by D. S. Butler
In front of me, Victoria stood in the doorway. She smiled coldly, and in one hand she was holding cheese wire.
I looked down at my half-finished glass of lemonade at the same time as Elizabeth.
“You can’t go yet, Harper,” Victoria said in a dangerously calm voice. “You haven’t finished your lemonade.”
“Don’t drink it! I think she’s drugged it,” Elizabeth shouted.
She was right. I wobbled a little, feeling very unsteady on my feet.
Why had I come here when the chief told me not to?
I found myself wishing I’d paid more attention to Jess when she talked about her spells. I could really do with a “get the heck out of here spell” right now.
Victoria chuckled.
“I almost thought you had it,” she said as I tried to keep myself upright by leaning on the back of a chair. “When you showed me the pipe, I thought the game was up, but you have no idea, do you?”
I took a step back, trying to get as far away from Victoria as possible. I shook my head. “Why? Why did you kill Elizabeth? Did you really kill your best friend just to be with Robert?”
Victoria gave me a slow clap. “Well done. You got there eventually. The trouble is I don’t think you’re going to be able to prove it, are you?”
Robert gave a horrified gasp. “Victoria, what are you saying?”
“I did it for us, snookums, so we could be together.”
Elizabeth pulled a face. “Yuk. Snookums? I think I just threw up a little.”
I looked at Victoria and then Robert in turn. The room was spinning. What had she put in that lemonade?
“Did you know about this?” I asked Robert.
Robert shook his head vigorously. “I had no idea. Victoria has always been such a sweet lady. I never lived up to Elizabeth’s expectations, and Victoria accepted me for who I was… I can’t believe she would have hurt Elizabeth. She’s such a gentle soul.”
Victoria chose that moment to make a run for it.
I couldn’t let her get away without being punished, so I chased her through the sitting room and into the kitchen.
It wasn’t the wisest choice.
To my horror, I realized getting me in the kitchen had been her plan all along.
She wasn’t going to run.
She was about to commit another murder.
Mine.
She brandished the cheese wire in front of her and took a menacing step towards me.
“No! Wait! I told the police I was coming here, and they know everything. You won’t get away with this.”
“I think I’ll take my chances. Robert will back me up. We’ll say that it was you who killed Elizabeth—everyone in Abbott Cove knows you’re a weirdo anyway. You and that odd family of yours are an accident waiting to happen.”
That did it. I snapped.
I wasn’t about to let her insult my family like that, and there was no point just standing there waiting for her to attack me with the cheese wire. I had to catch her off guard.
I charged straight at her, intending to knock her to the floor, but she was stronger than I’d expected, and as she braced herself against the refrigerator, she slipped the cheese wire over my head.
Robert entered the kitchen and screamed, “No! For goodness sake, Victoria, stop!”
“Get off her, you mental old bag,” Elizabeth growled.
Somehow Elizabeth managed to pick up a heavy pot from the stove and throw it at Victoria’s head.
The pot hit its target with a clunk, and it was enough to make Victoria loosen her grip on the cheese wire, and I managed to break free and I fell to the floor.
Then, seemingly out of nowhere, I felt a pair of strong hands tuck under my arms and lift me to my feet.
Chief Wickham’s large face loomed over me. His gray hair was sticking up on end, and his ruddy cheeks were redder than usual.
“Are you okay, Harper?” the chief asked.
Joe McGrady was snapping a pair of handcuffs on Victoria as Robert began to cry.
“Would it really have killed you to wait, Harper?” Joe asked. “You could have been hurt.”
I grinned at Chief Wickham and then Joe before turning to Elizabeth. “Thank you. You saved my life.”
“We wouldn’t have had to if you did what you were told,” Joe grumbled, thinking I was talking to him.
“You interfering witch,” Victoria screamed at me, and I flinched at her choice of words.
Chief Wickham took over from Joe. “Victoria Andrews, you are under arrest for the murder of Elizabeth Naggington.”
