Silver Springs Cozy: Pawsitively Lethal Part 5

"Tequila!" Erline shouts, raising her hands in the air. Evan at 81, she is certainly the life of the party. "Sounds as good as it smells. I cant wait."

"It should be done soon." Maggie brings gla.s.ses down for everyone and fills five with wine. She doesnt tell anyone its her second drink.

"Have you heard from Detective Stevens today?" Winona asks.

Maggie nods, her mouth full of wine. "Only briefly." She turns her attention to Ginger Rae. "How well do you know Valerie Hunt?"

Ginger Rae laughs, almost spewing red wine from her mouth and over her light colored top. "Not well at all. Im surprised you even know her name."

"Shes your neighbor but you dont know her?" Maggie asks.

"Thats correct. Shes a recluse. Doesnt ever leave her house. I guess you saw the article in the paper then." Ginger Raes eyes cloud over.

Maggie glances at the recycling where the newspaper is on top. She should have at least put it upside down so the ridiculous headline wasnt visible. "I did. How do you think Karl managed to talk to Valerie if shes a recluse?"

Ginger Rae shrugs. "And then he had the nerve to come to Winonas this morning and talk to me. I hadnt been out yet so I hadnt seen the article hed so deceptively published." Her voice rises and her face takes on a reddish tint. "I cant believe him. I used to read all of his articles. I thought he was a good reporter. But this was pure slander."

Erline, sitting next to Ginger Rae at the table, places her hand on her friends shoulder. "Weve already talked about visiting the Silver Times tomorrow after coffee. Are you going to join us at The Coffee Bean?" Erline asks Maggie.

"Im not sure. Ill have to check with Clem." She makes eye contact with her sister, who nods her head. "Looks like I can make it. At least for one cup of coffee."

"Well make a plan tomorrow then. Tonight were here to talk about something else," Winona states, sipping her wine with a twinkle in her eye.

CHAPTER 12.

The oven alerts Maggie to check the potatoes and chicken, and to her relief and surprise everything is done all at once. She places five plates on the table and adds the food to the center, family style. Conversation revolves around food while everyone serves themselves and pa.s.ses the colorful dishes around, but Erline quickly gets down to business once everyone has helped themselves.

"Were here because your mother was in possession of a powerful object that bound us all together. Winona, Ginger Rae and I each hold a key to unlocking the powers of the final piece, that is somewhere in this house." Each woman puts a skeleton key on the table-Ginger Rae takes hers off a necklace, Winona takes hers off of her keychain, and Erline pulls hers from her pocket.

Maggie catches Clems eye and can see the disbelief in them. She knows hers must mirror the same skepticism.

"What are these 'powers?" Clem asks, holding her fingers in the air to make air quotes around the word powers.

Ginger Rae nods and swallows. "We understand where youre coming from with not believing us. We wouldnt have believed it if we hadnt seen it for ourselves. But when all four pieces come together, they allow for time travel."

Clem nods slowly, chewing a piece of chicken. Maggie watches her, unable to make any kind of reaction.

"Youve time traveled?" Clem asks.

"No. We havent," Winona clarifies. "But your parents did."

This is all too much for the twin sisters. Clem laughs and Maggie joins her.

"I know. It all sounds ridiculous," Erline agrees.

"What do you mean youve witnessed it?" Maggie finally recovers enough from the shock of her friends claims to ask a coherent question.

"We helped your parents," Ginger Rae says matter of factly.

Maggie nods slowly, digesting this information. If they helped her parents, then that means her parents time traveled. She asks to make sure. "So then, our parents time traveled?"

All three elderly ladies nod in unison. "Not after you two were born. They thought it was too risky. If something happened, they wouldnt have been able to live with themselves. So it hasnt been done for over fifty three years." Ginger Rae takes another bite. "This is all delicious. Good cooking, Maggie."

Maggie is thrown off with the sudden change of topic, but everyone else joins in and praises her meal. "Its nothing. I just followed some recipes." She brushes off the compliments. "Last spring, when I was in Joshs bas.e.m.e.nt," she starts, referring to her parents murderer, "he mentioned a secret my parents were keeping. This was it, wasnt it? This was what got them killed."

The three women nod again.

"But how did he know about it? Especially if it hadnt been done in half a century?" Maggie asks.

