Make-Believes & Lost Memories

by Rachael Stapleton

  Shae was now in the kitchen, investigating whatever had made the noise. Mallory could see her but she moved closer to Kaden to see if she could unlock the handcuffs. They needed strength in numbers.

  No sooner had Mallory made it to Kaden then Shae yelled to stop! She turned and pointed the gun at them.

  The room stilled. Mallory’s mind raced with what to do. Suddenly, a grey blur streaked from the side, distracting the woman.

  Bakalo!

  The cat raked Shae’s arm with his claws, causing her to turn. In her patented move, Eve leapt from behind the door and onto Shae’s back—just as she had done to Mallory in Elsa’s house, this time knocking Shae to her knees. The gun flew out from her hands and landed across the floor. Eve wrangled her to the ground. Shae struggled to turn over and Eve punched with her fist. There was a fire in Eve’s eyes that Mallory had never seen before. Now Mallory knew why she was Penny’s right-hand woman.

  33

  E VE stood up and faced the gang in some sort of superhero costume, dusting her hands off while Shae lay flat on her back. “All in a day’s work.” She grinned, setting both hands on her hips in a Superman pose.

  “What are you doing here?”

  Eve nodded. “I saw Shae’s last vlog: Exposing the Secrets of Caravan Manor—that girl is off her nut. You know she showed your secret bookcase tunnel off to the world.” She ran over to them. “Thank God, I made it in time.”

  Nana looked at her. “What’s with the outfit?”

  Even for Eve’s eccentric style, not to mention her penchant for leopard print, the latex catsuit was a little much.

  “Don’t ask.” She fumbled with the cuffs on Kaden’s wrists. Her suit squeaked as she moved and Mallory privately wondered how she’d managed to creep in so quietly.

  “Seriously, Eve, what the hell are you wearing? And why are there caterpillars on your face?” Kaden asked.

  “Those are wavy eyebrows and they’re very in style right now.” Eve winked at Danior. “Anyway, what’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”

  Mallory raised one eyebrow in Danior’s direction. There was clearly an inside joke happening that Mallory was not privy to. “Do you know why she’s dressed like this?”

  Danior smiled and shrugged.

  “Oh fine, I’ll tell you," Eve said, “It’s just… I was taping a superhero segment for my Youtube channel.”

  Nana and Mallory looked at each other in sheer confusion.

  “You have a Youtube channel too? Is Youtube like the new black or something?” Mallory asked.

  Eve shrugged, “My vlogs focus on fashion, lifestyle, roleplay and paranormal occurrences.”

  “She has a million subscribers.” Danior added.

  “People actually want your fashion advice? Why didn’t you tell us?” Mallory asked.

  “I don’t have to tell you everything. I have enough fangirls as it is. I even had a bit of a stalker situation happening with some pathetic young thing named Lisemethemoney. Poor girl, she just loved my Rappin’ Granny vlog.”

  Mallory bit her lip, “You know Lisemethemoney is our front desk hostess, right?”

  “What? No.”

  Mallory burst out laughing. “Yes and what is Rappin’ Granny? Please tell me there was no twerking in this clip?”

  “Twerking, no, perhaps a little torqueing. I’m an excellent gift wrapper but it really takes some elbow grease to break records. It was one of my Christmas segments. I was competing against one of the new mommy bloggers, Cat Evans from Cats Got Your Young. She thinks she’s so great just ‘cause her kids sleep at night. Like hello, mine did too… that’s what whisky on the gums is for.”

  Mallory nodded and then noticed Simza’s spirit hovering near the door. She suddenly remembered what her great grandmother had shown her in her vision. “Oh my goodness, we have to get out of here,” She said, and began herding the gang to the door. The spell had a trigger system, and they had only minutes left before it shattered the mirror like a bomb, leaving shrapnel in everyone near it. “Hurry,” she whispered under her breath.

  Mallory’s heart skipped as they crept past Shae’s body on the kitchen floor. Shae stirred as she pushed the gang out the front door. Bakalo raced through at the last minute and her hands shook as she twisted the old fashioned skeleton key, locking Shae inside like a prisoner in a jail cell. The door even had a little speakeasy style portal window so she could still see her.

  “How does it feel?” Jilli called out, but she was weak and fell forward. Kaden scooped her up into his arms and readied himself to sprint.

  “Go!” Mallory said to him, then she turned back toward Shae who had moved to get the gun. “I’d stay away from that mirror if I were you,” she yelled back through the peep hole in the door.

  “Malhala! Come on.” Nana shouted from just ahead.

