by January Bain
“Thanks.”
“Maybe I can earn that badge back,” I hinted.
He gave me a look that clearly said No way in Hades. “Oh, by the way, my parents had to cancel for this weekend. Something about an issue in the virology lab. Sounded best to take care of that first. They can visit anytime.” He shrugged with a smile.
“Yeah, not wanting something released into the atmosphere any time soon. We could all start acting like Pod people or—”
“Or Stepford clones,” Ace added with a low chuckle that did nice things to my insides.
“Or zombies. How would you like to go to a wedding?” I asked, before I could change my mind.
“Sounds good. Meet a few more locals, garner more goodwill. That reminds me, HAZMAT gave the green light an hour ago. You’re back in business.”
“Great. I would hate to see all the work and food prep today go to waste. Of course, we could have donated some of it.”
“So, we good here? No need for a Mountie to hang around and make sure your coven doesn’t get up to things requiring the law to intervene?”
“No, we’re all good. I’ll catch up with you later about details for the wedding.”
“Perfect. I’m dying to see you in your wedding finery in the Bucket Parade, darlin’.”
“Wait! You know about that?” I groaned loudly. Even I had forgotten about it in my enthusiasm to have a partner for the festivities. I hadn’t even managed a Graduation date, going with a few of my besties to save face. And we did have a lot of fun, painting our initials on the town’s water tower at midnight.
“I mean, if you can’t make it, you know, ’cause of work, I’ll completely understand.” Not so much if it’s due to a certain woman.
“No, I’m pretty sure I can make it. Unless you’re chickening out?” he teased.
My, oh my, the moon was bright tonight. His aura flashed right then and there, nearly blinding me. I looked up. Had the ancient fixture been hiding behind a cloud or something? No, just the same quarter moon as earlier. Hmm.
Ace walked away with that animal-magnetism stalk that was his alone, making me wonder what his spirit animal was. Mine was the eagle. I’d spent countless nights filled with dreams of flying over forest and vale, at one with nature, under the canopy of moonlight. I’d have bet, with that noble air, his was the lion. That would explain the need to dominate and survey his domain with such effortless command. I could even visualize a mantle of fur widening his shoulders further.
“Tulip,” I shouted out, “I’m heading home.” She gave me the universal thumbs-up signal, a wide grin dominating her beautiful face.
I began the short trek back to the café, yawning and kicking at loose stones with the toe of my shoe, thinking about the case and asking for divine guidance. I added a short plea for Rosalie’s earring to show up soon. Sitting across from her tonight, seeing her deep sadness, had sucked. I reached into my pocket and rubbed the small coin-shaped bronze disc that I’d had since I was six years old. Given to me by my dad when he had been two months sober, it was the only talisman I had from him from a time I seldom thought about. Too painful by half.
Mercies of mercies, I managed to slip into the café without being accosted by any drunken Russians or anyone needing my help to find something or any other crazy event needing my immediate assistance. Or maybe I had this all wrong? I stopped mid-stride in my tiny kitchen, realizing that all these zany events that Snowy Lake was famous for kept me focused on the present and not dwelling on a past I couldn’t change.
I took a quick shower, then slipped between fresh sheets, enjoying the floral fragrance of the fabric softener advertised to encourage sweet dreams. Now that would be something. My dreams were too often filled with shadowy figures up to no good…
I woke up groggy, feeling as if I’d been asleep all of five minutes. I checked the clock on the side table. It had been five minutes. What had awakened me? A furtive sound downstairs made me startle. Oops, I did lock up, right?
Chapter Eighteen
I grabbed my trusty baseball bat from beside the bed, then hefted it over my shoulder and crept from my apartment. The hallway was deserted and I tiptoed to the head of the stairs. I stopped, listening for sounds. All quiet. The stairs creaked once halfway down and I froze, worried I had just lost the element of surprise. I took another cautious step, holding my breath, but nothing moved in the kitchen. I made it to the bottom of the staircase and switched on the overhead florescent lamps, flooding the space with light.
