A Charming Secret (Magical Cures Mystery Series Book 6) (11 page)

“Aww.” I grabbed a few of the old bottles under the cabinet I had collected from garage sales when growing up and picked out a couple to put the potion in.

The bottles weren’t as pretty as the ones I used in A Charming Cure, but it would do for the flea market. Nor did they light up when I touched them. But I knew it was fine.

“I see you got a lot done today.” Oscar was at the door. “You are so wrapped up, you didn’t even notice that I’ve been standing here for about ten minutes.”

“Yes!” I quickly poured the beakers into the bottles and corked them up. Using a sharpie marker, I wrote on the bottle. “Herbal Remedy: Antacid.”

I held it out and looked at the first batch I was going to take to the flea market. I could feel some sort of pride coming back, filling my spirit.

“Aunt Helena came by to visit.” I stopped myself. I kept the little secret about the meeting at midnight to myself. Oscar didn’t need to know or he would discourage me from going. “She gave me a little pep talk and a present.” I twirled around before I landed in Oscar’s arms.

“I couldn’t wait until I got home to see you.” He buried his head into my neck. “I thought we could head out to grab a bite to eat. Like a date.”

“Sounds perfect. All of this work has got me hungry.” I couldn’t remember the last time I had actually eaten. Another thing Oscar didn’t need to know, or he would be hovering over me. I didn’t need a babysitter. “I’ll go get ready.”

“I’ll get changed.” He pointed to his cruiser. “I got a change of clothes in the car.”

He headed one way and I headed the other. It was odd how he didn’t mention anything about the fire or Gwendolyn’s murder. Maybe he was going to give me some information at dinner. Or maybe he was going to let me enjoy a night out, putting the stress aside for a few moments. The only time I didn’t seem to be stressed was when I was lost in my potions.

I hurried in and grabbed an orange dress. Oscar always said I looked good in orange. I strapped on some black heels and ran a comb through my bob.

“Are you ready?” I asked Oscar.

He sat in the family room with a cute teal button down and dark jeans on. He had the sleeves rolled up to three-quarters length. He had the perfect amount of gel in his black hair. He looked adorable.

“You look beautiful.” His eyes danced. He looked lovingly at me. “I’m so lucky. Smart, beautiful and sexy.”

He reached out and I grabbed his hand. He lifted my hand to his lips and kissed my mother’s ring he’d used to propose to me.

“I’m the lucky one.” I laughed. “Do you remember when I sabotaged your date with what’s-her-name?”

“Let’s not bring that up.” He brought me in for a kiss to shut me up.

I giggled remembering the little spell I’d put on a date he had a year ago. That was when I knew I’d fallen—hook, line, and sinker—for him and there was no one going to get in my way.

Instead of taking his cruiser, I let him take the Green Machine. Something about being in a cop car wasn’t appealing to me. I didn’t want to tempt fate and see into the future. Because that was where I was going to be transported if we didn’t figure out what happened to Gwendolyn.

We settled on a little Indian place in the strip mall in Locust Grove. Once inside, you were transported into what I could only imagine an authentic restaurant would look like in India. The tables were low to the ground; large pillows on the floor was where everyone was seated.

After placing our order, I knew I couldn’t dance around the big elephant in the room.

“Did you find out if the autopsy is back yet?” I asked.

“Not yet.” Oscar shook his head. “Colton said any day. But he did tell me there was a match found in the attic along with a trail of some sort of mixture.”

“Like gasoline?” I asked.

“I guess.” He pinched his lips. “Colton isn’t letting me get in on the evidence at all. I guess it’s best so Petunia and her family can’t claim I’m leaving out details because you are engaged to me.”

“You know, I’m not the only one who had words with Gwenie.” I hated to rat people out, but I wasn’t going to be the only one with the pointing finger.

Oscar jabbed at his plate of Chicken Shahi Korma.

 “Izzy and Raven had words with Gwenie. Not only did she put my shop down, she put theirs down as well. She told Raven her tarts were tart, not good. And she said Izzy’s shop wasn’t run right. So why aren’t they being investigated?”

“Maybe they are. Colton isn’t telling me anything.” Oscar’s brows furrowed. “I’m sure he’s on top of it. But you also have to look at the fact that she wasn’t found dead in their shops. She was found dead in yours.”

