“No, nothing. Look, I think we should just get over there ASAP. I’m very anxious about him.”
“I’ll get dressed and meet you on Main Street.”
“Perfect,” said Sage. “I’ll be there in two minutes. He sounds terrible, Roxy. Be quick, won’t you?”
“As lightning,” Roxy promised.
Roxy quickly fed the ever-hungry Nefertiti and slipped into jeans and a sweatshirt. She sat on the bed to lace up her tennis shoes, and within moments, she was stepping out of the hotel into the early morning light. The sidewalk glistened, a result of the overnight rain, but the sun was just beginning to peek over the tops of the buildings, promising a beautiful day. Glancing across the alleyway, there were lights on in Elijah’s bakery, and she could see him filling his display cases with fresh pastries and loaves of bread. Despite their late dinner the evening before, he would have been up since the early hours, kneading, and proofing, frying, and assembling his baked goods. He looked remarkably fresh and alert, and on seeing her, gave her a wave.
As she promised, Sage stood at the corner of the alleyway where it met Main Street. She wore brilliant white flowing robes. A soft gray wig of long curls cascaded down her back, and she stood tall and proud. She looked like a Grecian goddess. After embracing Roxy in a quick hug, Sage announced, “Let’s go. It’s only a short walk.”
They hurried down the street. It was so early that there was barely any traffic, and the only people they saw were dog walkers, runners out for their morning jog, and those on their way to an early shift.
Sage said, “He said he only had a second to talk. He’d had to beg Johnson to let him use the phone. He just told me things were really bad, and he needed to see us.”
“Man,” Roxy said, “I can’t believe they’re still holding him. I mean, why would Dr. Jack kill Meredith Romanoff? Unless…”
“Don’t even think that, Roxy. He wouldn’t do such a thing,” Sage said her voice firm and resolute. “No ‘unless’ about it.” When she turned to face Roxy, fire blazed in her eyes. “Seriously Roxy, I know his heart. It’s not him. It’s really not. Someone else murdered Meredith Romanoff.”
“Okay,” said Roxy softly. “I hear what you’re saying.”
Some doubt must have crept into her voice because Sage said, “Honey, please trust me on this one. Yes, people are complex. No one’s perfect. But I have psychic powers, and I know Dr. Jack’s complexity and his imperfections. I can promise you that the ability to kill another human being doesn’t exist in him. Not even a little bit. He wouldn’t harm anyone or anything.”
“I believe you,” said Roxy. “I trust you…your powers.”
“Thank you.” Sage reached out and squeezed Roxy’s hand. It felt large and warm and soft as it wrapped around Roxy’s cool, small, slight one. “Now, just give me a moment. I need to prepare my energy for walking into that police station. They are terrible places from an energetic perspective. All sorts of tortured spirits roam about, just like hospitals, but at least hospitals are healing places. There are strong, positive energies trying very hard to do good there. Police departments are just—ugh.” Sage shuddered.
They walked the rest of the way in silence. As they got closer, Roxy felt her anxiety mount. Her palms began to sweat, and her pace picked up. She did not relish the prospect of coming across Johnson at any time, but first thing in the morning was especially tough. Perhaps Trudeau would be there. He wouldn’t be so bad, but not by all that much. As it turned out, neither Johnson nor Trudeau were anywhere to be seen.
A young woman officer stood at the front desk. She looked startlingly young. In fact, Roxy suspected that the woman was younger than her, and that made Roxy feel old.
“Jack Lavantille requested our visit,” Sage said to the police officer.
The young woman looked bored as she checked a list of names on a clipboard. She punched some numbers into a phone and spoke quietly into it. “You can meet him in the visitors’ room,” she said when she put the phone down. “I’ll escort you. One second. Please sit.” She gestured toward some scuffed utilitarian chairs in the waiting area.
Roxy and Sage both sat down. Now that she was paying attention, Roxy realized what Sage meant by the police station being filled with weird energies. Just sitting in the lobby made her feel uncomfortable and on edge. Stale air hung around the room, the noticeboard was filled with torn, faded, or out-of-date notices and the strip lights above were far too bright. They were threatening to give her a headache.
