Cookies, Corpses & the Deadly Haunt

by Rachael Stapleton

  “You drop in on Pearl often?”

  “We were dating,” he replied.

  “Oh, I… I’m so very sorry for your loss.”

  “Thank you.” His eyes glistened with tears, but his voice showed little emotion. “Wait—why were you coming here? You weren’t friends with Pearl. I mean, sorry, that was rude, I just meant you only just moved here and met her.”

  “I know. You’re right. Pearl asked me to come. I called her today and asked her some questions about your sister. She didn’t have time to talk.”

  “Kaitlyn?” Axl said with a squint, then looked toward the sound of distant sirens. “Why were you asking about Kaitlyn?”

  They waited in silence for a few moments as the sirens drew closer.

  “I wanted to talk to her about your sister’s boy—” Juniper realized with a start that someone had killed Kaitlyn for what she knew and suddenly opening up didn’t seem very smart.

  His eyebrows rose, just a smidgen.

  “Boyfriend?” he asked. “You were trying to find out if Kaitlyn had a boyfriend? Why?”

  “I just saw her get picked up in this car and it occurred to me that—you know what—never mind. It was stupid, and this isn’t the time.”

  The gate opened and two uniformed officers strode over to them. Juniper automatically raised her hands and stepped away from the door to allow them to enter.

  “I was the one who called Detective Lumos,” Juniper said, her hands still in the air.

  “He’s right behind us,” one cop barked. “Stay here and wait for him.”

  “And you stay right here too,” the other police officer said to Axl. Juniper could see through the door that the first cop in had placed two fingers on Pearl’s neck, checking for signs of life. He shook his head and spoke softly into his radio.

  Detective Lumos chose that moment to appear. He was tall, muscular, a dedicated professional with a no-nonsense air. There was never any question as to who was in charge when he was in the room. He nodded at Axl, then zeroed in on Juniper.

  “Are you alright?” he said.

  “I am,” Juniper said, relieved.

  “You know, it’s downright eerie how often I find you at murder scenes,” the Detective said.

  “I had an appointment, and I swear when I arrived she was already dead.”

  “I’m going to assume we’ll find some sort of connection between your latest haunted house and this situation.”

  “Well, I think there’s a connection—that’s why I’m here. I wanted to ask Pearl about Kaitlyn. You know, find out who she was seeing. They were best friends after all.”

  “Her family said she didn’t have a boyfriend.”

  “I know, but I started to wonder about Peter. You know he drives a red Camaro and Lulu thinks he’s having an affair. So I called Pearl, but she laughed at the idea. She suggested Helen put me up to that line of thinking. She was going to fill me in when I got here but of course I was too late.”

  They both took a moment.

  “Okay,” he said with a sigh. “That about it?” Juniper nodded. “You can go. I know where to find you for follow-up.”

  “And you?” Lumos said, turning back to Axl.

  “Pearl and I were dating,” he said. “I stopped in to bring her flowers because we’d had a fight yesterday.”

  “A fight… ?”

  “Nothing serious,” He said quietly. “Her and my mother didn’t exactly get along.”

  “I see,” said Cody, conveying a lot in a few words. Helen wasn’t the easiest person to get along with. “I’m sorry for your loss, Mr. Patone.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Did you find her exactly like this?”

  He nodded.

  “All right. Let me take a look at the scene, and then we’ll have a little chat.” He raised his chin in Juniper’s direction. “You can go, I’ll be in touch later.”

  “Yes sir,” Juniper said.

  Axl glanced at Juniper. “You two seem awfully friendly. You dating him now?”

  Juniper started to say something snide about it being none of his business, but reconsidered. His sister and his girlfriend had just been murdered after all. Assuming he didn’t do it, the least she could do was cut him a little slack.

  “Sorry. I’m being rude again. I’ll never forgive myself for not arriving an hour earlier. Or perhaps even fifteen minutes earlier… Whatever it would have taken to avoid this tragedy or my sisters.”

