Jingle Spells

by Rose Pressey

  All I could do now was go back to the car. Maybe I’d go back to the store and ask the owner again what was going on. I could demand answers. People didn’t just vanish from a store. That just didn’t happen. Maybe I would have to call the police. And the other detectives.

  I headed back down that alleyway with anxiety and fear racing through me. I turned the corner and made my way over to Tom’s car. My hands shook and I didn’t know which call to place first. I supposed the police were the first ones I needed to call. And this seemed like an emergency as far as I was concerned.

  Chapter 20

  I had no idea what to do now. I dialed the police and told him that my friend was missing and that it was an emergency.

  “We’ll have someone there right away,” the woman said. When I mentioned the organization she didn’t seem impressed at all so I wasn’t sure she understood how important this was.

  While I waited I eased back over to the bookstore. I wanted to take a peek in the window. He couldn’t stop me from doing that, right? Plus, I had police on the way. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any numbers of the detectives who had been working on the case. I really didn’t want to call the main number for the organization. How bad would it be if I reported a missing detective? I didn’t want to get Tom in trouble either. They would probably blame me.

  I tried to act casual as I stood in front of the bookstore waiting for my chance to peek in the window. With my heart beating fast I eased over, moving closer to the glass. I placed my hands next to my eyes so that I could see inside. As soon as I leaned close I was greeted with a set of eyes, nose, and mouth. The bookstore owner was right there in front of me. I screamed and jumped back, almost falling onto my rear. My arms flapped and my legs wobbled as I tried to regain my balance.

  Popping up in the window had been a tricky thing to do. What was his problem anyway? I was starting to suspect that maybe he didn’t know Kris Kringle and that was why he was so hateful. Unfortunately, now he knew I was out front and would probably come outside to confront me. I really didn’t want to have another fight with him.

  I was right about the bookstore owner. He marched out the front door and stood on the sidewalk staring at me. Luckily for me, the sound of a car came from behind me. Thank goodness the police cruiser had pulled up.

  “Oh, good. The police have arrived,” the bookstore owner said. “I called them and told them about the shoplifter in my store.”

  “What are you talking about?” I said, placing my hands on my hips. “I did no such thing.”

  “I stopped you before you took something.”

  “What did I want to take?” I asked.

  “That book by the author you couldn’t remember,” he said.

  “Oh, now you’re just being ridiculous. If you want to know, I’ll be completely honest with you. I was never looking for a book.”

  “I’m not stupid. I realized that,” he said.

  “Then why didn’t you say something before I went to the back of the store?”

  “I wanted to see just exactly what you were up to.”

  “I’ll tell you exactly what I was up to,” I said. “We were looking for a mystery man who was around the back of this building. We think he went into your bookstore. So either you knew him or he was snooping around. You should be thankful that we got rid of him.”

  “How exactly did you get rid of him?” he asked.

  “By going back in that back room. He obviously took off out the back door. Unless you’re still hiding him in there somewhere. And by the way, where is my friend Tom? Did you do something to him? He didn’t just disappear.”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” the bookstore owner said. He had a strange expression. Well, an even weirder one than the normal one. Something told me that he knew more than he was willing to reveal. “I have no idea what your friend was doing, but obviously he just went out the back door. Maybe he was trying to get away from you.”

  That was a low blow and certainly an uncalled-for comment. The police officer walked up, which was a good thing because I was getting ready to tell this guy off. He had a nasty attitude.

  “What seems to be the problem?” the officer asked.

  “This guy is being rude.” I pointed at the bookstore owner. “I’m looking for my friend. He’s a detective with the National Organization of Magic.”

  The bookstore owner snorted.

  I glared at him. “Is there something wrong?”

  “Nothing wrong,” that man said.

  I hoped the police officer witnessed for himself this man’s attitude.

  “I called the police because she was trying to shoplift,” the bookstore owner said.

  I scoffed. “That is not true. How dare you say that? My friend and I went in there because he’s investigating a man who we thought went in the store. We also thought that the store owner was probably trying to hide the criminal in his bookstore. So Tom went to the back to check things out.”

  “To snoop around without my consent. Isn’t that illegal?” the bookstore owner asked.

  “Anyway,” I said. “I went back there to look for my friend and this guy thinks I was trying to shoplift.”

  “Well, you were trying to do something,” the officer said.

  “No!” I said.

  “Yes,” the bookstore owner said.

  The police officer held his hand out. “All right, enough bickering between you two. Was anything taken from your shop?”

  “No, not that I’m aware of,” the bookstore owner said.

  “All right then, that case is solved,” the officer said.

  Thank goodness. Now we could move on to find Tom. That was much more important than a fake shoplifting case.

  “Thank you, sir,” the officer said. “I can talk to her now. You can go back in your shop.”

  The bookstore owner frowned as if he didn’t appreciate being told to leave, but ultimately, he did as the officer asked and walked into the bookstore. Now I could tell the officer what had happened without the man interrupting.

  “What’s this about your detective friend looking for someone?” the officer asked.

