Witch Trials (A Mackenzie Coven Mystery Book 5)

by Sonia Parin

  “It would make sense. There are eyes and ears everywhere. You’d need someone to keep a lookout.”

  They all agreed with small nods.

  “As for motive.” Zoe glanced at her husband. “At the risk of incriminating ourselves, we’ve been thinking it could be someone in the realty business. Perhaps a competitor. We’ve met some homeowners who enjoyed playing us against each other. Another possibility is a disgruntled client. There are a couple of people we haven’t talked with and know nothing about. Maybe they infiltrated the group in order to get closer to their victims. Last year I read about one of our colleagues being hounded by a client after he found out the realtor had undervalued his house, forcing him to sell it at a loss.”

  “Did you offer all this information to the detective?” Lexie asked.

  “We might have... if he’d been nicer to us.”

  Lexie hid her smile. It seemed the detective needed to work on his bedside manners...

  “You said you’d heard a scream. Is there anything else you remember?” Zoe asked her.

  Yes, everyone being upstairs. Everyone including Luna. Lexie shook the thought away. She couldn’t possibly suspect her own feline companion of frightening Lauren...

  “I heard that,” Luna said as she sauntered over to sit beside her.

  “Your cat seems to always be around you. Does it never wander off?”

  “No,” Lexie said without giving it a thought. “She’s always by my side.” Wanting to change the subject quickly, she said, “You heard the scream too, Zoe. You told me you did, but you thought it had been someone celebrating. Do you remember seeing anyone near the McCullens’ suite?”

  “Zach and I were just rounding the corner and, I’m not sure, but I think I might have seen someone. So much has been going on, it’s hard to focus. Give me a minute. It’ll come to me.”

  When Zachary opened his mouth to speak, Zoe held her hand up. Clearly, she seemed intent on everyone waiting with baited breath while she thought.

  “Cue elevator music,” Luna murmured. “Actually, I’m thinking I caught a flash of blue as I came out of our suite.”

  And she waited until now to mention it? Lexie stepped away from the group only to have Zoe grab hold of her hand.

  Zoe’s husband Zachary offered an apologetic smile.

  “Zoe has incredible powers of persuasion,” Luna remarked.

  “Yes, it’s come to me,” Zoe exclaimed.

  Finally.

  “Blue. We saw someone dressed in blue.”

  “A man or a woman?” The beige couple asked simultaneously.

  “And was it powder blue or dark blue?” Lexie asked.

  “Please, not all at once. Now I’m confused again.”

  Lexie looked down at Luna and lifted her eyebrow.

  Zoe hummed. “I remember the color blue but I also caught a hint of another color.”

  Interesting, Lexie thought. Had the killer chosen a disguise in an effort to frame someone else?

  Zoe shook her head. “That’s all I remember.” Straightening, she lifted her gaze and looked over everyone’s shoulders.

  Following the prompt, they all turned in time to see the powder blue couple entering the sitting room.

  “This is awkward,” Luna murmured. “I wonder if they realize they’re now under suspicion.”

  The powder blue couple offered tentative smiles and introduced themselves as Emily and Kenneth Grant.

  “We’ve just had our interview with the detective.” Emily shivered. “The man has no manners. I thought he’d try to arm wrestle a confession out of us. Right in the middle of our interview, a ball came bouncing into the room. Kenneth dove for it but the detective beat him to it, so now we’re missing a clue.”

  “He wouldn’t give you the ball?” Zoe asked.

  Emily Grant shook her head. “Simply refused, stubborn man. Said it would go into evidence.”

  Lexie decided they were either telling the truth or embellishing their experience with the detective to throw everyone off their scent. Either way, she’d put a mental asterisk next to their names.

  Luna scratched her boot. “Marcela is trying to catch your attention.”

  Excusing herself, Lexie left the group, grumbling under her breath, “You left scratch marks on my boot.”

  “Sorry. You seemed to be engrossed in the conversation and I knew you wished to speak with Marcela. You said so earlier. Or had you forgotten?”

