Breach of Crust: A Charmed Pie Shoppe Mystery (17 page)

Ella Mae crept around the canoe stack, but Loralyn wasn’t there. “What happened to Hugh?” She pointed at the far end of the building. “He should be inside by now.”

“I don’t like how this is playin’ out,” Reba said.

“We’re
not
going down that ladder. We’ll leave the way we came in. I’m sure both women are headed for the dock.”

Reba shot her a worried look. “Where Opal’s waiting.”

The adrenaline that had surged through Ella Mae’s veins during the shootout instantly dissipated. Once again, she felt a cold dread sink into her bones. Outside, the summer heat did nothing to dispel the sensation, and when they reached the boathouse ramp and Ella Mae saw Hugh lying immobile on the ground, she was struck dumb with fear.

She ran to him and dropped to her knees on the rough wood, heedless of the dozens of splinters penetrating her skin. To her horror, she saw a trail of blood running from the back of his head. It seeped into the porous wood and disappeared into the thirsty ground below.

“No, no, no, no,” she whispered wildly. “You’re okay. You have to be okay.” Ella Mae searched for Hugh’s carotid pulse. When she couldn’t feel any vibration, she stared at her fingertips as though they were to blame. “Come on, baby. You have to be okay.”

Behind her, she heard the sound of Reba tearing fabric. It seemed to come from a great distance and barely registered with Ella Mae. The only thing that existed was her need to feel Hugh’s pulse beat.

She shifted her fingers a little higher on his neck and let loose a sob of relief when she felt the throb of blood moving through his artery. “There it is. I knew you wouldn’t leave me,” she said, her words coming out as a half whisper, half sob. “I can’t lose you. Not
you
. Not ever.”

Reba bent down next to Ella Mae and examined Hugh’s wound. “It’s not deep, but cuts on the head bleed like crazy, so we’ve got to stop that flow. Help me roll him on his side.”

Ella Mae grabbed Hugh’s shoulder while Reba cradled his head. Once he was on his side, Reba pressed one of her socks against the wound. Next, she tied the strip of cloth taken from
her shirt around Hugh’s head. Knotting it tightly, she looked at Ella Mae. “You can stay with him. I’ll go alone.”

“No!” Ella Mae’s eyes flashed with anger. “Hugh ended up like this because he was manipulated and blindsided. Loralyn probably used her siren voice while Meg snuck up on Hugh from behind.” She glanced around. “See that oar? There’s blood on it. God, what was I thinking? Now that Hugh no longer has his powers, he can’t resist Loralyn’s. I deliberately put him in harm’s way.”

“We’ll make them pay,” Reba said and then held up a finger. She stood very still, listening. Ella Mae tried to see to the end of the dock that led away from the boathouse. However, there were too many trees in the way.

“They’re not on this dock,” Reba said, shaking her head. “It’s the next one.”

Ella Mae kissed Hugh’s forehead and whispered, “I’ll be right back, honey. I promise.”

And then she was running again, following Reba over the moist ground and onto the next dock. They thundered over the uneven boards, not caring how much noise they made. Both women ran with guns drawn, jaws clenched, and eyes glittering with fury.

But they weren’t fast enough.

From the far end of the dock they heard Opal cry,
“No!”
just before they heard the deafening report of the shotgun blast. They saw Ruiping’s body fly backward over the edge of the dock and slam into the water.

Meg turned and yelled at Loralyn, undoubtedly irate over having lost the opportunity to capture Ruiping’s waning life force, but Loralyn simply waved the shotgun at her mother.

Witch!
Ella Mae thought savagely.
Loralyn and people like her are why our kind were once burned at the stake. Hunted.
Tortured. Driven from our homes. Because of the magical
Others
with evil hearts. The minority. The ones like Loralyn.

“If anyone shoots that woman, it’s going to be me!” Ella Mae yelled, but Reba responded by raising her hand, indicating they should slow down.

“Easy,” Reba cautioned. “Loralyn has Opal in a hostage position. I guess she and Meg feel like havin’ a chat.”

