by Tegan Maher
She steps out from behind the table, and offers a big hug to Marley, and then to me. As she wraps her arms around me and squeezes me tight, she says, “I always feel like this is one of the most magical times of the year.”
I nod. “Yes,” I say. “And speaking of magic, we’re still going to perform a Christmas spell together tonight, right?” I look to Annie and then Marley. We talked about doing some sort of spellcrafting on Christmas Eve when we last met. I’ve been doing a little bit of research to find just the right spell to perform. I found a great book about seasonal magic in my library, and I spent the last few nights reading it.
“I’m in,” Marley says.
“Me too,” Annie says with a nod. “I talked to Cora earlier today, and she said that she can join up with us for an hour right before the tree lighting ceremony. She’s going to meet us here at five, and we can all walk over to the cafe together to exchange gifts and work some magic. Penny, did you find a spell?”
I nod. “I think I found the perfect one. It’s called the Christmas Magic Spell, and the steps look pretty simple.”
Annie claps her hands together. “Oh! This time of year is just so special. I love the idea of the Christmas Magic Spell, Penny. It sounds perfect.” She then starts straightening the items on her table. “Did you two see the goat outside?”
“Yes!” Marley says. “He’s totally adorable. I think I want a goat!”
Annie laughs. “Me too,” she says. “Fred was here earlier, and the minute I laid eyes on that goat, I said to Fred, ‘what do you say? Can we build a little goat shed in the backyard, and get a few?’”
We all laugh. “I think Turkey would flip out if I got goats,” I say. “He’s kind of used to being the center of attention.”
Marley and Annie nod in agreement. They know how particular Turkey can be.
“Oh! I know what I wanted to do,” Annie says. “I wanted to get a few pictures of him. Let’s go up and see him again.”
How could I say no to seeing that show again? I nod. “Sure,” I say. “But then I really have to get back down here and do some serious shopping.”
“I’m going to get a few pictures, too,” Marley says. “Good idea, Annie!”
Marley and I stash our tins of fudge under Annie’s table, and she arranges for the neighboring vendor, Cindy, to watch her table for a few minutes. The three of us cross the room again, this time not knocking into any other shoppers, thank goodness. We step outside into the bright sunshine, and I see that there’s still a crowd in front of the manger. It actually seems to be bigger now -- maybe thirty-five or forty people. We make our way down the steps and walkway and join the crowd. Blaze is prancing around, cute as ever.
Annie and Marley start snapping pictures. I’m about to pull out my phone to take some, too, when the sound of someone shouting stops me.
“Donuts! Come get your donuts!” It’s a female voice, and I know before I turn around that Melissa Chiswick has arrived on the scene.
Melissa has a food truck, Melissa’s Munchies, that she drives around to big events in town. If there’s a free movie night, concert in the park, parade, or any other town event, you can bet Melissa and her big white truck with a window in the back will be there. Everyone in town loves the cinnamon-sugar crullers that she sells in the winter season, not to mention her hot spiced cider.
I turn and watch her park directly across the road from the church. Everyone around me is turning, too. I can smell donuts -- a thick cloud of fragrant donut flavored air washes over all of us goat-gazers.
It’s like a spell is cast on us. We all turn toward the smell, and head for the food truck.
Marley pulls out her wallet as we walk. “Can this day get any better?” she asks. “First, we are surprised by a baby goat, then Annie gives us fudge, and now we get to have Melissa’s donuts?”
“Have you guys tried her chocolate glazed one?” I ask. “It’s freaking amazing.”
“I always get the nutmeg donut with berry icing,” Annie says excitedly. “I’ll get one for Cindy, to thank her for watching my booth. What do you think she would want?”
“The cinnamon-sugar cruller is a sure bet,” Marley says. “You can’t go wrong there. That’s what I always get.”
We talk donuts for about five minutes as we wait in line. When we reach the window, we order up four donuts. Melissa hands over our order in a white paper bag. We turn around to head back toward the manger, and immediately I know something is wrong.
