The Rhinestone Witches Omnibus: Books 1-3

by Addison Creek

  Just before we left a stop, I remembered that I had wanted to visit the trolley company headquarters. Aware that Michael would be reluctant I said, “Can we make a stop that’s related to the case?”

  His eyes actually brightened. “All right. Jolly good.”

  “Let’s go,” I said, and we rushed off the trolley.

  The trolley company’s headquarters were nearby in a large, imposing building made of pale pink brick. The driveway was perfectly paved and so clear that I wondered if heat was rising from under the surface to melt the snow,.

  “What are we doing here?” Kelly asked.

  “I’d like to find out more about Sammy if we can,” I told them.

  As we walked toward the front entrance, a steady stream of colorful trolleys drove past us down a nearby road. The rainbow of colors came and went. On the other side of the building a steady stream of trolleys was entering.

  “This place is like a well run ship,” said Michael. Following his upward glance I saw only two owls dodging and weaving through the clouds, but Michael didn’t look concerned. The other six were surely close by.

  “Do we have a cover story?” Lowe asked.

  “No. I’ll think of something,” I muttered. My wrist and fingers kept tingling as though something was making me want to cast a spell. I hadn’t used any cauldron potions since Bethel had gone, and something was also making me think I should do more of that, and soon. Maybe, since Michael was coming over, we could perform some magic later. All we’d done recently was magic a bike because I was afraid of the neighbors.

  Rightfully so.

  We reached the large, heavy glass doors and I tugged one open with difficulty. Beyond it was a vast space with high ceilings and a round reception desk. Behind the desk sat an older woman, who glanced up at us and then went back to her typing. To the right I saw another enormous space that housed older-looking trolleys, which I assumed was the museum. To the left there was a closed white door marked, “Employees only.”

  “Michael?” I said quietly. “Do you think one of your owls would mind creating a diversion?”

  He glanced to the left, then to the right, requiring only a couple of seconds to understand what I was thinking. He smiled. “I think we could manage it,” he agreed, and stepped back outside.

  The woman behind the desk didn’t so much as glance up from her typing.

  Michael appeared again a moment later, throwing the door open wider than was necessary to come inside. Right before it should have closed, a large gray owl came soaring in.

  It took the receptionist until the owl was halfway across the wide space to notice him soaring toward the museum. She let out a shriek like you wouldn’t believe.

  The owl made it into the museum without interference

  The receptionist jumped up from her chair and went after him.

  The second she was out of sight Michael trotted around the desk and pressed a button. The door marked “Employees only” swung open.

  “Go,” he said. “We’ll wait here and convince her that there were only three of us to begin with. Be careful, though,” he cautioned.

  Lowe and Kelly raced for the museum entrance door. I knew they’d keep an eye on the receptionist and the owl. While the door to the work area was open I slipped through. The door closed silently behind me.

  I was on my own.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  The hallway was white and dimly lit, but an eerie glow came from somewhere ahead of me. The brick walls were thick enough so that at least I wouldn’t have to worry about anyone back here hearing the receptionist yelling at the gray owl.

  I hoped she wouldn’t try to cast any spells at him, but since I had a feeling Michael and the owl could deal with that on their own, I hurried as fast and as quietly as I could down the dim hallway. Sammy had just started working at the trolley company when she was murdered, so I might not even have come here if Mr. Fairview hadn’t shown up at the cottage. The trolley company people were clearly trying to protect themselves. But from what?

  As I walked quietly along, seeing no one, I reflected that this was possibly the most foolish thing I had ever done. It was definitely the most illegal.

  In front of me I heard the whirl and chug of engines. The good news was that the walls felt thick and solid. Just as no one would hear the receptionist, I wasn’t likely to be caught.

  Something gold glinted dully in front of me and a little to the right. When I came even with it, I found a plaque hanging on the wall.

  “Rolling Service means consistency and an avoidance of bums along the way” was etched in gold lettering onto a dark background.

