by Sonia Parin
Lexie and Luna emerged from the alley where they’d landed and strode around to the front entrance of the 5th Avenue apartment block. “I told Octavia and Gunner to meet us out front.” Unlike her, they had no trouble whisking from place to place. “Do you see them?”
“No, but I see the old woman in the purple coat and hat. She’s pushing that stroller again.”
“Let’s follow her.”
“What about the others?” Luna asked.
“I’m sure Gunner will have no trouble finding us.”
Luna cleared her throat. “I think you’re forgetting something.”
“Let me guess, you want me to carry you.” Lexie caught Luna as she leaped up.
“I don’t mean to be pushy, but a pair of kitty boots would really help.”
“I dread to think what you’ll be like when it snows.”
Luna curled up in her arms. “I wouldn’t know. I used to gaze out the window and think what fun it would be to try to catch a snowflake but my previous companion never took me outdoors in winter.”
A gust of wind swirled around them. Lexie had no idea if it was a regular gust or one carrying a message. It didn’t seem to be impeding her progress or encouraging it. That might mean she was on the right track.
“I can sense your mind juggling a few thoughts,” Luna said.
“I’ve been trying to join the dots. Do you remember seeing the display of snow globes in Oscar’s office?”
“I might have caught sight of them, but I can’t be sure. At the time, I was consumed by Gunner’s disturbing presence. FYI, he appears to have grown on me. Perhaps we were too hasty in judging him.”
“He’s still odd, but in a surprisingly amusing way. The festive season must bring out the best in him.” Lexie craned her neck and tried to keep the woman in sight. “She’s setting a cracking pace.”
“Why did you ask me about the snow globes?”
“Oh, I nearly forgot. We saw them at Mimi’s apartment and that woman had one in her stroller.”
“I thought you might have been trying to determine if I’d like one for Christmas.”
“Yeah, that too.”
“Purple seems to be the color of choice,” Luna remarked as several people strode by wearing purple coats.
Two blocks along and the woman showed no signs of slowing down. “Where is she going? Hang on, where is she?”
“There,” Luna pointed. “She stopped outside that store. I suggest you slow down because she’s looking over her shoulder. She might be onto you.”
Lexie ducked behind a group of late night shoppers. When she emerged, she saw no sign of the woman in purple. “Now what?”
Luna bobbed up and down.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“I’m running on the spot and trying to keep warm. Can’t you hear my teeth chattering?”
“Okay, we’ll head back now and hopefully meet up with the others.” As she turned, she caught sight of the purple hat. “She’s in that store.” Trying to keep out of sight, she edged toward it. “It’s a florist.”
“Huzzah. Now can we go?”
“What is she doing in there? This can’t be a coincidence.”
“You’re about to tie it all in to Frederick’s disappearance and Oscar’s murder. Great. Now can we go?”
Lexie peered inside the store in time to see the old woman striding toward the back room. With each step she took, she seemed to straighten. By the time she reached the doorway, she was standing tall and...
“Her gray hair.”
“What about it?” Luna asked.
“It’s lusciously thick and brown now.”
“Call for back-up,” Luna said. “Call. For. Back-up.”
“When did you become a scaredy-cat?”
“I’m being practical, cautious and sensible. You haven’t come into all your powers. That woman just transformed herself from a street person to... possibly the owner of this establishment and mastermind of crimes. That is, assuming she is linked to Frederick’s disappearance and Oscar’s death. What do you propose doing? Please call for back-up.”
Lexie stepped inside the store. Her nose crinkled. When she felt a sneeze coming on she tried to hold it back.
“I don’t care for this pungent smell of flowers. It’s... it’s overpowering.” Luna shook her little head and sneezed. Not once, but twice.
As Lexie took a retreating step, she heard the woman call out, “I’ll be with you in a moment.”
“I hope you have a game plan,” Luna said and buried her face in the crook of Lexie’s arm.
