by Penny Brooke
I wiped my hands on a white cotton dish towel. “Oh? What’s that?”
His face bunched up. “Sorta private.”
“Oh? Okay, why don’t you go out on the porch, and I’ll be out directly.”
He was waiting, leaning against the swing. I realized he probably couldn’t climb up into it, so I sat on the top step of the porch itself, and he joined me. “So, what’s up?” I asked.
“It’s Marlena,” he began.
“Oh, no, I helped her out once, and look what I got for my generosity. This is a fair town. She can get a public defender, and he or she will do far more for her than I ever could. Besides, that’s their job.”
“No, that’s not it, either. You see, I went to see Marlena in the jail. She was sober, which is rare, but when she is, she’s a pretty decent person. She can’t lie when she’s sober.”
“I don’t get it.”
“She says she didn’t do it.”
“I just told you. Tell her to ask for an attorney, and the judge will appoint someone.”
“Would you believe her?” he asked me.
It didn’t take me long to answer. “No.”
“See there? Oh, she’s a little, shall we say, flamboyant, in her ways and people draw conclusions. I don’t think she did it, and I think she’s going to get railroaded. She doesn’t have any proof that she didn’t do it.”
“We’re an innocent until proven guilty kind of town, Elliott.”
“Oh, yeah? Then why is she sitting in jail?”
“Look, I’m no lawyer, but I’d guess that the sheriff has to keep an eye on her or she’ll leave town. I mean… that’s what you all do, isn’t it? Move on, and then on again?”
“That doesn’t mean she’d skip out.” He wasn’t telling me something.
“Elliott, I’m not going to debate Marlena’s character. After all, she wanted to kill me that night, if you didn’t notice. You’re leaving something out.”
He snapped his fingers. “Dang!”
I waited patiently. I had work to do, and this wasn’t productive. “What is it?”
“The crystal ball. There, I said it.” He was so full of it; I could hardly keep from laughing.
“Elliott, look, I don’t mean to be rude, but I have a lot of work to do, especially if you want to eat dinner tonight. I can’t help you.” I stood up and pulled open the screen door.
“You can read it, can’t you?”
His words stopped me in my tracks.
“Read what?”
“Don’t pretend. Word is out about you. I guess I don’t need to tell you who.”
“Bernette.”
“You know, Marlena doesn’t have the power. She always said she did, but she doesn’t. She just looks at it and makes up things. Her clients look and see the solid white and complain. She tells them they’re full of it, and she can see things quite clearly.”
“That’s very interesting.”
“C’mon, Fiona. It’s me. Elliott. One thing about being small, you see people from a whole other perspective, and it’s not their faces.”
“What are you accusing me of?”
He craned his neck around to look at me. “I read peoples’ body language. I see them relax, stiffen, open up to others, or close down inside. You stiffened. You’re not telling the whole truth.”
“Sounds like you could make do with the ball.”
“Then you can see into it, can’t you?”
I never answered him but went into the kitchen and tried to peel potatoes with shaking hands. The stakes were getting higher.
Later that night, I was standing on the front porch, looking at the stars and shivering. I preferred it to the hot, congested interior where everyone was quarreling over what to do with Marlena. I gathered that carnival performers had a code, sort of like soldiers. They never leave a member behind, unless they want to stay. Marlena wanted out. There was nothing I could do. The ball hadn’t revealed anything, even if I’d wanted to check it out.
I was torn with indecision. Throughout my life, I’d had occasions where I suddenly was confronted with what I called a vision. It took a long time to realize that everyone wasn’t having the same thing. Once I did, I began to pay attention. I couldn’t make things happen, but I sometimes saw them remotely as they took place or anticipated them. It was never obvious; I had to be very sensitive to realize what was going on. I might be talking to someone and suddenly have a vision that they would be in a car accident. I’d feel silly warning them, so I kept it to myself, and then sure enough, they were. Some people wanted to know everything you saw; others were put off by it, and then it was better to keep it to yourself.
One thing was clear. My visions, glass ball or not, were not going to be accepted as proof in a court. It was like playing Pin the Tail on the Donkey. The visions might steer you, but you had to do the moving and find the goal all on your own.
I knew Elliott wanted nothing more than for me to admit I’d seen the crime in the ball, point one big finger at the culprit, and then Marlena would be released, and they could happily go on their way as they always had.
Except, they wouldn’t go on as they always had for me. I had a stake in my reputation in the town, and I wasn’t about to blow it for a woman who hated me, no matter how much I liked Elliott.
I wished my aunt was alive so I could talk to her about it all. Having those abilities to see beyond the norm made you long for others like yourself. You wanted to test theories, to develop some powers further, or to have a way to ignore the whole thing. That night, I fell into the latter category.
10
A Merry-Go-Round of Choices
Fred didn’t come in until very late that night. I heard Lizzie Borden growl lightly—more of a giving notice than a protecting sort of alarm. It was easily after two, so I just turned over and tried to go back to sleep, without success. Pulling on my robe and slippers, I padded downstairs and found him in the kitchen with the refrigerator door open.
