“Good. I wanted to talk to her.”
“And you are?” I asked, and the man scoffed.
“Ronald Jones, Chief of Police here at Enchanted Enclave,” he replied, grabbing a chair from a nearby table and sitting down with us. “I’ve been meaning to speak with you, Eliza. Now, why isn’t this conversation taking place at the station, Ross?”
Detective Andrews shrugged. “I didn’t see a need for it. Her initial statement says that she was new in town and didn’t know Leonard at all. Her statement now backs that up, so why would I drag her in to the station for an interview when I could just do it here? Especially since this way she doesn’t have to leave her job in the middle of the day on a whim.”
“Because it’s not just about the reality, it’s about appearances,” the police chief growled. “Half this town thinks she did it, so we need to bring her in to make it look like we’re getting the job done.”
“Ah, yes, because that’s so much easier than actually doing the job,” Detective Andrews replied, looking his boss straight in the eye, and I had to admit, I was impressed. He was obviously right, and I wasn’t just saying that because Chief Jones had just said to my face what I had secretly known. It was better for the police to actually find the real killer rather than pretend they were looking into someone.
“Well, just because you’ve gotten that information doesn’t make it correct,” the police chief replied. “Now, lookie here, girl. You say you didn’t know Leonard Steele?”
“No, I didn’t know him,” I replied firmly. “The first time I saw him, the first time I met him, was when he came in to order the coffee.”
“Then why did you kill him?”
“I didn’t!” I exclaimed instinctively, blood draining from my face. For all the rumors that had been going around, no one had actually accused me of killing Leonard yet. At least, not directly to me.
“How do we know that? Everyone in town seems to think you did it.”
“Well, everyone in town is wrong, then,” I answered, crossing my arms. “I didn’t have any reason to kill Leonard, and I didn’t have any way to kill Leonard either.”
“You’re one of the Marcet family, aren’t you?”
“That was my mom’s maiden name, yes.”
“Well, they’re a weird bunch, those ones. Wouldn’t put it past one of you to have ground whatever-that-poison-was-called.”
I stared at him incredulously. “Seriously? Just because my family can be a bit weird you’re going to try and pin this on me?”
“Yes, sir, come on,” Detective Andrews said. “This is getting ridiculous. We have absolutely no evidence that Eliza is the killer, beyond the fact that she had the opportunity to kill Leonard, and no reason to think she would have done it.”
“You might not, but I know for a fact that none of the other people with the opportunity would have done it, either,” Chief Jones said, his voice rising. I glanced around to see the couple of customers at other tables staring toward us, and I did my best to sink low into my seat, as far away from view as I could.
Here I was, being accused of murder by the chief of police in town, in full view of a handful of people. This was not going to do wonders for my reputation.
“Well then find someone else,” I said. “Because I didn’t do it.”
“Someone did it,” Chief Jones replied. “And frankly, I’m more inclined to believe the newcomer to town than people I’ve known for years and years.”
“Well, what you believe and what reality dictates are often two different things,” I said, crossing my arms. I wasn’t normally the type of person to stand up to authority like this, but this was my life we were talking about. And here was Chief Jones, talking about locking me up for murder like he was just looking to do it because it made his life more convenient.
“I agree with Eliza,” Detective Andrews said. “Come on, Chief. We’ve bothered her enough for now. Let’s let her get back to work, we’ll work this case some more, and if we find any more reason to talk to her we’ll do it, but not until then.”
“Fine, fine,” the chief muttered, struggling to get out of his chair. I had a sneaking suspicion he actually had been drinking. But jeez, it was barely ten in the morning.
Detective Andrews shot me an apologetic glance as he led the Chief out the door, and I found myself lost in thought as I made my way back to the counter.
Chapter 22
“I see you’ve finally had the pleasure of meeting our esteemed chief of police,” Leanne said, rolling her eyes when I made my way back behind the counter.
