Pall in the Family (10 page)

I held the crystal and felt it get warm in my hand, then hung it over the paper and stopped its movement.

“Did Gary kill Sara?” I asked.

The chain was warm in my fingers. I focused on keeping my hand as still as possible. I felt a muscle twitch, and the chain started swinging.
NO
.

Vi grabbed the pendulum from me and thrust it at my mother.

“You do it. You're the only one who really knows how. You'll be the final say,” she said.

“But that was . . . ,” Alex started. I shook my head in warning. He caught on and sat back.

My mother went through the whole process again. Her answer:
NO
.

“Clyde, you have to talk to Mac,” Mom said.

“What? Why?”

“It's obvious. The pendulum says it's not Gary.” Mom gestured at the small piece of crystal. “Mac needs to know he has the wrong man in custody.”

Alex grabbed his wine and took a giant gulp.

“You've got to be kidding, Mom. Mac doesn't believe in any of this. He won't care what the pendulum has to say.”

“But be sure he knows to look for someone who buys bacon,” Vi added.

Mom nodded solemnly in her direction.

“It's practically impeding an investigation if we don't tell him, Clyde.” Mom offered Alex more wine, and he held out his glass.

“We could all be arrested!” Vi said.

“Arrested? Who will take care of Tuffy?” Seth held Tuffy tighter on his lap.

“No one is going to be arrested,” I said to Seth. “Fine, I'll talk to Mac.” I had no idea how I was going to pull this off, but Mac would be easier to deal with than these two.

“So can we keep Tuffy?” asked Seth. We turned to look at him and the ball of fur that was our only witness to Sara's murder.

Wednesday morning started early for me. Tuffy
woke up Seth with the sun and began whining to go out. After they crashed through the house and came back up the stairs, I was fully awake with no hope of going back to sleep. I got out of bed and went to my computer. I really wanted some coffee but didn't want to risk going downstairs and meeting my mother in the kitchen. She was a morning person. I was a night person. Just one more thing we had to argue over.

I checked my e-mail to discover that several friends were demanding I drive to Ann Arbor for a party that weekend. Not likely.

A message from a friend in the department said they were still investigating the last case I had worked. I skimmed the details, not really wanting to know. They weren't going to find anything that would fix what had happened. The decision about my police career would have to wait. I shut the laptop and decided to risk the coffee run.

I crept downstairs, avoiding the creaky fifth step, and peered around the wall into the dining room. No sign of anyone. I didn't hear any noise from Vi's end of the house, but she hadn't seen six a.m. in decades. I made it through the dining room and into the kitchen without incident. There was already coffee in the pot, which meant Mom was up, but where?

I quickly grabbed a mug and poured a cup, liberally adding milk and sugar. I was just starting to rummage for some cereal when I sensed a shift in the room. I turned, but no one was there.

Sometimes this house really creeps me out. My grandmother lived here all her life, and my mother and aunt swear she's still here, even though they'd never “contacted” her. Every once in a while, I'm sure they're right. You couldn't grow up in a town full of mediums and not at least entertain the idea of ghosts.

I stood there, waiting, feeling a cool breeze where there should not have been one, and then it was gone. I heard the
tap tap tap
of Tuffy's nails on the hardwood, and he and Seth came into the kitchen.

“Ahh!” Seth said. He jumped back and stepped on Tuffy, who squeaked and glared at me.

“What?” I said.

“You scared me. I thought I heard something, and Tuffy was acting scared, so we came down to check it out.”

“He probably sensed I was about to eat,” I said.

“Very funny. He's more sensitive than you give him credit for.”

“What were you going to do if you found something? Scream at it?”

“No. I just . . . I didn't know you were awake, and then you were standing there and you scared me, okay?”

“Fine.” I poured the cereal.

