Murder on the Oregon Express

by Samantha Silver

  “Thanks,” she told me. “I wanted to use magic to carry them up the stairs but didn’t want to accidentally destroy everything I owned.”

  I laughed, and started telling her that certainly wasn’t an issue, then remembered who I was talking to. Of course with Peaches that was always a risk.

  I worked to get her settled into the apartment, then we both made our way to bed. Between the Others hanging around and trying to steal my soul, and the fact that I still had no idea which one of our two main suspects had killed Brian Armitage, I got virtually no sleep at all.

  * * *

  Finally, around five in the morning I decided that if I wasn’t going to be able to sleep anyway, there was no point in staying in bed. I forced myself to get up, groaned as I realized every muscle in my body was sore from a lack of sleep, and made my way downstairs into the bookshop. Muffin was lying on his beanbag, fast asleep, but neither Archibald nor Francine were nowhere to be found.

  Did ghosts sleep? I wasn’t really sure. I supposed they probably didn’t have to. But whatever the reason, the two ghosts weren’t here.

  I grabbed a book off the shelf – The Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie. Eventually my brain was relaxed enough that the book fell onto my chest as I finally managed to get a few hours of sleep.

  I dreamt heavily, my dreams influenced by the mystery I’d just read. Travelling to the coast. Cheating on a husband. Murder on a train. As soon as I woke up a few hours later, I sat up with a start. My subconscious had put it all together.

  I was pretty sure I knew who the murderer was!

  It all made perfect sense.

  Isabella had mentioned Brian taking a girlfriend to Mexico. He had come back a couple of weeks ago. Brian had never denied it, but no one else knew about it. How would Isabella know, then? The most likely way she would know was through her job, at Sapphire Digital Solutions, working as an IT person. She was good with computers, she could probably access employee emails. Including Dana Gunter’s.

  Dana Gunter, who said she was on a weeklong business trip to Los Angeles, and who came back two weeks ago, as Cat had seen her at the airport.

  Dana Gunter, who worked as the social media expert for Sapphire Adventure Tours, so would have had plenty of opportunity to meet Brian Armitage.

  Dana, who if she was sleeping with Brian Armitage, would have had plenty of access to his desk and gun. And he would have been more likely to tell her about the gun than most other people.

  I didn’t know why she might have killed Brian Armitage, but maybe he had broken up with her. Maybe she simply knew the writing was on the wall. Armitage was obviously a player type. Maybe Dana knew that he was going to dump her, and wanted to get her revenge.

  It didn’t matter right now. I knew that I needed to speak to her. Just an innocent conversation; I didn’t want her to know I suspected anything. But if I could figure out why she would have wanted to kill Brian Armitage, I could go to Chase and tell him my suspicions. And I wouldn’t even have to admit to breaking into Alexa Juneau’s office to explain it, either!

  Looking at the clock, it was almost ten in the morning. I’d managed to sleep for a few hours. Muffin was still happily snoozing on his beanbag chair. Pulling my phone from my pocket, I rummaged around until I found Dana’s business card and called the number.

  “Hello, Sapphire Marketing Solutions,” a friendly voice on the other end greeted me.

  “Hi, I’m wondering if I can make an appointment to meet with Dana Gunter as soon as possible,” I replied.

  “Of course. Dana is working from home today, but her calendar says she has an opening at ten thirty. Let me take down your details and give you the address.”

  When I hung up the phone I had just enough time to go back upstairs and make myself presentable before putting a ‘delayed opening’ sign on the front of the bookstore and heading out.

  Nineteen

  I was suddenly hit with a wave of apprehension as I stood in front of the Gunther family home. What if I was completely wrong? What if the trips had just been a coincidence? What if I was about to accuse a woman of cheating on her husband who wasn’t doing anything of the sort?

