by Morgana Best
And so I had opted for zero candles on the table, with a beautiful scented candle of caramel and vanilla in one corner of the room, and a chocolate fudge brownie candle at the other end of the room. I had heard that a man’s favorite scents are always something that can be eaten, and so I had chosen accordingly.
After fluffing up the cushions on the sofa and rearranging the coffee table, I set the table with a crisp white tablecloth, placemats with an indigenous Australian Dreamtime design, which could provide interest if the conversation lagged. I’d cut some flowers from the garden and arranged them in a vintage zinc pot, which I placed to the side of the table with the salt and pepper shakers. I shaved some Parmesan cheese and removed the top from a bottle of Chianti. Although I was keeping the table simple, I decided to use my favorite wine glasses to give the table a contemporary and stylish look.
I was also unsure what to wear. I had to look nice, but not dress up too much. I couldn’t wear what I wore when I had my friends around for dinner as I wanted to look somewhat sexier than that. Something revealing might send the wrong signal, if Alum was only interested in friendship, but Constance had recently informed me that the latest issue of Vogue stated that men found off-the-shoulder clothes alluring. I settled on a feminine off-the-shoulder peasant style blouse with a print of small flowers in different shades of brown and copper. I also chose a soft swing chocolate skirt, a wide belt to accentuate my waist, and sandals with small flower-shaped crystals. Lastly, I fastened some dangly earrings of topaz colored stones, and spritzed Tom Ford Santal Blush, known for its cinnamon and sandalwood highlights, which men apparently found irresistible, according to Constance. Here’s hoping it worked its magic on Alum tonight.
I sighed. Well, I could only do my best. Alum and I had exchanged phone numbers when he had visited two days previously, but he had not called or texted me since. I of course had not called or texted him, except to change tonight’s dinner arrangements.
I was still stressing about what to say and do, when there was a knock at the door. I snatched up my phone and looked at it. Five minutes early. Oh no! Still, I was as ready as I was ever going to be. I quickly crossed the living room and opened the door, to see the handsome Alum standing there. Alum was wearing white linen loose fitting trousers with a white shirt. He was cleanly shaven. As he leaned in and kissed me on the cheek, I smelled his manly scent, all citrus and cedar.
The cheek? I thought, but then consoled myself with the fact that he was hardly likely to plant a big one on my lips at this point. He handed me a bunch of yellow roses.
“Oh they’re gorgeous,” I gushed. “Thank you. Please come in.” I looked at the roses. They were absolutely beautiful, but yellow? Wasn’t red the color of love, and yellow the color of friendship? Was this his way of trying to distance himself from me as a love interest? Or I was I reading too much into it?
I shook my head as I walked to the kitchen to put the flowers in a vase of water. Alum followed me in, and produced a bottle of wine. I had been so busy focusing on the roses that I had not realized he had also brought wine. “That’s very kind of you, but you didn’t have to do that,” I said.
“I know how much you like Moscato,” he said, crossing to the cupboard to take out two wine glasses. “Oh, please forgive me.” He laughed nervously. “I know my way around your house, so please tell me if you think I’m being inappropriate.”
I hurried to reassure him. “No, seriously, please make yourself at home.”
We were both acting nervous around each other, and that had never happened when he was in his spirit form. “Dinner’s almost ready. Why don’t we sit down and have a drink while we wait?”
Alum followed me into the living room. I sat on the couch, hoping he would sit next to me, but to my disappointment he sat on the comfortable chair opposite me. Did he do that deliberately? Was it because he would be too embarrassed to sit next to me in case it gave me the wrong idea? I shook my head again to try to clear it. Going over and over things in my head wasn’t helping at all. I tried to force myself to relax.
“Are you all right, Prudence?” Alum asked me.
“Oh yes. I just feel a bit awkward since we’ve only spoken when you were in your spirit form.”
Alum looked down at his wine and swirled it around his glass. “Oh, I meant are you all right after finding the body?”
