Witch of Mintwood Mysteries 7-9

by Addison Creek

  “How many members of my family are there?” She paused and thought for a moment, then said, “Eight.”

  “So how many of them do you suspect?” I asked.

  “Eight,” she replied.

  Greer nearly dropped the glass she was washing.

  “Just let me sniff the rum,” begged Isabel.

  Greer held out a bottle of rum and Isabel took a great inhalation. “That’s the good life. As a ghost, can I send thank you cards? That made my week.” The ghost’s shoulders slumped and she appeared to melt with pleasure.

  “Not hard given that you were murdered,” said Greer dryly.

  “And no,” I said, scrunching up my face. Her disdain for her family was shocking.

  “Very well then, I guess you’d better find out who killed me,” she said, running her index finger along her throat.

  “I’ll start by talking to your family,” I said.

  “Good luck with that. I’d do it from a distance. If you don’t mind, I’ll keep close to the rum,” said Isabel.

  Greer shrugged. She certainly didn’t mind.

  “My friend Charlie should be along soon,” I said.

  “More nice young ladies. Excellent. I should have come here a long time ago,” said Isabel. “Maybe my family would have learned a thing or two from you lot.”

  I got up to go. Unlike some other murders, this one was very confusing.

  Very confusing indeed.

  Isabel was part of the old aristocracy down south. At least, that’s what her children thought. She had more land than money, and according to her she used it for the noble intention of keeping her family at bay. Real, physical acres between her and them was the way to go.

  Luckily they didn’t come around much. They were allergic to the country and green grass.

  “They prefer stone and steel. It reminds them of what’s in their hearts,” she said sagely, leaning over to sniff the liquor again.

  Greer had finished cleaning up, and she wasn’t actually working anyway, so we left Isabel to her nostalgia. We swung by the newspaper offices and picked up Charlie, who was quite excited about going out to dinner for once.

  She was also quite upset that she had missed Isabel. “Will she be there tomorrow?”

  “I have a feeling she will. She seems to harbor a deeply held faith in the fragrance of rum,” said Greer.

  Charlie had to be content with the prospect of interviewing Isabel next time Greer worked a shift and our latest ghost victim came by for the memorable aromas.

  “We asked about her family, and she said any one of them could’ve done it,” I said.

  “I’d like to go talk to the family tomorrow. Maybe that will generate some questions I can ask her,” said Charlie.

  “So you think it was her body we found?” I asked.

  “Lena said that unofficially it is. They’re waiting to talk to the family to confirm the identity. I guess they had a list of what Isabel was wearing when she disappeared, and the skeleton found in the dirt was wearing the exact same thing,” said Charlie.

  “She did seem to think she was murdered last summer, but she doesn’t remember by whom or why,” said Greer.

  “I can’t believe she thinks a member of her own family could’ve done it,” I said.

  “Let’s meet them and then judge,” said Charlie.

  “Why?” I asked.

  “Because some families are more than capable of murdering each other than others,” said Greer dryly.

  There weren’t a lot of options for places to eat out in Mintwood, so we had decided to go to Pennwood. As a slightly bigger town, it offered a handful of restaurant options. It was, in fact, where Jasper and I had had our first date; the Cozy Bucket would always have a special place in my heart. Also, the food was delicious. Charlie didn’t want to go to that restaurant, though, she wanted to go to an Italian place on the water.

  In the summer, in our part of Maine, it was all about spending time at one of the many lakes that dotted the landscape. Unless, of course, you were lucky enough to be spending time at the ocean. Either way, water was involved.

  We got to the restaurant pretty early for dinner, but the parking lot was already half full.

  When we saw how crowded it was, I was glad I had worn a dress, despite the hiking trip. I did my best to brush off the pine needles and bits of forest from my legs so they’d allow me in.

  After a lot of harassment, Greer had agreed to put on a sweater over her white tank top. Then she’d grudgingly flung her dark hair into a ponytail.

  “Well, at least you look presentable now,” Charlie had said.