“Thanks for reminding me.” I forked a piece of his chicken off his plate. “Chandra mentioned something to me about how everyone said Gwenie was being nasty to everyone.”

“I need to tell Colton this.” Oscar tapped his fork on his plate. “Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

“And I’m not so sure Petunia has forgiven me for stepping on her toes and taking the presidency when I moved there because her family and her friend have all mentioned it to me.”

“I don’t think Petunia is the killer if that is what you are thinking.” Oscar stared at me.

“Who said Gwenie was murdered?” I gulped. “What if she was trying to get back at me for hurting Petunia in the past? I didn’t lock the door behind me that night. She probably knew it and slipped back in.”

“What?” Oscar shook his head. “Tell me word for word what happened.”

“After I made the IBS remedy for her, which had no potion in it. Strictly herbal.” It was important I was clear about no potion so he would know I didn’t put anything funny in my cauldron. “She told me she was going back to Glorybee. I went back up to the ceremony and she never showed up. I bet she waited for me to start the ceremony and she went back in the shop. Did her little voodoo or whatever she did and set the place on fire. Only,” I paused, “she didn’t get out in time and her plan backfired. Literally.”

“Not bad.” Oscar’s eyes squinted. He had a faraway look. “Not bad, June Heal. Maybe you should be wearing the badge, not me.” He smiled, sending my heart into all sorts of spirals.

“I’m just trying to look at it from all angles.”

“Or you could’ve been framed.” His head tilted to the side.

“Which brings me to another conclusion.” I took a bite of food.

“I don’t like the sound of that.”

“Let’s say someone was trying to frame me. They knew I was talking to Gwenie in my shop. They saw us go in or something.” I didn’t know what the something was, so I just went with it. “When we left, they saw I didn’t lock the door. They killed Gwenie, dragged her into my shop and set it on fire. Only they wanted to catch her body on fire, trying to disguise how she was really killed. The fire was put out before her body got burned.”

“She wasn’t burned.” Oscar’s jaw dropped when the realization that her body was perfectly intact and burn free. “She wasn’t burned at all.”

“Right.” I gulped. “Which means someone really is trying to frame me.” My heart beat rapidly, my palms were sweating. Suddenly I wasn’t so hungry anymore. “But who?”

Chapter Sixteen

Oscar was too excited with the sleuthing we had concocted at dinner to stay over. He said he was going to go back to Whispering Falls and run it all by Colton. I encouraged him to stay the night there at his place since it would be too late to drive back, not to mention I had to go to Mystic Lights without him knowing.

“Are you sure?” he asked standing under the porch light of my house. “I don’t know.”

“I’m going to be fine.” I pointed down at Mr. Prince Charming, who was batting around a few cicadas on the step before flicking them off onto the ground into the cicada cemetery with all the other victims who fell prey to him.

Oscar ran his fingers down the side of my face, tracing my lips with his finger.

“I swear to God.” He rested his palm on my cheek. “If I find out someone is trying to frame you, they will have to deal with me.”

“It’s all going to be fine.” I tried to keep my voice steady when the images of the latest nightmare shook my memory.

Unfortunately, my intuition told me it was going to get much worse before it was going to get better.

I rolled up on my toes, wrapped my hand around his neck, bringing his lips to mine. I was shocked at how eager I was to kiss him.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to drive back?” he whispered, his breath hot against my lips. “There will be more of this.”

There we stood. On the porch of my childhood home making out like a couple of horny teenagers.

Ahem
, someone clearing his throat made me pull away, but Oscar continued to try to kiss me.

“Oscar.” I poked Oscar in the chest, and then slid my finger over to Mac McGurtle.

“I get it. I get it.” Oscar put his hands in the air like he was surrendering. “Mac, I’m expecting you to take care of my gal.”

“I’ll do my best.” Mac cleared his throat and waited for Oscar to make his exit.

“Tell Mac what you told me.” Oscar pointed to me. A stern look on his face. “I’ll let you know about that body.”

I waved Oscar off and waved Mac in. Mr. Prince Charming took his spot on the radiator. When Mac passed, he gave Mr. Prince Charming a good scratch.

Purr, purrrr.
Mr. Prince Charming had a smile on his face.

“Let’s get down to business, shall we.” Mac used the briefcase in his hand to point in the direction of the couch in the family room.

