by Jane Hinchey
Bloody observant detective. Feeling a little foolish, I allowed myself to enjoy the warmth of his hand for a second longer before disentangling from him and going to sit on the other side of Gran's armchair. "Continue."
"First of all, thank you, Jenna, for your fast intel on the property at Wiltshire Drive." He nodded at Jenna who blushed.
"What? What intel? Why didn't you tell me?" I demanded, head swiveling between the two of them.
"I was coming here to do that very thing," Jenna told me, "but when you sent me the photo of the borrio bud I phoned Jackson to tell him while I was on my way here."
"And just what was this intel?"
"That Lexi's mother had owned the property on Wiltshire Drive, up until four years ago. She was a struggling single mom and the bank foreclosed and kicked Lexi and her mom out."
"But...did the bank sell the house? Why is it sitting empty?"
"The bank couldn't get an offer that would cover the debt owed. And then Lexi's mom killed herself," Jackson told us. I clapped a hand over my mouth. How awful. "Lexi was taken in by her mother's clan in Alabama, but when Lexi turned twenty-one, she came back to Whitefall Cove."
"For revenge," I said.
"She says for justice," Jackson said. "She's spent four years plotting how she'd kill those responsible for uprooting her life. When she started work at Bean Me Up, you came in one day after you'd been gardening, Jenna, and she smelled the borrio bud on you. It goes without saying that foxes have a keen sense of smell."
“But that was months ago," Jenna pointed out. "Why wait all this time."
"To integrate herself into the community. To become a valued member of society to lessen her chances of being a suspect."
"Smart." Gran nodded.
"A little," Jackson agreed. He directed his next words at me. "Then you came home and forced her hand."
"Forced her hand? What do you mean?"
"Whitney started acting all jittery and weird and Lexi thought she was on to her. So, she rushed it. Initially, she was going to poison both Whitney and Bruce in their home, but she ran out of time, so she took a takeout cup from Bean Me Up, prepared the poison and hid the cup behind the counter until Christina came in and requested the usual order. Christina didn't see Lexi switch the cups out."
"But why kill Whitney? Bruce is the bank manager, he's the one who would have foreclosed on the loan," Jenna pointed out.
"Whitney was the realtor who put it on the market. She arranged to have all the furniture cleared out and dumped. And Lexi overheard her saying after her mom had killed herself, that the house was now an albatross, that no one would buy it now thanks to the silly woman who'd offed herself there."
"Wait, so Lexi's mom killed herself at the house?" I asked.
Jackson nodded. "Broke in, cut her wrists in the bath. Whitney discovered the body during a showing."
"How awful," I whispered. Gran patted my knee.
"So...it was Lexi who threw the brick through my window?"
"It was. You were getting too close. The car we impounded? It was used in a corner store robbery in Alabama. And despite it being thoroughly cleaned, we did recover a hair from the driver side headrest. A match to Lexi."
"So, you're saying Lexi robbed a store, drove all the way here, holed up at the fox's compound and kept the car hidden there while she integrated herself with the community, then killed Whitney?"
"Exactly,” Jackson said. “But she didn't have the luxury of time to get rid of Bruce. She rushed it. She used the car she'd kept hidden all this time and shot him. Unfortunately, she didn't manage to kill him. Now everyone was on guard, everyone was suspicious. She was leaving town when we caught her."
"What about Mike?" Jenna asked, but I was already shaking my head,
"She was using him. I'm not even sure why, beyond having a good time. I went to see him tonight and she was breaking up with him. It wasn't pleasant." I suddenly had a light bulb moment. "That's why she was at her old house! She was tying up loose ends. Break up with Mike and tell him she's moving on—that way it’s common knowledge, he'd tell people she'd left. Then go by the old house and take the borrio bud plant, so no evidence to tie it to her. Only Archie and I turned up and disturbed her before she could get it."
"You're lucky she ditched the gun she'd used on Bruce." Jackson shook his head.