  “Given the state of Lemmi’s porch I’d say presentable for the three of us is a stretch,” Greer snickered.

  “Always the porch jokes,” I shook my head.

  “I thought Jasper was going to do something about that. I thought that’s why you decided to date him,” Charlie teased.

  “Oh, okay, just pile on me why don’t you,” I said, trying not to laugh.

  “This is nice,” said Greer as we took our seats inside. Charlie had asked for table by the window, and though the place was already starting to be busy, we had lucked out.

  The lake was perfect. It was big enough so that the boat zooming around at the far end wasn’t disturbing us, and even the docks where kids were jumping up and yelling were far enough away to make a pretty picture but not be a distraction.

  “Idyllic,” I said. The day had been bright and filled with sunshine, and now a yellow ribbon was cast across the water.

  “I wish all nights could be like this,” Charlie sighed.

  “Did you hear anything else about the case today?” I asked.

  Charlie shook her head. “It was very frustrating. Lena thought I should have called her this morning. I told her it hadn’t occurred to me, and she didn’t seem to like that. Then Detective Cutter came by and asked if I had touched anything.”

  “Why would he do that? He knows you know how to handle a crime scene,” Greer huffed as she gazed at the menu.

  Charlie rolled her eyes and shrugged. “No idea.”

  “We did see him in a gardening outfit earlier. There was pink involved,” I said.

  Charlie covered her smirk with a hand. “Oh yeah, that.”

  “He was gardening?” Greer asked in shock.

  “He’s an avid gardener. His gardens prove it,” said Charlie.

  “Did you get a chance to ask him any questions?” I asked.

  “Certainly not. He was there to interview me. I only asked the six questions,” said Charlie.

  “Just like you to keep quiet,” I said.

  Greer momentarily closed her eyes.

  “What did you find out?” I asked.

  “He was going to go talk to the contractor and find out why no one had noticed the skeleton before,” she said. “He was afraid that all the disturbance had also disturbed the skeleton.”

  “That seems pretty obvious,” said Greer.

  We ordered our dinners, a summer salad with shrimp for Charlie, chicken for Greer, and pasta primavera for me. We settled in to enjoy the evening and were just starting to talk about the case again when Charlie trained her eyes on the door and gasped.

  Greer and I turned around to look.

  “Subtle,” Charlie muttered.

  I did a double take.

  Walking into the restaurant was a very good-looking man, and not only that, a very good-looking man whom we knew quite well.

  Hansen Gregory had walked in with a beautiful woman at his side. He was dressed in a jacket and slacks and his shirt was unbuttoned just enough so that he didn’t look stuffy. The girl was in a gorgeous summer dress, white with a lot of colorful flowers splashed all over it. She had long curly hair and a big smile. The two appeared to be laughing and talking easily, as if they knew each other well. As if, in fact, they were dating.

  “I can’t believe he’s here,” said Charlie.

  Hansen’s eyes flicked to us, flicked away, then fl
icked back and stayed. His smile got wider. He said something to the girl, who then looked at us as well, continuing to smile.

  Then two of them started over toward our table.

  “Oh no, they’re coming this way. Do I have time to hide?” Charlie wondered.

  “Definitely not at this point,” said Greer. She set down her fork and waited.

  “Hello! Fancy running into you three,” said Hansen, sounding as friendly as he always did.

  “Yeah, it’s great,” said Greer when it didn’t appear as if Charlie was going to respond.

  “Small towns,” I said, shrugging. “What brings you here?”

  “Where are my manners? This is Penny. We went to high school together,” said Hansen.

  “Hey,” said Penny, blushing.

  “This is Charlie Silver, and her friends Greer and Lemmi,” Hanson said.

  “Oh, Charlie Silver? That’s who you talk . . .” Penny stopped abruptly.

  “Yeah, the journalist I work with from time to time,” said Hansen.

  Charlie opened her mouth to say something, then grimaced. Greer’s torso moved slightly, and I knew that Charlie’s grimace had probably been from a swift kick to the shins.