* * *

I dropped Seth
back at the house after our morning rounds. I had some work to do and needed to be alone. I wanted to talk to Tish again and see if I could get any more information out of her. I was still bothered by the sense that she knew something about Sara's death. It was strange that the usually gossipy Tish hadn't asked any questions about Sara's murder or the investigation. And there was something going on between Tish and my mother. It wasn't like her to just breeze in and then leave. She hadn't even stopped to gush with my mom and Vi about her retreat. She used to spend every Friday evening at our house, but I had hardly seen her since I moved back home.

I went straight to the Reading Room. It was a converted city building that was used for psychic readings. The city council also offered workshops on tarot reading and psychic development, mostly in the summer months. Only the psychics that had been licensed by the city could give readings there, and it was a great way to get new clients. Tish was a regular on Wednesday mornings.

I approached the building with some caution, as I didn't want to meet Harriet Munson. She was in charge of organizing who was in the building and when. I had been involved in a small infraction of the psychic licensing bylaws as a teenager. Occasionally, I had come here with Tish and had offered my own brand of psychic advice before I decided to give it up forever. Harriet had never forgiven me for working without a license. And more than that, for telling her daughter that she should definitely pursue a career in acting instead of getting married. Harriet still didn't have any grandchildren. It would be best if we didn't cross paths.

I ducked inside the door behind a group of tourists and spotted Tish sitting in her usual place. She wasn't alone, but I had planned for that problem. Tish was very popular, and I knew it was unlikely she would be without a client. I tried to stay with the group and keep my head down. I hoped to sneak over to speak with her between readings.

I couldn't see who was with her, but she wasn't giving a reading. Normally, during a session, she sat fairly still and seemed serene. Instead, she was gesturing and getting red in the face, arguing with whoever was there. The man was trying to calm her down. I couldn't tell who it was. My group was heading in the wrong direction for me to listen in on Tish's conversation. I was about to break away from them when I spotted Harriet across the room checking in another group of hopeful tourists waiting to hear their fortunes or to contact a loved one. She hadn't noticed me. I was up on tiptoe to see over the person next to me.

Tish didn't look happy.

“Clytemnestra Fortune! What are you doing here?” said a high-pitched voice.

I slumped down off my toes and tried to blend into the crowd, which was much smaller than I originally thought, consisting of only four older women and me. Very few people still called me Clytemnestra. Harriet was one of them. Harriet's short heels clicked their way over to me in quick, angry taps.

“Hello, Mrs. Munson. It's nice to see you after so much time.” I tried for the charm angle.

“You know I don't approve of unlicensed psychics in the Reading Room,” she whispered as she approached. She stood pointing her finger at me, bringing herself to her full five feet one inch.

The ladies had pulled away from me at her approach, but now they began to edge closer again at the idea that I was not just a psychic, but a rule-breaking renegade psychic at that. I kept one eye on Tish and her visitor, but I still couldn't tell what they were talking about. The acoustics were arranged to maintain privacy by several people working at one time in the same area.

“I'm just here to visit Tish. I'm not working. Actually, I don't do that at all anymore.”

Harriet sniffed. My group moved away again.

“Yes, I had heard that.” Harriet gave me the once-over, and narrowed her eyes in disapproval. “Well, as you can see, she's with a client right now.”

I glanced over to see an elderly woman taking the chair in front of Tish. The man she'd been arguing with was just going out the door. My breath caught, and my mind raced—it was the same guy who had stopped to pet Baxter in the street yesterday.

“Okay, I'd better go, then. Nice seeing you, Mrs. Munson,” I said, and hurried out the door after the mystery man before she could stop me.

I wanted to catch up to him and—do what? Accuse him of petting Tish's dog? I raced out the door while glancing back at Tish and ran straight into Mac.

He gripped my arms to keep me from falling over.

Mac smelled really good. Like pine trees and fresh breezes off the lake. I tried to get my footing while he held me for a moment too long. Long enough to remember how much I liked being this close to him. From the way his eyes got soft, he was remembering, too.

“Hey, what's the rush?” he said, and set me back onto my feet.

“Oh, um, no rush. I came to talk to Tish and she's busy, so I'll just come back later,” I said.

