by Jinty James
Trixie jumped into her lap.
“Who would send such a thing?” Maddie whispered, stroking her cat with a trembling hand.
The killer. Obviously the killer had found out she and Suzanne had been asking questions – or the killer was someone they’d already spoken to. Like Phoebe, the library assistant. Maddie still didn’t know why that woman hadn’t been arrested. All the signs seemed to point to her as the murderer.
She reached for the phone and speed-dialed.
“Can you come over? I’ve got something to show you.”
“THERE’S NO WAY DETECTIVE Edgewater would send this to you,” Suzanne said, turning the piece of plain white note paper over in her hands. She’d arrived a few minutes after Maddie had called her,
“I agree. He’d probably arrest us instead.” Maddie’s voice was gloomy.
“Mrrow!” Trixie agreed.
“Do you know what this means, Mads?” Suzanne’s eyes lit up with excitement. “You’re getting close to finding out who the killer is!”
“Do you think so?” Maddie asked, a hint of skepticism in her voice. “I thought for sure it was Phoebe, the library assistant, but she hasn’t been arrested. So maybe the detective doesn’t think it’s her.”
“Or maybe he’s giving her just enough rope to hang herself with,” Suzanne said thoughtfully. She waved the note in the air. “You should show him this.”
“So he can lecture us again?” Maddie wrinkled her nose. “And it’s got our fingerprints on it now. Even if whoever wrote the note wore gloves, it’s probably been handled too much by us to pick up a trace of anything, like DNA, from the writer.”
“I still think you should show him,” Suzanne insisted.
“Okay,” Maddie sighed. “As soon as the morning rush is over tomorrow, I’ll go down to the station. I just hope he doesn’t arrest me.”
MADDIE SIGHED AS SHE left the coffee truck the next morning and began walking to the sheriff’s department, a couple of blocks from the town square.
What was the point of being a witch – or supposedly a witch – if her limited powers weren’t helping her discover who the murderer was?
She hadn’t had another opportunity to try out the tell the truth spell, either. Or had the urge to cast the other spell she could do, the coffee vision spell.
Perhaps Suzanne was right – all her powers would arrive after the next full moon – or maybe this was the extent of her powers – the ability to cast two spells correctly.
She took a deep breath as she opened the glass door to the sheriff’s department. Suzanne was back at the coffee truck, serving any customers they had during their slow period. Although the coffee machine was Maddie’s domain, Suzanne handled the register, made the tea, and grabbed the bottled water for customers. But she also knew how to make a pretty good coffee – maybe not as great as Maddie’s, but far superior to the swill the local coffee shop served. And now, Suzanne was in charge of producing the health balls, too.
Just as Maddie was going to ask for Detective Edgewater at the front desk, he emerged from a short hallway, looking surprised to see her.
“Miss Goodwell.”
“Hi, Detective Edgewater.” The warning note she’d received seemed to burn a hole in the purse slung over her shoulder. “Do you have a minute?”
“Sure.” He checked his scratched silver watch. “Let’s go in here.” He steered her into a small, drab room off the hallway.
“What can I do for you?” He remained standing until she sat down on an uncomfortable black plastic chair.
“I received a note yesterday in my mailbox.” Maddie put her purse on the gray metal table and dug out the envelope. “Here.” She pushed it across the table.
He frowned, then pulled out a pair of blue latex gloves from his pocket. After putting them on, he carefully plucked out the note from the white envelope.
“Well, well,” he said softly, his eyes focusing on her face. “I told you two not to interfere, didn’t I?”
“Yes, sir,” Maddie replied, feeling like she was in the principal’s office in grade school – although that had never happened.
“Did your friend Suzanne receive one too?”
“No.” Maddie shook her head.
“I suppose she touched it as well as you?”
“Yes.” Maddie swallowed under his intent gaze. “After I saw what it was, I called Suzanne and she came over, and I showed it to her.”
“Have you shown it to anyone else?”
“No.”
