by January Bain
I nodded, moving to the side of the bed of the first man, ignoring the fine strapping Mountie I was still angry at. The guy with the gray ponytail was sitting up, his expression guarded, but I could tell he was pleased to see me.
“How are you doing?” I asked. It was obvious that both men were fine, but I wanted their goodwill. We needed answers.
“Fine now, thanks to you. You’re our guardian angel, sweetheart. You saved our lives, you know. I thought me and Will were goners for sure. I’m Sam, by the way.”
The man in the other bed nodded, his expression grateful.
I shook my head. “Nice to meet you. But I’m no angel. Just glad you’re okay. Very happy about it in fact. My goodness, who did this to you? Who poisoned you?” I reached out and touched the man’s rough hand lying against the white hospital blanket, grasping it tightly in sympathy.
While he pressed his lips together, shaking his head, a vision of what happened appeared in his brain, a virtual video of recent events. He blamed Bryce Stanford. They’d hidden the ricin in Guido’s RV at Bryce’s insistence, receiving a tidy sum of money for the job. They’d been in the cave later on to meet up with the PA to be given more cash to keep them quiet. Now he was worried about repercussions, going to ‘lawyer up’ to avoid being found guilty of impeding justice and committing crimes.
I nodded at Ace. I had this. All of this, now that I had Bryce’s motivation clear in my mind. Seeing him earlier with the director Dan Carter, working on the movie set so cozily, had told me the why of it in a flash of brilliance, if I did say so myself. Bryce coveted what Dan had.
“You know, there’s one way to thank me for saving your life—just admit who did this to you. Send the culprit to jail where he belongs. There’s not a doubt in my mind that Bryce Stanford tried to kill you both. He’d been promised a chance at directing his own movie and wanted to stop Howard from stealing the funds to make the current movie go smoothly. Then, when he needed a likely scapegoat, he had you both plant the evidence on Guido. He doesn’t deserve your help, now, does he?”
The man’s eyes widened, filled with awe and wonder and confusion.
“How did you know all that?”
“My job—albeit self-imposed—is to find such things out for the sake of our town. Please, your part in this affair’s nothing compared to what Bryce did. We need to stop him, put him in jail so he can’t poison anyone else. The whole community’s at risk, not to mention your movie family. And I’m sure, with your testimony, something can be worked out. Right, Constable Collins?”
I spared him a glance, daring him to disagree with anything I’d just said. And since I had such an appreciative audience, I added, “And furthermore, I’m sure you’ll find the evidence you need in his walking stick.” I shook my head. “I should have seen that earlier. He borrowed a page from the Russians who favor an umbrella for such events.”
Ace twitched but didn’t object. “Okay, Miss McCall is quite correct. Getting the murderer locked up—priority one. The part you both played was of far less importance than Mr. Stanford. I’m certain we can look into reducing your charges or offer you a plea deal if you testify against him.”
Ace looked right at me, giving me a proper nod of recognition for my part in solving the crime. “Well done, darlin’.” An instant connection, almost as though I could hear his thoughts of approval, flowed over me like the warmest ray of sunshine. I wanted to bask in it, but the other half of the puzzle awaited.
Who had bashed Howard’s head in? It wasn’t Bryce. Why, after Howard was already a dead man walking? Someone who didn’t know that, of course, but also someone else who had a lot to lose. Money and/or jealousy being the usual motive. Someone unbalanced by anger or greed. Who had a lot to lose and was also unreliable, unpredictable? Why I’d had so much trouble reading Rosalie’s earring suddenly made a whole lot of sense.
“Okay, well, I’m out of here,” I said.
I dashed from the room, not wanting to be stopped before the finish line.
Chapter Twenty-Two
“Miss McCall. A moment of your time.” A loud booming voice should have stopped me in my tracks. Not this time. I kept hotfooting it along the corridor, headed for freedom.
I didn’t make it. An abrupt end came to my march mid-strike when the big hand of the law planted itself on my shoulder. Happy chills I decided to ignore raced through my system. I had no time for this—a murderer was still on the loose.
