Brewing Trouble

by Christine Gael

  “Really?”

  I could practically hear the excitement in his voice.

  Got him.

  “That’s fantastic!” Reeling himself back a little, he added, sounding sheepish, “I mean, that’s great to hear. I’m a big history buff—I’m all about that stuff. It seems like no one’s really cared much about the museum, so this could be a great way to get some buzz before the reopening in the Spring, too.” There was a pause. “What’s the lecture topic?”

  Crap.

  “Uh…artifacts. Town artifacts and their origin…some genealogy thrown in there.”

  “Genealogy?”

  I needed to wrap this up ASAP. I was drowning in my own deception.

  “I mean, in the context of Rocky Knoll—important people in the town’s history, family trees, that sort of thing. Your family’s been around here for ages, and I’m sure the museum is chock full of amazing artifacts, so it seemed kind of a match made in heaven.”

  “It does.” He sounded intrigued. “We’ve got loads of stuff. When is the exhibition scheduled for? I can meet up with her next week sometime--”

  “Day after tomorrow, actually. The exhibition is the day after tomorrow. Guh, I’m so sorry about the short notice,” I replied, my cheeks flaming as I pressed on. “I told her not to get her hopes up, but I’d ask and cross my fingers. She has this whole show she puts on for the little kids that come, to try to get them interested in history. She uses puppets and stuff.” I could feel the weight of Patrick’s stare like a brick on my chest and wished I could find a hole to dive into. “She was just hoping to have a few cool-looking items for them to see, but you know what? I didn’t give you enough notice. And, hey, those kids might as well get used to being disappointed, right? That will prepare them for the real world.”

  “No, no, not at all,” Ethan said in a rush. “I can work something out. The stuff just sits there. It’s meant to be for the community to enjoy and learn from. When were you thinking?”

  “I was hoping it would be possible to take a spin through today, just to get a sense of what she’s working with. And to make sure it all jives with you, obviously.”

  “I can do that,” Ethan answered. “As I mentioned, I’ve got a meeting to finish up here, but I could swing by in about an hour if she’s available.”

  She sure better be.

  “Perfect. I’ll call her and let her know. Her name is Trudy.”

  “Sounds good.” There was a long pause. “And, Cricket? Make sure you put our rain check date on your calendar. I can’t stop thinking about you since our kiss the other night.”

  I bit my lip, willing my face not to spontaneously combust as I aggressively avoided Patrick’s gaze. “Yes. I’ll surely do that. Thank you so much, Ethan. I really appreciate it.”

  “No problem. I’ll talk to you soon.”

  I hung up before turning to look at the others, who were waiting for an update. “Ethan’s going to come open the place up,” I told them, already dialing the librarian’s number on the burner phone. “We’re going to need to get Trudy over here, too.”

  “Yes, well, we wouldn’t want to disappoint the kids,” Zoe deadpanned.

  I ignored her until Trudy picked up on the second ring.

  “Cricket,” she said. “What’s going on?”

  “We think we’ve found my grandma’s magical item,” I replied.

  “That’s fantastic! Where is it?”

  “That’s the thing,” I explained. “It’s in the history museum, but the place is closed for construction. I told a friend of mine you were interested in putting an exhibit together, and he’s willing to come show you around. We’re going to follow you in and, when Mee-maw locates the item, we’re going to nab it. Zoe found a way to make us invisible.”

  “Awesome,” she breathed. It was like I had given her the best news in the world. “This I have to see.”

  “You will,” I assured her. “I mean, not see, exactly, but…” I shook my head. “Ethan should be here in about an hour.”

  “Where are you guys now?”

  “We’re here already,” I replied, rattling off the address.

  “Got it, I know where it is,” Trudy replied, a woman on a mission. “Be there shortly.”

  We waited outside the museum, Patrick standing a short distance away while Mee-maw and Zoe paced. Twenty minutes before their scheduled arrival, we each popped another muffin. I found myself glancing down over and over, not just to check my phone for the time, but also to make sure we were fully invisible again; the last thing we needed right now was for Trudy—or, god forbid, Ethan—to stumble across us when we were starting to flicker back into view.