  The plaque didn’t look new. I figured this must be the motto of Twinkleford Trolley.

  Looking further ahead, I saw a set of three doors at the end of the hallway. One of them said “Maintenance,” another “Offices,” and the last “Supplies.”

  I remembered that Pebbles had said something about Sammy liking the supply room worker, so I opened the door and slipped into the darkness. Maybe some of Sammy’s things had been left here, and might provide clues as to why she’d been murdered at our cottage.

  It wasn’t until I had closed the door behind me that I heard the sound of breathing nearby.

  I spun around.

  “Who’s there?” a gruff voice asked.

  “Um, my name is Jade,” I muttered.

  “Are you one of the new conductors?” the voice asked.

  “Um, yes,” I said. Maybe I could get away with this after all.

  The light came on and I nearly screamed.

  There was literally a bear wearing a suit standing in front of me. He had almond-shaped eyes and the lips and hands of a man, and he was standing behind a desk, behind which were endless rows and stacks of shelves filled to the brim with stuff I couldn’t make out in the dim light.

  “Interesting, because I know for a fact that there is no new trainee named Jade,” said the bear. Despite the fact that there was a counter between us, I felt him getting larger. The counter meant nothing. At a moment’s notice he could leap over it and all would be over.

  I swallowed hard. “Okay, I’m lying,” I said.

  “That was my point as well,” said the bear dryly.

  “I’m here with my friends. I was looking into Sammy’s murder,” I told him.

  “You’re one of those Rhinestones, aren’t you?” he demanded. His paws, or should I say hands, were still flat on the counter as if he wanted to be ready to spring over it at any moment.

  “Don’t look so surprised. Just because they’ve left me in a windowless room doesn’t mean I don’t know what’s going on,” he grumbled.

  “Sorry. Right, yes, I am Jade Rhinestone. Sammy was murdered at our cottage, so I thought I’d best look into it a little. Snoop, if you will,” I added for no good or sane reason.

  The bear brushed his bushy eyebrow. Yeah, he had those too. I was utterly confused as to what he was. “Isn’t the sheriff looking into it?” he asked.

  “Yeah, he is. He’s made an arrest,” I said.

  “I heard about that, too. Lester is a cousin of mine. Wouldn’t hurt a scorpion, let alone a fly, much less commit murder. Maybe he’s not that good a sheriff,” mused the bear.

  Well, I couldn’t let that stand. “He’s a great sheriff,” I scoffed. “He works hard and he always solves cases!”

  The bear ignored me. “Lester didn’t do it. I suppose if you’re looking into who did, I can’t fault you for that. Besides, I’m not in love with this job by any means,” he continued.

  “Did you know Sammy?” I asked.

  The bear sighed. “I met her a couple of times. She was nice. She came down here to get her supplies for being a conductor. Everyone does. She noticed that I was all alone in this windowless room. She visited a couple of times in the next few days. I’m pretty certain she felt sorry for me. That wasn’t what I wanted at all, of course. Still, she was a nice kid. Brought me coffee. Definitely can’t see any reason
why she’d get killed,” he said.

  “What about the trolley company?” I asked. I had moved inch by inch toward the counter. I didn’t want to bolt, but I sure was tempted.

  “What about them?” the bear asked.

  “Are they good to work for?” I said.

  “They’re okay. They run a tight ship. We pride ourselves on service. It’s in our contract, so we can’t very well fail at it, you know?” he said.

  I chewed my lip. There didn’t seem to be any clues here. “Was Sammy friends with any of the other conductors?”

  “Maybe. She came in here once with someone. I can’t remember who. Might have been Old Whalen, the conductor who usually does the day service to Midnight. He had a granddaughter who moved across the country. I think he missed the company,” he said.

  “Can you think of any reason someone would want Sammy dead?” I said.

