Missing in Jinx Cove

by Savannah Mae

  “Do what I told you to do. Calypso and her sisters will be back soon. We don’t need to rope them into Mom’s drama. From what I can tell, they have plenty of their own. Let me do what I have to do. If it doesn’t work, fine. At least I tried. That’s better than blaming our father for what happened to us.”

  She sighed and gave me a hug. “Okay, fine. How much time do you need?”

  “A couple of hours,” I guessed.

  She hung her head. “Two hours. If you’re one minute late, I’ll call the police.”

  I snickered. “That might not be necessary.”

  Chapter 23: The Jinx Sisters

  “Good, then, the deed is done,” Calypso said as she ushered them into the coffee shop. “We’ve got a lot of work to do. We better get started.”

  Consuelo trailed behind her. “I hope this works. I did my part, but I must admit, I don’t feel good about encouraging my girls to lie to their father. He may be a royal pain in the you-know-what, but he’s still their father. At least, that’s what the doctor’s told me.”

  Calliope lifted a brow. “It sounds like your relationship is a lot more complicated than you let on.”

  Lyra interjected, “I have an idea. How about you let me handle the baking and the rest of you can handle the actual distribution of the sweet treats? You can make sure the young folks don’t eat the goods.”

  Calypso flipped the lights on.

  Everyone gasped at the same time as they took in the mess. Tables had been flipped over. Chairs were strewn about the room. Flour covered every surface the eye could see.

  “What in the—” Calypso stopped when she noticed the office had been ransacked as well. “I can’t believe this! What kind of animal—” Her words trailed off as she took in the entire scene.

  Calliope pulled her cell phone out of her bag. “I’ll call the police.”

  Calypso lunged for her, knocking the phone out of her hand. “Don’t do that. How do we know they’re not in on this?”

  “I doubt they are. Why would they be? We didn’t leave the shop like this. It has to be reported. The cookies and investigating can wait until later. This is more important,” Lyra said.

  Consuelo had a horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach and it wasn’t just because of the robbery. Nothing made sense. She couldn’t understand the connection between all the disturbing events.

  Lyra defied Calypso’s command and dialed the police. “This is Lyra Jinx. Our shop has been robbed.”

  No one moved a muscle until she hung up the phone.

  “That’s great. Now the police are on the way and we won’t be able to complete our plan. What a nightmare.” Calypso tiptoed around the shop to assess the damage. “How did they get in here? The door was locked. The windows are intact. I don’t get it.”

  Calliope checked their inventory while they waited for the police to arrive. “I need a second pair of eyes. At first glance, I don’t think anything is missing. At least not that I can tell. Maybe we didn’t lock up and kids decided to have some fun at our expense.”

  “You think this was a prank?” Calypso yelled. “Sure. Why not? What a fun game. I think we should all try it. Let’s go around to all the businesses in town and pour imported flour all over their precious belongings. Come on. It’ll be fun. I’ll lead the way.”

  Consuelo stopped her at the door. “No, don’t do that. Can’t you see what this is?”

  “Yeah, someone wants to rattle our nerves. Guess what? It worked. I’m rattled,” Calypso said, her voice shaking.

  “Look around. I don’t think that’s flour.” Consuelo knelt and scooped up some of the mess. Within seconds, she became lightheaded and began to wobble.

  The sisters exchanged glances.

  Lyra asked, “Are you okay? Have you eaten anything today?” She nudged Calliope. “Why don’t you put on a pot of coffee and grab some biscuits? It will help calm our nerves.”

  Calliope jumped into action. “I’ll make two pots. It looks like it will be a long night.” She nodded to Calypso. “You know, I’ll stand with you for almost anything, but this is where I draw the line. We will not attack our friends and neighbors. It’s bad enough, they think we’re to blame for most of what happens in town. Let’s not give them any more ammunition to use against us. Have a seat.” The look on her face meant business.

  Calypso didn’t protest.

  Sirens rang out outside.

  “Here we go. It’s time to watch these guys botch another case,” Calypso muttered.

  Consuelo wiped her hands clean, while fighting to keep her balance. “You might not remember this, but when we were at the convention, there was talk of a new spell. If I remember correctly, the idea was to cake a person in a powdery concoction to gain control over them.”

  “Like a truth serum? Isn’t that funny? What a coincidence!” Calypso laughed. “I don’t know why they’d need a new concoction. We already have a spell for that.” She looked around the room. “You think that’s what this stuff is? What truth do they want out of us? We have no problem speaking our minds. Why couldn’t they just ask?”

  Lyra shrugged. “I have no idea.”

  “I don’t think they’re after all of us. I think I’m their target,” Consuelo said.

  Two police officers stepped inside.

  “What happened here?” one asked.

  Calypso snorted. “Look who they sent.”

  Eddie blushed. “What’s wrong with me? Don’t you trust me?”

  Lyra waved him over. “Someone broke in and did this. There’s flour all over the place. They ransacked the kitchen and the office.”

  He glanced around the room, careful not to touch anything. “How did they get in?”

  “How are we supposed to know? That’s what you’re here to find out, isn’t it?” Calypso threw her hands in the air. “I tell you, this guy is a bonafide genius. Someone should give him a promotion.”

