by Rose Pressey
“As a matter of fact, there was one thing,” I said.
I wasn’t a fashionista or anything, but I had recognized the scarf that had been beside his body. The label had been visible and I’d seen that designer scarf for sale when I’d lived in New York City.
“There was a pink and silver scarf near the body. I was sure it couldn’t have been Mr. Wibble’s, but maybe it was his. Anyway, I guess the police took it. It probably didn’t mean anything.”
Tom nodded, then opened his eyes. “I’m picking up something. Let’s go.”
As we moved along the cobblestone sidewalk, I didn’t speak. Tom seemed as if he was almost in a trance-like state. My chatting would only break his concentration. Signs dangled above each store and large planters brimming with colorful flowers were placed systematically along the sidewalks.
When we reached the little boutique down the street, Tom came to a screeching halt. The Plaid Peacock was a boutique that sold home décor, candles, and other gifts. I always got my wallet into trouble when I stepped into the shop. A sign for the store dangled high above the sidewalk with a plaid background and a colorful peacock in shades of lime green, red, and blue.
“I’m guessing we’re not stopping here because you want to buy a candle,” I said.
He smiled. “You’re right. I don’t need a candle right now. The magic trail is leading me right into the shop.”
“Well, let’s go in. What are we waiting for?” I pushed on the door and entered.
Homemade folk art signs with lively sayings such as Home Is Where Your Story Begins and It Is What It Is dotted the walls. Knickknacks lined the many shelves. Kiki Adams owned the shop. She was chatty and a slightly eccentric woman, but a real sweetheart. I had expected her sweet southern greeting when we entered, but another woman with a perfectly coiffed blonde bob stood behind the counter as we approached.
“Is Kiki here?” I asked.
“No, I’m afraid not. She took the week off for a vacation in the Smokey Mountains. Is there something I can help you with?” Her white blouse and poplin pants hung on her slender frame. There was something familiar about her wide brown eyes.
This wasn’t good. We couldn’t ask this woman about the magic. Kiki knew about the magic, but more than likely this woman had no clue.
“My name is Alice Harlan. I’d be happy to help you with anything.” She folded her slender arms across her chest.
Tom looked at me. “She knows about the magic,” he said not so discreetly.
I wouldn’t even bother to ask him right now how he knew she was aware of the magic. This was all his puppy.
“Alice, is it?” he asked.
She nodded as if she was in trouble.
“Nice to meet you, Alice.” Tom flashed a smile at her. “We followed a magic trail here to the shop and we’re wondering if you can help us.”
Her eyes widened. “A magic trail?”
Tom pulled out his wallet, and took out his card. Would she know that he was no longer with the Organization? She took the card from him and stared at it for a second, barely blinking as she studied it.
Her eyes were full of trepidation when she finally looked up at him. “I wish I could help you, but I don’t know what a magic trail is.”
Apparently she didn’t question his credentials, so that was one plus in our column.
“Well, Alice, I know you’re aware of the magic. When someone performs magic, it sends off a trail. Whoever murdered Mr. Wibble came here, too. You are aware of the murder, right?” he asked.
Her face turned white. “Yes, I am aware. You mean the murderer was in this store?” She gestured.
Tom nodded. “Yes, that’s what I’m telling you. So if you could provide any details about the day that the murder occurred, it would help us to track down the murderer.”
I felt all official-like standing there with Tom. He really was good at his job. It was too bad it had been taken away from him for something he hadn’t done. Okay, I wasn’t positive he hadn’t messed up the spells, but if he said he didn’t, then I believed him. The Organization didn’t know what it was missing by letting Tom go.
Alice fidgeted her hands. “I’m just a part-time helper. This makes me very nervous. I can’t believe Kiki left me in charge in the first place.”
“I’m very sorry to put this kind of stress on you, but I’m sure you’ll understand that this is very important.” Tom uncrossed his arms, taking a more casual stance.
