“I can understand he wasn’t too happy with Jake, but kill a man for that?”
“Honey, the last murder we had in Cannon Hill was literally over a yew hedge. It’s hard to tell what triggers a person,” Ange added sagely.
“Who else?”
“Hank, maybe.”
“The landscaping guy I met tonight?” I asked Harper. “Why?”
“It’s only hearsay, mind.” She paused.
“Well?”
“Jake’d been running a crusade against pesticides forever. Every time one got officially banned, he’d throw a party for the garden club.” Ange chuckled. “He ordered a dozen wine goblets from me, in red with a golden stem.”
“What does Hank – I see. He continued using a banned substance?”
“Jake spotted a canister in Hank’s trunk, and he took a photo as evidence. Supposedly,” Harper said.
“If the harm’s already done, what would he gain from killing Jake?” Reina wondered.
“To stop a possible investigation? Who knows what else Jake had discovered? He never let a bone slide, once he got his teeth in it.” Ange sighed. “It’s strange, no longer seeing him heading out into the woods, with his binoculars and camouflage gear. He sure loved watching those birds.”
“Have you seen the birdhouses he made in that old cabin? When he was younger, he’d sleep in it to protect the nests from egg thieves,” Harper sighed.
“I think we, or rather I, have a few of his bird houses in the backyard,” I said.
“So do we. He gave us one only a week before he died.” Reina wiped her eyes. I handed her a Kleenex packet, and with my sleeve, wiped the pad off the table. I wished I was less of a klutz, or able to catch it. I’d barely finished that thought, when my hand shot out and stopped the pad an inch off the floor. It should have been impossible, but it appeared as if something had slowed the fall until I could grab it. Something, or someone.
Chapter sixteen
Ange dropped me off soon after. We’d decided to split tasks. Ange was in charge of keeping up with the police news, via her husband. Reina and Harper had promised to pick up any little bit of gossip that came their way through the bar. I intended to make full use of the library.
Cosmo waited on my bed. “You’re in a good mood,” he said.
I’d have given him full marks for observation if not for the fact that I’d danced into the room. “I think I’m making progress.”
“That’s great.”
“Isn’t it?” I started counting in my head. How many seconds until he’d ask me to explain a little more?
As it turned out, he was more patient than I. When the pause had lasted long enough for me to get changed in my pajamas (in the bathroom, behind closed doors), and for Cosmo to crunch on a few teeth-friendly treats, I capitulated. “We have a list of suspects. And I think Reina might be a witch. Plus, there’s one more thing.”
His whiskers twitched.
“I might have fiddled with gravity. Only, how’s that possible if we must solve the murder to unblock my abilities?”
“You did what?” He froze.
I repeated myself, word for word. I’d practiced my little speech while I was putting on my pjs.
“Bex, this is really important. You need to tell me every last detail. Leave out nothing.”
He hadn’t sounded this serious since he broke cover to out himself to me.
“Can’t that wait?”
His glare made me flinch. “In that case I’ll need caffeine.”
