As my mind grappled with what Aunt Pearl was truly capable of, Grandma Vi flitted back and forth in the living room. She was visibly upset.
“Cendrine, how could you even consider such a thing? Pearl would never harm anyone.”
I don’t know what to think, Grandma. Nobody saw what happened to Merlinda, so I’m looking at all the possibilities. Did you see anything?
Grandma Vi shook her head slowly. “I was too busy feeling sorry for myself while you were all devouring your dinner.”
Wait—you can read everyone’s mind here, can’t you? Whoever killed Merlinda would have been thinking about it.
“That’s not how it works, Cen. When I read minds I only hear what I’m focused on. In other words, I have to make an effort to read a mind. With all of you in the same room talking and thinking, it’s nigh impossible to pick out one person’s thoughts enough to make any sense of it. If only I knew what was about to happen…Sorry, but I’ve got no hot tips for you.”
“But under the right circumstances…” It wasn’t too late. Maybe the killer was thinking about the crime right now. All we had to do was get the killer in the same room as Grandma Vi.
Tyler frowned. “Cen, what did you just say?”
“Nothing…uh, maybe it would be a good idea to interview each person in private.” I hesitated to call ourselves suspects but technically we all were. Even Tyler in fact. And me too.
Someone still had to get to the bottom of things. Rightly or wrongly, I felt certain that I could rule out my own family members as killers. What I couldn’t rule out was whether one of them had caused a tragic accident.
Whatever Aunt Pearl’s involvement was, the sooner we cleared that up, the better. If she had messed up her herbal tea, it was best to own up to it. If it was something worse, well, I didn’t want to even think about that. My stomach churned at the thought.
Aunt Amber looked worried. “Cen, you’re not seriously thinking that Pearl killed Merlinda, are you? I mean, sure, she made a mistake with her tea, but it was an accident.”
Aunt Pearl’s eyes fluttered open at the mention of her tea. “I told you, Amber, there was absolutely nothing wrong with my tea. We’ll never expose the killer if you keep talking nonsense.” She yawned and snuggled back into the couch.
I pushed the thought of a killer from my mind and turned to Aunt Pearl. “Tell me more about your secret business opportunity.”
Apart from witchcraft, Aunt Pearl’s mission in life was pretty much focused on driving as many business people as she could out of town. Yet, now, she was recruiting them. That in itself was a huge red flag.
Aunt Pearl’s eyes grew round and she batted her false eyelashes in mock innocence. “What business opportunity? I have no idea what you are talking about.”
“Your Pearl’s Charm School franchise,” I said.
Aunt Pearl gave me a blank stare. “What franchise?”
“Your Vanuatu partnership with Merlinda.” Even Aunt Pearl was exploiting Merlinda. “What’s in it for you?”
“Oh, that.” Aunt Pearl’s bony shoulders rose under her green velvet pantsuit as she shook a finger at Aunt Amber. “I knew your loose lips couldn’t keep a secret. Look, all I did was give Merlinda free room and board here out of the goodness of my heart. In return, she gave me a share of her Vanuatu business. I refused, but she insisted.”
“You kicked me out of my own house only to give my room to a stranger absolutely free?” Grandma Vi’s ghostly visage darkened into a deep shade of red. She was furious. “You told me we made money renting it out. How could you betray me like that?”
Grandma Vi now lived with me in a separate dwelling on the property. Our spacious tree house was modern, comfortable, and private--perfect accommodations for a ghost. She had moved in with me at the time we converted our family mansion into a boutique bed and breakfast, long before Merlinda had boarded in Grandma Vi’s old room. Grandma Vi’s move had been necessary because we couldn’t risk her haunting our guests. She still wasn’t over it.
“Nobody kicked you out,” Aunt Pearl said. “That wasn’t the arrangement at all.”
“Well, what exactly was the arrangement?” Grandma Vi demanded. “Whatever it was, it’s nothing like this. I want restitution. And I want my old room back.”
We all ignored her.
“Why would Merlinda start a business on Vanuatu? I thought she wanted to run away from all that.” I was frustrated with the ever-changing story. I was also hurt that Grandma Vi disliked being my roommate.
