Dex had only seen the charm in a grainy photo before, and he leaned over the bag and squinted. “Why are there puncture marks in the top of the bag? Looks like something chewed it.”
“No idea. Defective, maybe?” Owen shrugged. “Came into police custody that way.”
“Huh.” Dex leaned down so Gordon could climb off his shoulder and onto Owen’s desk. “Do you mind?”
“Not at all.” Owen cooed to a waving Gordon. “Cute little guy, isn’t he?”
“He’s my main man,” Dex said. “What else have you found?”
“That charm came from a store on the south side of Silver Hollow named Charmed. Went there yesterday and questioned the owner, gal named Starla Knight. She said she sold two of those charms, one to Nikki Pettywood and another to a tourist. Some young guy who paid cash so the wife wouldn’t see it on the credit card bill.” He handed Dex the customer records. “Of course, I went to question Nikki right away.”
“What’d she say?” Dex glanced at the list. He saw Nikki’s name and address but only the first name for the tourist and the words “paid in cash.” He set the list aside, out of Gordon’s chewing range, and gave him a treat from his pocket instead to keep the lizard occupied.
“Nikki said she bought the charm as a gift for her grandmother, Enid, and that it’s on her grandmother’s bracelet right now.”
“Is it?”
“Don’t know. Went to speak with Enid this morning but couldn’t find her.”
“Hmm.” Dex took a deep breath. “Seems a long shot she’d be the killer. Enid’s too old and frail. It takes a lot of muscle to bury a meat cleaver into someone’s back.”
“True enough.” Owen narrowed his gaze. He’d always reminded Dex of that actor, the shaggy blond one from Zoolander. “Then that leaves the tourist. Which would make me feel a whole lot better, knowing it isn’t one of our own. Then again, seems like he’s hanging around to kill more people, so maybe I don’t feel so good.”
“Yeah, that part’s not good. But I don’t think Enid would have the strength.” Would she? Dex remembered seeing her tug that pig along when it wanted to go in one direction and she in another. She was pretty strong, and hadn’t Ursula said the killer was around five foot four or five? By Dex’s estimation, that was about how tall the old lady was.
Owen made a face. “Funny thing is, there were several witnesses who swore they saw Enid in the diner right before the dishwasher’s body was discovered, which puts her there at the time of the murder. All seems like too much of a coincidence to me.”
“The worst thing we can do is jump to conclusions.” Dex knew that from personal experience with the kidnapping case. “Let’s find out where Enid was when you found victim number two then go from there. How is the victim, by the way?”
“She’ll pull through,” Owen said. “She’s awake now and talking, though her voice is pretty rough from damage to her windpipe. Docs say she should make a full recovery, though, which is good.”
“Good.” Dex stroked a finger down Gordon’s back. “Does she remember anything about what happened last night?”
“Not much. Didn’t see her assailant.” Owen took a seat behind his desk. “She states she was attacked from behind. Odd thing, though. She said it was almost like her assailant was battling with themselves. Said they kept arguing with themselves while they were choking her, fighting about whether they were going to finish her off or not. Like they had a split personality.”
“That is weird. Did you get any specifics on the voice? Gender? Age?” Dex felt a surge of excitement. An old lady like Enid would have a much different voice from the young tourist guy. This could help narrow things down.
Owen shook his head. “Nope. The assailant whispered.”
“Oh.” Dex’s excitement evaporated. It was nearly impossible to tell gender or age from a whisper. And with the victim preoccupied with being strangled, Dex figured they weren’t exactly concentrating on the depth or inflection of the whisper.
“The victim thinks that’s why she survived. The self-arguing, I mean. The killer didn’t wait around long enough to be sure she was dead.”
Dex had dealt with his fair share of murderers when he’d worked on the FBI side of the bureau, and they always made sure their victims didn’t live to tell any tales. Unfortunately, that didn’t help poor Enid. In fact, all the arguing and bumbling only pointed to the fact that this was probably a first-timer. Still, it was hard to picture good-natured, absent-minded Enid offing anyone. She’d have to be either super clever to totter around town hiding all that strength, or super cold blooded to kill her first victim then proceed to have lunch right afterward.