Katie is standing on the patch of hay that the goat was just playing on. I don’t see Blaze anywhere. Katie kneels down and looks at something on the ground.
“Where is the goat?” I wonder aloud to Marley and Annie.
Marley is reaching into the white bag, trying to figure out which of the four donuts within is hers. As I voice my question, she looks up. “He’s right… oh. He’s not right there. Where is he?”
“Katie looks upset,” I note.
“Look at what she’s holding!” Annie exclaims.
We hurry towards Katie, and soon I see what Annie is pointing out. Katie has something in her hand. It’s the end of a rope -- the goat’s leash.
The end is severed… as though it’s been cut.
Chapter Two
A crowd is starting to gather around Katie. Most everyone in the group is holding little white grease-stained paper bags, just like Marley. It’s clear that most of us are just returning from Melissa’s Munchies.
“What happened?” Jim asks.
I perk my ears up, waiting for Katie’s answer.
“I don’t know!” she tells the crowd. She’s holding a donut bag, too. “I just came back from Melissa’s truck, and saw that Blaze is gone.”
“Did he chew through the rope?” Jim asks.
“I don’t know!” Katie says. She sounds panicked, like she might cry. “He’s never done that before. Oh my God, what if he wanders out into the street! Blaaaaze! BLAZE!” she calls out.
That gets the crowd going. “Blaze! Blaze!” People shout. Soon people are fanning out in all directions. The search is on.
I want to help, too -- but not by wandering around, shouting at the top of my lungs.
I think I have a different role to play in this search.
Katie has dropped the rope that she was holding. It’s now lying in the hay. I hurry up to it and squat down.
As I examine it, Marley and Annie join me.
“What do you think, Penny?” Marley says. She’s found her cruller, and now she takes a big bite of it, waiting for my response.
Annie chimes in. “Do you think the goat chewed through his rope?”
I hold up the end of the rope. “Definitely not,” I say, narrowing my eyes as I examine the slightly frayed fibers. “This is a clean cut, ladies. Someone sliced the rope with a sharp blade.”
Both of my friends gasp. “Why would someone do that?” Annie asks.
“On Christmas Eve!” Marley says. “This is supposed to be a day of good-will towards all, not a day of grumpy goat snatching!”
“Maybe they did it because it’s Christmas Eve,” I say thoughtfully, as I drop the rope and stand.
“What do you mean by that?” Annie asks.
“I’m not sure, exactly,” I say. I motion for the donut bag, and Marley hands it over. I pull my chocolate glazed donut out and take a bite. I’ll think more clearly if I get a little sugar in my brain. I’ve been staying away from sugar these days, but it’s a holiday for crying out loud. I can indulge a little.
I munch, think, and munch some more. Finally, I say, “I think that whoever stole this goat did it because it’s Christmas Eve. I don't know why, and I don’t know how. But that’s the feeling I have. Ladies, I think we have a Christmas Eve case on our hands.”
“Well,” Annie says. “You have a case on your hands. I should really get back down to my knitting table.”
She beckons for me to pass the white paper bag. I hand it over and then turn to Marley.
“Wh
at about you?” I say after I polish off my donut. “You in on catching the Christmas Eve Goat Snatcher?” I lick my fingers, one by one, and then put my mittens back on.
“What a villainous name!” Marley says happily. “I’m in!”
I smile. I knew she would be.
We part ways with Annie and promise to join her in the basement again soon. Then, we make our way over to Katie’s side.
She’s about a half a block away now, still shouting at the top of her lungs as she looks behind parked cars and under roadside shrubbery. “Blaaaaaze! BLAZE! Come here, buddy! Come on out!”
“Katie,” I say when she pauses to get a lungful of air.
She whirls around to face us. “Oh! Penny, Marley. Hey! My goat is missing. Have you seen him?”
“That’s what I want to talk to you about,” I say. “I had a look at that rope. I don’t think your goat escaped on his own. I think someone cut the rope.”