  “Where are you all going? What’s the hurry? You can’t escape me. I know where you live,” Shae said, walking toward her. “I can shoot the lock off, Mallory, and when I do, you’ll be sorry. I’ll never stop!”

  Mallory stared at her, transfixed. She’d seen the visions, there would be no saving her. Shae was a monster like her mother and father, how had she ever liked her?

  “I know you won’t stop, Shae. That’s why I can’t save you,” Mallory said, shaking her head with finality.

  For a split second she saw the surprise in Shae’s eyes before she turned and ran. There would be no time for her to get to her gun. Mallory had seen her future; Shae had no idea it was ending.

  “Run!” Mallory caught up to Danior and Nana, grabbed Nana’s hand and dragged her to the end of the tunnel. Kaden ran just ahead of them, carrying Jilli to the sofa in the parlour.

  Mallory had barely made it back into the library when the mirror exploded.

  No regular person would have felt the blast but Mallory’s ears were ringing and she knew the portal was forever closed. She must have passed out because she felt her body being pulled up off the library floor. “I’m so sorry, Mal. I couldn’t tell you without blowing my cover.”

  “Cover?” Mallory questioned. Kaden was holding her tight.

  “We’ve been on to them for a while. Cody knows too. That’s why I transferred to Bohemian Lake. Sebastian, his daughter, Shae and his ex-wife were into a lot of bad things. We knew he had an obsession with you and I’m sorry that we essentially used you as bait, but we didn’t know how else to catch him. That’s why I was always around. We knew he was in contact with Elsa Dustfeather and that it was only a matter of time until he made his move.”

  Mallory wrapped her arms tight around Kaden, “It’s fine. I’m just glad you weren’t really the bad guy. You really scared me.”

  “Apparently. So, was it true what you said back there?” Kaden smiled.

  “I don’t know. It could have been the adrenaline. Are you planning to leave Bohemian Lake now?”

  “Would that make a difference?”

  “Absolutely. I’m not cut out for long-distance relationships, which is most likely why Daemon and I aren’t working out right now.”

  Kaden nodded. “That, or maybe you’ve been in love with someone else the whole time.”

  Mallory closed her eyes, feeling herself wrapped in his embrace. She didn’t know what she wanted, Kaden or Daemon. She really didn’t know either of them that well, but it was kind of exciting to think of the possibilities. One of them was for her; after all, Nana’s cards had predicted it the weekend of Danior’s birthday party. Her soulmate was to be there that weekend, and so they both were.

  She let go of Kaden and walked over to where her mother, Nana and Danior were huddled, pretending not to eavesdrop. “We made it.” She said, as she hugged them. Shae was gone, taking with her a nightmare that would remain forever in the past. But what had happened to their true enemy, Seb? Mallory’s eyes met the other women’s, and she knew they were thinking the same thing.

  Epilogue

  M ALLORY smelled the rosemary and garlic before she even reached the top
of the third flight of stairs. It never failed to surprise her how the aroma of Nana’s Sunday night dinner could transport her back to her childhood. All she had to do was close her eyes and all of the images she’d once forgotten would materialize.

  Nana was hovering over the gas stove just like Mallory knew she would be, finishing up the gravy while Danior was mashing the potatoes. The steam from the potatoes had caused little tendrils of hair to stick to her face. She swiped one away with the back of her hand and peeked at Mallory over her shoulder.

  Jilli was clearly hot as well. She’d stripped down to a tank top already—her lean, muscular frame on display as she carved the meat. It looked as if she hadn’t aged a day since she went missing.

  Nana wiped her hands on the apron tied around her waist. “Hi, sweetie. How were the guests doing tonight?”

  The faint smell of something sweet, mixed with chicken and cooked carrots, tickled her nose.

  “Good. The drama seems to have blown over. Everyone’s back in vacation mode. We still have two openings to fill for next month but we’ve had some inquiries already.”

  “You’re not still upset with me for erasing your memories, are you?” Nana said, stepping back and placing her arm around her shoulder. “We can talk about it, if you are.”

  “I’m okay. The memories are coming back now and I get why you did it. I only wish we could have saved Dad too.”

  “I know, my sweet girl. Me too.” Jilli whispered.

  With her arm still draped around her shoulder, Nana shut off the burner to the gravy. “Let’s eat before this gravy burns.” She gave Mallory a light squeeze.

  “Sure. What can I do to help?”

  “Take this,” Jilli said, waving Mallory to the island with a covered dish. She went to the oven and began compiling the other dishes.

  “What are we having?” Mallory asked, pulling out a stool and sitting.

  “Roasted paprika chicken, potatoes and parsnips—oh and your mother’s favourite, of course,” Nana said with a quick grin. “Rosemary, Dill, and Bacon Manriklo.”

