Chapter 14
Chapter fourteen
Ange breezed past me, motioning me to follow her upstairs. She flung herself into a chair. “You won’t believe this.”
“The police have solved the case?” I crossed my fingers.
“Not even remotely. I can’t blame them though. Nick had to walk me through the facts twice before I could make head or tail of them.”
Now I sat down as well. Cosmo jumped onto my lap, every inch your ordinary, affectionate cat. I stroked him and he purred. A little of Ange’s tension eased.
“Spill,” I said.
“It’s like this. We were wondering why Doc Hansen wasn’t suspicious, right?”
I nodded.
“The thing is, he had no reason to. Jake died of heart failure.”
“No poison? It was natural causes? That’s a relief.”
“Not so fast. The toxicology report showed that he had three times as much digitalis in his system as he should’ve had had from his medication, and only the normal amount of other substances mixed in with the pills.
Nick says that excludes an accidental overdose.
The surplus digitalis came from another source. Home-distilled, Nick believes.”
“And those rumors about poisonous mushrooms?”
“That’s the weirdest part, because there was one mixed in with the fungi he had in a bowl in the kitchen.
If it weren’t for the toxicology report, the most obvious explanation would have been that he either ate some and threw up, so there was no trace left in his body, or he only saw the blasted thing and panicked.
In both situations he could easily have had palpitations and swallowed another tablet, to be on the safe side.
If the police hadn’t received a letter, insisting Jake was murdered, nobody’d given it another thought. ”
I moved my lips as I worked my way through Nick’s explanation. “That’s very complicated.”
“Nobody said a murderer has to streamline their plans. It’s also easy to poison someone, if you think about it.” She took my hand. “Are you sure you want to poke around?”
“Would you prefer there’s a killer on the loose?”
Ange pulled me up. “Have you told Harper?”
“Not yet.”
The neon sign above the Blue Moon Inn shone upon a dozen cars parked outside the bar. There’d be an open mic session later, so we’d decided to get in early. I clenched my hand inside my coat pocket, running through everything Cosmo had told me.
Ange held the door open for me. Inside, low lights above the tables, and the back-lit mirror behind the bar created a cozy atmosphere.
Jeans and flannel shirts dominated the scene, but a couple of brave souls had decided on evening dresses.
I took them to be ready to go on stage later and dazzle the audience.
Or not. The Blue Moon didn’t draw a tough crowd, but once in a while, they’d heckle a performer, until Harper or her staff threw them out.
For some, it had become a rite of passage to have tussled with her (and, for the record, lost).
“Bex!” The scent of roses after a summer rain hit my nose before I saw her. Harper’s wife had returned from the trip to see her parents.
A fuzzy feeling spread through my whole body as Reina hugged me.
She was hands-down the most beautiful woman in town, with her porcelain skin and almond-shaped eyes.
Her mother Mizuki was responsible for those, as well as the raven-black hair that came down to Reina’s chin.
Her dad Dean had passed on his infectious grin and his love for swing and jazz music to her.
I hugged her back. “It’s so good to see you.”
She took Ange and me to our table. Jimmy waved at me from a few feet away, where he sat with Louisa.
Mimi, and her stockbroker husband, Roger, had also put in an appearance. I’d rarely seen them together, since he spent most weeks in Portland where he had an office and an apartment. The garden club ladies, Darla and Marion, rushed past us, to join two men at another table.
“There’s romance in the air.” Reina twinkled at me. “Now, sweetheart, let me think if there’s an eligible single around for you.”
“Let her get over her divorce first,” Ange protested.
Reina cocked her head to one side. “I think she’s already moved on.”
Had I?
Harper joined us. She put a pitcher with beer, a bottle of wine, and soda water on the table, while Reina went to fetch glasses. “Is my wife playing matchmaker again?”
Only Mimi and the two men with Darla and Marion had the grace not to eyeball me. Embarrassed heat rose in my cheeks as Reina returned.
“Now you’ve made Bex blush,” Ange said. “You could at least have waited until she’s had a drink.”
“It’s fine,” I said, as I helped myself to soda water. I’d rather not risk having wine loosening my tongue. “But I’m happy being single. At least for now.”
An unexpected thought hit me. Was I allowed to be in a new relationship, or did my magical inheritance put an end to romance? Cosmo had said why menopause mattered for a witch, but he hadn’t elaborated on the subject.
Aunt Violet had never replaced my uncle. She’d had male friends, like Jimmy, but only in a platonic way. And did I want another man in my life?
Louisa seemed to take the discussion seriously. “If you ever consider getting hitched again, I can set up a prenup for you, so you don’t get burned again. I always recommend that.”
Roger gave her a thumbs-up. “Especially when you have your inheritance to think about. Your aunt would have wanted to protect her assets.”
My blush deepened. I fanned myself.
Reina winked at me. “See, we’re all looking out for you.”
My temperature went back to normal. “Willowmere for life.”
“Hear, hear,” Darla said. “When are you re-opening?”
“Tomorrow afternoon, if that’s okay with Louisa.”
“We’re all set, so go ahead.” She took a deep swig of her beer.
“Do you know when the crime scene tape at Jake’s disappears? I don’t want the kids and the parents to get scared.” That should hopefully switch the topic from my personal life to more important matters.
Did I sense a shift in the mood? The man holding Marion’s hand scowled. “That good-for-nothing busybody. The place’ll be a lot better without him.”
I scanned him under my lashes. Heavy-set, with a square jaw, and brown hair flecked with grey. I took him to be around sixty. The other man resembled him strong enough to be his brother, minus twenty pounds and the scowl.
“Wayne’s a keen hunter, and he and his brother run a landscaping company,” Ange whispered to me. “Do you think –” She interrupted herself.
