Chapter 37
Chapter thirty-seven
Cosmo snored as I got in.
I let him. We had a big day ahead.
The next morning, I was still lining up the items my aunt had left her friends in her will when Cosmo interrupted me. "Take another peek," he said.
"At what?"
He shook his head at me. "There are moments when I despair."
I retorted, "There are also moments when I have to remind you that I am neither used to all this, nor am just doing one thing. I’ve been literally multitasking every single moment since you opened your mouth to talk to me."
"Which should have given you enough practice understanding what the priorities are."
"Solving the murders."
"Good girl. And how do we check our progress?" Was he now patronizing me?
I went over to the door, to the bookcase that hid the secret lair. I opened it.
He tapped his paw on the book of spells that still sat on the table. I picked it up and opened it.
The first spell stood out, bright and clear.
The next page started the way I'd left it.
And then, all of a sudden, drawings appeared. Words formed and glowed.
I read them. First, under my breath. Then out loud.
"So mote it be. So mote it be, so mote it be," I ended.
"You did it!" Cosmo shouted.
"The block’s gone?"
“Almost. Can’t you feel it?” He tugged at my sleeve and practically dragged me to the door, giving me barely enough time to close it behind me.
In the library, he took me over to the window. On the sill stood a potted plant.
"What do you see?" he asked.
"Same as always."
"Try again."
I leaned closer.
"There's one bud. It's tiny," I said.
"Do you remember the spell?"
I recited it.
"Now close your eyes. Say it again."
I did. When I opened my eyes, the plant had grown a second bud. "I made that happen?" I asked.
"You sure did."
"I’m now officially green-fingered? Is that why my aunt's garden is so lush?"
"Hold your horses," he said. "One spell does not a garden genius make."
"Then what’s the big deal? You said yourself the block isn’t gone completely.”
"It means you’re on the right track with our new theory. Once Jake and Violet's killer is behind bars, I shall be able to properly train you."
I groaned. "Starting at sunrise again? I love my aunt. I liked Jake. I really, really, really want to see the person who did this in prison. But if I have to hand over my life to you and drag myself out of bed every day at the crack of dawn, that's a steep price to pay."
He rolled his eyes at me. "You’re so dramatic."
"I mean it," I said.
"We'll talk about that later. And it does not always have to be sunrise, especially once you make a little more progress."
"A little more progress? I’m doing great, considering everything you've been throwing at me. Or are you used to so much better?" Was I starting to be jealous of my own dear, dead aunt? What other personality changes lay ahead of me?
Maybe I had been a little too meek and passive the last couple of years—okay, decades—yet all in all, I'd liked myself. I was kind, helpful, considerate. The almost empty swear jar alone was proof enough of my mild-mannered nature (bar a few understandable lapses when my marriage fell apart). I didn’t want the old Bex to vanish completely, only to be a little more assertive.
The afternoon opening brought eight customers. Business was looking up. Better yet, these were people who knew precisely what they were looking for and where to find the books.
All I had to do was stamp, register on the computer, and send them on their merry ways. I could get used to this.
At a quarter to six, I ended the library session and prepared for my guests. I'd arranged the available seats in a casual manner so that people wouldn't be too crowded, yet they were all within earshot of me.
My nerves twinged. I'd never had a starring role before, and this one was a doozy.
"You'll be fine." Cosmo put a paw on my hand.
"The power of the purr?" I asked him.
"The power of the purr." A soft growl emanated from him.
It enveloped me like a cocoon, one that would keep me safe from any harm. My phone pinged. Please don't let it be anybody canceling at the last moment, I thought.
I saw the ID. My ex-husband again. That was fast becoming a habit, after months of complete radio silence.
Everything OK? Alex says she hasn't heard from you in days.
Oh, sheesh. I texted back.
I'm fine. Just caught up in so many things here. But thanks for the reminder.
I ended the message and sent a quick, funny meme—a juggling house cow—to my daughter. I followed it up with a text.
That's me at the moment.Talk soon. Love you to the moo and back. Mom
I ended with a dancing cow sticker.
"Are young people still doing that?" Cosmo asked.
"I have no idea," I said. “It might just be a generational thing for people my age but I love them.”
I had bigger worries than being considered cool or uncool.
Jimmy and Sam were the first to arrive. Louisa followed them with a clipboard and a formal list of items to be handed out.
Linda swept in with the garden club ladies. I'd added her and Mimi to the list of recipients. Louisa hadn't so much as batted an eyelid. If anything, she'd appeared relieved that neither my cousins nor I created a fuss to hang on to belongings.
Ange was here too. Harper and Reina had their hands full at the inn, and I’d promised to fill them in afterward if my plan worked.
I'd prepared a small buffet with cake from Sweet Surprise, finger food from the delicatessen, and half a dozen gift bags for the bequests. The special cookies stayed hidden, at least for now.
"Thank you all for coming here," I said. "It means a lot to me. Although we lost one of the most wonderful women I’ve ever met, she brought me back home. For that alone, I will always be grateful."
"Hear, hear," Jimmy said. He clapped his hands. Then he peered at the windowsill with the potted plant. "That hellebore should have gone out days ago. I need to give you a few gardening lessons, Bex."
"Thank you. I'd appreciate that," I said.
"And I hope you also appreciate this." I picked up one of the gift bags and went over to him.
Inside was an antique weeding fork and an equally old book written by a Victorian plant hunter.
Both had been passed down through the generations. The footstool could follow later.
"Oh, my." His hands shook as he took out the gifts. "I can't possibly accept these."
"It was my aunt's last will," I said. "She said nobody would cherish these things like you."
"I will treasure them forever." He broke off. His son squeezed his hand.
To Linda, I gave, in my aunt's name, a brooch shaped like a flower, made of red and gold enamel. She accepted the piece of jewelry with a squeal of delight and pinned it onto her silk scarf. Maybe she appreciated its beauty. Or it was worth a lot more than I’d thought. Never mind.
To Mimi and the garden club, I gave a journal with hand-pressed flowers and cuts, with notes by my aunt about propagation habits and where she found them.
It pained me a little to part with this journal, because of all the love my aunt had put into compiling it.
On the other hand, it was for a good cause.
There were a few other items that she'd left to people in town, but they were too big to be handed over in the library, so Louisa was going to take care of that.
Cake, sandwiches, and a few heartfelt speeches about my aunt, took up the rest of the hour I had calculated for the event.
"Almost done," I confided to Ange. "Now I only have one more job to do that Aunt Violet entrusted me with. It's the full moon too, so I have to do it tonight."
"Full moon?" she asked, in a nice clear voice.
"It's a bit weird. I found a note from her saying that she had something hidden in the cabin that needed to be—" I faltered and hung my head, hopefully the very picture of grief and sadness and the unshaken dedication to do whatever my aunt had asked me.
"Shall I come with you?" Ange asked, still within earshot of whoever was interested in our conversation.
"No, I've taken too much of your time already, and it's not as if I don't know the way. This is Willowmere, not the jungle."
Ange was the first to leave. After her, everybody filed out after giving me a hug or a handshake.
I opened the freezer and stared at a tub of chocolate chip ice cream. It might help settle my stomach. It might also make me feel sick. I closed the freezer again. If everything went according to plan, I could still dig in afterward, while knowing the killer was safely behind bars.