Dizzy Spells (13 page)

When Camino was finished writing, she pushed
the paper toward me and set her fingers on one corner, turning it
so I could see what had been transcribed. It simply read, in
slanting scrawl, ‘Who works against Amelia’s highest good?’

There were symbols drawn around the edges of
the parchment, figures I didn’t recognize, but the words were in
English. I was touched that once again a spell was being done for
my benefit.

Camino pulled the thin and waxy parchment
back toward her and then set the burning candle on it. She took up
the vial next, pulling out the small rubber stopper with an audible
pop. She held her index finger over the opening and twisted her
wrist so that the oil inside coated the tip of her finger. She
wiped her finger up the surface of the candle in several
strokes.

“Show us who works against Amelia’s highest
good,” Camino said, her voice soft and low. “Reveal to us who poses
her harm, and who does not have her best interests at heart. Do
this. Do this.”

Thyme turned to me. “Let’s leave the room
now,” she said in a whisper. “Camino is going to do a divination as
soon as she feels the time is right. We need to leave her
alone.”

I rose and followed the others out of the
room into the tiny kitchen. “How long does it take?” I asked in
hushed tones.

“As long as it takes,” Mint said with a
shrug. “These things aren’t always exact. It doesn’t usually take
too long, though.”

“It should help us find who is behind all of
this,” Thyme said. “It mightn’t tell us who Thomas Hale’s killer
is, but it will tell us if Alder Vervain is someone we need to
worry about.”

I was somewhat irritated. Thyme was already
convinced that Alder was not to be trusted. It seemed to me that
she was firmly convinced of that, and didn’t need a spell to reveal
his true intentions.

And then there was Craig. Sure, he wasn’t
the knight in shining armor that I’d first thought, but that didn’t
mean he was a killer, and someone trying to frame me for the
murder. I felt lightheaded all of a sudden. “I’ve got a headache
coming on. Do you mind if I go outside for some fresh air?”

Ruprecht looked at me with concern. “Are you
all right? Would you like some lavender tea?”

I shook my head. “I’m okay, thanks. I just
need some fresh air for a few moments. I’ll be right back.”

I headed for the front door. I turned the
lock and pushed the door open, escaping into the cool air on the
sidewalk. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Sometimes all
this stuff was just too much. The living house, me being a witch,
the two murders on my property, the almost-boyfriend who was not to
be trusted.

“Are you okay?” a deep voice said beside
me.

I jumped. It was Alder Vervain.

“What do you want?” My words came out more
harshly than I intended.

“Well, I’m following you, as you know. I was
worried about you. You look tired.”

“I am tired,” I said. “I’m mostly tired of
you following me.”

Alder chuckled. “I’m sure you are,” he said,
“but I have bills to pay. Apart from that, I just wanted to check
up on you.”

“Why?”

“People aren’t always who you think they
are. Now, about that guy you’re seeing…”

I held up my hand to cut him off. “I’m not
seeing him.”

Alder nodded, and I wondered if he already
knew. “What are you doing at
Glinda’s
?”

“That’s none of your business,” I said,
remembering that Alder’s family had a history of persecuting
witches.

Alder nodded. “Fair enough,” he said, “but
watch your back. People aren’t always what they seem.” He stepped
backward, into the shadows, and soon merged with the falling
darkness.

I watched him go, and then went back
inside.

“That was good timing,” Thyme said. “I was
just about to come and get you. Camino’s ready.”

The others were already at the table, and I
took my seat. Camino held a pendulum, a cylindrical clear crystal
quartz pointed at one end and hanging from a delicate gold
chain.

In front of her were several pieces of
paper, scrunched up into balls and arranged in a circle. Mint
leaned over to me. “There are names written inside the papers,” she
said. “The names are hidden while Camino does the divination, so
she won’t be subconsciously influenced by them.”

I nodded. “What names are in there?”

“Alder Vervain, Craig, Kayleen, Dianne, and
Unknown,” she whispered. “We always do a paper labeled ‘Unknown’ in
case it’s someone we haven’t thought of.”

That makes sense
, I thought, as I
turned my attention to the pendulum. I didn’t know why Dianne’s
name was included, but I supposed it was a good idea to include
her, as she had known the deceased.

