by Iris Kincaid
“I readily admit that I was never a teenage girl, so I’m going to have to take your word on this,” Griffin said, dubious but amused. “And if she hates it, I’ll only have you to blame.”
“Well, now that your errands have been taken care of, Star and I need to get on with our own.”
“Star? Is that the cat’s name?”
“It is. She was a bit of a rescue cat, and she needed a boost to her self-esteem. I thought that she needed to know that she’s a Star, as far as I’m concerned. Let me know how that gift works out.”
Again, Griffin watched Ruby walk away. He could only wonder how thoroughly satisfying it might be to earn the same level of devotion that Ruby had for her cat.
*****
The Sam Singleton and poison sniffing dog had identified a few more suspects. While most of the suspects had been cooperative—they had to be to allow the dog into their home in the first place—Jada Swift was notably irritated that the dog had gotten into her house in the first place.
“We’re very sorry about this, Ms. Swift. Apparently, when the officer was speaking to you, the dog barged into your living room because he smelled Sam Singleton in the room. We want you to know that we always make a point of asking permission before we let the dog enter. Our apologies,” Finn said.
“But now that he has entered, we certainly do appreciate your cooperation in speaking with us.”
“Well, now that the dog has smelled Sam in here, I was sure that you’d come back with a search warrant, so what’s the difference?” Jada sniffed, still annoyed. “It just feels like such a violation of privacy, that’s all. Especially when I haven’t done anything wrong. I mean, nothing illegal. Poor Sam. If it will help find his killer, then yeah, I’ll do what I can to cooperate.”
“I know this is a delicate issue, but we were told that the dog ran into your bedroom and really seemed to be feelin’ Sam in there.”
Jada puffed up in indignation and then saw that any attempt at subterfuge was not going to work.
“Okay, so he was in my bedroom. Plenty of times. He had a really awful marriage and I was bored. These things happen. Now that he’s gone, I’m proud I was able to give him a few happy moments in life. But I really don’t want this getting around. It doesn’t have anything to do with his death.
“And the reason I’m telling you this is that you need to know that it’s part of his wife’s motive. Well, she’s a suspect, isn’t she? Somehow, she must’ve found out about us. What an awful thing to do, though. Hasn’t she ever heard of divorce?”
“We truly appreciate your honesty, Ms. Swift,” Finn said. “And we will have another chat with Mrs. Singleton. Thanks for your time.”
Out on the sidewalk, Ruby turned to Finn. “I never would have suspected. Sam seemed like such a wholesome guy.”
“I think we just found out what he was talking about when he said he had some secrets.”
“But Sam’s not the first husband in Oyster Cove to have an affair. It’s not right, but she did have a point. Don’t these situations usually end up in divorce and not murder?”
“Divorce is messy and costly. Sometimes, both parties wind up broke. Maybe she figured out a way to get out of her marriage and not wind up broke.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean we need to check out the insurance situation,” Finn said.
“But all husbands and wives have insurance on one another. That’s not going to prove anything,” Ruby protested. “And where are we going?”
“Over to Martine’s. The girl’s still got some mad hacking skills.”
*****
It didn’t take long for Martine to get into Mercedes Singleton’s insurance records.
“How about the insurance payouts for both of them being raised from half a million to four million dollars just two months ago?” Martine noted.
Finn nodded. “Nice timing. Just enough time for the dimethylmercury to do its thing. Now, let’s see if Mrs. Singleton can explain this.”
“Martine, I’m so sorry I missed your wedding and everything,” Ruby said to her dear friend. They exchanged a hug.
“Yeah, when are we going to get an invite to your housewarming?” Finn asked. “Sweet house, by the way.”
“Thanks. They worked on it for six months. Of course, we’ll have a housewarming. But not until things get a bit more settled.”
“With the new marriage?” Ruby asked.
“With you,” Martine said pointedly. “It’s a lot to get used to. I remember.”
Eight other young women in town had already survived similar yet unique transformations. It was a comforting reminder.