I gave the kitchen a quick check. What is that on the counter? I hurried over, keeping the baseball bat at the ready. A tiny blue velvet jewelry box sat by itself near the sink. Before I touched it, I hurried over to the back door to check the lock. It was unlatched. I was positive I had locked up. Maybe Ivana had come home and forgotten? I quickly set the bat aside and relocked the door, then picked up the velvet box and opened it.
Oh, thank the goddess. My spirit gladdened when the pretty emerald earring came into view. My guilt-laden plea had worked. First thing in the morning, I’d return it to Rosalie. But who had just set it on the counter? I held the box in my hand, touched the earring with my fingers, closed my eyes and waited.
The image that came to mind was murky. Off-kilter. A stranger had held the box last. Someone I hadn’t met yet. Someone whose vibrations were way off the chart. I shivered, a sense of dread creeping down my spine. It was odd, considering Felicity had been the last one I thought had had it. Maybe she’d asked someone else to return it? Did she trust the person enough to take the chance on bringing them into this messy business? I was missing something here. But what? I had more questions than answers.
I closed the box and slipped it into the pocket of my sleep pants and picked up the baseball bat. Back in bed thirty seconds later, I lay against my nest of pillows and gazed upward, hands entwined behind my head, enjoying the view of the florescent stars glittering against the dark ceiling, a project of Star’s from years past. I liked it more than I’d let on at the time.
I awoke with the sun, the hard case of the jewelry box jabbing into my hip. I wasn’t letting the priceless object out of my sight for one second until I handed it over to Rosalie. I grinned from ear to ear. This was going be one fine day. I gave her a quick phone call and left a message when she didn’t pick up.
Hurrying to dress, I jumped on one foot, trying to untangle my pajamas from my leg, then toppled over, the fabric tearing and tripping me up. I hit the floor, knocking the air clean out of me. Oh—oh. This is a bad sign, said my superstitious nature, taking over. Whenever I had trouble early in the day, it always foretold worse disasters to come. Just great. I gritted my teeth and got up. Just let your guard down for one second by hurrying to do something and the repercussions could suck.
A banging on my apartment door made me wince. And here it came. Why, oh why, hadn’t I been more careful? I held up my torn pajama bottoms with disgust and sighed. My last good pair, too. I know it was irrational to think my bad karma had anything to do with events unfolding in the universe, but when it happened enough times, a person had to wonder…
I finished dressing, ignoring the persistent knocking until I was decent. Taking a deep breath, I opened the door. Constable Ace Collins as I lived and breathed.
“Morning,” I said. My heart did a little happy dance I made efforts to hide. Pursing my lips, I cocked my head to the side, hoping to charm him. “Come to read me the riot act, Sheriff? And how did you get in here this morning?” He did look perturbed and my spirits dropped when something flickered in his eyes. Yikes. Had he found out who the banishment poppets were in aid of?
“Good morning, Charm.” He touched his big fingers to the brim of his Stetson in that charming way that brought goosebumps to the surface of my skin. “Ivana was kind enough to let me in. Seemed in a hurry to go somewhere. I came to tell you two people are missing. Two stagehands, Sal Colletti and Vinny Taylor, haven’t been seen since yesterday morning. Both were expected at dinner la
st night. And they were overheard complaining of not feeling well by another stagehand, but neither of them showed up at Emergency. So time is of the essence if they’re out there and need our help.”
The urge to flirt vanished. Two men needed my sleuthing skills. What if they had been infected by ricin? Dread slithered down my spine again. This was bad if they were sick and incapacitated somewhere in the forest. What Charlie and Tom had shared triggered a sudden thought.
“And one had a graying ponytail, I’d bet. And the other wore a ballcap. What can I do?”
Ace nodded. “Vinny has been described as having that type of hair. Captain Duffy is questioning Bryce right now. Your intel is proving useful. But I was really hoping you’d go out to the camp early and set up something for the searchers. You know, water and snacks. We’re going to be asking for any warm body to aid in the search, and it would be helpful if you could be there early.”
