“Thank you.” I grabbed the bag by the handles. “We’ll try not to bother you again.”
She nodded and went back to the arrangement she had been working on. “Oh yes, that cart with the dog food, the cart is back, but the food is gone.”
Interesting. “Thanks for letting us know.”
We walked out, and the wind picked up. I shivered. “It’s going to snow tonight.”
“Maybe it’ll hold off until Christmas, and we’ll have a white one.”
I smiled at the thought. White Christmases were always fun.
We got back to the shop just as Moses was hauling out some broken wood that I assumed were shelves at one point in time. That was the only thing I could think that was made out of wood. I looked in the shop and saw that he’d gotten a lot of the big things taken care of already. “Wow, you’re working fast.”
“Yeah, no reason to slack around.” He threw the wood in the dumpster. “This place is a wreck. Do you know what insurance is going to cover yet?”
I shook my head. “No, I’ve sent them pictures, and they have proof of my inventory. Once they are done processing everything, then I’ll know what they’ll cover.”
“Hopefully, they’ll cover it all.” He shrugged. “I did notice that there was no blood from the woman that was here.”
I cringed. “I’m not sure that I would want to clean up blood to be completely honest.”
“I think I’d throw in the towel at that point.” Trace shook his head. “I’m going to go grab some garbage bags, why don’t you check and see if your broom survived?”
I walked carefully over all the debris that was left and headed toward the back room. Even the shelves back here were ruined. Moses hadn’t gotten back here yet, but I hadn’t expected him to in just the couple hours we had been gone.
Under one of the shelves was my broom, which had managed to survive being destroyed. Maybe it was just someone being nice.
I rolled my eyes at the idea that a murderer would have such consideration. I shook the broom off and went back to the main room and started sweeping up the areas that were cleared of the big items.
Moses didn’t say anything as I worked, and I didn’t really have anything else to talk about because my mind was on the hat and Duo. Trace came back in with a roll of garbage bags. “I just thought of something. I’ll be back in a little bit.”
“Where are you going?”
“To put a GPS on that cart that keeps appearing and disappearing.” He grinned. “Might gain us some sort of lead.”
“Okay, once I make progress here, I’m going to message that profile the guy gave us.”
Trace nodded. “I’ll see you in a bit then.” He tossed the garbage bags at me, and I caught them and set them near the wall.
Moses looked at me. “What profile?”
“We got a hold of what we believe is Duo’s real name and his social media profile.” I pulled my phone out and texted Jenny, asking her to pick up my computer on her way to the shop.
I didn’t miss the strange smile that crossed his face. “Good, you’re making progress.”
I wasn’t sure how to take his words because they came across a little creepy, but on the other hand, he also had a beef with Duo. Maybe Moses was just hoping Duo would get his just desserts.
I went back to sweeping as Moses took out another chunk of wood. After a few hours of work, Moses and I sat down to take a break. I pulled out my phone and pulled up the social media profile of Duo. His real name was Ricky Mason. He looked like Duo but cleaned up more.
I showed it to Moses. “That’s him, right?”
He nodded. “Yeah.”
I scrolled through to see what information was public. There weren’t many updates from current times. A couple invites to go get high, and a few posts from someone claiming to be his girlfriend posting for him. Nothing that really told me where he was.
There was one post further down that asked for a magical hat. Said he needed it to complete a deal.
“Hm. What do you know about Duo?”
“That he’s a druggy that lost his house and his job due to his habit. He’s a big shot, like he used to be some type of show magician. He’s been going on and on about a hat that made him famous.”
I raised a brow. “A hat that made him famous, huh?”
“Yeah, like he could pull anything he wanted out from this hat. The hat was in the house when it was foreclosed on, so he never got it back.” Moses shrugged. “He’s magical, but not very good. Sometimes it can make him dangerous.”
Scrolling through early social media posts, I tried to find anything about him being a famous magician. Of course, it could have been a lie, making him seem like an interesting person, but then again, why would he go so far as to find a hat? I grew up learning about famous magicians because of dad’s love of parlor tricks. I couldn’t recall anyone named Rick, but that didn’t mean he didn’t exist either.
Maybe he was locally famous in his hometown. Maybe he wasn’t actually famous. Maybe this was a wild goose chase.
I was just about to give up on the search when I saw a picture of him dressed up. He wore a top hat with a red ribbon around it. He was dressed in a tux to match, and a scantily clad lady stood next to him.
The caption he’d put on the post read, “Completed my walk through walls trick! It was such a hit.”
I stared at the picture, trying to analyze it. There wasn’t much to see, just him and the girl and…Salazar was in the background.
“Holy shit.”
Moses looked over my shoulder. “Find something?”
“Yeah, I know that man standing in the wing.”
Moses stood up. “Maybe it’s the mentor that Duo was always talking about.”
I hoped not, because that meant that Duo could potentially be a lot more dangerous than I originally thought.
Moses went to pick up another chunk of wood, but Jenny stepped through the door with a couple of pizzas in her arms. “I come bearing lunch! And some news!”
I was afraid to ask. “Good news or bad news?”
