I raised my eyebrows in Alex’s general direction but covered it by taking a drink. My mother’s volatile emotional states had been the subject of intense discussion over the years.
“Tuffy told me ‘bacon.’ That’s what he said. I should have listened.” Vi punctuated each of these statements with a fist to the table. “And then Gary waltzes in here and gives the dog bacon!” She threw up her hands and looked around the table. “You never should have let him go after that.” Vi waggled her finger at me as if Tuffy had been somehow harmed by the evening’s events instead of sitting happily on Seth’s lap at the dinner table eating meatloaf.
“What did you want me to do? He’s the owner. He came to get his dog.” I reached for, and knocked over, my wine-glass in my agitation; Alex caught it before it could spill but tipped his own water glass in the process. Mom jumped up to get a towel.
“You could use the senses you were given and realize when a murderer is standing in your living room,” Violet said, ignoring the frantic activity around her.
“If you want to know what my senses are telling me, I don’t think he did it.” I had to lean past Mom and Alex and the mopping frenzy to look Vi in the eye. “I don’t care what kind of alibi he does or does not have. It doesn’t add up to me. The divorce was over. They’d already had the worst of their conflict. Why would he kill her now?”
“The tarot showed it was a man with money troubles that did it. I heard from Sara that Gary hadn’t managed his money very well after the divorce,” Mom said while she refilled the water glass.
“Well, I guess that confirms it. Tuffy said ‘bacon’ and your cards clearly identify Gary, so let’s just bring all this evidence to the district attorney and we’ll be set,” I said.
“There’s no reason to get snippy, Clyde. They’re just trying to figure this out,” Dad said.
Violet and I were staring at each other, neither one willing to back down.
Alex glanced from me to Vi. He hadn’t been in the middle of one of these fights since high school. Seth and Tuffy stared with wide eyes.
“Stop it, both of you,” said my mother. “I agree with Clyde. I’m surprised that Gary is the killer.”
Violet finally broke the stare-off, a win for me.
“Let’s not turn on each other here,” said Dad. “The police know what they’re doing. They’ve arrested Gary, and that’s that.” He poured another glass of wine, ending the discussion.
I was relieved that Dad felt that way. I hoped we could all go back to normal now that an arrest had been made.
“I know . . . ,” Vi said, and drummed her fingers on the table. “We’ll ask the pendulum.”
“Not the pendulum.” Alex groaned. He had not had good luck with the pendulum in the past. It was one of those things that Vi claimed anyone could do, but Alex had never managed to get that thing to swing. He was convinced that everyone else was moving it with their hands and he was the only honest one in the room.
“What’s the pendulum?” asked Seth.
“Well, we could do that.” Mom ignored Seth. “It is a yes or no question. Did Gary do it or not? I’ll go get it.” She hurried into her parlor and came back with a velvet pouch.
She carefully tipped the bag onto the table. A pointed crystal attached to a short chain slid out. Seth’s eyes grew wide, my father’s eyes closed, and he seemed to be talking to himself.
Vi produced a piece of paper that had a large plus sign on it. One direction indicated YES, the other NO. Mom and Vi flattened the paper in the middle of the table and muttered to each other about the proper orientation.
“Okay, let’s ask the pendulum,” my mother said, surveying the table. “Clyde, do you want to do the honors?” She smiled as if she had offered me cake.
“No. Why don’t you let Seth do it?”
Vi and Mom exchanged a glance.
“The boy has never done this. He doesn’t know how,” said Vi.
“It’s not that hard. He can do it,” I said, holding her gaze. Alex snorted next to me.
“Yeah, let me do it. What do I do?” Seth said, reaching for the crystal.
Mom covered it with her hand. After a pointed look in my direction, she turned to Seth. “Hold the crystal and concentrate on your question.”
She handed the crystal to Seth, careful to touch just the chain, allowing only his energy into the crystal itself. Seth gripped the crystal and closed his eyes in concentration.
“What’s the question again?” he asked, one eye popping open.
“Did Gary kill Sara?” Vi told the table as she cradled her head in her hands.
“Oh, right. Got it.” Seth went back to concentrating. It looked painful.
Mom used her soothing voice, and said, “When you’re ready, take the end of the chain and dangle the crystal over the center of the paper where the lines meet. Make sure it’s very still and that you hold your arm steady. Then ask your question.”