“How do you think the night is going now?” Lowe asked, sitting down next to me.
My mind was trying to wrap itself around what was happening. The one thing that was clear was that there was a Vixen at the party. If that weren’t bad enough, we had all eaten the food. Was the poison in that? We had prepared most of it ourselves. But what if we were all going to be murdered by Vixens?
It took me a few minutes to calm down again. I reminded myself that Bethel had too many spells cast around the cottage for me to be in any serious danger from poisons. Then, while I was trying to force air into my lungs, the lights came back on.
From the kitchen I could hear partygoers starting to mill around. They didn’t yet know what had happened, but they were getting anxious. At least with the lights on no one felt as trapped.
A flash of light burst from behind the window curtains as I waited on the couch. Lowe had gone over to speak with George and Quinn, and the flash made me start out of the concerned stupor I had fallen into.
Without a second thought I sprang to my feet just as Joy came in carrying a large suitcase.
“Boss,” she said to Quinn.
“Thanks for coming. Sorry for interrupting your evening,” he said.
“If only murderers ate dinner too,” said Joy. She was the most cheerful deputy I had ever met. She made her way over to the chest after acknowledging me with a glance.
She and Quinn instantly became engrossed in conversation with George about what had happened. The lights of the house, which normally felt cozy, now felt harsh as I waited for whatever would happen next.
I made my way into the kitchen to check on everyone. The throngs of people were growing restless, all except for a few who had fallen asleep. One guest was snoring in a corner by herself. Others turned to me looking for explanations.
“What’s happening?” Jackie asked. She looked especially ridiculous interrogating me with so many sparkles on her face.
“Nothing good,” I said. “I need to check on the unicorns.”
Kelly had gone to talk to her brother Kyle. Despite enjoying the party, he had been quiet all evening. Kelly was keeping a close eye on him.
“Be careful,” said Kelly as I moved past her.
“Feel free to explain things,” said Simmer to my back. I ignored her.
The cold air blasted into my face as I ran outside without a coat.
The cats had formed a protective circle around the unicorns. The white creatures themselves appeared unconcerned. Tiger was sitting in the snow, slowly swishing his tail. The other cats watched me curiously.
My breath formed thick clouds in front of my face as I took everything in.
Yelling behind me made me turn around and dash for the cottage, where I found everyone in the kitchen fighting to get to the front door. I could see Joy yelling, but I couldn’t understand what was happening. I pushed through the crowd to get back to the sitting room where the murder had taken place. Jackie must have gotten tired of not knowing what was going on, because she had also made for the sitting room. She was now standing open-mouthed in the doorway.
I pushed past Jackie and said, “Is everyone okay?”
Quinn and George looked up from trying to move the body, while more Vixen vapor uncurled from beneath it. Now there was no mystery at all as to who the murderer was. The Vixens had been in my home. They had killed the train conductor with the pixie cut.
Like a spellcast on top of my head, a question flashed in my mind. Who were the Vixens?
It turned out that the victim’s name was Sammy. I could tell because it was written on her shirt, though I hadn’t noticed it earlier. I hadn’t understood what she was doing at the party in the first place, but she had taken an interest in the unicorns and that was important to me, since I knew Bethel would appreciate it. My grandmother loved anyone who cared about the unicorns. On the other hand, the unicorns were like my crabby great aunt, judgmental and aloof all at once.
“The murderer was in your cottage. This changes everything,” said Quinn.
From the other room Joy yelled for assistance. She was trying to corral everyone who’d been at the party to stop them from leaving. Unfortunately for her, that was a lost cause.
“This is a police investigation. You can’t just leave,” she was saying to one of Kyle’s friends.
“It’s late and I’m tired. I was supposed to be home an hour ago. Just take my name and come talk to me tomorrow,” the guy said.
“He’s right. We should let everyone go home,” sighed Quinn. “They’re only going to be in the way at this point. Whoever did this is long gone by now. I can’t imagine he or she stuck around to see their handiwork.”
