“It was the opposite for me. A young husband and an old, rich woman. He didn’t have a lover, but he did have a yen for the night life. He paid his cousin to do the deed. When the police questioned the cousin, he folded like a cheap tent. Both of them were sent to the electric chair.” Zephyr folded her arms across her chest, smug and smiling.
“It is the way of the heart,” Roxanne noted. “Love is both the best and the worst of being alive.”
What the ghosts shared was not particularly helpful. Everyone knew of love triangles turned into twosomes via murder.
“My other suspect is a fey spirit,” I said.
“Oh, my,” Orchid said.
“Dear, dear, dear,” Roxanne said.
“That’s a rather rare thing,” Zephyr said.
I shared what I knew about Eric and his attitude toward Thomas Jamison. The ghosts listened till the end, which was something that didn’t ordinarily happen.
“I don’t know,” Zephyr said. “Cupids don’t generally get that upset. I think we need more information. Perhaps Eric and Thomas had other issues. Flirts sometimes baffle Cupids.”
“I agree with Zephyr,” Orchid said. “I can’t offer sound advice without more information. You should talk to him again.”
Roxanne shrugged. “I have little experience with such beings. I can offer little.”
I knew the ghosts were correct. I didn’t know enough about Eric, or that bow and arrow I saw inside the flower shop. The question was whether or not I could find a way to gain more info. I supposed the only way to gather more intelligence was to visit the shop. I wasn’t going to learn anything from the second floor of my store. Yet, I needed to thoroughly search the armoire, or else, Roxanne would feel slighted. That would mean weeping and wailing. So, I went to great effort with the armoire. In the end, I found two buttons that had slipped behind a drawer and several cleaning tags that someone had simply dropped behind a drawer, rather than place them in the trash. I was often amazed by what people put behind drawers. Love letters were a favorite.
When I finished with the armoire, I told the ghosts that I had to get going. I let them know that I was headed for the flower shop. With any luck, I would learn more about the murder and Eric. Perhaps, I could solve the mystery. That would be something, although I would feed Jacob the information, so he could take the credit. That was fine with me. I would be in the clear. I could dance.
The ghosts wished me luck, which I knew I would need. As I locked the front door, I spotted Andromeda coming around the corner.
Want to take a walk?
He looked at me. I like walks.
That was enough. We didn’t need any more. Luckily, the flower shop was not far away.
Unluckily, the shop was closed.
I stood on the sidewalk and stared, hoping that some sort of magical feeling would greet me. I checked out the displays in the windows, but they were ordinary, the sort of thing that every flower shop used. There was a bridal display and an anniversary display and a birthday display. They were all tastefully done, and I was certain they would generate sales. What they didn’t generate was information for me. I needed something about Eric, about the Cupid who had no love for a murder victim.
The building had an alley on one side, and I glanced down it, but there didn’t seem to be anything there. But when I touched the bricks, a buzz ran up my arm.
Buzz?
You felt it?
I turned to Andromeda.
As did you. I need to get inside.
There is a way.
Find it.
It took Andromeda but a few minutes to find a window with a loose pane. I managed to move it aside and unlock the window. With a glance over my shoulder, I opened the window, hoping that I wouldn’t set off some sort of alarm. Nothing sounded, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t a message being sent to the police. Even without an alarm, there was a good chance that a police vehicle would drive down the alley. I put the pane back in the window, but I was certain that any close examination would show what I had done.
If you see any police...
I will let you know.
In the prep room, I stopped and looked around.
No cameras.
Again, it wasn’t the camera you could see that caused all the problems. It was the little one hidden where you couldn’t see. I didn’t have time to look closely. Something was calling to me, and I knew what it was. Before I left the prep room, I found a stepladder I could use.
The bow and arrow on the wall seemed to glow as I approached, and that encouraged me. Perhaps, Eric had imbued the bow and arrow with some sort of magic, something I could detect and use. As I climbed the ladder, I whispered a spell that was designed to bring forth whatever memories the bow might hold. Most people never realized that things saved some of what happened to them. It wasn’t really a memory. It was more like an aura, something attached to the item.
As I reached out my hand, I felt it even before my fingers touched the wood.
Chapter 11
The bow sent a flash to my brain, and I saw the piece of wood it came from. It was a fine piece of maple, with a beautiful grain. It was the sort of wood that expert bow makers searched for. But that wood wasn’t the real gem that I learned. A second bow had been made from that maple, a sister bow to the one on the wall. Two bows, one a killing bow. I knew that, and I waited for the bow on the wall to offer more.
It was mute.
The bow had nothing more to give. But I had learned enough. The bow on the wall was clean. I was searching for its twin. That was a good thing, but it certainly wasn’t the only thing. Someone in New Orleans possessed that twin bow.
Who?
That was the problem. I had no idea who had the bow, or who could use the bow effectively. That didn’t mean that Eric couldn’t be the killer. He might well have the murder weapon. After all, he had placed the twin on the wall. Did he own the other? Was it hidden in the flower shop?
No, the spell would have elicited that information from the bow on the wall. I would have to search other places for the murder weapon. I had learned a great deal, but I had a great deal more to learn.
You need to leave.
What is it?
A police cruiser. It’s been by...twice.
I’m coming out. Keep a lookout.
The alley was empty when I crawled out the window and replaced the pane. I skipped away, hoping I would get to the street before the cruiser came by again. And I did make it. I was strolling along, with Andromeda by my side when the cruiser passed. I waved. A broad-faced woman waved back. I felt immediately better. I had managed to break in, learn something, and get out, all without a mishap. That was pretty good for me.
Worth the risk?
It was, Andromeda, it was.
At home, I poured myself a glass of wine and settled into my favorite chair. As I sipped, I asked myself if Jennifer had a bow, and if she did, could she use it? I didn’t remember any bow while I was inside her house. But that was to be expected. Jennifer was hardly stupid enough to display the bow on the wall or something. No, the bow would be carefully hidden somewhere—if it wasn’t already destroyed. A smart killer would have reduced the bow to ashes and thrown those ashes into the Mississippi. I had to prepare myself for that possibility. And unlike a firearm, a bow didn’t leave identifying marks on an arrow. While my spells might link an arrow and bow, my spells weren’t admissible in court. No judge worth the robe would accept witchcraft.