by Rose Pressey
“Are you going to tell us what it is?” I asked, tapping my fingers on the countertop.
Heather touched the bangle bracelets on display at the end of the counter. “Like I said, it’s nothing.”
Charlotte and I exchanged a look. I’d get Heather to lay it all out sooner or later. In the meantime I filled Heather in on what had just happened.
Heather looked down at my phone. “Look, she answered.”
Charlotte reached for the phone, but her hand went straight through.
“Nice try,” Heather said.
“You can’t blame a girl for trying,” Charlotte said.
I grabbed the phone. Minnie and Charlotte hurried over and peered over my shoulder.
“What does she say?” Minnie asked.
“She wants to meet.” I looked up at the three staring faces.
Actually make that five staring faces. Grandma Pearl and Tyler had moved over to the counter now.
“Well, isn’t that what you wanted?” Heather asked.
“Yes, I’m just surprised and a little nervous.”
“I can go with you,” Heather said.
“Would you? I would appreciate that,” I said.
“Just tell me when and where.” Heather smiled.
“She said we can meet at the park.”
Tyler meowed. Did he want to use the board to talk? I’d have to ask soon.
“Well, at least it’s a public place,” Charlotte said.
“Let me know when you’re going to meet up with her. I should get back to my shop. I have an appointment soon.” Heather gestured over her shoulder.
Her face lit up when she mentioned her appointment. That hadn’t gone unnoticed by me.
Charlotte held her hand up. “Not so fast.”
Heather turned around to face Charlotte. “What’s wrong, Charlotte?”
“You still haven’t told us why you’re so happy.” Charlotte narrowed her eyes and placed her hands on her hips.
Minnie and I stared at Heather, waiting for a response.
“Can’t a girl just be happy for no reason?” Heather asked with a shrug of her shoulders.
“No,” Charlotte said matter-of-factly.
Heather placed her hands on her hips. “What is wrong with y’all?”
“Heather, I’m your best friend. You know you can tell me everything. My feelings will be hurt if you’re keeping secrets from me,” I said.
“I think she is keeping secrets. She’s acting funny. Not to mention the weird sightings with Ken,” Charlotte said.
Heather sighed. “You’re right, Cookie, I shouldn’t keep secrets from you.”
Now Charlotte, Minnie, and I stood in front of Heather.
“You can tell us anything,” we said in unison.
“It’s just that I didn’t know how you would feel about it.” Heather looked down at her shoes again.
“I’m sure whatever you say I will be happy if you’re happy,” I said.
“Okay, here goes. It’s just that Ken has been coming over for readings and I think we have a lot in common. I kind of like him.” Heather once more stared at her shoes.
Her cheeks were completely red now. I’d never seen her this way.
“I knew it,” Charlotte said.
I suppose the signs were there. I should have guessed from the beginning. Why hadn’t I realized that they would be a perfect match for each other? Okay, maybe they were opposites, but opposites attract. My mother and father’s love story was a great example of opposites . . . and they were celebrating their fortieth anniversary soon.
I moved around the counter and wrapped my arms around Heather. “I think this is a wonderful thing.”
Heather looked at me. “Are you sure?”
I nodded. “Ken is a great guy. He would be lucky to get someone as fantastic as you.”
Heather smiled again. “Well, I don’t know for sure if he likes me back.”
“I doubt he’s coming around for your readings.” Charlotte scoffed.
Heather ignored Charlotte’s comment. “I’m glad that I got that off my chest. I really need to go, but we’ll talk later?”
I hugged her again. “Sure, we’ll talk later.”
Heather walked out of the shop with a bounce in her step.
“Wow, Heather and Ken. I never would have thought they would be a match. Opposites attract though,” Charlotte said.
“That’s exactly what I thought, Charlotte,” I said.
“How do you feel about that?” Charlotte asked with a raised eyebrow.
“I think it’s great,” I said with a wave of my hand. “I just want Heather and Ken to be happy.”