  After checking the burner for what felt like the millionth time, I looked up to see Ethan getting out of his car and strolling up to the front doors. My hand flew out, taking Mee-maw by the arm and guiding her out of the way moments before he came to a stop right where she had been standing. He shuffled his feet, checking his watch and putting his hands in his pockets, completely unaware of the fact that there were four others within feet of him. It was weird, but at least it didn’t last long; a few minutes later, Trudy’s minivan rolled to a stop in the parking lot, and we watched her clamber out.

  For a second, I thought her car had been stolen by a woman around her height and size. Gone were the tight, mousy bun and ill-fitting rooster clothing; her hair tumbled in soft waves around her shoulders, her face was tastefully done in neutral makeup, complete with glossy lips, her dress was a curve-hugging knockout in black, complete with jewelry and a handbag. She was dressed to the nines, as if she had been waiting for this moment her entire life—and for all I knew, she had been.

  She’s pretty, I realized with a start. Could this really have been the same uptight woman with pinched gaze and the demeanor of a middle school teacher who we had first encountered at the library?

  Mee-maw and I exchanged a look, and I could read the expression on her face loud and clear.

  She cleans up nicely.

  Trudy’s appearance wasn’t lost on Ethan, either; he actually did a mini-double-take as she approached. “You must be Trudy,” he said with a warm smile as he held out his hand.

  Trudy gave him a firm handshake. “And you must be Ethan. I really appreciate you doing this for me, especially on a workday. I was hoping you wouldn’t have to go too far out of your way.” She was really turning on the charm.

  “Don’t worry about it,” Ethan assured her. “I’m not far from downtown, actually. It’s fantastic to meet someone else who’s interested in this town’s history.”

  “Oh, I absolutely am,” Trudy replied, smiling. “I think this could end up being a really fun project.”

  There was a pause, and then Ethan cleared his throat. “Well, shall we, then? I’ve never really given a tour of the place, per se, but…”

  “That’s all right,” she told him. “In fact, I think it would be better if we just sort of poked around the whole place. I’m not really sure what I’m going for yet, so maybe you could give me some ideas.”

  “It would be my pleasure.”

  Ethan fumbled with a set of keys for a moment before opening the front door and leading Trudy in. She followed slowly, lingering off to the side long enough for us to come through before she stepped in. She was squinting every once in a while, clearly trying to catch sight of us, but other than that, she kept her cool as we padded behind them.

  Mee-maw held her compass out in front of her, eyes glued to it.

  “It starts with the ancient history of the area and then works forward into modern times,” Ethan was saying as he and Trudy began to navigate the winding hallways as we trailed a few yards behind them. Shelves of artifacts and knick-knacks covered the walls, along with old maps and a couple of interactive exhibits; any of them could have been Mee-maw’s item. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Luckily, if she was anything like Zoe and I, she’d know it when she saw it.

  “Did you know that Rocky Knoll st
arted out with a population of just around twenty?”

  “I did!” Trudy replied, her face lighting up. “All fishermen and tradespeople.”

  I crept up behind Mee-maw, peering over her shoulder. The compass needle was pointed stiffly towards the end of the hallway. Carefully, we moved forward, struggling to give Ethan and Trudy a wide berth.

  “So,” Ethan was saying, pausing at a diorama, “what do you think?”

  “Of their costumes? They seem authentic.”

  He paused for dramatic affect and then grinned. “They are.”

  She gaped at him. “You’re kidding!”

  Ethan laughed, shaking his head. “Nope. These were actually bequeathed by my grandfather. Been in the family since the 1700s.”

  Trudy was doing a bang-up job of keeping him engaged. That was good, because we needed time. So far, the only thing we had to go on was the insistence of Mee-maw’s compass.

  “Anything?” I whispered, putting a hand on her arm.

  She shook her head. “We’re just going to have to follow the darned thing. I don’t even know how I’ll recognize it when I see it.”

  “Try sensing for it,” Zoe suggested. “Feel for it.”