Either way, it made Dex shudder.
19
That night after work, the Quinn cousins all met up at The Main Squeeze to discuss their investigation. Issy sipped on another Pineapple Express, swearing the things were addictive. “The killer’s got the mushrooms.”
“I can’t believe they got there in those few minutes after I left.” Gray shook his head, staring down into his Pomegranate Passion. It seemed that the drink was still on special, at least according to Karen’s menu board.
“Did you see anyone on your way out?” Issy asked.
“Nope, and there were no dig marks when I was there, either,” Gray said.
“What about Enid?” Ember asked. “Did you see her? Maybe she ran over and dug them up after you left then ran back to the other side when we came.”
“I saw her with Becky when I was leaving, but she was way over in the other field.” Gray pressed his lips together. “She doesn’t move very fast. I don’t see how she could have dug those up so quickly.”
“And besides, she only had the Trabucco mushrooms when we saw her,” Issy pointed out. “Not to mention that she ate the candies with the potion, so the demon couldn’t be in her. Could it?”
“Doubtful.” Gray sighed. “They must have timed it perfectly. Almost like whoever it was is privy to our plans.”
“Yeah, right.” Raine chuckled then sipped some awful-looking brown concoction Karen had touted as “super healthy.” Kale and bean curd and guava and… Issy gagged just thinking about it.
Bella must have felt the same way, because she let out a soft growl as she watched Raine drink the thing. Issy rubbed her behind the ears, and the dog calmed. “New moon’s in two days.”
“According to my research, the demon needs to send three redheads over by the new moon if it wants permanent residence in its current body,” Ember said. She had a Pineapple Express, same as Issy. “It needs two more since it botched the last job, so now it’ll be looking to speed things up with this new victim.”
“At least we have three eligible redheads right here for it to choose from,” Raine said.
“Are you thinking we can set up a trap?” Gray asked.
“We could.” Issy nodded. “Tonight.”
DeeDee swerved to the curb in her squad car. “Hey, Quinn cousins. How’s it going?”
“Good,” they all said in unison.
DeeDee pulled up a chair to their table then lowered her voice. “I stopped by to let you know Owen found out that charm came from Starla’s shop. He also knows she sold it to Nikki. And Nikki said she bought it for Enid.”
“What?” Ember’s voice rose in alarm. “Enid would never kill anyone. Neither would Nikki.”
“No, but the demon possessing her would.” DeeDee leaned closer. “Besides, everyone knows demons lie like crazy. If Nikki is hosting a demon, chances are good it was doing the talking when Owen questioned her. Chances are also good it would’ve stolen that charm off Enid’s bracelet and planted it at the crime scene just to focus attention away from itself.”
“We know the demon’s not in Nikki’s body anymore.” Ember told DeeDee about what happened at their visit to Enid’s house the day before and the potion-infused chocolates and how she and Gray had been watching Nikki when the second victim was strangled.
“There’s still a chance
it will continue to want Enid blamed for the murders, though,” DeeDee said. “Why not deflect attention away from its new host until it kills its quota of redheads?”
“Makes sense,” Raine said then drained her cup of icky juice. “I have a great idea. If the killer is trying to frame Enid, then it is likely keeping a close eye on her, so why don’t we give it the perfect opportunity it can’t refuse? All three of us go to Enid’s cottage tonight. That’s three redheads for the price of one, right?”
“I don’t know,” Gray said. “Sounds pretty dangerous. Maybe you all should wait until I can come too.”
“We can take care of ourselves,” Issy said. “Besides, if you’re lurking around, the demon might get spooked and not reveal itself. Better if you stay behind. We’ll call if we need help.”
“Sounds like a plan, ladies.” Raine sat back and grinned.
“Yep.” Ember stood and smoothed the front of her dress. “I need to run back to my place and drop off the kittens. Wouldn’t want them to get hurt.”