“Was the envelope sealed?”
“No, sir. It was just like that, the flap tucked inside the bottom half of the envelope.”
“Okay.” He gingerly put the note back into the envelope. “I’ll send this to the lab for analysis, but it will probably take a while for them to come up with anything. They’re backed up at the moment. And when they do check it out, they probably won’t find much. The writer likely wore gloves, and since the envelope was unsealed, there won’t be any DNA they can pick up from saliva.”
Maddie zipped up her purse, the rasp echoing in the sudden quiet of the room.
He wagged a finger at her. “I’m sorry you received this, but maybe now you and your friend realize how serious a murder investigation is. Don’t go around asking questions about anyone. Don’t go to the library unless you have genuine business there. And by business, I mean borrowing or returning library books. Nothing else. Understand?”
“Yes, sir.” Maddie saw the stern expression on his face. He meant what he said.
“Otherwise, I’ll have to bring you down here and think about charging you for interfering in an official investigation.”
Maddie swallowed hard. She definitely didn’t want that to happen.
“I understand.”
“Good.” He rose, and she did the same. “Go back to your truck and keep making coffee and those ball things. Concentrate on that.”
She nodded, feeling a little patronized. Had he noticed that the library assistant wore a gold locket around her neck with the same initials as Joan’s husband? Did he know that Linda, Joan’s neighbor and best friend, had visited Ramon, the sexy Spanish masseuse the morning Joan was murdered, instead of staying home because she’d been “unwell”?
She mentally shrugged. He could find out those pieces of information on his own.
Maddie left the station, deep in thought. Some of her indignation had faded. She knew Detective Edgewater was correct; she and Suzanne should leave the sleuthing to the professionals, but still ...
What was the point of having the ability to cast the coffee vision spell if she was unable to get justice for Joan?
When she reached the coffee truck, Suzanne looked at her eagerly. “Well? What did Detective Edgewater say?”
“Not to interfere.” Maddie hopped into the truck. There were no customers around, so she could talk freely. Trixie had decided to stay home that day. “Or else I might be charged with interfering in an investigation.”
Suzanne scowled. “After all the info we’ve found out! Did you tell him about the locket on the library assistant’s neck?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“There wasn’t an opportunity.” How could she tell her friend how chastised she’d felt at the station, with the detective lecturing her? And, he had a point.
“Maybe he’s right,” Maddie continued. “I definitely don’t want to be arrested. And—” she looked at Suzanne “—receiving that note did shake me up a bit. Maybe it’s best for all of us, including Trixie, that we back off. Concentrate on making senior citizen friendly health balls.”
Suzanne waved a hand in the air. “Already done that. I’ve come up with a recipe I think will work and this afternoon I’ll go and buy the ingredients.”
“See?” Maddie arched an eyebrow at her friend. “Who needs to add sleuthing to our lives when we’ve got all this?” She gestured to the coffee machine and the interior of the truck.
“And Trixie.” Suz
anne grinned.
“And Trixie.”
CHAPTER 13
FOR THE NEXT COUPLE of days, Maddie, Suzanne, and Trixie concentrated on their real business – their coffee truck. Well, Maddie and Suzanne did, anyway. Trixie joined them for one day, then the next decided to stay at home, guarding the spell book as if she were worried someone would come in and steal it.
“When is the full moon, anyway?” Maddie asked on the third morning after handing in the STOP SNOOPING note to Detective Edgewater.
“Next week.” Suzanne looked excited. “Then we’ll find out if you’ve attained your full powers.”
They’d just finished serving the mid-morning crowd. The senior citizen health balls had been a big success with their elderly customers, and now Maddie as well as Suzanne was interested in finding new recipes for these healthy treats, so their clientele wouldn’t get bored with seeing the same goodies available every day.
Maddie made herself and Suzanne a mocha, and sat on the stool, swinging her feet in the air. “I thought I’d go to the library while it’s quiet.” She gestured to the front counter. Not a soul in sight.
