Chapter 20

“I’d love to be able to reassure you, Cass, but I think having most of the murder suspects at a séance in your bedroom is foolhardy at best.”

George’s comment jolted me back to Amelia’s murder. I’d gotten caught up in the gem hunt and forgot that a woman died on my little stretch of beach. “I’m sorry. You’re right. We need to focus on justice for Amelia.”

George’s voice was gentle when he spoke. “There is no we, Cass. Solving her murder is my job.”

“And the treasure?”

The corner of his mouth quirked up. “Okay, hunting for it would be fun, but please don’t put yourself in harm’s way.”

I smiled up at him. The corners of his deep brown eyes crinkled. “You betcha.”

“Is that you betcha that you’ll be careful or that you’ll put yourself in harm’s way?”

I laughed. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

He nodded. “Yes, actually I would.”

Just to torment him, I said, “You could stick around tonight for the séance and find out.”

He shook his head. “You’re every bit as impossible as you were in college.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I put my hands on my hips.

“Never mind.” His phone pinged with a text, and he read the screen. “I really have to get going, and you have some work to do in here before your guests arrive.” He went down the stairs with a handful of more small stuff he’d found.

I followed him down.

“Where’s the bag?” George checked around the kitchen.“I set it on the table.”

“I moved it over here.” Gillian went to the counter. “It was right here.” She pushed my doodle pad and pencils and the small bowl of paperclips. “I swear.”

“I believe you,” I said. “Don’t worry we’ll find it. George, I’ll take those from you.”

He dropped them into my cupped hands, and I laid them on the counter.

“Wait a minute.” Jack waved the envelope George gave him earlier. “If you don’t have anything you need me to do before the séance, Cass, I thought I could take him out for a spin.”

“Insurance?” George checked the message on his phone again. “I don’t suppose five minutes would hurt…if you’re insured.”

“The Internet is a wonderful thing. Already done.”

“Go have fun while you can. I’ll need your help later.” I made a shooing motion.

“You don’t need to tell me twice.” Jack tapped George’s shoulder, and they both headed out the front door.

I turned to Gillian. “I need a bit of time to think and make sure that I’ve got everything covered. I’m a bit nervous about tonight. There’s a lot going on.”

Gillian made herself another cup of coffee. “Now that I’m fortified, let’s head up to the loft, finish cleaning up the mess we made, and get it ready for the séance.”

I grabbed my notepad and a pencil. “And make notes about what needs to be done. A little organization will make me feel better.”

Once in the loft, Gillian perched on the window seat and gazed down at the ocean. “The water is really blue today. Oh, my gosh!” She leaned forward.

Curious about what had caught her attention, I stood behind her and surveyed the scene over her shoulder. “Wow. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Mina anywhere but her own house.”

Gillian snorted. “Cass, you’ve only lived here a few months.”

“True. I guess she has to leave her house sometime.”

Mina walked along the beach in front of my house. She wore a long, diaphanous, pale lilac dress with a purple knit shawl around her shoulders. From our angle, I couldn’t see her shoes. The wind caught her hair and blew it around her head. The ribbon she’d tied it with was helpless against the airy onslaught, but she made no attempt to curtail her curls.

“She looks young from this distance.”

“True. You wouldn’t know she was old by the way she moves.” I squinted against the sun’s reflection off the sand and water.

“It’s really her clothes that make her look old-fashioned.” Gillian leaned closer to the window. “Romantic.”

“From a different age.” I suddenly decided. “I’m going to ask her help with the séance. She used to attend them.”

“Why don’t you go down and try to catch her? I’ll get to work up here.”

“Thanks.” I hurried down the circular stairs and out my back door, waving at Mina to catch her attention.

Mina saw me and raised her hand. She waited while I caught up with her.

“It’s a gorgeous day for a walk. The sun and sea produce diamonds.”

“So beautiful and part of the reason I love living here.” I breathed deeply and decided to jump right in. “I’m having a séance. Would you be willing to help me?”

When I saw Mina from my window, she’d reminded me of a fairytale character. Up close and startled, she assumed the bird-like look I’d noticed when I’d first met her. She resembled a Great Blue Heron with her angular face and beak of a nose.

“Why me?”

“You used to attend the séances here, didn’t you?”

