by Dianna Love
“Hello, June. I’ve been waiting for you.” Madame Torres’s green eyes were no longer hollow, and the red medusa hair flowed beyond the boundaries of the glass ball. The vision made my heart pound and my skin crawl with fright. There was no mistake, she had definitely been looking for me.
“Don’t be scared, dear. I’m here to help.” Her voice lowered, her eyes darkened showing her power.
I fiddled with my charm bracelet. Right now would be a good time for the dog charm to kick in. I knew nothing about crystal balls. There was no time to let evil in my life.
“Yes. You are in grave danger.”
No joke, tell me something I didn’t know or dream about.
“Do not take any remedies for nightmares or it could cost you your life. The village needs you.” She spoke softly and swiftly. “You must not
trust. . .”
The ball went black.
Clink, clink. I knew that sound from Izzy’s heels. The shoes filled the silence in the air. I grabbed the crystal ball.
“What are you doing?” Madame Torres’s voice was demanding. “Put me down!”
Without a word, I checked all the doors. Damn! Closet. I shut the door. Click, click. Izzy was getting closer. Please help me find a way out, I prayed opening the last door. The steps to the cellar looked scarier going down then it had that day when I was looking up.
“Shh!” I held the ball close to my eyes so she knew I meant business. “You’re going with me.”
“You’re making me sick with all this rolling around.” She wasn’t going to be quiet.
I put her in my bag with the rest of my stuff, including the voodoo dolls.
“Wait! I’m scared of the dark!” She screamed before I shut the flap. “Whose voodoo dolls are these?”
I rushed down the steps into the cellar. I knew the way out from when I was in there before the smudging ceremony. I pushed the doors open leading to the back of the building. There was no time to waste. Izzy was going to know that I took the ball and left out the cellar, so there was no sense in shutting the doors again.
There was no sense in coming back to Whispering Falls until Ann’s murder was solved. I knew exactly what I needed to do and it included Uncle Jordan.
Chapter Twenty One
I ran as fast as I could to my cottage. There was no time to waste. I had to get out of Whispering Falls until my plan was in the works.
I didn’t even turn around to see if Izzy was following me.
“Mr. Prince Charming?” I hollered throughout the house when I got there. Of course he was nowhere to be found. He would find me. That was one thing I could count on. I grabbed my keys and Darla’s journal off the counter and hopped in the Green Machine.
The tires squealed. I was out of there.
I had a couple hours before I was going to Uncle Jordan’s for dinner. With one hand on the wheel and the other stuck in my bag, I felt around for my phone.
“Left, left,” Madame Torres called out from my purse. “The phone is to the left!”
She was right. I found the phone and called Jordan.
“June, what’s going on?” Jordan didn’t bother to beat around the bush. “Oscar called looking for you.”
“Did you tell him I was coming for dinner?” I needed to get Uncle Jordan’s help without Oscar knowing.
“No, I didn’t. I figured I’d give you a chance to tell me why you are running.” There was concern in his voice. “Oscar said that you had stolen something from one of the merchants and that you left Whispering Falls when one of the laws clearly states that if you are accused of a crime you aren’t allowed to leave the village.”
“I know it sounds like I’m guilty, but I need your help. If I’m wrong, then you can turn me in to Oscar.” I pleaded for him to help me.
“Okay. And the only reason is because I care about your family. You are like one of my own. I will continue to tell Oscar that I haven’t heard from you.” He sighed. “I don’t get off work for another couple of hours. Go on to the house and I’ll be there soon.”
“Thank you, Jordan.” He was my last hope. I had to get him to agree with my plan.
“You’re welcome. You can pop the lasagna in the oven. I made it last night. It’s in the refrigerator.” He had comfort in his words.
I hung up the phone and put it back in my bag.
“I hate the dark!” Madame Torres hollered when I slipped the phone in. I would deal with her once I got to Jordan’s house.
I peered in my rear-view mirror the entire time. I made sure no one from Whispering Falls had followed me.