I felt my cheeks flush hot. “Oh yes, that was quite a shock. Her dog got out and came here. I took her back, and that’s when I found the body.”
Alum nodded. “Detective Larry Brown told me that you and another woman found the body.”
I nodded. “Yes, that’s right. By the time I took the dog back, Sally, Mrs. Cornford’s maid, was leaving. She had been knocking for ages, and she said it wasn’t like Mrs. Cornford not to be home at Sally’s regular time. That’s when the two of us went in and well, you know, found the body. Anyway, would you mind if I bring the dog in now? Her name is Mary. She’s never been a house dog before, and I’ve just had her out in the walled garden for the last fifteen minutes or so, but I don’t like to leave her on her own.”
Once in the door, Mary made a beeline for Alum. Instead of jumping up, she threw herself over on the ground at his feet, waving her legs in the air, clearly asking for a belly rub. Alum rapidly obliged. “What a lovely dog,” he said. “I’ve always wanted a dog, but I was too busy with work. Are you going to keep her?”
I bit my lip. “I wasn’t planning on having a dog, and my cats aren’t impressed.”
“They’ll get used to her.”
“I wish I shared your confidence,” I said. “Mrs. Cornford’s nephew wanted to send her to the pound, and I just couldn’t have that happen.”
Mary walked over to me and put her head on my knee.
“She’s attached to you already,” Alum said with a laugh. “It looks like you’ve got yourself a new member of the family.”
I frowned. “Dogs are a big responsibility,” I said. “Vet bills, yearly vaccinations, you name it. My agent and I have parted ways. He basically said there’s nothing more he can do for me. With all the international clairvoyant mediums coming to the country, there’s just not enough work for the local ones anymore. I’m afraid I don’t have any other skills.”
Alum seemed to be about to say something, and then stopped himself. I was embarrassed to have blurted out my troubles, and said so.
Alum waved my concerns away. “I have some potentially good news, but I’m not at liberty to mention it.” He laughed ruefully. “Now that I’ve said that, I’m going to have to tell you. Please just do your best to act surprised when Larry Brown speaks to you.”
I was intrigued. “Whatever do you mean?”
Alum held up his hands. “Like I said, I’m not supposed to say anything, and it isn’t absolutely sure yet, but it looks like Detective Brown wants to take you on as a consultant.”
It took me a minute to realize my jaw was hanging open, so I promptly shut it. “Why, why?” I stammered.
“You know as well as I do that some police departments employ clairvoyant mediums as consultants. Larry was impressed—and that’s an understatement—that you found your way to the safe house purely by your clairvoyant medium skills. He thinks you could be very useful to the department.”
I tried to contain my excitement, and sipped my wine while I thought it over for a minute. “Perhaps that’s why he was asking me how long it would take for Mrs. Cornford’s spirit to appear to me. I wonder if he wants me to give him some concrete information before he takes me on as a consultant?”
Alum shrugged. “He hasn’t said that to me, but it’s entirely possible.”
“It will pay, right?” I asked urgently.
“Yes, most definitely.” He bent down to stroke Mary’s head.
“Case by case,” I asked, “or a salary?”
“Definitely a salary,” Alum said. “Prudence, you don’t need to worry about money anymore.”
I looked at him. What had he meant by th
at? Probably nothing, I reminded myself. I had to get out of the habit of overanalyzing everything to do with Alum.
I excused myself and went to the kitchen to check the dinner. I had prepared an Arrabbiata pasta, but I had toned down the chili peppers in case Alum found them too much. He’d been tube fed for so long when in the coma, that I doubted he could eat too much proper food. It was ready to serve, so I took it to the dining table. To my relief, Mary hopped up on the couch and promptly fell asleep. “She’s a good dog,” Alum said, as he poured the red wine.
“To tell you the truth, I was worried she’d fuss around the table, looking for scraps,” I said, “but Sally told me that Mrs. Cornford never allowed her inside, so she can’t have gotten into any of those bad habits.”
We sat in silence for a while as we ate, the only conversation being Alum complimenting me on the food. Finally, he laid down his fork and said, “I remember everything, everything from when I was in the coma.”
