by Rose Pressey
“What happened? How did you get up here?” I asked.
“A couple of men came by and did this to me. They were looking for you,” she said as she glared at me.
“For me?” I asked.
“You heard me,” she said.
“Oh, this is not good, Cookie,” Charlotte said.
“What did they look like? What did they say?” I asked.
I couldn’t believe this had happened.
“They were tall, muscular, and mean-looking. That’s all I know,” she said. “They didn’t tell me why they did this. They just asked for you, and when they searched the house and couldn’t find you, they stuck me in the attic. They left me to die.”
Footsteps sounded from the floor below us.
“Do you think they’re back?” Charlotte asked.
I motioned for Hannah not to make a move. I put my finger up to my mouth so that she would remember to be quiet. We had to sneak over to the door and peek. I wanted to find out who was down there. Unfortunately, the old floorboards up there squeaked and moaned with every step. I managed to sneak over to the door. My heart thumped wildly. I lifted the door and peeked out. That was when I saw Ken. His back was facing me.
Apparently, he was looking for us. I walked down the stairs. Ken turned around. “Oh, there you are,” he said. “What are you doing up there? Trying on more clothing?”
“You won’t believe me when I tell you,” I whispered.
Hannah was right behind me, coming down the ladder. She was extremely angry, I could tell.
She motioned for me to back off. “I want you out of here.” She pointed to Ken. “And him too.”
Ken’s eyes widened. “What happened? What’s going on here?”
“I found her in the attic. She was tied up. Somebody apparently came here looking for me, and that’s what they did to her.”
“Who were they?” Ken asked.
“That’s what we can’t figure out. They didn’t tell her who they were or why they wanted me, but we’re assuming they will be back.”
Maybe it was best that I did leave. They would probably be back, looking for me.
“I’ll pack my things,” I said.
After gathering our things, Ken and I hurried out the door. He carried Wind Song in her carrier.
“This is a shocking turn of events,” Charlotte said.
Ken set Wind Song on the front seat of my car. After that, he placed his bags in his car and came back over to mine.
“Where are you going now?” Ken asked.
“I’m not sure,” I said.
“You could probably stay with Dylan,” Maureen said.
“Good thinking,” Charlotte responded.
“I’ll probably tell Danielle what happened. Maybe she knows where I can stay for the next two days.” Now more than ever, I couldn’t wait to get home. “What about you?” I asked.
Ken ran his hand through his hair. “I suppose I could stay in my car.”
“I can’t let you do that,” I said. “Let me make a call.”
Most importantly, I had to find out who the men were and why they were looking for me. That was scary. Hannah was still watching us from the window. She’d probably call the police soon if we didn’t get out of there. Maybe she already had called. I explained to Danielle what had happened. She wanted me to call the police right away. I’d probably tell Dylan first.
“Good news,” I said when I hung up the call.
“What’s that?” Ken asked.
“Danielle actually has a couple of extra rooms at the hotel where they’re staying. She paid for them, but the people who were coming didn’t show up. Looks like they’re ours if we want them.”
“Dylan isn’t going to like this. He will want you to stay with him instead of following Ken,” Charlotte said.
I wasn’t sure if I was ready to spend that much time with Dylan. We’d only started dating. I wanted to take things slow. I’d go with Ken to the hotel and take it from there. Once again, I’d kept this information from Dylan. It wasn’t like I was staying in the same room with Ken. Just the same hotel.
Chapter 26
Cookie’s Savvy Tips for Vintage Shopping
Take a list of items you’re looking for.
That way, you’ll avoid purchasing
something you might regret.
Later that night, I had settled into my new hotel room. I’d had to sneak the cat in so the management wouldn’t see her. Things had been so hectic that I hadn’t gotten a chance to talk with Wind Song about using the Ouija board. I was a bit nervous because I didn’t have Heather here to help me this time.
“Grandma, would you like to use the Ouija board?” I asked.
“I’ll never get used to you calling the cat ‘grandma’,” Charlotte said.
“Well, it feels kind of strange not to call her that, knowing she’s my grandmother,” I said.
“That is the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen,” Ramon said.
“Stranger than the fact that you’re a ghost?” I asked.
“Well, I guess there is that,” Ramon said.
I pulled out the Ouija board from my luggage and placed it in the middle of the bed. As soon as I sat down on the bed, Wind Song jumped up and sat next to the board.
“I guess she’s ready,” Charlotte said.
Wind Song placed her paws on the planchette.
“Do you have any clues for Ramon’s murder?” I asked.
We watched as Wind Song pushed the planchette across the board.
“What is she saying?” Ramon asked.
She first stopped on the letter R. By the time she had finished, she’d spelled the word remember.
“What do you remember, Grandma?” I asked.
Wind Song stared at the board for a moment, as if she was trying to recall. She moved her paw again, starting with the letter M. This time, she spelled out the name Maureen.
“What about me?” Maureen asked.
“Do you remember Maureen?” I asked.
Grandma took the planchette over to the word Yes.
“She remembers you,” I said, looking at Maureen. “Do you remember my grandmother, Pearl Chanel?”
