Witch Way To Amethyst: The Prequel (A Stacy Justice Mystery Book 0)

by Barbra Annino

  Chapter 26

  No one was at the front desk when I entered the revolving door, which was disappointing. I wanted to speak to Lynn about what she had said earlier. Maybe I could catch her later.

  The door to Gramps’ room was closed. "Hi, Pearl." I knocked softly and she invited me in.

  Pearl glanced up, her face drawn like she hadn't slept in days.

  "Hi, sweetheart."

  "How is he?" I asked, nodding to Gramps.

  "Oh, well, he's still sleeping, you know," she said. "He should wake up soon, they tell me."

  I walked over to the bed and leaned in to kiss my grandfather's cheek. Then I lifted my head to meet Pearl's eyes.

  "Can I buy you a cup of coffee?" I asked.

  Pearl hesitated. Then she brightened and said, "I suppose I could use a pick-me-up.”

  We traveled down the hall to the elevator and walked towards the cafeteria. There were two registers in the center of the room. The coffee bar was closest to the door and we headed towards it.

  "Pearl, I want to talk to you about Gramps. There are some questions I have that I'm hoping you can answer."

  "Sure, dear. What would you like to know?"

  I grabbed two paper cups and poured hot coffee into each. I handed one to Pearl.

  “For starters, I was wondering where he might have gone after the Geraghty dinner.”

  “Home, I suppose.”

  “You mean you don’t know?”

  “I like to check in at the restaurant. Close things up. Do paperwork. But Oscar always goes straight home after those meals. Your grandmother has a way of zapping his energy.” She made a visible attempt not to roll her eyes, but one of them went rogue.

  “About what time did he get sick?”

  Pearl watched me as she poured cream into her cup. "I know you don't want to hear this, Stacy, but the only person who would do this to your grandfather is your grandmother."

  I sighed. “Please, Pearl.”

  She sighed. “About ten o’clock I noticed something was wrong. We made it downstairs and I called Eddie. He helped me put Oscar in the car.”

  “Eddie?” Holy hell. “Ed Entwhistle?”

  Pearl licked her lips nervously. She skipped a beat before responding.

  “Yes. He helps out from time to time. Delivers supplies to the restaurant whenever I run out of something. Ed would just be closing the store, at that time, you see, so I thought he could just swing on by.”

  “Why wouldn’t you call an ambulance?”

  “I didn’t think it was that serious,” she said softly. “I thought maybe he had too much to drink at dinner. But I wasn’t certain. Maybe he ate something that disagreed with him. So I thought it best to get him checked out, but it wasn’t as if he was unconscious or anything.”

  “I understand that Ed is in Gramps’ will.”

  “Where did you hear that, dear?”

  I noticed it wasn’t a denial. I didn’t answer her. Just waited.

  She gave a little nervous laugh. "You know Oscar. Generous to a fault. Hands out dollar bills like tissues. The man sure knows how to make a buck he just has no idea how to save one." Her tone held a hint of bitterness.

  That explanation didn’t satisfy the question. I got the feeling there was something more to the relationship, but Pearl wasn’t willing to enlighten me. We sat down at a small table and sipped our coffee.

  “So this deal with Wildcat. How does Gramps feel about it?”

  She frowned. “I couldn’t say. Your grandfather’s business is his own.”

  Behind her, the big bay window showed the sky darkening. Another storm brewing.

  “Is there anything else you can think of that might help?”

  “I already told the police everything I know.”

  "What about an insurance policy or another property he might have willed to someone?" I asked as nonchalantly as I could.

  Pearl's head snapped up. "Why would he need an insurance policy? He had plenty of money to leave to his family."

  Unless his family couldn't find that money. Or someone else got to it first. Or it was all gone. Pearl’s response led me to believe that she didn't know about the policy for Birdie. I wondered if she knew about Chance listed as the power of attorney. I decided it might not be a good idea to tell her since her behavior was curious to me. At that point, I wasn’t certain who to trust.

