I followed Mom, Gail, and the others into the living room while Dominic sat with his back against the wall just inside the living room doorway. He hadn’t even bothered to get up, afraid that Aunt Amber would assault him again. His gaze flitted back and forth between Aunt Amber in the living room and Tyler and Brayden in the hallway. The two men were still strategizing on how best to move Merlinda’s lifeless body into the study.
I felt sorry for Dominic on some level, but he made me suspicious too. Not just because his surprise visit to Westwick Corners coincided with his new—and young—wife’s sudden death. The secret wedding was also a red flag. Maybe he stood to gain, financially or otherwise, from Merlinda’s death. Whatever the circumstances, Dominic had plenty of explaining to do.
I was certain that Dominic’s grief was genuine. He turned and peered over his shoulder into the hallway. Within seconds he burst into tears. His whole body shook as he sobbed uncontrollably.
“Somebody make him stop.” Grandma Vi hovered. “I feel like I’m in a really bad soap opera.”
“I can’t believe all this is happening to me. I should have just stayed home.” Gail perched on the arm of my overstuffed chair even though there was plenty of space on the loveseat and sofa.
I wished she had stayed home too, but saying so would just infuriate her.
Gail’s comment was awfully selfish and self-absorbed given that someone had just died. Brayden had somehow managed to find a partner who was just as self-centered as he was. On the other hand, Gail had probably never expected to spend Christmas Eve with her boyfriend at his ex-fiancé’s house.
I wondered what Gail thought of my crazy family. And me. Brayden had probably told her we were all nuts. Why did I even care what Gail thought in the first place? On some level I wanted Gail to regret ever accepting Aunt Pearl’s suspicious last-minute invitation. But self-centered or not, she hadn’t created the situation she found herself in.
I glanced beside me, shocked at what I saw. While the rest of us sat in stunned silence, Gail rummaged through her giant purse. She alternated between filing her nails and checking her phone for messages. Apparently, even sudden death wasn’t enough to hold her attention.
The combined light from Gail’s phone and the candelabra cast a strange glow and accentuated the shadows on the living room walls, adding to the already eerie vibe.
Aunt Pearl broke the silence. “Why do I always get blamed for everything? I guarantee you there was nothing wrong with my tea. Believe me, when I poison someone, it happens quickly. Just like that.” She snapped her fingers for effect.
“What do you mean, when you poison someone?” Aunt Amber’s mouth dropped open. “You’ve done this before?”
As a WICCA executive, Aunt Amber was required to report any witchy wrongdoings, something Aunt Pearl was well aware of. Aunt Pearl was playing a dangerous game, one where we could all bear the brunt of her reckless claims.
“She didn’t mean…” Mom’s voice trailed off as the gravity of Aunt Pearl’s words sank in.
“Of course I meant it,” Aunt Pearl snapped. “I’m not getting into specifics, but let’s just say if you cross me, you’ll regret it big-time.”
Aunt Pearl was still in complete denial about everything from Merlinda’s sudden death to the possibility that a mistake in her tea remedy had something to do with it. Yet she now insinuated that she would kill anyone who crossed her.
“You’re lying. You wouldn’t purposely poison someone.” I glanced into the hallway. Brayden stood guard by Merlinda, but Tyler was nowhere in sight. Just as well. Aunt Pearl’s incriminating poison comments would just compel him to investigate and possibly sidetrack things.
“That depends.”
I sighed. “I don’t know why you’re trying to distract us from the tragedy of what’s happened. Face it, Aunt Pearl. You made a mistake. We all make mistakes sometimes. It’s better for everyone if you just own up to it.”
Aunt Pearl stood and folded her scrawny arms across her chest. “I refuse to answer on the grounds that it might incriminate me. I’m not divulging my secrets. That includes my secret tea recipe. About the poison…you guys have nothing to worry about.”
“What secret recipe?” Aunt Amber tapped her finger on a piece of paper. “I’ve got another copy of your recipe right here. I found it lying on the kitchen counter.”
