“So, basically, you’re saying we have no clue who the killer is?”
“Basically. But I move to strike whichever option it was where Magnificent Malcolm and Jeremy kill each other. I don’t like this as an option. I think we should completely remove it from our line of investigation.”
“What a shocker,” I mumbled. “Maybe Jeremy and Magnificent Malcolm were murdered separately, in different places by different people. Maybe Magnificent Malcolm really was in a car accident. There’s no reason to believe he was at the department store and we have nothing that puts him there.”
Sabrina shook her head. “I think the most likely scenario is that someone killed Jeremy and Magnificent Malcolm and then either attacked Madame Zorina because she is a medium like them and someone has it in for mediums or for something she might know.”
“Does make the most sense,” I agreed reluctantly.
“And I don’t think it was Wallace or Jeremy’s source. And, I think ‘Wallace’ is a generic code name for GBs when they talk to mediums so they can all be interchangeable.”
I shook my head. “The GBs don’t look that alike and why would all GBs need to talk to mediums anyway? Or maybe each GB has their allotted mediums like facilitators have their allowed areas but they all use the same name.”
“I could get behind that,” Sabrina agreed, dunking her biscuit in her coffee. “I’ll see what I can get from Madame Zorina later.”
“What if it turns out to be an alive person who murdered Jeremy and Magnificent Malcolm?” I asked.
“We leave a note on a detective’s desk about who did it, why and where the evidence is. Fighting crime and righting wrongs from across the veil.”
I gave her a sideways glance. “You’re playing a theme tune for us in your head right now, aren’t you?”
“Do I mock you for your eyeliner?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, so plan of attack from here is to get Madame Zorina to snoop around her contacts and find us some alive suspects for the murder while we work our end and try to shorten that shopping list of people.”
“Sounds like a plan,” I agreed.
“Oh, and you need to snoop around that department store for Magnificent Malcolm’s body.”
“Why? We already know he’s dead and it’s highly unlikely they’ll take us back to the same store where someone was murdered.”
“The body will confirm he died there, though. And the request says you’re going back to the same store. With the exact same people.” Sabrina tapped her cup with her biscuit again.
“I thought you said you weren’t able to snoop through files with the training.”
“Yep, but the stack of requests waiting in the inbox was a completely different matter,” Sabrina said with a shrug. “It’s almost like someone wants you to investigate.”
I nodded. “Yeah. You.”
∞
“Guess what, Bridget? We’re going shopping again.” Petal skipped over to Sabrina and me as we made our way out of the fort after the meeting had finished. Pam and Lucy followed her.
“Your GB friend arranged it,” Pam said, linking her arm with mine as she gently tugged me forward to where Oz was standing, arms folded and stony faced. The vibe that radiated from him was so far past furious I tripped when I caught a glimpse of it. Happily, Pam supported me. “I wish you’d get some more sensible shoes. You’re going to break your neck in those.”
“What’s up with him?” Sabrina muttered.
I gave my head the smallest shake. “No clue, but I bet it’s my fault.”
“I think I’ll bid you ladies goodnight from here,” Sabrina said. She gave me a quick hug, reminded me to search for Magnificent Malcolm’s body, then tunnelled away.
“Everything okay?” I asked Oz as we came to a halt in front of him, Anna and Katie.
“Fine. Same rules as before, ladies.” He signalled we should form a circle and he tunnelled us back to the same department store.
“Come on, Bridget. Let’s go and find you some sensible shoes,” Pam said and tugged my arm so I’d follow her.
“You pick me out something, Pam, and I’ll follow you in a minute,” I said as Anna sauntered away and Katie stalked off in the opposite direction, ready to stand and scowl at everyone again.
“You’re trusting me to pick out shoes for you?” Pam asked and the surprise in her voice told me I’d have to take whatever she picked out or I’d decimate her confidence.
I nodded. “Yep. I think you have a great sense of style.”
“We’ll help,” Petal said and skipped off ahead.
“I’m picking out my own shoes, though,” Lucy said as she trailed after them.
When they were all out of hearing distance I turned back to find Oz scowling over my shoulder after my housemates.
“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked him.
“About what?” he asked.
“About the reason that scowl is so deeply etched onto your face I could wedge a pen in your frown lines. Or the reason I can barely understand what you’re saying because your teeth are clenched so tightly together.”
“No.” The word was curt. No room for movement. He was really mad about something. Because I was a bad person, and because I was pretty sure it wasn’t me he was mad at for once, I couldn’t not bait him about it a little.
“Then you better check your attitude at the door because this”—I swirled my finger to encompass all of Oz’s scowly face, tooth grinding, tense shoulder deal—“this needs to stop right now.”
“Did you seriously just tell me to check my attitude?” Oz’s scowl lightened a teeny bit as it gained a tinge of disbelief.
“Yes. I did. We all have bad days. Don’t bring it to work. It will have a negative effect on those around you. I asked you if you wanted to talk about it and you said you didn’t. That’s fine. But lose the temper tantrum because you wouldn’t accept it from me so I refuse to accept it from you.” I turned and gave him probably the best hair flick of my afterlife. Brand name conditioner made such a difference. And then I sashayed all the way over to the shoe department, leaving a stunned Oz in my wake.
