No Ladder What (Witch of Wickrock Bay Book 4) Read online

  Baxter curled up again on his favorite armchair and had fallen asleep almost immediately.

  With a sweet, steaming mug in hand, Mimi plopped onto her chair and took a tiny sip of the smooth, silky drink. The rich flavors filled her mouth, but the expected calmness didn’t follow.

  Something was tugging at her gut, and it made her uncomfortable.

  Mimi put down her drink and reached for her cell phone. She found Rob’s number and pressed it.

  “Hi, Mimi, how are you?” Rob greeted her. There was a note of tiredness in his voice.

  “Reasonably well, considering the circumstances, but how are you? I’ve been worrying about you.”

  “I’m fine. Why would you be worried about me?”

  “Because you looked strange when you left my shop earlier today,” she replied.

  “Define strange.”

  Mimi ignored the annoyance that grew at the back of her mind. He wasn’t going to play a game with her, was he?

  “I’m actually not sure how to interpret the look on your face, but I thought you were…upset. I guess that might have something to do with Orlando London’s arrival and his meddling in the case.”

  Rob exhaled loudly.

  “All right, Miss Can’t-Hide-Anything-From-Me,” he said reluctantly. “I admit I was…still am…quite taken aback by the whole situation.”

  “But your job is not at risk?” she asked quickly.

  “I don’t think so. He appears to be genuinely interested in the case and in our town. And, to be fair, we’ve had a lot of murders lately, considering.”

  “We have. But going back to Orlando Nosy. He’s doing it all wrong. He’s been going around interrogating people and upsetting them a lot.”

  “I’m sorry, Mimi. Are you okay?”

  “I am now. But he’s done the same thing to Connor Hewitt, who was even more upset than I was, and god-knows-who-else in town.”

  “He’s got his own methods, and I’ve been reassured by an old friend at headquarters that Lieutenant London is a respected and capable detective.”

  “And you trust your source?”

  “Of course.”

  “Then you’d have to agree I’m a suspect,” Mimi fired.

  She could hear him inhaling sharply.

  “Mimi, I don’t necessarily need to agree with his methods or his current list of suspects in order to trust in his capabilities.”

  “Really?” Mimi murmured, suppressing the urge to say something more sarcastic. “So do you suspect me as well?”

  “Mimi, you’re a smart girl, you know how it works,” he replied slowly.

  That was a ruse.

  “Well, dear Chief Thompson, I do and I don’t. As you’ve told me several times, every case is different. And I’m here telling you I haven’t done it. You know me very well by now. You’re my boyfriend, for heaven’s sake. You don’t need to triple-check your facts. You just need to trust your gut.”

  Another sigh.

  “Okay, Mimi. You’re right. I don’t like jumping to assumptions before I’m certain—”

  “You’re obsessed with being certain.”

  “I am, you’re right again. But let’s not diverge from the topic. You wanted me to comment on your innocence, correct?”

  Mimi paused to consider. Rob’s voice sounded weary but with a note of genuine concern for her. “Actually, on second thought, probably not,” she said slowly. “I know I’m innocent, and I don’t want you being all professional and skirting around the fact that you know I’m innocent. I wanted you to tell me what you know about the case.”

  “I don’t think I can.”

  Mimi rolled her eyes. “Come on, Rob. You know I’ll keep it all to myself, and besides, I have probably figured it all out by myself.”

  “Well, if that’s true, then why are you asking me?”

  “Because I need to check if my thinking is correct.”

  “So fire away.”

  “What?”

  “Fire away. I mean, if you only want to run your guesses by me, that’s fine.”

  That was a nice change in the usually defensive and reluctant “professional” Rob.

  “Okay, let’s start then,” Mimi said and paused. In the turmoil of the events of the day, she’d never had a chance to reflect on the situation. “Hang on, I need to collect my thoughts.”

  Or unscramble them…

  “I would start off by saying definitely not Connor Hewitt, because I know him, but I also know that Lieutenant London suspects him. Even though the logic behind his suspicion is probably very thin.”

  “So I’ve heard,” Rob said simply.

