Rose and Helena Save Christmas: a novella (3 page)

Rose unsuccessfully tried to hide her amused smirk. Neely Kate usually settled down once she got something off her chest, but was fun to watch while she was spewing. “Do you feel better now?”

“No…I don’t know.”
 

“Well, I know what will make you feel better. Room service.”

A grin spread across Neely Kate’s face. “I’ve never had room service before.”

“Me neither, but Mason insisted we order it while we’re here.”

Neely Kate flopped down on the bed. “Did I ever mention how much I like your boyfriend?”

Rose blushed, thinking about the send-off Mason gave her that morning. “I’m kind of fond of him myself.”

“Did you ever figure out what he’s doing in Little Rock?”

Rose’s smile faded. “No, but I’m smart enough to know that this trip for you and me wasn’t just an early Christmas present. He wanted me out of Henryetta while he’s up in Little Rock doin’ whatever he’s doing. The fact that he didn’t want me to tell anyone, even my own sister, is pretty suspicious.”

“We’ll figure it out. We’ve figured out two mysteries in Fenton County in less than a month. We’re on a roll… We should start our own detective agency.” She picked up the room service menu. “Ronnie Junior is starving. Let’s order.”

The two women ordered jambalaya and crawfish étouffée with an order of beignets on the side. They were exhausted from their day, so they called it an early night. Rose called Mason while Neely Kate slept in the other bed. He still refused to tell her what he was doing, stating that it was official business relating to his assistant district attorney position in Fenton County, but Rose suspected otherwise.
 

When Rose woke the next morning, she blinked in confusion. She wasn’t in her own room, and she heard loud banging on the door.
 

“Open up!” a man shouted.
 

Neely Kate sat upright. “Who’s that? Did Mason’s credit card not work?”

“There’s nothing wrong with Mason’s card,” Rose mumbled, climbing out of bed and padding to the door. “I’m sure it’s a misunderstanding.”

She peered through the peephole, and a man in a shirt and tie with a tan jacket stood on the other side.
 

He pounded again, his face contorting with impatience.
 

“Who is it?” Rose shouted through the door.
 

He held up his wallet, flashing a badge. “Detective Savoy, open up.”

Rose’s hand flew to her chest, and she fumbled with the lock before opening the door.
 

Neely Kate stood behind her, grabbing Rose’s arm.

The detective eyed both women, stuffing his wallet back into his pants pocket. “Ms. Colson?” he asked drily.
 

“That’s me,” Neely Kate squeaked, trying to peek around her.
 

“I need you to get dressed and come down to the station for questioning.”

Rose stepped in front of her friend, shielding her from the detective. “What on earth for?”

“The murder of Serafine Saint Cerano.”

Rose cringed. Oh, crappy doodles.

Chapter Three

A New Orleans detective pounding on your door first thing in the morning was never a good thing. It was even worse when you hadn’t actually gone to bed until an hour before the excessive knocking. Taylor had barely gotten the door and her eyes open before the dour-looking middle-aged man flashed his badge and told her he was taking her downtown for a talk.

Her first thought was that Helena had done something illegal that had led back to Taylor, but when Detective Savoy spit out “murder” her eyes popped open. When he added “Serafine Saint Cerano” to the statement, her pulse shot into aerobic zone. Death hadn’t even entered her realm of possibilities.

Taylor requested some time to put on street clothes and invited Detective Savoy in to wait. Helena was standing in her bedroom, her eyes wide. “Did he say that psychic woman was murdered?” she asked.

Taylor nodded.
 

“Why does he want to question you?”

“Probably because I was one of the last people who saw her alive,” Taylor whispered as she pulled on jeans and a shirt. “Our appointment was close to closing, remember?”

“But you didn’t kill anyone.”

“I know that, but I don’t think the detective is going to take my word for it and let me go back to bed.” She tugged on her tennis shoes and laced them up.
 

“I’m going with you.”

