A Charming Ghost (Magical Cures Mystery Series)

by Tonya Kappes

Colton rushed everyone out but Mac.

  “Tell me what this was all about?” Mac asked. His pen and paper at the ready.

  “I’m tired.” I pushed my hair out of my way. “I just want to go to bed.” I sat down on the mattress. “Can’t we do this tomorrow?”

  “Tomorrow is the bazaar and there will be so many people in our village. It would be better to get your statement tonight,” he said.

  “There is no statement. I tricked Petunia into giving me immunity and I ran.” I shrugged. “Plain and simple.”

  “I don’t believe you.” Colton stepped up to the cell. His blue eyes fell upon me. “I think you were trying to find something.”

  “Well, I didn’t.” I lay down on the bed and crossed my ankles and my arms. I closed my eyes.

  It seemed like forever until Mac left us alone. Petunia was still silent.

  “I’m going to go ask Eloise some questions. I’ll be back.” Colton looked at us. Petunia didn’t move and neither did I. Though I did wonder why he couldn’t wait until the morning to talk to Eloise.

  When I heard him lock the police station door, I sat up.

  “Petunia, I know you don’t want to talk to me but you have to listen.” It was time to tell her about my trip to Azarcabam and maybe get some insight from her.

  She didn’t move. She just stayed looking at the wall.

  “Just listen.” I sat on the edge of the bed. “I think I got some good stuff. Paul and his wife Yancy, his mortal wife,” I emphasized mortal, “own a local toyshop in Azarcabam. Oh, you’d love it. It’s this big castle with all sorts of. . .” I ran my hand over my face. “I’ll stick to the facts.”

  She was obviously in no mood to hear about Dots.

  “They had a son who died of a childhood illness. Paul was so grief stricken that he never got over it. Yancy is now having to move out of their village since he is no longer alive. Here is why he came to Whispering Falls.” When I saw Petunia perk up a little, I continued because I knew she was listening. “You know that yellow ball that is all over town?”

  She didn’t budge.

  “Well, that ball belongs to a little ghost boy that has been bugging Patience but not Constance. Constance insists that Patience is going nuts and giggling to herself, but the ghost boy is making Patience laugh. He is keeping her company. The boy,” I sucked in a deep breath, “is Paul Levy’s son.”

  “How do you know that?” Petunia jumped around. Her messy updo flipped to the right and then to the left. A bag of peanuts fell out. She reached down and picked them up, holding them out to me.

  I took it as a peace offering and got up. I walked over to her bed and sat down.

  “Dots, Paul’s shop, is inspired by this yellow ball. They even sell them there.” I pointed toward my bag. “I have one in there to show you. Yancy gave one to me.”

  “You told her?” Petunia face looked mortified.

  “No.” I assured her and took a handful of peanuts. “I gave her a mojo bag in exchange.”

  “How is this going to exactly help us?” she asked.

  “Paul was obviously here to look for his son and someone has promised him something if he was to get the carnival here.” I chewed on the peanuts as well as my words. “Paul saw my picture of Eloise on the wall of my shop when he came in there.” I still couldn’t reconcile the fact my intuition said he was surrounded by money and stress. “He couldn’t go through with whatever that person wanted him to do in exchange. . .”

  “For the life of his son.” Petunia eyes lit up. “What on earth does bringing a carnival here have to do with all this?”

  “That is the million dollar question. And one I don’t have the answer for.” I let out a heavy sigh. “Being in here isn’t going to help us solve it either.”

  I looked out through the bars and out the window into the pitch-black darkness of Whispering Falls. Tomorrow the streets would be filled with tourists and a carnival. A carnival that held the answers I needed.

  I shivered.

  “Are you okay?” Petunia’s tone was frosty.

  “No.” I shook my head. “I’m afraid if we don’t get the answers soon, the evil is going to take over our village for good.”

  A cold draft swirled around us. Both of us shook.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Something woke me up into my reality. Somewhere I didn’t want to be. I glanced over and Petunia was asleep, curled on her side. Outside was half dark, half light. The silhouettes of Petunia’s animals told me they were still outside waiting for her.