I felt Charlotte’s stare on me. “Are you sure about that?”
“Of course she’s sure,” Minnie said.
“I mean, it’s obvious Ken and I weren’t meant for each other.” I busied myself folding a shirt. “I want her to find someone to love.”
Charlotte continued eyeing me as if that would force me to talk. There was nothing else to say on the subject.
After another minute of being watched, I said, “I’m happy . . . really.”
Charlotte shrugged. “If you say so.”
* * *
While I waited for the time to meet Shanna I wanted to look into a couple things. One, I needed to ask Krissy about that gambling debt Tyler supposedly owed her. Two, I wanted to find out more about Tyler’s girlfriend, Tina. Though I had almost convinced myself that Shanna was somehow involved in the murder. Why she would do this, I wasn’t sure. She barely knew Tyler, so why would she want to kill him? Perhaps he had stood her up as well. Oh dear. What if she tried to kill me at the park? If she ever figured out I was the person behind the fake dating profile, I would be a goner. After all, it wasn’t nice to toy with people’s emotions.
“I think I did a very bad thing,” I said as I placed an Issey Miyake rolled-neck blouse onto a hanger.
“Oh no, what have you done now?” Charlotte asked.
“I shouldn’t have tricked Shanna like that. It wasn’t a nice thing to do,” I said.
Charlotte rubbed her temples. “Oh, here we go again. Cookie, I explained this to you. Yes, it is bad that you had to do this, but it was completely necessary. You aren’t doing it because you get a kick out of it.” She frowned. “You don’t get a kick out of it, right?”
“No, of course not.” I placed my hands on my hips.
“All right. You want to solve this case and sometimes you have to do sneaky things. Shanna will get over it.”
“Will she? What if Tyler stood her up and she killed him because of it?” I placed the folded shirt on the display table in the center of the room.
Charlotte quirked an eyebrow. “Honestly, she’s obviously unhinged if something like that would drive her to kill. There are a lot of things that would probably drive her over the edge.”
I nodded. “I suppose you’re right.”
“Of course I’m right, darling. Charlotte is always right.” She winked.
“I wouldn’t go so far as to say that,” I said.
She scowled. “Just be glad that you have me to talk some sense into you once in a while.”
“Shanna won’t really come ‘unhinged,’ will she?” Minnie used air quotes. “If so, I definitely have to do something about this.”
Charlotte eyed Minnie. “We never know who might come unhinged. Cookie might come unhinged for all we know.”
I placed my hands on my hips. “What? I will not come unhinged, for heaven’s sake.”
“Well, you do talk to ghosts . . . just sayin’ . . .” Charlotte waved her hand.
“Oh! Stop it, Charlotte.” I pulled out my phone.
“What are you doing now?” Charlotte asked. “Don’t tell me you want to cancel the meeting with Shanna after all that we just talked about.” Charlotte reached for my phone, but as usual her hand went right through.
I moved my phone anyway in case next time she tried it actually worked. “When are you goi
ng to stop trying that? I’m not canceling. I just want to find out more information about Tyler’s ex-girlfriend.”
“How do you plan to do that?” Minnie asked.
“I need to make a few calls about her,” I said.
“That means she has no idea what she’s doing,” Charlotte said.
“I do have an idea, smarty-pants.” I smirked.
“Okay, Cookie Chanel, let’s hear it.” Charlotte placed her hands on her hips.
She’d used my first and last name. That meant she was irritated with me. After typing into my laptop for a few seconds I discovered what I was searching for.
“Aha. I found the ex-girlfriend’s number. I’m going to call her,” I said with a smile.
“Oh dear, this will not end well,” Charlotte said.
“We’ll see about that.” I dialed the number.
Charlotte and Minnie stared at me as I listened to the rings on the other end of the line.
“Put the call on speaker.” Charlotte pointed at the phone.
“Yes, I want to hear,” Minnie said.
I quirked an eyebrow. “Only if you’re nice.”