“Damn straight you are. I want to know what the detective says when I’m not around.”

“I’ll need to change clothes.”

Taylor started to protest that no one else could see her, but that argument fell on deaf ears every time. Besides, the Grinch pajamas the ghost currently sported were meant for a far younger, thinner person. She looked up from tying her shoes and saw Helena’s newest creation. She’d ditched the tinsel and was now dressed like the original Sherlock Holmes, complete with long coat, hat, pipe, and magnifying glass. Except Helena had kept her nod to the holidays and the entire outfit was red and green. It was beyond garish, but as it was also the most coverage Taylor had ever seen on the ghost, she simply gave an internal sigh of relief.

“Let’s get this over with,” she said and left the bedroom, Helena trailing behind her.

The ride to the police station was a short and silent one…at least as far as Detective Savoy was concerned. Helena babbled the entire way, mostly worried about what would happen to her if Taylor went to prison for murder. She didn’t seem to grasp that Taylor would be in a far worse position as she wasn’t capable of walking through walls like Helena.

Taylor was almost relieved when they pulled up in front of the police station and walked inside. At least Helena stopped talking. Detective Savoy led her inside and motioned to an officer at one of the front desks. “Put her in one of the interrogation rooms. I’ll be there in a minute.”

The officer nodded and motioned for Taylor to follow him. Taylor shot a look at Helena and she set off behind Detective Savoy. Taylor wound through the mass of metal desks and followed the officer down a narrow hallway, where he pushed open a door and pointed inside. Taylor stepped into the room and the door slammed shut behind her. That’s when she realized the room wasn’t empty.

On the other side of a table sat two young women. They were both medium height and build, one with long brown hair and the other with a mass of blond hair that looked like it belonged in Texas rather than Louisiana. They both looked oddly familiar, but for the life of her, Taylor couldn’t place them.

“Hey! I’ve seen you before,” the blonde said. “You ran out of Madame Serafine’s shop while we were paying.”

Taylor nodded as it clicked into place. She’d barely glanced at them, but she remembered two women standing at the counter when she’d hurried out. Her subconscious mind must have locked in on more details than she could recall.
 

“I’m Neely Kate Colson,” the blonde said, “and this is Rose Gardner.”
 

“Taylor Beaumont.”

Neely Kate cocked her head and lifted her eyebrows with a scrutinizing gaze. “So did you kill her?”

“What?” Taylor stared. “No, of course not. Did you?”

Rose put her hand on Neely Kate’s arm. “You have to excuse my friend. Sometimes she’s a bit too direct. She tends to say whatever she’s thinkin’.”

“That’s okay,” Taylor said. “I prefer direct.”

“Good,” Neely Kate said. “We didn’t kill her either, but I still want a refund since she didn’t finish my readin’. Now that she’s dead, I’m probably not gonna get it.”

Rose’s eyes widened. “Neely Kate, that poor woman is dead and you’re still complainin’ about a
refund
?”

“Why didn’t she finish your reading?” Taylor asked.

Neely Kate glanced at Rose, who had a flash of guilt cross her face. “I don’t know. She got this irritated and kind of spooked look, then kicked us out.”

Taylor frowned. Certainly Serafine had been unnerved by seeing Helena. Who wouldn’t be? But the two girls’ expressions led Taylor to believe there was more to the story than they were saying. She was about to push them for information when the door flew open and Detective Savoy strode in, the officer who’d led Taylor to the room right behind him.

“What the hell!” Detective Savoy stared at all of them, then whirled around to glare at the other officer. “Why did you put them in the room together? I swear to God, you shouldn’t be allowed to carry a fake badge, much less a real one.”

“I didn’t know the others—” the officer started.

Detective Savoy waved a hand in dismissal. “Get out.”

The officer didn’t even hesitate before turning around and bolting out of the room. That’s when Taylor realized why Detective Savoy’s name sounded familiar. Her friend with the district attorney’s office talked about him sometimes, and it was never complimentary, and her work had crossed paths with his once before, even though they’d never met.
 