  The officer who’d accompanied him laughed.

  She eyed him. “And who is this clown? I’ve never seen him before.”

  The officer’s cheeks reddened. He cleared his throat and said, “Hello, ma’am. I’m new. Today’s my first day.”

  Lyra usually refrained from using sarcasm on anyone outside of her inner circle, but this situation warranted a heavy eyeroll. She had to ask, “Why do we have so many new faces at the sheriff’s office? What is the problem?”

  “There’s no problem, Ms. Jinx,” Eddie said. “We’re just beefing up the force. It will help cut down on crime.”

  She mused, “I didn’t realize we had a crime problem.”

  “We do now,” Calypso reminded her. “Need I remind you about the car theft, the kidnapping, and now this? I’d say we have way more than a crime problem. We have a crime spree.”

  Eddie chuckled. “It’s not that serious yet.” He hesitated to move from the doorway. “Before we get in the weeds about stuff, did you already answer my question?”

  Calliope placed a tray of coffee cups and biscuits on the counter. “The coffee is ready. The biscuits are optional.” She looked over her shoulder, toward the back of the store. “We haven’t checked the back door yet. Maybe that’s how they got in here.”

  Calypso rushed to the back of the store.

  Eddie and his partner ran after her.

  “Wait. Let us check it out for you,” Eddie pleaded with her, but she didn’t stop.

  “I can’t wait. What if they’re still in here?” She flipped on a light in the storage room and yelled, “The gig is up!”

  It sounded like a scuffle in the back.

  Lyra, Calliope, and Consuelo rushed through the powdery substance, kicking it up onto their clothing as they moved and ran to the back room to see what happened. When they arrived, the officers were lying on their faces and there was no sign of Calypso anywhere.

  “Where is she?” Lyra asked.

  Calliope pointed to the wide-open back door.

  “She’s gone. Where did she go?” Consuelo asked as
she checked the officers. “They’re breathing. What do you think she did to them?”

  Both appeared to be asleep. They were like dead weight to move, so Consuelo opted to leave them where they were.

  Lyra and Calliope ran out the back door to look for their sister.

  “Wait! What about them?” Consuelo tapped Eddie’s head. “Wake up. Get up.” Her heart beat out of her chest as she tried to get them to come to. “This is insane. What did Calypso do to you?”

  A few seconds passed before she realized they weren’t the only ones in the building. She saw movement in the hallway out of the corner of her eye. “Calypso, is that you? What did you do to these men?”

  Heavy footsteps moved toward her in a heated rush. She heard a loud thud before the room went black.

  Chapter 24: The Abney Family

  “It’s not that I don’t trust you. I don’t trust him. He’s bad news. I don’t care what he says, there’s no way he could know who did it unless he was in on it,” Ben said.

  Melanie refused to believe Anthony could ever do anything as awful as kidnap two human beings. “He wouldn’t jeopardize his job and his freedom to kidnap people he’s never met.”

  “How do you know he’s never met them?” he asked.

  She folded her arms in front of her and cocked her head to the side. “Are you serious? When and where would a guy from here meet the daughters of a famous Hollywood couple? As far as I know, he’s never been to California.”

  He arched a brow at her. “He didn’t have to go to California to meet them. They don’t live there anymore. How do we know where they met? They could be actresses. The kidnapping could’ve been staged. Maybe they’re making their own reality show and they hired him to work with them. Who knows? Does it matter? All I’m saying is he’s changed his story again. I’m no Sherlock Holmes, but a person only changes their story because they can’t remember the last lie they told.”

  She couldn’t believe him.

  “I think you’ve spent way too much time watching garbage online. You sound like a loon. Those girls have names, by the way. You heard what they said. One of them is a private investigator. I can’t remember what the other one does for a living, but I didn’t get the impression she was into reality shows. She seemed embarrassed by the idea of her father creating one.”

  He pulled the car over and threw it into park. “Okay. Fine. I’ll take you to him but promise me if he says or does anything remotely out of line, you’ll let me chase him out of town with a flamethrower. He can go back to wherever he lives and mess with someone else’s head.”

  She leaned her head back on the seat. “Why do you talk about him like he’s not human? He may not have been the best boyfriend, but he’s still a person. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think the rumors were true.”

  “What rumors?”

  “That you love me,” she said.

  He gasped before they both burst out laughing.

  “I can’t believe I said that with a straight face,” she said as she wiped tears from her eyes.

  “You’re the one who said it. What is wrong with you? I’ll tell you what, if you don’t stop listening to those stories, you might actually fall in love with me too.”

  “Too?” she asked with a wink.

  “Yeah. Everyone falls in love with me eventually. Didn’t you know? I’m a great catch,” he teased.

  Anthony pulled his car over on the side of the road and walked over to Ben’s car. He leaned down by the passenger side window and asked, “Can you get out of the car, please?”

  Melanie gave Ben a peck on the cheek and said, “Will you still be here when I get out?”

  He glanced in the rearview mirror. “No. I see lights on at Abracajava. I’ll wait for you over there.”

