An Old Witches Tale

by Agnes Lester Brown

  “I called the blackmailer and told him what had happened. Hanging him in the chapel was his idea, but it was a real struggle given Hank’s body size. I must’ve dropped the chips while moving Hank.”

  No one had noticed Dinah had left the room until she returned and sat down again, just as a flashing blue light lit up the darkened driveway.

  “I went to call Holden,” she said. “That must be him about to arrive. I thought we’d spare you the temptation of going on the run, Stanley.”

  Looking at his pathetic figure, Fae was certain Stanley had lost at a pound or two in the past three hours. He looked bedraggled and tired, but a strange, peaceful expression had come over his face. He was resigned to his fate.

  “One last important detail we almost forgot,” Fae said as Blaise and Dinah left the room to open the front door for Holden. “Who’s the blackmailer, and how did he find out what you were doing?”

  Stanley shook his head. “I don’t know who it is. He always disguised his voice on the phone. We used code names to communicate. He called himself Azure, or something that sounded like that. It was difficult to hear because his voice was disguised.”

  A barely perceptible smile came over Fae’s face. Azure. That was the name she had seen appear on Hanks smartphone before he’d rushed out the door when she and Brenda last saw him. She hadn’t taken Stanley’s story about a blackmailer seriously, but this cast it in a different light.

  “Thank goodness for these,” Dinah said as she held up her aural glasses after Stanley left. “I’ve never been so nervous before in my life. It was fate that Stanley had a good hand, and that mine was better, or else we’d have been here all night, out of pocket and none the wiser. It was a blessing that I saw his cards and knew how to play.”

  Blaise chuckled. “That was an excellent bluff, putting your bank account number on the table. I’m surprised he fell for that.”

  Dinah stopped packing the poker chips away, frowned and put her hands in her sides. “What do you mean, bluff? It was the real thing. If he’d won, I would have been a hundred thousand dollars poorer. My husband would be spinning in his grave by now if that had happened. He’d haunt me for the rest of my life.”

  Fae pulled her breath in sharply. “You mean to say you risked every cent you have here tonight, in a poker game?”

  Dinah shrugged. “What else was I gonna do? We had a killer to catch, remember?”

  “That code name Stanley mentioned rings a bell,” Fae said. “Sure, Hank used it, but does the word ‘Azure’ mean anything else to you guys?” For a while, they speculated about what it might refer to—a child or wife named Azure, the name of a building, or the name of a sports car.

  “Wait a minute,” Blaise said, sitting up. “This might be a long shot, but wasn’t the ship on that Caribbean cruise brochure we picked up called the Azure?”

  “In that case, it’s highly likely the person we’re looking for is a resident or person working here,” Fae said. “That narrows it down a lot.” She beamed. “Good work, Blaise, you genius!” They gathered in a group hug and then finished packing up just as the two men asleep in front of the television awoke and stared at them with bleary eyes.

  Chapter Eight

  For the next few days after Stanley’s confession, the witches watched the press anxiously for any news about Stanley’s arrest. The front page was covered with stories about an upcoming local election but mentioned nothing about the murders at Shady Pastures. Most probably, the police were doing their homework before making an announcement. Claptrap stayed put in his office behind closed doors, hardly ever appearing at all. The residents and staff at Shady Pastures had put the trauma of the recent past behind them and were moving on. The topic of the murders no longer featured in their conversations.

  “We have this one loose end to tie up before we can get closure on this whole sad affair,” Fae said during breakfast one morning. “How are we going to pin down the blackmailer, who appears to be a psychopath living in our midst? We simply cannot allow him to get away with it.”

  Fae saw Myrna’s pretty figure appear in the kitchen door with a tray. “Here comes our favorite informant with our food. With her connections, she’s bound to know something.”

  Much to Fae’s delight, Myrna was her bubbly self when she brought their food over. She noticed Myrna’s lips were an extra-bright shade of red, and she wore long eyelashes. On days when she’d had a fight with her boyfriend, she looked plain, wore hardly any makeup and hardly spoke to them. Today she was sure to have a few bits of gossip to share.

