What the Hex? (A Paranormal P.I. Mystery Book 1) (14 page)

I met Agatha outside in front of my house. We were walking next door for bingo night. After what had happened at my place last night I knew they wouldn’t be thrilled to see me. Especially after Derek and I had gone door to door today asking if anyone had seen anything. We’d had to explain the whole situation each time we spoke with someone new. It was worse than explaining to my grandmother how to use the iPhone I’d gotten her for Christmas last year. Derek and I had caused a lot of confusion around Desert Palms. Now everyone thought the killer was still around. 

As we walked along, Agatha said, “Why don’t you bring your partner for bingo night? It seems as if he’d like to spend more time with you.”

I laughed. “I don’t think that would be a good idea. He’d probably try to call out the numbers or something equally annoying.”

“Is he really that bad? Surely someone that handsome can’t be that bad,” she said.

“He’s just like a big kid,” I said as we reached the building.

“That’s not necessarily a bad thing,” she said.

I opened the door and we walked in. “It’s not good either.”

As usual, the room was full. Agatha liked to sit at the same table, one at the back of the room. Unfortunately, Maria White liked the same table. She practically camped out in front of the door so she could get here before Agatha.

“Looks like she made it here before us again,” Agatha said through gritted teeth.

“I drank too much water, Agatha. I can’t help it if I had to go one more time before we left.”

She wasn’t ready for my apology. Just the same, we sat at the table two from the back.

“I guess it’ll have to do,” Agatha said.

We’d barely gotten time to sort through our cards when Bud started reading off the numbers. At sixty-two, he was the second youngest person in the room. He started reading off numbers and we were immediately immersed into the game. Chitchat was frowned upon. I concentrated on my card, although I’d only ever won once since I’d started coming. I suspected tonight wouldn’t be different. The next number was called out and I realized I had won.

I yelled out, “Bingo!”

Of course the room stopped and everyone stared at me. Many faces displayed frowns. It probably would have been better if I had just acted as if I hadn’t won. I could have given my card to Agatha and let her win instead. I thought everyone liked that I played, as long as I didn’t win.

Agatha and a few others nearby leaned over and looked at my card. I was starting to doubt if I had really won. I peered down at the card again to make sure I hadn’t been mistaken. 

“Are you sure you won?” the woman asked beside us.

Agatha huffed. “If she says she won then she won. You did win, didn’t you?” she whispered.

I quirked an eyebrow. “Of course I won. Look, I really don’t need the five dollars. It’s okay, just put that money toward the next game.”

“Oh, so now the money’s not good enough for you,” a man at the next table said.

I couldn’t believe how testy everyone was tonight.

“No, it’s her five dollars and she’s getting it,” Agatha said.

The man shuffled over and checked my numbers. It took him forever to go down each line.

“Yeah, she’s the winner all right,” he announced to the room. 

“Maybe she cheated.”

Agatha whipped around. “Who said that?”

“Don’t get yourself all worked up, Agatha,” I said.

“Well, that was a mean thing for someone to say.”

I didn’t want her blood pressure to get too high. Now I was being accused of cheating.

“Let’s just to the next game,” I said.

Someone was accused of cheating every night, so it was nothing new. I didn’t take it personally. Agatha was defensive of me though. She didn’t like it at all.

“Thanks, Agatha, it’s okay.” I patted her hand.

She frowned at the woman behind her one more time.

“I heard she does witchcraft,” someone behind us whispered.

Lucky for me, Agatha hadn’t heard her.

“Is she a witch?” the other woman asked.

I turned around and looked at the women. “Ladies, there’s nothing to gossip about, now let’s get back to having fun.”

Maybe next time I should bring cookies. I could make my mother’s famous peanut butter fudge.

The next game had started, but it wasn’t nearly as quiet as it had been. For some reason, everyone was stirred up now. I hoped I didn’t win another game. As the numbers were called out everyone looked at me as if I was ready to call out bingo again. 

