by Etta Faire
I pulled out the interview with Somer Hawkins and scanned it over.
OFFICER BELLINGS: I heard from Graham Smalls that you and he spent the night at a fraternity house together when his wife died. Please explain how that came about.
MISS HAWKINS: I don’t remember. Just dumb drunk decisions, I guess.
OFFICER BELLINGS: You were staying at the Box Light Motel. Is that correct?
MISS HAWKINS: Yes.
OFFICER BELLINGS: Why didn’t you just take a cab there? It was just down the street from the bar. You could have walked, actually.
MISS HAWKINS: We weren’t thinking, obviously, okay? But at least we’re on the tapes. You saw the tapes, right? At the bar and the fraternity house?
OFFICER BELLINGS: Yes. I saw them. What is your relationship with Mr. Smalls?
MISS HAWKINS: We’re friends. He’s my co-worker. Same with Mrs. Smalls.
OFFICER BELLINGS: Did you have a roommate at the motel? Is that why you went to the frat house? So you and Mr. Smalls could spend time together… alone?
MISS HAWKINS: I had my own room at the motel this time, so no.
OFFICER BELLINGS: Mmmm. Hmmm. You doing all right in the business?
MISS HAWKINS: What?
OFFICER BELLINGS: I heard from a reliable source that you were always latching onto directors, hoping for a break, hoping for some easy money.
MISS HAWKINS: Whoever said that is a liar.
OFFICER BELLINGS: It was Hannah Jinard.
MISS HAWKINS: Yeah, okay. I can’t believe she said that, but whatever. All actors become friends with producers and directors. It’s just how we make money. They think of us first when they have a project, okay? Totally normal.
OFFICER BELLINGS: So, you admit you latched onto Mr. Smalls? You were having an affair?
MISS HAWKINS: Ohmygod, please stop. It wasn’t like that.
OFFICER BELLINGS: So, no affair?
MISS HAWKINS: No affair. Just a normal actor-producer relationship.
My oatmeal was cold by the time I got around to eating it.
Somer also mentioned Mandy’s outburst at dinner when she was asked if she noticed any violent behavior between the couple. “If anyone was violent, it was Mrs. Smalls. I saw her throw a Diet Coke at Graham just because he suggested she eat an apple. I mean, she totally wigged out for no reason.”
I smiled a little to myself, remembering that one.
“I noticed you use ‘Mrs. Smalls’ to refer to Mandy Smalls, but ‘Graham’ to refer to her husband,” the sheriff had said after that. “Do you know anything about condoms found in a drawer?”
“Look, I have an alibi, so I’m done answering questions without a lawyer present. And no, it’s not because I’m guilty. I’m just tired of answering the same questions, okay?”
Graham and his kids were next. Their interview was conducted together, on the same day as Somer’s. September 30th, five days after Mandy’s murder.
OFFICER BELLINGS: I brought you in not because y’all are suspects. Your alibis check out, but because you were some of the last people to see Mandy Smalls alive. And I was hoping you could shine some light on the events leading up to her death. Now, I know this is hard, but did you notice anything suspicious during dinner on September 25th?
FREDERICK SMALLS: Yes. A lot. She was hanging out with a creepy guy who was taking pictures of us.
OLIVIA SMALLS: I remember that, too. He took pictures of everything. Mom introduced him as a custodian who worked with Mrs. Locke.
GRAHAM SMALLS: Small guy with a baseball cap? He was at Slap Pappy’s that night, but he left early. We had to kick him off the set earlier in the month, too. We said it was because he was too loud. But it was actually because he was creeping everyone out.
FREDERICK SMALLS: Why was Mom hanging out with a custodian who was taking pictures? Did you check on that guy, Officer Bellings?
OFFICER BELLINGS: Excuse me, but let’s get one thing straight here. I am the one asking the questions, understand? And, I am not at liberty to discuss the details of this case with anyone. We are aware of that particular individual, we checked on him, and we cleared him. Now, is there anything else you remember? I heard Mrs. Smalls threw a can of soda at you during dinner, Mr. Smalls. That seems pretty violent.
GRAHAM SMALLS: She was going through menopause. She had a lot of angry, irrational outbursts…
OFFICER BELLINGS: Let’s talk about those.
The rest of the interview seemed like a gang-up on Mandy and how she was going through empty-nest syndrome and menopause, like she was the perpetrator and not the victim.
Apparently, blame the victim was still in full force in Landover.
And, the police, themselves, seemed to be a huge part of the “small town hiding stuff.” I noticed Glen Bellings had gotten very defensive when asked about Hank. He had “checked on that individual and had cleared him,” yet there was nothing in Mandy’s case file about it.
I quickly popped my laptop open to see if anyone had messaged me back. No one had. There were too many people wanting to leave well enough alone here. Maybe I needed to think outside the main suspect group.
After a quick search, I found Hannah Jinard’s business page on Facebook. She was still an actress, but she didn’t have her mullet anymore.