  Still, it all made sense. And if I could confirm it, I had a chance of being able to show that Dana Gunther had wanted Brian Armitage killed. As his girlfriend, she would have had easy access, and likely knowledge of the gun in his desk, as well. She could have planned this for months. Maybe she knew Brian was going to break up with her. After all, that seemed to be his M.O. Maybe she wanted to be prepared, to make him pay in case he ever did. Maybe she’d wanted to kill him for that long, and she just hadn’t had the guts to do it. I imagined for most people taking someone’s life would be incredibly difficult. I knew I’d never be able to do it, except maybe in self-defense. Either way, I had to know if my suspicions were true.

  Isabella certainly thought so.

  I knocked on the door, expecting Dana to answer, but instead it was her husband, Henry. He smiled at me curiously.

  “Hi,” I stammered. “Is Dana here? I called her office and they told me she was working from home today. I just wanted to speak to her about a website and some social media stuff for my business.”

  “Oh, yeah, of course,” Henry said. “Come on in. Dana has stepped out for a little bit, she had an emergency come up with one of her other clients, but she should be back soon. Can I get you a drink or anything while you wait? Water? Lemonade?”

  “A glass of lemonade would be great, thanks,” I replied, shooting Henry a thankful look as I stepped into their home. It was a reasonably sized townhouse, sparsely decorated; it was so clean and tidy it looked like they could take pictures of the interior right now and have them be the perfect photos to put up on a real estate agents’ website.

  I wasn’t exactly a slob, but I also didn’t keep my house in pristine condition, either. I was impressed.

  Following Henry to the kitchen, I sat down at the dining table he motioned to me as he got me a glass of lemonade.

  “So how are you finding things in Sapphire Village?” he asked. “You grew up in… Miami, was it?”

  “Yeah,” I replied. “Things here are amazing, thanks. I really love Sapphire Village. I didn’t think I was going to, but I was pleasantly surprised. Everyone is so nice.”

  “I’m glad to hear it,” Henry smiled. “Plus, I heard you didn’t know you were a witch, that must have been a shock.”

  I laughed, remembering that Henry was a wizard himself. “Yeah, that’s certainly been an adventure. I mean, in some ways it’s super cool. Who knew that I could just make things happen just like that? But at the same time, I feel like I’m so far behind everyone else in my magical skills, I almost died trying to ride a broom one day.” I recounted my one and only day of attempting to fly to Henry, and by the time I’d finished, he had tears of laughter in his eyes.

  “Oh, man. Yeah, Grandma Cee is an intimidating lady. When I was little we had magic classes, down in Brixton Road. It wasn’t anything official, just our moms all deciding a structured environment to learn magic wouldn’t be a bad thing. Grandma Cee insisted on leading it, but the moms–I’m pretty sure Sage included–decided that Grandma Cee was absolutely not family friendly enough to be in charge of the children’s’ magic lessons. She took it personally, and cursed the mom who took over for the class to gain about a pound a week for the whole school year. Poor Lilianne thought she was just eating too much; I caught her crying one day in the bathroom about it. Then at the end of the year Grandma Cee admitted what she did, and said that any real witch would have noticed they’d been cursed.”

  “Wow,” I said, my eyes widening. I knew Grandma Cee was scary, I didn’t realize she’d actually curse people to get revenge for not getting her way.

  “And I’m pretty sure that’s not even the worst thing she’s ever done. I’ve heard rumors.”

  “Well, I’ll do my best not to get on her bad side,” I said with a smile. “Hey, you were on the train with u
s that night, weren’t you? When Brian Armitage was killed?” Ok, it wasn’t the smoothest segue way ever, but I figured if Henry was willing to chat with me, maybe he could unknowingly give me the information I needed.

  “I was,” Henry said, his face turning grim. “I’m sorry you had to be on it as well.”

  “Thanks,” I said. “It was a shock, that was for sure. Did you know Brian Armitage?”

  “I did, yeah. He was a long-term local, eventually you’ll get to know everyone who’s lived here their whole lives as well. I mean, I didn’t dislike the guy, but as everyone else around town knows, he wasn’t exactly a good guy.”

  “That’s what I’ve gathered from talking to people. I didn’t know him at all. I heard he was quite the philanderer.”