“You do?” I asked him.
He nodded solemnly. “It was weird, how I could come here as what I guess was my spirit self, and converse with you. It was as real to me then as it is to me now.”
“And to me, too,” I said. We held each other’s gaze for a long time, or so it seemed to me.
Chapter 5
A loud banging on the door broke the moment. “Yoo-hoo! I know you’re in there, Prudence.” It was Constance’s voice.
I hurried to the door and opened it. “I have a guest,” I said, but Constance pushed past me. I wondered why she was wearing a floral dress and her best string of pearls.
“Yes, I saw a strange car outside. Whose is it?” She charged inside in her typical blustering manner. “Oh, it’s a man! Well, that’s a surprise.” She winked at me. “Oh good, it’s the handsome detective of all people!” She hurried over to him, but stopped in her onward charge to let out a squeal. “What is it that my very expensive Dolce & Gabbana shoe that I personally bought on one of my many trips to Milan has just stepped in?” she said in a shrill voice. “Oh no, don’t tell me, it’s a cat...” She appeared to be struggling with the word. “That,” she said, pointing to the offending matter, “should be in a litter tray. Prudence, I thought your cats were toilet trained?”
I was mortified. How could I have missed cleaning that up before Alum came? On closer inspection, it seemed to be very recent. “The cats are paying me back for getting the dog,” I said in a small voice. I hurried to the kitchen to get paper towels to clean it up. After I had fixed the mess and washed my hands, I returned to the dining room to see that Constance was sitting at the dining table fawning all over Alum.
I was infuriated. Couldn’t she see that this was supposed to be a romantic dinner?
“Why didn’t you invite me? It must’ve been an oversight. Is there anything for me to eat?” she asked me.
“Come into the kitchen,” I said firmly.
Constance waved one hand at me in dismissal. “Any leftovers are fine, but bring me out a wine glass, would you?”
“Into the kitchen, Constance. Now!” My voice was probably too loud, but at that time, I didn’t care.
Constance walked somewhat reluctantly into the kitchen. “Can’t you see I’m having dinner with a man? What’s wrong with you?” I whispered. “Haven’t you ever heard the expression, ‘Three’s a crowd’? It’s not appropriate for you to be here, so you have to leave right now!”
Constance did not appear the least offended. “Well, if that’s how you feel, why didn’t you come straight out and tell me? All you had to do was tell me. Of course I’m happy to leave. I’m not an unreasonable person.”
I bit my lip. I wanted to say something, including the fact that I had just told her. I wanted to ask her why she didn’t have the slightest modicum of common sense, but I thought it best to stay silent on that score. I promised to call her later, and then firmly escorted her to the door, putting my arm under her elbow to steer her when she tried to linger near Alum.
Couldn’t the woman take a hint? When she reached the door, she turned around. “So sorry to have disturbed your romantic evening, you two lovebirds.”
I fought hard against the homicidal flashes I was having, and shut the door behind her considerably more loudly than I should have.
Just then there was a knock. I flung the door open, fully prepared to give Constance her marching orders again. However, it was Iris standing there. “Iris?” I said.
She beamed at me. “Why did Constance leave in such a hurry? Is this a bad time to call by?”
“Yes,” I said, but she smiled and went inside. Iris came to an abrupt stop when she saw Alum. “Oh! I wondered whose car that was outside. I’m so sorry to intrude. How embarrassing. I feel so embarrassed.” Her hands flew to her cheeks.
“That’s quite all right,” I said, walking back toward the front door to give her the hint to follow. It did not work.
“You’re Prudence’s detective friend, aren’t you?” she said, standing over Alum.
When he answered in the affirmative, she continued. “I’m so sorry to hear you were injured. It can’t be good to be injured at your age. Perhaps they will pension you off, or give you a nice desk job.”
“Can I speak to you in the kitchen, Iris?” I said shrilly.
She followed me in. “I’m sorry I interrupted your dinner,” she said with a smile.