The old Cape Cod looked lonely across the street from Jordan’s. Or maybe it was me that was lonely for it. I turned the Green Machine off and took out Madame Torres.
“Pshew.” Her glow had gone from green to crystal blue. “Thank you for getting me out of there. Those voodoo dolls are evil, evil I tell you!”
“Now that I have you in my hands, I need you to tell me who to stay away from.” The ball turned a flaming red.
Madame Torres’s eyes deepened into a dark green, almost black, her face paled, her lips flamed. “You have possession of me illegally. I’m just another spiritualist to you. By law of the village, I cannot read you.” The ball went black and she disappeared.
I shook it.
“What? Illegal?” I waited to see if she was going to come back. I shook it a couple more times, but nothing seemed to happen. I set the ball underneath the seat and grabbed my bag.
Uncle Jordan was going to be another hour. I got the spare key from underneath the porcupine shoe cleaner and let myself in.
There were so many questions I wanted to ask him. Especially the ones about Oscar being a sorcerer, which meant that Jordan had to be a spiritualist of some sort.
Exhausted, I sat down on the couch. It wasn’t long until I heard a scratch at the door. Without having to think about it, I knew it was Mr. Prince Charming.
“Hey, buddy.” I opened the door. “Do you miss Locust Grove as much as I do?”
He turned to look out the door and we both stood there staring at the ole Cape Cod.
“Come on.” I shut the door behind his wagging tail. He followed me into the kitchen and watched as I turned on the oven and put the lasagna in.
We made ourselves comfortable on the couch to wait for the oven timer to go off. Mr. Prince Charming was nestled in my lap. I took the journal out of my bag.
“Today at the shop, Ann asked me if I wanted a free manicure. Of course I said yes. It would be a treat after a long day of work, only it wasn’t. She asked all sorts of questions about how we feel about June not being a spiritualist. Then she had the nerve to tell me that our life was going to dramatically change, ending it by saying, “poor June.” Well, I better stop writing. Otto has gone to work and I’m very excited about going to see Eloise. She has a new potion for growing hair. I can just see Gerald now with a full head of hair sticking out of that top hat. Makes me laugh every time. Plus Mac is going to take June for some fishing at the lake. She loves spending time with him.”
Hmmm. . .I looked over at Mr. Prince Charming. He didn’t seem too fazed by Darla’s revelation. I read it aloud, “poor June.” What did Ann mean? Too bad she was dead or I’d be able to ask her.
Was she referring to the upcoming death of my dad? Was she trying to tell Darla about it? Or was she talking about us moving to Locust Grove? Either way, I was probably never going to know unless Darla wrote it in her journal.
Before I knew it, I was fast asleep.
Turn over, turn over! Save yourself! I watched the victim do something that Ann never did. The victim’s hands lifted, and struggled with the killer. I watched helplessly as the struggle continued. Then all of a sudden I saw it. The dog charm and Celtic knot were flailing around in the water as the victim struggled. NO!
Me! The victim was me!
Fear gripped my insides as I propelled myself out of slumber. I had to do something. This time I was dreaming my own fate. And n
ow fate was in my hands. The crystal ball was right. There was no way I was going to take a remedy to stop my nightmares.
“I could smell that lasagna from outside.” Jordan unhooked his holster and sat it on the table just inside the door.
“How do you think we feel? Our mouths have been watering.” I hugged him. Mr. Prince Charming didn’t bother getting up. “Thanks for having me.”
Steam exploded from the deep dish when he cut into it.
“I. . .um. . .I know I put you in a compromising position.” I grabbed my plate and took it to the table. I pulled the chair out and sat down without making eye contact. “I don’t want you to pick between me and Oscar. He is really your family. Plus you are a cop, but I really need your help. And you need to keep it from Oscar.”
“Oh.” Jordan sat across the table and had a curious stare. “You two never keep secrets.”