  The day was beginning without me. I pulled the thin blanket up to my shoulders, trying to forget where I was. The sound of something dragging across the floor echoed inside of the police station.

  I sat up. My bag was trying to get through the bars of the cell, but couldn’t make it through.

  “Get it.” Petunia jumped to her feet and pointed to my bag.

  “Good morning,” I greeted her.

  I did what she said and reached over. The bag jerked back, away from me out of reach. The yellow ball shot out like a cannon and bounced a few times.

  “The boy is here,” I said and watched as the ball bounced up and down in a rhythmic motion as though someone was bouncing it up and down. “Hi there,” I said into the air.

  Petunia looked at me as if I had lost my mind.

  “I’m June with the cat. And I met your mommy.” The ball stopped. It rolled toward the bars. “And I love your toyshop. I bet that was exciting growing up around.” I walked closer to the ball. “Your mommy gave me this ball.” I reached out to get the ball. It shot away and started to bounce again. “We,” I gestured between Petunia and me, “need your help. I’m sure you saw your daddy at Patience’s house.”

  I talked as though I knew what I was doing. Truth of the matter, I was not a ghost spiritualist and had no idea what I was doing. The ball stopped.

  “I need you to go get Patience and tell her I need to talk to her. I can help you,” I told him. The ball dropped to the ground. “Hello?” I asked. “Are you still here?”

  “Great,” Petunia’s voice dripped with unhappiness. “You scared him off.”

  “I’m doing the best I can.” I turned toward her.

  “The best you can got my son and husband taken from me.” She plopped back down on the bed. The door opened. Colton walked in.

  “Good morning.” Colton had his hands full of coffee and a bag from Wicked Good. “I come with food.”

  It was nice that Colton was trying to be kind to us, but that was not what we needed. We had to get out of there. He handed us each a coffee and the bag through the bars.

  “Where did this come from?” he asked and picked up the ball. He also picked up my bag. “There wasn’t any funny stuff going on here?”

  “No.” Petunia and I said together.

  “Unfortunately, you two are going to have to hang out here while I walk around the bazaar and make sure everything is okay. I had to take Oscar off the case and told him not to come by until we get through the day.” He put the ball and the bag back on his desk. “He said he’d work in your shop while Faith opened up Glorybee for you.”

  Petunia nodded. There wasn’t anyone who could take care of her animals more than her.

  “Not that your animals want to go back to the shop, but I’ve got to corral them if you can’t get them to go back.” Colton had warned.

  Petunia threw her head back. Her mouth opened, “Mcbawk, mabaw.” Her head peaked the air. “Caw, caw, caw!” Her voice was shrill and loud.

  The animals perked up, restless. Some pawed the window. But within minutes, they had left and made their way back to Glorybee.

  “Thank you,” Colton said.

  “Did you go see Eloise?” I asked, curious.

  “June, you need to worry about your case.” Colton wasn’t going to give me any information.

  The stark reality was that I was on my own and dragging Petunia down with me. We sat there taking our time eating our breakfast an
d drinking our coffee in silence. The streets were filling up with people moving about. The shops had opened earlier with special hours and the carnival was doing exactly what Paul Levy said they would do.

  There were balloon artists surrounded by children. There were jugglers keeping others entertained. The bazaar looked like it was going to be a success.

  I was happy to see everyone enjoying the day, but itching to get out.

  “Look at that.” Petunia pointed to a little dog with a little coat on. It was on a leash and a family was walking him. “I bet they are going to my shop,” her voice held sadness.

  “I’m sorry,” I apologized. Maybe it was time to give in. “I don’t know where I went wrong. I’m sorry for bringing you down with me. I don’t know how, but I will make this up to you.”

  She didn’t look at me. She just laughed at the little dog, until her laughter stopped as if a valve shut it off.

  “June,” she gasped. She pointed.

  My eyes drew down her arm and out the window where her finger was pointing.