Ella Mae lowered her Colt. The gun felt incredibly heavy and her hand trembled. “What about Ruiping? She’ll die if we don’t get her out of the water!”

“She’s already gone, hon,” Reba said very softly. “She was shot at point-blank range.”

A searing rage coursed through Ella Mae and she fought to master it. She couldn’t allow her emotions to cloud her judgment. Not if Opal’s plan had any chance of succeeding. Earlier that morning, when they’d spoken at the cabin, Opal had predicted that Loralyn would try to seize the apples and make her escape from one of the resort’s more remote docks. Seeing the flat-bottom Jon boat tied to the cleats behind Loralyn, Ella Mae realized that her nemesis had been several steps ahead of her all along.

But were Loralyn and Meg truly working together? Because Ella Mae saw no advantage in the arrangement for Meg, and she decided to point out this fact to the murderer in hopes of eliciting useful information.

“I don’t know what Loralyn promised you, but you can’t trust her,” Ella Mae said to Meg when they were less than ten feet apart. She avoided looking down at the water, for she knew that seeing Ruiping’s body would shatter her veneer of bravado. And if Opal could be the picture of courage and composure in this moment, which she was, then Ella Mae could too.

“She promised me her mother’s life,” Meg answered
tonelessly. “Which is a good thing, considering she just wasted a perfectly good one.” She threw Loralyn a look of annoyance and then focused her attention on Ella Mae again. “A shot to the knee would have sufficed. I need the life to ebb out slowly, you see. I only require a little essence—that last bit of vitality—to enter my apple. What chance do I have of capturing that when a woman has a gaping hole in her chest
and
is blasted backward into a lake?”

“I assume this isn’t your first time,” Ella Mae said icily. “Committing murder in order to live longer, that is.”

Meg shook her head. “This is the third century in which I’ve had to ‘spark’ the apples. I’ve never used a Camellia to provide me with essence, however. A few have served other purposes in the past, mostly in regards to my acquiring a new identity. One does what is necessary, and this time, using a Camellia was necessary.”

“Why?”

Meg flicked a wrist in Loralyn’s direction. “Because the grove is here. It wasn’t Bea’s idea to hold our annual retreat in Havenwood. Let’s just say that I helped her come up with the proposal through the power of suggestion. I had the resort mail a brochure to Atalanta House, and during our biggest fund-raiser, I asked some influential people to mention how much they enjoyed their visit to Lake Havenwood Resort in Bea’s presence.”

“And right after Bea booked the resort and hired the chefs, you killed her,” Ella Mae said. “Why did you murder her in Havenwood?”

“No one would suspect me here,” Meg said. “That morning, after I played golf with my husband in Sweet Briar, the two of us went home to shower and change. Being the sweet wife that I am, I brought him a refreshing drink, which just happened to be drugged. That boy woke up eighteen hours
later with no memory of the previous day. During that time, I drove to Havenwood, called up to Bea’s room from a house phone when I knew she’d be getting dressed for dinner, and told her to meet me at the boathouse. There were a few people around that night, but there’s something very predictable about a fireworks show. When they’re going off, people look up. No one saw me moving around the grounds. And no one was watching the docks at the moment when Bea was climbing into a rowboat, so I brought an oar down on her head. I then rowed out to deeper waters and dumped her overboard. I held her hand while she drowned, and my first apple was filled with her spark.”

That’s why I never saw Bea that night
, Ella Mae thought.
She took the path through the woods toward the cabins and the boathouse.

“Why would she meet you by the water?” Reba asked. “She couldn’t swim.”

“Really? I didn’t know that.” Meg seemed delighted to discover this fact. “She came because I told her I’d been given the apples and that I’d learned a secret about them. None of the Camellias knew what the apples were capable of. The women
sensed
the apples were special, but since they were only used for ceremonial purposes and could only be handled by the president until they were returned to me, by whatever name I was using at the time, no one could fathom their power.”

Unable to keep quiet, Reba threw out her hands in exasperation. “Why take them out at all? Just to make yourself feel superior? Why not just keep them locked in a safe?”