She nodded and let out a deep breath. “Okay, I’ll try to help, but I’m not sure what I’ll be able to tell you.”
“Can you tell us who was in here around the time of the murder? Was it very busy?” He stared expectantly.
“No, not really busy. Maybe a dozen people came in.” She looked around as if she wanted to find an escape route.
“Did you know everyone who came in?” I asked.
I hoped Tom didn’t mind me cutting in, but the question just came to me and it felt natural to ask.
“I’m new here in town, so I don’t know anyone.”
“Oh, you’re new. When did you move into Mystic Hollow?” I asked.
Okay, now I was taking over the whole line of questioning. It’d better not mess this up.
“About a month ago.” She gave a half-hearted smile. At this moment, she was probably regretting her decision on moving to Mystic Hollow.
“I haven’t seen you in Mystic Café.” I was sounding more and more like Mary Jane with each passing day. She was the snoopiest. Wait until I told her about discovering a new resident in town. Why, she would hightail it over to the Plaid Peacock in no time to offer a warm, cozy, nosy welcome.
“Oh, I’ve been meaning to stop in. I’ve heard so many good things about the pastries.”
I smiled. “Well, thank you. That’s so kind of you.”
Tom gave me a look that screamed focus. Maybe I’d let him take over now. After all, he was the professional.
“Oh, wait…” A slight flash of excitement flickered in her eyes. Probably because she thought if she gave us a clue, we’d leave. The poor woman; we’d terrified her. “I remember a woman coming in with her toddler. She purchased one of those figurines.” She pointed. “I remember because the child almost broke it. Sorry I don’t remember more. If only Lucy had been here, she knows everyone.”
Yes, if only. Luck wasn’t on our side lately.
“I’m not able to perform the magic, you know?” She asked while looking from me to Tom.
“I’m aware.” Tom flashed a smile. “Well, thank you so much. We’re very sorry for disturbing you,” Tom said hurriedly.
That was it? No more questions? I thought he was the professional.
“It’s no problem. I was just startled to hear that the killer was here amongst us. That sends a chill down my spine.” She rubbed her arms and shivered.
“Yeah, it did mine too,” I said.
“You’ll contact me if you remember anything?” Tom asked.
She nodded. “Of course. I’ll call right away if I think of anything.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
“What do we do now?” I asked when we stepped out onto the sidewalk. I shielded my eyes from the bright sunlight. Tourists walked by, pointing and admiring our quaint town. Little did they know what they’d gotten themselves into when they’d driven within these city limits.
“I’m not sure, but there is some reason why the magic trail led us here,” he said. Tom moved in a steady stride down the sidewalk with n air of determination. This determination was what made Tom a fantastic investigator, even if I hadn’t thought the same when I’d first met him.
With a few huffs and puffs, I struggled to keep his pace with my short legs. “Slow down, will you. I’m short, remember?”
He slowed his pace. “I don’t think she’s telling the truth,”
“What about?” I asked.
“She’s involved in the magic a great deal. More than she’s willing to discuss.”
“Why wo
uld she lie to us?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know, but I intend to find out.”
“Maybe you need to find out where she’s from?”
“You’ve turned into a real sleuth all of a sudden, huh?” He chuckled.
I snorted. “Hardly.”
“I don’t sense any new magic from her though. I don’t think she’s performed any for a long time.”
“But you can sense that she has the ability?” I asked.
“Yes. And she’s oddly familiar to me. There’s something about her, but I can’t place it.”
“Hmm. Well, she said she was new to town. Like I said, maybe you’ve seen her somewhere else. That’s why you should find out where she’s from.”
He winked. “I’ll make sure to do that. Anyway, we need to call a meeting for all the magic practitioners in Mystic Hollow. If the residents of Mystic Hollow don’t want to lose their town, they need to band together. If we work together, then maybe we can stop this.”