  “She was nice, like I said. I wouldn’t be surprised if she got herself into a spot of trouble, though. She wasn’t born to be a train conductor. She was doing it because she needed money. There are illegal ways to earn money around here, as I’m sure you’ll be aware. Some of them are dangerous. That’s all I’m going to say,” he said.

  One thought had occurred to me a while ago and I’d been thinking about it ever since. A trolley conductor would be an excellent transporter of stolen goods. They already went all over town for their jobs.

  Now I just had to figure out a way to ask the question politely.

  “Is it possible that trolley conductors might be shifting merchandise for the black market?” I asked.

  The bear frowned. I only hoped he wouldn’t eat me for my impertinence.

  “What are you, a sales manager?,” he snorted. “Of course it’s possible. Don’t be naive. Trolley conductors are mostly a good lot, but a few aren’t. It’s like any job. There are some who’ve been here forever and some who circle in and out quickly. It’s pretty clear that a few are good eggs and a few would sell their mothers for an Eagle Owl feather.”

  I didn’t want to brag or anything, but I had seen an Eagle Owl at Michael’s once.

  “What did you say your name was again?” the bear asked.

  “Jade,” I said.

  “Right. Rhinestone. I shouldn’t be surprised that one of you showed up here. Always been an independent-minded lot. Much to the dismay of the powers that be,” he said.

  “Who are the powers that be?” I asked.

  “Oh, you know. The coven queens, for example. Plus some others who are less well known in public,” he mused.

  I wanted to push him on that point, but I didn’t dare. Instead, my nerves started dancing as the sound of yelling came suddenly from outside the room, and at the same moment a walkie-talkie buzzed next to the bear.

  He glanced at it, then picked it up and stepped away from me for the appearance, if not the reality, of privacy. I could hear the call perfectly well.

  “Code Blue. A loose animal in the museum. Someone with a net . . .” A crackling voice came across with news that was definitely my cue to leave.

  The bear’s expression didn’t change until he turned the walkie-talkie down again. “A loose animal in the museum. You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?” he asked.

  My nerves started dancing and I swallowed hard. “I might have a vague idea,” I said.

  He chuckled. “Very well then. Let’s see if we can’t get you out of here a safer way than the way you came in,” he offered

  He pointed to a side door, but at first I hesitated. There could be anything on the other side of that door: flesh-eating slugs, monsters, rats with pickle-colored eyes. Really, anything. Why I couldn’t imagine good things, like a basket of puppies, I wasn’t certain.

  “Don’t be afraid, missy. I’m no fool and I don’t want your grandmother coming after me. I plan to live a good long life and not one that includes a giant mole on my face or anything similar,” said the bear.

  I frowned at him. “Why would you get a giant mole?”

  “I’d imagine that’s the least your grandmother would do if anything happened to you,” he said.

  It was interesting that even though Bethel Rhinestone wasn’t there in person, she was still having a strong impact on this case. She had influenced the judge in the courthouse, and now the bear was explaining that under no circumstances would he do anything to upset her. I was at least heartened to hear that I wasn’t alone in that assessment. Maybe someday I’d well and truly get to see Bethel in action.

  The only thing I found beyond the door was a corridor, better lit than the one I’d come through before but otherwise unremarkable. The bear led me down a couple of hallways to a door marked “Museum.”

  “On the other side of this door is the museum,” he said. “It sounds like there’s going to be a commotion, but this is my private entrance for coming and going with products and supplies as needed. There’s usually no one nearby. Just be careful.”

  “Thank you,” I said. Maybe I had been foolish to sneak through the door, but to my surprise, it had worked out just fine. So far.

  “Do you think Sammy could have been making money on the side in return for moving black market merchandise?” I asked.

  The bear squinted at me as if he was thinking hard. “If she was doing that, then she was foolish. Once you start trading on the black market, they never let you go,” he said.

  My mind flashed to Kyle. I sincerely hoped that wasn’t true.

  “Also, if she was trading illegally, she hadn’t been doing it for very long. She had only been here a short time before she died,” said the bear.