Meg frowned, and in her eyes, Ella Mae saw the woman who’d witnessed the passage of centuries. There was wisdom in those eyes. Loneliness too. But above all else, there was arrogance. In living so long, Meg had forgotten the value of a human life. Only her own mattered. All other lives were expendable.

“At one point, those apples were a source of inspiration,” she said. “Back when I believed the Camellias could make a difference. I tried.
We
tried. In the beginning, we were full of passion and daring! But now?” She let loose a bitter laugh. “I’m surrounded by pampered princesses. They can raise money, but they lack spirit. They’re afraid to make noise, to ruffle feathers. They may as well be wearing corsets. They may as well return to their embroidery. I’m done with those feckless fools! I want to establish a new order. I want to rule over women who possess
real
power.”

“So
that’s
where Loralyn comes in,” Ella Mae said, suddenly comprehending Meg’s aspirations. “You want to create an order of our kind and Loralyn has promised to help you.”

Meg studied her curiously. “I didn’t think you were one of them.”

“She’s not,” Loralyn was quick to say. “She’s as weak as a newborn kitten.”

“That’s a shame. You, at least, show gumption.” Meg seemed genuinely disappointed. Removing an apple from her pocket, she caressed its golden surface with her fingertips and studied Opal.

Ella Mae felt her panic rise. “Loralyn can’t get you inside the grove. Even with the apples in your possession, you cannot enter. Only magical beings can enter. There has never been an exception to this rule.”

Meg flicked her gaze to Loralyn. “You said that I’d be able to influence all the magical people of Havenwood once I was inside. Is it true that I won’t be able to enter this special place?”

“As I’ve already explained, you need
me
to enter. I’ve shown you my abilities. You’ve seen what I can do,” Loralyn said testily. “You can’t listen to Ella Mae. She has no abilities. She’s an ordinary woman. A simple baker.”

Meg paused to consider this. “Yes, you were able to disarm
that policeman, Hutchins, by merely speaking to him. And I heard a little boy’s voice the night Liz interrupted our ceremony as well. You have convinced me of your worth. It’s a lucky thing, too, because I didn’t want to wait this long to refill the apples. I’ve never taken such risks before.”

“Because you’ve never stood to gain such rewards,” Loralyn declared. “I told you when we were still in Sweet Briar that I would prove myself to you. I knew my life was at stake if I let you down, but I haven’t. As soon as you fill that apple, we’ll go to the grove.” She pointed toward the blue hills. “After that, it won’t matter what mess we’ve left behind. No one will be able to touch us.”

Opal, who’d been sitting mutely on an overturned canoe this entire time, now raised her head and looked at Loralyn. Her face was moon-white and her hair was damp with sweat. “You can have my life, my girl. I offer it freely. I won’t put up any resistance. Let me make up for all those years I failed you. Let me help you find your new beginning.”

Ella Mae wondered if Loralyn could actually stand there and accept her mother’s offer, but to her ultimate horror, that’s exactly what Loralyn did. Showing no emotion whatsoever, she calmly nodded at her mother. She then glanced over at Meg and nodded at her, as though granting her permission to get started.

Smiling, Meg reached into her pocket and pulled out another plastic bag.

Meg’s eyes gleamed with delight as she studied Opal. “Such a noble gesture.”

Opal pushed down on the shotgun barrel. “You don’t need this anymore,” she told Loralyn and then fixed an imperial gaze on Meg. “She’s my daughter, and I’ve wronged her too many times to count. This is my chance to redeem myself.”

“Be that as it may, I must insist on tying your hands.” Meg knelt by her victim’s side. “Instinct will kick in and compel you to fight for your life. It doesn’t diminish your gesture. It’s just that humans are wired for survival.”

“Do what you need to do,” Opal said with apparent disinterest.

While Meg bound Opal’s wrists, Ella Mae met Opal’s eyes. “Are you sure about this?” she asked.

Opal’s expression softened. “I am. Good luck, Clover Queen, and thank you.” She then turned to Loralyn and smiled.
“I love you, my girl. With my last breath, I will think only of you.”

