by Zoe Arden
She didn't look like she believed me. She took a step forward and I jumped back. She stopped and cocked her head to the side. "What's with you? You were staring at me in the car, now you're acting like... I don't know. Like you're afraid of me or something."
"That's silly," I laughed. "Why would I be afraid of you?"
"I have no idea," she said and took another step toward me.
I took another step back.
"Ava... what's going on?"
"What do you mean? Nothing. Let's check the car and make sure it still works."
I hurried over to it and got in, slamming the door and feeling safer now that I had a layer of protection between me and her. I knew that was crazy, though. A car door offered no protection from a dark spirit. I rolled up the window. Lucy knocked on it. I turned the key and the car started right up. I breathed a sigh of relief. It didn't last long. The car died a minute later.
"Crud!" I shouted.
"Ava..." Lucy knocked on the window again. She came around to the passenger side and I locked it. I was suddenly all too aware of how alone I was with a potential possessed serial killer. She went around to the front of the car and stood with her hands on her hips, looking at me through the windshield. Slowly, comprehension sunk in.
"Oh, my roses," she said. "You think it's me."
"I don't know what you mean," I told her, reaching for my phone to call Eleanor.
"Ava," Lucy said, trying to sound reasonable. "I'm not possessed by anything except a fit of rage right now. How could you think I'm the killer?"
"Not you," I told her, shouting through the closed windows. "The dark spirit inside you."
"That's ridiculous."
"You were there when Sadie conjured it. You were there when Red died. And that tourist who got killed was at Coffee Cove earlier that day before he died."
"Yeah, I know, but I didn't serve him."
"Y-You didn't?" I asked.
"No."
I rolled the window down on the driver side, so I could stop shouting and hear her better. "Why didn't you say anything before?" I asked.
"I didn't think of it till just now."
I bit my bottom lip.
"Oh, for witch's sake, Ava. Get out of the car and talk to me."
I sighed and opened the door. I got out and we stood staring at each other. "How do I know you're you?" I asked her.
"Ask me something only I would know."
"If the dark spirit's in you, then it might know whatever it is, too."
She screwed up her face. "All right. Then call Sheriff Knoxx. Ask him about the coffee the tourist had. He interviewed me and Red; he'll back up my story."
I figured it couldn't hurt. I called Sheriff Knoxx. I knew it was a strange question but I asked it anyway.
"Who served coffee to that tourist the day he was killed?"
I expected that Sheriff Knoxx would want to know why I was asking but he must've been very busy. "Red," he said and started shouting to his deputies. "No, I said file, not bile. Why would I want you to bring me...? Oh, for witch's sake. Ava, I have to go."
He hung up and I looked at Lucy, feeling silly. "I'm sorry," I told her. I knew there was still a chance she could have the spirit in her but the way she was looking at me right now—like I was her crazy friend who she loved anyway—was so Lucy that I just couldn't' believe anyone else was in there with her.
"Come on," I said, "let's see if we can make it to Mistmoor in one piece." We gave each other a quick hug then hopped back into the car. Remarkably, it started right up and stayed running this time. The engine had stopped smoking, and I suspected that had something to do with it.
I finished the drive to Mistmoor without incident, and Lucy and I had a good laugh over the whole thing. Though I still found myself watching her out of the corner of my eye... just in case. This time, though, I thought she was watching me, too.
We pulled up to Creams, Cakes, and Creations and walked inside. The bell chimed, and Edith came walking out of the back.
Hello and wel—" Her smile faded. "Oh. It's you."
"Hello, Edith.
"What do you want?" she snapped. Apparently, neither of us were much interested in beating around the bush this time.
"Another one of your wrappers was found at the scene of a murder," I said.
Edith rolled her eyes. "Are you kidding me? You came all the way here to ask me about those stupid wrappers again? Don't you two have anything better to do with your time?"
I looked at Lucy and we both shrugged. "Not really," Lucy said.
