Solving one murder might prevent a second one.
Mine.
Planning a wedding was all very well, but I’d quite like to survive long enough to actually walk down the aisle, especially now I had that beautiful dress.
It might have been shallow, but those really were the thoughts going through my mind at that moment. Nyx, obviously sensing that my attention had wandered, ceased purring and gave an annoyed brrp and then stalked off to the front shop.
On impulse, I called Rafe. He picked up on the first ring.
“Lucy,” he said, his voice filled with pleasure. “Did you speak to your father?”
“No. I’ll wait until he’s recovered.”
“A sound plan.”
I told him that Tilda had just called to say she had bridesmaid gifts ready for pick up. “I was thinking, if we went together, we could look around a little. I could keep her chatting while you poked into corners to see if there are any clues to what happened to Karmen.”
“That’s an excellent idea. Can you give me half an hour to finish up here and then I’ll come and fetch you?”
“Perfect.” That would give me time to get my mind out of the clouds and finish packing up the orders.
When I went back out front to tell Violet the bad news, that I was actually going to leave her alone for a couple of hours, my mother was coming in the front door.
“Hello, girls. Wasn’t that the most glorious tea?”
“It was. And the massage I had was amazing,” I said. “I didn’t know how tense I was.”
Mom flashed her manicure at us. “It’s such a treat to have pretty nails. Not very practical for my work, of course, but so pretty for your wedding.”
Violet showed off her pedicure. Her purple toenails were very pretty, but I’d assumed she’d chosen a facial, since her skin looked so dewy and fresh. I moved closer to her, pretending an interest in her pedicure, and by concentrating, picked up a faint but familiar scent.
“And I’ve been having the most wonderful morning at my old college,” my mother said. “Quite a walk down memory lane.”
I told Mom I had to run soon, and she didn’t seem to mind. “I can keep Violet company then.”
“Right. Could you excuse me and Violet for a few minutes? I need to show her something upstairs.”
Violet looked surprised, since I never took her upstairs for work chats, but Mother didn’t know that and said she could certainly manage to hold the fort. “Perhaps I should take up knitting,” she said, picking up one of the newest magazines.
I ushered Violet upstairs. She appeared uncomfortable, a little nervous even, when I didn’t offer her a seat and stood there with my arms crossed.
“Where’s Jennifer?” she asked, looking around.
“She’s at Crosyer Manor helping Olivia plan the garden decorations.” I loved how quickly Jennifer had jumped into her bridesmaid role, and she and Olivia had bonded at my hen party. I’d worried that she’d be bored, but between sightseeing and helping with wedding prep, she was as busy as I was. Also, not here to shield Violet. “I know you’re wearing face cream from Wallingford Botanicals, so don’t even try to deny it.”
“So what?” she said, trying to brazen it out.
I was coldly furious. “So you lied to me. You went there that day, didn’t you? You went to see Karmen. And yet when I asked you, you claimed you’d been to see William.”
Her color fluctuated from red to white and back again. “I did go to see William that day.”
Then she looked down at her purple toes peeking from her sandals. “But, okay, I also went to see that witch.”
“On the day she died.” I didn’t know how bad it was, but I didn’t have a good feeling about this.
Vi glanced up at me and snapped, “I didn’t know she was going to die.”
Had she had something to do with it? I didn’t want to accuse her, as she might stomp back downstairs and hide behind my mother. I could tell she was thinking about it. I forced myself to relax and tried to sound calm. “Tell me what happened.”
She let out a breath, obviously trying to calm herself. “It was Margaret Twigg’s idea.”
Why was I not surprised? “Go on.”
“There’s not much to tell. I went to see Margaret and told her you’d seen Karmen and that she’d admitted to selling the hex. Margaret said we had to stop her from selling her wares in Oxford and harming another witch. She was angry, and you know how Margaret gets when she’s angry.”
I nodded. I did. But I’d never seen her murderous. “What did Margaret do?”
“We drove out to Wallingford together…that day.”
“The day Karmen died.”
“Quit rubbing it in. We didn’t know she was dying, and we had nothing to do with it.”
“You just dropped in for tea?”
“No need to be sarcastic. No. Margaret told her she’d nearly killed me and what did she have to say for herself.”
I wondered if Karmen had treated Margaret to the same blasé attitude I’d been subjected to and doubted it.
“Karmen said she hadn’t known it was meant for one of her sisters, and while she never said she was sorry, she did give both me and Margaret a jar of her special recipe face cream.” She touched her cheek. “I wasn’t going to use it, but you’d raved about it, so I tried it, and I can already see the difference in my skin.” She shook her head. “I wish she hadn’t died. Now what will we do when we run out?”
She looked at me like this was a serious question. “Never mind that. When were you there?”
Now she looked at me sheepishly. “We passed you on the road.”
“We?” I’d seen Margaret in the car but no passenger.
“I saw the
