by Rose Pressey
Answering the phone, I said, “I was worried about you.”
“Where are you now?” Rory asked with suspicion still in his voice.
“Elly, the man has the video for us to see,” Tom called out.
“Oh, I see. You’re still busy with Tom,” Rory said.
“We’re trying to find Mildred,” I said.
“Yeah, I’ll let you get back to that,” Rory said and then hung up.
“Seriously?” I stopped and stared at the phone, still in disbelief that he had ended the call. Now I was kind of getting angry. He wasn’t giving me a chance to explain what was going on and he hadn’t given me a chance to even tell him about the strange man who had been at the house. What if that guy had kidnapped me? Rory would never see me again. For all I knew Kris Kringle had been there to do that and then went for Mildred.
“Is everything all right?” Tom asked.
I nodded. “Everything is fine.”
I wasn’t getting into this right now. We had to find Mildred and I really didn’t want to discuss Rory with Tom. He looked at me strangely but then didn’t ask any other questions. Tom and I stepped into the lobby. The owner was waiting for us behind the counter. He motioned for us to step back there with him.
“You can come back here,” he said.
Tom and I joined him behind the counter. He had his computer out and pulled up the surveillance video.
“As you can see, there’s nothing here. It doesn’t show the woman at all. Just the man when he comes in.” The owner pointed.
Tom leaned closer to the screen as if something might pop out at him if he got a closer view.
“Do you see anything?” I asked.
“I’m just looking for any new clues,” Tom said. After a few seconds, Tom leaned back from the screen. “There’s just nothing there. Thanks for letting us look though.”
“Not a problem. I hope you find the woman,” the hotel owner said.
As we were heading for the door, I caught a glimpse of something on the screen. I touched Tom’s arm to get him to stop.
“Wait. Look at where the video is paused.” I pointed at the screen.
Tom stepped back over to take a look. “What is it?”
“The car. Someone else is in the backseat. It’s a woman. Plus, we get a good look at half of the license plate.”
“Good catch, Elly,” Tom said.
I grabbed a piece of paper and a pen from the desk and scribbled down the information. Of course, it would take a while to figure this out, but it was somewhere to start for sure.
“I think we might get something from this,” Tom said. “Thanks again for doing this for us.”
“It was no problem. If I can help again let me know,” the hotel owner said.
Tom and I stepped back into the lobby and then walked out into the parking lot.
“That really was a good catch back there,” Tom said.
“Thanks,” I said with my cheeks blushing. “I think that spell is working after all.”
“See, you really do you know what you’re doing. That’s exactly the reason why I sent Mildred here in the first place.” Tom said as we headed for the car.
“Speaking of which, you still need to tell me why you came here in the first place. What is this big mission that I’m a part of now? Obviously, it’s something important. Does it have anything to do with her kidnapping?”
Tom opened the car door for me. “You’re not getting in the car until I tell you, are you?”
I shook my head. “No, I’m not.”
“All right, if you get in I promise I’ll explain everything.” He flashed a gorgeous smile at me and I knew I couldn’t refuse. “So you’ll get in?”
“Fine, but you’d better tell me,” I said as I slipped into the car. “I’ve been waiting to hear this since you first mentioned it.”
After Tom got behind the wheel he started the car and pulled out of the parking lot.
“I’m waiting,” I said.
He sighed. “I can’t tell you everything. Let’s just say that Mildred made some mistakes. That was why I wanted you to help her.”
“That’s nothing more than you’ve already told me,” I said.
“Don’t be so impatient. I’ll tell you when I can,” Tom said.
Tom was being incredibly stubborn by not telling me.
“You seem a bit distracted,” Tom said as he made a left and headed back toward the café. “Why don’t you tell me what’s going on? Does it have anything to do with Rory seeing us in the parking lot?”
I stared out the window as if maybe I wouldn’t have to answer him if I didn’t look at him. When the silence settled between us I knew Tom was watching me.
I glanced over. “Yes, it has everything to do with that. I suppose he thought we were there together. You know, romantically.”
“Yeah, I understand,” Tom said. “Can you explain it to him?”
“I tried to explain, but I don’t think he wants to listen right now.”
“Would you like for me to talk to him?” Tom asked.
“No, not yet. Maybe soon. I’ll see if I can’t work things out first.”
“I’m sorry if I’ve made things difficult,” Tom said. “I suppose I have a hard time staying away from here.”
My heart beat a little faster. “What do you mean by that?”
“Just that it seems as if things always bring us together.”
“Yeah, I suppose that’s the case.”
Was it really fate? I wasn’t sure. I needed to talk to Grandma Imelda about that. She would be able to help me out of this.
“I’ll have the license plate traced,” Tom said, switching the conversation back to business.
I was thankful that he had changed the topic. “I hope we can find something from it,” I said.
“I think we will. It might take some time, but we’ll figure it out,” Tom said.
“In the meantime, we have to figure out about this spell.”
