Jesse Delacroix: Curse of the Bloodstone Arrow (The Whispering Pines Mystery Series Book 3)

by Constance Barker

  “I’ll help you, Lionel,” Happy offered, and the men went inside.

  “You guys go ahead,” Lexi said to Maddy and me. “I’ll tell Freddy how to handle the door when he gets here.”

  Things came together quickly and smoothly. Travis and his dad helped set things up for the press in the Tea Room and then moved outside to light the Tiki torches around the perimeter of the courtyard. They gave the place a romantic glow and kept the mosquitoes away too.

  Maddy and I were the link between the kitchen and the finger food buffet in the solarium, which was open to the guests in the courtyard. The five-piece ensemble from Stony Point had already set up their drums and guitars in the courtyard, and I told them to go ahead and start playing some low-key instrumental music for now. The music out front couldn’t really be heard in the back.

  A citywide plague of PTSD kept things a little slower and toned-down tonight, but the tables in the courtyard, on the porch, and inside the Nirvana had gradually filled up. The champagne was more popular than usual, and we even had to break out several cases of beer, wine, and spirits to settle the nerves of the distressed eyewitnesses.

  Irene had her easel and poster set up right outside the door to the solarium, and purple draperies with gold fringe surrounded her table just inside. A line had already formed, and she was doing readings with Tarot cards and her crystal ball.

  A young woman was seated in her chair, and Madame Irene had her hands over the huge round crystal. “You will meet a man of medium height with sandy hair and blue eyes who has been pining over you since high school…”

  That’s when I heard a buzzing sound, and Lucius appeared over her head.

  This little devil is not going to add more misery to the lives of these poor people. Not tonight! They’ve been through enough.

  I was just thinking to myself, but Irene picked up every word.

  “Don’t worry,” she answered directly into my mind without speaking, “Lucius will be on his best behavior. You have my word. He’s here to bring joy and love – that’s all.”

  I was skeptical and afraid that his presence would increase the effect of the arrows he let loose this morning. I watched as she continued with her reading of the woman.

  “…You have had desires for him as well. Crab dip will bring you together.”

  Lucius shot the girl with a white arrow and sent another identical one into the back of a young man in a blue sweater. He turned immediately and walked inside to the buffet table and picked up a small plate.

  A minute later, the woman got up from Irene’s table and walked over to the other end of the buffet table and got a plate.

  “Those were just ice-breaker arrows, Jessie,” Irene tweeted to me mentally. “Any love they might feel for each other will come from their hearts. I didn’t promise her love…just that she would meet a man.”

  The sandy-haired, medium height young man reached the bowl of dip at the midpoint of the long table. He filled a spoon with it and then noticed the woman approaching with a plate of crackers. Their eyes met.

  “Dianne!”

  “Jack!”

  He extended the spoon to her. “Crab dip?”

  She took a quick breath and turned her head toward Irene, who gave her a wink and went back to her reading.

  A blonde woman in a nice dress walked up to Jack, and Dianne took a step back.

  “Oh…I’m sorry,” Dianne said meekly.

  “For what? I’m Amy,” the blonde said, extending her hand.

  Dianne shook her hand. “I’m…”

  “Oh, I know who you are, Dianne.” Then the girl turned to Jack and put her hand on his shoulder. “I see you finally got up the courage to talk to the girl of your dreams, bro. You two have fun!” And she left.

  Okay…that was kind of nice. Of course, word of Irene’s amazing and fast results quickly spread through the crowd, and the line grew very long. I wasn’t convinced yet that she had goodness in her heart, as the profit-motive seemed more likely to me.

  I gave Irene a cautionary look with a glance toward Lucius. She knew she had better keep him in line.

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  Chapter Nine

  I changed into a yellow print dress in keeping with the springtime theme and threw on a mid-sleeve green blazer in keeping with the cool February night. Most of the guests in the courtyard were dressed for the ball, though some came right from the play in their street clothes. Travis and his dad had settled into a table in the corner of the courtyard with Ginny and Cammy Jo when I got back from my carriage house next door.