“Sure,” Suzanne agreed. “I can handle things here. But didn’t the detective warn us off the library?”
“Only if we had non-genuine business.” Maddie took a sip of her coffee. “And this is totally legit. I want to check out some healthy cook books. Now you’ve got me interested in creating new recipes for our customers.”
“Awesome!” Suzanne grinned. “I told you the health balls would be a big hit.”
“And you were right.” Maddie returned her smile. “And I bet Claudine isn’t very happy about it, either.”
“Ha ha!” Suzanne crowed. “Funny how she hasn’t visited the truck again, isn’t it?”
They exchanged knowing looks. Claudine hadn’t made the café a pleasant place to work in, and having her coffee truck business do so well gave Maddie an extra glow of satisfaction.
Maddie drained her cup and stood. “I won’t be long.”
“Okay.” Suzanne waved goodbye, before sipping at her mocha.
During the short walk to the library, Maddie thought about different flavor combinations they could try with the health balls. Maybe lemon, or strawberry. Definitely a deep, rich chocolate – without dates. But would that still make it healthy? Wouldn’t it be more like a truffle? Perhaps she could suggest to Suzanne they make truffles as well, for people who wanted to indulge in something totally unhealthy.
She entered the library. The room was quiet: no patrons browsing the shelves, whispering to each other, or dozing in armchairs.
Walking over to the first bookcase, she scanned the non-fiction listing. Cookbooks should be in the 641 number range a couple of bookcases away.
Maddie found the recipe books, skimming the titles, looking for ones on healthy eating. Would a no sugar cookbook be helpful? Although, she didn’t know how anyone could go through life without at least a little sugar in their day.
The sound of a book being placed on a shelf nearby made her pause. She’d thought she was all alone in the library. She hadn’t even seen Phoebe, the library assistant, or Joan’s husband Brian at the desk. Maybe whoever was on duty had to go to the bathroom and had just come back and was now shelving books.
She peered through the open part of the bookcase. Joan’s husband was opposite. On her way to the cookbook shelves, she’d noticed that that particular section started on the opposite end of the two-sided bookcase, and wrapped around to her side. She’d had a quick look at those books first, but they’d seemed like general cookbooks, including recipes for beginners.
Should she say hello to Joan’s husband? Call out quietly through the bookcase? Before she could make up her mind, she watched him pluck a book from the shelf. A cookbook for beginners! But why was he taking it from the shelf? Shouldn’t he be placing it there if he was putting books away?
She watched him walk to the librarian’s desk and scan the book. A soft beep emitted. Then she saw him place it under the desk.
What was he doing?
Why was he checking out a beginner’s cookbook? Was he borrowing it for himself?
She froze as fragments of conversation zoomed through her brain. Brian had told her and Suzanne that he’d gone home the morning Joan had died to get some meat out of the freezer to defrost because it was his turn to cook that night.
Their elderly customer with pink hair who had told them about Linda visiting Ramon, the sexy masseuse, mentioned later that Brian wasn’t much of a cook.
And now that Joan, his wife, was dead, he was borrowing a beginner’s cookbook.
If he couldn’t cook, why was he going to make dinner that night? Beef bourgignon, no less.
Unless ...
Maddie’s fingers trembled as she clutched the no sugar recipe book to her chest. Should she? She glanced around. The library seemed to be deserted apart from her and Brian.
Taking a deep breath, she walked over to the desk, placing her book before him.
“Hello Brian,” she said as calmly as she could.
“Hello, Maddie.” He glanced at the title before scanning it. A soft beep filled the room. “Into healthy eating?”
“Something like that.” She took the book from him. “What about you?”
He shrugged. “I like a decent meal. If that means it’s got some sugar and fat in it, all the better.”
“It must be hard being on your own,” Maddie said, hoping there wasn’t a tremor in her voice. “Joan did all the cooking, didn’t she?”
“Yes—” He stilled as he seemed to realize what he’d just admitted. His gaze darkened, zeroing in on her.
