Crimes and crystal balls.., p.1
Crimes and Crystal Balls (A Cumberpatch Cove Mystery Book 6), page 1
Crimes and Crystal Balls
A Cumberpatch Cove Mystery: Book 6
Nola Robertson
Copyright © 2022 Nola Robertson
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.
ISBN-13: 978-1-953213-36-5
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Note from the Author
More by Nola
Sneak Peek of Hexes and Headstones
About the Author
Chapter One
“We need to hurry before everything is gone,” my father Jonathan said, nudging his brother Max as he quickened his pace on the sidewalk ahead of my best friends Shawna, Jade, and me.
They’d been anxiously waiting for the end-of-business clearance sale at The Booty Bazaar, the town’s antique shop, for over a week. Now that the day had finally arrived, they acted like two excited children on their way to a toy store. Only the toys they coveted were authentic pirate relics, specifically anything that belonged to Martin Cumberpatch, the not-so-famous pirate our town was named after.
Max already owned one of his sabers and had it mounted in a glass case aboard the Buccaneers Delight, the boat he used to give pirate tours during the spring and summer months.
“The place has only been open for an hour,” I said. “I don’t think it got cleaned out that quickly.”
The shop had actually been closed since the previous owner, Hildie Simpkins, ended up going to jail for taking the life of a local businessman. Granted, the man was a lowlife and into quite a few shady things, but I didn’t think he deserved to die, and not in the manner she’d chosen for him.
Nadine Carmichael, Cumberpatch Cove’s resident fortune teller, was buying the building to relocate her business. Hilde’s cousin Nathan Hansley, who resided in Portland, was overseeing the sale of the property on her behalf. I didn’t know the exact details of their arrangement or whether she got to keep part of the proceeds, but he’d agreed to let Nadine handle selling the store’s inventory.
Everything that hadn’t been authenticated as an antique was being sold at a discounted price. Given Nadine’s close friendship with Grams, my grandmother, I was sure the discount would extend to some of the pirate relics my relatives wanted to buy. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’d set aside some pieces so my father and uncle could peruse them first.
I wasn’t the avid shopper my family and friends were, but I’d come along hoping to find some unique items to sell at Mysterious Baubles, my family’s shop, or stash away as future gifts.
Of the three of us, Jade possessed the most knowledge when it came to fashion. I’d be happy spending every day in comfortable sweats or jeans and a T-shirt. She never tired of trying to improve the business casual wardrobe I wore to work every chance she got. Though her determination was admirable, I didn't want to spend my days walking around the shop in a pair of two-inch heels similar to the black ones she’d chosen to accessorize the teal dress she was currently wearing.
Shawna wasn’t quite as bad. Her unique style included adding streaks to her curly light brown hair. Until she’d met Nate, she randomly changed the color and purchased matching clothes every few months to suit her mood. Shawna wasn’t known for staying in long-lasting relationships. She’d managed to keep her boyfriend and the same shade of blue in her hair, which happened to be his favorite color, a lot longer than Jade and I had predicted.
I occasionally glanced in Jonathan and Max’s direction as my friends and I navigated past several tables covered with sets of china, old lamps, and other glass items. The males were around the same height, taller than me, and standing close to six feet. Max was the burlier of the two and had more hair in his beard than my father had on the top of his head. If he’d been dressed in one of the outfits he wore to work, he would’ve fit right in with the shelves displaying sabers, swords, and cutlasses.
Every time they stopped to ooh and awe at something they found interesting, they reminded me of Shawna when we were teenagers. Though, now that I thought about it, she hadn’t outgrown the habit.
Jade had also noticed their behavior and chuckled. “It’s a good thing Grams volunteered to cover at the shop; otherwise, we’d be supervising all three of them.”
Besides being a close friend since childhood, she was also a co-worker. My mother Caroline and grandmother, whose name was Abigail, Abby to her close friends, and Grams to my friends and me, had stayed behind so we could shop. Though I was certain the main reason she’d wanted me to go along was so I could keep an eye on my male relatives. “You can thank my mother later,” I said. “It was her idea to split the three of them up.”
“Yeah, but you have to admit they are kind of adorable and fun to watch,” Shawna said.
“Give it time, and I’ll bet you change your mind,” I said. I’d been on too many outings with my family to know that anything considered ‘adorable and fun’ eventually led to embarrassment and trouble.
“Let’s see if we can find Nadine,” Jade said, heading toward the back of the room.
Nadine’s shop, Get a Glimpse, was several blocks away from Swashbuckler Blvd., the town’s main street where The Booty Bazaar was located. Her business did very well, but the space she rented was small, and I couldn’t blame her for wanting to purchase her own building.