As the chief maneuvered Victoria outside. Keith, the temporary officer, who always got the worst jobs, tried to console Robert.
“Are you okay, Harper?” Joe McGrady asked.
I nodded, although I was feeling decidedly dizzy still. “I think Victoria may have put something in my drink. I feel a bit wobbly.”
I stumbled as I spoke, and Joe reached out to steady me. He crooked a finger beneath my chin and tilted my head up so he could look into my eyes.
He really was incredibly good-looking. I grinned up at him stupidly.
“We’ll get Doc Morrison to take a look at you, but I might have to take you to the hospital.”
I smiled dreamily. Things had certainly worked out. We’d found Elizabeth’s killer, and best of all, Joe wasn’t angry with me.
I watched Keith Tucker hold Robert Naggington back as Chief Wickham deposited Victoria in the back of the police cruiser. He looked like he could quite cheerfully have killed Victoria.
“Silly man.” Elizabeth was watching him, shaking her head sadly. She floated over to the police car.
“You were a hero,” I said grinning up at Joe.
Joe frowned. “I think we’d better get you checked out pretty soon.”
“You have lovely eyes. Did anyone ever tell you that?”
Joe grinned. He tried hard not to, but in the end, he couldn’t help himself. “Are you flirting with me, Harper Grant?”
“No!”
But I continued to grin at him. “Unless you would like me to?”
Joe McGrady stared down at me for a moment. His gorgeous blue eyes studied me closely. Then he leaned down until his lips were next to my cheek. I could feel his breath against my hair as he whispered, “Maybe when you’re not under the influence of narcotics, Harper.”
I sighed and sat down on the grass beside Victoria’s driveway, and I waited for Doc Morrison to come and check me out.
Joe held up a finger. “Stay there, Harper.”
I gave him a fake salute. “Yes, sir.”
I looked over at Elizabeth, feeling glad we had finally managed to nail her killer, but at the same time sad she’d found out all those secrets about her family along the way.
Goodness knows life was certainly simpler without a man around. But as my gaze magnetically found its way back to Joe McGrady, I grinned. Life might be simpler without them, but it was far more interesting with them.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Joe drove me to the hospital. I didn’t remember much of the drive as I fell asleep almost immediately after I buckled my seatbelt.
The next thing I knew, I was in the city hospital, and a doctor was shining a light in my eyes.
He fired a range of quick questions at me, what day of the week is it? Who is the president? And so on.
When he was finally satisfied, he flicked off his flashlight and smiled. “I don’t think you’ll have any permanent damage. You’re very lucky as you ingested a large dose of tranquilizers. We’ve administered the antidote, which appears to be working now, but we are going to keep you in for a few hours to make sure.”
“Thank you, doctor,” I said.
I was relieved I would be okay, even if I did have to stay in the hospital longer than I would have liked.
I couldn’t wait to get home. I turned to look at Joe, who was sitting on the chair beside my bed. He’d stayed with me since we’d arrived at the hospital, other th
an a couple of minutes he’d taken to pop outside and call Grandma Grant, letting her know what was happening.
“It’s good of you to keep me company, Joe, but you don’t have to stick around. I’m sure you’ve got better things you could be doing.”
“I’m staying right here,” he said and gave me a dazzling smile.
Just when I almost thought he cared, he added, “You’ll only do something else crazy if I leave you alone, and I’m sworn to protect the citizens of Abbott Cove.”
I pulled a face and hit him on the arm. “Jerk.”
“I can see you’re starting to feel better, Harper.”
As Joe checked through the messages on his cell phone, I snuck a glance at him. The way his hair fell over his forehead made me want to reach out and push it back. He was a nice guy really, even if he didn’t want me to think so.
He might think I was crazy, but he had taken me to the hospital, and he was still sitting at my side.