  If I hadn’t known better I would have said that Hansen was blushing

  “I heard you two had a journalistic war,” said Penny.

  “Yeah, I won,” said Charlie, recovering.

  “You always win,” said Hansen.

  At that Charlie’s eyes widened, but she didn’t say anything.

  “Have you been here before?” Hansen asked.

  All three of us shook our heads.

  “Is it good?” I asked.

  “It’s the best,” he grinned. “I try to come here at least once a month, especially in the summer. Everything is so fresh. Anyway, we should get to our table, I didn’t mean to interrupt. It was great to see all of you,” he said. He put his hand on the small of Penny’s back and led her away.

  After they were gone, Charlie continued to eat as though nothing had happened. Usually after she ran into Hansen she complained about something or said what an awful human being and more importantly what an awful reporter he was.

  This time she just concentrated on her fancy salad.

  Greer and I exchanged glances, waiting for the other shoe to drop. When Charlie stayed quiet, Greer finally broke the silence. “Penny seemed nice.”

  “Yeah, I liked her,” I said. “I wonder if she lives around here or if she’s just visiting Hansen.”

  I hoped something like that would inspire Charlie to talk, but she still didn’t say a word. In fact, she didn’t even look up from her food.

  Greer looked at me and shrugged. Charlie’s response was mystifying, but we decided to enjoy the rest of our meal in peace.

  We had finished eating, paid the bill, and were ready to go when Charlie suddenly pushed back her chair and said, “I’m going to talk to Hansen about the case.”

  Greer and I stared at her in shock.

  “Might as will help each other out,” said Charlie, shrugging. “Are you coming?”

  “Are we ever!” I muttered.

  Hansen and Penny appeared to be deep in conversation as we approached. Hansen’s forearms were leaning on the table and he was smiling. Penny’s cheeks were pink and she looked very happy about whatever he was saying.

  I saw Charlie’s shoulder stiffen.

  Now it was Hansen’s turned to look up as we approached. “Did you enjoy dinner?” he asked.

  “It was the best,” I said.

  “I’m definitely going to be coming here again,” said Greer.

  “I really enjoyed it too,” said Charlie. “But actually, I came by to find out whether you’ve heard about the library skeleton.”

  If she was trying to shock Penny, she succeeded. Penny looked plenty shocked, and I couldn’t really blame her given that you don’t usually expect to hear talk about skeletons when you go out to a nice restaurant for dinner.

  Hansen, meanwhile, went right into investigative journalism mode. “I did hear something about that. I didn’t want to interrupt your evening, otherwise I would’ve said something. It’s really shocking,” he said. I didn’t think he even realized what he was implying about Charlie interrupting his evening. . .

  “I can’t believe there’s been a body at the library all this time,” murmured Penny.

  Actually, in terms of ghosts and places to die, a library wasn’t bad. Isabel hadn’t seemed to mind at all.

  “Tomorrow we’re going to talk to the family of the woman whose skeleton it might be. I wondered if you wanted to join us?” Charlie said. “We can compare notes on the way.”

  That last bit sounded reluctant, but still, she had actually said it. Hansen saw the olive branch for what it was, and his smile broadened. “I would like that. Penny will still be here so I can’t be gone too long, but talking to the family sounds perfect.”

  “You know I can entertain myself,” said Penny. “I have some work I need to finish up anyway.”

  “I see your editor also told you who the deceased might be?” I asked him.

  The other journalist nodded, looking grim. “It isn’t official yet. I think Detective Cutter was going to try and get an identification tonight, to speed along the investigation. Nothing can happen at the library until it’s no longer a crime scene, and that’s not a quick process.”

  “Poor Mrs. Snicks,” said Greer. She told Penny who Mrs. Snicks was, and Penny shook her head in sympathy.

  We chatted for a couple more minutes about summer and work and how there was never a dull moment, but we didn’t want to keep interrupting their dinner. Since they already had their food, it was going to get cold if we didn’t leave them in peace to eat it.