  I explained the story all over again and then said, “I’m looking for him and I think he’s been kidnapped just as our other friend Mildred was kidnapped. I’m sure you’re aware of the case.”

  He shook his head. “No, not really.”

  “How can you not be aware? There’s a missing person in town. This should be like top priority and now you have two.”

  He looked at me blankly. “Sorry, I haven’t heard anything about it. What makes you so sure he was kidnapped?”

  I didn’t like his tone or what he implied.

  “Because he went after this man who we suspect kidnapped the woman and now my friend is missing. And his car is right there. Why aren’t you taking this seriously?”

  He held his hand up. “I’m taking it seriously, just calm down.”

  Calm down? I was completely calm.

  “Maybe he just went with someone else. Maybe he went with the man voluntarily. They could be talking somewhere.”

  “He won’t answer my messages.”

  I could see this was pointless. I needed to get in contact with the organization and detectives immediately. I felt helpless and alone. Surely the other detectives would believe me.

  “So what do you suggest I do, just wait around for him to show up?”

  “Pretty much that’s all you can do,” he said. “Sorry I can’t be more help. If anything changes just let me know.”

  “Yeah, sure, I’ll let you know,” I said sarcastically.

  He didn’t even seem to notice my attitude. Or if he did, he didn’t care. He turned around and walked away. I looked back at the bookstore. The owner was standing at the door glaring at me with his arms folded in front of his chest. I wanted to ask him more questions because I was still suspicious of him. But I figured I would get nothing from it. I would have to try a different tactic. Now how wo
uld I get back to the café? I really didn’t want to walk because I felt like it was too dangerous. I was almost certain that Tom hadn’t left the keys in his car. Although the car was probably locked. Maybe I could get Mary Jane to pick me up.

  I moved over to Tom’s car and tried the door handle. Surprisingly, the door was unlocked. It wasn’t like him to forget about the car. He was meticulous about this vehicle. Nevertheless, I knew he still had the keys. When I looked into the car, I saw the key right there in the middle. Wow. I hadn’t expected that. Why would he do that? It was almost as if he was inviting me to take the Mercedes.

  I wasn’t sure that he wanted me to really drive it, but I had no choice. But if he came back looking for it, needed the car, and I’d driven off in it, that would be a bummer. Nevertheless, I had to find the detectives. I supposed I could call the organization first and see what happened. I was sick of the bookstore owner staring at me. If he knew what I was doing in the car, he’d call the cops and tell them I was stealing the car.

  Chapter 21

  I put the key in the ignition but didn’t start the car just yet. I sat there wondering if I really should take the car and go back to the café or hang around for a bit and wait for Tom. I supposed I could drive around the block one time before I went back to the café and see if there was any sign of him now. But it had already been thirty minutes. If he was coming back surely he would’ve been back by now.

  With each passing second my fear that he had been kidnapped grew. The car roared to life when I started it. I hoped I didn’t wreck this thing because if Tom was able to break free from his kidnapper then he would probably kill me. I’d driven my cousin’s new car once and accidentally bumped into a parking meter. I’d had work many weekends to pay for that damage.

  After a few more seconds, I could wait no longer, so I put the car in to drive. I eased on the gas pedal, but the car lurched forward with a blast of power. My little car never had that kind of get-up-and-go. The bookstore owner watched from the window. He glared at me from the front door, making sure that I pulled away.

  If he saw me drive around the block he would call the cops again too. I could do nothing to make that guy happy. I was still suspicious of him and wouldn’t let him off the hook that easily.

  I drove down to the next red light and waited to make a left turn. A street ran parallel to the one I was on and went behind the buildings. With any luck driving back there would give me a little bit of a view of the area and I might find a sign of Tom or Kris Kringle.

  I tried to drive slowly down the road, but there was traffic behind me and people were losing their patience. Ultimately, I pulled over on the side, out of the cars’ path. I sat there and scanned the area, hoping something would jump out at me, but there was no sign of Tom. I supposed my only other solution right now was to call the organization and then go find a detective.

  It would probably seem strange that I now had Tom’s car and he was gone. Why did I always find myself in these situations? Well, ever since I came back to the cafe and met Tom I found myself in these situations. Okay, I wouldn’t say he was the one responsible for getting me into these mishaps, but he was the one responsible for getting me into this mishap. I pulled out my phone and found the organization’s number in my contacts. Who would I even ask for? The big boss in charge?

  “Thank you for calling the National Organization of Magic, this is Mr. Goodman’s office. How may I help you?”

  My hand was actually shaking. “This is Elly Blair and I need to speak with Mr. Goodman. This is an emergency.”

  “Oh, dear,” she said. “Hold one moment, please.”

  What was that supposed to mean?

  Within a couple seconds, Mr. Goodman answered, “Elly, what’s wrong here?”

  I’d never actually spoken to him, so for him to know my first name was a bit scary.

  “Well, we have a bit of a situation,” I said.

  “I assumed that since you’re calling me. And I’m guessing it’s not a good one either. So what happened?” he asked.

  “All right. I’ll just come out and say this. Tom is missing.”

  “What do you mean missing? Where do you think he went?”