  “Are you, by any chance, fishing for compliments because you’re doing such an exemplary job at filling my personal assistant’s shoes?”

  “A little recognition would go a long way. Remember, we are still trying to mend fences.”

  Right. “Please remind me to ask Octavia to look into that. I’d like to know who’s responsible for us squabbling.” She hoped it wasn’t a case of cabin fever.

  While she hadn’t officially quit her job at O’Connor’s, she hadn’t been going into work and that left her with more time than she knew what to do with, most of it spent at the apartment with Luna doing nothing. Perhaps it was time to start thinking seriously about her new role and how she could ease into her new responsibilities. If only someone would tell her what they were...

  Luna cleared her throat. “If it is cabin fever... we should consider attending therapy voluntarily. Who knows? We might acquire some useful coping tools. Just saying...”

  Marcela gestured for them to follow her into her office next to the main staircase. “I thought we should have some privacy. Please take a seat.”

  For a moment, Lexie thought Marcela had made a mistake and led them into a storage room. Unlike the rest of the beautifully furnished house, her office had been crammed with leftover pieces. The desk looked like something picked up at a garage sale with pen marks and scratches on the surface, while the leather on the armchair she sat on had cracked and been torn off in places.

  “You’ll have to excuse the mess. I’m still trying to decide what to let go of and what to keep. Although, as soon as I clear this lot out, there’ll be more coming down from the attic. We have always been a family of unapologetic hoarders.” Marcela sighed. “It’s been our one and only weakness, which doesn’t bode well for so-called Administrative Witches.”

  Lexie’s chair wobbled slightly.

  “Don’t worry. It’s safe enough.”

  Luna disappeared behind a stack of chairs and reappeared on top of a bookshelf.

  “Have you given any thought to my request?” Marcela asked.

  “Making all this go away? Sorry. Can’t help you there. I can’t interfere with an ongoing investigation.” Marcela didn’t need to know she didn’t have the powers to even conjure a pizza and, even if she did, Lexie knew interfering wouldn’t sit well with the High Chairs, who appeared to adhere to the golden rule of ‘Do as we say, not as we do’. “But I can assist with the investigation.” Lexie tapped her pocket. “Sorry, I don’t have a card with me.” Yet... “I’m the lead investigator for Crafty Investigations.”

  “Listen to you,” Luna sniggered.

  Lexie mentally poked her tongue out at her.

  “Will you do it pro bono?”

  “Yes. Happy to do it for free...” Anything to get out of chasing balls.

  “In exchange for a certificate of completion,” Luna said peering at her from behind a stack of leather bound books.

  Marcela nibbled the edge of her lip. “The council has requested a full report on your behavior and participation.”

  They had? “Who requested it?”

  “You know I’m not at liberty to divulge any details. However... there are those who think you do not take your position seriously.”

  “Say no more.” Mirabelle. Not only had she had a hand in this, she’d also taken the opportunity to snatch Octavia from right under her nose. Lexie would even go so far as to say Mirabelle had gone out of her way to achieve that single outcome.

  “We’ll work something out.”

  They shook on it. “This is bet
ween you and me. Detective Gerard O’Rourke must not know about my involvement.”

  “Agreed.”

  “First. I’ll need a list of names. I’d also like access to Jeeves.”

  Luna stared at her from behind a large magnifying glass. “The game is afoot.”

  Chapter Six

  They found Jeeves, a.k.a. Joshua Taggart, in the control room, his feet up on the desk, a baseball cap lowered over his face.

  Luna leaped up onto his desk and stared at him. “Snoozing on the job.”

  “Jeeves,” Lexie said from the doorway.

  “How may I help you?” He cleared his throat and launched into a mocking monologue... supposedly with a pretend guest, “I don’t think that was real butter at breakfast. It looked like real butter, it tasted like real butter but I don’t believe it was because normally I gain a pound simply by looking at butter and I’m still fitting into my ridiculous zebra striped trousers...”

