An Old Witches Tale by Agnes Lester Brown

Author:Agnes Lester Brown [Brown, Agnes Lester]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Blue Lantern Publishing
Published: 2018-12-16T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six

Mr. Drake ascended the stage in the Shady Pastures dining room and cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention.

He held up a copy of the Fennelmoore Times. “You may have seen the good news in the papers this morning. The police have arrested a suspect for the murder of Joe Humberton, and it looks like they may have solved the case. We can all breathe a little easier now.” A hum of approval went up from those assembled.

In contrast, the three witches seated at their table nursing cups of tea remained glum. With good reason, they were skeptical about the announcement.

“Either our Pinocchio Juice failed badly, or the cops are on a wild goose chase,” Fae said, summing up their thoughts.

“We’re not wrong,” Dinah said. “I had a quick glance at Petula through my astral glasses while we were talking to her yesterday. She’s as pink as a newborn baby inside. She may have a fire and brimstone persona, but I was surprised at how pure she was inside. There are a few dead spots because of all the drinking, but she has a powerful spirit.”

Blaise chimed in, “And, we tested the potion I had prepared beforehand, so it was foolproof. I don’t think the police are going to find enough hard evidence to keep Petula behind bars. And then they’ll be back to square one.”

“Worse could happen,” Dinah said, putting down a copy of the Fennelmoore Times with a large photo of Petula on the front page, under the headline Suspect Arrested in Mysterious Murder Case. “The cops might find enough evidence directly linking Petula to Joe’s death and land a conviction. If that happens, Petula might spend the rest of her life behind bars, innocent or not.”

“I have a few hunches I want to follow up on,” Fae said and got up. “I’ll meet you guys back at the room in a while.”

“Hunch” wasn’t an entirely accurate description for Fae’s thinking. She had a whole bunch of thoughts running through her mind that she had to make sense of, and for that, she needed a little quiet space.

For a while, Fae wandered aimlessly around the long corridors of Shady Pastures, greeting residents whom she was friends with as she passed them. A few times, she stopped to have a chat. Inevitably, the first topic of discussion was Petula’s arrest. Almost without exception, everyone was happy with the police’s progress. At face value, the arrest seemed logical, following a motive that was clear as daylight: a dumped lover who took revenge, left behind a telltale letter, and would now pay the price for her actions.

A vague fragrance of carnations and jasmine attracted Fae’s attention as she passed a room beside the kitchen. Curious to see where the scent was coming from, she peeked inside, where Brenda Drake was busy cutting fresh flowers and arranging them in vases. She looked up when Fae knocked on the door, unsure whether Brenda wanted to be disturbed. Her eyes were red and puffy.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.