"Thats where this all gets tricky," Winona says. She places her fork on her plate, settling in for a long explanation. "The last time your parents . . . traveled . . . they almost didnt return. We were waiting and waiting for them and we ultimately had to agree that something had gone wrong. Only, we had no idea what. Finally, they returned. Of course the three of us were relieved, but we could tell your parents were shaken. In order to get back to the present, they needed all the keys." Winona indicates the three keys sitting on the table. "One had been stolen while they were gone. Duplicates were made and the powers were revealed. We dont know how many people know."

Maggie waits for more but nothing comes. "So if there are duplicate keys, then why are these so important?"

"The other ones arent perfect," Erline says, letting Winona enjoy her dinner again. "But the main reason weve been under attack is to get the final object, the one your parents held. It seems that even those who know were in possession of the keys dont know who has the final object."

"Its here? In this house?" Clem asks. "What does it look like?" Maggie hears fear in hers sisters voice.

"We think its here," Erline says, exchanging worried looks with Winona and Ginger Rae. "We havent seen it in almost fifty years. Your parents kept it out in the open at first so it wouldnt draw attention. They a.s.sumed that if someone was after it, having it out in the public would be the last place someone would look."

"Did it work?" Maggie asks.

"It seems so. The last we heard before they died was that it was still safe," Erline explains.

"What does it look like? Where would we find it?" Clems voice is hurried in her panic.

"Its the small round trinket they used to have on your cats collar when you were kids. Do you remember?" Ginger Rae asks, looking from Maggie to Clem and back again.

Maggie and Clems eyes meet. "Weve seen it since their death. I found it in their bedroom last spring," Maggie says. "It was still on a cat collar so I put it on Opal. It didnt last. I found it on the bed one morning, so I left it on the night table in my bedroom. I only recently noticed that its missing."

"Its missing?" all three women ask at the same time, leaning forward with their hands on the table.

Maggie glances at Clem who she catches hiding a smile. Maggie wants to laugh but holds it in. These women are way too serious about a cat collar and magical powers.

"I looked behind the night table and under the bed. It probably just rolled somewhere. Or Opal batted it around and its somewhere else in the bedroom," Maggie says, suddenly feeling slightly guilty for not keeping a better eye on it, if only to keep these women calm.

Theres a pause in conversation while everyone gets lost in their own heads. Maggie wants to bring up Claras parents as possible suspects but doesnt want to upset Ginger Rae. She sips her wine instead.

Clem breaks the silence by asking, "So, Ginger Rae, you think your nieces murder was about these keys and the thing on the cat collar and had nothing to do with her?"

Ginger Rae nods. "Thats right. I think she was in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Clem nods slowly, taking a bite of chicken so she doesnt have to respond.

This is the start to a conversation Maggie wants to have. "So if thats the case, then whos on the suspect list?"

CHAPTER 13.

No one responds to Maggies question so she lets it hang between everyone longer than she initially intended. "At lunch today," she finally says, "you didnt think it had anything to do with Claras adoptive or birth parents, or her ex-husband. For the police, Im going to have to keep looking into those relationships, but in the meantime, what else should I be considering?"

Ginger Rae shrugs. "I really dont know. Thats the thing. We know Mitch Cable and Josh McMann learned about the powers of the keys, but we dont know anyone else."

"We dont seem to find out who knows until its too late," Erline adds.

"Which, if Ginger Rae is right about this one, is true once again," Winona says.

"Okay. So where do we start?" Maggie asks the women, setting her fork down. She means business.

"Youre the private detective, you tell us." Ginger Rae laughs.

"Well, technically Im not anymore. Now Im . . . well, I dont really know what my t.i.tle is at Two Sisters. But thats beside the point. For this to work, I have to know everything you know about possible leads and then I can follow up on them. Should we go back to Josh and Mitch?" Maggie knows just who to call to learn more about these men but that call will have to wait until tomorrow.

All three women nod but no one offers any insight.

"Well, what do you know about them? Who were they close with? Were they even friends?" Maggie could come up with a dozen more questions but starts with just those.

They all shrug in unison. Maggie could talk to just one of the women and learn the same amount of information.

"Okay . . . Give me the night and Ill have better questions to ask," she says in defeat. "For now, just enjoy the food, company, and wine-let me get another bottle."

There are smiles all around and carefree chatter resumes.

Maggie doesnt get to bed until well after midnight, not unusual for her. Clem has been asleep for hours, the dogs upstairs with her, and Opal has been patiently waiting on the bed to curl up next to Maggies warm body.

Maggie spent the rest of the night after their company left looking up anything she could find about Josh McMann and Mitch Cable. There is shockingly little information available online aside from the crimes they committed in Silver Springs, and even that leaves much to be desired. Karl Jacobs was the reporter in both instances, but his articles lack the details that he made available about Claras murder in todays paper.