“Why are you running away from me?” he asked. His tone held a twinge of hurt.
I rolled my eyes. Like you don’t know. “Just got somewhere I need to be.”
He gave an even bigger sigh. “I do believe that’s my job, Miss McCall, keeping the citizens of Snowy Lake safe.”
“How can I make it up to her? I’m so sorry I said anything to Jennifer.”
“My trust is not easily given, Sheriff.” I shrugged. “It has to be earned back.”
“I must find a way. She means so much to me. And I don’t want to see her hurt trying to help others with her talents and gifts. She’s one in a million.”
“What can I do?” He pulled off his Stetson, ran a hand over his hair, then dropped the hat back into place.
“I mean a lot to you?” I said, surprised he’d just come out with it. “One in a million?”
“Yes, of course. But how did you know?”
“You just said so!”
I looked him in the eye. His eyes widened, confusion followed.
“I didn’t say that out loud.”
“You did. Just now.” I stood in shock, staring at him.
“What’s going on here? Did you just read my mind?” His expression shifted to horrified. Uh-oh.
“Think something else, something I could never know.”
He remained silent, waiting for me to pick up on his thoughts.
A vague impression was all that came, try as I might. “Something about Shakespeare’s family?”
“A quote. A touch of nature makes the whole world kin.”
“Hmm, nice. But I didn’t get all that.” I experienced a touch of disappointment, one I ignored. I had a sudden inspiration. “But if you do want to help me, go clear out the mob at Tea & Tarot.” Okay, I was exaggerating a tad, but two birds with one stone was hard to pass up.
“What’s going on at the café?”
“Everyone seems to need something from me today. Tell them to take a number. Or better yet, make an appointment. They have my solemn promise I will get to every one of them as soon as I can.” Then I remembered his warning and concern for my well-being. But it wasn’t me who’d started this problem, made it public. Oh goddess, another thought crept in, scaring the stuffing right out of me. But I had to ask.
“Ah, can you hear me if I don’t say it aloud?” The last thing I wanted was someone to hear my private thoughts. Ling Ling, okay—we had a decent mental connection that I made more of than actually existed, but that seemed rather normal. She’d be described as my familiar in old-fashioned terms in another time, another place.
“Not sure. Think something.” I had his full attention now, his brown eyes liquid pools of intensity.
“Oh boy. What to think? Ah, sure is a weird freakin’ day, eh.”
“Sorry. Not getting a thing.”
Thank you, goddess.
He scrubbed his hand down his face, his chest rising and falling with his deep breaths. I swore I could hear a bell tolling somewhere. Soft voices spoke near my ear. I cocked my head to listen, but they were too faint to understand. Maybe a radio or television was playing somewhere? We were in a hospital.
“Telepathy’s mentioned in Real Magic, that book I gave you. And I’ve heard of people knowing something just before it happens, like going to the phone before it rings or avoiding a plane or car trip when sensing danger. But I’m grateful that we don’t fully share it.”
“Me too.”
“I think we need to talk more, though,” he said. A muscle jumped in his cheek.
“Just check o
ut the café, please. Catch you later, Sheriff.” Then I got the heck out of Dodge, one twitchy step at a time.
“That’s a promise you’d better keep.”
I ignored the parting shot and kept moving. I sensed him watching me all the way to the end of the corridor before I turned left and walked out of the hospital. When I made the street, I took a moment to get my thoughts in order. I needed to pick up Thor and head to the movie set.
Not thinking it wise to be seen until I had the crime completely solved, I took an old shortcut between some houses and businesses, skirting Main Street then slinking out of the back of the café to hurry into Thor. Turning the key, I started his motor and we set off.
Excited, knowing this could prove useful or a complete disaster, I parked and scurried into the camp. Distant sounds alerted me to the production steaming ahead again even in the aftermath of the men being rescued. Time’s money, right?
The camp remained eerily quiet while I made my way toward the catering area. I soon discovered that Tulip, hopefully with some help, had packed up all the remaining food and drink and gone home. Good. This whole thing with the movie people had consumed far too much of our time and energy. I sighed, wishing the film was in the can.
