***
“Did you find them?” Rex asked as he hopped up onto the counter next to the refrigerator.
“Got ‘em.”
“And you remembered the mini binoculars?”
“Got ‘em.”
“Then let’s go see what ole Walter is up to.”
Chuckling, I slipped out the side door in the kitchen and trotted over to the teal and white Chevy Bel Air convertible. A part of me was terrified to take it out at night, but the other part of me was excited to drive such an amazing automobile.
As I slid behind the wheel and saw the column shifter, I sent a quick thank you out to fellow witch, Mariana, for teaching me how to drive a stick.
“It’s a quarter to ten,” I said. “You keep a watch out for Walter driving by while I duck down in the front seat. Once he’s past, I’ll follow. I can’t turn on my headlights until we get out onto the road going into town, so keep an active watch.”
“Ten-four. You lay low and—” He broke off and pointed. “Oops. There he goes now!”
Turning the key over, I put the car in reverse and slowly backed out of the driveway. Walter was near the entrance of the subdivision when he suddenly turned left.
“He’s staying around here?” Rex said. “I didn’t realize there were that many buildings in the subdivision.”
I hadn’t either. I stayed at the end of the driveway for a few seconds, listening to both my instincts and the air around me. “Look!” A car pulled into the subdivision while another car from the first street over headed toward the small cluster of businesses.
“It might be dark out,” I said, pulling the convertible back up the driveway, “but this car is recognizable. I may need to park and just hoof it.”
I shut off the engine and pocketed the keys. I really didn’t want to run in the flats, but I didn’t have tennis shoes handy.
“We may not need to hoof it after all,” Rex said. “Look over there!”
I glanced over to the Belmont yard and saw Rosie’s little red and white bike. “That’s a kid’s bike! It still has training wheels on it!”
“It’s better than running! And it has a basket for me to sit in while you do all the work.”
I rolled my eyes and jogged across the street. “Of course you’d like that.”
Pushing the bike off the grass, I waited for Rex to settle down in the basket before dropping the binoculars next to him. “Do you know how long it’s been since I rode a bike?”
“Good thing the training wheels are still on then!” Rex chortled. “I can’t wait to tell this story to the grandkids!”
“Hush up!” I lowered myself down onto the seat then immediately had to move my arms because my knees were hitting them. “This is ridiculous.”
“Just hurry or we’re gonna miss everything!”
I doubted it, but I slowly pushed off and brought my feet up to the pedals. As I neared the end of the street where we’d need to turn left, I had a sudden panic.
“Um, where are the brakes?” I gripped my hands around the handles, but there wasn’t anything there. “How do you stop?”
“How would I know? Rats don’t ride bikes!”
“Omigosh! Omigosh! Omigosh!” It was either do or die. Well, maybe die was a slight exaggeration, but not by much. I either had to slow the bike down and turn, or figure out a way to totally stop the bike and turn, because if I tried to turn going as fast as we were going, we’d flip and roll. And I didn’t dare use my magic…it was too erratic when I was stressed.
I lifted my feet off the pedals and carefully lowered them to the street. Luckily the bottoms of my flats were slick enough to slide along down the road, giving me enough traction to eventually stop.
“If we keep working together,” Rex said as he popped up out of the basket, “I’m going to need better life insurance!”
I was about to tell him to bite me, when more headlights headed our way. “Let’s hide behind these bushes until a little after ten. With all these cars, it’s not going to be hard to find their meeting place. Someone catches a full-grown woman riding a kid’s bike with training wheels after dark, and the police will be called.”
“Maybe you can try and outrun the fuzz like that Greaser kid!”
“Maybe you can be quiet and let me think.”
“Don’t hurt yourself, Lexi!”
I counted to five, doing my best to ignore Rex. I needed to regroup and focus on what I had to do next. So far my plan had changed twice in less than five minutes. I hated that. I wasn’t the type of witch who did well flying by the seat of her broomstick. I liked to formulate a plan and stick to it. Usually it didn’t happen that way, but it was a goal.