Blossom came walking out of the back just then with her daughter, Calista. Calista was a dim-witch whose powers had never fully developed. She'd gotten into a spot of trouble a year or two ago and landed herself in witch reform school. She'd gotten out at the same time Polly Peacock had gotten out of Swords and Bones. They were both part of COMHA's new work-release program.
"You two," Blossom said irritably when she saw us. She took Calista by the shoulders and spun her around in the other direction. "I don't want you talking to my daughter," she said. She looked at her mother. "Give us a shout when they're gone." Edith nodded, and Blossom and Calista retreated to the back room once again.
"I have nothing to say to either of you," Edith told us.
"Has Red Finn ever been in here?" Lucy asked.
"Who?" Edith said.
"Red Finn. He lives—lived—in Sweetland."
"I think his real name was Robert but everyone called him Red," I interjected.
"My answer is still no," Edith replied, wiping off the counters.
"His neck was broken the other day."
"Not my fault. I was here."
"Yes, but whoever did it might have purchased some of those cupcakes from you."
I looked at the shelf where they'd been last time we were here, and they were gone. "Where are they?" I asked.
"They weren't very popular. I told you last time you were here I was thinking of getting rid of them. I finally did."
"When?" Lucy asked.
"A day or two after you were here the last time."
"What about the wrappers?" I asked. "Are you using them for a different cupcake?"
"I'm out of those wrappers at the moment."
"Well, that wrapper found under Red must have come from somewhere," I shouted.
"Oh, for witch's sake. We're not the only ones who use those wrappers."
"You're not?" I asked.
"No. Ask Felicity Redfern about it, why don't you?"
"Felicity?" I looked at Lucy, who looked as surprised as I was. "You mean, Cakes and Creations uses these wrappers, too?" Cakes and Creations was the bakery Edith used to share with Felicity's mom before they had a parting of the ways.
"Of course. They're a common wrapper."
"I thought only dark bakeries used those wrappers," I said.
"Well, that was your mistake. I never told you that." Edith was smiling widely at us now but it was a malicious smile, full of scorn and contempt. "By the way, have you heard from the goblins lately? I hear they're having second thoughts about using your bakery for their ball."
Anger fumed inside me. "That's just a rumor," I told her. “The goblins are more than happy with what we're doing. In fact, they paid us a visit not long ago.”
I looked at Lucy. "Should we go there?"
"Why not? I think we've learned all we can here. Maybe Felicity can shed some light on all of this."
* * *
CHAPTER
TWENTY-SIX
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Lucy and I made our way from Creams, Cakes, and Creations on the east side of town, to Cakes and Creations on the opposite side of town. Like Sweetland Cove, Mistmoor Point was a small town and moving from one side of town to the other didn't take much time.
I'd considered leaving my car—Eleanor's car—parked in front of Creams, Cakes, and Creations and just walking
across town but I didn't trust Edith or her family. I didn't even trust the witches and wizards who shopped at her store. I'd already come close to wrecking Eleanor's car, I didn't want to risk anything else happening to it.
It was about halfway down the road to Cakes and Creations when I heard the first clunk.
"What was that?" Lucy asked.
I looked around as if I'd be able to see something that would clearly explain the noise we'd just heard—like two pipes smacking together. I was hoping there might be a construction crew hovering nearby but no such luck.
"I don't know," I finally told her. When it didn't immediately sound again, I didn't worry about it. A few blocks later, however, and it came back even louder and more serious sounding. Cluuunnkk!
"Oh, no," I said. "Something's wrong with the car."
Darn it! I thought we'd lucked out after my little incident. I should've known better.
"Relax," Lucy told me. "It's probably nothing. Cars make funny noises all the—"
The car made one final clunk before the engine began to vibrate, then it died completely.
"Crud," I shouted. "Eleanor's gonna kill me." Lucy didn't contradict me.
