"No, I won't," I said. "I haven't enjoyed it a bit so far."
"That's the menopausal part of the flashes."
"Oh, thank you, Doctor Cosmo." I finished my tea. My thoughts were all over the place, and so were my emotions. I was angry and sad and disturbed that my aunt had been the victim of a murderer.
And Jake as well.
But I was also exhilarated. To see that there was more to me and my life than just restoring furniture and matching it to people. That I could actually do something. Be someone. Help people —and most of all, make sure that the scumbag who cut short Aunt Violet's life would not get away with it.
As sad as her death was, she'd given me a new lease on life. A purpose.
She brought me home where I belonged—with my friends, where I felt home.
It was weird. I hadn’t experienced a sense of belonging for a long, long time. But here, in the rooms where I grew up after my mother's passing, it was like all the years since I’d left had only been a stepping stone.
"Home is where the charm is," I said, chuckling slightly at my wit.
"It is," Cosmo said. "Especially if you get your backside out of the chair and do your job."
I gave him a mock salute. He rolled his eyes.
Then I arranged my cookie jars and waited for customers.
Jimmy was the first to arrive. His cane tapped loudly on the floor. Cosmo had arranged himself on the counter again, pretending to be nothing but an ordinary cat.
I hastened to pull out a chair for Jimmy. "What can I do for you?" I asked.
"I only wanted to see how you are." His eyelids were reddened.
I gave him a so-so shrug, not sure what I was supposed to tell him. I hadn't been officially informed about the autopsy results, and Nick had only told us in private.
"You told me you never had no real garden of your own," he said.
"That's right. I assume a bit of lawn and a couple of flowerpots don't count, do they?" Ifaked a tiny laugh.
"I can arrange something to tide you over until we get you up to speed," he said. "Violet, bless her soul, wouldn’t want her beautiful yard to go to seed."
"That's very kind," I said.
"Nah. It's selfish," he said. "I spent so many happy hours with your aunt just planting and planting and puttering around." He wiped his rheumy eyes with a handkerchief.
"I wouldn't want you to exert yourself too much," I said.
"Oh, that's sweet of you, Bex. But believe you me, it's good for us old folks to feel useful. And for the heavy stuff, I can still rope in my son. I told you he’s back, didn't I?"
"You mentioned him," I said, wondering what that was all about. Had Jimmy been in league with Pamela? Was he trying to get into my aunt’s garden to ensure there were no traces of her sneaking in and borrowing the spare key from the shed?
Ridiculous, I told myself. I was seeing duplicity and ghosts everywhere. What reason should Jimmy, of all people, have to harm my aunt? He'd adored her. And what? What did he stand to gain? Unless… was there any chance to get a proper look at Jake's last testament and will?
Nope, there was no reason, I reminded myself. The police would take charge, prove Pamela’s guilt, and I could return to taking lessons from Cosmo. Yay, me.
I gave Jimmy a cookie from the non-magical jar and left him browsing through an old book about gardens in Italy.
Next came Mimi, also wondering how I was holding up. She was followed by some of her garden club friends, who made a beeline for Jimmy and his reading material.
I left them to their own devices, wondering if there'd be any real customers coming in today. My aunt hadn't made a fortune with thelending library, but it had brought in enough for her to live on without any worries.
Of course, that was before there were any nefarious doings in Willowmere.