  “What am I supposed to be ‘feeling for’, exactly?”

  Zoe looked to me for backup. “Something you sense a connection with,” I said. “Something that draws you in, you know?”

  “Like a really good sale on olive loaf?” Mee-maw asked.

  “Sure, if that’s what floats your boat,” I said with a shrug, starting to wonder if I’d made a misstep here. Maybe she was too far past menopause to find her item like Zoe and I had.

  The thought made me unbearably sad for a moment. Losing to the Organization and dying would suck most. But Mee-maw never getting a taste of her magic when she was made to be a witch would be almost as tragic.

  “Come on, Mee-maw, focus,” I urged, blinking my suddenly stinging eyes.

  She sniffed, frowning, but closed her eyes, coming to a stop with the compass in her hands. There was a long moment of silence, and her brow furrowed in concentration, but moments later, she sighed, looked up, and shook her head.

  “I’m sorry, I got nothing,” she muttered.

  I pursed my lips as we continued to follow Ethan and Trudy deeper into the bowels of the museum, my confidence dropping with every step we took.

  Maybe this wasn’t going to be as easy as we had thought…

  Chapter 18

  “Dang it!” Mee-maw hissed, coming to a stop so suddenly that I almost ran right into her, causing Zoe to nearly trip over me in the process.

  “What is it?” I hissed, creeping up alongside Mee-maw.

  “Nothing,” Mee-maw replied. “I just remembered, I think I might have left the coffee pot on back at the bakery.”

  Zoe let out a frustrated groan. “How is that relevant right now, Mee-maw?”

  “Well, forgive me for being conscientious! Geez.”

  “Both of you shush,” I hissed. “They’re going to hear us.”

  “Oh, relax.” She waved me off. “We’re muffled. Plus, those two wouldn’t hear a plane crashing into Town Square with the way they’re carrying on.”

  As if on cue, a peal of laughter came from the next room over, where we could see Ethan showing Trudy a map from Colonial-era Rocky Knoll.

  “If you think that’s cool,” he said, grinning at her and raising a brow, “do you want to see the section on the Revolutionary War?”

  “I thought you would never ask,” Trudy replied, shouldering her bag, and the two of them started heading for the next room on the right.

  “Come on,” I said, tugging at Mee-maw’s wrist.

  “Like hell,” she exclaimed, showing me the compass. “This thing’s telling me to head that way.”

  She was right. The needle was rigid and unmoving, pointing directly in the opposite direction they were going. Patrick moved to the door and tried it, but it was no use; most of the rooms were still locked up, and the invisibility potion had already taken a toll on our physical strength. There was no way of getting in if we weren’t following Ethan and Trudy.

  I exchanged a panicked look with Zoe before the four of us turned and raced into the other room, just as Ethan was unlocking the door. Trudy was peering around, squinting every so often, no doubt wondering where we were.

  “Trudy,” I called, “you guys are going the wrong way!” The librarian stopped in her tracks, raising an eyebrow and looking around suspiciously. “Trudy,” I tried again, and her brow furrowed as if a mosquito had just buzzed past her ear. “She can’t hear me,” I realized despairingly. Yelling at her would risk catching Ethan’s attention, and he was already heading through the door; in moments, we would be locked out.

  Not thinking, I rushed forward, giving her a swift nudge with my foot. Trudy leapt into the air like she’d gotten an electric shock, which would have been almost comical if she hadn’t shrieked at the same time.

  Ethan whirled around. “Are you okay?”

  “I…” She stammered for a moment, staring at me—or rather, at what, no doubt, looked to her like an empty space, one that had just kicked her out of nowhere. “Cricket?” she whispered, her eyes wide with shock. If I didn’t know any better, I might have even thought that she could see me. At a loss, I could only repeat the nudge I had given her by way of confirmation.

  “Did you just say Cricket?” Ethan asked, his head cocked. By now, he had come back over and put a concerned hand on Trudy’s shoulder.

  “No? Yes.” Trudy stared at him blankly for a moment, and my heart sank. She shook her head as if a nest of wasps had taken up residence in her hair. “I thought it was a cricket but it’s a mouse!”