The car stalled right in the middle of the main road at a red light. When the light turned green and I didn't go, the honking started. I knew my face must've been beet red but there was little I could do about anything except call for a tow truck.
"Let me have a look," Lucy said and jumped out of the car. "Pop the hood."
I did as she instructed even though I knew perfectly well that Lucy knew little to nothing about cars. It felt good just to have the hood open and her looking at it, though, as if by some miracle she would suddenly develop a thorough understanding of car engines and be able to save the day. At least having the hood up gave the people behind us an understanding of the situation. My blinkers were on but blinkers didn't cut it when you had angry tourists who wanted to get to their destination.
"See anything?" I asked her, still sitting behind the wheel.
"Yeah."
"Really? What?"
"An engine."
I sighed
A flashing pair of red and blue lights appeared in my rearview mirror. The police car pulled up behind us and Sheriff Lincoln Maxwell hopped out. I was relieved to see him. Sheriff Maxwell was a great guy. One of the few people in Mistmoor Point who didn't hate Sweetlanders. He was dating Felicity Redfern and pretty friendly with both Colt and Sheriff Knoxx. I couldn't have asked for a better person to pull up behind us.
I opened my car door and smiled. It was only a half-smile but it was the best I could muster under the circumstances.
"Hi, Ava," he said genially. "Car problems, huh?"
"Yeah. It made this clanking noise a few times then just died on me."
"Hmm..." he said, walking around to where Lucy was standing, still staring at the engine with her hands on her hips.
She looked up at Lincoln. "I'm not sure," she said, "but I think this... thingy... is supposed to be connected to this... thingy." She pointed at something in the engine. "It looks like they came disconnected. Probably when Ava tried to crash us into a tree on the way here."
I stuck my tongue out at her and suppressed a giggle. Lincoln shot Lucy a sideways look. "I'm not sure your assessment is entirely accurate," he said. I thought it looked as though he wanted to laugh but was fighting it so as not to hurt Lucy's feelings. "Those two gizmos you pointed to are supposed to be that way. Looks to me like your problem might be..."
He scrunched his brow together and stuck his head under the hood, leaning as close to the engine as he could without actually pressing his nose against it.
"Ava," he called over to me. "Why don't you hop back in the car and try starting it up?"
I did as he instructed. A car with several tourists in it whizzed by me, their side view mirror narrowly missing mine. A second car zoomed past behind theirs, this one full of locals who glared at me. "Sweetland's the other way!" one of them shouted. They all cackled as if that was the best joke ever then hurried on their way as Sheriff Maxwell glared at them.
I slid behind the steering wheel and turned the key. "Nothing," I said.
"Keep turning," the sheriff said.
I turned and turned and finally, there was a spark of sound. It didn't last but at least it was there.
"Okay, let it go for a minute," he said.
I stopped turning and sat there, thinking about everything that had happened in such a short span of time. I still couldn't believe that Colt was going away. I didn't know what I'd do without him. I'd placed the Empire State Building he'd given me on top of my dresser in my bedroom, where I could see it every morning. I fingered the witch's hat pendant around my neck, remembering Eleanor's story about my father's gift to my mother.
"Okay, now!" Lincoln shouted. I turned the key and this time there was a spark, and then life. The engine came roaring together, as if it had never died to begin with, just taken a short nap.
Lucy ran to the trunk and tapped on it. I opened it for her and a moment later, she reappeared with a rag. She handed it to Lincoln, who wiped his hands on it.
"You're all set," he said.
"Thanks so much," I told him, getting out of the car so I could hug him. He blushed lightly but returned the hug. "What was wrong with it?"
He cocked an eyebrow at us. "If I told you, would you have any idea what I was talking about?"
"Probably not," I admitted.
He chuckled. "Basically, Lucy was onto something when she said that one thingy had come disconnected from another thingy. She just had her thingies wrong."
"What I just heard," Lucy said, "is that I am a genius and nothing I say should ever be doubted again."