  Patience’s ostrich was erratically running about, pecking anyone and everything it could. It grabbed the wreath off the carriage light outside of the police station. The wreath bounced in the air and like ring toss, landed around the ostrich’s neck. The yellow ball was sitting as still as could be on the back of the ostrich.

  “The boy’s spirit,” Petunia’s words were haunting. “He wants to come back as the ostrich.”

  My mouth dropped. I had it all wrong.

  “The ostrich is fighting the boy’s spirit. It’s confused and doesn’t understand.” Petunia stood up and closed her eyes. She lifted her hands out in front of her. “Mawbaw, chrickta, swignamba,” she chanted out into the air. Her head lifted back, the chanting got louder.

  My eyes scanned between her and the unruly ostrich. The ostrich calmed. Its neck craned to look into the window. The ball Yancy had given me started to bounce.

  “If you would like me to help you become the ostrich, you must help us.” Petunia brought her hands together. Her words were barely audible. “Get the keys and kick them in here.”

  The keys lifted off of Oscar’s desk and slid across the floor.

  “Good boy.” Petunia chest heaved up when she took a deep breath. She looked over at me and smiled. “You had it all wrong. This boy has been here to come back in the spirit of the ostrich. Not here to play with Patience. The ostrich is just like a child. Runs around, doesn’t listen, likes to play.” She smiled. “Now we have keys to get out.”

  “You don’t have to do this,” I said. “You can stay here and I’ll tell them that I blackmailed you. You need to go back to your family. Baby Orin needs you.”

  “Whispering Falls needs you, June.” She bent down and took the keys. She reached around the bars and unlocked the cell door, flinging it open. “Let’s go.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Instead of going out the front door, we headed out the back, but not without me taking Oscar’s Whispering Falls police uniform and putting it on. Petunia was going to slip out into the woods. The animals would keep her safe until I figured out what evil was lurking in the carnival.

  I made my way behind the shops and walked between The Gathering Grove and Mystic Lights. Patience was standing in the middle of the street looking down and then up.

  “Get back here!” she screamed as the ostrich ran past her. The ball was still on the back of the creature.

  I took a step out to the street when a carnival worker stepped up and stopped Patience.

  “I know you would like a nice warm, caramel apple.” The hand of the carnival worker was that of a woman.

  Patience smiled and clapped her hands together.

  “My friend, June, was going to get me one, but I’ll take yours.” Patience’s hand lifted to get an apple.

  Panic welled in my throat. As the images of me and Darla at the carnival in Locust Grove focused into my memory, a terrifying realization washed over me. The woman holding the apples was the same woman who tried to give one to me as a child.

  “No!” I ran up to them and smacked Patience’s hand away.

  “June Heal.” The woman’s red lips curled up on the ends. Evil exuded from her entire body. The darkest laughter soaked the air around us. The woman’s clothes turned into a cloak and veil. A black onyx jewel dangled down on her forehead. “I warned you that I’d be back.”

  She drew the cloak around her and a flash of light and thunder sent me falling to the ground.

  “Ezmeralda.” I leaned on my arm and looked up. She was gone. “My bag!”

  I jumped up, bumping into the crazy ostrich. Stumbling up the street and into the police station.

  Ezmeralda was behind this and there was only one thing she wanted. The Ultimate Spell.

  The Ultimate Spell would help Ezmeralda take over the spiritual world making it all Dark-Sider and evil.

  “Darla,” I whispered, grabbing my bag off the desk. My bag lit up. I pulled Madame Torres out. The onyx ring that I had taken from Ezmeralda the last time we had met—the ring that gave her most of her power—floated inside of Madame Torres. It was in the top drawer of Colton’s desk. I grabbed my bag and put it over my shoulder.

  “Stop right there,” Colton warned from behind me.

  “Colton,” I was never so glad to see a wand pointed at me. “Ezmeralda is back and she is trying to get my book. Trying to get the ring.”

  We both looked next to the desk. The yellow ball bounced up and down.

  “June,” Colton kept the wand pointed at me. “Get back in the cell and let me do my job. You’ve done enough damage for this village.”

  “You don’t get it.” I protested, “She’s going to kill us all!”