“I heard Andrews made his arrest on your front porch.” Mac had dropped his cane during our collision. He bent to pick it up.

“Yeah, it was a bit dramatic. Gary was at the house picking up his dog.” I rubbed my arms where his hands had been, still feeling the heat.

“Andrews could have picked him up earlier, but I think he wanted to impress you.” Mac was standing too close. I had to look up to see his eyes.

“Impress me?” I stepped back and wondered where this was going.

“You mean you haven't noticed how he gets weak in the knees whenever you're around? You're slipping, Clyde.”

We had to move aside to let a group out the door. Mac took my arm, and we stood in the grass off to the side of the walkway.

“Don't be ridiculous. We're just old family friends.”

“Uh-huh. Well, I'm glad to have it over and done with. I wasn't looking forward to a long investigation in this town.”

“Are you sure it was Gary?”

“I wouldn't have had him arrested if I wasn't sure. He lied about his alibi. He had a motive and opportunity.”

“So? People lie all the time. It doesn't make them murderers.”

“Just leave it alone, Clyde.”

The air around us had become much cooler. Mac stepped past me and went into the Reading Room without another word.

* * *

With Mac out
of his office, it seemed like a good time to visit the police station and see what I could learn.

Lisa smiled when I entered the station.

“Mac's not here right now,” she said.

I sighed. “I'm looking for Officer Andrews.”

Lisa flushed. “He's out, too. He's checking on a report of digging near Message Circle.”

“Again?”

She nodded. “The crazy thing is, whoever is doing it is trying to fill in all the holes when they're done. I thought it was kids playing treasure hunt or something, but now it's been going on for long enough that I doubt it's a couple of eight-year-olds pretending to be pirates,” she said.

“Where is it happening?” I said.

“Well, kind of all over in the park. Some of it is on private land, but not much. Sara complained that her land had some areas dug up about a month ago. But I shouldn't be talking about it. Charla always says I don't know when to keep quiet.” She turned to her computer and pretended to be busy. Charla was right. Lisa never could keep a secret, which was bad for those trying to keep a secret but great for those trying to get information.

I decided to bluff. “My Mom told me about that—I think it's near my Dad's cabin. . . .”

Lisa was already shaking her head. “I don't think so. Isn't his place on the west side of Singapore Highway? She owned a lot that her father bought from the city back in the nineties when they consolidated some of the park on the south side of Greer's Woods.” Lisa was drawing a crude map on a scrap piece of paper. “She and Gary split it in the divorce settlement. That's what they were always fighting about. He wanted to sell and she didn't, but the developers wouldn't take his land without hers.”

“And that's the area that's being vandalized?” I indicated the area south of Greer's Woods.

“Not the only one. Also over here.” She pointed with her pencil to a section that was adjacent to Greer's Woods. “You know the city council is not going to put up with trouble anywhere
near
Message Circle.”

“They'll have Tom out there guarding it on his off hours next.”

She laughed and nodded. The phone rang and she held up a finger while she answered it.

I wondered why I hadn't heard of this from my mother and aunt. They must have known that Sara and Gary had been fighting over the land. That would have only strengthened the argument that Gary had killed her. I'd heard about the developers wanting to put in a strip mall out along the coast highway. The town was very much divided on that score. Some were excited about the new stores and services it might bring in. Others were mourning the loss of the forest and the natural beauty of that area just outside town. And there was the give-them-an-inch camp that saw the strip mall taking over the whole town within months of its completion.

Lisa hung up the phone and offered to leave a message for Andrews.

“No, that's okay. I'll try to reach him later. Hey, do you have any news on Gary Landess?” I knew I was pushing my luck, but I had to try.

“No, he's still back in holding. They're waiting to transfer him to Grand Rapids. His lawyer has been in and out all day demanding this, that, and the other.” Her hair didn't move when she shook her head.

“Nothing new, then?”

“Well, you know they don't tell me much.” She frowned. “But, I'm pretty sure they're treating it like it's all wrapped up.”