Curse Me Under the Mistletoe

by Kennedy Layne

  Confession time. I travelled in an RV to save people from being victims of murder. I didn’t have time to watch television, though I did catch snippets from when Piper was curled up on the couch and streaming the shows on her laptop. In my defense, I had heard of those television shows, only I hadn’t known that two of them were now off the air.

  The only thing that stood out was the shrewd comment regarding Norma. We’d already established it was more than likely she had been the intended victim, so maybe it did come full circle to the Wilkes.

  “Here, dear.” Lynn slipped on her reading glasses and flipped through an old Rolodex. I didn’t even think those were made anymore. Within seconds, she was holding out a business card for me to take. “This is Doug Pinkston’s card. Call the number listed, and I’m sure that he’ll be able to review that lease agreement.”

  “I appreciate it,” I replied, wondering what was keeping Orwin and Piper. I really couldn’t force the conversation more than I already had, but I truly didn’t think Lynn knew anything more that could help with the case. It was best I leave so that Lynn wasn’t calling Susan the moment I walked out the door. “Again, I’m sorry for your loss.”

  If the Wilkes are guilty, I’ll eat that aluminum hat of Mr. Cornelia’s!

  I wasn’t the accident-prone type, but Pearl’s sudden entrance had me hitting the doorframe on my way out. I lifted my hand to let Lynn know that I was okay, thinking maybe she said to have a happy holiday, but the vibrations of the old oak door were still ringing in my ears.

  “I swear, I’m going to get a bell to go around your neck,” I muttered after I’d closed the door behind me. Flurries were still floating down from the overcast sky, but the bitter wind seemed to have thankfully died down a bit. “Did Mrs. Wilkes give you a spot of warm cream?”

  Yes, indeed! They are the nicest couple, dear hexed one. Of course, it took me a while to show them what I wanted. They were quick learners, those two.

  “Just because they gave you a spot of warm cream heated to perfection does not mean they are not killers,” I commented wryly, wondering what happened to the wise familiar from this morning. “You’re not turning into Piper on me, are you?”

  Don’t be silly, Miss Lilura. I have a very good nose for the guilty, and Mr. and Mrs. Wilkes are not among them. I did so happen to get a look at Mr. Wilkes’ email that he had up on his laptop.

  I shoved Doug Pinkston’s business card in my coat pocket. I’d been scanning the sidewalk for any sign of Orwin and Piper when Pearl’s words had registered in my mind. She’d found something.

  Yes, I did. I’m quite proud of my detective skills, too.

  Someone was walking our way, and I didn’t want to appear as if I’d lost one my marbles that Pearl was always saying had rolled off, so I purposefully smiled and nodded my head as we passed one another. I did my best to remain patient, but it wasn’t easy when the answers to this murder mystery were within reach.

  I won’t make you wait, dear hexed one. You’ll be happy to know that Mr. Booneville had sent an email to Mr. Wilkes expressing his sincere apologies for what appears to have been a misunderstanding. The message was dated the day before Mr. Booneville’s death, and in it were arrangements for the two couples to have lunch this week. The Wilkes had no motive, Miss Lilura. None whatsoever, so it looks as if we’re back to square one—with no suspect!

  Chapter Eleven

  “Having no suspects does pose a problem.”

  I continued to walk down the sidewalk, mindful of any slick spots. The festivities in town square were still going strong, and it also appeared as if some of the family events had begun. Behind where Santa Claus’ extravagant chair had been positioned was a small manmade hill no taller than six feet that had been packed with snow. Eager young children holding small rubber tubes were lined up in a single file.

  I suggest sending a message to Mr. Emeric in hopes that he can ask Mrs. Booneville exactly what happened to cause such a misunderstanding.

  “My thoughts exactly,” I said, already having my phone in hand so that I could find out where Orwin and Piper had gotten to after they’d visited the boutique. “Orwin also needs to see if somehow the police have come up with anything new in regard to fingerprints on the mug that they bagged as evidence.”

