Chapter 21
Chapter twenty-one
Iwas picking up my phone to check out the photos I'd taken when it rang.
"Oh, my goodness," I said when I spotted the caller ID.
My ex-husband.
Something bad had to have happened for Rick to contact me.
I couldn't bring myself to pick up. The phone stopped ringing without him leaving me a message. Instead, three little dots started to dance. He was typing.
How are you?
I stared at the screen. I wasn't going to answer.
I heard from Alex.
Heard what?
I typed before I could even think about what I was doing.
Is she OK?
Why wouldn't she have contacted me? Why her dad? Shouldn't I have been her first point of contact? A pang of jealousy shot through me.
I called her, and she told me about Violet. I'm really sorry, Rebecca - Bex. I know how much she meant to you.
Thanks.
How are you coping?
I'm fine. Busy. Is that all you wanted?
Yeah, I just thought... Alex thought... in case you need any help.
From you?
Well, we didn't exactly part on the best terms, but... I thought maybe, for Alex's sake, we could try to be friends.
Oh.
I didn't know what else to write.
Anyway, if there's anything I can do for you—within reason, of course.
Of course. It wouldn't do at all to upset or inconvenience his new love.
Oh God, why was I this bitter?
Our marriage had been over—or at least teetering on the brink—for a long time. Maybe it was just that he’d made me feel so stupid. That I didn't see it coming.
Thanks. Tell Alex I said hi. I'm fine, I appreciate the offer to help, but no thanks.
It still stands if you change your mind. She was a great old girl.
Yes, she was. Bye now.
That felt surprisingly good. We’d managed an almost civilized exchange.
Maybe one day, we’d be good. Sure, we wouldn't exactly be holding hands on our way to our daughter's college graduation, or birthday party, or other milestones, but it would be preferable, for her sake, if we weren’t at least at each other's throats.
Without thinking, I touched my heart, and with it the amulet. Despite the fabric of my shirt, it created a pleasant tingle in my fingertips.
“So mote it be,” I mumbled. That’s how the baking spell ended, willing all that was meant to come true, to happen.
Cosmo pricked up his ears. “What did you say?”
I repeated myself.
He rubbed himself against my legs. “Things are coming into focus. But first, you need to continue with the job at hand.”
I’d almost forgotten. Now, who would be able to help me with my plant evidence?
I took the Ziploc bags out of the fridge. The easiest choice would be Jimmy, who knew more about botany than I could ever imagine. Except that news travelled fast.
Maybe Reina would be able to help. Their backyard looked amazing, and I thought I detected her skill in making places inviting. At the very least, she might be able to point me in the right direction if she couldn't help out.
And she and Harper should know Pamela's last name.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" Cosmo asked when he saw me head toward the door.
"Like what?"
"The library."
"Oh."
To be fair, I had put up the notice board that Aunt Violet had used for decades. It gave the opening hours—the morning and the evening—and how to reach her in emergencies.
Although now that I thought about it, what kind of emergency did you have to have to contact a woman who ran a lending library and had lately added a couple of tables with the new releases?
Maybe I should have figured out sooner that there was more to my aunt than met the eye—purple hair and everything.
"I think for now, the afternoon opening hours should do," he said. "You could hire someone, but we do not want strangers poking around in our affairs."
"Definitely not," I agreed. I searched for some sticky tape to cover the morning hours before I returned the board to the window. I did the same with the sign on the front door.
"May I now go?" I asked the cat.
"I wonder if I should come along," he said.
"That would be nice, but how would we explain it?"
"My daily constitutional. People are used to seeing me walk by."
"Fine by me." I held up his harness. "Are you ready to be taken out for walkies?"
He gave me a withering glare.
A few people waved at Cosmo and stared at me as I led him on his leash around the green.
I’d stashed the Ziploc bags in my backpack, to take to Reina. But first, we were going to snoop around a little. Because even if people stopped talking—or rather, gossiping—about my aunt or me when they spotted me, they wouldn't be as careful with Cosmo. After all, he was just a cat.
I felt him stare at me. Good grief, you're not a mind reader, are you? I asked silently.
No answer.
Good.
As much as I appreciated his support during what was turning out to be the craziest period of my life, I did not want him to enter my private thoughts. A woman had to have a space of her own, even if it was only inside her own head.
I plunked down on a bench and pretended to be completely oblivious to my surroundings while I scrolled through my phone.
Meanwhile, Cosmo explored as much as the 15 foot leash allowed him to.
I relied on his returning to me when he decided he’d picked up enough gossip or enjoyed his freedom to his heart's content.
It didn't take long.
He ignored a squirrel, half-heartedly chased a puppy—but it was obvious they were only playing—and allowed a toddler to pet him. Several people called him by his name as they said hi to him. He really must have been a common sight in town.
With me, they were more reserved. I got a few “Nice to see you”, but nobody really stopped for a long chat.
I blinked back tears. People should have been queuing up to tell me how sorry they were about Aunt Violet and how much they’d missed her.
