Nobody Can Say It’s You: A Hadley Pell Cozy Mystery

by Green, Jeri

  He had, Hadley guessed.

  Her warm pillow.

  Or maybe, it those two disturbing essays.

  She bolted up in bed that morning. Something had congealed in her mind overnight. Something in her subconscious that had finally nibbled a hole and skittered into her conscious brain. She had to check it out. It was the reason she was tooling down Main Street so early.

  Good thing Beanie was an early bird. Even luckier that he was off today.

  She had a pal to take a road trip with. They headed farther back into the backcountry. Maybe she should think about getting a four-wheel-drive something, she brooded. Nah, she thought. Then, she’d have to buy a cowboy hat and a camo jumpsuit. Maybe some camo cowboy boots with big silver spurs. A big belt with a five-pound brass buckle with 4x4 on it.

  On second thought, ditch that. That cinched waist was sure to be a thigh exploder. Not to mention the fact that if she went that far to adopt the off-road look, she might as well start chewing tobacco, too. Somehow a big old wad of dark black-brown goo the size of a baseball in her cheek made her feel like gagging.

  “We’re almost here, Hadley,” Beanie said, breaking Hadley’s reverie.

  “We sure are,” said Hadley.

  Chapter Fifty-Four

  “Well, if it ain’t Hadley Pell,” said Granny Dilcie.

  Granny and Dara were out at the old pump. Dara had two buckets of water in her hands. Granny held one.

  “Come on into the house,” Granny said.

  The door opened. Aurora stepped out onto the porch. She recognized these two from the cemetery in town.

  “This here’s Aurora,” Granny said. “Aurora, this is Hadley Pell and her friend, Beanie.”

  “Pleased to meet you, ma’am,” Beanie said.

  “Beanie’s ’simmon huntin’, Granny.”

  “I know where there’s some beauties, Beanie,” Granny said. “They’s a bit far off, but well worth the walk. Come. I’ll show ye.”

  “I’m comin’, too,” Aurora said.

  “Me, too,” said Dara.

  They had hiked for some time. Beanie was beginning to believe Granny had taken them all out on a wild goose chase. The rounded a corner by some giant rocks. The dirt path was not very wide, so they walked the trail in single file.

  “Granny!” Hadley exclaimed. “This is gorgeous.”

  “Look at all them ’simmons,” Beanie said.

  They were standing in a meadow filled with all kinds of trees. The persimmons hung like apricot jewels from the branches. A large portion of the fruit had already fallen from the trees.

  “Careful not to slide up in the ripe mush, Beanie,” Granny Dilcie said.

  “I’ll be careful,” Beanie said. “If I did, Hadley might make me walk home.”

  “That’s exactly right, Bean,” Hadley said. “I’d never get all that goop off my car seat.”

  Beanie was like a kid in a candy shop.

  “Will you make me a puddin’, Hadley?” Beanie asked.

  “I’ll make you a half-dozen, Bean,” Hadley said.

  “He’s a good man,” Granny said.

  “I know,” said Hadley. “Granny, do I hear water?”

  “Yes,” Granny said. “Come over here. There’s a waterfall. I’ll show you.”

  Granny and Aurora and Hadley left Beanie to his picking.

  “It’s just over here,” Granny said. “Chandra Elanor. What are you and Estill doing way out here?”

  The two looked shocked that they had been discovered.

  “I might ask you why you’re trespassing on my land,” said Estill.

  “I always had permission to come here,” Granny said. “And I been comin’ here long before you was ever borned, Estill Orner.”

  “That was when Button was alive, Granny,” Estill said. “He’s dead ’n’ buriet. Land’s mine now.”

  “This particular piece of property belongs to no one,” said Granny. “And to everyone.”

  “Chandra,” Dara asked, “What are you doin’ here?”

  “None of your business.”

  “Is this where you got the crazy root, Chandra?”“Shut your stupid mouth, Dara! Before I shut it for you!”

  “What’s this about a crazy root?” Granny Dilcie asked. “Chandra Elanor, please tell me that you have not entered through the Door to the Beyond.”

