A Charming Crime (16 page)

“Oh,
I thought you had something going with Gerald.” I shrugged it off. I knew I had
gotten her goat. Her face was fire engine red, matching the rose buds she had decided
to stick in her bird’s nest of hair.

“Why
in the world would you think that?” She huffed.

I
looked around the branch to see her face. “I remember when I was at the police
station and he was whispering in your ear. You didn’t seem to mind it.”

She
swallowed hard, held her chin up and pulled her mouth up in a sour grin. “That
is ridiculous. Don’t go around here spreading rumors, June Heal.”

“Are
you sure?” I gave her another chance to come clean. “Because he was sneaking in
your shop last night or at least that’s what I have on my phone.”

I
pulled my phone out of my bag and flipped through the pictures to find Gerald
grabbing his hat and then going into Gollybee.

“What
do you want from me, June?” Petunia leaned up against the tree and crossed her
arms. “We can’t tell anyone because you aren’t supposed to date other shop
owners. You can date people within the village, but you can only own one shop.
Ann found out and she threatened to tell and we couldn’t have that.”

“So
you killed Ann?” I gasped

“No!”
A voice boomed from the back of the store, and then followed by heavy
footsteps. “No we didn’t kill Ann.”

Gerald
peered out of nowhere. If I’d known he was there, I wouldn’t have questioned
her. This was a time I probably should’ve left it up to Oscar.

“It
seems awfully funny that Ann found out about the two of you and the next thing
you know she’s dead.” I started to walk backwards in case I was next. “And she
was allergic to honey. Not to mention that you broke into A Dose of Darla to
steal honey supplements. I even heard that you met with her for tea the night
before she died. Did you lace it with honey?”

“Don’t
be ridiculous!” His voice rang out. Not only did I squirm, the squirrels ran
for cover. “I wouldn’t hurt Ann.” He walked towards me with Petunia closely
behind him.

I
shook my finger at him. “What about A Dose of Darla?”

“It
was before you came to town and wreaked havoc.” He did fist pumps in the air.
His top hat teetered and tottered. “No one had used those remedies in years.
Ann was having some weight issues and honey helps with weight loss.”

Like
I didn’t know that.
“I’m
a homeopath spiritualist.” I reminded him. “Remember?”

“She
wasn’t allergic to the supplement. And she couldn’t find anyone to give it to her
since she was semi-banned from the village.” Gerald stood with his hands on his
hips.

Banned,
semi-banned, which was it? Either way banned wasn’t a good thing.

Mr.
Prince Charming jumped out of the tree, and stood between me, Petunia, and
Gerald.

“We
didn’t kill her. You have to believe us, June.” Petunia pleaded, taking Gerald
by the hand. “Ann has a lot of enemies here. Not just us.”

“Yes,
but the number one reason for murder is jealousy. And if Ann wanted Gerald. .
.”

“No,
Ann wanted us to lose our shops like she did. Gerald took the supplements to
keep her quiet. She’d demand things and we’d get them for her. But we’d had
enough. And we told her that.” Gerald twirled his mustache. “We are planning on
telling the council tonight after they discuss your situation.”

“My
situation? You mean the fact that you accused me of trying to kill you and
being the number one suspect in Ann’s death. That situation?”

“I
know you didn’t kill Ann.” Petunia pulled a rose out of her hair and offered it
to me. “Besides whoever killed Ann doesn’t live around here.”

Okay,
she had me for a second.

“How
do you know that?” I wondered if she was still accusing me since I wasn’t from
there.

“The
teenagers told me.” She was confident, and Gerald nodded.

“Teenagers?”
First off, I hadn’t seen any teenagers, and secondly, who believed teenagers?

“The
fireflies. They are a group of teenagers. Duh!” She wiggled her hands in the
air. “They stay up all night and sleep all day. They tell me everything. Even
about the little meeting between you and Eloise last night.” She let out a
deep, gratifying sigh.

Fireflies?
Obviously
she knew that Eloise wasn’t supposed to be anywhere near the village. I wonder
why Ann could live in the village but not Eloise. Did Petunia know Eloise and
Darla were friends?

“They
said that they didn’t recognize the figure. Couldn’t tell if it was a man or
woman, but they were positive it was someone they hadn’t seen before.” A smirk
crossed her face. She gestured between her and Gerald. “So you will let us talk
to the council before you tell anyone about us?”

I
wasn’t about to take their plea deal, but held off. This was not a peace
offering.

“It’s
crucial that you tell them tonight or I will tell Oscar everything I know.” I
turned to go out the door, but turned back around. “Tomorrow! I will tell him
tomorrow!”

I
stomped out of Gollybee with Mr. Prince Charming on my heels, and headed
towards A Cleansing Spirit Spa.

Everything
that they had said played over in my head. They were being blackmailed by Ann
and that seemed like a really good motive to kill her. I was still going to
check out the allergy.

I
didn’t know who to believe in Whispering Falls. Everyone seemed to have
something against Ann, while all I did was have a verbal disagreement with her.
And everyone talked in circles, they knew something about everything.

The
grey walls of A Cleansing Spirit Spa instantly made you feel relaxed when you
stepped in. Never mind the trickling waterfall features Chandra had sprinkled
throughout the spa that echoed the life of ‘Zen resides here’, but the lit
candles added to the ambiance of the silence.

The
low tantric music streamed throughout the spa. I couldn’t tell if the Buddha’s
that were strategically placed were staring at me, or mocking me with the
laughter on their faces.

As
I walked by one, I made sure to rub the belly. Darla did that every time she
would pass one of the many booths at the flea market that sold the plastic
statues.

“June!
“Chandra giggled. “I’m so glad to see you.”

