“You’d be surprised how snoopy these ladies are around here. I’d much rather people believe Tara is only interested in me for what I can do for her.”
“Wouldn’t your daughter be someone worth talking about, though?” Petunia began. “Like if your wife found out.”
“I’m sure by now someone told you I’m not married.”
“It’s no wonder people are talking, an eligible bachelor like you must have plenty of women who have set their sights on you. Let’s say maybe one of the ladies who has entered a cat in this show?”
Petunia turned to stare at the boxes that contained the remainder of the champagne, reading the name on the side, Lake Forest Winery … since when did Lake Forest have a winery?
“Should I call the sheriff, Noah?” Petunia asked.
“No, please don’t,” Mr. Calhoun pleaded with them. “I’d hate for the cops to show up again today.”
“Then maybe someone should have turned this over to the sheriff yesterday,” Noah said. “I’m quite certain Sheriff Pinkerton will be upset about this turn of events.”
Petunia left the room, waiting outside for a breath of fresh air. She didn’t appreciate being locked in a room and she’d catch up to Tracy before the day was through. Right now, though, she’d wait for the sheriff to show up.
“What’s going on, Red,” Pansy asked, as he pranced over to her.
“Waiting on the sheriff. Apparently there’s more champagne here. I can imagine the sheriff might want to have it analyzed.”
“Well, you seem to be doing good at this investigation without me. I should leave before someone sees me. I don’t want to wile away my day in a kennel.”
Petunia shook her head. Obviously Pansy was having fun while Petunia and Noah were doing all the work. She shook her head. Petunia didn’t know why she’d want Pansy to stick around, but she kind of did. She’d grown used to him butting into cases.
She stepped forward as the sheriff’s car pulled up. “It’s about time you showed up, but I can’t say Mr. Calhoun will be eager to see you again today.”
“He can’t possibly be here today.”
“That’s what I thought, but apparently he’s recovered, or else he’s just too worried that someone else might not handle the cat show to his specifications.”
“Are you planning to lead me to where the champagne is? For some reason I think you might be involved here.”
“Actually, I accidentally locked myself in a stockroom and when Noah showed up with Mr. Calhoun, he told us the boxes contained the same champagne that was served yesterday.”
Petunia led the sheriff into the stockroom. “Someone should have told me about the champagne yesterday,” Sheriff Pinkerton said to Mr. Calhoun.
“Sorry but I was too incapacitated at the time to tell you, if you remember.”
“How could I not, when I almost had a murder investigation on my hands.”
“I’m quite sure the champagne didn’t come out of the bottle tainted,” Mr. Calhoun suggested.
“Let’s see what the forensic techs have to say about that before we discuss it further,” Pinkerton said.
“Do you need any help, Pinkerton?” Petunia asked.
“Do I really have to tell you to butt out?” Pinkerton said.
“Don’t worry, I’ll get her out of here,” Noah said. “She needs to check up on her cats.”
Instead of being angry for having to leave the room, Petunia was glad they had a reason to slip away so they could hopefully continue to move their investigation along.
“Where are you headed so fast?” Noah asked, as he took ahold of Petunia’s arm.
“What are you doing, trying to get yourself turned into a frog?”
“If you could do a spell like that, Cora would have been croaking long ago.” He laughed. “Where are you planning to go now?”
“I plan to check up on my cats and take a little trip out to the Lake Forest Winery that I never even knew existed.”
“It seems that you’d want to find the person who locked you in the stockroom.”
“That could have been an unfortunate accident.”
“I don’t believe there are any unfortunate accidents around here. The champagne being poisoned wasn’t an accident.”
“I don’t think it was an accident that Mr. Calhoun had to be revived, either,” Petunia said. “I believe he was meant to die, although I don’t understand the importance of poisoning the entrants.”
“I take that personally since my father was among them.”
“I have a hard time believing Tara is Mr. Calhoun’s daughter,” Petunia said.
“Of course if she is, Tara may have wanted her father dead,” Noah suggested.
“I suppose we’ll have to find her if we can, but she’s already slipped away from me once today.”
