by Olivia Swift
“If we have Josh and Branston and the stock is up to date, we should be okay. What do you think, Magda?”
“Your call, Rula, because you will be the one to cope. I would be happy with a bit of female company. The two men will be climbing trees and hammering pieces of wood together.”
Katie looked from one to the other with enthusiasm in her eyes.
“Of course, it’s okay,” Rula told her, and Katie moved in for a hug.
“Thanks, guys. I’ll work my socks off before we go.”
The group cleared away the remains of their extra little meal and Merle turned at the door.
“Next week, camping trip, and the week after, the picnic.”
“And one other date you might like,” Magda called out and took Sam’s hand. “Twenty-first of August—a wedding.” Rula screamed out loud and ran to dance her friend around.
Everyone joined in and said they would be delighted. As the others continued to depart, Magda held on to Rula.
“Will you be bridesmaid, please?” That produced an even louder scream and then tears.
“Women and weddings,” Declan said.
“Wait a minute,” Sam added. “I need a best man.”
“But there is no woodwork involved,” Declan answered. “I would be useless.”
Magda went and held on to his arm, and Sam held out a hand.
“Shake on it. We need you.”
“We do,” Magda added, and Declan glanced at Katie who smiled and said he would be a great best man. He shook Sam’s hand and then said he would worry all the time now until August twenty-first.
“Camping trip, ghost hunting and new truffles as well as this complicated tree house. You won’t have time,” Sam said as they locked up.
“Thanks for letting me come on the trip,” Katie told them. “I can hardly wait.” They went their different ways and Magda found the cats waiting impatiently at home for their dinner. She settled their anxious meows and Sam made coffee.
“They all liked the extension,” Magda told him. “It does look impressive.” They sat back and talked about the camping trip when Crystal looked at Magda’s cell phone. Two seconds later it rang. By the time Magda swiped it open, there was no one on the other end. She put it on the coffee table, and Crystal promptly knocked it onto the floor.
“If you are worried about the Viking man, we’ve locked him in the shed,” Magda said to the cat and looked at the screen. It was showing a Viking longboat as the historians thought they would look. Magda had been doing some research. Crystal looked at the door and a sudden breeze wafted around the room.
“Oh, Lord,” Magda said and shivered. “Has he got out?”
“The cats don’t look frightened,” Sam said. “Let’s take them into the bedroom and see if they settle for the night. It gives me the excuse to stay and keep you safe.”
“Come on then, my lord and protector and my furry friends. Let’s hope the warrior is still in the shed.”
There were no scares through the night. Sam and Magda had a leisurely breakfast and then departed in separate vehicles to start work.
The café was undisturbed and gave her the same thrill as ever when she opened up. Rula and Katie arrived and they fired up the equipment.
Magda’s phone rang.
“Hi, Sam. Everything okay?” she asked as she went on lifting truffles with her other hand.
“If you consider that the shed is absolutely flattened to the ground . . . okay, yes.”
Chapter 6
“What?” Magda exclaimed and the other two girls stopped what they were doing and waited to see what was wrong. She took the phone away from her ear and told them that the shed housing the wood was flattened to the ground.
“Good Lord,” Rula said. “Is the box and the wood still there?” Magda relayed the question, and yes, the box was untouched but everything else was demolished.
“Could somebody have come to steal anything?” Magda asked, but Sam told her that there were only old scaffolding boards in there and they were scattered about. “Do you want me to come over and see if I can help?” she asked but Sam said that he had a couple of men to collect the wood and he had put the box in the trunk of his car.
“I’m taking the truck. The box can stay here,” he finished. “I’ll take some photos and send them to you.” She hung up and told the other two what he said, and her phone went ping. The others looked over her shoulder and saw the collapsed shed.
“It’s like somebody laid it out in the right places but never put it together,” Katie said.
“That Viking is really annoying me now,” Magda added.
“But how do we get rid of him?” Rula asked, but none of them knew.
“Maybe if we left the wood out in the forest, he would feel better and stay there,” Katie wondered.
“He can cause damage. He’s demonstrated that,” Magda observed. “Maybe the wilderness would be a good place. We’ll see what Sam and Declan think.”
Sam sent the photos to all of them and the phones rang back and forth but nobody could think of anything to solve the problem, and the café was so busy that they had to forget the Viking and get on with the work.
Josh arrived and began to learn the ropes. Rita zoomed around all of them and the stock of truffles and cheesecakes began to mount up in the chiller. Mikey came in for his usual beverage and asked Rula if they had noticed a wind blowing through the café.
“I was beginning to wonder if I was going a bit crazy, but others felt it as well and there was no wind outside.”
“Oh, Lord,” Rula said and brought him around the counter. “Tell Magda what you just asked me.”
“Have a seat and drink your hot chocolate because this is a strange story. Do you believe in ghosts, Mikey?”
“Sort of,” he said. “My aunt saw one once and she was a very down-to-earth woman.”
Magda told the tale of the whisky to her neighbor from the shop next door. Katie and Rula added bits as they passed by. By the time she finished, he sat back and looked a bit distressed.
