“That’s not true,” Newman said. “Fern’s done nothing wrong.”
“It’s okay, Newman,” I said and turned to address the small crowd. “Most of you have known me for years. You know that I’m not a killer. I’m sure the real criminal will be brought to justice soon, and our town will have peace again.”
People just stared at me for a second, but then the murmur wave started through the crowd again. They wouldn’t look me in the eye, but I heard several of them call me a liar and a killer. I heard someone else say that the only person who would be brought to justice was me.
Newman’s cheeks burned, but his mother had a satisfied smile on her face. The crowd got louder and some of them started chanting that I should be locked up.
I lost my temper.
“You’re all a bunch of gossipmongers. You should be ashamed of yourselves,” I spat.
That really got them going, and Jenny had to pull me into the back of the shop. Newman told his mother that he wasn’t leaving with her.
A minute later, a police cruiser pulled up. Two officers got out and told the crowd to disperse. There was a lot of grumbling, but all of the people outside ultimately walked away. The ones still remaining in my shop gave me sympathetic looks and went back to their coffee and pastries.
“Can I get you officers anything?” I asked. “Coffee and a donut on the house?”
“Sure,” the male officer said. I wasn’t sure of his name, but I thought perhaps it was Teddy. His female partner, who I believe was named Angelina, nodded her head in agreement. “But this can’t happen again.”
“I agree,” I said. “It’s not like I wanted a riot outside of my bakery.”
“The thing is, if the murder case isn’t closed soon, then we might have to shut you down to keep the peace,” probably Teddy said. “You’re lucky we were doing our drive-by as instructed by Detective Landry, but the department doesn’t have the resources to deal with protecting you and riots. It’s a matter of your safety and the public safety. I’m sorry.”
I got them their coffee and donuts and sent them off with a smile, but inside I was seething. I was outraged that the killer might get my business shut down.
“Conference in the back,” I said to Jenny and Newman.
“I’m so sorry,” Newman said. “Am I fired?”
“He should be,” Gumbo said, and I shot him a look. It was a good thing Jenny and Newman couldn’t hear him.
“No, you’re not fired,” I said. “It’s not your fault that your mother did that. I wouldn’t bow to the pressure from Judge Nyx, and I’m not going to cow myself to your mother either.”
“Thank you,” he said and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “I will tell my family to stay away.” He straightened his back. “Unless they want to come in and pleasantly buy something.”
“Good,” I said.
“Do you think they will really shut us down?” Jenny asked.
“I think if that happens again, they might,” I responded.
“What are we going to do?” Jenny asked.
“We could start with getting Fern a smarter best friend,” Gumbo sniped.
Again, I glared at him.
“Is the cat okay?” Newman asked.
“Why?” I felt my face heat with flush. What if he’d heard Gumbo?
“Because you keep staring at him, but he’s just sitting there.”
Phew.
“Oh, yeah, sorry. I just tend to look off in that direction when I’m thinking,” I covered. “And what I’m thinking is that we’ll keep the bakery open by solving the murder. All in all, Patrick is the most likely killer. He was the last person to see Marcel alive, so I’m going to get him to confess. You two stay here and hold down the fort. We might not get much business today after the incident out front, so you guys use the time to work on those butterfly cupcakes.”
“Yes, boss,” Newman said.
“Okay but be careful. Please,” Jenny added.
On the way out to my car, I called Mitch. He didn’t answer, so I left him a voicemail telling him where I was headed.
Chapter Twenty
The bar where I found Patrick day drinking had just opened and was quiet. In fact, he was the only person in the place. I closed and locked the main door and marched over to where he was seated at the bar sipping on a red beer. That’s a Bud Light mixed with tomato juice.
He watched me with a knowing look on his face as I stomped over to him. The bartender set down the glass he was drying and disappeared into the back.
“You must know why I’m here,” I said.
“I do,” he said. “The whole town knows already. The police are on the wrong track and I feel sorry for you.”
His tone was bitter, and I couldn’t help but wonder if he knew the police were on the wrong track because he really was the killer. The hair on the back of my neck stood up as I thought of him confessing right then and there.
“You are friends with Gardenia, and don’t tell me you don’t know about the little death curse talismans she made,” I said.
“Uh huh.”
“You had the most to gain from Marcel dying, and you were the last person to see him alive.”
“Uh huh.”
“You know, I hated Marcel. I did. He hated me too, though. Same with Gardenia. He hated us because I was supposed to be his protégé, but I had greater control than he did. Both Gardenia and I are better mediums. That ate him up inside. But I wasn’t the last person to see him alive. That was the killer. I’m sorry, Fern. I can see why you think it was me, but it wasn’t.”
“Why should I believe that?”
“Because I wasn’t with Marcel when he died. When he asked for the wine, I left to get it, but I saw my girlfriend down the hall. I had a protection amulet for her, and I decided that Marcel could wait a little for his wine. I was tired of jumping at his every request. My girlfriend is a housekeeper at Darlington Manor. We’ve been together since the séance last year. I was with her when Marcel was killed. So unless you think she’s a killer too, you have to believe it wasn’t me.”
