“I can’t imagine what he must be going through. To lose a child, and especially one so young and helpless, it must be hell. The closest I’ve ever come to that kind of fear and pain was when I used to lose you at the farmer’s market sometimes when you were little,” my mom quipped, looking at me pointedly. I sighed.
“That’s not a story we need to revisit right now,” I said quickly.
“Nonsense, it will just take a moment,” she insisted. I gave Xander a very emphatic look, but he didn’t come to my rescue. He simply waited for my mom to tell the tale.
“Well, when Artemis was, oh, about six years old or so, we used to go to that farmer’s market downtown every Sunday. It was our shopping day, you see, and that was back before we had a big garden of our own. So we would go there to pick up fresh produce and whatnot for the coming week. Diana was always so helpful. She would help me make a list and pick stuff out like a little professional shopper. But Arti here was so impatient! She was always getting distracted and bored and so she’d wander off and just totally disappear into the crowds. Oh, you wouldn’t believe the number of times I had to search frantically for her, only to find her trying to steal cherries from a vendor a block away!”
“That’s right, Mom. Just tell the nice police officer all about how I used to commit petty theft when I was a dumb kid,” I groaned.
Xander laughed and gave me a wink. “I’m pretty sure the statute of limitations has long since run out on your cherry-stealing crimes, Arti,” he said.
“See? All’s well,” Mom said cheerily.
“Anyway, I only did it because you took so long to pick out produce at the market,” I remarked. Mom giggled.
“Like I said: impatient,” my mom reiterated, giving me a squeeze. “Anyway, I had better head back to the search party and keep looking for little Tina. I’m sure that group needs as much help as they can get.” She leaned in and lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “You know, most of those folks are only in it for selfish reasons. They seem to think it’s just a social event of some kind. How shallow, right?”
Xander did a good job of keeping a straight face and nodded. “Yes. I noticed. Luckily, the three of us are here to do things the right way,” he said. My mother did not notice the faint tone of facetiousness whatsoever.
“Agreed!” she said wholeheartedly. “Well, see you later. It was good to see you, Chief Forsetti. I hope to be seeing much more of you in future,” she said with a knowing smile. I felt as though I might actually melt through the sand and slip down to the center of the earth forever. She turned and walked away, leaving me with Xander, who was staring at me with a funny look on his face, clearly trying his hardest not to burst out laughing.
“Yeah, yeah, I know. My mom is a disaster,” I sighed.
“She’s charming, actually. I bet she’s really fun at parties,” he said, without a single trace of malice. He truly was too kind for his own good.
“Oh, don’t tell her that. She’s got a healthy ego already. I love her to death, but sometimes it feels like this town isn’t big enough to fit both her and me.”
“She’s retired, right?” he asked.
I nodded. “Yep. And bored out of her mind half the time. I swear, that woman has enough energy for everyone. If only we could find a way to harness that energy, we could power the whole town easily.”
“I see where you get your tenacity from now,” Xander added. I looked at him critically, expecting that to be kind of an insult, but he just looked impressed.
I smiled. “Well, I’m sure you understand. Your mom was the police chief. She’s got to have crazy high energy, too, just to be able to handle it all.”
He looked wistful. “Yeah. I suppose you could say that.”
I wondered why he always seemed to clam up whenever his past was brought up. I wanted to pry, but something told me that Xander would open up and tell me about in his own time, when he was ready. And I certainly didn’t want to pull a Celeste and pry him open with a crowbar as she was wont to do. We had time. All the time in the world to get to know each other.
“Well, anyway, I’d better get back on the trail,” he said.
“Me, too. I’m going to just walk around town a bit, try and wrack my brain for answers. I’m sorry I haven’t been able to give you anything more to work with yet,” I told him truthfully.
He waved his hand. “Don’t sweat it. You’ve already been much more helpful than I could have expected from you considering you’re not on the payroll.”
“Not yet,” I joked. He grinned.
“We’ll see about that. I’ll catch you later, Arti. Stay safe, okay?” he said.