“You.” The woman appeared and pointed a finger at Lexie.
“And,” Luna added, “If you have a game plan, you should put it into motion right about now.”
Lexie straightened and sneezed. “Hi.”
“That’s it?” Luna curled up into a tight ball. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but self-preservation compels me to make myself invisible.”
“You followed me,” the woman accused.
Lexie lifted her chin. “And just as well I did. You have some explaining to do.”
The woman appeared to become even taller. When she raised her hands, Lexie knew she had to act quickly. She only had two choices. She could either beat a hasty retreat, or... she could call on her powers.
Emptying her mind, she focused first on shielding them from whatever the woman was about to do to them, but then Luna cut in on her thoughts.
“Bind her. Bind her.”
In that split second, Lexie’s mind filled with images of shiny crimson red satin ribbon, but only because she’d caught sight of a roll of it on the counter.
As the ribbon swirled around her mind, the ribbon on the counter began to unwind.
“Oh, that is so cool.”
When she saw the woman’s fingers lighting up with sparks, Lexie mentally scrambled to hurry up the process. Instinctively, she used her finger to draw a circle. The ribbon flew around the woman. Lexie made a pulling motion with her hand and the ribbon tightened, securing the woman’s arms in place.
“Tighter. Tighter, and faster. Yes. Faster.” Luna yelped.
Lexie kept winding the ribbon around until the woman resembled a bright red cocoon.
Luna bounced up and down in her arms. “Now, just in case she frees herself, run for your life.”
As Lexie took a tentative step forward, the store door open. Gunner stormed in followed by Octavia.
“Ah, the cavalry has arrived,” Luna’s head emerged from hiding. “You’ll be pleased to note we have secured the killer. Now handcuff her and watch out for her hands.”
“What’s going on?” Gunner demanded.
“I’m not sure.” Lexie shrugged. “Where did you two get to?”
Gunner and Octavia exchanged a sheepish look. Octavia shifted and said, “We stopped at Elf Kingdom to pick up some more ornaments.”
Lexie rolled her eyes.
“So who is she?” Gunner asked.
“We’ve seen her hanging around Mimi’s apartment building and followed her here. That’s when we saw her transform herself from an old woman. Feel free to use your special voice on her. She’s definitely guilty of something.”
“Unbind me,” the woman hollered.
Ignoring her, Lexie strode up to the counter and picked up a business card, which read: Gloria Winchester, Florist.
Turning, she noticed a snow globe. As she had a closer look at it, she said, “She had one in her stroller.”
Gloria Winchester screeched. “Put that down.”
“Hey, there are little figures in this one.” She turned to Gunner. “Did you hear me?”
Gunner pressed his finger to his ear.
Luna leaped up onto the counter. “I think he’s communicating with his group.”
Moments later, Gunner turned to her. “The back-up will arrive shortly.”
Sighing, Luna purred, “See, normal people call for back-up. Please try to remember that.”
Rounding the counter, Lexie ins
pected the shelves. “Look, more snow globes.” Each one had a unique scene. A comfortable fireplace with a sparkly chandelier. A beach house with a yacht moored off the jetty... “A jet. Who’d want a snow globe with a jet plane in it?”
“Plenty of people,” Gloria blurted out. “And they’re all willing to pay a pretty penny for it.”
“Huh?”
“Put it down. It’s mine.”
“Threaten to drop one,” Luna said, “She’ll confess in no time.”
***
“Gloria Winchester is a what?” Lexie asked.
“A peddler of desires.” Gunner picked up a snow globe. “The young version of her runs the flower shop and the old one does the peddling. People buy desires from her, as in, stuff they want. She created them in these little snow globes.” He shook it. “Dream home? Coming right up. A new yacht? Here you go.”
“And people paid her for it?”
He nodded.
“But this is all stuff people can buy.”
“She paved the way for an easy way of getting it all.”
