A Charming Crime

by Tonya Kappes

  Next on the list was Patience. Two Sisters and a Funeral was located on the opposite end of Main Street. Mr. Prince Charming trotted ahead and let out a few meows along the way when someone would say hello to him.

  “Hello there.” Izzy stood in the entrance of Mystic Lights. Her usual A-Frame skirt was replaced with a cropped pair of skinny black pants, which made her look even taller than she already was. “I hear you are making your rounds around Whispering Falls asking all sorts of questions.”

  I wasn’t sure how to answer her. Did she really hear it or did she do some type of spiritual thingy to see me? No one seemed safe around here, including me.

  “You can’t blame me.” I shrugged. “No one else seems to take being called a murderer seriously.”

  She planted her long, skinny fingers on her hips. “You need to let Oscar do his job. Plus the council won’t be meeting because Gerald is still ill.”

  “That’s funny. He seemed fine a few minutes ago.” I slapped my hand over my mouth. Dang, I wished my words were muffled from a mouthful of a Ding Dong, but those were all the way back at my house. Izzy’s eyes lowered, I continued to cover up my mistake. “I mean, yesterday when he accused me of trying to kill him. He didn’t look great, swollen and all, but his mouth sure was working.”

  “Um, hum.” Izzy nodded.

  There was no way she was buying my lie. But I had made a promise to myself that I would figure out the clues and then take them to the council myself. After all, who was going to take better care of me than me? No one.

  “I better get going.” I pointed off into the distance to Mr. Prince Charming. He was already in front of Two Sisters and a Funeral. “I need to catch up to Mr. Prince Charming. Please let me know what the council says.”

  I waved over my shoulder. I might not be able to read palms, or see into the future, but I had a sneaky suspicion that Izzy knew more than she was letting on.

  “Hello?” I walked into the parlor of the funeral home with Mr. Prince Charming at my feet. One rub against the casket and he was out the door. I yelled after him. “Scaredy-cat!”

  “What can we do for you?” Constance stood a distance away from me with a scared look in her eye, and Patience was peeking around Constance back. “We are busy.”

  “Busy.” Patience nodded in agreement. Constance shrugged Patience off her. Patience took a step backwards, crossed her arms and scowled at Constance.

  I pointed to the casket. “Is that Ann?”

  Hmmm. . .I wonder if I looked at her body if something might come to me. . spiritually speaking, that is.

  “It is.” Constance stood a little taller, and Patience straightened up a bit, though she was still annoyed with Constance. “The funeral won’t be for a couple of days. We are trying to find her family from the west coast spiritual village. That is where she was originally from until she opened the Cleansing Spirit Spa with Chandra.”

  “It is her.” Patience’s finger made it way around Constance’s thick arm and pointed toward the wooden box.

  “A Cleansing Spirit? She owned it with Chandra?” I questioned. Why hadn’t anyone mentioned that?

  “She was an amazing palm reader.” Patience rolled up on her toes and a giddy smile formed across her face.

  It seemed that there were so many secrets around here and it was hard trying to keep them straight. I was sure Oscar didn’t know that little tidbit of information. It was something else to put on my list to ask Izzy.

  “Patience, go get the delivery.” Constance waved her hand in the air.

  “Delivery!” A man walked through the door with a bouquet of flowers.

  Patience scurried off to retrieve the flowers.

  “How did you know you were getting a delivery?” I realized I had no clue what their spiritual gift was. Around here, asking was the only way someone was going to tell you something.

  “I had a feeling.” She folded her hands in front of her. “Now, June Heal, why did you say you were here?”

  I ran my hand down Ann’s wooden box. If they thought I was the killer, I might as well act as strange as they were. “I didn’t tell you why I’m here. But I want to ask a few questions about the autopsy.”

  “Isn’t that Oscar’s job?” Constance stood firm. “I’ll have the results to him by tomorrow. Then he can answer your questions if he wants to.”

