A Pink Potion Gone Wrong

by Vella Day

  “Don’t we all.” If she didn’t know what her husband was hiding, nor where the necklaces were, I didn’t think she could help us anymore. “Thank you for talking with us.”

  “Are you going to tell the cops where I am?”

  “I won’t say anything, but if we found you, they won’t be far behind. You might want to give Sandy Vickers a call. She needs to speak with you.”

  This time, she reached out and cupped my hand. “Thank you, and I will contact our lawyer.”

  I figured if she was guilty, she’d move tonight. Right now, I wasn’t in the mood to keep watch on her. “I guess you’re going to put the farm up for sale then?” I asked.

  “In due time.”

  “What about Charles? Would he want the farm?” It was possible, he’d be in line to inherit it if he was Floyd’s brother.

  “I don’t know, but even if he did, that would be a hard no. Now if you would excuse me, I need to go to the store for some food.”

  That was lame, but she had taken the time to talk to us. I wish Penny had been with us, since she was so good knowing if a person was lying. Sure, she’d goofed with the deputy’s killer, but I hoped that was a one-time event. For now, I chose to believe Emma. “In case you think of something, let’s exchange phone numbers.”

  She hesitated but then gave in.

  With her phone number stored on my phone, Jaxson and I thanked her again and left. Once in the car, I asked for his take.

  “It’s hard to say. She seems fairly clueless about what her husband was up to. If my spouse left every month for some retreat, I might be tempted to follow her.”

  I chuckled. “That makes two of us. I wonder if Charles knows something.”

  “Why would he?” Jaxson asked. “Those two didn’t get along.”

  “I know, but something bothers me. I just can’t figure out what it is.”

  “Tomorrow is my day off. What do you say we try to contact Trevor? If he can help keep Morgan up and running for longer than a minute, it could be very helpful,” Jaxson said.

  “I have off tomorrow too, and that’s a great idea. If anyone will know about Floyd’s secret, it will be Morgan.”

  Jaxson smiled. “Tomorrow it is. Maybe you can call Trevor and ask if he can meet us in Witch’s Cove.”

  “I will, though I’m not sure how long Trevor said he’d be in Liberty.”

  Jaxson smiled. “You won’t know until you call him.”

  “Fine. I’ll ask if he can meet us tomorrow at say, noon?”

  “Works for me,” Jaxson said.

  I pulled in front of the store and let him out. “Thanks for coming with me.”

  “I enjoyed it.” Jaxson headed back inside. I really appreciated that Drake was willing to let his brother come on my adventure, especially when the shop was bound to be busy.

  Because Aunt Fern had probably crawled into bed to watch some of her television shows, I didn’t want to disturb her, but when I entered my apartment, who should be feeding Iggy and Aimee but my aunt. “This is a surprise,” I said.

  “Oh, I hope you don’t mind, dear. Harold was trying to sleep and Aimee here was a bit chatty.”

  Okay. Maybe my aunt was losing it. Even if Iggy and I could see Uncle Harold, that didn’t mean I believed a ghost needed quiet time to sleep. Heck, I didn’t even think ghosts slept at all.

  “What did you learn?” Iggy asked.

  I detailed everything I could—that was, all but my visit to Gertrude Poole. Iggy would be upset that I didn’t believe he’d done a good job, when in reality he had. “I’m about to call Trevor Whitehall and ask if he’d be willing to join Jaxson and me tomorrow for a chat with Morgan. If he’s around his twin, I’m hoping he’ll be visible longer.”

  “What do you think Morgan can tell you?” Aunt Fern asked.

  “I’m hoping I’ll learn why Floyd Paxton needed spells put on two necklaces. I also want to know where those necklaces are.”

  “That sounds like a good idea,” she said.

  Iggy jumped down from his stool where he was eating some arugula leaves. “I’m coming with you. I can see ghosts. I’ll be able to talk to him.”

  Iggy had a point. It might even take less energy for Morgan to talk to Iggy than to me. “Sounds good.”

  He performed two tight circles. “I can’t wait.”