“What are you thinking, Michael?” Rula always used his proper name and never ever called him Hikey Mikey, which he hated. It usually brought a smile, but that morning it didn’t.
“I thought the shop had been broken into, but nothing was missing. It was just a mess.”
“And you felt the wind?” Magda asked.
He nodded. She handed him her phone and he saw the pictures of the shed.
“What can we do about it?” he wondered out loud, and Magda answered that they had just asked the very same thing.
“Sam is coming to rent a tent from you because we’re going out to the wild for a couple of days. You can talk to him about it. We thought maybe take the wood out into the forest and perhaps the ghost would stay there as well.”
“I don’t know if I feel better for finding out about the Viking or not,” Mikey said and took the covered cup that Rula offered. He walked away and Magda stood looking after him.
“I really wish that I had never started this truffle,” she said. “If it doesn’t work in the forest, I might try sending the wood back to Scotland and scrap the whole idea.”
“Don’t give up on it yet,” Rula said and came to put an arm around her. “Tell me what I am going to wear for this bridesmaid gig.”
Magda smiled and asked the girls what they thought the dresses should be like.
“I am thinking that dressing up in kilts and tartan is out of the question,” Katie called across the room.
“Definitely,” Magda answered. “Along with anything to do with Vikings.”
“I like dark-colored bridesmaid dresses,” Rula suggested.
“Makes a nice contrast with the bride,” Katie agreed. “Find a day when the two of you can go and choose dresses together.”
“I do like traditional things,” Magda told them. “We’ll try and get a day after the camping trip to go and look for them.”
Josh proved to be a very useful addition to the
staff and Rita seemed to get on well with him. In fact, he was a very pleasant young man, and everyone made him welcome.
“Have you noticed how the female customers actually love having Josh serve them?” Katie asked, and Magda said that if it was good for business, she was happy about that.
Sam came by in the late afternoon and heard about Mikey and the wind in the camping shop. He went away to rent a tent and anything else Mikey thought they might need. When he came back he looked thoughtful.
“I’ve put the tent in the truck,” he said. “I didn’t realize that he had started on the wall behind the café. I bet that’s when our nasty spirit visitor latched on to him.”
“I had forgotten that as well,” Magda agreed. “I hope it doesn’t apply to others.” She looked stricken. “What about Merle and the ranch?”
“Give her a call,” Rula suggested.
Magda spoke to Merle and listened to the reply.
“I am so sorry, Merle. You and Mikey have been dragged into this as well.” She listened again and asked Sam if they could drive over to the ranch. He nodded and she told Merle they would drive over straightaway.
“I’ll leave you to finish off, Rula,” Magda said. “They are experiencing a wind disturbing everything in the shop and Branston thinks it’s maybe spooking the horses.”
“Oh no,” Rula exclaimed. “Go and see how bad it is.”
“What can we do, Sam?” Magda asked as he drove them to the ranch.
“I don’t know, Magda,” he answered and reached over to take her hand.
“I’ll not make the whisky truffles, give away the bottles, and send the wood back to Scotland.”
“If we can get him in the box at the same time, that might work,” Sam answered and turned off the road at the point where Declan claimed he saw a cabin.
“This is a lovely place,” Magda said. Merle and Branston were both waiting on the steps of the main building. Magda didn’t even remark on her cousin’s fancy cowboy clothes but started to apologize to Merle all over again.
“Stop the apologies,” Merle told her. “I can deal with it. I’ve sent everyone else away because I thought we might get him to react to us. Maybe we can find out a bit more that would help.”
Magda explained about trying to send him back to Scotland. They made a small circle in the shop, then Merle called out to see if the spirit would join them.
“Don’t lose your temper, Magda,” Sam said as he held her hand. “Maybe we can try asking him what he wants.” Merle nodded and thought it was worth doing.
“Hello,” Merle started gently, “Are you there, Viking warrior? We are sorry that you are upset. If you are there, please come and talk to us.” There was no response, but Branston said that he felt a slight breeze across his face. Merle said that she thought he was listening.
“Please come and tell us what you want. We are really sorry. Please come and talk to us.”
“I am sorry that I brought you all the way from Scotland to a strange place. I’ll put it right if I can,” Magda added. There was a stronger gust of air around the shop.
“Can you tell me your name?” Merle asked. “I can see what you look like. Did you sail in a longboat?”
The wind swirled a little more but it didn’t feel angry.
“Were you the leader?” Sam asked and was rewarded with a warm touch of breeze on his cheek.
“You like to be in charge,” Merle added and the wind in the room was definitely warmer and more peaceful. “Tell me your name please.” She sat with closed eyes and tried to get an answer from inside her head and then she smiled. “Is it Utric?”
“Hello, Utric. I am Merle. I’ll try and help you.”
“Utric,” Magda said. “Do you want to go back home?”
“No, he doesn’t,” Merle said with surprise and opened her eyes to look at the others. “He doesn’t want that.”
“But what does he want?” Sam asked.
