A Witch for Sleuth (A Modern Cozy Mystery with the Witches of Springsville)

by Dani Corlee

  Percy tightened his jaw. His eyes were two icy slits. The shy little man still had room for a ruthless criminal.

  "He left me no choice. And then even if I did keep him quiet now, sooner or later he would return to attack."

  "What do we do now? You’ve put me in trouble too! I lied to the police saying that I didn't know what Mr. Hopkins was talking about when he asked me about my brother. That’s enough for them to put me back inside. Remember that I am out on bail for having barged into the lawyer’s office. Damn that day when we were kids, and I took you with me to that robbery. At that age, it was almost a game for me but then I went straight."

  "As for me I liked it too much to stop. But in the past 15 years I have suffered like a dog to live a life that wasn’t mine. I was one step away from my goal. Glenda's death upset everything. If she were still alive within a few months, I would have reached the sum that I had set and could quietly disappear. 15 years. 15 years of falsifying the accounts every month. Year after year. Now the only thing to do is get away quickly. Money, anyway I have plenty. But first I have to attend to the lawyer who called me because he has discovered the shortfalls. I told him that there must be a misunderstanding, and I begged him not to say anything to Ms. Norwood, I wouldn't want her to have a bad first impression that perhaps would not disappear, even when it's obvious it was an unfortunate misunderstanding, I told him. The guy swallowed it, and he promised me that he would not call her before things were clarified. Then I have to take care of that busybody of a deputy sheriff who, maybe by now has understood, and in that way gain some time. And also your niece who’s with him."

  "For the love of God, leave Mabel alone! Don't hurt her!"

  "But what do you care?" Percy noticed a rock on the ground and kicked it furiously. "Don’t meddle in these things of mine. Rather get ready for tonight since you’re already involved and have to get away too."

  George eagerly took in one last breath of the cigarette, already damp from the drizzle that had started to fall, and threw away the butt.

  "I've already told you I don't want to come!"

  "Don't play dumb. You know that by now you can't decide anymore. If they catch you, they'll make you talk, and I really don't want to end up back inside because of you."

  "But I don't even know where you're going!"

  And you will continue not to know until you see the flight we’ll take.

  "Are you kidding? You want to leave by plane? They’ll take us immediately."

  "No." I’ve planned everything for a while. I just had to get the tickets sooner than I thought and add you. I also already made you a fake passport. You’ll shave your head completely and put on eyeglasses. Even I will cut my hair off, change the type of clothing and take off my glasses. I should have made other changes, but there’s no time."

  "I don't know.”

  "There nothing to know. You're coming; that’s it. It seems to me that so far you've always done well to do what I said. You’ve made money, right?"

  George nodded, although reluctantly.

  "You’ve lived in luxury until now. And from now on we will both live like that. I have to go now. You go back to the hotel and get ready to come away tonight as soon as I call you. Don’t take anything with you. I already have everything."

  "Where are you going?"

  "I've already told you. I must silence the meddlers."

  CHAPTER 15

  "Good evening Attorney Hayes," Mabel said answering the call.

  "Miss Norwood, good evening to you. I need to have a word with you."

  "Of course, what is it?"

  "Well, you see something quite unpleasant has happened."

  "Worse than what has already happened to me today; I don't think that’s possible. So give me this bad news."

  "I was trying to get a little clearer picture about the company. I still don't understand the claim of poor Mr. Hopkins regarding his alleged possession of part of the business because, up until now, I haven’t found a trace of truth in his claim. But what I saw from the papers that Mrs. Stone gave me in order to draw up the will, I don't like at all. I'm afraid, but I could be wrong, I’m afraid that the accountant has played very dirty, siphoning from the profits and not an insignificant amount. He has done it in such a sneaky way that the lady never noticed anything. Either that man has a dual personality or this is the biggest blunder I've ever made."

  "I knew it! Mr. Hayes, I'm here with the deputy. Just a moment so I can bring him up to date."

  "Let me finish as I don't have much time. Mr. Whitmore is coming here. I called and asked for an appointment to clarify the situation. He denied that there is the slightest mistake and begged me not to let you know anything until it is clarified. I guess he meant that he wouldn't want a mere suspicion to result in getting fired. But I felt it my duty to warn you."

  "Oh, God, Mr. Hayes." Mabel exclaimed.

  Then she turned to Randy and handing him the phone said completely terrified, "Randy, you talk with the attorney. Whitmore is on his way to him!"

  Randy's expression suddenly became apprehensive. He quickly took the phone and spoke with a firm voice. "Mr. Hayes, Whitmore is a dangerous criminal and has already escaped justice years ago."

  "Mr. Whitmore?" the other asked stunned.

