All Dressed Up and No Place to Haunt (12 page)

“Is that who was in here and placed the chair under the door?” I asked.

Wind Song licked her paws and then meowed. I retrieved her food dish from under the counter.

“I don't think we'll get another answer from her,” I said.

Heather leaned against the counter. “Probably not.”

Was Wind Song just stuck on the same name, though? Maybe it had nothing to do with what had just happened. I couldn't know for sure. I placed the dish on the counter and put some gourmet tuna in it. She ate, and I rubbed her head.

“Thanks for the message, Wind Song,” I said.

She hadn't given me an answer, but it was better than nothing.

“Do you think it was Jessica?” Heather asked.

“It's possible. Why else would Wind Song give us her name?”

When Wind Song finished the food, she licked her paws and jumped from the counter. She strolled to the front of the store and curled up in her favorite spot in the sun. At least she wasn't afraid to go back to the front of the store now. She had seemed a little spooked earlier. She probably hadn't liked that someone had been in the store while I was locked in the back.

“This was the second time Wind Song gave us Jessica's name,” Heather said.

“Yeah, she may only know that one name,” I said.

“Or the cat knows exactly who did it and just told us.”

I tapped my fingers against the counter.

Heather picked up the board. “I'm putting the board away this time. Every time we use this thing, Dylan stops in. I don't want him to catch us.”

“You should just tell him about the board and the tarot cards,” Alice said.

I shook my head. “No way. I definitely can't tell him that the cat uses them and gives me messages.”

“That is a bit far-fetched,” Heather said.

“I wouldn't know where to begin to explain how the cat communicates with us.”

“So show him. Let the cat use the board and the cards when he's here,” Alice said.

“She probably wouldn't do it in front of him,” I said.

“You're probably right. She's too shy,” Heather said.

“Well, apart from that, I must tell Dylan about the cards we found and the chair under the doorknob.”

Heather agreed. “It's best that you do. If someone is messing with you, then he needs to know.”

“It is a little embarrassing to admit that I was locked in the back room.”

Plus, I knew that by keeping anything I'd discovered to myself would give me a chance to solve the crime first. Why didn't I just leave this to the professionals?

“You had no control over that,” Charlotte said.

“Yes, Cookie, there's nothing you could have done to stop it,” Alice said.

They were right. I pulled out my phone and dialed Dylan's number.

“At least she has his number memorized,” Charlotte said.

I frowned, but didn't respond. When he picked up, I had the sudden urge to hang up. I wondered if I really needed to bother him with this tiny detail. But then I realized it wasn't a tiny detail. It was important that he know this.

“Dylan, hi, it's Cookie.”

“So cute that they're on a first-name basis,” Charlotte said.

I waved my hand to quiet Charlotte. Alice chuckled. I was glad that they thought this was so entertaining. After I told him what had happened, he said he would be over right away.

“He's on his way,” I said when I hung up the phone.

“You did the right thing,” Heather said.

“I just hope we find who did this. The person needs to be brought to justice,” I said.

“We won't stop until we do,” Alice said.

Chapter 19

Within minutes, Detective Dylan Valentine walked through the door. He wore dark blue slacks and one of the shirts that he'd bought from my store—the blue one that matched his eyes. I couldn't help but smile when I saw him.

When he reached the counter, he said, “Hi, Cookie. Hello, Heather. Is everyone okay?”

I nodded. “We're fine now.”

He glanced down and noticed the tarot cards. “You say someone locked you in the back room? How did that happen?”

I explained the sequence of events.

“How do you know someone locked you in?” he asked. “Maybe the door was just stuck.”

“I thought so at first, but then I called Heather. She came over and discovered the chair was pushed under the knob.”

I had to leave out the part about the ghosts peeking out there and spotting the chair first.

He looked at Heather. “So the chair was under the knob?” His eyebrows pinched together in a frown.

Heather's eyes were solemn. “Yes, that's exactly what happened.”

“You said something about receiving a threatening message? What was that?” he asked.

This was the part I had been dreading telling him about.

I pointed out the cards. “Well, we found these tarot cards on the counter. They're not mine and they're not Heather's. We have no idea where they came from.”

He picked up the cards and studied them. “What do they mean?”

Heather stepped closer. “That is the fool card. That one is the justice card and that one is the death card.”

“What does all this mean?” he asked. “How is it threatening?”

“Well, I figured out that it means I am the fool who will get revenge, meaning death,” I said.

“Yeah, but the person obviously doesn't know how to read the cards,” Heather said.

“How so?” Dylan asked.

“Because the cards are Justice, Fool, and Death, but those aren't the true meanings of the cards. So the person who left them wouldn't have experience in reading cards as far as I can tell,” Heather said.

Dylan ran his hand through his hair. “I see. That makes sense. And you didn't see anyone near the counter?”

I shook my head. “No, not at all.”

Heather tapped her forehead as a realization struck. “You know, I sold cards like that about a month ago.”

Dylan looked over at her. “Really?”

“I carry a few different styles. I usually sell about four sets a month. Not too many, but they are fairly popular.”