“I still don’t get it. You went through all the security footage. How did she get inside the building to kill Oscar?”
“She’s the florist and regularly goes there to freshen up the flower displays. No one suspected her. When she went into Mimi’s apartment, she disguised herself as the old woman, which practically made her invisible. No one notices people like her.”
She did... “So why did she kill Oscar?”
Gunner sighed. “She thought the Hargreaves had reneged on their deal so she took Frederick. Then she confronted Oscar who threatened to report her to the Coven Disciplinary Board because he insisted he’d made the payment in full. He called her an old hag. That’s when she lost it and hit him with the doorstopper.”
Lexie frowned. “So Oscar knew her as the old... woman and the young one?”
“Yes. He’s been dealing with her for years.”
“Hang on. How did he know about the disciplinary board?”
“We gained access to his safe and found a document dating back to the 1770s when his family first settled nearby. They purchased favors from a local witch and the family prospered. It’s been going on for generations.”
“You mean, every snow globe Mimi has represents a new acquisition?”
He nodded.
Luna’s eyes widened. “Everyone seems to be doing well out of the witchcraft business except us.”
Lexie slumped back against the counter. “Well, I guess that’s that.” The front door eased open and a gust of wind swept in, swirled around Lexie, and swept out again. “Yeah, I still can’t get my head around that one.” One with the elements? “Thank you,” she called out as the door closed.
Chapter Five
“The Christmas tree looks lovely, thank you.” Luna snuggled against Lexie. “Are you awake?”
Lexie brushed Luna’s tail off her face. “How long have you been asking me that?”
Luna purred deeply. “A while. I can almost see the first slivers of daylight.”
“Who needs to set the alarm when I have you to wake me up.” Lexie groaned. “I dread to think what you’ll be like on Christmas day.”
“Before I forget, I should tell you it’s the thought that counts.”
“I’m still half asleep so I’m not even going to try to decipher that.” While Octavia had gone ahead and spent a small fortune on presents, she’d insisted Lexie had to do her own shopping. That had taken some doing, but Gunner had been surprisingly helpful, offering to keep Luna busy by finishing decorating the apartment. As a result, her apartment looked like Santa’s alternative pied-à-terre.
“Perhaps Santa will be especially generous with you this year,” Luna said. “After all, you caught a killer.”
Lexie brushed her hand across her forehead. “I seem to recall you spotting the woman with the purple hat and coat first.”
“Yes but you were the one to follow your intuition and chase after her. Also, you insisted it had to be an inside job.” Luna jumped off the bed. “If you’re not going to get up, you should go back to sleep. I’m going to go admire the tree.”
Lexie plumped up her pillow and pulled the blanket over her head.
A peddler of desires.
What would she have wished for... in exchange for an exorbitant amount of money?
Lexie’s eyes danced around her bedroom. She loved her small apartment but Luna had been badgering her to find something to accommodate her frenzied sprints. She had a closet full of her favorite jeans and T-shirts. Her inheritance provided her with more than enough to live on, although Luna thought of that as chump change.
Shrugging, Lexie decided she liked everything as it was. Although, she wouldn’t mind having a few days of peace and quiet...
With all the shopping done and nothing else to do, she drifted off back to sleep only to be stirred awake by the chatter coming from the living room.
“You’re missing all the fun,” Lune said as she scurried into her bedroom. “The day is already half gone.”
“Have you been talking to me in my sleep again? I swear I heard you.”
“I might have asked a question or two,” Luna said, “I don’t know. The morning’s been hectic.”
“Give me a minute to pull myself together.”
Half an hour later, she strode into the living room and found Octavia roasting chestnuts by the fireplace. She wore a bright red Santa hat matched with a red sweater and black tights.
“Are you moonlighting as Santa’s helper?” Lexie asked. “And where’s Dodge?” Belatedly, Lexie clamped her hand over her mouth.
