“Right,” Turkey says.
“The killer must have known somehow what Gunther had uncovered. The killer followed Gunther to my office and then murdered him before he could share his information.”
“Good,” Turkey says. “Keep going. What else do you know?”
“Well, I know that Claudine was a witch. Like me. She had, in her possession, a very rare and powerful book. Azure said that Claudine’s copy of the ASBW is one of only five left in the Earth Realm, whatever that means. I also know that Claudine was the last of the Terra Coven.”
“Terra means Earth,” Turkey says. “I remember that from my crossword clues. ‘Latin for Earth.’ ‘Terra.’”
“Earth witch,” I say. “The Earth Coven.”
“Wasn’t there something about the elements in the book?” Turkey asks.
“I think so. I remember a section with a little chart of the five elements. Hang on. Let me go get it.” I run out into the living room. By the time I return to the bedroom, I already have the book open to the page I’ve had in mind. “Here it is!” I say. “There are five elements. Spirit, Air, Water, Earth, and Fire.”
“Interesting,” says Turkey-Thomas. “There are five books, and five elements.”
“Maybe there’s an Air Coven, and a Water Coven, and all the rest,” I muse. “And maybe each coven controls a portal, just like Claudine was doing with Hillcrest Pass!”
“That would make her position a very powerful one,” Turkey says. “There must have been others who wanted to share her power.”
“Or take it over completely,” I say, thinking of the way Azure demanded that I hand over my copy of the book. “Azure for one seemed very intent on getting her hands on the book.”
“Do you think Azure would kill Claudine and Gunther?” Turkey asks.
“I have no doubt about it,” I say. “She seemed to hold herself apart from humans. She acted like humans were beneath her. She was also very confrontational and a bit violent.” I touch my head, remembering the spell that she cast on me. “I bet she could easily poison or strangle without a guilty conscience.”
“Good, good,” Turkey says. “You’re on a roll. What else is on your mind? Get it all out.”
“Well, there’s Max,” I say. “He also seems to have a greedy nature, and isn’t afraid to take life.” With a lurching sensation in my stomach, I recall the article online that mentioned Max’s signature ‘strangling technique.’ If he could employ it on live goats, what would stop him from strangling other living things—like people?
“Max would certainly have the strength to strangle Gunther,” I say. “And I don’t think he would hesitate to act, if it was something he wanted. Max seems to be a very self-motivated individual.”
“Most runners are,” agrees Turkey. “At least, that’s what Jumper Strongheart says in chapter three of ‘A New You,’—‘Exercise is for babies and puppies: how to train like a champion.’
“That was the best chapter in that whole book,” I say, fondly. “Wait a minute, Turkey, have you read all of my books?”
“Yes. I love to read. I read everything you leave lying around—sometimes multiple times, if you don’t bring new material home for a while.”
I gulp. “Even... even my diary?” I look over at the pink notebook sitting on my nightstand.
Turkey begins licking his paws busily.
“Turkey!” I say. “I know you can hear me!”
The paw licking seems to have tired him out. He lays his head down over his paws. “Thomas,” he says. “Please, Penelope, call me Thomas.”
His use of my full name catches me off guard. My mom was the only one who called me that, so I haven’t heard it in years.
Turkey continues. “Oh, okay. I’m too worn out to pretend otherwise. Yes, I read your diary. I have ever since I moved in with you.”
“You know everything about me, don’t you?” I ask.
“Everything.” Turkey confirms.
I blush. “Well, that’s embarrassing,” I say.
“You have nothing to be embarrassed about,” Turkey says. “Besides the fact that you truly need to get a hold of yourself when it comes to your emotions over Christopher Wagner. You are a mess in that department.”
“I know,” I admit, hugging my knees to my chest. “I am a mess over him. I can’t figure out how I feel. Sometimes I want to jump into bed with him—”
“Okay,” Turkey interrupts. “Okay. No need to get too detailed!”
“But sometimes he’s so frustrating,” I finish.
