Double Trouble

by London Lovett

  "That was not settling," Raine said with the same amount of tremble in her tone. It always amused me how quickly she frightened at the prospect of actually conjuring a spirit.

  "It sounded like it came from upstairs," Lacey said. She seemed less shaken than the others (with the exception of Lana).

  "It was right overhead," Lola added. "Maybe we should go upstairs and check it out."

  Raine seemed reluctant to break the circle. "I'm not sure that will work. If we have brought him out of the shadows, then searching him out will just scare him away."

  "That's a good point," Emily said.

  Lacey shook her head. "I'll be honest, I don't think I can just sit here and banish stray thoughts. Curiosity is going to eat at me like a hungry mouse on a block of cheese."

  We all laughed.

  Raine leaned back. "Well, the chain is broken now anyhow so we might as well go up and search around. Maybe we can find the source of the noise."

  "We've got to take candles," I said. "I haven't had any light fixtures or bulbs put in upstairs. It's as dark as a raven's wing up there." I winked at Lacey. "A little tribute to Kingston."

  She smiled. "I wonder how my bird is doing?" We stood up from the table. "For that matter, I wonder how Ryder is doing. He's house sitting for me and taking care of both Kingston and Nevermore, my cat."

  Lana and I both stopped at the name of her cat. My sister turned around, her face perplexed in the candlelight. "Let me get this straight, Lacey. You have a crow, kind of a raven, named Kingston, but your cat is named Nevermore. Like in the Poe poem The Raven?"

  A laugh spurted from Lola's mouth. "Poe poem, I love that. The Raven is a Poe poem. I wonder if the guy decided to write poetry because his name sort of required it."

  We had a good chuckle as we climbed the stairs. Considering I lived in the house, I could count on my hands and maybe toes the number of times I'd climbed them. There just wasn't any reason for me to go to the second floor. It was drafty, dusty and in such need of repair it always depressed me a little knowing that it would still need restoration and gobs of money.

  The candle flames danced wildly and caused chaos with the shadows as we reached the top step. Our laughter softened to a curious silence.

  "Wow, it's much colder up here," Lana said. "No wonder you avoid coming up the stairs."

  "Ursula and Henry say there's almost no insulation and the old windows aren't fitting well in their openings. And then there's the roof, and if I keep going I'll work myself into a lather about everything that still needs to get done so I'll stop."

  Since the noise seemed to have been overhead while we were in the parlor, we went straight to the bedroom that sat directly above the séance room. I already knew there was nothing inside but a broken light fixture and the rusted metal frame of an old bed. I was holding a candle, and since it was my house, I felt obligated to lead the ghost hunt. As expected, I found one, a ghost, that is. He was perched on the edge of the bed frame with his legs and arms crossed, looking pleased as punch that he'd been able to add some entertainment to the evening. I managed an eye roll before the rest of my ghost hunting team joined me in the empty room.

  Again, the unsteady candle flames added a spooky ambience to the entire scene, at least for my guests.

  The women spread out snooping about in the shadows, but I wasn't entirely sure what they were looking for. I pretended to do the same, but I mostly spent the time shooting Edward my wide nostril expression of 'was this really necessary?'

  "This bed has been moved recently," Lacey said triumphantly. Everyone skittered through the dusty, gritty floor to the bed frame. Lacey pointed down. "Look, you can see where it was standing, possibly for many years. There's a deep dent where the leg of the bed stood."

  "You can see where it was pulled along, through the dust, to its new position on the floor," Raine added. There was just enough giddiness in her tone to assure me that she was certain she'd woken the Cider Ridge spirit.

  "Since there's no dust in the original mark on the floor," Lacey explained, "that means it was moved recently. It hasn't had a chance to fill up with the dust of time." She was a good detective, darn it.

  All at once, everyone turned pointedly to me.

  "What? I was with all of you at the table. I didn't sneak up here and move the bed." I figured if Raine wanted so badly for the inn to be haunted (which it was but she could never know that) then I would go along with the whole thing. "No one comes up here. We all heard it, so I guess someone or something"—I flicked a glance toward Edward who was listening with sullen surprise—"must have moved the bed. A large object being dragged across the floor," I continued. "That's what we all heard."