It seemed an age before the young woman police officer appeared from behind a heavy blue metal door at the side of the counter. She nodded at them in an unfriendly way. “You can come through now.”
Roxy noticed the woman appraise Sage, taking in her long mermaid hair and her white robes, clearly disapproving of them in all their floaty, exotic glory.
They followed the policewoman down a corridor and were led to a side room. “Go in,” she said. “You have fifteen minutes.”
Sage and Roxy walked over to a small booth. There was only one chair. On the other side of the glass partition sat Dr. Jack. He looked pale and defeated, his body slumped in his chair. As he caught sight of them though, he sat up, a nervous, desperate energy enlivening him. His eyes sparkled although there was no accompanying smile to soften his features. Another police officer stood against the wall behind him.
“Jack,” Sage said. She ignored Roxy and slipped onto the chair in front of him.
“Sage,” he said. He mustered a smile and looked behind her. “Hello, Roxy. Thank you so much for coming, both of you.”
“Of course we would come,” Sage said. She shifted over a little. “Roxy, do you want to take half the seat next to me?”
“No, I’m fine,” said Roxy. “I’ll stand here.”
Sage gave her a grateful smile and repositioned herself in the middle of the chair. She put her hand on the glass, tilted her head to one side, and pursed her lips. Her big brown eyes were moist. Dr. Jack lifted his hand on the other side of the glass to match hers. Roxy looked down at the floor. She felt the moment too intimate for her to witness, but Sage and Dr. Jack didn’t mind her.
“I can’t believe they still have you here,” Sage said. “What’s happening?”
CHAPTER TEN
“I DON’T KNOW.”
Dr. Jack shook his head. “They’ve questioned me three times so far, and they seem to be getting frustrated. They’re not making progress, but that’s because they’re barking up the wrong tree. I heard Trudeau tell Johnson that there were no fingerprints on the gun. Johnson told him to check the scene for gloves. Of course, I have gloves at the botanica. I use them all the time to handle the crystals and other delicate objects, so I’m afraid they’re going to say I used them while handling a firearm. Which, of course, is untrue. I’ve never even fired a gun, let alone killed anyone with one. It’s unbelievable what is happening.” The light in Jack’s eyes dimmed a little and his chin dipped.
“Oh dear,” said Roxy. The words slipped out before she could stop them. Jack and Sage looked at her as though only just remembering she was there.
“You both know I didn’t do it, don’t you?” Jack said.
“Of course!” Sage said quickly.
“Of course,” said Roxy, not quite so quickly.
Dr. Jack studied her through the glass for a moment. “You’re not 100% sure I’m innocent, but that’s okay. In the material world, it is difficult for one to know who to trust if one solely uses logic for guidance. But, Roxy, if you go deep into your heart, and listen to your intuition, it will tell you the truth. I can only ask that you do that.”
Roxy knew that she tended to overthink things, especially when she was anxious. She relied on facts and logic to help her make decisions most of the time. Using her intuition as Sage and Dr. Jack did practically all the time was extremely difficult for Roxy, and she wasn’t at all sure it was a very sound practice. It sounded so foreign, baseless, and scary. The world didn’t run on intuition an
d using it certainly went against all that she had learned growing up. Safety and security were Roxy’s goals, and she mostly employed hard work, delayed gratification, and fact-based decision making to achieve them. Using one’s intuition was the very opposite of that. It relied on making leaps of faith, trusting that things would work out for the best, and listening to one’s gut, often in the face of evidence to the contrary. Roxy was quite sure her bank manager would not approve. “I really don’t think you did it, Dr. Jack. Don’t worry.”
He smiled at her. “You’re a very brave young woman, Roxy. Do you know that?”
“I’m not, not really. I’m not sure I would save someone else before myself if faced with a tiger.”
“What about when that guest of yours murdered his brother. You went flying in to save the day.” Sage was referring to the last time Roxy had gotten entangled with the police. A famous Instagram influencer had been murdered at the Funky Cat. Roxy had worked out that the influencer’s sibling had killed him, and she’d confronted him in front of thousands of people.
