Pumpkins and Potions

by Tegan Maher

  I sighed. “It’s not a trick. And I think this is going to be too difficult to explain. You need to experience it…the island, the people here.”

  He eyed Tamara and I wearily. “And what do you two—”

  “Don’t even finish that question,” I said. “It’s insulting to think we would perform for you like circus monkeys.”

  The tips of his ears turned pink. “I wasn’t—I mean, I didn’t…” He trailed off. “Okay. Sorry. This is just a little…odd.”

  Tamara laughed. “I’m sure it is. Almost everyone here on the island is different in some way.”

  “You mean not fully human?” Grant said.

  “Yes,” I whispered. “That’s a good way to put it.”

  “Oh man.” Grant stood and paced back and forth in front of us. “My grandparents?”

  “That’s for them to tell you,” I said gently.

  He scrubbed his hands over his face. “This is all so weird.”

  “I know,” I said. “That’s why I can’t believe someone didn’t prepare you when you took this job.”

  Grant stopped pacing and closed his eyes. “A few have tried, but I didn’t want to hear it. Even Mayor Stone encouraged me to speak to my grandparents, but I just thought he wanted me to make a connection so I stayed.”

  I chuckled. “It might have been a little more than that.”

  “The encounter with Rose back there,” he said. “Why was she so angry about the fact Jack took her ice and never gave it back? Is that something to do with her witch thing?”

  “I don’t think so,” I said.

  “I’ve been trying to figure it out too,” Tamara said. “I have no idea what she was talking about. Jack wouldn’t need to steal ice from her.”

  “Let’s finish our drink and go see Daisy over at the outdoor maze,” I suggested. “See if she gives us some strange cryptic message.”

  We quickly finished off our Spiked Pumpkin drinks and threw the cups in the trashcan.

  “So is Daisy a witch too?” Grant asked.

  I grinned. “You’ll see the type of magic Daisy can do.”

  “You two should go inside the maze alone,” Tamara said. “This way you can show him without me getting in the way.”

  “No way,” I said. “We stick together.”

  “I agree,” Grant said. “I’m here to watch over both of you, but especially you, Tamara.”

  Tamara rolled her eyes. “I promise to just sit and wait for you. Maybe stand in line for caramel popcorn, but that’s it. Promise.”

  “I don’t know,” Grant said, “I don’t like it. Something could go wrong.”

  Tamara grinned. “I’d promise not to talk to anyone weird, but as you’re discovering, that would be impossible.”

  “Ha ha,” Grant said. “Why don’t we…” His voice trailed off when he got his first good look at the outdoor maze. “What’s this?”

  “The maze,” I said smugly.

  I knew what he was implying. From the outside, Daisy’s maze consisted of a straight line…a six-foot tunnel. The hay bales were stacked three high, four wide, with a large tarp thrown over the top and down the sides where people entered and exited. Daisy stood guarding the entrance.

  “Just wait,” I said. “Don’t judge just yet.”

  “I’m going to sit right here,” Tamara said. “Maybe get popcorn for us, but then I’ll come straight back here.”

  Grant cleared his throat. “I don’t mean to sound condescending, but I don’t think it’s going to take us that long to go through this maze. You probably won’t even get to sit before we’re done.”

  Tamara and I just grinned at each other.

  “C’mon, detective.”

  I grabbed his arm and practically dragged him to the maze where a long line was already forming. It took about ten minutes before we were finally next in line. We spent it making small talk and waving over at Tamara sitting on a bench.

  Daisy Woods looked awful. Her eyes were red and swollen, and there were little splotches of red all over her face and neck. She smiled when we finally reached her, but the smile never reached her eyes.

  “I guess you heard about Jack?” I said.

  She nodded and swiped at her nose.

  “Daisy, my name is Detective Wolfe, and I’d like to ask you where you were today from noon to three?”

  Daisy’s mouth dropped. “What? Where was I? Why?”

  “Standard question,” Grant assured her.

  “I was here helping my family with the maze.”