  “It sure is lucky your niece was able to get away and help out. Where did you say she was from?”

  “Oh, um, she’s from out west.”

  “And what does she do?”

  She glanced down at her coffee. “Accounting.”

  “So she’s helping with scheduling, placing orders, that kind of thing?”

  “That’s right.”

  “What about the financials?”

  “A little bit.”

  “Is she your sister’s daughter?”

  Pearl scooted her chair out and as she did her coffee tumbled, but I managed to upright it. “Stacy, I should get back to Oscar.”

  As she hurried away, I wondered why she was lying to me.

  Chapter 27

  I left the hospital with little more information than I went in with and it was beginning to concern me. The more questions I asked the less answers I got. The clouds were threatening to unleash rain at any minute as the Jeep engine turned over. There was no umbrella in the backseat, just a rumpled bag from the fast food place I stopped at on my trip out here.

  Next on my list of things to check into was the loft Gramps shared with Pearl. I had to find out what she was hiding. No one else seemed to know anything about this niece of hers and if she was elbow deep in my grandfather’s finances, you bet I wanted some details. Plus, I figured it was safer to find out what hand Ed played in all of this by digging through their files rather than ask him directly. Pearl, clearly, was not offering up any information on his relationship with Gramps. Stan might know more if I asked the right questions. I hated the thought of stepping back into that house with Cruella De Vil guarding the door, but Gramps did mention that Stan was a good friend, not just his lawyer.

  I snapped the windshield wipers into play as the rain swooshed down. The wind rocked the Jeep and I pumped the gas, hoping to get home before the storm hit.

  That was when my tire blew out.

  The Jeep bumped and bounced along the side of the road before coming to a stop. I climbed out and saw that the right rear tire was like a deflated. There was no spare.

  I started back around the car to climb in and call for help as a semi blew past at sixty miles an hour showering me with rain water, mud, and moldy leaves. I used my hand to squeegee my face, said a few curse words, and opened the door. Sticking to the mud that covered the handle was a penny. The date was recent, not even ten years ago.

  I piled back in the car, reached for my cell phone and dialed the Opal, hoping my cousin or her bartender, Bay, would pick me up.

  "Black Opal," Cinnamon said. I could barely hear her over the roar of the jukebox and the chatter of the crowd.

  "Hey, it's--" Beep. Click.

  I checked the phone. Low battery. Terrific.

  Dialed again.

  "Black Opal."

  "Cin, hi, it's--" Beep. Click.

  Why? Why was this happening to me?

  I tried one more time.

  "Who the hell is it?" Cinnamon shouted.

  I tried to talk fast. "Stacy--" Beep. Click. Dead.

  Perfect.

  Well, this was a small town. Any minute now someone would drive by and stop.

  I fumbled for a towel in the back seat and came up empty. Then I waited. And waited.

  Any Minute Now never came.

  The nearest gas station was half a mile down the highway. I could walk there, use a calling card and get someone to pick me up. I flipped the penny over in my hand. It was the year I graduated from high school. The year I lost my virginity to Chance.

  Thunder cracked the sky and lightning illuminated the Jeep. Uh-o
h. Thor was probably digging a hole underneath my bed right about now.

  I sat there for a few minutes, working up the courage to brave the wind and rain. I tucked the penny in the pocket of my jeans and gave myself a pep talk.

  It’s just a little rain, Stacy. You won't melt. Suck it up. You are the Seeker of a less crappy situation right now.

  I grabbed my keys and locked the Jeep, then trotted down the road as quickly as I could.

  Within five minutes I was soaked to the bone and I still couldn't see the damn gas station. A carload of kids drove by, beeping and honking, hanging out the window and making obscene comments. Great. Saturday night before Halloween. Every college student was on the road, looking for trouble.

  And I was sporting nipples that could cut glass.

  I hugged my arms around my chest and walked faster.

  Tires screeched behind me then and a car skidded on the gravel, pelting me with tiny rocks.

  I turned around.

  "Hey, baby, need a ride?"

