Love Can Be Murder

Thankfully, it appeared that they had given up. She relaxed a bit... until she noticed a commotion up ahead in front of her store. A crowd had gathered, including two more TV cameras. Marie's blue hair shone like a beacon; she was standing under the awning, gesturing in what looked like an attempt to address the crowd. Penny picked up the pace, dread billowing in her stomach. What now?
    She was a few feet away from the crowd of about fifty when someone shouted, "There she is!"
    In one collective movement, the people turned to stare, then began to run toward her. Paralyzed, Penny stood rooted to the ground as women surrounded her, thrusting voodoo dolls in her face. "My husband needs a wake-up call—can you stick him in the hip?"
    "In the foot?"
    "In the crotch?"
    "I want mine dead! Stick him in the heart, like you stuck it to your husband!"

Chapter Sixteen

    Monitor concoction for deterioration...

    PENNY BLINKED, slack-jawed, as women pushed and pulled on her clothing, begging her to perform a ritual on their husband voodoo dolls. A doll popped her in the forehead, then fell to the ground. Suddenly she was pelted with dolls. Out of nowhere, Marie appeared and grabbed Penny's arm.
    "Get a divorce lawyer!" Marie yelled to the crowd as she dragged Penny to the relative safety of the door. The cameras had captured everything.
    "There are more inside," Marie warned, then she opened the door. Sure enough, Penny was rushed again by people clutching dolls and amulets, bones, and even a live chicken. Guy cowered behind the counter. "Everybody out," Marie shouted, "unless you plan to buy something."
    "I'll pay for a voodoo session!" one woman yelled, holding her doll high.
    "Me too"s chorused around the shop, and Marie turned to Penny, eyebrows raised. Penny scowled, then shook her head, and Marie seemed dejected. "Sorry, folks, no voodoo sessions, but how about a nice tall glass of Hot Voodoo Sex?"
    The question distracted the crowd enough for Penny to slip away and make a beeline for her office. She closed the door behind her and leaned against it, puffing her cheeks out in an exhale. How much crazier could things get?
    Then she straightened and looked heavenward, her hands up in surrender. "I didn't mean that as a challenge."
    She sighed and dropped into her desk chair, then stared at the locked bottom drawer, tempted to dive in. She needed the comfort, the flood of endorphins to calm her. Her mouth watered, and she was reaching for the desk key before she caught herself. She'd regret it later... she always did. The stash was there as a reminder that she could resist temptation, not as a quick fix. Recognizing the distraction as a delay tactic, she forced herself to pick up the phone and dial Gloria Dalton's cell phone number. Gloria answered on the second ring.
    "Hello?"
    "Hi, Gloria, it's Penny. Is this a bad time?"
    "I just heard you on Kenner in the Morning. Please don't talk to the press, Penny."
    "But I didn't!"
    "When the man asked if you'd killed your husband with a voodoo hex, you said, 'Ex- husband.'"
    "So?"
    "So that sounds as if you admitted to killing your ex-husband with a voodoo hex!"
    Penny winced. "It was taken out of context."
    Gloria sighed and something rattled in the background that sounded like a pill bottle being opened. "How are you holding up?"
    "I haven't fallen apart." Penny glanced at the bottom desk drawer. "Yet."
    "Good. Hang in there. I have a call in to Detective Maynard for an update. Maybe he'll have good news."
    "While you have him on the phone, ask him about the .45 handgun that was supposedly found in my apartment during their search."
    "You had a gun?"
    "No! That's the point—a gun is listed on the paperwork as being removed, but I don't own a gun and I never have."
    "Okay," Gloria said, sounding nervous. "I'll look into it. Anything else?"
    Penny hesitated, then said, "There was an incident while I was out on my regular morning run."
    "What kind of incident?"
    "I was, um, shot at."
    "What? Are you sure?"
    "I'm sure that two shots were fired that came very close to hitting me."
    "Did you see where they came from?"
    "No."
    "Have you reported it to the police?"
    "I will as soon as we hang up."
    Gloria made agitated noises. "Okay, I'll let Maynard know when I talk to him."
    "One more thing," Penny said. "I hired a private investigator."
    "Why?" Gloria said, her voice suspicious.
    "I thought he might be able to poke around where the police can't."
    "Be careful. You don't want to step on