Trouble in the Tarot (9 page)

“N-Note?” I swallowed hard.

“It said, ‘I hope you like these turnovers the best. I deserve to win. Granny Gert and Fiona Atwater are plum crazy. In fact, I think they want to kill me.’” The captain met my eyes with sympathy as he added, “Bernadette’s death has been ruled a murder. Granny and Fiona are pleading innocent, but with all the evidence against them, they’ve both been arrested.”

“This is insane,” I said.

“Divinity doesn’t need another scandal. Chief Spencer wants this case wrapped up immediately. That doesn’t mean we’re not investigating every angle. It just means we don’t have much time. It also means since you’re so close to this case, we won’t be using your help this time.”

I gasped. “But Mayor Cromwell—”

“Is out of town on political business,” Mitch chimed in.

“And Chief Spencer has never liked me,” I finished glumly.

“I’m assigning Mitch to the case,” Captain Walker said. “You just worry about taking care of your grandmother and keeping your nose out of trouble.”

“Finally, someone is talking sense,” Mitch said to the captain.

“Excuse me?” I asked, my jaw falling open.

“Don’t get me wrong,” Mitch quickly clarified. “I
think you’re great, just not a great detective. I’m back and better than ever.”

“Oh, you’re back, all right, but hardly better than ever. And to think I almost wasted a whole evening to find that out.”

“Sunny, come on. Don’t be like that.” He reached out to touch my hand, but I moved away.

“Don’t you
Sunny
me. I’ve never tried to be a detective or to do your job. But I have helped this department in many ways. I
am
a good consultant, whether you believe in my gifts or not.”

“All right, you two. Arguing isn’t going to help Granny Gert one bit.” Captain Walker shot Mitch a look that said,
You really don’t have a clue when it comes to women, buddy
.

Then he turned to me and said in a soft tone, “Unlike Detective Stone, I am fully aware of how much your abilities have helped this department, Sunny. However, in this case, I agree with him. You’re too close to your grandmother to be impartial. It was the same way with Mitch when Isabel died. He was more of a hindrance than a help. You have to trust Mitch to do his job, okay?”

I nodded, still too angry to speak. I trusted Mitch to do his job, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t help as well. I would simply do it unofficially. The person who was sabotaging the carnival was somehow connected to the death of Bernadette, and I wouldn’t rest until I found out who that person was. I would
not
let my granny take the fall for something she didn’t do.

“Can I see her?” I asked.

“Not until the morning,” the captain said with no nonsense in his voice. “While I don’t believe either of them is capable of murder, I can’t prove it. Besides, they do need to be taught a lesson. A night in jail will be like a big time-out for both of them. Let’s hope they reflect on the consequences of their actions. I’ll talk to the judge about bail in the morning. Come back then.”

There was no avoiding it. Granny Gert needed help, all right, and that started with a good lawyer. Like it or not, we all knew who was the best. I groaned just thinking about what I had to do, and my empty stomach turned sour.

It was time to call my mother.

*    *    *

“Well, it wasn’t easy, but I think I’ve worked it all out,” Vivian Meadows said after walking through my front door and air-kissing my cheek, with my father Donald hot on her heels.

They’d hopped on the first flight from New York City to Divinity the second I called them. As much as we might butt heads, they were always there for me when I needed them. Same for Granny.

My mother’s golden blond, chicly styled hair and size-two frame fooled many people, but she was actually a ruthless lawyer and queen of high society. If anyone was able to get Granny Gert off, it would be her. Meanwhile, my father Donald Meadows, the world-renowned cardiologist and king of his domain, had come along for moral support and most likely to gloat.
Not to mention he had to be a part of everything,
control
everything.

I couldn’t believe they were here again. After Easter, we had agreed not to see each other until Thanksgiving. They’d grudgingly left Granny Gert here against their better judgment, and now their smug
I told you so
expressions said it all. They might be here for me, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t relish telling me exactly what they thought.

My mother looked around warily. “Where’s the rat?” A door slammed, and a gust of wind whipped through the house. “You should close your windows when it’s that windy out.” She patted her hair.

“There aren’t any open,” I said, trying not to smile as I glanced outside at the still trees. “Morty’s a cat, Mother, and I’m sure he’s around here somewhere.”

“Just so long as he doesn’t come near me,” Dad thundered, turning in a full circle. Yet his gray-streaked, perfectly coiffed, brown Ken-doll hair didn’t move an inch. “I don’t trust the look in his devil eyes. He’s just plain creepy.”

“What exactly did you work out, Mom?” I asked, weary already though we’d barely seen each other.

“Well, darling, your father paid Granny’s bail. I had hoped that would mean she would be set free. But because of the seriousness of the crime she is accused of, the judge ordered her under house arrest.”

“I guess that’s not so bad. At least she’ll be able to come home and stay out of jail.” I shuddered
just picturing my sweet little granny in a cell with real criminals.

“Ah, if only it were that easy,” Dad added. “You’ve got to love small-town judges. They always have conditions.”

“Such as?” I asked.

“Well, for starters, Fiona Atwater is from out of town.” Mom smoothed down the front of her expensive peach suit coat.

“What does that even mean?”

“Basically, that Fiona can’t leave town until the case is closed,” she finished.

“The problem is,” Dad added, “Fiona doesn’t have any family here. Since Granny and Fiona got themselves into this mess together, the judge feels they should stay together as a sort of punishment to work out their differences. He was quite angry that the carnival was cancelled early for the first time ever. Said those two women were a menace to society.” Dad threw up his hands. “What can I say? Fair’s fair, I guess. We’re just lucky to have a retired judge staying at the inn where we are.”

“Wait a minute. What retired judge?”

Mom shot Dad an odd look and then said, “Harold something or other. We met him when we checked in,” Mom said.