“I’m not sure I’m willing to be a taste tester for that one,” Tom said.
“How will we know what the spell is for unless we try it out?”
“Do you try out all the spells?” he asked.
“Well, no, but most of the time a spell is listed with an explanation of what it’s for. So I feel like there’s no reason to test them out. Besides, I couldn’t eat all that food if I had to test all the spells all the time.”
“How about trying a magic spell to figure out what the other spell is for?” Tom asked.
“I guess I could give that a try, but that sounds kind of complicated.”
“Nothing about magic is uncomplicated,” he said as he pulled up to the café.
“So what next? Do we just wait around for Mildred to show up or possibly track down the car’s license plate?”
“I think that’s about all we can do right now. It seems if she left with him on her own. I mean, it didn’t look as if she was in distress or anything.”
“I just can’t imagine she would leave with him on her own when she acted so strange about seeing him at the café,” I said.
“It does seem odd,” Tom said. “And I have to admit I get an uneasy feeling about that.”
“I just don’t know if I can go about my daily business worrying about this. I feel as if I should be looking for her until I find her.”
“I know you do, but the detectives and I are doing everything. You have to leave it to me, okay? The café needs you right now.”
“Do you need any more spells?” I asked.
“We’ll see if the one you did works. We may need another one. And you’re not going to check into that spell on that paper, are you?” Tom asked.
“Well, if you mean taste it, no. But I’ll definitely look through the book to see if I find it. Why would the person write it down on the paper?”
“Perhaps they couldn’t memorize it,” Tom said.
“Or it was someone who isn’t experienced with magic. Like Mildred,” I said
.
“Exactly,” Tom said.
“But where would she have gotten the spell?” I asked.
“That just goes along with all the other unanswered questions we have,” Tom said.
I sat there for a moment contemplating everything that had happened. Still no answers came to me. I supposed any remnants of the earlier spell had faded.
“Well, I should get back to the other detectives,” Tom said as he touched my hand.
The electric shock that always zipped through me when he touched me returned. I moved my hand away quickly.
“Okay, I’ll see you soon,” I said, opening the car door.
I didn’t even look back at him. His big blue eyes always made me melt. I hurried for the café door. When I stepped inside, I finally looked back. Tom was still watching me.
Chapter 12
I dashed away from the door so that he couldn’t see me. Mary Jane rushed through the door and over to me.
“You scared me,” I said, clutching my chest.
Laura followed behind Mary Jane.
“I didn’t see you all out there,” I said.
“We pulled up just as you got out of Tom’s car,” Mary Jane said. “What happened? I was worried.”
“Not a lot,” I said.
Her eyes widened.
“Well, I want to know everything. Even if it’s not a lot,” Mary Jane said.
Laura hung onto our every word.
“Well, we ate the cake and not much happened. I thought for sure that it hadn’t worked. Then I found the spell.” I pulled out the paper. “But I don’t know what it means. And then we went back to the hotel to see the video. Rory called me.”
“That’s good,” Mary Jane said.
“Not so good. He hung up on me.” I tried to catch my breath so that I could finish explaining. “And then I saw the video of Mildred in the car with Kris Kringle. We got part of the license plate for the car. It looked as if there was another woman in the backseat of the car in addition to Mildred who was in the front seat. That about sums it all up.”
“I don’t even know where to start with all of that,” Mary Jane said.
“But you didn’t find Mildred?” Laura asked.
“Not yet, but we’re hopeful that we will soon. I have to figure out what this magic spell is for.”
Mary Jane took the paper from me and studied yet. “Unfortunately, I know nothing about the stuff.”
“I wish I could help, but I don’t know much either,” Laura said. “So I’m no help.”
The bell above the door chimed and a middle-aged woman hurried toward the counter. She was no stranger to me. I’d grown to know her well over the past month. She’d been coming into the café demanding that I get everything correct for the Mystic Hollow Holiday Festival. I was catering the event. When I’d agreed to cater, I’d had no idea it would be such a big project. And normally I wouldn’t mind, but Mrs. Evans was demanding. And that was putting it nicely.
So now on the top of having to help find Mildred I had to make sure that the food was ready for the festival within two days. Needless to say, Mrs. Evans was freaking out. That was evident by the look on her face. She headed across the café floor with determination in each step. Her eyes were focused on me the whole time. Her tweed coat was cinched at her trim waist, concealing most of her willowy frame. The noise from the chunky brown heels on her feet echoed with each step. Her shiny brown hair was swept up and pinned primly into a bun.
“Oh, no. Here comes trouble,” I whispered.
“Don’t tell me, she wants the gingerbread men with icing now instead of without,” Mary Jane said out of the corner of her mouth.
“It’s okay, I’m making both,” I said.
“She’ll just complain that you didn’t follow her directions,” Mary Jane said.
“Well, it’ll all be over then, and she won’t have anything to complain about afterward.”
“She’ll find something,” Mary Jane said.
