A Shade of Murder

by Constance Barker

  “Well, I’m glad we’ve had this heart-to-heart. Now come on, I want to see Norma roast you two about your dumb matching pajamas,” the feline huffed. I chuckled a bit, watching as Fern flung the door open with an exasperated expression.

  “At least there’s proof that even death doesn’t change everything,” I mused.

  “We’re totally getting roasted, aren’t we?” Fern sighed. Though I didn’t reply, as we slipped out of the car, the answer was pretty obvious.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Fern and I were forced to wait what seemed a solid thirty minutes for Norma’s laughter to die down. Her obvious amusement shone in stark contrast with the dark tears trickling down her cheeks, and I tried not to express how disconcerting the whole thing was. Glancing towards my sister from the corner of my eye, however, it became painfully apparent that similar thoughts were swimming in her mind. I managed a smile, trying to take the humiliation in stride as Norma circled around us, pointing and laughing much like a delighted child.

  “Come on, it’s not that funny,” Fern muttered, crossing her arms over her chest.

  “She’s right. It’s not funny. It’s hilarious,” Moody supplied helpfully, and I leveled a glare at the cat.

  “You two are so lame, this is adorable,” Norma choked out, fidgeting with the end of Fern’s sleeve. Though my sister looked all too uncomfortable with the situation, she made no move to step away from the spirit. “Oh, don’t be so surly, Stuart. At least let me find some measure of entertainment in this whole afterlife business,” the newly formed spirit muttered, and it was obvious that Fern had to fight to keep from rolling her eyes.

  “Yeah, well, it’s this whole afterlife business that we’re here to talk about, that is, if you’re done laughing irrationally at a perfectly normal set of pajamas—” Fern began defensively, and I glanced down at the teddy bears that adorned my own matching pair. Wow, actually looking at them, they’re even dorkier than I thought. I could hardly blame Norma for laughing at us when I’m sure I would have done much the same if the roles were reversed. Of course, I kept these thoughts to myself because sometimes the sisterly bond has to defy logic. I stepped up beside Fern, leveling a glare at the cackling ghost.

  “Norma... you do realize you were murdered, right?” I said, admittedly a bit coldly. This seemed to put a stop to her laughter, and instead she seemed to decide leering icily at me was the only response I was worthy of. Her eye twitched, and the tears spilling down her cheeks seemed to take on a darker hue. If she was aware of the change, she gave no indication—only floating forward to jab a finger against my chest.

  “I’m not an idiot, Mazie. It doesn’t take some skilled detective to conclude I wouldn’t have bashed my own head in with a cannon ball. Listen, a mortician can work some real magic, but fixing an entirely shattered skull...? I’m pretty sure the sight of my caved in head will be festive celebration for the town of Stillwater, anyway. Might as well throw me in a clown suit before tossing me six feet under,” she said sourly, some of the attitude from her prior life escaping in full force.

  “I don’t know about that... but, they have decided to allow the reenactment to take place, to honor your passion for the whole... debacle,” I sighed, reluctantly allowing myself to express some level of disdain for one of Stillwater’s longest standing traditions.

  “They’re actually going to continue? Like nothing happened? I’m sure there are still maggots somewhere in that general area, munching on whatever viscera and brain matter was left behind. Watching maggots eat away at my remains doesn’t sound like a particularly family friendly event,” she said sourly, idly touching the hair of her spirit form as if to confirm that—ghost or not—she was in one piece.

  “The scene has been wiped clean by our forensics team. Anything that could possibly serve as evidence was stamped and stored as such,” Fern said with a faintly sad expression. “I promised your brother that I would do whatever it takes to solve your murder, and I’m not prepared to tell the poor kid that his sister is a ghost. Especially considering that from the looks of things, your spirit is corrupting at an extraordinary pace,” Fern said almost mechanically, as if she’d been rehearsing the line all day. Perhaps she had been, I could be a little... easily preoccupied at times, so it wasn’t exactly unusual for the world around me to feel as if it were simply background noise. However, when Norma cringed away from the mere mention of her brother’s name, I couldn’t help but scrutinize her a bit.