  "Then the ghost might be sitting in this very room, watching us right now," Emily said quietly.

  I glanced around and stopped only for a brief second on the actual ghost before scanning the entire room. "It seems you might be right, Emi."

  Emily scooted closer to Lana. Even Lacey and Lola shortened the space between them. It was dark and all our faces were lit with the uneven golden glow of candle flames, but Raine's was a few shades paler than normal. I would have thought she'd be thrilled and dancing on happy feet, but she looked as shocked and scared as the others.

  Right then, a loud knock thundered through the entryway, startling everyone together into a protective huddle.

  Edward laughed. "My work here is done." With that he vanished.

  "It's just someone at the door, guys," I said. "Maybe we've had enough ghost hunting for one night."

  "I know I've had enough," Lana said. "I'm heading in for seconds of Emi's apple crisp." It was hard to know exactly what my very pragmatic sister was thinking but she seemed a little shaken too.

  As we headed down the stairs with our candles, the person knocked again. I wondered who it could be at this hour.

  Chapter 29

  I peered through the small upper windows on the front door. My porch light shone down on the heads of two women I recognized instantly. "It's Nora and Aubrey from Minnie's Wiccan group. You girls go ahead and reheat the apple crisp so Lacey and I can talk to our unexpected visitors." I glanced at Lacey. "They look fidgety, nervous and they are holding a book. Our investigation is about to take a few steps forward."

  The rest of the group, looking a little ghost weary and ready for refreshments, toddled off toward the kitchen. I opened the door. Both women were wearing dark clothes. It seemed they had chosen the colors to blend into the night. They looked nervously over their shoulders, as if worried they'd been followed, before scurrying into the entryway for safety.

  "Nora, Aubrey, is anything wrong?" I asked. "You two look as if you're hiding from someone. Were you being followed or chased?" I locked the door just in case.

  "Here," Nora blurted and shoved the book in my hands, before just as quickly yanking her hands free of it. If I hadn't been holding it, I would have thought the book was red hot with the way she pulled her grasp free. I recognized it instantly as the same book we'd seen on Wanda's table with the brass lock. I ran my fingertip over the embossed title The Book of Curses and Spells.

  "This book belongs to Wanda," I said.

  Aubrey cleared her throat. "We borrowed it under the guise of wanting to know how to get rid of a pesky rat in the cellar." It seemed like a rather flimsy excuse considering how many products were available for catching rats, but apparently, Wanda had fallen for it and I was now holding her dark arts handbook.

  "We thought you might like to see it." Aubrey was the calmer of the two, although neither looked too comfortable with the task they'd set for themselves. Now I knew why. It seemed they had stolen off with Wanda's dark magic book. Aubrey pointed at a dried sprig of lavender being used as a bookmark.

  The book puffed out the lingering scent of sage as I opened it to the dried sprig of lavender. The title of the spell was written in fancy calligraphy to make it seem as if it had been written hundreds of years ago when people wrote in fancy, nearly illegible script.
The edges of the yellow parchment paper had been frayed and burned to look ancient but I was sure the book was printed recently.

  "The lettering is hard to decipher." I ran my finger under the name of the spell. Lacey peered over my shoulder to help figure out what it said. "Asphyxiation Spell," we read simultaneously. The rest of the page was a list of ingredients, including some interesting leg of spiders and tail of lizard types of things along with where and when and how the spell should be cast. Apparently a moonless Autumnal Equinox was the ideal time to kill someone by asphyxiation.

  I looked up at Nora and Aubrey. They both nodded a sort of 'told you so' kind of gesture.

  "There was nearly a three quarter moon on the night of the Apple Harvest Rite," Lacey wisely pointed out. "The book says it should be a moonless night." I got the sense that Lacey, like me, wasn't believing any of the curse or spell nonsense. It was hardly evidence that would hold up in court.

