The Mushroom Mystery

by Agnes Lester Brown

  “There was an intruder in my room,” Fae snarled. She sniffed the air. “Smell that? That’s pure evil.”

  Lori vaguely recognized the smell as similar to the peculiar scent she’d smelled on the first day of the convention. But then, Fae’s room was full of all sorts of smells.

  Hazel also sniffed around, and then opened the cupboard where she knew Fae kept her stash of potions. As she opened the door, a stuffed suitcase fell from the top shelf and burst open as it struck the floor. Dozens of small tins, bottles, and pouches rolled over the floorboards, and a cloud of purplish dust rose from the inside of the suitcase. “Mother! I told you not to keep old potions in the house!” She grabbed a sneezing Rosie by the shoulder and maneuvered her away from the suitcase. ”Careful of those fumes,“ she warned. “Heaven knows what they’ll cause.” Hazel gave Fae a stern look. “I’m throwing this lot out tomorrow, and no ifs, ands, or buts.”

  “Did anyone else see Istvan coming down the stairs earlier tonight? Lori looked at everyone, but they shook their heads. ”He said he was going to the bathroom, but then disappeared into the house somewhere.“

  ”Istvan was really helpful. He gave me lots of advice on designing databases and web pages,” Rosie said. “I’ve met a few creepy guys, and Istvan’s nothing like them.”

  “Someone was here,” Fae insisted. She pointed to the cupboard door Hazel had opened. “That door was open when I got to my room, and I had to cram everything back in to shut it. That’s why the suitcase fell out.”

  Lori thought about what had happened. Istvan seemed like a nice guy. She agreed with Rosie, he was charming and easy-going. More proof was needed that he was indeed up to something.

  “Jasmine, I need to ask you a big favor.” Jasmine looked at Lori like she knew what was coming and shook her head, but Lori continued. “Tomorrow at the convention, when you see Istvan, please take off your glasses and have a look at his thoughts.” Seeing the reluctant look on Jasmine’s face, she added quickly, “Only take them off for a moment, and make sure your thoughts are clear and pure when you do that. See if you can see any darkness around him. Hopefully he had no bad intentions, and Granny is mistaken about an intruder.”

  “I hate doing that. I feel like I’m intruding on someone,” Jasmine complained.

  “If you do that, you can have that pink sweater of mine you like so much.”

  Jasmine’s face brightened up. “And will you give me the scarf that goes with it too?

  “Don’t push it,” Lori said, but Jasmine knew Lori well enough to know the deal was done.

  Hazel and the twins said their goodnights and started leaving. Lori helped her granny collect the contents of the suitcase that had rolled all over the floor and under her bed. Fae picked up a dusty bottle containing a clear liquid that had an object drifting in it. She squinted at the label. “Hmmm… looks like this might just be the lizard tail I misplaced. Not as fresh as it was but might still work.” She hid the bottle under her pillow. “Wouldn’t want Hazel throwing that out, we might just need it to help catch Justus’ killer,” she whispered to Lori, who barely managed to maintain a serious expression.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Lori’s cell phone chimed with a message alert, waking her the next morning. She groped for the phone. It was a message from Matt, asking her to meet him for breakfast at the Misty Hills Inn. “Strictly business,” he added at the end of the message. She hoped so. She couldn’t stand another heavy discussion. Besides, they had to plan for the last two days of the convention.

  “I don’t suppose you’ve heard anything from the chief’s office,” Matt asked as they sat down in the restaurant.

  Lori let out a wry laugh. “No, and if I did, it would probably be an arrest warrant. It’s best we stay away from there for a while and see what they come up with. Let’s focus on making the last few days of the convention a success.”

  She saw Gillian and Steven arrive and take their seats at a table some distance away.

  “We had Gillian, her husband, and Istvan Deklev over for dinner last night,” Lori said. “How well do you know Istvan?”

  “I only met him here for the first time,” Matt said. “Dr. Pearce introduced me to him, apparently they’d known each other for a while.”

  “Did you notice anything strange about him?”

  Matt looked puzzled. “No, should I have?”

  “Last night during the dinner, someone was in Granny’s room when she wasn’t there. Or so she claimed, anyway. I suspect it may have been Istvan snooping around the house.”