I
wiggled my poor chewed up nails in front of me. “I’m in desperate need of a
manicure or I won’t have any nails left.”

“Come
on in.” She gestured for me to take a seat at the table next to her. “Go ahead
and take your shoes off and stick your feet in the soapy tub.”

Since
I couldn’t open the shop, I had plenty of time on my hands.

Chandra
adjusted the light over the customer’s hands she was working on. She filed
away. Everyone once in a while I noticed her turn the client’s hand over and
let out a little “
hmmm”
.

I
sat down and slipped off my shoes. The water was nice and warm. I didn’t come
in for a pedicure, but it looked too inviting to pass it up. My toes played
with the rocks in the basin.

“Do
you remember the last time I came in to get a manicure?” The customer asked,
her eyes darted between Chandra’s eyes.

Chandra
nodded.

“Well,
I played the lottery like you told me to and I won.” The woman whispered. A
huge grin was on her face. “I couldn’t believe it.”

“Did
you sign a prenuptial agreement before you got married?” Chandra didn’t acknowledge
the woman’s comment about the lottery.

The
woman drew her hands back, leaving Chandra’s hands empty. Slowly she shook her
head.

“You
need to see a lawyer, honey.” Chandra patted her client. The client slowly got
up and collected her things before she walked out the door.

“Poor
girl.” Chandra clucked. “She’s in for a nasty divorce.”

“You
could’ve let her down easy.” I suggested.

Chandra
rolled her chair over to the basin and put a towel on her leg. She patted her
knee for me to put my foot up on it. She dried it off and worked away.

“Sometimes
readings don’t go the way people want them to go.” She took out a file and used
it on my heel. I flinched from the pain. “How long has it been since you had a
pedicure?”

“Years.”
The last one was at the flea market from another booth owner, and then it was
nothing like this. It was in a metal tub with bubble bath. “Do you always read
your clients?”

“That’s
why they keep coming back.” She winked and finished up the other foot.

I
followed her over to the manicure table.

“You
sit here and I’ll get the manicure system.” Chandra hurried off behind a cream colored
partition.

There
were two manicure tables, two pedicure chairs, two massage tables, two of
everything, but only one of Chandra. The muffins, from the Gathering Grove,
were neatly placed and untouched next to a display of cups, orange juice, and a
pot of coffee.

“Do
you get a lot of customers?” I questioned, because the place didn’t looked
touched.

“I
do” She reappeared and had a silver tray full of all sorts of tools and
different colors of nail polish. “Especially after they had a friend like the
last one that came in and I tell them some lucky numbers. I don’t know what
those numbers mean. The spirit tells me to tell the client the numbers. I do
what the spirit says.”

She
took my hand rubbed some oils on it, focusing more on my palms. When I tried to
flip them over, she’d flip them back and run her long blue fingernails down my
creases.

She
rubbed the oil in my cuticles and pushed them back with a pointy thing on the
end of a plastic stick. Her turban wobbled back and forth with her every
movement. “Never had a manicure?”

“No,
how can you tell?” I tried to see what she saw.

“Your
cuticles are a mess. And you are keeping a secret.” Her eyes glowed with
excitement.

“I
thought the rule was that we aren’t supposed to read other spiritualist unless
we give them permission.”

“Ah,
rules.” She cackled. “So many rules. Don’t you know that spas are where women
gossip? So dish.”

She
looked up at me, but was still busy pushing back my bad cuticles.

“Nothing.
I’m just trying to figure out who killed Ann so I can clear my name.”

“I
think you are hiding something.” She took the file and tried to file any part
of a fingernail she could find. “You have got to stop biting your nails.”

“Bad habit.” I
winced when she got skin instead of nail. “Do you know Eloise Sandlewood?”

She
pursed her lips together and continued to file and then she slapped the file on
the table, causing me to jump.

“I’m
telling you, Ann got what she deserved.” She snickered and walked over to the
muffins. She picked one up and took a big bite out of it.

“I’m
not saying she didn’t, but I’m trying to figure out how to clear my name.” I
looked at my palms. “Read my palms.”

Between
a giggle, her lips trembled. “I wish I could. I can’t.” Her hands shook as she
put the muffin back up to her lips.

“Why?”
I stood up, and then took a good look at my palms.

“I
can’t interfere with a crime. It’s a rule.”

I
was going to have to go home and dig out that rule book that Izzy had given me.
There were too many rules to keep up with and I was finding out new ones every
single minute. I wondered if Darla had known anything about the rules in the
journal. Darla never lived by the rules.

The
front door opened and two women came in.

Chandra
cleaned the crumbs off her mouth, and cleared her throat. “Welcome to A Cleansing
Spirit Spa. Are you having a nice day in Whispering Falls?”

The
women and Chandra continued their conversation. I assumed my manicure was over
and so was my line of questioning. At least I had something I could tell Oscar
in the morning. Petunia and Gerald could be a lead.

Next
on the list was Patience. Two Sisters and a Funeral was located on the opposite
end of Main Street. Mr. Prince Charming trotted ahead and let out a few meows
along the way when someone would say hello to him.

“Hello
there.” Izzy stood in the entrance of Mystic Lights. Her usual A-Frame skirt
was replaced with a cropped pair of skinny black pants, which made her look
even taller than she already was. “I hear you are making your rounds around
Whispering Falls asking all sorts of questions.”

I
wasn’t sure how to answer her. Did she really hear it or did she do some type
of spiritual thingy to see me? No one seemed safe around here, including me.

“You
can’t blame me.” I shrugged. “No one else seems to take being called a murderer
seriously.”

She
planted her long, skinny fingers on her hips. “You need to let Oscar do his
job. Plus the council won’t be meeting because Gerald is still ill.”