  Brian scowled, and I saw his eyes flash with anger for a split second. “That he definitely was. It’s bad character, going around with girls like that.”

  “Absolutely, I agree,” I said, nodding vehemently.

  “I’ve heard that Brian had a girlfriend, as well,” Henry said.

  “Oh yeah? I didn’t know that,” I said, trying to sound casual. “Who was it? There was no one at the funeral who said they were his girlfriend.”

  “He was keeping it quiet,” Henry said. “But of course, someone who would go sneaking around into Brian’s affairs would definitely find out about it.”

  I suddenly felt that maybe there was a little bit of menace behind Henry’s words.

  “Ah, that’s not me though,” I said with what I hoped was an easy laugh.

  “No, no, of course not,” Henry said, smiling again. “Although I did hear that you and Cat were spotted near where Brian’s accountant was broken into.”

  “Jeez,” I replied, rolling my eyes. “Felicia or whatever her name is saw us walking to Cat’s cupcake shop early in the morning because that’s when bakeries have to start work, and then because we happened to walk past where the break-in happened, she jumped to conclusions and figured we did it.”

  Despite my easy tone, I was definitely starting to feel uneasy. Suddenly, everything clicked. Dana was having an affair with Brian, but she wasn’t the one who killed him. Her husband had.

  It all made sense. Henry Gunter was a painter, and Brian Armitage had had the inside of his house painted a few months ago, right around when the gun went missing. He must have found out that his wife was having an affair, and rather than confront her about it, he waited for the right moment and killed her boyfriend.

  And now I was alone, in his house, and no one else had any idea that he was the one who had done it. I had to get out of here; I had to tell Chief Griffin. Or Cat. Or literally anyone else.

  “Well, thanks for the chat,” I said, standing up. “I really do need to get going though, I can always catch up with Dana about the website another time.”

  Henry stood up suddenly with me. “You know, don’t you?” he asked, his tone had turned menacing.

  “Know what?” I asked, trying to look innocent?

  “Yes, I can see that you’re lying. Just like I knew Dana was lying when she told me she was working late. Just like I knew she was lying about business meetings with clients that ran long.”

  Uh oh. This was definitely what I had hoped wouldn’t happen.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Dana’s out with a client, you told me that.” I figured if I played dumb enough, maybe he’d let me go.

  “Not that!” Henry exclaimed, slamming a fist on the table and making me jump. “You’ve figured out that I’m the one who killed Brian. You and your meddling. That’s why you really came here, isn’t it?”

  “Fine, you’re right,” I said. After all, what was the point in denying it? Henry was obviously certain I’d figured it out, and it seemed to make him angrier the more I denied it. Plus, this way, at least I’d get confirmation of my suspicions. “I’ve been looking into the murders because I don’t want people to associate me with the murders, and I figured out you did it.”

  Henry’s mouth curved into an exceptionally creepy smile.

  “Well, you are right. The bastard dared to sleep with my wife? I made him pay for it. And I’ll make her pay, too, although I’m waiting for enough time to pass that no one links the two of them together. No one knew she was cheating on me. No one knew he was dating anyone.”

  “Wrong,” I replied. “I know. And I overheard Isabella talking to Brian just before he was killed. She knew as well.”

  “That meddling idiot,” Henry snarled. “Well, I’ll take care of her too sometime. But first, you.”

  My heart froze as I realized that for the second time in two weeks, someone was going to try to kill me. The difference was, this time I didn’t have the advantage of magic; Henry Gunter was a wizard as well.

  Gunter raised his finger toward me, and I let out a yelp, diving to the side and behind the dining table, which exploded, sending shards of wood into a million pieces all around the room. A piece of wood the size of a pencil lodged itself into my shoulder, making it bleed. I normally would have called it a small piece of wood, but it’s amazing how size perception can change when something is fully lodged inside your body.

  I let out a cry of pain as I looked down and saw a small trail of blood oozing from me. More worrying, however, was the sharp pain coursing through my body. If I didn’t have full use of my body, I was never going to make it through this.

