by Tonya Kappes
“That doesn’t make him a murderer.”
“No, but he did have tea with her the night before she died. And maybe he gave her the honey supplement.” My head was beginning to hurt.
“Who told you all that?” Oscar questioned.
“People.” I shrugged.
“I’ve been working on this case for a couple of days and no one wants to talk to me.”
“They don’t’ trust you. That’s why Gerald called Jordan.” I didn’t know if that was true, but it sounded pretty good. “Now, about that autopsy?”
“I should get it back any time now.” His brows met in the middle. “No you don’t, June Heal. I know that look on your face. You let me handle this investigation before you get yourself into any more hot water.” He threatened me and I don’t take threats lightly.
Oscar was crazier than half of this town if he thought I was just going to sit back and let him try to exonerate me. I was on a roll and Petunia was next in line.
“Did you hear me?”
I did, and remembered that someone else was going to die, but who?
“June, are you okay? All the blood drained from your face.” Oscar knew me too well.
I worked around my new kitchen making a fresh pot of coffee to go with the muffins.
“Spill it.” He took me by the shoulders. “Even Uncle Jordan said that you were acting funny yesterday. He said he stopped by the Cape Cod when he saw the Green Machine there.”
“I needed some comfort and you were too busy. That’s why I went to the Cape Cod.” I didn’t want to tell him, but I knew I couldn’t keep quiet. “I’m having nightmares again. It’s a different person. The hair is different, but the killer’s hands are the same.”
Nervously, I bit my nails. A nasty habit I had broken years ago, but my nerves had gotten the best of me. I had to make an appointment with Chandra to get them painted. I wouldn’t bite them if they were painted pretty.
Oscar ran his hands through his hair, sat down in one of the kitchen chairs, and propped himself up on his elbows. “Do you think this is your ‘gift’? Can you see when someone is about to die?”
That was one ‘gift’ I did not want. But when I thought about it, most of my nightmares, when I was a child, did come true in one fashion or another. Once I lost a shoe and had a nightmare about Darla being mad, then another one where I had lost it. I went to the place I saw in my dreams and it was there.
Another time I had a nightmare that I fell off my bike and got stitches, only the next day it happened to Oscar. Darla always said that I had an active imagination.
“Oscar?” I gasped, thinking he might be right. “One problem is that I don’t know the outcome until I dream it, and then it is too late. Or at least it was for Ann.”
“Is there anything else in the nightmare that you can remember besides the head? Can you look around and see if there are any clues on the hands? Markings?” Oscar asked some great questions, but how was I going to manipulate my dream?
I pushed the muffins aside. I’d suddenly lost my appetite.
“So now what?” I waited to hear my fate. Were they or weren’t they going to charge me with murder?
“We will wait until Gerald gets better and the council can meet to discuss all the evidence.” His appetite wasn’t affected. He stuffed a half of a muffin in his mouth.
“I did find a journal from Darla in the shop.” I hesitate for a moment, wondering if Oscar might want it for evidence, but I continued. “There really isn’t anything in there but how she moved us to Locust Grove.”
“Really? Anything else about the village?”
“I haven’t gotten that far. If there is, I’ll let you know. But nothing earth-shattering.” Even though there weren’t any mind-blowing events in the journal, it was still nice to have her journal. Which seemed odd, because Darla never kept anything.
After Oscar left, I went over the clues with Mr. Prince Charming.
“Chandra and Ann didn’t get along because Ann took Chandra before the council to sue her for her back problems.”
Meow.
I paced between the kitchen and the family room.
“Gerald broke into A Dose of Darla to get a honey supplement. Ann was in love with him and drove him crazy. He had tea with her the night she died. Alone. Only, in Whispering Falls, we are never alone.”
Meow.
“And Ann was banned from practicing her spiritual gift.” I wondered what her gift was. “Plus she lost her shop.” I threw my hand in the air. “Oh! Don’t forget about Gerald slipping into Gollybee last night.”