“A little late-night snack?” I teased him.
“Drinking gives me the munchies.”
“Oh, that’s what they call it now?”
“No, I swear,” he said, holding up his right hand in testimony. “Found out some things you’d like to hear.”
“You did? Like what?”
“Like that Henry Lowden is going to swear that Marlena was with him when the pendant was stolen.”
“Well, that’s good for her, isn’t it?”
“Could be. Might not be.”
“Why not?”
“Because I also did some digging through a friend of mine and found out that Henry Lowden took out a nice fat insurance policy on that stone. Liability and theft. Had you heard about that?”
“No! Not a word. Did Marlena know that?”
“She isn’t talking. Said to ask you about it.”
“Oh, she’s being silly. You know I don’t know a single thing about it.”
“Uh-huh. You’re awfully interested.”
“Fred! Stop it now. You know better than that.”
“Are things kind of slow around here lately, Fiona?”
I stared at him, no longer sure whether he was teasing me.
“You know what I think?” I asked.
“What?”
“I think it’s late, you’ve had a long day of drinking, and I need to go back to bed. Hit the light when you go, will you?”
“Good night, Fiona,” he called after me in a sing-song voice.
It was the last day of the festival, so Gretchen took the booth. Things would be closing down around three in the afternoon. People who’d come from distant towns to display their goods started breaking down their booths at about two. The air was filled with sadness and the dread of the long winter ahead.
Sylvia and I went downtown together to help Gretchen. There wasn’t a whole lot for us to do since the booth was a rental. We just gathered our decorations and what was left of our baked goods, which we’d serve at dinner that night.
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I have to admit I felt sort of sad. I hadn’t seen Peter at all, and I wondered what was going on with both Marlena and the guy I’d tripped. In general, I just wanted to see Peter, but the festival would certainly provide plenty to talk about.
After dinner, I went out to my store, just for the peace of it. The carnival people would remain one more day, providing the free admission and ride tickets for the children I’d invited. I’d put out the word through local organizations that helped kids who were sick, impoverished, alone, troubled, or in any difficulty. They were all invited. I’d sit on the bench and watch. They’d become my children—the children I’d probably never have. My donation was only known to Elliott and was in return for their room and board for the whole time they’d been there. They got the better end of the deal, and I knew it.
I sat in the darkness, just feeling my things around me. There was a tap at the front door, and I peeked around a display to see Peter at the door. My heart jumped a little—I was pleased to see him. I unlocked the door and let him into my little, cluttered world.
“I’m glad you’re here,” I said, smiling in the moonlight that was the only bright thing in the store.
“It’s been a long week, hasn’t it? I sort of missed you, truth be told.”
“You did? Aww… Sit down. I think I have some coffee pods in the back, and I’ll make it up.”
“That sounds great, actually. Just black will be fine.”
We settled onto the only two chairs in the store. Peter unzipped his jacket, opening it for cool air. “So, how did it go for Mortimer House?”
“Oh, not bad. As for the booth, we sold out every day but the last, and there wasn’t much left. We had it with dinner tonight. As for my guests, they’ll be leaving late tomorrow evening.”
“So I heard. That was quite a generous thing you did.”
“Dang it! Nothing stays private in this town.”
He laughed. “And that’s why you like it here, don’t tell me otherwise.”
I cocked my head sideways, giving him a little crooked smile. “There are a couple of reasons, I’ll admit.”
“Okay. So, I heard you stopped that pickpocket. Quick thinking.”
“Just one of those things. I don’t know why, but something inside told me to do it.”
“One of your little voices?”
“Aw, don’t tease me, Peter. I know you don’t put a lot of stock in them, but just call them instinct.”
“I think we can both agree that it’s more than that.”
“So, what happened to him, and to Marlena? Elliott has been after me, you know, to help.”
“What’s he want you to do?”
“Remember the glass ball?”
“Yes. What about it?”
“Here, let me get it and show you. Elliott is suggesting that I can look into the ball and see who committed the crime. He wants me to come to you with that, as evidence.” I walked back to the safe and pulled out the bag.
“It won’t work, you know.”
“Oh, I know that, but these carny people are different. They believe in superstitious things. I guess you heard about the insurance policy?”
He nodded. “Just learned about it this afternoon from the state boys. Not sure if she knew about it or not.”
“Do you know the history of the pendant?”
“Not really.”
“Well, Fred does, and he told me and Sylvia all about it. I caught him off guard, but he said he’ll remember more or look into it.”
“So, did you look at the ball before?”
I didn’t say anything yet. I wanted to prove to him that there were no visions inside the glass. I was unzipping the leather bag on my lap when something fell to the floor.
I looked at the same time as Peter did, and there on the floor was the pendant of The Stolen Heart.
11
False Starts
“Oh, now, Peter, you know I didn’t put that there.”
He was looking at me with a strange look in his eye.
“You believe me, don’t you?” I asked.
“I might believe you, but I don’t think anyone else will, and how will you explain it?”
