And that meant one unnerving thing: there was a murderer on the loose in Sugarcomb Lake.
Chapter 04
“Meow !”
Clarissa groaned and kept her eyes shut. She didn’t want to get up.
She felt four little legs walking none-too-carefully across her body. Then something sat down with a thud right on top of her chest. Even though her eyes were shut, she could feel the little beast staring right at her. It was also probably doing that creepy thing where it didn’t blink.
Reluctantly, Clarissa cracked one eye open. “What do you want?” she grunted.
“Meow,” said the cat matter-of-factly.
“Go away and let me sleep,” she begged. “Just because you’re awake it doesn’t mean I need to be awake. Why can’t you get that through your head? Go watch birds from the window or chase your tail for a while. I don’t care what you do, just leave me alone!”
The cat reached out and defiantly batted at Clarissa’s nose.
She sighed, pushed the annoying critter off of her and sat up. There would be no sleeping in.
She should know better by now. The cat loved nothing more than to disrupt her sleep – and her life. If she kept her bedroom door shut it scratched relentlessly, marking up the door in the process. If she kept it open…well, if she kept it open then this happened.
Clarissa looked over at the clock. She decided it wasn’t too early to call Liana. Well, maybe it was…but she was concerned. Someone had been murdered at her best friend’s Halloween party. It was only natural to want to check up on her, right?
Liana picked up on the first ring.
“Hello?”
“Hi,” Clarissa said. “I take it I didn’t wake you?”
“Oh. No, I didn’t really sleep much last night,” Liana admitted.
“Do you want me to come over?” Clarissa offered.
“Don’t you have work to do?”
“Don’t worry about that,” Clarissa replied. “I’ll be right over.”
The newspaper could wait. Sure, Clarissa Spencer was a workaholic, but there were a few things in life that were more important to her than her job. Her best friend was one of them. If Liana was upset and needed to talk, then everything else could wait.
Clarissa threw on her comfiest sweatpants and a ratty old t-shirt from her college days. She didn’t bother to brush her hair, instead opting to pull the tangled disaster back in a messy ponytail. It would do. It wasn’t like she was walking in a fashion show or anything.
After feeding the cat and drinking some orange juice straight from the carton, she got in her car and headed over to Liana’s.
The place looked much different in the daylight.
Halloween decorations still covered the exterior of the house, but now instead of looking festive they seemed downright ghoulish. It didn’t help that yellow police tape covered the far side of Liana’s front yard, as well as the next door neighbor’s yard where the pond was.
Clarissa looked over at the spot where the body had been and swallowed hard.
“You’re here,” Liana said, opening the front door before Clarissa even had a chance to knock.
“I am,” Clarissa said, offering a sympathetic smile. “How are you doing?”
“Okay. I mean, I’m shaken up but I’m okay. How are you?” Liana demanded. Then, before Clarissa had a chance to respond, she added, “Parker is here.”
That surprised Clarissa. “He is?” she asked as Liana pulled her inside. “Why?”
“Morning,” Parker greeted her from the living room. He was seated on the couch with a cup of coffee in his hand and a notebook on his lap. He gave Clarissa a guilty, apologetic look. “Full disclosure: I’m here as a reporter,” he admitted. “Big news like this is something the Chronicle needs to cover.”
“I see.” Clarissa took a step closer, wishing she had worn nicer clothes or at least brushed her hair. “I just came to check on Liana,” she said as her best friend disappeared into the kitchen. Part of her wished she could be wearing her reporter hat, but friendship had to come first.
“Look, Clarissa,” Parker said in a low voice. “You and I are both reporters. We know what the Sugarcomb Lake police force is like. Solving homicides isn’t exactly their forte – to be honest, most of them are incompetent. Liana said they already told her it was probably an accident.”
Clarissa’s eyebrows shot up at that. “Didn’t they see that the dead man’s hands were bound?” she asked. “Even if they didn’t see it, I told them about it when they interviewed me!” she added indignantly. “What did they keep us up half the night for if they didn’t even bother to pay attention to our statements?”