“Yeah,” I said, blowing a bunch of air from my cheeks. “I could have done without that conversation. He thinks I’m the one who killed Leonard, because he doesn’t believe it could be anyone else that he knows.”
“Sounds about right. Look, I know it seems hopeless, but he’s not the only cop in town. Most of the others are at least somewhat decent at their jobs. Heck, Ross Andrews is actually pretty good at it. So as long as he’s on the case, you’re probably going to be fine. Remember, Chief Jones can arrest you, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to be convicted.”
“Gee, that’s a reassuring thought.”
“Sorry. I just don’t want you to give up hope.”
“I know. It’s also that he actually stated that everyone in town thinks I’m the killer. If I don’t find the real killer, how can I ever make a life here? Fifty years from now people will still be talking about me as ‘that woman who killed Leonard Steele’.”
“Well, that’s why we’re all working together to help solve this,” Leanne said. “We’re your family. We stick together, and we’re going to do what’s right.”
I smiled at Leanne. It was so nice of her to say that. But a part of me still resisted. I knew that this side of the family had welcomed me with open arms, and that they were willing to help with anything I needed, and I was eternally grateful to them for that. But there was a part of me – the part of me that had spent my whole life alone, apart from my dad – that resisted the idea. I could do it all by myself. It was always me and Dad, and now it was just me. I could do it. I had to do it myself.
And I was going to do it. I just wasn’t entirely sure how, yet.
During my lunch break I wanted to head down to the beach, but the one I knew was just a bit too far away.
“Are there any nearby beaches where I can eat lunch?” I asked Leanne, who nodded.
“Sure. Take the alley between the post office and the ice cream shop next to it. Just past the buildings it becomes a path. You’re five minutes from the beach there. It’s a nice one, too, since it’s on the south side of the island so it’s not completely exposed to the Pacific winds. The water is a bit calmer. It’s still way too cold to swim, of course, but it’s a nice place to spend a sunny day like this.”
“Thanks,” I said with a smile, grabbing a slice of the raspberry crumb cake to eat for lunch and giving her a quick wave. I checked my phone for the time, and then followed her instructions. Sure enough, just past the buildings was a narrow dirt trail that led through the trees and eventually opened up onto a nice beach. It was smaller than the one I’d been to before, and with more trees around, less windy. It was actually quite nice, and I found myself hoping that I’d be able to spend a lot of days on this beach in the future.
I was alone on the beach once more, and I made my way toward the water. The wet sand indicated that the tide was going out rather than coming in, so I found a rock close to the water that had mostly dried and sat down on top of it, taking my slice of cake out of the little bag and getting ready to enjoy it.
Taking a first heavenly bite, I savored the cake as I looked out over the water. I could see another couple of islands out on the horizon. A couple hundred yards away what looked like a seal, or maybe an otter was swimming in the water, poking its head up from time to time.
I smiled to myself; as much as I wanted to resist getting attached to this place, it was growing on me. Sure, it was colde
r than I was used to, and the ocean up here felt more wild than back home in California, but it was beautiful in its own way. On this island I felt more connected to nature, and I liked the feeling. I could actually really understand why Leonard Steele had wanted to fight the development of new condos on the beach.
But I couldn’t allow myself to get attached. Not with this murder investigation hovering over my head. After all, I couldn’t live in a town where half the population thought I was a murderer. That just wasn’t a viable long-term option for me. I’d be better off moving to Siberia in that case.
At least the delicious cake was taking the sting out of the reality of my situation. Though, if I had to move, I’d never be able to get more of it. That thought was disappointing.
Suddenly, I spotted something out in the water, about fifty, maybe seventy feet from shore. At first I thought it was a piece of seaweed, but it wasn’t moving with the current. In fact, it looked like it was trying to fight it.
I stood up to get a better look, squinting hard. Were those ears? What was that?
A small mew suddenly reached my ears and I gasped as I realized it came from the ocean. That was a cat! It had to be.