Petunia smiled as she joined Aunt Maxine, who was trying to comb Merlin while the cat hissed at her, landing a well-aimed claw into her arm. Petunia had to stop her aunt before her aunt wrung Merlin’s neck.
“Is there a reason you’re trying to comb Merlin? I thought you’d know better than that.” Petunia laughed.
“Oh, sure, laugh at me—oops,” Aunt Maxine said as she released Merlin, who scrambled away. “It looks like you have two cats to find now.”
“Why are you so sore? The cats were supposed to be left in the kennels.”
Aunt Maxine swept her hand to the other entrants. “In case you can’t see, the other cats are being groomed. I was just trying to help out.”
“I didn’t say that I don’t appreciate it, I really do, but my cats aren’t really here to win the competition. Did you put something extra in your antidote? I’m just shocked that Mr. Calhoun is well enough to be here.”
“It might have something to do with using the tiniest drop of the ingredients for your salve.”
“Please tell me you didn’t use that? I only make the watered-down version now, and that’s not what you used. It was a serum for hair growth. I thought I’d try my hand at my hair tonic again.”
“You mean the one that makes the recipient bald?”
“It did, but I was able to reverse the effects. Of course now I’m not certain how it works. Why would you use any of my ingredients without asking, Aunt?”
“Apparently I shouldn’t have, but the salve ingredients have miraculous healing properties.”
“How many agile senior citizens do we need in Lake Forest?”
“Mr. Calhoun was near death, he needed a boost and he’s looking quite chipper now.”
“Let’s hope that’s all that will happen to him,” Noah said, shaking his head. “Should I worry about the antidote you gave my father?”
“Of course not, I used my own antidote without any of Petunia’s ingredients.”
Petunia frowned. “If something happens to Mr. Calhoun, I would hope you won’t mention my name. Please, Noah, don’t tell anyone about this,” she pleaded with him.
Noah smiled now. “Who do you think I’d tell, my parents? I’d rather not tell them you’re really a witch.”
“Witch?” Noah’s dad asked, as he walked up to them.
Chapter 12
Petunia laughed hysterically until tears appeared. “I-I don’t think you understand.”
“All I know is no son of mine should be calling the woman he’s dating a witch. Apologize this instant, Noah,” Victor asserted.
Noah locked eyes with Petunia. “I’m sorry, Petunia, I was merely joking.”
“That’s no excuse,” Aunt Maxine said. “I was about to rip into Noah myself,” she added, her eyes shining brightly. “Oh, look, Petunia. Estelle and Maria are here.”
Petunia swallowed hard. If either of them had any adverse effects she’d take the blame and she’d have to, since she’d protect her aunt at any costs.
Aunt Maxine hooked her arm with Petunia’s, dragging her away to greet Estelle and Maria. “Hello, ladies,” Aunt Maxine greeted. “I’m glad to see you made it here.”
“Oh, yes, we’re feeling much better,” Estelle declared. “If it hadn’t been for your antidote, Maxine, I don’t know what we’d have done.”
“I know I was such a shrew to you, Petunia, but I must admit I was a tiny bit envious,” Maria admitted. “Any witch actually can turn a man into a cat is quite unusual, indeed. I can’t wait to see what you drum up next.”
Petunia forced a smile as Estelle tried to yank out a hair on her chin. “It’s the darnedest thing,” she remarked. “I’ve been trying to yank out this chin hair all day. I’ll have to excuse myself and take a look at it in the mirror.”
“I should go with her,” Maria said. “See you later, Petunia.”
Once the Hoodwinks left, Petunia stared wide-eyed at her aunt. “I-I—”
“Calm down, Petunia, it’s only one chin hair.”
“I know but she can’t pull it out.”
“She’ll be fine, trust me. As you get older, chin hairs are to be expected.”
Petunia wished she could calm down, but she knew when it came to potions that even somewhat belonged to her … it spelled trouble.
She sighed. “I suppose we’ll both have to hope that Estelle and Maria don’t turn into anything hideous.”
