Shadow Magic (Tabby Kitten Mystery Book 6)

by Constance Barker

  “I’m sorry I can’t help out,” Danny whispered, ducking his head. “My mom’s friend probably knows more than I do. Her name is Eileen.”

  “We’ll talk to her, Danny. Don’t worry,” Thea said, sending him a small smile.

  While Blaine continued to talk with him, she decided to take a quick inspection of the house to see if she could find any prominent signs of magic. Although she was able to find some small items placed sporadically around the Carpenter home, there was nothing to suggest that someone used magic to kidnap another person.

  Thea didn’t know whether that made her feel better or worse about the whole thing.

  When they wrapped up their visit, Sybil hopped onto Thea’s lap. She looked up at Blaine expectantly, batting her tail from side to side.

  “What’s going to happen with Danny?” she asked, which was a question Thea was wondering as well.

  Blaine sighed. “Well, he’s too young to stay at his house unsupervised. We can’t really expect any of the officers to step up and watch over him, either. I think the most likely scenario is that he’s going to have to enter the foster care system for a while.”

  Sybil let out a dissatisfied noise at that answer. If Thea was being honest, she also felt disappointed. She didn’t have too much faith in the foster care system to provide adequate care for Danny. The thought of leaving him to the system made her perturbed.

  “Blaine, I have a better idea,” she said abruptly, picking up Sybil and setting her in the backseat of the patrol car. “I just hope Granny is okay with it.”

  “Oh, man,” he whispered. “Thea Beal, what are you up to now?”

  She swatted at his arm. “I’m trying to help out that little boy who has nowhere to go right now! It’s the least we can do until his mother is found.”

  “Alright... Understandable.”

  “Now, can you please drop Sybil and I back at our house? We’re going to have to explain this entire situation to her.”

  “And I’m going to have to do a lot of persuading to get these officers to agree with your plan,” Blaine quipped.

  Thea scoffed. “They’ll agree to this idea, trust me. This isn’t the first time one of my out of pocket schemes ended up being successful.”

  At that, Blaine couldn’t help but concede.

  Chapter 4

  “But it doesn’t look like a cloak.”

  “Really? Says who?” Granny jutted out her chin, daring them to argue. From where Thea and Blaine stood, the pile of yarn on Granny’s lap looked like, well, a pile of yarn. Sybil slid toward the pile, the tip of her tail twitching with menace.

  “Who’s it for?” Blaine tried a weak smile.

  “Not for you or it’d be twice as long.” Granny suspended her hands, palms down, above the mass of yarn. One finger twitched, then another, and the yarn began to roil and twist. Thea and Blaine goggled.

  “Is that cloak knitting itself?”

  “Efficient, isn’t it? But enough of my theatrics. Thea, you have a question.”

  “Why do I ever try to keep things from you?” Thea sat on the couch across from Granny. “Maybe a question. Or maybe a proposal.”

  “I thought Blaine was in charge of the proposals around here.” Granny glanced at Blaine, who reddened a bit and cleared his throat.

  If he gets any more adorable, I’m going to cover his face with kisses, Thea thought.

  Suddenly Sybil leapt at the twitching yarn. Granny tutted and pulled it away.

  “Sybil, really!”

  “It’s irresistible,” Sybil shot back. “I’m a magical cat, not a DEAD cat.” She arched her spine, then strode grandly to the front window, and settled on the sill with a sniff.

  “Granny, it’s about Marie Carpenter.”

  Granny narrowed her eyes.

  “I know that name. She has a son. His familiar is a lizard, I think?” She shook her head. “One of the sweetest things I’ve ever seen, that little boy and his lizard.”

  “That’s the one. She’s disappeared.”

  “Magically?”

  “No. At least—” Thea looked at Blaine.

  “We don’t think so,” he finished. “Marie hasn’t been seen or heard from since last night. Her boy Danny, who’s only eight years old, has been sitting home alone waiting for her.”

  “Not totally alone,” Thea said. “There’s a caseworker with him now.”

  Granny frowned.

  “That’s no good. Danny is probably worried to death... I think he should come here.”