  “So... the fact that you’re still here points to some sort of unfinished business. I’m sure there were dozens of things going on in your life alongside the reenactment—” I began, but Norma simply laughed bitterly and shook her head.

  “Absolutely nothing, Mazie. I’m well aware of my social standing in the town of Stillwater, and without any friends to serve as a distraction, the reenactment was really... all I had,” she chuckled, looking entertained by her own personal tragedy.

  “Well, your brother was in town. Did you not get to speak to him at all? It seems a bit strange that he would have spent the first night in town, instead of going straight to you. Though, I suppose things had already been set in motion,” I muttered, frowning at the flinch that accompanied any discussion of her brother. Norma pressed her lips tightly together, looking from me to Fern before decisively turning her back on us.

  “Surely you want your due justice.” Fern suggested, but the spirit only shrugged noncommittally in response.

  “I’m not particularly concerned with justice, though I’m sure the whole thing is driving you absolutely batty,” Norma said dismissively, trailing off into silence. I rolled my eyes, glancing over and thanking my lucky stars that I had a sister like Fern by my side. Although I was considerably bothered by the idea of an unsolved mystery, it seemed my sister could not even fathom the idea of not finding the truth.

  “So you’re telling me that you’d be perfectly fine with your killer roaming free. You’re fine with them doing this to another poor woman,” Fern said, sounding as cold as ice, Norma narrowed her eyes, circling Fern with a vaguely disgruntled expression.

  “He wouldn’t do that again,” the spirit insisted, realizing her mistake a bit too late. She clapped her hands over her mouth and stared at my sister and I with wide and strangely vulnerable eyes.

  “We’re making progress here, at least,” Fern muttered, Moody snorted, having been silent for much of the exchange.

  “I think it’s pretty obvious what happened here, don’t you?” The feline sighed, idly grooming herself as Fern and I stared contemplatively at one another. Fern raised and lowered a shoulder, indicating that she saw no harm in humoring our cat.

  “Alright, our mighty brilliance. If you’ve unraveled this entire case with such ease, surely you’ll have reasons for considering the accused guilty. After all, it’s so obvious,” I smiled, scoffing as Moody looked all too cockily in my direction.

  “Hmm. Well, first... completely unrelated Norma, but I’m dying to know—were you and your brother left any sort of inheritance by your parents?” Moody asked smoothly, and I wanted to laugh at her lack of subtlety, as well as the idea that Todd Pratt might have done this to his own sister. Norma hesitated, clearly understanding how loaded the question was. She fidgeted for a moment before nodding, head hanging low as she quietly explained.

  “Yes, our parents were almost unimaginably wealthy, and I was left in charge of the estate when they died. It wasn’t anything I’d asked for—I didn’t want to decide who got what in this whole mess. But... for a while, Todd was so angry. He never outright directed his anger towards me, instead cursing our dead parents for all he was worth. Eventually, the drama died down. Todd became cold and quiet. I thought things were... some approximation of okay,” Norma revealed quietly. Her voice trembled, sounding watery as the tears continued spilling down her cheeks.

  “So, you were entirely in charge of your wealthy parents’ estate?” Fern pressed, and still seeming to feel a bit contrite, Norma shrugged i
nstead of offering an actual answer. Fortunately, she seemed to rethink her position.

  “Yep. I’m quite sure I could posthumously find a way to get through to him. He has to feel some regret... At least, I hoped as much...,” the newest spirit trailed off, seeming more troubled than even Fern gave her credit for.

  “I don’t... quite understand,” I began uncertainly, looking towards Fern with a raised brow. She shrugged a little, and we both turned our attention to Norma once more. “Are you saying... Todd did this to you? Your brother?” I pressed, and Norma gritted her teeth for a moment before nodding just enough for me to catch it—almost as if she hoped it would go unnoticed.

  “But... that doesn’t make sense! Why does he seem so distressed over your death? And why the hell don’t you want him to go to jail for, I don’t know, murdering you?” Fern demanded, a bit less gentle than we had been thus far.

