My mom brought out a cake that looked like it was held together with frosting that was sliding off the side of it. Chunks of cake were caught in the gooey frosting as it slowly tumbled down the three-layer cake.
Trace looked at me. Maybe it wouldn’t taste as bad as it looked. I wasn’t even sure what flavor it was supposed to be, but I was going to try and support my mom in this.
She slid the knife in to cut the cake, and it started to crumble. “It’s a crumble cake,” she said, but I wasn’t exactly convinced that the cake was supposed to crumble like that.
She put the knife down and went to get the serving wedge, the moment the metal touched the cake, the cake exploded.
Bits and pieces of it flew over the table, covering each of us. Pink frosting stuck to my skin, clung to my eyelashes and my hair. I blinked a few times and wiped the goop from my eyes.
There, where the cake had been, was now a card tower. With the cards being all the Ace of Hearts.
Well, I’d found my cards, but this wasn’t the best time for them to show up.
It was like my mother knew. She looked at me, and I swore she was counting to ten.
“Lacey,” she growled my name out.
I wiped my face off with a napkin. “Well, it’s my time to go.” I stood up and snatched Copperfield off the floor on the way out the door.
I wasn’t looking back. I didn’t dare. I’d seen that look in my mother’s eyes before, and that look meant death.
I made it to my car and then I looked back to see if she was chasing me with a knife. Luckily for me, my mother hated cold weather and was just standing at the door, staring me down. I put Copperfield on the seat and looked at him. “I guess this gets us out of any family dinners for now.”
He twitched his nose and then started to paw at the bowtie. I took it off him and scratched him around his neck. “There we go, is that better?”
He snuggled down into the passenger seat, so I took that as a yes.
My phone dinged, and I saw a message from Trace.
“Her other cake is supposed to be a pineapple upside-down cake.”
A moment later, a picture came through, and it looked more like Jabba the Hut from Star Wars than a cake.
“You abandoned me.”
I chuckled and text him back. “Fake a work emergency, and we’ll go get pie.”
“Meet you there.” Was what I got back.
I chuckled. “Let’s drop you off home first, buddy. It’s going to take him a little bit to escape my mother.”
CHAPTER TWO
I tapped my fingers on the table while I waited for Trace. He’d sent me a text about ten minutes before I got to the restaurant. I had expected him to beat me here, but maybe he dropped off Nooccar first.
I turned as I heard the door open and saw him there. He gave me a little wave and sat down. “You owe me big time.”
“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean for the cake to explode.”
“I’m not talking about that. I was talking about your mother.” He dragged out the word ‘mother.’
I pressed my lips together. “Oh, that. Yeah, I’m sorry for that. I didn’t think she was going to go all psycho on me.”
“I’ll give her some credit, the pineapple cake tasted better than it looked, but it still wasn’t good.” He grabbed the menu. “I’m not going to look at pineapple the same way again.”
“I never promised you good cake.”
“You never said that it would look like an alien either,” he teased.
The waitress came up, and we both ordered pie. When she walked off, I shrugged. “Really, just another day in the life of Lacey.”
“The cards?”
“From a trick I was trying this morning. I swear I didn’t mean for them to show up in my mom’s cooking.” I shook my head. “One day, I’m going to get better.”
“I actually like your quirky magic.” He smiled. “It’s saved our asses more times than not. It’s part of who you are, Lacey.”
I’d gotten to the point that I’d started to just accept it. But tonight was a reminder that it wasn’t really welcomed. “Yeah, I know.”
The waitress sat the pie down in front of us, and I started picking at it. “So, something strange happened today.”
“Stranger than normal?”
I nodded. “Yeah, this homeless looking man came in looking for magical hats. Specifically, for magical people to pull an animal out of.”
“You discontinued those, because well… you know.”
“Yeah, but then he insisted that I tell him where he could get a bicycle.” I shook my head. “I’m not sure exactly what he was going on about.”
“Maybe the man just really wanted a bike?” Trace took a bite of his pie. He nearly moaned. “Now, this hits the spot.”
I chuckled. “I’m pretty sure I owe you more than pie.”
“No, if your mother had tried to set us up on a date, then you would.” He shook his head. “I think your mother needs a hobby.”
“She has one, it’s meddling in everyone else’s affairs.” I took a bite. The door opened, and it seemed like half the staff went tense.
I looked at Trace, and he nodded as if sensing it too. I turned around to face the door, and there stood Duo with two other men at his back.
“That’s the guy that was at the shop today,” I muttered.
“I’ve seen him and the others at the bridge hanging out.”
The bridge he talked about was a place that homeless hung out under to get out of the weather.
The manager came out to confront the three men. “You’re no longer welcomed here after the ruckus you caused last week.”
“Your waitress started the fight.” It wasn’t Duo who spoke, but the man to his left. “She told us that we were bothering some of the other patrons with our loud voices.”
“And you became more rowdy, and I had to call the cops. And if you do not remove yourself from the premise, I will call them again.”
It was like a magic switch. The three of them turned around in unison and marched out. The entire dining around seemed to relax.
