“I know what that’s like. I’m not sure who is worse: Patricia or Barbara.”
“Anyway, Jo is renting a place across the street from Patricia’s house.”
“Okay.” Clarissa was still fussing with the bouquet. “Let’s go tell her we’re sorry for her loss.”
It was a short drive – but then, there was no such thing as a long drive in a town the size of Sugarcomb Lake. They pulled up near the Porter family’s neat, white-shuttered bungalow in a matter of minutes. Liana parked the car and then the two women looked across the street.
“Do we know which house it is?” Clarissa asked, hoping they wouldn’t have to go door-to-door.
“Patricia said it has a red front door,” Liana said, peering out the window. “Ah. There it is!”
Clarissa climbed out of the car, careful not to squash the pretty bouquet she was holding. Liana got out too, and went around to the back to retrieve the cinnamon loaf. As she was rummaging around in the backseat, a motorcycle roared down the street.
“Whoa, even I don’t speed that much,” Clarissa murmured to herself.
The motorcycle stopped with a screech right in front of the house with the red door. The rider was clad in a black leather jacket and blue jeans. He tore his helmet off angrily, revealing himself to be a young, dark haired man around Clarissa’s age.
He threw the helmet on the ground violently.
“Liana, you’ve gotta see this!” Clarissa hissed, poking her friend.
“What?” Liana demanded, emerging from the backseat with the loaf in her hand.
Wordlessly, Clarissa pointed to the mystery man.
He was now storming up to Jo’s house, clearly furious. Clarissa had no idea what was going on, but she knew some sort of drama was about to go down. She waited on pins and needles, jumping when the man pounded on the door with his closed fists instead of using the doorbell.
“Whoa, what’s going on?” Liana whispered in alarm.
“I don’t know!” Clarissa whispered back, transfixed.
“Do you recognize him?”
Clarissa shook her head. “I don’t think he’s from here – I’ve never seen him around before.”
“Should we do something?” Liana asked, eyeing the man nervously. “He looks pretty angry.”
“Let’s wait and see what happens,” Clarissa replied, her eyes glued to the leather-clad stranger.
“What if he’s dangerous?”
Just then, Jo came to the door. When she saw who was standing there, all the color drained from her face. Clearly she recognized the man who was standing there. And she didn’t seem at all happy to see him.
“Come on!” Clarissa hissed, grabbing Liana’s arm. It was impossible to hear anything from where they currently stood. The two women dashed across the street and hid behind Jo’s next door neighbor’s hedge. There, they were able to overhear what was being said.
“Vinnie, what are you doing here?” Jo gasped.
“When were you going to tell me?” the man, whose name was apparently Vinnie, shouted. “Or were you going to tell me? My father died and I had to find out about his funeral from someone else? Are you kidding me?!”
“Calm down,” Jo pleaded. She looked very uncomfortable.
“Answer me!” Vinnie bellowed. He was right in Jo’s face now, and he was livid. His fists were clenched, but thankfully he wasn’t getting violent. He seemed much more intent on giving his sister a piece of his mind. “He was my father too, Jo! Don’t I have a right to be included in the funeral arrangements?!”
“Stop yelling,” Jo said in a scolding big sister sort of tone. Though she didn’t seem pleased to see Vinnie standing at her door, she didn’t appear to be afraid of him. In fact, she seemed more than willing to put him in his place.
“Fine,” Vinnie said, in a slightly quieter voice. “When were you going to tell me?”
Jo sighed, looking and sounding very tired. “Vinnie, you haven’t been around in ages. You and dad were estranged, remember? You haven’t spoken to anyone in the family in at least three years. Given the way you and dad left things, I…well, I wasn’t sure I should call you.”
“He was a good for nothing piece of trash,” Vinnie muttered. “Don’t try to deny it, because you and I both know it’s true. But he was still the only father I’ll ever have,” he said. “I should at least pay my respects.”
Jo looked unhappy, but she said nothing.
“When is the funeral?” Vinnie demanded gruffly.
