What’s his deal? I wondered.
I pictured him lying on his bed, like the Location Spell had depicted earlier. But my mind turned to Penny’s comment—who knows what he’ll be up to later—and a sense of anxiety replaced my calm.
There’s a killer on the loose, I thought. I’d better check on Hal again.
I’ll just take a quick peek at him again with that Location Spell, I thought, and get the title off of the book. Maybe that could be a clue.
It’s just simple detective work, I told myself. It has nothing to do with my attraction to him.
I said goodnight to Skili and then climbed into my van with Blueberry Muffin. Once I had my PJs on and was in bed, I got to work. I’d never done the Location Spell before, but I’d seen my friends do it so I figured it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try. So once I curled up in bed, I traced my fingers through the air in a square shape. I repeated the word that I’d heard Penny say earlier: “Hocus pocus locus!”
The air started to shimmer.
Then I saw a blurry form. It was Hal, and he was no longer lying down in his bed, peacefully reading.
He wasn’t lying down at all. He was standing up—and not his room, either.
As I watched, I saw him shuffle through some papers on a desk. Then he hurried to a doorway. He poked his head out into the hallway. I saw the numbers 307 on the door, which I clearly remembered was The Miser’s suite. He looked both ways furtively, as if checking that the hall was empty. Then, he stepped out into the hallway entirely.
He quickly closed the door to suite 307 behind him, stuck his hands into his jeans pockets, and started walking down the hallway, whistling a tune that I couldn’t hear through the square of air. The Location Spell was all visual, not auditory. I bet it was a beautiful melody that floated from his lips, but I didn’t care.
Penny was right—I couldn’t even entertain the idea of being attracted to this guy.
Clearly, he was up to no good. And he lied to me! He said he didn’t know The Miser at all—so why was he snooping around in The Miser’s room?
I had some serious questions for Hal, and he was most definitely staying on the list of suspects. In fact, the behavior I’d just witnessed moved him to the top of the list.
I scowled as I watched him whistle his way back to his own suite and slip inside. I ended the spell by averting my gaze. I didn’t want to see any more of Hal Holt.
Blueberry jumped up and stood on my torso. She licked my frown lines, maybe trying to turn them upside down into a smile. But I couldn’t stop scowling. “What was he up to, Blueberry Muffin?” I asked aloud as I stroked her back.
“Yip! Yip yip yip!” she said.
I had no idea what she was telling me, but I sensed that it was something comforting. “Thanks, girlfriend,” I whispered. “It’s nice to know you’ve got my back.”
“Yip! Yap!”
“You’re right. I guess I should check on The Miser and make sure he’s okay,” I said.
I worked the Location Spell again, this time with The Miser on my mind. His image came into view. He was in a suite. I recognized the decorations—it was the suite I’d given to King Midas and his wife. The Miser and King Midas were sitting in two chairs, talking. I also caught sight of Polly, lounging on the bed with a book in her hands. Good, I thought. The Miser is safe and sound.
I ended the spell, yawned, said a spell to turn off the van's overhead lights. With Blueberry still cuddled up next to me, I drifted into a fitful sleep.
Chapter Eight
I woke to bright, peachy-pink dawn skies. I was dressed by six, at which point Blueberry informed me with a few plaintive barks and a skittery dance that she was upset about her missing bow. I found one in the bag Cora had given to me, fastened it on her, and then clipped her onto her leash. Skili was nowhere to be seen, which wasn’t unusual. She liked to fly at night, and the sun had just barely come up. It looked to me like I was on Blueberry Muffin duty.
“Time to get to work!” I told Blueberry as I tried to prompt her to walk with me towards the center.
She plopped her bottom down on the gravel lot.
“Come on, girlfriend!” I said. “Let’s go get some breakfast and scope out the scene. We have lots of work to do today! It’s going to be fun!”
I didn’t believe that last part about fun—not really— but I wanted her to walk with me so I was just saying what I thought she wanted to hear.
But she didn’t budge.
“Yap! Yip yap yip!” said Blueberry, with her eyes bugged out and a wrinkle on her brow.
“Man, you’re kind of cranky this morning,” I said.
She stood up and started pulling in the opposite direction of the center, toward the edge of the lot and the bike path and creek beyond.
I held firm on the leash so that she couldn’t make much progress. “Come on, Blue, I put your bow on and everything. You look great. I don't have time to take you on a walk along the creek right now. Let’s just go inside.” I pulled gently on her leash, hoping that it would coax her toward me.
It seemed to have the opposite effect.
“Yippity yap yap!” Blueberry dug her paws in and braced against my tugs.
I stared at Blueberry.
She stared right back at me with her bulging, Chihuahua eyes.
“Fine,” I said after a good, long stare down. “We’ll go for a walk by the creek. But then, please promise me that you’ll behave today.”
This earned another series of staccato barks, and a few joyful bounces. Her tail started going a mile a minute and she trotted off with her chin held high, leading the way to the bike path. I wasn’t sure if she was feeling pleased that we were going to walk, or just that she got her way in the argument.
I followed. What I really wanted was to get down to business. I was bothered by what I had seen, the night before. Hal, sneaking around The Miser’s room, shuffling through those papers on the desk. What was on the papers?
