Spooky Business (Jane Garbo Mysteries Book 1)

by Addison Creek

  “I don’t know,” said Cookie. “You’re lucky I’m answering your questions. Next time I want a bottle of wine for my trouble.”

  “Where did they keep all the loot?” Pep asked.

  “I don’t know that either,” said Cookie.

  “Are you lying?” I asked.

  “Do not say, ‘I don’t know,’” Lark said through gritted teeth.

  “I had an idea of where they were stashing it,” she said.

  “Why were they hiding things in the first place?” I asked.

  “Because of Down Below! Everything that goes wrong here is because of Down Below,” Cookie said.

  “It doesn’t seem like a lot has gone wrong until recently,” Lark said. “Whereas Down Below started generations ago.”

  “You’d be surprised,” said Cookie.

  “Has somebody shut off your wine stash before?” Pep asked.

  “Only Meg,” she said bitterly.

  “But you don’t know where they were stashing the stuff they stole?” I asked again.

  “I said I have an idea, but I don’t really know. I’m not the one to ask,” she said.

  “Who is the one to ask?” Lark asked.

  Unfortunately, she wasn’t about to tell us. Mostly because at that very moment we heard a scream, and all four of us raced for the house, toward Audrey’s voice.

  Chapter Eighteen

  We went running and skittering into the kitchen, because we knew Audrey wasn’t one to be dramatic. If she was screaming, there really was something wrong.

  “What is it?” I cried out.

  Audrey didn’t seem able to say a word, but she responded to my question by simply pointing outside.

  Outside the window was a ghost, larger than any I had ever seen. He was solid, and parts of him were stamped with the mark of a skull, in red. Grant’s mention of the Root of All Evil came to mind immediately, and I knew this appearance was no accident.

  I wondered where the color had come from, but that wasn’t the remarkable part of this vision. The remarkable part was that the ghost was slowly breaking apart another skeleton and tossing the bones onto the air to fall wherever they landed. As we all watched, horrified, the ghost turned toward us, waved slightly, and dropped the rest of the bones to the ground.

  My mom and Meg went racing out the door. Grant, my brother, and my cousins were all away from the mansion, and so was Lizzie (three cheers). They were busy searching for whoever had done the smashing, but in the process they had left the house unattended.

  In a crisis like this I could of course just wave my hand and do magic, but it might not necessarily work very well. Usually to go along with a spell there was a bit of noise or music, as my grandmother liked to call it.

  It took years and years of practice to be a very good witch, so unfortunately Cookie was the best witch of all of us. She did have lots more practice under her belt, because as she liked to remind us all the time, she was old. She was also crazy.

  With magic, a witch just had to say what she wanted and it would be true. There were no wands. Our ancestors thought wands were too much trouble, so the witches of old had practiced and practiced until wands were obsolete. Now it was just a wave of the hand and voila, magic.

  I watched my mother and Meg waving frantically, but the ghost didn’t seem to want to stick around and attack them. Magic sparked and boomed and fizzled before my eyes, but the ghost didn’t intend to get hit. Instead it simply melted back into the darkness of the evening.

  My mom and Meg were running, something I hadn’t seen them do in a long time, but there was no way they were going to make it to the strange ghost before it disappeared.

  “We going to help?” Lark asked.

  “Leave it to me,” said Cookie, her small eyes snapping left and right. She stepped past us before we could stop her.

  “You get the feeling she’s a lot more mobile and capable than we give her credit for?” I wondered.

  “Daily,” said Lark.

  “It makes me nervous,” said Pep.

  “What should we do?” I asked Audrey. My aunt’s hair was doing its best impression of a cactus.

  “Our power will be minimal because we just had a full moon, but we should still be able to enact some kind of strong enchantment. Why don’t you three start gathering herbs for protection and I’ll start with some pure water.”