“Sure. See you,” I replied. He stalked off down the beach, rubbing his arms to keep warm. I watched him disappear over a dune, wondering where on earth I should go next.
I swiveled around and walked back to the road. It might be prudent for me to just take a walk and clear my mind, see if I could use my lunar connection to try and feel around for clues or guidance of some kind. I wandered up the road, taking an aimless path winding through residential neighborhoods on the outskirts of town, following the outside track which took me past the woods, past the nursery, past the ominous tree at which Tina’s backpack had been discovered. I kept going and made my way past the nursery, where a huge display of flowers out the front were covered in a thin layer of snow, looking unhappy.
I kept walking, just carrying my broom against my shoulder as my boots crunched over the snow that was beginning to toughen into slippery ice over time. I thanked my lucky stars yet again for the fact that we lived in a town without the need for vehicles, since I had read that car tires often had trouble with this icy stuff.
Eventually I reached the end of the road and had to turn back. Twenty minutes later I found myself wandering around downtown, and I passed by an art gallery with a dancing, fluttering flyer on the door. As I walked by, it began to whisper, “Psst. Hey! Psst, you there! With the broom!”
I whipped around and said, “What do you want?”
“Rude, much?” the flyer whined. “Exhibition! Featuring local artists! Register soon!”
“Sorry, I’m not an artist,” I replied.
“But you know one, right? Everybody knows an artist,” it insisted.
Yeesh. These enchanted ads were getting a little pushy these days, weren’t they? But the flyer was correct, I realized. I did, in fact, know an artist. Lara. I remembered her gorgeous paintings and conceded. “Alright. You got me. I’m going to take a picture of you on my phone to show my artsy friend, okay? So be still for a minute.”
“Whatever you say!” it chirped back. It stopped wiggling in the breeze and straightened itself out, lying flat against the door. I took out my phone and snapped a photo.
“Good. Got it. Thanks,” I said, feeling a little silly for talking back to it.
“Cool. Spread the word!” it replied brightly.
I decided that was enough excitement for the day and hopped on my broom to head home. On the way, I could not stop yawning. Being a detective-slash-hotelier was hard work. When I got home, I could feel my body dragging me along like it might collapse any second. I groaned as I fit the key in the door and opened it to walk inside, remembering that I still needed to cook dinner for myself and my guests. As soon as I walked in, I was confronted with the judgmental glare of my familiar cat, who was perched on the back of the sofa, her tail twitching with annoyance. Oh my moon, what now?
“You look miffed, Luna. What’s up?” I asked as I hung up my coat.
She made a grumpy hmph noise and jumped down to run over to me, her tail sticking straight up. She stopped at my feet and looked up at me longingly. “I missed you,” she admitted quietly. I smiled and knelt down, opening my arms so she could hop up into them. It was rare for her to be so clingy, since she usually liked to pretend she was too cool for me. I held her close, listening as her annoyance faded into satisfied purring.
“I’m back now,” I said softly. “Sorr
y I’ve been gone all day again.”
“I hope you find that little girl soon, because it’s weird hanging around here all day trying to entertain your guests for you,” she complained.
“Oh, like Daphne and Lara are difficult guests,” I laughed.
She pushed back with her little paws to gaze up at me and said, “Excuse me, but I’ll have you know that I actually let both of them pet me today. I even purred.”
“Oh yes, that sounds incredibly draining on your energy,” I teased gently.
“It was!” she exclaimed. “Why, the older lady even interrupted my regularly-scheduled mid-afternoon cat nap just to stroke my head. Can you imagine?”
I grinned as I carried her into the kitchen. “Nope. Can’t even imagine the strain that must have put on you, Luna. I’m terribly sorry.”
“You should be!” she scolded. “Anyway, did you find the girl yet?”
I sighed. “Sadly, no. She’s still missing.”
Luna nuzzled up against my chin with her velvety little head, trying to comfort me. “Well, you know what they say about kidnappings. You need to find her in the first couple of days.”
