A Whisper of Magic (A Sugarcomb Lake Cozy Mystery Book 5)

by Alaine Allister

  “Come on,” Clarissa said, pulling her friend toward the arcade area. “I need to do something.”

  Right outside the arcade were a number of big red plastic goodie dispensers. Some held candy: colorful jelly beans, jawbreakers and licorice sticks. Others contained temporary tattoos, cheap electronic items and various other trinkets.

  Clarissa honed in on a machine that contained big, gaudy looking rings. She rummaged around in her pocket until she found a dollar bill. Then she popped it into the machine and purchased a large, tacky fake diamond ring.

  “That’s um…nice?” Liana said, sounding perplexed.

  “Just follow my lead,” Clarissa whispered. Then she walked toward Justin.

  When she was about a foot behind the game-engrossed teenager, Clarissa dropped her newly acquired “diamond” ring on the floor. Then she grabbed Liana’s arm and walked over to the other side of the arcade.

  “Don’t let him see you staring,” Clarissa cautioned.

  “Uh, what are we doing, exactly?” Liana asked.

  “You’ll see.”

  Clarissa only had to wait about thirty seconds.

  As soon as Justin ran out of money for the arcade games, he stood up and turned around. He glanced down at the discarded ring, narrowly avoiding stepping on it. Then he shrugged, picked it up and stuffed it in the pocket of his baggy, low-slung jeans.

  “Aha!” Clarissa crowed in triumph. “Now the real detective work begins! Come on!”

  Hurrying over to where Justin stood, Clarissa made a big show of scanning the floor. Then she loudly said to Liana, “I can’t find my ring! Oh no! I had it a minute ago and now it’s gone! What am I going to do?”

  “You dropped –” Liana began, not understanding what was going on.

  Clarissa promptly elbowed her best friend in the ribs to silence her.

  “Ouch!” Liana complained.

  Clarissa snuck a peek in Justin’s direction. She had his full attention now. He was watching intently as she made a big show of searching high and low for the ring he had picked up off the floor. She decided to up the ante.

  “My diamond ring is gone!” Clarissa wailed.

  “Clarissa, you do know it wasn’t a real diamond, don’t you?” Liana whispered.

  Ignoring her clueless best friend, Clarissa looked around the arcade. She pretended to only be noticing Justin for the first time. She walked over to him, making sure to look as distraught as she possibly could.

  “Have you seen a ring on the floor?” Clarissa asked. “I think I dropped it.”

  Justin stared at her.

  “It’s a diamond ring,” she added.

  He said nothing.

  “It’s an engagement ring,” she told him, ignoring Liana’s gasp of shock. “Have you seen it?”

  “No,” Justin replied.

  “You’re a liar!” Clarissa cried out with such passion that several bystanders turned to stare. “The ring is in your pocket! I saw you pick it up! And you’re just standing there denying you have it? You should be ashamed of yourself!”

  “I don’t want your stupid ring anyway,” Justin muttered, reaching into his pocket and pulling it out. He turned it over in his hand. “This isn’t even a real diamond, you crazy old woman. It’s plastic!” With that, he tossed the ring at Clarissa’s feet and ran off.

  Clarissa bent down and picked up the ring.

  When she straightened up, Liana was gawking at her.

  “What?” Clarissa asked.

  “Did Parker propose?” she demanded.

  “No,” Clarissa replied. “I was just trying to catch Justin in a lie.”

  “Oh.” Liana looked confused. “Why did you tell him you were engaged?”

  “I don’t know,” Clarissa shrugged. “I said the first thing that popped into my head.” Then she scowled. “Can you believe he called me old? Such nerve!” she huffed, her ego bruised.

  “Actually, he called you crazy too,” Liana said helpfully. “He called you a crazy old lady.”

  “Ugh! Who does he think he is? I’m not old!” Clarissa ranted in a way only a woman whose twenties were behind her could. “I’m done playing nice,” she vowed. “The next time I catch Justin being a good-for-nothing little brat, I’m turning him right over the police!”

  “Did you at least get what you were after?” Liana asked.

  “Huh?”

  “Why were you trying to catch Justin in a lie?”