“Alrighty. Let’s go follow the money,” Finn said.
*****
Mrs. Singleton was quite offended at the implications of being asked about profiting on the insurance from her husband’s death.
“Yes, we raised the rates. Weren’t young anymore. Who knows when one of us was going to have a heart attack or get gunned down by a carjacker? I’m quite serious. Have you noticed what a dangerous town Oyster Cove has become in the last few years? So many murders.”
She wasn’t wrong. For a town its size, Oyster Cove had more than its share of murders in recent years. Still, the timing of the bump up in payout was suspiciously fortuitous. Mrs. Singleton remained high on the list of suspects.
In the day, there was one more home where the dog confirmed Sam’s presence. It was the home of a pastor, Reverend Jordan Wilkie. Fortunately, he appeared to be a cat lover and didn’t mind when Ruby asked if she could bring Star in.
“This is such a horrible tragedy,” the pastor bemoaned. “Mr. Singleton wasn’t a member of my church, but I invited him in on several occasions for a cup of coffee, and sometimes, I would run the notes of my sermon past him and see if he thought that it would go over well with my parishioners. He gave me some very helpful feedback. I . . . I . . . oh, I think your cat is going to get lost. I should’ve shut the door to my bedroom.”
“I’m sorry. I’ll go and get her.”
“No, no, no. Don’t trouble yourself. I’m sure it should be out in just a moment.”
Star was indeed out in only a moment, and in her mouth, she dragged a large hot-pink bra. The pastor was a single man living alone, and it was most definitely an awkward situation. Finn tried to set the man at ease.
“Sir, this is your home and your castle, and you can entertain anyone you please here, and it’s no one’s business. You’re a single man, and we make no judgments, so I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable. You are free to date whomever you please.”
Ruby had noticed that the size of the bra was just ridiculously large. “Or . . . wear whatever you please,” she added.
Finn’s eyes widened. He hadn’t thought about that angle.
The pastor went pale and started to stammer. “I . . . I . . . if my parishioners ever found out about this, they wouldn’t understand. I don’t completely understand myself. It’s just something that I’ve always . . . liked to do. Even when I was quite young. But, I’m sure that most people think that it’s very, very wrong. And then they’ll stop listening to me, even when I’m telling them something that is very helpful or very good. They won’t want to listen to the man who wears pink bras.”
“What pink bra?” Ruby asked. She turned to Finn. “Did you see a pink bra?”
“I saw nothing of the kind. I saw a pastor who was dressed in an Oxford button-down shirt and some very nice gray slacks. I cannot recall seeing anything pink in the room.”
Reverend Wilkie sighed with relief.
“I do have one last question to ask you, Reverend, about pink items. And that is . . . did Sam Singleton ever see anything of a feminine nature in this house? I ask because, you’re right, it might freak a few people out.”
“Not . . . not while he was inside the house. But I think he passed by my window one day and just glanced inside, not spying, just reflex. And he might have seen me on that occasion.”
&nbs
p; “I see. How long ago was that?”
“A month or two ago. I was very afraid that he would mention it to his friends or family. But I was never approached by anyone, so perhaps he didn’t.”
“Sorry to disturb your privacy, Reverend. I appreciate your candor.”
“Sorry about my kitty,” Ruby said.
It was time to let the poor man off the hook, so they made a quick exit. Inside the police car, Ruby was keenly aware of Finn’s suspicions.
“You think that Reverend Wilkie might have killed Sam to protect his secret, his career, and his reputation?”
“He was terrified at the thought of his secret coming out. And he’s right. He’d probably be preaching to an empty house if they knew.”
“I don’t know. People are forced to accept some surprising things that they find out about family members. And for a lot of people, I’m sure their Reverend starts to feel like family. Maybe they would’ve surprised him.”
“True or not, Reverend Jordan Wilkie has to be added to our list.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Lilith Hazelwood. Sam Singleton. Ted Aikens—the ghost with the safety deposit box at the hospital. Melvin Wynter, who was still trying to control the lives of his sons, even from the grave. Now, Ruby didn’t know how she ought to be feeling about death. It was not the alarming nothingness that she had feared her entire life.