  We all laughed. Tomorrow would be a very interesting day.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Where is he?” I asked, as I paced in front of my car.

  “Calm down. He’ll be here,” Jaxson said.

  “Trevor said he was coming from Pine Grove, and that he’d leave at nine this morning to make it in time. He should have been here thirty minutes ago.”

  Jaxson looked around. “I doubt Morgan is just sitting around waiting to appear.”

  I still didn’t have a good grasp on what ghosts could or couldn’t do. “I don’t see Morgan, though I didn’t call to him either. The first time we met he was just there.” Iggy leapt from the front seat to the pavement. “Where are you going?” I asked.

  “I might be able to sense him better than you humans.”

  “Sounds reasonable, but don’t go too far. Once Trevor arrives, I’ll need you to help me.”

  He lifted a toe to his face and then placed it back on the pavement. I’m guessing it was as close to a salute as he could give. Iggy trotted off. Knowing my familiar, he would try to talk to Morgan, but I had no idea if he could conjure up the ghost or not.

  At quarter to one, I called Trevor again.

  “Hey,” he said. “I am so sorry. I was on my way to Witch’s Cove when I got an emergency call from a hospital. One of the machines I sold them broke, and they need it repaired immediately. Can we do this another time?”

  I swallowed my disappointment. “Ah, sure. I don’t think Morgan is going anywhere.” I looked up at Jaxson. He tilted his head with partially closed eyes. I didn’t like the look. “Call when you can reschedule.”

  “I will.” He disconnected. I pocketed my phone and told Jaxson the news. “Maybe we should contact Morgan anyway.”

  “Or we could ask Emma if she’d be willing to be a ghost booster of sorts. She’s a relative, and she seemed willing to help before.”

  “I hate to disturb her, but it might give her some closure if she could talk to him one more time—through me, of course. I doubt she had the chance to say a proper goodbye.”

  Jaxson placed a hand on my shoulder. “I totally agree. I mean, if you could once more talk to someone who’d passed, wouldn’t you jump at the chance?”

  My hand automatically clasped my pink diamond that I always wore around my neck, and tears welled in my eyes. “Yes. My grandmother.”

  “There you go. All Emma can say is no. Call her.”

  “I wish I knew what to say.”

  Jaxson peered down at me. “How about the truth? Anytime anyone is totally honest with me, I tend to give in.”

  I never would have guessed Jaxson was such a softy. “Okay, but let’s sit in the car. It’s hot in the sun.” I pulled out my phone, found Emma’s number and called her, though I wasn’t sure she’d even answer.

  It rang and rang. Finally, she picked up. “Glinda, is everything okay?”

  “Yes and no.” I explained about wanting to talk with Morgan. “He has a hard time staying in his human-like form. I’ve heard if someone related to him is close by, he can draw energy from that person. I asked his twin brother to meet us, but he had an emergency he had to attend to. I was wondering if maybe you could meet us in Witch’s Cove.”

  “You’ve spoken with Andy?”

  “Andy? Ah…his name is Trevor.”

  “I’m afraid you’re mistaken. Whatever name he is using, don’t trust him. He’s trouble.”

  My heart raced at the speed of light. Needing some support, I immediately put the phone on speaker so Jaxson could hear. “What can you tell me about Morgan’s twin?”

  “He and Morgan don’t speak, but I know Andy ha
s been in and out of jail for the last ten years.”

  Whoa! “He told me he was a medical sales representative and that he was never told he had a twin brother.”

  Emma’s laugh sounded like it came from my arch nemesis, the Wicked Witch of the West. “Andy lied. He’s good at that. Have you met him?”

  “Yes.” I tried to remember the exact day we saw him on the courthouse steps, but this past week had been a blur. “He said he had no idea that he even had a twin until he saw Morgan’s picture in the paper or on the TV, I can’t remember which.”

  “You need to tell the police.”

  Jaxson leaned over. “Jaxson here. What would we tell them? Do you know if he’s done anything illegal?”

  “No, but I’m sure he has.”