Parker sighed and shrugged his shoulders. “I wish I had an answer for you. All I know is I’m going to do everything I can to get to the bottom of this. I presume you are too, right? I mean, I know the deceased is someone you went to high school with…my condolences, by the way.”
“Wait, what?”
“Yeah, I was surprised too,” Liana chimed in as she returned from the kitchen. She handed Clarissa a steaming hot cup of coffee and sat down in the chair next to Parker. She motioned for Clarissa to take a seat beside him. Then she asked, “Do you remember Greg Klassen?”
“Um, the name sounds familiar…”
“Chess club,” Liana offered helpfully, trying to jog her friend’s memory. “Skinny little guy with a speech impediment, braces, horn-rimmed glasses, always wore button up dress shirts to school. Does that ring any bells?”
“Yeah, it does. But what does Greg Klassen have to do with this? I haven’t seen him in years.”
“He’s the guy that died.”
Clarissa looked confused. “He can’t be. I saw the dead man. He looked nothing like Greg!”
“I’ve been asking around about him,” Liana explained. “Apparently he underwent a massive transformation after high school. He moved across state, started working out and got really ripped. He got a spray tan, competed in bodybuilding competitions and everything.”
“Whoa,” Clarissa exclaimed. “That’s unreal. I never would have recognized him!”
“What happens now?” Liana asked, looking to Parker. “Is there anything more I can tell you?”
“I can’t think of anything at the moment,” Parker replied. “You’ve been really helpful. The list of names you gave me was great, thanks. I’m going to follow up with all the people you mentioned,” he said, gesturing to his notebook.
“Okay,” Liana nodded. “Good luck, you two.”
“Wait, what?” Clarissa interjected.
Liana stared hard at her. That only meant one thing.
Inwardly, Clarissa groaned. Trust her best friend to try to play matchmaker, even in the face of a murder! At least Liana was consistent. And, Clarissa supposed, it was nice her best friend was giving her permission to put on her reporter hat and go do some investigating.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Clarissa asked.
“Yes. Now go,” Liana urged, taking Clarissa’s untouched coffee from her.
After Liana shooed Clarissa and Parker out of the house, they stood there on the front step looking at each other uncertainly. It seemed both of them were unsure about what their next move should be. Or rather, they were unsure about how to interact with one another.
At one time, Clarissa had considered Parker her arch nemesis in the reporting world. After all, they worked for different publications so they were, in a way, professional rivals.
But they were also kind of sort of dating in a very casual way. That left Clarissa completely confused. The boundaries were so blurred!
Apparently Parker was thinking the same thing. As if reading her mind, he suggested, “I was thinking we could do a collaborative investigation. We share all information with each other and we each report our findings in our respective newspapers at the same time. That way neither one of us gets the upper hand and there’s no competition. What do you think?”
She hesitated. His prop
osal wasn’t half-bad. Actually, it was pretty decent. It made sense. “I’ve never collaborated with anyone before,” she admitted.
“I suppose there’s no time like the present, huh?” he interjected.
“What if I say no?” she asked, wondering what she might be getting herself into. “No offence, but I’ve always worked alone. I’m good at working alone. It’s what I know and what I’m the most comfortable with.”
“Liana seems to think we should collaborate,” he shrugged. “After all, she gave me a list of witness names,” he said, waving the notebook around. “So what do you say? I’ll share my information with you if you share your insider connections with me. Do we have a deal?”
“We have a deal,” Clarissa said, simultaneously wanting to kiss and slap him.
“Excellent,” Parker replied, flashing that perfect smile of his. “Should we take my car or yours?” he asked. “I’m parked over there,” he added, pointing out his shiny red sports car that had probably cost a small fortune.
“Mine,” Clarissa told him through gritted teeth. “That is, unless you want me driving yours.”
He laughed at that, but nonetheless looked a bit scared. “I’ve ridden with you before,” he reminded her with a grimace. “If you’re going to insist on driving, then we’ll take your car.”