“It’s okay. You can ask about him. He’s helping out with a case so he’s going to be tied up for Christmas.” Octavia’s cheeks colored slightly. “I hope you don’t mind me dropping by.”
“The more the merrier.” Lexie had no idea what she meant by that, since she hadn’t actually planned anything.
Gunner emerged from the kitchen, two mugs in hand. “Oh, there you are. I’ve just made some mulled wine.”
Gunner? Here? Lexie stared at his reindeer sweater and raked her fingers through her hair. “I haven’t had breakfast yet.” She looked for Luna. “Did someone remember to feed Luna?”
Octavia put her hand up.
“Thank you.” Turning to Gunner, Lexie asked, “Is the case closed?”
He nodded. “Gloria Winchester is in custody and awaiting the Coven’s wrath.”
“That’s an interesting way of putting it.” Lexie hoped she never had to face the Coven’s wrath. “Which version is actually guilty?”
“They found the young version you bound innocent of all charges. The older version, however, insisted she’d been within her rights to kill Oscar because no one got to call her an old hag. I believe she is going to plead temporary insanity. Too many years of shifting from her old version to her young version have played havoc with her mind.”
“You actually buy that?”
“It’s not up to me to decide. The powers that be will determine her future. She’s definitely out of the florist business and she won’t be permitted to peddle desires any more.”
“Did she say why she returned Frederick?”
Gunner nodded. “She wanted to get rid of the evidence and released him outside the apartment building.”
Lexie sniffed. “What’s that smell?”
“We’re having turkey for lunch,” Octavia piped in.
She looked over at her small table. There were four place settings. “Um, are we expecting someone else?”
Right on cue, the front door opened and her mom, the current High Chair of the Mackenzie Coven, swept in, her arms laden with gifts. She wore a bright red coat with fur trimming and her dark brown hair cascading around her shoulders.
Luna leaped into action inspecting all the presents as Morgana set them down under the tree.
Morgana smiled at her, “I thought I’d surprise you.”
“How wonderful, mom.”
“I hear you’ve been busy. I can’t wait to hear all about it.” Her mom turned to Gunner. “Who is this charming man?”
Lexie made the introductions. To her surprise, her mom and Gunner hit it off straightaway.
“I love what you’ve done with the place, Lexie. Although it still feels a little cramped.” Even as she spoke the walls shifted and her apartment gained a couple of feet of space.
“Mom?”
Morgana waved her hand. “Oh, don’t worry. No one will notice.” She bent down and picked up one of the presents. “You can open this one now. It might help you get into the festive mood.”
A red sweater... with a snowflake on it. “Um, how did you manage to get away from the theater?” Lexie asked.
Morgana gave another breezy wave of her hand. “Nothing’s more important than spending a special day together with you.”
“Really?”
Luna raced up to her. “You mustn’t make her feel uncomfortable. She might be your mom, but she’s still the High Chair and she brought presents.” Luna’s ears twitched. “I hear someone else coming. Oh, more presents.”
Jonathan strode in carrying a couple of shopping bags. “Hello, I hope I’m not late.”
Lexie hid her surprise. Normally, Jonathan spent the day working behind the counter at the pub.
“Morgana, I didn’t expect to see you here today,” Jonathan said in a forced tone.
Whatever history her guardian and sometime employer had with her mom remained a mystery to Lexie. While she hoped they’d put aside their differences, she couldn’t help saying under her breath, “This can’t end well.”
Octavia edged toward her. “Don’t worry. I got them all presents on your behalf. You should stop looking so apprehensive.”
“I can’t help it. My mom just made my apartment bigger.”
“I’m sure she’ll put it back before she leaves.”
Jonathan set his bags down and discreetly murmured, “No one told me she’d be here. If Morgana turns me into a monkey, it’ll be on your head.”
“Oh, look. Snow.” Luna rushed to the window and pressed her little nose against it.
Morgana smiled. “I thought it might set the mood. Oh, here come the other guests.”