The Magic of Halloween Night

by Kathi Daley

  The Magic of

  Halloween Night

  A Cat in the Attic Mystery

  by

  Kathi Daley

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2020 by Katherine Daley

  Version 1.0

  All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

  A Cat in the Attic Mystery

  The Curse of Hollister House

  The Mystery Before Christmas

  The Case of the Cupid Caper

  The Secret of Logan Pond

  The Magic of Halloween Night

  Table of Contents

  A Cat in the Attic Mystery

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 1

  Thursday

  Today was the first anniversary of my return to Foxtail Lake and Great-aunt Gracie after the accident that had forever changed my life. When I’d come crawling home twelve months ago, a broken and defeated woman, I hadn’t planned to stay. My life had been completely upended after a drunk driver hit me head-on, effectively ending my career, so I figured I’d return to the one place that really felt like home, lick my wounds, and figure out a plan for the rest of my life. A few weeks tops, I’d told myself, and yet here I was a year later still living in the house where I’d grown up with the woman who’d raised me, and the life in New York I thought I couldn’t wait to return to had become nothing more than a distant memory.

  “Morning, Aunt Gracie,” I said after entering the warm and sunny kitchen. “Tom,” I turned and greeted the man who lived on the property and acted as Gracie’s companion and the groundskeeper.

  “Morning, dear,” Gracie said as she slid a breakfast casserole out of the oven. “Do you mind heading upstairs and shooing Paisley down? If the girl doesn’t get a move on, she’s going to be late for school.”

  “She wasn’t in her bedroom when I poked my head in on the way downstairs. I assumed she was already down here. Maybe she’s in the attic. I’ll get her.”

  I headed back up the stairs, this time continuing past the second-floor landing to the very top of the house. When I was a little girl, I would sit high up in the attic window overlooking the lake with my cat, dreaming the dreams only little girls can imagine. I’d plot adventures and weave enchanted tales as the seasons turned and the years unwound. It was a magical time, filled with possibilities that existed only in my mind. Since she’d been staying with us, Paisley had likewise spent a lot of time in the room at the top of the house. I hoped she’d found sanctuary in the space as I had after my parents died. For me, the attic became a safe haven where I could hide out from a world that had become too painful to understand. Paisley had been through a lot in the past year. If anyone needed a port in the storm, it was the eleven-year-old girl who’d wormed her way into my life and my heart.

  When I opened the door, I found her sitting in the window seat that overlooked the lake, clutching Gracie’s cat, Alastair. “Are you ready for school?” I asked, entering the room and slipping into the window seat across from her.

  “I am.”

  “Aunt Gracie has breakfast ready.”

  She swiped at a tear that I sensed she was trying to hide. “I’m not really hungry this morning.”

  Opening my arms, I welcomed Paisley into them. After she closed the distance between us, I tucked both her and the cat next to my chest. “Are you nervous about Aunt Gracie’s visit with your grandmother today?” I knew Paisley had been worried ever since her grandmother had suffered a stroke and been air-flighted to a regional hospital about ninety minutes away.

  She nodded. “I wish I could go.”

  “I know, but you have school, and Aunt Gracie really needs to have a chance to have an adult conversation with your grandmother’s doctor. I’m sure if the doctor gives the okay, we can work out a time to take you to see her this weekend.”

  Paisley turned her face into my shoulder. I tightened my arms around her. To this point, Ethel hadn’t been allowed visitors, but Aunt Gracie had arranged to meet with both Ethel and her doctor later this morning, and after almost a week of waiting for news, we’d finally have some today.

  “I’m sure she’s going to be fine,” I continued. “She’s getting the care she needs, and Aunt Gracie told me that your grandma has one of the best doctors in the area.”

  “But what if she isn’t fine?” Paisley asked.

  “She will be,” I assured her. Despite my words, I understood Paisley’s trepidation. I’d been orphaned at an early age, the same as Paisley, but I’d had Great-aunt Gracie, and I’d never once doubted that she’d be there for me. But Ethel was much older than Gracie, and she’d had health problems even before Paisley’s mother died. Even if she hadn’t suffered a stroke, I doubted she’d have been healthy enough to care for Paisley in the long run, and I suspected Paisley knew it. “You know that whatever happens and however long it takes for your grandma to get better, you always have a home with Gracie and me, don’t you?”

  She leaned back and looked straight at me, her lip quivering. “Do you mean that? I mean, really mean it?”

  “Of course.”

  “Even if Grandma never comes home? Can I stay with you even if it ends up being forever?”

  I didn’t answer because I didn’t know. I was sure that Gracie and I were committed to doing whatever needed to be done to help Ethel with Paisley, but what if she didn’t come home. What then? Ethel was Paisley’s grandmother and had taken over as her legal guardian when her mother died. I wondered if Ethel would be the one to choose someone to replace her if she had to step down from her role as her granddaughter’s guardian or if someone else, perhaps the court, would take over.