“Later,” I murmured.
“He was a kind man,” Mimi said. “It was quite refreshing to see someone stand up for law and order these days.” She and Roger shared a smile.
Darla shot me a begging look and signaled zipping my lips, before she pointed to her companions.
I gave her a reassuring look.
Up to this point, I’d barely noticed the background music from the Wurlitzer. Now, it stopped abruptly, and a loud gong sounded. Right on cue, a young bartender with an open-necked shirt and a dragon tattoo on his hand hurried from the back to his station.
Harper jumped up. “Ten minutes before the open mic session starts, folks. Anyone still needing a drink or a snack, head to the bar now.”
I went, more to listen than because we needed anything.
I caught a few whispered words. They sounded like “…only way to get rid of …” and “…lose the license…”, but who’d said them?
I concentrated on the sensations they caused.
Nothing; no hot flash, no shiver down my spine, not a single thing indicating my witch radar had caught a sinister vibration.
If I had a witch radar. I crossed my fingers and promised myself to stop complaining if Cosmo kicked me out of the bed in the middle of the night. I needed all the lessons I could get, fast.
I returned to the table with a bowl of nachos and dips. Eating during a performance was strictly forbidden, but during the intervals we could munch to our heart’s content.
First up was one of the ladies in evening wear.
Her velvet dress clung to her curves. It ended at mid-thigh, but she made up for that with over-knee boots.
Her blonde hair was styled in old Hollywood waves, and a few rhinestones glittered on her cheekbones.
She could have come straight from a Las Vegas stage.
I wondered what brought her here, until I glanced around.
The Blue Moon had filled up while I queued at the bar, and the average age of the audience had dropped enough to make Ange and me the oldies. Some wore cowboy boots and jeans, but more than a few had dressed up in pricey suits.
“Hi, my name is Leila and I’m gonna sing a good ol’ country song for you.”
A few of the younger men whistled on their fingers. Leila waved at them. “Hiya guys.” She signaled to Harper who hit play on her laptop.
Leila had a decent voice, I had to admit. While she couldn’t compete with Dolly Parton, she managed to stay on the classy side. She added a second song that had her admirers clapping like crazy. Two broad-shouldered football players lifted her off the stage after she put the microphone down.
We tucked into the nachos before her friend took the stage, with another Dolly Parton rendition.
What she lacked in voice, she made up for in sass.
Swinging hips, pouting lips, and a slit in the dress that went up all the way to her hip reminded me again of Las Vegas instead of a small town in Oregon.
Ange giggled. “I think we’re the trial run for the singers.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked.
“There’s a nightclub opening 20 miles further inland,” she said. “I read it online.”
The door opened again. The singer’s hips swung wider and her pout deeper.
I scanned the newcomer. He had the ruggedly handsome appeal of the firefighters on the calendars. I estimated him to be in his mid- or late thirties, with tousled dark hair, a tan, and a dimpled chin. His rolled-up sleeves showed a pair of well-muscled, tanned arms.
He stood respectfully still, to listen to the singer. By now, the room was so crowded, Mimi and Roger had to inch their way to the exit.
“Either that, or they’re here for the local talent,” Ange said, motioning towards the guy. “Brad’s reiki sessions aren’t just popular for his magical hands.” She waggled her eyebrows at me. “Just kidding.”
“That’s the energy healer?”
“The very same. My mom went to see him before she and dad took off in their RV, and she says his touch got rid of all the negative energy Nick’s acupuncture couldn’t shake.”
Brad turned around. Had he heard us?
Ange gave him a casual wave. He grinned at her, and then at me, with the sort of smile I hadn’t seen from an attractive man in a long while. It felt nice, in a detached way.
“From what I’ve heard, he’s had a lot of offers, but didn’t take up any of them,” Reina said as she returned to the table. “I rather hope those girls are here to test their routines for a real audition, or they might be disappointed.”
“Shall we head back to our place for a chat?” Harper suggested.
“Won’t your bartender be struggling to keep up?” I asked.
“We’ll wait until reinforcement arrives. I’m hoping he and his sister will soon be able to keep the place running for a few days, so Reina and I can go on an extended leaf-peeping tour.”
A young woman whirled through the door. I saw only a mop of hair and a freckled nose. The rest of her face was covered by an oversized knitted scarf, and a trench-coat with an upturned collar. “I’m so sorry I’m late. The puppy needed urgently to go out.” She unwound the scarf.
“That’s fine. Do you think you and your brother can take care of everything for an hour?”
“Piece of cake.” She beamed at us.
“Thanks, Pilar.”
We waited until the sassy singer had finished, before we rose.
“What are you doing?” Louisa asked.
“We’ll soon be back.”
“Without Reina singing?” Marion shot her a pleading look. “Wayne promised to dance with me.”
“One song, okay?” Reina said.
The crowd parted to let her through. I saw Leila and her friend’s jaws drop as soon as Reina sang the first notes of “Blue Moon”.
The whole audience went quiet. Reina’s voice had that effect.
It was velvety smooth, with a timbre that tugged at your heartstrings.
When Alex was teething, listening to Reina singing was the only thing soothing her.
Now, almost twenty years later, I wanted nothing more than to lose myself in that sound that promised everything would be fine.
I stood transfixed when she ended much too soon.
“One more,” someone called. “Something from this millenium.”
She stepped back. “You guys take over.”
She slung her arm around Harper’s shoulder as we weaved through the crowd. Marion and her partner were still dancing, despite the lack of music. It was if they were spellbound.
Hold on, I told myself. What if they were? Cosmo would be impressed if I’d correctly identified a fellow witch. And if I could do that, maybe I could also suss out the murderer!