Potions and Puzzles

by Agnes Lester Brown

  Lori turned and saw Sophie about to get into Brenda’s car. “Yes, that’s Brenda Paisley’s secretary. Do you know her?”

  Miriam looked like she’d seen a ghost. “Yes, I recognize her. She was a nurse at a hospital I worked at in Bondsville. She’d been fired for stealing surgical supplies. The hospital didn’t file charges because she had a history of mental problems.”

  Lori couldn’t believe her ears. “Sophie? Are you sure you have the right person? She’s the sweetest person ever.” She looked back across the street, but the black Bentley had driven off, with Sophie in it.

  Miriam looked like she was doubting herself. “Perhaps I’m mistaken, but she looked exactly like Katie. That was her name, Katie Sawyer.”

  “How strange,” Lori said, a little skeptical. “Who knows? Maybe she has a twin.”

  Miriam shrugged and suddenly looked rushed. “Well, Lori, we must get together for coffee sometime when I’m in town again. I think we have much to talk about.” With that, she walked in the direction of her car.

  Lori was on her second coffee at The Brew when she saw Chief Winters emerge from the Misty Hill Inn’s front door. She ran to the door and waved madly until he noticed and stopped.

  “Sorry, Lori, it’s just a madhouse in there,” Chief Winters apologized, although he looked like a little kid who’d been let loose in a toy shop.

  Preempting the many questions Lori had, he started explaining to her what was going on, even taking out his notebook at one point to read from it in a formal tone.

  “We had to break down the door to gain entry into Brenda Paisley’s room after confirming with her secretary that she was indeed inside. Suspect ran for the bathroom when we entered, but we took him into custody even though he was already halfway through the window. Upon examination, we found Brenda deceased, possible poisoning suspected.” Chief Winters put his notebook away.

  “The killer’s getting desperate,” Lori said.

  “Well, we have him now, so case closed,” Chief Winters said confidently. “All we need now is a confession, and I don’t think that’ll take long.”

  Lori looked at him incredulously. “You honestly think Clay committed both murders?”

  “Sure. Well, at least one. Obviously he and Camelia were in cahoots. Probably lovers or something. Somehow they got wind of Alvin sitting on some cash and decided to steal it. Only it wasn’t so easy. He’d hidden it somewhere. Kermit claims he’d rented a bank safety box when he arrived, because he’d seen him at the bank. We’ll see. All that’s left is a bit of detective work, and it’ll be in the bag. I’ve always suspected Camelia’s crying game was, well, just a game.”

  Lori listened to the chief’s explanation in silence. His theory made sense, so she decided not to throw a wrench in the works and tell him about the tattoo on Alvin’s back. Perhaps there was a perfectly logical explanation for it. One that didn’t require magic.

  Chief Winters sensed he’d won the round and sat back. “It’s a shame about this guy, Alvin. Apparently he wanted to settle down right here in Fennelmoore.” He laughed. “Imagine, swapping the high life for this backwater.”

  Lori swallowed a sarcastic retort and stood up. “I’ll come by the station tomorrow morning and give you that statement you wanted. Although it seems you’ve got all the bases covered,” she added cheekily.

  Chapter Fourteen

  As she got home for dinner, Rosie called Lori into her room. She was seated at her writing desk with her laptop open.

  “Remember that photo of the baby you found in Alvin’s wallet? There was indeed a stamp on the back. Jasmine and I managed to make it readable with the help of some of that clearwater potion you also took, and it contains the name of a photographer in Bondsville and a serial number.”

  “Did you manage to get hold of a contact number for him?” Lori asked hopefully.

  Rosie gave Lori a look of disgust. “Of course I did. What do you think? The photographer, a guy called Phil Lenscraft—Lenscraft, can you believe it?—looked it up on his database. He didn’t record the name of the baby but says the woman who brought the baby in to be photographed gave the last name Sawyer.”

  It took Lori a few seconds to register the name and make the connection.

  “Something very, very strange is going on here,” Lori said and explained to Rosie how she’d bumped into Miriam, who’d recognized Sophie.