Charlotte narrowed her eyes. “You seem to forget that I like to sing at night.”
Ugh. She had me there. I didn’t want to listen to her off-key, late-night karaoke. Her rendition of that eighties song “Puttin’ on the Ritz” was pure torture. Of course for the rest of the day the song was stuck in my head. As soon as I put it on speakerphone a woman answered. It was odd that her voice sounded familiar. Though I knew we’d never spoken before.
“She sounds scary,” Minnie said.
“Maybe you caught her in the middle of something,” Charlotte said.
“Good afternoon. Is this Tina Fairchild?” I asked.
“Who wants to know?” the woman asked in a harsh tone.
“Now she’s just being rude,” Charlotte said. “Oh, I bet she thinks you’re a telemarketer. That causes some people to snap.”
“My name is Cookie Chanel.”
Silence filled the line. A couple seconds passed.
“Hello?” I called out.
There was no answer. When I checked the phone sitting on the counter I realized the call had been dropped.
“Do you think she hung up on purpose or was the call dropped?” I asked.
“Probably on purpose. Something seems off about her. I don’t know what happened to the call, but you should call her back,” Charlotte said.
I dialed the number again, but it rang several times until finally going to her voice mail. I decided to leave a message: “Tina, this is Cookie Chanel calling you back. It’s important that I speak with you. If you could call me back as soon as possible that would be great.”
After leaving the message, I clicked off the call.
“The fact that she didn’t answer this time probably means she ended the call on purpose,” Charlotte said.
“Not necessarily,” I said. “Maybe she’s in an area that has bad cell phone coverage.”
Charlotte scoffed. “I suppose.”
I knew Charlotte was suspicious. I was suspicious too. If Tina didn’t call me back I would try her again. In the meantime, I wanted to know more about her.
“I think I need to do a little research,” I said.
“Good luck with that,” Charlotte said.
“I have my ways,” I said with a smile.
Chapter 19
Cookie’s Savvy Tips for Vintage Clothing Shopping
Don’t forget to look for wardrobe essentials.
Things like simple blouses, sweaters, blazers, and slacks.
I turned the CLOSED sign around on the shop door, leaving the cats inside, hoping I wouldn’t be gone too long. Before going to the park to meet with Shanna, I headed back to the bed-and-breakfast where Krissy was staying to track her down. I wasn’t going to let her get away without talking to me this time. I pulled into the driveway and cut the engine. Before even getting out of the car I spotted movement out of the corner of my eye. Krissy was walking around the side of the house. Darrin was following close behind her.
I hurried and unfastened my seat belt. “I’m not letting them get away from me this time.”
“Why do they always look as if they are arguing?” Minnie asked.
“Because they are always arguing,” Charlotte answered.
I jumped out of the car and rushed toward the house.
“Be careful, Cookie,” Minnie said.
“I don’t think you should let them know you’re here if they’re fighting,” Charlotte said as she followed me.
As we suspected, the sound of raised voices carried around the corner, which must mean they were in another argument. Their fighting was exhausting. I stopped short at the edge of the house, hiding behind the azalea bush. They were clearly mad at each other.
“I wanted to get my money back from him, and you ruined it,” Krissy said.
Charlotte and I exchanged a look. By ruined it, did Krissy mean that Darrin had killed Tyler?
“I did the best that I could. You are always blaming me when things go wrong,” Darrin said.
I needed to get him to admit that he had killed Tyler. So far, they were only hinting that they had done something to Tyler.
“I didn’t ask you to come here anyway,” Krissy said.
“Oh please. You would have called me crying that you missed me less than twenty-four hours after getting here. I saved us all time by coming before you had a chance to complain. You complain if I come with you and complain if I don’t.” Darrin’s voice was full of anger.
“Oh, there really is trouble in paradise,” Charlotte said.
“I feel bad listening to them argue. It makes me uncomfortable,” Minnie said.
I stood there with my back pressed against the brick wall, straining to hear every word. Now they had stopped talking though.
