Skull Screw Up: A Halloween Helper's Cozy Mystery Read online

"Yes it was," Francine said. "It was right before I went into the ceremony room and yelled at him. Tucker was coming out as I was going in."

  "And Bram was still alive at that point?" Vinnie asked.

  "Yes he was," Francine said. "And he was also alive when I left."

  "Bram and I had a minor disagreement," Tucker said through clenched teeth. "I was upset with the entire skull business and even though I hadn't found out that he had been the one to take it at that point, I had a strong suspicion that it had been him. I let my anger get a hold of me and I ended up shoving him. But before I could do any more than that, I made myself step back and I left the ceremony room."

  The story settled down around them and Vinnie wondered what her next step should be in the investigation. She still had about a half hour or so until Diggy would arrive. It wasn't a lot of time, but it was enough for one more thing.

  "Maybe we could all go to Tucker's room and he could show us his clasp so we can rule that out," Vinnie said.

  Of course she wanted to know if this clasp was Tucker's or not, but she also wanted to be more out in the open. None of the vampires seemed to spend much time in here unless they were made to and Vinnie was afraid of being trapped in here with two vampires who were slowly making themselves look more and more like murder suspects.

  "Follow me," Tucker said.

  Tucker stood up and offered Francine his hand. She gratefully accepted and stood up slowly, deliberately. Imagine going through life acting like the world's most famous movie star. Although it wasn't totally her fault that all of the other vampires apparently allowed her to think that she was so famous.

  The vampires smoothly exited the library followed closely by Vinnie. As they walked up to the second level to go to Tucker's apartment, Vinnie thought through all of the evidence she now had. Whereas before she had been leaning towards Francine as the lone suspect, now she was thinking that Francine and Tucker had worked together to kill Bram.

  There were several reasons why the two killer theory made sense. They both seemed to benefit from Bram's death. Their stories corroborated each other, in a way, but didn't do anything to make either of them look innocent. Both Francine and Tucker had admitted to having altercations with Bram just before he was found dead and Tucker even said his had been physical. Francine's earring and possibly Tucker's clasp had been found at the scene of the crime.

  The only problem was that even if they were Bram's killers, where was the skull? These two didn't seem to have a clue where it was. So the original problem that the Halloween Helpers had been called out to solve was still an active investigation.

  As they reached Tucker's door, Wayne scurried past them. He looked at them nervously as he went by, almost seeming to be scared of Tucker and Francine. Vinnie had to admit that she felt the same way, but it was odd that a fellow vampire would be afraid.

  "Good morning," Wayne said, his voice quivering a little. "Just headed to my room."

  He chuckled to himself as he went past, disappearing into the apartment next door. Vinnie wasn't sure what to think of the odd little vampire. She was sort of glad that he hadn't stopped to regale her with more vampire trivia, but she had to admit that she had a bit of a soft spot for someone who didn't quite fit the mold. A non-magical witch and a short unattractive vampire were both misfits in their respective worlds.

  Tucker and Francine ignored the odd little man and walked into Tucker's apartment. Francine took her place on one of the two chairs. Vinnie stood for a moment until Francine patted the chair next to her.

  "Sit down while Tucker gets his cloak," she said.

  Tucker made his way into his bedroom while Vinnie sat down. She perched on the edge of the chair, wanting to make sure that she had her guard up. The apartment wasn't any more public than the library. At least Diggy would be back soon.

  A string of expletives suddenly erupted from the bedroom. Vinnie and Francine looked at each other before they both ran into the bedroom, sure they'd find Tucker tussling with the murderer. Instead, they found Tucker on his hands and knees in his wardrobe, throwing shoes and accessories on top of a pile of clothing that now cluttered his otherwise minimalist bedroom.

  "What are you doing?" Francine asked.

  "Looking for something," Tucker said.

  "Looking for what?" Francine asked.

  Tucker stood up and glared at both of the women. Vinnie tried not to shiver as it felt like Tucker was looking deep into her soul. She would not want to meet that face in a dark alley. He grabbed a hanger with a cloak on it out of his wardrobe and walked towards them.