  “I’m sleeping in your bed tonight, Jessie” Cammy Jo announced as I walked up. I borrowed an extra chair from a couple at a nearby table and pulled it up next to Cammy Jo.

  “No problem,” I said. “In fact, Arthur and I would love the company.”

  Cammy leaned over and whispered in my ear. “Unless I’m interrupting a little sheet action between you and the stud over there.”

  I cupped my hand next to my mouth and whispered back. “We’ll talk about that later in private, but you are more than welcome to bunk with me.”

  “Hey, guys! Got room for one more?” Zach came over to the table looking like he was ready for a break.

  I got up. “Here, take my chair, Zach. I’ve got to check on the kitchen and make the rounds.” Ashley was at the next table serving beverages. “Ash, get Zach a…”

  “It’s been a rough night,” he said as he pulled the chair next to Cammy and sat. “Give me something hard!”

  “That’s my motto!” Cammy Jo said with a suggestive smile, raising her glass in a mock toast.

  “Get him a hard lemonade and a shot of Jack.”

  “Perfect choice, Jessie. Thanks.” Zach gave Cammy a small peck on the cheek and then leaned back in his chair looking very fatigued and haggard.

  Several couples were dancing at the other end of the courtyard. A tall woman in a sparkling ruby red gown was walking back to her table with a shorter man. I knew from the tuxedo, before he even turned around, that it was Antoine DeBonnaire escorting his lovely wife, Marguerite. She looked quite distraught, which was to be expected.

  I put my hand on her shoulder as she sat and rubbed it gently. “How are you doing, Marguerite?”

  She didn’t respond, and Antoine looked at me and shook his head slowly. I understood that she still needed time and some privacy, so I nodded and turned to go.

  But Marguerite reached for my hand before I took it away from her shoulder and turned to me with a stiff-lipped smile. “She sent me a picture of the gown she would be wearing tonight, so I got this matching one in red. Ruby and emerald are our birthstones.”

  “It’s really lovely, Marguerite. Really.” I bent over and hugged her neck.

  “Join us for a minute. Do you have time?” she asked.

  “Of course.” I had a lot on my to-do list, but I sat and put my hand on hers. I just waited for her to take the conversation in whatever direction she felt comfortable with.

  “I’m so glad I was able to spend time with her, watching the play. She didn’t know what to expect, coming to this tiny town, but she was really amazed at the show and how professional and fun it was. She always looked at things through the eyes of a little girl filled with wonder and excitement.” Marguerite took a soulful breath as her mind revisited the time she had spent with Pamela Tedesco. “We had such a wonderful time.” She showed me several selfies of the two laughing and mugging for the camera.

  Antoine remained silent but gave me an approving look to encourage me to engage with his wife. I didn’t want to say anything about her beautiful friend that might get her crying, so I just nodded.

  “Did you watch from the small stage, Marguerite?”

  “Yes, mostly, but I left her halfway through the play and came over to the main stage so I could meet her after she crowned the festival queen.”

  Antoine was very attentive and preemp
ted the thoughts she was sure to have about what she witnessed when she got to the main stage.

  “Shall we dance again, darling? This is such a lovely song.”

  He took her hand, and I got up to go inside.

  “Not by them,” I heard her tell Antoine as they headed for the dance floor.

  The couple veered to their right, and I looked to see who they were avoiding. I saw a tall dark-haired woman in a long black gown with a short train and a large man in a suit. It was Anjolie, Antoine’s assistant, and Rambo the bodyguard from Antoine’s table during brunch. The woman was gesturing wildly and seemed to be in a somewhat heated argument with the man. She turned and saw I was looking at her and gave me a smile. Then she took the man’s hand and shoulder and began dancing. She seemed to be quite accomplished at the waltz.

  I walked past Irene’s line, through the solarium, and through the double doors into the lobby. The Sheriff’s deputies were interviewing witnesses, and it looked like a dozen or more people were still waiting to tell their stories. Kyle was sitting in front of a small TV reviewing video people had provided of the crime, and Freddy was next to him downloading video and photos from phones to the hard drive.