“Is there anything I can do?” asked Lisa, who had been waiting quietly in the kitchen with everyone else. I felt bad because she lived just across the street but didn’t feel like she could leave.
“I don’t think there’s anything anyone can do tonight,” I said.
“Care to tell us what happened?” Simmer asked.
“There has been an incident. We’re not going to say anything further about it at this time,” said Quinn.
Simmer gave him an unimpressed look, rolled her eyes, and sighed. “Fine. I have to get going anyway. Jade, you know where to find me. See you later, Jackie and Kelly.” She turned on her heel and walked away.
Lisa looked after her. “I didn’t know she’d be at the party,” Lisa said.
“Yeah, do you know her?” I asked my neighbor.
“You could say that,” said Lisa, who continued to watch Simmer walk away. Then she shrugged and smiled as if shaking off something unpleasant.
Meanwhile, Quinn looked at his deputy and said, “Joy, want to start taking people’s names? George and I will go back to dealing with what’s in the sitting room. I’m afraid it’s going to be a long night.”
“If it’s going to be a long night, what would you call what it’s already been?” Lowe asked.
“Excellent question,” said George. “And to think that I came to a party to have fun.”
I didn’t want to say this, but it did look like George was in his element. Not that he thought murder was fun, exactly, but he was clearly very good at his job. In fact, of all the attendees, he spent the most time around murderers. I really hoped he was on our side.
As people streamed out of the cottage, one person stopped to say, “Great party . . . except for whatever happened at the end there.”
I sighed as the cottage cleared, and gazed over at Lowe, who was looking just as worried and disgruntled as I felt. “I don’t know that we should do,” she said. “Should we phone Bethel now? I mean, there’s Vixen vapor in the cottage. That’s crazy. Nothing like that should ever have happened.”
“I don’t think we should call her right now. At this point there isn’t anything she can do, and she’s just going to be furious with us. She wanted to have a few days off, so let’s give them to her. Maybe by the time she comes back we will have figured everything out,” I said hopefully.
Lowe gave me a skeptical look but said, “Maybe that’s true. Maybe if we figure everything out before she comes home, she won’t be as angry. We’ll find out what happened and then we can tell her everything has been solved.”
We glanced toward the living room, where Sammy’s body was still being tended to. “Do you have any idea what she was doing here?” I whispered to Lowe.
My cousin shook her head. “Do you? I thought you must have invited her. I certainly didn’t.”
I shook my head too. “No, I didn’t invite her. I have no idea what she was doing here,” I whispered back.
Lowe looked just as worried as I was. It was entirely possible that Sammy had come because she was a friend of a friend. That made the most sense. Jackie had told me the names of the people she had invited, and I had recognized most of those names. I might not have known each person personally, but I had seen them around. This Sammy character was new. Where she had come from, and why, was a mystery
.
I yawned. It was very late.
“We’re going to move the body now,” said Quinn, coming in from the living room. “We can talk tomorrow. I’m sorry it happened tonight.” His eyes did look pained, and there was more than one reason why. He had been looking forward to a relaxing evening just as much as I had, but far more important, a person had died.
“Me too,” I said. “She seemed nice.”
Quinn nodded. “I need to hear every little detail tomorrow. Just get some rest first. There isn’t anything more we can do tonight anyway.”
He walked through the house, making sure everyone had left. Once he was satisfied, he was ready to go.
After George, Joy, and Quinn moved the body out of the house, they didn’t linger. They wanted to get Sammy away from the cottage, but the living room was now marked off as a crime scene. In the morning, Quinn and I would both start asking questions.
Who was Sammy?
Why was she in the cottage?
And most importantly, who killed her?
Chapter Ten
After Quinn and the others left, Lowe and I went to bed. The house was a complete and utter disaster, with the remains of the party scattered everywhere, but we were far too exhausted to deal with any of it that night. I wished I could perform a simple spellcast and have it all disappear, but we’d have to settle for the next best thing, which was to wait until morning and clean it ourselves, by hand.