  “Isn’t it awful what happened to Hank?” Myrna said the moment she’d put out their cereal bowls. She moved in closer, so much so that her sweet perfume made Dinah sneeze. “Rumor has it that a bunch of nightclub thugs he runs with were responsible for a recent bank heist. Apparently that’s where he got the cash for that fancy Corvette and all the bling he has. But then he got accused of taking more than his share of the spoils, and next thing you know, he ends up hanging in the chapel. What’s the world coming to?”

  Fae did her best to look impressed by her theory, but she was wishing Myrna would move on to something a little closer to reality. But Myrna was on a roll.

  “The admin department’s been very quiet since Joe passed on so tragically. Everyone misses his humor. Of course, I personally still believe Mrs. Yankelich—” She cut herself short and got up. “Can you believe it, here comes Claptrap. He hasn’t shown himself in days.” She started away from the table. “I gotta go. See you ladies soon.”

  Fae couldn’t remember when she’d last seen Claptrap smile. In fact, right now might be the first time in the many years she’d known him. He was pushing an elderly woman in a wheelchair, and coming straight to their table.

  “I have fantastic news for you ladies. I’m happy to tell you that pudding will be back on the menu starting tomorrow evening.”

  All three clapped upon hearing the good news, and residents at two nearby tables joined in.

  “We were starting to think you’d put us on a diet,” Fae said. “But are you sure you can afford it in these lean times?”

  “Yes, we can afford it once again. I’ve brought Mrs. Glenville here on board to assist for a few days with the bookkeeping, now that Mr. Ellis is no longer with us. She’s helped out before and did a sterling job while he was off sick. She’s streamlined our accounting system substantially, with the result that our cash flow has increased enough to afford pudding once more.” He rested his hand on the shoulder of the lady in the wheelchair. “I don’t know if you’ve met her—she’s a resident in the mobility-impaired wing in the next building.”

  Mrs. Grenville removed a pair of earphones connected to a cell phone on her lap. When she nodded in greeting, Fae noticed a hint of recognition in her eyes. Fae returned the nod, and their eyes met for a fraction of a second longer than Fae thought was necessary. She had dark brown eyes—so dark they seemed impenetrable—and her mouth was a thin line of pink lipstick. She might be sitting in a wheelchair, but Fae knew by her demeanor and the Sudoku puzzle book in her wheelchair’s side pocket that there was a highly intelligent brain inside her head. Unlike all the other residents, her hair was dyed pitch black, making her appear much younger than she was. However, her sunken cheeks and pale complexion contrasted sharply with her hair and eyes. She didn’t look healthy.

  “We haven’t met, no,” Fae said without taking her eyes off Mrs. Glenville, whose hands were fidgeting with her cardigan buttons.

  “You may not have seen her around too often. She loves cruise ships, don’t you, Mrs. Glenville? She’s only recently returned from a trip around the Caribbean. She would’ve helped a while longer over at accounts, but she’s off again on another cruise in two days’ time.” Claptrap chuckled. “A real jet-setter we have here. We just can’t keep her home. What’s the name of that five-star liner you like so much?”

  Mrs. Glenville shifted in her wheelchair and cleared her throat.

  “It’s the Az
ure.”

  It was as if an electric bolt ran down Fae’s spine when she heard the name. She forced a plastic smile onto her face when she spoke.

  “How wonderful.” She kept her gaze pinned on Mrs. Glenville, who averted her eyes elsewhere. “Yes, we’ve heard about the Azure. A very expensive ship only the rich and famous can afford, apparently.”

  “We’d love to hear more about your wonderful vacations,” Dinah said, feigning a smile too. “We’ll come fetch you from your room in half an hour, and we can go for a relaxing walk around the duck pond. I’m sure we’ll be thrilled by your stories.”

  “That would be nice, but—” Mrs. Glenville began, but Claptrap interrupted her.

  “That’s a wonderful idea, I agree. I’ve long begged you to get out more,” Claptrap said. “I think it’s so nice of the ladies to offer. Now, let me return you to your room, and you can get ready for your outing.”

  Fae placed the Caribbean cruise brochure they’d found days before on Mrs. Glenville’s bedside table.