  Not for the first time, Thea marveled at her grandmother’s faultless intuition and huge heart.

  “You’re the best!” She slipped her arm around Granny and the squirming pile of yarn, and squeezed.

  “Careful, I’m delicate.” Granny smoothed the yarn, and resumed knitting. “I’d like to meet Danny, and give him a chance to look around the place. And if he’s comfy, he’s welcome to stay here until his mother comes back.”

  Thea clapped her hands with delight. Then, she saw Blaine’s face.

  “What?”

  “This isn’t what you’d call standard procedure,” he said. The phrase sounded so oddly formal that Thea and Granny stared until he reddened again. “All I’m saying is that in order to make this work, I’m going to have to pull some strings.”

  “So pull them,” said Granny, as she arched a single, articulate eyebrow. Blaine laughed, and surprised Thea with a hug. Then he planted a big, sloppy kiss on her mouth.

  “Don’t forget about me,” said Sybil, leaping off the windowsill.

  “You want a kiss too?” said Blaine.

  “Don’t you dare,” Sybil hissed, and rubbed her face on his calf. Blaine scratched between her ears just the way she liked it until she started purring.

  “I’ll set this all up. Thank you, Granny.” He blew her a kiss which she pretended to catch with one gnarled hand.

  “And Thea? Don’t get too worked up over this, okay? Not yet.” Thea wrinkled her nose at him, but nodded.

  After he left, Thea asked Granny if she wanted tea.

  “No, dear, but you could bring me a coconut cookie.”

  In the kitchen, Thea busied her hands while her brain picked apart the day’s events. From what she had heard so far, Marie Carpenter was a good mom. She would never have left Danny alone voluntarily. Something very bad happened to Marie...

  Thea startled at the teakettle’s shriek. She brewed a hearty cup of English Breakfast with milk and sugar, placed a single coconut cookie on a little gold-rimmed plate for Granny, and resettled herself on the sofa. She watched her grandmother’s hovering hands direct the yarn to and fro.

  “I hope it’s easier to bring Danny here than it was to bring you,” Granny said.

  “What do you mean?”

  Granny squinted at her knitting.

  “You may not know this, but Tiegen wanted to prevent me from getting custody of you. She wanted to raise you herself.”

  Thea’s teacup froze in mid-air. Her mouth dropped open.

  “Tell me!”

  Granny gave her a tiny smile.

  “It’s true. After your parents disappeared, Tiegen claimed that I wasn’t fit to raise a young child.”

  Thea frowned.

  “Why? Because you were old?”

  Granny pursed her lips, but Thea knew she would take no offense. Granny enjoyed her age, and the freedom and authority that came with it.

  “That was her excuse. I don’t know her real reason. But if I hadn’t had that written directive from your parents...”

  Thea gulped and set down her cup. Her hand shook a bit.

  “Tiegen would have raised me.”

  “That’s right, my dear. How would Blaine put it? You ‘dodged a bullet’ on that one?” Thea smiled, but her stomach clenched. Tiegen as my foster mom? The thought upset her so much that her appetite disappeared. Granny, however, reached for the coconut cookie, and ate it neatly in two bites. She studied Thea’s face.

  “That was long a
go,” Granny said. “But sometimes, long ago can feel like right now.”

  Sybil sprang onto the couch and snuggled into the far corner. She blinked at Thea, her glass-green eyes glinting in the soft light.

  “Thea. Don’t get worked up over that, either,” Sybil said. Then, she folded her front paws over her face, and instantly fell asleep.

  I know they’re right, but I’m getting worked up anyway. “I’m going to make more tea.” Thea rose from the couch and picked up the little gold-rimmed plate. “And grab another cookie for you.”

  “If you insist,” said Granny.

  “And when I come back, I want you to tell me all about that cloak.”

  Chapter 5

  “Hey, are you okay?” Blaine leaned over to open the car door. Thea climbed in with Sybil at her heels.

  “Why do you ask?”

  “Your eyes have that hollow look.” Blaine lightly kissed her, then sat back in his seat with a grunt. “You ignored my advice, didn’t you?”

  “What advice?”