Discomfited, Loralyn looked away.

Meg shook out the plastic garbage bag, pulled it over Opal’s head, and tied it tightly around her neck. She stood in front of Opal for a full minute, listening to her suck in the trapped air. Ella Mae winced every time she saw the bag move in and out of Opal’s mouth. As the seconds passed, Ella Mae’s heart raced faster and faster, and her face and hands grew clammy. She didn’t think she could take another instant of this madness without doing something to stop it.

Sensing her agony, Reba put a hand on her arm and whispered, “This is what Opal wanted. We must respect her wishes.”

“But it’s
so
awful . . .” Ella Mae trailed off and tears spilled down her cheeks. She couldn’t understand how Loralyn could just stand there and watch her mother die.

However, as Opal’s inhalations became more labored, Loralyn’s mask of composure finally slipped. She could no longer hide that she was disturbed by what she was seeing. When Meg pulled the apple from her pocket and placed it in Opal’s upturned palm, the barrel of Loralyn’s shotgun drooped until it touched the dock. She opened her mouth and Ella Mae thought she might be on the verge of protesting. Her eyes had gone dark with anguish, and she kept glancing between the apple and her mother, as though trying to decide which mattered more.

The apple began to glow, and Ella Mae knew that it was time to play her part. Loralyn had been given her chance, but she had failed to choose her mother’s life over the chance to possess an object of power.

“This woman is sick, you know!” Ella Mae pointed at Opal. “She has terminal cancer. Is that the kind of spark you
want?” She shouted at Meg. “Loralyn is tricking you, you fool! She’s poisoning your apple!”

Meg and Loralyn both fixed their attention on Ella Mae and she felt a glimmer of satisfaction. She’d successfully distracted Meg and she knew what would happen next. The moment Meg turned to look at Ella Mae, Opal leapt to her feet and, after lowering her head and shoulders like a linebacker, rammed into Meg.

Though the action must have taken every ounce of Opal’s remaining strength, she managed to shove Meg off the dock and into the lake. Opal was right on top of her when they dropped into the water. The two women sank below the surface and the water immediately began to roil and churn. A maelstrom of bubbles erupted around the dock. The bubbles grew and grew until they formed a swell, and suddenly an enormous wave crested over the dock. It was so powerful that it knocked Ella Mae, Reba, and Loralyn off their feet. The wood beneath them rocked and pitched. Loralyn screamed.

Ella Mae plunged her fingers in the space between two planks and held on as the dock violently swayed. Closing her eyes, she had no trouble imagining the scene in the water below her. After all, she had once come face-to-face with the terrifying creature Opal Gaynor transformed into whenever she submerged deep in the lake water.

At that time, the LeFaye and Gaynor families had still been enemies. Ella Mae’s mother had sacrificed her life for the welfare of the magical community by merging with the ash tree in the grove. She’d become the Lady of the Ash, and Ella Mae had feared that she’d lost her forever. However, Suzy had found a way to break the curse of the Lady of the Ash and to restore Adelaide to her family. The only hitch was that Ella Mae had to dive to the deepest part of Lake Havenwood and retrieve the enchanted flower growing on
the murky bottom. This object of power would give Havenwood’s grove a permanent source of magic, but a terrifying beast described in several ancient tomes as part crocodile, part shark guarded it.

When Ella Mae caught her first glimpse of that guardian in the lightless depths of the lake, her blood nearly froze. She’d been so petrified that she’d been unable to swim for the surface. After seeing the creature’s long snout, its dagger-sized teeth, black scales, and powerful tail, Ella Mae thought she would surely die alone in the blackness.

The beast had circled her, staring at her, assessing her, with a green eye that was at once alien and familiar. That had been the worst moment. Because right then, Ella Mae had recognized the creature as the mother of her nemesis. She’d expected to be devoured in the dark, icy water, by none other than Opal Gaynor.

However, Ella Mae had survived that encounter, and over time, Opal had become an ally and an Elder. She had now transformed into that beast for the last time. It had been her choice—her wish—to leave this world on her own terms.