  Matt sat back and wiped his mouth with his napkin, shaking his head. “No, no. No more wild theories. You said yourself that your gran was a bit eccentric.”

  “Perhaps he’s right,” Lori thought. She was reading too much into everything.

  Jasmine came into the restaurant and made her way over to their table with sheets of paper in her one hand. “Look at the attendance list I emailed you,” Jasmine said. Lori took her phone out, opened up the list, and scrolled through the names. “Guess who didn’t register. I double checked on these,” Jasmine said as she waved the original registration forms in the air.

  Lori looked up from her phone. ”You’re right, Istvan’s name isn’t here.“ She looked at Matt. ”That means he wasn’t questioned by the chief’s men because they went according to the attendance register. He may even have erased himself from the hotel database as well or given a false ID.“

  Matt leaned forward. “I saw him and Dr. Pearce at the accreditation table, filling out forms. Unless…” he hesitated and looked at Jasmine. ”Istvan didn’t hand in his form?”

  ”Totally possible,“ Jasmine said, looking impressed with her own detective work.

  ”Gotcha!“ Jasmine called out so loudly that a few patrons in the restaurant lifted their heads and looked at her.

  ”Thanks, Jasmine,“ Lori said. “And don’t worry, that sweater and the scarf is still yours.” She met Matt’s quizzical look. “It’s just a little joke between me and Jasmine.”

  Lori pondered what they’d just found out for a moment. “I hate to be devil’s advocate here,” she said slowly, “but this is all circumstantial. I don’t see a motive. Unless Istvan is some sort of underworld character. Maybe we’re reading too much into all of this.”

  Matt returned to eating his breakfast. “My thoughts exactly. Let the cops do their work, and we’ll do ours.” And with that they resumed talking about the convention, though Lori’s thoughts kept straying to Istvan.

  “This is against my better judgement,” Lori thought as she stood in front of the police station. She’d left Matt at the breakfast table intending on going back to the Wholesome, but two blocks before the shop, she stopped. Maybe Chief Lambert would listen to her and double check whether they’d interviewed Istvan. She felt guilty going to the station without Matt’s knowledge.

  Ray came out the door of the building and smiled broadly at her. “Hi, Lori. How are you? What brings you to the police station?” She appreciated Ray’s friendliness. Perhaps she should set him up with one of the twins; he’d be handy to have up close.

  “Good to see you, Ray. Is the Chief in by any chance?”

  Ray’s smile disappeared. “He is, but there’s no way he’ll speak to you. He’s still upset about the other day.“

  ”Oh, okay.“ Lori feigned disappointment. ”It’s just, I think I’m in grave danger, Ray,“ she said in her best damsel-in-distress voice. It worked. Moments later Ray was knocking on Chief Lambert’s door and spoke briefly to him before beckoning to Lori.

  Lori entered his office and closed the door behind her. ”Morning, Chief,“ she said, steeling herself for the chief’s usual onslaught of sarcasm. She waited for him to ask her to sit down. The offer didn’t come, so she kept on standing in front of his desk.

  ”I don’t want to see you, but Ray says you’re about to die,“ Chief Lambert said without looking up from his laptop.

  Lori was ready with an equally snarky remar
k but resisted answering. Instead she decided to be nice.

  ”Chief…“

  Chief Lambert spoke a little louder as he looked over the top of his glasses at her. ”So unless you can make a clear case there’s a threat on your life—with proof—the answer to whatever you want is no.“

  Unlike Ray, charm was not going to work here. So Lori tried a direct approach.

  ”I was wondering whether you’ve found any new evidence in the convention murder cases, Chief?”

  “Now why would I tell you that?” Chief Lambert started typing again.

  “It’s just that, well, some of the delegates were asking, and we’d like to put their minds at rest,” Lori said. “Also, it’ll help to stop rumors from spreading.“

  “Is that all, Lori?”

  Lori thought she’d asked about Istvan while she had the opportunity.

  “Also, I wanted to ask…”

  “Just tell everyone we’re working as hard as we can to solve the murder,” he interrupted her. He walked to his office door and opened it. “And don’t call me, I’ll call you, Miss Whitewood. Have a nice day.”