“I know, but I think it’s a fine line between murder suspect and friend.”
“I don’t like keeping secrets.” He patted the badge on his uniform. “Part of the job, but I’m listening.”
“You know I have those nightmares. Well, I dreamed about Ann’s murder before it had happened. Only I didn’t know it was her.” I left out the fact that I saw a mole on the killer’s hand. “The dreams are becoming more vivid.”
“So you are a spiritualist.” He put his fork on his plate and waited for my answer.
My mouth dropped open. So what Eloise had said was true. They were spiritualists. “How did you know?”
At this point I only wanted him to help me catch Oscar. I didn’t want to accuse Oscar of being an evil spirit or I’d fear Jordan wouldn’t help me. After all, I was going to expose Oscar as the killer, so asking him questions about their family was off-limits.
“Oscar told me to combine our cities since Whispering Falls is so small. You aren’t going to put some spell on me are you?” He was half joking, half serious.
“I’m not that kind of spiritualist. Supposedly I know how to mix the right ingredients for cures.” I pointed in the direction of my Cape Cod. “And we see how that turned out.”
I left out the little detail about Ann burning down my shed. I let Jordan think I had done it.
“Are you going to try to combine both communities?” I asked. Oscar never mentioned a meeting with his uncle about combining the two.
Izzy would never let that happen. Hell, the village didn’t let in Fairiwicks. They certainly weren’t going to allow the mortals.
“Not any time soon. They would have to have a vote and change the laws in place. If you were in Locust Grove and under the suspect umbrella, you’d be out on bond, not just hanging around until they figure it out.” He glanced over, but I didn’t give a reaction. I knew the law and yes, it was a little suspicious that Ann was holding my charm bracelet. Jordan knew his boundaries. “Let’s talk about your nightmares.”
“Anyway, I had a nightmare that I was the next victim.” I swallowed hard trying to digest what I had said out loud. It didn’t sound good or sit well in my stomach. I was afraid my lasagna was going to come up, but I needed to eat for strength. I wanted to put my plan in place tonight.
Mewl, mewl. Mr. Prince Charming lay under the table, his tail slowly wagged up and down.
There was fear in Jordan’s eyes. “How do you know it’s you?”
I held my hand in the air. The charm bracelet dangled. “The difference between dreams is that I seem to struggle with the killer. I can see my bracelet.”
“Did you tell Oscar all of this?”
“No. He’s so busy trying to figure it all out that I thought I could count on you to help me.” I lied.
He eyed me suspiciously.
“Okay.” I put my hands in the air. “I think it would be a conflict of interest. So I’m asking for your help.”
“And what would that be?” He put his elbows on the table and locked his hands together.
“Well, the killer is doing this at night. I figured if I would be at the lake, say at midnight, and you were hiding in the woods, the killer would come to get me and you could tackle them.” It seemed pretty simple.
“When did you want to do this?” He didn’t seem to act like my request was stupid.
“Midnight. Tonight.” I blurted it out before I had time to think about it and change my mind. The sooner the better.
“Tonight?” His eyebrows shot up.
I nodded.
“I don’t know, June. It’s kind of risky.” He took a bite of his bread. “I’m not a citizen and it’s not my jurisdiction.”
“But you have a gun. It’s no different from your stakeout here.” There was no way I was going to take no for an answer. It was foolproof. “We can say that you were visiting me. I have to get my life back.”
“Visiting you at midnight?” He asked. He did have a point.
“If I’m right, you won’t have to explain why you were there at midnight.” I begged, “Please?”
“Fine. I will be in the woods at midnight.” He shook his head. “I will flash a flashlight twice to let you know that I’m there. Do not go out there until you see my flashlight.”
“Got it.” I took a few bites of my lasagna. I felt a little relieved knowing that my life was about to get back to normal soon. “Can I ask you about my dad?”
Cough, cough. Jordan pulled his napkin up, covering his mouth.
“It’s just that I’m beginning to figure out things about my previous life.” It was a legitimate question. And one that I needed answered.
