“What looks like salt? Superfine sugar?” Estella guessed. “No, that wouldn’t trigger Bren’s allergy.”
“It had to be some kind of red meat. Like beef bouillon granules,” said Nora.
June shook her head. “Ketchup, mustard, relish—I don’t think they could mask the flavor of beef broth. Not enough, anyway.”
“Which is why Beck had to find a tasteless supplement made of freeze-dried organ meats,” said Hester. “He ground up some pills and sprinkled them on Bren’s food. Jasper found the pill bottle in a bag in the trunk of Beck’s rental car. The bottle cost him thirty bucks, which is why he didn’t throw it out. He’s actually been taking the rest of the supplements.”
Sheldon rolled his eyes. “Waste not, want not.”
Hester was still looking at June. “That Friday night you and Nora saw Bren being sick? That was the result of Beck testing out the effectiveness of the pills. He knew which foods Bren liked, so when he left a gift basket full of snacks at Soothe’s back door with a note that said ‘Watson Realty welcomes you to Miracle Springs. Call us for all of your housing needs,’ neither Bren nor Celeste batted an eye. Bren ate the oversized pretzel, just like Beck knew she would, and five hours later, she was sick.”
“That’s seriously twisted.” Nora met June’s eyes. She knew that her friend remembered their interaction with Bren as if it had happened yesterday.
“That’s why she was so upset,” June said. “It had nothing to do with us. Bren’s warning bells were telling her that Wolf Beck had tracked them to Miracle Springs. He must have showed up at her place later on, asking for Juliana’s book. If only she’d told her mama, they might both be alive.”
“Why didn’t she just give the maniac the book?” Estella cried.
Hester shook her head. “She told Beck that her mother hid it before they moved. She had no idea it was inside the mushroom table, and she was furious at Celeste for keeping the hiding place secret. At least, that’s what Beck says.”
He lies.
Celeste’s voice was a faint whisper in Nora’s mind. It seemed fitting that she was present at this table. If only in memory.
There was a stretch of silence before June asked, “Any other sinister stuff in Beck’s pockets?”
Hester speared a plantain with her fork. “His envelope of cash was full of counterfeit bills. The murder case might be complicated, but the penalty for passing counterfeit money is very straightforward. He swears this is the first and only time he’s committed this particular crime, but once is enough. Beck is screwed.”
“Wolf Beck, Maestro of Forgery.” Nora’s tone was acerbic. “Grimoires, money, CBD oil. What else? Paintings by the Old Masters?” Picking up Sheldon’s glass, she gulped down the rest of his mojito.
Estella nudged Hester. “Fast-forward to the happy ending, would ya? Tell us the bastard made a full confession or, better yet, his fake spells worked, and a bunch of demons dragged him straight to Hell.”
“He’ll have a long pit stop in prison first.” Hester’s eyes were on Nora. “Sheriff McCabe is looking at Beck’s financial records, and Jasper’s reviewing his online history. Fuentes and Wiggins went over every inch of his rental car. They have bags of incriminating evidence. I don’t know every detail, but I know they’ve found the organ meat supplements, a jar of mustard powder, and some dried wolfsbane leaves. They also found a pair of hiking boots in the back seat. The crevices in the out-soles are jam-packed with trace bits of food, soil, and glass from Celeste’s apartment.”
“So the good guys are going to win?” Sheldon asked.
Hester’s smile lit up the room. “The good guys are going to win.”
Though tears pricked Nora’s eyes, she really, really didn’t want to cry. She didn’t want to spoil Sheldon’s beautiful meal, so she grabbed his hand. She then reached for June’s hand, and suddenly, everyone at the table was holding hands.
The five of them sat like that, holding hands and fighting back tears, to the accompaniment of an extremely upbeat salsa song.
The scene was so ridiculous that Nora started to laugh. Her friends, encouraged by mojitos and the news that justice would prevail, joined in. The outburst didn’t last long, but the laughter lingered in the air like a bouquet of birthday balloons.
Glancing around at her friends, Nora said, “Have I told you lately that I love you?”