  Arthur was sitting quietly by the door to the kitchen.

  “Hi, boy! Are you having fun?” I rubbed his head and tickled his chin. “I promise we’ll play a little before bedtime, or for sure in the morning.”

  I opened the back door to the kitchen and saw Granny swoop out of Arthur’s body and through the door. I should have known she was she was inside of him, since my pup was so well behaved out in the courtyard.

  Granny looked toward Carlo with a desperate kind of love in her eyes, but I shook my head and gestured for her to sit on the table well behind the chef. Carlo was busy cleaning up his area, and looked very weary from a very long day. He put on his jacket, hung his white beret on the wall and picked up a small paper bag from his table.

  “I hope you don’t mind if I take a few sandwiches with me, Jessica. I didn’t have time to eat today.”

  “Don’t be silly, Carlo. You worked so hard today. I’m really sorry you didn’t get a break.”

  “Oh, Ginny and Lexi both offered to take over for me so I could eat, but I was having too much fun!” He smiled, outstretched his arms, and then patted his ample belly. “Besides, I’m like a camel – I can live off the hump for a week if I have to.”

  “Well, I really admire and appreciate your dedication, Carlo.”

  “Nonsense. Without my job as your chef, I am just a fat old man who can barely pull up his own socks and with no value to the world. It is I who am thankful.” He walked past us to the back door. “Lexi and Maddy know where everything is – I have it all arranged for them in the walk-in cooler. And there is no more hot food to worry about tonight. Goodnight Jessica – and goodnight, Miss Aggie, my sweet love muffin. I will dream of you tonight.”

  Blech! I liked them better when they were at each other’s throats.

  He left for home, and I resolved that I would soon put an end to this love affair that actually made my stomach lurch.

  “Where’s Mom, Granny?”

  “She’s not here, Jessie. She had something to do.”

  That didn’t make any sense to me. “But she’s always here, Gran. If she goes outside the Inn she will cease to exist. So…”

  “Well, it was important, so she found a way. The same way that I use little Arthur to go outside, she got a ride with Eddy.”

  “Eddy?” It took me a minute. “You mean the biker guy inside of Anika – one of Gus’s alter egos?”

  “That’s right. He’s giving her a ride to Cuba.”

  What the frick? Did I really want to know any more? “Granny, you can’t take a motorcycle to Cuba.”

  “True. Actually, he’s just taking her as far into the Okefenokee Swamp as he can get. Then Moondance will take her the rest of the way to the stand of tall pine trees at the western edge.”

  “Moondance! The black cat? What if an alligator eats him, Granny? This doesn’t sound safe.”

  “Well, then I guess she’ll have to ask the gator to bring her back here. But that’s not going to happen. Moondance will stick to the treetops. It’s almost straight South from here, so if it were a little closer to the vernal equinox she could just access the wormhole from the basement here at the Inn…”

  “Door Number One.” I had seen the intergalactic highway there when we were trying to find our way to the Sanctum of Shadows.

  “If that’s what you want to call it. But there aren’t too many places left where you can still access the TransUniversal Network of Pines.”

  “Network of Pines? Give me a break, Granny. That sounds absurd.” Okay…yes, it all sounds absurd. Just hang in there.

  “I thought you knew. Well, it’s not very high-tech, I guess, but that’s why we came here. Whispering Pines is loaded with cosmic energy. Anyway, the wormhole will carry him to the Isle of Pines in Cuba on the other side of the main island.”

  Now I was really concerned and getting upset. “What kind of hair-brained idea is this, Granny?” Why on earth would she risk her…her…her spiritual existence to ride a cat through a pine tree wormhole to Cuba?” I felt ridiculous even saying it.

  Granny looked at me and held out her hand, and I stepped closer. “She figures she owes it to you, Jessie. She wants you to know about your father. I know you were expecting her to tell you tonight, but it will probably be after lunch tomorrow before she gets back.”

