Double Trouble Page 5

  "Minnie is still high priestess this evening though," Nora spoke up weakly. "How can we possibly start without her?" There were some half-hearted head shakes. It was hard to tell who they agreed with, but, it seemed, no one wanted to upset Wanda.

  Wanda pulled out her phone. "It's one minute until midnight, and we haven't even put on our hair wreaths and garlands yet."

  Aubrey raised her hand to speak. "How about if we get ready? Then, when Minnie arrives, we can get started. And if she doesn't come in the next five minutes, we'll start without her."

  Everyone muttered their agreement to Aubrey's logical compromise.

  The women headed over to the large trunk. It seemed their wreaths and garlands were stored inside.

  "I wonder if they have those cool flowery hair wreaths in that trunk. I'd love to have one," Lola said as we watched them gather around the trunk.

  Wanda flicked open the brass latch, and Aubrey helped her lift the heavy lid back onto its brass hinges.

  "What on earth?" Wanda muttered as she reached into the trunk.

  The four of us inched closer to get a better look. I immediately recognized the pentagram rug from Minnie's shop. Aubrey reached in and pulled back the edge of the rug. Screams shot through the night air, startling the nocturnal creatures from their hiding spots. Wanda stumbled back. Aubrey covered her face and turned away from the trunk. The others huddled together, as unsure of what was happening as the four spectators still cradling their cups of cider.

  "I think she's dead," Aubrey cried as she lowered her hands from her snow white face. "Minnie's dead."

  Chapter 8

  Lacey and I moved into action in such perfectly timed unison, it was as if our movements had been choreographed. As the words 'Minnie's dead' fell from Aubrey's mouth, we both turned to our respective best friends and handed off our mugs of hot cider. It was dark and everything happened fast, but I was fairly certain we exchanged knowing winks, as if to say looks like a murder and we're on it. While everyone else had scooted away from the trunk, terrified at the prospect that it contained a dead body, Lacey and I rushed forward to investigate Aubrey's shocking claim.

  "Raine, bring some of those candles closer please," I said.

  Lola and Raine jumped into action and gathered up some of the orange flameless candles. Lacey and I each took hold of a corner of the rug. It had curled in on itself so whoever was rolled inside was completely hidden. Lacey and I nodded once at each other, then we carefully lifted the rug back. We dropped it over the front edge of the trunk so we could get a better view inside. The lights were still wavering as Raine and Lola positioned the candles around the trunk without getting too close to the grim display inside.

  A mostly full moon was making its way through the overhead canopy, casting a ghastly glow over the body in the trunk. Minnie was still dressed in the same clothes as this afternoon and when we briefly saw her in her shop. She was curled on her side, cradled in the rug, looking peaceful, almost as if she was just napping.

  Lacey's confidence around dead bodies far outshined my own. She didn't hesitate for a second before reaching for Minnie's wrist. She stared into the trunk with brows furrowed in concentration as she felt for any sign of a pulse.

  I leaned closer, not wanting to alarm everyone around us with talk of death. (Although Aubrey had already pretty much put that shocking piece of information out there.) "Any signs of life?" I asked quietly.

  Lacey shook her head so slightly, only I could see it. "I knew there wouldn't be when I picked up the wrist," she whispered back. "She's ice cold. I'm already sensing signs of rigor mortis."

  "So she's been inside this trunk for awhile?" I whispered back.

  "Not sure about that but I'd say she's been dead for several hours."

  I pulled out my phone. "I just happen to have the local detective on speed dial."

  Lacey nodded. "It does come in handy, doesn't it?"

  I walked away from the clearing, closer to the trail, looking for some phone reception. Knowing I was busy with my visitors, Jackson had made plans with friends. They were going to dinner and out to play a few games of pool, but I knew he was on call for the whole weekend. I was sure he wasn't expecting my call in the middle of the night, and judging by how fast and slightly breathlessly he answered, it seemed I was right.

  "Sunni, what's wrong?" he asked. "Are you all right?" It was hard not to smile at the sound of worry in his deep voice.

  "I'm fine, Detective Jackson, but I think I've got a murder case for you."