“Yes. Yes, Lu. I am very aware of the statistics,” I murmured exhaustedly.
“Just saying.”
“I know, I know,” I groaned. “But we can’t give up hope yet. Tina deserves for us to keep looking for her with the same energy and enthusiasm as we started out with. She’s just a little kid, Luna. I can’t give up just yet. I just wish I could think of something. Some clue. Anything to point us in the right direction.”
“What are you talking about?” came a soft voice from the kitchen entryway. I looked over and smiled at Daphne, wearing comfy pajamas and slippers. She looked concerned.
“Oh, nothing. Just the kidnapping case here in town,” I told her. “Nothing for you to worry about. I just feel bad that the quarantine still has you stuck here.”
“Don’t you mention it,” she said placidly. “It’s no trouble, really. You have been more than exceptionally courteous in allowing me to stay here during this time. I hope I’m not putting too much of a strain on your business by being here.”
“Oh, of course not,” I assured her quickly as I opened up the cookbook and began poring over the pages, looking for something simple and easy to make for dinner. “It’s no trouble at all. Besides, it’s not like it’s your fault the quarantine is still in place.”
“Right,” she said. “You’ve been working with that police officer, though, haven’t you?”
I nodded, looking back at her. “I have. Why?”
“Oh, I was just wondering if by chance you might have any idea of when the quarantine might be lifted again,” Daphne said. “I totally understand the point of it, and I don’t want to be morbid, but I imagine the town can’t stay under lock and key forever, you know? How much longer will the search drag on before they, well, I don’t want to call it giving up, but…” she trailed off, her expression turning sad.
“I know what you mean,” I sighed. “But I think Chief Forsetti is planning to keep it going just a little while longer. I’m sorry about the inconvenience.”
“No, no, dear. It’s not your fault, of course,” she assured me with a smile. “I was just wondering if you knew when I could go home. Anyway, could I help out with dinner or anything? You must be exhausted.”
Lara came strolling over just then, peering over Daphne’s shoulder. “Yes! We totally don’t mind helping out,” she added.
“Thanks, guys. I was thinking of making something a little simple tonight, if that’s alright with you. Maybe just some homemade tomato soup and pesto grilled cheese sandwiches? I’ve got some fresh mozzarella, heirloom tomatoes, basil - all that stuff. Does that sound okay?” I asked them.
“On a cold night like this, it’s perfect!” Lara replied, with Daphne nodding along in agreement.
The three of us made our way into the kitchen and I set my two helpers to work, with Daphne chopping tomatoes and helping me tend to the simmering soup while I gave Lara - who was a kitchen novice - the supposedly easy task of assembling the sandwiches. However, I overestimated her skills yet again, since she ended up spilling globs of pesto all over the floor and accidentally misusing a charm that caused one of the artfully-assembled sandwiches to fly across the house and hide out on a blade of the ceiling fan in the living room. I took over her station and Lara spent the remainder of the cooking time dejectedly attempting to coax the sandwich back down.
But finally, dinner was served without much more trouble. The three of us sat down together to eat and during the meal, I remembered to show Lara the ad I took a picture of earlier. She blushed as I tried my best to convince her to enter the art show.
“Oh, I don’t know, Arti. That’s kind of intense,” she said.
“How are you so shy about your art? I mean, you were a famous actress. Are a famous actress,” I corrected myself. “Aren’t you used to attention?”
“Yeah, but not about my art,” she explained.
“Lara, I really think you should do it,” Daphne said. “I may or may not have sneaked a peek into your room earlier and saw your work.”
Lara blushed bright pink. “You guys…”
“Seriously, what’s the worst that can happen?” I suggested. She sighed.
“Alright. You wore me down. I’ll consider it,” she said.
“Good,” I said with a smile. “I really think your art is amazing, and you should share it with the world.”
“It’s better than my cooking skills, at any rate,” Lara replied with a sheepish grin, earning a giggle from Daphne and myself.
