A Sprinkle of Magic (A Sugarcomb Lake Cozy Mystery Book 4) (15 page)

“Hi!” Clarissa exclaimed brightly, forcing a big smile.

“What are you doing in my house?” Jo demanded again, eyes narrowed.

“I was just in the neighborhood and uh…I thought I heard a noise,” Clarissa said, thinking fast.  “I tried ringing the doorbell and no one answered.  I was worried.  Is everything okay?” she asked, feigning concern. 

“Everything is fine,” Jo said curtly, crossing her arms.

Her tone was very unfriendly, and her body language made it loud and clear that she wanted Clarissa to leave.  She was no longer acting like the polite, sociable young woman Clarissa had first met.  Actually, she was being rather rude and standoffish.  It was almost as though she had turned into another person.

In a way, the jarring transformation made perfect sense.  Jo no longer needed to make nice with the residents of Sugarcomb Lake.  Why bother, when she was about to skip town?  

Her mind racing, Clarissa decided her best option was to play dumb.  Why invite conflict if a confrontation could be avoided?  She would simply try to chat with Jo, stalling her until the police arrived.

“I wish we’d been able to get to know each other.  I feel really bad we haven’t had a chance to connect,” Clarissa rambled, trying her best to stall for time.  “Maybe we could have a visit now?” she suggested, keeping her tone upbeat and unassuming. 

“Now isn’t a good time,” Jo replied brusquely.

Deciding to ignore Jo’s not-so-subtle hints, Clarissa took a step inside.  She made a big show of looking around the kitchen.  Then she peered into the living room, which was completely devoid of furniture.

“Wow, this place is great!” she exclaimed.  “I see the moving truck has already been here!”

Jo stared at her hard, saying nothing.

“Which moving company did you use?” Clarissa asked, chattering away. 

“Now
really
isn’t a good time,” Jo said, as though she thought Clarissa may have missed it the first time.  Then she walked right past Clarissa and pulled the back door open as wide as it would go.  “I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

Well that was blunt.  Clarissa couldn’t exactly feign ignorance over something so to-the-point!  Hmm, what now?  Desperate to keep Jo from leaving, Clarissa made one last attempt.  “Can I use your bathroom please?”

“The water is shut off,” Jo replied.

“Oh.”

Clarissa and Jo stood there by the back door staring each other down.

Suddenly Jo’s eyes narrowed.  “You know,” she said, her words chilling Clarissa to the bone.

“I know what?” Clarissa stuttered, still attempting to play dumb.

That was when Jo lunged at her. 

The attack was so sudden that Clarissa didn’t even have time to react.  One moment she was standing there in Jo’s kitchen deliberately acting obtuse.  The next, she was sprawled out on the tile floor with a killer’s hands wrapped around her neck.

“Let go!” Clarissa gasped, trying in vain to pry Jo’s hands off her neck. 

She couldn’t get free.  And Jo’s vice-like grip was tightening.  It was hard to breathe!

As she choked, Clarissa stared longingly at the still-open back door.  Safety was so close, and yet so far away.  She wished Parker would come charging in to rescue her, the police right behind him.  Why had she sent him away?  That had been a terrible idea.

Clarissa’s vision was becoming cloudy.

She stared up at Jo, silently pleading with her for mercy.

There was no compassion whatsoever in those cold, dead eyes. 

The room was spinning.  Clarissa knew she was going to lose consciousness soon.  She decided to stop struggling.  Maybe if she played dead, Jo would let go of her before she actually succumbed to the strangulation. 

Clarissa let her body go limp.  Even though her heart was pounding, she forced herself to be still.

The hands around her neck loosened somewhat.  Then Jo let go and got off of her.

Clarissa tried to stay still.  She counted to ten in her head.  Then she cracked an eye open.

Unfortunately, Jo was still towering over her, waiting to see if she was actually dead. 

Their eyes locked. 

Clarissa’s heart pretty much stopped at that point.  The look on Jo’s face was one of utter contempt.  She was a monster.  And she wanted Clarissa dead so she could keep playing the part of mourning daughter.

Immediately, Clarissa rolled to the side.  She tried to get up, but her body was too oxygen-starved to cooperate with her.  Her lungs were screaming for air.  She took a deep, rasping, greedy breath and then began to cough uncontrollably.

Jo seized the opportunity that had presented itself.  Letting out a warlike scream, she attacked Clarissa a second time.  Sitting atop the still coughing woman, Jo once again began to choke her.  This time her grip was even tighter.

Escape seemed unlikely.  So did survival.

Clarissa didn’t want to die.  Her life was only just starting!  She had great friends, a terrific boyfriend and a career she loved.  She couldn’t die.  Her family would be devastated!  Tears sprang to Clarissa’s eyes as she thought about everything she would miss out on.

Suddenly a black-furred beast barrelled in the open door. 

All Clarissa heard was growling.

All she saw was a flash of sharp, fang-like teeth.

Then she lost consciousness.

***

When Clarissa came to, she didn’t know how much time had passed.  For a moment, she thought she might be dead.  Then she realized Cat was sitting on her chest glaring at her.  The sneaky little critter must have snuck into her car!

Clarissa began to cough.

The cat jumped off of her, still looking angry.  It sat there watching her impatiently.  Its tail flicked back and forth violently, as if the little beast was enraged.  When Clarissa had finally stopped coughing, the cat spoke.

“You idiot!” the cat scolded her in heavily-accented English.  “What were you thinking?  You could have been killed.  And then who would feed me?”

Clarissa sat up and looked around.

“Where is Jo?” she demanded.

“Gone,” Cat replied before turning its back.

“Where did she go?” Clarissa asked.

The cat ignored her.  It was now busy washing its face.  Clearly the conversation was over.