Clarissa grinned to herself as they walked over to her beat up old clunker of a car. She kind of liked that Parker Tweed was slightly terrified of her – or at least of her driving. It, in some small way, gave her the upper hand. That felt good.
Maybe working with Parker Tweed wouldn’t be so bad after all. One could hope, anyway.
Chapter 05
“Amy Owens is first on our list,” Parker informed Clarissa. “Do you know her?”
“Yeah, I went to high school with her.”
“Great! Where can I find her?”
Clarissa looked at Parker curiously. “Liana didn’t give you addresses or phone numbers?”
“No. She only gave me a list of names.”
Clarissa had to bite the insides of her cheeks to keep from smirking. She had to hand it to Liana: the woman really had thought this through. While it probably wouldn’t be too hard for Parker to track folks down in the small town, Liana had basically set it up so that he and Clarissa had to rely on each other. She was really determined to get them together!
“Amy’s a hairdresser,” Clarissa said, making an abrupt illegal turn in the middle of the road.
“Whoa, what are you doing?!” Parker gasped.
“The salon is the other way,” Clarissa told him matter-of-factly.
He was wise enough not to say anything more. Well, either that or he was too alarmed by her erratic, less-than-legal driving to speak. Whatever the reason, they drove in silence all the way to the beauty salon.
Clarissa parked - if one could call it that – outside the salon where Amy worked. She shut off the ignition and hopped out of the car. She was well aware that her car was crooked and the back end was sticking way out of the parking space. She simply chose to ignore it, as she had bigger fish to fry.
“Uh, you’re sticking way out from the curb,” Parker informed her apologetically.
“So?”
He looked taken aback. He paused and seemed to carefully consider his options. Perhaps he was trying to determine the best way to phrase things to avoid a disagreement. Then he sighed and held out his hand. “Give me your keys,” he ordered. “I’ll take care of it.”
“My own personal valet,” she joked as she handed her keys over.
“You don’t pay me enough to be your valet.”
“I don’t pay you anything.”
“Exactly,” he grumbled.
“Meet you inside!” Clarissa trilled, enjoying his misery.
When Clarissa walked into the salon, she immediately felt out of place. She didn’t go there very often. In fact, most of the time she just had Liana trim her split ends for her over the bathroom sink. It saved a lot of time, money and hassle.
“Excuse me,” Clarissa said to the first hairdresser who walked past. “Is Amy Owens working?”
The woman, who was clad in ultra-stylish leather leggings and mile-high stilettos, turned and looked her up and down. “Well, well! Look who the cat dragged in,” she said, pursing her over-lined lips in an expression of muted disdain. “Clarissa Spencer.”
It took a moment for Clarissa to recognize the person standing in front of her. Back in high school she had been a bottle blonde with an orange spray tan. Now she had her hair dyed black with blue highlights. It was a dramatic look, especially for such a small town. But at least she seemed to have figured out how to get a natural-looking tan.
“Hi Kimmy,” Clarissa said through gritted teeth.
“I go by Kimberly now,” the woman corrected her immediately. “I haven’t been Kimmy since high school. Oh, it seems like so long ago! But my, my, you haven’t changed one bit have you? Here for a makeover, hmm? It’s about time! Oh, there’s so much we can help you with.”
Though it was said in a sugary-sweet tone, it was undoubtedly a subtle jab.
Of course, Parker had to walk into the salon at that exact moment.
Clarissa reddened when she realized he had probably overheard.
She turned an even deeper shade of crimson when she remembered how little effort she had put into her appearance before leaving the house that morning. It figured that she would run into Parker and the snootiest girl she had ever known on a day when she didn’t exactly look her best.
Kimberly Tucker had been catty, fake and mean back in high school. It seemed she hadn’t changed much in that respect. Clarissa wasn’t thrilled to see her. She hadn’t liked Kimberly then and she wasn’t exactly overcome by an urge to hug her and catch up now.