  Randy did not answer him but continued. "He will have absolutely no scruples in hurting you. You try to get him to talk. Don't let him get away but don’t make him nervous either. I’ll send a patrol and in the meantime I’m on my way too. If we start now, in half an hour, we should be there notwithstanding the early evening traffic."

  "I just can't imagine Whitmore as a hardened criminal. But we're really talking about the accountant of Ms. Stone?" Without waiting for a reply, he said. "I will try to keep him as long as possible. I'm sure I can keep him at bay. Years of bickering during the readings of the wills have prepared me for anything."

  "Don't underestimate him, Mr. Hayes, don't underestimate him."

  "Can't you go any faster?" Mabel was exasperated with the slow pace the car was forced to make due to traffic. It was now late afternoon rush hour to get home.

  "No, I can't." Randy gestured with his hand at the cars in front of him. "Do you want me to get stopped by the police?" He said trying to cheer her up.

  "And if you put that thing on top of the car, and we go into in the emergency lane. What’s it called?" that thing that makes a siren?"

  "The flashing siren? No, it's better not to use it and not alarm Whitmore."

  "But you could remove it just before we approach so he won’t hear it."

  "There’s already the patrol there controlling things, and they are ready to intervene."

  Mabel sighed and opened the window to take in the cold air that hit her face. She loosened her scarf, continuing to breathe deeply and her hands started to shake.

  "What's wrong? Are you sick? Do you get carsick?"

  "No, it's okay."

  "I don’t think so! You've become very pale."

  “It’s finished. I'm just a little nervous and sometimes when it happens to me, you see I get anxiety attacks."

  "Look we’re here. There’s even a parking space.”

  Mabel looked carefully at the street. "But wasn’t there supposed to be a patrol under the lawyer’s office?”

  "I asked them to send someone undercover, so the guy would not suspect anything."

  "Ah, you're right. Hey, isn’t that Pam and Prom? And what are they doing here?" Mabel pointed to a couple just standing on the sidewalk.

  Prom approached them with a serious look while they were getting out of the car. He almost didn’t greet them and barely glanced at Mabel, giving her a sideways dirty look.

  "You," he said, denouncing the deputy. "Will you explain to me what game you are playing?"

  "Excuse me!" Visibly annoyed by the ugly tone, Randy continued to walk towards the door of the lawyer’s building.

  Not intimidated, Prom caught up and stood in front to block him.

&nb
sp; "I'm asking you exactly what are your intentions. By now it’s clear that Mabel killed Mr. Hopkins to take possession of the company not to mention the fact that she tricked our great-aunt to make her leave everything to her and not split equally among us as nieces and nephews which would have been fairer."

  "The sheriff assured us that the case is practically already closed. Why is she still free?" Pam shouted as she approached them.

  "She’s still free for the simple reason that she is not the killer." Randy hissed with eyes that seemed to send lightning bolts toward Pam, who was unimpressed. "We can’t stay here and talk with you, we have an appointment," he added.

  "We know that. We had asked to speak with the lawyer, but he said that he was about to call Mabel to ask her to come to his office for an urgent meeting. He wouldn't tell us what it was about. I think he has realized that the will should be invalidated. Come on let's go up."

  "I don't think so!" Exasperated that they talked about her in those terms and especially as if she weren’t present, Mabel couldn’t hold back any longer. "Leave immediately. What the lawyer and I have to discuss is none of your business."

  "You’d better go before I call my colleagues and have you arrested."

  "Oh really? And for what?" Pam asked with an insolent expression.

  "Mm ... Let's see." Obstruction of justice? Or maybe that you entered the premises of the company that now belongs to Mabel without permission?"

  "Leave these insane people alone, Prom." Pam turned to her twin, pulling him by his arm. “Let’s go talk again with the sheriff." Then, turning back to Randy, again ignoring Mabel, she said with defiance. "We’ll see who is right!"

  Randy and Mabel rushed into the attorney’s office. The reception lights were off. At that hour, all the employees had already gone home. Even the lights in the rooms of his associates seemed off while a glow came from Hayes’ office.

  They entered cautiously to avoid suspicion by Whitmore, fearing that he could do something stupid on seeing them arrive.

  The scene they saw before them terrorized Mabel and worried Randy. The room had been ransacked, and the lawyer was face down on the desk apparently unconsciousness.

  "Oh my God, is he dead?" Mabel screamed with a choked voice, feeling the hairs on the nape of her neck rise.

  CHAPTER 16

  Randy went to him and put three fingers on his neck to get a pulse.

  "He’s breathing," He said relieved. “Get away from the door, and up against that wall. Whitmore could still be in the vicinity." He took a bottle of water from the table beside the desk. He wet his hands and, after putting the lawyer in a sitting position in his armchair, he bathed his face. Part of his forehead and face were red and had started to swell.

  Mr. Hayes, Mr. Hayes!” Randy called to him, patting him lightly on the face. The attorney recovered, and putting his hand on his face he complained of pain.

