A Hint of Magic (10 page)

“It’s so nice to finally catch up!” Amy exclaimed cheerfully. 

It was mid-afternoon.  Clarissa had invited Amy and Liana over for tea and croissants. 

The croissants were, of course, store bought. 

Clarissa knew better than to try to bake them herself. 

Apparently recipes were
not
mere suggestions.  Clarissa had learned that the hard way once when she had attempted to bake a cake.  It had basically turned into a giant slimy mutant made of oozing batter and burnt sugar.  That was how Clarissa had come to learn she wasn’t a baker.

As for Liana, well, she was there for moral support. 

Amy was the one Clarissa wanted to talk to, but she felt nervous.  The thought of interrogating her old high school friend felt dirty and wrong.  It made Clarissa feel like a traitor…and yet she knew it needed to be done so that one way or another, a killer could be brought to justice.

So Liana was there for moral support – and also because she made good tea.

“The three of us need to hang out more often,” Liana declared.

“We do!” Amy agreed.  “Catching up has been fun.”

Clarissa nodded dumbly and stared into her untouched cup of tea.  She couldn’t bring herself to answer. What if Amy was trying to protect her psychotic boyfriend and went down for it?  The three of them couldn’t hang out if Amy was behind bars!

“I need some coffee,” Liana declared.  With that, she jumped up and headed for the kitchen.  A moment later, the sound of cupboard doors closing and water running could be heard.  Soon the aroma of freshly brewed coffee would fill the air.

“So you bought your parents’ place, huh?” Amy asked, looking around.  “It’s exactly how I remember it from back when we had sleepovers right here in the living room.  Well, almost exactly how I remember it.  I think you got a new couch, didn’t you?”

“Actually, it’s a slipcover,” Clarissa admitted.  “My cat decided it would be a good idea to tear the couch cushions to shreds one day when I was out.  I guess it was punishment for me being gone all day?”  She rolled her eyes.  “That little monster is determined to drive me batty.”

Amy grinned.  Her hair was pulled back in a sophisticated chignon that only a hairstylist could pull off.  She wore a lovely violet knit sweater and black slacks.  She looked radiant and was practically glowing. 

“So what’s new with you?” Amy asked Clarissa conversationally.

“Oh, you know.  Just work.”

“Come on, there has to be more than that,” Amy pried.  “Are you seeing anyone?”

Clarissa hesitated.

“She’s seeing a newspaper reporter from Green City!” Liana called from the kitchen ever-so-helpfully.  “He’s rich and gorgeous and a complete catch!  In fact, I’m kind of jealous I didn’t meet him first,” she joked.

“I am
not
seeing Parker!” Clarissa protested, feeling her face redden.

“Ah yes, I met him the day you came into the salon,” Amy recalled.  “He really is good looking.  He seems very nice, too.  The whole time we were talking he kept sneaking glances at you,” she informed Clarissa.  “It was cute.”

“It was just a work thing,” Clarissa mumbled.

“Kimmy didn’t seem to think so,” Amy replied, wrinkling her nose in disgust.  “After you left she kept ranting about you.  She seemed furious that you were with Parker.  One of the other hairdressers told me that when you first got there, she threw herself at him but he didn’t bite.”

Clarissa shook her head in disbelief.  “Kimmy hasn’t changed one bit since high school, has she?  Oh sorry, it’s
Kimberly
now,” she corrected herself sarcastically.  “I’ve never met anyone as catty as she is.”

“Tell me about it,” Amy groaned.  “Try working with her.”

“Yuck,” Clarissa said sympathetically.

“Anyway, good job – you dating Parker really got under her skin!”

“I’m not dating him,” Clarissa reiterated.  Why could no one seem to accept that?

“Oh?” Amy giggled.  “Tell us more about this handsome reporter you’re not dating.”

“Yes!” Liana chimed in, poking her head into the living room.  “Tell us more!”

“We’re not dating,” Clarissa insisted, her words feeling hollow. 

Then she decided to take the plunge. 

