A Killer Tail

by Addison Moore

  “I know,” he whispers. “But I don’t want you to. I don’t want you anywhere near the realm of danger, Bizzy. I can talk to Thomas alone.”

  My lips twitch as I look up at him.

  “No problem.” I give a little shrug as if I were indifferent. “I hope he tells you exactly what you want to know.”

  “I hope so, too. If anything, we know he was close to Wyatt.”

  “Yes. Just how close?” I glance down at the ring with its prominent black stone and that silver slash across the middle.

  While Jasper talks to Thomas Dean, I’ll talk to someone who was close to Wyatt myself—his girlfriend.

  Molly Shay, here I come.

  Chapter 7

  Molly Shay was easier to track down than I would have thought. It turns out, Molly works in the next seedy town over, Edison, in a bookstore called the Mystic Eye.

  The walls and ceiling are painted black with rhinestones adhered every which way to give you that galaxy appeal—a decorating doppelgänger to the interior of Killer Books, and it makes sense, considering Wyatt told me himself he and his girlfriend were responsible for the décor. But, unlike Wyatt’s mystery haven, this place is chock-full of books of a nefarious nature.

  There are sections on the new mind, pathways to the light, New Age ideas and big thinkers, how to tap into the future, and what your spiritual color wheel says about you. There’s also a simple section on love, and it seems odd, almost out of place, in this mystical world of New Age self-help mumbo jumbo.

  One thing’s for sure, the Mystic Eye is twice as creepy as Killer Books could ever hope to be. Strange music filters through the speakers, something high and airy like a somber flute solo, while a handful of customers mill around, poking at the books as if trying to antagonize them. And the scent of incense burning clogs up the air with its smoky exotic appeal.

  Georgie and Juni grunt and groan as they look around. As soon as Jasper left for work this morning, I scooped up Fish and put her in a baby carrier, a cloth strip that sits across my chest like a front-facing papoose. That move alone tipped off the mother-daughter duo, and the two of them knew something sinister was afoot. Once they heard the word mystic, both Georgie and Juni were on board for whatever shenanigans were lying in wait.

  They quickly donned their matching tie-dyed kaftans, a swirling psychedelic rainbow in hues of purple, red, and blue, and here we are in the entryway of a rather cozy shop, overstuffed with ominous books and large framed pictures of different mystical landscapes.

  Fish pokes her furry little head out of the cloth papoose and takes a look around. I really do love holding her this way. Not only can I feel the warmth of her body against mine, but her purring vibrates right through my bones and lets me know she’s happy to be here.

  A bookshop? Her left ear twitches. It looks as if Molly had a lot in common with the deceased.

  “More than you know,” I whisper. “This place looks identical to Killer Books.”

  Juni sucks in a breath. “They’ve got bargain bin boxes in the back. You know I can’t pass up a good deal.”

  Georgie is quick to link arms with her not-so mini-me and pull her in close.

  “Not so fast, missy. The last time you hit the bargain bins, you came home with three boxes of motor oil and two crates of rotten apples. My tiny cottage can only hold so much.”

  I pull a tight smile. “On the plus side, your car will be lubed well into the next decade.”

  A tall man, heavyset, with a red beard and matching hair heads our way. He’s dressed in black pants, a white frilly dress shirt, and a black vest. There’s something theatrical about him, about this entire place, and suddenly it feels as if we’ve stepped onto a stage in the middle of a play and we’re trying to feel our way through it.

  “Welcome to the Mystic Eye,” he says with a cheery tone. “I’m Brad, the manager. How can I help you?”

  “Yes,” I say, unsure of which direction my words should go in next.

  I suppose after all of the suspects I’ve questioned, I should be well aware that I need to go into a situation like this with a plan, but for some reason, the excitement of showing up unexpected on a suspect’s proverbial doorstep has me temporarily blinded to the details, like this one, for instance.

  Fish yowls. For goodness’ sake, Bizzy, introduce yourself.

  “I’m Bizzy Baker,” I say, blinking to life. “And these are my friends, Georgie and Juni. We were just looking for—”

  Fish taps her paw to my chest. Something for me?