  Rosie nodded. “It does indeed sound like they’re twins or something. But why would Alvin have a photo of this woman’s child in his wallet?”

  Before they could continue their conversation, Hazel called them for dinner. When Lori entered the dining room, Fae was already seated at the table, with Daisy by her side.

  Fae pointed at Daisy. “This lady is quite a witch. She’s been teaching Jasmine a few potions and spells that’ll help her pass her witch exam with flying colors. She’s impressive.”

  Daisy laughed. “Not as clever as your granny here. Though she can be quite, shall we say, liberal with the ingredients sometimes.”

  “Have you been to the Emerald Forest to gather ingredients?” Lori asked Daisy.

  “No, but I’ve heard that it’s known for the mushrooms that grow there,” Daisy replied. “I’ll make a point of taking a stroll there tomorrow. How do you get there from here?”

  Lori explained to Daisy about the footpaths that led there from Fennelmoore town. She wanted to go there herself to look at progress on the new bridge but stopped short of inviting Daisy along. She needed some time to herself, and a walk to Emerald Forest was perfect for that.

  Talk around the dinner table inevitably turned to the events of the day. Everyone had their own theories about what had happened. Hazel opened the conversation.

  “That was quite a dramatic turn of events today at the inn. Bob Winters really had a bee in his bonnet. His officers even questioned me about Brenda and Clay, as if I know anything.”

  “Clay is such a nice boy,” Rosie said ruefully. “I think he’s just caught in the middle of this. No way he could kill anybody.”

  “If this was a mystery story, Kermit would be the perfect killer,” Jasmine. “He’s a classic bad guy. I’m sure he had something to do with it. Or, maybe Clay and Sophie conspired to knock Brenda and Alvin off. They’re always together, those two, like they’re lovers or something. And I heard Brenda hasn’t been paying them. Apparently she had a gambling problem.”

  “What do you think, Granny?” Lori asked Fae.

  “People only murder for two reasons—love and greed. To me they all sound like very greedy people.” She looked at everyone around the table as if to warn them of some impending danger. “Which is why we should all carry a protective potion with us at all times. These crossword people are a dangerous bunch. You’ve seen it for yourselves.”

  Hazel nodded solemnly. “I think we’ll prepare a little sachet for each of us the next time we’re at the office.”

  And with that, the family saw Daisy off and said their goodnights.

  Early the next morning, Lori put on her most comfortable sneakers and a tracksuit. She wasn’t fond of jogging but felt an overwhelming urge to go for a run. She looked out the window. It was overcast and looked like it might start pouring down, so she hurried to get ready and set off towards Emerald Forest, as she’d promised herself the previous night.

  As she ran past the parking lot where the footpath branched off Cumin Lane, she slowed down. Brenda’s car was parked under a tree in one corner, slightly hidden from view. Lori resisted the temptation to peek through the car’s darkened windows and resumed her run.

  As Eagle Rock came into view, Lori slowed down again, out of breath from the exercise. Once her favorite place to sit and meditate, Eagle Rock now had a sad atmosphere. She rounded the rock, almost hoping to see Alvin sitting there, alive and well. But she froze when she saw who was sitting exactly where Alvin had died.

  “Morning,” Lori said, and Sophie’s head swung around, surprised. However, she regained her composure
immediately and smiled upon seeing Lori.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” Lori apologized.

  “Hi.” Sophie greeted Lori with a smile and got up from where she’d been sitting. As she rose, a small boy with a mop of blond hair came around the other side of the rock. Sophie saw Lori looking at the boy.

  “Oh, this is Chip. Chip, say hi to Lori.”

  Chip smiled shyly and mumbled a hello, digging his head into his mother’s side.

  “I’m sorry to hear about Brenda,” Lori said. “What are you guys going to do now? I heard Clay was taken into custody.”

  Sophie nodded, playing with Chip’s hair. “I don’t think there’s anything tying him to Brenda’s death. Brenda’s lawyer is working on getting him released.”

  “It must be quite a shock for you,” Lori ventured, trying to catch Sophie’s eye.

  Sophie kept looking everywhere except at Lori. “Yes, it is. There’s nothing left here for me to do here, so I’m on my way.” She took a set of car keys from her pocket.

