them. It’s a way of connecting with the natural. It’s a very witchy thing to have.”

  “But it attacks people just because I’m mad. If that’s what familiars do, I don’t want one. I’ve been working hard to learn to control both my magic and my temper.”

  Daria arrived just then with a plate of cookies. “So...is it safe to jump in? I don’t know anything about all of this, but I want to learn. I wanna support ya, cuz.”

  Twink’s head twitched to the side and she reached for a cookie, following Daria’s lead. Cassie grabbed three; they were small, and anyway, she was snacking for two.

  Daria asked, “Like I said, I don’t understand this, but somewhere in there you said it was you, not the comb, that made the birds attack.”

  “That’s what Natalie accused me of. I mean, she didn’t say it, but—”

  “I don’t know Natalie that well,” Daria said. “But if she wanted to accuse you of something, she’d say it straight out. She may not be as loud or righteous as my Mama, but she don’t hold back, girl. You never have to worry about her saying the loud part quiet.”

  “I think you pretty much do know Nat,” Cassie said around her laughter. “What did she say she was mad about, Twink? Help me out.”

  “That she’s mad because—,” she gave Cassie a weak smile, “—I broke a rule she only made to protect me.”

  “Yep. Thought it was something like that. See? She just wants you to be safe. That would be Nat, all right—irritable, easily annoyed, and very, very protective of the people she cares about.”

  “I know that. I mean, most of the time, I know she likes me. Marcus tells me all the time how she sounds proud of me when she mentions something I did in the shop or when she and Gillian are helping me with my magic. But she’s so harsh sometimes, and now-”

  Twink sat up straight, then leaned in with her elbows on her knees.

  “—and now she expects me to decide if I want to kill a living thing just so I can keep a piece of jewelry. A really cool piece of jewelry that I really want. If not, I can only have it back if I take responsibility for some evil old bird and everything it does based on what I’m thinking. What do they call that kind of choice? A lose-lose situation?”

  “But it doesn’t have to be that way. You won’t have to never get upset about things. You’re human. That just doesn’t happen. It has nothing to do with being a witch. I’m sure Natalie can help you learn to control a familiar so that it only does what you want it to do instead of what it thinks you want it to do.”

  “Really?” Twink’s eyes lit up. “You mean, I wouldn’t have to worry that it would attack Marcus every time I get a little mad at him?”

  “Oh. That’s what you’re worried about?” Cassie smiled. “I get it. No, with the right instructions, you can make sure it never acts without a specific instruction from you. Tom, when he was Cat, was a familiar for a long time. He could even refuse to do what he was told to do, although there were consequences if he didn’t. Like big ones, because Anat was evil. And, of course, that was a special circumstance, her being a demon and him having a conscience and all, which a crow...”

  “Umm...hey, not about your husband.” Twink looked restless, impatient. She was obviously still unsure about the choice she had to make.

  “Sorry. Sometimes I think about everything that happened before Tom and I got together, and I kind of...”

  “Yeah...also not about you.”

  Cassie crossed her arms and her foot tapped like Nat’s often did before she caught herself and stilled it, saying, “I was just trying to say that a familiar will sit on your dresser and quothe ‘Nevermore,’ for twenty-four hours straight if that’s what you tell it to do. Or, if you decide to go uber-evil on us, it can spy on your enemies and peck their eyes out. Up to you. Not up to it.”

  “Ewww.”

  “Just sayin’.” She held the plateful of sugary baked goods out over the coffee table. “You want the last one?”

  Twink shook her head no, looking thoughtful, so Cassie made the last surviving cookie disappear.

  ***

  “Hey! You’ll knock the door down. Keep your hair on,” William said as he cracked the door to find out if the violent knock at his apartment door was friend or foe.

  Natalie.

  He smiled to himself. Both?

  Then he smiled at her, his broadest effort. “You’ve never been to my apartment before, have you?” His eyebrows pumped up and down in what he hoped was gently suggestive of romance in the air but which he knew was probably more gently suggestive of a Groucho Marx gag. “I feel a thaw...”

  “If you feel anything, I’m sure a good smack on the side of the head will solve the problem. Focus, please.” She brushed past him to the sparsely furnished living room. He couldn’t help but wish, too late, that he’d done something more with the place than keep the prior tenant’s cast-off furniture. Her eyes roamed through the room before she stood rather than take a chance on any of the furniture, all of which had seen better days.

  “I’ll get right to the point,” she said. “You didn’t tell me everything about the murders. How can you expect me to accurately go about my work when you remain less than forthcoming?”

  “Golly, Nat, I told you everything. Robert was sure it was magic, so he wanted you in on it right away.” He could feel his face trying to turn into a sulk, which had sometimes gotten him out of a pickle with her when they were in their twenties. Realizing he probably couldn’t pull it off any more, he decided not to try it after all.

  “You were going to sulk there, weren’t you?” She blew out a burst of air like a snorting horse. “Sometimes you are exactly the entitled rich kid your parents raised you to be.”

  “You know I’m not. And you know they didn’t. I mean, look at this place—hardly the lap of luxury. Why are we fighting anyway? If you think I forgot to tell you something, help me out. I’ll tell you what you need to know.”

  “Are you sure our gracious mayor didn’t tell you to hold anything back?”

  “Sure as anything.”

  “I’ve just learned that a perfume bottle owned by the first victim was most likely stolen by the second victim, given what I know about her habits—which you did not tell me about. I didn’t k
now the importance of what was taken until today, but if you’d told me earlier, it might have sped things up.”

  “We did get a report of a perfume bottle missing from the victim’s things a couple days after she died. No one knew it was missing until then. Cut glass with red rhinestones circling the lid. Is that what you’re talking about?”

  “Yes. Was it in the second victim’s effects?”

  “No, so she may not have taken it, or it may have already been sold. And before you ask, I don’t remember anything about a perfume bottle in the report from Salem. I’ve also seen the crime scene photos, and I don’t remember seeing it, but I’ll take a better look when I have a chance. We didn’t toss the place looking for stolen items at the Caldwell scene because we had no idea what to look for. The sister told us where we were likely to find any stolen items, and we found a few that had disappeared from the nursing home. She said she’d call us if she found anything else that she was concerned about when she cleared her sister’s things.”

  “Ah yes, the sister. Janie. I’ll need her address.”

  William processed whether or not he could give the girl’s info to her. The sister wasn’t a suspect, although he had her address in the file. He steeled himself when he realized Natalie wouldn’t like the answer.

  “Sorry, Nat. No can do. She’s not a suspect, and her relationship to the case hasn’t been made public. If she found out I gave you her contact information, she could make trouble with Denton. You don’t want him finding out you’re looking into this, do you?” He moved closer to her and gave her his best apologetic face as he smoothed his hair back, then remembered it was supposed to be messy if he wanted to be in style and ended up tousling it again.

  Her expression softened instead of bristling. He even thought he saw a suggestion of a smile. Maybe she’d be open to staying a while when they were done talking about the case. It would be nice to be alone somewhere without the threat of Marcus walking in every time he tried to make a move.

  “I haven’t been looking into it, as you recall. There was no connection to magic before this. However, I see your point about Denton. The farther away from me that man stays, the better. I’ll track her down myself.”