"No," Caitlyn replied, her voice rising in pitch. "No! This isn't fair. I didn't do anything wrong. Mike did it. But you idiots couldn't even find the blatant clue he left for you. You lost the murder weapon! Why aren't you arresting him?"
"Miss Jones," Ruby said calmly, "we can discuss all of this at the station. We'll call your lawyer. Just release Sarah."
"Yes," Aunt Sarah agreed. "You should do what she says. Bet it will go better for you and— urk!" She stopped talking as Caitlyn pressed harder on the knife.
Auntie Joe was beside herself. "Sarah, stop talking! She's crazy!"
I pushed Auntie Joe behind me. Andy grabbed for her and shoved her outside of the condo. He reached for me but I danced away from him, moving closer to Caitlyn. "Poor, jealous, Caitlyn," I taunted.
"What? No," Caitlyn growled. "I'm the best candidate. This is just like when we were in college together. Helen always got everything, even Mike. But she would have been a terrible mayor. And that Strous idiot was going to poison us all. Did you see his plans for those gardens? I did. I saw them. Idiot leaves them on his desk in plain sight most of the day."
Ruby glared at me. "Get out of here, Ella!"
"No way. She has my aunt."
There was no way I was leaving Aunt Sarah's safety to people armed only with guns. This called for some magic. I needed that knife. If I could knock a teacup out of Aunt Sarah's hand, it should be child's play to rip a knife loose. Aunt Sarah's eyes were wide, but she caught mine and blinked. She was ready.
I took a deep breath and tried to call on my magic, but I was too jittery and the feeling eluded me.
Caitlyn pulled Sarah two more steps back. One more and she would be able to dive out of the line of fire. I had to move now.
I drew on every strand of magic within me, waved my hand, and shot it all towards Caitlyn. She squeaked as her hand jerked open and the knife flew free, straight at me. I must have overshot, because the framed pictures on the wall behind her shot off, too. I ducked as it all slammed towards me, the knife sticking into the wall and the pictures hitting it and smashing down to the floor. Aunt Sarah drooped, pretending to faint but really becoming deadweight. Caitlyn struggled at the change in her weight and dropped her.
Ruby fired. Aunt Sarah muttered something and Caitlyn screamed. I closed my eyes, thinking Caitlyn had been hit. But when I opened them, she was gone. She'd made it into the bedroom. I raced after her. Ruby screamed my name, but I ignored her. Caitlyn was crazy, but I didn't want her dead.
The glass sliding doors to the bedroom balcony were open, and Caitlyn was hanging over the railing.
"Stop!" I shouted.
She ignored me and let go.
Racing to the edge, I used my magic, instinctively slowing her fall. She hit the grass hard, but not hard enough to kill her. I let out a breath as Ruby grabbed me and threw me backwards into Andy's arms.
"Andy, go down there and cuff her," Ruby ordered. "I'll call an ambulance."
Chapter 13
A day later Garza had woken up and ID'd Caitlyn as the killer. She'd seen the tea set and the smashed milk container plus the white card. Only Garza had been able to flip the card and pocket it before she was knocked unconscious. It was Mike Hutchinson's business card, but scrawled on it was a meeting time in a feminine handwriting that she realized was Caitlyn Jones' from her ad campaign.
I went to the hospital to see her. A subdued Max was sitting in the hall. He glared when I approached. I glared right back. But before we could start sniping at one another, Ruby exited the hospital room.
"Garza wants to see you," she said as she passed.
I nodded and entered, feeling nervous.
"Cleared of wrongdoing once again, Miss Sweeting?" Garza asked.
I laughed. "There's always next time," I assured her.
She nodded. The light was back in her pretty dark eyes, but she still grunted as she sat up. I rushed to her side to help her and she begrudgingly let me. I stayed close as she sipped water and settled herself.
"I hear you confronted my suspect?" she asked, arching a perfectly manicured brow in my direction.