"Finally!" The sound of Whitney's ghostly voice behind my left shoulder had me launching off the armrest with a scream. Spinning, I eyeballed the apparition of Whitney Sims hovering a foot off the floor behind the armchair where we'd all been sitting, for Gran and Jenna had joined me in our scramble across the floor. Archie hissed, and his hackles rose, along with his spine, in a spectacular arch that was both impressive and intimidating. I made a mental note to make sure I gave him an extra treat when we got home.
"Whitney?" My voice wobbled, and I cleared my throat. "Have you been haunting my store?"
"I've been trying to get your attention," she whined, "but none of you could see me. The only thing that worked was turning that damn thermostat off, but even then, you didn't know I was here."
I sucked in a deep breath through my nose, blew it out through my mouth and folded my arms across my chest. Lord, give me patience.
“Did you know it was Lexi who killed you?” I asked. “And how come we can see you now?”
Whitney pointed at Jackson. “It’s him.” Then she pointed at me. “And you.”
“Us?” We said in unison.
“I tried communicating with you. No answer,” Jackson accused.
“It’s something about her power and your ability, Whitney said. “She’s all glowy with magic, like a halo.”
I looked at Jackson and mimed she’s crazy with my finger at my temple. “I don’t have any magic, Whitney,” I reminded her. “It’s on lockdown.”
“It’s not,” she argued, arms crossed over her chest.
Deciding to let it go for now, I changed subject. “Did you know all along that it was Lexi who killed you?”
Whitney shook her head. “No, I didn’t. I was trying to communicate with you to let you know that it wasn’t Bruce. I knew you’d all think that, but it wasn’t him.”
“How could you be sure?” Jenna asked.
“Because I knew everything. I knew about him and Wendy, I knew she was pregnant, I knew they were getting ready to make a life together. And ”—she held up a hand—“despite what you may think, I’d come to terms with it. I’d gotten over all my feelings of jealousy and rage, because what Bruce said to me eighteen months ago when he asked for a divorce? It finally sank in. That we loved each other but weren’t in love anymore. And that I needed to start living my own life. And so, while I was making my own plans to setup my own realtor business—for real—I watched Bruce and Wendy slowly fall in love. Initially I wanted to hurt them. Both of them. I took control of Bruce’s assets, planned to hit him where it hurt the most.” She shrugged. “But then you came back to town. An example of what can happen when you allow your emotions to rule. It backfired spectacularly for you and I realized that all the judgement I was heaping on you, well…people would be saying that about me. I’d rather walk away with my head held high.”
“Gee thanks,” I muttered. “Well, you’re free to go, Whitney. The mystery of your death is solved. Move into the light or whatever it is you spirits do."
She laughed, smoothed down her dress and tossed her head. "Oh no, I'm not going anywhere. I'm here to stay."
I looked at her in horror. "You can't be serious."
"I've thoroughly enjoyed watching your investigation." She floated toward us and it was disconcerting, to say the least. "I've decided to stay. You're looking at Whitefall Cove's very first ghost detective."
THE END…for now
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About the Author
Aussie Author & Internatio
nal Bestseller Jane Hinchey writes sexy, snarky, badass, paranormal romances and funny, witchy, paranormal cozy mysteries.
Living in the City of Churches (aka Adelaide, South Australia) with her man, two cats, and turtle, she would really prefer to live in a magical town where cooking could be done with a snap of her fingers, and her house would clean itself.
When she's not in her writing cave she's usually playing the Sims, Civilizations or something similar, binge-watching Netflix or upping the ante in the crazy cat lady stakes.
Explore Jane’s worlds, get writing tips, and join her newsletter for book news, book sales and laughter! If emails aren’t your thing, then join her Facebook Reader Group - Little Devils!
Also by Jane Hinchey
Awakening Series
Hell’s Gate Series
Supernatural Investigation Agency Series
Standalones