  Axl’s voice caught in his throat, and his emotions seemed genuine. Unless he was a first-class actor, which, for all Juniper knew, he was.

  Detective Lumos appeared in the doorway. “Follow me, please, Mr. Patone.”

  They disappeared into the bungalow. Juniper remained in the hall and watched the forensics team arrive, loaded down with bags of equipment. A few neighbors stuck their heads out of their houses to check on the hubbub. Juniper did her best to avoid their curious gazes.

  The most pertinent question at the moment, for her at least, was if Pearl’s death had anything to do with Kaitlyn’s. Certainly it seemed that way.

  Chapter Nineteen

  _____________

  J uniper stumbled inside the café ready to start another workday.

  “Mornin’,” Pike called out as she sipped coffee and read her tablet at the bakery counter. “Sleep well?”

  “I did, actually,” Juniper said, walking behind and pouring coffee from the pot into a commuter cup. “That nerve pill you gave me did the trick. Thank you.”

  Pike fixed Juniper with a look. “You’re not going to find any more dead bodies, are you? Because I only have so many pills left.”

  Juniper smiled. “I’ll try to keep that in mind.”

  “Good,” Pike said, getting to her feet. “So, did your boyfriend say whether or not Axl Patone is a suspect?”

  “My boyfriend?”

  “Detective Cody.”

  “Oh, lord. Your life is a romance novel, isn’t it?”

  Pike smiled. “Can’t say the same for you, my friend.”

  “No, you definitely can’t. Anyway, as far as I know they don’t have anything in particular to make them think so—other than me.”

  “You?”

  “Yeah, well, I saw him kneeling over the body.”

  “Well, yeah—but you said he wasn’t stabbing her, just kneeling there looking like he was about to cry. Is there something you’re not telling me?”

  “No. I just mean my statement is the only obvious reason they might have to suspect him but I think he’s innocent and I’m sure the forensics will prove that.”

  “Cool.”

  “Why do you want to know?”

  “Well, it’s just he’s always hitting on me and you never know when a girl might feel frisky. Now that he’s single again.”

  “Oh my goodness, Pike, you are something else.”

  Pike smiled. “Why don’t you sit down and I’ll get you breakfast.”

  “It’s okay. I made an egg before I left your place. I’ll stop in later for more caffeine and sugar pick-me-up. I need to go to the Hardware store to grab some supplies that I forgot yesterday.”

  The doorbell jingled and Lulu came in the front door, carrying a bag. “Oh hey, Juniper, just the lady I was thinking of. I have the perfect dress for you.”

  “A dress?”

  “A Halloween costume.” She opened the bag and pulled out a pink striped gown. It was completely over the top, but beautiful.

  “Where did you get that?”

  “It’s an antique—a silk and satin evening dress passed down through my family, but it suits you, it really does,” Lulu said. “Just look at that underskirt with the pleating around it. The basque bodice with the low square neck and the vest… oh, it is one of my favourites. Want to try it on?”

  “How could I refuse?”

  “What do you have for me?” Pike chimed in.

  “Are you done here? Follow me and we’ll play dress-up.”

  Lulu led the w
ay to her half of the store and plucked an armful of dresses from one of the racks and carted them in the direction of the dressing room.

  Pike turned to Juniper and winked. “Perks to sharing a shop with her.”

  “Yes, and the perks to sharing a shop with you makes me chain myself to the treadmill… but I love it.” Lulu retorted. “Now, let’s see, Pike. Were you thinking of going as one of the elite, or perhaps a servant? I’ve had a whole shipment of dresses and accessories brought in to accommodate the Ball’s costumes, or I can pull from my vintage section.”

  “Let’s try them all, starting with the naughty chambermaid.”

  Lulu ran back and forth, bringing Pike sashes and bustiers while simultaneously entertaining Juniper.

  Eventually, after fifteen minutes of feeling like a kid playing dress-up, Juniper had been layered and looked like an authentic Victorian lady. Pike looked more austere in a high collared black silk brocade tea gown. They stood back and admired themselves in the mirror: They looked like they had just stepped out of a different time.