His sister bit her lower lip. “Vinnie, I’m not sure it’s such a good idea for you to be there. After the way you left things with dad and the way you pulled away from the rest of the family…I don’t know if you should just turn up at the funeral. It might upset people.”
“Unbelievable!” Vinnie exploded, throwing his hands up in frustration.
“You should leave,” Jo told him.
Vinnie began to laugh then, but it was a dark, bitter laugh. It was the sound of someone on the brink of losing it. “I always knew you were the golden child, but I never thought you’d try to keep me from my own father’s funeral,” he spat. “You’re every bit as evil as he was!”
With that, Vinnie turned and stormed back to his motorcycle. A moment later, he was gone.
Liana turned to Clarissa, wide-eyed. “That was intense!” she whispered.
“I know,” Clarissa agreed.
Liana looked over at Jo, who was still standing on her front doorstep. “Do you think we should go over there?” she asked, scrunching up her forehead in an expression of uncertainty. “Maybe we should come back another time.”
“You’re probably right,” Clarissa agreed.
Her intentions had been nothing but noble. She had planned on visiting Jo not as a reporter, but as a friend. But now that she had witnessed Vinnie Moreno’s turbulent arrival in town, the sleuth in Clarissa was dying to get out.
It was obvious there had been bad blood between the two Moreno men. It sounded like Vinnie harbored deep resentment. Even more alarming, Vinnie appeared to have serious issues with his temper. That wasn’t a good combination.
So when, exactly, had Vinnie Moreno come to town? Had it been before or after his father’s untimely death? Had the angry young man with impulse control issues been involved in the fatal hit and run?
Chapter 09
“I am the worst person in the world,” Clarissa sighed a little while later.
She and Liana were sitting at her kitchen table. They had just devoured the entire cinnamon loaf that had been intended for Jo. It had been too delicious to resist! Even Cat had come out of hiding to gobble up the crumbs that had fallen on the floor.
“Yes, you’re the worst person in the world,” Liana agreed. “Wait…why do you say that?”
“I ate a grieving woman’s cinnamon loaf!” Clarissa exclaimed ruefully. “And worst of all, I regret nothing! It was so good! It was incredible! I bow down to you, oh great one! You are the best baker in the history of baking.”
“Ha, thanks. And don’t worry about it – your secret is safe with me. Besides, I helped you eat the loaf. So I guess I’m a bad person too. Anyway, I’ll whip up something else for Jo,” Liana vowed. She looked around. “Do you have baking ingredients on hand?”
Clarissa looked at her incredulously. “Since when do I ever bake anything?”
“Good point,” Liana agreed. “I’ll swing by the grocery store for some more eggs and flour on my way home. We’ll try visiting Jo again tomorrow, okay?”
“Alright,” Clarissa agreed. Then she let out a burp.
“That was attractive,” Liana deadpanned.
“Ugh I’m so full!” Clarissa complained, clutching her belly. “I ate too much.”
“I’ve never heard you say that before,” Liana said sarcastically. “Oh, and speaking of attractive, look who’s outside? You have a gentleman caller, ooh!” she trilled in a silly singsong voice.
Sure enough, when Clarissa looked out the window she saw Parker
walking up to her door. Her heart immediately skipped a beat. She had seen him only a short time ago, but it felt like forever since they had last been together. A huge smile broke out over her face.
“Aww, would you look at that?” Liana grinned, resting her chin on her hand and watching Clarissa intently. “I think somebody’s in L-O-V-E! Clarissa and Parker, sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes love and –”
“Shh,” Clarissa hissed, attempting to shush her best friend.
Unfortunately, shutting Liana up was never an easy task. That woman had far too much energy to ever just sit quietly and mind her own business. Today was no exception. She bounced around the kitchen acting like a spaz.
The more Clarissa begged her to keep her voice down, the louder Liana sang.
Then there was a knock on the door.
Immediately, Liana stopped clowning around. She walked to the door, acting all dignified. Typical Liana…she would act all crazy and annoying behind closed doors, but then she would act like a mature, responsible grownup when it suited her.