  “Get back in the cell.” Colton started to walk closer.

  The ball rolled under Colton’s feet, causing him to trip over it. His wand skidded across the floor. I picked it up.

  “I’m sorry, Colton.” I opened the desk drawer and took the ring.

  The ball bounced out the back and I followed with the ring and the Magical Cures Book in my hand.

  The boy was helping me. I wasn’t sure why, but I followed him and let him. The deeper we went into the woods, the further I moved into the world of the Dark-Siders. It was something I had never done, but knew I had to.

  No doubt in my mind that Colton had already gotten to Oscar and told him what I had done.

  “Help!” The voice off in the distance was Petunia. “Help!”

  The ball darted ahead of me and I ran as fast as I could. The ball hovered in the air, showing me the way until I reached her. Petunia was surrounded by raccoons, squirrels and deer.

  “June!” she yelled in a breathy voice. “Ezmeralda is here. She has put me in a fortress. My animals can’t help me. She said she’s here to take over.”

  The ostrich bolted forward. The ball bounced on its back.

  “Paul Levy’s spirit found the opening for the ostrich,” Petunia said. “The boy and his father are united. Only the boy will always be a spirit with the ostrich. Neither will leave the other.”

  My mind was having a hard time wrapping around all of Petunia’s words.

  “You are right! I’m back!” A bolt of lightning came from the sky sending Ezmeralda down in front of me. “And I need those.” She uncurled her long finger and curled it open and closed for me to give the ring and grimoire to her.

  “Over my dead body,” I said through gritted teeth and held the items close to my body.

  “Oh, if you insist!” Ezmeralda brought her hand into the air. I closed my eyes, ready to take the blow.

  “Mother! Stop!” Arabella rushed over to my side. “You will not do this.”

  My bag warmed against my body.

  “I’m doing this for you. Us. Our family,” Ezmeralda spat. Her words vicious to the ear.

  “You are not my family.” Arabella immediately disowning Ezmeralda caught her mother off guard.

  “You have been po
isoned. You will see once I get my ring and control the spiritual world.” She lifted her hand.

  “Stop!” Arabella walked up and stood between her mother and me. “I’ll go with you. I’ll help you if you let them go.”

  “No.” I shook my head. “Don’t you dare make a deal with her,” I warned. “Let me take it for the world. I am the Chosen One.”

  “It would be a pleasure.” Ezmeralda threw her head back and laughed.

  The heat from my bag caused me to look. Madame Torres was glowing bright with a field full of Blood Mercy flowers.

  My hand rose to my hair. I had forgotten I had stuck it in my hair for an accessory. I pulled it out, remembering the water and waves Madame Torres had shown me. With the flower pointed at Ezmeralda, I cracked the stem. Water flew out toward her.

  “No!” Ezmeralda screamed in pain. “Not Blood Mercy! Arabella. . .” She reached for her daughter.

  Arabella turned her head away from her mother as her mother’s being disintegrated into a puddle of black tar before us.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  “Order! Order!” The Marys hammered their gavels on The Gathering Rock to get everyone’s attention. “Order!” They yelled in unison. “Tell us exactly what you know, June.”

  Petunia, Gerald, and Eloise had all given their testimony to what they knew of Paul Levy. Now it was my turn to tell them exactly what had happened.

  I walked in front of the Marys and took a deep breath. I could feel the love of my villagers behind me, giving me strength.

  “It’s simple really. Paul Levy’s son died of a childhood illness. The death crippled Paul and he would do anything to get his son back. And selling his soul to Ezmeralda was his ticket. She was looking for a way to get back into Whispering Falls to get the ring and the Magical Cures Book with the Ultimate Spell. She made a deal with Paul—only Paul knew that he had to get in the bazaar by going through the village president. When he saw that Petunia wasn’t sleeping, he offered her a deal any mother would take. Only baby Orin had to suffer through the mustache.”

  I glanced back at Petunia. As soon as Ezmeralda melted, the mustache disappeared from baby Orin, breaking the spell Paul had put on him.