  As Melanie and Anthony walked away to talk, squad cars sped past them.

  Ben watched with interest. Nothing ever happened in town.

  When the police stopped in front of the coffee shop, Melanie didn’t hesitate to run back over to Ben’s car and hop in.

  “Quick. Turn the car around,” she ordered.

  He headed for the coffee shop.

  “What do you think happened?” she asked.

  He shrugged and looked in the rearview mirror. “I don’t know, but let’s take it as a sign to stay away from what’s his name.” He stopped behind one of the sheriff’s vehicles. “Let’s see what this is all about.”

  The deputies had stormed into the shop with guns drawn. One of them blocked their entrance.

  “You can’t go in there.”

  “Was there a break-in?” Melanie peeked in the windows and saw the mess. “Are the Jinx sisters here?”

  The officer shook his head. “We don’t know anything yet.”

  Ben pointed to the mess. “Look.”

  The officer shook his head. “I need you to back away. This is an active crime scene.”

  An ambulance flew down the block toward them.

  “Is someone hurt?” Melanie asked.

  No one would stop to answer her question. Paramedics ran inside with a stretcher, then, another ambulance pulled up with another stretcher.

  “What happened?” Melanie asked as the second set of paramedics ran past them.

  Isaac and Renee were the last to arrive.

  Renee nodded at them as she walked by, but she didn’t stop to chat.

  Finally, an officer escorted Consuelo outside.

  “Do you know where Lyra and her sisters are?” Ben asked.

  She shook her head. “I … I … don’t know. They were here, then, they were gone. I don’t know what happened.”

  The officer shooed them away. “She can’t answer any questions right now.” He escorted her to an open ambulance.

  Anthony caught up to them. “Do you know what happened?”

  Melanie shrugged, “They won’t tell us anything.”

  “They’ll tell me. Stay right here. I’ll find out.”

  Ben scowled at him as he walked by.

  “Don’t do that,” Melanie said.

  “Sorry. I’m afraid you can’t go in there either,” the officer said.

  Ben turned with a satisfied grin on his face. “I guess hot shot isn’t so hot after all.”

  She cocked her head and planted her hands firmly on her hips. “What is your problem? You never acted like this before.”

  He shrugged. “Maybe if I had, you wouldn’t have put up with him for so long. Look, he’s not important right now. Annoying? Yes, but not worth the aggravation. Let him play hero. I don’t care.”

  She eyed him with curiosity. She had no idea when he’d decided to be so against Anthony. She doubted it had anything to do with the whispers from others about them. Those were commonplace. Everyone always wanted them to be a couple, but they liked things the way they were.

  Anthony returned. “Here’s what I know.”

  Melanie refrained from telling him that she’d heard what the officer said.

  He continued, “There’s been a break-in. The place is torn apart.”

  Ben rolled his eyes and walked away. “We can see that, genius.”

  She didn’t want them to squabble, so she addressed the officer, “Can you at least tell us if the Jinx sisters are okay?”

  He shook his head. “I can’t.”

  “Why? Because they’re not here or because something happened to them?” she urged.

  He glanced over his shoulder at the other officers. “Because I don’t know anything yet. Now can you get out of here and let us do our jobs?”

  A paramedic called for him, “She says they left her here.”

  “They left her in there by herself?” Melanie asked.

  The officer scowled at her. “What did I say?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  Ben grabbed her arm and led her away. “Come on. Let’s call them. I’m sure they’re fine.”

  She didn’t have to be told twice. She pulled out her cell phone and dialed Lyra’s num
ber as another pair of paramedics wheeled Eddie out on a stretcher.

  She hung up the phone when no one answered. “I’ll try Calliope’s phone.”

  Then, another ambulance pulled up as officers escorted another police officer out of the building.

  Ben mumbled, “Three ambulances? What in the world happened here?”

  Melanie shrugged. “I have no idea, but Calliope’s not answering either.”

  “Call Calypso,” he suggested. “She’ll probably yell at you, but at least, you’ll know they’re alive.”

  She’d already dialed the number.

  No answer.

  “Why won’t they answer?” She dialed Calypso’s number again.

  Renee walked out to speak to the officer, “Did she say how long it’s been since they disappeared?”

  Melanie’s heart sank. “Disappeared?”

  Chapter 25: The Montoya Sisters

  I lowered my voice at the nurse’s request. “What do you mean you don’t know? You can’t remember anything?”

  My mother blinked slowly. “I didn’t say I couldn’t remember. I said I don’t know. There’s a difference. One minute, they were there. The next minute, the room went dark.”

  Juliana sat on the edge of the bed. “Did they hit you with something?”

  “Who?” she asked.

  “Whoever did this to you. Did they hit you or did you pass out on your own?”

  The nurse checked her blood pressure again. “It’s coming down. Good. I’ll check it again in a few minutes.” She pulled the curtain open. “The doctor should be back in a few minutes.”

  I waited until she walked away before I asked, “What’s the deal with the flour again and what happened to the cops? Why were they there with you?”

  She closed her eyes. “The police arrived about the same time Calypso and her sisters disappeared. I never even spoke to them. What was on the floor wasn’t flour. That I know for sure.”