The questions about Ann getting banned were for Izzy to answer.
Now there were three visits on my list. It shouldn’t be hard to make a quick visit to each of them since I couldn’t open A Dose of Darla until I hear from the council. I had some time on my hands, and I was going to use it to prove my innocence.
Funny, the council consisted of two of the three people I needed to talk to.
Mr. Prince Charming couldn’t care less. All he wanted to do was bathe himself.
“Fine. I’m going to get my mold, and then stop by Gollybee Pets to pay Petunia a visit.”
As soon as he heard Gollybee, he ran over and did figure eights around my ankles before we headed out.
Chapter Sixteen
I was careful not to be seen when I picked up the mold at the lake on my way to Gollybee. At a glance, the cement mold resembled the shoeprint that I had cast under my bedroom window in Locust Grove. I hid it under my shirt and dropped it off at the shop on my way to the pet store.
Mr. Prince Charming didn’t wait around for me. I was sure he was already there.
“What took you so long?” Petunia was pruning back the limbs on the indoor tree.
“How did you know I was coming by?” I handed her a mojo bag that I grabbed from the shop.
“Him.” She pointed to a very high branch, where Mr. Prince Charming was sitting next to a chipmunk. “Oh, I love mojo bags. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” I didn’t have a really good way to beat around the bush. I had limited time before Oscar heard from the council or even looked for more clues. “So tell me about Ann and Gerald having a fling.”
Petunia’s expression completely left her face.
“I heard that they were having a fling.” I acted as though I couldn’t tell that she was surprised that I knew. I reached up and picked a few of the dead leaves off some of the branches, petting a few animals as I went.
“I don’t know anything about that.” There was a slow burn in her voice. “Why would I care about such silly things?”
“Oh, I thought you had something going with Gerald.” I shrugged it off. I knew I had gotten her goat. Her face was fire engine red, matching the rose buds she had decided to stick in her bird’s nest of hair.
“Why in the world would you think that?” She huffed.
I looked around the branch to see her face. “I remember when I was at the police station and he was whispering in your ear. You didn’t seem to mind it.”
She swallowed hard, held her chin up and pulled her mouth up in a sour grin. “That is ridiculous. Don’t go around here spreading rumors, June Heal.”
“Are you sure?” I gave her another chance to come clean. “Because he was sneaking in your shop last night or at least that’s what I have on my phone.”
I pulled my phone out of my bag and flipped through the pictures to find Gerald grabbing his hat and then going into Gollybee.
“What do you want from me, June?” Petunia leaned up against the tree and crossed her arms. “We can’t tell anyone because you aren’t supposed to date other shop owners. You can date people within the village, but you can only own one shop. Ann found out and she threatened to tell and we couldn’t have that.”
“So you killed Ann?” I gasped
“No!” A voice boomed from the back of the store, and then followed by heavy footsteps. “No we didn’t kill Ann.”
Gerald pee
red out of nowhere. If I’d known he was there, I wouldn’t have questioned her. This was a time I probably should’ve left it up to Oscar.
“It seems awfully funny that Ann found out about the two of you and the next thing you know she’s dead.” I started to walk backwards in case I was next. “And she was allergic to honey. Not to mention that you broke into A Dose of Darla to steal honey supplements. I even heard that you met with her for tea the night before she died. Did you lace it with honey?”
“Don’t be ridiculous!” His voice rang out. Not only did I squirm, the squirrels ran for cover. “I wouldn’t hurt Ann.” He walked towards me with Petunia closely behind him.
I shook my finger at him. “What about A Dose of Darla?”
“It was before you came to town and wreaked havoc.” He did fist pumps in the air. His top hat teetered and tottered. “No one had used those remedies in years. Ann was having some weight issues and honey helps with weight loss.”
Like I didn’t know that. “I’m a homeopath spiritualist.” I reminded him. “Remember?”
