Part 2 (1/2)
”Oh good, youre going to talk to her. I hope shes doing . . . as well as she can be after last night. And what happened at File and Style that made your blood boil?”
Maggie flicks her wrist, trying to make the whole experience disappear from her memory. ”These young women were gossiping about Clara. They were saying some really nasty things about her. You just dont do that in a small town. I mean, you dont do that anywhere, but what were they thinking? Of course someone would overhear them who knew Ginger Rae.” Maggies heart starts pounding again in anger.
Clem reaches across the small table separating them and rests her hand on top of Maggies. ”Its not on you to make sure no one speaks badly about Clara. Or Ginger Rae.”
”I know, I know. I gave them a piece of my mind though. Told them how inconsiderate they were being.”
Clem chuckles and picks up her tea again. Maggie smells the fruitiness as the mug moves through the air from the table to Clems lips. ”Im sure you did,” she says with a smile before taking a sip.
Maggie wants to ask what that is supposed to mean but lets it go because a telephone ringing interrupts their conversation.
”I think we both know who thats for,” Clem says, giving Maggie a pointed look.
Maggie stands and walks quickly to the red English phone booth near the front of the store. She lets herself inside and picks up the ringing phone.
”h.e.l.lo?” she asks.
”I hear you can help me,” the voice on the other end of the line says.
”Clara?” Maggie asks, wanting to make sure shes talking to the right . . . ghost. Shes still not used to this phenomenon.
”Of course. Who else would it be?”
Maggie wonders why every ghost shes spoken to on this phone is so impatient with her questions. Its not every day she talks to the other side.
”Right. Yes, Id like to find out what happened last night,” Maggie says.
”Well, I didnt kill myself like some people probably think. Sure, my life wasnt that great, but I came to my aunts house to turn it around. I really was ready to make changes this time.”
Maggie decides to ask a question to which she doesnt expect a helpful answer. ”So what happened?”
”You tell me.” Claras remark is quick and biting.
”Itd make it easier if you can tell me anything you remember about what happened. And anyone who might have . . . held a grudge.”
”You mean anyone who wanted me dead.” Clara is right but it sounds so much harsher than how Maggie phrased it. Maggie doesnt respond and Clara continues. ”Well, I was about to take a shower. Aunt Ginger Rae had invited me to join your birthday party-sorry it was ruined-but I thought Id make myself a little more presentable first. So I went to my dresser to get some clothes to bring with me to the bathroom and the next thing I knew, there was a gun to my head.”
”Did the perpetrator say anything?” Maggie asks.
”Perpetrator? How about we tell it like it is. The killer. And no, I dont remember hearing them say anything.”
”How long before they shot you?”
”Just long enough for me to scream. Why would I scream if I killed myself?”
Maggie smiles. Clara has more going on in her head than those girls who spoke ill of her at the salon. ”I thought the same thing. Is there anyone you can think of who would have done this to you?” Maggie asks, getting Clara back on track.
Theres a pause on the phone before Clara says, ”I dont think anyone would actually want me dead, but I didnt exactly get along with everyone I met.”
”How so?”
”Well, theres my ex-husband Stewart Cole. Find me a divorced couple who does get along,” Clara says snidely.
”Fair enough,” Maggie agrees.
”And my adoptive parents, we didnt exactly see eye to eye.”
So far none of this information is new to Maggie. ”What about your birth parents, were you in touch with them?”
”Only my birth mother, Jessie. She found me about ten years ago and wanted to rekindle the relations.h.i.+p we didnt have but it didnt go well.”
”Why not?”
Maggie is met with only silence.
”When was the last time you saw her?” Maggie tries again.
Maggie can almost hear Clara tap her chin as she thinks. ”Six months ago maybe. Before this last trip to rehab.”
”Any indication that things had gotten worse?” Maggie is sure her time is limited with Clara and wants as much information as possible.
”Nope. Sorry. Thats not helpful. Maybe next time I can offer you more.”
”Next time?” Maggie asks as the line goes dead. She hangs up, coming away with no more information than Detective Stevens and Ginger Rae gave her as leads to follow.
She walks back to Clem who is still enjoying her tea with no customers in the store. ”Clara?” Clem asks, looking up from her smart phone.
”Yeah.”
”Helpful?”
”Not really. I have the first name of her birth mother, but everything else she told me just corroborates what Ginger Rae shared with me about Clara last night.”
”Well thats something,” Clem says optimistically.
Maggie smiles and picks up her handbag from next to the antique chair. ”Im heading over to see Ginger Rae early. Ill let you get back to work.”
Clem laughs. ”Yeah, because Im so busy right now.”
As if on cue, the front door opens and a group of six adults, immersed in conversation, walks through the door. Maggie smiles at her sister and heads back out to Main Street and to her car.
CHAPTER 6.