Okay. Might as well go for broke. Squaring my shoulders, I knocked on Mimi’s RV, the metal door rattling under my rapping fingers. I waited, listening for any sounds from inside. Hmm, nothing. I knocked louder a second time, bruising my knuckles in the process. I shook off the pain just as the door opened.
Felicity stood in the doorway, her sleepy face explaining the slowness to answer.
“Wh-what do you w-want?” she asked, her tone quiet and meek.
“I was wanting to have a word, if you have a few minutes?” I snuck a glance behind her but saw no one else.
“Now?” She yawned.
“If you could. Is your mother in?” Mimi had money invested in the movie, which gave her a motive as well.
“No, she’s fil-filming. They are be-hind.”
I nodded. “Yes, crazy doings lately. But thank goodness the men were found safe and sound. Can I come in?”
She reluctantly moved aside, and I squeezed past her through the narrow doorway.
“I h-heard you helped th-em.” She plonked down on the sofa. I sat down next to her, my thoughts racing.
“Yes, fortunately, I found them.”
“How d-did you kn-ow wh-where to look?”
“I followed you.”
Her eyes widened. “Really?” Her innocent look appeared real, not put on. Were my suspicions off base?
“Yes, I found the hat. The New York Rangers hat.” I didn’t make the usual raspberry salute. It seemed wrong under the circumstances, with what I suspected to be true. “I saw you speaking with a tall man. You exchanged something.”
Her eyes narrowed with the intel. “You go wh-where you sh-shouldn’t go. Not nice.”
“Well, it did save the two men’s lives,” I reminded her. “And now the murderer has been found out. The PA, Bryce Stanford.”
“W-why are y-you here then?” she asked.
“I thought you might know something. Something you’re not aware of. I thought perhaps I could take a reading on you.”
“But you al-already kn-know who did it.”
“Just wanted to tie up some loose ends. Like who returned Rosalie’s earring.”
She looked confused and innocent again. “If you th-think it h-helps.”
“Oh, it will.”
She let me take her hands and I went to work, but nothing was revealed, just a foggy mist that swirled and didn’t amount to anything. I needed to be more direct. “It wasn’t just Bryce who murdered Howard. Someone else bashed his head in. In a way, he was murdered twice. A dead man walking. A shortened version of Christie’s brilliant Murder on the Orient Express.”
The woman startled, tried to pull her hands away, but I held on. “Please, it might help,” I murmured.
“I think you’ve done quite enough already, Miss McCall.”
Now we were getting somewhere.
Chapter Twenty-Three
I continued to hold Felicity’s cool hands while images flowed into my mind. Crystal clear this time, of Felicity bashing Howard over the head with a baseball bat. Felicity running through the RV and shimmying down the escape hatch and away from the trailer. Felicity madder than a hatter.
I opened my eyes, swallowing hard. The person previously known as Felicity had changed in that few scant seconds. Her eyes no longer held any trace of innocence, but a murderous gleam. From Doctor Jekyll to Miss Hyde. Time to get out of there, tell Ace the score and get back to figuring out my newly complicated life. And in exactly that order.
I pulled my hands away from hers. “Okay, well, thank you, you’ve been an enormous help.”
“I have, have I? Just what did you see, Miss McCall?”
“Just that you returned the earring. Thanks for that. I’m sure I can speak for Rosalie in sending along her best regards.” Please, please buy it.
“Hmm. I think you saw a lot more than you’re letting on.”
I squirmed in my seat, my skin crawling with the sensation of jittery ants. Maybe I’d better send out an SOS, just in case. I closed my eyes and brought an image of our new Mountie to the forefront. Man, he sure was a looker. “Calling Constable Ace Collins, I’m at Mimi’s with Felicity. If I go missing, tell my family I love them.”
Okay, here it went, the moment of truth. I gave Felicity my fakest all-is-hunky-dory look and got to my feet. “Well, I’d best get a move on. I’ve got to prepare the food for tomorrow’s catering. Anything special you’d like to have us prepare, Felicity? Chocolate’s a house specialty.”
