“Why? I’m only minutes away.”
“Because I think she’s been kidnapped.”
I explained Penelope’s call. How she found the door broken open and Gwen missing. I didn’t need him nearly as much as Gwen did.
“It’s better that you come with me,” he said. “That way, I won’t be worried about both you and Gwen.”
“I’ll be fine,” I said.
“No, you’ll come with me. I’m not far. And I’ll put out an alert for Gwen.”
“All right,” I said.
I was touched by Jacob’s concern. And he made sense. Keeping one of the Richardson sisters close meant there was only one to find. As I waited, I looked over at the large desk I had found for Gigi. While I was waiting, I thought to give Gigi a call. Then, as I looked up the contact information, I suddenly knew who the murderer was. It was as clear as day.
“Orchid, Zephyr,” I called out.
The ghosts appeared in an instant.
“If it’s Roxanne,” Zephyr said. “We’re doing the best we can.”
“No, no, not her. I have to leave. Jacob is coming. When he gets here, tell him where I’m going.”
“Are you sure?” Orchid asked.
“Absolutely sure.” I gave them the message and ran for the door. The possibility that Gwen was in trouble added energy to my step.
I fairly ran down the sidewalk, fueled by my concern for Gwen. In a few minutes, I reached the townhouse and stopped. Even as I did, Jacob pulled up. He jumped out of the car and came to me.
“You’re all right?” he asked.
“I’m fine. Gwen is in there.”
“Then, stay out here. I’ll handle it.”
“She’s my sister, Jacob. I know you don’t want anything to happen to me or her, but I need to focus on getting her out of there.”
“Magic” he asked.
“If I have to, yes.”
“I’ll lead,” he said. “Maybe I can talk some sense into her.”
“Just do it.”
We walked to the door and Jacob knocked.
“Open up,” Jacob said. “It’s the police.”
We waited some seconds before Gigi answered. “Come in. It’s unlocked.”
We looked at each other, and Jacob opened the door.
Gwen’s face told me she was frightened, and things had to be bad for Gwen to be afraid. She was tied to a chair, unable to move. Not far from her stood Gigi, a bow in her hands, an arrow notched. I could tell from how she held the bow that she was more than a bit familiar with it.
“You’re just in time,” Gigi said. “I’m about to let an arrow fly.”
“Put down the bow,” Jacob said.
Gigi smiled, an agitated smile. “Don’t go for your weapon, detective. If you do, I’ll send an arrow into Gwen, or maybe Helga. Yes, I think Helga is the one who deserves to be killed. She’s the one who figured it out, isn’t she.”
“There’s no need to kill anyone,” I said. “Let’s all calm down. You haven’t done anything that can’t be undone.”
Gigi smirked. “Oh no? I killed Thomas, didn’t I? You know that, and that’s enough to send me to prison for the rest of my life. That can’t be undone, can it.”
“Don’t make things worse,” Jacob said. “Thomas was bad, but killing someone else will be much, much worse.”
“How many life sentences can they give me?” Gigi asked. “One killing, two, what difference does it make?”
I made eye contact with Gwen, and I signaled that she needed to do something to calm Gigi. A nudge would do, a nudge toward sanity. I saw Gwen’s lips move, and I knew she had received the message.
“Wait, wait,” I said. “I don’t understand. Why did you kill Thomas?”
I watched as Gigi’s grip on the bow relaxed. Whatever spell Gwen had used was working. That was a huge start.
“Why do you think?” Gigi asked.
“We need to know,” Jacob said.
“It’s simple. I was in love with him, and he treated me like dirt. In the beginning, he flirted and was attentive. I thought he really loved me. But as soon as I said something to him, he started flirting with all those other women. Do you have any idea how hurtful that was? Right...in...front...of...me! Like I wasn’t there. Like I had no feelings. Like he deliberately wanted to put an arrow through my heart. I cried over him, cried. I came home at night and just sobbed. I couldn’t help it. I loved him. I was stupid.”
Jacob took a step, and Gigi raised the bow.
“Don’t move,” Gigi said. “Or I’ll be forced to use this.”
“Is that one of your father’s bows?” I asked.
Gigi turned to me. “You’re the clever one, aren’t you? Yes, this is the sister bow to the one in the flower shop, but you figured that all out. He was an expert bow maker, as you can see. And he was the one who taught me how to shoot an arrow. I’m quite proficient, as you can concur. Thomas never knew what hit him. The lipstick kisses were just fluff.”
“I bet you thought you were scot free when everyone blamed me for the murder,” I said.
Gigi chuckled. “I did find it rather amusing. Helga, the crime solver, accused of murder. Ironic, don’t you think? I thought sure the police would at least arrest you.”
“Why didn’t you get rid of the bow?” Jacob asked.
“Why would I? There’s no way to trace the arrow back to this bow. And my father gave it to me. I couldn’t just trash it.”
“Like you trashed my store,” I said. “After the cemetery.”
“I still haven’t figured out how you escaped me last night. I knew exactly where you were hiding, and yet I couldn’t find you. That was pretty lucky for you. I’m very proficient with a carving knife.”
“I was lucky,” I said. “And my store?”
“Since I knew you by your voice, Helga, I thought I would send you a message. I knew you would put two and two together. I knew you probably figure out it was me in the cemetery, despite the hoodie.”
“So, you kidnapped Gwen to lure me here, right? So, you could do what?”
“Kill you, of course. You see, you’re the one Thomas always talked about. You’re the one that he never conquered, whose heart he had never touched. You were the challenge he couldn’t run away from. If you had only given in, like the others, he would have forgotten all about you and come back to me. Don’t you see? You’re the reason all this happened. All you had to do was be nice to him.”
I could tell things were getting out of hand, and I supposed Jacob felt the same thing, because right then, he jumped to one side.
Gigi tracked him with the arrow.
And I attacked.
I grabbed the bow and the arrow, even as Gigi tried to let loose of the string. We fought for the bow, and while I had always considered myself strong, I knew I was no match for Gigi. In a matter of seconds, I would be overpowered. When that happened, someone was going to get shot with the arrow. I was certain that once Gigi fired, she would catch a bullet from Jacob. It would be a tragedy all the way around.
I did the only thing I could think to do. I used a bit of magic to find a weak point on the bowstring. A whisper, a touch, and the bowstring snapped. The TWANG echoed through the room, announcing that the bow was now unusable. That was when Gigi shook me loose and threw me to the floor. I looked up at a very angry woman, with a very sharp arrow in her hand.