  Grant’s eyes flickered to the tiny maze. “For three hours?”

  “Well, no. I think I left the park around one-thirty. I stopped at the toy store and picked up this spider for my costume.” She pointed to the spider glued to her shoulder. “Then I went home.”

  “Little Miss Muffet?” I asked.

  She nodded.

  “I guess now you’ll never get back what Jack stole from you,” I said.

  “What?” It took a couple seconds before dawning spread over her face. “Oh yeah. I guess not. But maybe I can learn to move on without it.” She drew the tarp back and motioned us inside. “There’s a long line behind you.”

  The minute Daisy dropped the tarp, the inside went as black as the night. I reached for Grant’s hand without thinking, then tried to let go…but he wrapped his fingers around mine and gave me a light squeeze.

  “We need to take a couple steps,” I whispered.

  He chuckled. “Okay. I was thinking more like seven steps in a straight line before we reach the end, but we’ll go with two.”

  We took a couple steps forward, and suddenly the inside of the maze was transformed into a huge magical forest just after twilight. Dozens of lightning bugs twinkled and zipped by us in their own game of tag.

  “What the—”

  Laughing, I dropped his hand and dashed behind a tree. “Come find me!”

  I had no doubt the fullness of my dress stuck out in every direction behind the tree, so I followed a pair of lightning bugs to another bush and crouched down low. They giggled with delight at my game. I put my finger to my mouth and their bodies glowed even brighter.

  “How is this possible, Serena?”

  Shrieking, I stood and nearly toppled over. This sent the little bugs into peals of laughter again and they somersaulted in the air with delight.

  “I didn’t even hear you,” I said.

  “Cop. You aren’t supposed to. Now, how is this possible?” He waved a hand in the air to indicate the night forest, and one of the lightning bugs landed on his fingertip. “Holy—how?”

  “Daisy’s parents are both Woodland Fairies,” I said. “This is their gift of thanks.”

  The forest floor shifted under our feet, and the three dozen or so lightning bugs fluttered around us before zooming away.

  “That’s our cue,” I said. “We just follow the light to leave.”

  He grabbed my hand and we took a couple steps in the direction of the fireflies before once again being thrown into the pitch black night.

  “Now what?” Grant asked.

  “Just reach out your hand and the tarp will open and let us out.”

  We stepped outside back into the chaos of kids running around and playing games at the booths, parents looking exhausted chasing after kids. The smell of popcorn and sugar hung in the air.

  “That was amazing. Let’s go get Tamara though,” Grant said. “I don’t like the idea of leaving her alone for very long.”

  We walked back up the side of the tiny maze. I was going to tell Daisy it was another wonderful year inside, but when we passed the entrance, her sister, Willow, now stood guard. At the same time, I noticed the bench where we’d left Tamara was empty—except for her bouquet of flowers, now trampled and missing blooms, with a note underneath.

  9

  “Don’t touch it.” Grant extracted his phone. “I need to call it in before I open it.”

  “We’re wasting time,” I said. “What if there’s a c
lue in there! Did you notice that Daisy wasn’t at the maze entrance when we walked by?”

  He held up his hand and continued to talk in the phone for a few more seconds before saying goodbye and turning back to me. “It has to be done this way. And, yes, I noticed she wasn’t there. I want you to do something for me.”

  “Okay.”

  “You mentioned earlier today how odd it was for Jack to have been in the garden. The place where his body was found, was it near the daisies? I’m not a big flower guy, so I don’t know.”

  I closed my eyes and brought up the garden. That was more Tamara’s territory, but I had a general idea of where things were planted. “It’s hard to say. Tamara keeps the vegetable and herb garden in a different location due to soil and sun exposure. The roses are along the white picket fence so they have a place to climb, and then she plants the daisies and other flowers sort of in front of the roses. But where Jack fell? Yes, I’d say he fell right in front of a section of roses and daisies.”

  He blew out a breath. “That still doesn’t narrow it down.”