“I’ll drop off Bella at my house too.” Issy pushed to her feet as well. “Plus, I think Dex might be following me. I’ll lose his tail and meet you guys at Enid’s after sundown.”
20
Around eight p.m., Issy pulled up half a block down from Enid’s and got out of her truck. She’d been right. Dex had tried to tail her again, but she’d lost him down some old back roads. Living in Silver Hollow all her life gave her certain advantages when it came to quick getaways.
Still, she was sure he’d find her again sooner or later, so she put a quick vanishing charm on Brown Betty then hurried down the sidewalk. Honestly, if they weren’t in the middle of trying to locate this stupid demon and vanquish it, she might find his concern endearing. But, right now, his meddling was only a major pain in her butt. Humans had no business nosing around in paranormal affairs.
They cleaned up their own messes. End of story.
Besides, Dex could get hurt in a magical fight, and then she’d never forgive herself.
Her cousins’ cars were there, but they weren’t outside. Issy glanced at Enid’s, a strange feeling of foreboding gathering like storm clouds inside her.
“Good thing I caught you. You need to be careful.”
Issy whirled around to see Brimstone trotting up from behind her. His sleek charcoal fur gleamed black in the shadows cast from the streetlight. He looked ruffled. She leaned down and picked a long hair off his side. Orange tabby. “What do you mean?”
“You know how it is with demons.” Brimstone’s golden-orange eyes glanced toward Enid’s house nervously. He seemed hesitant and unsure of himself. Not like his normal demeanor at all. “You can’t trust them.”
Issy held up the hair. “Or their cats?”
“What? No. That’s from Divinity, the cat at Charmed.”
“Right. Seems like you’re spending an awful lot of time with her.” What was making Brimstone act so strangely? It almost reminded her of the way Gray had acted when they were in Charmed. Had Divinity put a hex on Brimstone, as they’d thought Starla had done to Gray?
Thoughts of Starla made her wonder. Starla had access to the same charms that were found on the body. Starla had been acting strange, and she had appeared downtown right after Issy had cast the finding spell for the charms. Her offer to help them was out of character, but not if she wanted to feed them information to set someone else up.
Starla had told Owen she’d sold the charm to Nikki, and Issy guessed that part was true. What if Nikki really had bought a charm and told Starla it was for Enid? The charms were distinct, and according to Starla’s record of only two customers, she didn’t sell them often, so the demon could easily have framed Enid by dropping the same exact charm into the wound. But then Enid would still be able to produce her charm to prove her innocence. Unless the demon planned to grab the charm from Enid’s bracelet at some point.
Then something Brimstone had said earlier chilled her blood. He’d said he’d seen Nikki passed out behind O’Hara’s Tuesday afternoon and he’d smelled sage burgers. Issy had thought that was a strange combination for a burger. Sage went better with chicken. But now she realized that the sage he’d smelled must have been from Raine burning it behind the diner to vanquish the demon. But if Nikki had been passed out behind O’Hara’s, how could she have killed Violet? The medical examiner had said that Violet was killed only moments before she was discovered, at the same time Nikki was lying passed out in the alley.
Oh crap. What if the demon had been possessing Starla all this time and was never in Nikki at all?
“Spit it out, Brimstone. Are you saying you know who the demon is?”
His eyes narrowed. “Not for sure. I don’t want to say in case I’m wrong. But if I’m right, you’re gonna be blown away. I just wanted to make sure you were extra careful, especially tonight.”
What was with all this hedging? Brimstone was up to something. Or had been put up to something by someone… or someone’s cat.
She didn’t have time for this nonsense. “Listen, if you know something, you better spit it out. Let me help. The demon’s name begins with an ‘S,’ and she owns a jewelry store.” Issy looked around for Starla’s car. What did she drive, anyway? Was she here, inside Enid’s right now?
A hollow feeling blossomed in Issy’s chest. If the demon was already at Enid’s and Raine and Ember—the two redheads it needed to complete the sacrifice—were inside, they could be in trouble!
“Huh? It’s not—”
But Issy didn’t even hear Brimstone. She was already sprinting to Enid’s door.
