Page 7 of Magic Blooms

six

I could sense something was wrong before Lorraine and I ever made it back to Fox’s End.

There was a weight just sitting on the back of my neck.

I couldn’t even tell what it was that was bothering me until I saw a truck blocking the drive up to the inn.

As soon as Lorraine’s car approached, Joshua got out of the large vehicle and shot a piteous look our way.

“Oh no,” Lorraine cursed. “That’s never a good sign.” She brought the car to a stop and rolled down the window. “Did Momma Bess get out again?”

Joshua leaned a hand against the roof of Lorraine’s car. “I think it would be best if we talk privately.”

“Don’t be silly. What's the problem?”

“Lorraine.” His voice held the hint of warning.

She, however, refused to back down. “I’m a big girl, and so is Polly. Just tell us what happened. I’m sure you’re blowing this way out of—”

“One of your guests died,” he blurted out. “A woman named Karen Harrison.”

The blood drained from Lorraine’s face as I brought a hand to my mouth to cover my shock.

How was this possible? We’d only been gone a few hours.

One moment the guests had been happily munching on cookies, and the next…? How could something so terrible happen so fast? I held back the stream of questions that all rushed to get out at once. As much as I wanted to help Lorraine, I also knew this wasn’t my place. Literally wasn’t my world.

“How?” asked Lorraine tightly, obviously trying to hold back her own deluge of negative emotions.

“We don’t know yet,” Joshua answered with a sad shake of his head. “Sheriff Watts is at the house now. I knew you’d be back soon, so I waited here. Wanted to give you a heads up.”

She gasped. “The sheriff is involved? Does this mean they suspect funny business?”

“Unfortunately, you now know just about as much as I do. Thought you deserved a heads up. I’ll head with you to the house. You shouldn’t have to face this alone.”

Lorraine simply nodded, still not saying anything more.

Joshua gave the car a little tap as he went to move his own vehicle out of the way.

I wanted to say something to make Lorraine feel better but knew I was far too out of my depths with this one.

If something like this ever happened at home, my mother or father would immediately dismiss me so they could deal with the crisis on their own.

Even though I’d come of age years ago, they still considered me a child since I was as of yet unmarried.

This, however, was different. Lorraine was all I had here in this new world, and now she was in pain and there was nothing I could do to protect her from it.

The short ride up the driveway was quiet and tense. By the time we reached the main building, the normal rustic charm had been fully dashed by the assortment of vehicles collected out front. One was marked with stark, bold letters that read Elyria Sheriff Department.

Lorraine stopped the car and took a few deep breaths before she turned to look at me.

“Listen, Polly. I don’t think I’m going to be around today to keep an eye on you.

But I can guarantee the police are going to want to talk to you.

When they do, say as little as possible.

Yes or no answers as often as you can. You’re my cousin, and you arrived yesterday from New York.

If they ask you anything else, you say you can’t remember or that you don’t know. Think you can handle that?”

I simply nodded. It all sounded easy enough, though I hated we were in this position at all. “Would you like me to—?”

“I don’t need anything from you,” she snapped before climbing out of the car and marching straight up to a man in a brown uniform.

He immediately took off his hat as he started to talk to Lorraine in a low rumble.

As they chatted, I eased my way out of the car slowly, not wanting to draw any unnecessary attention to myself.

Back in town, Lorraine had been gracious enough to buy me some basic clothing items that I could now call my own so I wouldn’t have to keep wearing items out of something called the ‘lost and found’ box.

Which finally explained the state of my early Elyria wardrobe.

I’d wondered why Lorraine always looked put together and posh while all the clothes she lent me took ragamuffin to a new level.

Of course, now with bags of clothes that would actual fit me in hand, I had to question my decision to remain in the mismatched hand-me-downs.

No, not important.

Someone had died and here I was thinking about my own appearance. Granted, I didn’t know who had passed, but it was someone who had slept in the same place as me last night. Someone I’d probably made breakfast—and then cookies—for.

I swallowed down the knot of grief that had begun to form in my throat. This reminder of how temporary our time could be made me all the more homesick. Would Lorraine and Jasmine still be able to help send me home with this new complication?

Should I even be thinking about that?

A woman had lost her life. I’d merely misplaced my home for a little while.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood up as a chill rushed through me.

Turning, I spotted Joshua, a predatory gaze of disapproval hardening his otherwise handsome features.

And now this.

Was he still mad about last night?

He couldn’t be. Not when I was the one who’d saved him.

Unless somehow he knew I’d been the one who caused the storm. But he couldn’t…

Then again, he didn’t need to know that part to suspect me all the same. I’d arrived at Fox’s End out of nowhere yesterday, and Joshua was already suspicious of me because of my terrible ability to lie. Now someone was dead under mysterious circumstances.

Dead, not murdered. No one had said “murdered,” at least not yet. Maybe she’d gone peacefully in her sleep, missed breakfast, never met me at all. But even as I thought those words, I knew they rang untrue.

I clutched my shopping bags tightly as I started to make my way to the back entrance. As curious as I was, I didn’t want to draw unneeded attention to myself. And if I stood around awkwardly, I was sure to elicit gazes, questions, suspicions.

But I soon realized that the back was undoubtedly the worst way I could have gone. Because that was where the body was. A puff of unnaturally colored red hair drew my attention, jogged a memory.

This was the woman who had screamed so loudly when Oinkers had been running amuck. I did know her. Had met her.

Slowly, I began to back away.