  But what could I do? Henry was an established wizard. Then, it came to me: fight fire with fire. I didn’t have to win. I just had to be able to defend myself well enough to get out of here.

  I imagined the wound disappearing and the pain going along with it. I let the energy burst forth from me, and looking down I noticed my wound had healed. I grinned and looked up at Henry, my confidence building.

  “Congratulations,” he said, rolling his eyes. “You managed to do the magical equivalent of putting on a band-aid.” He pointed at me again, but this time, I was ready. I imagined myself being invincible, although this time I did it a lot faster and with a lot more urgency than in the backyard with Grandma Cee. I didn’t have the luxury of time here.

  An arrow shot from his finger and was headed straight at me. I opened my eyes just as, once again, I felt the energy bursting forth from me, and the arrow hit the invisible barrier protecting me, falling harmlessly to the ground.

  This time I spotted a little bit of worry behind Henry’s eyes. It seemed I was a lot better at magic than he had expected me to be. I silently thanked Grandma Cee for making me go through all my lessons so quickly.

  I lunged for the hallway leading toward the front door; if I could make it out into the street I knew I could call for help, plus Henry wouldn’t be able to use magic anymore; the risk of someone seeing was too high.

  Unfortunately, Henry pointed to the doorway and it was immediately filled in with bricks. I managed to stop myself before barreling through the bricks, and turned. It was obvious that I wasn’t going to be able to run away, not when Henry could use magic. I was going to have to go on the offensive if I wanted to make it out of here.

  Unfortunately for me, it was all too obvious to me that I was still very much a newbie at the whole ‘being a witch’ thing, because I couldn’t think of anything to do. I focused on Henry simply being incapacitated, and pointed at him. Colored sparks shot out toward him from my fingers, but by using a simple shield spell the same way I had, Henry easily avoided them.

  “Seriously? You’re going to try and attack me? You’ve been doing magic for three weeks, you’re way out of your league,” Henry jeered. I ignored his comments and focused on what Grandma Cee said: I was a gifted witch. Besides, I was absolutely desperate.

  I decided to focus my energies. I imagined ropes coming up from underneath the floorboards and grabbing Henry. Again, I felt the energy burst from me, but nothing happened. The shield must have worked in every direction; I’d hoped that by attacking from below I could avoid it. Apparently not.

  Henry stepped
toward me. “It’s time to finish this,” he said. He pointed another finger at me, and this time I knew I didn’t have time to get my magical shield up. I jumped to the side and imagined myself re-appearing on the other side of the room. In an instant my perspective of everything changed as I’d moved ten feet and turned a hundred and eighty degrees from where I’d been standing a minute earlier.

  “Oh, so you know teleportation, too,” he sneered. I hadn’t realized that was a special thing; I’d just done it the same way I did anything else. Still, I didn’t have time to focus on how cool the stuff I was doing was; I had to get away from Henry.

  Suddenly, the fact that I had teleported gave me an idea. I focused on the kitchen cabinets about two feet behind where Henry was standing. Unleashing my magical energy, they suddenly caught on fire, flames engulfing the wood immediately. Surprised, Henry turned to see what the commotion behind him was, and I took the split second he was occupied to strike.

  Focusing as hard as I could on Henry being completely paralyzed, I pointed at him and the energy that flowed out of me was so powerful it felt like it was going to knock me backwards.

  An instant later, every muscle in Henry’s body went visibly rigid. He stood still for a second before suddenly falling to the floor, landing with a thud, his motionless eyes staring at the ceiling. There was absolutely no way he could cast a spell anymore.

  Twenty

  The only thing I wanted to do was to break down and cry, but I knew that wasn’t an option. At least, not yet. I used my magic to extinguish the fire on the cabinets, then grabbed my phone from my pocket and called Cat.

  “Hey, what’s up?” she answered after two rings.

  “Henry Gunter killed Brian Armitage and just tried to kill me.”

  “WHAT?”

  “I’m at his house, I managed to paralyze him, but I don’t know what to do. I can’t call Chief Griffin yet since I can’t explain why he’s paralyzed without telling him about the magic.”