Shear magic, p.4
Shear Magic, page 4
part #5 of Silver Hollow Series
Gray glanced at Issy, and she nodded. He got the impression that Tim was telling the truth. Plus, he highly doubted the guy had it in him to commit murder. Then again, people can do extraordinary things when motivated. But it seemed Tim’s whole world was his mother, and because he was depending on Eric to help him with the insurance claim, he certainly wouldn’t want the guy dead.
Despite the ruse being up, Gray spent a few minutes oohing and aahing over Tim’s aquarium. It really was nice, and he even asked Tim a few questions about the fish and upkeep. Finally it was time for him and Issy to go. No more sounds came from the room at the end of the hall.
“Thanks so much for speaking to us, Tim,” Issy said at the door. “I can’t imagine how hard it must be for you, caring for your mother alone like this. If you ever need anything from the pet store or even just need someone to talk to, stop by my shop. I’m happy to help in any way I can.”
“Same here,” Gray said, shaking the guy’s hand. “When your mom’s feeling a little better, bring her by my shop. I’ll give her a complimentary haircut.” Gray smiled again, genuinely this time. “Hopefully, this mess will be over soon and I’ll be back open for business.”
“Thanks, both of you,” Tim said, waving from the front porch as they made their way back to Issy’s beat-up old truck.
As they climbed inside Brown Betty, Gray ran through what they’d just learned from Tim in his head. He sat on the passenger seat and shut the door. “I doubt Tim’s our killer. Unless he was lying, he had no motive to want to hurt Eric. The guy was investigating a case for him.”
“He seemed honestly upset by the news of Eric’s murder. Plus he’s a good guy taking care of his mom like that. It’s a big sacrifice.” Issy closed her door and then clicked her seatbelt into place before starting the engine. “So what next? Should we talk to Beth Wilkins?”
Gray wasn’t looking forward to that conversation. No one was sure what had caused Beth Wilkins’s plunge off the deep end, but she was definitely nuts. Trying to get useful information out of her would be a challenge. He sighed and rubbed his eyes, the pressure of the day settling on his shoulders and seeping inside him as bone-deep exhaustion, and it wasn’t even after five yet. “Guess we’ll be stopping at O’Hara’s Pub then. That’s where she usually hangs out this time of day.”
“No, I think we should wait until tomorrow.” Issy gave him a quick glance, and Gray’s tense shoulders relaxed a tad. “You look as if you’ve been hit by a freight train. I think it’s best you go home and get some rest tonight. We can catch her earlier in the day tomorrow, when she’s more on the sober side, and hopefully gather a few more clues before we talk to her. Sound good?”
“Sounds good.” Gray watched the scenery pass as they headed back toward downtown. The first buds were starting to appear on the trees, and the daffodils were just starting to peek from the ground. “Instead of sitting at home alone, though, can we meet at your fire pit tonight? I’ll bring the marshmallows and graham crackers for the first s’mores of the season, and we can hash out more about Eric’s death.”
“That’s fine.” She reached over and patted his arm. “It’s all going to be okay, don’t worry. I’ll let Raine and Ember know and have Ember bring the chocolate.” Issy signaled and then turned the corner near the town square. “Should I call DeeDee as well? What about Dex?”
“Yep. The whole gang.” Gray opened the door once they pulled up to the curb in front of his salon. Looked like the police had cleared out for now, but there was still yellow crime scene tape up everywhere. Not exactly good for business or his reputation. “Invite them all. Maybe Dex and DeeDee can fill us in on what’s happening with the police investigation.”
Chapter 6
As promised, that night, all the Quinn cousins gathered around the fire pit in back of Issy’s cottage on the lake, along with Issy’s boyfriend Dex and all their familiars. Gray loved these nights together. The air smelled of campfire and pine from the surrounding trees, and a soft breeze blew, carrying with it the hooting of owls and the crisp scent of the lake. The last streaks of pink from the sunset hovered near the horizon, backlighting the layers of blue mountains in the distance. It was springtime, and the nights were still cool in northern New Hampshire, so they all wore jackets and tucked plaid fleece blankets in their laps to ward off the chill.