Maureen stared at the cat for a moment. “I remember now. I never knew her last name. She came to the community center. She always wore a hat and gloves.”
“Yes, that’s her.”
“She was such a sweet lady.”
“Thank you,” I said. “Yes, she is a wonderful woman.”
“Does she have anything else to say?” Maureen asked.
“Is there something you can tell us about Maureen?”
Wind Song moved the planchette again. Affair was the word she spelled this time.
“Affair?” Maureen and Charlotte said at the same time. “The only cheater we know is Ramon.”
They smirked at him.
“Are you ever going to let me forget that?” he asked.
“No,” they said.
“Okay, y’all, enough of that. Let’s get back to the board. Grandma, tell me what you’re talking about. Who is having an affair?”
I assumed she meant Ramon. Was she talking about Ramon’s affair? We already knew about that one. We watched with anticipation as Wind Song moved the planchette again. I was excited to see what she had to say this time.
“I can’t stand this. Why does it take so long?” Charlotte asked.
“Well, she does have tiny paws. Plus, her range of motion isn’t all that great,” I said.
Charlotte paced across the room. She’d moved the planchette, with her kitty paws, around to all the different letters. The first word was Maureen again. The second word I hadn’t expected. She’d spelled out the word husband. Charlotte and I exchanged a look. I was pretty sure I knew what my grandmother was trying to say, but I wanted to be positive. I looked at Maureen. She was staring in shock.
“Was Maureen’s husband having an affair?” I asked, still watching Maureen.
Wind Song pushed the planc
hette over to the word Yes.
“Oh dear,” Charlotte said.
“This isn’t good,” Ramon said.
He was probably upset because he knew he’d take more heat for his affair now.
Maureen shook her head. “That is simply not possible. I don’t know why she would say such a thing.”
Maureen paced across the floor, waving her arms. She was clearly upset.
“She’s in denial,” Charlotte whispered.
“Why do you say this, Grandma? Does it have something to do with Maureen’s murder?” I asked.
The kitty paw moved to the word Yes again. I bet the person he was having an affair with was the one who killed Maureen.
Maureen was holding her hands up to her ears. I knew she could still hear us though. I had to press on and ask more questions, even if Maureen didn’t want to hear.
“Do you know who he was having an affair with?” I asked.
My grandmother moved the planchette over to the word No.
“Ugh,” Charlotte said. “That figures.”
“How does she know he was having an affair?” Maureen asked.
Wind Song jumped down from the bed. She was finished talking with us for now. I’d have to call my mom and Heather to see if they could find out more about this new revelation.
“It’s okay, Maureen, try not to worry too much,” I said.
“I can’t believe that rat was cheating on me. I should have known. He was always sneaky.” Maureen clenched her fists.
“She’s moved from denial to anger,” Ramon said. “This part is not good.”
He would have experience in that.
My cell phone rang, and I grabbed it from the nightstand.
“Cookie, how would you like to go to the parade?” Dylan asked.
Well, I really wanted to look for more clues, but I suppose I should have some fun before it was time to go home. This was supposed to be like a vacation, but I’d done everything but relax since I’d arrived.
“That sounds great,” I said.
“I’ll pick you up in thirty minutes,” Dylan said.
I wasn’t sure I’d brought an outfit suitable for attending the parade, though I’d definitely want my sneakers. Sorting through my clothes, I picked out a pair of turquoise Lily Pulitzer pedal pushers from the nineties. They were embroidered with pink bumblebees. I paired them with a white V-neck collared halter from the seventies that buttoned up the back.
While I waited for Dylan to arrive, I decided to call Heather. I couldn’t wait to tell her what I’d discovered about Maureen’s husband. After Heather answered, I immediately told her what I’d found out via the Ouija board.
“That certainly is shocking, if it’s true.”
“My grandmother has never been wrong,” I said.
“I’ll see what I can find out,” Heather said. “How’s Maureen handling the news?”
Maureen was glaring at Ramon.
“As well as can be expected, I guess. Thanks, Heather.”
“No problem. I can’t wait until you come back.”
“Me too,” I said. “Tell my mom I’ll call her later.”
Now I had just a little while longer to wait until Dylan arrived. I pulled out the phone from my bag. I still got a bad vibe every time I looked at it. It was as if Mandy would pop out and catch me with it. I shook off the feeling and turned on the phone. I wanted to take another look at her photos. I wanted a closer look at that bracelet.
“What are you doing?” Charlotte asked.
“Checking out something,” I said.
“Good idea,” she said. “I bet there are all kinds of strange things on that phone.”
Now that I had a chance to enlarge the photo, I wanted a better look at the bracelet. Though I didn’t get a great look at the one at the crime scene, I suspected it was the same bracelet. I wished I had a bigger screen than my phone’s to look at it on though. I used my fingers to make the screen zoom in on Danielle’s wrist. The gold bracelet was much clearer now.
“What do you see?” Charlotte asked as she leaned over my shoulder.
“I’m looking closer at the bracelet. It’s definitely the same as the one at the crime scene,” I said.