  I could hear the sound of billiard balls rolling and cracking against each other. Loud voices and a jukebox pounding out Bruce Springsteen mingled in the background. "Where are you, Sunni?"

  "I'm in the wilderness area behind the park in Hickory Flats, where we ate lunch yesterday. You need to come quick and bring your team. There's a dead woman in a trunk. It's hard to tell how she died, but whoever killed her took the time to roll her up in a rug and tuck her inside a trunk."

  "Jeez, Bluebird, you sure do know how to follow trouble. I'll be right there. And I'm sure I don't have to tell you—"

  "Don't touch anything or move the body," I supplied for him. "I know the drill. Just hurry. We've got some rather frightened women here, and it's starting to get cold, and, frankly, a little creepy out here in the woods."

  "I'm on my way," he said and hung up.

  Raine and Lola were doing their best to keep the others from full scale breakdowns. The hot apple cider was helping to calm some frayed nerves.

  "Detective Jackson is on his way," I told everyone in my most reassuring tone. Although it was hard to reassure people at a murder scene. I joined Lacey back at the trunk where Minnie's body remained curled in a fetal posture with ivory skin that looked smooth and waxy under the moonlight.

  Lacey leaned in, not seeming to mind being in close proximity to a corpse. Her nose twitched side to side. She seemed to be finding something of interest. "Sage," she said. "Definitely sage and a little patchouli incense." She straightened.

  "I suppose that makes sense considering her shop was filled with the stuff. I know even Raine keeps a bundle of dry sage in her house to light and spread the scent around. It's supposed to have some healing, calming properties. I saw a lot of it in Minnie's shop."

  Lacey rubbed her chin in thought. Her brows creased together as she stared into the trunk at Minnie's lifeless body. "I don't see any signs of violence, do you?"

  "No, and there doesn't seem to be any blood on her clothes or on the rug. Unless it's on the other side, hidden beneath her."

  Lacey shook her head. "No, I would smell blood." She lowered her face toward the body again and wriggled her nose back and forth. "No blood." Her voice echoed in the trunk. She stayed a moment longer, then straightened again. "Camphor," she stated suddenly. "It took me a second to figure out what it was. At first I thought maybe the trunk was filled with moth balls, but I'm leaning toward camphor, a strong pungent oil that's sometimes used to reduce irritation or inflammation. Or at least it's something that smells very much like camphor."

  "Strange. I suppose it could be from incense, although I can't imagine it's a popular scent."

  "It does seem like an odd scent for incense or even a candle." Lacey leaned in to sniff around some more. "Those are the scents that I notice most of all. Of course, the trunk has its own rich cedar fragrance and the rug—" She pulled her head back out of the trunk and crinkled her nose. "The rug smells like a mix of mildew and that burned, smoky smell a vacuum gives off."

  "Wow, color me impressed," I said. "It's hard to believe until you see it in action. And you sure are comfortable around a dead body. I have to say, I'm getting braver, but it still takes some internal convincing to get me near a corpse."

  "I attended medical school for a few years until I realized the formaldehyde and other lab chemicals were too much for my nose," Lacey said. "However, I can still get a little freaked out when I'm searching around a dead body. Unless the odors are obvious, I have to g
et right up in their personal space, if that's a thing with dead people."

  Car headlights lit up the trees and temporarily illuminated the grim scene. The festively decorated altar and table of apple treats looked altogether less cheery now. The six women were huddled together looking misty eyed and in shock. Wanda had pulled herself together better than the others but that might have been because she'd just earned the position of high priestess by default and she wanted to put on a good leadership face for her group. The fleeting moment of full illumination caused me to spot something on the edge of the rug that I hadn't noticed before.

  A thin, thorny branch with a very bedraggled yellow rose was stuck on the rug. The thorns were grasping the heavy woven threads. I started to pull it free but then thought better of it after Jackson's reminder not to touch anything. Lacey turned back to the trunk. "What did you find there? A yellow rose? Seems like a good clue."