  “How do you know about that!” Estill screamed.

  “You have passed over, too,” Aurora said to Estill.

  “What of it?” Chandra said.

  “Oh, my child,” Granny Dilcie said. “It is worse than I imagined.”

  “What do you mean?” Chandra said.

  “You did it,” Dara said. “You did it, Chandra.”

  Chandra stepped back toward the ancient writing rocks.

  “You took the plants from the Beyond,” said Aurora. “Button has visited me. I know, Chandra. And your sister knows the truth as well.”

  “You can’t prove anything! Nobody can say it was me! Nobody!” Chandra screamed.

  “What did you do, Chandra?” Estill asked.

  “I did it for you, Estill,” Chandra said. “You told me about the will. About the spell you cast on Button to get him to write it. How you hypnotized him and fed him the herb. How he did your bidding.

  “He wrote it out, giving everything to you. You said that together, our combined powers could make it happen. And that one day, this place would be mine! You promised, Estill! You promised!

  “I was always asking you when, when we could set out plans in motion.

  “Soon, you always said. I got tired of waiting. I just thought if Button went ahead and kicked the bucket, you and Dougal could get what was yours. You wouldn’t have to wait decades for that old man to die!”

  “You gave him the crazy root?” asked Estill. “But I warned you never to take that from here! Chandra! Tell me you didn’t do that.”

  “Yes! I did!” said Chandra. “I went over to his shack. I had it in my pocket. I didn’t know how I was going to use it on him. I only knew that I was.

  “Button was dressed in his rags. I’d never seen him dressed like that before, but I knew what he did. I knew why everyone in the valley shunned him.

  “He was going to a funeral. He didn’t want me anywhere near him. Told me to get off his land. He looked real mean, but I wasn’t afraid. I noticed he was limping. He kept telling me to leave, but I wouldn’t. He had some place to go. He told me that much.

  “I told him I’d drive him. He couldn’t walk that far.

  “‘Ain’t you a’feared this evil that I carry on my soul will blacken yourn,’ he asked.

  “I just laughed. When he saw I wasn’t afraid, he agreed to let me take him. It was way back in the hills. Button told me how to get to the place.

  “We got there early. It was a small family graveyard. Old stones. Thin, you know. There were a few people near the old house. He hid in the woods. I went up to them. Acted like I was part of the group. I made my way into the kitchen. They were preparing Button’s bread and wine. It was easy enough to slip the crazy root into the jug they had for the old sin-eater.”

  “But child,” Granny said, “that root is dangerous to use. It is forbidden!”

  “What do I care about your stupid rules? It came out of the ground easy enough. I only took a small piece.

  “I thought it wasn’t going to affect him. It really didn’t at first. He acted fine. Got in the back of the truck,” Chandra said. “I’d been driving awhile when I looked in the mirror. Button didn’t look so good. His face was red, and he was breathin’ funny. He put his black hood back on and started actin’ crazy. I was scared. I drove toward town. I was just outside the city limits. He screamed at me to stop the truck. I did.

  “There was road kill in the middle of the road. A deer. Crazy man grabbed a knife and a sickle from the back of the truck. Jumped out of it like a demon possessed. He ran up to that carcass and started stabbing it for all he was worth. Then he took off like a shot
towards town. I drove the truck back to his house and left it.”

  “I knew you killed Button,” Dara said quietly. “It all came to me in dreams. I didn’t want to believe it. It couldn’t be real, but I knew, Chandra. I knew. They will take you away. What will I do? Oh, Chandra.”

  Chandra’s eyes rolled back in her head. Only the whites could be seen. She threw her head back and began chanting. The sky blackened. Lightning struck, scorching the earth around the group.

  Estill screamed.

  “No!” Granny Dilcie said. “Don’t do this, child!”

  The water stopped on the waterfall. The wall of rocks was exposed. It was like looking at a glass mirror, slick and eroded by the water’s action from untold ages. The thunder rumbled. The winds blew.

  Chandra continued to speak in her strange tongue.