She made eye contact with Amy.  “Actually, don’t you sometimes find that dating someone can cloud your judgment?” she asked pointedly.  “All those endorphins can make a person do crazy, uncharacteristic things.”

Amy grabbed her teacup, the bottom of it clinking noisily against the saucer.  “Um, no…”

Liana marched in with a giant cup of coffee in her hand.  “Don’t mind her,” she told Amy.  “Clarissa had a bad experience once – a summer fling broke her heart.”

“It did not,” Clarissa protested.  “Besides, that was years ago.  It’s ancient history.”

Liana just ignored her and continued talking to Amy.  “She’s been bitter and anti-love ever since that idiot broke her heart.  But Parker Tweed is going to change all that, isn’t he?” she trilled in a playful singsong voice.

“He didn’t break my heart,” Clarissa interjected, unimpressed that her best friend was airing her dirty laundry.  “And besides, that was forever ago.  I’m so over him!  And just for the record, I am
not
anti-love.”

“Good.  Then all the more reason for you to let yourself fall for Parker,” Liana declared.

Clarissa gave her best friend a dirty look.

Liana remained unfazed and completely unapologetic. 

“What about you, Amy?” Clarissa asked, feeling eager to redirect the conversation.  “You’re dating Sam Swanson.  How’s that going?  He’s a cop, right?  What’s it like to have a police officer as a boyfriend?”

Amy set her teacup down.  She took a deep breath.  “Actually, he’s not my boyfriend anymore.”  Beaming, she reached for a gold chain that was around her neck.  She pulled on it, fishing it out from beneath her pink sweater.  On the end of the chain was a stunning diamond ring.

Liana squinted and leaned forward.  “Is that…is that an engagement ring?” she asked excitedly.

“Yes!” Amy squealed in excitement.  “He proposed and I said yes!  I need to get the ring resized, which is why it isn’t on my finger yet.  But oh my goodness, he proposed!  I can still hardly believe it, but Sam and I are engaged.  We’re getting married!”

Liana jumped to her feet and rushed over, eagerly demanding to see the ring.

Clarissa’s reaction was far less enthusiastic.  She remained seated on the couch, a forced smile plastered across her face.  She couldn’t help but wonder if her friend was set to marry a killer.  At the moment, the evidence certainly seemed to suggest that was the case.

To make matters worse, now she had no idea how to bring up Greg’s murder or ask where Sam had been at the time of the killing.  How does one transition from engagement news to homicide?  Talk about awkward!

Thankfully, Liana was there.  And Liana, bless her heart, had no filter between her brain and mouth.  Words just tumbled out.  They always had.  It had caused some uncomfortable – and hilarious – situations over the years.  But right now, Liana’s lack of tact was exactly what Clarissa needed.

“I heard the stupidest thing when I was out running errands today,” Liana announced indignantly.  “Barbara Norman and Patricia Porter were being their usual gossipy selves.  They were talking about what happened to Greg, of course.  And they had the nerve to suggest Sam killed him!”

Amy’s jaw dropped.  So did Clarissa’s.  Neither woman could believe Liana had said that.  And Clarissa couldn’t believe her luck.  In fact, in that instant she wanted to hug her best friend.  Now she had the perfect opportunity to sit back and watch Amy’s reaction.  How perfect!

“Why would they think that?” Amy asked in stunned disbelief. 

“They’re a couple of insufferable busybodies with nothing better to do than speculate and spread lies,” Liana huffed.  “But I figured I should tell you so that, you know, Sam can do damage control or whatever.”

“It’s probably because Sam is new in town,” Clarissa wagered, hoping she sounded supportive rather than suspicious.  “You know how people are in small towns.  They always suspect and blame the newcomer, right?”

Amy looked like she wanted to cry.  “He’s moving here for me, because it’s my hometown,” she said sadly.  “I just want him to feel at home here.  How is that ever going to happen if people are spreading nasty rumors about him?”

