Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
The news must have spread like wildfire. The group of women, young and old, rushed Natalie as soon as she opened the car door. It made her extra grateful that Liam had insisted they stop for a nice leisurely breakfast on the way home from the sheriff’s department.
Fueled with food and caffeine she could face the mob waiting for her. Maybe. But the couple of hours wait for her to return probably really riled them up into a frenzy.
On the up side, it looked like Jules had taken the initiative and come in and opened up the shop. Natalie guessed she’d heard the whole story, probably from Harper via Alice by way of Agnes. The Mudville gossip chain was a complex system.
In any case, the lights were on inside and the sign on the front door flipped to Open, which she only got a glimpse of past the group gathered.
The one good thing about so many people clustering there in front of her shop was that the hustle and bustle might attract attention and bring in some customers. But besides that possibility, Natalie could have done without the mob and their questions.
So many questions…
“Did Carson really haul you down to the sheriff’s department?” Harper’s Aunt Agnes asked. “That boy needs a good swat in the behind for this. He was raised better than that.”
“Did Bekker read you your rights? It doesn’t count if he didn’t read you your rights,” Alice reminded her.
“You’re back. I’m so glad you’re back. But uh oh. I didn’t place the wine order when the salesman called. In case…well, you know.” Jules cringed. “Should I call him back now?”
“Bethany texted to say that Brandon knows a really good defense attorney from the city and he’s willing to take your case. Should I get the phone number for you?” Harper asked.
“I also contacted every member of the LADS, but I didn’t call a meeting. Should we enact the phone tree? Get them all over here now?” Alice asked.
Her wine supplier thought she was in jail.
Bethany’s boyfriend was interviewing lawyers on her behalf.
Alice and Agnes were ready to take on the local deputy for bringing her in.
The last thing she needed was more people here, especially the old ladies of LADS, who imagined themselves amateur sleuths worthy of their own television series.
“No.” Natalie somehow managed to get in the word while being peppered with questions.
But it was Liam who took control of the situation. With his palm splayed on her back, offering her support even as he propelled her toward the door, he said loud and clear, “Ladies. Let’s get Natalie inside and give her a minute. Then she’ll answer your questions. All right?”
He managed to get her inside, and of course her friends followed. She hadn’t expected anything less.
As she stood inside the shop, wondering what to do first, Liam stepped forward.
“Jules, call and place that wine order. Harper, would you mind going back to the apartment and putting on the kettle for tea for everyone? Alice, Agnes, do either of you know how to start the fire in the fireplace in the meeting room?”
Army man that he was, Liam was very good at giving orders. He managed to not only disperse the group to give Natalie some breathing room, but he did it while making every one of them feel important and necessary as they rushed to do their task.
Left up to her own devices, Natalie didn’t think she could have accomplished the same. She probably would have insulted everyone. Or broken down crying. It was a toss-up.
“Thank you,” she said when the shop was clear of her well-meaning friends.
“You’re welcome.” He smiled, taking her coat from her shoulders and draping it over one arm. “But I only bought you a couple of minutes. You do realize they’re not going anywhere until you recount everything that was said after we left here.”
She sighed. “I know.”
Liam tipped his chin toward the meeting room. “Go and sit down. I’ll help Harper with the tea.”
She nodded but before she could get to the doorway, her other group of friends arrived. Those of the spirit variety.
“Thank God, you’re here,” Gabe said.
Dropping his hold on Millie’s hand, he reached his arms out as if to hug her.
He dropped them to his sides again when realization hit.
A lifetime of being able to touch others was hard to unlearn.
Especially for the newly dead. At least Gabe had stopped, mostly, leaning against walls, only to fall through them.
He really hadn’t liked when she’d laugh at him for that.
“That bumbling deputy cannot possibly believe you actually killed me. Although, I’m beginning to believe I cannot overestimate the idiocy of the people of this town.” Lionel scowled.
“I called a ghost council meeting,” Ricky told her.
“We’re all here for you, sweetie. Anything you need,” Harriet agreed.
Millie, standing close to Gabe, looped her hand through the crook of his arm. As sweet as ever she said, “I’m so glad you’re all right and so happy to see you back.”
“Thank you. All of you. But it’s really fine. It was just a statement.”