  “You got worked up about Marie Carpenter.” He threw the car into drive and pulled away from the curb. “And then you couldn’t sleep. I bet you’ve been thinking about your folks, too.”

  “What did you expect?” said Sybil, as she burrowed into an old sweatshirt on the back seat.

  Thea couldn’t fault Blaine for worrying. When she’d looked into the mirror this morning, she’d seen dark rings under her eyes. They made her look haunted.

  In a way, she was haunted.

  Marie’s disappearance hit all her buttons. A parent vanishes, and a child worries, and worries, and worries...

  With a shock, Thea realized they’d arrived at work. Blaine eased into a parking spot. Before the car had stopped moving, Thea popped the door and slid out, Sybil at her heels.

  “Coming?” she called over her shoulder.

  “SO THAT’S THE BAD NEWS—NO leads yet about Marie.” Blaine leaned heavily on the counter as Thea brought the shop’s computer online. “The good news is that I’ll introduce Danny and Granny right after lunch.”

  “They’re going to love each other.” Thea smiled.

  “How do you think Granny will feel about having a lizard in the house?”

  “If Sybil can handle it, so can Granny.” Sybil yawned in response.

  Thea opened the company email account, and glared at dozens of new messages. Blaine scratched at a smudge on the counter.

  “Hey, Thea, I’ve been thinking. Should we postpone the wedding?”

  Thea stopped breathing.

  “Why? Do you not want to—”

  “No, no, no.” He held up his hands. “Don’t get me wrong. I would marry you right this second if I could.”

  “Then why—”

  “Hold on a sec.” Thea swallowed, and willed her heart to slow. “This thing with Marie has hit you hard. You seem—”

  “Seem what?”

  “A little off.” Thea’s chest constricted. “That’s an observation, not a criticism.”

  “So what are you saying? That we stall getting married until we find Marie?”

  “Maybe that’s a good idea.”

  “I don’t know, Blaine.” Thea paced behind the counter. “I don’t know. I don’t want some kidnapper A-hole to have all the power. To interfere in my personal decisions. I don’t want to put my life on hold for another 23 years!”

  Blaine stared at her. Thea breathed hard. She felt dizzy. She sat down on a stool and covered her face with her hands.

  “Thea, do you...” Blaine frowned, thinking it through. “Do you really believe the same people that took your parents took Marie?”

  “Who knows? But I have a bad feeling.”

  Blaine slipped around the counter and gathered her in his arms. Pressed against his chest, she could feel his heartbeat.

  “I just want to find her,” Thea said.

  “Me too. I’m going to talk to her friend Eileen Richards right now. See if she has any idea where Marie might be.”

  “You’ll let me know if you find out anything?”

  “Promise.”

  Minutes after Blaine left, Jessie appeared with two aromatic lattes and a big grin on his face. “Pumpkin Spice improves job performance,” he said, handing one to Thea, “Or so I’ve heard.”

  Throughout the morning, customers came and went. Thea noted the post-Halloween drop off, but there were enough crafty folks in Ardensville to keep A Stitch in Time bustling. Students breezed through, too, in giggly groups, waving lists of school supplies and touching everything.

  But despite the happy hubbub, Thea couldn’t focus. Her mind returned constantly to Marie, and then, to her parents’ disappearance. What can I remember about that? Not much, it seemed. She recalled waking up and being unable to find either Mom or Dad. She ate cereal out of the box. Then Granny came in and asked her where her parents were. Thea didn’t know, and that frightened her. Police arrived, friends and neighbors surged in. A whirlwind of people, none of them her parents.

  Her phone trilled in her hand, and she almost dropped it. “Blaine?”

  “I found something.”

  “Hang on!” Thea looked around for Jessie, and saw him helping a red-haired, bespectacled schoolgirl in the framing department. She waved to catch his eye and pointed to her phone. He nodded and turned back to his client.

  Thea hustled to the back of the shop. “Okay, I’m here, what happened?”

  “Eileen said that before she disappeared, Marie told Eileen that she owes money to someone.”

  “Whoa. A lot of money? And to whom?”