At first the pendulum did nothing, and I
wondered if anything at all would happen. Then, as Camino chanted
softly, it began to move. It moved violently over one piece of
paper again and again. Camino stilled the pendulum, and then moved
the paper from the circle, placing it to one side.

As she chanted again, the pendulum swung
between two pieces of paper. It was nowhere near as forceful this
time, but moved rhythmically. Camino once more stilled the
pendulum, and moved those two pieces of paper from the circle,
placing them side-by-side under the first piece of paper.

Camino returned to her chanting, but this
time, the pendulum did nothing. After a few moments, Camino opened
her eyes. White smoke rose lazily from the hot wick as Camino
snuffed the candle.

Everyone looked at me with concern. I was
worried, too. Three people did not have my best interests at heart?
That sounded bad, real bad. Part of me wanted to know who they
were, but part of me didn’t.

I jumped when the room suddenly flooded with
light. I looked up and saw Ruprecht at the light switch. He at once
returned to his seat, just as Camino opened one of the two pieces
of paper at the bottom of the arrangement. Those were the two
pieces of paper that had not drawn any reaction from the pendulum.
She flattened out the paper and then held it up for all of us to
see. It had the word, ‘Unknown.’

Okay, that was a concern. I’d rather someone
unknown have ill intent toward me, because that meant that three
people I knew had it in for me, at least to some degree.

Camino then reached for the top piece of
paper, the piece to which the pendulum had reacted violently. She
unfolded it, and then flattened it. Everyone gasped when she held
it up to show us the name.

Dianne.

Still, no one spoke. I wanted to ask
questions, wanted to ask why Dianne would mean me harm. Yet the
others were silent, so I remained silent also. There were three
more pieces of paper to go, including two more names of people who
did not have my best interests at heart. Camino reached for one of
those. I held my breath as she held it up.

Kayleen.

Well, that was no surprise. Kayleen had been
clearly upset to see Craig having dinner with me, and I suspected
that they had something going on. At any rate, she was angry that I
had a Post Office box. Or was there more to it?

I turned my attention to the last two pieces
of paper. Only the names of Craig and Alder remained. Which one did
not have my best interests at heart?

Camino reached for the paper that had been
next to Kayleen’s. She carefully, and it seemed to me, way too
slowly, unscrunched it, and then placed it face down on the table,
flattening it out. She held it up to reveal the name.

Everyone gasped.

Chapter 20

“Something went wrong,” Mint said, shaking
her head. “Right?”

“I don’t think so,” Ruprecht said. “It
didn’t seem wrong.”

Mint wouldn’t give up. “But Dianne is the
woman Amelia is trying to help. Why would she be out to harm
her?”

“And why did Alder Vervain come up
innocent?” Thyme asked, reaching for the remaining piece of paper,
the one that, like ‘Unknown’, meant me no harm. Sure enough, it had
the words ‘Alder Vervain’ written on it. I breathed a sigh of
relief.

“It is what it is,” Ruprecht said. “We need
to take it at face value.”

My relief was short lived when the full
import of what had just happened sank in. “Does this mean that
three people are out to harm me?”

Camino rushed to reassure me. “No, not at
all. It just means they don’t have your best interests at heart. As
far as Kayleen goes, well, the woman has a grudge against just
about everyone in town. As for Craig, it could just mean he’s a
womanizer. Yes, it could be more than that, but it might not be.
The one who really stood out was Dianne. ”

“What would Dianne have against me?” I
asked.

No one seemed to have an answer for
that.

“We need to do some digging on Dianne,”
Thyme said finally. “I think.”

Ruprecht nodded. “She’s right. We were here
thinking Dianne was the reason we were doing this. You and Amelia
were trying to help her, but it seems that she has an agenda of her
own. And as for Craig,” he continued, “it would be best to stay
away from him. Certainly he shouldn’t be going inside your
home.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll be avoiding him like the
plague from now on.”

Ruprecht nodded and patted my arm.

“Why don’t I invite Dianne over for coffee
and cake?” I suggested. “The house will probably do something to
reveal what she’s up to.”