When I followed him in there, it hit me that there weren’t any family pictures in my house. The only picture I had of me and Darla was hanging on the wall in A Charming Cure.

“Are you okay?” Mac asked.

I bit my lip and nodded my head. I wasn’t. I had to get that picture. Tonight.

Mac smacked his briefcase down on the coffee table, catching my attention. He rolled the fancy lock with his thick fingers and slid them open. He pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose before he opened the briefcase. He took out a file folder with Gwenie’s name across it.

“The autopsy is not back yet.” He looked at me over the rims of his glasses. “At least that is what I could get out of Patience. Not that she is much help, but I gave her some lettuce for her ostrich.”

Patience would do anything for her pet ostrich. I couldn’t say that for the feathery bird. Every time I saw them, he looked like he was trying to get away from her.

“Good move.” I smiled, knowing how happy that probably made Patience.

“Anyway.” He lifted his hands. “They are hoping to have it complete in the next two days. Something about the family wanting them to send off the samples to their village in Florida.”

“Understandable.” Some relief sat in my gut. At least it gave me a couple days minimum to figure it all out.

“The samples are all taken and sent off, which means the body is ready for burial.” He opened the file. “The family is going to hold a service for them at Two Sisters tomorrow and tonight the sisters are going to cremate her.”

“Cremate?” I asked. It was unusual for a family to have a cremation without some sort of ceremony.

“Yeah, around midnight or something strange like that.” He shrugged. “Each village is different.”

I was going to have to get around Whispering Falls without anyone seeing me. Evidently there was a lot going to be happening around midnight.

“Full moon!” I smacked my leg, which hurt since my dress didn’t cover all my thighs.

“Excuse me?”

“Nothing.” I played it off, but during a full moon, cremation was big. It was said the spirits of evil were kept at bay from the glow of the full moon, leaving only loving spirits. This made sure the deceased person being cremated wasn’t brought back as someone’s familiar or as an animal, like the fireflies.

Since Petunia was an animal reader, most of her clients lived past lives as spiritualists. They would make sure Gwenie moved on. That had to be it, I just knew it. Regardless, I was going to steer way clear from them and Two Sisters and a Funeral.

“What did Oscar want you to tell me?” Mac grabbed a pen and paper. I told him my two theories. He agreed it could be plausible and he’d use his resources to check into it.

Unfortunately, his timing wasn’t as quick as my timing. I would be one step ahead of him and anyone else Oscar decided to tell.

When Mac left, I changed my dress into a pair of jeans and comfy sweatshirt. I had a couple hours to kill. I didn’t want to wait around, so I decided to make a quick house call to Adeline.

“You stay here.” I instructed Mr. Prince Charming.

He darted in between and around my legs in protest. I bent down to pick him up and he swatted at my wrist.

“Ouch!” I grabbed my wrist, realizing he only wanted me to wear my charm bracelet. “Fine. Fine. But you don’t have to be a jerk.”

Rowl
! He darted off underneath my bed.

Madame Torres lit up next to the bed. The hot pink words glowed in the depths of her black ball.
Anger, bitter, annoyed, death.

“I’ll be fine,” I said one more time. I wasn’t sure whom I was trying to convince. Mr. Prince Charming, Madame Torres, or me.

 I drove the Green Machine down Adeline’s street. It was the typical neighborhood in Locust Grove. The houses were all cape cod style, but Adeline had the best yard in her subdivision. Her flowerbed running along the front of the house was neatly kept and the yard was perfectly manicured. Adeline’s car was in the driveway.

I pulled behind hers.

The porch light flipped on when I knocked on her door.

“June,” Adeline’s voice escalated. She pulled the door wide open. Her small frame stood there in her pajamas. She tucked a strand of her sandy blond hair behind her ear. “What are you doing in Locust Grove?”

“I’m staying at my old house for a while, so I thought I’d stop by for a quick hello.” I didn’t technically lie. I just didn’t tell her I was a number one suspect for murder.

“Come in if you don’t mind me in my pj’s.” She stepped aside, making enough room for me to come in.

“Of course I don’t.” I stepped into the grey foyer. I loved how she decorated with black hardwood floors and the wainscoting on the bottom half of the wall. A delicate crystal chandelier hung from the center of the ceiling making her romantic shabby chic style of decorating stand out.