I was shaken by his revelation, but I believed him. He seemed very sincere in that moment.
“I’m going to have to verify your alibi,” I said, but I felt slightly defeated.
“The truth will win out,” he said and took a long draw from his drink.
His words left an ominous feeling hanging in the air.
Chapter Twenty-One
My next stop was Darlington Manor. Well, right after I went home and scrounged up a trinket that would allow me to don a magical disguise. I hated to use it because it was only good one time, but my business, and possibly my life, was on the line. I had to pull out all the stops.
The disguise turned out to be unnecessary. I slipped into the manor, and the manager was on the phone in her office with the door closed. She was talking so loudly that there was no way she’d even heard me come in.
I made my way up to the staff rooms and found a housekeeper that was young and attractive enough to be Patrick’s potential girlfriend. She seemed a little freaked out when I asked her if she was Patrick’s girlfriend, but she said yes. And, she didn’t run off screaming to call the police.
“He said he was with you when Marcel Love was murdered. Is that true?”
“Uh… Who are you?”’
“Just someone who is interested in getting to the bottom of who killed Marcel,” I said.
“Yes, I was with him. The police already know this. That’s why he hasn’t been arrested. He was ruled out as a suspect as soon as they talked to me.”
That news was a crushing blow. Another clue led to a completely dead end. I started to wonder if I really was “Jinx” and I was destined to ruin everything that I touched.
On my way back to the bakery, I decided to tell Jenny and Newman that I was going to step back from the bakery until the police arrested me or the real killer was caught. I hoped that staying away would keep the shop from getting closed down, a
nd at least Jenny and Newman could keep their jobs.
When I got there, Jenny rushed over to me before I could even get through the door. She looked like she’d been crying.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Gumbo’s missing,” she said with a sniffle. “I tried to track him with a charm, but he’s not at any of his normal haunts. I’ve checked the butcher’s, the grocery store, and the sunniest part of the beach. He’s nowhere.”
“Maybe he just went home,” I said. “Why do you think he’s missing? He wanders off all of the time.”
“Because I found this in his basket,” she said and held up a curse talisman.
I felt my blood run cold. The killer had my familiar.
Chapter Twenty -Two
“You need to take Newman home now. Make sure he’s safe, and then you stay away from me until this is solved. I won’t have the killer coming after you,” I said.
“I’m not leaving you alone,” Jenny said.
“You have to. You’re in danger when you’re with me. Make sure Newman gets home, and then you go stay with my Aunt Emma until you hear from me,” I instructed.
Jenny’s expression told me she knew there was no talking me down. “Fine, but I don’t like it.”
“I’ll call you soon.”
Newman protested leaving as well, but Jenny told him not to argue with me. Jenny had already cleared out any customers before she told me about Gumbo, so I paced back and forth through the empty bakery and tried to breathe. I was terrified and my head felt like it was full of fluff.
I put together enough coherent thought to call Mitch. “I tracked down Patrick and he told me you talked to him. Sorry I hadn’t called you back yet. We’ve been slammed with calls since that little incident outside of your bakery this morning.”
“Mitch, the killer was here. He snuck into the back and kidnapped Gumbo. They left a curse talisman behind so I knew it was them.”
“Are you alone?”
“Yes,” I said, and I could hear the quake in my voice. “I sent Jenny and Newman away for their own safety.”
“Dang it, Fern. I’ll be right there. You keep those doors locked, and don’t you dare leave.”
“Yes, okay. Please hurry,” I said.
I couldn’t stop pacing, and my mind just raced. I tried to put the clues of the case together, but my mind was just too panicked. It was an impossible murder in a closed room. There were the talismans and the enchanted knife, but what did it all mean? It was like trying to put together a puzzle with missing pieces.
I had a box in my office where I’d been keeping any clues I’d found. I went in and dumped it out on my desk. All that was left was one of the little notebooks and some papers about the Darlingtons and their extra-strong hereditary sense for talking to the dead.
And then I knew.
“Mitch, this is Fern,” I said into his voicemail. He hadn’t answered because he was racing to meet me. “I know who killed Marcel.”
Before I hung up, I told him where to meet me. I’d said I’d wait at the bakery, but I couldn’t stop myself.
On my way out of the shop, I grabbed a hunk of Lucky Lemon Drizzle cake and scarfed it down. I was going to need all the luck I could get to set the matter right.
With a buzz of luck magic dancing around me, I jumped into my car and took off to meet Mitch at the new location.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Mitch must have gotten my message because he was outside Presto Pages Bookshop when I arrived. By that time, it was starting to get dark, and there was just a glimmer of light coming from one of the upstairs windows.
“You need to wait outside while I handle this,” Mitch said.
“No way. Gumbo is my familiar, and he deserves to be rescued by me,” I protested.
“That’s nuts. It’s too dangerous,” Mitch said.
“I’m going with you. Once we’ve got Gumbo, he can protect me.”
Mitch let out a sigh. “Fine. I can see there’s no talking you out of it, but you have to stay behind me. I know you’re a witch, but I’ve got a gun.”