Did this case run a lot deeper than I thought?
Who was Hal, really?
I needed answers, and I didn’t think that they lay in the direction of the bike path. I was pretty sure that the answers I needed were back at the center, along with a nice hot cup of tea, and some breakfast baked goods.
The case was on my mind as I followed Blueberry’s lead across the road, and onto the wide, smooth path that was lined in orange dirt. Birds, singing the good news of daybreak, kept us company as Blueberry trotted along and I followed not far behind, under a canopy of green leaves.
We’d walked about a half of a mile, and were just rounding a bend when I caught sight of a figure I recognized up ahead—June, King Midas' dog walker. She had Snowflake on a leash and was bent over with a poop bag in her hands, scooping up some of Snowflake’s morning business. I caught up with her just after she used magic to open a trash can without touching the lid and deposited the bag of doo inside.
Blueberry wagged her tail, trotted right up to Snowflake, and gave her a good sniff. Snowflake stiffened up for a moment, as if nervous that Blue might be the nipping type. But when no nips occurred, both started wagging their tails.
“Is yours friendly?” June asked. “Snowflake does just fine with friendly dogs.”
“She’s actually not mine,” I said. “I’m watching her for a friend. But yeah, she’s friendly. Except if you don’t dress her properly in the morning, then she has a bit of an attitude.”
I gave a soft laugh, and June joined in. She rolled her eyes. “Snowflake can be very fussy about her looks, too. If I don’t brush her properly, she pouts until I do.”
“These two are definitely going to be friends,” I said. I eyed the pups again. Blueberry licked Snowflake’s cheek. Snowflake sniffed Blueberry’s bow with obvious approval.
“Which way are you headed?” I asked June.
She was bundled up in a fleece, even though it was July. Seeing as it was early and the sun hadn’t crested the peaks yet, the air was crisp and cool, especially alo
ng the bubbling creek, which carried the last of the snowmelt down from the mountain tops.
June motioned back up the path, in the direction of the retreat center.
“Perfect,” I said. “It’s time for us to head back, too. Mind if we walk with you? I know Blueberry would enjoy the company.”
I also wanted a chance to talk to June, seeing as she was a suspect, and this seemed to be the perfect opportunity.
“That would be great,” she said. “I think Snowflake here is missing her doggy play group, to be honest. She could use a little socializing.”
We headed off with the two pups leading the way. They pranced along, side by side, tails wagging. Blue’s step had a new bounce to it, thanks to her friend. That made me happy.
I wanted to ask June a few questions without sounding too nosey. As a way of warming up to the topic, I asked her how she was enjoying her stay so far.
We chatted a bit about the weather, and she told me about her sense that the air was much denser than it was in the Spirit Realm. She said she was fighting off headaches with an anti-density tincture, and was looking forward to returning to her home atmosphere.
“It’s very difficult to be here, given the heaviness of the air,” she said, “but I do appreciate the chance to travel. I haven’t been outside of my realm before, so it’s exciting to see something new.”
She looked around with appreciation. “I mean, the colors of the Spirit Realm are so much softer. We don't have these vibrant greens or blues. There’s so much more contrast here. And these mountains are incredible!”
“Not all of the Earth Realm is like this,” I told her. “I feel really lucky to live here. My grandparents were descendants of the Ute Native American tribe that settled here long ago. Sometimes I imagine this place before the buildings went up. All the wildlife...” I drifted off as I pulled up one of my favorite fantasies. After a moment I added dreamily, “It must have been incredible.”
We walked in silence for a minute. I knew I had to broach the subject of the murder soon, but I wasn’t sure how. Thankfully, June helped me out.
“I heard The Miser tell King Midas that you’re going to try to figure out who tried to shoot him in town,” she said as we walked over a footbridge near the town park. “That was so awful, what happened. How is your investigation going so far?”
“It’s going okay,” I told her. “I’m not really an expert at looking into things like this. But I guess running the center comes with its fair share of responsibilities; I’m learning that quickly.”
“I can’t even imagine,” she said. “I find it challenging enough to look after one simple four-legged creature.”
“I think you do a lot more than that for King Midas and his family,” I said. “King Midas and The Miser both seem to appreciate you.”
I looked sideways at her to see how this landed. Her eyes were pinned on Snowflake, who was sniffing out a stick in the weeds that lined the trail.
“Mmm...” she murmured.
“How long have you worked for King Midas?” I asked her.
“A few years,” she said.
“How did you get the job?”
“I heard they were looking for help, after what happened to their last dog, Denise. King Midas had a tiny hole in his glove, just a little tear, and the poor dog turned into solid gold with one simple pat. It was tragic”
“I heard about that,” I said. “So sad.”
“They still have her statue. I guess it’s nice to have a memory of her, and she did live a nice long life. But still, they didn’t want another mishap, so King Midas and Polly put out a search for a dog walker.”
“Do you live with them?”
She shook her head. “No, but my apartment isn’t far from their home, so it’s convenient. When they travel, I accompany them.”
“Why doesn’t Polly just walk Snowflake?” I asked.
“Polly’s not crazy about work in general,” June said.