Across the flickering fire, Issy and her boyfriend Dex fed each other gooey toasted marshmallows. Gray’s heart swelled with happiness for his cousin. He pushed away a twinge of jealousy. So what if he didn’t have anyone special? He could still be happy for Issy.
It was funny. At first, Gray hadn’t been so sure about Dexter Nolan and whether he’d be good enough for Issy, but he’d turned out to be an okay guy, despite working for the FBPI — the Federal Bureau of Paranormal Investigations. Dex was an agent, which technically made the Quinns his enemies, yet he and Issy had fallen in love. He’d yet to turn any of them in, and he and Issy seemed really happy together.
Dex treated Issy well, which was most important to Gray. Plus, he supposed, it was good Issy had fallen for the guy, because it gave them a friend in the bureau. They needed one, considering Dex’s boss, Stanley Judge, was a real pain in everyone’s butt. A stickler for rules and gunning to find a paranormal, Stan had cut things a bit too close for Gray’s comfort several times already. He only hoped he wouldn’t have to endure questioning by that guy before this was all over.
“How’s Stan?” Gray asked, doing his best to keep the snarky tone from his voice but failing miserably if everyone’s collective snort was any indication. He chuckled and shoved his stick with the marshmallow impaled on the end into the flames. “Did he hear about the murder yet?”
“Oh, yeah. He did,” Dex said, assembling his own s’more. “But I managed to convince him that it had nothing to do with paranormals. At least for now.”
“That’s good,” Issy said from beside him, reaching over to steal a square of chocolate from his graham cracker. Dex smacked her hand away, then kissed her on the cheek. “The last thing we need is Stan coming here and poking around in Eric’s case.”
Now that Dex was assigned to Silver Hollow permanently, Stan mostly stayed at the FBPI offices in Ohio. That was just fine with Gray. The farther away he stayed, the better. Stan flew in only when he thought there might be a paranormal to capture. Hopefully Dex would keep him convinced that there was nothing going on in Silver Hollow that warranted his personal attention.
“Ursula might be disappointed, though.” Ember laughed, tucking the edges of her blanket more firmly around the kittens in her lap. “She and Stan seemed to be getting pretty friendly on that last case. I thought she might keep him under her thrall for a while longer.”
Ursula Lavoie, a vampire, was Silver Hollow’s medical examiner. The last time Stan was in town, everyone noticed he’d been looking unusually pale and spending an unusual amount of time at the morgue. Gray smiled to himself. It would certainly be ironic if the great paranormal hunter ended up being turned into a paranormal himself.
Raine grinned, a rarity for her these days. “Yeah. Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to have Stan stop by the morgue and fall victim to her spell. With Dex and Stan on our side, we’d never have to worry about the FBPI again.”
Gray pulled his marshmallow from the fire and blew out a stray flame before making his own s’more. “Can’t say I’d be disappointed by that outcome.”
“How’d your visit with Tim Stevens go?” Dex asked around a bite of graham cracker.
“Not very enlightening, I’m afraid. He hired Eric to look into some insurance investigating for his mother.” Gray broke off a bite of s’more for Cosmo, who was waiting patiently on his shoulder. The bird nibbled the treat, sending a cascade of crumbs down the front of Gray’s black windbreaker. “Hopefully we’ll have more luck with Beth Wilkins, though she’s not exactly stable. I wish we had some way to make her more lucid, at least for a little while.”
“I can bring along a soothing plant when we visit tomorrow. That should get her to relax and tell us what we need to know.” Raine pulled her phone from the front pocket of her overalls and began typing a note into it. “I’ve sent myself a reminder. I’m free tomorrow for lunch if you guys want to go then.”
Gray, Issy, and Ember all checked their calendars.
“Works for me,” Ember said.
“Me too,” Issy agreed.
“Me three.” Gray finished adding it to his calendar, doing his best not to be disappointed at just how free his schedule was at the moment. If he really stopped to think how much money he was losing each day the salon was closed, he’d fall into a pit of despair. Thankfully he was wise with his money and had sufficient funds saved to tide him over for a few months.