When I was pretty sure at least five minutes had passed, I picked the bike up out of the bushes and pedaled toward what constituted as the downtown. I stuck to the sidewalks just in case I needed to hide in an alleyway. I passed the library, the grocery store, a women’s clothing store, a pharmacy, and an ice cream shop. No cars in sight.
I pedaled all the way down to the end of the road. There were signs of new roads being built, along with bare bones of buildings and houses, but that was it. The area was mostly still surrounded by trees and dirt. I was about to give up when I caught taillights in the trees.
“There must be a path up ahead big enough for a car,” I said.
Giving me a hard push off, I started pedaling over to where I saw the taillights. Sure enough, about ten feet past the first row of trees, a path opened up wide enough to drive through.
“Let’s ditch the bike and walk from here,” I said, leaning the bike against a nearby tree. “Surely the meeting place can’t be that much farther.”
“I hate to say this, but…we may need an orb.”
I stuck my tongue out at Rex as he leaped out of the basket. “I’ve been working on my orb spell. I think I almost have it down.”
That wasn’t at all the truth. My light spell was one of the worst spells I did. I could never figure out what I did wrong. I’d had Vee come over one night and practice with me, but even she couldn’t figure out why it was such a disaster.
Instead of a nice, round orb that gave off just enough light to help with sleuthing in dark places, I had orbs on crack. My orbs typically changed colors like a disco ball, sometimes they shot out little puffs of colored air, and sometimes they even shot out glitter that would disappear before it hit the ground. And even once, my orb had shot off little mini fireworks. Not good for stealth-mode operations.
We stuck as close to the path as possible, yet far enough away we could dash behind a tree if a car came down the narrow road. After a couple minutes, I stopped and pointed. “I think I see something up ahead.”
“Lights! Lights! We need it, Lexi!”
Whispering the spell, I waved my hand and conjured up a light orb…sort of. This little ball was more cubed than round. But if that was all it did, I’d be happy with it.
We were almost upon the barn when the orb suddenly started convulsing, causing sparks of blue, red, green, and purple to shoot out of it.
“Crap!” I whispered. “We should be fine as long as it doesn’t play music like that one time.”
Chapter 14
I could make out about ten cars parked in front of a dilapidated wooden barn. The sliding doors were cracked just enough to see light inside. I tried to calm the flutter in my stomach, but I knew this could potentially be one of my most dangerous missions yet. I’d learned about the Cold War and the Red Scare in school, and the dissension it caused in the United States. If I were caught out here, in what I suspected was some kind of clandestine zealot meeting, it might not end well for me. After all, as far as Walter knew, I was an immigrant from the Soviet Union. And he’d made it clear he didn’t like “my kind.”
I slipped the infrared binoculars out of my pocket and zeroed in on the door. “There doesn’t look to be anyone standing guard. I didn’t want to risk our lives trying to eavesdrop until I was sure the coast was clear.”
Suddenly t
he orb started spitting out glitter bombs instead of the multi-colored sparks. Same colors, just different display.
“I think the orb plays off your emotions.”
I was so caught up in my thoughts about how next to proceed, I almost didn’t hear Rex. “What?”
“The orb. I think it plays off your emotions. I can tell you’re worried. So can the orb. I watched the light as you thought about your next move, and what you didn’t see was that at one point it turned all brown, then another time it actually zoomed around me and darted into the trees before coming back. Now it’s throwing off glitter. The reason you can’t control the spell is because it’s somehow connected to your emotions.”
“Wow.” I shoved the tiny binoculars down into my pocket. “I don’t know how we all missed that.”
Rex puffed out his chest. “I’m an observant rat! Now, let’s get proof of this meeting and split.”
I looked at the orb. It was now just one color, although it still shot out puffs of glitter. I’d take it.