Detective Savoy narrowed his eyes at them. “Since you’ve all had a chance to chat, I might as well question you together. Sit.” He pointed at Taylor. She pulled a chair out and sat down across from Rose. The detective pulled the remaining chair to the end of the table and placed a folder in front of him before sitting.

He stared at them without speaking for so long that Taylor was about to request he get on with it. Then the door opened and another officer stuck his head in and nodded. Detective Savoy glanced at them and opened his folder.
 

“You were all at Madame Serafine’s shop last night. And don’t bother denying it. We have a credit card receipt for one of you and the clerk just ID’d you all.”

Taylor felt a sliver of fear run through her. She’d hoped the detective only wanted to question her to get information, but it was sounding less like he thought they knew something and more like he wanted to pin the murder on one of them.
 

Detective Savoy pointed at Neely Kate. “Let’s start with you. That was an interesting message you left for Madame Serafine. You accused her of stealing from you and demanded she leave the money at your hotel or she’d pay. Well, she paid.”

Neely Kate’s mouth dropped open. “You honestly think I killed her over fifty bucks? Are you crazy? I’m gonna be a mother. What kind of example would I be setting for Ronnie Junior?” She rolled her eyes and shook her head in disgust. “I don’t know how y’all do things down here in New Orleans, but in Henryetta, Arkansas, we don’t just run around killin’ people unless it’s over something important like cheerleading slots.”

“Did you go to her shop to collect the money she owed you?” Detective Savoy asked. “Did she refuse to pay?”

“What? No! She didn’t finish my readin’ and I wanted a refund. That’s all.”

Detective Savoy didn’t look remotely convinced. “That was an awfully strong reaction over an unfinished reading.”

Neely Kate started to reply, then clamped her mouth shut. Rose leaned forward. “She’s pregnant and worried about her baby. We went to see Madame Serafine so she could tell Neely Kate that Ronnie Junior is fine, but she kicked us out before answerin’. Neely Kate was just upset.” Rose waved her hand dismissively. “It’s a hormone thing.”

Taylor looked back and forth from Detective Savoy to Rose and Neely Kate. She didn’t doubt for a minute that the two women were telling the truth. Nothing in their body language indicated differently, but she also knew they weren’t telling him everything. People never did, but that didn’t mean what they were holding back was relevant. Usually it was simply personal and they didn’t want others to know.

“Well, what about her?” Neely Kate pointed at Taylor. “She practically burned the place down before we got there. That’s gotta be worse than leavin’ a message on voice mail.”

Detective Savoy turned to look at Taylor. “Is that true? Are you the one responsible for the fire at the shop?”

“Well, yes, but it was an accident.” Taylor scrambled for an explanation that didn’t include Helena. Speaking of which, where the hell
was
Helena? “I was looking in Madame Serafine’s crystal ball and dropped it. When I scrambled to catch it before it hit the ground, I landed on the table and broke it. A piece of the table knocked the candle over and caught the tablecloth on fire.”

Detective Savoy cocked his head to the side. “You expect me to believe that ridiculous story?”

Taylor felt her spine stiffen. The detective was just doing his job, but he’d rubbed her wrong from the moment he’d banged on her door. “If I were going to make something up,” she said, “it would sound a lot more plausible, so yes, I expect you to believe me, but mainly because I have no reason to lie.”

“Unless you came back to the shop after it closed and finished the job,” Detective Savoy said.

“Are you placing me under arrest?”

“Not at this time.”

Taylor rose from her chair. “Then I’m done here. I’m sorry about what happened, but I left the shop and went straight home. Aside from the clerk and these two women, I didn’t see anyone else in the shop and didn’t pay attention to anyone on the street.”

Neely Kate jumped up. “If she gets to leave, we’re goin’ too. C’mon, Rose.” She tugged at Rose’s sleeve.