  The problem was that we needed proof before Steve could do anything. Only then did I remember that when I was about to tell Morgan about his twin brother that the ghost disappeared. My mother had communicated with Morgan and had mentioned his twin, but I have no idea his response. “We really need you to help us keep Morgan visible. He might know what his brother is up to.”

  “I don’t think he’s seen Andy in a long time, but I’m willing to try. Where should we meet?”

  Considering Morgan didn’t know who’d shot him, he couldn’t point a finger at his brother. Even if he could, his testimony wouldn’t be admissible in court.

  “How about the parking lot next to the Bubbling Cauldron Coffee Shop? You don’t even need to get out of your car. At least I don’t think you do.”

  “I’ll leave right now.”

  “Thank you.”

  As soon as I hung, up, Iggy came prancing out, his head high. I knew that look. “Morgan and I had a nice chat,” he bragged.

  “What? I hope you didn’t wear him out.”

  “I don’t know if I did, but did you know he knows all about his brother? Morgan says his name is Andy, not Trevor.”

  “I just learned that fact too. What did he say about him?” I could tell this would take a while and require several bribes to get him to reveal everything.”

  Jaxson touched my shoulder. “What is Iggy saying?”

  I forgot that since Jaxson wasn’t a warlock, he couldn’t hear the little scoundrel. I relayed Iggy’s comments. “I’ll try to repeat the information.” I looked over at Iggy. “Tell me more.”

  “Morgan was being a bit tight-lipped, if ghosts even have lips. Before we talked about Andy, I asked about the spell on the necklaces, and he said that his uncle gave him one of the necklaces, because if he should ever need money, he could sell it to one of his clan members for a really high price.”

  I repeated what Iggy said. “Clan member? Did Morgan tell you whether his uncle was in a motorcycle gang or something?” I asked.

  “He wasn’t specific. All Morgan said was that Floyd met with them every month.”

  “Where?”

  “In the Hendrian National Forest.” He stood taller. “Where I used to live.”

  He didn’t have to say when he used to be green. I turned to Jaxson. “Do you know anything about a gang meeting in the Hendrian National Forest every month? I didn’t realize there were a lot of trails for motorcycles in there.”

  “I think motorcycle enthusiasts don’t care about trails. Florida is flat, which works well for them,” Jaxson said. “But no, I haven’t heard about any gangs near there—even when I was in prison.”

  I looked back down at Iggy. “Anything else?”

  “His brother is trouble. Morgan said that Andy visited his Uncle Floyd one time, reminding him that he was three minutes older than Morgan, and that if anyone was to inherit the farm, it should be him.”

  I swallowed hard. Once more I told Jaxson the information.

  “Do you think Trevor, or rather Andy, killed Morgan?” Jaxson asked.

  I answered, even though his question might have been addressed to Iggy. “It’s possible. It might be why he decided not to come today. He feared his dead brother would out him.”

  Jaxson slapped his thigh. “If Andy killed Morgan over the farm—which we don’t know is true—he might come after Emma next.”

  A band squeezed tight around my chest. “You’re right. I should warn her.”

  “When she gets here, we’ll tell her. I don’t think Andy knows where she’s been staying, or he would have killed her by now.”

  “I’m not sure he would have—at least I don’t think he’d shoot her in the back. That would put the spotlight on him too much. He might have assumed he would be next in line since Emma had disappeared months before. We need to do something to help.”

  “I think you should tell Steve,” Jaxson said.

  “And tell him what?”

  “That you found Emma, and you believe Morgan’s twin might have killed him. Tell him that Andy might even be after Emma as we speak.”

  Even I knew that wouldn’t go over well. If Steve didn’t think I was a crackpot before, he’d think it after I told him that bit of news. However, if what we conjectured was true, and Trevor harmed Emma, I couldn’t live with myself. “Okay.” I slipped out of the front seat. “Wish me luck.”

  “Luck. I’ll keep Emma safe should she arrive before you get back.”

  I rushed off to the sheriff’s department, hoping Iggy would be okay staying with Jaxson.

  When I entered the office, I was surprised to see Pearl at her desk. I thought she took Sunday’s off.