“What kind of bracelet is it?” Maureen asked.
“A Cartier love bracelet,” Charlotte and I said at the same time.
“How do you know?” Maureen asked.
“I’d know it anywhere,” Charlotte said. “It’s one of my favorites. I wore mine often.”
“It’s beautiful,” I said. “I found one at an estate sale once, but after much research I discovered it wasn’t authentic. Apparently back in the seventies they didn’t do much to make sure that they couldn’t be copied, so there were quite a few fake ones made. You have to be careful when you find one you think is vintage.”
“Good information, Cookie. Now tell me something. . . how are you sure that is the bracelet that you saw?”
“I guess I don’t know for sure, but I’m almost positive,” I said.
“That means that Danielle was the murderer,” Ramon said.
“It would seem that way,” I said, still studying the picture.
I just couldn’t believe that Danielle would be the murderer. I thought of her as more than a client now. She was like a friend. To think someone I trusted could be a murderer was a scary thought.
“So what do you do now?” Maureen asked.
“Well, I couldn’t just accuse her based solely on this picture,” I said.
“No, of course not,” Charlotte said.
“What I need to do is find proof that it was hers.”
“What are the odds that someone else would have such an expensive bracelet?” Charlotte asked.
“There were a lot of people who had a great deal of money at that event,” I said.
“True, but how many of them would have a reason to kill Ramon?” Charlotte asked.
I turned to Ramon. “Did your wife have a bracelet like that?”
“Not that I know of, but she had a lot of little trinkets,” he said.
“Trinkets?” Charlotte scoffed. “I think you’d know if she had this bracelet. It costs thousands of dollars.”
He leaned in for a closer look. “For that little thing? Does it have diamonds?”
“No diamonds on this one,” I said. “The one with diamonds costs tens of thousands.”
“Well, I guess I didn’t know everything she had.”
“Safe to say he didn’t buy it for her,” Maureen said with disdain in her voice.
She was obviously taking her emotions out on Ramon.
“I will have to ask Danielle, although I know she will think it is a weird question,” I said.
A knock sounded at my door.
“It must be Dylan,” Charlotte said as she hurried over. She stuck her head out the door. “Yep. That’s him. Looking handsome as usual.”
I answered the door. Dylan smiled as soon as he saw me. He wore blue and brown plaid shorts, a white polo shirt, and brown loafers. I’d never seen him dressed that casually. He looked good in everything though.
“Did he do something different with his hair?” Charlotte asked.
“Is someone here?” Dylan looked over my shoulder.
For a moment, I froze.
“Oh, way to look totally suspicious,” Charlotte said. “It looks like you’ve been caught stealing.”
Dylan continued to look over my shoulder. “Were you talking to someone?”
“No.” Okay, I sounded totally suspicious. “Let me grab my bag, and I’ll be ready.”
“You could have told him you were on the phone so he wouldn’t be suspicious,” Charlotte said.
Okay, Charlotte was right. I panicked though, and my brain wasn’t thinking correctly. Too bad I hadn’t thought of that answer. I picked up my bag and headed toward the door. Dylan was still looking around suspiciously. I closed the door so he couldn’t look, although it really didn’t matter. He could look all he wanted, and he�
�d never see the ghosts like I did.
“You look lovely, by the way,” he said.
At least he was changing the subject. I couldn’t believe he’d heard me talking through the door.
“Thank you. I’m excited for the parade. I’ve never been to one this size before. Just the small ones we have in Sugar Creek.”
“It’ll be fun,” Dylan said.
“Any news on who the men were who could have been looking for me at the bed-and-breakfast?” I asked as we walked toward the car.
Dylan opened the door for me. “No word. I asked Hannah if she’d be willing to have an artist do a rendering of the men for me, but she declined.”
“You went there to talk with her?” I asked as I buckled my seat belt.
“I wanted to get her account of what happened.”
“That is so sweet of him,” Charlotte said from the backseat.
“I believe it was someone who knows I’ve been looking into the murder,” I said.
“I guess the key is to think about who knows you are looking into the murder,” Dylan said as he pulled out of the parking lot.
“Well, there’s Mandy. I don’t know why, but I think she’s suspicious of me. It’s just the way she looks at me.”
“But do you think she’s the killer?” Dylan kept his eyes on the road.
“She’s scary, but that doesn’t mean she’s a killer. Also, there’s Danielle, Elise, and Lewis. Oh, and Ramon’s wife, Kristina.”
“That’s kind of a long list,” Dylan said.
“Unfortunately, yes, it is,” I said around a sigh.
We arrived downtown and, after a bit of trying, found a parking space. Dylan and I walked over to the street where the parade would soon be going by. After a few minutes of standing in the heat and wishing I’d worn something cooler, the parade kicked off. There were marching bands, floats with various local celebrities, and cars with other local figures, plus the blow-up cartoon figures that all the children loved. I looked around for the ghosts. I think the crowd had pushed through, which meant that the ghosts were having a hard time staying beside us. When I looked over my shoulder, I spotted the three of them a little ways behind us, looking confused.
Chapter 27