“Hi!” Liana exclaimed, as if only just realizing Parker was on the property. “How are you?”
“Pretty good, thanks. I hope I’m not interrupting anything?” Parker replied.
“Nope, I was actually just leaving,” Liana told him.
Behind her, Clarissa stared up at the ceiling in exasperation. “Thank you!” she mouthed. She didn’t know why Liana always had to carry on like a nutcase whenever Parker’s name came up. Clarissa’s best friend loved nothing more than teasing her about her relationship!
Liana gathered up her things and walked out to her car. Parker and Clarissa stood on the front porch watching. Clarissa’s shoulders felt tense as she snuck sideways glances at her boyfriend. She was worried he may have overheard Liana teasing her about him. How embarrassing!
Parker, however, gave no indication that anything was out of the ordinary. He stood there with his arm around Clarissa, acting as laid back as ever. Maybe he hadn’t heard. Clarissa could hope, anyway.
When she reached her car, Liana turned around and waved.
“Have fun, you two!” she called out.
“We will,” Parker called back. “Oh and by the way, nice singing voice!”
The look on Liana’s face nearly made Clarissa burst out laughing. When she realized Parker had overheard her theatrics, her eyes went wide and her face turned beet red. She practically dove headfirst into her car before speeding away.
“Sorry about her,” Clarissa apologized awkwardly. “You know how caffeinated she is…”
“I thought it was funny,” Parker assured her. “Liana’s a riot.”
“Yeah, she’s something, alright.” Then Clarissa brightened. “You’re here!”
“I am,” Parker smiled. “Is it lame that I missed you so much I couldn’t stand it?”
“If it is, then I’m lame too,” she said, beaming up at him. “Hi.”
“Hi,” he smiled, leaning down to kiss Clarissa hello.
“I’m impressed that you managed to get out of work at a reasonable time,” she remarked. Parker’s dad was notorious for making him work late. In fact, poor Parker was basically expected to work his whole life away.
Parker hesitated.
“What is it?” Clarissa asked.
“I’ve started going in super early just so I can come see you more,” he admitted.
“How early is super early?” she asked. “Like eight o’clock instead of nine or what?”
“Four,” he mumbled sheepishly.
“You go into the office at four o’clock in the morning?!” Clarissa exclaimed in disbelief.
“It’s worth it,” he assured her.
“You can’t keep doing that,” she cautioned. “You’ll get run down! You’ll get sick!”
“I’ll be fine,” Parker insisted. “And it isn’t forever. Eventually my father is going to retire. And then I’ll be able to run things my way. And you will be happy to know that my way involves leaving the office at a reasonable hour – and seeing a lot more of you.”
“I like the sound of that!” Clarissa smiled. “What do you want to do tonight?” she asked.
Parker shrugged. “I’m not fussy. As long as I’m with you, I’m happy.” He glanced at his watch. “It’s nearly dinnertime – though to tell you the truth, I only got around to having lunch a couple hours ago. But maybe you’re hungry. Do you want to go out to dinner?” he suggested.
“Please don’t talk about food!” Clarissa groaned.
“You’re not feeling well?” Parker asked with concern.
“It’s not that. It’s just…I had a little something to eat not long ago,” Clarissa replied. Then, in the spirit of being totally honest, she corrected herself. “Okay, it was a big something. Liana and I binged on cinnamon loaf. I’d have saved you a slice had I known you were coming.”
“Maybe next time,” Parker replied. “I didn’t know Liana baked.”
“I guess it’s her newest hobby. The stuff she makes is really good!”
“It must be, if you two ate an entire loaf yourselves,” Parker chuckled. “So dinner is a no. What would you like to do tonight then?”
Clarissa thought for a moment. “I have to make a quick call to my aunt,” she told him.
“Okay.”
“And then…I don’t know…how about we go for a drive?” she suggested innocently.
“Sounds good,” Parker replied unsuspectingly.
“Make yourself comfortable,” Clarissa said, gesturing to the living room. “I’m sure the cat will be along any minute to purr incessantly and shed all over you. I’ll be back in a minute.” Then she retreated to her bedroom so she could make her call in private.