“She wasn’t allergic to the supplement. And she couldn’t find anyone to give it to her since she was semi-banned from the village.” Gerald stood with his hands on his hips.
Banned, semi-banned, which was it? Either way banned wasn’t a good thing.
Mr. Prince Charming jumped out of the tree, and stood between me, Petunia, and Gerald.
“We didn’t kill her. You have to believe us, June.” Petunia pleaded, taking Gerald by the hand. “Ann has a lot of enemies here. Not just us.”
“Yes, but the number one reason for murder is jealousy. And if Ann wanted Gerald. . .”
“No, Ann wanted us to lose our shops like she did. Gerald took the supplements to keep her quiet. She’d demand things and we’d get them for her. But we’d had enough. And we told her that.” Gerald twirled his mustache. “We are planning on telling the council tonight after they discuss your situation.”
“My situation? You mean the fact that you accused me of trying to kill you and being the number one suspect in Ann’s death. That situation?”
“I know you didn’t kill Ann.” Petunia pulled a rose out of her hair and offered it to me. “Besides whoever killed Ann doesn’t live around here.”
Okay, she had me for a second.
“How do you know that?” I wondered if she was still accusing me since I wasn’t from there.
“The teenagers told me.” She was confident, and Gerald nodded.
“Teenagers?” First off, I hadn’t seen any teenagers, and secondly, who believed teenagers?
“The fireflies. They are a group of teenagers. Duh!” She wiggled her hands in the air. “They stay up all night and sleep all day. They tell me everything. Even about the little meeting between you and Eloise last night.” She let out a deep, gratifying sigh.
Fireflies? Obviously she knew that Eloise wasn’t supposed to be anywhere near the village. I wonder why Ann could live in the village but not Eloise. Did Petunia know Eloise and Darla were friends?
“They said that they didn’t recognize the figure. Couldn’t tell if it was a man or woman, but they were positive it was someone they hadn’t seen before.” A smirk crossed her face. She gestured between her and Gerald. “So you will let us talk to the council before you tell anyone about us?”
I wasn’t about to take their plea deal, but held off. This was not a peace offering.
“It’s crucial that you tell them tonight or I will tell Oscar everything I know.” I turned to go out the door, but turned back around. “Tomorrow! I will tell him tomorrow!”
I stomped out of Gollybee with Mr. Prince Charming on my heels, and headed towards A Cleansing Spirit Spa.
Everything that they had said played over in my head. They were being blackmailed by Ann and that seemed like a really good motive to kill her. I was still going to check out the allergy.
I didn’t know who to believe in Whispering Falls. Everyone seemed to have something against Ann, while all I did was have a verbal disagreement with her. And everyone talked in circles, they knew something about everything.
The grey walls of A Cleansing Spirit Spa instantly made you feel relaxed when you stepped in. Never mind the trickling waterfall features Chandra had sprinkled throughout the spa that echoed the life of ‘Zen resides here’, but the lit candles added to the ambiance of the silence.
The low tantric music streamed throughout the spa. I couldn’t tell if the Buddha’s that were strategically placed were staring at me, or mocking me with the laughter on their faces.
As I walked by one, I made sure to rub the belly. Darla did that every time she would pass one of the many booths at the flea market that sold the plastic statues.
“June! “Chandra giggled. “I’m so glad to see you.”
I wiggled my poor chewed up nails in front of me. “I’m in desperate need of a manicure or I won’t have any nails left.”
“Come on in.” She gestured for me to take a seat at the table next to her. “Go ahead and take your shoes off and stick your feet in the soapy tub.”
Since I couldn’t open the shop, I had plenty of time on my hands.
Chandra adjusted the light over the customer’s hands she was working on. She filed away. Everyone once in a while I noticed her turn the client’s hand over and let out a little “hmmm”.
I sat down and slipped off my shoes. The water was nice and warm. I didn’t come in for a pedicure, but it looked too inviting to pass it up. My toes played with the rocks in the basin.
