by Morgana Best
“What did you say?” Lucas put his hand on my arm.
I shook off his hand. “I said he came to the manor for lunch.”
Lucas frowned. “What did you say before that?”
“Don’t act surprised, Lucas. I saw you trying to strangle him.” Without waiting for Lucas to try to deny it, I pushed on. “He had a bottle of water with him, as usual, and he refused to have any lunch, but he drank his water, and then he was pretty much dead straight after that. The police think it’s 1080, the same poison that the murderer tried to kill Aunt Agnes with.” My words all tumbled out one after another, as they always did when I was nervous.
Lucas’s jaw was working, and he still looked stunned. What was his problem? Had he not been trying to kill Barnabas, after all? Maybe he had been trying to get some information out of him, information that he couldn’t get now that Barnabas was dead.
Lucas stepped closer to me. “Pepper, something’s going on.” He put his hands on my shoulders, but I stepped away. “I’ve got to go,” I said. I turned and all but ran into the police station.
Only Aunt Dorothy was there. “One of the detectives has taken Agnes inside to give her statement, and the other detective has taken Maude.”
I nodded. I had hoped to go in first, because I was keen to get to Linda’s and find out what she had to tell me. When I had called her, she insisted she had to tell me in person. Whatever it was, it didn’t sound good. I wasn’t one to handle suspense well. The best way to drive me mad was to keep something from me. Still, I had no choice but to wait until the detectives questioned me.
Aunt Dorothy read some magazines, while I googled on my phone to see if I could find any spoilers about the latest Bachelorette. Just as I had given up, Aunt Agnes and Detective Oakes appeared.
“Miss Jasper,” Oakes said, looking at me. I put my phone back in my pocket and followed him down the corridor. This was a different interview room. I wondered how many interview rooms they had at police stations in small country towns. Sure, Lighthouse Bay was a bigger town than most, but it wasn’t as if it was a city. “You’ve given more witness statements in the last week than most people have in a lifetime.”
I simply nodded. Oakes was right, sad to say. Still, there was no hint of accusation in his voice, and he asked me to go over the events. I did so, at length, and then he asked me the same questions all over again. “Did you see what brand his water was?” he asked me.
I shook my head. “No, but I do remember it had a blue lid and blue label.”
“Most of them do,” Oakes pointed out. “Did he often carry a bottle of water?”
I nodded. “I don’t think I ever saw him without a bottle of water. He used to sit outside his cottage and paint the sand dunes. He always had a bottle of water with him. He even had a bottle of water when he went to the exhibition at the art gallery the other night.”
That seemed to get Oakes’s interest. “Was he there with anyone?”
I shook my head. “No, and I don’t even know why he was there, because he didn’t believe in exhibiting. He didn’t believe people should get paid for their artworks.”
Oakes raised his eyebrows, but didn’t comment on that. “And you say he had a bottle of water with him?”
“Yes, and I’m pretty sure it had a blue lid and a blue label. I think it was the same brand, every time I saw him.”
“So it was actually bought water. What I mean is, it wasn’t a refill bottle?”
I thought back. “No, it seemed to be a bought bottle, unless he filled the same one up over and over again.” I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket, but I ignored it.
“Miss Jasper, I’m quite concerned about your welfare and that of your aunts. Even if your aunts won’t leave the manor, is there someone you could go and visit for a week or two?”
“I’d like to, really I would, but I can’t leave my aunts.”
Oakes put his head in his hands briefly, but looked up as Mason poked his head around the door and beckoned to him. Oakes went over to speak to Mason, so I pulled my phone out of my pocket. The text was from Lucas. Pepper, we need to talk.
When Oakes returned, his expression was more serious than previously. “These murders could be the work of someone who is quite unhinged.”
I interrupted him. “Do you mean a serial killer?”
Oakes looked alarmed. “No, we don’t use that word lightly. The attempts so far have been focused on the vicinity of Mugwort Manor, but they might spread further afield. Please don’t repeat this to anyone, Miss Jasper.”