  That uncomfortable sensation I’d experienced when talking with Lynn came over me once again, causing me to step to the side so that I wasn’t in anyone’s way. It almost felt like nausea, but it was highly doubtful there had been anything wrong with my bowl of soup.

  Unless those bits of chicken were bad, dear hexed one. I certainly wouldn’t put anything past that waitress. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’d been the one to leave the chicken out too long before the cook made the pot of fresh soup this morning.

  The thought of food poisoning made my stomach lurch once more. The cold air helped a bit, and I even managed to shoot off a text to Knox, Orwin, and Piper. I included all three in the group message so that we were all on the same page.

  Don’t forget to tell them about my visit to the Wilkes. Such a lovely couple.

  Piper replied immediately, though that wasn’t uncommon. Apparently, they were still at the boutique, chatting away with the owner.

  A Chatty Cathy. My sweet Piper and the alien hunter could be there a while. We should start to head that way, Miss Lilura. Maybe Chatty Cathy can give us a new lead. At this rate, we won’t be solving this murder mystery anytime soon.

  I had already begun heading that way, needing to cross the street. The fastest way was on the path where I’d been hit in the face with a snowball, but the battle seemed to have tapered off. My phone notified me that I’d received another message. A quick peek showed that Knox agreed to sneak a moment with Norma in hope to find out more about this misunderstanding.

  I’m sure that Norma has access to Mr. Booneville’s email. Perhaps Miss Carlisle could ask to use one of their computers. One would assume that two business owners would have a couple of desktops, along with laptops.

  Pearl had a good idea, though I wasn’t sure just how many of those computers the police would have taken as evidence. Either way, it was worth a shot. I’d made it halfway through the winter wonderland when a wave of nausea hit me so hard in the stomach that my knees almost crumbled.

  Oh, dear!

  Pearl’s sentiment was well warranted, and I now realized what was wrong.

  This is not good. Not good at all.

  “This is out and out bad, Pearl,” I murmured, hoping beyond hope that my knees didn’t buckle.

  There’s a bench to your left, Miss Lilura. Sit. Sit right this minute, and I’ll be back in a jiffy.

  Pearl was never one to panic or lose her sense of composure during an emergency, but this wasn’t the typical situation where we got caught snooping for information. No, this was much worse. This was the direst of cataclysms. You see, only one reason could be at fault for such a violent reaction.

  Ammeline Letty Romilda was within one hundred miles of our location.

  Pearl was right about the seat. I really needed to sit down. I carefully made my way to the bench that Pearl had pointed out before she’d gone to find Orwin and Piper. Orwin had helped me cast a proximity spell within days of my hex, but this was the first time since then that I’d ever felt the side effects. I’m not even sure how I recognized the severe nausea as a sign of the Lich Queen’s presence, but I was one hundred percent confident in my deduction. As a matter of fact, Pearl had recognized the sign, as well.

  “Are you alright, miss?”

  By the time I’d evened out my breathing and gotten my physical response under control, I’d made it to the bench. I hadn’t even realized that someone else had been sitting on the opposite side, let alone that it was a large man in a red suit. His cheeks and nose were rosy, and his blue eyes contained concern for my welfare. Leave it to me to sit next to Santa Claus while one of the vilest creatures on the face of the planet was hunting me.

  Technically, I didn’
t know if Ammeline was hunting me. She could simply be in North Dakota for the scenery this holiday season. I did my best not to let out a hysterical laugh that would have good ol’ St. Nick heading for his sleigh.

  “I’m fine, Santa,” I replied with a half-smile. I raised my face to the flurries floating down from the sky, grateful for their refreshing coolness. For once today, I didn’t mind being outside in the cold. “Let’s just say I just received some unsettling news.”

  “Unsettling?” Santa nodded his head, as if I’d just told him the secret to flying that sleigh he was no doubt wishing he was on at the moment. “I like you. You have a good outlook, dear.”

  “I’ll need you to say that again when my friends are here,” I replied lightheartedly, the tension slowly easing out of my body. Don’t get me wrong. Ammeline was still within the hundred-mile radius, but my body was becoming accustomed to the warning signs of the spell. “I’m definitely not known for my optimism.”