  “Something for my cat.” I cringe as soon as the words leave my mouth. I probably shouldn’t have led with that.

  “Your cat?” Brad inches back a moment before peering over at Fish. A genuine smile erupts from him, warm and kind. “Hey there, little guy. What’s going on? You need a spiritual attitude adjustment? Wish I could say you were the first.” He looks my way. “Pet auras and other animal kingdom inquiries are on the far wall.”

  Juni tosses her hands in the air. “I’ve been looking for these answers my entire life. Every dog I’ve owned has liked my exes better than me, and I’m about to find out why.” She takes off.

  Georgie lifts a crooked finger at the man before us. “You got anything on the soul of an artist?”

  He glances to the books on the table in front of us. “I’ve got a book on the seven principle talents. They say most people have at least one of the talents listed in the book. But I’ve got a sneaking suspicion you’ve got all seven.”

  Georgie belts out a laugh. “And I’ve got a sneaking suspicion you’re a flirt. Keep up the good work, handsome. It will get you everywhere.” Georgie dives right over to the nearest table and begins plowing through the iridescent navy book in search of validation she really doesn’t need.

  Brad shakes his head her way. That is one fine-looking mama. I wonder if she’d mind if I slipped her my number? I wouldn’t mind getting everywhere with her—with just about anyone.

  “Nice,” I say as I let out a breath of frustration.

  Brad tips his chin my way. “Anything else for you and the cat?” He pats Fish’s forehead with his finger.

  “Actually, I was wondering if Molly was here?” A part of me is hoping she’s not. I have a feeling I might get further probing Brad. Or in the least Georgie might.

  His demeanor shifts on a dime and he grunts at the thought of her.

  “She’s in the back. Want me to get her?”

  “The back?” Do I want him to get her? I mean, it’s not like I know her. “Um—”

  Before I can answer, Molly heads this way with her shock of dark hair looking a bit wilder and frizzier than I remember. She has dark circles under her eyes and her clothes look wrinkled. Grief will do that to a person. I’m shocked she even bothered to show up at work today.

  Brad waves her over. “I think we’ve got some customers for you.”

  Molly rolls her eyes as she clutches a book in her hand. Here we go again. Another housewife who wants to know if her husband is cheating on her. Maybe I’ll think up something extra juicy to tell her. Heck, maybe I’ll throw the old lady in the crazy dress under the bus while I’m at it and pin her as the other woman. Oddly enough, she looks like Brad’s type. I bet he’s already thinking of giving her his number.

  Great. I shake my head ever so slightly. Sounds like we’ve got a fake psychic on our hands. It’s good to know she takes advantage of people for a living.

  “Hey.” Molly shrugs my way before her eyes steady over my features and grow in size. “Is it you?” she howls in an accusing tone.

  Fish sinks back into her pouch. Let me know when you need me to claw her eyes out.

  A sign to the left catches my attention. Palm reading, first ten minutes free. I tip my head curiously at the woman.

  “Oh? Are you the palm reader?”

  She gives a stunted nod.

  “My friend was hoping to talk to you.” I force my mouth to fall open. “Hey, wait a minute. You’re the girl from the other n
ight, aren’t you?” Honestly, this couldn’t have worked out better if I had planned it.

  Molly glances to Brad in a threatening manner, and he lifts his hands before heading to the front to help the customers congregating around the cash register.

  She takes a step my way and Fish pokes her head out once again.

  Something tells me I’d better keep an eye on this one.

  I give Fish a little pat on the head because I’m afraid she might be right. There’s just something off about Molly, and I can’t quite put my finger on it.

  She nods me closer to the table where Georgie seems to have lost herself in one of those self-help books.

  “So they haven’t arrested you yet, huh?” Molly’s lips curl my way as if she thought it was funny.

  “No,” I say. “And they won’t. I didn’t do it. How are you holding up?”

  She takes a full breath and her bright crimson lips quiver as if she were about to say something but decided to hold back. She gives Fish a quick scratch between the ears instead.

