by Rose Pressey
“That must be him now,” I said as I closed the lid.
I wiped my hands on a towel as I headed for the kitchen door. Mary Jane walked out the door in front of me. Laura was staying back to finish putting cookies in the box. I paused at the door. Laura’s tote bag was on the floor by the door. Half hid in the bag I spotted a gun.
I turned to face Laura. “Why do you have a gun?”
“Oh, that,” she said with a nervous chuckle. “Don’t freak out. I just figured since things are so dangerous with Kris Kringle coming around that I should have some protection.”
“Yes, I suppose that’s a good idea,” I said around a sigh. “Just don’t shoot your foot or something even worse.”
“Oh, no, I’m trained. I have a license for it.”
“All right. Well, maybe secure it, okay? I mean, anybody could get that from your bag.”
“You’re right. I should make sure it’s hidden and locked away. I’ll take care of it right now.” She set the tube of icing down.
“Thank you,” I said.
I was still a bit troubled, but I understood her fear.
When I stepped out of the kitchen, Tom was staring right at me. I wouldn’t tell him about Laura’s gun.
“Are you ready to go?” Tom asked with a smile.
“Ready,” I said.
I had no idea what he was up to, but he still had that suspicious look on his face. I hoped he didn’t start asking questions when we were together. I would have to do much better at hiding my expressions if I wanted to hide anything for him. I grabbed my bag and walked out with Tom. Mary Jane and Laura were going to stay behind until I got back. Laura had some homework to do for a class she’d been taking, while Mary Jane planned on catching up on her emails.
“Good luck,” Mary Jane said as I headed toward the door.
I hoped Tom didn’t hear her say that. He would wonder what she was talking about. Luckily, he didn’t ask so I was off the hook for the time being. I waved bye to Laura and Mary Jane one more time.
Tom and I stepped out onto the sidewalk.
“Where are we headed?” I asked.
“I just thought maybe we could get something to eat quickly and talk.”
“You don’t want anything at the café?”
“I didn’t want you to have to make the food. You’ve been working hard enough. You need a break.”
“If you say so,” I said.
We headed toward Tom’s car. When I glanced to my left I spotted him.
“It’s him,” I yelled out.
Tom spun around. “Who?”
“Kris Kringle.” I pointed down the sidewalk.
The man ran around the side of the building.
“Stay here,” Tom yelled as he took off running.
Fat chance of that. I took off running right behind him. I couldn’t believe that the man was still lurking around Mystic Hollow. I’d thought he would be long gone after he took Mildred. Maybe she was still somewhere nearby.
This could be the man who was shooting at Tom. Maybe the situation was far more dangerous than I realized. Maybe it would’ve been better if I had waited back instead of following Tom, but I couldn’t let him do this alone.
We reached the building where I had seen the man turn the corner. Tom ran around the corner, not realizing that I was right behind him. I made the turn as well, but there was no sign of Kris Kringle. Tom ran all the way down to the end of the building. I moved back to the front, looking to left and right to see if the man was anywhere in sight on the sidewalk. He was nowhere in sight. He had to be around here somewhere. I knew he couldn’t run faster than Tom. Where was Tom? Why wasn’t he coming back? Had he found Kris Kringle?
I needed to go back there and check on him. I spun around and ran down the alleyway. At the end of the building, I turned to the left. I ran smack dab into someone. I screamed and punched the man in the stomach.
“Why did you do that?” Tom grabbed his stomach. “I had no idea you had such a strong punch.”
“Are you all right?” I asked, touching Tom’s hard abs.
He rubbed his stomach. “Yeah, I’ll be all right. I didn’t know you were a boxer.”
“I guess it was the adrenaline. I thought you were that mystery man. Where did he go?”
“I haven’t found him yet. I’m not sure where he took off to, but I think maybe he ran into one of those back doors.”
“I figured they were all locked.”
“Maybe he knew which one was unlocked.”
“We should check all the shops,” I said.
“That might take some time.”
“But I think we need to do it, right?”
“Yes, we do,” Tom said. “Wait a minute, I thought I asked you to stay back there by the café.”
“Do you still think that I’m actually going to do that?” I asked.
“I’m not sure what I think,” Tom said as we headed back down the alleyway. “What shop do you think we should try first, Rocky?”
“It’s hard to say considering we know nothing about him. This is so strange.”
“Maybe it was all a random thing and he’s looking for someone else to kidnap,” Tom said.
“That’s a terrifying thought,” I said as I hurried along beside him.
“Yes, it is scary.”
“And the police didn’t want to take this seriously. It’s a good thing that Mildred has you to help search for her.”
“It’s a good thing she has both of us,” he said. “You’d make a great detective for the organization.”
I laughed. “I don’t think so.”
“Well, I’ve been around a lot of detectives and I think you are one of the best.”
“I’ll think about it when the organization offers me a position.” I laughed, knowing that would never happen.