She’d spent so many years helping them, supporting them, plying them with magic cookies.
And all of a sudden, none of it mattered anymore.
Or maybe they just didn’t know how to deal with me—the woman with the crazy blue hair. Or they wanted to give me space to grieve. It was hard for me not to read too much into everything.
Jimmy ambled up to me, leaning heavily on his walking stick. “May I?”
"Be my guest."
He lowered himself onto the spot next to me.
"Lovely day, isn't it? Your little kitty is enjoying himself. Nice to see that he's not moping too much."
"He does miss her," I told him. "But I am glad that he's happy enough during the day. At night he still curls up with her old scarf.”
“That’s good, you wouldn't want him to be all sad."
"How are you?" I asked him.
"Getting used to it. She's not the first person I lost. I always thought I'd be the first to go. But then again..." He sighed. "I hope you're not scared. Alone in the house." His heavily veined hands shook.
Why was he asking? Was it only concern, or something else? "I've got the cat," I said. "And an alarm. And I've got self-defense weapons."
I didn’t mind gossip about my ability to protect myself getting around.
To be honest, those weapons consisted only of a can of pepper spray—which I didn’t dare carry outdoors because the wind could change quickly—and a couple of heavy books that I intended to throw at any intruder.
"So, you're not too shaken up about living next door to..." He lowered his voice. "A crime scene."
I faked a chuckle.
"I have absolute faith in the local police," I said.
“Also, I have no idea why I should be worried about Jake's death.
Don't get me wrong, it's terrible, and I am so, so sorry for him, but as it seems to me, it was a personal matter.
And not like, you know, burglaries getting out of hand.
And anyway, I don't have any valuables in the house. "
"That's true," he said. "I only want you to know that if there's anything you need. And my boy Sam is pretty handy, so let me know, OK?"
He pushed himself off the bench and leaned heavily on his cane.
"Thanks," I said. "I'll keep it in mind." He’d already reached the road when I realized he hadn’t mentioned the police visiting me, or the fact that my aunt’s body was scheduled for an autopsy.
It was hard to imagine the local grapevine missing out on this juicy bit, even if it was only an hour old.
The police car outside my house would have been impossible to miss.
But why had Jimmy kept mum? Was he involved somehow and doing his best to uncover what I knew or suspected? Was his concern for me a clever attempt to scare me away? The more I thought about this, the less I liked it.
Cosmo came bounding back.
"Ready to move on, buddy?" I asked him.
He meowed.
"Great."
I picked up a couple of pastries from Sweet Surprise.
If there was a little coolness in the way the shop assistant served me, it was hardly noticeable.
I had tied Cosmo's leash to a post outside so he could listen in a little bit more without having to come in. As much as he seemed to be loved, not everybody appreciated a cat in a place where they served food.
With a cardboard box filled with muffins and macarons, I headed towards The Blue Moon Inn.
I took the back door and knocked.
At this time, Reina and Harper should be busy at the back. I was right. Harper opened so fast I barely had time to figure out all my questions.
"Come on in," she said. "Coffee is ready."
"How did you know?"
She rolled her eyes at me. "Not much of a sleuth, are you? Just kidding. We've been expecting you ever since we heard about Detective Stone heading your way."
"I see."
"It's going to be fine." Reina pushed her out of the way.
"Yeah. Actually, I thought I'd be more upset," I said. "But somehow, I think my aunt wouldn't mind. She believed in, onwards and upwards.."
"No."
"Well, hello there." Reina picked up Cosmo, who purred as he snuggled into her arms. "How lovely that you’ve come to see us too."
"Don't keep the woman standing on the doorstep."
I should have known. I grinned at Ange, who had popped up in the hallway.
"Don't tell me you came here because you smelled these," I held up the cardboard box.
"Oh, yum," she said. "I decided a long time ago that elasticated waistbands are a gift from above. That means I can easily eat my own body weight in muffins and nobody’s the wiser."
"You're gorgeous anyway," Harper said.
"Thank you. Nick says so too."
"Smart man," Harper agreed.
"Which brings me to the real reason I'm here."
We settled down in the living room. The sun poured in through the window. If I squinted, I could make out a woodpecker, busy drilling into one of the trees.
I opened my backpack. "I brought something for you to have a look at," I said. "Do you have any idea how long ago these were broken off?"
Reina held up the first Ziploc bag.
"How long have they been sealed in the plastic?"
"A couple of hours," I said. "But I've taken pictures before I cut them off."
"At a first glance, I'd say more than a couple of days and less than a week. But I'm no expert," Reina said.
"Of course you are. You've got a green thumb—no, make that ten green fingers," Harper said.
"OK, so you think these breakages happened after my aunt died? After Jake died?"
"I'd say so. Why?"
"Because I believe I've puzzled out who committed the murder.
" It would have been nice to do a proper field test, to see if my witchy powers were at peak level. That would confirm my suspicion. Or did solving the case include seeing the killer arrested? Never mind, I’d find out soon enough, without giving a demonstration on the spot.