I shot her a quick message that included my phone number before I left for work, even though I knew there was little chance she’d call me back.
It was about time I knew what happened on that set from a different perspective.
Chapter 24
Weapons of Misdirection
Rosalie was in a particularly good mood when I got to the Purple Pony later that day. She was smiling and humming while she put a stack of clothes back on the racks from the dressing room, something I knew she hated doing.
“Guess what I did last night?” She called to me from across the room as I put my stuff away in the back.
I was afraid to guess.
Thankfully, I didn’t have to. She went on. “I just made the best batch of special-blend bird repellant this town has ever seen.”
I didn’t bother to tell her that this town has only ever seen her special-blend bird repellant.
“I spent all night perfecting it, but, in the process, I developed a new method,” she said, fixing a turquoise silk blouse so it hung right on its hanger. “We’ll call it a secret method for making the recipe more concentrated. Stronger.”
She motioned to a cardboard box sitting open on the checkout counter. I peeked inside it. It was full of small cosmetic jars, stacked one on top of the other.
“Voila,” she said. “You’ll only have to slather on half the amount now, I think. It hasn’t been tested yet, but I’m sure it works.”
I wasn’t so sure anymore. Every time Rosalie changed one of her recipes, it seemed to change the outcome. She had recently added tea tree oil and other things to make the special-blend bird repellant less smelly, and now, it wasn’t just making birds attack random people, it was also making guest birds leave their guest houses. It seemed to be making them sick.
I picked up one of the jars. “So this is the special blend now? The jars are so small.”
“That’s the best part. Each jar is a ton smaller, but they’re only going to be a little cheaper, and they still cost me the same to make.” She winked, then hung up the blouse.
I stared at her a second. “I thought you were really only doing this to help people, not to make a buck off of them. And, you were already making a nice little buck, even without the new markup.”
She pointed at me like I was the one behind the new idea. “I started thinking about what you told me. If my bird repellant really is being used as a weapon by shapeshifters like you claim it is…” She paused to chuckle a little under her breath. “Then those shapeshifters should have to pay weapon prices, don’t you think? Weapons are not cheap. And they’re not cheap for a reason. If they were cheap, everyone would have them.”
I nodded like that was a go
od point, then put the jar back and picked up the entire box of bird repellant. “Should I put this in the back?”
“Nope. They’re my hot item now. We’re gonna put them front and center, on the shelf next to the gems. You can move half of those incense boxes to the back room.”
I turned so fast with the box, I almost dropped it, which would not have been a bad thing. “We both know this is going to make some people get attacked by birds, and that’s the best case scenario now.”
She shook her head. “That’s why I put a disclaimer on the back of every jar. How about that?” She tapped her head like she was proud of her thinking.
“Yes, how about that…” I said as I set the box down next to the gems and pulled out one of the small jars, turning it over in my hand. The writing on the back was so tiny, the average person would need a magnifying glass to see it.
But, I didn’t say anything. This is not your business, I told myself. If Rosalie wants to kill half the town, far be it from me to stop her. I only solve murder cases. It is beyond my pay grade to try to stop the murders from happening in the first place.
Jackson appeared by my side as I pulled incense boxes off the shelf under the gems, making a spot for the only product in the store that could go horribly wrong if actually purchased.
His coloring was good today. He ran a hand through his brownish gray hair. It didn’t move or change after he was done touching it.
“This reminds me of a certain Fembecalm case,” he said, referring to the “medicine” his great uncle sold in the early 1900s when he knew full well it did nothing but cause birth defects. “I thought you were outraged by that. How easily you switch sides,” he added.
“This is different,” I muttered. “There were no disclaimers back then.”
Rosalie was back to putting the clothes away from the dressing room. She motioned to me with the brown tie-dye dress hanging over her arm. “Did you say something?”
“Sorry, just talking to my ex.”
“Hello, Jackson,” she said, waving to a spot that was nowhere near him.
“Hello, Fruitcake. You’re looking especially crazy today,” Jackson replied because he knew she couldn’t hear him, but I was almost sure he would have said the same insult even if she could.
“He says hi back,” I said, without elaborating.
She went to hang the blouse up, but paused. “I thought you weren’t going to have ghosts travel on you to work unless you had to. You’re lucky we don’t have customers right now. It looks like you’re talking to yourself when you talk to ghosts.”
I thought about that one. “I must have forgotten my ghost repellant sachets,” I said, slipping my hand in my pocket just to check. I pulled out two.
My boss and I both turned to each other.
She nodded. “Time for a new batch, I see.”
Rosalie had warned me that the ghost repellant would lose its potency after a while. We’d always changed the strands along my bedroom door and the sachets out early enough not to have it matter. We’d missed the expiration date this time around, apparently.
“I’m going to whip up an extra-strong batch tonight, using my new technique,” she said to the spot where she thought Jackson was. “You probably heard me tell Carly that I’m getting good at making my recipes stronger. Like the bird repellant.”
