Eight, but who’s counting? Carry on.
“No, but thank you for the offer, though.” It was time to get down to business. “Jack and Marna, is there anything you can tell me about those individuals who were in the café last night? Did you see or sense anyone who would want Cassie Grier dead?”
Jack had taken off his hat and was holding it in his hands, rubbing the rim as if he weren’t quite sure he should get involved. He’d even thinned his lips in disapproval, but that might have been directed toward Pearl for her continual insults concerning their home.
Wouldn’t you like to know if the interior of your Jeep had a rather ripe smell?
I wasn’t going to get into etiquette with a familiar who probably knew more about propriety than I did, so I waited rather impatiently for either Jack or Marna to reply.
Wise choice.
“You’ll be wanting to speak to Tad Whitaker,” Jack finally confirmed, setting his hat on his knee before crossing his arms. “He had what you might call a crush on Cassie Grier.”
Mr. Whitaker? I don’t believe that young man is capable of murder.
“That pour soul,” Marna commiserated, as if Tad might not have taken his crush a step too far. She apparently agreed with Pearl’s assessment. “Tad has been working up the courage to ask Cassie out for dinner, but he just couldn’t bring himself to say anything other than the typical greeting. I don’t believe he could have harmed a hair on that girl’s head. If you ask me, you’ll be wanting to speak with Heather Coyle. Now that woman was mighty envious of Cassie.”
I tensed slightly when Marna’s grey eyes became rather illuminated, similar to Jack’s response to my initial presence. Granted, they would have had to work harder to garner a lot of energy here in the suburbs compared to the country, but even then their combined capabilities were much more powerful than mine.
I don’t recall Ms. Coyle saying anything that would indicate she was resentful of Ms. Grier.
“You spend most of your time near your charge, as one should,” Jack replied, arching a bushy eyebrow with what seemed to be a hint of respect. “Ms. Coyle has made some snide comments regarding Ms. Grier’s career, her car, and even her new apartment. At one point, Ms. Coyle indicated that she’d put in for the job at an accounting firm where Ms. Grier worked on the other side of town. You see, they had both gone to the same college and obtained their accounting degrees.”
A sound came at the kitchen door that had all of us turning our attention to the rectangular cutout inside the wood—a doggie door. It was then that everything began to fall into place, and I immediately stood from my chair. The legs squeaked against the vinyl floor, but that wasn’t the cause of every white hair on Pearl’s body standing up in alarm. Seriously, her white tail appeared as large as a roll of paper towels.
“And here I thought you never got rattled,” I muttered, watching in disbelief as two large brown ears came through the doggie door. Trust me, those weren’t dog ears, either. “Pearl, whatever you do…please remember that we’re guests here.”
In theory, a familiar to a druid could absolutely run circles around a witch’s familiar in many aspects. Due to a druid’s connection to nature, his or her familiar wasn’t a simple cat, dog, or owl. Noooo, druids chose animals from the wild. Seriously, like a bear, lion, or tiger.
What. Is. That?
The large animal—though not quite as big as I’d been expecting from all the stories I’d heard—had finally made its way through the doggie door. Granted, the doggie door was outfitted for the size of a Saint Bernard, but that was neither here nor there.
Marna and Jack must have chosen that particular sized doggie door to accommodate their…extremely large hare? Trust me, the wild animal was way too enormous to be a mere rabbit or its kin. The hare’s brown and white fur couldn’t hide his wired muscles, and the twitch of his nose made it known that he didn’t think Pearl’s aroma was all that sweet, either.
We have guests? We have guests, indeed. Rihanna, we have guests!
You know, I’ve heard of this, Pearl stated in dismay, somehow arching her back even more as a second hare made her way through the doggie door. A hex can wear off on others, you know. You, my dear hexed one, are very bad luck. I lay the blame for this predicament solely at your feet.
“Oh, that’s just Reginald and Rihanna,” Marna replied with a dismissive wave of her hand. “Reggie and Rihanna, please meet Tempest and Pearl. They’re from town, and they are only here for information. No need to be rude.”
I told you that I caught of whiff of something rancid, Reginald. You never believe me when I tell you anything.
So much for the rude part. If Pearl dug her claws into the vinyl squares any deeper, there were going to be holes left in the floor.
I’d say it’s more of a sour odor, my darling. It’s been so long since we’ve been allowed to roam out in the wild that my sense of smell seems to have been affected by the domesticated servants of man.
I managed to scoop Pearl up into my arms right after the rancid comment, but she’d promptly vanished into thin air. The only thing good to come from that conversation told me that their powers had to be drained somewhat from being so far from their natural habitat.
Does that white creature believe that we’re impressed by that disappearance act, Reginald?
“Are we going to have a problem?” Jack asked pointedly before grabbing his hat and standing from his seat. It was clear that he was ready to do what was necessary. I had no doubt I’d lose in the end, but Pearl was right when she’d said that we had the upper hand. In no way did Jack or Marna want to give up the private life they’d made here in Bedford. “You came seeking our help, we provided you with the information you needed, and now I suggest you leave.”