"Well, she was in the middle of trying to poison my aunt," I told her.
"And why was your aunt there? You do make a habit of running right towards trouble instead of away from it. I am going to have to stop thinking you're a suspect and grudgingly accept your help in future, I think," she said slowly. "Caitlyn Jones has lawyered up. But we have her dead to rights, thanks to your aunt bagging that teacup. It's a blatant calling card. Caitlyn wasn't quite as smart as she thought she was."
I nodded. "And how are you feeling?"
"Like someone hit me with a frying pan."
"Isn't that what happened?" I asked. I felt a pang of guilt. "Detective, about that lump on your head— "
"I know all I need to know about that," Garza said. She tilted her head in the direction of the crowd of people outside her room. In the center of the crowd was Andy, looking pale. "So let's just not worry about that right now."
I smiled. "Whatever you say, Detective."
I caught Andy's gaze through the glass and winked. He looked surprised, but then smiled and winked back.
"That's right. Thanks for helping Ruby, by the way," Garza remarked. "She'll take my place one day. She was only a few minutes behind you, you know. And she doesn't have your penchant for being jeopardy friendly."
"I try to stay out of trouble," I said.
"Try harder, Sweeting." Garza said and summarily dismissed me.
Outside, Ruby's hand was threaded with Max's. Even though Rory's friend had printed the article, they had managed to pin it entirely on Mark Strous, and as predicted, the delightful Max Stewart was free to cause trouble. I sighed. You couldn't win every battle. At least now Mike Hutchinson was a shoo-in for mayor now.
"Hi," I said brightly to the both of them. "She wants me to try harder to stay out of trouble."
"Never going to happen," Ruby muttered. "You're like a trouble magnet."
And if what she said wasn't filled with her usual warmth, at least she was talking to me. That gave me hope for our friendship.
I nodded to Max and he nodded to me. We would tolerate each other for now, for Ruby's sake.
Outside, Rory was waiting to drive me home. I slipped into his arms. "Sorry you missed the exciting bit. But you saved my aunt by knowing where Caitlyn Jones lived. You're a hero."
He snorted into my hair, hugging my tightly. "Rory the mailman saves the day with his didactic memory."
"Yeah, you are definitely my hero."
"So how did Mike's scarf get around Helen's neck?" he asked.
"Caitlyn stole it to pin the murder on him. She was in love with him a million years ago and he chose Helen."
"That's awful," Rory said, shaking his head. "Is that what Andy did? He stole the scarf to protect his uncle? Then I suppose he also bashed Garza over the head. Is she pressing charges?"
I shrugged. "Doesn't seem like it. Andy's not a bad guy. He was afraid for his family. He was stupid, but not evil. I don't think anyone told the detective what he did and I'm not going to be the one to do it."
"You sure? Shouldn't we?" Rory asked.
"I'm pretty sure she knows. It looked that way. She is a great detective, after all. And I think Andy knows she knows and will work his little tail off to make it up to her. That's more useful than jail in this instance, I think." I said.
"Poor Andy," Rory remarked.
"Poor you," I said, kissing him on his nose. "Did I tell you that I promised my mother you'd come and admire her new roses tonight?"
Rory groaned.
On the ride home his face became pensive. I took his hand. "Penny for your thoughts?"
"Just something is bugging me about that fall. If Caitlyn jumped from the fourth floor, she should have been terribly injured or even dead," Rory mused. "But she barely has any bruises."
I bit my lip. My magic had slowed Caitlyn enough to protect her, but I couldn't tell R
ory that. "I guess she's just really lucky."
"Extremely, almost supernaturally lucky," Rory remarked. "I mean, she should have several broken bones. Also, how did you get a hold of the knife again?"
"I, uh," I stammered. "Caitlyn threw it at me."
"She did?" Rory asked, as he pulled up in front of my home. Putting the car into park, he hopped out and handed the keys to Girard. "Why would she do that? Seems to me she would have kept the advantage by hanging on to the knife."
