Moonlight Murder: An Inept Witches Mystery (7 page)

“
Ew,
”
Ingrid said.
“
He was totally trying to get in with me by sending me random sexts and he was going after Tia at the same time? I bet every time he came to the island to stalk me, he was also doing Tia. I don
’
t like her. That
’
s gross. It
’
s like cop incestuous.”

“
You
’
re contaminated now,
”
Emily said.
“
She needs her aura cleaned again. Stat.
”

“
Isn
’
t Maria Peters his sister? Didn
’
t I know her when I was dating Sheldon?
”

“
Brunette? Dark eyes? Chunky curvy?
”
Emily asked.

“
She
’
s nice enough,
”
Hazel said.
“
But she and her brother have raging fights every time he comes to town.
”

“
He is,
”
Ingrid said,
“
a total douche. That
’
s understandable.
”

“
Yup, I like her already.
”
Emily flung her hair and shoved her plate away.
“
Well Sherlock, let
’
s solve this crime, go out for lasagna, and see if we need to have a wine and ice cream binge or if Gabe will forgive you.
”

“
He
’
s going to arrest us.
”

Hazel cleared her throat and said, with a scowl,
“
I
’
ll prevent that much from happening. Hiding a body is a crime, but honestly, it isn
’
t like you killed him. I won
’
t see my niece and my adopted niece in jail for being idiots. Even though you deserve it.
”

“
What is that going to cost Ingrid?
”
Emily asked.

“
I
’
ll send you a bill. And you
’
ll be riding with others in the coven to the next event.
”

“
I don
’
t know,
”
Ingrid said over her shoulder as they walked to the front door.
“
I feel like this is your fault for trying to reform us anyway.
”

A jolt of something hit them both in the butt at the same time. They yelped and hurried to the car before Hazel decided to strike again.

•••

Ingrid and Emily got back in Ghosty.
“
Let
’
s see if we can find Sheldon
’
s car, Ingrid.
”

“
Yeah, okay. If this damn car will cooperate.
”
Ingrid looked out the window for the moment.
“
Where should we start looking for him?
”

“
Maybe his car is near where we found his body?
”

Ingrid nodded.

“
Okay, let
’
s head out. Hazel said he drives a dark blue Chevy pickup. Super tinted windows. There
’
s a giant Seahawks sticker on the back window. Like, giant. She thinks he had it airbrushed on or something.
”

They weren
’
t disappointed. While his truck wasn
’
t near where his body was found, they happened upon it on their way out to the woods. Ingrid spotted it in an alleyway just as they were on their way out of town.

“
There it is. Pull in there, behind him. We
’
ll just check it out, and then we can leave an anonymous tip for Gabe.
”

They approached the truck slowly, as though expecting a dead body to jump out at any time.
“
It
’
s unlocked, Em.
”

“
Don
’
t
—”
But Emily was too late. She sighed,
“
Ingrid. Did you just leave your fingerprints on the car of the guy you used to date who had the hots for you and was coming to the island to hook up with you?
”

“
I
’
m not a total idiot, Emily,
”
Ingrid said.
“
I used my sweater. And I brought a plastic baggie for evidence collecting.
”

“
What evidence do you think you will find?
”

“
Jackpot,
”
Ingrid shrieked.
“
A condom wrapper. Maybe the murderer
’
s fingerprints will be on this wrapper.
”

She scooped it up with the edge of her sweater and then bagged it.
“
I
’
ll give it to Gabe when I see him later.
”

They looked through the cab of the truck but didn
’
t see anything else out of place.
“
I don
’
t see anything more.
”

“
Good, let’s
get out of here. I
’
ve got to get even the idea of this condom wrapper off of my hands. Time for a pedicure, yeah?
”

“
Gladly,
”
Emily pronounced. They got back in the car and drove to Kimmie
’
s.
“
We might just stay out of jail, Ingrid.
”

“
Of course we will. I never doubted it,” Ingrid lied jubilantly.

•••

Emily and Ingrid walked into the nail salon and saw Maria Peters getting a manicure. Ingrid sighed. Great, she thought. Speaking of the devil. Sheldon’s sister. That’s convenient. And sort of annoying.