  Water-infused protection was one of our most basic enchantments, one that always worked well for the three of us. We rushed around the kitchen doing as Audrey asked, while she busied herself filling the largest pot with hot water and then hanging it over the crackling stove.

  I glanced out the dark window from time to time but saw no sign of the ghost. My mother, Meg, and Cookie were still out there, leading me to wonder out loud, “Are they gathering up bones?”

  “Probably,” said Lark. “If we boil the remains we’ll increase the enchantment for strength and protection.”

  “Won’t the skeletons mind?” I said.

  “Not if it helps keep them safer,” said Pep.

  After a few more minutes of frantic preparation on our part, my mom and Meg came in looking sweaty and tired. Cookie was holding the bones as if she was very proud of herself. She marched right up to the pot and plunked them in without asking, then turned to glare at Audrey. “You might have started it, but I’m the one who knows what we’re doing. Don’t look at me like that.”

  Audrey stopped looking at her like that.

  “Where did the le-haunt go?” I asked.

  “Back into the woods,” said my mom. “But I have a feeling we’ll see him again.”

  “What do you think of the red blood?” I asked.

  “I think it was paint and he was trying to make himself look like a creep,” said Mom. “Make sure everything is cleaned up for when the customers arrive.”

  “Are you okay, Mom?” Lark asked.

  Meg gave a tired smile and laughed, “Happy birthday to me.”

  When everyone else came home, Cam, Corey, and Kip were furious that they had missed the fun. Grant was furious that we’d boiled the bones before he could complete an examination.

  “We must be allowed to do our work,” he fumed.

  Sure, sure, was the look Cookie gave him.

  She stuck her finger in her ear and wiggled.

  The next morning at breakfast, everyone’s concerns were aired out in an appropriate forum, meaning that there was lots of yelling, red faces, and hand-waving.

  “Those bones were evidence,” Grant cried, showing temper for the first time. “What if they were the key to solving this case?”

  “We already know who did it,” said Mom. “We know it’s the Root of All Evil. It’s just a matter of proving it and discovering their motivation.”

  “Our lives were in danger. We did the only thing we could do to save them,” said Meg.

  “Did you dump the water all around the mansion?” Grant asked tiredly.

  “Of course we did. How else would it work as a protective measure?” my mom asked. “This is a business. We can’t have the Root of All Evil attacking skeletons; they’re part of the haunted house.”

  “They’re going to keep attacking unless I complete this investigation successfully, and the only way I’m going to do that is with your cooperation, which I’m not getting,” Grant said, setting his jaw stubbornly.

  “You’ll solve it, don’t worry,” Cookie said, patting his hand comfortingly.

  I watched Grant get control of himself, and with an effort he managed to calm down a little. He was usually so quiet and reserved that his outburst made me realize that he really cared about solving the case, it wasn’t just a job to him.

  “Can you please show me exactly where the ghost was?” he asked, returning to his usually polite tone.

  “I sure can,” said Cookie cheerily. “Anything to make you happy.”

  “I highly doubt that,” Lark muttered.

  “It was really stupid of you,” said Lizzie. “Yo
u should’ve waited for us to get back.”

  “You think we can’t take care of ourselves?” Lark asked.

  My brother, Kip, and Corey winced, knowing that Lizzie shouldn’t have been so critical. Lizzie, as usual, either didn’t realize it or didn’t care. And in any case, she wasn’t the only one ready to get on our case.

  “I’m not so sure you can take care of yourselves against an opponent like this. You may not understand how dangerous he is,” Kip lectured.

  “I may not understand what? I actually saw that ghost out the window,” Lark insisted, “and you didn’t. I can take care of myself just fine, thank you very much. We’re perfectly capable witches, and the fact that we’re not out there on patrol like you lot doesn’t mean we couldn’t be.”

  “No need to be so sensitive,” said Lizzie.

  “I’m sensitive like a rock,” Pep retorted.

  “Nerves of steel,” grinned Lark. “You should know how it feels. That’s what your head’s made of.”

