Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
When I am gone, you must be queen instead.
Now reigns the Lady Summer,
Round whose feet
A thousand fairies flock with blossoms sweet.
Cecily Mary Barker, “Spring Goes, Summer Comes”
AS THE BOOK CLUB TEA wrapped up and people exited, Yvanna began collecting tea cups and saucers and stowing them on the trolley, and I crossed to the acrylic podium to return it to the gardening tool cabinet.
Fiona accompanied me and whistled for Pixie to join us.
Though my sweet cat was enjoying Holly’s goodbye caresses, she bounded to us in record time.
I bent and scratched her under the chin.
When I rose, I caught sight of Idris moseying to me.
“What’s up?” she crooned. She wasn’t in uniform. She’d dressed in white jeans and white sweater, the embodiment of innocence.
“Be bold, Courtney,” Fiona advised.
Swell. The future queen fairy was getting bossy. We’d have to have a chat. For the time being, I nodded to Idris’s purse and said, “Does your envelope contain a DNA test result?”
“Why do you ask?”
“I believe you’re a Tillbury.”
“Is that some kind of bug?” Her lips turned up in amusement.
“Level with me, Idris. Something prompted you to delve into your genetic history. I’m assuming you received a letter or keepsake and learned your grandmother was adopted at birth. You discovered you were a descendant of the Tillbury clan and along the way, found out you had a distant cousin.”
“Cousin?” she asked coyly.
“Fourth- or fifth-removed. Tiana. You met her and won her confidence. Soon after, she naively revealed there was a family treasure. With malice aforethought, you lured her to Open Your Imagination and fed her a cookie you brushed with cyanide.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said in singsong fashion.
Fiona said, “Yes, she does. Her pupils are dilating, which I learned in a mystery—I can’t remember which one—occurs when lying, due to the increased stress associated with deception.”
Holy moly. Literature was truly increasing my darling fairy’s knowledge of crime.
I said, “After she died, you stole the treasure you unearthed from the patio and fled.”
“You can’t prove it.”
“I’ve alerted the police.”
“Why you . . .” She nabbed a pair of garden shears from a hook on the exterior of the cabinet and aimed them at me.
I grabbed a broom from within and held it with two hands like a staff. I’d taken a few self-defense and martial arts classes. I was no expert at either, but I did understand how to wield a bo.
Idris lunged.
I raised the bo, deflecting the attack. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Reddick charging across the patio. Phew!
“Drop those pruning clippers,” he bellowed.
Idris hesitated.
“Drop them now!”
Idris wheezed, her shoulders sagged, and she lowered her arm. In a frail voice, she rasped, “Do you understand . . .” Tears spilled down her cheeks. “Can you comprehend what it’s like to never know your family? Your real family? To always wonder?”
“You had real family,” I said. “Your mother and your father. I don’t know if you have siblings, but if you do, they’re all yours.”
“But they’re not my history. My past. When I searched my lineage through Past Perfect, my world changed. I saw Tianna was alive and living in Carmel, and I thought I’d have a true cousin. We could share stories. I would learn all about the Tillburys.”
Something about her demeanor bothered me. She was too passionate. Too eager to convince us. I said, “I don’t believe you.”
“You don’t?” Her eyes widened, confirming my suspicion.
“No. I suspect when you researched the history of the Tillbury clan, you found out they had been wealthy. You imagined that fortune had been passed down to Tianna. You wanted it for yourself.”
She kept quiet.
“When you met her and saw the extravagant diamond on her finger, your hunch was confirmed, and greed consumed you. You were a baker. She was a wealthy heiress. You wanted what she had. You didn’t reveal yourself to her.
Instead, you begged to be friends. A kind and trusting soul, she embraced the relationship.
Along the way, she disclosed the family secret.
That was when you knew you had to unearth the treasure so you could be as well off as your cousin. ”
She didn’t deny it.
I continued. “Slyly, you convinced her the current owner of the property would never let her take possession of the treasure. You suggested the two of you steal it. She balked, didn’t she?”
Idris pursed her lips, weighing a response. Finally, she sighed and said, “She wanted to go through the proper channels.”
“But you pushed back and—”
“She caved.” The word snapped out of her. “She surrendered, okay? Because she was weak. Weak!” Her mouth twisted into a cruel grimace. “How I detest weakness. She deserved to die.”
Reddick removed the shears from Idris’s hand, after which Fiona soared above her head and dusted her with a silver calming potion.