Before the next game had started, noise sounded at the back door. Someone was trying to get in. This was also against the rules. The game started at exactly four and no one was to be late. The room fell silent as everyone looked at the back door. For some reason, everyone turned their attention to me.

“What?” I said. “I’m sitting right here. I couldn’t possibly touch the door.”

Now the talking started, breaking the silence. Everyone was clearly upset by this turn of events. I needed to calm everyone down. The door rattled again.

“Is it locked?” I asked. 

“I don’t think so,” Agatha said.

Apparently, no one was going to let this person in, so I decided to get up and do it. That caused even more chatter. The room watched as I went over to the door. Whispers filled the room, as if they were waiting for me to open the door and let in a killer. That wouldn’t happen, right? The killer wouldn’t follow me here, would he? I supposed he wouldn’t care where I was if he wanted to kill me.

I grabbed the handle and pushed. I had to admit now that the killer scenario had popped into my head I was a little anxious. It was just the group working me up, I told myself. I released a deep breath and opened the door.

No one was in front of the door.

“Who is it?” Agatha asked. She was standing beside me now.

I shrugged. “No one is there.” I poked my head out, thinking someone had walked away. Still I didn’t see a soul.

“I guess they thought the door was locked and left,” Agatha said.

I took one last look outside and then closed the door. “I guess so.”

I was glad that she didn’t know about my fears. That would have just upset her. I wanted to act as if things were as normal as possible. As hard as that might be. I helped Agatha back over to the table.

“Who was it?” the woman asked behind us.

“No one was there.”

I saw the looks everyone gave each other.

“Agatha, I really should go. Everyone is too nervous with me here,” I whispered.

“Nonsense. They need to learn to deal with it,” she said.

I released a deep breath. I didn’t agree, but I would do what made her happy. After all, I‘d told my Aunt Barb that I would look after her best friend. I tried to focus on the card again as the announcer called out another number.

I supposed that had distracted everyone from thinking that I had been cheating. Of course now they were back on the thought that I was going to lure the killer here to murder the entire room. It would take a while for them to forget about that. Oh, who was I kidding? They would never forget about that. I couldn’t say I blamed them for that.

Agatha gave me a reassuring smile and pat on the hand. Everyone had just quieted down when the door opened again. I looked back and Derek burst through the door.

Everyone screamed, which caused me to almost fall out of my chair. I was surprised there were no medical emergencies. Of course it was still early. I jumped up and raced over to Derek. He looked a little confused by the screams.

“What’s wrong?” he asked when I approached.

“You scared everyone,” I said.

“Do I look that bad?” Derek asked.

I shook my head. “It’s not that.” I glanced over my shoulder. Of course everyone was listening and watching. “They’re worried that I will bring the shooter here.”

Derek peered out over the crowd and attempted a smile. This was one time his charm had no effect.

“Someone just tried to get in the door. Was it you?” I asked.

He shook his head. “No, I just got here. Was the door locked?”

“No, it must have been stuck,” I said. “It scared everyone and they’re a little on edge.”

He looked at me. “More than a little. You look a little stressed too. Are you doing okay?”

“Well, we’re in the middle of a bingo game right now. I think everyone is waiting for you to leave before we start again.”

“You mean I can’t stay?” he asked with a lopsided smile. 

“I doubt that would be a good idea.”

He shrugged. “I think everyone would have enjoyed my company, but you’re the boss.”

I knew he didn’t mean that.

“You should use magic to get the bad guys to leave you alone. Cast a spell and poof, they’d be gone,” the woman at the table behind us said.

Derek peered around me to look at her. “Magic? What does she mean?”

I had to think of something to say quickly. And not just anything, something that would actually sound believable. 

I chuckled and waved my hand. “Thanks, Martha.” I turned to Derek. “She doesn’t know what she’s saying. She doesn’t remember much.”

He looked at her. “Oh, I see. That’s terrible.”