  “He’s my brother. I don’t want him to go to jail. I just want him to know I forgive him, and don’t want him to go through the rest of his life filled with regrets,” Norma said quietly. Fern’s mouth hung agape, and I couldn’t entirely blame her. The idea of murdering your sibling was unthinkable enough—but to forgive them? Did she want to absolve him of his suffering?

  “Well. I think it would be best if Fern and I had a heart to heart with your little brother,” I said a bit quietly.

  “Sounds more like a face to fist,” Moody muttered, and I resisted the desire to fling her across the battlefield.

  “Whatever. Everyone has been practicing hard for the reenactment, and—,” I paused, going completely silent. In the distance, I could see the shine of headlights that indicated the museum had a visitor.

  “The criminal always returns to the scene of the crime,” Fern hissed, grabbing me by the arm and pulling me beyond the treeline. I stumbled after her, not entirely able to process what was happening until I spotted a slender figure crossing the battlefield rather quickly. I squinted, my breath catching as I realized it was the very man we had been discussing—Todd Pratt, Norma’s brother. He was speaking to himself under his breath, gesturing vaguely although his eyes never left the ground. Norma seemed unsure of how to react to his arrival, drifting back to watch the scene unfold.

  “You would understand, I think,” I heard Todd insist to the empty space where the crime scene had been taped off. “I’m not quite sure I would deserve that understanding, but I know it would be there. You always took the fall when I was going to get in trouble. From stealing money from mom’s purse, to the time I gutted the neighbor’s cat and left it right outside their front door for them to see,” he sighed, running a hand through his hair. Moody hissed, obviously uncomfortable with the turn the one-sided conversation had taken.

  “Psycho,” the feline muttered, and I quickly shushed her as we watched the young man pace. His eyes remained on the ground, his body trembling terribly as if the weight of his secret had simply become too much to bear. Yet, instead of coming clean and offering his sister some form of closure, he seemed to be almost pleading for forgiveness. I watched as Norma drifted closer to her brother, my heart aching over the pure tragedy of her loss. He couldn’t see her, couldn’t hear her, yet she still seemed determined to comfort her little brother. I glanced towards Fern, who had a small recorder out, recording the entire one-sided conversation. I quirked a brow, and she shrugged a little.

  “You know... I really wish I hadn’t... done this. I wish I hadn’t given into those angry little voices in my head, the ones telling me that you would shaft me somehow. Telling me that I would see none of the inheritance, as petty as something like that is. I told you about the voices, but you never looked at me strangely. Not even...,” he trailed off, rubbing his eyes. “Not even when I killed for the first time,” he exhaled, and I saw Fern’s eyes widen in a way that would have been comical given nearly any other situation. “It kept unraveling all around me, and then you were gone, and then mom and dad were gone, and I couldn’t stop. I never thought... I didn’t think I was capable of doing this,” he said quietly.

  “I wish I could say the same. I knew, when I saw you that night, that I wasn’t coming out of the situation alive,” Norma said quietly, unheard. At least, I thought it was unheard until Todd’s head shot up, staring right at the spot his sister’s spirit floated.

  “...Norma?” He asked uncertainly, and though she seemed startled that he could hear her, she floated a bit closer.

  “Yes, Toddie. It’s me,” she confirmed, and I looked at Fern with baited breath. Her brow was furrowed, and she seemed only vaguely focused on the conversation she was recording, her eyes lingering on a spot just behind Todd. When I looked at the spot, after a moment I saw him. Even worse, I heard him. Norma jolted as she became aware of the new presence, squinting at the dark and hunched over figure that lingered behind her brother. Todd looked frozen in fear, and the incessant whispers, the demands that the unidentified figure continued to hiss out was nearly enough to send me fleeing in fear. “Who... is that?” Norma asked softly, and Todd looked a bit bewildered.

  “You... you hear him too? He’s the most insistent. There are others, but he... convinced me that I was going to lose everything if I lost my share of the inheritance. He’s the one who...,” Todd trailed off, hissing in pain as the figure behind him stood upright, resting a clawed hand on his shoulder.