“I’m actually looking for Amy Owens,” Clarissa tried again. “Is she in?”
Kimberly wasn’t paying attention to Clarissa anymore. Her focus was now entirely on Parker.
“Who’s this?” she purred, her voice suddenly becoming deeper and throatier. “I don’t recognize you. Are you new in town? I’m Kimberly,” she introduced herself as she batted her heavy false eyelashes shamelessly. Apparently Kimberly didn’t do subtle.
“I’m Parker,” he said. His demeanor was polite but aloof. In a word, he was professional.
“What can I do for you today, Parker?” Kimberly asked, completely ignoring Clarissa.
“Actually, I’m with her,” Parker replied, forcing Kimberly to acknowledge Clarissa’s existence.
“Oh.” Kimberly shot Clarissa a dirty look. If looks could kill, the snobbish hairdresser would be a murderer! “I’ll go get Amy,” she said tersely. Then in a huff, she turned and stomped away, her high heels click-clacking on the floor with every step.
“For the record,” Parker said quietly, “I don’t think you need a makeover at all.”
“You don’t think I could use some blue streaks in my hair?” Clarissa joked.
“Definitely not,” Parker replied. “I wouldn’t change a thing about you.”
“Hi!” Amy called, emerging from the back room with a half-eaten muffin in her hand.
“Hi!” Clarissa smiled, still glowing from Parker’s unexpected compliment. “Sorry to just drop in on you like this. I just wondered if you had five minutes to talk about, you know, last night?”
“Sure,” Amy replied. “My next appointment is in fifteen minutes, so that works out perfectly. Why don’t we step outside?” she suggested. Leaning in closer, she grinned and whispered, “The first rule about beauty salons is that the walls have ears!”
Chuckling, Clarissa was happy to see her old friend had retained her sense of humor. Back in high school she had admired Amy’s quick wit and fearlessness. She was a woman who wasn’t afraid to call a spade a spade. That was refreshing.
“When I said we should catch up, this wasn’t what I had in mind,” Amy said quietly once she, Clarissa and Parker were standing outside behind the beauty salon
. She tossed the rest of her muffin in the dumpster next to the door and sighed deeply. “Last night was really something.”
“Yeah,” Clarissa agreed. “We won’t keep you long. It’s just that since you saw the fight break out, we thought maybe you could answer a few questions. We’re investigating what happened for our respective newspapers.”
Amy looked at Parker with an expression of confusion on her face.
Clarissa smacked her forehead. “I’m terrible at introductions,” she said apologetically. “Parker, this is Amy Owens. She’s an old friend from high school. And Amy, this is Parker Tweed. He’s my uh…he’s a friend who writes for The Green City Chronicle.”
Parker looked completely amused by Clarissa’s stumble.
“Nice to meet you,” he told Amy, extending his hand. “I know you need to get back to work, so I’ll cut right to the chase. Right now we’re trying to piece together what happened last night. You were outside when the fight started, right?”
“Mmhmm,” Amy murmured, biting her lower lip. She suddenly seemed unsure of what to do with her hands. She crossed her arms, then immediately uncrossed them and stuck her hands in her pockets. Then she began to shift from foot to foot.
“Can you tell us what you saw?” Parker asked gently.
“A few of us were standing around in the backyard talking,” Amy replied, her voice wavering. “The music was too loud to have a proper conversation inside, so after a while we sort of just migrated out there.”
“Who all was there?” Clarissa prodded.
“Um, Jenny, Zack, Mikey and a few people I didn’t recognize. Some of them were wearing costumes that covered their faces. I didn’t have a chance to find out who they were before, you know…the fight happened,” Amy explained. “Oh, and Jenny said to say hi to you, Clarissa.”
“I haven’t seen Jenny in forever!” Clarissa exclaimed. Then, remembering she was supposed to be conducting an interview, she got back to business. “What else can you tell us? Any little detail you can think of will be helpful, no matter how insignificant you think it might be. What was the mood like, for example?”
A Hint of Magic Page 4