“I think that’s for the best, as well.” I sure hoped that Pearl didn’t appear out of nowhere to try and attack two hares who could simply squash her with just their tails. I’d never seen her so angry, and that was saying something considering she hadn’t been too happy about me and Orwin showing up in Piper’s life in the first place. Bottom line, though, was that we’d gotten what we’d come here to get and could be on our way. “I appreciate the information you’ve given us, and we’ll do our best to find Cassie Grier’s murderer.”
I managed to pass by the two hares, who were still twitching their noses as if they were memorizing my scent…which hopefully was sweeter than Pearl’s natural odor.
“May I ask what the feline familiar was referring to with that hex business?” Jack asked, following behind Marna who was currently seeing me out the front door. The cold air was a welcome respite compared to the alternate ending this could have turned out to be, and I was reluctant to stay on the porch any longer than necessary. “How does a witch go about getting cursed?”
“It’s a very long story.” There was absolutely no way I was going to bring up Ammeline. I had no idea what these druids would do with that type of information, and my life was already chaotic enough. I did want to address something, but I waited until I was on the sidewalk to turn and face them. “Jack and Marna, I don’t know why you’ve chosen to be so very far from where you’re most safe and secure in nature. I’ve had to make some decisions in my life that most wouldn’t agree with, but I do want to wish both of you the best in your efforts. I’m sorry that such a tragedy outside of your control threatened to take away all that is important to you. Again, I do wish you both the luck of St. Brigid.”
I didn’t wait for either druid to reply, for there was no need. Plus, I wanted to get out of Dodge as quickly as I could before things went sideways. I didn’t miss that fact that two sets of ears were poking out from behind a covered bush around the side of the house. Those hares weren’t the Peter Cottontail type, if you know what I mean.
Rancid? Sour? I don’t think so.
“Pearl, what did you do?” I asked, quickly closing the door to enclose us into the safety of my Jeep. The sleek white feline was sitting in the passenger seat as pretty
as could be, her chin tilted to the point where her whiskers were easily visible. “Please tell me that we don’t have to keep looking over our shoulders the entire rest of the day.”
Why would you assume I’ve done anything?
“Why?” It didn’t escape my notice that Marna and Jack were still inside the doorway, waiting for me to pull away from the curb. I quickly started the engine and had the Jeep in drive before whatever Pearl did or left behind was discovered. “Because you disappeared without warning and never returned, leaving me to get out of there all by my lonesome.”
It seems to me you fared quite well in that endeavor. As for those two heathens, let’s just say I left something behind to teach them the difference between my wonderful scent of roses and what would be considered rancid and sour. There’s nothing wrong with teaching a lesson every now and then.
“Pearl, you live here in this town,” I reminded her gently, breathing a little easier now that we were headed back to town. “And those hares aren’t going anywhere for the foreseeable future. Do you really want to start a war with two giant familiars who have more magical power in their twitchy noses than you have in your entire body?”
My dear hexed one, you will learn through life that magical power has nothing to do with size. A bit of cunning goes a long way in a healthy competition between…associates, shall we say? It’s the edge of your wit that cuts the deepest, not the size of the blade.
Pearl was the type of familiar to have a list. You know the kind—a list of people, creatures, or magical beings that have crossed her. No doubt, Orwin and I were somewhere near the bottom whereas those hares had managed to get to the top of the list without even really trying. I shuddered to think the damage she could do if she really set her mind to it. From what I remember from my studies, crypt cats usually appeared quite different than Pearl, but their capabilities were renowned. They could wither the most powerful among us.
Another highway, another town, and another mystery were sounding better and better.
“Pearl, it’s time to take your rose-smelling…tail…to the police station and check up on your temporary ward’s safety.” Jamie Lehman’s life was hanging in the balance, but I now had some substantial information to go on thanks to two reclusive druids. “I’m going to call Orwin and Piper to see who they’ve been able to talk to this morning. All roads point toward either Tad or Heather, and we’re running out of time.”
Time meaning minutes or hours that could very well avoid my vision of Jamie Lehman’s cold and lonely death in the parking lot of the mall.
Well, when you put it like that…
Chapter Twelve
“What do you mean, Heather called in sick?” I asked, having just pulled in front of Tad Whitaker’s apartment building. I wasn’t sure what kind of vehicle he drove, so I’d have to go inside the building to see if he was even home. “Did you swing by her place to see if she was telling the truth? She could still be shaken by what took place last night. Have Piper take her some soup. That should at least get you through her door.”
I tried to put myself in Heather’s shoes for a moment. If I were innocent of any wrongdoing, and regardless of whatever tension there had been over a job, losing someone who had been a part of my life would take an emotional toll. I wouldn’t have wanted to go in to work, either.
“We swung by Heather’s studio apartment. She wasn’t home,” Orwin replied, sounding a bit better in the nasal department. He probably stopped at one of those car wash places to vacuum out Piper’s vehicle. He was very thorough like that. “We were able to speak with Vickie, but she wasn’t of any help. She said Cassie had no enemies, no boyfriends, and wasn’t the type of person anyone would want to see dead.”