I assured him that I wouldn’t.
“So far, we are struggling to find a connection between the victims and the intended victim, your aunt,” Oakes said. “To be honest, we haven’t made much progress in that regard. Is there anything you could tell me that could enlighten me?”
I shook my head. “No.”
Oakes leant forward. “Is there anything, Miss Jasper, anything at all, no matter how insignificant? Anything that seemed even slightly out of the ordinary?” His gaze was penetrating.
If only he knew! I made a pretence of concentrating, and then said, “No, not really. Nothing I can think of.” My phone vibrated again, but I ignored it.
“Please call me if anything comes to mind. It might seem insignificant to you, but it could prove to be most helpful in this case.”
As I walked back down the corridor to the waiting room, I checked my phone. There were several texts from Lucas:
Pepper, we need to talk. It’s not what you think.
“How does he know what I think?” I said rudely to my phone.
CHAPTER 14
T he aunts left me outside Linda’s hotel. Aunt Agnes offered to come back for me if Linda was unable to take me back to the manor.
My stomach twisted into knots as I walked the short distance to Linda’s motel room door, waving to the aunts as Agnes took off with a squeal of tyres. Linda had not sounded happy on the phone, and I was unable to shake a sense of foreboding. I was in such a state that I banged my shin on a white concrete pot containing a flourishing red geranium.
When Linda met me at the door, her face was white and drawn. “Pepper, come in.”
I walked over to sit at the little round table in the corner of the room. I came straight to the point. “What is it?” My stomach twisted into knots.
Linda appeared to be flustered. “I don’t know quite how to tell you this, Pepper,” she began. She sat opposite me.
“Just tell me,” I said. “There’s no need to soften the blow. I assume it’s something that’s going to upset me?”
Linda’s face flushed bright red. “I really don’t know how to tell you this, Pepper, but it’s not good. It’s about Lucas.”
My stomach sank. The room receded slightly, and I wondered if I was about to faint. I briefly considered putting my head between my knees just in case. Instead, I took a few deep breaths.
“It’s really going to upset you.” Linda wrung her hands.
I swallowed and then found my voice. How bad could it be? “Please just tell me, Linda. I’m already upset over Lucas. He’s been acting really weird lately, and I saw him kissing a woman at the art gallery exhibition the other night.”
Linda did not look surprised. “A blonde woman with short hair?”
I shook my head. “No, she had long dark hair.”
Linda bit her lip for a moment before speaking. “Oh, that’s not good. He’s been seeing a woman who is staying at the motel, in the next room, in fact. This woman has short blonde hair. I think she’s a lady of the night.”
“A vampire?”
“No, I think she’s from a brothel.”
My worst fears were realised. I put my head in my hands. After a while, I sat up again. “Did he stay with her overnight?”
Linda nodded. “I’ll say! The walls here are quite thin, and it sounded as if they were having an awfully good time. At first I thought it was possums fighting in the roof, but then…” Her voice trailed away. “Um
, I’m so sorry, Pepper. Sorry to say all that. I really did want to break it to you gently.”
I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t want to burst into tears, so I dug one thumbnail under a fingernail to try to stop crying.
Linda walked over to the side of the room and came back with a big box of chocolates. “I bought these for you. I hope they help. I would’ve bought you ice cream, too, only there’s no freezer in the room, just that little bar fridge.” She gestured to the little stainless steel fridge under the TV.
I thanked her, and ate one chocolate. Five more followed in quick succession. “I just can’t believe it! I just can’t believe it!” I said again and again between mouthfuls. “I thought Lucas was nice. I thought he really liked me.”
“He probably does really like you, but the trouble is he likes a few other women as well,” Linda said with a grimace.
“But he fooled me,” I said in a plaintive tone. “I was completely fooled.”
Linda shrugged. “Aren’t we all? I thought Paul was nice; that’s why married him. I soon found out he was anything but nice. You’ve had a lucky escape, Pepper—at least you didn’t marry him.”
“I suppose so,” I said doubtfully.