Unfortunately, his idea might be the only shot we had. We continued down the sidewalk back toward Mystic Café.
Tom continued, “Sydney, or any of the other investigators that might come snooping around, for that matter, don’t need to know about this meeting.”
I nodded. He wouldn’t catch me saying a word about anything to Sydney. “I agree with you. We need to talk with everyone at the same time. If no one communicates, it’s kind of hard to figure out where we all stand. It’s us against them.”
We stopped in front of Mystic Café, the crime scene tape still draped around the area hauntingly. Mary Jane had just pulled up and was getting out of her car. I turned my attention back to Tom.
Tom shoved his hands into his pockets. “I’m glad we’re on the same page about this.”
“What? You thought I’d say no?” I asked.
He shrugged. “You never know.”
I waited while a woman walked past on the sidewalk. When she was out of earshot, I said, “How fast can we get them together?”
Tom glanced around to see if anyone else was near, then continued, “I’ll call an emergency meeting. I think everyone will show up.”
“I’ll make sure the café is ready for everyone.”
“I’ll see you here at eight,” he said.
I watched as Tom walked off down the sidewalk. Mary Jane was shaking her head as she approached.
“What?” I asked.
She pointed in the direction of Tom’s car. “I’ve seen the way he looks at you and I see the way you look at him, so why don’t you tell me what’s going on with Mr. Dark and Mysterious?”
“Nothing’s going on… well, nothing other than what’s in my mind. I’m so confused that I wouldn’t even know where to begin to straighten out the mess in my head.” I massaged my temples.
“You need to talk with him,” she said bluntly.
“Why? So he can make me even more confused than I already am?” I plopped down on the bench in front of Mystic Café. My shoulders slumped a little farther.
“Does Rory know that you have feelings for Tom?” she asked.
“Of course not. I don’t even know if I have feelings for Tom.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Well, what do you call the flirting then?”
“Just that. I call it flirting. Besides, I don’t think I’ve been flirting with him.” I knew she’d never believe that lie.
She placed her hands on her hips. “Are you serious? Of course, you’ve been flirting. The smiles, the touching.”
“The kissing,” I offered without meeting her stare.
She coughed. “The what?”
“Calm down. It was just the few times I told you about, nothing more. You know, a lingering kiss on the cheek here… a feathery kiss on the lips there.” I waved off my statement as if it was no big deal.
“I need to sit down,” Mary Jane said while fanning her face. She had always been on the dramatic side.
Mary Jane was right though. I needed to confront my feelings. Ignoring it wouldn’t make them go away.
***
Within a few hours, I found myself in the café dining room amongst a room full of Mystic Hollow magic practitioners. To my surprise, everyone had shown up, well except for Kiki, but she was still out of town. Her employee sat in a booth at the back of the room with Mr. Jenkins from the hardware store and Missy Mullins from the fashion boutique. She looked more excited to be at this emergency meeting than apprehensive, unlike the others. But I suppose that was because she was new to all of this magic stuff. Plus, she seemed to be hanging onto Mr. Jenkins’ every word. By the number of times she had batted her eyelashes, I knew she was in full flirtation mode.
Mary Jane was still passing out glasses of water when the last person entered. Tom stood by the entrance. He looked very much in command as he stood in front of us. When everyone had settled into a seat, he cleared his throat and motioned for everyone to quiet down.
“May I have your attention, please?” Tom yelled out across the room, drawing everyone’s attention.
Slowly silence filled the space while everyone waited for him to speak.
“Thanks for coming out on such short notice,” he said.
I settled onto a stool at the counter next to Mary Jane. All eyes were on Tom.
“As I’m sure you’ve all heard by now, Mystic Hollow is on the verge of being closed forever.”
Before he could continue, someone interrupted. “How can they do that?” Marissa from Shear Magic asked.
She’d just opened a salon that apparently used the same type of magical scissors as the barbershop.