“Basically, Vickie painted a picture of Cassie with a golden halo.” I’d seen death erase far too many truths while wiping out almost every offense the victim had ever caused in his or her life. It was just the way of things, and it certainly didn’t help in our quest to solve a murder. “Anything she says isn’t going to help us, so move on to the next person on your list. Maybe Heather didn’t want to be alone last night and slept at one of her other friend’s places.”
I’d already given Orwin and Piper the rundown on my visit with Marna and Jack, leaving out the fact that Pearl might have started a mini turf war between her and the hares. If all worked out, Orwin and I would be on our way out of town by this evening, long before we joined those furry hares at the top of Pearl’s list.
“Lou, where did you say you were going next now that you can’t talk to Jamie yet?” Piper asked, her voice coming across loud and clear. Orwin had me on speaker phone, so I’d been very careful to limit Pearl’s involvement in the recount of my story. “You should know that Tad texted me a bit ago. He said he had to go in to the café early, and he wondered if I’d be willing to start my shift at one o’clock due to some stomach virus hitting the morning crew.”
I’d just wasted around ten minutes driving through town to the south side, but that was neither here nor there. As long as Pearl remained vigilant in her task with making sure Jamie Lehman was safe, we still had time to bring the killer to justice.
I figured we had another fifteen hours before the twenty-four-hour period from when my visions usually came true. With that said, I could distinctly recall Jamie Lehman being killed in broad daylight. The day had been overcast, similar to what it was now. Going on that assumption, we most likely only had seven or eight hours left to prevent another murder.
“It looks like I’m heading back to the café. Where are you two at now?”
“Turns out that John Cooper lives in the same apartment building as Heather Coyle. He was the guy on his computer near that one outlet. His table was too far away from me to get a read on him last night, though.”
“I remember,” I replied, looking over my shoulder as I backed out of the parking slot I’d claimed. “Mr. Cooper was the one grappling with his phone, no doubt trying to record anything of interest to post to social media.”
What was wrong with society these days?
People wanted their fifteen minutes of fame rather than calling 911 in order to help save the victim.
It wasn’t that I didn’t understand the benefits of social media.
I was twenty-eight years old and had used all the social media platforms before my run-in with Ammeline. I’d posted pictures of my morning coffee or the sunrise to share the start of the day with my friends. Anything I found interesting or funny would be shared, and then so on and so forth.
Unfortunately, having spent the last three months away from the constant daily streaming allowed me to see things in a new light.
Social media had been intended to bring those apart closer. Instead, it allowed people to hide behind their computers, falsify their lives in a positive light, and to give their opinion on matters that were normally reserved for private conversations amongst family and friends.
The new normal consisted of arguing positions on whether a dress was actually a certain color, recording and posting videos of crimes online instead of assisting the victims, and following whatever stunt a Hollywood actor or actress had done in order to gain more followers.
The only thing Orwin and I used social media for these days was to help solve mysteries, and maybe try to keep tabs on family members we’d rather avoid.
I guess I hadn’t noticed it before, but it was almost as if we’d lived in some apocalyptic setting, which technically wasn’t far from the case. After all, we were fighting against the insanity of a Lich who could destroy our world with just a tap of her cane.
“Lou? You there?”
“Yeah, yeah,” I replied, refocusing my thoughts on one Tad Whitaker. I flipped my turn signal on in the direction of town. Since I was using the Bluetooth speaker to hold this conversation, no doubt the ticking noise from my blinker was echoing through the line. “I’m heading back into town now. I should be at the café in around four minutes. I’ll talk with Tad while you see if Joh
n Cooper saw anything of interest. Who knows? Maybe he caught something on video and posted it to social media. You should check that out before talking to him.”
“I did that when you were having your early morning nap.” Orwin was nothing if not efficient, which was why his next statement didn’t surprise me in the least. And I lay the sole responsibility at Pearl’s paws. “Hey, you should know that I’ve also booked us a room in Kecksburg. Seeing as we’re so close, I thought we should check it out. Good luck with Tad!”
Orwin was the first to disconnect, most likely not wanting to hear my thoughts on the whole UFO conspiracy thing. It was true that I usually had a couple of days in between visions, but I certainly didn’t have time to spend an hour—let alone twenty-four hours—in Kecksburg, Pennsylvania.
I guess I could leave Orwin there overnight if I decided to close on the Custom Coach deal. The dealership can have it delivered to Pittsburgh with two days’ notice, but I’d have to make my decision soon.
I blamed Pearl for the foreseeable side trip in my near future.
I had already accepted that there was a chance one of my visions could lead us to Nevada, landing us square within walking distance from Area 51. Of course, there was a valid reason for that—what better place for supernatural beings to live their lives than in a place where tourists expected odd people and occurrences?
On a side note, Orwin hadn’t disconnected fast enough to prevent me from hearing Piper speak up to let me know that Tad was basically a good guy. I’m sure he was, but even the nicest of men could be turned by an unhealthy obsession with someone.
Had Tad asked Cassie out last night as she was walking toward the restroom? If she’d turned him down, would he have been so enraged as to follow her inside one of the stalls and stab her to death?
If the Curse Fits Page 9