“Find a way to lure the killer to the docks,” she’d told Ella Mae that morning. “I’ll do the rest. I have just enough strength to become a guardian once more. I will drag this woman under and pin her to the bottom. Last spring, you showed the entire world that you would risk everything to keep the people of Havenwood safe. But you have sacrificed enough, Ella Mae LeFaye. This is a fight I can win. A battle of my own choosing. Do not deny me a dignified ending.”

“What if Loralyn sides with Margaret?” Adelaide had asked very quietly. “What will you do if your daughter follows this woman’s lead?”

Opal had responded with a grave nod. “If Loralyn commits murder in order to acquire the apples, there’s no telling what
she’ll do once she has them in her possession. She must be dealt with, and I trust the rest of you to bring her to justice. Loralyn is my daughter. I cannot hurt her. This other woman, however? I can easily take her out. Her immortality will mean nothing if her ending is entwined with mine. When I’m finished, there will be nothing left of her but fish food.”

Hating the idea of Opal sacrificing her life, Ella Mae had argued that there was now a large police presence at the resort and that Officer Hardy was a shrewd investigator who wouldn’t rest until he’d brought the murderer to justice. Opal had dismissed Ella Mae’s protests with a flick of her wrist. “There is no time to adhere to standard police procedure. We’re talking about an immortal serial killer possessing an object of power.”

“She has a point,” Reba had murmured.

Opal had continued as though Reba hadn’t spoken. “Ruiping will scout out the main resort at regular intervals to see if either Margaret or Loralyn have set their own plans into action. If Ruiping sees a clear sign, she’ll escort me to the docks. She’s already reported that someone has a boat tied up down there. Considering these cabins are supposed to be vacant, I assume the boat belongs to our murderer. Sooner or later, she’ll make a run for her getaway vehicle. And when she does, she’ll find me.”

And even though it was Loralyn who’d arranged for the boat, Meg had ended up on that dock with Opal. The woman who’d been known as Margaret, Maisie, Meg, and many other names believed she’d found her third victim in Opal. She thought she’d stumbled upon a helpless victim who could fill her third apple. Instead, a ruthless killer encountered a brave and selfless Elder. A leader of Havenwood’s magical community. In lieu of obtaining another century of life, Meg had been pulled underwater to come face-to-face
with her mortality. And it had come in the form of daggerlike teeth and sickle-sharp claws.

Gradually, the dock stopped rocking under Ella Mae.

When it finally leveled out, she opened her eyes. Her knuckles were white from having gripped the boards so desperately, and her forearms trembled.

“It’s done,” she whispered to Reba. Her voice was hoarse with grief.

Ella Mae glanced over to where Loralyn had fallen. She was already on her knees, staring blankly out at the water. It was flat and calm, as though nothing unusual had happened.

“Mom?” Loralyn called in a faint voice. She’d dropped the shotgun when she’d lost her balance, and now, as her leg brushed the barrel, she sneered and gave the gun a savage kick, sending it skittering across the wood planks and into the water. Crawling to the edge of the dock, Loralyn put both hands in the lake. Spreading her fingers like two starfish, she swirled them slowly around and called to her mother again.

Ella Mae moved next to Loralyn and gazed down into the water. She didn’t expect to see anything. She just wanted Loralyn to know that she wasn’t alone.

“She’s not coming back, is she?” Loralyn asked without looking up.

Fighting back tears, Ella Mae whispered, “No. She said the change would take whatever strength she had left.”

Loralyn withdrew her hands from the water and hugged her knees. “Meg’s bones will be nothing but dust in the current. She’s so old that she would have disintegrated the second she died. She was gone in a flash, taking the third apple with her.” A single tear slipped down her cheek. “Taking my mother with her.”

“Your mom wanted you to remember her as being strong and brave,” Ella Mae said gently. “In sacrificing herself, she
also hoped to save you. She was trying to keep you from becoming so corrupted that you’d be unrecognizable. She was trying to stop you from turning into a monster.”