  “Lower Demon of the Greed court,” Fern explained quietly, and I felt my heart hammer in my chest.

  “I’m sorry,” Todd choked out, but Norma was looking beyond him, meeting the demon’s gaze with determination.

  “Leave him alone,” Norma ordered quietly, and a chilling laugh seemed to echo across the battlefield.

  “You hope to stand a chance against a demon? What are you going to even do? A ghost can’t exorcise another spiritual entity. The only ones who can do that are priests, and—,”

  “Witches.” I heard Fern snarl, not having realized she had left my side. I glanced down to see the recorder, blessedly switched off, and shoved it in my pocket before stumbling into the field beside my sister.

  “Y-yeah! Witches!” I squawked. Todd stared at us with an incredulous expression, though the demon seemed to shift almost uncomfortably in our presence. Fern stood her ground beside me, and Norma was staring pleadingly at the two of us, her expression remarkably easy to read.

  ‘Save him. Please.’

  I met her gaze, nodding once before turning my attention to the hellish creature. He hesitated for a moment before laughing again, the sound a bit less chilling than before. It sounded strained, forced.

  “You think two pathetic witches can banish a High Demon?” He demanded haughtily. Fern only scoffed.

  “One pathetic witch, you mean,” She met his haughty tone and somehow seemed to exceed it, glancing towards me with a wink. “I think I can handle this one. Don’t let Todd hit the ground too hard. Exorcism can be highly taxing on the human host,” she said, a methodical tone to her words. I nodded quietly, not exactly trusting my ability in banishing a demon in the first place. I didn’t even know Fern had experience in the field, but as I watched her chant an incantation, a golden light emerging from her palms and stretching towards the demonic creature, I had no doubt. The demon looked fearful, desperately trying to detach from Todd. I rushed forward as Todd staggered forward, catching him in my arms and meeting the demon’s gaze with as much ferocity as I could manage.

  “I’ll... I’ll leave. I’ll leave my human host, and you’ll never see me again! Y-you can’t just wipe me from existence, how could you live with yourself?” The demon tried to bargain, desperately trying to pull away from Todd, who groaned in pain.

  “Well, not that I’m particularly against the idea of erasing you from reality, but you and I are both well aware this will only banish you from the mortal plane. Permanently. I do hope you enjoy explaining your failure to your superiors. Oh, or won’t that be an issue? After all, you are a High Demon of the court,” Fern said idly, the beam in her hand near
ly bathing the entire field with light.

  “No! No, no,” the demon screamed frantically, his voice ringing in my ears. I clung to Todd, feeling Norma’s presence at my side, placing a soothing hand on her brother’s cheek. He glanced up, tears in his eyes as he lay eyes upon the sister he had ripped from the world.

  “It’s okay,” Norma murmured gently. We both looked up, the demon’s screaming escalating as the pure light from Fern’s hands began to sizzle at his skin, and in short order, he seemed to be burning alive—turning to ash before our very eyes.

  As suddenly as it had started, the light faded, and Fern sagged to her knees with a victorious grin. Todd all but collapsed in my arms, nearly knocking me off my feet. I gently placed him on the ground, unable to support his full weight. His chest heaved, and Norma lingered close to his side, looking towards me with an uncertain expression.

  “What will happen to him?” She asked fearfully, loudly enough so Fern could hear. I glanced at my sister, rather unsure of the protocol as well. Fern made no move to get to her feet, staring at the young man with mixed emotions. After a moment, she offered Norma a gentle smile.

  “The recording I captured before intervening should be sufficient evidence to warrant an insanity judgment. He’ll be sent to the best mental health facility in the state, where I will visit periodically to ensure those other voices he mentioned won’t remain an issue. It’s not ideal, I know, but... he’ll be safe. He needs somewhere to come to terms with his actions, even if they were not entirely his own. If he behaves, as I’m sure he will, he may be released once he is no longer a threat in the government’s eyes,” Fern explained tiredly, swaying slightly from side to side. I glanced at her with concern, squeaking as she plopped face first on the ground. I bolted to her side, fearing the worst, though Moody seemed unconcerned as she lingered by her master’s side.