  Lori looked on helplessly as Sophie gathered her bag up and took Chip’s hand. There was nothing she could do to stop Sophie from leaving town.

  “Well, goodbye, then, Lori,” Sophie said, taking Chip’s hand and looking at Lori for the first time.

  “Bye, Sophie.” Lori looked at the boy. “And bye, Kenelm.”

  A quizzical look came across the boy’s face. “How did you know my name is Kenelm? No one knows that. Not even my mother calls me—”

  Sophie knelt beside the boy. “Chip, baby, why don’t you run along to the car? Mommy has to have a word with Lori, okay?”

  Pouting a little about having to go off on his own, Chip took to the footpath and started walking back to their car.

  “Hurry, it’s going to start raining any minute now,” Sophie shouted after him.

  When Sophie looked back at Lori, her eyes were blazing. “You couldn’t just stay out of this, could you, Lori?”

  Lori swallowed. She should have taken Fae up on her advice about carrying a potion against evil. She gathered up all her courage before answering Sophie.

  “Why, Sophie?” she said softly. “Alvin was the father of your child. How could you?”

  Sophie stepped forward until she was less than two feet away from Lori. Her eyes narrowed as she spat out the words.

  “I did it because he rejected me! All he wanted was the glory and the glamour, and I didn’t fit into that world. To him I was too plain, too common. In the beginning we were in love, and then he met that stupid blonde, Camelia. He didn’t even acknowledge Chip was his child. He cast us aside like trash.”

  “So you followed him here and carved Kenelm’s name into his back after drugging him. He didn’t deserve that, Sophie.”

  “Yes, he did. He deserved to die!” Sophie yelled, her voice hoarse.

  Lori looked around for an escape route, but Sophie was blocking the footpath. She was going to have to talk herself out of this one.

  “Did you know Alvin carried a photo of Kenelm in his wallet?”

  For a moment Sophie was taken aback. “You’re lying. Chip meant nothing to him. He never even called to talk to him.”

  Lori sensed she might have hit a nerve. “Alvin was planning on leaving the crosswording world and settling down here in Fennelmoore. He was about to change his ways. You took that away from him, Sophie. Or should I call you Katie Sawyer?”

  At that moment, a thunderbolt exploded nearby and rain started curtaining down, drenching both of them within a few seconds.

  It might have been the rain streaming down her face, but Lori thought she saw Sophie’s eyes changed from a deep azure blue to an unusual steel gray. Her voice seemed almost robotic as she spoke.

  “No, no, I’m Sophie. Katie is my twin sister. Brenda found out about her, and—”

  “You killed her too,” Lori completed her sentence.

  “Yes, I killed her with one of these,” Sophie said and took out a filled hypodermic needle from her bag. “I keep it for protection.” She looked at Lori. “I’m sorry, Lori. If only you’d stuck to minding your own business.”

  The next moment, Sophie lunged at Lori with the syringe. Lori took a step back to avoid the blow, stumbled, and fell backwards on the grass. Standing over her, Sophie lifted her arm to attack again. This is where Alvin died, Lori thought as she shut her eyes tightly, lifting her arms in a vain attempt to protect herself.

  STELP GOI TROPPO VAL!

  Lori opened her eyes slightly and saw Sophie standing frozen and zombie-like above her. Then she slowly toppled over, falling onto the drenched grass with a dull flop. A weird bluish dust hung around them for a few seconds before dissipating in the rain. Lori peered through the dense downpour in the direction from which the voice incanting the freezing spell had come, but all she could see was a vague caped figure carrying a basket.

  “Who…?” was all she could muster before resting her head back onto the grass. She watched as Daisy pushed back her raincoat cape and held out her hand for Lori to grab on to.

  “Just as well I decided to go pick mushrooms in the forest this morning. Are you hurt, Lori?”

  All Lori could manage was a weak smile before her hand slipped out of Daisy’s and the gray rain became a thick, opaque screen enveloping her.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chief Winters cleared his throat to speak when he saw Lori open her eyes. He was sitting on a chair next to Lori’s hospital bed, waiting for her to wake up. He wanted to be the first to speak to her. He waited until she closed her eyes and cleared his throat again, this time a little louder, but she remained motionless.