  “Clearly, he is unhappy with his lot in life,” Luna remarked. “I am feeling a twinge of empathy for him.”

  “Jeeves!”

  Joshua Taggart sprung upright. Seeing Luna, he yelped. “Who are you?”

  “Considering the number of security monitors in front of you, I’d expect you to know. And what happened to the British accent?” His snooty nasal pronunciation had switched to a regular Midwestern tone. “Did you step out of character?”

  He straightened and pushed his cap back. “Hey, you’re not supposed to be in here.”

  “Oh, but I am.” She flashed him Dr Shrink’s business card and made a mental note to have some made up for herself. “Lexie Mackenzie. Crafty Investigations. Your wife engaged our services.” She sent her gaze skating over the monitors. They appeared to capture all strategic angles along the hallways. “Has the detective inspected the video footage?”

  He gave a stiff nod. “I had to make him copies of everything.”

  “Where are the originals?”

  “They’re all backed up and archived as per instructions.”

  Luna twitched her whiskers and mused in a mock detective voice, “He speaks with more than a hint of bitter indignation. I suspect he resents performing the task. Could that be a motive to kill the guests, one by one?”

  If Joshua Taggart plotted to kill someone, he would be all talk, no action, Lexie thought. “Which monitor captures the suite where the bodies were found?”

  He pointed at the one on the far end.

  “Have you inspected all the recordings for this morning?”

  “Do I look like I have the time?”

  As he huffed out a breath, Lexie noticed the console in front of him lighting up. “What are all those lights?”

  “Our esteemed guests demanding attention.”

  “Shouldn’t you answer?”

  He looked up at a clock on the wall. “I’m on a break.”

  Lexie straightened and crossed her arms. “Break’s over, Jeeves. Step right back into character, I need to see the recordings now.” Before Gerard O’Rourke caught her red-handed and locked her up in her suite.

  Joshua Taggart pointed at Luna. “Does it have to do that?”

  “What?”

  “Stare.”

  Luna gave her tail a flick. “I think I make him nervous.” She crouched and appeared to intensify her stare. “I wonder what he’d do if I suddenly disappeared? If only I had access to my powers.”

  Quit harassing him. We need him to cooperate.

  “Never mind her.” Lexie tapped the monitor. “Start rolling the video footage.”

  It took ten minutes to get to the moment when the security camera captured Lauren and Lance entering their suite, clearly arguing as they had been at lunch. For the next half hour, Lexie watched as all the program participants strode along the hallway, including Luna who’d hurried to their suite at full speed.

  “Oh, look. That’s me.” Luna blinked. “I’m very photogenic.”

  Using the colors guests had chosen to wear, Lexie checked everyone off the list. “Is there another camera capturing all this from another angle?”

  Jeeves pointed at the next monitor. Lexie watched a repeat of the footage she’d already seen but the different angle didn’t provide any new clues. Everyone had sauntered past Lauren and Lance’s suite and gone into the adjoining ones, exiting with obvious looks of triumph, their attention fixed on their clues.

  “How did they know to go into those rooms? I haven’t seen anyone try to open Lauren and Lance’s door.” And yet someone had because she’d found it slightly ajar.

  Joshua pushed out a breath.

  Lexie held up a hand. “I should rephrase that. If it’s not too much trouble... Would you mind telling me, pretty please with a cherry on top, how everyone knew to go into those rooms?”

  He pointed at the monitor. “There’s a small question mark pinned on the doors.”

  “Oh. I see.” She’d missed them. “And those rooms are vacant?”

  “Yes.”

  Next, she took note of the time each guest spent inside the suites. No longer than five minutes...

  Certainly long enough to kill a couple of people. Except...

  No one had gone into the McCullen’s suite.

  “Do the rooms have balconies?” Since arriving, she hadn’t spent much time in her suite so she hadn’t noticed any details.

  “Not the ones on that side of the house.”

  If the killer didn’t enter via the door or a balcony...

  She smacked her hand against her forehead. “Are you about to tell me these suites have connecting doors?”