Chapter 19
Tom and I spilled out onto the sidewalk looking all around for any sign of Kris Kringle. He was nowhere in sight. I was still confident that maybe he’d gone into one of the buildings around us. But where would we even start? That was like finding a needle in a haystack. He would be long gone soon if he knew we were looking for him. Considering he’d run when he saw us, he had to know we were hot on his trail.
“Where should we start?” I asked.
Tom released a deep breath. “I’m not sure. How about just that building right there?”
“What makes you want that building?” I asked.
“It’s the first building he would come to. He probably wanted to get away in a hurry so he would’ve dashed in there.”
“Good thinking,” I said. “Let’s go.”
Tom and I ran to the building. I wasn’t sure the front door was even still open. They could be closed for the day.
The first door on the corner was a bookstore. And surprisingly the sign blinked that it was open. When we burst through the door the man behind the counter barely looked up, as if having two people run inside was a completely normal thing.
Apparently, he had no idea someone could possibly have slipped in the back door. Or he knew and just didn’t want us to know. How would we go about asking this question and get the truth? Or have him not lie to us? I pulled on Tom’s arm and motioned for him to follow me over to the history section.
I waved at the man behind the counter. “We’re just looking, thank you.”
Tom frowned. “What are you doing?”
When we were hidden by the bookshelf, I said, “I don’t think he’ll necessarily be truthful if we ask if a man came in here. Not if he’s hiding him on purpose.”
“I suppose you’re right.”
“How about you distract him while I go to the back and look around for the guy?” I asked.
Tom held up his index finger. “We could do that. Or I have a better idea. How about you distract the guy and I go to the back and look for Kris Kringle?”
I’d had a feeling Tom would think that way.
“All right, but I just hope I can distract him w
ell enough. I think you’re better at that. You know, with your charm and stuff.” I wiggled my finger, pointing at him.
“You’re the one who’s just loaded with charm. That dazzling smile of yours and those beautiful eyes. Anybody’s crazy not to be mesmerized by you.”
I was taken aback by his words. How come he’d never paid me that many compliments before?
Tom stared at me as I stood in stunned silence.
After a couple more seconds, he said, “I’m sure you’ll do just fine.”
“All right, I’ll do my best. When he’s distracted then you go do your work.”
Tom and I stepped out from behind the bookshelves. I studied some of the books along the aisle while Tom perused the sale rack. We really didn’t have time to continue this charade. We needed to get to business. After releasing a deep breath, I headed over to the counter.
“Excuse me, sir,” I said.
The man shifted his eyeglasses to the tip of his nose and peered at me.
“I was wondering if you could help me locate a book.”
“I’ll try,” he said, still not offering a smile. “What’s the name of the book?”
I really needed to do some quick thinking.
“I’m not quite sure if I remember,” I said.
Tom walked past me, heading toward the back of the room. I knew to pretend that the book was a mystery novel that would keep the man toward the front of that building.
“It might be hard for me to find the book if you don’t know the title or the author,” he said.
“Let’s see.” I tapped my finger against my bottom lip. “The cover had a moon and river on it. The author’s first name may have been Michael.”
“What about the last name?” he asked.
“I don’t know that one.”
He groaned. “Okay, can you give me any words of the title? Any details other than it has a moon and a river?”
“Maybe the title was The River or Down by the River, something like that. It’s definitely a mystery. The novel, not the title.” I chuckled.
He stared for a second and then said, “Well, I suppose that’s a start.”
The man headed over toward the mystery section. I glanced over my shoulder to see what Tom was up to but I didn’t spot him. I hoped he didn’t get in trouble back there. I wasn’t sure how long I would have to stall, but I could probably keep this up for a good amount of time as long as the bookstore owner would put up with me.
“Oh, here we go. Is this it?” The bookstore owner pulled a book from the shelf.
I should’ve guessed that the name Michael would be on the shelf. And it had a title close to what I had mentioned. Maybe somehow I’d seen that book and that was why I’d given him that name. Nonetheless, I couldn’t let this be over now because Tom wasn’t back. I hoped he wouldn’t be much longer.
“Actually, no, that’s not it,” I said.
The man frowned. “How do you know?”
“I remember the cover.”
He raised a bushy eyebrow. “You remember the cover, but you don’t remember the title?”
“Yes,” I said matter-of-factly.
I could tell he was really losing his patience with me. The customer was always right, right?
“It had a bright blue sky and the water was really dark,” I said, waving my arm for emphasis as if I was painting a portrait.
The man sighed and then placed the book back on the shelf. He slowly walked down, checking each of the titles. I sensed that he was ready to give up. I kept glancing toward the back, trying not to let him notice that I was preoccupied with something else. Where was Tom and what would I do if he didn’t come back soon?
The bookstore owner would give up on finding the book and then I’d have to explain. I suppose I could pretend I was going to the back of the store to look for something and try to find Tom. Maybe I could do that before the man would notice something was amiss. Yes, that was exactly what I would have to do.
The bookstore owner pulled out another book. “Is this it?”
I shook my head. “No, that’s not it.”
He sighed. “Well, I’m terribly sorry, but I just don’t think that we have anything like that. Perhaps if you remember something else you can come back, and we’ll look again.”