“They can’t just close an entire town down,” she continued. Her cheeks reddened and anger raged in her dark eyes.
Several people around her nodded in agreement.
“I’m afraid they can,” Tom said. “Their plan would be to phase the town away. It’ll start with all magic ending immediately. And without the magic, I’m afraid Mystic Hollow will cease to exist.”
“What can we do?” Mary Jane asked.
“We need to be vigilant. Look out for any suspicious behavior.” Tom looked around the room.
Everyone stared at him as if in a stunned daze.
“How long to do we have?” Mary Jane asked.
He let out a deep breath. “I honestly don’t know. Probably not long, that’s why we should act fast.”
Bob Fisher stood. “Everything was fine in Mystic Hollow until she took over the café.” He pointed at me.
I felt as if he had sucker-punched me. His words stung all over. The sad part was his words were one hundred percent accurate. Things had been fine in Mystic Hollow until I took over the café. He’d stopped staring, but he remained standing. Next thing I knew, he would accuse me of murdering Mr. Wibble. He hadn’t been this unfriendly when I’d been in his store years ago, but I guessed that had been a long time ago. Why the sudden chance of emotion? Had he been hiding his true feelings? Did he have strained feelings toward Grandma Imelda too?
He continued his assault against me. “This can’t be a random event. We weren’t on the Organization’s radar until the café changed hands.” He looked at me again.
Tom gestured for Mr. Fisher to take a seat. “Thank you, Mr. Fisher, but I don’t think you should be pointing fingers at anyone in this room. We’re here to try and figure out what’s happened. We need to band together.”
“I’m very sorry for your loss, Mr. Fisher, but I had nothing to do with the magic spell going wrong.” I rattled off the words. Or did I have a whole lot to do with it? The thought was still there nagging at the back of my mind.
He took his seat, but apparently wasn’t finished talking. “I just don’t like having investigators threatening our town, not to mention my uncle was murdered.”
Mary Jane patted my hand.
Maybe this meeting hadn’t been such a good idea after all. I rubbed my temples. A headache was definitely in my near future.
Chatter had started again arou
nd the room.
“Listen up, people,” Tom said again. “Remember, if you can remember anything strange about the past several days, maybe even the past few weeks, let us know. Any conversations you may have overheard. Any little detail can help.”
“What are the police doing to try to solve the murder?” Marissa asked.
“I don’t know,” Tom replied.
“They should be doing their job. It doesn’t seem as if we are on the top of their list. If they don’t help us, then they’ll have to leave Mystic Hollow just like the rest of us,” she said.
“I have no control over what they do. I only have to worry about the magic. That should be a top priority for all of us.”
I heard Mr. Jenkins whisper to Elle, “He’s not even an investigator anymore. We don’t have to listen to a word he says.”
Something came over me just then and I couldn’t handle it anymore. I tried to remain polite. I didn’t want to turn off any potential customers, but he needed to be put in his place.
“It’s just a temporary thing. And if you have any better ideas, then why didn’t you call this meeting?” I snapped.
My comment was met with a stern glare. That was Tom’s indication that the meeting was over.
Chapter Twenty-Six
After everyone filed out of the café, I began cleaning up. Tom had gone to speak with Sheriff Jasper. I wasn’t sure how well that would go. My emotions were on a roller-coaster ride from hurt to angry. How could Mr. Fisher think that I had caused all the problems with Mystic Hollow? Did the other residents feel the same way? They hadn’t corrected him when he spoke up.
Rory had slipped in just as the last person left.
“Are you okay?” Rory asked as he reached for my hand.
I buried my face into his hard chest. It felt good to have a shoulder to cry on. After a minute, I composed myself, and looked up into his eyes.
He touched my chin. “It’s been a long day for you. How about you go home and get some rest?”
I sighed. “There’s a lot I need to do here.”
“It won’t help if you collapse from exhaustion.”
I nodded. “You’re right. Maybe things will look better in the morning.”