  “Oh, that. My cat suggested – er…I mean, I decided to test Justin’s integrity,” Clarissa explained. “I wanted to see if he could be trusted to tell the truth when it really matters. And he just proved that he’s a liar.”

  “Okay, so…?” Liana looked puzzled.

  “I have a theory,” Clarissa admitted. “I think Justin may have tampered with the muffins at your shop. I doubt he was actually trying to hurt anyone. It’s more likely he was trying to show off or pull a prank on one of his friends. Then things went horribly wrong.”

  Liana gasped. “You think Justin is responsible for Donnie Davis’s death?”

  “Possibly…but keep your voice down,” Clarissa cautioned as she looked around to make sure nobody was eavesdropping. “The last thing we need to do is start a nasty rumor. Right now my theory is just a theory. I don’t have any solid evidence. I’m just working on a hunch.”

  “What now?” Liana asked eagerly.

  “I’m not sure,” Clarissa replied. “How about we go buy our popcorn and watch the movie?”

  “Okay, but now I probably won’t even pay attention to what’s happening on screen,” Liana cautioned, her eyes wide. “I’m going to be thinking about the case the entire time I’m cramming popcorn in my mouth!”

  “Oh don’t worry,” Clarissa assured her. “I will be, too.”

  Chapter 12

  Clarissa couldn’t help it. Though she knew Justin Brown’s words had only been words, they had weighed heavily on her. He had called her “old” and it was eating away at her!

  There was a vindictive little voice in the back of her head that liked to whisper cruel things to her. Sometimes it yelled cruel things. It delighted in making Clarissa feel insecure. And at present, she was fretting about looking old. So she rushed out and purchased half a dozen serums, balms and lotions that promised to minimize signs of aging.

  The promise to “minimize signs of aging” was a vague one. Clarissa wasn’t even really sure what it meant. But the goopy green face mask she applied smelled heavenly! In fact, it was so good that the cat even tried to lick it off her face.

  “What are you doing?!” Clarissa gasped as Cat landed on her chest with a thud.

  Clarissa had been dozing on the couch, but now she was wide awake. She sat up with a start, causing her furry companion to topple off of her. The cat glared up at her, apparently upset that its attempt to eat the goop on her face had been thwarted.

  “Give me that,” the cat ordered, eyeing the green face goop hungrily.

  “What? No!” Clarissa retorted. “Do you know how much this stuff cost me? I’m leaving it on for the full twenty minutes, thank you very much. Besides, I don’t know if the face mask is edible. So you probably shouldn’t eat it.”

  “But I want it.”

  “I said no. It’s for your own good,” Clarissa tried to explain. “I don’t want you getting sick.”

  The cat evidently didn’t get it. It glowered up at Clarissa before storming away in a huff.

  With a yawn, Clarissa flopped back down on the couch. She was ready to resume her nap. She shut her eyes and began to breathe heavily. She could feel herself drifting off.

  Bam!

  Clarissa’s eyes popped open.

  Her heart lurched when she saw what had made the noise.

  The framed family photo she kept atop the fireplace was no longer on the mantle. It was now on the coffee table, right next to her. Worse yet, Clarissa hadn’t been trying to make the photo frame levitate. It had moved across the room all on its own!

&n
bsp; “That’s not possible,” she whispered to herself. “Inanimate objects don’t just move.”

  She stared at the picture frame uneasily. Had it been there before? Had she absentmindedly moved it to the coffee table at some point? Maybe the noise she had heard had simply been a dream or something outside…

  Suddenly the doorbell rang.

  Clarissa screamed.

  Then she chuckled. Her aunt was probably outside playing some sort of prank on her.

  Clarissa went to the door and flung it open, fully expecting to see Matilda standing there.

  “Oh!” she gasped in surprise, clutching a hand to her chest. She was gazing up into familiar blue eyes that were most definitely not her aunt’s! That was certainly unexpected.

  “Oh!” Parker gasped, taking a step back in alarm. Then he tilted his head to the side and looked at Clarissa inquisitively. “For a moment there I almost didn’t recognize you,” he joked. He was beginning to chuckle.

  “What do you mean?” Clarissa asked. “And what’s so funny?”