  “Yeah. They all have.”

  So... in theory... anyone going into the suites could have slipped inside the McCullen’s suite. It would only have taken a few seconds to startle Lauren. Deliberately or by accident.

  But surely the doors were kept locked...

  She closed her eyes and tried to think of possible scenarios.

  Someone went in... looked around for the clue... knocked on the adjoining door...

  “Why would someone knock on the door?” Luna asked as she continued to stare at Joshua.

  Simply because. Now... where was I? Oh, yes... Lauren opens the door...

  Lexie shook her head. Why would Lauren open an adjoining door?

  Just go with it, Lexie told herself and resumed trying to picture the scenario.

  The killer engaged Lauren in conversation, and somehow backed her into the room and all the way into the bathroom...

  “Nope. That doesn’t ring true,” Luna murmured.

  She had to agree with Luna. Unless...

  What if the killer had been armed?

  She retraced her steps and mentally saw Lauren opening the door, and looking surprised to find one of the other guests holding a gun and threatening her into a swift retreat, all the way into the bathroom. She’d probably tried to make sense of the intrusion. Gauging the opportunity handed to him, the killer might have decided there wouldn’t be any need to spill blood, even if he had a silencer. He startled Lauren into tripping and the deed was done...

  Lexie gave Luna a lifted eyebrow look.

  Luna replied with a small nod. “It begins to sound plausible.”

  Maybe... But Lexie wasn’t entirely convinced Lauren would answer a knock from the adjoining room, especially not if she had already been using the hairdryer. She would not have heard the knock...

  Tapping her chin, Lexie turned and looked straight at the wall opposite. A couple of dozen key cards hung on hooks. “Are they the room key cards?”

  Joshua’s chair squeaked. “Yep.”

  “Who, apart from you, has access to this office?”

  “You call this an office?”

  “Call it what you want. Does anyone else have access?”

  “Only Marcela and I.”

  “And what happens when you leave to go on one of your numerous breaks?” Seeing him about to protest, she put her hand up. “Just answer the question.” For a second, she wondered if
he’d call her bluff by telling her to take a hike. If he did, she wouldn’t have anything to retaliate with. Maybe a faux karate chop and a growl, but no ready quip.

  “The door is automatically locked behind me.” He flicked a card hanging around his neck. “As you can see, I’m shackled.”

  “I feel for him,” Luna murmured. “He is a free artistic spirit forced to dwell within the confines of a strictly regulated environment.”

  That reminds me... Should you be wearing a flea collar?

  “If you put a flea collar on me, you will have to sleep with one eye open. Do not test me.”

  Lexie smirked at Luna. “Are there any other key cards?”

  “They’re the spare cards. Marcela keeps a set in her office.”

  Hypothetically, anyone could have slipped in and taken one of the key cards... somehow...

  “Somehow?” Luna asked. “You heard Joshua. The door locks automatically behind him.”

  Lexie gave a shake of her head as if to dispel her thoughts.

  “You can shake your head all you want, but I can still hear you thinking.” Luna licked her paw. “So... you think someone waited in the shadows for Jeeves to leave his office, and as the door shut, they snuck inside?”

  Lexie tilted her head in thought. That could be a definite possibility.

  “Are there cameras positioned outside your office?”

  Jeeves shrunk back in his chair and shrugged. “Yeah... sort of.”

  “What do you mean? It’s either yes or no.”

  He huffed out a breath. “Look. My job’s not easy. I’m not cut out for this. I... I feel caged in here so I have to get out. You know, to grab a breath of fresh air and some sunshine.”

  “You disconnected the camera so there wouldn’t be any proof of the number of times you sneak out of here,” Lexie guessed and swung around. There had to be another way to figure out if someone had snuck in here... “Hang on. What about Marcela’s office?”

  He seemed to give it some thought. “Yeah. That’s a possibility. Not. She’s never careless. She always makes sure to lock her office door. It’s one of her obsessive-compulsive quirks. She double-checks things like door knobs and light switches.”