“That was the guy?”
“One of them. The one in the front. He calls himself Duo.”
He nodded. “Hopefully, he stays away. I don’t like the feeling he gives off.”
“Apparently, all I have to do is threaten to call the cops, and they’ll leave.” I chuckled. “A good trick to know.”
“Yeah, hopefully, he doesn’t bother you anymore.”
I agreed with that. “The lady who was in your office today, what was she in for? Tracking down a husband? An old lover, perhaps?”
“Two dogs. A mini Australian shepherd and a Wheaton Terrier.”
That wasn’t an answer I expected, especially since it wasn’t a typical PI case. “She must really love those dogs.”
“Yeah, they are part of the family. Apparently, there have been some sightings around the area, but they can’t quite pin down where.”
“Are they just wandering?”
“Some reports say so, some say they are with someone. Tomorrow I’m going to go out and start poking around the neighborhood. Maybe someone happened to pick them up and has been walking them, or they’ve been getting out of that house.”
I hated to think of two small dogs being outside in the cold. I really hoped they didn’t end up freezing to death instead of being returned home. “If you need help, let me know.”
“I might, seeing as you seem to, ah, specialize in special animals.”
I threw him a glare but laughed. “Only summoning them,” I promised and took the last bite of pie. “Okay, now I’m stuffed.” I put my fork down. “I should probably head home.”
“The extended hours at the shop wearing on you?”
“Yeah, but it’s worth it. Despite what my mother thinks, from Halloween into January, I have really good sales, then it picks back up about February. The extended hours are worth it.” I put a hand to my mouth as I yawned. “I’ll s
ee you later.”
“I’ll check in on you tomorrow.” He waved.
I went to the counter and paid for our pies before walking out to my car. I got in, turned the key, and waited for a moment. Tiny snowflakes started to fall as I sat there and tried not to dwell on my night. It could have gone a lot worse.
I pulled my car out of the parking lot and saw Duo standing there with the other two men.
Yeah, tonight could have gone a lot worse.
The next morning, Copperfield and I got to the shop early and found a woman standing outside the door. Her carefully done hair was pulled back in a tight French braid, and she wore a pant suit that looked freshly pressed, with sensible heels. She turned to me as I approached.
“Hello, Ms. Willows?”
“Yes, can I help you?”
She nodded and held her hand out. I tucked Copperfield into the crook of my arm and shook it. “I’m Gwen Smith, and I have a couple questions to ask you.”
“About what?” I tried to think of anything that I could have screwed up in the last week. Other than mom’s cake last night. “This isn’t about the cake is it?”
Her brow shot up. “No, this is about a missing person.”
My heart sank. “Oh. Who’s missing?” My mind raced. Who did I know that I hadn’t seen in a while? Whose emergency contact list was I on?
“A woman named Katrina Rose was seen here at your stone.”
I blinked a few times. “I thought you said it was a missing person. She’s clearly not missing if you know she was here.”
“That’s a valid point. I’m trying to locate her and her son’s whereabouts. Did she happen to say anything to you?”
“Ma’am, I have a lot of people who enter my store, especially with kids. You’re going to have to be more specific about who you’re looking for.” I tried to keep my annoyance out of my voice.
Trace came around the corner and stared at the woman standing there. “What are you doing here?”
At first, I thought he was talking to me, but the woman in front of me turned and glared at him. “Oh, isn’t this just cozy. Trace, what on earth could you be doing out here this early?”
I debated for a moment about just walking into the shop and shutting the door, but I had a feeling I’d miss something interesting.
“Gwen, my office is next door to this shop. I thought I’d come in early before our meeting. Why are you pestering Lacey?”
“I was asking Ms. Willows about a case of mine.”
Trace looked at me.
“Apparently, a so-called missing person was seen in my shop. That’s all I know. Now, I’m cold, Copperfield is cold, so we’re going inside now.” I turned to unlock my door, and Gwen cleared her throat.
“I’d like to show you a picture of Mrs. Rose.”
I turned back around and saw that Trace had crossed his arms and looked like he was trying not to tap his foot impatiently.
“Okay.”
Gwen showed me a photo of a woman and a little boy. At first, I thought it might have been one of the customers from yesterday, but they didn’t look right. I shook my head. “I don’t think I’ve seen them, but I get a lot of customers. So it’s possible that I just don’t remember.”
“Can you look through your security footage?”
I was about to say something when Trace stepped in. “No, she can’t. It would take her hours to search for someone like that.”
“And I have a business to run,” I added and went ahead into the store, shutting the door behind me.
I put Copperfield on the counter and pulled out his bag of greens for him. “It doesn’t seem like this week is going to be normal at all.”
He twitched his nose and started to nibble his carrot.
I looked out the window of the shop to see Gwen and Trace still talking. Judging by the way Trace’s brow ticked and his jaw kept locking, I would say it wasn’t a friendly conversation.
I went about doing opening duties, getting the register ready for customers, and making sure the store was tidy. By the time I was done, Copperfield was done with his carrots, but the two were still out there in a heated conversation.