“Hey, I know him. I met Harry when he helped me hang my shingle the first day of the carnival. Very nice guy. I haven’t seen him since, though.”

“That’s because he’s staying at Divine
Inspiration, fishing Inspiration Lake. Or trying to.” Mom chuckled. “I don’t think he’s caught a thing, but he seems like a nice enough fellow. Just not coping well with retirement, much like I imagine your father will be when the time comes.”

Dad started to protest, but Mom shushed him and kept speaking. “Anyway, I’ve never heard of Harry, but Judge Eustace Navarra has, and that’s all that matters. Without Harry’s intervention, Granny and Fiona would probably still be in jail instead of staying with you.”

The words
staying with you
finally registered. “They’re staying here?” I sputtered. “At my house?” I choked. “Together?”

“Precisely.” Dad smiled a big gloating smile.

A big boom sounded and the house shook as though it had just thundered outside.

Mom frowned, looking out at the sunny sky. “The Weather Channel didn’t say it was supposed to storm today.”

“Don’t change the subject, Mother. You did this on purpose, didn’t you? Is this your idea of paying me back for making you leave right after Easter?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Sylvia. It’s not like I would ever willingly move here. Besides, I
do
know how to be professional. Some things just can’t be helped. At least your grandmother is out from behind bars.”

I didn’t bother to correct my parents anymore. I had changed my name to Sunshine years ago, but they’d refused to call me anything other than Sylvia. “And who exactly is supposed to be in charge of them?” I asked.

My parents didn’t say a word. They didn’t have to. The looks on their faces told me everything I needed to know.

“Oh, no. You have no idea how these two have behaved all week all while I was trying to stop whoever was trying to sabotage the carnival. Bernadette’s murder might have been prevented if they had let me do my job. There is no way I am going to get stuck babysitting them. They’ll wind up killing each other, and then you’ll have an even bigger mess to clean up.”

“No worries, darling, that’s why I insisted on these.” My mother held out a picture of a pair of thick, heavy iron contraptions that sort of looked like bracelets.

“Interesting choice of accessories. What are those?”

“Those, my dear, are ankle bracelets.” Dad smiled again, even bigger this time. “They try to flee the coop, the bracelets go off, and they are in even bigger trouble. Game over.”

“You’re really enjoying this, aren’t you?” I shook my head at him.

He shrugged. “Maybe now you and your grandmother will realize you don’t know everything. You two living together was never a good idea, but no one listens to me.”

“Look. None of us has the time to watch over your grandmother or Fiona,” my mother pointed out. “I’m actually representing them both, which your grandmother nearly had a coronary over.”

“Probably because they hate each other,” I said.

“I’ve never quite understood why they don’t like each other. They used to be friends, you know. In fact, they
still have mutual friends. Fiona could afford to pay her own bail. But since they can’t be trusted not to escape and get into even more trouble, it’s imperative we know they will stay put when you’re not around.”

“Agreed.” I huffed out a breath. “So I guess you’ll be staying put for a while as well, then?”

“What a silly thing to say, Sylvia,” Dad boomed. “Of course we’re staying put. Someone has to take care of you, too. Your mother and I aren’t going anywhere until we clean up this mess. Seems we’ve had to do that quite a bit since you moved out. Maybe we need to find a man to take care of you permanently.”

“Oh, no, you don’t. You are not to get involved in my love life again. Besides, Detective Stone and I are going to start dating.” I was angry with Mitch for his comment about me not being capable at investigating, but that didn’t mean I was ready to give up on a relationship with him. I just intended to make him sweat a bit.

“Ah, yes, the good detective. I suppose he’s better than your last choice. He’ll have to do,” Dad said, rubbing his jaw. “Maybe I should have a talk with him.”

“Um, yeah, maybe not.”

The wind and rumbling stopped, and everything stilled to an eerie quiet. Morty suddenly appeared at my mother’s feet, and she hopped about as if a cockroach had crawled across her toe. The unmistakable sound of Morty’s hissing laughter could be heard as he hoisted his head and walked regally to the couch, leaping gracefully onto the cushion and settling in as if he owned the place.

Let’s face it, he did.

“We don’t have time for this nonsense,” Mom squeaked. “If you need us, we’ll be someplace dignified like Divine Inspiration. Come along, Donald. We’ve got work to do.” Mom marched past me and through the door with Dad right behind her.

“Wait,” I hollered after them. “What about Granny and Fiona?”

“They are just waiting on you, dear, to pick them up,” Mom hollered back. “If I were you, I’d get going. No telling what other trouble they will manage to stir up before you get them home.”

Great. Just what I needed to hear. I didn’t want my granny locked up, but setting her free with her arch nemesis was the worst possible mistake anyone could make. And how in God’s name had I ended up in charge of them?

6

“Are we there yet?” Fiona asked from the backseat.

“What are you, five?” Granny chimed in from the front seat beside me, adjusting the ties to her plastic rain cap.

“At least I don’t look like I have a diaper on my head. You look like you’re potty training out the wrong end.”

“My words are the only thing that’s going to leak out. And I have a few choice ones in mind.”

My bug was not big enough for the three of us. I’d separated them, but even that hadn’t done any good. “Would you two stop arguing?” I grumbled. “Because I seriously can’t take much more. When we get home, I’m going to put you both in a time-out.”

“Are these god-awful bracelet thingies really
necessary? I mean, they don’t match a single thing I’m wearing,” Fiona complained.

“You’re the god-awful one. Who cares about accessorizing, you jailbird. I’m not going to be able to walk if it keeps rubbing up against my phlebitis,” Granny wailed.

“I’d rather be a jailbird than be a part of jailbait. You’re nearly old enough to be the captain’s mother. And no need to worry about walking. We won’t get far in these things without setting off an alarm.”