The Corpse with Four Wives, page 16
“I know. This has been so stressful for you. I’m concerned that you might not be okay financially.”
She shook her head. “Obviously, this has been difficult, but Toby left quite a bit of money behind.”
I knew from the other wives that wasn’t true, but a peek at the ring confirmed that Sparrow believed it was. She had already shown she wasn’t a great judge of any of her previous husbands’ financial affairs, and the wives had indicated that Toby had spoiled Sparrow.
She continued, “Obviously, I will make sure that they all get their fair share.”
The ring indicated that she was lying, as I suspected. The pieces were coming together. “Because you are the legal wife and will be in charge of dividing the assets?” That was the way things would function under human rules.
She nodded, still calm and cool. “Yes. I’m actually surprised the police didn’t ask about that. I was just sick to realize they might consider that a motive for Toby’s murder, but I guess my love for him was apparent, so I wasn’t even a suspect.”
“I just have to say, though, as another mermaid, that you really should have been more careful. The fact that you aren’t being shafted right now is accidental. You only legally married him because you wanted him to adopt your children, right? What if that hadn’t happened? You would have been left with nothing.”
She rolled her eyes at me, showing the first signs of anger. “It wasn’t an accident. I planned that. I wasn’t going to commit to him without anything to protect me. No one respects the fourth wife of a polygamist. So I insisted we get legally married so he could adopt my kids and provide for them. That is how the laws were in the state we were in.”
“The human laws,” I guessed.
“What other laws are there?” she asked.
“Sparrow, things are different here. We are paranormals and have our own rules. Why did you think the dragon-shifter elders came? They determine who gets what, and frankly, there is nothing to get. Toby was in debt.”
She paled a little. “No, that’s not possible.”
“It is. He was stealing money from Rochelle’s business to pay for the things he got you. He was in debt up to his eyeballs, and now, his wives are. The dragon-shifter elders have decided how the assets will be split, not a human lawyer. I’m really sorry, but you get nothing.”
“Why didn’t you tell me before?” she screamed. She was too emotional for the ring to work, but I was sure the emotions were genuine.
“I didn’t realize you didn’t know. I figured since you were married to a dragon-shifter, you had learned all the rules. It never occurred to me that you might not know or that he hid his debts from you.”
She flopped back in the chair. “I can’t believe it. We have nothing. Again.” Tears started rolling down her face, though I was sure they weren’t over Toby’s tragic death.
“And there’s more. Have you talked to Rochelle this afternoon?” This was a gamble, but I was hoping that communication in the Braun household was at an all-time low.
“No. What happened?”
“I just wanted to warn you that Keri being the killer might not hold up if Rochelle talks to the police. She told us about Toby taking money from the business. She was okay with Keri taking the fall because she was mad about Keri having an affair, but if Keri is cleared, Rochelle said that she saw something that night that would clear her own name.”
“What?”
“She saw you preparing a drink for Toby. She wasn’t going to tell the police because it would become a she-said, she-said situation, but I want to help you. I saw how they all looked down on you for being a mermaid. Everyone thinks we are so awful. Every one of them could go to jail, and I don’t care, but I want to help you. Tell me what happened.”
It was a gamble, but if Sparrow thought someone had seen her, she might want to explain to me to get me on her side.
For a few agonizing seconds, I thought she was going to deny it. But then she spoke.
“I knew about the affair Keri was having with Robert. I had spied on her a few times, and that was when I discovered the dragonsbane. But that night, Teeni came stumbling through the kitchen, as drunk as a skunk, with a cup of tea with dragonsbane leaves in it. She didn’t even notice me, though I heard her throwing up in the bathroom.”
I was on the edge of my seat but didn’t want to push her too hard since I had no real leverage. “And?”
“I was there to make coffee for Toby. The coffee was done, and I picked it up and got the cream, and when I turned back, I added it to the wrong mug. In that moment, I pictured how the whole mistake could play out. It would be an accident, and Teeni could take the fall. I would seem to be just a dumb mermaid like they all thought.”
She sighed. “Then I saw the teabag and leaves float to the top, and I put my fingers over the edge and poured just the liquid into the coffee and added a touch more cream and whiskey to top it off. When I smelled it, it smelled mostly fine. I guess that was what Rochelle saw. I was still debating it when Toby came in.”
“What did he do?”
“Oh, he complained that I was going too slowly and that I needed to be more kind to my sister wives and was just annoying. He came over and grabbed the coffee. Before he drank it, I said, ‘I’m not sure if you want that,’ so I totally warned him, but he chugged it. I suggested he go into the living room, and I would be there soon. Instead, I took the mug with the leaves out to the pool.”
“The one you ‘found’ the next day?”
“Yes. I had decided by then that maybe it was better if the police knew about it. So really, it was just an accident. Now, should I tell them that?”
“Tell them what?”
“That it was an accident—he picked up the wrong glass. Or actually, I told the police already that I was in my room all night, so I’m just going to stick to that story. Unless you can think of something better?”
Dwayne pushed the door open. “The truth is always the way to go. Now, stand up. Sparrow Braun, you are being arrested for the murder of your husband.”
Visible through the doorway were a few other officers and the three dragon-shifter elders. Sparrow wasn’t going to get away with it.
But I felt sad that a mermaid had proven herself to be all the things Nathalia had accused her of being.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Twyla sat on the chair I had managed to clear off as I explained how my week had been.
“Wow, that’s crazy. And did she confess?”