“I am not senile,” she said with a frown.

I took Derek by the arm and guided him away from the tables. I didn’t need the audience to hear the conversation. I couldn’t believe it, but I’d been able to brush off the comment. He actually believed me. No thanks to Martha. Why had she picked now to talk about witchcraft?

Now that we were away from everyone, though they were still watching, I asked, “What are you doing there?”

“I tried to call, but you didn’t answer.”

I pulled the phone from my pocket. Apparently I’d accidentally turned the volume off. “Sorry about that. What’s up? Please don’t tell me you have bad news.”

“Why do you always assume the worst?”

“Derek, in this world we live in I think it’s only natural to prepare for the worst. If you get good news then you’ll be pleasantly surprised.”

“I guess you have a point. Even if way too cynical. I received a lead on the loan shark. Justin Mark.”

“What’s the lead?” I asked, glancing over my shoulder.

“We should go there,” Derek said, grabbing my hand.

“Is that her boyfriend?” The voice was loud enough that both of us heard it.

“Why should we do that? I don’t remember that Justin really wanted to talk with us last time,” I said.

“That’s true, but we can’t let that stand in our way.” Derek motioned for me to follow him.

I stood there for a moment and contemplated if I really wanted to do this.

“You should go with him,” the same woman said.

I supposed she was right.

“Agatha, I’ll be back,” I said.

“Where are you going? You can’t leave me here alone,” Agatha said. “They think you cheated.”

I glanced at Derek. Unfortunately he’d heard the comment. He quirked an eyebrow.

I laughed. “It’s a long story.”

“I bet it is. You can tell me all about it in the car.”

Great. I was really looking forward to that. I grabbed my bag and followed Derek outside. I still was curious about who had been at the door. Maybe it was just another resident who was late for bingo. Although hardly anyone was ever late. 

“Cece, I’m really surprised at you. Cheating? Really?” Derek shook his head.

“I was not cheating. I won the game. As far as they’re concerned that’s the same thing.”

He laughed. “How much did you win?”

“Five dollars,” I said.

“Cheating for five dollars?”

“I didn’t cheat.”

He laughed again.

“Never mind that. Where did you find out this information?” I asked as I got into the passenger seat of his car.

“I have my sources that I can’t divulge.”

I buckled my seatbelt. “Now that I think about it, I probably don’t want to know.”

“You’re probably right about that,” he said.

We pulled up to the shop and Derek shoved the car into park. I released a deep breath, trying to prepare myself for the talk with Justin Mark. Though it would probably be more like a confrontation. I hoped Derek didn’t get us into a serious situation that we wouldn’t be able to get out of.

“Should we get this over with?” I asked.

Derek nodded. “Yeah, let’s go for it.”

We got out and walked down the sidewalk. My nerves were a little on edge, but I supposed that was to be expected since we were going to visit a man who made a habit of threatening bodily harm. As we neared the shop, I noticed that it looked closed.

“I don’t think he’s there.” I pointed.

Derek looked at his watch. “I don’t think the guy would close at this time of day.”

“I don’t think he goes by conventional rules of business,” I said.

When we reached the door, I confirmed that the lights were in fact off. “See, I told you he was closed. What do we do now?” I blew the hair out of my eyes.

Derek looked up and down the street. “Maybe he just went to lunch.”

I quirked an eyebrow. “Don’t tell me we have to wait around to see if he comes back.”

“Remember this business means stakeouts,” Derek said.

“This is a little different.”

“What? Do you have to get back to bingo?”

I smirked. “Funny.”

“Come on, let’s ask around and see if anyone knows where he might be and when he’ll be back.”

“I doubt he checked in with the neighbors.”

“Aren’t you Negative Nancy today,” Derek said.

We headed to the shop next door.

“I hope they can give us information,” I said.

We stepped into the shop and immediately saw a woman behind the counter. She smiled as soon as she saw us. Now I wanted to buy something just so she wouldn’t feel bad.