She nodded.

“You could help me recreate the atmosphere and say the right words.”

She tilted her head to the right. “Tonight.”

“Yes. I’d be happy to provide dinner. Gillian is cleaning the loft right now. Please?”

She tried to suppress a smile. “I would only do this for you.”

“Yes!” I fist-pumped. “Now I feel much better.”

“I’ll need to prepare.” She wrapped her shawl closer around her.

“No problem. Anything you want.”

“Your ghost.” Mina shivered and looked toward the house.

She had been nervous the first time she visited my bungalow. “No, really. No problem. Doris is cool with it all now. I know she was very angry when she was called up, but she’s…she’s my friend now.”

“She was terrifying when she appeared.” Mina’s shoulders rose.

I nodded. “I know. She and I went a few rounds before we came to understand each other.”

Mina’s shoulders dropped. “The séance itself should occur after dark. I’ll gather my things and come down to your house.” She turned to go and then paused. “How many people will be in your loft?”

“Let’s see. You and me. Gillian and Jack. Ricardo and Mia. Samantha, Brendan, and Darius. Niles and Dave. Maybe George.”

“So, a dozen people? That’s a lot for your little loft.”

“Yeah, it kind of grew. I hadn’t intended for that many people to know. It’s a long narrow space. I think there’re too many of us for a circle. It’ll be more of an oblong. Is that a problem?”

“There are a lot of myths about séances. It’s more about atmosphere. Intent. Openness.” She paused. “Desire.”

I nodded. “Okay. We’ll make it work.”

She smiled and moved slowly away from me.

I watched her for a few minutes and went back inside. I grabbed a bottle of water and climbed the stairs to my aerie.

“Glad you’re back.” Gillian stood and arched her back to stretch. “Thought you saddled me with all the clean up.”

I looked around. “Good job. Thanks for vacuuming and breaking down those boxes. I’m going to have a lot to recycle this week. While talking to Mina, I realized that we’ll have a dozen people here tonight if everyone shows up.”

She whistled. “That’s a lot. We should shove some of this stuff into your hidey-hole.”

“Good idea.” I opened the cabinet back up and placed a box inside. “We’ll need to bring up cushions for people to sit on.”

“Did you see Jack while you were downstairs?”

“No. He isn’t back yet?” I shoved another box in the space.

“Haven’t seen him or Doris.”

“I didn’t see Thor, either, so I’m guessing Doris has possessed Thor and is rodding around with the boys.”

“Typical.”

It took us another hour to finish up. We were downstairs sharing apple slices when Jack returned with Thoris.

“George?”

“Left in his car. Said he’d be back tonight. He has to check on the accountant or something. Are we ready for tonight? Oh, he said to give you this.” He handed me an envelope and reached into the fridge and grabbed a beer.

“Not yet.” I barely heard the gentle knock at the front door.

Jack answered it, and Mina stepped inside.

She set the quilted bags she carried on the floor by the hall tree, removed her long gray coat, and hung it up, revealing a gauzy lilac maxi. “Are you ready? Is the séance still in your loft?”

I looked upward reflexively. “Yes.”

“This is a little prep work I need to handle before too many people arrive. May I go on up, please?”

I gestured toward the staircase. “Be my guest. Do you need any help?”

She shook her head. “Thank you, no.” With the bags, she ascended without using the railing.

I was impressed.

I sat down at the dining room table and opened the envelope. Inside were a half dozen paper copies of photographs of a vase of odd flowers in the middle of a table. I flipped them over. On the back George had written: “You know flowers. Does this arrangement mean anything?”

Gillian asked, “What is it?”

Jack picked up the photos. “Looks like a scraggly bouquet.”

“Odd choices for a bouquet.” I kept staring at the bunch of flowers in a vase in the center of a dining room table. They had begun to wilt, but they were still identifiable. “Hang on a moment.” I walked over to my bouquet on the mantel. A few more Stargazer lily petals lay on the floor. I picked them up. “These are poisonous to Thor. But they bloom in the spring. Why are they in this bouquet?”

“Hothouse?” Gillian asked.

“They’d have to be.” I pointed to the photos. “Those blooms don’t all grow in the same season, and I recognize several as deadly to cats. I wonder if they also affect humans?”