I thought the drugs were slowly wearing off as I was starting to feel more self-conscious. I realized I was wearing a hospital gown, and I really hoped that Joe wasn’t sitting next to me when the nurses had removed my clothes. I couldn’t remember.
I chewed my lip. I hoped I hadn’t snored in the car, or even worse, drooled!
“What’s up, Harper?” Joe reached out and put a hand on my arm. “You’re looking worried about something.”
I shook my head. “I’m not worried. I’m fine. I was trying to think of a way to say thank you. If you hadn’t been there, Victoria would have killed me, too.”
I liked the feeling of his warm hand on my arm.
“It’s my job, Harper.”
“Protect and serve.”
He nodded. “That’s right.”
I smiled as a feeling of warm contentment passed over me. “Well, you were very good at your job.” I peered over the edge of the bed to see if he still had the handcuffs. “You were quite an expert with those handcuffs,” I said. “Very impressive.”
“Are you flirting with me again, Harper?” Joe’s face was serious, but his blue eyes sparkled mischievously.
I snatched my arm away. “Goodness no!”
“That’s a shame.”
I felt butterflies in my stomach, but the effects of the drugs were fading, and I was starting to feel mortified by the things I’d said over the past few hours.
Still, if you didn’t try…I swallowed hard and then said, “Well, if you wanted to… Maybe we could…”
But I was saved from embarrassing myself further when I heard Grandma Grant’s piercing voice say, “This infernal place is like a rabbit warren. How is anyone supposed to find the patient they are looking for? We are never going to find her. Harper!”
I looked at Joe and winced.
Joe chuckled. “It sounds like you have some other visitors.”
He stood up, squeezed my hand and said, “I’ll go and get them and then leave you to it. I can swing by later if you need a lift home?”
I shook my head. “That’s kind of you, but I’m sure Jess will give me a lift home, thanks.”
Joe nodded once and gave me a brief smile before stepping out of the cubicle to go in search of my family.
I leaned back against the pillows.
Maybe I could ask Joe out. After all, I was a modern woman. Before I could think about it anymore, Grandma Grant burst in. “Oh, Harper, you would not believe the trouble we had finding you.”
Ignoring Grandma Grant’s grumbling, Jess flew over to the side of my bed and hugged me tightly. “Harper, don’t you ever do that again! Chief Wickham told us you confronted Victoria alone even though you thought she might be the killer.”
“It was quite clever of you,” Grandma Grant said, grudgingly. “I wouldn’t have expected you to be quite so intuitive.”
It was on the tip of my tongue to confess that actually I hadn’t realized Victoria was the killer until it was almost too late, but instead, I decided to bask in Grandma Grant’s admiration. She didn’t hand out compliments easily, and I was going to take them while I could get them.
Jess pushed my bangs back from my face. “I’ve spoken to the doctor, and he said if he is happy with your blood test results, which should be back in the next hour or so, we can take you home.”
“Tonight?”
Jess nodded, and I sighed with relief. I couldn’t wait to get home and back to normal.
Grandma Grant perched on the side of my bed and complained about the lumpy mattress, which actually wasn’t lumpy at all.
Jess leaned forward and whispered, “Is Elizabeth around?”
I shook my head. “I haven’t seen her since Joe put me in his car to bring me to the hospital.”
“Do you think she’s passed on?”
“I hope so.”
And I really did. Despite all our differences, I really wanted Elizabeth Naggington to now find peace.
Chapter Twenty-Five
When my blood test results came back fine, Jess and Grandma Grant were allowed to take me home.
Jess brought me a pile of books from the library and tucked me up on the sofa with a blanket. She also brought me what looked like a year’s supply of chocolate. Well, it was probably a year’s supply for a normal person, but eating chocolate was a special talent of mine, and it would probably only take me a few days to eat it.
For supper, Grandma Grant made me her special chicken soup. She told me it was an old family recipe, so I half-expected to see a few eyeballs rolling around in it, but luckily it only appeared to be made from chicken, stock and a few vegetables.