Chapter 18
It didn’t take long for my dinner to render the house full of empty plates and bloated guests leaning back in their seats, myself included.
“I don’t know how you do it, Artemis,” Daphne said, smiling contentedly as I levitated the plates over to the kitchen sink and carefully stacked them one atop the other in the hot water.
“Oh, this is just a simple levitation spell.”
“No, I mean cooking something like that every single night,” she said with a laugh. “Not even my own grandmother could do that.”
“Well, it’s one of those things you just pick up on naturally when it’s your job,” I laughed. “Honestly though, I hardly even count it as part of the job. It’s something I’ve always liked doing, and if it happens to help make guests’ stay a little nicer, then hey, icing on the cake.”
“Oh, don’t make me think about cake right now,” Daphne groaned, and Lara laughed. “Well, I won’t say that so quickly, maybe after an evening walk I’ll be feeling better.”
“There’s a lovely diner downtown that’s open late and serves New York style cheesecake,” Lara mentioned. “They’ll hook you up if you swing by there, I’m sure.”
“That’s not a bad idea,” Daphne said, carefully standing up and stretching. “I’m serious about the walk, though, so I think I’ll go change shoes and get on that before it gets too cold. The doctors told me I should try and do some light exercise as I continue to recover from the surgery.”
Daphne hurried up to her room while Lara and I finished tidying up the rest of the dishes. I had to hand it to Lara, she might not have been very skilled at handling herself in the kitchen, but the fact that she was willing to keep trying meant a lot to me.
About five minutes later, Daphne passed through the kitchen again to the door, and when she opened it, she found herself face-to-face with Celeste.
“Oh! Sorry, hon,” my mother laughed, side-stepping Daphne, “I’m so used to just barging in here I almost forgot Arti has a guest.”
Daphne hurried out after a quick laugh, and my mom bustled in alone.
“Hey mom, you just missed dinner,” I said as she came in, setting her purse on the table with a tired look on her face. “But I’m guessing you could use a drink instead?”
“That doesn’t sound half bad,” she said. “This search party thing takes a l
ot out of you when you don’t find anything.”
I frowned. “No exciting new developments since I got home, I’m guessing?”
She shook her head, and Lara frowned. “Nothing. The most we got out of it was getting to know some of the neighbors, which can be its own reward, I suppose.”
“Morgan Forsetti might disagree with you on that one,” I said, rolling my eyes. “But that’s nice - make any new friends?” The question was half a joke, but knowing mom, anything was possible.
“Your father sure did,” she said, chuckling. “I swear, that man comes off as shy, but turn him loose in a crowd and he’ll have double-dates scheduled through next month. I did get to know a few people I don’t see often, though,” she said. “Mr. Sellers was out and about again with those damned moles of his. I swear, just because his family can talk with animals, they think they’re just the caretakers of the whole ecosystem!”
Lara and I exchanged smirks from across the counter.
I picked a bottle of red wine from the cupboard and poured us three glasses while mom chatted away about some of the characters she ran across during the town-wide search party today.
“But I’m sure I didn’t have as much fun as you and Xander did, running off together like that,” she said about halfway through her first glass, giving me a knowing smile that made me want to cast an invisibility spell on myself.
“You only ran into us a few minutes after we ran into each other,” I said firmly while Lara tried to hide a smile behind my mom.
“Well shoot, why didn’t you say so, Arti? I would have given you two the privacy you wanted,” she said, and my face glowed with embarrassment.
“Mom, we were in the middle of an investigation, for a missing child, in case you’d forgotten.”
“Love finds a way, honey, you know that,” my mom chided me mildly, and I rolled my eyes. “Besides, you really need to get on this train if you’re planning on catching it. Did you know, one of the ladies I ran into this afternoon has a daughter who just had surgery for fibroids. She’ll probably never be able to have children, and she never planned for anything like that to happen. Such a shame. You never know, it’s best to have children early if you’re planning on having them at all, before your body shuts down.”
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