  “And the more I think about it, the more I am convinced that if Drew got under anyone’s skin enough to bring death on himself, this must have been someone local. I mean, someone living or working on our street.”

  “Um…” Rob mumbled.

  “Are you avoiding a comment?”

  “Yes and no. I don’t think London has an exact list of suspects, but I’d be thinking along the same lines. Have you got any good candidates?”

  “For the murderer, you mean?”

  “Yes.”

  “No. I’m an obvious choice, but we know I’m innocent.” She paused, wondering if he would confirm.

  Rob chuckled. “Still need confirmation, huh?”

  Mimi’s face burned. Was she that easy to read?

  “Sort of, I suppose. But never mind me. I’m not aware of any other major fallouts. I can tell you that the street feels more relaxed without him, though. I walked Connor to his car and then let Baxter out at the same time, and I felt really relieved I could just yell at Baxie to come to me.”

  “You are not doing yourself a favor by disclosing this to me. You know that, Mimi Knotley?” A cautious note crept into Rob’s voice.

  “I realize this sounds callous, but he was a real pain.” She told him about the instances with banging on the walls and yelling.

  “But is that enough of a reason to kill someone?” Rob sounded unconvinced.

  “You tell me, you’re the policeman.”

  Rob heaved a sigh. “Mimi, I’m not on the case.”

  “But you should be—before that city boy sends everyone over the edge. You’re so much better than him.”

  “Appreciate your appreciation.”

  “It’s not only mine. Connor is of the same view.”

  “Still not proof. But going back to your suspects. You can’t point at any of your neighbors, right? Anyone else you suspect?”

  “No…” Mimi paused again, feeling the familiar tugging of doubt. “Or, hold on. There is one more. The strange girlfriend.”

  “Ah! How do you know of her?”

  “I’ve met her.” Mimi told Rob about the earlier encounter. “She looked genuinely upset, but I can’t shake the impression she was more upset about the state of the shop, or the apartment, than his death.”

  “Didn’t you tell me they’ve been practically separated for a long time?”

  That was a good point! Not least, Rob only used the information that Mimi had provided him with. What a great cop! Holding onto his professional secrets…

  “Yeah…fair enough. But still, I find it suspicious.” A sudden thought popped in her mind. “Do you know where she’s staying? She was going to find a hotel, I think.”

  “No, and why would I, since I’m not on the case?” Rob chuckled again. Mimi growled. “But I saw London booking a ride to Wickrock Bay Hotel for tomorrow morning.”

  Mimi exhaled slowly. Rob could be so annoying, and, at the same time, such a great and fun person to be with.

  “That’s very interesting, I should say, Chief Thompson. I wonder what he might want there…” She let her voice trail off in an artificially suspenseful tone.

  Rob chuckled again. “I’ve no doubt you’ll be able to find out, if you want.”

  “I have a hunch you may be right.”

  She disconnected and grabbed a phone book. She would have gone to town, bu
t it was already late, and she didn’t want to leave her place. Not with the strange wizard surrounded by a purple halo hanging around.

  Mimi flicked through the yellow pages until she found the phone number for the hotel. If she was in luck, Amanda Potter, one of the Wine and Art members, would be on duty.

  She dialed the number and waited for the phone to be answered, her heart accelerating. As usual, she hadn’t prepared much of a back story. What was she supposed to say to the woman with whom she’d barely exchanged a few sentences?

  “Wickrock Hotel, Amanda speaking, how can I help?” a familiar voice cut into Mimi’s racing thoughts.

  “Hi, Amanda, what a nice surprise!” Well, at least that was true. “It’s Mimi. How are you?”

  “Not too bad.”

  “Not too busy?”

  “It’s still low season, so it’s quite slow. But we’ve had some guests today.”

  “That’s nice. It’s always good when business is ticking along, even if a little slower than usual. Actually, I’m looking for someone. Her name is Thea Walters.”

  Please, don’t ask me why…

  “Yes, she’s one of the guests,” Amanda replied. “Do you know her?”

  “Met her briefly today, just wanted to check on her. She looked quite upset.”