  We said our goodbyes and headed out to the parking lot, where the Beetle was by far the oldest car in sight.

  “It’s one of those where people take pity on you and start leaving twenty-dollar bills on your windshield,” Greer laughed.

  “Oh come on, they leave ones if they leave anything,” said Charlie.

  Greer just rolled her eyes. Sometimes Charlie missed a joke even when it clobbered her.

  “At least I’ve had no major problems with my car recently,” I said. “Small miracles.”

  It wasn’t until we had all piled in the car and were driving away that Greer burst out, “Okay, do we think they’re dating or not?”

  “They’re definitely dating,” said Charlie.

  “I’m not so sure,” I said. “Can’t old friends just be old friends?”

  “Not when Hansen Gregory looks like that,” said Charlie.

  “Are you saying he’s cute?” said Greer.

  This would be the first time Charlie had openly admitted how attractive Hansen was. It would, if she did. But she didn’t.

  “No, I’m saying he’s incredibly good-looking,” said Charlie. “It’s completely different.”

  “I think it’s good to just examine the possibility that they’re friends,” I said.

  “Why wouldn’t she date him?” Charlie asked hotly.

  “He didn’t introduce her as his girlfriend,” Greer started to muse. “Maybe you’re on to something,” she said, turning to me.

  I nodded. Something told me—had been telling for a long time—that Hansen Gregory had a thing for Charlie. Something further told me that he was a good guy, and he wouldn’t have a thing for Charlie if he had a girlfriend, especially one as cute as Penny.

  Still, that didn’t explain what she’d been doing there.

  “It was nice seeing him, anyway,” said Greer. She turned to Charlie and asked, “Why did you invite him tomorrow?”

  “I was trying to be nice,” said Charlie.

  “It’s good to try new things,” said Greer.

  “I’m going to drop you off and go see Jasper,” I said.

  “Yeah, going to see your boyfriend?” Greer teased.

  “Where’s Deacon?” I asked.

  “He�
��s out of town for a few days,” said Greer. “He’s looking at that possible site for another apartment building.”

  “Would you be allowed to live in that one?” Charlie asked.

  “I highly doubt it,” I said. “He’s not a complete idiot.”

  Chapter Nine

  Paws was for once very excited to get out of the house. “I thought you’d never ask,” he said, skipping past me and jumping into the Beetle.

  “Okay, but I need to get something to drink before we go,” I said.

  “You shouldn’t drink and drive,” the cat yelled at me.

  “I meant water,” I said.

  Once I got back in the car Paws said, “You really just wanted to freshen up for your boyfriend, didn’t you.” It was a statement, not a question, but I answered it anyhow as I started the car and headed out to the street.

  “No,” I lied.

  Of course I did. It didn’t matter how long Jasper and I had been dating. He still gave me goosebumps, and every time I saw him I was worried that I had a hair out of place and he’d suddenly stop liking me.

  Lucky for me, that hadn’t happened so far.

  The drive to the Babbling Brook Barn was quiet and nice, and the barn itself was beautiful. Jasper had recently finished restoring it, and he had done a great job. The structure was on a gentle slope that led down to the lake, so the views were lovely too. I had even met a ghost who used to live in the lake, which had been a strange experience.

  What had been even stranger was finding a skeleton in the library’s back yard, then having the ghost turn up at the bar where Greer worked.

  Okay, maybe finding the ghost at the bar was the most normal item on that list.

  “Seen Honolulu lately?” I asked Paws.

  Honolulu was a cat we had met during the Mintwood Summer Fair. Her owner had died accidentally, and the death hadn’t been discovered for nearly a year. Paws had taken a shine to Honolulu, who was beautiful and sweet, everything Paws was not.

  “It’s been too long since I’ve seen her. I’m having withdrawal. I’m not sure how I’ll ever get through it. You may have to carry me from now on,” said Paws.

  “I thought you saw her yesterday,” I said.

  “I did,” he said.