  “Mice?” Ethan’s eyebrows shot up. “Where?”

  Trudy nodded. “Two of them! They went, uh…” She turned her attention back to me, and I gave her sleeve a desperate tug in the right direction. “That way!” Jabbing a finger in the direction the compass was pointing, she rushed on. “I’ve heard they sometimes make burrows in the foundations of these buildings. It happened back at the library once, actually.”

  I had to give her props for her improvisation, in spite of her earlier stumbles; Ethan’s face was a picture of worry.

  “That’s not good,” he said, running a hand through his hair. “I’m so sorry to do this, I know you wanted to see the Revolutionary War room next, but I need to see if they’ve done any major damage. We have a lot of fragile old books and documents.”

  “I don’t mind at all,” Trudy replied, putting up a hand. “We should make sure that’s taken care of before they get to anything important.”

  I could feel my heartbeat slowly returning to normal as the duo turned around and started in the opposite direction. Mee-maw and Zoe scampered out of the line of fire, narrowly avoiding getting bumped into as they made their way back into the hallway, Ethan pausing at the door on the left to dig out his keys.

  “I don’t see any holes or droppings…” he murmured.

  “They can fit under doors with even the smallest cracks. You’d be surprised,” Trudy replied hastily. “The ones at the library ate into the flooring and everything.”

  “Great,” he muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. “More renovations. Well, better now than later, I guess. Here…” He unlocked the door and pushed it open just as Trudy sidled up to him.

  “What room is this?” she asked as she followed him through, taking her sweet time to allow the rest of us time to enter.

  “This is the storage area,” Ethan replied, flipping on a light switch. We found ourselves in a windowless room lit by fluorescent bulbs. Stainless steel shelves and work tables lined the walls, all scattered with plastic-covered documents and artifacts. It was eerie seeing it deserted like this. “This is where we keep all the items that haven’t been properly authenticated or documented,” he explained, stooping a little to check under one of the tables. “It’s also where they do all the cleaning and restoration, althou
gh we’ve had to put it on hold while the renovation is happening.”

  “Wow,” Trudy breathed, and one look at her expression was enough to tell me that she wasn’t faking her wonder.

  We couldn’t have picked a better person for this job, I thought, unable to keep from smiling a little.

  Seemingly coming back to herself, she cleared her throat and stole a glance over her shoulder, as if expecting us to suddenly be visible. “Maybe we should start in the far corner,” she suggested. “Lots of hiding places in a room like this.”

  “Good idea,” Ethan said. “You’re not afraid of mice, are you?”

  “Not…usually. I was just startled,” the librarian replied, swallowing. “Besides,” she pressed on, “I’ve got you, right?”

  “I’ll do my best to protect you,” Ethan agreed, chuckling, and the two of them began their vermin search at the back of the room.

  I hung back, coming to stand beside the others, who were all staring at the librarian with newfound admiration.

  “Jeez,” Mee-maw muttered. “I didn’t think we’d get here this quickly. She really knows how to turn on the charm—and she didn’t even have to flash her cans or anything!”

  Patrick snorted, and then, seeing the look I gave him, tried to disguise it with a cough.

  “They’re on the move, let’s go,” Mee-maw said, squaring her shoulders. Holding the compass out like a dowsing rod, she began to move through the confined space, never taking her eyes off the quivering needle.

  “Are you feeling anything?” Zoe asked in a low voice.

  “My ankles are acting up something fierce,” Mee-maw replied, “but otherwise…Wait a minute.” She stopped, narrowing her eyes, and sniffed—actually sniffed—the air like some kind of bloodhound. “I think I have something,” she muttered.

  “What is it?” I asked, eyes wide.

  There was a long pause as Mee-maw continued to sniff the air. “Never mind,” she said at last. “Just dust bunnies and old books.”

  I let out a long sigh. “You have to concentrate.” I was practically pleading with her now; Zoe was just learning and the potions had been dicey, at best. And even with Trudy working her charms, Ethan couldn’t be stalled forever.