  “She was. And—” Amanda stopped suddenly, and Mimi heard some noises in the background. “Just a second. I’ll put you through, Mimi,” Amanda said after a couple of moments.

  Thank heavens for the distraction!

  “Hello?” a hesitant voice answered almost immediately. It sounded tense.

  “Hi, Thea. This is Mimi from the shop next door. We met earlier today.”

  “Yes, I remember. You were very nice to me.”

  Thank goodness this was the impression!

  “I just wanted to check if you were all right. I see you’ve booked yourself into a hotel.”

  What an obvious thing to say! Think, Mimi…think!

  “I have. Seems nice enough. And thank you for your concern, I’m fine.”

  “If you need anything, please let me know. I’ll give you my number.”

  “That’s not really—”

  “Just in case, Thea. Police investigations can be very stressful. And this one seems to be particularly bad.”

  “Oh, really?”

  Her voice sounded fragile; she seemed on the verge of tears again.

  “That’s my impression. The lead detective has interviewed me. Well, I can tell you it was an interrogation.”

  “So it was,” Thea whispered.

  Mimi’s heart flipped. She had something to grab and pursue.

  “I’ve just talked to a…friend really upset by Lieutenant London’s methods, so I was wondering if the lieutenant has been to see you yet.”

  “He has. And…” The woman’s voice broke into a sob. “It was awful. He’s coming back tomorrow.”

  Yeah…the car is already booked… Poor Thea.

  “I’m sorry you’ve had to go through all that while grieving for your boyfriend.”

  “More a friend than a real boyfriend,” Thea corrected her. “But still. I liked him. There were a lot of things I liked about him. We had a lot in common.”

  “That’s a good basis for a relationship. I’m sorry it didn’t work out.”

  “No,” she said quietly again. “And I should have told him a long time ago there was no hope for us as a couple.”

  “These things are easier to say than to do.”

  “True.”

  Mimi gulped. She’d run out of platitudes to exchange and the key, burning question remained unanswered. She had to somehow ask it first, though.

  “When did you last see him?”

  Thea took a deep breath.

  “It’s been quite a while. Probably over a year. We talked on the phone sometimes, though.”

  “Recently?”

  “No. I’ve been thinking about giving him a call but then would find an excuse not to. I’m a bit of a coward, I suppose.”

  “Don’t say that,” Mimi protested. “Given what you’ve told me about the relationship, that was bound to be a difficult conversation.”

  “I was worried about him, though. Last time I talked to him, which was a couple of months ago, he sounded a bit not quite himself.”

  “As in depressed? Bizarre? Unhinged?”

  “I wouldn’t say unhinged, but somewhere between bizarre and depressed. I wish I’d called him. Maybe this wouldn’t have happened.” Thea broke into another sob.

  Mimi waited for her to calm down.

  “I understand you’re upset, Thea. I’m also scolding myself for not checking on him. But no matter how much of that we do, this is not going to help.”

  “Agree, but what can help?”

  “A thorough investigation. Finding who killed Drew and bringing the murderer to justice.”

  “I totally agree. I’m cooperating with the police. I’ve told them all I know. They could have done it with a little more tact.”

  “Agreed. But if you did tell him all you know, why is he coming back tomorrow?”

  “No idea. You tell me. You know the local police better than I do, I’ve heard.”

  “Actually, it’s the state police who have taken charge. I just met Lieutenant London today. And I’m also baffled by his methods. Did he ask you where you were on the evening of Drew’s murder?”

  Yay! At long last! Mimi gave herself a pat on the back. Thea might not answer the question, but at least Mimi managed to finally put it out there. And tactfully.

  “He did. I was…having dinner with a friend. Back in Portsmouth. A very good friend.”

  “And I’m sure the friend can confirm your alibi.”

  “Alibi?” An anxious note crept into Thea’s voice.

  “That’s what it’s called.”

  “I know what an alibi is. But I’m surprised you mentioned it. Are you suspecting me, too?”