  Lizzie threw down her napkin and pushed her chair back quickly and loudly, her face whitening. “Fine. Don’t take my advice. I’m only trying to help.” She tossed her luxurious hair over her shoulder and stormed out of the room.

  “You just had to bait her?” Corey asked.

  “How did you get so good at it?” Cam asked.

  “It just comes naturally,” said Lark.

  “I’ve been practicing for a long time,” said Pep.

  Now it was my turn to push my chair back. This weekend was Meg’s party, and the grand opening of the season for our SpookyBooSpectacular. Either event alone would have meant a lot of pressure and a lot of work; having them come right on top of each other was almost more daunting than I could contemplate. Having guests on a regular night was one thing, but the SpookyBooSpectacular would at least double the number of customers we’d have flowing in and out of the haunted house.

  I wondered how much was going to go wrong.

  Knowing this family, a lot.

  I tried to focus on the finishing touches we were working on for the grand opening, but with the smell of cake permeating the house I could barely concentrate for wanting to go eat chocolate.

  “This is going to be the best-looking SpookyBooSpectacular ever. All of us put so much work into it,” said Lark.

  We planned to release several owls that night, so I knew Rose would go into hiding—she had threatened to retreat to my room—because owls were dangerous to cats. There were also going to be extra bats on hand, and we had all the ghosts and skeletons we’d need.

  We would all be in costume, and Meg and Audrey would take turns minding the gift shop. Since Pep was younger, it made more sense that she should do the hard work of managing the haunted house while they could sit behind a counter and sell goods.

  “How many people are coming to the SpookyBooSpectacular?” I asked.

  “Lots,” said Lark. “I heard the Chief of Investigators telling someone at the market that they were going to patrol, just in case. They think most of the bed and breakfasts around here are going to be full of people coming to enjoy the event. It’s going to be crazy.”

  “We have to go all out with the costumes,” said Pep.

  “We just have to be careful not to become part of the haunted house ourselves,” said Meg, coming up to us with a smile.

  “Do you remember a couple of years ago when the SpookyBooSpectacular went totally wrong?” Pep said.

  “How can we forget that?” said Lark.

  I shook my head. “I must have been when I was still in college.”

  “Oh, it was a whole to-do at the time. It was these two guys in their twenties who got stressed out when they saw the vampires. They freaked out and somehow managed to escape Cam, who was leading their group through the haunted house. They thought it was such a good haunted house that they tried to become part of it and scare people themselves. Needless to say, the supernaturals weren’t happy about that development.”

  “That’s ridiculous,” I said. “Did you get to them before the vampires did?”

  “Yeah, but barely,” said Pep, shivering.

  “They were confused about why we seemed to think it was a life or death matter. I don’t think they realized that their lives were at stake. Literally.”

  “Did you explain it to them?” I asked.

  “Mom tried, but it’s not as if they had any idea what was really going on,” said Lark.

  “That’s just as well, obviously,” I said. “Shall we do the hay bales next?”

  We spent the afternoon rolling hay bales out of the barn and pulling them into bits to scatter over the lawn. Then we added more fake gravestones and cobwebs. After that we tried to come up with a good excuse to go into the kitchen, but Audrey wasn’t having it.

  “The smell of cake is so strong I can’t stand it,” Pep moaned. “How long until dinner?”

  Audrey went over to the kitchen sink to wash something as we were about to leave. “That’s funny,” she said.

  “What?” I asked, turning back.

  “There doesn’t appear to be any hot water,” she said.

  Pep, Lark, and I spread out to different bathrooms and tried various faucets, but there was no hot water in any of them.

  “We’ll have to fix this on the double,” said Pep as we reconvened in the cheery kitchen.

  But just then the sound of yelling split the air. The three of us exchanged looks and Lark said, with a little smirk of satisfaction,” Lizzie must be trying to shower.”

  “So, we can wait a little while to fix it,” I said, grinning. “But what could have happened to the hot water?”