  Exactly twenty-four hours prior, he’d received a call from Lori Whitewood’s phone. The person speaking had identified herself as Daisy. He couldn’t make out her last name due to the thunderstorm that was raging, but it sounded like she was standing in the pouring rain. Following her directions, he’d taken his SUV at top speed back along the bumpy track to the spot where he’d driven it when Alvin Parkinson died. The rain had briefly stopped when he got closer, and he could make out several individuals moving around Eagle Rock. He noticed a strange figure lying on the ground with stiff outstretched arms, looking like a statue that had fallen over. Another female, covered by a purple blanket with stars on it, was lying on a stretcher and being tended to by a group of people.

  An hour later, he stood next to Eagle Rock with a plastic bag containing a syringe with a clear liquid inside as a helicopter rose from the ground and took off with Lori inside. The girl known as Sophie was sitting bedraggled in the muddy spot where he’d handcuffed her ten minutes earlier. He’d called his deputy Ray and asked him to take over the scene management. He had to get back to the office and make a call. In fact, he had lots of calls to make.

  Lori lifted her head and looked at Chief Winters through bloodshot eyes.

  “Where am I? Where’s Kenelm?”

  “You’re in the hospital, Lori. Your family will be here any minute now. The boy is with his grandmother after being rescued from Brenda Paisley’s car.”

  Lori touched her head and groaned in pain.

  “You hit your head on a rock, probably during an altercation you two had,” he said, hoping it would jog Lori’s memory. “I think that’s what’s hurting,” he added, hoping it would help.

  “Sophie…Katie…I can’t remember…” Lori shut her eyes tightly.

  Chief Winters took out his notebook and paged through it. “I spoke to Miriam Jones, who helped shed some light on that matter, since much of this isn’t my regular beat. Apparently Katie Sawyer has a split personality disorder. She lost her parents when she was six and was raised by an aunt and uncle from hell. She drifted between foster homes, then disappeared off the radar for a few years before resurfacing. After running into some trouble at a hospital she was working at, she changed her name to Sophie Faber. During this time, she had an affair with Alvin Parkinson and had a child by him while working as a nursing assistant.

&nbs
p; “Then, after he got famous, he cut her out of his life. She took the job with Brenda to get closer to Alvin as part of her plan to murder him during the tournament, probably out of revenge for having ditched her. After she killed him, she planted a syringe in Camelia’s room to pin the murder on her. Documents we found in Sophie’s room show that Brenda became suspicious about Sophie some time ago, after she failed to produce references. She had a private detective track Sophie, which is how she learned about the kid. He’s obviously the ‘secret’ Brenda spoke of in the video. Alvin’s bank records indicate that she’d been blackmailing him for a while after finding out it was his.” He looked at Lori and put away his notebook. “Nasty, I know.”

  Lori listened to Chief Winters, her eyes closed. “It wasn’t Clay who broke into the cottage, was it?”

  Lori was so surprised when Bob Winters answered, she opened her eyes and attempted to lift her head.

  “It was him. I said so all along, remember? Yeah, he had a few confessions of his own.” The chief chuckled. “Seems this lady, Sophie or whatever her name is, is quite a piece of work. Being a bright girl and in charge of Brenda’s admin, she quickly figured out there was some blackmailing going on, though I don’t think she knew the details. She then honey-trapped Clay, got him the chauffeur job and convinced him to break into the cottage and look for the blackmail money. The poor boy’s absolutely destroyed at the moment. But it doesn’t look like old Mrs. Barkley’s going to press charges.”

  “And when things started getting messy, Sophie got rid of Brenda,” Lori said.

  Chief Winters nodded. “Seems she was scared Brenda had realized it was she who’d killed Alvin.”

  Lori thought back to what her granny had said the previous evening. People only killed for love or greed. Seems like she had a point.

  “There’s only one thing I don’t understand.” Chief Winters frowned. “How did you know the kid’s name was Kenelm? He said that’s what you called him when you met, and that made Sophie send him off to the car.”