  "Good, you found your cloak," Francine said, her face brightening.

  "Look closer," Tucker said through clenched teeth.

  Francine leaned forward, taking his meaning literally. Vinnie didn't have to get closer to figure out what he meant. The clasp that should have been holding the cloak together was missing.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Tucker threw the hanger with the cloak onto his bed and dropped back down to his hands and knees. He continued to throw things out of his wardrobe while Vinnie inspected his cloak closer. It was a long, black cloak that seemed both heavy and flowing at the same time. It must be some sort of magical material.

  Vinnie inspected every inch of the cloak, not wanting to jump to any conclusions before she made sure that the clasp on this one was gone. She even turned the two pockets inside out, finding them both to be empty. Even a pocket that Vinnie found hidden on the inside didn't have anything in it.

  "I don't understand," Francine said. "Where did the clasp go?"

  She was standing over Tucker as he finished emptying his wardrobe. He emerged empty handed and looking defeated. Tucker slumped down put his hand on his knees. Vinnie watched, trying to read his body language. Either he was an incredibly good actor or he really thought the clasp would be on his cloak.

  "I don't know where the clasp is," Tucker said. "It was on my cloak when I put it away the night after Bram was murdered. I swear it was but now it's missing. I figured it had just fallen off somehow, but it isn't in my wardrobe either."

  Francine looked like she wasn't sure what to do. She put her hand out to comfort Tucker, but pulled it back, seeming unsure. Vinnie watched the exchange, trying to figure out how to ask more questions about their relationship. This didn't seem to be the right time for that.

  Suddenly, Vinnie glanced at her watch. It was only a few more minutes until noon and Vinnie wanted to be in the entrance hall to welcome Diggy. She tried to think of how to excuse herself from this situation.

  "Maybe Francine could help you search the pile of clothes once more while you put it all away," Vinnie offered. "I need to go meet my partner for lunch. I will see you around this afternoon."

  Tucker didn't lift his head and Vinnie wondered if he had heard what she had said. Francine gave her a little wave and a goodbye as she sized up the pile of clothing. As Vinnie left the room, she wondered if she should have stayed longer, maybe asked more questions. But those two vampires together made her so nervous. They seemed to play off of each other and Vinnie could never quite tell what they were going to do. She would rather regroup with Diggy and come back to them later. The magical lockdown was still in effect, so neither of them could go anywhere.

  As Vinnie walked down the grand staircase, Diggy appeared via travel orb in the entrance hall. The teenager's face lit up when she saw her aunt and she rushed towards her, carrying a picnic basket in one hand and a lumpy bag in the other. Vinnie assumed the bag had the sensor inside and judging by the look on Diggy's face, she may come with good news.

  "I brought lunch," Diggy squealed. "And I brought..."

  "Hold on," Vinnie said, interrupting the happiness. "Before you say anything, I think we should convene in the library. We need somewhere more private so I can tell you everything I learned this morning while we eat whatever you packed."

  Once in the library, Diggy pulled a literal feast out of the basket. A large sub sandwich topped with lunch
meat, cheeses, and veggies along with a bag of potato chips, a small tray of veggies and dip, a fruit salad, some cookies, and two more pieces of cake were all produced and spread out on the red checked blanket that Diggy had tossed over a table. It was much better than the mostly packaged food Vinnie had assumed Diggy would bring.

  "I'll start with the bad news," Diggy said. "I still can't find the family wand. I mean, I know a lot of places where it isn't now, so that's good. But it is definitely not in the workshop."

  "Well, we can check that off the list of places it might be," Vinnie said. "I'll help you look some more when we get home tonight."

  "The good news is that I finished tweaking the Magical Impression Sensor!" Diggy squealed once the table was loaded up. "Mom's instruction book actually had a teeny tiny footnote on that page that I had to get a magnifying glass out to read. It talked about tweaking it specifically for vampires, so she must have had a future flash about this case. I actually finished it early so I kind of went overboard on lunch to celebrate."