I dropped the rest of my cake on the sand and rushed toward the water, kicking off my shoes. I didn’t even think. That was a cat out there, and it was in trouble. Another mew reached my ears, this one sounding more desperate. I ran straight into the water, letting out a yelp as soon as the frigid water hit my feet and ankles. Oh man, the water here was way colder than back in San Francisco. I paused for a second, jumping in place, then looked out at the cat once more.
“Ohhhh, this is going to be cold,” I said out loud to no-one as I ran in, squealing the entire time, doing my best to keep my eyes on the cat.
“Let me just save this poor thing before I die of hypothermia,” I said as my teeth began to chatter. I was waist-deep now, and still about thirty feet from the cat. It was facing away from me, and couldn’t see me.
As I made my way deeper and deeper, I knew I was going to have to start swimming. I decided to just get it over with. Pushing with my legs I dropped my upper body into the water.
“Eeeeeeeeee!” I cried out as the frigid water reached my neck. I struggled to breathe; my throat didn’t want to let any air in. Every inch of my body felt like it was being stabbed by tiny shards of ice. The waves were bigger here, one caught me by surprise and my mouth filled with salt water, which I struggled to spit out.
I had never been a strong swimmer; I’d taken a few lessons as a kid, enough to be able to make it from one end of the pool to the other without drowning, but I wasn’t big on swimming and this was altogether much rougher conditions than I was used to.
For a split second I lost sight of the cat, and I was worried that he had sunk, but the waves shifted again and I saw him.
“I’m here,” I managed to stammer though chattering teeth as I reached the cat. His eyes were half-closed; it was a miracle he was still above the water. “I’m here, I’ve got you.”
I flipped onto my back and held the cat close to my chest as I began kicking back toward shore. I couldn’t feel my arms or my feet anymore, so I watched the cat to make sure I didn’t drop it back in the water.
“It’s going to be ok,” I whispered to the poor thing, hoping I wasn’t lying. As soon as we got back to shore I looked around. There was nothing here to keep it warm, so I just started running. I had never been this cold in my life, but I knew I had to do something quickly to save this cat’s life.
Chapter 23
By the time I reached the coffee shop again, I was completely out of breath. I ran in and Leanne gaped at me.
“What on earth happened?”
“I’ll explain later,” I said, rushing past the crowd of curious customers and straight into the kitchen. Kaillie looked up at me from where she stood in front of a giant mixer.
“Eliza! Are you ok?”
“This cat was in the water,” I said quickly. “He’s freezing, you have to save him.”
“Of course.” Kaillie didn’t waste any more time asking questions, she grabbed her wand off the counter and pointed it at the cat. “Saturn, god of generation, make this cat warm and dry, the perfect combination.”
I gasped slightly as the cat’s fur went from wet and matted to nice and puffed up, like he had just spent ten minutes under a hairdryer. He let out a weak mew, and I laughed.
“Oh, Kaillie, you saved him. Thank you!”
“No problem. Looks like you need the same spell.” Kaillie repeated the words, and a second later I felt warmth coursing through me, like I had just stepped into a warm bath. Well, without the wetness. Sensation started to come back to my arms and legs, and I wiggled my fingers and toes as pins and needles ran through them. My hair probably looked like I’d just taken a bath with a toaster, and my clothes weren’t dripping onto the floor anymore. “Look at you! I have a first aid kit back here, you’re going to need it.”
I looked down to see what Kaillie meant, and immediately realized what the problem was. By running barefoot back up the beach I had gone along the dirt path in my bare feet. I hadn’t felt it at the time, but my feet were not only covered in bruises from stepping on dirt, stones and twigs, but they were bleeding as well.
Kaillie had already made her way to one of the cupboards at the back of the room and grabbed an unmarked plastic box. She opened it and pulled out some glass jars filled with strange-looking liquid.
“Are those magical potions?” I asked, looking at the liquids curiously. They were unlike anything I’d ever seen before. One of them looked like the colored part of lava lamps. The other looked like a light blue nail polish, and the third was completely clear, but with little blue dots floating in it.