  “Callie? Did you hear me? Can I stay with you even then?” Paisley demanded.

  “I don’t know,” I answered honestly. “But I’ll talk to Gracie, and maybe between the two of us, we can figure out exactly what might happen if your grandmother isn’t able to come home. In the meantime, don’t worry about it. Gracie and I love you. We won’t let anything bad happen to you. I promise.”

  “You shouldn’t make promises you might not be able to keep,” she said in a tone barely more than a whisper.

  “Yeah,” I acknowledged. “I guess adults do that sometimes.” I took a deep breath. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, and I guess I can’t promise an outcome I may or may not control, but I can promise that I love you and I’ll do everything in my power to make sure you’re okay.”

  She hugged me tight, and I hugged her back. I supposed that was enough to pacify her for now since she got up and headed toward the kitchen with Alastair on her heels, but now that the subject of Paisley’s long-term care had been brought up, I supposed it really was something Gracie and I should look into. Even if Ethel was able to come home after her stay in the hospital, it really did seem unlikely she’d be able to look out for Paisley until she reached adulthood.

  “There she is,” Gracie hugged Paisley and then handed her a glass of orange juice. “Did you remember to pack your homework into your backpack?”

  “I did,” Paisl
ey answered. “What time are you going to see my grandma?”

  “Eleven-thirty.”

  “Don’t forget to take the card I made for her.”

  Gracie set a plate with egg casserole and toast in front of Paisley. “I won’t forget. I put it right next to my purse, so I’d be sure to remember to bring it.”

  “Maybe you can talk to her doctor about letting her come home.” Paisley scooted her food around on her plate but wasn’t really eating it. “I can take care of her. I know what to do. Before my mom died, she said I was the best nurse she’d ever had.”

  Gracie’s face softened. “I’ll try to find out what’s going to happen next, but I suspect that it might be a while before your grandma is able to come home. She needs the sort of care she can only get in a hospital.”

  Paisley pushed her plate to the center of the table.

  “Aren’t you hungry this morning?” Gracie asked.

  “My stomach hurts. Is it okay if I go upstairs and get my stuff? I don’t want to be late for school.”

  “Certainly,” Gracie answered. “I’ll put an apple and a granola bar in your backpack in case you end up getting hungry before lunch.”

  Paisley scooted out of her chair and headed up the stairs.

  “She’s really worried about what’s going to happen to her if her grandmother doesn’t come home,” I said after she left.

  “I know,” Gracie poured a second cup of coffee for herself and sat down at the table. “And I guess I don’t blame her. She’s only eleven, and her grandmother has been her anchor ever since her mother was diagnosed with cancer. Paisley is very bonded to her. It’s going to be hard on both of them if Ethel isn’t able to continue to care for her.”

  “I suppose you might want to bring the subject up when you see Ethel today,” I said. “I’m sure Paisley’s care has been on her mind.”

  “I’m sure it has,” Gracie replied. “It’s a difficult situation, but these things have a way of working themselves out. Tom and I won’t be back in time to pick Paisley up from school, so you’ll need to see to that.”

  “I was planning on it.” I scooted my chair back and stood up. “I guess I should grab my stuff, so Paisley isn’t late.” I kissed Gracie on the cheek. “Once you speak to Ethel and her doctor and get all the facts, we should talk and come up with some sort of a plan.”

  “I think that’s a very good idea.”

  Chapter 2

  After I dropped Paisley off at school, I headed over to the library, where I hoped to speak to Hope Mansfield about the haunted barn for the Halloween Festival. In addition to being the local librarian, Hope was the volunteer coordinator for the community.

  “Morning, Hope,” I greeted, pausing to nod toward the group of volunteers who were working their magic with Halloween decorations.

  “Callie.” She smiled, setting aside the construction paper pumpkins she’d been cutting out. “I’m glad you’re here. Did you get my message about the time change for the barn decorating party?”

  “I did, and nine o’clock will be fine. Did you end up with enough people to get things handled in one day?”

  “I think so.” She reached under the counter and took out a list. “I have to admit that only having one day to do everything has left me pretty tense, but Nora got on the phone and rounded up a few additional volunteers, which should bring us up to the minimum number we need to get everything done.”

  Nora Nottaway owned Nottaway General Store along with her husband, Ned. She’d been battling cancer but seemed to be doing a lot better.

  “I could use a few additional people to work the event itself, however, so let me know if you think of anyone,” Hope added.

  “I can’t think of anyone offhand, but I’ll let you know if I think of someone. Did you put up a notice on the community bulletin board?”

  “I did. I thought I might go out to the senior center and see if anyone there wants to help with the ticket sales.” Hope looked up as a group of high school students walked in through the front door. “Maybe I should talk to the principal at the high school as well. We have utilized older teens in the past to help out with crowd control.”