  Steve’s grandmother looked up. “Oh, my. What happened? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

  Normally, that would have been funny, but not today. “I wish. I think Emma Paxton might be in trouble.”

  “Emma is alive?”

  My aunt was slipping if she didn’t let the gossip queens know. “Yes, and she’s on her way here as we speak. Is the sheriff around?”

  “No, hon. He had a domestic dispute he needed to deal with.”

  “I have to call him.”

  If Andy found out about Emma coming here, he might show up, and I’d need Steve to interfere. Though shooting Emma in the middle of town would be the dumbest thing Morgan’s twin could do. It was possible that if he somehow learned of our meeting, he’d hang out nearby to see if we contacted Morgan.

  “I’ll give Steve a shout for you,” Pearl said.

  I jerked back to the present. “Thanks. Tell him I have some information on Morgan’s murder.”

  Before she had the chance to ask me what that was, I rushed back to the parking lot. Thank goodness Jaxson had come with me today. I could only hope that if Andy showed up there wouldn’t be any violence. On the plus side, Jaxson had a lot more muscles than Morgan’s brother despite both having served time.

  “What did Steve say?” Jaxson asked.

  “He wasn’t there, but Pearl is calling him to let him know we need him.”

  “Good. So now what?” Jaxson asked.

  “We need to wait for Emma and see what Morgan can tell us.”

  As if I’d conjured her, she arrived and immediately jumped out of the car. I guess, she didn’t care if anyone saw her.

  “Is Morgan here?” she asked looking around.

  “I haven’t called him yet.” There was no need to say Iggy had already spoken with him. “I need to ask him a few questions before you converse with him. Okay?”

  She nodded. “I understand.”

  “Good.” I inhaled and faced Emma. “I’m going to call Morgan, but I’ll pretend to be talking to you.”

  To her credit, she didn’t bat an eye. “That way no one will know you’re contacting a ghost, right?”

  “Exactly.” I called Morgan’s name a few times. Five seconds later, he materialized right next to Emma. I grinned. “He’s here.”

  Morgan looked over at me. “I can’t believe Aunt Emma is here.”

  “She wanted to say her goodbyes.” I wasn’t sure that was true, but I bet it was. “I’ve heard that you can draw on her energy to help stay in your kind-of-human form longer.”

&nbs
p; “Really? Who knew?”

  “I know, right? I’m not sure how you do it, though. You’ll have to experiment a bit.”

  Emma looked over at me. “What did he say?”

  “He’s really excited to see you. Morgan is now wrapping an arm around your shoulders. Oh, my, I can see him better now.”

  Morgan smiled for the first time. He was a handsome man. It was such a shame someone killed him. “Are you feeling better?” I asked him.

  “Yes, much.”

  Emma looked right and the left. “I felt a chill, but I can’t see him.”

  “That means he’s here. If you feel a little queasy, that’s to be expected,” I told her. Not wanting to waste his energy, I turned back to Morgan. “I’m afraid I found out I was duped by your twin brother.”

  He laughed, or rather what I thought sounded like a rueful laugh came from his open mouth. “Don’t believe anything that scoundrel tells you. One time, he visited Uncle Floyd and pretended to be me. Trust me when I say it didn’t turn out well. The worse part was that my uncle told Andy about these necklaces and just how special they were. Uncle Floyd never would have revealed that secret to Andy.”

  When he said nothing else, I needed to urge him on. I had no idea how long he’d be able to communicate. “Yikes.”

  “What did Morgan say?” Emma asked.

  I kept forgetting that no one could hear Morgan but me and Iggy. When I mentioned the necklaces, her face turned beet red. “That little jerk.”

  I would have used stronger words. “I agree.” I turned back to Morgan. “Do you know where the necklaces are now?”

  “I do.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  I held my breath, waiting for Morgan to tell me where to find the necklaces. I figured if I could see one, I might be able to understand what it could do.

  “I don’t know what happened to the necklace around my uncle’s neck, but he gave me the other one.”

  The problem was that whoever had shot him might have robbed his house for that necklace. I had to tell him. “There was a break-in at your house after your death. The necklace might have been stolen.” I repeated to the others what he’d said.