Chapter 12
Caleb made the most sense. After all, he’d kept the true nature of his background with Graham a secret, and while he was with Elaine when the body was discovered, no one could account for his whereabouts the hour before.
That was right in the window for the murder.
Plus, he worked at the apothecary shop, which gave him ample access to ways to poison someone.
Even my magic had warned me that something was off when I saw him at Elaine’s house that night.
A subtle tingle ran down my arm until I found myself with my hand in my pocket. My fingers wrapped around the small bag Jaxon had given me, and I pulled it out.
“What’s that?”
“Jaxon said he found it while doing laundry and thought it was mine, but now I’m wondering if it’s not mine after all.
Maybe it’s tied to the murder.” I opened the bag and dumped a necklace into my hand—a maple-leaf shaped necklace.
“It’s Caleb’s.” Unlike Elaine, he hadn’t been wearing his at the Halloween party the other night.
He must’ve lost it when visiting Graham.
“But how did he get the poison to Graham and make it to Elaine’s in time?” Riley glanced across the beach toward the bonfire and the party.
His question was like the last ingredient needed for a potion, and suddenly everything made sense.
“He put the poison in my cookie,” I whispered, my gaze falling on Caleb standing by the bonfire.
“I dropped the cookie when I tripped over a cat, and Caleb was the one who handed it back to me. He must’ve poisoned it then.
” I started back across the beach, the sand slipping under my hasty steps.
The music from the party and the scent of smoke grew stronger as I approached.
Riley grabbed his discarded shirt, then quickly caught up to me. “Are you sure?”
“He had all the motive and means, and now we know he had the opportunity.” We were close enough that the murmurs of conversations and the sounds of the “Ghostbusters” song drifted to us.
I stopped at the edge of the group so the night’s darkness fell around us like a cloak, shielding us from prying eyes.
Riley pulled out his phone. At my questioning look, he shrugged. “I have a friend on the force, and I thought she might be interested in what’s about to go down. I think Tessa was in the area investigating another lead, so she shouldn’t be far.”
“Good call.”
“So what’s the plan?” Riley took my hand, a silent reminder that I wasn’t alone.
I smiled at him. “I’m sort of making it up as I go.”
“Improv. Nice. Not what I expected from Miss Organized,” he teased. “Maybe there’s hope for you after all.”
“Or maybe your bad influence is rubbing off on me.” I paused, steeling my nerves, and a wave crashed into the shore, inching up until it soaked my shoes.
“You’ve got this.” Riley squeezed my hand.
I walked over to Caleb, who had his arms wrapped around Elaine. His orange jacket sat on a log on the beach behind them.
The conversations died around me like pouring sand on a fire, then whispers sparked back up like stubborn embers.
If there had been any doubt what they might have been talking about before my arrival, their silence put that to rest. The rumors had spread around town, and now my peers thought I was guilty of murder.
It was time to change that.
I sucked in a deep breath. “Hey, Elaine. Caleb.”
Elaine turned to face me, her eyes widening as she took in Riley and me together. “Oh, hey Kitty.”
“I didn’t think you were coming tonight,” Caleb said.
“That’s hard to believe considering you pushed me off the cliff earlier.” I narrowed my eyes at him and gestured to his jacket. “We saw your orange jacket as you came back down the trail.”
Someone gasped. The crackle of the fire was deafening in the sudden silence.
Caleb laughed. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
I rolled my eyes. “That’s fine because I didn’t come to talk about how you tried to kill me. I came to talk about how you murdered Graham.”
Caleb stepped forward, glowering at me. “That’s enough, Kitty.” His voice dropped. “Knock it off.”
“No, you knock it off.” Riley matched him, his eyes sparking dangerously. “The game is over, so you can stop pretending now. We know all about how his little prank made you lose your scholarship, and you’ve hated him ever since.”
“How could you say this, Kitty?” Elaine blinked, tears gathering in her eyes. “I told you Caleb would never do something like that.”
“I was at Elaine’s house that night,” Caleb said, “so maybe you should get your facts straight before you throw around ridiculous accusations without proof.”
“You want some proof?” I pulled out the necklace Jaxon had given me and let it dangle from my fingers. The tiny maple leaf glinted in the bonfire’s flickering flames. “How about this?”
The people around us shifted, soaking in the gossip and drama.
Caleb’s eyes narrowed. “That’s not mine.”
“You can cut the act now,” I said. “It won’t do you any good.”
“Leave Caleb alone, Kitty.” Elaine stepped forward, glaring at me. “If he said that isn’t his necklace, then it isn’t his.”
“It has to be his,” I said. “I recognize it because I helped you pick out the necklaces, and you were wearing yours at the party last night.”
Caleb’s eyes went wide, and he turned to Elaine. “Is that your necklace? You said Isla lost it.”
“Of course it’s not mine. I’ve never even been in Graham’s house,” she said.
My stomach dropped as the truth hit me like a bad potion. I never said that I found the necklace at Graham’s, which meant… Elaine was the killer, not Caleb. No matter how much I wanted to pretend like it wasn’t true, it was. It wasn’t Caleb my magic had warned me of that night; it had been Elaine.