“Hey! We’d like to hear this too,” Alice said, hands on her hips as she stood in the doorway. “Or do you gotta be a ghost to get any information around here?”
Alice was right. Better to tell the story once for everyone.
“Let’s go in and sit down and I’ll tell you everything.”
About ten minutes later, apparently telling them everything wasn’t enough.
“We were all waiting, ready to come in and give you an alibi, but no one called any of us. So they just let you go without an alibi?” Alice asked.
“No. They let her go because she was only there to give an official statement about how she knew the professor,” Liam clarified.
“And, not that I need one, but I do have an alibi,” Natalie began.
“Carson called the New Haven police and they gave him the exact date and the estimated time of death provided by the medical examiner who signed the death certificate. I checked my calendar and we didn’t have book club on that date, but I wasn’t alone at any point.
I was in the store all day, then I was in my apartment with Liam all night. Just like every night.”
It was weeks ago and the way days blended together her memory wasn’t great but with the exception of a rare all-nighter when he got involved in his research or writing a paper, Liam always slept at her place.
What little personal belongings he had, he generally kept in his office or the little bedroom he’d set up in the lab.
But other than that, he’d basically moved in with her—
Alice leaned closer to Agnes. “See. Told you. Mary Brimley was right. They are living together.”
And apparently that fact had not gone unnoticed.
“To be fair, it’s stay here with her or sleep in the lab with the cadavers. Not much of a choice, is it?” Agnes whispered back.
“All right. Any more questions so Natalie can get on with her day?” Liam asked, cutting off the gossip happening right in front of them. It was more than time they wrapped up this interrogation.
Getting on with her day and her life was a nice idea.
Alice raised her hand.
With an amused lift of a brow, Liam said, “Yes, Alice?”
“I had another question but I forgot it. I’ll text you when I remember.”
“Great,” Liam said with sarcasm that Alice didn’t seem to pick up on. “All right. Thanks for coming everyone.”
He moved to pointedly stand next to the door. It was a dismissal if ever she saw one. And it worked. Mostly. The humans filed out, after a lot of hugging and promises of support and assistance. Some of the spirits, however, lingered.
“So you’ve accomplished nothing in the pursuit of my killer,” Lionel said, his arms crossed.
“Stop. There was no killer,” she reiterated.
“Are you arguing with a ghost?” Liam asked.
“Yes,” she answered before turning back to Lionel. “You’re an old man. You died. Get over it.”
“Some people are such drama queens,” Gabe said pointedly, only to get shushed by Millie.
“Then what about the suspicious traumatic head injury? Hmm?” Lionel asked.
She rolled her eyes at his drama. “It wasn’t a traumatic head injury nor was it suspicious.
I’m sure you just hit your head falling.
Just like Liam said. We did the right thing.
We let the authorities know. But I’m sure it’s nothing.
You weren’t murdered, Lionel. There’s nothing suspicious about it. ”
“Uh, Nat?”
Natalie turned to face Jules in the doorway. “Do you need me?” she asked with hope. Anything to get away from Lionel and his delusions of murder.
“There are a man and a woman here to see you.”
“Customers?” she asked.
“I don’t think so. They’re, uh, wearing uniforms. Police uniforms.”
Before Natalie could react to that, the man and the woman bypassed Jules in the doorway and entered the room.
Yup. Those were definitely police uniforms. And not the kind of sexy khaki kind of uniform like Deputy Bekker wore. These were the scary dark blue ones with the big black belt holster thingy to hold their guns.
Wide-eyed and looking unsure the teen hovered. “Um, Nat. I do have customers. So I’m gonna...”
“Yes, Jules. Go on,” Natalie managed.
“Natalie Chase?” the female asked, her hair pulled back in a low bun tight enough it probably acted like a face lift.
“Y-yes,” Natalie answered and inwardly cursed herself for her stutter. She had nothing to worry about. She didn’t kill Lionel. She knew that.
“We’d like to ask you some questions about the circumstances surrounding the unexplained death of Lionel Graves,” the older, paunchy male officer asked.
Over the sound of her pulse pounding in her ears, Natalie could still hear Lionel’s self-satisfied, “Hmm. Told you. Murder.”