I felt sorry for her, but I was sadder for Tianna.
Later that afternoon, as I was tallying up the receipts for the day—the book club tea attendees had cleared the shelves of all of the holiday bells—Joss informed me she had to hurry out.
The retirement facility had called. Her mother was suffering and in the final stage of her life.
I advised her to take the week off. Do whatever she needed to do. I could manage.
Fiona kissed Joss and wished her courage.
Joss shook a finger at her. “Do not go back to the fairy kingdom forever without saying goodbye to me. Do. Not.” She rushed out.
A frisson of dread crawled up my spine. “What was Joss referring to? Did you tell her you were leaving?”
Fiona perched on the register. “Just for a few days.”
“Why?”
“My aunt told me my sister isn’t healthy.”
I scoffed. “Not possible. Eveleen is younger than you and as spritely as, well, a sprite. Plus she’s a nurturer fairy. They live much longer than all other fairies.”
“Not that kind of unhealthy. She’s not going to die.” In dramatic fashion, she mimed choking her neck, after which she tittered and added, “She’s got a crush on another fairy. My mother wants her to cease and desist.”
I laughed. “She’s lovesick. Got it. Go. Enjoy. And be a good big sister. When you return, we’re going to chat about you bossing me around.”
“I don’t boss. I bolster.” She flexed her arms before somersaulting with hysterics.
“Yoo-hoo,” Wanda called from the door. “Still open?” She entered with my father. They had been Christmas shopping, I presumed. A number of handled tote bags hung over their forearms. “We have a bit of news.”
Dad was beaming.
“You won the lottery and bought out Carmel?” I teased.
“Something better,” Wanda said. “Not material in nature.”
Fiona stopped her antics, suddenly serious.
“Tell her, Kip,” Wanda prodded, which was difficult given all the parcels.
He set the bags he was carrying on the floor, weaved his fingers together, extended his arms to stretch his fingers, and then dropped his arms to his sides. “I have—”
“Seen a fairy!” Fiona cried. “He’s seen one. Was it Ulra? It had to be Ulra. You have a to-go bag from Hideaway Café. And now you can see me, too.”
“He can?” My gaze swung from him, to Wanda, to Fiona, and back to him. “You can?”
“There she is.” Dad pointed in Fiona’s direction.
Was he kidding? To test him, I said, “Orange wings?”
“More like gossamer, and her dress is blue.”
Tears misted my eyes. He could see fairies and he was going to marry a wonderful woman. Hooray! I rushed to him and embraced him. “I’m so happy for you. Mom would be, too.” I pulled away, horror-struck with embarrassment. “I’m sorry, Wanda. The sentiment popped out.”
She swatted the air. “Not to worry. Having a true love is a blessing. I never want your father to forget your mother. I only hope to make him as happy. And now that we can both see the magical creatures who dwell in Carmel . . .” She batted her eyelashes at my father.
“We will be happy.” He bussed her cheek and gave her an affectionate squeeze.
“What’s with all the partying?” Brady swaggered through the door and closed it with a clack. “Are you serving hot spiced tea or something? If so, I’d like a cup.”
I rushed to him and clasped his hand. “Dad has . . . I’ll let him tell you.”
My father’s cheeks bloomed pink. Was he embarrassed to admit his newfound gift? He swallowed hard, squared his shoulders, and in a very gruff voice said, “I can see fairies.”
Wanda clapped him on the back. “There, macho man. Was that so hard to utter aloud to a person of the male persuasion?”
Brady released me and shook my father’s hand. “Congratulations. I’m hoping to see one myself someday.”
“You are?”
“I believe. I just can’t see. Soon.” He winked over his shoulder at me. “In the meantime, Courtney, I came to ask you a question.”
I joined him. “What’s up?”
He worked his tongue around his mouth as if he’d suddenly gone dry. His eyes misted over. With anxiety? “This is not an official proposal, Courtney, but it is an offer.”
“An offer?” I tilted my head.
“To begin talking about our future. In very serious terms.”
“How serious?” I tamped down a grin.
“I think we should shop for an engagement ring. Are you game?”
I threw my arms around him. “Yes.”
Dad and Wanda whooped. Fiona soared around the shop cheering.
As for me? I felt as grounded as I ever had. The love of my life was my best friend, and soon we might make a commitment to be together forever. How lucky could one girl get?