I opened the door. “I’m going to have to ask you two to break it up. You’re going to scare my customers away.”
Trace looked almost grateful that I had interrupted, Ms. Smith, on the other hand, crossed her arms and turned to me. “I would like your security footage.”
“You don’t get to demand my security footage, honey. You aren’t a cop.” I gave her the warmest smile that I could manage.
She spun around and stomped off. I looked at Trace. “You two have a history?”
“Yeah, actually. We got out licenses about the same time. Her tactics need some work, though. She’s also worked for some pretty shady people, so I don’t want you getting mixed up with her.” He put a hand on my back and guided me back into the shop, almost as if he was worried we’d be overheard. “She called me last night wanting to meet with me this morning.”
I let him lead me into the store. Copperfield turned a bright lilac and took a leap of faith toward Trace. Luckily, Trace was paying attention, and he caught the bunny.
“Shady how?”
“Remember Salazar?”
Yeah, I remembered him. He was the wizard that had tried to take me out, but I stopped him by summoning a bunch of bunnies out of hats. It was a scene for sure. He’d been arrested and , later, released. I’d ran into him at a party before too.
I shivered. “Yeah.”
“People like that.” He looked over his shoulder. “If she comes back, refuse to answer anything. No one is going to help her get your security footage. She’s got a pretty well-known reputation in this state.”
I nodded. “Okay, I didn’t really want to work with her anyway. Something felt off about the whole thing.”
“You have good instincts, that’s one reason I like working with you. Now, if you’d excuse me, I have some dogs to try and find. You have a good day at work. I’ll let you know if I need you.”
I gave him a wave as he left the shop. Two seconds later, he came back and put Copperfield in the store. “Sorry, I can’t take the bunny.”
“Might make good bait for the dogs, just saying.”
He shook his head and walked out. Copperfield jumped up on the counter, staring at me as if he didn’t like the idea that I mentioned him as dog bait. I scratched his ears. “I would never use you as bait. I like you too much.”
His ears twitched, and his foot started to thump. I chuckled and went to work as the first customer walked in.
I had a steady stream of customers all day, and by the time closing time came, I was exhausted. Trace knocked on the door of the shop the moment I had finished putting the register til back in the safe.
I raised a brow and unlocked the door. “I’m sorry sir, I’m closed for the night.”
“Yeah, but I need your help.”
I crossed my arms. “I just worked for twelve hours.”
“Please?”
“That’s better. What’s up?” I went to get Copperfield so we could walk to the car.
Trace smiled and walked next to me. “I have these missing dogs, right?”
I nodded. “Yeah, you were going to canvas the area.”
“Yeah, and I did. I talked to the neighbors, and no one had seen the dogs get out. Everyone said the dogs escaped on occasion, but they hadn’t seen them recently.”
I looked at him. “So, do you think the dogs were stolen?”
“I don’t know. Mandy, the mom, said that the front door was cracked open, and she knew the dogs were inside when she last saw them. She thinks maybe one of the kids left it open, and the dogs got out that way.”
“So, where do I come in?”
“There’s a lady at the flower shop that wants to talk to a witch about a visitor. She won’t talk to me, but she seems to think that you’ll understand more what she’s talking about.”
“Okay, let’s drop
Copperfield off, and then we can go talk to her.”
He grinned. “Perfect, I told her we’d be by the shop tonight.”
I nudged him. “You jerk. You made plans without even asking me first.”
He shrugged. “I’ll follow you home, and we’ll carpool over.”
“Good deal.” I got to the car and opened the door, letting Copperfield jump into the passenger seat. I looked up to see someone standing at the far corner again, just hiding in the shadows.
Trace noticed as well. “Don’t worry about it. Probably just someone looking for a warm place to hang out.”
I nodded. “Yeah, just odd, that’s the second time I’ve seen someone lurking over there.”
“It’s the season for people to be lurking. Your shop is locked, and we’re heading home.” He waited by the car for me to get in.
I climbed into the driver’s side and started the car. I watched Trace get into his truck, and then I pulled out of the parking lot. Part of me was tempted to go the other direction to see who was hiding, but when I looked in the rearview mirror, they were gone.
The idea that someone was just walking around the shops at night gave me the creeps, but until I knew they had ill intentions and weren’t just a passerby, then I couldn’t call the cops. With my luck, they were just some innocent person on their way home from work. Maybe the building blocked the bitter wind of winter that we had. Maybe they just needed to stop and take a break from the walk.
By the time I’d driven to my house, I’d convinced myself of over twenty different possibilities that gave me a bit of peace. But I always kept going back to one. Salazar was lurking around looking for revenge.
I really didn’t like that idea.
I got out of the car, and Trace waited in his truck for me as I ran Copperfield into the house. I locked up, came back outside, and climbed into Trace’s truck.
I pulled the seatbelt over myself. “So tell me about this flower shop owner.”
“Her name is Anne, and she insists that there’s something weird in her shop that is magical. She said if I could find a witch to deal with it, then she’d give me information on the dogs. She thinks they may be related.”
“Do I want to know why she thinks they are related?”
Walking Through Walls Page 2