Did I detect a touch of bitterness there? I kept my senses alert as she continued. “And of course King Midas can’t, because he doesn’t want to risk turning another dog into gold. So... they hired me.” She fell silent.
“And they picked you, out of all the applicants?” I asked.
She nodded. I caught a slight grin as she said, “King Midas and I hit it off right away. He’s a great guy. Always cheerful. He liked the fact that I was willing to help out by running errands and picking up extra chores now and then, when Snowflake was napping.” She looked proud of this.
The dogs egged each other on at the edge of the path, where the rocky shore of the creek was separated from the smooth orange dirt by just a few clumps of grass. June and I paused to let them go down to the creek for a minute.
“Since you’re around King Midas and his family a lot, I’d love to know... have you noticed any indication of trouble?” I asked. “Any problems surrounding The Miser? Can you think of anyone who might want to kill him?”
She looked sideways at me, and I thought I caught a flash of fear in her eyes, but she kept her lips sealed.
I stopped walking. I could see the center, across the street a little ways up the path from us, but I wasn’t done questioning June. I had to know what that flicker of fear was about.
“June, this is important,” I told her. “I understand if you’re scared, and I understand if you don’t want to speak badly about your employer or his family. But the information you share could help us save The Miser’s life.”
She looked down, and tucked a chunk of her short, dark hair behind her ear. She shuffled her feet in the orange dirt, and then looked out at the creek water. She seemed to be thinking as she watched the two dogs play along the rocky shore.
“There is one thing that’s been bothering me,” she said. “But I’m not sure I should tell you.”
You should, I thought. You really should. Come on, June. I kept quiet, in an attempt to give her space to think. I didn’t want to come across as pushy. I wanted her to open up to me, not shut down.
My tactic worked.
“But I can’t get it out of my mind,” she said after a moment. “I’ve been up all night, thinking about it, to tell you the truth. And I’m glad to run into you like this. I actually saw you heading over to the path, and I followed you just so that we could talk.”
She sighed. “I just need to get this off of my chest. It’s eating me up inside.”
I nodded, and gave her a friendly smile that I hoped was encouraging. It seemed that it was, because she spoke again.
“It’s Polly,” she said. She looked past me, down the path in both directions, as if nervous that someone might overhear us. It was still early, and the path was empty. “I think —oh, gosh. I know this is going to sound terrible, and it's not like me to gossip, but...” She trailed off, and bit her lip.
“This isn’t gossip,” I told June in what I hoped was a reassuring voice. “Whatever you have to say might be important to the case. You might be able to prevent another attack.”
“I don’t know,” she said. “I really don’t know if this has anything to do with what happened in town on Monday night.”
“The shooting,” I said.
She nodded. “It’s just that—there’s a chance it does. Like you said, she might attack again.”
“She?” I said. “Are you talking about Polly?”
June nodded. She pushed her glasses up slightly on her nose, and then looked at me through the thick glass lenses. “I think she’s having an affair,” she said, her voice just barely above a whisper. “It’s been going on ever since I first started working for her and King Midas. I noticed it within the first few months—a pattern.”
“What pattern?” I asked.
June looked both ways down the path again. Then she stepped in closer to me. “Every month, on the night of the full moon, Polly disappears. She’s always gone for the entire night. She doesn’t come back until the following evening. I asked King Midas about it once; you know, I aske
d him where she goes. He said that she stays the night at the neighbor's house and they do spa treatments or something. Well, that’s a lie. I walked the dog right past the neighbor's house—it’s not that far from King Midas and Polly’s place, just across the cloud, and Polly wasn’t there.”
“How do you know?” I asked her.
“No one was home,” June said.
“So you’re sure Polly is lying about her visits to this neighbor friend?” I asked.
June nodded. “I’ve tried to follow her several times to see where she really sneaks off to, but it’s impossible. She always disappears. She must have a secret lover, and she’s slinking off to be with him. I’m scared that she made arrangements to meet him here, tonight. Tonight is the full moon, you know, and they’ve never missed a month—ever.”
“Interesting,” I said.
She frowned. “The really scary part is that I overheard The Miser questioning Polly. He said something like, ‘I found out. I know your secret, and I’m going to tell my brother, if you don’t come clean first.’”
I opened my eyes wide. “When was this?” I asked.
“Just last week,” June said. Worry lines etched into her brow, forming a few wavy lines above her glasses. “What if Polly tried to kill The Miser so that her secret would be safe?”
“It’s a possibility,” I said.
“Or—what if her secret lover is here, in the Earth Realm? What if he’s going to try to help her protect the secret, so that their affair can continue?”
“I guess there’s a chance that’s the case,” I said thoughtfully.
The dogs scurried up the bank, away from the water. Blueberry playfully chased Snowflake, who ran until the leash stopped her. June’s arm gave a little jump due to the pull, and Snowflake stopped short. Blueberry crashed right into her, and the two started playfully pushing against one another.
June and I took it as a cue to keep walking.
“So King Midas has no idea that his wife has been lying to him,” I said, more to myself than to June. I was trying to connect some dots. “But The Miser knows. I wonder how he found out?”
King Midas' Magic Page 7