I fell into an uneasy sleep. If I hadn’t been so tired, I probably wouldn’t have slept at all.
Eventually I awoke to a sort of rhythmic knocking. At first I rolled over and stuffed the nearest corner of the blanket over my head, but as the knocking persisted I woke up more and started to realize that someone was actually knocking on the front door.
I had barely slept, and I felt exhausted. The idea that someone had been murdered by the Vixens in my own living room was dragging me down, as well it should. I tumbled out of bed and tried to get dressed, but getting dressed when I was that tired was difficult.
First I tried to stuff my right foot into my left slipper. By the time I figured it out I had nearly toppled over the bed.
Then I put my cardigan on inside out.
When I made my way out of the bedroom at last, I nearly ran into Lowe. Her hair was standing up at all angles, her eyes were only half open, and she was swaying slightly from side to side. When she saw me she let out a big yawn.
“Did you sleep?” I asked.
She shook her head. “Hardly at all. Your hair looks terrible. Does mine look that bad?” She reached her hand up to the top of her head and her eyes opened slowly in dismay. “Oh, no. My hair actually looks worse.”
We made our way to the front door together. As the knocking had gone on it had somehow started to sound more irritated.
I peered through one of the side windows. I wasn’t going to open the door to just anyone. I saw a brilliantly cold day outside, and I also saw a man standing on the porch in a three-piece suit. He was very large and officious-looking, with a trimmed beard and mustache and a brown briefcase. He looked like the sort of person who put on a jovial front over nastiness underneath. But he definitely did not look like a Vixen, so I went ahead and opened the door.
“Morning,” said the man. Behind him, the pixies and fairies had stopped fighting and were staring at his back. One pixie was heroically making her way toward him. I knew all too well what she planned to do if she reached the unsuspecting visitor. We had only a matter of moments to find out what he wanted.
“Hello,” I said.
“I’m here from the trolley station,” he said, and smiled.
I wanted to say good for you, but I held myself in check and said, as civilly as I could, “What can we do for you?”
“It is my understanding that one of our trolley conductors was found dead here. I’m the lawyer for the company. My name is Fox Fairview. I wanted to discuss the matter with you,” he explained.
I raised my eyebrows. I could feel Lowe peering around my arm. “We haven’t even had a chance to discuss the matter with the police. How did you find out so quickly?” I asked him.
“Of course we found out immediately. The sheriff here is very good and has been working through the night. It was also in the morning papers. We already knew by then, though. It is imperative that I speak with you,” he said.
I glanced down at my pajamas. “We’re not exactly ready to speak at the moment. We just woke up. It was kind of a long and shocking night,” I told him, hoping he’d feel some sympathy for our situation.
The man frowned as if he were my kindergarten teacher and I was misbehaving. He just wanted to do his job, and he only felt sympathy for himself, and maybe the conglomerate he worked for.
“Very well,” he said. “I can see that I’m disturbing you. Here’s my business card. I would appreciate it if you would come by my office later today. This is of course an important matter and it must be handled delicately. You must be very upset. Still, we can’t afford to have gossip flying around. Like I said, it is very important that I speak with you as soon as possible. You as well,” he said over my shoulder. I felt Lowe try to retreat out of sight behind me.
Fox Fairview didn’t seem to notice. He stepped back and gave me a large smile. “This is certainly the sort of thing that we can figure out. I’m sure the sheriff will get to the bottom of it very soon. We at the trolley company strive to do the very best work possible,” he said.
“I’m sure you do,” I said.
“By the way, is this the cottage of the Rhinestones? Do you actually have unicorns?” he asked.
“Oh, yeah, this is the place for the unicorns,” I said.