A man moved to block my view, which I was very grateful for, seeing as I just couldn’t rip my eyes away from the awful sight. "I'm sorry, but you can't be here, ma'am. We’re dealing with a suspected homicide and need to keep the scene clean until forensics arrives."

The tag on his uniform identified him as O'Reilly.

I took a nervous gulp as I backed away. "I'm sorry. I thought this way would be clear. I didn’t know…"

The man frowned at me. He was younger than the so-called sheriff talking with Lorraine, but not by much.

"I really didn't mean to get in anybody's way.

I'll make sure to go around the front instead.

" The man shifted, and I saw the fallen woman's body once more.

Her eyes were open and lifeless. Her lips were tinged blue, and, if I wasn't imagining things, her skin had turned the slightest shade of green.

Peculiar.

I squinted to see better, but O'Reilly once again blocked my view.

"If you don't mind me saying, you don't look too familiar. That mean you're a guest here?"

This was not good. I’d stayed too long and now he was asking questions. I remembered back to what Lorraine had said. Yes and no answers only. I smiled, trying to keep my expression friendly, calm, even though I had a feeling I was failing miserably. "Yes."

"Whereabouts are you from?" He took another step toward me and shifted his weight.

“New York."

O'Reilly crossed his arms over his chest and leaned in a bit closer. "Is that right? A city girl all the way down here. What exactly brought you all the way to Elyria?"

From the look in his eyes, I had a feeling he was asking his questions less because of the poor dead woman, and more because of a personal interest in me.

I didn't want that either, but I supposed it was better than the alternative. I also noticed he’d asked an open-ended question that I couldn't just say “yes” or “no” to as instructed.

"Polly, are you getting these men's way?" Joshua boomed from behind me.

I never thought I'd be grateful to hear that gruff voice of his. "Oh, I was just leaving. O'Reilly here has a very important job to do," I said, smiling at him with a hint of flattery in my eyes.

Vilea, Elyria. Some things were the same on any world.

But if anything, O'Reilly became even more interested. "Polly. What a pretty name."

My first instinct was to correct him, but considering how Lorraine had seemed to want to keep me a secret, I held my tongue.

"Good luck,” I said as I backed away quickly and fell into step beside my rescuer.

As we marched around to the front of the house, Joshua moved fully into my personal space. He got as close as a person could without actually touching. "What in the heck do you think you're doing?"

I clenched my jaw and kept myself from saying anything stupid. "I was trying to stay out of the way. I thought that entrance wouldn’t be as busy. No one told me there was a body there."

He remained unconvinced. "Why can't you just go in the front door like a normal person?"

"Because I’m not a normal person!" I snapped.

I took a deep breath, making sure I lowered my voice so no one would hear. "This is not a normal situation for me," I reminded him. "I assume it's not a normal situation for you either, so I'd appreciate it if you would be a bit gentler with me."

A flash of guilt glinted in his sharp green eyes, telling me that perhaps I’d gotten through to him at least a little bit. Joshua sighed. "You're right. Understandably, I've been on edge all morning. Doesn’t mean I should take it out on you, though. Sorry."

I blinked in surprise. He’d just admitted he was wrong, and he’d done it so easily. I didn't remember the last time any man I knew had done that. Especially not one as big and commanding Joshua.

My mind flashed to Dante. How was it that I already felt I knew Joshua just as well as I knew my intended husband?

Although the man before me had proven gruff and irritable, his heart was also kind and caring.

His suspicion of me wasn’t because of anything I’d done, but more out of a desire to protect Lorraine.

Would Dante do the same in his place?

I’d never actually spent much time alone with my betrothed.

We hadn’t had any real time to get to know each other.

We knew we’d make a good match because of where we came from—but I knew very little about who he was, short of his constant stream of unwanted advice whenever he’d visited my family’s home.

I knew his public persona, but he’d kept the intricacies of his heart a secret all this time.

"When you were here earlier, did you see anybody hanging around Fox’s End that didn't belong?" asked Joshua, pulling me off my discomfiting train of thought.

"I barely know who belongs here," I pointed out. "But no, I didn't see anybody who wasn't a guest last night."

I thought about it for a moment before continuing. "Lorraine mentioned the other inn owner, Gerry. Told me she doesn't get along with him. Do you think, maybe…?"

Joshua clenched his jaw and glanced over my shoulder, as though making sure we were still alone.

"You’re right. I’ve learned to trust my instincts on some things, and I have a bad feeling about this one.

I want to go and talk to Gerry before the police get to him.

Try to get an honest reaction out of him and see if I can sniff out the truth. "

Curious. I wondered if his instincts had anything to do with his magical abilities. "These instincts of yours... Did you have any about me?"

He narrowed his eyes, and I could practically see the walls going up. "No. You're just another one of Lorraine's weird friends or relatives or whatever you are."

I decided not to point out that he was also one of Lorraine's weird friends. I also didn't point out that I could tell he was lying. I just didn't know why he would bother to lie about that.

"If you let me drop off these bags and grab a quick change of clothes, I'll go with you to talk to Gerry."

He let out a sarcastic laugh. "No, thanks. I don't need your help on this."

"You might not need my help, but I’m much nicer than you, and I'm sure Gerry would talk more, if he didn't feel like he was being threatened. Besides, I figured you'd want to keep me close anyway."

"Why would I want to do that?" He raised an eyebrow.

And I decided not to be coy about what we both knew was true. "Because, if there truly was a murder today, then I bet I’m your main suspect."