She already had quite a following from the locals, and with the new location, along with the influx of tourists, she was guaranteed to do even better. Shawna was one of her regular customers and was excited about the move. Besides having a standing appointment at the beginning of each year to discuss her future, she occasionally popped in to make sure her fate, destiny, or whatever Shawna liked to call it, was still on track.
Now that her shop was only a few blocks away from the Cumberpatch Cove Cantina where she worked, she’d be able to visit Nadine more often.
A large portion of the town’s population believed in the paranormal, my family included. I, on the other hand, had been a skeptic most of my life. Until recently, when I’d developed the ability to see ghosts, I wasn’t willing to believe that supernatural beings existed unless I could see them for myself.
My talent wasn’t hereditary, nor was it something I’d been born with. I’d gotten the so-called gift, which I’d first considered a curse, after being zapped by a spirit seeker. The magical oblong piece of wood had been a birthday present from my father. He was obsessed with anything associated with the supernatural and thought his only daughter should be too.
After surviving the blue tentacles of death, the enchanted spirals that came out of the seeker, bound me in a cocoon, and forced me into unconsciousness, I’d been visited by several spirits. Spirits who’d died from unnatural deaths and couldn’t move on to the afterlife without my help.
I’d also learned my ability only worked when I touched something that belonged to the deceased and not necessarily someone who’d died from a recent death. Something I’d learned on two separate occasions. The first was Martin Cumberpatch when I’d accidentally released him from a witch’s curse. The second was when I’d handled a possession belonging to the tenant who’d rented my apartment before me.
Thinking about Martin reminded me of the last time I’d visited The Booty Bazaar searching for an eye patch that belonged to his mate Pete. My experience with the centuries-old ghost taught me to be wary of my surroundings. Some things in the shop were old, and I knew nothing about their history. That’s why I maintained a look-but-don’t-touch attitude as I strolled through the store.
Even though the room was cluttered with furniture, cabinets, and shelves, Nadine had done a great job of cleaning the place and organizing the inventory. Besides sending out flyers to all her current customers, she’d gotten the other shop owners in the area to hand out copies to anyone visiting their businesses.
“There she is,” I said. Nadine was standing behind a glass display case toward the back of the store, helping a customer decide on one of the shelf’s items. Her usual work outfit consisted of a medium-sleeved blouse beneath a vest and a dark skirt covered with miniature gold stars and moons. Today, she was dressed in a casual pair of pants and a cotton button-down shirt with her long brown hair in a single braid in front of her left shoulder.
As soon as she saw my friends and me, she smiled and gave us a friendly wave.
We strolled in her direction and waited for her to finish what she was doing. “Good morning, everyone. I’m so glad y
“There’s no way we’d miss it,” I said, glancing over my shoulder at my relatives. “Dad and Max would’ve camped out on the sidewalk if Grams and my mother hadn’t stopped them.”
Nadine laughed. “That must’ve been an interesting conversation. I’m sorry I missed it.”
I’d noticed red sold tags on several of the larger items. “It looks like you’re doing pretty well.”
“Things are selling fairly quickly, and with any luck, I’ll be able to start renovations sooner than I’d expected.”
“How are you holding up?” Shawna asked.
“Other than being exhausted, I’m fine.” Nadine tucked some loose strands behind her ear and puffed out a breath. “I’ll be glad when I’m all moved in.”
“Knowing my mother, I’m sure you’ll have plenty of help when the time comes,” I said. Caroline Spencer was an experienced pro in what she liked to call the art of motivation. I liked to call it manipulation since she’d fine-tuned her techniques on my friends and me plenty of times throughout the years.
She was notorious for finding reasons why we needed to join the committee for every event the town hosted, which equated to a lot since the town council prided itself on coordinating attractions to draw in tourists.
Thank goodness, it wasn’t something I needed to worry about. There weren’t any upcoming festivities scheduled at the moment. The only major task I currently had on my calendar was helping Nadine move.
The bell above the door tinkled, and two middle-aged women entered the shop, their excited chatter briefly drawing everyone’s attention. Right after that, a man I’d never met entered the room through the doorway leading to the rear of the building, carrying a cardboard box. After placing the box on a nearby shelf, he glanced in our direction and forced a less-than-friendly smile.
He had a medium height and build and was dressed semi-professionally in a navy-blue suit, less a coordinating tie. He’d slicked his dark hair away from his face with an excessive amount of gel, making the slope of his nose and angular cheekbones more prominent.
Nadine had given us a tour of the place shortly after getting the keys, so I knew there was a storeroom in the back filled with additional inventory. It explained the box the man was carrying.
“Is that the appraiser Hilde’s cousin recommended?” Shawna asked.
I didn’t know much about Nathan or the kind of business he owned. Hildie had mentioned that he made pirate saber and sword replicas, which he’d given her to sell in her store. After learning that she also embellished the truth, I didn’t know if Nathan actually crafted the weapons himself or paid someone to do it for him. My guess was the latter.