Normally Clarissa would have no qualms about making a phone call in front of Parker. But this wasn’t an ordinary phone call.
She needed some witchy advice from her Aunt Matilda. And though she didn’t quite understand why, Clarissa knew she wasn’t supposed to let anyone know that she and Matilda were witches. Not even Parker. Her aunt had made that abundantly clear!
“Please pick up!” Clarissa whispered as the phone rang.
Finally on the tenth ring, Matilda answered. “Well if it isn’t my favorite niece named Clarissa!”
“Ha-ha, that’s very clever and oh-so funny,” Clarissa said wryly.
“I try.”
“What are you up to?” she asked her aunt curiously.
“Why do you ask?” Matilda replied, huffing and puffing.
“You sound out of breath, and it took you a long time to get to the phone. Are you busy?”
“No, it’s fine. I was just belly dancing.”
Clarissa had to pause a moment to let that sink in. “You belly dance?” she asked in surprise.
“Victor wanted to learn, so I’m teaching him.”
“Victor as in the ghost who haunts a lamp you bought a flea market?” Clarissa asked knowingly.
By now, she was familiar with the bizarre tale. In fact, she was even starting to get used to her aunt’s odd remarks about said ghost. What did that say about Clarissa?! Her new normal was getting wackier and wackier!
“I really do have to introduce you to Victor sometime,” Matilda said, as if it was perfectly normal to talk about introducing one’s niece to a ghost. “Anyway, what are you up to tonight?” she asked.
“Actually, I need your advice,” Clarissa said. “I don’t know if you heard, but there’s an open investigation into a suspicious death here in Sugarcomb Lake. I’m doing a little sleuthing of my own, and I need to use one of the potions from that book you gave me.”
“Which potion is it?” Matilda asked.
“I need to make a truth serum,” Clarissa said. “I need answers from someone, but I have no way of knowing if he’ll be honest with me. Thankfully, I found a lovely little concoction near the back of the book of potions you gave me!” she chirped brightly.
“Clarissa, I warned you not to dabble with the adv
anced spells yet,” Matilda reminded her. “You’re a new witch. Stick to the spells near the front of the book. They’re the easier ones. If you mess them up, the consequences won’t be too dire.”
“What’s the worst thing that could happen if I mess up the truth serum?” Clarissa asked.
“Death,” Matilda replied.
Clarissa’s eyes widened. “Are you serious?” she gasped in alarm.
“Well, only if you mess up in a really epic way,” Matilda clarified. “I mean, if you accidentally put poison in the potion and had someone drink it, then death would be a very real possibility. Or if somebody choked while drinking it…that could result in death as well.”
Clarissa sighed. “What’s the worst thing that could reasonably happen?”
“It’s different for everyone,” Matilda replied, giving as vague an answer as ever.
Well that was no help whatsoever. Clarissa didn’t know why she even bothered to ask her aunt things anymore. She should know by now that doing so was an exercise in futility. It wasn’t as though the answers Matilda gave were ever clear. Usually they weren’t even helpful.
“I don’t want you using the truth serum!” Matilda blurted out suddenly.
“What? Why?”
“It’s dangerous. You wouldn’t play with a loaded gun, would you?” Matilda asked.
“Huh?”
“The spells you have been doing are inconsequential. Think of them as water pistols. They’re not particularly powerful and they can’t do much damage. But a loaded gun, on the other hand…that’s best left for the experts.”
“Okay, but I really need to use the truth serum,” Clarissa insisted. Sometimes people called her stubborn. She preferred to say she was determined. But truthfully, she could also be as stubborn as a mule sometimes.
“Promise me you won’t use the truth serum!” Matilda ordered.
Clarissa was silent.
“You’re going to do it no matter what I say, aren’t you?” Matilda sighed.
“Probably,” Clarissa admitted.
“Clarissa!”
A Sprinkle of Magic (A Sugarcomb Lake Cozy Mystery Book 4) Page 5