"Funny," I said. "What I heard was that you're a know-it-all who actually knows nothing. A dangerous combination." We all laughed.
"You might want to get things checked out by a real mechanic when you get back, just to be safe. I did a quick fix, not a permanent one."
"Thanks, I will."
"So, where are you two off to?" Lincoln asked as we got back in the car.
"To see Felicity," Lucy told him.
"Tell her I'll be by a little late tonight. I've got some things to take care of. Oh, and let her know the boys at the station loved those cupcakes she sent over and want to know when they can get some more."
"Sure thing, Sheriff. It's the least we can do."
* * *
CHAPTER
TWENTY-SEVEN
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Lucy and I continued on our way to Cakes and Creations, which only took a handful of minutes.
"Hi," Felicity said when she saw us. She'd been standing behind the counter setting cupcakes into a box when we walked in but she came out from behind it to greet us. "Haven't seen you two in a while."
"We just bumped into Lincoln," I told her.
"Yeah, Ava tried to kill her aunt's car and Lincoln had to stop her." She giggled but I just rolled my eyes. I wasn't sure how many more jokes about Eleanor's car I could take, and I had the feeling I was going to be hearing them all the way back to Sweetland.
"Lincoln said he's gonna be late tonight, and also that the guys at the station want more cupcakes. Apparently, yours were a hit."
Felicity smiled. "I was just making up a box for them now. Want one? I have plenty."
She handed a cupcake each to me and Lucy. Our jaws dropped. The wrappers were the same ones we'd been looking for. Turns out Edith was right, Felicity did use these wrappers in her bakery.
"Something wrong?" she asked when we just stared at the cupcakes instead of eating them.
"Wrong? No," I said, looking at Lucy, who shrugged. "It's just that... well, these cupcake wrappers have been the source of some controversy for us the last week or two."
Felicity looked at the wrappers. "These wrappers? What about them?"
"Have you he
ard about the murders in Sweetland?" I asked, setting the cupcakes back down. Neither Lucy nor I wanted to offend Felicity by not eating them but after all we'd been through with these wrappers, we just didn't want anything to do with them or the cupcakes they held.
"Yeah. Mistmoor coined a new nickname for you guys. 'Deathlanders.' " She giggled but stopped when she saw we weren't laughing with her. "Sorry," she said and cleared her throat. "So, what do these wrappers have to do with the murders?"
"These exact wrappers were found at each of the crime scenes, under the victim's body," I said.
"Sort of like a calling card," Lucy told her. "Has anyone suspicious been in your shop lately?"
"No," she said, biting her lip. "I mean... I don't think so. I'm not sure I understand what this has to do with my bakery, though. Surely, I'm not the only one using these wrappers."
"Actually," I told her, "you are."
Her jaw dropped.
"Edith was using them for a while, too," Lucy said, trying to soothe her worry lines, "but she stopped about a week ago, and the last murder in Sweetland was committed just a couple days ago."
"Well... so? I mean, someone could have purchased them from Edith and been saving them. My customers aren't killers."
I realized we were offending her and that was the last thing I wanted to do. "We're not accusing you or any of your customers of anything. We just want to know if you have a list of everyone who's purchased cupcakes with these wrappers in the last week and a half."
"I don't keep lists like that," she said. "The only lists I keep are for special orders. And the only one who's special ordered these lately is certainly no killer."
"Are you sure?" I asked, excited by this new bit of information. "Who special ordered them?"
"Your dad," she said, a slight smile on her face.
"My... dad...?" I looked at Lucy, confused, before turning back to Felicity.
"I thought it was strange, too," Felicity said, "considering he works at a bakery and could get all the cupcakes he wanted. He was down here with Sadie one day and said they had a craving that couldn't wait till they got back to Sweetland. Ordered a cupcake each and liked them so much they ordered a whole dozen. I only had half a dozen left and had to rush to bake more." She cocked her head to the side. "I figured he'd mention it to you."