  Then she felt her anti-aging mud mask begin to ooze down the side of her face.

  “Oh no!” she moaned, feeling her face turn red beneath all the goopy greenness. She turned on her heel and raced into the bathroom, leaving poor Parker standing on her front porch somewhat dumbfounded.

  Clarissa bent over the bathroom sink and scrubbed her face mask off. It wasn’t the first time Parker had caught her in a less-than-glamorous manner and it almost certainly wouldn’t be the last. Still though, it was mortifying.

  Why couldn’t she ever just be lounging around in a ball gown when her boyfriend showed up, looking all glamorous and gorgeous?

  Well, for one thing she didn’t even own a ball gown… But that was a minor detail. The point was, Clarissa was sick and tired of making an idiot of herself in front of the charming, cultured, sophisticated man she adored!

  “Clarissa?” Parker called through the bathroom door. “Is everything okay in there?”

  She opened the door and, feeling embarrassed, met his gaze. “I forgot I had an anti-aging mask on,” she admitted sheepishly. “I suppose I looked like the wicked witch of the west just as she was beginning to melt, didn’t I?”

  “Kind of,” Parker grinned. He laughed as he ducked Clarissa’s playful swat. Then he grew serious. He gave Clarissa a curious look. “Did you say it’s an anti-aging mask?” he asked, as though he thought he may have misheard.

  “Yes.”

  “Why were you using that?”

  “Um…to make me look younger,” Clarissa replied, puzzled. Wasn’t that self-explanatory?

  Parker shook his head. “No. If you ask me, you don’t need that,” he assured her, leaning in for a kiss. “You’re beautiful just the way you are.”

  “I have laugh lines by my eyes,” Clarissa informed him with a sigh.

  “So what?” he shot back. “I like them. It means you laugh.”

  “I…I guess that’s true,” she agreed.

  How did he always manage to reason her silly insecurities away? Clarissa knew she was sometimes prone to obsessing over trivial stuff. But Parker always kept her grounded, reminding her of what was truly important.

  She loved him. In fact, she couldn’t imagine her life without him.

  “How does Chinese food sound tonight?” Parker suggested.

  “Delicious,” Clarissa replied, licking her lips in anticipation.

  “Okay. Hey, before we go can I ask you something?”

  Clarissa perked right up at that. She forgot all about putting on her shoes. In fact, she forgot she even had feet! She whirled around and stared at her boyfriend expectantly, eyes wide and heart pounding wildly.

  Was this it?

  Was Parker about to propose?

  Clarissa’s mouth felt dry. She swallowed hard. Then she tucked her hair behind her ear, hoping she looked half-decent for the big moment. “What do you want to ask me?” Her voice sounded every bit as shaky as she felt.

  Parker didn’t get down on one knee.

  And he didn’t reach into his pocket to extract a diamond ring.

  Instead, he smirked.

  “When I stopped at the gas station on the outskirts of town, someone I barely recognized congratulated me on my engagement,” he informed Clarissa. “Then everyone within earshot started applauding. I…well, I didn’t quite know what to say.”

  Clarissa’s eyes were as wide as saucers. Her jaw dropped in horror.

  “I take it you know something about this?” Parker asked as he took note of her reaction.

  “I, uh…yeah,” she admitted, feeling her cheeks burn. “I may have told a little white lie. I bought a ring at a vending machine and pretended it was a diamond. I, uh…I may have called it an engagement ring. Oops.”

  “I see.”

  The smirk was gone from Parker’s face. He no longer looked amused. His eyes searched Clarissa’s as he stood there rigidly in the entryway of her house. He was normally an open book but right then, it was impossible to gauge his reaction.

  “I promise it isn’t as crazy as it sounds,” Clarissa insisted, talking faster as her anxiety increased. “Justin Brown was at the arcade. I pretended my tacky plastic ring was a diamond engagement ring. I didn’t mean anything by it. I certainly didn’t mean to start a rumor that we’re engaged!”

  Parker opened his mouth as if he was going to say something. Then he seemed to think better of it and closed his mouth again. He cleared his throat, seemingly at a loss for words. He was silent for a moment as he thought. Then, once again, he opened his mouth to speak.