  “Yum. Bread is life,” Mallory said, her mouth watering as she thought of Nana’s pan-fried bread sprinkled with gruyere cheese. “So, now what?” Mallory asked. “We go back to normal?”

  “Well, I’d hardly call you girls normal,” Nana said draping her arm over Mallory’s chair.

  “Right. We have some special talents that we can’t ignore,” Mallory said taking a bite of chicken.

  “Yeah, we should work on harnessing them, I guess,” Jilly said, “we don’t even know what to expect yet with Danior.”

  “Oh, by the way, Doc called,” Nana said in an even voice and set her plate in front of Mallory.

  “Everything okay?” Mallory asked cautiously.

  “Yes,” she said, removing her cherry red apron and hanging it on a nearby hook. “He said the tox screen came back from my stay and it seems someone slipped me something. That’s why I passed out.”

  Mallory felt her stomach turn.

  Nana saw her expression and gave Mallory a nervous look. “Come on, don’t look at me like that. I’m fine.”

  “Yeah, well, you could have died… like Raymond and Elsa,” Mallory said as her finger traced the pattern on the tablecloth. “And what does that mean.”

  Danior took a deep breath. “It means that bastard father of mine Seb tried to poison her.”

  “Now, now, language, my dear,” Nana chided as she took a seat across from Mallory at the table. “Quit worrying and eat. Your dinner will get cold.”

  Everything tasted as good as it smelled, but that didn’t stop Mallory’s stomach from knotting. “Do you guys think we need to send the guests home? I mean, Seb is still out there. I for one would like to go after him and get revenge. He killed my father and stole several years of our lives.”

  “You mustn’t think like that,” Jilli said. “Besides, I have a feeling we’ll be seeing him again someday … when the time is right.”

  Mallory and Danior both looked up suspiciously. “What exactly do you know, Mother?” Mallory asked.

  “Never mind about all that right now,” Nana said. “Cody called me last night, and he said a woman called and was asking a lot of questions about Shae’s disappearance… thanks to her You Tube … it seems our little abode was the last place she was seen. He said he’d take care of it but we need to be on our toes.”

  Danior piped up, “someone needs to tell the YouTube group she was with.”

  Mallory cut her eyes over to Nana. “I don’t know if we should say anything to anyone.” Mallory’s fork hesitated between the plate and her mouth. “We don’t even fully understand what happened? I couldn’t imagine trying to convince anyone of our innocence.”

  “Why don’t we ask Eve to handle them. She’s a big name in their community. I’m sure they’ll buy whatever she’s selling,” Danior suggested. “That reminds me, have you seen her latest video?” Danior pulled out her phone and cued up the video, Pranking your Besties. They weren’t five minutes in when Nana’s face turned beet red. “That had better not be my toothbrush?”

  Thanks for reading Make-Believes & Lost Memories. Keep your eyes open for the third book in the Haunted House Flippers series.

  In the mood for more Bohemian Lake stories? Check out my Bohemian Crossover Series: Penning Trouble and/or Haunted House Flippers.

  In the mood for some real time travel fiction? Check out my Time Traveling Bibliophile Series.

  About the Author

  Rachael Stapleton lives in a Second-Empire Victorian home with her husband and two children in Canada, where she dashes about aged wood, arched dormers and snowy hills, making up holiday themed whodunit stories.

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  Discover your next great series by Rachael!

   Time Traveling Bibliophile Series

   Penning Trouble Mysteries

   Haunted House Flippers Inc.

   Bohemian Murder Manor Mysteries

  Authors Note

  T HANK YOU for reading the second book in my Bohemian Murder Manor series, which also happens to by my sixth cozy mystery. Six! Can you believe it? Six cozy mysteries over the last nine months. I have been a busy girl, no wonder my eyes have been bothering me this week.

  If you want more, please be sure to review them on Amazon so I can afford to continue. Come and say hello on my Facebook page, Twitter or my website. I post teasers, new covers and offer up giveaways in my monthly newsletters. I also have a Facebook group called Rae’s Rabble Rousers where I interact with my fans. Psst… it’s also where I post all of my insider information and answer any and all fan questions.

  Now before I get back to writing my seventh cozy, I should probably say thank you to my good friend and talented editor, Susan Croft. She really outdid herself this time, the whole manuscript was bleeding with red pen. Very appropriate for a murder mystery, I think.

  I’d also like to thank my beta reader, Denise the ‘homonym hawk’ Howeth, and Mariah Sinclair, my cozy cover designer, and of course my readers and reviewers. As always, you make writing fun!

  With much gratitude,

  Rachael

 

 

 
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