  “If it hadn’t been for this little booklet you dropped in the dining room, we’d never have connected you to all the tragedies that have happened here lately,” Fae said and sat down on the only bed in the tiny room. “You’d have disappeared into the sunset on your fancy cruise, never to be seen again, I’m sure.”

  Fae had expected Mrs. Glenville to use the time before they knocked on her door to compose herself and prepare for what she probably knew was coming, but she was still taken aback by the women’s confident, innocent smile. The frail, innocent-looking lady in the wheelchair hardly looked like a conniving psychopath. For a moment, Fae had a sinking feeling they might be on the wrong track, so she came right out with the most burning question in her mind.

  “We’re curious to know one thing. What drove you to do something so vile, Mrs. Glenville? Or shall I call you ‘Azure’?”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Mrs. Glenville said. She giggled. “And no one’s ever called me Azure. I’ll take that as a compliment, either way.”

  “We know it was you who blackmailed Stanley Ellis after finding out about the fraud he was committing. Then, when all was about to be revealed by Joe Humberton, you paid young Hank Drake to get rid of him,” Dinah said. “You might as well admit it.”

  Mrs. Glenville didn’t flinch, and her smile didn’t leave her face for a second. “Ladies, please. I thought you’ve come here to look at my vacation snapshots.” She opened the photo album on her lap. “I think you’re confusing me with someone else. I’ve heard about the unfortunate events surrounding Joe Humberton’s death. I was in the entertainment room at the time and had to get help when the brake on my wheelchair got stuck.” She motioned vaguely to her wheelchair.

  As she pointed down, Blaise suddenly bent over and started fishing out something from underneath Mrs. Glenville’s bed with her walking stick. She kept on scratching until a yellowed rectangular piece of paper came out. She laboriously bent down, picked it up and turned it over. There was a black-and-white photo on the other side.

  Fae watched as Mrs. Glenville’s face went even paler than her fair complexion already was when she saw the photo. Her hands began to tremble.

  “I suppose you’re going to tell us this photo got blown in through the window,” Fae said, dropping the image on Mrs. Glenville’s lap. “Or, maybe you can tell us how a photo of Joe, Willie and Hank landed up under your bed.”

  Fae was so certain Mrs. Glenville would start confessing, she folded her arms and leaned back, waiting for her to start spilling the beans. Her jaw dropped when the lady in the wheelchair regained her composure in an instant and smiled sweetly at her.

  “Yes, poor Hank was here. He was terribly upset his parents never told him the truth about his real father. I consoled him as best I could. I even gave him a cup of tea. He had made peace with the truth and appeared to be at ease by the time he left.”

  “We heard it differently,” Fae said. “You should have heard Stanley sing like a canary when we relieved him of his house and car in a poker game the other night. According to him, you paid Hank a bag full of crisp one-hundred-dollar bills to kill Joe, an offer a thug like him would find impossible to turn down. Where else would an out-of-work security guard find the money to pay for a new car and all the other fancy paraphernalia he flashed around? Was he merely an expendable pawn in your game to maintain a stranglehold over Stanley and keep him stealing from Shady Pastures?”

  Mrs. Glenville’s smile still didn’t waver. But a hint of an evil look had slipped into her eyes, telling Fae she was acknowledging the facts she was laying out.

  Mrs. Glenville shook her head. “On the contrary, quite the opposite has happened. Since the day Mr. Drake asked me to become involved with the Shady Pastures accounts, I’ve uncovered massive fraud and taken steps to fix it. You have me to thank for the pudding that’s being served again. Of course, it’s to be expected that, now that he’s been arrested, Stanley will do all in his power to put the blame on anyone but himself with far-fetched explanations.”

  The three witches looked at each other. Mrs. Glenville had all her bases covered. She wasn’t going to be a pushover like Stanley was.

  “I’m quite sure the police would be interested in taking a look at who you’ve been calling on your cell phone if we told them everything. They’d soon see you and Stanley have been talking a lot to each other lately,” Blaise said.

  Mrs. Glenville looked genuinely surprised. “Cell phone? What cell phone?” Then she giggled and picked up a small, battered transistor radio lying on her lap below the open photo album. “Oh, I get it. You’re mistaking my little transistor radio for a cell phone. I’m afraid I’m too old for these fancy new gizmos everyone has these days. This is the only electronic device I have. I use it to listen to the news and the weather every morning.”

