"I do."
"OK. Because from what Louisa told me, Pamela was on vacation when Jake died. That would make sense, because like I said, she hasn't turned up yet. But how can we be sure?" I asked in a pointed manner. "Detective Stone told me that they had checked up on my whereabouts to rule me out for themurder."
"You? That's ridiculous. Even the very idea of suspecting you!" Ange snorted.
"No, it's fine. It makes sense that they have to look at everyone. Except… have they really properly looked at Pamela? I assume she's on social media?"
I didn’t tell them that Cosmo had had that idea first. I glanced at him. He was rolling around on a cushion, kneading a knitted bunny I’d brought along for him. If I didn’t know better, I’d have sworn his magical abilities were all a figment of my imagination.
"Leave it to me," Harper said. Cracking her knuckles, she ran to fetch her laptop. Her fingers flew over the keyboard. Then she frowned.
"That is weird."
"What is?" Reina peered over her shoulder.
"You're right."
Ange put her hands on her hips. "Would you two please tell us what's going on?"
"There's nothing on her accounts. No photos, no cocktails, no sunsets. No… nothing," Harper said.
"Maybe she wanted to keep her travels private."
"Not likely," Harper chuckled. "If you scroll back, there’s one instance when she took a weekend trip to New York and had a whole album just of her meals. So… where has she been?"
"Maybe closer than we think," I said. "If she has been hanging around Jake’s a lot, who would know better how to get into his house?"
"What are you talking about?" Reina asked.
"My aunt kept his spare key in her potting shed. And now foxglove went missing from her garden. It could have easily been used to extract the poison. Only, if Reina is right, those plants were dug up after Jake’sdeath. What if Pamela just tried to cover her tracks? Because right now, everybody thinks that maybe my aunt had something to do with it."
Harper whistled through her teeth. "Clever. What better way to distract people from herself?"
"She had to, with so many things pointing at her," I said. "One—she knew her way around Jake’s place. She knew his habits. It would have been easy for her to put a tampered capsule into his pill bottle or whatever he was keeping his medication in. Two—she knew how to get the spare key to let herself in."
"That’s right," Harper interrupted me. "Jake had lately kept everything locked up as safely as if it was Fort Knox. I had no idea why, all of a sudden, he’d become so paranoid about his security, but now that we know his precious car was stolen—even if it was returned—it makes sense."
"You cracked the case," Reina marveled. "You have missed your calling. You should have been a detective."
"I don’t know," I said. Although, deep down, I did feel chuffed with myself.
Sure, Cosmo had helped—a little or a lot—but most of the puzzle pieces I had figured out myself, with the assistance of my trusted coven.
I held my hand up for a high five.
Why did they all hesitate a little? "Do you think I’m wrong?"
"No," Ange said, and she took a deep breath. She moved closer to me. So did Harper.
Reina sat cross-legged on the floor opposite me. She gazed soulfully into my eyes.
"Something's wrong," I said. "What is it?"
Ange blew out her breath.
"The thing is… well, maybe I should let Nick do the explaining."
My head swiveled around. "I don’t see him."