“May I help you?” the woman asked when we approached the counter.

“Yes, ma’am.” Derek turned on the Southern charm again.

Surely this woman wouldn’t fall for it. Much to my astonishment, she immediately smiled again. Okay, so maybe she would fall for it.

“We’re looking for the owner of the business next door,” Derek said.

A frown appeared on her face. “I don’t know anything about him.”

It didn’t sound as if she was on friendly terms with him.

“So you don’t know if he is coming back after lunch?”

“That’s what I’m saying.” Now she had turned icy.

I pulled on Derek’s arm. “Okay, thank you.”

He acted as if he might want to continue asking her questions. That was pointless though. When I pulled on his arm again, he finally came with me.

“She seemed friendly at first,” Derek said.

“Don’t worry, it had nothing to do with your charms. She just doesn’t like Justin.”

He smiled. “You’re right. I feel better now knowing that I’ve still got it.”

As we walked back to the car, we discussed what we hadn’t discovered.

“You still haven’t told me about what you found out,” I said. 

“I guess I should go ahead and tell you.”

I didn’t like the sound of that.

“The loan shark had a hobby,” Derek said.

“Justin liked knitting?” I asked.

Derek shook his head.

“He was an ice sculptor?”

Derek frowned. “Where do you get this stuff?”

I shrugged. “Imagination, I guess. I figured since you wouldn’t come right out and tell me then I should just make a stab and guess.”

“I should probably just go ahead and tell you then.” Derek folded his arms in front of his chest. “He’s an Elvis impersonator.”

Derek had a smug, satisfied look on his face. My mouth probably had dropped open. Though I shouldn’t be surprised. A lot of people had that as a hobby around here.

“So you’re thinking he was the one who shot at us?” I asked.

Derek shrugged. “Who knows. But it would make sense, right?”

“I never really thought it made sense that the other Elvis impersonator would do it. So we should try to find Justin?”

“Most definitely,” Derek said as he shoved the key into the ignition.

I kept pushing my luck by going places with Derek. As we drove along, Derek handed me his phone.

“What’s this for?” I asked.

“See that app? It allows us to track each other’s phones.”

I scoffed. “So now you want to follow each other’s moves?”

He made the next left. “No, but you never know when we’ll be on a stakeout and need to contact each other. What if something happens and your phone isn’t working?”

I studied his face for a moment. “I suppose it would help. But no funny business.”

“Hey, you can keep track of me too now.”

I laughed. “I’d rather not know.”

We pulled up in front of the building and parked. Without saying a word, I poked Derek in the side with my elbow.

He frowned. “What was that for?”

“It’s fake Elvis,” I whispered, as if the guy would hear us in the car with the windows up.

Luckily, he hadn’t looked our way.

“What the hell is he doing here?” Derek asked.

“I have a feeling we’re going to try to find out,” I said.

We watched as he tried Justin Mark’s door. When it wouldn’t open, he turned and looked up and down the sidewalk. He still hadn’t noticed that we were watching him. What if he’d been the one shooting at us? What if he had a gun now?

The guy started walking down the street. Derek started the car and slowly started to follow him.

“Well, that’s subtle. I think he’ll probably turn around and notice we’re inching along the street behind him.”

“You think? He seems a little clueless,” Derek said.

Okay, he hadn’t looked back at us yet. It would only be a matter of time before he noticed us though.

“How about I pull over and we can follow him on the sidewalk?”

I took off my seatbelt. “Yes, I think that’s a good idea before he gets away from us.”

“Easy does it. Don’t jump out of the car. I have to stop the car first.”

I smirked. I wasn’t going to jump. “Just prepared to run in case he does.”

“We’re not making a citizens’ arrest. I don’t think we should chase him even if he does start to run.”

Just then the guy stopped at another shop. “See, he’s going to get away,” I said as Derek pulled up to the curb. “You’re just lucky that there was a place to park.”