“That’s all right, but could you leave? As in, right now? Immediately?”
Iris appeared to be offended. “Sure.” She followed me to the front door, and I opened it to see Barbara standing there, her hand raised, about to knock. I figured I should pinch myself. Was I dreaming? Was this a nightmare?
“Is it a party?” she said. “Why wasn’t I invited?”
“No, it is not a party,” I said. “I have a guest for dinner. Iris just dropped by a second ago, and she was just leaving, because I have a guest.”
Apparently, I was too subtle for Barbara.
“Oh,” was all she said, as she pushed past me and walked into my house.
I just wanted to tear out my hair. Constance, Iris, and Barbara weren’t used to me having men friends over for dinner, so they had become used to calling in, unannounced, at any time. I didn’t mind that, but I had thought they would give me some privacy when Alum was over.
Barbara came to an abrupt halt when she saw Alum sitting at the table. “Oh,” she said, her eyes darting backward and forward between the two of us. “Oh,” she said again. “I’m just very upset and I needed someone to talk to.”
“Why don’t I call you later?” I said.
“But I’m upset now.”
I bit my tongue. “I am busy now, Barbara,” I said firmly. “I will call you later.”
She looked angry. “It’s just that I’ve been on this particular online dating site for a while, and I’ve been emailing the one man who sounded really nice. His profile said he wanted a woman of any age, but when I finally told him my age, he said I was too old for him.” She called him a few choice names.
I blushed. “Barbara, we can’t talk about this now. I’ll call you later,” I said, taking her arm and guiding her to the door. She was clearly angry, but I was getting that way too. I all but manhandled her out the door, bolted it, and then leaned back against it with a sigh.
I returned to the table, not knowing what to say to Alum, but he spoke first. “It’s all right, Prudence. I know what your friends are like. They’re very pushy, but I’m sure they mean well. They’re just used to having you at their beck and call.” He laughed. “I was around them for quite some time.” He flashed his cheeky smile and winked.
I smiled, too. He was lovely and understanding, but how did he feel about me? I knew that time would tell, but I also knew I would be awfully nervous waiting for the answer.
Chapter 6
The following morning, I was up early. I’d had nothing but Alum on my mind all night. He had left straight after dessert, and had once more kissed me on my cheek. The whole thing wa
s a little awkward, but I supposed that was to be expected, given the circumstances.
Mary had slept on her dog bed all night, and so I was grateful that I had awoken early because I was able to let her outside. She appeared to be already toilet trained, or just had common sense in that department. However, the cats at the moment were making up for that, leaving me little surprises all over the house. I knew it was their way of payback because of the dog, but it didn’t make it any easier. They had both tried to punish me by sleeping under, instead of in, my bed the previous night, but for once their trick had backfired, because I was able to toss and turn as much as I liked without being growled at or scratched.
I clipped the new leash on Mary, as I’d decided to take her for a walk. It was hard going at first, because she constantly darted to the end of the leash. I had to make her fall back and walk nicely beside me, but then she would suddenly dart to the end of the leash again. I was going to need a shoulder and neck massage if this dog’s walking behavior didn’t improve soon. I wondered if Mrs. Cornford had ever walked her, but I assumed not. It seemed that Mary needed a lot of training.
As I approached Mrs. Cornford’s house, I saw yellow police tape across the front gate and across the front of the house. Mary didn’t seem excited to be back. In fact, she showed no reaction whatsoever. I waited at the ramshackle front fence and waited to see if I could sense the spirit.
I did not have to wait long. Mrs. Cornford’s spirit was around, and she was disoriented. I stayed still, waiting to see if she would reach out to me, but she did not.
“Hello, Mrs. Cornford,” I said aloud. “I’m your neighbor, Prudence Wallflower. As you probably know, I’m a clairvoyant medium.” At the same time, I reached out with my mind, but was met once more with a whirl of confusion.
I was about to leave, when the spirit finally reached out to me. “I was murdered,” she said.
“I know,” I said. “Do you know who murdered you?”