The sound of a car door slamming was followed by the crunch of boots on gravel. DeeDee walked around the corner of the cabin moments later. She was late, an unusual occurrence for her, and Gray couldn’t resist teasing her a bit about it. “Look who finally showed up. Get too busy with your new fiancé?”
DeeDee gave him a flat stare, clearly not amused. The blush in her cheeks gave her away. He was truly happy for her and her new man. Gray and DeeDee had a special relationship. They’d been friends for ages, and he took a bit of credit for bringing her and Caine together. He had cast one of his beauty spells on her at her request. Not that she’d needed it. She was lovely before, but now that she’d found her soul mate, she positively glowed.
That pang of yearning stabbed his chest again. He wondered if such a thing would ever happen for him. The thought was quickly chased by the sobering realization that no, it would not. Especially if he got himself arrested by Owen and punished by the tribunal for the murder of Eric Naill. Even more incentive to keep his mind on the investigation.
“Caine’s busy in editing and postproduction, but he sends his greetings,” DeeDee said.
She took a seat on the log beside Gray and grabbed the bag of marshmallows, shoving one into her mouth without bothering to toast it first. “And I’m sorry to tell you guys, but Owen doesn’t have anything new yet either. Just the same leads you’ve got — Tim and Beth. Oh, and he’s filing for a search warrant for Eric’s office. I’m guessing he’s thinking along the same lines as the rest of us — that this has something to do with one of Eric’s cases.”
“He still doesn’t know about us paranormals, though, right?” Ember asked.
“Of course not.” DeeDee swallowed another marshmallow. “He’s fixated on the evidence of the murder weapon being those golden shears of Gray’s and why he didn’t report the break-in right away.” Gray winced, and DeeDee patted his back. “I know this is hard on you, buddy, but you need to know what’s going on. Owen thinks it’s odd the killer had your shears.”
“So do I,” Gray said, throwing up his hands in exasperation. Cosmo squawked and flapped his wings in commiseration. “If he only knew how hard it was for me to get those in the first place and how valuable they are to me, he’d know I’d never use them to kill anyone. I keep them secured in my drawer every night. Or at least I did …” His shoulders slumped. “Gah! This is all such a mess.”
“Are you sure they’re yours? Maybe someone else had a pair?” DeeDee suggested.
“No such luck. They’re rare, and I’m missing mine.”
“Could someone else have taken them during the day without you noticing?” Dex asked, playfully slapping Issy’s hand away from his second s’more. “Shear Magic is a madhouse during business hours. I’ve been in there. All those women running around primping and preening. I don’t know how you keep it all straight on your own.”
“I manage just fine.” Gray frowned. “And no, no one could’ve taken them. I use those shears on every cut. It’s what helps me create the perfect look for each client. If they’d gone missing, I’d know. Just like I noticed this morning.”
“Well then.” DeeDee reached over to scratch Cosmo’s head, smiling and cooing to the cockatoo, who obviously loved every second of the attention. “Owen’s willing to pursue other avenues if we can present him with some viable ones. You and Owen are friends, so I doubt he wants you to be found guilty any more than the rest of us do. The crime scene crew should be done the day after tomorrow, so you can at least reopen the salon for business after that. And I’ll keep you posted on any new developments as best I can, buddy. Promise.”
“That’s good,” Ember said. “I can’t tell you how many customers I’ve had in Divine Cravings talking about that new haircut you gave Mrs. Newcastle. Every lady in town wants an asymmetrical style now. Way to start a new trend, cuz.”
Gray snorted and shook his head.
“Well, I’ll do my best to steer Stan away from this case. But you know how he gets when he thinks he’s onto the scent of something,” Dex said. “We all know you didn’t do it, but he might want to fly out and be there to question you anyway.”
“If he does, I’ll be right there with you, buddy,” DeeDee said. “We’ll get through this.”
“I wonder if this all really has something to do with the South Side Coven, like Luigi mentioned,” Issy said. “I mean, we know it’s a paranormal killing, but why Eric Naill? And why would someone want to frame Gray for the murder?”