  “Eileen’s not sure of the amount, but the guy’s name is Ralph Hartley and he’s bad news. Apparently Marie said she’s terrified that when Hartley comes to collect, and finds out she doesn’t have the money...”

  Thea had never heard of Ralph Hartley. But owing money to a scary dude might motivate anybody to vanish. She realized Blaine was talking. “Sorry, what did you just say?”

  “—but that’s not the weirdest part. Get this. Eileen also said that Marie kept talking about some secret magical group she belongs to.”

  “What?”

  “I know! Eileen has some low-level magic, but high-level opinions. She made it a point to say she doesn’t approve of the group.”

  “Why not?” Thea chewed a thumbnail. The bad feeling that had stalked her all day intensified.

  “Eileen said she thinks the group’s dangerous. Marie made her promise to keep her participation a secret.”

  In her mind’s eye, Thea saw Danny sitting on his living room couch, staring at the floor as the caseworker babbled at him. He looked so little. So frightened. So alone.

  “There’s something here,” she said, and Blaine agreed. “Do you know anything about this group?”

  “One thing. I know who runs it.” Thea felt a sharp pain and looked at her thumb. She’d bitten through her own skin.

  “There’s a witch in town called Shannon Mercer,” Blaine said. “Eileen told me she’s in charge.”

  Chapter 6

  “We need to learn more, a lot more, about this secret magical group.”

  Thea wove her way to the front of the shop, phone pressed to her ear. Jessie had completed his sale to the red-haired girl and sat behind the counter sipping his now-tepid latte. Sybil perched nearby, studying the creamy drink with predatory interest.

  “Could you talk to Granny, or maybe Tiegen, about the group and Shannon Mercer?” Blaine said.

  “Yes, absolutely. Can I catch Jessie up? He’ll have to man the shop on his own.”

  “Sure thing.”

  “Okay. And then Sybil and I will leave.”

  “Great. Meanwhile, I’m going to check out Ralph Hartley. Eileen likes to talk, so I need to be extra cautious and verify all of her info.”

  “Blaine—” Thea’s heart still ached from their talk about postponing the wedding.

  “Thea, are you there?”

  “Yes. Be careful, okay? This Hartley might be
a serious jerk.”

  “Don’t worry. I won’t do a face-to-face with him today, just research. After all, I can’t make Danny late for his visit with Granny.”

  Thea smiled, and they said their goodbyes. When she lowered the phone, Jessie was watching her.

  “Something’s happened,” he said.

  “It’s about Marie Carpenter.” In tandem, they both scanned the store. Lots of customers, but at the moment, no one looked needy.

  “Have you and Blaine found her?”

  “I wish.” Thea told him about Eileen’s revelations. “So, I need to check in with Granny, and maybe Tiegen, to see if they know anything about this group.”

  “I’ve never heard of a secret magical group in Ardensville,” he said. “And Shannon Mercer? That name doesn’t ring a bell.”

  “Excuse me.” A wrinkled, bald man with tiny round glasses peered over the counter at them. He appeared to have no teeth at all. “Could you show me to your cross-stitch section?” Jessie stood with a smile and put his latte down.

  “Go on, Thea. I’ll help this customer.” Thea gave him a thumbs up and headed out, Sybil padding alongside. Behind her, the bald man said, “I want a pattern, but I don’t do flowers and I hate birds.”

  “How odd. I love birds,” said Sybil, and licked her chops.

  They picked up chicken raspberry salads on the way home. Granny seemed surprised and delighted to see them, or maybe just tickled about the takeout lunch. They laid the food on the kitchen table, including the order of “chicken-hold-the-raspberries-hold-the-salad” for Sybil. Thea arranged cloth napkins and cutlery at two places. Sybil opted out.

  “I expect Danny and Blaine will come by soon,” said Granny, as she poured water into two glasses and a bowl. “It’s silly, but I feel a little nervous.”

  “Gran, Danny will love it here. How could he not?” Thea took a long drink and decided Granny did look nervous. Her cheeks had a slight flush to them.

  It’s been a long time since there was a kid running around the house.

  Thea hoped fervently that the little boy would feel at home here. She wanted the house to be as much a comfort to him as it had been to her when she was small.