“You mean a refreshment station?” No. I wanted to be in the field, leading the charge. I frowned, knowing of course I’d do it, but I wanted a bigger, more important job.
“Yes, if you could swing it? It would be a great place to gather information as well, I’m thinking. Everyone will come by at some point, right? We all need to eat and drink. The department will reimburse you for expenses, of course.”
Yes. Now that was an assignment I could sink my teeth into.
“No need. I like to help out our town.” I waved off his idea of recompense.
“I insist. You can’t always be out of pocket for expenses incurred by others. You’re too generous by half, darlin’.”
“When do you want me to get a new reading on Bryce?” Nice. I liked being thought of as generous to a fault. It rather lined up with my own version of myself most days. Others, such as how I’d like Jennifer Morgan to take a hike, did not. I blushed, hoping he’d never find out about last night’s shenanigans.
“Soon as Captain Duffy’s finished his questioning, I’ll bring him by the set.”
I nodded. “You got time for breakfast before you go?” I asked. “A man big as you needs to keep up his strength.” I managed to refrain from batting my eyelashes. Barely. Ace brought out so many sides of me that sometimes I had to check my head wasn’t spinning.
“Thanks, but I’ll have to take a rain check. Captain Duffy’s wanting this done yesterday.”
“Okay. Well, I’ll see you there. I hope they find those men unharmed.”
Ace’s face tightened with worry. “Me too, darlin’, me too.”
I followed him downstairs and into the kitchen, enjoying the view. Tight buns, wide shoulders and strong thighs. Wow. The guy must work out a lot. And I hadn’t even managed to book a fake spray tan.
A sudden knock at the back door drew both our attentions. Ace strode across the room and opened it. Rosalie.
I hurried over to greet her. Her cheeks were flushed and she was out of breath, but she had a grin from ear to ear.
“I got your message!” she said. “Where is it?”
“Someone dropped it off last night,” I said, pulling the velvet case out of my pants pocket. I handed the earring over, wishing I could have gotten a better reading on it. Was I losing my touch?
Ace gave me a glance, catching my eye. “Who dropped it off?”
I chewed on my bottom lip. “I don’t know. They just left it on the counter after I went to bed.”
“Didn’t you lock up? With a murderer on the loose?” His horrified expression was the perfect example of why I didn’t want to get into it. This guy could go from sexy to annoying in a nanosecond.
“It’s not like I planned it. Someone must have left it unlocked after I went upstairs.”
“You need to find out what happened! To think that you were left unguarded while someone in this town is spreading ricin and bashing people over the head. My god, Charm, when I think of what could have happened…”
I crossed my arms over my chest. I wasn’t lax in any way. I did lock up. I would have a word with Ivana today, see if she forgot. But I could handle my own affairs, thank you very much. “I’m fine. Let’s drop it, okay?
“Fine. But I’m adding you to my rounds. If you hear someone checking the locks at night, you’ll know it’s me.”
“Fine.” I rolled my eyes at Rosalie, who flicked a speculative look back at me.
“Ladies.” He tipped his hat and made his departure.
Rosalie gave a dramatic sigh, placing one hand over her heart. “I wish someone would check my locks at night.”
“Phhht,” I snorted. “Well, I can take care of myself.” How do you spell pain in the butt? A.C.E.
“I can’t thank you enough for finding my earring.” Rosalie clutched the velvet box in her hand, her big blue eyes filled with a sheen of happiness. “Can I help you in any way? Return the favor?”
“Constable Collins just told me about two missing men, so I’m going to need all hands on deck to set up a station for searchers right away at the movie campsite. You can help with that if you want?”
“Sure. Just point me in the right direction.” Rosalie slipped the earring into her pocket and went to the sink to wash up.
The door flew open and in trooped the usual suspects, Granny, Auntie T.J., Tulip, Star, Suzanna and James. A chorus of Good mornings from my crew and my family, then everyone got down to work. When our town called, everyone answered, no questions asked.