  "Those are just guidelines for the perfect scenario for casting a dark spell. It can still be done. Especially by someone with strong skills, like Wanda." Nora adjusted her rainbow framed glasses on her nose.

  I fingered the sprig of lavender. "So, when you borrowed the book, Wanda had this page marked with the lavender? This page specifically?"

  Both women shrank down some. Nora's gaze dropped to her feet.

  "Well, no," Aubrey finally confessed, "we marked it with the lavender so we could show you that there is a spell for asphyxiation."

  Lacey and I exchanged glances. Even if we didn't believe a spell could be cast to deprive someone of oxygen, if Wanda had been looking at that particular spell it would have meant that she was at least thinking about it. Even if she eventually had to find some more mortal means to actually get the job done. But now, it seemed that she just happened to have a book that contained, amongst its many yellowed pages, a spell for asphyxiation. Nora and Aubrey were kind enough to point it out but it didn't mean Wanda had been focused on it.

  "Wanda has made herself quite the center of attention now in the coven," Aubrey said. I was trying to read whether there was a note of envy in her tone, but I didn't know her well enough. "She has basically named herself high priestess even though it has not been agreed upon. She is making it very obvious that having Minnie out of the picture gives her the clear and free path to leadership."

  "That's why we think she did it," Nora piped up, then shrank back like a turtle receding into its shell.

  "But do you have any proof other than this book?" Lacey asked.

  "She badly wanted Minnie to step down but Minnie refused," Aubrey said. "That coupled with Wanda's penchant for studying the dark arts makes her a prime suspect, don't you think?"

  I shrugged. "She obviously had motive, but I'm afraid the police won't accept this book of spells as evidence. There needs to be something connecting Wanda to the murder, something more concrete." I flipped the book closed and noticed a bookplate on the inside cover. I stopped to read it. "This book belongs to Kate Derricot." My face popped up toward Lacey. "What are the odds of hearing that name twice in the same week?"

  "I'd say a million to one with a name like that," Lacey said.

  "Do you have any idea who Kate Derricot is?" I asked the women.

  Aubrey leaned forward to look at the bookplate. "Kate Derricot, that must be Wanda's real name." She straightened.

  "That's right," Nora said, "Minnie told me Wanda's real name was Kate but she decided to call herself Wanda Wonder. She thought it sounded more magical." Nora added in an eye roll for good measure.

  Lacey took hold of the book to look at the name. "That's interesting. Minnie's sister was married to a man named Derricot. Do you know if they were related?"

  Aubrey rubbed her chin. "Now that you mention it, I think Wanda did mention her Aunt Etta a few times. She's very rich. Wanda liked to brag that her aunt always gave her a hundred dollar bill on her birthday."

  "Did Wanda visit her aunt a lot?" I asked.

  "If she did, she never mentioned it," Aubrey looked at Nora for confirmation.

  Nora nodded. "The only time she mentioned her aunt was when she got the birthday money."

  Aubrey pulled her hood up on her head. "We need to head back to Hickory Flats." She reached for the book. "I have to return this to Wanda tomorrow. We just thought you might want to see it."

  "Yes, thank you," Lacey and I said.

  "It does shine a different light on Wanda." I opened the front door.

  Nora and Aubrey scanned the yard before tiptoeing down the steps and scurrying to the car.

  I shut the door.

  Lacey was already in deep thinking mode. "It's interesting to know that Wanda is related to Etta Derricot, but I still can't figure out how their familial ties would have any connection to Minnie's murder."

  "Like I told them, it puts a different light on Wanda. I'm just not sure if it's a spotlight or just a regular old coincidental light."

  I locked up and we headed toward the kitchen.

  Chapter 30

  Monday morning, Lacey and I were under tight time budget to figure out Minnie's murder. Lola was spending the day having some of her less breakable finds shipped back to Port Danby, so Lacey and I set out for a day of investigating. My new partner had asked if there was any way she could get into the evidence room to give Minnie's clothes another sniff. I put in a call to Jackson with a few pretty pleases and he eventually acquiesced.

  We reached the precinct and headed inside. "This is much bigger than our Port Danby station," Lacey commented as she surveyed the front desk area.