Laura groaned from somewhere over my shoulder. She’d just spotted Mrs. Evans. I plastered a smile on my face, preparing myself for whatever Mrs. Evans had planned for me.
“Elly, I need to speak with you. It’s extremely important.” She shoved her shoulders back and held her head up high.
She said that every single time she saw me. It was never anything extremely important. What would she say if it was extremely important? I would hate to see her reaction to an emergency.
“I’m all ears,” I said with the same smile plastered on my face.
“Do you have the gingerbread cookies prepared?” she asked with a smirk.
“Well, it’s two days until the festival. I figured perhaps I should wait so they’ll be fresh.”
“I think you should prepare some for us to test out before then. What if they’re bad?”
“Look, Mrs. Evans, you hired me because you thought I was the best, right?”
“No, I hired you because… well, you’re the only one who was available at the time.”
Wow. That was a boost for my already low confidence. Laura gasped, but tried to hide the fact that she’d been eavesdropping.
“Well, whatever reason you hired me for, I would like to think you have confidence in my abilities.”
“I’d like to think that I do, but I don’t.” Mrs. Evans stared at me.
“I’m in the middle of something,” I said. “So I don’t know that I can prepare cookies for you right now.”
“If you want to keep this job you will,” she said.
I really needed the extra cash. She had me in a bind now. I really didn’t like Mrs. Evan’s attitude. I knew Mary Jane was upset by the scowl on her face and the clenched fists. I had to get this woman out of here before Mary Jane got into a fight with her. Mary Jane had a quick temper and didn’t like when people were being unreasonable. Mrs. Evans was pretty much being unreasonable.
Mrs. Evans looked at the time on her watch. “I assume you can have them done in two hours, so I’ll be back.”
“Two hours?” My voice was louder than I’d thought.
“Great, so you confirm that you can do that. I’ll see you soon. Better yet, bring them to me at the Chamber of Commerce.” She turned on her heel and walked away. The click of her chunky heels echoed as she stomped across the floor.
Mary Jane rushed over to me. “You should’ve told her to take a hike.”
“Yeah, well, I need the money,” I said.
“I so wanted to tell her off,” Mary Jane said.
“I know, but I can’t let you do that.”
“I stopped myself,” Mary Jane said. “That counts for something, right?”
“Absolutely, it does. Thank you.”
My phone dinged, alerting me to a text. Maybe it was Rory.
Can you make cookies with a spell?
“Is it Rory?” Mary Jane asked.
“Tom wants cookies with a spell,” I said.
“What are you going to do?” Mary Jane asked.
“I guess I’ll make gingerbread cookies for Mrs. Evans and for the detectives too.”
“I suppose it helps if you have to make them for the detectives anyway.”
“I don’t have a lot of time to get this together either.”
“I’ll help you if I can,” Laura said.
“Thank you. It should be fairly straightforward except for the magic spell that I have to add for the detectives.”
“I can help you with that,” she said.
“Of course you can… but I should be fine,” I said.
I didn’t want to make her feel bad by saying that this was too important and that I needed to do it by myself. I just left out the part about her helping with the spells. She could definitely help with making the cookies without the spell.
“I guess I should get started,” I said.
Mary Jane looked at the time. “I guess you should.”
I headed back to the kitchen with Laura following me.
“I’m here for you
,” she said. “I hate to see you stressed.”
“Thank you, Laura, I appreciate your help.”
“It’s bad that everything happens at once,” she said.
“Well, that’s usually the way it works.” I went over to the magic book so that I could search for another spell for the cookies.
“You have to add a spell for the detectives, right? But not for Mrs. Evans,” Laura said.
“Yes, I just have to remember not to mix them up.” I placed the paper with the spell I’d found on the counter. I needed to put it in a safe place since I’d forgotten to give it back to Tom.
“That seems easy enough,” she said.
“You would think, but sometimes it’s not. I can’t give Mrs. Evans the spell cookies.”
“That would be bad,” Laura said.
“I’ll just make sure to put them in a special container marked ‘spell cookies”. I’ll use bold letters so that they don’t get confused.”
“That’s a good plan,” she said. “Don’t forget to use your wand.”
I flipped open the cover for the spellbook, hoping that the spell would come easily this time too. I’d been working on a spell of my own creation lately, but I wasn’t sure how exactly it would work out. I supposed now wasn’t the time to try it out.
Though when would I try it out if not now? Would the detectives frown upon trying out an experimental spell? Tom probably wouldn’t be happy with that. He’d also insisted that I not try the spell I’d found at the cottage too.
Maybe I could make a batch of cookies and let the detectives decide if they wanted to try them out. I went over to my office and unlocked the door. The spell that I’d come up with last week had been locked away so that no one else would know what I’d done. As if anyone actually ever came into the café looking for my spells anyway.
But it seemed like a top-secret project since the only spells I’d ever known were written in the book. Apparently, Kris Kringle was making his own spells too. I’d had no idea I could even make my own spells until the idea just came to me. Oddly enough, the more I did this, the more involved I got.