  Now that I had somewhat of a handle on my composure, I thought through our options. Would the effects of the proximity spell become stronger the closer we became or was this it? We could begin our search for her, relying on Knox to use his senses to seek her out. He had her scent locked in, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find her location.

  “Maybe it’s the Christmas spirit.” Santa took a bite out of a cookie that he held in a napkin, chewing on it while he contemplated the possibility of…a Christmas miracle? Maybe. I’m sure Pearl would have agreed, but I’d lost all faith in miracles the day I’d had my run-in with Ammeline. “We do tend to look at things differently this time of year. My job is quite hard, you know. There’s a trick to granting wishes and giving gifts to those in need.”

  “A trick?” I asked, wishing I hadn’t. This Santa Claus was just a representation of the Christmas holiday, and nothing more. Besides, I had places to be and a Lich to see, all starting with one of the plans put in place by my team. We’d gone over many scenarios, and now we had to choose one wisely. I didn’t need to be rude, though. “Aren’t you one of the many helpers to the real Santa Claus, gathering the wish lists of all the little boys and girls?”

  I knew firsthand that we didn’t always know who was around to overhear us. With all the children running around this amazing winter wonderland, I didn’t want to take away their hope that Santa had the ability to be in multiple places all at once.

  “Tommy Little wants a new bike for Christmas, but I know that his older sister is saving up her allowance to buy it for him for his birthday,” Santa Claus confided in me after he’d taken another bite of his cookie. His blue eyes were no longer deepened with concern, but instead they were sparkling with joy. “Unfortunately, Tommy’s birthday isn’t until February.”

  “So, you’re saying the trick is somehow trying to figure out how to relay that information to Tommy’s parents,” I guessed, not sure why I was still having this conversation. There was something about the man’s tone that suggested deep wisdom. Maybe something inside of me yearned to be told how to handle an extremely complicated situation, even though there was nothing anyone could say to make the upcoming confrontation any less difficult. “I can understand your situation, Santa. Being privy to information when others aren’t can be a heavy weight. It makes for many sleepless nights.”

  I wasn’t sure how Tommy’s bike situation could cause Santa sleepless nights. I mean, he really only needed to tell the boy’s parents. Didn’t it make sense that Mr. and Mrs. Little could help the sister reach her goal, thereby allowing Tommy to receive his gift on Christmas morning?

  “I have many sleepless nights, Miss Lilura,” Santa said as he gestured toward all the children laughing and screaming in delight as they each had their turn sledding down the miniature hill. “I have a lot of miracles to fulfill.”

  “Miracles?” I didn’t want to make light of what this man did during the season, but there were no miracles to be given in his position. I guess I could see where he would have sleepless nights not being able to fulfill the wishes of those children, though. “I haven’t seen a miracle in some time, Santa.”

  “I disagree. We’re given a miracle every single day, my dear,” Santa Claus replied after he’d taken another bite of his sugar cookie. “Aren’t we provided a miracle every morning with a fresh start? It’s how we use the new beginning that rests on us.”

  The only fresh thing I’d been looking at this morning was this murder mystery, and now I would have to postpone giving Mrs. Booneville closure. I wasn’t one to put things off, but this investigation would definitely have to be put on hold seeing as we were so close to our goal. On second thought, maybe this was a Christmas miracle.

  I daresay I’ve arrived just in time to ensure that you haven’t let all of your marbles escape that head of yours. What is this talk of miracles?

  “Ho-ho-ho!” Santa exclaimed in jolliness, causing me to startle a bit. He even rested his hand on his belly as he finished his ho-ho-hoing with a chuckle. I wasn’t sure what he found so entertaining. “Just remember, Miss Lilura, all miracles come in different ways. You’ll see. You just need a bit of patience.”

  Once again, I leave you for mere minutes only to find you in quite the conundrum with St. Nicholas. Since when do you believe in miracles, dear hexed one?