“What are they doing?” Charlotte asked. “Do you think they’ve killed each other?”
“With the way they were fighting that’s entirely possible,” Minnie said.
Only about two seconds had passed when the nightmare scenario occurred. Krissy and Darrin came around the corner. There was no time for me to get away. They looked right at me, stopping in their tracks.
“What are you doing?” Krissy asked.
Darrin’s face turned even redder. It looked as if he wanted to snap me in two like a twig. I wanted to confront Krissy and Darrin with what I’d heard, but I also realized that they could be involved in Tyler’s murder. Maybe it was best if I ran for my car.
Krissy moved closer to me. “You are always snooping around. I think it’s time you learned to mind your own business.”
“Oh, Cookie, this is bad. You should run now,” Minnie said.
“Don’t let them see your fear. It will only make things worse. Act tough.” Charlotte pumped her fist.
Should I stand my ground and act tough like Charlotte suggested? Or to the car like Minnie advised? For my safety I decided to take Minnie’s advice and run for the car. I sprinted away from the house and jumped into the Buick. I cranked the engine. Krissy and Darrin stood at the edge of the house. They were glaring at me.
“Well, that was a pathetic display,” Charlotte said.
“I did what was best for my own good. The cop couldn’t come help me if he didn’t know I was in danger.” I navigated a left turn.
“I think you did the right thing, Cookie,” Minnie said.
I swung by the shop and picked up the cats. All I wanted to do now was head home and have a bowl of cookies ’n’ cream ice cream. The entire ride home I was on guard. Would Krissy and Darrin follow me? Now that I was home I plopped down on the sofa. My phone alerted me to a message on the dating app. Now the adrenaline was really pumping. Oh no, I had forgotten about the park!
“I got a message from Shanna,” I said.
Charlotte and Minnie rushed over. They’d been standing in the corner of the room whispering. They did a lot of that lately
.
“Well, what does it say?” Charlotte asked.
I clicked on the app and read the message. “She said for me to take a leap off a short pier.”
Charlotte laughed.
I gave her a warning scowl.
“Sorry, but that is funny,” she said around another laugh.
So now I wasn’t going to meet Shanna. I’d have to think of another plan. Lately my sleuthing skills had been lacking.
Chapter 20
Charlotte’s Tips for a Fabulous Afterlife
Don’t let the living get too testy.
“Why did I wait until it was almost dark to come to a cemetery?” I whispered as I opened the gate and stepped inside.
The hinges groaned as they moved with the motion. At least I hoped that was where the noise had come from. The sound also resembled that of a ghost moaning.
“You lack any self-control and had to come as soon as the thought hit you?” Charlotte answered.
I cast a salty look her way. “Thank you. Perhaps it’s because I have a pesky ghost following me around and she always insists I do things and pretends as if she never did such a thing.”
Charlotte lifted an eyebrow. “That doesn’t sound accurate to me.”
“Am I a pesky ghost?” Minnie asked as she followed me into the graveyard.
“No, not you, Minnie.” I looked at Charlotte again.
“I can’t believe you wore that to snoop around in a graveyard.” Charlotte eyed me up and down.
“If I’d known I was coming maybe I wouldn’t have worn this,” I said.
“It’s a lovely outfit,” Minnie said.
Maybe my choice of a white pleated skirt with multi-colored flecks in the pattern wasn’t the best idea. The skirt fell to just above my knees. My black top was Jean-Louis Scherrer with button fastenings at the shoulders.
The wind picked up and the tree branches swayed. Dark clouds were moving in quickly. It would storm soon. The sound of the rustling branches added a creepy sound effect. What was I scared for anyway? I already had ghosts following me. Not to mention two cats with spirits of humans stuck inside.
There could be bad spirits around though. The last thing I wanted was to encounter those. Plus, there had been a murder here. What were the odds that the killer would ever return though? I had nothing to worry about, I reminded myself. So why were my knees still shaking?