The Girl and the Clock Tower Murder: Pandemonium Cozy Mystery #2

Chapter 19

Mahogany took a deep breath and opened the door to the Haughty Hemlock. The cool autumn morning tickled the hairs on the back of her neck, sending a chill through her body.

Neema looked up from her order form as the bell above the door jingled. She opened her mouth to say something, but Mahogany stopped with a raised hand.

"Let's just see if this will work, all right?" Mahogany brushed past Neema, and she got to work refilling jars with herbs.

Neema closed her mouth and smiled.

Several hours passed with little conversation save for the pleasantries offered to customers. Beyond that, Mahogany and Neema worked in relative silence.

Neema sighed with relief when Mahogany's phone buzzed with a text.

She picked up her phone, and her face fell.

"Anything wrong?" Neema asked, hoping to fill the silence between customers with something.

Mahogany sighed. "It's Tony. The hospital released Blair, and she wants to see Evelina and me."

"Well, that's a plot twist. Any idea why?" Neema placed jars back on the shelves after the last customer's purchase.

"He says she's starting to remember the attack."

Neema turned to face Mahogany. "No offense, but shouldn't they tell that to the police? I don't like the idea of you and Evelina pursuing someone desperate enough to go around bludgeoning folks with hammers."

"I feel the same way." Mahogany groaned and slipped her phone back into her pocket. "Blair is such an attention seeker. It drives me crazy. Part of me wonders if she didn't hit herself to get Tony to nurse her back to health."

"He's not?" Neema blanched. "He has that woman in his home after all the BS she's pulled?"

"Probably waiting on her hand and foot as we speak." Mahogany glared at Neema.

"When does he want you two to come over?" Neema gazed at her niece, her eyes soft with emotion.

"Now."

"Well, better to get it over with than prolong the torture, but first." Neema moved around the apothecary, gathering herbs. With deft precision, she measured and poured them into a bowl carved from a single chunk of quartz crystal. Neema placed her hand over the mixture and closed her eyes. To the untrained eye, Neema did nothing more than send good vibes into the dried leaves and flowers, but Mahogany caught a suitable shift in the light around the bowl.

"There. Give this to that Blair girl. It will help with her healing." Neema bagged the tea.

Mahogany shoved the tea into her backpack and headed for the door.

****

Evelina rushed to Mahogany when she pulled up outside Tony's house.

"Have you been inside yet?" Mahogany asked, stowing her helmet.

"Hells no. I waited for you," Evelina said, glancing at the bungalow with disdain.

"Come on, let's get this over with. Maybe she'll have something interesting to say," Mahogany said, adjusting her pack.

"I doubt it."

They headed to Tony's front door and stood on the stoop.

"I feel like Inanna descending into the Underworld," Evelina said, staring at Tony's front door.

Mahogany pictured the beautiful Mesopotamian god dressed in her fineries to visit her recently deceased husband, now residing in the Underworld, the realm ruled by her jealous older sister, Ereshkigal. The visit didn't end well for Inanna, who had to pass through the seven gates of the Underworld, stripping off a piece of her royal dress until she stood naked before her sister, who then murdered her.