A Charming Crime Page 3

  “We would love for you to open a shop here.” Her eyes popped open and she sat the bottle on the desk. She walked around the desk and sat down. Slowly she opened the drawer and pulled out a packet of papers. “We will need you to fill this application for the council. But don’t worry. You are a shoo-in.”

  Mr. Prince Charming jumped into her lap and dragged his tail along her pointy nose and down her chin. I wasn’t sure, but he looked like he was grinning.

  “Oh, now I know we have something backwards.” Open a shop? Where did that come from? I stood up and put the bottle back in the box. Talking snow globes, a grinning cat, open a shop. . .something definitely wasn’t right.

  “What? Have I offended you?” She stood up after the cat jumped out of her lap.

  “You don’t know anything about me. You don’t have any idea what I do or even the homeopathic remedies I have and how they help.” I wasn’t about to agree to anything.

  I wasn’t a doctor or an expert in the field of homeopathic medicine. I relied on my instinct and Darla’s book. That was it. If I opened a real shop and gave someone the wrong dosage, I’d be in hot water. And that was something I tried to stay out of.

  As if she read my mind, she said, “Yes, I do know what the berries from a Strychnine tree smells like and what they cure.” Slowly she crossed her arms in front of her, and Mr. Prince Charming did figure eights around her ankles.

  Traitor.

  “Helps with a sour stomach.” She grinned, her snow white teeth glistened.

  Damn! I bit the inside corner of my lip. She did get it right.

  “What does Belladonna cure?” I snapped my finger at her. Belladonna was an ingredient I had never had luck finding.

  “Ah.” She planted her elbows on the desk and drummed her fingers together. “Are you trying to trick me, June Heal? You’re going to have to do a lot better than that.” She patted around her eyes with the tips of her fingers. She pulled a container out of her desk drawer. “Belladonna is the main ingredient used in my wrinkle creams.”

  She handed me the container, which wasn’t as nearly as cute as my bottles, and I read the ingredients. Right again. “Where did you find this?” I had been looking for Belladonna for years. The women at the flea market would buy that like crazy.

  “I will buy it from you when you open the shop.” She stood up, and then patted her fingers around her eyes. “It only takes a couple drops on your crow’s feet.”

  “It only takes a little dose,” Darla would say when she squeezed the berry between her finger and thumb, letting the bitter liquid drip on my tongue. “Any more than that and it’ll kill you.”

  “June, are you okay?” she asked. She stood over me. “We don’t have a doctor in Whispering Falls and could use some of your expertise in the homeopathic field.”

  She and Mr. Prince Charming walked towards the front of the store and I followed them.

  “Listen, I’m not a doctor.” I felt like I needed to reinforce my non-doctor speech. “I’m just a girl from Locust Grove trying to make a living selling stuff at a flea market.”

  “As you could tell when you drove into Whispering Falls, we are little, well smaller than your average village.” She twisted her arms and hands in the air, ignoring anything I had to say. “We rely on the earth, nature, the universe to guide us. Let’s say we are more on the spiritual side.”

  For a moment, I felt like I was talking to Darla again. She used to feed me that line of bull when I was a kid. Even though I thought it was bull then, I had really grown A Dose of Darla since I took over. Somehow the remedies I had come up with really did work.

  “Can I ask what remedy you were working on when you blew up your shed?” She stood still. But Ann’s stool creaked as she leaned a little closer.

  “I have issues with nightmares. I’m trying to come up with a cure to help me,” I whispered, a little embarrassed to admit I was a grown woman who suffers from nightmares.

  “Ah!” Ann gasped, throwing her hand over her mouth. “Torres said nightmares.”

  Did she say Torres? I looked at the snow globe.

  “Ann, can you please go to the back.” Isadora’s eyes suddenly darkened and she sent Ann away. “She suffers from nightmares, too. You could be such a help to us. Your friend Oscar said you were looking to expand. I guarantee you will not regret moving to Whispering Falls.”

  She held the papers out for me to take.

  “Move?” My eyes clouded over and I grabbed the counter.

  “Yes. If you own a shop in Whispering Falls, you have to live here.” She flipped a couple pages in the packet and tapped Rule Number Two.

