We stepped back into the hallway to see what the men were doing. It was hard to move around with everyone jostling for position. Dominic knelt beside Merlinda, and Tyler crouched on her opposite side. The rest of us crowded around them.
I scanned the hall and noticed that someone was missing. “Where’s Earl?”
“I thought he was in the living room with you guys,” Brayden said.
“No.” Normally Earl never left Aunt Pearl’s side. I flashed back to the rat poison and figured he had returned to the kitchen to double check Mom’s measuring cup. But the rat poison didn’t explain why only Merlinda was affected. She wasn’t the only one who had eaten the Christmas cake. Maybe Merlinda’s reaction wasn’t from the cake at all.
Tyler’s eyes met mine. “Cen, make sure nobody touches anything. I’ve got to make a call.”
I nodded and watched Tyler exit into the living room. Easier said than done.
Aunt Amber pushed past Mom and me and tapped Dominic’s shoulder. “Get out of the way and let me have a look. I can tell instantly if Merlinda was poisoned by mistletoe.”
Dominic dismissed her with a wave of a hand. “Don’t you dare touch her. You’re not a doctor. We’ll have to wait till he gets here.”
Uh-oh.
“You just assume that the medical examiner is a man?” Aunt Amber asked. “In fact, the ME is a woman. Why would you assume otherwise?”
“Because duh, medical examiner. Of course he’s a man. Women don’t do well at that sort of thing,” Dominic said.
“What you really mean is that you don’t like women doing well at all, do you, Dominic?” Aunt Amber’s eyes narrowed. “You sure didn’t like Merlinda outshining you. You can’t face the fact that I’m an expert in my field, either. Even if that means getting to the bottom of what happened to your wife.”
Aunt Amber was a feminist, herbalist, and witch in that order. She was also a force to be reckoned with on those rare occasions when she lost her temper. This was one of those times.
Dominic stood to challenge Aunt Amber. He just had to get the last word in. “I like women in their place—cooking and cleaning. Except of course, when the cooking doesn’t go too well.”
“You’re skating on thin ice, sonny,” Aunt Pearl warned. “There’s nothing wrong with Ruby’s cooking.”
“Wait a minute—” Mom stepped forward, but it was too late.
“Hey! What the hell—” Dominic braced against Aunt Amber as she pushed him away from Merlinda’s body and tossed him toward the living room doorway with one hand. He stumbled backward before he crashed through the doorway and collapsed in a heap just inside the living room.
Judging by Dominic’s puzzled expression, he was clearly mystified at how tiny Aunt Amber had just out-muscled him. “How did you just do that?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Aunt Amber didn’t wait for an answer. “I happen to be very good at my job.”
She brushed her palms together as if wiping them clean of Dominic. Her job of dispensing justice to Dominic completed, she knelt beside Merlinda. She studied Merlinda’s face, careful not to touch her. She leaned in and inhaled the air near Merlinda’s mouth.
Mom stood between Dominic and Aunt Amber, ready to act. She had powers to stop Dominic, even though she was reluctant to use them. That was obvious from her deer-in-the-headlights expression.
“You should have seen that coming, Dominic.” Aunt Pearl’s eyes narrowed. “Now I see what Merlinda was talking about.”
“You’re bluffing. Merlinda never said anything to you about me.” Dominic looked scared. “Did she?”
Aunt Pearl placed a finger to her mouth. “My lips are sealed. I never betray a confidence. Merlinda told me everything you were up to, so don’t try anything smart.”
Dominic reddened. He opened his mouth but reconsidered. He clamped his mouth shut without saying another word.
Aunt Amber looked up, her face tinged with worry. “Merlinda was definitely poisoned.”
Tyler finished his call and dropped his cell phone into his pocket as he stepped back into the hall. “Okay, everybody out and into the living room. Except you, Brayden. We’ll move Merlinda into the study and lock the door until the ME gets here.”
Brayden nodded, though he looked queasy and very reluctant to touch a now lifeless Merlinda.
Dominic protested but was quickly shut down by Brayden in his usual blunt and abrasive manner. “Tyler is right, Dominic. We can’t leave Merlinda here on the floor in the hallway. We have to move her.”
Grandma Vi hovered beside Brayden. Of course only us witches could hear her, but she said it anyway. “Any witch worth their salt can get into a locked room. There’s quite a few of us here.”
That’s exactly what I was afraid of.