  I slapped my forehead. “I can’t believe it took me that long to put it together. I just realized what you were asking.”

  He handed me a small notebook he took from his jean’s pocket, complete with a mini pen attached. “I want you to write down the text messages you got from Jack. Verbatim if you can remember them that way. I’m going to look at the note.”

  As he took out a pair of latex gloves from his back pocket, I couldn’t help but marvel. “It’s like you got Mary Poppins’ endless pockets.”

  He snorted. “I was a boy scout. I always come prepared.” He placed a hand on my shoulder. “I want you to listen to me. I’m in charge here. I know what I’m doing. I need you to keep calm. If you don’t think you can do that, there’s no shame in walking away right now and letting me finish this on my own. In fact, it’s exactly what I should do.”

  “You may find this difficult to believe, detective, but this wouldn’t be my first assist in a murder investigation.”

  I could tell he wanted to say more, but he shook his head. “That’s for later.” He opened the note and read aloud. “I know Tamara has what Jack stole from me. Give it back if you ever want to see your friend again. And ditch the cop, or I swear she’s dead.”

  “Oh toadstools!” I felt like I’d been punched in the gut.

  Again, Grant extracted his phone and made another call. It was only a few minutes, but it gave me enough time to get hold of myself.

  “Toadstools?” he mused after he hung up.

  “My mom didn’t let me curse, so I had to improvise.”

  “So here’s a new development. The chief says you’ve actually been deputized and have helped him out on a few occasions.”

  “That’s true. Usually it’s for mundane things and when they’re shorthanded at the station.”

  He frowned and cocked his head to the side. “You’re gonna have to fill me in later. I can’t wait to hear this story. Anyway, the chief also assures me you will be an asset here. He also says we are to do what the note says to an extent. But I need you to follow my orders exactly. Understood?”

  I nodded, still trying to calm my fear inside.

  “Did you get those clues down for me?”

  I looked down at my scribbled notes. “Yes. In the first one, he called Tamara by the name Lucy. He said, ‘Lucy look up.’ And then in the second one he said, ‘I am my namesake.’ The third one just said he was sorry.”

  “Lucy look up,” Grant repeated. “First, do you know anyone named Lucy?”

  “No.”

  “Who or what do you think of when I say the word ‘Lucy’ to you?”

  I shrugged. “Lucy from the Peanuts strip. Maybe something to do with football? Wasn’t she the girl who always moved the ball when Charlie Brown would go to kick it?”

  He chuckled. “Yeah, I think so. Who or what else?”

  “Maybe I Love Lucy?” I mused.

  “Was Jack into that kind of thing? Comics and television?”

  I snorted. “Jack was into Jack.”

  “Fair enough.”

  “He did like music,” I said. “I do remember that.”

  “So maybe we think of bands or songs about Lucy. And what about the namesake clue?”

  I threw my hands in the air. “I don’t know. I replied back something like Jack the Homewrecker.”

  “Harsh, but okay. What other Jack names can you think of?”

  About that time a boy and girl walked by holding hands. They were both carrying pails in their hands. “Jack and Jill. Jack Sprat. Jack and the Beanstalk.”

  Out of nowhere a ball skidded across the grass and hit Grant’s legs. He bent to pick it up as a little girl around six ran our way, her pigtails flying out behind her. She was dressed in a gold sheet that was sewed so her arms and legs each had their own holes. When she slid to a halt in front of us, she threw her arms and legs out wide, making her look like a flying squirrel.

  “Who’re you supposed to be?” Grant asked as he threw the ball in the air and caught it.

  “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.”

  “How about a trade,” he said. “You sing the song, and I give you back the ball?”

  “Okay!”

  I was only half listening. My mind was focused on Lucy songs. It wasn’t until the little girl got to the end that I snapped to attention. “I got it!”

  10

  “Whaddya got?” Grant asked as he tossed the ball to the girl.

  With a toothy grin—minus one front tooth—she sprinted back over to her parents.