  "That's why I'm leaving it exactly in place. Otherwise, I will have to suffer a big ole lecture about letting the professionals take care of the evidence, yada yada yada."

  Lacey pressed her hand over her mouth to stop a laugh (that would certainly be out of place in this particular occasion) even though I'd had to stifle my own mirth at crime scenes more times than I would like to admit.

  "I guess your detective has the same arsenal of lectures as mine," Lacey said.

  At that moment, my detective stepped through the shrubs with his flashlight and a few officers in tow.

  "Oh my," Lacey said quietly, "he is quite a picture, isn't he?"

  I tried to suppress a grin. "Yep, and sometimes I have a hard time believing he's my picture."

  Jackson and his small team of two headed straight toward us. "What have we got, Blue—" He paused and nodded politely to Lacey. "What have we got, Sunni?"

  I waved toward the trunk. "Dead body, probable murder," I said, and smiled inwardly at just how darn official I sounded saying it.

  Chapter 9

  Jackson confirmed that Minnie Smithers was indeed dead, and just as Lacey had suspected, she'd been dead for a few hours. (I was quickly becoming a major fan of the woman and her super nose.) The police interviewed all of us, but it was mostly the same answer all around. Everything was going on as normal, candles lit, pumpkins and gourds strewn about and cider being sipped while we waited for Minnie to arrive. When it was decided that hair wreaths and garlands would be distributed so the apple ritual could begin, the trunk was opened and the missing Minnie was found, dead and wrapped like a burrito in her shop rug. Minnie was in charge of delivering the trunk earlier in the day, so it was a mystery as to who had actually brought it and how they had managed it.

  The coroner wasn't all too pleased about hiking through shrubbery and wilderness in the middle of the night but his team managed to endure. (It was, after all, a two hundred yard hike at the most.)

  Battery operated, shrieking-ly bright lights were set up around the area so the coroner could do his job and Jackson's team could do theirs. In the meantime, my newly minted partner and I got to work by talking to Aubrey and Nora. They had broken off from the others, who were now seemingly enthralled by their new leader.

  Aubrey and Nora held apple muffins and gingerly picked at the treats as they stood as far away from the police action and Wanda's group as possible. The two women were complete opposites in appearance and style. Aubrey with her tall, lean runway model style physique was wearing the velvet cloak over tight black pants and a silver t-shirt. Her fingers were heavy with mercury silver rings fashioned in the heads of serpents, moons and stars. A milky white moonstone pendant hung on a silver chain around her waist.

  Nora was much shorter with curly hair and aside from the rainbow frames on her eyeglasses, she showed little inclination to be flashy with Wiccan style like her friend. Her khaki pants were topped by a black sweater, and she looked as if she was about to attend a college lecture rather than a Wiccan ceremony. Her one concession was a pair of pewter earrings that were wolf heads with blue crystal eyes.

  "Aubrey," I said with quiet politeness, "how are you two doing? We noticed you were sort of huddled over here alone."

  Aubrey cast a fleeting glance toward Wanda and the others, then gave Nora a secretive look, like two friends wanting badly to share a secret. But lips turned in and it seemed they were going to keep whatever they were fretting about to themselves.

  "It looks as if Wanda has quickly appointed herself the position of high priestess," Lacey noted, taking the words right out of my mouth. It was the perfect comment to spark a conversation.

  "Yes, well, she's going to have to be voted in and that's after a long discussion and debate between members of the coven," Nora said. She seemed the shyer more skittish of the two, but she obviously had her opinions when it came to the hierarchy in her coven. "We may seem unorthodox in some of our beliefs and traditions, but around here, we like to do things democratically. Wanda can put her name forward to be high priestess, but she's not a shoe in as far as I'm concerned. Especially considering—" Aubrey cast a warning scowl down at her friend cutting her off from what I was sure was going to be something noteworthy. Lacey must have felt the same disappointment as I felt her posture deflate next to me.

  Both women took another furtive peek Wanda's direction. She was busy in conversation, no doubt already on the campaign trail, letting the others know why she should be high priestess. While she took a short second to look our direction, she didn't seem too concerned about two of the coven members peeling off to be alone. Of course, if all she needed was a majority of votes, she had enough of them standing right in front of her.

