Love Can Be Murder

both missing from the New Orleans area—to the bulletin board. Their families, she knew, were suspended in a nagging limbo. Most of her life she'd endured the ache of waiting for someone to come back. Was it worse, she wondered, when the missing person was suspected dead, or, as in her case, when she knew the person was still alive?
    "Ready?" B.J. asked.
    Jarred from her disturbing musings, Penny nodded, handed over the paperwork, and exited the shop. "I should call Gloria and give her this number."
    B.J. hooked his thumb to the left, in the direction opposite from Deke's office. "I'm going to step into the sandwich shop and ask a few questions."
    "I'll wait for you here," she said, not keen on enter ing Deke's office alone.
    He nodded as if he understood, then strode away.
    Her gaze lingered on his broad shoulders, and she wondered how long he would stay in town, how long she would need his help. Would he be able to find something to exonerate her before the police lowered the boom? She still held out hope the crime scene evidence would lead the police in another direction, but if the killer truly had gone to such lengths to frame her, he or she probably would have taken pains not to leave anything behind.
    So she was back to hoping Deke's murder was a random event by some unstable person whipped into a frenzy by the activities of the Voodoo Festival.
    Praying that Gloria Dalton would have good news, Penny punched in the number using the tiny buttons. She must have done everything right, because the phone rang on the other end, although it rolled over to Gloria's voice mail. Penny left a message with her new cell phone number and disconnected the call with a sigh.
    Standing in the cool breeze enveloping the lovely fall day, she closed her eyes and wished for the relative peace of her life twenty-four hours ago. She wasn't sure when the finality of Deke's death would sink in, but she dreaded the moment. She felt like the headless chicken she'd seen flapping around the voodoo shelter in the square—eventually the adrenaline was going to run out, and she'd be...
    Well, hopefully not dead.
    She looked all around, remembering her close call this morning. Her pulse spiked, but all seemed quiet in Mojo. Pedestrians strolled on the sidewalk of the strip mall, and cars rolled down this section of Charm Street as if everything were perfectly normal. Then suddenly the cool breeze turned cold, sending dried, curled leaves scuttling across the ground, the sound conjuring up images of rattling bones.
    Penny shivered. Everything wasn't perfectly normal. A murderer was in their midst, who, according to Jules, had not yet exhausted his or her evil.
    "Ms. Francisco?"
    Penny turned to see the young man who'd sold her the phone standing in the open door to the electronics shop looking uncomfortable.
    "Yes?"
    "I was wondering...do you know how to cast a... a... l-love spell on someone?"
    She frowned. "Excuse me?"
    "You know," he said, gesturing vaguely. "Can you do or say something to make someone fall in love against their will?"
    "I certainly hope not," B.J. said, striding up with a wink. He clasped Penny's elbow and steered her away from the inquisitive youth. "Can you?" he murmured.
    "No," she said, her breath coming faster at his teasing grin and his warm proximity. Then she felt silly for even answering and straightened. "Did you find out anything?"
    He shook his head. "Another dead end. This town seems to be full of them—no pun intended. Did you talk to your attorney?"
    "I had to leave her a message."
    B.J. stopped before a door bearing a black-and-gold sign that read Deke A. Black, Attorney at Law. A black mourning bow had been attached to the sign. Penny's lungs constricted painfully.
    "Are you okay with this?" B.J. asked.
    Her distress must have been written on her face. "I remember when Deke hung that sign. This was his father's practice, and Deke joined it when we moved to Mojo. Then his father died suddenly, and Deke said he felt as if he was betraying him by changing the sign."
    "That's understandable," B.J. said. "Sounds as if they were close."
    "You would think so," Penny said. "But actually there was always something between them."
    "What?"
    Penny frowned. "Deke's mother, Mona."
    "That would be the mayor."
    "Right. She ruled the roost, and both men accommodated her. And she wasn't above playing them against each other if it meant getting her way."
    B.J. grimaced. "She sounds like a real piece of work."
    "She is, but