“Have faith and join that handsome man of yours, he’s heading this way.”
Petunia met him halfway. “I think we should find that Tracy. I have a few words I’d like to say to her.”
“I thought it might be better to find Tara and question her first,” Noah suggested.
“If only we knew where she was now.”
“I saw her disappear through that door over there,” Noah pointed out.
“Oh, no, I don’t. The last time I followed that woman anywhere I wound up locked in a stockroom.”
“That could have been quite accidental,” Noah assured Petunia. “Remember you thought that yourself.”
“Fine, but if we get locked in a room, it will all be your fault.” Petunia laughed. “Of course it would make my aunt quite happy since she’s been trying to push us together.”
“I’d like that, too. Err … I meant that I sure wish she’d knock that off.” Noah winked.
Petunia moved to lead the way, but Noah stopped her. “It might be better if we don’t look like we’re pursuing anyone.”
“Good idea. Should we check out the competition?” Petunia grinned.
“No,” Noah said, as he looped his arm through Petunia’s. “We’re going to sneak away to do a little smooching.”
Petunia’s smile faded.
“He means make out,” Pansy said, as he pranced over.
“You don’t have to look so sad about it, Petunia,” Noah said.
“Don’t just stand there looking dumb, Red,” Pansy said. “Can’t you see he’s waiting for you to say something and you wonder why you’re still single.”
“Sorry, for a moment I didn’t know what to think. It’s a great idea. I suppose I could act like I’m madly in love with you.”
“Who said anything about love?” Noah inquired.
Petunia felt bad now, like she had somehow hurt his feelings.
“Not yet, anyway,” Petunia said, as she leaned in for Noah to kiss her. It took a moment before she noticed that Noah was only standing there looking down at her.
“We can’t do it here. Let’s go, shall we?” Noah said stiffly.
Noah and Petunia laughed as they playfully walked through the door where Tara was last spotted going through. Then Noah yanked his arm away from Petunia. “We don’t have to act as if we care about each other now.”
“I don’t have to act because I do like you, Noah, and you should already know that.”
“Sometimes you certainly don’t act like it, but not to worry, I’m a patient man. I know you have a lot going on with your family and you being a witch and all.”
“Sometimes I wish I wasn’t, but there’s no out for me now. I only hope that after this case, we’ll be able to get to know one another better.”
Petunia froze as she spotted Tara moving up the hallway toward them. She had a bad feeling about this.
“I thought I might as well get this over with,” Tara said. “I know things must have looked bad yesterday with Mr. Calhoun unresponsive like that.” She wiped away a tear. “I’m just glad that he’s pulled through. I do wonder how he had such a fast recovery. Do you know anything about that?”
“How should I know?” Noah asked.
“I was speaking to the witch.”
“The witch?” Petunia asked.
“You must know that you’re the talk of town, Petunia.”
Petunia narrowed her eyes at Tara. “This isn’t about me.”
“No, we’d like to be the ones asking the questions,” Noah said. “Was there a reason you were leading us to believe you were somehow involved with Mr. Calhoun?”
“Well, we were, before I broke it off with him yesterday,” Tara said.
“Except that Mr. Calhoun isn’t your lover, he’s your father,” Petunia said.
Tara sucked in her breath. “Who told you that?”
“Your father, Mr. Calhoun.”
“You’re a liar. There’s no way he’d tell you that.”
“So why were you pretending to be his lover?”
“I didn’t mean to, but when I found Mr. Calhoun, or my father, he was unresponsive. I hardly think it would be a good time to tell anyone I’m actually his daughter. It’s not like I’ve been in his life all that long.”
“I suppose you’d hate for people to think you might have an interest in him being dead,” Petunia said. “Of course you lied about Mr. Calhoun’s wife, since he doesn’t have one.”
“I have no interest in wanting him dead,” Tara insisted.
“Why not, he’s built quite the empire running cat shows,” Melanie said, as she joined them. “If something were to happen to him, you’d inherit quite the sum.”
“How would you know?” Petunia asked Melanie. “I thought you were only a volunteer here.”