  “A couple of things,” said Audrey. She was making bread. The counter was covered in flour and she was using the dough to clean it up as she talked. “It could be something wrong with the pipes, which would probably be serious, or maybe something went wrong with the boiler, which might be easier to fix.”

  “Where’s the boiler?” Lark asked.

  Audrey hesitated and Pep said, “In the basement.”

  My heart started to thump faster and harder.

  “You’ll need to get your mother,” said Audrey, who had gone back to cooking, not to be deterred for long. “She’ll know best how to handle this.”

  “Okay, I’ll get her,” said Lark, heading outside.

  Meg and my mother were working on the grounds, feverishly trying to get all the decorations in place.

  “I’ll go with you,” said Pep to Lark. They she turned to look over her shoulder at me. “Hold the fort till we get back?”

  Part of me whispered that I shouldn’t go looking for trouble, but another part was saying I should go down to the basement myself and get some answers. And this was the perfect opportunity; I even had an excuse. The Down Below crowd couldn’t possibly be angry if the boiler was broken and one of us had to come fix it. We couldn’t very well expect them to do it for us.

  My mind raced, trying to think of an excuse for not getting Mom. But before I could think of anything plausible, I saw something blond marching across the backyard.

  “Lizzie’s already on it,” said Lark.

  “She looks like a wet rat,” I said.

  “She couldn’t finish her shower,” said Pep as the four of us stared out the window.

  Given how immense our property was and how busy Meg and my mom were, it would take Lizzie a long time to find them, which left us a little window of time to do what we had to do.

  “We should get back to work,” I said.

  Audrey should have been suspicious of my tone, but she was too busy making sure her bread was rising properly and just nodded absently without looking up.

  I glanced up at one of the cabinets and saw a pair of blue eyes looking down on me. It was Rose, surveying the room, and I had the distinct impression that she was shaking her head directly at me. She wasn’t supposed to be in the kitchen in the first place, and Audrey had no idea she was there, so I shook my head back at the white animal in r
eturn.

  Lark saw where my eyes were going and snorted. Rose was sitting above the stove on a shelf that held a variety of boxes, and she wasn’t easy to spot. It was also the warmest spot in the kitchen, a feature which, coupled with the delicious aromas, explained her presence there.

  Crazy cat.

  Carefully, so as not to draw Audrey’s attention and have her order us to stay away from Down Below, we left the kitchen.

  Someone had to go to the basement, and that someone was me.

  Chapter Nineteen

  We didn’t waste any time, above all because the hot water was off and that wasn’t good, even when it wasn’t winter. Fall was still cold in Maine, and Uncle Taft needed his warm bath, not to mention Cookie and the rest of us. Cookie had enough temper to keep her steaming for hours, but I knew that if I waited to go Down Below, my brother or Kip or even Grant would come and stop me. My mother also wouldn’t be pleased. None of us had been Down Below in years, and for good reason.

  “This is NOT a good idea,” said Pep, staring at the basement door.

  She stood on my left while Lark flanked my right, for all the world as if they were my bodyguards.

  Which they weren’t.

  “We need to go down there,” I said firmly. “Something is going on here, and it doesn’t bode well. And I have a feeling it’s all emanating from Down Below.”

  “You really think so?” Lark asked.

  “Where else could it be coming from?” I said. “They’re lawless down there, and they have no use for us. My best guess is that they want to drive us out and take over the haunted house for themselves.”

  I had long suspected something like that, and the attacks on the skeletons were only strengthening my hunch.

  “The Root of All Evil are in our own basement?” Pep whispered.

  “As close as they can be,” I said grimly.

  “We’re going with you,” said Lark firmly.

  “No way,” I shook my head. “There’s no reason all three of us should risk our necks.”

  “Staying here is just as risky for us,” Lark pointed out. “If your mom comes back and finds out we let you go, she’ll never forgive us.”