“Do you remember the last time I came in to get a manicure?” The customer asked, her eyes darted between Chandra’s eyes.
Chandra nodded.
“Well, I played the lottery like you told me to and I won.” The woman whispered. A huge grin was on her face. “I couldn’t believe it.”
“Did you sign a prenuptial agreement before you got married?” Chandra didn’t acknowledge the woman’s comment about the lottery.
The woman drew her hands back, leaving Chandra’s hands empty. Slowly she shook her head.
“You need to see a lawyer, honey.” Chandra patted her client. The client slowly got up and collected her things before she walked out the door.
“Poor girl.” Chandra clucked. “She’s in for a nasty divorce.”
“You could’ve let her down easy.” I suggested.
Chandra rolled her chair over to the basin and put a towel on her leg. She patted her knee for me to put my foot up on it. She dried it off and worked away.
“Sometimes readings don’t go the way people want them to go.” She took out a file and used it on my heel. I flinched from the pain. “How long has it been since you had a pedicure?”
“Years.” The last one was at the flea market from another booth owner, and then it was nothing like this. It was in a metal tub with bubble bath. “Do you always read your clients?”
“That’s why they keep coming back.” She winked and finished up the other foot.
I followed her over to the manicure table.
“You sit here and I’ll get the manicure system.” Chandra hurried off behind a cream colored partition.
There were two manicure tables, two pedicure chairs, two massage tables, two of everything, but only one of Chandra. The muffins, from the Gathering Grove, were neatly placed and untouched next to a display of cups, orange juice, and a pot of coffee.
“Do you get a lot of customers?” I questioned, because the place didn’t looked touched.
“I do” She reappeared and had a silver tray full of all sorts of tools and different colors of nail polish. “Especially after they had a friend like the last one that came in and I tell them some lucky numbers. I don’t know what those numbers mean. The spirit tells me to tell the client the numbers. I do what the spirit says.”
She took my hand rubbed some oils on it, focusing more on my palms. When I tried to flip them over, she’d flip them back and run her long blue fingernails down my creases.
> She rubbed the oil in my cuticles and pushed them back with a pointy thing on the end of a plastic stick. Her turban wobbled back and forth with her every movement. “Never had a manicure?”
“No, how can you tell?” I tried to see what she saw.
“Your cuticles are a mess. And you are keeping a secret.” Her eyes glowed with excitement.
“I thought the rule was that we aren’t supposed to read other spiritualist unless we give them permission.”
“Ah, rules.” She cackled. “So many rules. Don’t you know that spas are where women gossip? So dish.”
She looked up at me, but was still busy pushing back my bad cuticles.
“Nothing. I’m just trying to figure out who killed Ann so I can clear my name.”
“I think you are hiding something.” She took the file and tried to file any part of a fingernail she could find. “You have got to stop biting your nails.”
“Bad habit.” I winced when she got skin instead of nail. “Do you know Eloise Sandlewood?”
She pursed her lips together and continued to file and then she slapped the file on the table, causing me to jump.
“I’m telling you, Ann got what she deserved.” She snickered and walked over to the muffins. She picked one up and took a big bite out of it.
“I’m not saying she didn’t, but I’m trying to figure out how to clear my name.” I looked at my palms. “Read my palms.”
Between a giggle, her lips trembled. “I wish I could. I can’t.” Her hands shook as she put the muffin back up to her lips.
“Why?” I stood up, and then took a good look at my palms.
“I can’t interfere with a crime. It’s a rule.”
I was going to have to go home and dig out that rule book that Izzy had given me. There were too many rules to keep up with and I was finding out new ones every single minute. I wondered if Darla had known anything about the rules in the journal. Darla never lived by the rules.
The front door opened and two women came in.
Chandra cleaned the crumbs off her mouth, and cleared her throat. “Welcome to A Cleansing Spirit Spa. Are you having a nice day in Whispering Falls?”