  She turned around and met Patience at the doorway leading into the part of the funeral home that was off limits to the public. Patience clasped her hands and looked back over her shoulder. We made eye contact. For some reason, I had a feeling that if I got Patience alone, she’d sing like a canary.

  I hurried back to the shop. The mojo bags seemed to be a big hit and Patience would be the type that would love one. Especially if I could tell her it would protect her.

  I quickly added a few good luck items in one of the makeshift bags before I grabbed my cement foot print and headed home. There were a couple of hours to kill before I made my way back to pay Patience a visit, giving me enough time to read a little more of.

  Mr. Prince Charming was on the front porch when I got home.

  “There you are.” I rubbed my hands down his back which was warm from the sun. “I can’t believe you were scared of the Karima sisters.”

  The sun felt so good that I went inside and grabbed Darla’s journal off the side table and a Ding Dong on the way out the door to sit next to Mr. Prince Charming.

  I flipped open the journal. I wanted to know more about Darla and her days in Whispering Falls. Maybe it could shed some light on how I could embrace this crazy village.

  Otto questioned if I had been hanging out with Eloise. I told him the truth. He was angry at first that I had been keeping this secret from him for so long. He knew something was up because A Dose of Darla has been thriving. He knew the remedies that I had made weren’t as potent as the ones being sold in the shop.

  Eloise is a dear friend. June loves it there. She is so good while we are working. She doesn’t bother anyone there. Otto warned me to be careful. He said that he can’t protect us outside of the village, and to keep June in the village.

  “Keep me in the village?” That seemed odd since she moved me out of the village after my dad died. Plus my curiosity was up. Who outside of the village did he fear would hurt us?

  Meow, meow. Mr. Prince Charming batted at the dangling charms when I turned the page. I pushed him away, but he only came back and batted at my fingers for pushing him.

  “Testy little guy.” By his purring, I could tell he enjoyed the under-the-chin scratching I was giving him. There was no way I was going to be able to read anymore of Darla’s diary with his persistence.

  “Stop.” I shoved him one last time before I gave up and went into the kitchen to get him a treat.

  I looked out the window, over Whispering Falls. Bella was right. Her house had the best view. From a distance, I could see Constance Karima rushing down the street toward the police station. There appeared to be a file in her hand, which made me wonder if it was the autopsy file. Still, it gave me time to get Patience alone and ask her questions.

  I pulled my phone out of my bag and texted Oscar. “Stall Constance. I have some information that I want to confirm with Patience…alone!”

  I put my phone back in my bag and headed straight out the door toward Two Sisters and a Funeral.

  The door was ajar and I nudged it a little bit to fit through. Ann’s casket was still in the middle of the parlor. Seeing it sent chills along my spine.

  “Patience?” I called out a couple times before I heard the shuffling of feet. Within a couple minutes she appeared, looking a little confused. “Hi. I noticed you had given me a strange look when I was here earlier and thought you might want to answer a couple of questions.”

  “I don’t think this is a good idea without Constance.” She wrung her hands together. “I. . .”

  “Really? Hmm. . .” I rubbed my chin. “I thought you were the brains of the two. I guess my intuition isn
’t that great after all. I shouldn’t be a spiritualist.” I laughed.

  “Oh, I am the smart one.” She dropped her hands and drummed her fingers on her thigh. “What would you like to ask me?”

  “Let’s start with Ann. Did she have honey in her system?” I was going to bombard her with another one, but she might break under pressure.

  She leaned back and peered out the front door. It was a perfect view of Main Street and if Constance was coming back, we’d be able to see her. “Not the liquid form. But she tested positive for the supplement. We never thought about checking for it until Oscar asked us to.”

  “Is that what killed her?” This was a big question. If it was, then it would prove that I didn’t kill her, but still didn’t explain my charm bracelet that was found in her grips. “You know she was allergic to it.”

  “No. The supplement works different than the actual honey itself. She did have finger marks around her neck, so she was definitely strangled.” She looked off into the distance. “It’s so strange that a crime hasn’t happened here since your dad was murdered.”