“What? No, you don’t.” Aunt Pearl pulled a folded paper out of her bra. She sighed, visibly relieved. “That’s just another decoy recipe. I always alter the ingredients just in case the recipe falls into enemy hands.” She snatched the paper from Aunt Amber.
“Oh, for crying out loud, Pearl, just own up. You made a mistake.” Aunt Amber pointed to the hall. “Please just admit it before Tyler goes off on a tangent thinking someone was murdered. And don’t go telling anyone else that you’re in the habit of poisoning people on purpose.”
“I did not poison Merlinda. I keep telling you, my tea was perfectly fine. I drank it myself, and look at me. I’m perfff-ectly fine.” Her voice trembled as she spoke.
“No, you’re not. Your teeth are chattering.” Aunt Amber frowned. “I don’t know why you’re trying to sidetrack things, but it’s disrespectful to Merlinda to say the least. Don’t you want the sheriff to get to the bottom of this? Now he thinks her death is suspicious. You’re turning a tragic accident into a murder investigation.”
“I’m doing no such thing,” Aunt Pearl snapped. “Sheriff Gates couldn’t find a killer on death row in a super-max prison. Stop blaming me and focus on finding Merlinda’s real killer. We all know the sheriff never will.”
“Don’t talk about Tyler that way,” I whispered. “And lower your voice. I won’t be part of whatever conspiracy you’re cooking up.”
“Cen’s right, Pearl,” Mom said. “Tyler is a wonderful sheriff. You don’t want to get on his bad side. Just admit your mistake.”
“Oh, for crying out loud, Ruby. There’s nothing wrong with my tea. Sheriff Gates is out to frame me. Maybe he killed Merlinda.”
I walked over to Aunt Pearl and held the candelabra up to her face. She looked pale and a thin sheen of sweat coated her forehead. Her dilated pupils were visible even in the dim light.
I doubted that the candlelight was enough to dilate a seventy-year-old’s pupils, yet Aunt Pearl’s were noticeably enlarged. Maybe it was due to all the excitement and shock at Merlinda’s death. Or maybe her eyes had reacted to something worse, like poison.
I stepped closer. “Are you sure you’re okay, Aunt Pearl? You don’t look so hot.”
Aunt Pearl raised her hand, shielding her eyes. “For crying out loud, Cen, get that light out of my face. And stop bombarding me with questions. This interrogation is uncalled for. What’s next—waterboarding?”
I opened my mouth but thought better of it. At least she remained her usual cantankerous self. That was a good sign, and I didn’t want to antagonize her further. But she looked awfully unsteady. I placed the candelabra on the coffee table. “Mom, come help me.”
“Ooh…I feel tired all of a sudden. I really need to sit down.” Aunt Pearl’s hand trembled as she touched her forehead.
Mom and I steered Aunt Pearl to the sofa, and not a moment too soon.
Aunt Pearl legs buckled under, and she collapsed onto the sofa. She clutched her stomach and slowly slid down into a lying position. “I don’t feel so hot.”
The room suddenly brightened, but it wasn’t the electricity coming back on.
It was Merlinda’s doing. Though she was gone, her tropical snow globe still glowed. It waxed and waned, casting an eerie light throughout the darkened living room. She was—or had been—such a powerful witch that the residue of her powers remained even after her death.
Which was weird. Creepy, in fact. It was a testament to Merlinda’s supernatural powers. Yet, despite her strength, someone had still gotten the better of her.
“Cen?” Aunt Pearl sat up and croaked in a raspy voice. “How long does it take to poison someone? You’re an expert in these sorts of things.”
I couldn’t answer even if I wanted to. I was rendered speechless, intoxicated by Merlinda’s globe as it grew brighter. Now it pulsated with light and seemed to take on a life of its own. It was beautiful.
My jealousy toward Merlinda seemed so petty now. All these months, I could have reached out and befriended her. She had been alone in a strange country, away from family and friends. And I had purposely shunned her when I could have protected her. It was too late for any of that now, and I regretted my pettiness.