“I never said that I found the necklace at Graham’s house,” I said slowly.
Elaine’s lips parted, and she stood there, frozen. A second slipped by, then another. Her hands trembled, and she hid them behind her back.
“Why was your necklace at Graham’s house?” Caleb turned to Elaine, one hand balled into a fist.
My heart twisted as the pieces fell into place like ingredients into a cauldron until the truth bubbled out.
Elaine had betrayed me long before she’d tried to frame me for murder.
She was the girl Graham had cheated on me with.
Elaine loved maple flavors and scents; she even frequently wore a maple lotion, which was why Graham had ordered a maple drink before meeting her.
She’d been there every step of the way, and what I’d naively assumed was support was her plotting to frame me for the murder all along.
She’d encouraged me to brew the potion, pushed me to give Graham the cookie, and even offered to come with me to do it.
Hex, I wouldn’t put it past her if she were the one who’d been spreading the rumors around town to make it look like I had a reason to kill Graham.
“Answer me, Elaine.” Caleb’s voice rose. “Why was your necklace there?”
“They were together… Elaine and Graham,” I whispered, tears pricking at my eyes. After all the other betrayals, I shouldn’t have been surprised, but somehow I still was. The truth solidified inside me, heavy and cold.
“You were the girl Graham mentioned hooking up with?” Caleb shook his head and stepped away from Elaine. “No wonder he was so smug around me.”
Her eyes widened. “No, it’s just a misunderstanding.”
“Is it?” I curled my fingers into a fist around the necklace. “Was it a misunderstanding when you told me that if I gave Graham the potion I’d never have to worry about him cheating again? Because it sounds like you knew he’d be killed.”
The crowd of onlookers crept closer, as silent as a noose tightening around a neck.
A few pulled out their phones, recording everything.
Riley nodded toward an officer who appeared at the edge of the crowd, a woman with a no-nonsense attitude, a short brown bob, and a pair of handcuffs. His friend had gotten here fast.
Riley frowned and turned to me. “Didn’t you say that Elaine was the one who told you to give Graham a love potion?”
I nodded, my throat tight and my voice barely a whisper. “And it was her idea to do it at the bookstore. I was going to give it to him at his apartment, but she couldn’t meet me there and said we should do it while he was at work instead. She was planning on there being witnesses.”
Riley swore and glared at her. “That’s why I kept being led to her. I thought it was you I was supposed to meet, but it was her. She set you up for this whole thing.”
I winced at his words, although it was no worse than what I was already thinking. Riley had come to the bookstore, but he’d barely missed Elaine. Then he’d run into me outside her house. Whatever instincts led him to his stories had tried to lead him to her, but he’d met me instead.
“And the worst part is,” I said, meeting Elaine’s eyes once more.
“I think I saw the poison in your bag, but I thought it was part of your Halloween costume.” I rubbed at my eyes, thinking back on the “Drink Me” potion I’d glimpsed in her purse.
“You poisoned the cookie while I fixed my hair, didn’t you?
” The memory sharpened, the unforgiving details falling into place with painful clarity. What an idiot I’d been.
Riley’s mouth fell open. “You were the ‘E’ that Graham was going to meet later that night. We thought he was talking about Eve, but really he had two separate plans.”
“And you were one he brought the moonlight maple chai back for,” I said.
At the mention of the drink, Caleb’s expression crumpled, like he’d been holding onto hope and my words cut the last threads keeping him afloat.
“Graham was going to come clean, wasn’t he?” I asked softly. “He was going to tell people about you two, and you couldn’t let that happen, so you killed him.”
Caleb backed away. “How could you do this to me? To all of us? You tried to kill Kitty just now.”
“No, I’d never.” She shook her head.
“Then why did you borrow my jacket earlier?”
Her lip trembled, and she said softly, “I did everything to protect you.”
Whispers flew through the group like wildfire, and Riley squeezed my hand.
I sucked in a shaky breath. Suspecting my friend of cheating with my boyfriend, of murder, and of trying to kill me was one thing—actually, it was a lot of things—but having it confirmed was something else.
Elaine fell to her knees, covering her face with her hands even though it did little to muffle her sobbing. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”
“Was Kitty right?” Riley asked. “Did you kill Graham because he was going to tell the truth?”
“Yes.” She wiped at the mascara running down her cheeks. “Suddenly he decided to be all noble. He was going to tell you and Caleb everything, and I couldn’t let that happen.”
“You’re the one who cheated on your boyfriend and tried to frame your friend.” I shook my head, hardening my heart. “I can’t believe I ever thought we were friends.”
“We are! What happened with Graham was a huge mistake, and then it spiraled.” She reached for me. “Please, Kitty. You have to understand.”
“No, I don’t.” I stepped out of her reach. “And I’m done letting you tell me what to do.”
She turned to Caleb. “I didn’t mean for this to happen. I love you.”
He stumbled back, the light from the bonfire flickering across his pained expression. “Then maybe you shouldn’t have cheated on me and killed someone to hide it.”
The police officer stepped forward, handcuffs extended. “Elaine Long, you’re under arrest.”