“
Oh hey,
”
Maria said as the doorbell rang above the nail salon door,
“
It
’
s my brother
’
s lost love.
”

They sat in the pedicure chairs making themselves at home. Kimmie would get to them eventually. Ingrid was looking at her phone and when she looked up she found Gabe’s eyes on her. Oh shit, she thought. The look he was giving her was furious. She hadn’t seen that…well, ever. And he didn’t even know yet what they’d done. Maybe. Maybe he’d seen the wine bottle.

“
Hey, Maria,
”
Gabe said.
“
I heard you were here. I was hoping I could talk to you for a few minutes.
”

Ingrid swallowed. He knew who the body was. Did he know yet that she
’
d dated Sheldon?

“
Sure,
”
Maria said, happily. She held out her nails and said,
“
Go ahead.
”

“
I was hoping we could talk privately,
”
Gabe said carefully.

Maria must have caught something in his tone because she looked up with a worried expression.
“
Is something wrong?
”

“
Well.
”
Gabe cleared his throat and said,
“
Yes. Why don
’
t we
…”

“
Just say it,
”
Maria said. Her gaze was fixed on Gabe
’
s face, but anyone who was looking at her was putting together the same clues she had. Man in a cop uniform. Wants to speak to you privately. Something bad has happened.
“
Please.
”

“
I really think
…”
Gabe began.

“
Just say it,
”
Maria demanded.
“
Please.
”

He took a deep breath and sat down next to her.
“
It
’
s your brother, Sheldon.
”

“
Oh no,
”
she whispered.

“
He was found
…
dead.
”

She licked her lips, blood draining from her face and then said,
“
I
…
I
…”

She stood and darted to the bathroom. Kimmie followed, gaze concerned. Ingrid and Emily sat in silence.

As soon as she was gone, Gabe turned on Ingrid.
“
What are you doing here?
”

“
Getting our nails done,
”
Ingrid said. He knew her well enough to see her evading his question. He just hadn
’
t been paying attention before.

“
Don
’
t give me that,
”
he said, barely keeping his volume from going beyond them.
“
I don
’
t need you to dabble in this crime. I need you to stay out of it.
”

He was so angry, Ingrid was speechless. She hadn
’
t ever
…
He couldn
’
t just
…
Here it comes, she thought. Her eyes began filling with tears, and she realized that she didn
’
t just like him.

“
Stop it,
”
Emily said, standing and blocking his view of Ingrid.
“
We really are here to get our nails done. We didn
’
t know Maria was going to be here.
’

“
So you weren
’
t at the mortuary? Dr. Jenkins saw you,
”
he hissed.
“
Don
’
t lie to me.
”

“
Are you all right?
”
Emily asked.
“
You are really flushed.
’

“
That
’
s called anger and too much coffee,
”
he replied.
“
Furious anger. The kind that makes me want to throttle the two of you idiots.
”

Ingrid stood, stepping out from behind Emily and said.
“
I am not an idiot.
”

Each word was precise and fury filled. She would not be treated this way. Not again.

“
I didn
’
t
…”

“
Let
’
s just be clear,
”
Ingrid said.
“
I knew Sheldon. I dated him in college. He was texting me for weeks. We blew up the scene around the body using our magic and then buried him because we were totally drunk and freaking out. And before I could even start to tell you what happened, it was too late.
”

Gabe
’
s gaze was fixed on Ingrid, but his eyes widened as she confessed.

Ingrid continued,
“B
ut I didn
’
t kill him. I don
’
t need to kill someone like that myself. But if I did, you can be assured that I would set them on fire or stab them in the throat.
”
She handed him her phone.
“
I know we screwed up. But, but
…”

What more was there to say? It was over; he just hadn
’
t said it yet. And she wasn
’
t going to be called an idiot. And damn it, this really was more than lust and like, and she couldn
’
t deal with it.

She just couldn
’
t deal with being in love with someone who didn
’
t love her back.

Not again. She stormed out of the salon.

•••