Luckily, the door to the bookstore was unlocked, so Mitch and I crept inside. We made our way through the dark store and up the stairs as silently as possible.
At the top of the stairs, Mitch stepped in some sort of spell trap. It flung him off to the side and knocked him out cold.
“Come out, Fern,” Deirdre called from the room to the right of the stairs.
I walked into the room and there in the low light was Deirdre holding Gumbo by the scruff of his neck. He was wiggling and hissing at her furiously.
What I hadn’t expected was to see how panicked Dierdre was. She didn’t look like a stone-cold killer at all.
“Let him go,” I said.
“I can’t. What if he tells the police? He’s your familiar after all. I know some of them can talk.”
“He can only talk to me, Deirdre. There’s no way for him to turn you in. As long as I’m gone, you’re safe. You can let him go,” I said as calmly as I could.
I could see her visible relief at not having to kill a cat. She set him down, and he ran over to me. Gumbo purred loudly and circled my ankles.
“I didn’t want to kill Marcel, but I had no choice,” she said.
“I know that you’re not a real Darlington,” I said. “Darlingtons all have excellent medium skills, and you said you’ve never talked to the dead. It took me a while, but I finally put it together. But you do know how to enchant objects. Like, say an enchanted knife that could penetrate several protection spells.”
“At this point, I might as well just tell you. I’m going to have to kill you anyway. The Darlington family has been blocking the séance for decades,” she said with a sigh. “Many years back, the only real son of Charles Darlington died of scarlet fever on his way to the United States from England. His best friend, my ancestor, assumed his identity in the New World. My family has been keeping that secret ever since. My family has no blood connection to the Darlingtons, so we have to use what magic we have to stop Charles from coming through at each séance and ratting us out. The problem was that this year was my turn, and I just didn’t have the psychic ability to work that kind of magic. My only choice was to kill Marcel to keep our secret from coming out. The other stuff with the talismans was just to scare you off. I was hoping you’d give up. You could have lived if you’d just given up.”
Something about the way she said given up struck me. At that moment, any power Deirdre had left waned. She wasn’t talking about me giving up anymore. All of the fight had drained from her. She didn’t have it in her to continue this or to kill me. It was almost shocking that she’d been able to kill Marcel in the first place. Almost. He was a vile man who had the potential to bring down her entire family. Unfortunately for Deirdre, she’d done that herself anyway.
Mitch came out of his magical stupor and rushed over to her. He pulled a silver necklace out of his coat pocket. “It will suppress her powers,” he said. “Only law enforcement officers are allowed to have these. I’m glad the magical officers gave me one.”
Once that was on, he put Deirdre in a pair of good old-fashioned handcuffs. Deirdre just sobbed and didn’t even try to fight back. The whole ordeal had broken her.
Chapter Twenty-Four
As Dierdre was taken away in by the magic police officers, Mitch and I caught our breath on a bench outside the bookstore. The delicate scent of saltwater drifted over us on a breeze.
“Thank you for trying to protect me,” I said.
“No, thank you for saving me.” He said with a chuckle.
“I didn’t really have to do anything. She was using more magic than she could sustain and sort of tapped herself out.”
His eyes met mine, and for a moment, I thought he’d lean in and kiss me. It would have been unexpected, but I couldn’t say it would be unwelcome.
He didn’t, though, and sort of cleared his throat instead. “So, when did you know that Dierdre was the kil
ler?”
“Seconds before I called you the last time,” I said.
“You’re bold. I have to give you that.” Mitch brushed a lock of my hair away from my face. I shivered pleasantly from the contact. “I’m glad your name is cleared now.”
“You and me both,” I said.
“You should go home and get some rest. I’ve got to get to the station. Paperwork waits for no one.”
When he left, I scooped up Gumbo and headed home to make him a massive batch of glazed carrots. He’d earned it.
When I got home, I called Jenny Mae and told her everything. “I can finally relax for a while,” I said. “I’m totally free of suspicion. Some people in this town are going to have to eat crow.”
“Great, maybe I could come over later? My mother is leaving now. There’s some casino across the state line with slots that are supposedly paying out big time. She said she has to go, but once she’s outta here, then I’ll come over?”
“Sure. We can have pizza and watch scary movies,” I said.
“You want to watch scary movies after what you just went through?”
“Yeah, now seems like the perfect time to me. Maybe something with ghosts, though. One of those found footage movies. I think I will skip the slasher flicks for a while,” I said.
“Ugh, more found footage? Fine. Since you’re the one that narrowly escaped death, I’ll watch some found footage possession movies with you. But! Next time we’re watching that Disney witch movie I wanted to see.”
“Deal.”
We got off the phone, and I went into the kitchen to make some hot cocoa. I checked on the glazed carrots too, and they were coming along nicely. It was a good thing too because Gumbo was sitting on the kitchen table staring at me.
“I’m surprised you’re not having Officer Kissy Face over tonight,” he snarked.
“What are you talking about?” I tried to feign ignorance. “We didn’t kiss.”
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