Katie gives up her search under a Christmas-light-laden holly bush and looks at me. “What are you saying?” she asks.
“I mean, someone sliced through the rope with scissors or a knife,” I say.
“You’re not serious!” Now she looks concerned. “Who would do something like that?”
“That’s what we want to help you find out,” I say. “If we figure out who cut the rope, maybe that will lead us to the goat.”
“How?” Katie says. Then, my logic dawns on her. “You think someone kidnapped my goat?” she says.
I nod. “It’s a possibility to consider,” I say.
Marley chimes in. “He is really, really cute.”
“They may have just cut the rope and set him free,” I say. “But seeing as we didn’t see any tracks in the snow leading away from the patch of hay he was on, I don’t think he just got free and ran off. I think someone led him down the cement walkway.”
“Oh, that’s right,” Katie says. “You’re a PI. You seriously think someone kidnapped Blaze? I’d better call my husband. This is ridiculous! It’s Christmas Eve, for crying out loud!”
She pulls her phone out of her pocket. “Dan was against me bringing Blaze into town. He didn’t want to take the soft-top off of the back of the truck so Blaze could ride back there, that’s all. I told him that Blaze would bring so much joy to people today that it’d be worth the inconvenience. Little did I know something like this would happen!”
She starts tapping on her phone.
“Katie,” I say. “Can you think of anyone who might want to take your goat from you?”
She looks up from her phone screen and meets my eye. She chews her lip a bit. I can tell she’s thinking over my question.
“Maybe someone who would want to give you a fright,” Marley says. “Or play a prank on you. Or maybe someone that wants the goat for themselves.”
Katie looks at Marley and rolls her eyes. “Well, everyone who sees Blaze says that they wish they could take him home,” she says. “But no one would actually steal him.” She sighs. “I can’t think of anyone who would want to prank me, either. I haven’t had friends like that since high school. But… there is…” her voice trails off. She chews her lip some more.
“What?” I say.
“Well, Meredith Kipp has been giving me a bit of attitude this last week. She said that the goat was going to detract from the real message of the Nativity, which is about Jesus. I told her that Blaze was going to bring attention to Jesus, not detract from the importance of his birth. It seemed like…” Her voice trails off.
She hesitates, as if considering whether or not to confide in us.
Then she says, “To tell the truth, it seemed to me like Meredith wasn’t worried about Jesus at all. She was worried that my Nativity scene was going to be a big success.”
“Which it has been,” I say with a nod. A possible motive is becoming clear in my mind. “Maybe Meredith is upset because your Nativity scene is drawing more of a crowd than hers ever have. Maybe she’s afraid that you’ll be invited to run the show next year, too. She decided to take matters into her own hands --”
“And remove Blaze from the picture!” Marley says, finishing my sentence for me. We’ve been best friends since kindergarten, so that tends to happen a lot.
I nod. “Now, we have to think like Meredith.”
I scrunch my face up, making the same Scrooge expression that I saw Meredith making earlier.
“I’m Meredith Kipp,” I say, in my best Meredith voice. “I’m grumpy. This sprained wrist is driving me crazy. If only I didn’t sprain my wrist, I would be in charge of the scene this year, and everyone would be telling me how beautiful it looks.”
Marley chimes in. She makes the same face I’m making and says, “I can’t believe how much attention Katie’s stupid goat is getting. I’m going to do something about it.”
Now we’re getting somewhere.
Katie is looking back and forth between Marley and me like we’re the two weirdest people she’s ever seen -- which, maybe we are. But I don’t care. I feel like Marley and I are about to make a breakthrough. I pick up the act right where Marley left off.
“I’m going to… cut this rope and…” I trail off, not sure what Meredith would say next. What would she do, once she cut the rope?
Marley jumps in. “... take him to my car and hide him.”
I scrunch up my lips and say. “Except I have a brand-new Mercedes SUV, and I don’t want to get the back seat dirty because I’m super fussy about things like that,” I say.