Melanie smoothed back her hair. “Actually, I’ve been involved with Mr. Calhoun for quite some time. Although we’re not married, I do know quite a bit about his financial situation. He’s quite wealthy, you see. I could tell from the first moment that Tara here showed up claiming to be his daughter that only trouble would follow.”
Tara doubled up her fists. “I’m not claiming anything and I didn’t tell anyone who I really was, but apparently my father did.”
“Why didn’t you call 911 when your father was unresponsive?” Noah asked with an arched brow.
“I panicked! It’s not like I’ve ever been put in this situation before.”
“I suppose, but it’s not brain surgery to know that you call 911 when a man is down,” Petunia said with a shake of her head.
“I wouldn’t put it past her to have poisoned Mr. Calhoun,” Melanie insisted.
“Yes, but since more people were poisoned besides Mr. Calhoun, we probably shouldn’t accuse Tara of anything just yet,” Noah said.
“We shouldn’t?” Petunia asked, when she remembered that they had to check out the company who bottled the champagne. “Oh, you’re right.”
“Why did you tell us Mr. Calhoun was married when he wasn’t?” Noah asked.
“I already told you I didn’t want anyone to know I’m his daughter.”
“Well I’ve known,” Melanie said. “Since the paternity test proved that Mr. Calhoun is your father.”
“How were you privy to that bit of information, Melanie?” Petunia asked.
“You should have guess, Mr. Calhoun. I already told you we were involved, remember?”
“So, where is Tracy hiding?” Petunia asked. “I have a few words I’d like to say to her.”
“She’s on lunch, but I’m sure she’ll be back soon.”
“Good, point her in my direction when she comes back,” Petunia insisted.
“I suppose you plan to turn me over to the sheriff now with all your false accusa
tions,” Tara said with a whimper.
“Actually that might be premature,” Noah said. “We have a few other things to look into … and to be honest, I’m not certain you were responsible for Mr. Calhoun’s condition.”
“Unless we know for certain that you knew about the poisoned champagne and then gave it to him,” Petunia replied.
“Do you have any questions for me?” Melanie asked.
“I believe you’ve already supplied us with ample information,” Noah said. “Who was in charge of pouring and handing out the champagne?”
“Kelly Newhart, but she’s not here today. She’s feeling quite under the weather today.”
Petunia stepped forward. “Are you certain she didn’t drink any of the champagne?”
“She shouldn’t have, since it’s against the rules.”
“That doesn’t mean she didn’t sample any. You need to tell me where she’s staying. She could be in trouble.”
“Believe me, Kelly wouldn’t do anything like drink champagne.”
“I know she was handing it out, but I don’t recall seeing her later,” Petunia said. “I wonder if she knew the champagne was poisoned.”
“She certainly had an opportunity,” Noah agreed.
“She’s staying at the Lake Forest Country Club,” Melanie told them.
“Thank you again,” Petunia said.
Noah and Petunia smiled at Aunt Maxine, who was chatting with Wanda and Hazel. “What are you two up to now?” Aunt Maxine inquired.
“They have that stay-here-and-watch-over-the-cats look in their eyes,” Wanda exclaimed. “Am I right?”
“Yes, but how can you be so certain?” Petunia asked.
“I can read minds is how.”
“Since when?” Aunt Maxine asked.
“I took one of those boost bars you’ve been working on, Maxine.”
Aunt Maxine covered her mouth with her hand, trying unsuccessfully to stifle a laugh. “Those are laxatives, dear.”
Wanda frowned. “That explains a lot.”
“Teach you to sample anything another witch concocts unless you’re sure what it is,” Hazel exclaimed with a nod of her head. “And never anything Petunia is working on, right Maxine?”
“Be nice, Petunia has come a long way. Go ahead and do whatever investigators do. I’ll make sure to keep an eye on your cats. I almost have the whereabouts of Merlin pinned down. Apparently an Exotic Shorthair is in heat.”
Meows, Magic, & Mayhem (Lake Forest Witches Book 4) Page 9