“What size shoe are you?” Pam asked, both hands behind her back as I approached. The fact that she didn’t want to show me the shoes off the bat was warning enough.
Lucy caught my attention over Pam’s shoulder and shook her head, then held up four fingers.
“I’m about a four,” I said and Lucy gave me two thumbs up.
“Oh, no, really?” Pam’s shoulders slumped and I immediately felt terrible. This friend thing was so draining.
“I can sometimes get away with a five, though,” I said quickly.
Pam’s whole demeanour brightened back up and she thrust a pair of white Crocs at me. “Excellent. Try these on.”
I took a rubber shoe from her and examined it, throwing a quick glance at Lucy, who held her hands up and shook her head. Yep, it was my own fault.
“It’s not about fashion, Bridget, it’s about comfy feet. Now try them on before you judge.” Pam pointed to the seat for me to sit down.
“Where’s Petal?” I asked, sitting down and slipping off my shoes.
“Where on earth have you been?” Pam grabbed my ankle and lifted my leg up, nearly tipping me backward so she could examine my filthy feet.
“Oh, there was some running at work today,” I said and batted her hand away. “So, where’s Petal?”
Lucy sat next to me and tried on a pair of five-inch platforms in red patent leather. “She’s off questioning people.”
“And you let her go on her own?” I asked as Pam shoved my size six feet into size five shoes.
“Are you sure you’re a four?” Pam asked.
“Did none of you listen at lunchtime when Sabrina and I both stressed the importance of pairing up while questioning?”
“These are definitely too small for you,” Pam mumbled and sat back on her haunches, examining the inside of the shoe for sizes. “I wonder i
f they’ve labelled them wrong. That’s not good, is it?”
“Pam? Lucy?” I snapped my fingers in front of their faces to get their attention. “Question people in pairs. Repeat that back.”
“Question people in pairs,” they repeated and turned back to their own activities.
I glanced between them. “Do you guys still want to do this?”
“I didn’t realise there would be so much work involved,” Lucy said, trying on one of my Crocs.
“And it seems a little bit dangerous,” Pam whispered.
“Okay. I’m happy for you both not to be involved. I’m going to find Petal. Do either of you know where she is?”
Both Lucy and Pam pointed to the changing rooms. I slipped my heels back on and clip clopped away to find Petal before I cracked Pam’s and Lucy’s heads together.
Petal was standing behind Olive, who was twirling in front of the large mirror in the same dress as the day before, only this one fitted her.
“That is such a good colour on you, Olive,” Petal said.
“You managed to find the right size then,” I said.
Olive nodded. “Janice managed to find one in the stockroom yesterday and put it on the hold rail in case we got a chance to come back.”
“I thought I made myself clear,” Janice said, stalking toward us from the back of the fitting rooms.
“About what?” I asked. “When you asked for the most unflattering outfit in the shop?”
Petal gasped. “Bridget!”
“That was mean,” Olive said as she moved to stand next to Janice.
“Right, this woman is trying to get me in trouble all the time and I’m the one in the wrong?” I asked.
“If you weren’t doing anything wrong Janice couldn’t get you into trouble, could she?” Olive pointed out.
“Yeah, Olive, I’m not really sure you understand how authority works,” I said.
“I understand how it works,” Treble said from behind me.
I turned to face him. “Should you be in here? This is a ladies fitting room. Inappropriate, don’t you think?”
Treble ignored me. “Parole Officer Peaks, is there a problem here?”
Janice squared her shoulders. “Yes. I’m glad you’re here. I’d like to make a complaint.”
“Against?” Treble asked but I was pretty sure he already knew the answer.
“Bridget Sway.” Janice enunciated my name clearly to ensure there could be no mistake. “I have asked her on numerous occasions to not communicate with my wards—”
“Okay, you’ve asked me once. One time,” I said.
“That should be enough,” Janice said.
“Now, now, ladies.” Richards interjected. “Parole Officer Peaks. How many times have you requested Ms Sway refrain from contacting your ward? Once, like Ms Sway says, or numerous occasions, as you just said?”
“Once or more than that, it doesn’t matter.” Treble spoke out of the corner of his mouth to Richards.
“Truthfulness speaks to the legitimacy of the complaint,” Richards replied quietly before turning back to Janice. “So, how many times?”
Janice pinned me with a glare. “Numerous.”
“Oh, she’s lying. I’m going to get Oz. He has that truthfulness radar thing. He can tell you that I’m telling the truth.” I grabbed Petal and turned to leave the fitting rooms.
“Are you just going to let her leave?” Janice asked.
Treble darted in front of me. “No.”
“Now, now. Everyone just calm down. How about we draw a line under this and promise to get along in future?” Richards asked.
“I think that’s a good idea,” Petal agreed in a small voice. “I think there’s a snag in the hem on that dress, Olive. Bridget and I will go and find another one from the stockroom for you. If that’s okay with you, Officer?” Petal directed her question to Richards, who nodded and made a sweeping motion for us to leave.
“Wait just a minute,” Treble said and stepped in my path, but Richards placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Think about the paperwork,” he muttered and then nodded at me to continue on my way.
