A Charming Crime Read Online Free PDF Page B

to
the right place.” She gestured toward the little pink cottage, and put her hand
out.
    I thought she
was going to shake it, but she flipped it over, palm up, and drew on her reader
glasses that hung around her neck on to the bridge of her nose.
    “I’m Chandra
Shango. I own the shop next door.” A flash of humor crossed her face when she dropped
my hand, and then looked at her store. “Cleansing Spirit Spa.”
    “I sure could
use a good massage right now.” I could feel my shoulders knotting up from
confusion. My nerves were fried. Where had the man gone?
    I noticed two
large window boxes held a few of the herb plants I had been looking for.
    “Drowsy Daisies
and Moonflowers.” My mouth dropped opened when I saw the flowers perked up,
standing at attention. All this time I had been searching the internet to find
the ingredients in Darla’s recipe book, when I could’ve traveled twenty minutes
south of Locust Grove.
    “Darla planted
those. It hasn’t been the same since Darla’s been gone.” Chandra had perfectly
manicured fingernails. They were painted sky blue with a tiny star in the
middle of each one. She looked to be around fifty, with soft hazel eyes and
short raspberry hair. “Did you know Darla Heal?”
    “Da. . .,” I
stammered. “Did you say Darla Heal?”
    Dizzy again, I
was sure I was going to faint.
    The tapping of
heels caused us to look down the street. Isadora was running as fast as she
could in her pointed-heeled boots. Ann was right behind her, her short legs
trying to keep up with Isadora, which was virtually impossible.
    “You hoo!”
Isadora’s skirt flew up all over the place, her long blonde hair flowing behind
her. Her arms flailed in the air. “Chandra, I see you met June. She’s a
homeopathic from Locust Grove.”
    Isadora’s chest
heaved in and out as she tried to catch her breath. She sat down on the bench
beneath the tattered sign.
    “You just might
need a pedicure after that run.” Chandra cackled, clasping her hands together.
    Ann finally
caught up. Her face contorted like an old cow as she rubbed her lower back.
    “Leave it to you
to spill the beans.” Ann snarled at Chandra. “Izzy had it all planned out and
you ruin it.”
    “That’s enough.”
Isadora stood up and put her hand out for Ann to be quiet. Her eyes were dark
and as powerful as her words. “Chandra did no such thing. You are walking a
thin line.”
    Chandra shielded
her smile with her hands. There was a state of shock in her expression.
    “I told you this
was going to blow up.” Ann threw her hands in the air. “But no. You had to be
all secretive and go behind everyone’s back trying to find Darla’s daughter
when Darla didn’t want her to be found.”
    “I said enough!”
Izzy’s eyes narrowed.
    “And the shed!”
Ann stomped. “Do you know how many ingredients I tried before the darn thing
would explode?”
    I felt the blood
drain from my face. Slowly I took a seat on the bench, trying to wrap my head
around Ann’s words.
    My shed? She
blew up my shed?
    “Look at her.
She’s definitely nothing like Darla.” Ann tapped my foot with her shoe. “Weak,
just like her dad. But she did see something in one of the crystal balls.”
    “Crystal balls?”
I asked. I stood up, keeping one hand on the bench to make sure I was stable
enough to balance. This bunch was crazy. Crystal balls were for those psychic
types. I walked around in a complete circle, carefully looking at each shop and
the people milling around. Sure there were some strange shops with some very
weird names, and some of the people wore turbans, cloaks, pointy-toed shoes,
and other weird getups, but who was I to pass judgment?
    “Is Madame
Torres in the crystal ball?” I asked.
    “Yes,” Ann said.
    “You’ve said
enough!” Isadora slapped Ann across the face just as a clap of thunder was
heard in the bright blue sky.
    Ann cowed down.
She rubbed her face while she straightened her turban. Her eyes pierced