  Clarissa waited on pins and needles, desperate to hear what her boyfriend had to say.

  Unfortunately, at that moment his phone began to ring.

  He paused. Then he pulled his phone out of his jacket pocket and looked at it.

  “It’s work. I have to take this,” he said before stepping outside onto the front porch.

  Clarissa began to wring her hands.

  What had she done? Her innocent white lie had turned into a big, embarrassing rumor that had spread through town like wildfire. She should have known that would happen. Nothing ever stayed private in Sugarcomb Lake for long!

  Clarissa began to pace around the living room.

  She had inadvertently humiliated both herself and Parker. And now it was up to her to set the record straight. That meant she was going to have to go around town and tell people she wasn’t currently nor had she ever been engaged!

  “Ugh, what have I done?” she whispered to herself.

  She wanted to crawl under the couch and disappear.

  When Parker finally came back inside, Clarissa was eager to make things right. She still wasn’t quite sure how she was going to explain away something as embarrassing as faking an engagement…but she was determined to try.

  “Parker, I –” she began.

  “Sorry, but I have to go,” he interrupted.

  “You have to go right now?” Clarissa asked in dismay.

  Parker seemed distant when he answered. “There’s a mini-crisis at the office I need to deal with.” Before Clarissa even had a chance to answer, he leaned in and gave her a hasty kiss on the cheek. Then he practically ran to his car and screeched out of the driveway.

  Clarissa couldn’t help but notice Parker had kissed her on the cheek. Normally he kissed her on the lips. Was she reading too much into it, or was the oddly impersonal kiss indicative of a bigger problem?

  The cat suddenly raced into the living room.

  It stopped at the door and looked around in confusion. Then it sniffed the air inquisitively.

  “Parker was here,” Cat said. “Where did he go?”

  “He left,” Clarissa replied sadly.

  The cat narrowed its eyes. “You’d better not have scared him off.”

  Clarissa knew the cat was just being its normal feisty self. The remark wasn’t intended to be any ruder than usual. Even so, it stung. What if she had scared Parker off? What if he ha
dn’t even had a work emergency at all? What if he had simply wanted to get away from her?

  Parker put up with a lot. Clarissa knew she could be stubborn, airheaded and even downright neurotic at times. Her amazing, patient boyfriend tolerated it all. In fact, he took it like a champ. But a person could only take so much craziness before it grew tiresome.

  What if Parker had finally reached his limit?

  What if he was driving back to Green City thinking about how he was going to dump her?

  Clarissa’s eyes brimmed with tears.

  “Your eyes are raining,” Cat informed her matter-of-factly.

  “Eyes don’t rain,” Clarissa sniffled, dabbing at her tear-streaked cheeks.

  The cat looked befuddled for a moment. Then an expression of understanding came over its pink-nosed little face. “Are – are you doing that thing humans do?” it asked reluctantly. “Are you doing that crying thing?”

  Clarissa didn’t answer. Instead, she walked into the bathroom to get a tissue.

  “I didn’t mean it,” Cat said hastily, right on her heels. “I didn’t mean to make your eyes rain or cry or whatever it is they’re doing. Ugh, you humans are so weird. But anyway, stop doing that now, okay? Clarissa? Clarissa! We’re good, aren’t we? I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay,” Clarissa said, surprised to hear her pigheaded little nemesis apologize. She blew her nose and discarded the tissue. Then, in a nasally voice, she explained, “I’m not crying because of what you said. I’m crying because –”

  “Don’t care,” Cat interrupted, immediately reverting back to its usual, standoffish demeanor. “I’m a cat. Leave me out of your weird emotional human nonsense. Just don’t drown or anything, okay?”

  “I won’t,” Clarissa chuckled, amused despite her dismay.

  There was a thump in the other room.

  “What was that?” Clarissa asked as she whirled around.

  “I’ve gotta go!” Cat announced before racing in the direction the noise had come from.

  “Hmm, maybe a bird flew into the window or something,” Clarissa mused.

  She wasn’t sure, but she thought she heard the strange little feline muttering to itself. Under ordinary circumstances she may have found it humorous. She may have even tiptoed closer so she could eavesdrop. But tonight, she was too distracted to care.