  It was late and getting chilly. I was certain Jackson was going to urge me to go home any minute so I plodded ahead. I had no idea when I would have a chance to talk to Aubrey and Nora again. I decided to place a little bread crumb or two out in the open. "It sounds terrible to say, with Minnie being dead and all, but I guess this night worked out pretty well for Wanda."

  Lacey sensed exactly what I was doing and shot me the slightest, nearly imperceptible wink. We were on the same page, as if reading each other's sleuthing minds.

  Aubrey took another peek over her shoulder. Wanda was not in hearing distance but Aubrey leaned closer toward us anyway. Her voice was barely audible and there was a healthy dose of fear behind the tone. "It's a little too lucky, as far as Nora and I are concerned." My little bread crumbs had worked.

  Nora shifted so that she was out of view of the other group, using her tall friend as a shield. "Word of this cannot get out or Aubrey and I could be in danger," she hissed quietly.

  Her last words caused Lacey and I to step closer. "Do you think Wanda might hurt you? Did she kill Minnie?" Lacey asked. No beating around the bush with my new friend. A great quality.

  "Not directly," Aubrey whispered. She shook her head. "We shouldn't be telling you this because—well—Wanda has been dabbling—let's just say, she's stepped out of the bounds of Wiccan etiquette."

  "Rumor has it she's been practicing some dark arts, spells and incantations that are not part of our code," Nora continued. "The coming winter signals earth dying and heading into the long hours of darkness. We honor that change of seasons, but Wanda is taking it to another level. Or, at least, that's what we've heard," she quickly amended. "We don't know anything for certain." She swept her eyes up and around as if she was checking to make sure mischievous, dark spirits weren't lingering in the trees above, listening to our chat.

  "How did Minnie die?" Aubrey asked. "Do we know any details?"

  I shook my head. "We're waiting to hear. When Lacey and I examined her body, there wasn't any sign of violence or injury."

  Aubrey and Nora nodded knowingly at each other. Then Aubrey explained. "A spell causing death would not show any signs of violence or injury."

  Once again, Lacey and I were communicating with each other using our postures and expressions. We could read each other so well it was as if we'd known each other for years. I sensed she was feeling
as deflated as me. Dark arts and evil spells were generally not solid chunks of evidence in a murder case. Aubrey and Nora did seem to have come to the conclusion that Wanda killed Minnie so she could take over as high priestess. Lacey and I just needed to find evidence connecting her to the crime. I was certain a magical wand and cursed spell were not part of the mix.

  Chapter 10

  "Sunni," Jackson's deep voice came from behind. Lacey and I walked over to him. "You four should head home. It's getting cold, and we'll probably be here another hour. We're sending the rest of the group home too."

  I was about to protest but he put a finger up to stop me. "I insist," he said with that charming half-smile that he yielded very effectively as a defense weapon. "There's a killer on the loose, remember?"

  "Oh, I remember," I said with way too much enthusiasm.

  Jackson raised a brow and looked at Lacey. "This is the only woman I know who is thrilled by the words 'there's a killer on the loose'."

  Lacey smiled and wrapped her arm around mine. "And now you know two women who are giddy with the idea of catching a murderer."

  Jackson looked at both of us. "This is the very definition of double trouble. So now I'm telling you both to stay out of trouble." He held up his fingers. "Times two."

  "Fine, then we'll take our firsthand knowledge and head out of the forest," I teased.

  "Firsthand knowledge?" Jackson asked with an annoying hint of skepticism.

  I decided not to relay the smell evidence provided by my new partner. The police could find that on their own. I brushed off my comment with a shrug. "I just meant Lacey and I were the first to see the body, but I'm sure your team will do a thorough investigation." Lacey remained silent throughout our little chat. Something told me she'd had similar chats with Detective Briggs. Jackson was new to the power of Lacey's nose. I didn't feel the need to explain or convince him of anything. "But maybe you could fill in a few details," I continued with my best girlfriend smile. "Did the coroner find cause and time of death?"