“And now you have feelings for Dr. Max Shire, too,” Turkey notes, casually.
“What?” I say. “I do not!”
“Oh, really? Than what’s up with all of the times you wrote his name with little hearts next to it?”
Oh. Crap. I did that?
My blush deepens. “Yeah, okay. Maybe I think he’s pretty hot. And kind of mysterious... in a vampire kind of way.”
Turkey settles his chin down on his paws. “I knew it,” he says. His voice is weaker now.
“How are you feeling?” I ask.
“The pain in my stomach is getting worse,” Turkey says. “I think I need to rest.”
“Of course!” I say. “I’ll let you be. I don’t mean to chat your ear off. It’s just... you’re a good listener. Thanks.”
“Thank you for taking me to the vet. You’ve always taken such good care of me.”
“Oh, Turk—I mean, Thomas,” I say, nuzzling my face against his and stroking his forehead. “Anything for you. We’ve been through a lot together, haven’t we?”
“We have,” he says.
“Okay, I’ll let you rest. Just holler—I mean, do whatever you do to speak inside my head—if you need me.”
I stand up and head for the door. Just as I’m stepping out of the room, he says, “Oh, Penelope? One more thing.”
“Yes?” I turn to face him.
“I just thought of this. I’m not sure if it’s important, but I feel I should bring it to your attention.” His voice is very weak.
“What’s that?” I ask.
“Does a rope have to do with either of the killings?”
“Yes!” I say. “Gunther was killed with a rope. The killer wrapped it around his neck and strangled him.”
“Oh, really?” Turkey says. “Well, isn’t that strange. I was looking out of Buttercup’s window, very late last night. I couldn’t sleep because my stomach felt so awful. I was just staring out into space, when a figure approached. He cut around Buttercup’s yard and deposited something into her trash bin.”
“What?” I ask.
“I couldn’t tell right away, but the more I looked at it the more clear it became. It was a rope.”
“You’re sure it was a man that dropped it off?” I ask.
“Yes. Absolutely. He was in good shape—very fit. I’m sure it was a man’s body. I couldn't see his face; he wore a hat that covered it up entirely.”
My mind is now racing. A man planted a piece of rope on Buttercup’s property. The killer, after strangling Gunther, would need to get rid of the murder weapon. What Turkey had seen could be an important part of the puzzle! If the killer is a man, that eliminates Lucy and Azure.
Shoot.
That left Max.
Max, the man I’ve been secretly doodling hearts for in my diary. Is Max the killer?
I thank Turkey and tell him to get some rest. Out in the hallway, I close the door to the bedroom softly behind me, so as not to disturb my little furry patient, and pace to my living room.
Turkey sounded so weak. I knew he was in pain, but hearing him tell me that his stomach hurts is even worse than figuring it out from his expression. Now there’s no doubt that he’s hurting. I want to help him.
He’s been such a loyal friend over the years. Now that we’re on speaking terms, I feel even more close to him. Is he going to make it through this?
Buttercup indicated that he could live for hours without surgery, or he could liv
e for days.
I have to hope that he’ll survive for days.
I need more time.
If I can figure out who the real killer is, the police will have to release Buttercup. Then, she can perform the surgery that will save my cat.
Now, I just have to figure out who killed Claudine, and who killed Gunther.
Was it Max?
I’m more determined than ever to find out.
Chapter Twelve
How am I going to figure out if Max is the killer?
Besides what I’ve learned about him online, and the little information I gleaned about him during our coffee date, I know very little about him.
What do I know about him? Well, for one thing, he likes to run. With this in mind, I change into shorts and a tank top and lace up my running shoes.
After one last peek-in on my sick cat, who is now sleeping soundly, I head out the door. I haven’t gone for a real run in a long, long time. But I have seen Max running along the roads of Hillcrest a few times now. I’m hoping that by heading out for a jog, I’ll ‘run’ into him—literally.
