That Olde White Magick. Sharon Pape

to push herself up from the chair. “No hurry, sit a while longer” I told her. “I’ll ring this up whenever you’re ready.”

      “Thank you. It does feel good to get off my feet. Don’t get me wrong, Cliff is a wonderful man, but when he’s not feeling well, he keeps me hopping.”

      “Hopefully this will do the trick. It acts like an expectorant and a cough suppressant. Just make a tea with it.”

      . “It’s not actually made from a horse’s hoof, is it?” she asked hesitantly.

      “No, not at all. It got the name from the shape of its leaf. Someone thought it looked like a colt’s foot, I guess.”

      “That’s a relief. Tell me, has there been anything more about Amanda’s tragic death?”

      “Not that I know of, but everyone I speak to seems to have their own theory on the killer’s identity.”

      “Interesting,” Nancy said. “I believe I know pretty much everyone in this town, but I can’t imagine any one of them doing such a terrible thing. Of course Clifford says I’m the same naive kid I was when we met.”

      “Does he have a suspect in mind?”

      “Well, to be honest, he’s never much liked our mayor.”

      “Do you know why?” I’d never heard anyone speak badly of Lester. He was a bit smarmy for my taste, a typical glad-hander who had sailed into the mayor’s position because no one else wanted the job. To his credit, during seven years in office, he’d held onto the good will of the majority of the electorate.

      “Cliff is sure he’s on the take.”

      “Does he have evidence?” I asked.

      Nancy giggled. “He claims he has a sixth sense, but I’ve known the man for over sixty years, and I’ve never once seen it in action.” She glanced at her watch and sighed. “As lovely as it is to sit and chat, I need to be getting back to him.”

      I rang up her purchase and put it in one of our reusable mini totes. “Let me know if the Colt’s Foot does the trick,” I said, handing it to her, “and give your husband my best wishes for a speedy recovery.”

      After she left, I sat in the chair she’d vacated. I had to get busy interviewing possible suspects. We had to find the killer before tourists chose another quaint town to visit, one that didn’t have murder victims cropping up on a regular basis. First thing in the morning, I would go over to Winterland. The manager of a ski resort shouldn’t be too busy to see me on a hot day in August.