“I have absolutely no idea. I did take the ball out the other night to see if I could see anything, but it remained blank. I don’t know. I figured it wouldn’t work for anyone who owned it.”
“Like…?”
“Like me, or Marlena, or whoever she got it from.”
“Why do you figure that?”
“Well, think about it. If you could see visions about yourself, wouldn’t you make yourself a gazillionaire and rule the world?”
“Yeah, probably.”
“I’ll admit, but only to you, that I did ask it who was the fairest of them all—like in the Snow White movie. It showed me the face of a truly beautiful woman. I swear.”
“Oh, Fiona, that’s just a trick. Like a Magic 8-Ball. You didn’t fall for that, did you?”
“Is that so? Then how would you explain the fact that it showed me where that runaway snake was hiding? In the bookcase. I went in, told them, and they found it right where I said.”
“And did it show you where The Stolen Heart was?”
“No, it didn’t, and that’s why I said it won’t show you things that are connected to you.”
“I don’t know, Fiona. All this sounds pretty fishy to me. Anyone else have access to that safe?”
“No.”
“You sure about that?”
“My aunt willed me the safe, but I had a locksmith come out and set up a new combination. I’m the only one who knows it.”
“Any chance you left it open sometime?”
“No. In fact, I had to shove the door shut over that bag.”
“Maybe it popped back open?”
“Peter, as much as I’d like to find some plausible reason for that pendant to be in there, I can’t. I didn’t put it in there.”
“Fiona, you know what I have to do, don’t you?”
I could feel the hysteria rising in my gut. I nodded. “You have to arrest me.”
“I don’t have any choice, sweetheart. That necklace is worth a fortune, and it went missing. Stolen. You have it. Put yourself in my shoes.”
“I know, I know. But I swear I didn’t do it.”
“Sherlock couldn’t have gotten into it, could he? He’s always picking up jewelry and hiding it.”
“No, he’s been with me upstairs, and the safe is solid. There’s just no way, I’m afraid.”
“God, don’t make me do this.”
“You have to, Peter. We’ll figure it out, but in the meantime, if you don’t, you’ll join me in a cell, and then where will we be?”
“Very well. Fiona Parkins, I’m placing you under arrest for possession of stolen jewelry, namely The Stolen Heart. Please put your hands behind your back and turn around.”
I felt the straps go tight on my wrists—but not too tight. I knew it was killing Peter, but there was no way around it.
I was going to jail.
12
Bailing Out
“Gretchen, you have to get the money together and bail me out as soon as the judge sets it in the morning.”
“I don’t understand.” Her face was puffy from being awakened from a sound sleep.
“Neither do I, but Peter has no choice. I’ll be fine tonight. In the morning, help Sylvia get everyone off and then come bail me out, please?”
“Sure. I’ll be there. Stay calm.”
Peter put me into the squad car, and we drove down to the jail, the long way. “Can you explain to me how you can hold three people for the same crime, Peter?”
“Won’t be. You were more or less caught red-handed, so the other two will be set free.”
“Oh, gawd, Marlena is going to have a ball with this, not to mention Bernette. What if Marlena destroys my house to get back at me, Peter?”
“Then she’ll be back in jail.”
“But the damage. Yo
u did bring the pendant, right?”
“Of course.”
“How about the ball?”
“No, it’s not stolen.”
“Oh, Peter, no. You can’t leave the ball out in open sight like that. She’ll take it back, and it might be the only way I have of proving my innocence.”
“I thought you said the ball didn’t show you anything.”
“Well, not when I asked it that question, but it might for something in the future. Please, Peter, can we go back? I’ll sit in the car. Just go into the store, and lock it back in the safe?”
“I don’t have the combination. And I don’t want it because then you can’t honestly testify that to the best of your knowledge, no one else knows it.”
“Okay, then take me back in cuffs. Peter, really, it’s critical.”
He looked at me and expelled a huge sigh. “You’re going to cost me my job, you know that?”
“I’ll be good. I swear.”
“Okay, okay.”
Peter drove back to the store, and I got inside using the key I kept hidden. With his help, I got the ball back inside the safe. I felt relieved and didn’t argue when he took me straight to the jail.
As he’d predicted, the next morning the judge released the man in the overcoat and Marlena. The man was given a stiff fine and ordered to pay restitution to the victims, but they were unknown and long gone. He was also given two hundred hours of public service.
Me? I was given the cell and a $10,000 bail. I had no idea where Gretchen was going to raise that kind of money and wouldn’t blame her if she left me stewing in my own pot.
Peter did what he could, keeping me in a private cell and making sure I had decent food to eat. He took me from the cell to “interrogate” in his office, where we played gin rummy and ate pizza. In the evening, he came and got me again, and we watched old movies on the scratchy set in his office. Bless his heart—he was doing all he could.
In the meantime, I was beside myself because the carnival people had left, and I’d never be able to reach them again. I knew that Marlena wouldn’t leave her crystal ball behind that easily—not if she understood its true power. She’d come back some night and find a way to steal it.