  “What?” That couldn’t be true. My father had been killed over twenty-years ago and now that I was a member of the village it had started up again?

  “I. . .” she stuttered, “I’ve said too much, just like I told Oscar about his parents living here.” Her mouth flew open and she raised her hands to cover her mouth.

  “Oscar’s parents are spiritualists?” I was more confused than before. Izzy never said a word about Oscar’s family and Oscar had never mentioned anything about it.

  I recalled our conversation during the smudging ceremony and how he had stood back from the crowd. Plus he told me that no one was talking to him when he asked questions. If Oscar wasn’t going to give me answer, Uncle Jordan just might. Was he a spiritualist?

  “How do you like living in your parent’s house?” Patience changed the subject.

  “My parent’s house?” I looked up the hill and could see the little cottage perfectly. “That’s Bella’s.”

  “Oh, dear.” Patience patted the sides of her short hair down with her finger tips. “I really have to go and work. Please don’t tell anyone you talked to me or Constance will be mad at me.”

  “One more, please?” I put my hands together and begged. “What is your spiritual gift?”

  It was a legitimate question.

  “Oh,” Her eyebrows raised and color came into her cheeks, “we help spirits find the light.”

  She scurried off to the back of the funeral home before I could ask any more questions. I had come here to find out about Ann, but left with a lot more questions.

  My phone beeped from deep down in my bag. I pulled the strap from around my shoulder and dug through it. I pulled it out and there was a text from Oscar. “Sorry, she’s in a hurry. I need to talk to you when you are done.”

  “I bet you do,” I muttered and looked in the direction of the police station. Something wasn’t adding up.

  The streets were crowded with visitors. I weaved in and out of them to get home, only to run smack dab into Gerald.

  He placed his top hat on his head, and with a swift pat, it covered his forehead. “June.” He nodded.

  “What?” There was a slight sarcasm to my tone. I was done with being nice. After all, he had accused me of trying to kill him, when he was the one with more motive than me.

  “Who are you off to kill today?” His masterful expression of distaste shone through.

  There was no way he was still mad. Didn’t he worry that I was going to go before the council and tell them about his little rendezvous with Petunia?

  “How’s Petunia?” I asked, trying to get his goat.

  “Now!” He shook his finger in my face. Of course it had to be right in front of A Cleansing Spirit Spa. Chandra didn’t miss a thing. Although I couldn’t see her, I could see the tip of her turban peeking around the door. “You leave her out of it. This is between you and me! I told them you were nothing like Otto.”

  “Whatever old man! If I wanted you dead, I’d have done more than just blow a little cedar smoke your way.” I huffed back at him. Instantly I knew that I shouldn’t have said that, but I was tired of people talking about my family.

  “You hoo!” Chandra giggled from the entrance of the spa. “You two okay?”

  “Fine,” I said as I stomped down the street toward the police station.

  There was no time to see Oscar. I wondered how well I did know him. Really I had no idea what his police duties had ever been, here or in Locust Grove. We just hung out together. Which made me wonder if he knew all along that we were spiritualists, and for some reason was keeping it from me?

  Chapter Seventeen

  “Come on.” I called for Mr. Prince Charming after I made it back to the house to get my keys to the Green Machine. “Let’s go to Locust Grove.”

  Mewl. Mr. Prince Charming was curled up on the sofa where the stream of sunlight warmed it.

  “Hmm.” I sighed. He had become less active since we moved to Whispering Falls. In Locust Grove he was always on top of me, following me everywhere. I didn’t know his real age, and wondered if he was getting old.

  I didn’t have time to waste, so I let him stay behind while I hopped in the Green Machine and drove back into Locust Grove.

  I parked in the driveway of the old Cape Cod. Someone had cut the grass, but it still looked to be the same…a little in shambles. Which made me question if I was really living in my parent’s house in Whispering Falls. Darla didn’t seem to be the same person she was in Whispering Falls. The house was certainly not the same.