  Lavender couldn't see the future fully, but occasionally she would have a future flash of a very small sliver of the future which meant she could do things to prepare for what was to come. She had apparently been having several future flashes about their cases, which meant she was actually a lot of help even though she wasn't physically there.

  "That's wonderful news," Vinnie said. "And I will definitely welcome an overboard celebration for that. Hopefully it will give us some sort of clue after lunch."

  Between bites, Vinnie filled Diggy in on everything she had learned, from the new stories both Tucker and Francine had told, their relationship, and the clasp she found and the fact that Tucker's clasp was missing. She ate until she was stuffed, reasoning with herself that she could do that because she was famished. It felt like she had done three days worth of work in just one morning.

  After eating way more than she should have and then having a slice of cake after that, Vinnie sat back, thanking grateful thoughts about the stretchy waistband of her skirt. Diggy finished her slice also and for a moment, they let themselves stare at the fire and start their digestion of lunch.

  "So what do we do next?" Diggy asked. "It seems like there are still a lot of things to do."

  "I think we should use the sensor next," Vinnie said. "If nothing else, it will confirm Tucker and Francine's story that they both confronted him in the ceremony room. Plus, you put a lot of hard work into it and I think it deserves to be used."

  Diggy grinned, her white teeth looking even brighter next to the black lipstick she favored. Vinnie was pleased to see her so proud of her work. For a long time, it had been hard to get the young witch to focus on her studies. It didn't help that having Lavender as her teacher meant the lessons were sporadic and inconsistent. But now that she could basically do her work as a part of their Halloween Helper case work, she seemed to be having a blast and learning along the way. Vinnie should have known that hands on learning worked even for magic lessons.

  The two witches packed their dishes back up in the picnic basket and carried it with them to the entrance hall, stashing it under an ornate glass table with gold table legs that looked like lions. They would come back for it later. Right now, they had work to do.

  At the door to the ceremony room, Diggy pulled the helmet out of the lumpy bag she had brought it in. It still looked pretty much the same, except for the addition of two very dim flashlights, one taped on each side of the helmet.

  "I know it looks even dumber than before," Diggy said. "But now we can use it in low light."

  "There wasn't much you could do to make it look fashionable," Vinnie said. "The flashlights were a great idea."

  Both of the women stopped and stared at the helmet. Going into that room, this could be the make or break clue of the case. They might find proof of the running theory that Tucker and Francine had worked together or it could totally destroy everything they thought they knew. It was nerve wracking, to say the least.

  Vinnie jammed the stupid looking helmet on her head and buckled the strap under her chin. She wanted to be the one to see everything.

  "Okay Diggy," she said. "Turn it on and let's go."

  Vinnie bent down and Diggy adjusted a few things. The world sprung into color in front of her, the entire entrance hall covered with specks of color, magical impressions left behind by the vampires.

  "You did it," Vinnie said. "It's working! It looks like a rainbow threw up in here."

  "That's enough testing, let's actually use it to solve this murder," Diggy said.

  She pushed open the door to the ceremony room and held it while Vinnie went first. This felt like make it or break it time and hopefully that meant they would make it.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  The ceremony room was mostly pitch black except for the spotlights illuminating Bram's body. The flashlights on the sides of the helmet did little to cast off much light, but it was enough to see a few colors here and there. It was better than nothing.

  "Is this tuned in to only see vampires or will I still see your orange sparkles?" Vinnie asked.

  "You'll still see my orange," Diggy said. "I made it so that you could see anyone paranormal, not specific to one type."

  "Good thinking because this will come in handy on lots of cases," Vinnie said.

  There were orange sparkles all over the room, which were Diggy's of course. They were from wall to wall and all around Bram's body. There were only two other colors in the room: a dark, rich fuchsia color and a soft, baby blue.

  Vinnie tried to look past all of the orange and focus on the fuchsia and blue. She followed the trails of color from the door, using the flashlight to illuminate where she was going. The fuchsia one was first, but it only went about two feet into the ceremony room. Whoever this was, had only come in for a short while, basically stood in one place, and then left.