  The guy hanging out the window acted like he'd just won a beer-guzzling contest. His face was pockmarked and his words slurred. He couldn't have been twenty years old and from the inflection in his voice, I figured he wasn't aiming to win a Boy Scout badge.

  "I'm okay. Thanks." I turned around to run.

  Which might have gone fine except for the ditch. I did a nosedive right into it.

  A car door slammed behind me as I extracted myself from the mud. I was pretty sure I had landed in a used wad of gum, but I had bigger problems as I heard a second door slam and realized all there was to run to was a cornfield.

  "Come on baby, we just want to party. Don't you like to party?" said the beer guzzler.

  I turned. Three of them now, coming towards me.

  "Yeah," said another guy, built like a tank. "We know a great place to party.

  My stomach did a two-step. I felt sick. Nauseous. Birdie warned about nauseous. Harmful intent.

  Oh, nutfugget.

  I backed up carefully like you would if you met a rattlesnake.

  Years ago, I had learned enough martial arts and self-defense to apply for Xena’s job. But after I had turned my back on magic, and all that came with it, those skills faded too.

  My cell phone was still in my coat, so I pulled it out. "Actually, boys, I was just about to call the police. See, my Great Dane is loose and I came out here to look for him. He likes to hunt the coyotes that live in the hills. Here, Killer..." I said, looking around and whistling.

  "Man, I hate dogs," said the tank.

  "Shut up, Jim," said his friend. "If that phone worked she wouldn't be out here by herself in the rain."

  The little jacknut was smarter than he looked. I glanced around for a rock, a stick, anything to use as a weapon.

  They all stepped closer.

  I didn't know if these creeps had it in them to hurt me, but they were young, big and drunk. And I was cold, dirty and water-logged.

  I summoned my deepest, scariest goddess voice and blared. "Back the fuck up!" I fumbled in my pocket for a bluff. "I swear I'll mace you so goddamned fast you won't be able to find your dicks in the dark for a week."

  Cinnamon was rubbing off on me.

  Keys. I did have keys and if I jammed them just right I could take out an eye, an eardrum, or a scrotum. I tucked the keys between my fingers, one by one, still in the jacket. To my surprise, two of the punks held their hands in the air.

  “Take it easy,” said one of them.

  We were at a standoff.

  No one moved until a truck barreled over the center divider. We all swung our heads toward it. The driver did a U-turn and careened onto the shoulder in front of Monkey See, Monkey Do, and Monkey Dumbass.

  I didn’t recognize the vehicle, but I recognized the driver.

  Chance hopped out, a wrench in his hand and said, "I'll give you all precisely two seconds to get in your car and get the hell out of here before I scatter little pieces of you across the highway." His voice was totally calm. Like he would embed that wrench in a twenty-year-old head if the situation demanded it. I was impressed. And a little turned on.

  The boys chose option #1.

  I couldn’t blame them. Chance resembled a Pit Bull when he was angry.

  "You okay?" he asked.

  "Yeah. Thanks," I said.

  "Come on. Get in the truck and I'll take you home." He guided me to his pickup, opened the door and helped me in.

  "Here, put this on," he said, reaching into the back seat. He pulled out a warm flannel shirt and draped it around my shoulders.

  I thanked him and slid my hands through the sleeves.

  "Do you know those guys?" I asked.

  "No. I think they were tourists maybe."

  I nodded.

  "Stace, you're still shaking. Let's get you into some warm clothes."

  Chance looped around Route 20 and headed for the cottage.

  "Want to tell me what happened?" he said.

  I sighed. "I was on my way home from the hospital when the stupid Jeep got a flat."

  Chance shifted his eyes to me.

  "Don't say it," I said. He must have told me a hundred times to replace that spare when I bought it.

  That was the thing with Chance. He was always right. It was his most irritating quality.

  "How's your grandfather?" he asked as he pulled onto Lunar Lane.

  "He should come out of it any day."

  "I'm glad." He coasted up the driveway and I noticed the rain had let up a little.