  “Me?” Mimi put as much surprise and shock into her voice as she could. “I’m Lieutenant London’s suspect as well. But I’ve been a suspect before, so…I just wanted to make sure you know how to navigate this maze.”

  There was silence at the other end of the line. Mimi could imagine Thea considering her words.

  “Fair enough. So what do you think I should know?”

  “Just make sure whatever you tell the police is truthful and can be confirmed. Like, you know, the dinner with a friend. Portsmouth is only a couple of hours’ drive away. I can imagine Lieutenant London saying you could have finished your dinner at eight, got into your car, and drove here to kill your estranged boyfriend.”

  Thea inhaled sharply.

  Touché?

  “The dinner lasted later than eight.”

  “Until the wee hours of the morning?” Mimi asked before she could stop herself.

  Thea blew out a breath. “Actually, sort of, yes. Haven’t you ever had a dinner guest who spent the night?”

  Mimi bit her lower lip. A hot wave spilled over her face.

  Silly Mimi! But of course… Thea was a young woman. Her relationship with Drew had been nonexistent for a long time. Didn’t Mimi just say herself, practically separated?

  “I’m sorry, Thea. I didn’t mean to interfere in your personal affairs. Of course I understand. Just make sure Lieutenant London gets it, too. And that your…friend can confirm that.”

  “Thank you for your concern, Mimi. I’ll make sure I back up all my words with proof. After all, it’s a murder investigation, and I am a suspect.”

  “I’m relieved to hear that. And feel free to give me a call if you need anything, even a rant. Here’s my number.” She rattled off her cell phone number. “Take care.”

  “Thanks, Mimi. You take care, too.”

  Mimi disconnected the call and sat back. Her hot chocolate looked quite cold and unappetizing, but her head was humming. Thea had an alibi for the night of Drew’s murder, but a new boyfriend and an old, unpredictable one with aggressive tend
encies meant she had a reason to get rid of the latter one…

  Yeah…until she could confirm her alibi, Thea Walters was going on Mimi’s suspect list.

  Chapter 8

  The following morning, Mimi slept through the alarm clock, the snoozer, and even through Baxter barking. It wasn’t until her pug sat on her chest that she lifted her head and opened her eyes.

  “Baxie, morning, my best dog ever,” Mimi murmured, blinking away the tiredness. “What time is it?”

  Baxter tilted his head. Mimi would swear that his tail was pointing at the clock on her nightstand. Mimi glanced at it.

  “Oh, snickerdoodles!” Mimi moaned. “It’s nearly eight. Late, late, late,” she chanted, picking Baxter up and putting him down on the floor. “We’ve got to hurry up.”

  She rolled out of bed and hurried to the bathroom. Some twenty minutes and a shower later, she was ready to face the day.

  So was Baxter, sitting at the top of the stairs, looking expectantly at her.

  “Without breakfast?” she asked him. Baxter’s round brown eyes looked at her with reproach. “Sure, physiology first,” Mimi said meekly. She grabbed a jacket and Baxter’s leash and headed for the exit.

  The morning was fresh. The air smelled of sea and new grass. A seagull shrieked in the distance. The moment his paws hit the lawn, Baxter trotted away into his favorite patch of shrubs. Mimi took a deep breath. This was a new day, a new morning, with new hope.

  “Hi, Mimi, how are you?” A male voice threw her back into reality.

  “Hi, Leonard,” Mimi greeted a fellow Cormorants Walk business owner, Leonard Falcon. As usual, he was wearing a tight t-shirt showing off his muscular arms.

  “I’m good, and you?” Mimi said. “You’re up early.”

  “It’s late,” he said and gave a sharp laugh. Mimi cringed. For whatever strange reason, despite his outward friendliness, Leonard made her feel uncomfortable. As if under that perfectly suntanned skin and pearly-white smile hid something much darker.

  “What time do you open?”

  “Nine a.m. sharp, and I’m already on my way. With coffee,” he added, lifting a blue, multiple-use cup with Scott’s café’s logo.

  “Good for you. I’m running a bit late today. But given how slow business has been, I don’t think it’ll matter if I open a little late today. I’m not starting my work without a coffee.”