  Outside the police station, Lori walked to a bench across the street and sat down. She’d accomplished nothing. It’s like a wall existed in there between her and Chief Lambert.

  Ray sat down next to her. “I guess that didn’t go too well,” he said. “Anything I can do to help?”

  Lori thought about it for a moment. She could ask Ray to interview Istvan, but if the chief got wind of that, he was likely to lose it again, and she didn’t want to put Ray on the spot anyway. “No, Ray. Thanks.” Then she added, “Do you know the visiting professor, Istvan Deklev?”

  Ray thought for a moment. “Nope, haven’t come across the name.”

  “I thought so. Thanks Ray, you’ve helped a lot,” Lori said, and got up. Ray gaped at her as she walked away, but then he saw Rosie coming from afar and jumped up to chat to her.

  Lori took her time walking the two blocks to the Wholesome. She felt depressed and helpless, which wasn’t like her at all.

  Why am I feeling like this when none of it really concerns me? In six months’ time I’ll no longer be here, whether a killer is caught or not. Matt will have returned to his lab, Istvan Deklev will be back in his country, and the mayor will carry on with his ghost town plan.

  This last thought caused her to perk up and walk faster. No way could she allow the mayor to ruin her hometown with some sort of cheap freak show. She had to stop that from happening.

  When she reached the Wholesome, she smiled and waved when she saw two clients waiting for her to open up. Inside the shop, Lori lost herself in conversation with the two elderly women who’d waited patiently for her outside, both of whom regularly visited the store. “You’re such a pillar of strength to us, Lori,” one of them, Mrs. Whittlestone, said as she took her packet from the counter. All Lori could muster was an embarrassed smile.

  The doorbell kept ringing as more people entered the shop, browsing and asking for Lori’s advice. She enjoyed listening to them, offering suggestions for healthy living, and recommending remedies. A full hour passed before the last client left the shop, and Lori turned away from the counter to make herself a cup of tea and sit down for a moment. When she turned back, Istvan Deklev stood at the counter, an eerie smile on his face. Lori almost dropped her cup of tea. How did he enter without the bell ringing? How long had he been in the shop without her noticing?

  “Hello, Istvan,” Lori said and smiled back weakly. “I’m surprised to see you here, I would have expected you to be at the convention. May I offer you a cup of tea?”

  “Yes, thank you, a cup of tea would be wonderful. Would you mind if I sat down?” He gestured to the table and chairs in the corner.

  “Sure. I’ll be right over.” Lori rushed to prepare Istvan’s tea. Her mind raced, trying to figure out a reason why he’d come.

  “Thank you,” Istvan said and took the cup from her, looking around her shop. “You have a lovely shop. Interesting mix of products.”

  “You didn’t come here to make small talk,” Lori thought.

  “I understand you cured Gillian’s back problems too.” He lifted one eyebrow. ”You didn’t by any chance give her something a little, shall we say, extra?“ He turned his head and looked at the door that led to the backroom. Lori didn’t answer, feeling her body go numb. What exactly was Istvan getting at?

  Istvan met Lori’s gaze and leaned forward. ”I’ll be brief, Lori,“ he said. ”I have reason to believe that you have something I want, something special.“

  Lori glanced briefly at the door, hoping against hope that Matt, or anyone for that matter, would arrive and come inside to stop this nightmare from continuing. As if he were reading her mind, Istvan got up, hung the Closed for Business sign up, locked the door, and sat down again.

  * * *

  Lori played dumb. ”Well, you’re welcome to look around the shop if there’s anything special you might be interested in…“

  ”No, no, I have something different in mind.“ Istvan drank his tea. “What I’m asking about is a special mushroom. In fact, it’s one that is, right now, the only one of its kind. You may have heard of the Halo mushroom?”

  Lori sat stunned. Istvan suspected her of having the Halo mushroom! “Istvan, you’re totally mistaken. I’ve only heard rumors about the Halo mushroom, nothing more. We have more than enough types of mushrooms here as you saw in the forest. Why would we want another one?”

