A Notion of a Potion by Constance Barker

Author:Constance Barker [Barker, Constance]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Constance Barker
Published: 2020-01-10T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter 6

The text was simple. Could I come in for my interview in the afternoon? I texted back that I would be there. Then, I slipped into some jeans and started for the orchard. I had not been there in over a day, and with the vines growing faster than a rumor, I needed to see what was going on.

I wished I had stayed in the house.

The vines were wrapped all around the trees, and to add another stone to my load, the vines had sprouted huge, ugly, stinking flowers. They were a gray color with black lines, like horrible spiders. The vines had also grown thin, veiny fingers that ran up the trunk, searching for the oranges. My hands balled into fists. I had to find a solution, or I would lose my orchard. Well, not my orchard, the orchard my grandmother had planted. I was not going to lose my grandmother’s orchard.

More angry than I should have been, I hiked back to the house to get ready for work. I was walking out to my bike when my phone rang. I looked at the screen—Tessa.

“What?!” I barked. I was in no mood for some glad-handing.

“I’ll tell you what!” Tessa yelled back. “I’m standing here, looking at my shop, through what used to be my front window!”

“What?” I asked. “Your front window?”

“Some lousy cretin threw a brick through my window! The big window! Have any idea what that sucker costs?”

Before I could answer, Tessa spouted a stream of curses and profanity that would have shamed a sailor. I was a bit taken aback myself, and I knew Tessa’s fiery personality. She sounded as angry as I had ever heard. It was five minutes before Tessa cooled enough to let me go. That suited me. I needed to get to my shop. I needed to see if I still had a window.

I had a window, which was good. I didn’t know if the Good Eats Grill attack was related to the murder. That would be the natural connection. Until the murder was solved, every additional crime would be attached, no matter how small. Tessa’s big window was not a small deal, but it didn’t compare to a murder.

When Phineas arrived with Chuckles, I posed the question to him.

“Have you heard about the Good Eats window?” I asked.

“I have,” Phineas said. “Dastardly attack, if you ask me.”

“I agree. But do you think it’s related to the murder?”

Phineas thought a moment. “One is tempted to attribute every act of vandalism to a murderer, but I would think it’s the act of a rather bored teenager.”

“In which case, it might be more about Allie than Cameron.”

“Teenagers are not blessed with a wealth of rational thinking. And Allie is a pretty girl. I’ve found that beauty can cause as many problems as it cures.”

I had come to value Phineas and his observations. He was a keen observer of the human condition. Most days, I wished I knew more about him. Most days, I didn’t have the time to learn.

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