  A dark rolling cloud developed in the center of the rock wall. Sparks flew. Every color of the rainbow showed in the center of the black cloud.

  Aurora stepped in front of Granny Dilcie and Dara. She raised her hands and bolts of light from her palms struck the roiling mass of energy. Chandra and Estill screamed.

  From the depth of the unknown, Aurora began to chant. She had all the forces of the dead behind her. Together, they sounded like a massive ocean wave beating against the glass-like wall. A small opening appeared in the center of the turbulence.

  What was going on? Hadley could not speak. She could not move.

  The slit widened and a withered hand appeared from nowhere. It snatched Chandra and pulled her through the wall. She disappeared in an instant.

  “No!” Dara cried. “Oh, no!”

  Granny Dilcie grabbed the girl as she lurched toward the place where her twin had vanished. Aurora collapsed in a heap of rags and ashes. There was nothing left of the silent old woman. The ground steamed where she had stood.

  Granny glanced toward Estill. She looked different. Changed, somehow. Her hair was solid white. Small strands flew wildly in the breeze.

  “What on Earth just happened,” Hadley said, finally finding her voice.

  “I cannot tell you, Hadley,” Granny Dilcie said. “I cannot even tell Dara. Some things are better left alone. They happen because they do.”

  “Estill,” Hadley said, “are you all right?”

  Estill stood looking at them. She no longer had a voice. She was as silent as Aurora had been.

  “Dara,” Granny Dilcie said, “I want you to go home with Estill. Don’t worry about her son. Dougal will not give you any problems. It has been arranged. This mountain will never be more than it is now. That has been arranged, too.

  “You will look after Estill and keep the Book safe. Do not let it fall in the wrong hands.”

  Granny Dilcie placed her hands on the sides of Dara’s temple. Dara’s eyes rolled back in her head. Then the girl appeared herself again.

  “You know what to do,” Granny said.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Dara said.

  Dara took Estill by the hand and led her away.

  “What did you do, Granny?” Hadley asked.

  “Do not worry,” Granny said. “The Ancients will see that nothing happens to the child.”

  “But Granny,” Hadley said.

  “Hush, Hadley,” Granny said. “There is still more work to do. Help me pick up these rocks.”

  The rocks Granny alluded to were the ones with the mysterious etchings on them.

  “But Granny,” Hadley said, “we can’t lift these things. They’re boulders. They must weigh tons.”

  “Hush,” Granny said. “Concentrate. Believe.”

  The two women put their hands under a giant rock, and it began to move.

  “Toss it against the wall where the waterfall was,” Granny said.

  Hadley did as she was told, flinging the giant boulder toward the glassy wall of shimmering rock.

  The boulder disappeared into the wall. They repeated these actions, throwing all of the boulders into the wall, until every one was gone. A rumble began above. Instantly, water began cascading down the falls. It was as if nothing had ever happened.

  “Come here,” Granny said.

  Granny placed the palms of her hands on Hadley’s temples.

  Hadley fell to her knees. It was as if a giant stream of electricity pierced her brain. Granny removed her palms.

  “Hadley,” she said, “do you see those mushrooms. Pick them all. They are about the best ones I’ve ever seen.”

  “I think so, too,” Hadley said, picking the delicate fungi and putting them in a basket that had mysteriously appeared beside her.

  “We need to go check on Vesper,” Granny Dilcie said.

  “Yeah,” Hadley said, rising from her knees. “Beanie ought to have a whole mess of persimmons, by now.”

  The two women walked to the place where Beanie stood. He was smiling from ear to ear.

  “Any luck, Bean?” Hadley asked.

  “Boy, howdy. You betcha, Hadley,” Beanie said. “I ain’t never seen so many ’simmons in one place! I got this bucket plum full.”

  Hadley looked at Beanie’s bucket.

  “I’ll say,” Hadley said. “With that many, I’ll be making you persimmon pudding, cookies, and a few cakes.”

  “I can’t wait,” Beanie said. “You’re the best.”

  “Come on,” said Hadley. “It’s getting late.”