“The truth?”
“Yes, the truth.”
“I didn’t know your dad. Darla told me that he was a cop in another town and you two were in a witness protection program. I had just recovered from a gunshot wound and it was easiest to tell you and Oscar our lie.” He rubbed his mouth with his napkin before putting it back in his lap. “Was he a cop in Whispering Falls?”
“From what I can gather, he was. And Darla left the village, but I’m not sure why.” I didn’t know anything about the witness protection program, but I was definitely putting that on my list of questions for the council after Jordan and I catch the killer. “How did you get Oscar?”
That was one question I had never asked before. I knew that his parents were killed in a car accident, but I never got the particulars.
“My older brother left for college and met a girl.” There was sadness in his eyes. “She came to our house just one time. They eloped and we never saw them again. I didn’t even know I had a nephew until my brother called telling me he was moving his family to Locust Grove. They got killed on the outskirts of town. Oscar was just a little fellow. I used all the department’s resources to locate anyone in my brother’s wife’s family, but came up empty.”
Sadness swept over me. No wonder there weren’t any family photos in the house. “Oh, I’m so sorry. Does Oscar know?”
“Yes. I’ve always been very open about it.” Regret dripped down his face. “I wished he knew my brother. There was not a will, nothing.”
“I had no clue. I’m so sorry.” I picked up Mr. Prince Charming. This was so much to take in with all the other stuff going on. A Ding Dong was calling my name. “I better get going.”
I wasn’t going to tell him that Oscar was a Fairiwick, because he obviously didn’t know. Nor did he know about the voodoo dolls. Still, Eloise’s words stung, “He could be an evil spirit, but doesn’t know it. I’ve seen a lot of little boys who make voodoo dolls that are spiritualists and don’t know it.”
If that was the case, and I hated to think it, but either the best friend that I’ve ever known or a stranger was on a mission to kill me. But why?
Chapter Twenty-Two
When I pulled out of Jordan’s driveway, I carefully pulled out Madame Torres.
“You’re back,” sarcasm dripped in her voice. The globe was glowing a bright red.
“I am.” I placed her between me and Mr. Prince Charming. “Are you going to show your face?”
I squeezed the steering wheel. “You can still help me.”
“No, you ruined that. If you made a deal to buy me from Isadora Solstice I could’ve helped you.” A couple of gold flashes and the globe went black again.
Hiss, hiss. Mr. Prince Charming batted at Madame Torres.
“She’s testy.” I patted Mr. Prince Charming. With or without Madame Torres’s help, I was going to find the killer and Jordan was going to help me.
Anxiously, I waited for midnight to come. I held off on calling Jordan to make sure he was going to be there. He affirmed that he would be, and there was no reason to believe otherwise. But it played in the back of my mind that he may have called Oscar and told him our plan.
I pulled the Green Machine on the outskirts of Whispering Falls behind some woods. I had to get to Eloise and tell her about my plan. If it didn’t work out, and the killer got me and Jordan, at least someone would know what I was up to. Unfortunately I knew I couldn’t share it with someone inside the village and that included Oscar.
“Okay, buddy.” I put my bag over my shoulder and place Madame Torres inside. “You found Eloise’s once. Can you find our way from this side of town?”
I took Mr. Prince Charming out of the car and put him on the ground. With his tail wagging in the air, he pranced off and I ran behind him.
It didn’t take long until we reached a clearing. In the distance I could see the back of Eloise’s tree house. As quickly as my legs would take me, I ran as fast as I could so no one would see me. If the village knew I was gone, they were probably looking for me.
The closer I got, the aromas of the cauldrons engrossed my senses.
“You’ve got to be kidding me?” Madame Torres chirped from my bag. “I’m a crystal ball, not a bouncy ball. Slow down!”
I ran faster.
“Eloise?” I yelled into the garden once I reached the gravel walkway. The lanterns burned bright. “Are you here?”