by Jane Tesh
“Then what if I told you I had applied for a grant that will take care of all expenses?”
I wouldn’t believe you. “That sounds wonderful, but you still can’t have the show up and running in such a short time.”
“Of course we can! Where’s your pioneer spirit?”
Where’s yours? I wanted to ask. What sort of game are you playing, and what are you planning to get out of it?
***
“Do you suppose Constance is underwriting the whole show?” I asked Jerry as we drove home. “I know she’s wealthy, but this doesn’t make sense.”
“I’ll bet you anything Amanda’s got something on Constance.”
“And on Britney and possibly Clover and the rest of the Society?” I hadn’t seen either of the girls at auditions. I hadn’t seen Annie, even though she’d seemed keen to try out for Emmaline.
“Maybe they’re all witches, and Amanda saw them poison Eric Levin,” Jerry said. “She videoed them all dancing naked in the forest and threatened to put it on YouTube.”
“So she makes them put on an outdoor drama? Can you say ‘farfetched’?”
“Okay, so she makes them do something else. I’ll join the coven and find out.”
I knew he wouldn’t give up that idea. “Nice palm-reading, by the way. It sounded very authentic.”
He grinned. “Got it off the Internet.”
“It convinced Joanie, that’s for sure. Tomorrow I suppose I’ll go around town checking every woman’s wrist for a black rose.”
“I dare you to check Amanda’s wrist. And tomorrow we go to Parkland. You owe me a night in a graveyard.”
***
At home, we sat on the porch and listened to the cheeps of the insects and the warbling of little frogs from a nearby pond. The warm spring air smelled of honeysuckle and a slight hint of perfume from the roses we’d coaxed to grow up along the porch railing.
“Look at that beautiful view.” Jerry spread his hands. “I can see Amanda setting up a big old amphitheater right there.”
“Amanda’s single-mindedness reminds me of my mother,” I said. “She’s determined to have her way, even if it flattens everyone in her path.”
“She’s certainly made a lot of enemies. Before this is over, I wouldn’t be surprised if you were called in to solve her murder.”
“I’ve thought about that, too.”
“Let’s see if murder’s in your future.” He reached over, took my hand, and turned it palm up. “Hmm, a nice long lifeline. Heart line just like Joanie’s, long and curvy, so you freely express all those emotions. You’ve also got a fate line, and what’s this I see? Little children frolicking in the meadow.”
“That would be Austin and Denisha.”
“And Hortensia.”
Hortensia was the name Jerry had originally picked out for our phantom child. In the real world, we were considering Rose for a girl and Jackson for a boy, but that didn’t stop him from finding more creative choices.
“Or how about Madeline, Junior? We could call her M.J. I like it.”
My cell phone rang. “Hold that thought.” I dug it out of my pocket and checked the caller ID. “You’re not going to believe this. It’s Chief Brenner.”
“Uh, oh.”
“Uh, oh, is right. Do you suppose Harold’s made good on his threats?”
I braced myself to hear that Harold had strangled Amanda, so for a moment, I couldn’t understand the frantic woman’s voice.
“Madeline, you have to help me! Harold’s dead, and the police think I killed him!”
In the background I heard Chief Brenner’s voice. “Now, Amanda, calm down. We have to ask you some questions, that’s all.”
“You need to come right away! This is all a horrible mistake!”
“Let me talk to her,” Chief Brenner said. Amanda began to cry, and the chief reclaimed his phone. “Madeline, Amanda insisted on calling you.”
“What happened?”
“As you know, Harold and Amanda have been at odds over this outdoor drama Amanda cooked up. It’s my understanding she came to his house to discuss the matter.”
“He was dead when I got here!” Amanda wailed in the background.
“We haven’t accused her of anything. We’re trying to determine what happened.”
“Madeline, help me!”
I couldn’t ignore her plea. “Tell her I’m on my way.” I ended the call. “Amanda went to Harold’s house to talk about the drama and found him dead. She’s asked for my help. The police have to question her, but it’s possible Harold died of natural causes. He always looked as if he were about to have a heart attack.”
Chapter Seven
“He was murdered.” Chief Brenner met Jerry and me outside Harold’s home on Park Street. The chief was a big man with close-cropped blond hair and sharp blue eyes. “A blow to the head. Looks like someone came in the back, and Harold must have confronted the intruder.”
“So it couldn’t have been Amanda,” I said. “I can’t imagine her doing anything so untidy.”
“Unfortunately, we found her purse near the body.”
“A beige purse with a brown handle and a sparkly design?”
“How did you know?”
“She hired me to find it. She said it was missing.”
“Well, we found it. Right by Harold.”
“You’re sure it’s Amanda’s?”
“Had one of her credit cards in it.”
My glance to Jerry said, This looks bad. “Where’s Amanda now?”
“She’s sitting on the porch with one of my officers who’s trying to calm her down. You might have better luck.”
Despite her trauma, Amanda managed to look perfectly put together. “Oh, Madeline, I am in such a state! I thought I’d stop by and explain everything to Harold, and now this awful thing has happened. Will you find out who killed him? It wasn’t me, I swear. I know the police found my purse by Harold’s body, but someone must have stolen one of my cards and planted it to frame me!”