  He reached for the door handle and opened it, and I scurried through.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  To my surprise, the museum was empty. I glanced up at the high ceiling but saw no sign of a flying owl. Nor was there any trace of the unfriendly receptionist, or anyone else, for that matter. I kept moving back toward the main entrance, and as I got closer to it I finally heard voices.

  “I swear there was an owl! That’s why I called for help. He flew out the door right before you got here,” insisted a woman’s voice in a high-pitched whine.

  “How’d the owl get out the door then?” a gruff voice demanded.

  “Someone probably opened it. Maybe the fourth one. I swear there were four when they arrived,” she said.

  “Were there four of you?” the gruff voice demanded of someone.

  Kelly’s voice came back strong and clear. “I’m sure there weren’t. We saw an owl outside, where they belong, but certainly none in the building. Not to say that she’s wrong. We just cannot corroborate her account,” she finished. She sounded so measured and reasonable that it was impossible not to believe her, much to the dismay of the receptionist.

  “Anyway. We should be going.” That was Lowe’s voice. “We’ll come again another day to look at the museum. We can see that you’ve had an awful shock.”

  As I waited out of sight for a chance to leave, I looked around the museum again and saw something surprising. Among all the old trolleys on display, the biggest one was silver, not just the color of silver, but actually silver. Carved into its side was a pattern that looked an awful lot like unicorn horns.

  I took a deep breath and peered around the doorway into the reception area. My friends were just leaving. The guy talking to the receptionist was walking away. The receptionist herself picked up a bottle of water and made for another door behind the desk, a door that I hadn’t noticed before, marked “Bathroom.”

  The second she disappeared I made a run for it!

  The big main door was just closing as I snuck through it. A bitter wind met my face, and I had to struggle against it to start following my friends. Lowe, Kelly, and Michael were about ten paces ahead of me, while several owls were soaring overheard, including one that was big and gray and another that was speckled.

  After a few seconds, Lowe turned around. When she saw me following them she gave a cry of joy. “There
you are! Let’s get out of here. Fast,” she exclaimed. The other two were deep in conversation, but they also turned to smile at me.

  “Thought we’d lost you,” said Kelly.

  “I can’t believe you did that,” Lowe added.

  “Very impressive use of tactical maneuvering,” said Michael.

  “I don’t know about that,” I said, blushing. “Really, it was foolish. I could have gotten all of us in trouble. And for what? Just some snooping,” I said.

  “I’m proud of you,” said Lowe, slinging her arm around me. “The criminal element in Twinkleford is going to be jealous.”

  “I’m not sure that’s a good thing,” I said.

  When we finally came around the bend to where the trailer park was in full view, Michael blanched.

  “What? What is it? Do you see a cannon?” I asked. That was what Lowe and I had had to deal with on our way out of the Borough.

  “No, I see close living quarters,” he muttered.

  “Not everyone is so lucky as to have a whole house to themselves,” said Lowe. “I often long for it.”

  “Hey!” I said.

  She giggled. “Only joking,” she offered.

  “Some people like living near others. It’s a social thing. They don’t want to be stuck out in the woods by themselves,” said Kelly.

  “The only thing worse than being stuck out in the woods by yourself is being stuck out there with someone,” said Michael knowingly.

  I was reasonably certain that none of the rest of us agreed with him, but saw no point in saying so.

  As I looked around our neighborhood, something felt off. The air itself was strange and subtly different from usual, though I couldn’t put my finger on how, much less why. The sky had only continued to darken. At least the piercing wind had ceased to pelt us and make me shiver. That was one small thing to be thankful for, but there was something off in Midnight, and I wasn’t sure what it was.

  When we came around the bend in the road we were met by Sleek, Spunk, and a few of the other cats. We greeted them, and they turned around to trot along beside us. The cats weren’t nervous, but they were clearly alert. Spunk was traveling awfully close to my ankles for my comfort. He kept glancing to his left and right, while Sleek kept sniffing the air.