Issy ripped the door open and barged into the living room, her glance darting around in search of Starla.
“Oh, thank goodness you’re here.” Enid stood on one side of the room, her face pale. She pointed a shaky finger toward the dining room, where Issy spotted what looked like a pizza on the table and Ember on the floor, out cold.
“Oh no!” Issy rushed to her cousin’s side. “Enid, please. Tell me what’s going on.”
“I’m not sure, dear. Ember said something about the pizza… Apparently, it’s from Luigi’s oven, the same sauce recipe I gave him. Anyway, she and Raine started to argue, then there was a whoosh of air, and Ember stumbled then fell to the floor. I tried to help her, but I’m afraid my spell must have gotten messed up again. You know how that happens when I’m flustered. Instead of helping her up, it put her out like a light…”
Enid waved her arm around the scene, her gold charm bracelet glittering beneath the dining room lights.
“Where’s Starla?”
Enid froze in place, her hand wavering in the air. “Starla? You mean Starla Knight? Why would she be here?”
The charms dangling from Enid’s bracelet caught Issy’s eye. They were gold and enamel like the ones from Charmed, but it wasn’t necessarily any of the charms on the bracelet that had her worried. It was the one empty loop where a charm should have been.
Raine stepped in beside Issy and shook her head. “We weren’t fighting, Enid.”
Mind racing, Issy checked her unconscious cousin’s pulse and breathing. Both were a bit fast but still present.
Issy’s stomach sank. If Starla had been here, Raine would have let on. But she hadn’t said a thing, though Issy sensed something off about her. Was she trying to warn Issy somehow? But why? If Starla wasn’t there, there was no reason to worry.
Then it hit her. The demon wasn’t Starla or Nikki after all. And they’d fallen right into its trap.
Why hadn’t she figured it out sooner?
All the clues thus far were pointing toward Enid being the killer. She’d been in the diner when the first victim was found. She’d also been downtown when Issy cast the spell calling the charms to the area, but since Enid had already been there before she’d cast the spell, she hadn’t even considered her. And she’d been the only person they’d seen in the mushroom field.
Mushrooms…
Issy glanced at the pizza still s
itting on the table, one half-eaten slice lying where Ember had sat. And, underneath the box, she saw the twig arm of a voodoo doll. If she wasn’t mistaken, there were two more lying beside it. “Where were you last night, Enid?”
“What, dear?” The elderly witch looked taken aback. “Why would you ask me that? We need to help poor Ember. If I remember correctly, I seem to have—”
“Don’t play dumb.” Issy straightened and sidled toward Raine, remembering her earlier conversation with Ember. If they combined their powers, they might be able to defeat the demon, and since Ember was out cold, it was up to just her and Raine. “I know what you’re up to.”
“Whatever do you mean, dear?” Enid’s expression grew more perplexed. “Honestly, you young people get me so flustered.”
Issy sighed. This demon was apparently a fine actor too. “Seriously, cut the act. I’m talking to the demon inside Enid now. You must have possessed her that day at tea when Ember brought over the chocolates. I bet you jumped out of Nikki when she ate those potion-infused maple creams. It actually makes sense, demon. Jumping from Nikki to someone close by. Especially Enid, since she’s older and frail. Easy pickings for a demon to possess. And now that I recall, Enid had indigestion and was confused.”
“What? You think I’m possessed by the demon? Don’t be ridiculous. You know I couldn’t have tried to strangle the last person. I was on the other side of town. You saw me in the restaurant, remember?”
Issy frowned. She had seen Enid when she’d been with Dex. She wouldn’t have had time to be strangling someone in Silver Hollow. And if the demon was inside Enid, why was it standing there talking to her and not taking action? “But the only other people that were there the day we brought the candies with the potion…”
A funny feeling niggled at the pit of Issy’s stomach as she thought back to that afternoon.
Enid hadn’t been the only frail one there the day they’d tried to vanquish that demon.
Spell Disaster (Silver Hollow Paranormal Cozy Mystery Series Book 2) Page 11