“It could be worse,” Linda said. “You really could have married him, and then had children, even! Then you’d be going through a nasty divorce and a nasty custody battle. You’d be even more upset than you are now.”
“I don’t even know if that’s possible.” To my dismay, I burst into a flood of tears. Linda handed me a box of tissues, and patted me on the back.
“Let it all out. It’s better if you have a big cry and get it all out of your system.”
I kept sniffling. “How could I have been so wrong about him?” I finally managed to ask.
Linda shrugged. “Do the police have any leads in the murders?” she asked after an interval.
I finished eating the latest chocolate I had popped into my mouth and looked at her. “Oh, I feel so bad. I’ve been going on and on about Lucas, but there’s a murderer at large. Why, he nearly got to Aunt Agnes. No, the police don’t seem to have any idea.”
“You haven’t told me what happened to the latest guest.”
I realised that I hadn’t had time to fill her in. “The aunts invited Barnabas Butler over for lunch, but he said he had allergies and couldn’t eat anything. He had a bottle of water with him—he always carried a bottle of water with him everywhere, and he was always drinking from it. Anyway, he drank about half the bottle in one go and then minutes later, he was dead.”
Linda gasped. “That’s terrible!”
I nodded. “Someone must’ve broken into his cottage and poisoned his water bottle.”
“That’s so strange. That man you didn’t know was murdered, and now your guest was murdered. There doesn’t seem to be any connection, and then someone broke into the manor and poisoned your aunt’s water, too. Does Lucas have any idea who could be behind it?” Linda slapped her hand over her mouth. “Oh forgive me, Pepper. I don’t know what I was thinking, mentioning his name.”
I shook my head. “No, that’s okay. I have to put things into perspective. My relationship with Lucas, or what I thought was my relationship with Lucas, is nothing in the scheme of things, not when people’s lives are in danger.” I wished I could tell Linda everything. For a start, it would make me feel better, and she might even have some insight into the situation. Still, there was no way I could do that, not with it being such a big secret that Aunt Agnes was a member of the Council.
“Pepper, is there anywhere you can go for a few weeks? I mean, away from Lighthouse Bay. It will get you away from the murderer, and it might make you feel better about Lucas.”
I had to admit it was a tempting idea. “I really can’t leave my aunts, as much as I’d like to get away from here. The police wanted us all to leave, but the aunts refused.”
Linda frowned. “Please be careful, won’t you?”
I assured her that I would. “Linda, would you mind taking me back to the manor? I can call Aunt Agnes to come and get me if you can’t.”
“Of course I will. Do you want to go right now?”
I nodded. “Yes, please.” I was feeling quite restless. In fact, I would have been happier to pace up and down the room. It was all I could do to sit still.
We walked out the door and stood on the veranda, right next to a wall of half dead fuchsias. I noticed that a storm was brewing, but figured it wouldn’t come to anything, just like the storm of the other day had petered out. Linda locked the motel room door, and we walked towards her car. Suddenly she stopped. “Oh no! I forgot my purse. I won’t be a moment.” She hurried back to her motel room.
I stood there waiting for her, wrapping my arms around me as a sudden chill wind blew up, sending a flurry of paper wrappers someone had so thoughtlessly discarded into the air. The door next to Linda’s opened, and Lucas walked out.
I turned the other way and tried to pretend I hadn’t seen him. My ploy didn’t work—he walked straight over to me. “Lovely day, isn’t it, Valkyrie?”
I glared at him. He knew I didn’t like being called Valkyrie. He was wearing that silly baseball cap and big sunglasses again, and the old jeans. “Fancy meeting you here,” I said in a monotone.
He smirked at me. “Just visiting an old friend.” He laughed. “A new friend, actually a good friend, a very good friend.”
He was rubbing it in my face? What was wrong with him?
Linda walked out the door and did a double take when she saw Lucas. She hurried over to me and took me by the arm, turning me away from Lucas. Thankfully, her car was only a few paces away. She unlocked it, and I jumped in. Lucas stood there, waving to us, a grin on his face.