“Yes, I’ll do that. Thank you,” I said.
I was nervous, knowing that Tom and I were so close to being caught.
As the man headed toward the counter, I said, “I’m just going back there.”
I wasn’t sure if he was suspicious of me or not.
He nodded and said, “That’ll be fine.”
The bookstore owner took his position behind the counter again and I headed toward the back, trying to act casual. Tom was still nowhere in sight. When I reached the back of the store I spotted a door that led to what I assumed was the office, or maybe the back door that led out into the back area. I glanced toward the front to see if the man was watching. Sure enough, he looked at me. When I smiled, he attempted a lopsided grin. I went back to pretending to search for books for just a moment. Once I got the opportunity I would go through that door.
I raced over to the door and prayed that it would be unlocked. It had to be. Where else would Tom have disappeared to? He couldn’t have gotten out the front door without me seeing him. We had been right up at the front, although I supposed I was looking at the books a few times and he could’ve slipped by us. Tom wouldn’t do that to me though.
I twisted the knob and the door opened. I rushed inside, hoping that the bookstore owner wasn’t watching. I would find out soon enough though if he raced back here and came in the office. I’d be in big trouble. Tom wasn’t in the area, not that I could see anyway.
“Tom, where are you?” I whispered. “Are you in here?”
The back door leading outside was slightly ajar. I raced over. Just as I started to open the door, the door behind opened.
“What are you doing?” the man demanded.
Oh, boy. I was in big trouble now. I spun around. The man glared at me with an angry face.
“What do you think you’re doing back here? This is off-limits to customers.”
“I was looking for my friend. He wasn’t at the back of the store like I thought. I thought maybe this was the restroom. I’m terribly sorry.”
The tense expression on his face eased up just a bit but he was still angry. “Well, as you can see, it’s not the restroom, so I’m going to ask you to come back out to the front, please.”
I wasn’t going anywhere until I found Tom.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t do that until I find my friend. What have you done with him?” I demanded.
The angry expression returned to the man’s face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I haven’t done anything to your friend. I think it’s time that you left.”
He moved closer to me and I pressed my shoulders back, preparing for a fight. The man stepped over to me and I started to question whether I really wanted to fight. Okay, so I definitely didn’t want to fight. How would I get out of here? I could run out the back door. Yes, that seemed like a good idea under the circumstances.
“You’re not a good bookstore owner,” I said as I spun around and raced out the back door.
Of course the bookstore owner came after me, yelling for me to stop. Which one did he want? For me to stop or get out of there? He needed to make up his mind. As for me, I was getting out of here. I ran to the right, headed back toward the alleyway so that I could get to the main street and with any luck find Tom. This was definitely freaking me out. This hadn’t been part of our plan. Tom was supposed to be back by now.
I kept glancing over my shoulder as I raced the down the alleyway. Thank goodness the bookstore owner wasn’t chasing me. Unfortunately, Tom was nowhere in sight either. And thank goodness Kris Kringle wasn’t around, but what if he had gotten to Tom? I shuddered at the thought.
When I reached the end of the alleyway, I stopped to catch my breath
. I looked to the left and right for Tom, but he was nowhere in sight. I hoped that the bookstore owner didn’t come out the front door after me. I was out of his building now. All he needed to do was leave me alone. I stood there wondering what my next move would be. Tom’s car was still parked in the same spot, so I knew he hadn’t left. Where could it be? I had to send him a message. I pulled out my phone and typed: Where are you? I’m freaking out.
I didn’t know what to do with myself while I waited. I kept checking my phone, but he wasn’t answering, which was making me freak out even more. Where was he? Should I go back down the alleyway and check back there? I supposed I had to since he was nowhere in the front. Maybe he’d met up with Kris Kringle at the back door. Tom probably needed my help.
Maybe I should even call the other detectives. What was the number for the National Organization of Magic? 1-800-MAG-ICK? I ran back down the alleyway hoping that the bookstore owner didn’t find me back there. I supposed he was just glad that I was out of his hair and not worried about my next move. Had Kris Kringle really been in that building? I quickened my step. Please let me find Tom.
I turned the corner and headed behind the building. I watched that door for any sign of the mean bookstore owner, making sure that the owner didn’t pop out and grab me. He reminded me of the Grinch.
There was no sign of Tom or Kris Kringle. It was as if Tom had just vanished. This was making me more nervous by the second. What if the mystery man had kidnapped Tom? This was a terrifying thought. How would I find him? Why wasn’t he answering my messages? I pulled out my phone and checked one more time. Still nothing. I decided to dial his number.
“Please pick up, please pick up,” I said as it rang.
After a few more rings it went straight to his voicemail.
“Tom, I’m by the bookstore and I can’t find you. What happened? I’m freaking out. Please answer or call me back right away.”
I walked a long way down the back of the buildings. Since there was no sign of Tom, I decided it would be best if I didn’t go any farther. I scanned the ground as I walked to see if maybe Tom had dropped his phone. There was nothing, as if he had disappeared.