“That’s a good idea,” Thyme said. “I should
be there, too. We’ll make it a girls’ cupcake evening.”

And so, the following afternoon, I was
waiting nervously for Dianne to show up at my house. I felt
betrayed. I had been nothing but nice to the woman, so I had not
the faintest clue why she would have a problem with me.

I greeted Dianne at the door with false
enthusiasm.

If Dianne felt anything at all from the
house, she did a good job of keeping it to herself. “Girl chat with
coffee sounded exactly like what Madam Dianne needed,” she said.
“Thanks for having me.”

“Any time,” I said, as I shut the door
behind her. As I showed Dianne into the living room, Thyme came in
with a tray loaded with coffee cups and a carafe of coffee.

“Here we are,” Thyme said, setting the tray
down beside a large box of cupcakes.

“Let me use the bathroom if I may,” Dianne
said.

As soon as she was out of sight, Thyme
hurried over to me. “She might not make it back,” she
whispered.

I shook my head. “She seemed fine. I don’t
understand it. I thought she’d be dizzy by now.”

Thyme shrugged. “She might be good at hiding
it.”

I nudged her. “Shush! I think she’s coming
back.”

Dianne returned and looked completely
normal, much to my puzzlement. I offered her a plate of double
chocolate cupcakes.

Dianne waved her hand in refusal.

“But they’re your favorite,” I said.

She shook her head. “No, I can’t. My doctor
is nagging me,” she said. “I’ve been having dizzy spells and my
blood tests came back bad. I have to take my diabetes more
seriously.”

I exchanged glances with Thyme. “I didn’t
know you had diabetes,” Thyme said.

Dianne looked as if she had said something
she shouldn’t have. She fidgeted with her coffee cup and then set
it down. “It’s just something I have to deal with. I don’t talk
about it much.”

“Well, I’m sorry to hear you suffer from
it,” Thyme said. “It can certainly be a terrible disease.”

“It becomes second nature after a while,”
Dianne said. “But it keeps me from those cupcakes sometimes.”

I faked a laugh. All I could think of was
the insulin. Thomas Hale had been killed with insulin. Yet what
could be her motive? She said she had barely known the man, but if
she killed him, of course she’d say that.

When Dianne next used the bathroom, Thyme
hurried over to me. “Insulin!” she said.

“I know, right!”

Thyme nodded. “I bet she was the one who
killed Hale with insulin.”

“So now we’ve gone from wanting to help her
to thinking she’s a murderer?” I asked.

Thyme pulled a face. “I don’t know, but she
showed up on the paper, didn’t she!”

I agreed. “She sure did.”

“And did you see her face, when she realized
she told us she was diabetic? Why wouldn’t she want anyone to
know?” Thyme asked.

“She might be private,” I said. “Okay, I
don’t believe that. Something’s up with the diabetic thing, but
we’re forgetting something.”

“What?”

“She was at the top of the list, but she’s
been in my house for over an hour now.”

Thyme nodded. “And nothing’s happened.”

“Not a thing. The cats are hiding from her,
though.” As if on cue, Willow and Hawthorn peeped around the
corner.

An idea occurred to me. “What if the house
wanted us to know about the diabetes? Maybe the house knew what we
were doing. It didn’t need to warn us.”

“Possibly. So what’s the next step?” Thyme
asked.

“We need to find out if she has a motive.
Did she know Hale after all? Is there a history there, something
more than a passing acquaintance?”

“How are we going to do that?” Thyme
asked.

“We can figure it out when she goes, if you
have time to hang around for a while.”

“Sure,” Thyme said, “but I’ve thought of
something else. Craig is also a suspect. We have to consider the
fact that the house didn’t react to Dianne, but did react to
Craig.”

“This is doing my head in,” I said.

Thyme grabbed my arm. “We’re talking about
Dianne as if she’s guilty of murder, but she didn’t get dizzy or
think the walls were closing in on her. Yet when Craig came over,
as soon as he stepped onto your porch, he got dizzy. The house
attacked him twice.”

“What are you saying?” I asked urgently, as
I heard the bathroom door shut. “I thought the house only attacked
him as he’s a womanizer.”