Maggie knows slightly more about Josh since she met him a few times in Two Sisters last spring before it came to light that he had killed her parents. But her previous knowledge amounted only to knowing he grew up in Alaska, was divorced with no kids and lived in Silver Springs for three years. She remembers that he mentioned having two brothers, but without more computer skills, she cant find anything about their existence. If they live remotely in Alaska, theres a chance they have no digital fingerprint, only making her job harder.

With an alarm set for seven thirty so she doesnt miss her coffee date with the older women at eight, Maggie turns the light off and closes her eyes. Opal immediately curls her body between Maggies arm and stomach and they both fall asleep instantly.

Monday morning comes far too quickly for Maggies liking but she resists. .h.i.tting snooze. Opal is nowhere in sight. Usually Maggie wakes up to a cat trapping her on the bed or anxious to get outside. But this morning Opal has already left the house, likely through the dog door. The bedroom door is open just wide enough for a cat to slip through. Opal is getting braver if shes suddenly no longer waiting for Maggie to open the bathroom window in the morning.

Maggie takes a quick shower, brushes her teeth and throws on jeans and a flannel. Shes finally embraced the dress code of Silver Springs and adopted flannel as her go-to autumn top rather than her dressier choices when she lived in Denver. Opal is out of sight when Maggie looks out the bathroom window just before leaving.

The house is silent-Clem is already at work and the dogs either dont care about Maggie and are snoozing upstairs or are off roaming the neighborhood. Either way, Maggie doesnt bother locking the house.

On Main Street, the weeks hustle and bustle has already begun and Maggie is forced to park below ground in the parking garage. She walks quickly to the street, never completely comfortable with all of the places someone could lurk in the garage.

At The Coffee Bean, only two shop fronts from the parking garage, Maggie sees Ginger Rae, Winona and Erline through the large front window. They occupy their regular spot on the tan couch. Maggie wonders if anyone else ever gets to sit there on weekday mornings or if the women have a silent understanding with everyone else in town that its reserved for them.

Just before Maggie opens the front door, her taste buds already antic.i.p.ating the hot cup of coffee shes about to purchase, her cell phone rings. Debating ignoring it, she finally looks at the caller ID and sees Daniel Stevenss name come up. She answers it, knowing the coffee will still be there when shes finished talking to him.

"Good morning Daniel," she says as cheerfully as she can manage without any caffeine coursing through her veins.

"Hi Maggie. I wasnt sure you were going to pick up."

Maggie doesnt respond, not wanting to tell him that she wasnt planning to answer.

"Anyway, Im glad you did. We got some results back early this morning and I wanted to let you know what we found."

Maggie still doesnt say anything, but now shes happy she picked up.

"The gun wasnt Claras."

Maggie chuckles. She hopes its not loud enough for Daniel to hear.

"Why do you laugh?" he asks, bursting Maggies hopes.

"Its just that Ginger Rae would have told you if it was. She knew there wasnt a gun in her house." Maggie feels a great need to defend the older woman.

"And theres no way that Clara could have brought it in without Ginger Raes knowledge?" Daniels tone is confrontational and Maggie wishes shed kept her mouth shut. He is still upset over her relationship with Drew instead of him.

Maggie bites her tongue, wanting to know what other forensics the police received. She glances in the window and sees Winona wave at her. She waves back and holds up two fingers, hoping Winona understands she means sh.e.l.l be inside in two minutes.

"Sorry," Daniel says. "Youre right. We should have trusted Ginger Rae. But now theres proof besides just her word." His voice has softened and he takes a deep breath. "The other thing we found, which could make or break this case, is blood on the windowsill. Its not Claras. We think it could be the murderer, but we didnt get any matches that were already in the system. The only person we can rule out is her birth mother because it wasnt a familial match with Clara. But since shes adopted, we cant cross off her parents."

Maggie takes in this information. Its great that she can now ignore Jessie as a suspect. Having one fewer person to look into will make her job that much easier. "Thats great. Her adoptive parents are in town. I can try to talk to them today."

"Great. Ill talk to them too. So when you do, talk to them just as a friend of Ginger Raes. Dont let on that youre involved in this case at all."

Maggie doesnt roll her eyes, though if she were twenty years younger she would. Shes used to being told what to do when its already painfully obvious.

"And one final thing," Daniel says before Maggie can hang up on him to relieve her frustration. "Stewart Cole was spotted in Silver Springs this morning."

CHAPTER 14.