  “Cool cat. I’m thinking about getting one.” Come to think of it, I should have gotten a cat instead of a boyfriend. Cats don’t jerk you around. And if they reject you, it’s because they want space—not because they’re done with you.

  I nod to myself. “You should definitely get a cat. There’s no better unconditional love. I’m surprised you’re at work. I can’t imagine losing someone close to you like that and then being able to concentrate.”

  She gives a few rapid blinks. “Wyatt was everything to me. Too much of everything.” She slams the book in her hand down hard onto the table. “He was always trying to weasel his way away from me. So passive. Always so kind on the surface but ready to bolt the second a skirt walked into the picture.”

  Georgie lets out a husky laugh, and I shake my head at her.

  No, no, Georgie. I beg of you, do not interject. The woman is speaking to me, and I am on a roll.

  Fish mewls. Don’t worry, Bizzy. I have a feeling good things will come from this.

  I wish I shared the furry feline’s delusion.

  “I hear you, honey.” Georgie heads over. “All of my exes left me for a girl in a shorter skirt. Men can be such dogs. They’re insults to the entire canine community.”

  Juni rushes over with a stack of books in her hands. “Don’t you go men bashing without me. And you leave innocent pet pooches out of this. If any of my dogs were men, they would have all shared the remote with me. Don’t get me started on sitting in front of the TV watching sports while a stack of dirty dishes waits for me in the kitchen.”

  Molly nods knowingly. “My ex did that, too, and I hated it. I felt like some indentured servant running the house.”

  Juni cocks her head with a look of slight confusion. “I was the one watching TV, but it’s the same principle.”

  Good Lord.

  I shoot a weak smile over to Molly.

  “Say!” Georgie howls so loud, ten different people crane their neck this way. “Weren’t you at Killer Books the night of the murder?”

  “Georgie.” I tick my head.

  Molly shrugs. “No, that’s okay. Wyatt was my boyfriend. I thought we were going to get married and have two point five children, a white picket fence, the whole nine yards—but then he had to go do this to me.”

  Fish twitches her head my way. She’s not talking about the fact he died, is she?

  My mouth squares out because I sort of think she is.

  Juni leans in. “How exactly does one have two point five children?” Her body jerks. “Oh, I get it. You send one away to live with Grandma. My mother did that.” She shoots a quick look to Georgie.

  “And it did you a world of good.” Georgie winks over at Molly. “This little stinker had it coming.”

  “So Molly”—I say, trying to wrangle back the conversation in an investigative direction—“does the sheriff’s department have any answers for you? What do you think happened?”

  Molly all but growls. “It’s obvious what happened. Someone got ahold of the knife and went after Wyatt like a human piñata.”

  Fish rises from her pouch a notch. Sounds as if she’s trying to make light of it. Maybe that’s how she grieves? Or maybe she’s cold and unfeeling because she’s the one that used him as the human piñata.

  I give a slight nod, affirming her thoughts.

  “But it was so very brazen.” I shake my head. “If someone had a vendetta against the poor man, why choose that night? With so many witnesses around.”

  Juni shakes her head. “It was dark. We were playing a game that centered on murder. People were expecting a horrible death. People were practically cheering for it. If you ask me, it was the perfect crime.”

  Molly shifts as she straightens the books before her. I couldn’t agree more.

  And just like that, Molly Shay bumps up to the top of my suspect list.

  “Molly”—I step in close—“what about Thomas Dean? Do you think he could have done something like this?”

  She makes a face. “Calm Tom?” She glances to the ceiling. “He’s not exactly the knife-you-in-the-back type.”

  Was Wyatt knifed in the back? There was blood everywhere. I’ll have to ask Jasper when I get a chance. I’m sure that’s something the killer would know, too.

  I clear my throat. “Did Thomas know Wyatt very well?”

  Juni clucks her tongue. “Aw, come on, Biz. Didn’t you say they went to college together? Cut to the chase.”

  My eyes expand as I look her way, and Georgie mumbles something about a strange talent before she spins her jabber-jaw daughter around and they bury their noses in a book.