“I don’t know.” Gray sighed and checked his messages on his phone. Still no response from Switzerland. If he couldn’t get another pair of magic shears, it wouldn’t matter much if his shop was open again. Without them, he’d be just another okay stylist.
Self-doubt joined the tension already knotting inside him. An image of Starla, as she’d looked earlier in her store, flashed through his mind, and he made a mental note to talk to Brimstone about setting up a meeting with her. He wasn’t sure why, but his gut told him he needed to see her to get answers.
That tingle of connection sparked inside him again before he shook it off. The last thing he needed right now was an ill-advised, unwanted attraction to the one woman he could never have a relationship with, at least not in the present climate between the North and South covens in Silver Hollow. “I don’t know. I just want this all to be over and things to get back to normal. Hopefully we’ll find out something useful when we talk with Beth Wilkins.”
Chapter 7
The next morning, Gray was up early as usual but found himself with nowhere to go. The salon was still closed for the investigation, so he felt a bit adrift. He’d still not heard back from the wizard about replacement shears. Without those, it would be a struggle to maintain his level of perfection for clients. Sure, he could cast a beauty spell here and there, but for lasting results, he needed those golden scissors. Which made him wonder why the killer had used those shears. They’d been inside the salon, so had the killer been in there too? Had Eric? Or had someone taken them out earlier and used them to frame him? How would they have gotten to them without him noticing?
He was sure those shears had been in his drawer. And there’d been no sign of a break-in, which meant that whoever had gotten to them had used magic to do it. They already knew paranormals were involved from the smell of wax on the back door of his shop, but magical teleportation took a special skill set. So the killer had to be somebody magical. And powerful. Too bad that eliminated their two suspects. Tim wasn’t magical, and Beth was too confused.
Unless Eric had broken into the salon. He could have magically opened the lock and then the killer followed him in. They fought, the killer grabbed the scissors as a weapon, and the fight progressed into the alley where the killer stabbed Eric, shut the door, and fled. So it could have been someone magical or someone not magical. That didn’t narrow things down any at all.
He got ready then shuffled around his renovated ski cabin, made coffee, got Cosmo up and fed, even admired the view from his back deck. The cabin was perched halfway up a steep mountain, isolated in the woods with no other houses in sight. He had a panoramic view of the mountain range and Lake Winnipesaukee below. In winter he could ski right from his backyard. In summer he enjoyed all kinds of wildlife — deer, fox, owls, turkeys, moose, and even the occasional black bear.
He’d chosen this place specifically because of that view and the abundance of wildlife, but he rarely got to enjoy it, so this was a special treat — even if the circumstances behind his free time weren’t ideal. He spent time on the deck listening to the hollow thunk of woodpeckers and contemplating the other aspects of Eric Naill’s murder.
They still didn’t have a suspect with clear motive. Unless maybe Beth did it out of anger. Luigi said she’d fought with Eric. With Beth’s confused state of mind, Gray didn’t think she’d stew about it and kill him later. More likely she’d have stabbed him during the fight. Then again, she did like to hang out at O’Hara’s Pub, and the back door of their kitchen at the bar wasn’t far from the rear exit of Gray’s salon, where Eric had been killed. Maybe they’d argued again in the bar or Beth had seen him there and that had triggered her? Given her erratic behavior, Gray wouldn’t be surprised if she’d lost it and killed Eric in anger.
He was getting nowhere, and all this thinking about the case was giving him a headache.
Cutting hair was his life, who he was. When that was taken away, even for a short time, he felt utterly lost. He checked his text messages for the umpteenth time, but still no response from Switzerland. He’d gotten confirmation his messages had been delivered, so the wizard must be contemplating his case, deciding whether Gray deserved a second pair of golden shears. Gray considered sending another message, another plea, but decided against it. All he could do now was wait.
Thankfully, someone knocked on the door and saved him from a slow death by tedium. He answered, expecting maybe one of his cousins had come over early to discuss their meeting with Beth later and what questions they would ask, but instead he found Luigi Romano on the porch.
