“Do you think she killed him, Caleb?” someone else said.
I jerked slightly, then continued walking, sneaking a glance at Caleb from the corner of my eye. I hadn’t realized he was standing in that group of people.
“I dunno. Kitty always seemed pretty cool. Quiet, but cool.” Caleb fiddled with the zipper of his orange leather jacket, then his hand drifted to his necklace.
“They say it’s the quiet ones you have to watch out for,” another guy said.
His friends laughed, and I stiffened but still didn’t look over.
“I’ve gotta get to work,” Caleb said. “I’ll see you guys later.”
My steps slowed as I turned a corner and finally left the group behind. Hadn't Elaine mentioned months ago thatCaleb had a part-time job at Elixir and Ivy? Working at an apothecary shop would give him plenty of access to ingredients that might be used in a poison. I wasn’t sure what his motive would be, but Caleb had disliked Graham from the first time he met him. I should ask Elaine if she knew anything. It might make her mad if I threw suspicion on her boyfriend, but if there was something going on with him, she deserved to know.
I pulled out my phone and called her. She picked up on the second ring.
“Hey,” she said softly. Maybe she was already in the library where we usually met to do homework. It was crazy how the rest of us had to continue on with life as normal after something like this happened. “Are you okay?”
“About as okay as expected.” I didn’t love Graham anymore, but how did one get over the shock of losing someone so suddenly, no matter what they were to you?
“How did it go with the police yesterday?”
“It didn’t.” I blew out a breath. “I decided to wait and look into things first.”
“Did something happen after we talked last night?”
I flexed my fingers in my gloves to keep them warm. “I realized it couldn’t have been me.”
“I told you that. Not that you seemed to believe me,” she said. “So, what changed your mind?”
“Someone ate my other cookie from the bookstore, and they were totally fine.”
“Are you serious?” she said a bit too loudly. In the background, someone shushed her.
“Yes, but I’m still looking into Graham’s death because I want the police to wrap this up before my family is caught in any more drama.” A hint of coffee and cinnamon drifted from the coffee kiosk, but I resisted the urge to stop. I needed to get to the flower shop and see if Riley had found out anything else about Graham.
“Well, be careful.”
“I will,” I said. For a few moments, I searched for a casual way to bring up my next conversation, but when nothing came to mind, I just asked, “Do you know anything about why Caleb disliked Graham?”
Elaine gasped. “Are you suggesting that Caleb had something to do with what happened?”
“No, but I’d rather cross him off the list just to be safe,” I said. “Wouldn’t you?”
“Obviously I don’t want my boyfriend onthe list,” she said, “but I’m not sure what their deal was. Caleb and I avoided talking about Graham back when you were dating him since I could tell they didn’t get along, and there was no reason to bring him up once you broke up.” She fell silent, and I could picture the furrow in her brow and her slight scowl. “But for the record, not liking Graham doesn’t make Caleb a killer.”
“I know.”
“And—” She paused, then sighed. “I’ve gotta go. My aunt is calling.”
“Okay, I’ll talk to you later.”
She hung up, and I put my phone away with a frown. That had gone about as well as expected.
The clock tower chimed three times as I left campus and cut through a neighborhood where Halloween decorations were out in full force. One house had gone completelyHocus Pocuswith inflatables of the three witches standing around a cauldron in their front yard, andanother house with blue shutters had an enchanted scarecrow organizing gourds on a hay bale.
By the time I made it to Bewitching Blooms, I’d given myself two main tasks: talk to Jaxon to figure out if he knew what Graham had done in the hours before his death, and find out why Caleb didn’t like Graham and what he’d been doing the night Graham died. I knew little about Caleb besides the fact he was studying Economics at AHHC, he and Elaine were apparently soul mates—her words, not mine—and that he was the oldest of three kids.
I pulled out my phone and Googled him. At least that way I wouldn’t annoy Elaine with more questions.