“Yes, but that was because I wasn’t thinking. I was overcome with…passion, emotion, righteousness.”
“Exactly. You stopped thinking and went with your heart,” Dr. Jack countered.
Roxy thought for a moment. “I see what you’re saying.”
Jack leaned forward on his elbows, his face up close to the glass. “Listen, we don’t have long. Sage, I need your help.”
“Do you want us to keep the botanica open, so you don’t lose any business?” Roxy asked over the top of Sage’s head, keen to put things on more solid, practical ground. “The witches will miss you.” She gave Dr. Jack a silly smile. He had once told her he stayed open late “for the witches,” but now he missed her little joke, and her smile died.
“I can serve customers, and do my programming work from behind the counter,” Sage added.
Dr. Jack gave Sage a warm smile. “That would be most appreciated. Thank you for your offer, and you, Roxy, but what I want you to do is find out who the real murderer is. Roxy, you talk the language that the police understand, and you’ve shown your investigative prowess twice now. I would love it if you could turn it on again for me. Despite the anxiety you sometimes suffer, your perseverance and persistence are the catalysts for success. I’m sure you could succeed in proving my innocence. You’re resilient. Nothing stops you, even if it tries to. I suspect you have a tougher history than many could guess at, and it’s that which has given you a belief in justice and a backbone when you’ve needed one.”
Roxy nodded. She’d never known her father nor had any brothers to protect her. To survive, she’d kept herself to herself, and learned to navigate danger from when she was just a little girl. Seeing others suffering unjustly cut at her so.
Dr. Jack continued, “But this might be your biggest challenge yet. The furies will try to take you down. I understand the sacrifices you’ll make, the risks you’ll take, but I know justice burns brightly in you. Oh, you don’t have to believe me right at this minute, Roxy, you can work with facts and logic until your heart takes over, but I need you. Will you help me?”
How could Roxy refuse such a plea? “Of course, I’ll help,” she said. “We’ll find out who really did this.”
“Sage, I need you to do some spiritual work to support exposing the real murderer. I know it’s difficult work…very taxing, but I think it might be necessary, and it will lift the burden from Roxy, allowing her to move more freely.”
“I’m working on it already,” said Sage. “We have to get you out of here.”
“Thank you,” said Dr. Jack, tears welling up in his eyes. “You are more than I could ask for.”
“I would fight a million soulless demons for you,” Sage said, her eyes big and imploring. They smiled at each other and sighed in unison. Roxy looked away again.
“Don’t discount Charles or George,” Dr. Jack said. “They both look like wonderful men, but you must find out what lurks beneath. And who knows what history has passed between Meredith and Terah, and Royston Lamontagne, too. I’m sure there is a lot to uncover.”
“I’ll do everything I can,” said Roxy.
Dr. Jack’s eyes burned with gratitude. “When you work on behalf of truth and justice, you are blessed beyond your wildest dreams. Just hold out for an amazing reward. It’ll come.”
Roxy smiled. “Thank you. That the real murderer is put behind bars is reward enough.”
“We’ll get there,” Dr. Jack said. “We just have to work as a team. Together we will be unbeatable.”
“But Dr. Jack, before I take on this task, please tell me what you and Meredith were arguing about before the séance? You were both quite heated.”
Dr. Jack sat back in his chair and folded his arms. “Meredith was involved in something I most definitely don’t agree with. She wanted to invoke the practice during the séance, in my botanica. I said absolutely not.”
“What…what did she want to do that you so disapproved of?” Roxy asked, almost afraid to find out.
“It’s called spirit binding, Roxy. It means to bind a spirit to a vessel, a physical object, trapping them essentially. I believe it to be a cruel practice, like caging any being would be. It is for the benefit of the person who wishes to remain in contact with another’s soul, but it requires the spirit’s subordination. I don’t support that, and I most definitely didn’t want the practice carried out on my premises. It would be against everything I believe in. But of course, that doesn’t mean I would kill anyone. I wouldn’t, not for anything.”
“I see.” Spirit binding—that was something new!