We crept up to the barn doors, and I pressed my eye against the small gap. I had no idea who anyone was except for Walter. He was standing toward the back holding a beer and laughing with a group of men. A row of wooden chairs sat in the middle of the barn. A few seconds later, an older gentleman walked to the middle and raised his hands.
“Silence!” he shouted. “We’re ready to start.”
They all took a seat.
“Everyone here and accounted for?” the leader asked.
A man who looked like all the others—slicked back hair, white shirt, khaki pants, and bland tie—stood. “Yes, sir. Everyone is here and accounted for.”
“Good. Any new order of business?”
Walter stood and faced the seated men. “We got us another Soviet spy in the neighborhood staying with Maggie Ellington.”
The men started chattering amongst themselves until the leader lifted his hand again. “Silence! Who is this spy?”
Walter scowled. “It’s the sister to Sissy Ivanova, the nosy woman who killed herself two weeks ago.”
“Why is she here?” someone demanded.
“I don’t know yet,” Walter admitted. “I assume she’s doing what her sister did…spying on everyone in the neighborhood to see who she can convert to Communism.”
If I wasn’t certain Cliff Belmont was the killer, that statement alone would have me taking a good hard look at Walter Smith. This man was poison. He needed to be stopped soon before he did something dangerous. If he thought Maggie was housing “spies,” goodness only knew how long it would be before he and this group tried to put a stop to it. I knew from accounts in history that there didn’t even have to be real proof to call someone a Communist or Communist Supporter and they’d lose their business and social standing. I didn’t want that for Maggie.
“Keep an eye on her,” the leader said. “Report back to us at the next meeting if we need to put her on the list.”
“What list? That don’t sound good!” Rex said.
“I’m sure it’s some type of hit list,” I whispered.
“What else?” the leader asked.
Walter sat down when another portly man stood. He took off his glasses, untucked his shirt, wiped them off, then stuck them back on his round face. “A new family moved into the south side of Roseville three weeks ago. I was made aware of him and went to pay him a visit. The man claimed to be an American and says he even fought two years ago in the Korean War, but I ain’t sure exactly which side it was for, if ya get my meanin’? He needs watching.”
I gasped as all the heads in the room nodded in agreement. “My gosh, this is like some kind of profiling group. These men are spying on the citizens of Roseville and those living in Oakdale Estates, and keeping a list of those they feel are Communists or a threat of some kind.”
“Let’s get our proof and get out of here. I don’t have a good feeling.”
I carefully backed away from the barn doors and stepped into the shadows. “How are we going to get proof? This isn’t modern times. I can’t just snap a picture with my camera phone.”
Rex paced back and forth then snapped his paw. “I got it. Most of these car windows are rolled down. I’ll try and find a pen and paper. You write down types of cars and license plates.”
“Great idea.”
As Rex ran off to find a pen and paper, I hunkered down behind the first car and waited for him to return. A few seconds later he carried a pencil larger than him high above his head.
“I found a piece of paper, but I couldn’t carry both. Be right back.”
I grabbed the pencil as he shot off again, only to return a few seconds later with a piece of paper. “I don’t know why I didn’t think to bring the journal. Or at least a piece of paper from the journal.”
“Keeps me young running around and picking up your slack!”
“Funny. Okay, give me a few minutes to write this information down. There’s only like three or four numbers and letters on the license plates, so it shouldn’t take long.”
I was almost to the last car when Rex’s whiskers twitched. “You smell that?”
“No.”
“I smell food. I can always smell food.”
I rolled my eyes. “I wrapped leftovers in a napkin for you earlier, I just forgot to bring it. I’m on the last car, give me a minute. When we get home you can eat.”
“I know where it’s coming from,” he said. “Be right back.”
Before I could yell at him to stop, he shot off to one of the cars in the row. I’d just finished copying down the last make, model, and license plate when I heard a noise. A noise that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
Shoving the paper in my front pocket, I pitched the pencil into the trees, and was about to shout out to Rex and extinguish the light orb when I caught sight of him running toward me on his hind feet, his belly jiggling up and down. At the same time, the barn doors opened and someone stepped outside.