Suddenly Clarissa heard a noise in the backyard.  It was the unmistakable sound of the back gate opening.  It scraped noisily against the gravel, giving away both Jo’s location and her intentions.  She was about to make a run for it!

Climbing to her feet, Clarissa raced outside.  Her neck hurt and her lungs burned, but she tried her best to ignore her physical ailments.  She made it to the backyard just in time to hear the roar of Jo’s car as she took off down the back alley.

Clarissa tried her best to chase after Jo on foot, but it was no use. 

She stumbled out of the alley just as Parker stepped out of the Porter house.  Joe Porter was nowhere to be seen.  Patricia however, was inside.  She was peeking out the living room window with her phone in her hand, gabbing a mile a minute to whomever she was talking to.

“Joe wasn’t home,” Parker called out to Clarissa.

She tried to reply, but her voice was pretty much gone.  All that came out was a raspy, hoarse sounding squeak.  Then she doubled over coughing, still feeling the nasty effects of Jo’s brazen murder attempt.

When Parker saw the state Clarissa was in, he broke into a run.

“Are you okay?” he demanded.

“She got away!” Clarissa gasped.

“What happened to your neck?” Parker asked, looking horrified.

“No time!” Clarissa insisted.  “Get your car!”

“We brought
your
car,” Parker reminded her.

Clarissa searched her pockets for her keys.  She couldn’t find them.  They must have fallen out during her struggle with Jo!  She looked around.  She spotted Morris Norman’s red jeep parked down the street, right front of his house.

He wouldn’t have possibly left the keys in the ignition, right?  Surely after having his jeep stolen by a joyriding young hooligan, he would have learned his lesson.  At least that was what one might expect.  Then again, some people just never learned…

Crossing her fingers, Clarissa raced down the street.

Clarissa found the red jeep unlocked.  And when she checked, she spotted the keys in the cup holder, just waiting to be used.  She jumped in and stuck the keys in the ignition.  The engine sputtered to life.

“Clarissa, what are you doing?” Parker demanded, banging on her window.

“Are you coming or not?” she called to him.

Wordlessly, he raced around to the passenger side of the jeep.  He jumped in and Clarissa floored the gas.  At that exact moment, Barbara Norman emerged from her house waving frantically. 

She held a phone in one of her hands. 

She was gossiping furiously with Patricia Porter, no doubt.

Clarissa ignored the plump, frantic older woman.

“You’re stealing a car!” Parker exclaimed in awed disbelief.

“We’re
borrowing
it,” Clarissa corrected him.

“You do realize you’re never going to hear the end of this, right?” Parker asked.  “Barbara Norman is practically breathing fire right now.  She’s going to have it out for you from now until the end of eternity.”

“I know.”

Parker said nothing, opting instead to let Clarissa concentrate on driving.  But he was looking at her like he was in complete and utter admiration of her.  Well, at least he was until she nearly drove the jeep into a parked car.  After that, he focused on helping her navigate.

The good thing about Sugarcomb Lake was that there weren’t many highways leading out of it.  In fact, there was only one main highway.  Clarissa knew it well, as it was the one that she took to get to Green City.  Acting on a hunch, she headed in that direction.

Luck was on her side. 

After several minutes of driving
way
over the speed limit, Clarissa spotted Jo’s black sedan.  It was driving erratically, and way too fast.  The good news was that Clarissa had a whole lifetime of speeding under her belt.  She was easily able to catch up to Jo.

“Clarissa there’s a train coming!” Parker cautioned as they approached the tracks.

Sure enough, the train was chugging right along.  In a moment it would be blocking the entire highway.  The warning lights at the intersection began to flash, signalling that drivers ought to stop and wait until it was safe to proceed.

“Oh no,” Clarissa moaned.  “It’s a long one, too!”

If Jo made it across the tracks, she would get away for sure.  By the time the train was gone, Jo would have made her escape.  Clarissa looked at the train, trying frantically to gauge whether it was safe to cross the tracks.

“Don’t do it,” Parker cautioned, basically reading her mind.  “You won’t have time.”

Muttering under her breath, Clarissa slammed on her brakes.

She was certain Jo was going to get away.

But it seemed that Jo had experienced a change of heart.  At the last second, she seemed to decide she couldn’t beat the train.  She hit her brakes so hard that she skidded, leaving black streaks all over the highway.

She managed to stop just shy of the train, which was charging past.

Clarissa pulled up right behind Jo’s car, blocking her escape route.  Now Jo wouldn’t be able to turn around.  She was trapped.  Clarissa and Parker bolted from the “borrowed” jeep, racing toward the black sedan. 

The door opened. 

For a second Clarissa thought Jo was going to try to make a run for it on foot. 

But then the door slammed shut and the car roared to life.

“Look out!” Clarissa hollered.  She tackled Parker as Jo threw her car into reverse.

Parker came very close to being run over.  It was only Clarissa’s quick thinking – and violent tackle – that saved him.  They tumbled to the ground, Parker letting out a grunt as the air was knocked out of him. 

Maybe it was a good thing Clarissa was a bit on the pudgy side.  Her extra pounds had allowed her to perform a tackle that would make any football coach proud!  Her love affair with cookies and all things sweet just may have saved her boyfriend’s life!

Jo made a second attempt to run them over, but she wasn’t very good at driving in reverse.  She hit the gas much too hard and managed to run her car right off the road.  When she landed in the ditch, a sickening crunch of metal could be heard. 

Thick black smoke erupted from the engine, billowing up into the sky.

Jo climbed out of the car and began to curse.  Then the train’s whistle drowned her out.

Shaken but unharmed, Clarissa and Parker climbed to their feet.  He stared at her with such gratitude and adoration that she had to look away.  She was afraid that if she didn’t, she would be overcome with emotion.  The thought of losing the man she loved was unbearable.