  “Missing,” I said. “It was either in the bookstore or behind the bookstore. I haven’t figured that out yet. And the bookstore owner is highly suspicious, if you ask me.”

  “How about you tell me the whole story and try to keep it brief,” he said.

  “Right, keep it brief.”

  I explained the situation and how we had been looking for Kris Kringle.

  “And then poof, Tom was gone.”

  “Poof?” he asked.

  “Yeah, just like that.”

  “Where are the other detectives?” Mr. Goodman asked.

  “Still on the scene of the other crime. Or kidnapping, or maybe it’s not a crime at all. I don’t know. I’m not good at this kind of stuff. I’m starting to crack under the pressure.” I said.

  “Well, you’d better get yourself together,” Mr. Goodwin said in a stern voice. “Because we need you right now.”

  What on earth did he need me for?

  “Well, what should I do?” I asked.

  “I’ll let the detectives know that you’re coming and what’s going on. They’ll be able to take it from here, but you’ll be helping them, do you understand?”

  “I absolutely understand. I want to do everything I can to help find him,” I said.

  To be honest I didn’t know what I would do if something happened to Tom. It had never hit me until now. But now I was faced with the reality, it was terrifying.

  “I’ll be checking in soon. Let me know immediately if anything changes.”

  “I will, thank you.”

  He didn’t say another word and just ended the call. I sat there and stared at the phone. Was this really happening? Apparently, it was, and I needed to act immediately. With every minute that slipped by Tom was probably in more danger. I shoved the car into drive and moved out onto the road again. Tears started to form in my eyes as I pulled away from the area.

  With stinging in my eyes, I fought back the tears so that I wouldn’t accidentally wreck Tom’s car. I wanted to push the gas and get to the bed-and-breakfast even faster, but also, I didn’t want to wreck his car.

  I tapped my fingers against the steering wheel nervously and then remembered I should keep both hands on the wheel tightly. Thank goodness the cottages came into view. But of course, my anxiety spiked thinking about telling the detectives what had happened. Somehow, I felt it was my fault that Tom was missing, as if I was responsible for him.

  I pulled into the drive and parked near the other detectives’ cars. Conrad was getting out of his car and saw Tom’s car. He frowned when he saw me behind the wheel. I knew what he was thinking. He wouldn’t understand why I was driving Tom’s car and Tom wasn’t with me. Well, he was about to find out. Reluctantly I got out of the car and headed his way.

  “Hi, Elly, what’s up?” Conrad asked.

  He knew something was up.

  “Unfortunately, it’s an emergency,” I said.

  “Is Tom all right?” he asked with a bit of panic in his voice.

  “I don’t know. He’s missing.”

  “What do you mean he’s missing?” Conrad asked.

  “Why does everyone keep asking that? I mean, he’s missing. He was kidnapped possibly by the same guy who took Mildred.”

  “All right, tell me everything.” Conrad pulled out his phone and dialed while I talked.

  Was he listening to me?

  Within moments the other detectives came out and headed our way.

  “In light of the fact that he was shot at, I’m really concerned. I think every second that goes by we don’t find him means it’s less likely we find him unharmed,” Conrad said.

  I tried to think positively, but Conrad was making it difficult.

  “I called Mr. Goodwin.”

  Conrad’s eyes widened. “Oh, no. All righ
t, what’s already done is done.”

  “I wasn’t supposed to do that?” I asked.

  “Well, we’d rather find out for sure what happened before we let him know, but we’ll deal with it.”

  Five minutes into the investigation and I’d already made a mistake.

  “Okay, so what do I do?” I asked.

  “I’ll drive with you back over to the bookstore and we will talk to the bookstore owner. We won’t let him intimidate us.”

  “Exactly right,” I said with a pump of my fist.

  Yeah, sure, I was brave now that somebody else was going with me. I should’ve done that to begin with. I got into the car with Conrad. Surprisingly, he didn’t say that he would drive, so we went in Tom’s car.

  Conrad talked about what we would ask during the ride over. He also said we would look for any surveillance video from the area. I really hoped that we could get it soon. I wasn’t sure which stores would be open still. For that matter the bookstore owner probably was already gone. If everything was closed, we would be in big trouble. We wouldn’t be able to get in touch with anyone until the morning. That was definitely too long to wait.

  I might have to work some magic spells into this. Though I wasn’t sure how I would manage to eat anything. My stomach was in knots thinking about Tom. I pulled up to the curb. In such a short time I’d practically mastered the art of driving the Mercedes. All it took was a spin around the block.

  Conrad and I hurried out of the car and down the sidewalk. Disappointment and panic hit me when we reached the bookstore and saw that the lights were out. The closed sign had been flipped around. I stood there staring at the door hoping that it wasn’t true, but the evidence was right there in front of my face.

  “What do we do now?” I asked.

  Conrad ran his hand through his hair. “We have to move on with Plan B.”

  I was afraid of this.

  “Wait, there’s the bookstore owner,” I said, pointing down the street.

  The detective and I took off running, waiting for a couple cars to pass so that we could cross the street.