Aunt Amber interrupted. “It’s true that Merlinda wanted to leave Vanuatu for good, but Pearl talked her out of it. Pearl wanted Merlinda to capitalize on her talents and profit from it.”
Aunt Pearl threw her hands up in the air. “There goes another secret. You sing like a canary, Amber. Such a big mouth.”
“So it’s true then?” I already knew the answer.
Aunt Amber nodded. “The two of them planned to open a Pearl’s Charm School branch on Vanuatu.”
That made no sense. The one and only operating branch of Pearl’s Charm School was barely solvent with one student. Replicating that business model on some far-away island seemed financially disastrous. On the other hand, Merlinda was something of a supernatural workhorse, at least according to the cargo cult magic stories. Maybe Aunt Pearl planned to take advantage of her too.
“Stop butting in, Amber,” Aunt Pearl said. “I can speak for myself.”
“Well then, why don’t you?” Aunt Amber asked sweetly. She was clearly pleased at getting her sister all riled up.
Aunt Pearl was wide awake by now. “Nice try, but I won’t be tricked into revealing my business secrets. I’ll lose my competitive edge.”
Aunt Amber shrugged. “I guess it’s up to me then. Pearl planned to join Merlinda in Vanuatu after Christmas to set up shop. She would get everything rolling in exchange for a percentage of the fees. Merlinda was her protégé.”
“Don’t talk about me like I’m not even here,” Aunt Pearl protested. “Half of what you’re saying isn’t even true.”
“Which parts exactly?” Tyler asked.
Aunt Pearl shrugged. “What does it matter?”
Aunt Amber shook her head in disappointment. “This is really serious, Pearl. I waited for you to say something, to own up to it. But you never did.”
“Never will, either. I want a lawyer.” Aunt Pearl fidgeted on the sofa, restless. The spell was completely worn off now.
I frowned. “If Merlinda was worried about her father trying to take advantage of her supernatural talents, wouldn’t the new business just antagonize him?”
“That’s where Pearl comes in,” Aunt Amber said. “Two witches are better than one, and her father would be powerless to stop them. They would operate as Pearl’s Charm School together at first, with Merlinda taking over in time. The islanders would see that Merlinda held the magic of the cargo cult, not her father or anyone else. That’s the one thing that would free her from his grip. Pearl would be her backup in case she got backlash from her father.”
Aunt Pearl could be very persuasive. Maybe Merlinda had felt pressured to go along with her plan. “I don’t get it. Merlinda wanted to stop the John Frum cargo cult charade. This just perpetuates it.”
Aunt Amber shrugged. “Pearl convinced Merlinda that she could showcase her talents, and maybe even encourage some of the locals to develop their own supernatural talents. Pearl can make a witch out of pretty much anyone. As long as they apply themselves.”
Aunt Pearl beamed at the compliment. “Told you, Cen.”
I rolled my eyes at the dig. I was sick and tired of being called a lousy witch.
Aunt Amber patted my shoulder. “Don’t take it too personally, Cen. Pearl saw both Merlinda’s potential and a huge market opportunity. She figured that if all of the believers in the cargo cult applied themselves, they wouldn’t be taken advantage either. With a few simple spells, she felt she could entice them into enrolling in her school.”
“You mean, bewitch them into enrolling. That’s cheating.” It sounded like more trouble than it was worth, not to mention against WICCA rules. But if Aunt Pearl was anything, she was an opportunist.
“But if the other islanders aren’t witches, how can they practice witchcraft?” Grandma Vi asked. “How is that even possible?”
Aunt Pearl grinned. “It’s all in the secret sauce. Anything’s possible when you believe in yourself.”
This was just wrong, and I had to say so. “Oh, I get it. You’re going to prey on these poor souls and promise the impossible. You think that since they believe in the cargo cult and John Frum, you can just take their tuition money and convince them that they can actually become witches.”
“Geez, Cen. You make it sound so callous.”
“Well, it is. You’ll do anything for a buck.”
“Pretty much,” Aunt Pearl smiled. “Or a vatu. That’s the currency in Vanuatu.”