“I also heard your recipes could make some people incredibly sick. I’m already dead. I wonder which one of us it would affect,” he said, turning to me. “Besides, why do you even need a ghost repellant? You could just try asking me not to tag along when you want privacy,” he added, then chuckled into his beard because we both knew he had no concept of boundaries even when he was living.
“When can I pick it up?” I asked Rosalie. “I need it as soon as possible. I’m already going to have to wear a bathing suit in the shower again.”
“I’ll let you know when it’s ready,” she said. She stopped putting away clothes and smiled at the ceiling. “I should bring some of my new bird repellant along to Bobby Junior’s birthday party.”
I stared at her.
“Don’t worry,” she said, sweeping a dreadlock from her face. “I’ll leave it in the trunk, only bring it out if someone asks me for it.”
This was getting out of control, and I wasn’t sure how to stop it.
“You’re going to that, right? I swear half the town is,” she said.
I nodded, almost dropping another jar. This time it was because I was just now remembering I told Justin I’d go shopping with him after work for Bobby’s present. I’d been so involved with my ghost case that I was neglecting my real life. And vice versa. I couldn’t blow off Mandy again, which meant I couldn’t spend the night with Justin.
Rosalie was still talking. “A one-year-old’s birthday party. What are we supposed to do there, besides try to sell some bird repellant? You’ll help me sell some, right?”
The wind chimes clanged, and we both looked up to see who was coming in. Paula Henkel, the owner of the bed-and-breakfast, passed under the glitter unicorn above the door of the shop. Rosalie forced a smile that looked more like she was holding in gas.
Rosalie and Paula did not get along.
“Got your message,” Paula said, her voice barely above an angry mumble. She was a squatty woman with spiky, bleach-blonde hair and a big attitude. “Heard my bird repellant is ready.”
“Ta-da.” Rosalie motioned toward the shelf with the small jars that I was still stacking.
“That’s it?” Paula hustled over to me and snatched a jar from off the shelf. “The big, bad bird repellant? There’s nothing in this. I heard it was much bigger. Who are you trying to scam?”
“I told you it was no longer a hundred dollars anymore. It’s only seventy-five now.”
“Seventy-five for this puny sample jar? I cannot believe I came all the way down here for this,” she said, like anything in this small town was that far from anything else.
“Take it or leave it,” Rosalie yelled, her hands on her hips. She looked around, then leaned in to Paula like she had a secret to share with the woman. “This is the highly concentrated, extra-strength version. The good stuff that will put a quick end to all your bird problems…”
She was sounding way too much like a weapons dealer.
My phone rang, and I ran to the back room to get it. “Sorry,” I told Rosalie. “I thought I turned it off.”
It was a lie. I actually knew I hadn’t turned it off. But, I couldn’t chance missing Dr. Dog if he called me back.
The ringing echoed through the metal cabinet where I stored my phone, and I yanked the door open, scooping it from the shelf, not even looking at who the call was, just wanting to pick it up before my voicemail kicked in.
“Is this Carly Taylor, the medium?” a woman’s voice said when I answered. It was soft and shaky, and I could barely hear her over the weapons negotiation going on in the other room. “I’m calling about Mandy Smalls. This is Hannah Jinard.”
Chapter 25
Negotiations
I pictured a young woman with a mullet as I talked, even though I knew she was a 50-something-year-old now with hair extensions.
Rosalie’s voice got louder in the other room, and I shoved my finger in my ear to try to drown it out.
“So, you’ve made contact with her ghost?” Hannah asked me.
“Yes,” I said with the most professional voice I could muster. “I’m only contacting you because I have Mandy’s file from the Landover Police Department where they say you were interviewed back then, but I don’t have the notes on the interview. So, I’d like to hear what you remember about the set of the movie.”
“Did you just say you’re working with the police department?” she asked.
I hesitated. Her voice almost sounded relieved to hear it, like working with the Landover Police Department added credibility to my profession and not the other way around.
“Yes,” I said. “I am working with Sheriff Caleb Bowman.”
> Rosalie’s voice rose to a new level in the background. “Well, I have never asked you to discount one of your bed-and-breakfast rooms when somebody comes to visit me.”
“You don’t need to. Nobody visits you…” Paula yelled back.
I moved closer to the bathroom so I wouldn’t hear them squabble so much.
“Thank you for calling me. Mandy remembers you fondly,” I lied. We’d never talked about Hannah.
I heard the long, wailing cries of a baby in the background. “Hold on,” she said. “I can’t talk long.”
“Your baby?” I asked.
“My granddaughter. I’m babysitting today.” She stepped away from the phone to calm the baby down, and I thought about that one.
How old was I going to be when I became a grandmother?
Then it hit me that I’d have to become a mother first.
I shook myself out of it and looked around Rosalie’s desk for a pen and paper. I could only find a stack of bright yellow sticky notes next to a sharpie. They’d have to do.
She came back on the line, still shushing the baby.
“What do you remember about the film?” I asked.