In one long assembly line, we went about filling our vehicles with all the food we had to hand. The timing couldn’t have been better for being prepared, but I didn’t like to think of what the call to action was about. Two men’s lives at stake.
“Star, Tulip, could you go and purchase cases of water at the Grab-n-go?” I asked.
They nodded and took off in Auntie T.J.’s old Buick with its huge backseat and trunk. Within the hour, we had a convoy of vehicles filled and we set off like one long segmented caterpillar toward the movie set.
Chapter Nineteen
Pulling in at the designated location with Thor, I made a quick perusal of the people gathering— my neighbors. Obviously, the call had been heard loud and clear. The sound of dogs barking in the distance alerted me to the canine unit being called out as well. Going to be some day. On high alert, I jumped from my vehicle and half-ran into the campsite with my first armload.
Tension crackled in the air. I handed off my offerings and raced back to my Jeep for more trays. Within fifteen minutes we were set up sufficiently to offer the necessities of survival. Sustenance for body and soul.
I kept an alert eye out for my first targets, that mother and daughter team I didn’t trust one iota. The murkiness of the residue of the last image on the earring was a concern. Why? I knew it meant something important, but my mind couldn’t come up with the solution. It’d never happened before, so I didn’t understand its meaning. Until now, every image had been crystal clear. I could find anything. Any time. I’d built my reputation on that fact. Why was this one time the solution being withheld? Especially since it couldn’t be more important. Mulling it over, I almost missed seeing Mimi sashay toward me.
“Morning,” she said, helping herself to a basketful of carrot and raisin muffins, popping a half dozen into the woven bag she carried.
“Morning, Mimi,” I said. I gave her a bright smile and looked behind her to see if her daughter had accompanied her. Shoot, nowhere in sight. “How are you?” She was much more friendly now that I had helped heal her.
“Good.” She shrugged. “Though I hardly slept a wink with all this business going on.” She leaned in to conspire. Yes, she thought of me as a friend now. Perfect.
“Yeah, thinking a murderer is on the loose. Scary stuff, eh?” I watched for her reaction. How worried was she? If she knew or suspected who it was, she’d be less inclined to be frightened.
Her mouth thinned. Inconclusive. “Well, not that big a surprise with a mobster on set.”
“You think Guido had something to do with it?” I widened my eyes.
“Well, the RCMP do. He’s at the station now, you know.”
“What about Bryce Stanford? He’s being questioned also.”
She gave me a speculative look.
“Someone mentioned it.”
“No way he had anything to do with it.” She shook her head. “He wants this movie to come together swimmingly. He’s got a stake in it. I overheard Tom say that the studio’s watching. If things go well, he’ll get a shot at directing.”
“Really? That’s huge. What a coup that would be, eh? Getting his own movie to direct.”
“Exactly. There’s no reason for him to create waves. And he doesn’t have it in him, believe me. Bryce is really sweet once you get to know him.”
“Well, maybe he wanted things to go smoothly and resented Howard trifling with funds? Bit of a motive there,” I said brightly. There was always another side to the coin, and I did enjoy turning it over.
I earned a cold glare for my not-so-innocent suggestion and missed Felicity coming up behind her mother. She didn’t appreciate my take on things any more than her mother, judging by the sour expression. Sorry, but Bryce stays firmly on my suspect list. Of course, what I knew and what could be proved were miles apart. For now.
“Thanks for returning the earring, Felicity,” I said in my nicey-nicey tone.
“Wh-what are you t-t-talking about?”
“You’re saying you know nothing about it?”
Felicity managed a convincing surprised stare, making me frown now. If it hadn’t been her in the café after hours, then who had it been?
A horde of noisy set persons descended on our spread in a hungry wave, taking my attention away. When I had a sec to look up again, Mimi and Felicity had vanished. Granny and Auntie T.J. also took their leave a few minutes later to look after things back at the Tea & Tarot. I suspected my auntie was just looking for an opportunity to fire up her bagpipes and drive away any bad karma that had collected. Well, that and the pesky bears. The wailing anguish of the supposed musical instrument began wafting in on the breeze, confirming my suspicions.