  “I’ll tell you why, dear,” Istvan said. “Because you and your family are the Whitewood Witches.” Istvan continued, maintaining his friendly, almost congenial tone. “See, I had a peek into your backroom just now when you were helping your clients. It’s quite an operation you have back there, packaging potions.”

  At that moment, Lori caught a whiff of the smell she first noticed in Professor Sproutley’s room, and that no doubt Fae had talked about too. It came from Istvan.

  “Now, there’s little doubt that good witches like yourselves will make great use of a powerful mushroom like the Halo mushroom,” Istvan said, crossing his legs and clearly enjoying seeing Lori squirm. “That’s why I’m sure you,” he pointed a finger at Lori, “have it somewhere in the Whitewood Manor. I did a quick search around the house the other night, but sadly couldn’t find anything. Perhaps you have it in your potion room at the back?”

  Lori shook her head. “No. You’re mistaken. We most certainly don’t have it. What do you want the Halo mushroom for, anyway? It’s useless to you as an academic.”

  “Don’t worry, the people I work for have a use for it,” Istvan said, dismissing her question. “Now, once again, please may I have the Halo mushroom?”

  “I promise you, Istvan, I don’t have it. If I did, I’d gladly give it to you,” Lori said, almost pleading. She was becoming more and more frightened of this man whom she’d thought of as charming before he arrived at the shop.

  Istvan pursed his lips into a thin line, and his eyes turned cold and menacing. “All right, then. I thought this was going to be easy, but it seems I’ll have to apply a little pressure to convince you. Let me ask you something,” Istvan said, leaning forward until his face was inches from hers. “How many people in Fennelmoore know the Whitewood family are witches, Lori?”

  She had a notion of exactly where Istvan was going with this.

  “No one, yes?”

  Lori paled and swallowed hard. She knew where Istvan was going with this.

  “I thought so,” Ivan said. “Let’s make a deal, you and I. I will remain silent about your family’s little secret, and no one will know about the Whitewood witches. I mean, you don’t want a repeat of that saga in Hackingsaw, do you? Being chased out of town isn’t fun. I’m sure there are more than a handful of residents who’ll hound you out of town if they knew you were witches. In exchange, you give me the Halo mushroom.”

  “What about the Halo mushroom data sheet?” Lori asked.

  “I already
have the data sheet, though I had to pay dearly for it. Now all I need is just one, tiny mushroom. I’ll be generous and give you forty-eight hours to come up with it. Else, Whitewood Manor may just be up for sale.” Istvan pushed his cup towards Lori. “That was delicious, and I hope we can have tea again in two days’ time to complete our deal.”

  Istvan got up and walked to the door. “Oh, and by the way.” Istvan turned back to her before he exited. “No speaking to your friends at the police station.” His tone was ominous.

  Lori watched Istvan get onto a motorbike parked outside the shop, swing it around, and head in the direction of the Misty Hills Inn. As soon as he was out of sight, she dialed Matt’s number, trying to control her shaking hands. His phone rang, but he didn’t pick up. It was to be expected; he was busy in a session at the convention. She pressed the disconnect button just as she was about to leave a message for him to call back urgently. Second thoughts were rising in her mind. What if he was in on this? What if he was in cahoots with Istvan, and who knows who else? She put her phone away and got ready to lock up. Best she kept this whole sorry saga to herself, at least for the moment until she was perfectly certain Matt has nothing to do with it.

  She gathered up a few things and locked up. There was only one group of people she could trust and talk to about this — her family. Minutes later, Lori burst into the kitchen of Whitewood Manor where her aunt was working on the following day’s meals for the convention. Hazel looked up in surprise.

  “Aunt Hazel, we need a family meeting urgently,” Lori blurted. “Something terrible is going to happen to us if we don’t come up with a plan.”

  “Just as well the twins are home,” Hazel said. “Let me call them down so we can talk. I can see from that look on your face there’s trouble.”

  * * *

  Lori looked out the back door and saw her granny walking towards the house from the vegetable garden, followed closely by Trixi. She waved for her to hurry up. Half an hour later, everyone was seated around the dining room table. They all looked expectantly at Lori. “We are in danger of being exposed as witches here in Fennelmoore,” Lori said.