  As they drove back into town, Hadley could not help but think that there was something she should have figured out by now. She dropped Beanie off at his house and took his fruit home with her. She stored the bucket in the bottom of an old refrigerator she kept out in the garage for such things.

  She fed Onus and emptied the litter box. She showered and fixed a bite to eat.

  She’d lain the two essays near her computer. She did not turn the laptop on. Instead, she picked up both papers and reread them once more.

  Strange. Haunting. Anna was right in her description, Hadley thought.

  She took the papers and went to the fireplace. She lit a match, placing the flame at the edge of the papers. They began to blacken, curl, and burn.

  Crazy howlings in his head.

  Hard to hear. For now, he’s dead.

  Asylum’s child. Lost in the maze.

  Nothing’s clear. It’s all a haze.

  Doom is heavy on his brow.

  Ready! Set! Go! The time is now. The time is now.

  And he is lost. And he is lost to horrors unimaginable.

  She caught a glimpse of these words before the flames devoured them. If she’d studied the verse a bit longer, perhaps she would have seen that the first letter of each line spelled CHANDRA. But, perhaps not.

  The paper she’d scratched the results of her research still lay on her desk.

  Chandra = shining moon Elanor = star sun

  Dara = star Elanor = star sun

  She saw the dark images of the flowers brown and burst into flames.

  She did not realize the two signatures at the end of each essay were slightly different. Both were symbols, not of flowers, but of star anise.

  The graphic in the center of each, not the same. If she had looked closely she would have seen the sun star in their center. And if she’d peered closer still, the four button holes in the center of the second graphic which belonged to the essay about the sin-eater.

  The answers had been there all along.

  Dara had known from the beginning and, in her way, was trying to tell the world that Chandra had destroyed Button Dudley.

  Chapter Fifty-Five

  “And a one, two. One, two, three,” Hobie said into the mike.

  It was the Speckled Pups cue to begin playing.

  They immediately stopped.

  “Hadley, honey,” Hobie said gently, “It’s like this.”

  Hobie gently placed Hadley’s fingers on the right strings.

  “Sorry,” she said.

  “It’s all right. Think nothin’ of it,” Hobie said. “Let’s start from the top, boys. One, two. One,
two, three.”

  This time everyone was on the right key. They sounded good, Hadley thought. Even if she was playing with the group. They were in a small garage studio at Hobie’s. Hadley had set up her video cam, and Hobie connected up some extra microphones.

  The band was playing her song. Her song! She wanted to laugh out loud and cry at the same time. It was wonderful. Not that she’d written a new hit, but to hear her words set to Hobie’s music was so fantastic.

  Hadley had already warned Maury that she and Bill and Skippy would be receiving this recording as part of their Christmas. It was just too good to let sit on a shelf. And Hadley had a lot of friends on her Christmas card list and present list, too.

  Everybody she knew or had ever come in contact with was going to get a copy of this song. Old Liberty Hyslip down at the post office was going to love Hadley in the next few weeks coming up.

  Hobie was smooth. He was making his guitar sing. The boys were in good voice, today. Hadley thought if it got any better, she just might pop with joy.

  Anna was going to love this addition to her website, too. The librarian was all smiles when Hadley had told her that Hobie had thought it was a great idea.

  “Leave the camera rollin’,” Hobie instructed, when the last note faded on Hadley’s song. Hobie looked straight into the camera.

  “I thought I’d add a song of my own to this readin’ effort,” Hobie said. “See, my mama didn’t have much education, but she did know how to read. And she instilled that love of reading into all us kids.

  “All you tykes out there listenin’ to this, let me tell you, learn all you can. It’s hard work, but in the long run, it’s worth it. Stay in school. Make your mamas proud.

  “Now, this is a song I wrote yesterday. I was sittin’ in my shop. I’d just finished makin’ a guitar. It’s this one here.”

  Hobie reached over and traded the guitar he was picking for one that was sitting over to the side.

  “It’s called Sweetest Rose A’bloom.

  In the meadow there’s a blossom,

  Sweetest wildwood rose a’bloom.

  It opens for the sun,