  “Show Juniper what you’re planning to wear,” Pike turned to me, “it is absolutely ethereal. I want to steal it. There’s a matching smaller version, but it’s for a teenage girl and you know how tiny their waists were back then.”

  Lulu ran to the back and returned a minute later. “Presto,” she said pulling it from the protective bag. “A cotton gauze and Valenciennes lace summer day dress. Isn’t it darling?”

  “It’s beautiful. It looks like the white dress in that photo?” Juniper said.

  “It is. All of these gowns were passed down to me. I just need to find my matching parasol. This is what I love about vintage,” Lulu said softly.

  Lulu twirled in front of the mirror, her eyes glazing over once again. “We will look so refined. Of course, the line between the worlds is thin on Samhain, and with it being the anniversary of the murder, hopefully the Doctor doesn’t confuse one of us with the real Victoria.”

  “Yes, hopefully he’s not into house calls.” Juniper joked, but Lulu’s face remained serious. Her eyes had that glazed look once again, and she was softly humming to herself. The song sounded familiar, but Juniper couldn’t quite place it.

  Chapter Twenty

  _____________

  J ack spent the morning finishing up renovations at the mansion while Juniper and a few helpers moved in the mélange of furniture and décor Juniper used to stage the houses they flipped. By the time Jack finished the bathroom tile, June had staged the main floor. They took twenty enjoyable minutes to catch up over coffee. Not once did he mention the devil woman which she was thankful for.

  Afterward, Juniper headed to the hardware shop to pick up some picture anchors for the upstairs paintings. The decorating crew was back at the mansion working steadily and didn’t seem to require her help. And besides, she had other things on her mind.

  Unfortunately, she wasn’t the only one out and about in the small town of Bohemian Lake.

  “Juniper!” Helen Patone gushed, as if they were long lost friends. “I’d like you to meet my husband, Frank.”

  “Ah, Juniper, nice to finally meet you,” said Frank.

  She’d actually met Frank twice since she’d been in town but clearly Juniper wasn’t that memorable. She had noticed in her brief three weeks in town that the mayor talked at people instead of to them and avoided eye contact often. It made her wonder how he got elected unless no one else ever ran against him. Juniper gave a mental shrug. The mayor’s politics were none of her concern.

  “Nice to meet you as well,” Juniper lied, as if she’d never heard of the man.

  “And this is our daughter, Meg.”

  “How do you do?” Juniper said and nodded politely in return.

  “Juniper is the one who bought and is renovating the Doctor’s House.”

  Juniper nodded. “Yes, I was just on my way to the hardware store to pick up some last-minute supplies.”

  “That’s handy!” said Frank. “We were just on our way to lunch.”

  “Sure you don’t want to join us?” Meg asked. “I hate being alone with these two.”

  “Oh, please, Meaghen.” Helen looked shaken by her comment. “Enjoying an afternoon with your family is not that bad.”

  “Kids,” Frank joked, checking his cell phone messages. “They’re never happy.”

  “How’s Axl doing? He seemed pretty shaken up yesterday. Not that I could blame him. I was upset and, well you know… Pearl being his girlfriend and all.”

  “What—” Helen started to say.

  “I guess you haven’t heard,” Juniper said, “It’s really dreadful, actually. I went to see Pearl yesterday and Axl was there—”

  Helen snorted.

  “And when I got to her house she was… dead.”

  Helen gasped and clasped her hands over her mouth.

  “Dead?” Frank said, looking up from his cell phone.

  “No way,” said Meg in a derisive tone.

  “What… What happened?” asked Frank, wrapping his arm protectively around his daughter. He looked a little green around the gills.

  “She was killed. Stabbed to death, I think.”

  The family stared at Juniper, dumbstruck.

  “I… That’s stunning,” Frank said. “What a terrible thing. You found her?”

  Juniper nodded. “Sort of. Axl arrived right before me. Didn’t he tell you?”