“I saw you borrow that beginner cookbook just now,” she told him, drawing herself up as tall as she could, hoping he didn’t realize her knees were trembling. This was the moment she needed her witchy powers, if she had any, if only to give her added confidence.
“I hoped my note would scare you off,” he snarled, his face twisting. Gone was the mild-mannered head librarian and in his place was a murderer. “My mistake.”
“Actually, your mistake was claiming to cook when you can’t,” Maddie informed him. “Someone told me you weren’t much of a chef, but it wasn’t until now when I saw you with that recipe book that all the pieces came together. You didn’t return home that day to get the meat out of the freezer for dinner, did you?”
“No,” he growled. “I came home so I could discover my wife, lying dead on the kitchen floor. It was a pretty clever idea.”
“So where were you earlier that morning?”
“He was with me, just like he told the detective.” Phoebe, the library assistant, entered the room from the back hallway. She stood by his side and took his hand. “I don’t know what you’re insinuating, but it isn’t true!”
Maddie stared at Phoebe, that woman’s face shining with devotion as she looked at Brian. Was Maddie wrong? Was Brian actually innocent?
No.
“But I bet the time you arrived at Phoebe’s apartment was later than the time you told the detective,” Maddie said slowly. “Because you had to kill Joan before you drove over to Phoebe’s apartment.”
“Aren’t you the clever one,” he sneered.
“Brian?” Phoebe whispered, tugging on his hand. “What’s she saying isn’t true – is it?”
“Yeah.” He shrugged.
“So that’s why you asked me to lie to Detective Edgewater and tell him you arrived fifteen minutes earlier than you actually did? You said you were innocent and if I didn’t help you with your alibi, they’d arrest you!” Phoebe stared at him in horror, dropping his hand.
“Phoebe, it wasn’t my fault. Joan pushed me too far. And you were partly to blame.” He scowled at his employee. “She told me that morning while she waved divorce papers in my face that you’d visited her the previous week. Telling her that we were in love and she should give me up so you could marry me.” He shook his head in disgust. “She actually decided to follow
your advice. Said she was sick of my flirting with other women over the years. That you were welcome to me.”
He shook Phoebe’s shoulders. “I couldn’t have that. You know I’ve been planning to retire early. How do you think I could afford to do that if it wasn’t for Joan’s money?”
Phoebe stared at him, her mouth parted.
“Yeah, you didn’t know about that, did you? Joan had a small private income, which meant we could live comfortably on our combined money, and she’d finally agreed that I could retire now. But after your visit to her, she changed her mind.”
“But Brian, I thought we were in love.” Phoebe’s face crumpled, and she swayed.
“In love?” He snorted. “No. We enjoyed a mild flirtation, that’s all. God knows, there was no one else to amuse myself with in this place – unless I wanted to dally with fat Carol, the Wednesday volunteer.”
Maddie took a step back, hoping they wouldn’t notice. She had to tell Suzanne right away, as well as Detective Edgewater, what was going on. Her hand slid into her open purse, her fingers finding the buttons on her cell phone. Silently speed-dialing Suzanne, she hoped Brian and Phoebe were so wrapped up in their conversation that they wouldn’t notice her stealthy move.
“I had your initials engraved on my locket!” Phoebe wailed, pulling out the gold necklace from underneath her blouse and ripping it from her neck. She flung it at him. “How could you do this to me?”
“You’re a fantasist,” he said dismissively. “How could you think I was in love with you? You’d look okay if you smarted yourself up a bit, wore makeup, and sprayed some perfume on yourself, but right now you’re not exactly any man’s dream.”
“Why, you—” Phoebe’s fingers turned into claws as she lunged at him.
“Stop it!” Maddie’s voice held unexpected power as she vaulted over the desk and dragged the other woman off Brian.
“But ... but ...” Phoebe panted with fury, struggling in Maddie’s surprisingly strong grip. “Let me at him! He deserves it!”