  The baby blue did about the same, but it had a little more movement. It came in the door, walked halfway into the room, paced back and forth a bit and then seemed to leave the room. Neither color went further than halfway into the ceremony room.

  Vinnie assumed that the fuchsia must be Francine, since she said she came in and yelled at Bram, and the baby blue must be Tucker. A very short physical fight would account for the back and forth movement in the middle of the room. But neither of them went near where Bram was found dead. And as far as she could tell, there was no way to erase a magical impression even if people knew they left it.

  The only color that was anywhere near Bram's body was orange, which they already knew was Diggy's color. Vinnie was starting to suspect that maybe Bram had killed himself. There was just no solid evidence that anyone else had been that close to the body. Even the earring they found had been at least a yard away from the body.

  Vinnie relayed all of the information she was finding to Diggy, who demanded she take a turn with the helmet. Instead of arguing, Vinnie handed it over. Arguing with a teenager is like trying to herd cats. It's just better to let them run with it.

  "You're right," Diggy said after she had slowly walked every inch of the ceremony room wearing the Magical Impression Sensor. "The only color up there is mine. That doesn't make any sense. Maybe there is something wrong with the sensor."

  "I don't think that's the problem," Vinnie said. "The sensor seems to be working great. There must be something we are missing in all of this."

  "I feel like the answer is hidden somewhere just out of reach," Diggy said. "Like we are standing in an empty room and the thing we are looking for is behind a false wall."

  Vinnie had to admit that this time, Diggy's metaphor was pretty accurate. Unfortunately, it was not literal because if the answer were as simple as a false wall, they could have just followed the colored sparkles to wherever the hidden door was.

  "Do you think it would be bad if we just went home for today?" Diggy asked. "I just want to look for that wand some more and maybe while we are looking, it will spark an idea about this case."
>
  Vinnie sighed. She had been thinking that the sensor would provide more insight into the case. Actually, she had really been thinking that it would provide the final clue that would help them be able to shut this case, or at least the murder part.

  "I think we could go home," Vinnie said. "The only thing we need to do first is to make sure we know who left the fuchsia and baby blue behind."

  The two witches ventured up to Tucker's apartment. Diggy strapped on the helmet and Vinnie knocked on the door, hoping that the two vampires were inside. She did not want another repeat of her accidental surprise from earlier. Those hissing vampire faces would be in her nightmares for a while.

  "That's weird," Diggy whispered.

  "What's weird?" Vinnie asked.

  "There's just a lot of orange sparkles in this hallway," Diggy said. "A lot more of my color than I was expecting to see."

  "You did help me search up here the other day," Vinnie pointed out. "Maybe you kind of forgot because you also spent a lot of time back at home."

  "You're right," Diggy said, but before she could say more, the door opened up.

  Tucker stood in the doorway, looking more put together than when Vinnie had left his apartment earlier. His hair looked like he had freshly gelled it and changed into a new shirt after his last one got all wrinkled from crawling around his bedroom. Francine appeared behind him, looking just as glamorous as ever.

  "Hello, we were wondering if you would just stand still for a moment," Vinnie said.

  She stepped aside and Diggy took her place in the middle of the doorway. Diggy scrutinized both of the vampires through the piece of plexiglass in front of her face and then gave Vinnie a thumbs up, which Vinnie assumed meant that their earlier assumption had been correct.

  "That's all we needed for now," Vinnie said. "Also, we will be leaving the premises for now, but we will return in the morning. We have work that we can only do back at our office. If anyone needs us, please send a message."

  Tucker stared at the young witch as her eyes widened at him. In a sudden flurry of activity, Diggy undid the buckle and whipped the helmet off of her head, trying to frantically stuff it back into the bag. Her cheeks started to burn red as she struggled in front of the handsome vampire. Vinnie put a reassuring hand on Diggy's arm and took the bag from her. She slowly undid the tangled mess and put the helmet neatly back in the bag as Diggy stared everywhere except at Tucker.