  “I’ll let you know.” I took the packet. I needed to get out of here FAST. “Come on Mr. Prince Charming, let’s go home.”

  “I’ll be waiting to hear from you.” Isadora chirped as I walked out the green door.

  “Excuse us.” A couple of grey haired women scurried to the side of the steps to let Mr. Prince Charming and me pass.

  “Yes, excuse us.” The shorter one giggled and practically hid behind the other one.

  “So, sorry.” I passed with the intent on reaching my car. . . fast.

  “Are you sick? Know someone dying?” I heard one of them call after me.

  “Yes, is someone dying?” the other one asked, almost hopeful.

  Definitely an odd question to ask someone you didn’t know.

  “Nope, not that I know of.” I brushed my bangs to the side so I could get a good look at them. No turbans. Unfortunately, Mr. Prince Charming must’ve thought two was better than one. He was doing double figure eights around their ankles. “Mr. Prince Charming, stop!”

  He moved faster when I tried to pick him up. He was never this friendly to anyone other than me.

  “We like cats,” the first one said, bending down and patting the ornery cat.

  “Yes, we do.” Apparently the second one repeated everything the other said.

  I picked him up anyway. I was increasingly becoming confused and the only way out was to get out.

  “I’m Constance Karima.” She pointed to herself, and then to her twin. “This is my twin Patience.”

  “Yes, I’m Patience.” She giggled. Her green eyes sparkled as much as her teeth.

  “Nice to meet you.” I noted everyone’s fantastic teeth. I ran my tongue along my front tooth that barely overlapped the other. You’d never notice unless I pointed it out.

  Mewl. Mr. Prince Charming made his presence known.

  “And this is Mr. Prince Charming.” I held him tight to my chest in case he decided to jump down. “Have a great day.

  Constance stepped in front of me, creating a sudden wind tunnel. Her red housedress swooshed back and forth from the breeze.

  “Oh, my.” She picked at her short hair nervously. “So, are you sick?”

  Mr. Prince Charming kneaded my arms with his back paws.

  “Hello, Karima sisters.” The green door of Mystic Lights flew open with Isadora standing in the shadow. “Please let our guest leave.”

  Hiss, hiss. Mr. Prince Charming jumped down, and arched his back. He raced off and jumped in the back of the Green Machine. Like a light switch had gone off, the wind stopped.

  The Karima twins tilted their heads and stared at Mr. Prince Charming with a scowl on their faces.

  “We were just trying to figure out if he’s sick.” Patience’s long finger uncurled, exposing a long black fingernail pointing towards my cat.

  Hisssss.

  “Yes, sick,” Patience repeated.

  Isadora’s A-line skirt swayed as she gracefully walked down the steps, coming face to face with me and the Karima sisters.

  “You’ll have to forgive my dear friends.” She stood between them, placing a hand on each of their shoulders. “They own Two Sisters and A Funeral. The only funeral home in town, and they are always looking for business.”

  “No, someone’s definitely sick.” Constance nodded to Patience who nodded to Izzy.

  God
, I hope I was nowhere near death, even though my heart was about to pound out of my chest from shear freaking out. Whispering Falls was definitely not for me.

  “No one is sick,” Izzy reassured everyone. Only it sure didn’t make me feel better.

  “Wow, nice car,” said a voice from behind me.

  I spun around to find an older gentleman with black coattails and a top hat checking out the Green Machine.

  “I haven’t seen one of these since the eighties.” He ran his gloved hand down the side of it, and then stopped when he reached Mr. Prince Charming, who was hovering in the bed of the Green Machine. He took his hat off and bowed down. “Good day, sir.”

  Meow, meow.

  I winked at Mr. Prince Charming. I had had enough too. It was time to go home and get back our real life. As a matter of fact, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Oscar Park and give him a piece of my mind.

  When I turned back around, everyone was looking at Mr. Prince Charming as if he was the first cat they’d ever seen.

  “I guess we better go.” I finger waved, trying not to be rude.

  “Very nice.” The man reached out and touched the turtle charm dangling from my wrist. “Turtles mean protection, and your cat seems to know it.”