“Right, I am,” Marley says. “I like to keep things clean, and this is a just a barnyard animal, with who knows what on his hooves… I’ll put him somewhere that’s already dirty…”
“And out of the way,” I say.
“And warm and safe, because I don’t want to actually hurt him,” Marley says.
“I just want to get him out of the way,” I say.
“Like… a shed…” Marley says.
“Like the church’s maintenance shed!” I exclaim.
Marley and I both stop scowling like Scrooge at the same time. I turn to her, beaming, and give her a high five. “Yes!” I say. “We nailed it!”
“What just happened?” Katie says, shaking her head. “I’m not exactly sure what I witnessed just now.”
“You just witnessed two all-star detectives at work,” I say. “Marley and I were putting ourselves in Meredith’s shoes. And it worked! We’ll go search the maintenance shed.”
“I’m going to call my husband,” Katie says. She seems unsure of what to think of Marley and me, and I don’t really blame her.
I offer her a warm smile and say, “I know our methods might seem unconventional,” I say. “But I’m actually a pretty okay PI. I’ve solved cases more complex than this, before. Marley is my trusty sidekick. Don’t you worry, Katie. We’re going to find Blaze for you.”
For the first time, she looks at me like I’m not nuts. I guess what I just said must have resonated with her.
She stops dialing her phone and meets my eye. “Thank you,” she says. Then she looks at Marley. “I appreciate your help, ladies. I really hope you can find him. I don’t know what I would tell Phoebe if something happened to Blaze -- today, of all days. She absolutely adores him, and she’s been so excited about spending Christmas morning with him. She would be devastated. She’s with my mom now. I told them to go play while we looked… I’m not sure how I would tell her that Blaze isn’t coming home with us.”
“We won’t let that happen,” promises Marley, laying a hand on Katie’s shoulder. “We’ll make sure you have good news to tell your daughter. Right, Penny?”
“Right,” I say. I certainly hope that’s the truth.
Chapter Three
“We have to find Blaze,” I say to Marley as we head in the direction of the back maintenance shed. “I will not be happy if we just got Katie’s hopes up for no reason.”
“Me either,” Marley says. Then she crouches down. “Penny, look!” She points to a crack in the
cement walkway. A little piece of straw is jutting out of it.
“I think that’s a sign we’re on the right track!” I say. I take off my mitten and pick up the piece of straw. I hold it up and examine it. The walkway that goes from the front of the church to the back, where the maintenance shed is located, is for pedestrians only. “I’m guessing Katie brought that hay from home, in the back of Dan’s pickup truck,” I say. “The easiest way for them to unload the hay would be out front, by the manger. So why would this hay be here?”
“Because Meredith traveled this way,” Marley says. “Leading our little friend Blaze -- who probably had hay stuck to his fur.”
“Exactly,” I say. I drop the hay and put my mitten back on. “Come on!”
We continue down the walkway. Marley starts singing under her breath as we walk. It’s a made-up song, to the tune of Oh Christmas Tree: “Oh Christmas Goat, Oh Christmas Goat, how mysterious are your tra-acks...”
Before we round the corner that will lead us to the back parking lot and the maintenance shed, I stop. I turn to Marley and put my mittened hand to my lips. “Shhhh…” I say. “I like your song, but right now, I think we should be quiet. Meredith might still be back here, you know.”
“I didn’t see her out front, that’s for sure,” Marley says.
I nod. “We’d better be careful. People can be unpredictable, you know. We don’t know how she’s going to react if we catch her by surprise.”
“Got it,” Marley says. She mimes zipping her lips, and then puts her hands out in front of her like she’s about to karate chop someone.
She gives me a nod; she’s ready to go.
I love my friend. She’s the perfect person to catch the Goat Snatcher with.
I start tiptoeing to the corner of the building, and then peek around the side.
I see the maintenance shed.
The door of the shed is slightly open. There are two cars parked in the back parking lot -- a beige minivan and a black coupe -- but no people. There’s also no one around the shed.