“Who’s out here?” a male voice yelled.
I ducked behind a car, extinguished the light, and searched wildly for Rex. He came to a sliding halt at my feet, panting hard. The dog’s bark was getting louder, and I knew any minute the hound would be upon me.
“Run! Get in the trees and run! I’ll meet you at the end of the trail where the bike is as fast as I can!”
“I can’t leave y—”
“Go! I got this! These men will kill you if they find you. Go!”
He didn’t need to tell me again. Peeking up over the trunk of the car I was hiding behind, I watched as one by one the men walked outside.
“Johnson, is that your dog?” the leader shouted.
“Yep. Something must have scared her.”
The dog’s bark stopped, then picked up again, this time heading away from me, toward the back of the barn. When all the men hurried after the dog, I bolted for the trees. Once I was deep enough in the thickness, I again conjured up a light orb. This time it flashed between dark purple and a deep crimson. I was scared and the orb knew it.
I kept running, even though I could no longer hear the dog barking. Just when I thought I was lost, I burst out of the clearing and onto the paved street. Leaning against the tree was Rosie’s bike.
I extinguished the orb and hopped on the bike. I was about to pedal away into a shadowed area to wait for Rex when I heard shouting.
“Wait for me, Lexi! Wait for me!”
Relief washed over me, and I almost wept. Instead, I reached down and scooped Rex up, deposited him in the basket, and pedaled home as fast as my legs would take us.
Chapter 15
“Are you sure you don’t mind me taking your car?” I asked as Maggie handed me a coffee cup the next morning.
“Of course not. It’s why I offered it.”
When Rex and I had returned home last night, I made sure to put the keys back exactly where they were so Maggie would never know I’d planned on borrowing it. Same thing with Rosie’s bike. I set it exact
ly where it was before I appropriated it.
“Thank you.” I took a sip of my coffee and wondered how to approach the next subject. I hadn’t even told Rex what I was about to do. Usually he was in the kitchen before me, stuffing food in his face, but not today. “Maggie, you remember I said I was going to look for Sissy’s journal?”
“Uh-huh.” Maggie was focused on buttering her toast, not really paying me any attention.
“I found it.”
Maggie’s eyes snapped up and the knife clattered against the table. “You did? Did you read it? Did it say who killed her?”
I shook my head. “No. I mean yes, I read it, but no it didn’t say who killed her. I’d like to share it with you if you don’t mind.”
Tears filled her eyes, and a couple slid down her cheek before she brushed them aside. “Please. I’d like to see it.”
I ran upstairs, waved the bedroom door open, and slid inside the room. Only to come to a crashing halt. When Rex had asked me this morning to put some hot water in a bowl for him, I didn’t think much about it. Now I should have.
“What are you doing?” I waved my hand behind me, closing the bedroom door in case Maggie followed me upstairs.
Rex popped open one eye. “I’m taking a bath. What does it look like?”
“In a bowl? That’s disgusting! I’m sure I’ll eat out of that bowl before I leave here!”
“Simmer down, princess. I gotta stay clean and sexy.” He grabbed a piece of day-old meat off the dresser and nibbled on it. “Sexy Rexy used to be my nickname. Did ya know that? Huh? Huh?”
I wanted to say something snarky, but I couldn’t form the words. Instead, I could only stare dumbfounded at him, eating while bathing.
“I need a drink. Or soap in my eyes. Something to get this image out of my brain.”
“Pipe down, witch. Now, why’re you here interruptin’ my bath time?”
“Right. I came to fetch the journal. I told Maggie about it just now.”
“You did what?”
Rex sat up in the bowl, causing some of the water to slosh out onto the dresser. It also caused the water to dip dangerously low in the tub. I knew if I saw a naked Rex, I’d need therapy for years. Even if it was just a metaphorical naked.
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