“Yes.” Jenny sat the pizzas down. “Both.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
After a few moments of silence, Moses finally spoke up. “Okay, let’s hear the bad news and get it over with.”
Jenny put her hands on her hips. “It’s not news for you, it’s news for Lacey.”
I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter, he can hear it.”
“Okay, well, Jackson is the parking lot.”
“Oh shit. I need to get out of here now.” I jumped up. I could go out the back door, but it was wired up to sound an alarm. I didn’t have the key to deactivate it on me. I could go out the front door, but then I would have to face Jackson and explain why I was here.
Moses shook his head. “Someone want to explain why that’s a bad thing?”
I was about to answer when Jackson walked in.
He was still tall with the same beautiful hair that hung just right and a smile that would make someone weak in the knees. Except me. I’d had enough of that smile and knew exactly what it was capable of.
“Lacey!” He walked in and threw his arms around me and then went to kiss me.
I tried to pull back, but he wasn’t budging. So, I pulled my hand back and let him have it.
The sound of skin on skin wasn’t quiet, and it got the job done. He stepped back with a hand to his cheek. “Is that any way to greet me?”
Moses snorted. “I think it was called for.”
Jenny crossed her arms. “You don’t just kiss a lady.”
“Especially your ex,” I added on. “What do you want, Jackson?”
“I was checking out where my client works and low and behold, I heard there was a magic shop next to it. You know me, I like my witches.”
Just a little too much. I kept my thought to myself. “Well, as you can see, just me here.” I held my arms out. “Now, if you wouldn’t mind, I have some cleaning up to do.”
“
We should go to dinner and catch up.” He flashed that smile that I’d fallen for many times.
I took a deep breath. “As you can see, I’m busy.” I almost mentioned that I had a case to work on, but I didn’t want him to know I was associated with Trace.”
“Your…” He motioned to Moses. “Whatever he is can handle it.”
Jenny covered her mouth as Moses sneered. “I’m a man. I’m helping her clean up.”
“Then you can do it while I take her to dinner.”
I turned away and grabbed my broom. “Not interested. Go find yourself a different witch to trick this time.”
Jackson was about to say something when Trace walked in. This wasn’t going to get any better. I closed my eyes and counted to ten.
“Hello, Jackson. What are you doing down here?” Trace kept his voice even. I didn’t turn around to look at him. I didn’t want to give Jackson the satisfaction of seeing the anger in my eyes.
Jackson chuckled. “Wanted to come check out your office. Lacey and I know each other, so I thought I’d come and say hi.”
“Oh, I wasn’t aware of that, but as you can see, Lacey has her hands full right now. Let’s go chat in the office.”
I turned around when Jackson and Trace left. Moses grabbed a slice of pizza. “Who the hell is that loser?”
“That would be my ex.”
“He stalked Lacey when she broke up with him.”
I rolled my eyes. “I also broke up with him because he was stalking me. Trace hired him to see if he can find the dogs with magic.”
“You can’t?” Moses raised a brow.
“My particular brand of magic isn’t much use.” I shook my head. “Okay, Jenny, now you owe me the good news.”
She smiled. “Good news is, I brought pizza and took the rest of the day off.”
That was a bit less anti-climactic than I was hoping for. “I thought you had some serious good news.”
“An extra pair of hands to help with the shop, that’s all I’ve got. Maybe we can get it done, and you can get enough stuff in to have a New Year’s grand opening.”
I smiled. “That could be a lot of fun.”
Moses took another slice of pizza. “You really love this shop.”
“It’s my dream. Everyone has a dream.”
He wrinkled his nose. “Don’t start singing on me.”
“She’s not one to sing,” Jenny promised him. “This shop is her life.”
“Then we better get to work cleaning it out then.”
We worked until dark, and then Jenny and I left Moses alone in the shop. He was pretty content with leftover pizza for dinner and a warm place to sleep as the snow started to come in.
Jenny and I walked to the back parking lot. “I found Duo’s social media page.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah, turns out that he used to be a show magician, and the last picture he posted about that was one where Salazar could be seen in the wings of the stage.”
“You mean the creepy guy you took down with the rabbits?”
“Yep.” I shrugged. “So there’s a connection there somewhere. Moses said that he might have been Duo’s mentor. But there’s no way to tell without talking to him.” I pressed my lips together and unlocked the car.
“What are you thinking, Lacey?”
“Totally thinking that I’m going to send him a message and offer him a hat.”
She shook her head. “You don’t have any hats.”
“I do now. I took the one from the flower shop that Trace and I were first called to. That’ll do.”
“Okay, don’t go meet him by yourself.”
“I won’t, I’m not that dumb,” I promised. “I’ll take Moses or Trace with me.”
“Why Moses?”
“Because he’s got a stake in this too. His dog is also missing.”
She chuckled. “Okay, all about the dogs this case, huh?”
“Yep. Get home safe.” I watched her get into her car and drive off. I got into mine and started the car. I noticed Trace’s truck was still in the parking lot, but there was an unknown car too. I assumed that it was Jackson’s, and I wasn’t even going to try and go see Trace.