“I see where you’re going,” Jack said. “But I thought Amelia was hit over the head and had her throat slit?”

I frowned. “If Amelia bought them, it would be odd behavior. If someone sent them to her, it would be equally odd. Unless it was meant as a threat. These aren’t blossoms you’d normally order from a florist.”

Gillian shrugged. “If she didn’t have pets, she wouldn’t care. Probably wouldn’t know. I wouldn’t.”

“Problem is she was staying at a rental for a few days. Why the posies at all?” I got out my guide to poisonous plants. “Let me check my suspicions.” I flipped pages, comparing illustrations to the photo. “Foxglove is beautiful but can stop your heart. Monkshood, also called wolf’s bane, is deadly. Columbine. A variety of lilies. And there are more.” I looked up. “Guys, if I were a betting woman, I’d say someone sent Amelia a message.”

“Apparently in a code she didn’t get or didn’t understand,” Gillian said.

“But from someone who knew she’d be there,” Jack added. “Who knew?”

“That narrows down the suspect list. No unknown attacker.” I pursed my lips. “Dave. Niles. It might eliminate Darius. Gerry.”

“Hold on a minute. Two things could be happening at the same time. She might have gotten this gift from an enemy. But separately she might have been killed by somebody who stood to gain.” Jack flipped through the photos again. “I don’t see anything else that stands out.”

Gillian said, “It’s getting late. We should get things ready down here. It’s chilly and the wind has picked up. Jack and I should move our jackets to our bedroom so there’s space on the rack for others. We have soda, beer, and iced tea in the fridge, but I’ll have coffee and hot tea ready. I assume we don’t want any food or drink upstairs.”

“Probably a good idea. With so many people, there could be accidents that would distract us.” I took my jacket and scarf off the hall tree. “If you don’t mind, I’ll put my stuff in your room, too.”

“I’ll flip on all the outdoor lights. When’s George due?”

“I’m still not sure he’s coming. Is your personal stuff out of the bathroom? Guests will have to use it.”

“I’ll check. Why don’t you go up to see how Mina’s doing?”

“Good idea.” Mina had transformed the room. It no longer bore any resemblance to my bedroom nor did it look like the hastily thrown together stage set I’d been planning to erect.

“Wow, Mina. I like the indigo hangings over the windows, and is that a crystal ball?” I sniffed the air. “What’s the smell?”

“That’s a sage smudge. Instead of candles, I use diffusers for scent and controlled LED lighting. It’s so lightweight to haul around and controllable. I can get a variety of hues and intensities to create the right mood. The ball focuses everyone’s attention. I find that candles pull people away in different directions, dispelling energy.”

“You just officially blew my mind. I so don’t picture you and electronics. Cognitive dissonance.”

Mina’s laugh was high pitched with a fluting resonance. “Would it help if I told you that I prepared the crystal ball by boiling it in water and brandy for 15 minutes and drying it with a chamois?”

I nodded. “Yes, that actually does help.”

“But it’s a sinful waste of brandy. Is that two Ouija boards?” asked Jack.

“No. I left yours where you had it, but I brought along an automatic writing board with a pencil in the planchette. You never know what’s going to happen. Several people could put fingers on the planchette. It might draw something instead of writing. Some artists say that automatic drawing is the source of some of their paintings. I also have a tape recorder as well as a digital voice recorder and an omnidirectional microphone. We might hear things later that were too subtle for us during the séance.”

“So high tech.” I shook my head. “I was expecting late night movie gypsy.”

Mina’s eyes crinkled at the corners. “I’m delighted not to be a stereotype.” She placed a vase with a single blood-red rose on the low table. “But we also have to create a feast for the senses not only to relieve the anxieties of the participants but to lure any entities forward to engage with us.” She set several tiny remotes on the table. “To control the various lights.”

“I’m impressed. You’ve thought of everything. I’m so glad I asked you to help.”

“The point isn’t to control; it’s to allow things to happen without barriers. I removed as many barriers as I could think of.” She smiled. “You never know what will happen. That’s the adventure.” Her eyes sparkled.

Maybe I’d uncovered her secret passion. “I thought I was getting away from the drama when I moved here.”

Mina’s sweet smile gave her a knowing look. “Ah, Cass, I suspect you have only been asleep until now.”