“I’ve heard that they’re the most beautiful creatures. Maybe not the easiest to deal with, but then of course that’s where your family comes in. It’s curious that the trolley conductor was found here, where the unicorns live. I’ve never seen them myself,” he said.
If he was fishing for an invitation to look at the unicorns, I wasn’t playing. Instead I just stared at him, trying to look tired and pathetic. To be honest, it wasn’t difficult.
He kept standing on the porch, smiling.
The brave pixie inched ever closer.
Without knowing quite how to get rid of the man, I stood there as awkwardly as he was. Then something brushed against my leg, and I glanced down to find Tiger looking bigger and fluffier than usual. He came to standstill between me and the lawyer, then he did something that I had never seen before.
He hissed viciously.
“Nice, kitty kitty. Aren’t you . . . something,” said the man. He took a couple of steps back and said, “Well, I won’t keep you. I’m sure you’re looking forward to breakfast. Please come by my office. Until then have a wonderful day.”
As he left, the pixies and fairies closed in on him. They didn’t say a word, but they stood shoulder to shoulder in opposition to lawyers.
“I wonder if he handles their damage claims or something. Regardless, that did not go well,” said Lowe.
The second Fox Fairview was through the gate and heading down the lane, Tiger made his way back inside. I was just closing the front door when I saw the curtains move at Lisa and Lucky’s house. Apparently we had had an audience for our little visit.
Lacking the energy to talk to them right now, I shut the door and made my way to the kitchen. “I need the largest coffee ever. I might use a mixing bowl to make it, so prepare yourself,” said Lowe.
Something very strange was going on in Twinkleford.
Chapter Eleven
“You do coffee and all the fixings, and I’ll check on the unicorns while you’re working on that,” I said. My stomach was rumbling and I was very much looking forward to breakfast. “I always want to eat more when I’m tired, and I don’t think I’ve ever been more tired than I am right now.” I also liked to eat more when I was stressed, and a murder victim in our living room while we were having a party when my grandmother was out of town w
as the very definition of stress.
“Can you check the fire, too?” Lowe asked. It had nearly gone out in the night. Bethel usually tended it, and neither Lowe nor I was used to having to get up to tend it. It had again burned down to embers, and the kitchen was cold. Several cats had gathered in front of the woodstove, waiting for warmth, and Tiger went to join them after I had fed as many logs as possible into the firebox.
Neither Lowe nor I said a word while we worked on our respective tasks. It was almost as if there was too much to say, and we didn’t know where to start. It wasn’t until we were sitting down to our meal that Lowe said, “Last night feels like a dream. A bad dream. But I walked past the living room and saw the crime scene tape, so I guess it wasn’t a dream after all.”
“No, it wasn’t, and a lawyer showing up here proves that. I can’t believe he came here already. I can’t believe someone was murdered, probably by the Vixens, in our living room,” I said.
“We knew they were getting bolder. We just didn’t know how bold. We also don’t know why. What was the point of killing her here? What was she doing here to begin with? And why her?” Lowe asked desperately.
I shook my head. “I have no idea.” Then I told her about my interaction with Sammy, and how she had been very interested in the unicorns and had seemed nice, and how I hadn’t seen her talk to anyone else.
“Do you think the Vixens murdered the right victim?” Lowe asked.
I stared at her. This was not something I had thought of. “You mean maybe they meant to kill one of us? I doubt it. Whoever the Vixens are, they’re powerful and efficient. They wouldn’t get something like that wrong.”
Lowe didn’t look convinced, but we let the topic go for the moment.
“We’re definitely going to have to do some snooping. Once I’m awake and I’ve finished all this coffee, I want to go see that lawyer. I want to know what he knows,” said Lowe.
I wanted the same thing. Snooping might not be the best use of my time, but it was necessary. There had been a murder at our cottage, right near the unicorns. We needed to know what had happened. “I also need to get in touch with Quinn. He’ll want to talk to us this morning,” I said.
The Rhinestone Witches Omnibus: Books 1-3 Page 52