“I don’t know anything about poisoning people.” I glared at Aunt Pearl. “Don’t you dare try to shift the blame onto me.”
“Oh Cen, relax.” Aunt Pearl let out a heavy sigh. “Everybody knows that you’re a lousy witch and couldn’t even poison a flea if your life depended on it. I just thought that with your journalist background that you would know something about poisons in general. I was testing your knowledge. Just so you know, you failed miserably.”
Aunt Pearl seemed to have completely recovered from whatever calamity had struck her moments ago. Maybe it was all an act.
“Let’s refocus on Merlinda.” I turned to Aunt Amber. “Can’t you make her cooperate?”
Aunt Amber shrugged as if to absolve herself of any responsibility for her sister. She obviously feared provoking Aunt Pearl further. She pointed at the empty teacup. “Kind of late for that.”
“You’re overreacting as usual, Cen,” Aunt Pearl brightened. “I’ll just do a rewind spell. Melinda will come back, none of us will eat or drink anything more, and everything will be fine.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Aunt Amber said. “You can’t do rewind spells on yourself.”
“Fine, Amber. You think you know everything, so you do it.” Aunt Pearl glared at Aunt Amber and held her arms up in surrender. “Rewind me.”
I glanced out to the hallway just as Tyler reappeared in the doorway. He and Brayden had moved Merlinda during our heated discussion. Brayden was nowhere to be seen though.
Tyler sidestepped Dominic as he entered the living room. “Nobody’s rewinding anything.”
Aunt Amber sniffed. “He’s right, Pearl. We don’t want to cover up the accident.”
“I keep telling you—it was no accident!” Aunt Pearl shot up from the sofa, all signs of illness gone. “You’re not listening to me!”
Dominic frowned. He stood and left the living room for the hall.
Earl still hadn’t reappeared, and I wondered what he was doing. Tyler had instructed all of us to stay in the living room, but that was after Earl had vanished.
Brayden no longer stood in the hall either, but I figured he’d lie low after being forced to assist Tyler. On the other hand, it was strange that he wasn’t sitting on the sofa with Gail trying to make me jealous or something.
Aunt Amber frowned. “One more thing, Pearl. If Merlinda was murdered as you claim, how could you even rewind the spell in the first place? You wouldn’t know enough details to rewind. Is there something you’re not telling us?”
Gail looked up from filing her nails. “What on earth are you people talking about?”
We all ignored her.
Aunt Pearl stomped her foot and scowled. “Stop changing the subject, Amber. I keep telling you, I am absolutely certain that there was nothing wrong with my tea. It’s murder.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.” Tyler picked up the teacup with a gloved hand and deposited it into a plastic bag.
“Arrest me and you’ll pay, Sheriff Gates.”
Tyler rolled his eyes. “You just never know when to quit, Pearl.”
Aunt Pearl waved a bony arm in the air. “Why don’t you quit this town, Sheriff Gates? We don’t need you here.”
He winked at Aunt Pearl. “I think that you really do need me. I keep you out of trouble.”
“Nobody keeps me out of anything. Especially not you, Sheriff!! I’m into plenty you don’t know about. Don’t give yourself credit you don’t deserve.”
“Aunt Pearl, stop arguing—” I was interrupted by Earl.
“I found my measuring cup.” Earl stood in the dining room doorway, his face flushed and sweating. His Santa suit was half unbuttoned, revealing a plaid work shirt underneath. Both his shirt and the suit were covered in a dusting of white powder. “It was almost the same as Ruby’s, but the one I used for the poison had a cracked spout.”
“Oh no! That is the measuring cup I used. I remember it now.” Mom jumped up from the sofa and screamed as she ran into the dining room.
My heart thumped in my chest as I ran after Mom.
I stared at the dining room table. The Christmas cake platter was empty. Not a crumb remained, but there was something else in its place.
Two dead mice.
“Oh my god!” Mom screamed. “We’re all going to die!”