  “Oh, that’s right.” I shake my head. “Wyatt introduced me to Thomas. I think he mentioned something about a university.” Note to self: Juni is forever banned from any further investigations.

  Molly casts a quick glance to the door. Wasn’t I there when Wyatt introduced them? I don’t remember anything about a university. But then, my head was all over the place. I was a woman on a mission, and I completely focused on the task at hand.

  Fish squirms as I tip my head back and take a breath. She’s thinking of something incriminating, wasn’t she?

  I give a slight nod to the intuitive ball of fur.

  Molly shrugs. “Yeah, I think they went to school together.”

  “What school was it again?”

  Molly squints my way, and I know I have less than a second to defuse her suspicion.

  “I went to Dexter and my fiancé went to Ward,” I say. “We’re rivals in that sense.” I never finished at Dexter, but that’s beside the point.

  Molly makes a face. “I never understood all that rivalry bologna. Wyatt went to Somerset down in New York. Thomas went there, too. They never really talked about it, but there was this weird tension between them lately. They had an argument last week in the break room, and I heard Wyatt tell him to forget about it.”

  “What did Thomas say to that?”

  She shudders. “He said two people could keep a secret if one of them was dead.” She shrugs. “Some old Shakespeare quote, I think.”

  “Dark words.” But she, or Thomas, got the quote wrong. It’s three can keep a secret if two of them are dead. And it’s not from Shakespeare. It’s Benjamin Franklin who said it, but something tells me this isn’t the time to be a know-it-all.

  “But Thomas didn’t kill Wyatt,” she insists. “He’d be at the bottom of the list if I was that handsome homicide detective. Did you see that side of beef? Woo—wee.” She fans herself with her fingers in Jasper’s honor. “That man can interrogate me into the early hours of the night.”

  Fish lets out a riotous screech. I’m about to pounce.

  Molly wiggles her finger over Fish’s nose. “Hey, little guy. What are you getting so worked up about?”

  “It’s a girl,” I say with a note of laughter. “And she’s probably just hungry.”

  Fish mewls. Now that you mention it, I can go for a tuna salad.<
br />
  “Speaking of eating.” Molly checks her phone. “I’ve got a hot date in about fifteen minutes.”

  “A date?”

  She wrinkles her nose. “Some guy I met at the funeral home offered to buy me coffee.” Wyatt may have left me, but I’m getting the last laugh. Or should I say last cup of coffee? “I’ve still got a few minutes, though. I can do a quick reading for you and your friends. I’ll throw it in as a freebie since you knew Wyatt.”

  “Yes!” Georgie shrieks as she and Juni head on over, palms up with expectant, yet hopeful, looks in their eyes.

  Molly pulls Juni’s hand close. I bet the old hag wants to hear something salacious.

  “There’s a man who is very interested in you,” she says with a devilish gleam in her lying eyes. “Expect a phone call within the next seventy-two hours.”

  Juni grunts as she takes her hand back. “Leave it to Spike to turn into a stalker. I’d better dump him before he gets too serious.”

  “Me, me.” Georgie waves her hand wildly in Molly’s face.

  Molly pulls it to her and examines Georgie’s palm while turning her head from left to right.

  “Wow, you’ve really been places.” I may blow hot air at people for a living, but this woman really does have interesting lines. “You’re going to be famous.” She nods to Georgie. “Like TV and everything. And there’s something about you that men are just drawn to. Much younger men. In fact, one of them is going to slip you his number very, very soon.” You owe me one, Brad. “And if you don’t go out with him, you could be missing your destiny forever.”

  Georgie gasps, “You hear that, Bizzy? I’m getting a man! A young man!”

  “I thought you were averse to men?” I couldn’t help but point it out after her aforementioned outburst against the gender.

  “Only the men of my past.” Georgie pulls a compact out of her purse and begins to primp her hair.

  Juni nods to Molly. “What about Bizzy?”

  Molly picks up my left hand and squints down at it. What in the heck? Her eyes meet with mine for a moment. I’ve read a lot of books on the topic—she shakes her head—but this isn’t anything like I’ve ever seen.