"Well, next time you'll have to get there faster. See it all live," I teased.
Rory hugged me and slid his hand down to take mine. "No, thank you. I'm hoping this is our last murder investigation."
"Do you really think it will be?" I asked him.
"No," he said with a laugh. "Trouble follows you around."
"I do not," grumbled the cat, peering out from inside the house. "I prefer to follow Joe around. She carries snacks in her pockets."
I glared at him. Trouble flicked his ears at me and turned to walk back inside. We followed him into the foyer and off to the sitting room where the Aunts were hiding. But Mother was waiting for Rory in the doorway. She crooked her finger and Rory excused himself with a trapped expression as my mother put her arm through his and steered him towards the garden.
"Don't wait on us for dinner," she called over her shoulder. Her voice carried down the hall as she walked away. "I have some exquisite roses to show you, young man, and if you insist on seeing my daughter, you'll have to learn a thing or two about roses and which ones she likes."
"Alone at last," Aunt Hazel said when they were out of hearing range.
I sank into a soft yellow armchair. "What happened at the hospital while we were otherwise occupied?"
Aunt Hazel poured me a cup of steaming hot tea and dropped a dollop of cream into it. "Well, your detective had people surrounding her nonstop. It was a sinecure. But she was still having a bit of trouble healing, so when everyone left for coffee, I helped Sarah's spell along. Otherwise our dear detective would have been looking at months of recovery, and we need her around here."
I absorbed that with a frown. "She seemed fine just now, if a bit weak."
Aunt Hazel nodded and sipped her own tea. "Sarah's spell had stopped the swelling before it could do too much damage. She will be up and barking at you in no time Ella, never fear. That one is too tough for anything else. Now stop stalling and tell me about pulling a knife out of a killer's hand and almost impaling yourself with it."
I shot an annoyed look at Aunt Sarah. "I thought I did great," I murmured, a bit embarrassed.
"Oh, you did," she exclaimed. "I'm a little embarrassed that I didn't think of it myself. I have to tell you I was so rattled when Caitlyn caught me that I couldn't think of a single spell. I just sort of kept trying to talk my way out. I confess, when she had the knife to my throat I was terrified my aim would have gotten one of you. The way she had my arm pinned..."
"Oh, you were fantastic," Aunt Joe said loyally. "Any spell you would have cast would have been in a clear line of sight of Ruby. We could have that. We can't risk people seeing magic."
"Speaking of magic," I said, putting my cup down, "Rory is too clever."
Aunt Hazel narrowed her eyes. "Has he seen anything?"
"No! No, at least I don't think he has seen anything. He's just doing what he always does, asking all the right questions."
"He'll forget about it after awhile," Auntie Joe said brightly. "Just kiss him a bit more. Boys like that sort of thing."
I tossed a tea cake at her.
THE END
Ella’s sleuthing adventures aren’t over! Click here for the next book.
Poison Shake
a Three Scoops Ice Cream Shop short cozy
When Maddy moves to Creekside Hills and opens the Three Scoops Ice Cream Parlor and Bakery, she's hoping to get her life back on track.
But finding herself as the prime suspect in the murder of the busty blonde her supposedly reformed husband's been shacking up with isn't quite the track she'd hoped for. And when word gets around about the poison shake she served, her customer base melts to nothing.
Can she catch the murderer in time to save her marriage, her business, and her reputation?
Click here and start reading now!
http://www.lisbethreade.com/2015/06/poison-shake.html
PUBLISHED BY:
Lisbeth Reade
Copyright © 2016
www.LisbethReade.com
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced in any format, by any means, electronic or otherwise, without prior consent from the copyright owner and publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. All characters, names, places and events are the product of the author's imagination or used fictitiously.
Cat image on cover by Freepik.
A Corpse at the Polls: An Ella Sweeting Aromatherapy Magic Cozy Mystery (Ella Sweeting: Witch Aromatherapist Cozies Book 3) Page 10