  Slowly I pulled my wrist away from his fingers, causing the charm to slip out of his grasp.

  “I guess you could say that.” I covered it with my other hand, and brought it close to me. “That’s how my cat got his name. He showed up on my tenth birthday with this on his collar and has never left my side.”

  “Hmmm.” He scratched the right side of his mustache, and then pushed the round glasses up on his nose. “I’m Gerald Regiula. I own The Gathering Grove. You should stop in and have a cup. And bring your friend.” He glanced over my shoulder looking at Mr. Prince Charming, who had jumped up on the Green Machine’s roof and began to clean himself.

  “Thank you.” There wasn’t any more time for me to spare. I had already wasted the few minutes I had been in Whispering Falls, when I should’ve been in Locust Grove working on Darla’s Mr. Sandman’s Sprinkle.

  “And, if I might add, you should stop in Bellatrix Baubles.” He gestured down the road. “She has some amazing charms to add to your collection.”

  I followed Gerald’s eyes because he wasn’t talking to me. He was talking to Mr. Prince Charming. And for a second, I could’ve sworn I saw Mr. Prince Charming nod.

  Chapter Four

  “Traitor,” I scolded Mr. Prince Charming as I drove down the main street. I noticed the dash clock read that I had been in the village for over three hours. I drummed my fingers on the steering wheel. It didn’t seem that long. Just like when you went to the circus. You’re there for a couple of hours, but you were so entertained that it only felt like fifteen minutes.

  Mr. Prince Charming stared at me like he knew exactly what I was saying.

  “You were the life of the party.” Reaching under the driver’s seat, I pulled out a Ding Dong I had stashed in case of an emergency. Hearing an evil spirit was after me definitely qualified as an emergency. The foil crinkled as I unwrapped it, and Mr. Prince Charming knew what was coming next. I tore off a piece of chocolate and fed him. “You weren’t the same cat.”

  Purr, purr. He wiggled his head under my hand and took the chocolaty treat.

  We passed a few more of the cottage shops. When someone rushed in front of the Green Machine, I slammed on the brakes.

  Mewwwwlll, hissss. Mr. Prince Charming’s claws dug in the vinyl dash board where he caught himself.

  “Sorry, buddy.” Ducking my head around his hanging body to see if I saw anyone on the street. There hadn’t been a thud, so I knew I hadn’t hit someone, but I swore I’d saw someone.

  Creak, creak. A wooden sign hanging from its hinges caught my eye. I gasped, threw the El Camino in park, and jumped out, leaving Mr. Prince Charming in the car.

  The sign looked awfully familiar. Scraping the moss off the rotted sign, I gaped in wonder.

  “A Dose of Darla.”

  No. It couldn’t be. There was no way Darla had a shop here or any place other than the flea market or I’d have known about it, though it was vaguely familiar. Kind of like déjà vu.

  I couldn’t comprehend what was going on. Dizzy, everything spun around me. I held on to the gate to keep from falling.

  The sign hung in front of a small cottage.

  Two little windows were covered in moss, and the rest of the outside was covered in the most beautifully wisteria vine. The purple and white flowers grew up and around the front door.

  Cautiously, I opened the front gate and moved in for a closer look. Wiping my hands across the window, I took a quick peek inside; only it was too dark to see.

  “Can I help you?” Someone’s voice startled me, causing me to jump around, landing in my best karate position. “Whoa. I’m only wanting to help.” The woman’s wonderful low voice was soft and clear. She stood with her hands folded in front of her. She wore a turban like Ann, but she was all smiles instead of snarls.

  “Did you see someone out here?” I did a 360 degree turn, keeping my hands in the air, just in case I had to chop someone. I’d seen a man, not a woman with a turban on, run out in front of me. I was sure of it.

  “Man? No. If you are looking for a man, you’ve come to the wrong village.” She tapped her temple. “Though I do think there is a romance village with a matchmaker, this is not that village.” She giggled. “If you are looking for answers you seek while getting those horrid fingernails of yours manicured, you’ve come to the right place.” She gestured toward the little pink cottage, and put her hand out.

  I thought she was going to shake it, but she flipped it over, palm up, and drew on her reader glasses that hung around her neck on to the bridge of her nose.