“Thankfully it’s an easy rumor to clear up,” Clarissa reassured Amy.  Trying to sound as casual as possible, she said, “I’m guessing Sam was with you when the murder took place, right?  So all you have to do is confirm that he had an alibi.  Then the busybodies will be forced to shut up.”

“It’s true,” Liana chimed in.

“Sam
was
with you, right?” Clarissa asked, wide-eyed and innocent. 

“Actually,” Amy admitted, “Sam wasn’t with me when the fight broke out.”

That changed everything.

“Where was he?” Clarissa demanded, now struggling to stay calm.

“He was starting to get a headache.  You know, from the loud music inside.  So he went home.”

“He went home before the fight broke out?”

“I think so,” Amy said, her answer vague.  “It was sometime around then, anyway.”

Clarissa took a deep breath.  Then she pushed forward, well aware that what she was about to say may well cost her a friendship.  “I hate to even bring this up,” she began.  “But Sam was wearing a cowboy costume that night, right?”

“Yes.”

“Did the costume include a lasso?”

Amy looked puzzled.  “Yes…why do you ask?”

“I don’t know how to tell you this, so I’m just going to come right out and say it.  When Parker and I found him, Greg’s hands were bound behind his back.  They were tied with a lasso, Amy.” 

Her old friend’s eyes widened – actually, so did Liana’s. 

It was evident that neither woman had known about the lasso.  Apparently it was a detail the police hadn’t made public.  That wasn’t surprising given that the lazy cops had ruled the death an accident rather than inconvenience themselves with an investigation.

The teacup Amy held began to rattle atop its saucer. 

She leaned forward and shakily set it down on the coffee table.

Clarissa was silent for a moment to allow her words to sink in.  The room was so quiet one could have heard a pin drop.  Then, carefully, she continued.  “I’m sorry Amy, but how well do you know Sam?”

“He’s no murderer, if that’s what you’re implying!” Amy insisted. 

She stood up and for a moment it seemed her temper was going to flare.  But then she abruptly sat back down.  It seemed all the fight had gone out of her.  Now she looked exhausted and worried, like she had been carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders until now, when it had all come crashing down.

“I don’t know how Sam’s lasso got there,” she admitted.  “But I know he had nothing to do with Greg’s death!  Maybe he set the lasso down somewhere and the killer picked it up.  That has to be what happened.  It’s the only explanation that makes sense.”

“That’s very possible,” Clarissa agreed quickly in an attempt to not alienate Amy.

Liana was looking from Clarissa to Amy with an expression of shock on her face.  She had been uncharacteristically quiet for some time now, apparently stunned by the things she was hearing.  Finally, she pushed her blonde locks off her face, cleared her throat and spoke. 

“Amy, we’ve known each other a long time.  And believe me when I say I’m on your side.  And Clarissa and I aren’t trying to gang up on you, I promise.  But I know you.  There’s something you aren’t telling us, isn’t there?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Amy stuttered, her eyes wide.

“Sam wouldn’t talk to me when I tried to interview him about the night Greg died,” Clarissa revealed, watching Amy very carefully for a reaction.  “I hate to say it, but he wasn’t very cooperative at all.”

“He’s a police officer,” Amy reminded her.

“Wouldn’t a cop be extra invested in getting to the bottom of a murder?”

“Well yes, but…”

Amy trailed off, looking lost.

Clarissa decided it was the perfect opportunity to apply some pressure.  Like Parker had said, maybe Amy would crack under the strain of being interrogated.  And as much as Clarissa didn’t want to believe it, her gut told her Amy was holding something back.  Even Liana had sensed it.

“People talk.  I’ve heard some things.”

“What sort of things?” Amy’s face was pale now.

“Greg wouldn’t leave you alone at the party, would he?” Clarissa asked gently.  “You kept trying to ignore him and he wouldn’t take no for an answer.  He followed you around.  He followed you from room to room.”

“Yes, but –”

“When you went into the backyard, he followed you out there too, didn’t he?”  Clarissa’s voice overpowered Amy’s.  “Greg was harassing you.  And then he followed you outside.  Was that the point when Sam decided he’d had enough?”