“Who would do that?”
She paused, and I knew she was thinking practically everyone in town, including members of the Improvement Society who were jealous of her wealth or held grudges against her for her less-than-subtle methods of intimidation. Was this someone’s twisted idea of revenge?
“You’ll have to make me a list, Amanda.”
“But murder Harold to get to me? That’s crazy!”
“Tell me exactly what happened.”
“After we finished at the theater, I decided to come over and talk to Harold and explain what the Improvement Society planned to do, down to the last little detail. I was even going to offer him a part in Flower of the South. I thought he’d be splendid as Emmaline’s cranky grandfather. Don’t you think so? Wait, what am I saying?”
“Focus, Amanda.”
She took a deep shuddering breath. “I came by around ten o’clock. He didn’t answer when I rang the bell. His door was unlocked, so I went in. He was lying on the floor in the hallway, and I could see a lot of blood, so of course, I completely freaked out. Then I was shaking so bad, I couldn’t find my phone in my purse, so I used the phone in his kitchen to call nine-one-one.”
“You didn’t see anyone else in the house? Hear any noises?”
“I told you I freaked out. Any noises would have been me screaming. I couldn’t stay in the house, so I ran out here until the police arrived.”
“No! Did you notice your other purse?”
“I’m surprised I had sense enough to make a phone call.” She reached over and grabbed my hand. “Please help me. You’ve solved other murders. You’ve got to solve this.”
I untangled myself from her grasp. “I promise I’ll help you. But you have to tell me the truth.”
Chief Brenner came up the porch steps.
“Amanda, you need to let Officer Lester take you to the station. I’ll be along in a minute to get your statement.”
She gulped. “All right. Madeline, I’ll call you.” The officer escorted Amanda to a patrol car.
“Could I have a look in the house?” I asked the chief.
“No.”
“Have you found the murder weapon?”
“No, we’re still searching.”
“How about the purse? Anything in that?”
“Only her credit card.”
“It’s possible the murderer stole the purse and left it here.”
“Anything’s possible. You know that. Did she hire you?”
“Yes.”
The chief’s face was grim. “All right, Madeline, I’ll be very plain with you. It ends here. You can talk to people in town, but you are not to interfere with the police in any other way.” He gave Jerry an equally hard look. “No tricks. I know I’ve been lenient in the past, but not this time. Eric Levin, the man found in Phoenix Vineyard, was murdered, and now Harold is killed. Do you understand my position?”
“Yes, of course,” I said.
“I realize we’ve shared information before. I also realize in some cases you’ve withheld information.” I started to protest and he held up a hand. “To your credit, it’s worked out. But I repeat, not this time.”
“Amanda hired me, so I need to be able to investigate.”
“As I said, you may ask questions. Keep away from any crime scenes.”
“May I ask if Harold had any family?”
“He’s got an aunt in Knoxville. We’ve already contacted her, and she’s on her way. It will not be necessary for you to talk to her. Are we clear?”
“Clear.”
Chief Brenner thanked me for my cooperation and stepped back into Harold’s house.
“Well,” I said, “that complicates things.”
Jerry wasn’t discouraged. “It just means we get creative. You know I can get you into Harold’s house any time you like.”
As I’ve mentioned, I’d relied on Jerry’s lock-picking skills several times, but I had second thoughts. “I don’t know. I’ve been warned off this case, but there’s still the mystery of Darkrose Coven. What if I find a connection? Solving Levin’s murder might lead to solving Harold’s.”
“You’ve been warned off that case, too.”
“Chief Brenner said I could ask questions, right? Who knows more about what goes on in town than anyone?”
“Nell Brenner.”
“Yes, and if she’s a member of Darkrose Coven, then problem solved.” I didn’t really believe the chief’s daughter was a member of the coven, but it was true she knew everyone and everything that had to do with Celosia. I had the perfect excuse to call her. “I want her to check on the chimney. Something’s scratching around in there. Might be mice.”
“Maybe it’s bats.” Jerry’s Uncle Val had studied and filmed bats, and we often saw the little creatures flying around the house at twilight. “Mutant bats leftover from Val’s secret experiments. That would be too cool.”
“Whatever it is, it’s our path to finding out what she knows about Darkrose Coven.”
***
I called Nell and asked if she could come check on the chimney in the morning. She said she’d stop by. I spent time that night reading Pagan Desires, hoping to find a clue among all the angst and forbidden love. But all I could really think about was Harold and his animal charities. What would happen to them now? Had Harold made provision for them in his will? Did he even leave a will? Then I thought of Amanda and how I hadn’t taken her seriously as a client. I had to take her seriously now. She was power-crazy and probably had a scheme going for who knows what reason, but was she a murderer? If she could use her wealth and clout with the members of the Improvement Society to walk all over Harold and his concerns, why murder him?
