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been stabbed in the back on the walkway between his driveway and his Victorian-era house.  Meg focused her gaze not only on the cobblestone walkway but also the surrounding grass. 
    It wasn’t long before her hunch had been proven right.  Meg spotted something.  On closer inspection, she saw it was a ruby earring. What a find.  At the same time, she was glad she’d cast the spell.  The green earring blended in quite well with the grass, so it was no surprise that the police hadn’t spotted it.  On top of that, the earring was also halfway across the lawn from where the body was found.  The question became, whose earring was this?
    That one would have to wait to be answered.  In the meantime, Meg alerted her boyfriend. 
    “Connor, I found something,” she said. 
    Connor looked up from the police scanner with disbelief in his eyes.  He got out of the car and approved.  
    “What is it?” he asked. 
    Meg grabbed a tissue from her purse and picked up the earring. 
    “See for yourself.”
    The detective shook his head.  “How did my men miss this?”
    Meg had other thoughts on her mind.  “I don’t know.  The more important thing is, who does this belong to?”
    Their conversation then shifted its focus entirely when they heard a noise coming from the back of the house.
    “What was that?” Meg asked. 
    “Let’s find out,” Connor said.   
    Connor and Meg then both rushed to the back of the house to investigate. 

 
    Chapter Thirteen
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    When Connor and Meg rounded the corner to the back of the house, they saw Paige Wakefield running through the backyard.  Connor gave chase.  Meg decided on a different tact.  It was actually to her benefit that both Paige and Connor had their backs to her.  That gave Meg the chance to hang back, close her eyes, and cast a tripping spell.
    A moment later, with the spell accomplished, Paige tripped over her own feet and fell to the ground.  With Paige face planting, both Connor and Meg were able to catch up with her. 
    Paige looked completely embarrassed like she had no idea how she could have tripped.  Connor and Meg had plenty of questions of their own.  Paige was Ethan’s third wife.  She was a bookish, petite woman in her late forties with shoulder-length curly hair and an angular face.
    Connor fired the first question at her.  “What are you doing here?  This is a crime scene.”
    “It’s also my house,” Paige replied. 
    “That’s true, but my men ordered you to stay away while this investigation is taking place.” 
    “I know.  I just wanted to come here and grab my phone.”
    That didn’t add up in Meg’s mind.  “If that’s true, then why were you sneaking out the back?”
    Paige stumbled over her answer.  “Well, because, like you said, I knew I wasn’t supposed to come back here.  At the same time, you know how attached to our phones we all are these days.  I can’t imagine being without my smartphone for days, especially after losing my dear husband.”
    Paige’s attitude completely turned on a dime.  Suddenly, she went from panicked to trying to drum up sympathy.  She wouldn’t get any from Meg and Connor, considering how eager she was to flee from the scene.  
    Meg went right after her story.  “You said you came back here to grab your phone, but what if you really came back here for something else? For example, to remove incriminating evidence.”
    Paige’s fake puppy dog eyes filled with rage in a hurry.  She became defiant.  “How dare you--”
    Meg cut her off.  “Do you recognize this?” 
    Meg held up the earring she’d found in the grass.
    Paige surprised Meg and Connor both by giving them a blank look. 
    “No,” Paige replied. 
    Meg didn’t believe her.  She went after her again.  “So, this isn’t your earring?”
    Paige scoffed.  “No.  I’d never wear an earring that ugly.”
    This, from a woman wearing head to toe yellow.  Paige looked like a