As soon as I step out onto the sidewalk in front of my apartment, I hear a car door slam. I look towards the sound, and see that darn purple BMW.
Azure has stepped out of it, and is now swiftly streaking across the parking lot towards me.
Great. I reach for my head and give my ponytail a little pat. At least my hair is gathered up, and she’ll have less to work with if she tries any hair pulling spells on me again.
“Penny!” She says as she approaches. “Just the woman I wanted to see!”
“Really?” I ask. “What, do you think we’re friends or something?”
“Sure we are! We’re sisters in the witching community now. Which is what I want to talk to you about. That book of yours...”
“Azure, if what happened between us at the library is an indication of how you treat your friends, I don’t even want to know how you treat your enemies.”
“No, you really don’t,” she agrees. “I doubt you have the stomach for it—yet. Wait until you get into a few fights with creatures from the Dark Realms, and then we’ll talk.”
“The Dark Realms?” I ask. And then I hold up my hand. “I really don’t have time for this.”
Now that I’ve eliminated Azure from my list of suspects, I don’t want to waste my time talking witchy business with her. Plus, she pulled my hair. That’s not cool. How could I possibly like this woman after that happened?
I try to brush past her. “I know you want the book that Claudine gave me, but I’m not going to give it up.”
“Fine then,” she says. “You’re forcing my hand here, Penny. I’m going to have to take it.” Then, just like that, she levitates into the sky.
I look up at her. “Hey! Where do you think you’re going?” I ask.
Then I take a quick look around, to make sure that she’s not attracting any attention. Luckily, the sidewalks in front of Blackbear Apartments are empty, and so is the parking lot. Everyone else is at work—living a normal life, having a normal, run-of-the-mill Thursday afternoon. Not conversing with flying witches... or telepathic cats, for that matter.
“Hey!” I shout again. “Get down here!” I put my hand up to my brow to block the sun from my eyes, and see that Azure is zooming towards my second storey apartment. She’s headed right for my apartment window. My bedroom window, to be exact. If she breaks into my home through that window she’s going to wake Turkey. He’s just dozed off to sleep, and he needs his rest!
I’m mad.
Really mad.
Eyes-crossed, blood-boiling, spitting mad. Levitating mad, as it turns out, because now I’m floating, an inch off of the ground. What the—?
I wiggle my toes, and float up another inch.
Then I start to move my legs, as if I was in a pool treading water. The motion propels me up higher in the air. Using my arms, I scoop at the air, trying to move faster. I don’t think Azure expected me to really come after her. She’s fiddling with the handle on my bedroom window, about to open it, when I tap her on the shoulder.
When she turns around, there’s a look of shock in her eyes.
“How did you...?” She sputters.
I don’t let her finish the sentence. I’m mad, and I need to get her away from the window. So I say the only spell that comes to mind. It’s the only spell I know by heart, and the ironic thing is that Azure herself taught it to me, just two days before.
“Verra capillum!!” I shout with gusto.
Suddenly, her hair sticks straight out on end. Azure emits a yelp of pain. Is it working?
“VERRA CAPILLUM!” I scream again, at the top of my lungs. She is not going to break into my apartment and jeopardize the recovery rest of my poor kitty!
Now Azure’s yelping becomes more a blood curdling howl. As I watch, her hair starts falling out in chunks.
“Ah!” She cries as a clump of blue hair catapults away from her. “My hair!”
“Get away from my window!” I say.
Another chunk of hair flies off of her scalp. “Stop it!” She cries, clutching at her remaining locks.
My hair didn’t fall out like this when she attacked me at the library. Maybe I’m doing the spell wrong.
“Stop it!” She says again. “I’m leaving, see? So stop pulling the hair out of my head!”
She’s flying away from the window, floating back towards the ground below.
“I don’t know how to stop!” I admit, following her. Another chunk of her hair shoots away from her head.
“You have to stop feeling the emotion that triggered the spell!” She says.