On the other hand, these were some darn unhappy and unsettled spirits. They were all looking for answers or resolutions. What would happen after they found it? What would happen if they never found it? Those are questions that only the dead can answer. And that was how Ruby wound up strolling the grounds of Oyster Cove’s largest cemetery.
It was a place that she had tried to consider to be serene and restful. But her old fears had looked on the emptiness and stillness and it had always filled her with such anxiety. Now, she would no longer describe the cemetery as empty and still. It was hopping with ghosts!
And there were several visitors paying their respects, some reconciled to losses that had occurred long ago and some devastated by the crushing weight of fresh grief. Many of the spirits did their utmost to communicate, no matter how fruitless they knew it to be.
So many people and so much need. Ruby was a unique position as the only person there who could provide any kind of comfort or closure. But what an overwhelming task. She didn’t even know where to begin. But it never hurts to start with listening. Ruby wandered through the crowded cemetery, listening to complaints, regrets, unspoken messages, and heartache. But there was also satisfaction, pride, enduring bonds of love, and peaceful expectations for what lay beyond.
But then, Ruby saw a sight that stopped her cold—it was an unfamiliar face, but one that was undoubtedly a witch. There was a very distinctive look about them that Ruby was quickly starting to recognize. The witch was perusing the newly-dug arrivals as if she were in the supermarket, searching up and down the aisles, looking for the perfect loaf of bread.
“Her name is Raquel Grimm,” said Lilith, suddenly appearing beside Ruby. “We were not friends, to say the least.”
“What is she doing here?”
“Probably trying to decide whose heart to pilfer next,” Lilith said nonchalantly.
“That’s horrible.”
“Don’t be childish. I did it all the time. The dead have no need of their hearts, and a witch with a command of the dark arts can make very good use of it.”
“She’s a name that Zelda mentioned as someone who had a big grudge against you. Is that right?”
“I think there’s every reason to suspect her. She must be interrogated.”
“Do you mind if I take Delphine with me?”
Lilith scoffed. “Why not? We might as well make use of her.”
Lilith had a peculiarly exploitive way of looking at most of her relationships with others. Ruby just saw it as asking Delphine for a big favor.
*****
Of course, Delphine said yes. And she knew exactly where Raquel lived. She was out in her garden tending some evil-looking plants—was that hemlock?
“I was told to expect your visit.” Raquel scowled at Ruby. “This is the one who speaks to Lilith’s spirit. I hate to be even one degree of separation away from that odious monster.”
“Raquel, I must confess that I was never aware that there was such a contentious relationship between you and Lilith. Granted, she rubbed almost everyone the wrong way. But you seem to have a special grievance against her. What was it?” Delphine asked.
“Not a single grievance. A mountain of them. Did you never hear that she stole the heart of my mother for use in her dark spells? Is that not the most unforgivable violation of all civility? It is one thing to take the heart of a commoner, but a witch’s mother! That alone shows the full extent of her depravity.”
“I cannot wait to hear the full story. Let us see if she manages to give an honest account,” Lilith challenged.
Thankfully, Raquel did not share Delphine and Ruby’s gift of communing with ghosts, so she was blissfully unaware that her nemesis was listening in.
“And then, she cursed my womb! I, who wanted to have children so badly. She knew it, and she made sure that I would never know the sweetness of motherhood, and furthermore, I would be the last member of my family.”
“That kind of sucks,” Ruby sympathized.
Raquel was somewhat surprised to see that Ruby wasn’t simply a parrot for Lilith’s viewpoint.
“And lastly, she stole and burned our family grimoire. All to the end of erasing the existence of my family from the memory of this earth. Does anyone dare to defend her?”
Delphine shook her head sympathetically. “It was undeniably cruel, so cruel that it smacks of retaliation. Raquel, what did you do to her?”
“Yes, Raquel. Confess your unspeakable offenses,” Lilith demanded.