I took the bowl from her and tried to look grateful. I took a tentative sip and was surprised to realize it wasn’t actually that bad. It tasted pretty good.
I suspected magic, but I didn’t ask. Sometimes, it was better not to know, especially with Grandma Grant.
After I’d eaten my soup and Grandma Grant had returned to her own house, Jess and I sat in the sitting room. I curled up on the sofa, and she sat in the armchair, both of us reading books.
I was reading a particularly soppy romance and imagining myself and Joe McGrady as the main characters when suddenly I saw a movement in the corner of the room. When I looked up, I saw Elizabeth.
She hadn’t moved on.
At first, Elizabeth didn’t speak. She drifted over and sat down on the edge of the sofa. She’d learned how to do that now without falling through the seat.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“I’m fine.”
Jess looked up from her book. “Is Elizabeth back?”
I nodded, and Jess grimaced. We’d both been expecting Elizabeth to have moved on.
“Nothing’s happened,” Elizabeth said. “I don’t understand it. We found out who the killer was. So I should be moving on, shouldn’t I? I don’t have any other unresolved business.”
I searched for the right words to reassure her. I wanted to make her feel better. “I imagine it does take a little while, Elizabeth. It’s probably not an instantaneous process.”
But Elizabeth’s face was still sad as she said, “Just in case I do go soon, I wanted to thank you, Harper. I know I can be a little prickly at times.”
At times? She wasn’t kidding.
“But I am grateful to you for your help. I’m going back to my house now. I know Robert Jr can’t see me, but I want to say goodbye in my own way.”
I nodded. “Of course, I understand.”
After Elizabeth had left, I read for a little longer until I’d finished the book and then leaned back on the sofa to daydream.
I didn’t see any reason why I couldn’t ask Joe McGrady out on a date. What was the worst that could happen? He could only say no.
I cringed under my patchwork quilt as I imagined him saying no. Perhaps I wouldn’t ask him straightaway. There was no rush.
The following day, Grandma Grant announced she was taking us to the diner for a celebratory meal.
Archie enveloped me in a warm hug as s
oon as I walked through the door.
“I’m so glad you’re okay, Harper. It’s all around Abbott Cove how you foiled the killer single-handedly. You’re so brave!”
“Well, actually it wasn’t really single-handedly. Deputy McGrady and Chief Wickham played quite an important part.”
“Yes,” Archie said, waving my words away. “But they’re trained to do that, you’re not. And you faced up to a killer all on your own. You’re amazingly brave.”
As soon as we walked through the diner and went to sit in a booth, I realized that Archie was right. It was all around the town.
People kept coming up to our table and congratulating me for my incredible investigative skills. I started to feel more and more guilty. It was really Joe and the chief who should be getting the credit. They’d saved the day, after all, and it wasn’t as if I’d actually identified Victoria as the killer until after she’d drugged me.
When our meals came out, I saw that Sarah had piled my plate with extra sweet potato fries. Everyone was so sweet and concerned, and it reminded me why I loved living in Abbott Cove.
Everybody liked to stick their noses into each other’s business, but the community pulled together, and it really was a lovely place to live.
Mrs. Townsend was next to wander up to our table. “I’m so glad you’re okay, Harper.” Mrs. Townsend turned to Grandma Grant. “You must be ever so proud of your granddaughter.”
Grandma Grant gave a shrug. “She gets it from me.”
After Mrs. Townsend had left our table, Grandma Grant turned to me and said grudgingly, “You’re not a bad witch, I suppose. You really should learn more about spells, though.”
“Er… I would have thought you’d be more grateful. I was the one who called out the glazier to repair the greenhouse after your spell went wrong and the mutant sunflower grew through the roof.”
“That’s my point exactly, Harper. If you were better at spells, you could have helped me and gotten the plants back to normal faster.”
“I did help you. I got those horrible, slimy pebbles out of the bottom of the pond.”