“Do you have any idea who you would have sold a set like this to?” Dylan asked.

I had my fingers crossed that Heather would remember. Alice and Charlotte moved closer.

“I really can't recall,” she said.

Oh well, at least we had tried.

“Whoever I sold them to wouldn't have been anyone who was connected to Nicole, though. I would remember anyone from the movie coming into the store.” Heather sounded confident of her words.

Dylan wrote something on a pad he'd pulled from his pocket. I thought about leaning closer, but figured that wouldn't be the best idea. After he finished writing, he folded the tablet and stuffed it back into his shirt pocket. “Can you look up info of who made the cards? Maybe the person bought them somewhere other than your store.”

She nodded. “Sure, I can do that.”

It hadn't occurred to me that the person could have bought the cards from somewhere other than Heather's shop. I just assumed that any occult items would have been purchased from her place. I hoped we'd be able to track down the source soon.

“Okay, I have a mission.” Heather gave a mock salute and headed for the door.

“Good luck,” I said and waved.

“I'm glad you called and told me about this,” Dylan said.

“Better safe than sorry.” It sent a shiver down my spine to think the killer had been in my shop. And that the person had possibly threatened me.

I sat on the stool again. “I wanted to ask you about Vera Lemon. Did you talk to her and find out why she had all the photos of Nicole on her wall?”

Dylan seemed to choose his words carefully. “Yes, I did speak with her. Ms. Lemon explained that she was a fan of Nicole's. She had the photos because she just really liked her.”

“That's a whole lot of like,” I said.

He grinned. “Yes, it is.”

“Did she have anything else to say about it?”

“Not really. And there's not much we can do without any other evidence to go on,” he said.

“Yes, that's understandable.”

Charlotte rested on the settee. “Vera had more photos on that wall than a preteen collecting posters from a
Tiger Beat
magazine.”

I bit back a smile.

“Sorry it didn't turn up more clues,” Dylan was saying.

I waved off his comment. “You have a lot to take care of. I just wish I could help more.”

“You helped a bunch by telling me about the photos. It was odd, to say the least, but we can't prove anything.”

I picked at a blouse from the counter. “Sure. It would be hard to prove anything from just a collection of photos.”

“I'm glad that you called me today and shared this with me.” His voice softened and made the Southern drawl even sexier.

“I thought it was something you should know.”

“Are you going to be okay?” Dylan searched my eyes.

I picked at the hem of my shirt. “I'll be fine. It was just a little unsettling.”

“Yes, I can see where that would be the case.”

There was a silence, and then I said, “I like your shirt.”

A smile twisted at the corners of his mouth. “I think it's my new favorite shirt.”

It made my heart happy that he enjoyed the vintage clothing. I'd hoped he hadn't bought the items just to have a reason to ask me questions about the case. Although I guess he really wouldn't need an excuse.

Just then Heather burst back through the door. “I remember who I sold the cards to,” she said.

I jumped up from the stool. “That's great news.”

“Who is it?” Dylan asked.

“Her name is Faith Lauren. She does readings and stuff.”

“And you definitely remember selling the cards to her?” Dylan asked.

Heather was practically hopping with excitement. “Yes, I remember it clearly now. It just popped back into my head.”

“Do you know anything else about her?” Dylan asked.

“Yes, I know her a little. As a matter of fact, I know where she is right now.”

We all stared at Heather.

“Where is she?” I asked, not able to stand the suspense.

“She's at the Plaza Hotel. There's a paranormal conference there this weekend. It's just a small get-together, but there are a few people doing readings. Faith has a table set up there this weekend to do readings. I really don't think she would have left her cards here though.”

That was what I had been wondering.

Dylan asked, “Do you want to visit this person?”

I was a little shocked that he had asked me.

“Sure,” I said, looking at Heather.

“Don't worry. I'll watch the shop for you.”

I just hoped the intruder didn't come back in while Heather was there.

“Don't go into the back room,” I warned.

“You can count on that.” Heather assured me.

“Oh, good, a road trip,” Charlotte said.

Oh no. I wished I could tell her she couldn't come. But I couldn't, and I knew the ghosts wouldn't listen either. As long as they were quiet, I guess it wouldn't be so bad.

“Are you ready?” Dylan asked.

I got my purse. “Yes, let's go.”

Dylan and I walked outside to his police car. His unmarked car was gray, with lights in the back windows. Charlotte and Alice were right there. By the time I'd gotten into the passenger seat, they were settled in behind us. At least Dylan hadn't made me ride in the prisoner's seat. I never wanted to be back there.

We barely pulled away from the curb when my cell phone rang.

“I'm sorry, but I was mistaken,” I heard Heather say. “The conference was last weekend.”

“What? Oh no,” I said.

Dylan glanced over at me. “What's wrong?”

“Don't worry,” she said. “I know her address. You can just go to her house.”

“Thank goodness.”

Dylan glanced at me again. “At least it was followed with good news.”

“You're keeping us in suspense back here,” Charlotte said.

I hung up with Heather. “The conference was last weekend, but Heather had Faith's address.”

“Just tell me where to go and I'll point the car in that direction,” Dylan said.