“They are,” Kaillie said with a nod, pulling the cork out from the first bottle. “Now sit on the table and show me your feet.”
I did as she asked, carefully stroking the cat in my arms. Kaillie brushed the dirt off my now-dry feet, then poured the potion into her palm and began rubbing it on my skin.
I gasped as the cool liquid touched my skin. Not only was it a bit cold, but it caused a tingling sensation to run along my foot. And the cuts – I could see one of them on the side of my foot – suddenly disappeared.
“Wow!” I said, impressed. “Those cuts are just gone!”
“They are,” Kaillie confirmed. “This potion is a staple of every first aid kit a witch has. As long as the cut isn’t too big, it’ll immediately heal over.”
“How big is too big?” I asked.
“If it’s a cut that would need more than a couple of stitches, that’s too big,” Kaillie said. “Then there are other magical options. But for small cuts and scrapes, this is perfect.”
“Yeah, I can’t believe it,” I said.
“You do have one slightly bigger problem though,” Kaillie said with a smile.
“Oh?”
“You can’t go back out into the main serving area with your clothes, skin and hair being completely dried off three minutes after coming in here looking like a swamp monster.”
“I think you mean like a sexy mermaid. But, point taken. What do I do?”
Kaillie bit her lip. “How attached are you to these clothes?”
I shrugged. “Not very.”
“Good.” She pulled out her wand and muttered something under her breath. A second later, the plain black pants and black shirt I’d been wearing had been changed into jeans and a cute sweater.
“Now that is just super cool,” I said with a grin.
“It looks like you just got changed back here,” Kaillie said, handing me a hair tie. “People will believe you were able to dry your hair, but maybe put it up in a ponytail or something, too.”
“Alright,” I said, moving to put the cat down so I could put my hair up. “Time to get up, little guy.”
“First of all, no. I’m comfortable and I don’t want to move. Secondly, I’m not a guy. Could someone this beautiful possib
ly be male? I didn’t think so.”
I almost dropped the cat.
“Did… did you hear that?” I asked Kaillie, who had already began making her way back toward the machine she’d been working at.
“Hear what?”
“Nothing, never mind,” I said. I was going insane. I had to have imagined it. Maybe it was just my brain trying to recover from almost freezing to death in that water. I put the cat down, and he scowled at me. Actually maybe it was a girl after all. It was a gorgeous cat. Completely black except for one little patch of white on its back left paw, and with the most beautiful green eyes I had ever seen, the cat looked, well, majestic.
“Ugh. I said I didn’t want to get up,” the cat said, staring up at me, and I gaped at it.
“Kaillie?”
“Yeah?”
“You heard that, right?”
“Heard what?”
“This is going to sound insane, but I think the cat is talking to me.”
“Of course I’m talking to you,” the cat replied. “Stop treating me like I’m some sort of animal. It’s patronizing, and a queen like myself deserves nothing but the utmost respect.”
I closed my eyes and shook my head. “Nope. Nope, nope, nope. This can’t be happening. You’re not talking. Cats don’t talk. Animals don’t talk.”
“Ugh, no one warned me that the witch I was going to be with was an idiot,” the cat said, and I opened my eyes to find her carefully licking one of her front paws. I looked up at Kaillie, on whose face a small smile flittered.
“You think I’m insane, don’t you?” I said, biting my lip. “I am insane. There’s no other explanation for this.”
“Actually, there is,” Kaillie replied. “I believe you have just found your familiar.”
“My familiar?”
“Obviously,” the cat replied without so much as looking up at me.
“A familiar is an animal who is closely linked to you. The magical world decides when it is you need a familiar. A witch can talk to her familiar, and the familiar can talk to her as well. So if you’re hearing the cat talk, that means the magical world has decided it’s time for you to have one. It makes sense, really. Familiars often come into a witch’s life at a time of change. That definitely applies to you right now.”
A Cauldron of Hot Coffee: Enchanted Enclave Mysteries Books 1-3 Page 13