My phone rang, and I looked at the number. I tried not to groan as I answered it. “Hey, mom.”
“Hi honey, I wanted to invite you over to try some more cake.”
I paused for a moment. “Did dad help with this cake?”
“He did.”
I couldn’t tell if she was lying or not. “Okay, I’ll be over in just a few. I’m just now leaving the shop.”
“I’ll see you then, sweetheart.” She disconnected the phone, and I wondered for a moment why she was being so sweet. Maybe she just really wanted me to try her cake. I shook my head and went back to the social media application on my phone. I found Duo’s profile again and sent him a message.
“Heard you have a pair of dogs and you want a hat. I’ll trade you a hat for the dogs.” I hit send and then pulled the car out of the parking lot. I didn’t expect an answer right away. I wasn’t even sure if he still had access to his profile, but it was worth a try.
I’d seen homeless people charging their phones in a coffee shop before. Certainly, some of them took time to check stuff on social media. I drove to my parents’ house and threw the car in park.
The snow had started to make a nice dusting on the street, and I debated for a second on if I wanted to stay or not. This was Colorado, after all. It could stop snowing now, or it could dump a foot of snow.
But there was hopefully good cake waiting for me in the house. Maybe even leftovers from dinner.
I got out and went to the house. Dad was already standing in the living room with a mug in his hand. I looked at him for some sign of anything strange going on.
He handed me the mug. “Hot chocolate to go with the cherry cake.”
“Did you help with this one?”
“No, but it’s actually really good. I think it might be the winner.” He jerked his head to the kitchen. “Go try it.”
I walked into the dining room with my mug and saw my mom putting a slice of cake on a plate. “Give it a try.”
I sat down and put my fork into the pink slice. The consistency seemed right for a cake. There were small cherry chunks spread throughout the piece, and there was a chocolate frosting on the top with a cherry sliding down.
That didn’t make the frosting look appetizing, but maybe it tasted better than it looked.
I took a bite, half expecting it to taste awful, but to my surprise, it tasted like cherry. The frosting wasn’t half bad either. I looked at my mom’s waiting face. “This is really good. I think dad’s right. I think this is the one that you should enter.”
My mom gave me a huge smile and clapped her hands. “Thank you.”
My phone dinged a few times in a row. “Sorry, that’s something for work.”
“How’s the shop coming along?”
“Slowly. We’ve gotten most of the big stuff and the main room cleaned out. We’ll hit the back room soon. I hired an extra set of hands to help me with the work, so with him, Jenny and I, it’s going pretty quick.”
“Oh, Jenny took the day off to help you?”
“Yeah, she brought us lunch too. It was super sweet of her.” I took another bite of cake. “It’ll be nice to have the store emptied out. I’ve sent inventory to the insurance company to see what can be covered. Have you found a magician for the show yet?”
I was almost hesitant to ask because I didn’t want it to end up like last time.
“I have, actually. I put an ad in the paper, and a gentleman answered it.”
“Oh good. I’m glad.” It meant that she wouldn’t ask me again, and honestly, the person she found was probably better. “Anyone I know?”
“Oh no dear, he’s from out of town. He’s traveling for work right now, and he thought it sounded like fun to come perform.”
There was a moment where I thought it might have been Jackson,
but my mother would have remembered him. She did chase him out of the house. “Okay, I hope it goes well.” I finished my cake and smiled. “I really do think this should be the one.”
“Then I’ll make it again.” She took my plate and walked into the kitchen.
I pulled my phone and looked at the messages.
“I found the dogs, they’re mine now.”
Next was.
“Wait, is it a magical hat?”
Followed by.
“No, no, no hat is worth it.”
I took a moment to decide what to respond back with.
“Yes, it is a magical hat. And I know the people who own dogs you have. The dogs got out of the house. Their family would like them back.”
There was no response right away.
Dad walked in. “Not bad, huh?”
“Not at all. I have a question for you. Have you ever heard of a magician named Ricky Mason?”
He thought for a moment and then shook his head. “No, but a lot of people use stage names. What was his trick?”
“Walking through walls was one that he performed at one point.”
Dad raised a brow. “Like actual walking through walls, or the parlor trick?”
“I have no idea honestly. He’s the guy we’re looking at that took the dogs. His social media showed him on stage and was captioned ‘accomplished the walking through walls.’ Or something like that.”
“Okay, so look, there’s the parlor trick that’s done with trapped doors, and then there’s the actual magic trick.” He pulled the seat next to me out and sat down. “Other than using actual magic, the difference is that walking through walls takes a lot of energy, and you have to be extremely focused to use it. If you screw up and lose focus, you can get lost.”
There was part of me that wondered if he was talking about my lack of focus with spells and how things always seemed to go crazy. “I’m not planning on trying it. Honestly.”
“Good, just be aware of what it takes if you ever do decide to try it.” He stole a cherry off the cake. “As for your homeless man with the dogs… well, good luck.” He popped the cherry into his mouth and then stood up.
I rolled my eyes as he walked into the kitchen. He wasn’t much help with the situation.
Walking Through Walls Page 8