“That was really rude, Bridget,” Petal reprimanded me as we headed to the stockroom. “And I was getting some good info from Olive, too.”
“First, that woman is trying to get me in trouble simply because she doesn’t like me. Second, do you remember the part where you do not question people alone because it’s dangerous?” I asked.
“We’re in a public place and I still have my stun gun.” Petal patted her the back pocket of her capris trousers.
“I don’t care. You follow the rules or you’re not allowed to help,” I told her as I pushed the door to the stockroom open. We were greeted by an enormous room jam-packed with more stock than I could’ve dreamed of.
“Because you always follow the rules,” Petal muttered.
I pulled her to a stop. “Hey, less of the attitude. The rules are there for your safety, so quit whining, follow them and be glad that I’m not admitting everything to the O word to keep you safe.”
Petal gave me her sunshine smile and a one-shoulder shrug. “Okay. But there are only three of us, so I’m going to need a partner.”
“Pam and Lucy have bowed out so it’s just you and me.”
“No one will speak to me if you’re there. I was thinking of asking Anna.”
“No.” I made a slashing motion with my hand. Repeatedly. “Absolutely not.”
“But it would help her to feel involved.” Petal looked up at me with her huge watery blue eyes.
“Why not go the whole hog and ask Katie?” I suggested.
Petal nodded. “I did but she still won’t speak. You can’t question people with someone who doesn’t speak.”
“Petal …” I covered my eyes with one hand as if I could block out the whole situation. I was really beginning to get a feel for what it felt like to be a parent. Suddenly, I had a lot more empathy and guilt over all the times I screamed at my mum. Parenting was hard. Oz and I would have to get on the same page about this. General parenting, not the specific stuff. It was best he didn’t know about the specific stuff.
“I thought maybe Anna could help. I don’t know how to ask people if they have a brother. Or if they killed someone. Or if they saw someone else kill someone. I started with the brother question to ease into it with Olive, but we got caught up in family talk and then she was telling me all about how her family keeps visiting mediums to check if she’s okay but that the social relations department never lets her visit. And how Janice—”
The door swung open behind us with such force it slapped into the wall with a bang. The girl with the turquoise striped hair from the previous night bounded in laughing. She paused when she saw us and the tattooed girl walked right into the back of her.
Petal waved at her even though she was standing less than two feet away. “Hi, Tina.”
“Hey, Petal. What are you guys doing in here?” Tina asked.
“We’re looking for a dress. What are you doing?” Petal asked.
Tina held up a cigarette. “Looking for a peaceful place for a smoke.”
“Because a stockroom full of flammable clothes is an ideal place,” I said.
Tina pointed to the ceiling. “No fire alarms.”
“What?” I twisted around as I scanned the ceiling. She was right. There were no smoke alarms. What kind of store didn’t have smoke alarms in their stockroom? “There’s a stairway at the back of the shoe department. Maybe that would be a more private place.”
Tina shook her head. “Smoke alarms.”
“Where? On the back stairs but not in the stockroom?” I asked and Tina nodded. “How did you know that?”
“Saw them last night when we were checking for somewhere to smoke.”
“Smoking is a terrible habit,” Petal said in a small voice.
Tina grinned at her. “Not like it’s going to kill me.”
“Don’t suppose you saw anyone on
the stairs?” I asked.
Tina’s whole body stiffened. “No.”
I sighed. “That’s a shame. I was hoping someone might have seen something. I think the GBs are going to try to pin that guy’s murder on me. I was hoping to give them another suspect.”
“Can’t help you. Sorry,” Tattoo Girl said. It was the first time she’d spoken. She backed out of the room and pulled Tina with her.
“If they were on the back stairs last night and they didn’t see the killer, does that mean the killer found a different way out?” Petal asked after the door closed behind them.
I shrugged. “Or they killed him.”
Petal gasped. “No. They wouldn’t.”
“Maybe it was self-defence. Or maybe they were Jeremy’s contacts because—wait, what were you saying?”
“That you should be nicer to people, and definitely not accuse them of murder with absolutely no evidence.”
“No. About Olive.”
“Oh. That we’d find her a dress without a pull in the hem.” Petal moved further into the stockroom and began scanning the rails.
“No, you were saying something about her and mediums?” I prompted. This was hard work.
“She was talking about how untrustworthy mediums were. How they’d conned her family, pretending to send messages from her when the social relations team wouldn’t let the summonings connect. It was really sad. She told me her brother got into a fight with one of them over it and—oh!” Petal whirled around to stare at me. “Olive’s brother! I found out Olive has a brother.” Petal clapped, impressed by her own investigative skills. Although she’d missed the point where she’d explained Olive’s motive for killing Jeremy. Or possibly a motive for Olive’s family to have killed Jeremy.
“Good work, Petal. Who did her brother argue with?” Could it be that easy? Would he have argued with Jeremy or Magnificent Malcolm? Had Petal narrowed down our suspect list to Olive and her brother?
Dead and Buried: A Bridget Sway Novel (A Paranormal Ghost Cozy Mystery Series Book 4) Page 12