  I was shaking so badly, I couldn’t speak. Grant took my hands in his and looked me in the eye. “In this together. You’re doing great. Now, what did you discover?”

  “Twinkle Girl gave it to me in her song. Talked about a diamond in the sky. Which brought me to—”

  “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” we both finished.

  “Very popular Beatles song,” I said.

  “Diamonds?” Grant frowned. “Jack stole diamonds from someone?”

  My heart fell to my stomach as I stood and looked around the park. “I know who the killer is too! I just don’t know where Jack hid the diamonds!”

  “You are doing amazing, Serena,” Grant said. “But we take this a step at a time. So the first clue tells us he stole diamonds. And now we work on the second clue.”

  “What about the killer? What about Tamara? Shouldn’t we be—”

  “No,” Grant said. “We need to solve this first before we can get a plan around for saving Tamara. We don’t even know where she is.”

  “Oh, I can find her.”

  He frowned. “How? We have no idea where she’s being held.”

  “I can do a location spell,” I said. “I’ve done them plenty of times.”

  “Again, let’s cross that bridge when we get there. Let’s get the second clue. Jack told Tamara he’d stolen diamonds, now let’s think about where he’s hidden them.”

  “Well, we don’t have a beanstalk in the garden, so that’s out,” I said. “Jack, Jack, Jack.”

  “Jack Sprat?”

  I ran through the nursery rhyme in my head. “No. I don’t think Jack hid diamonds on a platter.”

  “And you don’t have a pail at the house?” Grant asked. “Maybe he hid them in a bucket?”

  I shrugged. “Maybe. We have one in the garage. But if the killer was at our house, don’t you think they’d have looked around before leaving? I mean, we usually don’t get home until around four every day. Most people on the island know that. They’d have had plenty of time to search, even though we did come home early.”

  “Okay. Other Jack names you can think of?”

  “Jack Be Nimble?” I asked hesitantly.

  “Do you have a candlestick in your house?”

  “Yes, we have quite a few of them,” I said. “And I guess if it’s a small diamond, he could somehow hide it there.”

  “Isn’t there a
Jack Horner nursery rhyme?” Grant asked.

  I quickly ran the lyrics through my head and screamed. “That’s it! I know where the diamond is!”

  Grabbing his hand, we sprinted across the park over to where Mayor Stone stood standing guard over the six pies Tamara and I baked. We were both winded when we stopped in front of the mayor.

  “Did you guys just compete in the three-legged zombie race?” Mayor Stone asked.

  Shaking my head, I laid my hands on the mayor’s chest. “Please forgive me for what I’m about to do.”

  Without waiting for a reply, I passed an apple pie to Grant and then grabbed one for me and started to dig. Mayor Stone started shouting as pie crust and pie filling flew everywhere. When our first round was a bust, we each grabbed another pie.

  “Now see here,” Mayor Stone said, “I demand to know what’s going on?”

  By now we had a crowd, but I couldn’t waste time explaining. Not when I had a diamond to find and a best friend to save. Grant had just grabbed another pie when my palm wrapped around something hard.

  “I got it!” I cried as I held my closed fist in the air, flinging the last of the filling off.

  Grant took the diamond from me and wiped it clean using his shirt before displaying the stone in his opened hand. I’d never in my life seen a diamond that big. It took up nearly the whole middle of Grant’s palm.

  Grant whistled as Mayor Stone’s tirade died down. “I’ve never seen a diamond this big.”

  “Me either,” Mayor Stone said. “And it was in the pie?”

  I laughed, but it was more of a hysterical laugh because I couldn’t believe this was happening. “Just like Jack Horner. I ran through the rhyme in my head, and I got to where he sat in a corner eating his Christmas pie, then he sticks in his thumb and pulls out a plum. And that’s when I knew! Jack must have went into the kitchen after he packed his stuff, and either he heard or saw the killer and decided to hide the diamond. Tamara had told me that he was desperate. He said someone was after him because of something he’d taken and he was afraid for his life. So he hid the diamond in one of the uncooked pies Tamara had on the counter.”