  Fae managed to catch Mrs. Glenville’s self-assured gaze for a few seconds. She tried one last time to penetrate her defenses.

  “Admit it. If you’re a decent human being, you’ll confess you had two people killed to feed your greedy habits. Do it, for the sake of their families, and for us, who were Joe’s best friends.”

  Mrs. Glenville’s voice was mocking Fae when she replied. “Even if I did have anything to do with their deaths, there’s no way of ever proving it. I would have committed the perfect crime. Besides, there’s no way any court will lock up an old, terminally ill old lady.”

  Fae looked at Mrs. Glenville’s sickly complexion. “What do you mean by terminally ill?”

  She nodded. “Yes, I don’t have long to go. There’s nothing more any doctor can do for me. The lung cancer I have is too far advanced.” She touched the wheel of her wheelchair. “So I’m off on one last vacation, for old times’ sake.”

  Fae tore her gaze away from the wheelchair and looked at the two bulging suitcases standing packed by her bedside. It confirmed what Claptrap had said—Mrs. Glenville was going on a cruise again. Perhaps it was one from which she’d never return to Shady Pastures.

  “And by the way—“ Mrs. Glenville started talking and picked up a notebook lying on her bedside table, but Fae had run out of patience and interrupted her before she could continue.

  “Your illness hardly absolves you of murdering someone, just so you can go on a cruise.” She waved at her two companions. “Let’s do this. No way is this lady getting off scot-free.”

  Fae’s gesture was the sign they’d agreed on for Blaise to open the spell book she was carrying to a bookmarked page. She held the book out for all three to see, and then they collectively breathed in.

  “Cloven,” Dinah chanted.

  “Baculus,” Blaise followed.

  “Invoculem,” Fae finished off the spell.

  Blaise waved two fingers in a semicircle in front of Mrs. Glenville’s face. Slowly her twitching, emaciated body began fading, the way a movie disappears at the end of its final scene.

  “I always suspected you three were witches. I should
have had you…” Mrs. Glenville’s final words were draped in angry disbelief as her voice faded into barely audible white noise.

  Finally the wheelchair stood empty, save for Mrs. Glenville’s checkered lap blanket lying rumpled on the seat. Through the window, the ducks on the pond broke the silence in the room, flapping their wings madly as they flew up out of the water.

  The witches rushed to the window and looked out at the duck pond. It was deserted, except for a very out-of-place-looking ostrich foraging by the water’s edge.

  “I don’t believe this,” Fae groaned. “Dinah, sweetie, what page in the spell book did you bookmark?”

  Miffed, Dinah pointed her finger at a spell on the page. “You’re always making out like it’s my fault when spells go wrong. I had it open on exactly the page where you told me to place the bookmark.” She pushed the spell book over to Fae to look at. “Here. This is the spell we used. It’s one for turning someone into a—” She hesitated. “Oh dear, my reading glasses having been acting up again. Sorry. I made a small mistake.”

  “Let me see that,” Fae snapped, yanking the spell book out of Dinah’s hand. She glanced at the page and then turned it over. “Just as I thought. You had the bookmark on the wrong page. We cast the ostrich spell, not the duck spell.”

  “Well, at least there’s no way she can escape Shady Pastures now, because ostriches can’t fly.” Fae and Dinah sniggered at Blaise’s dry humor. They looked out the window again. At the edge of the duck pond, a lonely ostrich was airing its wings and looking longingly at the sky.

  “Looks like she dropped this on her way to becoming an ostrich,” Dinah said and picked up Mrs. Glenville’s notebook from the bed. She paged through it, and then sharply drew in her breath.

  “What is it? Some sort of diary?” Fae said and grabbed the notebook when Dinah didn’t respond. Instantly she went pale, and passed the open notebook to Blaise.

  “I don’t believe this,” Blaise said after she’d read a page, and dropped the notebook on the neatly made bed. “This lady has been watching us for the past year, making notes of our deliveries every time we went out. She knew exactly what we were up to.”