“I can ask but I think he’s fading away now.” Merle closed her eyes and tried to connect with the spirit that was rapidly moving away, but it was too late.
“There’s a sadness there as well as anger,” she said when she opened her eyes, “but I couldn’t get anything else.”
“We are a bit further forward though,” Sam told her. “We know that he reacts better to trying to help. We know his name.”
Branston wondered if they should try the same system in the camping shop and Merle agreed.
“We might get something more if we find out why he’s in there as well.”
Magda and Sam said they would call after talking to Mikey. They then drove back to Magda’s to find four very hungry and demanding cats.
“Okay, okay,” Magda said to them. “Here it is,” and there was no more complaining as the four of them devoured their plates of food. “I stopped buying the fish flavor because Pushkin will just not eat it.”
“You would think all cats liked fish,” Sam replied.
“Not finicky Pushkin apparently,” Magda told him and they settled for a microwave meal out of the freezer. “I have cheesecake,” Magda added and saw Sam’s smile.
“Raspberry and white chocolate?” he asked, and she nodded.
“This wedding . . .” she started as they sat with the cheesecake.
“That is an unfair advantage to give me cheesecake and then ask about the wedding,” he said through his dessert.
“Mmm.” Smiling, she said, “The girls think traditional. What about you?”
“Well, you like that sort of thing too. It’s your call, Magda. I’ll go along with what you decide.”
“You are one wonderful man,” she said and put her plate to one side to snuggle against him. “White lace for me and Rula would like a darker-colored dress. You could match cravats to the dress she chooses or vests or shirts or whatever. What do you think?”
“Shirts would look good, I think. Let her decide and then we’ll plan the rest.”
“The other thing is that it is now definite. I called the chapel and Michele, and the date is fine. August twenty-first at eleven in the morning. Then lunch at Michele’s restaurant.”
“ Sounds perfect,” he told her and kissed the top of her head.
“Does Declan know he will have to make a speech?” Magda grinned.
“Let’s get the tree house mocked up and organized before I give him that news,” Sam laughed.
The cats had finished their meal and rearranged themselves on the couch, and Crystal, as usual, had managed to get on Sam’s knee. She suddenly looked up and Magda’s phone rang. There was no one on the other end and Magda looked suspiciously at the cat.
Crystal shook herself and knocked the phone onto the floor, and then she stalked away to another seat.
“Little minx,” Magda said, and the screen showed the cliffs of northern Scotland.
Chapter 7
“You don’t suppose she’s trying to tell us something?” Sam suggested. “She has been right in the past.”
“Hey”—Magda looked suspiciously at the Birman—“are you just being naughty?” In response, the little cat came over and knocked the cell phone out of Magda’s hand, then stalked away with tail held high and a very disdainful look at her.
“Oh no,” Magda said and passed the phone to Sam. He looked at the screen and saw another view of the cliffs. Then he swiped the screen and found four more views of cliffs.
“How many of these views have you got on here?” he asked, and Magda said there were just two. He shook his head and handed her the cell phone.
“At least four.”
“Oh, this is getting really spooky.”
“Send them to everybody with an explanation and see what they think,” Sam suggested. She immediately shared the views with the rest and told them why.
“Do you think that there is a link to cliffs in Scotland and Mikey climbing a cliff at the café?” Katie wrote back.
“Well at least it is a link of some sort. I wish we could figure him out and hav
e some peace,” Magda said as she hung up. Sam wrapped her in a comforting hug, and she wrapped her arms around his waist.
“I might give up the whisky idea and just go with the raspberry brandy,” she said as they settled on the couch.
“Well, you know that it’s possible if you wanted to go back to it,” Sam told her. “We have the two days in the forest and the wedding to plan. Might be a good idea to leave it anyway.”
“You are so good for me,” she told him. “Why did we fight all those years?”
“Because you were stubborn and wouldn’t admit that you wanted to go out with me.” She gave him a mock slap on the wrist.
“I suppose we had to grow up. I am keen to see this tree house you’ve designed.”
“We should maybe see if the others want to meet up at Mikey’s and see if Utric appears,” Magda mused. She settled into the curve of his am. “Stay here again tonight. The Viking makes me a bit frightened.”
“It’s not like you to be scared,” he told her. “You were never really worried when we were setting up the café.”
“That felt like just something to be solved, but this is a fierce man who breaks sheds and blows up a storm.” She hesitated, adding, “And puts photos on my cell phone. It feels like it could easily get out of control.”
“He responds to softer treatment and reacts with hostility to any sort of anger,” Sam said and stroked her hair. “You know I won’t leave if you want me to stay.”
“This wedding”—she changed the subject—“should we have your house ready to move into and call that a honeymoon?”
“Yes, if that is what you want. We can go away if you would rather.” She shook her head.
“Don’t want to take time off work apart from maybe a day. I have to start preparing for Christmas.” She paused. “Anyway, I am looking forward to moving to the bungalow. If you could move the little chocolate vat from here, it would be a big help.”
“The cats can move the day before, and I’ll stay there myself the night before the wedding,” Sam added. “Actually, it sounds like a good plan.”