  "You want a cup of coffee?" I wondered how I was going to approach him about the power of attorney thing.

  "That would be great." He cut the engine and we both got out of the truck and walked to the cottage door.

  I didn't see Thor when I let us in.

  Moonlight was snuggled on the couch. Everything else seemed in place.

  I put a pot of coffee on and told Chance I'd be right back. I washed my face in the bathroom, removed my soiled shirt and hat and wrapped the flannel back around me. I grabbed some sweats from a hook behind the bathroom door and slid into them.

  When I came out, the radio was playing and Chance handed me a steaming mug.

  I decided to get right down to business. "Chance, why didn't you mention that my grandfather named you as power of attorney to his estate?"

  He tilted his head, raised his eyebrows. "I guess it never came up. Why? Does that bother you?"

  "I just wondered why you didn't mention it."

  "I didn't think it was important. It was a long time ago.”

  Didn’t Stan imply this was a recent decision?

  “How long ago?”

  Chance shrugged. “A few years. You were still in college, he thought Cinnamon was too young for that responsibility, Pearl wasn’t even living with him yet and Birdie, well, they have their own special relationship, so he didn’t mention anything to me about why he didn’t appoint Birdie.”

  “So you’re saying that when my mother never returned home, he decided you should be the one to control his estate should anything happen to him.”

  Chance darted his eyes away. Then he took a sip of coffee and said, “I think he assumed you would come back here after you got your degree. That…” He dropped his thought, hesitated.

  “What?” I asked.

  “Jesus, you’re going to make me say it aren’t you?”

  “Say what?”

  Chance let loose a heavy sigh and cast his eyes down as he spoke. “Oscar had this idea that you and I would end up together. He figured by the time it would matter I would be…family.”

  An incredibly uncomfortable silence followed as we stood there listening to Led Zeppelin.

  Well, there's a light in your eye that keeps shining, like a star that can't wait for night. I hate to think I been blinded, baby. Why can't I see you tonight?

  Chance, thankfully, changed the subject. "You going to the festival tomorrow?"

  Halloween was bigger than Christmas in Amet
hyst. Thousands of people showed up for the two-hour parade down Main Street and the locals celebrated long after. I hadn't given it much thought. The aunts were likely cooking up something for the Samhain celebration since they personally hosted the event. It was held in the thick woods behind the house.

  "I'm not sure," I said, sipping my hot coffee. Cream, one sugar. He remembered just how I liked it.

  "Well, if you decide to come, look for me. I'll be dressed as Zorro."

  I smiled at that. “Maybe I will if I can figure out this mess with Gramps.”

  Chance set his coffee down. "Stacy, I don't think it’s a good idea what you’re doing. Poking around into people's business. It could be dangerous."

  "Well, I'm sure you don't, but you don't get to make those decisions for me anymore."

  Chance looked shocked. "What do you mean, ‘anymore’? If anything, you were the one who was always trying to protect me."

  A memory flashed through my mind. A little boy picking on another little boy. Chance sticking up for the victim. The bully punching Chance in the stomach. Me bespelling the bully’s locker so that when he opened it, he would stick to it the rest of the day. They had to call the fire department. A lot of the kid’s victims took advantage of his immobility.

  "I don't need rescuing."

  He raised an eyebrow at me.

  "Okay, so I needed a little rescuing today, but, you know, in general."

  Chance smiled and walked around the counter. He put his hands on my shoulders.

  "Is it a crime to care about what happens to you?" His voice was soft, but his hands were strong. The combination made my knees tingle.

  "Is that why you've been leaving me notes?" I said. “Because you care about me?”

  Chance pulled me to him and buried his head in my hair.

  "What notes?"

  "The other day. When you took a shower. The mirror."

  "I didn't leave you any notes."

  Before I could process that, Thor came trotting around the corner and broke between us.

  He pawed at my shin.

  "Do you want to go outside?" I said.

  Thor sat, grumbling about something.

  "I guess that's a yes." I looked at Chance. "Duty calls."