  I'd visited Jackson at the station a few times but I'd never been as far as the evidence room. I was looking forward to the adventure.

  The officer behind the thick window looked up from his paperwork. "Can I help you?" he asked.

  "Yes, we're here to see Detective Jackson. He's expecting us. Lacey and Sunni."

  His brows did a funny little dance. It seemed he was assessing us to see if we were telling the truth or if we were up to some mischief. In the end, he seemed to decide we were on the level.

  He picked up the phone. "Detective Jackson." He cleared his throat. "A Lacey and Sunni are here to see you." He glanced up to see if he had gotten the names right. I nodded. "All right." He hung up the phone. "He's in his office so he's coming out to meet you."

  "Thanks."

  We stepped away from the window.

  "I was up for an hour last night thinking about motives," Lacey said. "Wanda and Roland seem to have the most motive. For Wanda, Minnie was in her way for a quest to control the coven, and considering how quickly she swept in to fill Minnie's shoes, it seems she wanted it badly. Roland, the ex-husband, thinks all the tragedies and mishaps in his life were caused by Minnie's curse. As crazy as that sounds, I suppose if he truly believes it, then it might just have driven him to murder."

  I nodded. "Don't forget he also seemed convinced that Minnie would leave him the house. However, we're just inferring that from our moments hidden in the closet."

  A door behind us opened and Jackson stepped out, looking breathtaking as always in his dark blue shirt and jeans. "That man should be in a magazine modeling hair products, expensive watches and clothing, not sitting behind a desk," Lacey muttered.

  "I agree," I whispered back.

  "Are you two ready?" Jackson asked. "Not sure what you'll learn from her clothing. There was no sign of violence or blood. By the way, the pillow from Minnie's bed was not a match with the fibers the coroner found on her face. So we still don't have the murder weapon."

  "I've solved more than one murder with a good nasal inspection of the victim's clothes," Lacey said as we followed Jackson back through the door. "Scents, especially faint ones, are those pieces of evidence that usually get overlooked."

  "I guess that's true. It's easier to focus on the evidence you can see." Jackson waved us through another metal door. "Especially for those of us without talented noses. I've been so swamped with other cases, I've basically had
to hand this one over. I'm working today to catch up. I'll be getting my hands into this one starting tomorrow. So far, the team in charge has been struggling. The fibers in Etta's trunk were the first real break."

  "Have they questioned Mrs. Derricot?" I asked as we rounded a corner into yet another corridor.

  "Just preliminary so far. She had no idea how the rug fibers got into her trunk. But she's a very rich woman so she insisted that any further interviews happen with her lawyer present."

  I'd pictured a little more adventure walking into the heart of the precinct, but it was just a maze of industrial yellow hallways intermittently paused by gunmetal gray doors. Some had small windows, others did not. The lights above were harsh and reminded me of a hospital. The Junction Times newsroom was a cluttered, uninspiring space but Jackson's workplace was depressing. It was a good thing he spent a lot of his day in the field.

  "Would it kill them to hang a landscape painting or add some trim color?" I asked as we headed down another corridor.

  Jackson's deep laugh echoed off the stark walls. "Yes, our interior designer is working out the new sketches as we speak." We reached a door that had no window. Jackson pulled out his keys. "If you're expecting flowery wallpaper on the other side of this door, Sunni, I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed." He opened the door and cold air rushed out. Lacey and I instinctively pulled shut our jackets. "We keep it cold in here to preserve evidence."

  Jackson flicked on a light. The room was lined with shelves and labeled boxes. In the center of the otherwise empty room was a long metal table that looked eerily similar to the tables used in the morgue.

  "Make this quick," Jackson said, "I'm breaking a million rules letting you in here." He walked over to a shelf and pulled out a box. He carried it to the table. "Put on some of those latex gloves." He pointed to the box at the end of the table. "Lacey, since you've solved other cases by sniffing the evidence, I assume you've done this before."

  Lacey nodded enthusiastically. "We'll be very careful and put everything back as we found it. Thanks for this opportunity. I know it's against regulations."