  “I’m Chandra Shango. I own the shop next door.” A flash of humor crossed her face when she dropped my hand, and then looked at her store. “Cleansing Spirit Spa.”

  “I sure could use a good massage right now.” I could feel my shoulders knotting up from confusion. My nerves were fried. Where had the man gone?

  I noticed two large window boxes held a few of the herb plants I had been looking for.

  “Drowsy Daisies and Moonflowers.” My mouth dropped opened when I saw the flowers perked up, standing at attention. All this time I had been searching the internet to find the ingredients in Darla’s recipe book, when I could’ve traveled twenty minutes south of Locust Grove.

  “Darla planted those. It hasn’t been the same since Darla’s been gone.” Chandra had perfectly manicured fingernails. They were painted sky blue with a tiny star in the middle of each one. She looked to be around fifty, with soft hazel eyes and short raspberry hair. “Did you know Darla Heal?”

  “Da. . .,” I stammered. “Did you say Darla Heal?”

  Dizzy again, I was sure I was going to faint.

  The tapping of heels caused us to look down the street. Isadora was running as fast as she could in her pointed-heeled boots. Ann was right behind her, her short legs trying to keep up with Isadora, which was virtually impossible.

  “You hoo!” Isadora’s skirt flew up all over the place, her long blonde hair flowing behind her. Her arms flailed in the air. “Chandra, I see you met June. She’s a homeopathic from Locust Grove.”

  Isadora’s chest heaved in and out as she tried to catch her breath. She sat down on the bench beneath the tattered sign.

  “You just might need a pedicure after that run.” Chandra cackled, clasping her hands together.

  Ann finally caught up. Her face contorted like an old cow as she rubbed her lower back.

  “Leave it to you to spill the beans.” Ann snarled at Chandra. “Izzy had it all planned out and you ruin it.”

  “That’s enough.” Isadora stood up and put her hand out for Ann to be quiet. Her eyes were dark and as powerful as her words. “Chandra did no such thing. You are walking a thin line.”

  Chandra shielded her smile with
her hands. There was a state of shock in her expression.

  “I told you this was going to blow up.” Ann threw her hands in the air. “But no. You had to be all secretive and go behind everyone’s back trying to find Darla’s daughter when Darla didn’t want her to be found.”

  “I said enough!” Izzy’s eyes narrowed.

  “And the shed!” Ann stomped. “Do you know how many ingredients I tried before the darn thing would explode?”

  I felt the blood drain from my face. Slowly I took a seat on the bench, trying to wrap my head around Ann’s words.

  My shed? She blew up my shed?

  “Look at her. She’s definitely nothing like Darla.” Ann tapped my foot with her shoe. “Weak, just like her dad. But she did see something in one of the crystal balls.”

  “Crystal balls?” I asked. I stood up, keeping one hand on the bench to make sure I was stable enough to balance. This bunch was crazy. Crystal balls were for those psychic types. I walked around in a complete circle, carefully looking at each shop and the people milling around. Sure there were some strange shops with some very weird names, and some of the people wore turbans, cloaks, pointy-toed shoes, and other weird getups, but who was I to pass judgment?

  “Is Madame Torres in the crystal ball?” I asked.

  “Yes,” Ann said.

  “You’ve said enough!” Isadora slapped Ann across the face just as a clap of thunder was heard in the bright blue sky.

  Ann cowed down. She rubbed her face while she straightened her turban. Her eyes pierced my soul.

  “Who blew up my shed?” The question flooded my head and drained out my mouth. My eyes darted back and forth between them. “Are evil spirits really after me?”

  “I’m sorry. So sorry.” Chandra fumbled with her words, worry evident in her eyes. “I had no clue. I really shouldn’t have mentioned your mother.”

  Flashbacks of the old wooden door came flooding back. Faint memories of what lurked inside the cottage began to emerge from deep in my mind. The richness of Darla’s bottles that held her homeopathic remedies glistened inside the shop so long ago. The smell of cinnamon, sage, dill, and thyme entangled and wrapped around me as if I were five years old again. Darla’s laughter filled the inside of my head as though she was standing there helping someone with a bad case of gout.