“Well, I may have . . . accidentally, mind you . . . killed her familiar. Yeah, not the last one. Not Morte. But the one before him. It got into such a big fight with my own cat, and I only meant to wound it a bit, but the spell was harsher than intended, and as I said . . . it was an accident.”
“Raquel, Raquel, Raquel.”
Delphine needed to hear no more. You can’t kill anyone’s familiar. But Lilith Hazelwood’s! Raquel was lucky to still be alive herself. But it certainly constituted an epic feud. Lilith’s excessive retaliation could certainly have resulted in a preemptive lethal strike from Raquel in return.
“Did you kill Lilith?” Ruby asked with very little hope of getting an honest answer.
“She certainly would’ve deserved it, wouldn’t she?” Raquel said pointedly.
Ruby knew that she was looking for Lilith’s killer. And she was supposed to be on Lilith’s side. But man! Lilith Hazelwood had been a piece of work. Raquel’s final words rang in Ruby’s ears for quite some time. She certainly would’ve deserved it, wouldn’t she?
*****
Ruby didn’t want to neglect her promise to stop by and help out the elderly Irma Taggart. The lady of the house didn’t have any monthly bills to pay, but she had just received her monthly dividends check and needed to mail it to the bank.
“Mrs. Taggart.”
“Call me Irma, dear. It makes me feel younger.”
“Irma. You know, you can make things so much easier on yourself if you arranged for direct deposit of this dividend check. Then you never have to worry about receiving it in the mail and then getting it out to your bank on time. It would just happen automatically and save you a lot of worry. And you can always double-check online to make sure that the deposit has been made.”
“Oh, now you’re talking about computers. I have never owned one. Surely, you’ve heard about old dogs and new tricks. All of those things just confuse me so much. That’s why I was always so grateful for Sam’s help.
“He also helped me put together the papers for my cat. My will, I mean. You know I don’t have any children. Everything is going to my little angel. And
she could very well last for ten or twelve years after I’m gone. I want to make sure that she has a wonderful, high quality of life, even if I’m not here. That’s going to take quite a bit of money.”
“Sure. At the rate that she goes through Posh Nibbles, that’s probably $10,000 a year right there. And then vet bills—maybe another thousand a year. At $11,000 times ten years. Yeah, you may need $100,000 to provide for her. That seems like a crazy-high amount to take care of the cat.”
“Oh, you have underestimated by quite a bit. First of all, there’s housing. This old apartment was good enough for me, but I really like the thought of her staying in a nice, clean, bright, beautiful place. So, there’s the rental expenses for that. Plus, she’s going to need an experienced professional to look after her. I don’t want my sweetie to ever be lonely, so she’ll need a lovely full-time caretaker. Round-the-clock. When you add food, grooming, and vet bills on top of that, then it’s closer to $75,000 a year, and I really ought to have over $1 million to make sure that little Rosie has the best possible life imaginable.”
“Wow. One million dollars. For the cat. I mean, sure, it might be ideal, but who has that kind of money?”
Irma smiled triumphantly. “I do. And I’m going to leave every bit of it to my darling little kitty.”
All of a sudden, Ruby took a good long, hard look at Irma’s home. It was kind of shabby chic without the chic. Everything was a bit worn-out, rundown, with the exception of a shiny new cat playground in the corner. It was the home of a tightfisted miser, a woman who had repeatedly made the decision not to spend any money on herself but instead, would only invest in the comfort of the most important person in the house, Rosie! And Irma had consciously, willingly assigned her own self the supporting role!
Ruby’s cellphone rang. It was Finn.
“We have another Sam sighting. Or I guess I really ought to call it a Sam sniffing. And I need you to get over here. But don’t bring your cat. There’s a big, mean, nasty dog here, and he and our sniffer dog have already gotten into it, big time. But same as he did at Jada’s house, our dog just pushed his way in. He really smelled a lot of Sam in this living room. And the homeowner is very squirrely. Can you be over here in five minutes?”