  Jordan Park’s police cruiser wasn’t in the driveway. My intuition told me not to do it, but I did anyway. Before I could stop myself, I had used the spare key under the porcupine shoe cleaner on the front porch of Jordan’s house and let myself in. After all, he did say he was going to have me over for lasagna.

  Even if he did come home, he wouldn’t find it odd that I would be sitting on the couch watching TV. Many times he’d come home to find me vegged out while Darla was at the flea market or if I went to church with them, I’d hang out afterwards.

  But I was on a mission to find anything out I could about Oscar’s family. We really didn’t discuss his family much when we were kids. They were already dead when we moved according to Darla’s journal, but I was too young to remember. I couldn’t even recall seeing a picture of his parents or him when he was little.

  The house was like it always was. Simple. That was one thing I loved about hanging out with Oscar and his Uncle. There were no smells of ingredients, everything was always picked up and put in its place. Not like home with Darla. There was food all over the kitchen, the house reeked of cures, and clothes were everywhere.

  I scoured the book shelves in the family room looking for a photo album. There were books, but no albums. Hmmm. . .“Living spiritually.” I pulled the book off the shelf.

  I flipped the pages to get a glance of what this might be about and a picture fell out. The black and white photo was old. I could tell by the clothing and the two little boys standing by tricycles. The man and woman had their arms around each other, which made me believe they were the parents of the two boys. By instinct, I stuck the photo in my pocket and put the book back.

  There wasn’t anything there to help me. I walked back into Oscar’s room and found it funny that I had only been in his room one other time. After I told Darla that I had gone in there, she forbade me to ever step foot in a boy’s room again. And I listened.

  It was exactly like I remembered it. The twin bed was made with a baseball comforter and baseball trophies lined the wall. I had forgotten about all Oscar’s baseball games I went to with him and his Uncle.

  I slide the closest doors open. The balls on the track made a screech like they hadn’t been opened in a long time. A few clothing items hung on hangers, and a few boxes of different memorabilia sat on the top shelf, but nothing stood out to me.

  W
ith my hands planted on my hips I looked around the room. Had I let my thoughts make me crazy into believing that Oscar could be behind all of this? Not necessarily the murders, but did he know about us being spiritual and that’s why he was my friend and when given the opportunity suggested we move to Whispering Falls? It was awfully convenient that he, by chance, had driven into Whispering Falls.

  And it wouldn’t be the first time Oscar Park talked me into anything.

  I snapped my fingers. The bed. I got down on the floor. I use to shove stuff under my bed all the time. It was dark under there. I plunged my hand in my bag, and felt around for the phone. I pulled it out, opened it, and used it as a light. There was a small plastic container with a lid far in the back. I swiveled my body on the floor and shimmied under the bed. With the box in my grip, I pulled myself out from underneath and stood up. The entire front of my clothes was covered in dust bunnies.

  “Eeck!” I screamed and the box and all its contents flew into the air. Mr. Prince Charming stood on top the bed as if he was there the entire time. “Mr. Prince Charming! You scared me.”

  I continued to brush the dust off myself and wondered how he got there, like I had wondered so many times before.

  “What are you doing here?” I picked up the box and sat down on the bed next to the cat. “More importantly, how did you get here?”

  One of these days, I was going to have to take a day and follow him around, unless I was in jail.

  Meow, meow. He nudged my arm with his head like he was asking for forgiveness.

  I rubbed him. “You are so smart. Okay. Let’s see what’s in here.” I put the box in my lap and took the lid off.

  There were a couple different looking dolls in it. I picked the one with the brown yarn hair up and looked at it. The doll was stuffed with hay and the fabric of the clothing resembled that of a woman. Its yarn hair was long and it wore a hat that looked like a makeshift turban.

  “Owww. . .” I dropped the doll when something poked my finger. With my finger stuck in my mouth, I picked the doll up off the floor and turned it over. There were stick pins stuck in the back of the doll. “What the hell?”