“What did he say to you?” Linda asked me.
“He said he was visiting an old friend, who was a very good friend. Linda, he was flaunting it at me!”
Linda gasped. “What’s wrong with him? You would think he’d try to keep it from you. Could he be on some sort of medication that has gone wrong? Is that at all possible?”
“I think he’s just a scumbag,” I said. “He’s nothing like the Lucas I thought I knew. How could I have been fooled for so long?”
Linda reached over and patted my arm. “Don’t blame yourself, Pepper. You couldn’t have known. He fooled all of us. Lucky he finally showed his true colours, before you got in too deep.” She gasped.
I looked at her. “What’s wrong?”
“Something just occurred to me. Since someone broke into Barnabas Butler’s cottage and poisoned his water, what if someone broke into Lucas’s cottage and put something in his Witches’ Brew?”
I shook my head. “The 1080 is deadly. It only takes a tiny amount to kill someone.”
“No, no, no, I wasn’t thinking of poison. What if someone got into Lucas’s cottage and put something in his Witches’ Brew, something to make him act so strangely and out of character?”
I thought it over for a moment. “Oh gosh, Linda, that gives me false hope. I would love to think someone did that, as terrible as it sounds. I can’t think of any earthly reason why someone would do that, though.”
“What earthly reason would there be for those two murders and the attempt on your aunt’s life?” Linda asked me. “There’s no rhyme or reason for those, either.”
I knew that the murders and the attempt on Aunt Agnes’s life were, in fact, connected, but I couldn’t tell Linda. Lucas wasn’t in the line of succession to the Council, so it made no sense that someone would spike his drink, and what would someone gain by making Lucas act so strangely? Still, a tiny part of me couldn’t help but cling to the faint hope that someone had drugged Lucas and that was why he was behaving so horribly.
CHAPTER 15
“Would you like to come in?” I asked Linda when she came to a stop outside the Manor.
Linda shook her head. “Thanks for asking, but I wanted to drive past a couple of new listings that have just come up for sale.
Besides, don’t think me rude, but I wouldn’t be able to eat or drink anything in case it was poisoned. Perhaps I’ve just got a vivid imagination.”
“I understand perfectly,” I said. “I’ll call you later. Thanks for taking me back to the manor.”
I went inside to tell the aunts that I was home, but I figured they already knew. Aunt Dorothy was peeking around the curtains at me. I used my new key to let myself in, and walked into the living room where the aunts were sitting, knitting. Aunt Dorothy, too, was now sitting, knitting. Anyone would have thought she had been there for hours rather than watching out for my return.
“How are you, Valkyrie?” Aunt Agnes said in a monotone, focusing on her knitting.
I knew they were dying to find out what Linda had told me, so I put them out of their misery. “Linda said that Lucas has been seeing a lady of the night, in the very next motel room to Linda.”
“Lucas has been seeing a vampire?” Dorothy said in surprise.
Aunt Agnes burst into laughter. “Oh, Dorothy, sometimes you say the silliest things. No, that was Valkyrie’s polite way of referring to a call girl.”
It took Dorothy a moment to process the information. “A call girl? Oh, I see.” Her cheeks flushed bright red.
Aunt Agnes turned her attention to me, and sobered immediately. “Oh my gosh, I am so sorry, Valkyrie. I never would have thought such a thing of Lucas. This must be so hard on you, my dear.”
It was all I could do not to burst into tears once more. “And it wasn’t even the same woman he was kissing at the art gallery the other night.”
Aunt Maude’s hand flew to her mouth. “That’s so out of character for Lucas. Admittedly, we don’t know him well, but well enough to know that that seems rather strange.”
It was then I remembered what Linda had said. “Actually, Linda had an idea. She wondered whether someone had drugged Lucas.” I knew they would immediately think I was talking about poison, so I hurried to add, “I don’t mean poison. I mean recreational drugs, the sort you find in the party scene. Surely one of those could make Lucas act like that.”