  If there was more to the story, I didn’t want to know it – at least not right now.

  I grabbed a quart-sized mayonnaise jar and lid from the recycling bin, rinsed it, and headed out the back door of the kitchen. Arthur snapped to attention and followed me.

  Irene still had a line, though it was much shorter now.

  “Madame Irene,” I said extending my open palm, “Let me see your wand a minute.”

  She looked suspicious and cautiously pulled it from her sleeve and handed it to me. I aimed it at Lucius, who was making loop-dee-loops nearby. Then I used an imaginary reel to reel him in like a fish. He came with a squeal to the end of the wand, which I then stuffed into the mayonnaise jar. When he was safely inside I handed the lid to Irene. She got the message and screwed on the lid.

  “Tighter.”

  She complied.

  I gave her back her wand and pushed the jar next to her crystal ball. “Deliver this to Hell for me, will you please?” I leaned in. “Tonight.”

  I’m sure the couple getting their reading thought I was a lunatic, but they were from out of town, so what the heck. Arthur bounced along behind me as I went back to our table in the courtyard.

  “I thought maybe you forgot about us,” Cammy Jo said with a yawn. “It’s past my bedtime.”

  It wasn’t that late, and the place was still quite full, but it had been a long day. Travis stood up, and I thought he was going to give me his chair. Instead, he swept me up with both of his arms. I felt like Debra Winger at the end of An Officer and a Gentleman, which my mother must have watched a hundred times when I was a girl, until the videotape was worn out. I could almost hear Joe Cocker singing Up Where We Belong, so I took Travis’s cowboy hat and put it on my head.

  I wasn’t quite sure what was going on at first.

  Cammy nodded her head and smiled. “It looks like Zach will be getting lucky tonight after all, Jessie. I’ll just go to his place.”

  Travis threw his car keys to Percival. “I’ll meet you back here for breakfast in the morning, Pop.”

  “What!” I blushed, and there was a small round of applause from our table as I buried my face in Travis’s chest. Then he headed across the path to my carriage house, with Arthur growling and chewing on his pant leg the whole way.

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  Chapter Ten

  Okay, it was embarrassing to have that little scene play out in front of my fri
ends last night – but I didn’t put up much of a protest. It was a magical night, and it gave me some much-needed comfort and stress relief – not to mention that it advanced my relationship with Travis to a place of relaxed clarity. He was in love with me, and I was in love with him – and neither one of us wanted to change a thing.

  Zach and Cammy were already in the corner booth when Travis and I got to the Nirvana. Of course, she broke into a chorus of Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy as we walked up to the table. Percival arrived just a few minutes later, and Ginny, of course, was cooking breakfast.

  I probably should have been hungry, but I just drank coffee while the others filled up on pancakes and sausages. Life had slowed down to a laidback pace for me, and I was just feeling mellow.

  “Well, Jessie,” Cammy said between bites of her big breakfast, “Normally, since you’re not eating, I would wonder if you burned off any energy at all last night. But the glow in your eyes and the twinkle in your man’s tells me you would be purring if you were a cat. Love looks good on you.”

  Luckily, our two guys were deep in conversation with Percival as I leaned over to chat with Cammy Jo.

  “Slow down, girl. Love is a strong word. Are you in love with Zach?”

  Cammy Jo took a sip of her coffee. “No. But we’re having tons of fun.”

  I nodded my head. “So am I. We’ve only known each other for a few months, and you know I always take things slowly.”

  “Not always. What about you and Jason back at the law firm in Savannah?”

  “Yeah,” I shook my head as I thought about that. “And you know how that turned out. It was horrible, and he turned out to be a real jerk. Even then, I took a month before I dove in.”

  “Well,” she said with a shrug, “the truth is you can never really know for sure until you do jump in with both feet. The bad ones are good at acting nice until they get what they want. Still, a lot of people…”

  “I know, I know.” I raised my palm to stop her. “A lot of people are married in less time than I’ve known Travis, and some do really well. But you know that’s not me, Cam.”