That disarmed her for a second before she squinted her eyes at me. “Why are you calling me Felicity? I’m Eve.” She slanted her head at me, her eyes assessing. “You seem nervous. You okay?”
“Oh, sure, I’m fine, thanks, Eve. Just a bit overwhelmed with the extra workload this week. Catering for a hundred and fifty is, well, a hundred and fifty percent increase.”
She shook her head slowly. “Yet you found the time to snoop all over the place for missing people and follow me around. And yes, I visited the cave to meet up with my drug dealer, if you must know. Kill two birds with one stone. Find out just how interested in me you were. Did you know that cocaine’s not readily available in Snowy Lake? You’re all so darn provincial in this hick town. But something’s not ringing true, missy. You had no call to follow me. No reason other than you’re a busybody looking for glory.”
I inched my way toward the door, keeping a wide smile pasted on my face while ignoring her slanderous comment on our fine town with great difficulty. I didn’t want to spook Felicity/Eve. Now I understood why I hadn’t picked up on the drug use before. Until now when I’d taken a reading, she’d been Felicity, not Eve. That was some split in her personality. Right to the core. “I blame it on my obsession with Agatha Christie and her passion for solving mysteries. I guess it’s catching.”
She got up as well, planting herself between me and freedom.
I braced myself. If a person couldn’t run away, which should always be considered first in a dire situation, then fighting was the only option.
A whirlwind of movement and a baseball bat appeared in Felicity/Eve’s hand, grabbed from behind the sofa where it had been hidden from view. She was still obstructing my leaving, only now she had a weapon in her hands. And a look in her eyes that chilled me to the core.
“Feli—Eve, it’s my duty to warn you I know karate and the art of self-defense. And I practice a lot.”
She grinned, holding up the bat as though she was ready to play ball. “Bring it on, missy.”
A flash of movement. I instinctively ducked out of the way, my body filled with adrenaline. Surprising how fast you can move when your life is being threatened. But the space was tight, hampering me. And did I mention she has a thick wooden baseball bat?
We circled each othe
r like beasts in the forest searching for any weakness. Any opening.
Please, a little help here.
She took a second swing. I dodged out of the way. Not quick enough. A solid blow smashed into my arm on my left side, firing up all my pain receptors. Shoot. That was going to leave some bruise and I had a wedding to attend this weekend in a strapless bridesmaid gown. That was, if I lived through this. I swallowed hard. Those kinds of thoughts—not helping. I crouched into defensive mode. Enough of this. My turn, sweetheart.
Of course, all I had was my own body to use as leverage. I went for broke. Rushed her, screaming my battle cry—it was best to go down fighting.
“HI-YEEEE!”
It knocked her right onto her boney hiney. She landed against the door with a loud thud, effectively blocking the exit. I fell half on top of her and rolled away immediately. She looked dazed, but not out of the game.
Not yet.
She still clutched the bat. She brought it up again with both hands in front of her prone body, intending to strike. I tried scrambling farther away, but my back was against the side wall, the sofa blocking my other side. Yikes. I directed all my energy at the weapon, wishing I could shatter it to smithereens.
A loud crash reverberated against the outside of the RV. She bounced against the door, her eyes widening. The bat wobbled precariously in her hands. She struggled to hold on to it, but it seemed to have a life of its own. The weapon flew out of her hands, bouncing once and rolling away.
A second crash made her scramble away from the door on all fours. I stayed still. Good thing, because there was a third crash and the door flew open.
Constable Ace Collins, poised like a superhero, gun drawn, stood in the entrance.
My adrenaline plummeted, my body recognizing instantly that the danger had passed. I began shivering with cold. It had been a whole lot too close for comfort.
“You okay?” he asked me while holstering his gun and striding over to my attacker. He hauled her to her feet, placing her in handcuffs. I got shakily to my feet, holding on to the sofa for support.
“I think so,” I said, gingerly checking my arm to see if it was broken. I pulled up my sleeve. Uh-oh. It didn’t look good. Or feel good. Already swelling like the dickens. “Ah, then again, maybe not. I think I might have to have this arm set.”