  "What happened?" He said in a whisper.

  "You tell us. We just got here and found you like that. Where is Whitmore?"

  "Ah! right. He had a gun. He threatened to kill me and took the papers I had prepared to discuss with him. Then, still holding me at gunpoint, he searched everywhere to be sure there were no remaining traces of his fraud. I thought I was brilliant telling him I had made copies of everything and left them where employees could get them and take to the police if anything happened to me. I was hoping that this would make him decide not to kill me. But he wanted to know at all costs where those documents were and started to hit me with the butt of the gun. Even though I am taller and heavier than he, I couldn't do much under threat of the weapon and he seemed in a real rage. I told him that I had hidden them in the archives, down in the basement. He tried to force me to go with him but after yet another punch I must have fainted."

  Randy turned quickly to Mabel. "He must still be in the basement. I'm going to get him."

  "I'm coming with you."

  "It may be too dangerous. I’ll call the police positioned around here."

  Speaking as softly as possible, Randy called the station. "This is Randy. Please put me in touch with the team that I had sent to Attorney Hayes’ office.”

  "There is nobody there."

  “What? What do you mean?"

  "The sheriff has blocked them, giving orders not to get involved in the matter."

  "Send somebody here immediately! There is a wounded man and a dangerous man who is armed!"

  "The sheriff told us not to move should you call. And he sure didn’t say it in such a nice way."

  "If you don't send someone here I will hold you personally responsible and will act accordingly. May I remind you that I am your superior?"

  "But ...”

  "I hope there won’t be a killing or more wounded. As for the sheriff, I will make sure he gets what he deserves. Understood?”

  "Yes, ok. I’m sending you two men right away."

  "And an ambulance!" He shouted before ending the call abruptly as he approached the door.

  "There was nobody there, right?" Mabel asked even more upset and afraid than before.

  "Exactly,” He replied frowning, heading out of the room.

  "I'm coming with you." Mabel ran after him.

  "It's dangerous," he said in a low voice. He didn't want Whitmore, who was maybe coming back up, to hear their voices.

  "I'll try not to be seen, but at least if something happens to you, I’ll be there near you."

  Randy sighed. He had never been afraid in action, but he had to admit that, throughout his career, he had never been in such an ugly situation.

  "Okay, but stay out of sight!"

  "Ok," she replied. Her heart was beating like crazy, but she was not prepared to let him go alone. She knew that recently, any emergency situation would lead to a panic attack, but she hoped to be able to stay calm and maybe be of help.

  They went down to the front door of the building. The door that led down was already open and gave off a faint smell of humidity. The cellar was a maze of half dark hallways. The building was about a hundred years old and quite large, dedicated entirely to office space. At that time, there was nobody except maybe a few professionals who were working late, but nobody, at that hour, would go into the cellar. They saw various numbered doors. Some doors were thick and airtight, a sign that whoever used those places had done it to keep out moisture that could impair the documents.

  "Look, over there it seems open,” whispered Mabel.

  "Stay behind me. Go slowly and don’t let him see you.”

  As they proceeded, the noise was getting louder. It seemed that someone was kicking some boxes.

  “Damn it. Damn it. Where did he put that box? Damn, where are you?"

  Doing his best to approach slowly, Randy stuck to the wall and tried to peek into the room. It was a rather large cellar. All around the walls were high metal shelves full of numbered boxes. At the center of the room, hanging from the ceiling, there were other shelves also full of numbered boxes. Whitmore had to be between one row of shelves and another. Randy could hear the noise perfectly but still couldn’t see him. He quickly pulled his gun from its case under his jacket and was about to enter when Mabel stuck her head in. She glanced around the room. Percy could not be seen, but Mabel knew what to do. Usually she didn’t use her own powers much as she couldn't control them completely, but some things were quite simple even for her. She scanned the room carefully, as she saw out of the corner of her eye that Randy was motioning for her to go back.

  "He's there," she whispered pointing a finger towards the left. "Between the second and third row of shelves."

  Randy looked at her questioningly but made no comment. Maybe Mabel simply had better hearing than his but, on the other hand, he also felt that the noise came from that side.

  Despite the promise to stay out, Mabel followed Randy walking on tiptoe a few steps behind him.

  Whitmore meanwhile was kicking and screaming louder and louder.

  "Now I’ll show them!" He yell
ed at one point.

  Mabel and Randy felt the quick steps coming toward them, muffled by the papers scattered on the floor.

  Mabel cringed, hiding behind one of the shelves so she could see the scene without being seen.

  Randy stiffened, without having time to go back. He pointed the gun in front of him and waited. Suddenly he found himself face to face with Whitmore, who was stunned by surprise. He didn't take long to recover, however, and he pointed his gun with a sarcastic sneer, regardless of the fact that the deputy sheriff was armed.