Loralyn released a long, world-weary sigh. “She succeeded in stopping me, all right. The third apple is gone, and I have no idea where the other two are. Meg probably locked them in the safe in her hotel room.”

“Which may or may not be on fire,” Reba murmured.

“You’re not getting the apples,” Ella Mae said, unable to keep anger from creeping into her voice. “You killed Ruiping. That action has sealed your fate. If only you hadn’t pulled the trigger, you could have had a different future. You could have lived out your mother’s dream and run Gaynor Farms, but you crossed a line, Loralyn. Even for the sake of your mother’s memory, I can’t ignore that.”

Surprisingly, Loralyn didn’t argue. She took off her shoes and her socks and dipped her feet into the water. “I’m not as far gone as you think, but I’ll wait here. You can tell the cops where I am.”

Ella Mae didn’t know what Loralyn meant by her cryptic remark, but she had no time to question her. That was for Hardy to do. She needed to get back to Hugh. Turning away from Loralyn, she nodded at Reba, who responded by taking her phone out of her pocket.

“This won’t make a lick of sense to the cops,” Reba said, her finger hovering over the screen. “They’ll be faced with a missin’ woman. Meg. And they’ll find a dead woman in the water. Ruiping.” Ella Mae shuddered at the thought of Ruiping’s body floating on the other side of the dock. As much as she wanted to pull her out of the lake, she knew she couldn’t. She had to leave her for the police to find. But she hated it. She hated that she hadn’t even looked at her. It was a disgraceful way to treat someone who’d shown Opal such devotion.

“As if those two things weren’t bad enough,” Reba continued, “there are a thousand questions we can’t answer. How do we explain why we bolted from the resort and ended up on this dock? Or where Opal is. And when Savannah comes to, who knows what she’ll tell them.”

“She’ll say that Meg tried to kill her,” Ella Mae replied. “And after listening to her statement, Hardy will come to the conclusion that Meg is also a suspect in Cora’s murder. When he can’t find her, she’ll become his main suspect. He’ll focus all his energy on hunting her down.”

Reba frowned. “Yeah, but what about the fact that this one was Meg’s accomplice?” She gestured at Loralyn’s back. “How will
she
explain Meg’s motive—or her own—without endin’ up in a loony bin?”

“Loralyn can tell Hardy that she and Meg were competing to become the next Camellia Club president. She can’t mention the apples at all.” Ella Mae touched Loralyn on the shoulder. “Are you listening? Because Reba’s right. You have to convince Hardy that you did what you did to win that election. If you start talking about magic apples and a woman who lived for centuries, you’ll be sent to a psych ward.”

“He won’t believe that four women are dead because of a club election,” Loralyn said softly. “But he’ll arrest me and close the case because that’s what he needs to do to restore order. Clean up and move on. That’ll be the theme after today.”

She spoke without a trace of her usual acerbity, and despite the crimes she’d committed, Ella Mae felt pity for Loralyn. They’d never gotten along, but Loralyn was as much a part of Ella Mae’s past as was Reba, her mother, her aunts, or Hugh.

“Call the men in blue, Reba,” Loralyn said, her eyes never leaving the water. “I know exactly what to say.”

In a rare show of deference, Reba walked halfway up the dock before dialing.

“How did it work?” Ella Mae asked Loralyn once they were alone. “How did Meg manage to be Cora’s daughter?”

“She handpicked Cora, based on her looks, when Cora was still in college. Arranged her marriage to a wealthy man and made her Maisie’s surrogate so she could become a Camellia. Cora and her husband never had a child of their own. When the time was right, a ‘distant relation’ of Maisie’s came to live with Cora. This was Meg, of course. Cora named Meg her surrogate; Meg became a Camellia and married a wealthy man named Andy Ryan shortly afterward. The rest is history.”

Ella Mae tried to absorb this astonishing tale. “So Maisie was playing the parts of two women at the same time?”

“Yes, but Maisie required too much work,” Loralyn said. “Maisie needed a wig and fake wrinkles created using liquid latex. Meg couldn’t wait for her to pass away.”

“What about Cora’s husband? Was he aware of Meg’s true identity?”