I’d learned from Grams that Nathan had volunteered one of his employees to come down for a few days to help the transition go smoothly. Shawna and Jade thought he was being thoughtful, but I was more skeptical than my friends. I figured his gesture was a way of keeping an eye on his portion of the sales.
“Uh-huh,” Nadine said. “Nathan told me he was very knowledgeable about antiques and should be able to answer any questions my customers might have.”
Cumberpatch had a local expert Nadine could’ve used, but he was on vacation and would be out of town for the next couple of weeks.
“Come on, I’ll introduce you.” She motioned us to follow her with the tip of her head.
The man had his back to us and was pulling items out of the box to fill empty spots on a shelf. “Aaron,” Nadine said.
The man spun around as if she’d startled him. “Yes.”
“I’d like you to meet my friends. This is Rylee, Jade, and Shawna.” Nadine pointed at each of us as she said our names.
“Are you enjoying your stay in Cumberpatch?” I asked.
“It’s a little quaint for my tastes, but it’s not bad,” Aaron said.
I understood that some people had difficulty adjusting to a smaller community if they’d spent their entire life in a big city like Portland. Even so, I still took offense when he scrunched his face as if he’d taken a bite out of something with a bitter taste.
Seeing Shawna cross her arms and glare at him must have been unsettling because he quickly added, “The few times I stayed at the inn overseeing the bluff was pleasant.”
Our town was located along the coast of Maine. The view he mentioned was breathtaking. “Were you here to see family and friends?” I asked. Even though I’d spent my entire life in Cumberpatch, I didn’t know everyone in town. Still, if Aaron had been here to visit someone, it was possible I knew them.
“Uh,” Aaron stammered.
Shawna didn’t give him a chance to finish. “If you don’t like our town, then why agree to come back?” She disguised her sarcasm with an overly sweet tone.
The familiar glint in her green eyes was usually a precursor to asking a barrage of questions that would make an already uncomfortable situation worse, especially for Aaron. The man didn’t seem particularly personable, but he was here to help Nadine. I’d never relocated a business, but it had to be stressful. The last thing Nadine needed was to have her expert get upset enough to walk out.
“You might change your mind if you come back for our pirate festival,” Jade, the diplomat in our group, said.
Aaron raised a brow, seemingly uninterested in her suggestion.
“I’m sure you have a lot to do, and we’ve taken up enough of your time,” I said, slipping my arm through Shawna’s. “Haven’t we?” I tugged when she refused to budge.
Aaron appeared relieved when he reached for the box and hurried toward another set of shelves.
“Excuse me,” a man said from behind us.
He’d arrived shortly after we had, and I’d glimpsed him methodically moving around the shop as if searching for something specific. I guessed his age to be in the late thirties, possibly early forties. The pale tone of his skin and the shadows beneath his eyes suggested a lack of sleep. His clothes were high-end brands but in a disheveled state.
“Are you the owner?” he asked, leveling his dark gaze at Nadine.
“I am,” she said, smiling. “How can I help you?”
He placed one of her sales flyers on the counter next to her. “Do you still have this dagger?” he asked in an irritated tone as he tapped the picture of a featured item.
“If it’s still available, it would be on one of those shelves over there,” Nadine said, then pointed toward another display case. “I can show you if you like.”
“I already checked, and it’s not there.” The man frowned and rubbed the back of his neck.
“I’m sorry, then someone must have already purchased it,” Nadine replied, maintaining a professional tone. “Can I help you find something else instead? There’s a nice selection of other knives and swords.”
“No, I’m only interested in this dagger.” He groaned. “Can you at least tell me who bought it?”
Nadine took a calming breath. “I’m afraid I can’t do that. Most of the items were paid for with cash, and if someone used a credit card, I can’t give out that information.”
“Can’t or won’t?” The man leaned closer, his stance and voice meant to intimidate.
Like my friends and me, Nadine was used to handling emotional people. She clasped her hands together and, in a calming voice, said, “Both, I’m afraid.” Noticing that they’d gained the attention of several other customers, she politely added, “Maybe you should leave.”
I was prepared to help if the man didn’t heed her advice and wanted to escalate the situation. By the concerned expressions on my friends’ faces, they were also ready to step in. Aaron had taken his box and disappeared, most likely to another area of the shop. I could’ve relied on my father and uncle to intervene, but they were nowhere in sight.
After a long, dread-filled moment, the man took a step back, then said, “Fine, I’m going,” before heading toward the door.
“I guess he really wanted that dagger,” Shawna said.
“I agree and wish he’d told us why he was making such a fuss,” I said, my gaze fixed on the door after the man had exited. I didn’t know about the others, but I was worried about the man’s emotional state and wanted to ensure he wasn’t coming back.