“Not really, but they heard enough. From what I understand, she is saying they misheard and it was a mistake, but I don’t think that will hold up. It seems like it was a crime of opportunity, but a happy wife doesn’t just poison her husband because she had the opportunity. They think she will take a plea bargain once her options are explained to her. The remaining wives have decided they will stay together for the kids, so that’s nice.”
“How did things end up with your sister?”
“That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about. My sister said that she only flirted with Aiden to get me to confess that I had feelings for him.”
“And did you?”
“Well, I don’t think she was being one hundred percent honest, but yes, I did. Do you want to say I told you so?”
“No. I’m just happy you’re realizing it.”
I fell back onto the bed. “But it actually makes my life a lot more complicated. Aiden and I are so close, and he has commitments that don’t involve me.”
“Yes, it is complicated. But you will figure it out. You just need to talk to him.”
“I will eventually. But I want to figure out some things in my own life first. This could totally ruin our friendship, and then I would need to find a new place to live.”
“He’s not going to kick you out because you tell him you have feelings.”
“You don’t know that.”
She sighed and checked her watch. “Okay, well, I have to get to work, but we will talk about this more. Dwayne will probably have some suggestions.”
I gasped. “You can’t tell him! Or anyone. Promise me?”
“Jeez, okay. He’s going to figure it out and not believe me if I try to lie.”
“Just don’t volunteer any information.”
“What about Tavros and Esmerelda? We all know you two like each other.”
“Don’t tell them either. I’ll figure this out eventually. And I don’t want anyone meddling. Do you really think it is mutual?”
“Yeah, I do, Brooke.”
I sighed. That did help my achy heart but didn’t solve anything. “But his commitments might override that.”
Twyla paused and then nodded. “I know. It’s a possibility. But I think with time and the realization that he could lose you, he’ll make the right decision.”
“You think us being together is the right decision?”
“I do. I’ve known him for a long time. He cared for me when I was a little sapling. He’s been my protector, like a big brother. I’ve always wanted him to be happy, and for a long time, that was him being single. But you two together is even better. I want us all to be together for a long time.”
“Thanks, Twyla. I need to think, but we can talk more tomorrow. I’ll be working at the store with you, and Esmerelda wants me to make another ring. The one I had cracked after the interrogation. It couldn’t hold up to the strain.”
She went on her way, and I decided to continue decluttering my living space. I had made a little bit of progress, but there was a long way to go. I decided to tackle my closet and see if packing up my summer clothes would give me enough space to transfer in some of the winter clothes.
I threw open the door, and Chuy hopped up to trot over to the closet. She pressed her nose to the box I had shoved in there a few days earlier and flipped the lid off.
“Okay, easy there. I guess I could spend a few minutes digging around in here.”
I pulled out the box and plopped next to it to gently pull things out. There was an old baby outfit that tore at the seams when I attempted to unfold it and an old tintype photo of a baby.
“I don’t think this is my stuff.” I continued to sift through a set of ribbons for needlework from the early 1900s and a couple of old silver rings. “Like I don’t have enough junk in here already? Now I have stuff that isn’t even mine.”
Standing on end was a photo album that was significantly newer than anything else in the box. I slid it out and opened it to the first page. There was my sister, looking exactly like she had this weekend, wearing a baby-doll dress with black Doc Martens. She had fluffy bangs and was making a peace sign on the boardwalk at a beach.
The next picture showed her in front of a cake with a candle on it. Our mom was next to her, looking as trim as ever. I was not in any of the pictures. “Chuy, I guess this was from before I was born.”
I continued to flip through the pages. Finally, near the end, there was a picture with one of the old-fashioned date-and-time stamps on the bottom, which indicated it had been taken just a few days before I was born. I stared at the picture of my sister in the same outfit from the first page, looking like something from a Seattle grunge band.
“My sister is one hundred years and one week older than me. If this is her hundredth birthday, then why isn’t my mom pregnant? I was born only a week later.”
Chuy didn’t have an answer, but she did paw at my thigh and whine.
I flipped to the last page to see someone who had not appeared in any other photos: my grandmother. And she was very pregnant.
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Also By Nikki Haverstock
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Mermaid to the Rescue
Hot Springs Homicide
The Corpse with Four Wives
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Death on the Range
Death at the Summit
Death at the Trade Show
Death Indoors
Death in the Casino
Death from Abroad
Death in the Desert
Death in the Dormitory - Short Story
Captain Liz Laika Mysteries
Space Murder
Alien Ambush
Space Station Investigation
Casino Witch Mysteries
Of Murders and Mages
Which Mage Moved the Cheese?
No Business like Mage Business
Nice Day for a Mage Wedding
Dragons are a Mage’s Best Friend
Dragons are Forever
Only the Good Mages Die Young
Miss Mage
Casino Witch Mini Mysteries
A Mage Made in Heaven
Reality TV Cozy Mysteries
Lights, Camera, Murder
Crossover Murder
Nikki Haverstock is a writer who lives on a small ranch high in the Rocky Mountains. She has studied comedy writing at Second City and has published over twenty cozy, space and paranormal mysteries that are heavy on the humor.
Before fleeing the city, she hosted a competitive archery reality show, traveled the world to study volcanoes, taught archery and computer science at a university and worked on a ranch herding cattle. Nikki has more college degrees than she has sense and hopefully one day she will put one to work.
Nikki likes to write comedy pieces that focus on the everyday humor of friends, family and the absurdity of life. She tried stand up but the cattle weren’t impressed.
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
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