  “I see your friends are here to make sure that you’re feeling alright,” Santa said in approval, crumbling his napkin in his white glove as he used the armrest of the bench to help him stand. “Perhaps you shall receive your gift from me early this year, Miss Lilura. I do believe you need a bit of faith. Now, I’m off to see about that Tommy Little issue. Merry Christmas to the both of you.”

  I’d been looking up as Orwin and Piper frantically crossed the street to reach the cobblestone path when what good ol’ St. Nick said hit me harder than the nausea had a few minutes ago. I had to have heard the man wrong, but there was no sign of him anywhere. Seriously, he had just vanished into thin air.

  Impossible, dear hexed one. I’m not sure what just took place, but I will get to the bottom of it. He couldn’t have gotten far.

  “The proximity spell worked?” Orwin asked in astonishment, a bit out of breath. His face was flushed, but I wasn’t so sure that was due to the cold. “I can’t believe it. We need to call Knox and—”

  “Did you see which way Santa Claus went?” I didn’t mean to cut Orwin off, but I needed to find St. Nick.

  I’ve gone to all four sides of this town square, and I can’t find hide nor beard of him, dear hexed one. Are you thinking what I’m thinking?

  “Santa Claus?” Piper asked, sharing a worried glance with Orwin. “Why? What does Santa Claus have to do with Ammeline? And Pearl, Santa is in his big chair in the middle of the park. There was no need to hit each corner of town square. I already texted Knox, and he said that he’ll…”

  Piper continued to talk about how Knox would meet us back at the RV, but all I could focus on was Santa Claus…only he wasn’t the right one.

  I think it’s time we consider the alternative, dear hexed one.

  “Don’t say it. That’s impossible,” I muttered, causing Orwin and Piper once again to exchange worrying glances. I’d turned around in three complete circles, hoping to catch sight of the man I’d just spent a few minutes talking to while sitting on the bench. “He’s got to be here somewhere.”

  In case you didn’t hear him, he knew your name. He also spoke to the both of us. That would mean he knew of my existence while in my unseen form. I do believe there could be a slim chance that we might have actually met—

  “A warlock,” I stated very matter-of-factly, not willing to believe anything else. “Maybe Ammeline sent a warlock here to see what we were up to?”

  “Okay, that’s enough,” Piper announced, holding up her mittens so that Pearl and I would stop guessing as to the appearance of the man in the red suit. “You two are now just throwing out theories without any evidence.”

  “There’s probably an app on your phone that tries
to figure out if—”

  “I didn’t imagine an entire conversation about miracles with a man in a red suit on this very bench,” I insisted to both Orwin and Piper, both of whom were assuming the proximity spell had me taking leave of my senses. “Pearl, tell them.”

  That wise jolly man did make a very compelling case that had us believing he could indeed be the one and only Santa Claus. I suppose in retrospect St. Nicholas is magical, so it stands to reason that he would be able to know of my presence.

  “Wait a second,” Orwin said, stepping closer so that a family who was walking by couldn’t eavesdrop. “Could you hear him, cotton ball?”

  Pearl hated when Orwin called her by that nickname, but it had become rather second nature to him. I didn’t want to stand here to hear another argument ensue when a warlock working for Ammeline could very well be making his escape.

  The alien hunter has a point, dear hexed one. I don’t believe so, especially since all I could hear was that annoying reindeer song. I would have sworn on my favorite brand of cream that the lyrics only last a minute or two.

  “Song?” I asked, finally relenting that the Santa who had been sitting next to me on the bench was no longer in the area. “The song coming out of the speakers was ‘Santa Claus is Coming to Town’.”

  No, dear hexed one. I’m positive it was the reindeer song, because I recall thinking I’d like to take that red nose and—

  “You’re not eviscerating Rudolph, cotton ball,” Orwin muttered, preventing Pearl from incriminating herself should anything happen to one of the deer in the petting zoo that was coming to town tomorrow. I really, really didn’t want to have to come back here after hunting down Ammeline. “Piper and I could hear the song coming out of the speakers clearly, and Lou is right about which song was playing.”