  “Maybe one of the service clubs.” I leaned an elbow on the counter, which had been decorated with autumn garland and bright yellow pumpkins. “By the way, I love all the decorations you set out, but I really love the Halloween themed fantasy scene you painted on the wall in the reading room. I noticed it right away when I walked in.”

  “My new assistant did everything.” Hope waved to a woman in a gray wool skirt topped with a dark green sweater. “I want you to meet her as long as you’re here.” We waited as she walked toward us. “Vonda Robertson, this is Callie Collins.”

  “I’m happy to meet you,” I smiled at the woman with short blond hair with light brown lowlights, which did a lot to offset her huge brown eyes, full lips, and high cheekbones.

  “You work at the newspaper,” she said after we shook hands. “I’ve read your columns. They are really very good.”

  “Thank you. I enjoy writing them. They help me to feel connected both to myself and to the community.”

  “Have you always wanted to be a journalist?” she asked.

  “Not at all. In fact, until a year ago, I was a concert pianist, but after a car accident left me with a permanent injury to one hand, I decided to move back to Foxtail Lake. I wasn’t certain what I wanted to do with my life when I first arrived, but I sort of fell into the newspaper thing.”

  “Well, you’re a natural.” She grinned. “Your columns are warm and entertaining. Reading them feels like sitting down with a close friend and learning about their latest adventures.”

  “Thank you so much,” I said. “That means a lot.”

  “Will you be doing another holiday series like you did this past Christmas?” she asked. “I think I loved those columns most of all.”

  I really hadn’t thought that far ahead and told the woman as much, but it had been fun researching Secret Santa last year. Maybe I could dig up another feel-good Christmas piece to feature this year, perhaps either the annual toy drive or the food baskets that were given to Foxtail Lake residents who seemed to be having a hard time making their own Christmas miracle happen.

  Vonda and I chatted for a few more minutes, then she wandered off to help the teens who seemed to have congregated in the reference section, and I returned my attention to Hope. “She seems nice.”

  “She is. The customers really like her, and so far, she’s done a wonderful job with the book clubs. I know you usually volunteer at the animal shelter on Tuesdays, but if you ever have time, you should come by and join our mystery lovers group. We have a very involved membership, and they actually seem interested in solving both real and fictional mysteries. You’d fit right in.”

  “Real mysteries?” I asked. I had to admit the idea intrigued me.

  “It’s not like the group physically investigates anything, but there have been a few instances when they’ve chosen to read true crime books relating to an unsolved murder or kidnapping. I can think of one incident in particular where one of the members postulated a theory as to what might actually have occurred, which caused several others to jump in with their own ideas. The group spent weeks digging up old news articles, trying to figure out what the police couldn’t. I’m not saying they solved the crime, but they sure had fun trying, and they did come up with some interesting theories.”

  “That does sound fun. I’ll keep that in mind.” I glanced at my watch. “Right now, I need to meet with Dex. He has an assignment he insists we need to discuss in person, and then I need to pick Paisley up from school at three o’clock, so I suppose I should get going.”

  “How’s Paisley doing? I heard her grandmother was in the hospital.”

  “She’s doing as well as can be expected,” I answered. “It’s been hard on her since her mom died. It’s natural that she would feel out of sorts after her loss, but then to have her grandmother take a turn for t
he worse has been really difficult for her. Gracie and I have both assured her that she can stay with us as long as she needs, but I think she can see the handwriting on the wall.”

  “Do you think the grandmother will decide she can no longer act as her guardian?”

  I nodded. “I think that is exactly what’s going to happen at some point. I suspect it’s really only a matter of time before Ethel is going to need to move into an assisted care facility.”

  “And Paisley? What will happen to her?”

  I frowned. “I wish I knew. She has a second cousin who lives on the east coast, but Paisley doesn’t really know the woman, and she definitely doesn’t want to move away from Foxtail Lake. I suppose that Ethel might be able to name someone who isn’t a blood relation to oversee Paisley’s care. Gracie is going to meet with both Ethel and her doctor today. She plans to bring it up if the situation presents itself. I guess at this point, all we can do is take it one day at a time.”

  “I’m sure it will all work itself out.”

  I smiled. “I hope so.” I leaned away from the counter. “I really should get going, but I’ll be at the barn in the morning.”

  “Okay, see you then.”

  After I left the library, I headed down the street to the newspaper. It was a beautiful day, sunny and warm with the scent of wood smoke in the air, so I’d decided to walk. I knew that snow and winter were just around the corner, but for today, I’d enjoy the gorgeous color of the fall leaves as they gently fell to the ground and covered the sidewalk like some sort of wonderful fall blanket. I loved all the seasons here at Foxtail Lake, but I was pretty sure I loved autumn the most.

  “Morning, Lorraine,” I greeted Lorraine Boxwood, the owner of a cute boutique featuring clothing not always practical for mountain wear but perfect for a special event.