I’m finding it hard to steer back to the ground with my feet first. It’s hard to concentrate on what Azure is saying while I’m doing somersaults in the air.
She gives another painful cry. Woah, I’m really hurting her.
I manage to right myself and then get my feet on the ground. Since she’s no longer threatening to disturb Turkey, my anger dissipates. And just like that, the spell seems to be broken.
“What did you do that for?” Azure shrieks, frantically running her hands over her patchwork of remaining hair. There are little bald spots all over her head.
“I was just doing to you what you already did to me... remember?” I ask, sticking my nose up in the air.
“I didn’t scream it! Don’t you know that the intensity of a spell depends on the volume of your voice?”
“What? Umm... no, I guess I didn’t know that.”
Azure spots a clump of her hair on the ground and walks over to it. She picks it up and examines the ends, as if contemplating whether or not she will be able to glue it back in place.
“All the more reason that you shouldn’t have that book.” Azure says. “There’s nothing more dangerous than a clueless witch.” She tucks the chunk of hair into the back pocket of her jeans.
“I’m ready to learn more,” I say. “How will I get better if I don’t have that book to practice with?”
“You’re a hopeless case, with or without the book,” Azure says. “You should just give up now. Surrender your powers. Let me take over the portal. That way, I’ll be the only witch with two portals, and two copies of the book.” She rubs her hands together. “That would be best for everyone concerned,” she says.
“Best for you, you mean,” I say. I cross my arms. “No. Azure, I’m keeping the book. The Terra Coven is not being laid to rest just because Claudine has died. My friends and I are picking up where Claudine left off. We’ll become the Terra Coven and we’ll control the portal.”
“Ha!” Azure gives a snooty laugh. “You think that a group of amateur witches can possibly control the portal? You are so clueless! Just give up now and let me handle things.”
“No,” I say. And then, “Do I need to take out another chunk of hair?”
This knocks her bravado down a notch. She pouts. “Hrmph. I don’t like you, Penny Banks, do you know that?”
“
I don’t like you either,” I say. It feels good to be honest with her. I examine her, thinking. “But just because you’re a pain-in-the-butt, power-hungry witch doesn’t mean that you killed Claudine, does it?”
She shakes her head. “I would never kill a sister witch. Annoy... yes. Inflict pain on...” She gives a shrug. “Sure. But kill? No way. That’s against the witch sisters’ code of ethics.”
“Do you know who did kill Claudine?” I ask.
“Don’t know, don’t care,” she says. She spots another clump of hair draped over the street lamp, and levitates up to it. When she lands, she starts heading towards her BMW. “What I do care about is figuring out a spell that will get my hair back in place.”
“What about Max?” I call out.
She turns. “Max Shire?” She asks. “He is such a bother. What—do you think he might have killed Claudine?”
“I don’t know,” I say. “But my cat—”
“Your familiar,” corrects Azure.
“Whatever. Sure. My familiar says that he saw a man carrying a rope—and that was the murder weapon that killed Gunther,” I say.
The significance of this is lost on Azure. She flips her hair over her shoulder impatiently.
“So what?” She says. “Get to the point. I want to put my hair back in place.”
“A man!” I repeat. “The only suspect that I have, who is a man, is Max Shire!”
This makes Azure grin. “That would be fantastic!” She says. “If you silly humans throw Max in jail, he’ll stop competing with me for control of the portal, and the book! The available portal will be all mine!”
“Neither the book nor the portal are available,” I say. “Are you even paying attention to anything that I’m saying here? The Terra Coven lives.”
She rolls her eyes. “Right,” she says. “Whatever. Like I said, let’s talk after you have experience with some beings from the Dark Realm. Then you’ll be begging someone to take the portal off of your hands, and you’ll be wishing you never read that book!” She gives a cackle.
I’m getting frustrated. “Azure—do you think Max is capable of killing Claudine and Gunther? Is he that kind of guy? You seem to know him better than me.”
The Case of the Love Spell Page 12