Page 15 of Magic Blooms
He immediately took off his hat as he started to talk to Lorraine in a low rumble.
As they chatted, I eased my way out of the car slowly, not wanting to draw any unnecessary attention to myself. Back in town, Lorraine had been gracious enough to buy me some basic clothing items that I could now call my own so I wouldn’t have to keep wearing items out of something called the ‘lost and found’ box.
Which finally explained the state of my early Elyria wardrobe. I’d wondered why Lorraine always looked put together and posh while all the clothes she lent me took ragamuffin to a new level. Of course, now with bags of clothes that would actual fit me in hand, I had to question my decision to remain in the mismatched hand-me-downs.
No, not important.
Someone had died and here I was thinking about my own appearance. Granted, I didn’t know who had passed, but it was someone who had slept in the same place as me last night. Someone I’d probably made breakfast—and then cookies—for.
I swallowed down the knot of grief that had begun to form in my throat. This reminder of how temporary our time could be made me all the more homesick. Would Lorraine and Jasmine still be able to help send me home with this new complication?
Should I even be thinking about that?
A woman had lost her life. I’d merely misplaced my home for a little while.
The hairs on the back of my neck stood up as a chill rushed through me.
Turning, I spotted Joshua, a predatory gaze of disapproval hardening his otherwise handsome features.
And now this.
Was he still mad about last night?
He couldn’t be. Not when I was the one who’d saved him.
Unless somehow he knew I’d been the one who caused the storm. But he couldn’t…
Then again, he didn’t need to know that part to suspect me all the same. I’d arrived at Fox’s End out of nowhere yesterday, and Joshua was already suspicious of me because of my terrible ability to lie. Now someone was dead under mysterious circumstances.
Dead, not murdered. No one had said “murdered,” at least not yet. Maybe she’d gone peacefully in her sleep, missed breakfast, never met me at all. But even as I thought those words, I knew they rang untrue.
I clutched my shopping bags tightly as I started to make my way to the back entrance. As curious as I was, I didn’t want to draw unneeded attention to myself. And if I stood around awkwardly, I was sure to elicit gazes, questions, suspicions.
But I soon realized that the back was undoubtedly the worst way I could have gone. Because that was where the body was. A puff of unnaturally colored red hair drew my attention, jogged a memory.
This was the woman who had screamed so loudly when Oinkers had been running amuck. I did know her. Had met her.
Slowly, I began to back away.
A man moved to block my view, which I was very grateful for, seeing as I just couldn’t rip my eyes away from the awful sight. "I'm sorry, but you can't be here, ma'am. We’re dealing with a suspected homicide and need to keep the scene clean until forensics arrives."
The tag on his uniform identified him as O'Reilly.
I took a nervous gulp as I backed away. "I'm sorry. I thought this way would be clear. I didn’t know…"
The man frowned at me. He was younger than the so-called sheriff talking with Lorraine, but not by much.
"I really didn't mean to get in anybody's way. I'll make sure to go around the front instead." The man shifted, and I saw the fallen woman's body once more. Her eyes were open and lifeless. Her lips were tinged blue, and, if I wasn't imagining things, her skin had turned the slightest shade of green.
Peculiar.
I squinted to see better, but O'Reilly once again blocked my view.
"If you don't mind me saying, you don't look too familiar. That mean you're a guest here?"
This was not good. I’d stayed too long and now he was asking questions. I remembered back to what Lorraine had said. Yes and no answers only. I smiled, trying to keep my expression friendly, calm, even though I had a feeling I was failing miserably. "Yes."
"Whereabouts are you from?" He took another step toward me and shifted his weight.