I felt the answer was tied to the Darkrose Coven, past and present. Death in a vineyard? An outdoor drama about a vineyard? Was that a coincidence? Annie, Britney, Clover, and three other girls had a dark rose tattoo, and so did Joanie Raines. I had to see if Lauren Garrett had one, if Megan Underwood had one, if Amanda had one. What about Kathleen Wallace? What about any one of a hundred women in town? Maybe every Celosian of a certain age had one. Then what? Having a black rose tattooed on your wrist didn’t mean you were a murderer.
***
Saturday morning, Jerry and I were finishing breakfast on the porch when Nell Brenner arrived in her white van. She got out and opened the back of the van to get her toolbox. Like her father, Nell was big and blond. Her white overalls were clean but forever splattered with all colors of paint, and a sprig of blond ponytail poked out from her baseball cap.
She climbed up the porch steps.
“Morning. Time to see what’s rustling around in your chimney.”
“Thanks for coming today,” I said.
“No problem.”
“Before you get rid of our chimney invaders, I want to ask what you know about Darkrose Coven.”
She set her toolbox down. “Now that’s a touchy subject.”
“What’s the story?”
“Not much to do around here, especially for young people, unless they got a car and can go over to Parkland to the clubs. ’Bout twenty years ago, maybe twenty-five, bunch of gals got bored and decided they’d try calling up spirits. Like you did, Jerry, only they were serious about it. Decided to call themselves a coven, even though it was only four or five of them. Parents and churches got all upset, which, of course, made the girls even more determined to play witches. They’d been meeting out near the commune at Peaceful Meadow, but they retreated further into the woods before they finally quit.”
Lauren Garrett had mentioned Peaceful Meadow. “There was a commune there?”
“Yeah, this being Celosia, not a very big one, and it didn’t last long.”
“Where is Peaceful Meadow?”
“Out past the Gatewood pasture on your way to the Westberry community.”
“Is it close to the woods where the coven met?”
“Right next door to it. It butts up against the edge of Nathan’s property.”
So Emmaline Ross’ phantom cabin wasn’t the only thing that might be near Camp Lakenwood. “Lauren Garrett told me she was a member of this coven, but she said there was nothing to it, just some kids playing.”
“She was more than a kid. Sixteen, maybe, twenty.”
“And Joanie Raines got very defensive when I asked about her coven tattoo.”
“I’m sure most of ’em would like to forget it, on account of the baby.”
“Whoa, hang on, what baby?”
Nell took off her cap to tuck in a sprig of hair that had escaped. She put her cap back on. “That’s the thing. One of those gals got herself in trouble and had a baby, but its body was never found. Now think about that for a minute.”
Think about it. That’s all I could do. A secret group meeting in the woods, pretending to be witches, and a missing baby? No matter how you looked at it, this was bad news. I found myself unable to talk, but Jerry asked the next question.
“How did anyone know about the baby?”
“One of the women broke down and told Dad. He and other officers went looking, but they never found a trace of it. Nobody in the coven ever told whose baby it was. They must have made a pact, because to this day, nobody knows.”
“So the baby might have been Lauren’s or Joanie’s.”
“Or Constance’s.”
“Constance?” I’m sure I sounded surprised. “Constance Tate?”
“Yeah, she was a little older than the others, but she was a member.”
I took a few moments to process this information. If Constance had been a member of the Darkrose Coven and somehow Amanda found out, was this the leverage
Amanda needed to control Constance? If the missing baby had been Constance’s child, and Amanda knew this, too, then Constance didn’t have a chance. “Nell, Britney Garrett, Clover Comer, and Annie at Deely’s all have black rose tattoos that are similar to the ones the original members of the Darkrose Coven have. Are they holding secret ceremonies in the woods, too?”
“I haven’t heard of anything going on like that.”
Were the girls just uberfans of the Pagan Desires series? Or was one of them secretly pregnant? I knew now why Joanie had been upset, but why had Lauren laughed the coven off as if it had been a merry prank from her past? I had a lot of people to talk to. “Does everyone in town know about this?”
“No,” Nell said. “It was a huge embarrassment for all the families concerned. They managed to hush things up pretty well.”
“But you know,” Jerry said. “How do you get all your information, Nell?”
She indicated her toolbox. “I’m in and out of peoples’ houses all day. After a while, no one notices me. Maybe I’m painting in the next room, or putting up new window screens, and they talk, and I can’t help but hear what they say. Plus I was born in Celosia, went to school here. My dad’s a policeman. He taught me to listen and not to blab about everything I hear.”
“Speaking of your dad,” I said, “he’s warned me away from investigating Harold Stover’s murder.”
“Yeah, I know about that, too.”
“I figured you did.”
“He appreciates your help, but there’s something different about this case. Harold was a good friend of his. He doesn’t want anything to interfere with finding the killer.”
Another reason the chief had looked so grim at the crime scene. “I had a chance to talk to Harold about his animal rescue work. I’m sorry I didn’t get to know him better.”
“He really worked hard raising money for those organizations. To have somebody like Amanda Price bullying people into giving her money for a vanity project really upset him.” She picked up her toolbox. “So to have him dead and Amanda still walking around doesn’t make much sense, does it? Let me see what’s made its home in your chimney.”