  “What? No. We went and picked up Meg from University. She lives there and we haven’t seen him for a few days. He doesn’t sleep at home all the time. Wow…” Helen trailed off, blew out a breath. “I can’t believe this. I spoke to her just the other day. Who would have done such a thing? And why? Have the police been called?”

  “Yes, of course,” Juniper said.

  “I suppose they’ll be visiting us soon, then. Oh, my dear,” said Helen to her daughter. “You feel it, don’t you?”

  Frank cleared his throat.

  “Well, well,” said Helen, looking around as though summoning strength from the cosmos. “I imagine Pearls in a better place now—enjoying a cup of tea in the garden with Kaitlyn.”

  Meg’s face was ashen, and I saw tears in her eyes. She looked away and cleared her throat. “I’m gonna go wait in the car,” said Meg, heading down the street.

  “Meg?” Frank shuffled after her.

  “You didn’t have a chance to talk to her at all, then?” Helen asked.

  I shook my head. “I arrived after the… it had happened.”

  “I didn’t realize you knew her well,” Helen said.

  Juniper shrugged, not wanting to mention that she had reached out to Pearl only because she was looking into her daughter’s death.

  “Well,” Helen said, blowing out a breath and standing straight, as though to shrug off her uncharacteristic show of emotion. “I guess we should go find Axl and make sure he’s alright. Nice to see you, Juniper,” she said and walked in the direction of her family.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  _____________

  U p on the old widow’s walk, Juniper couldn’t help but think of her encounter with the neighbor yesterday, something about what she said was bugging her. The Halloween Ball was tonight and the thought of the ghost or Peter appearing made her shiver.

  Her gaze followed the horizon. Why was the ghost always up on the hill? What was drawing her up there?

  Once Jack left, Juniper went back to the second floor, where she’d heard the music yesterday. According to the discrepancies between her measurements and the blueprints, Juniper was sure there was space behind this wall. But… could it be something more? Something that would account for the music and the other noises—whispering, a man yelling—she’d heard? The easiest way to find out was to peek behind one of the sconces but she didn’t want to do any damage. She unscrewed one, pulled it from the wall, removed the plastic electrical box, and stood on her tiptoes, trying to shine her flashlight beam in the small hole.

  “Lose something?”
a voice from behind her said.

  Juniper squeaked and flailed as she whirled around.

  “Sorry,” Cody said with a smile. “Absorbed in thought?”

  “Yes, actually,” Juniper stood back and handed him the flashlight. “You’re taller than I am. Look in there and tell me what you see.”

  He peeked in.

  “There’s nothing but empty space,” he said, rearing back from the wall a little and looking surprised.

  “That’s what I thought.” Juniper turned and began pulling and tugging at things around the room.

  “What are you looking for?” Cody asked.

  “The entrance to a secret passage.”

  “A secret passage? Seriously?”

  “I think maybe you’ve read one too many mystery novels.”

  Juniper ran her flashlight beam along all the seams, looking for a trigger. “There has to be a way to get in there?”

  “You’re a contractor, why don’t you just punch a hole through.

  “I could but old-style lath and plaster is tough and besides I don’t want to make a mess for tonight.”

  Then Juniper turned her attention to the bedroom across the hall—the one with the original bookshelf. It stood about seven feet tall and five wide, and it was set back so the front of the shelves were flush with the wall. Made of what looked like solid mahogany, its ample shelves were fronted with old brass trim.

  “The bookshelf is so obvious, but it’s cliché for a reason, I guess.”

  Juniper ran her hand along the spine of the ancient tomes. Pulling on each book, one at a time.

  “Hey, one of the books is missing?”

  “Really. Which one?”

  “There was a book right here on the history of the town. I remember it because I was planning to come back and see if there was anything about the house in it. I got busy and forgot.”

  “Maybe Jack has it?”

  “No, it’s not really Jack’s thing. I normally do the historical research. He’s the hands-on-guy. Do you hear that?” Juniper asked.

  Cody nodded. “Classy joint.”

  “It’s coming from the attic.

  Their eyes met for a long moment. Then, as though of one mind, they raced for the attic stairs.