The door opened and the young woman cop from earlier walked in, her thumbs hooked into her belt. She looked at the three of them. Sage sitting on the chair, her palm still placed up against the interview window, Roxy standing behind her, Jack on the other side of the glass. She jangled her keys and nodded her head at the door through which she’d just come. “Time’s up," she said.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
WHEN ROXY RETURNED to the Funky Cat, she found Charles and George sitting at a small table in the dining room chatting in hushed tones. They both looked pale and tired.
“Hello, Charles, George,” she said to them softly, not wishing to interrupt them unduly. They nodded in her direction.
“Hello Roxy,” George said. His red hair, unbrushed, stuck up perpendicular to his head, and his freckles stood out against the pallor of his skin. His eyes were swollen. He wore sweatpants and a t-shirt, but even they were twisted around his body like it had been too much effort to put them on properly.
Charles was better groomed. He was freshly shaven and showered and wore a red plaid bow tie and a navy blazer over a white shirt and khakis. His glasses on their gold chain hung around his neck as usual.
Roxy headed through to the kitchen to find Nat dashing about the kitchen as she stirred, sliced, sprinkled, and served. “Looks like Charles got his appetite back,” Nat said. “He asked for our special.”
The “special” comprised of such a big plate of food, Roxy had never been able to finish one, and she didn’t have an especially small appetite. It consisted of a heaping plate of eggs, sausages, stuffed tomatoes, and beef cooked in tomato sauce over grits. Ginger-cranberry pancakes accompanied the dish along with coffee served just the way the guest liked it. Fresh beignets were available on the table too, just in case that pile of New Orleans goodness wasn’t quite enough.
“As, it would appear, so did her majesty,” Nat said, nodding toward the open door to the paved area out back where Nefertiti had her head in a silver bowl.
“Ah, she never lost hers,” Roxy replied.
“Looks like she has a suitor, too. A big orange tom. She shared her food with him. The two of them had their heads in the bowl together. It was so sweet. When he left, I gave her some more.” Nat grinned. “Maybe there’ll be some fluffy orange and white kittens around here soon?”
Roxy grinned back. “No chance. She’s be
en fixed.”
“Oh, right.” Nat turned down the corners of her mouth. “Well, that’s a bit disappointing. I was quite looking forward to some little ginger puffballs running all over the place.” She cracked some eggs into a bowl. “Where did you get off to so early this morning? Back on a health kick again? Out for an early morning run?”
“Unfortunately not,” said Roxy. She explained about the trip with Sage to see Dr. Jack.
Nat shook her head. “I can’t even process this right now. It’s too much. Dr. Jack a murderer? Imagine!”
“I know, right? I don’t know what to think. But I’ve agreed to do a bit of digging. See what’s what,” Roxy replied. “And I need your help.”
Nat looked up from her eggs in surprise. “You do?”
“Yes, I want you to focus on Charles and George. I want you to make them feel safe and comfortable and cared for. My mind’s going to be everywhere, trying to get evidence and clues and whatnot, and I’m going to have to consider them suspects. So I’ll really need you to step up, Nat. Do you think you can do that?”
“Sure,” Nat said firmly. She was mixing the eggs in a bowl, but now she put them down and took a breather. “I know in the past I haven’t always been the most…well, hospitable, shall we say, but you can count on me, Rox. I won’t let you down.”
Roxy gave her a side hug, and Nat responded with a grateful smile. “I know I can come out with some right old rubbish from time to time, and I know I can look a little, um, unapproachable, but I hope people don’t think I’m venomous to the core!”
Roxy giggled. “Nope, you’re a fluffy bunny under all of that…bravado.”
Nat made bunny ears above her head with her hands and twitched her nose until she looked quite cute. Seeing Nat with her tattoos and combat boots looking so silly made Roxy laugh again.
“Anyway, Rox, enough with all the fun, what’re you having for breakfast?”
“Oh, I was just going to have beignets and a café au lait. But since you’re doing the cooked special, I would love some beef in tomato sauce over grits. I could eat that all day and all night!”
Roxy Reinhardt Mysteries Box Set Page 36
