Back Room Bookstore Cozy Mystery Boxed Set: Books 1 - 12

by Susan Harper

  “A new cauldron,” Mona said, quickly realizing that this was a very strange answer for a mortal to hear.

  “A cauldron…for Christmas?” he asked.

  “She likes…to make…soup…” Mona said, and she could swear she heard Lenore snicker behind her.

  “Oh, I didn’t realize she was much of a cook,” he said with a grin. “Maybe I should get her something for her kitchen? I guess I didn’t even think about how she just moved. Does she have a lot of stuff for the house?”

  “Well,” Mona said, deciding to be honest with the man now. “She has most of what she needs. I am getting her a cauldron because she burnt a hole through the last one making…chili, and I know how much she liked it, and I was able to find one just like it.”

  “That’s very thoughtful,” Brian said with a sigh. He took a sip of his coffee, seemingly out of habit, and he cringed a bit in regret. He cleared his throat and coughed slightly. “So, I notice she doesn’t really wear a lot of jewelry… Is she into jewelry or am I going way off?”

  “I suppose she likes jewelry,” Mona said blankly, not really sure her sister’s opinion on the matter.

  “But not really?” Brian asked, looking rather desperate now.

  Mona couldn’t quite figure out what Monica saw in this mortal fellow. She would have preferred her sister to date a nice warlock, but Monica had often spoken of the man rather giddily. There was clearly something about him that was special to Monica, and after a moment of debate with herself, Mona decided that it would probably be for the best if she tried to get to know the man. “Tell you what, Brian,” Mona said with a slight smile. “Why don’t you and I go out after the shop closes tonight? We can do a bit of window shopping, and maybe I can help you pick something out for Monica?”

  Brian’s face lit up. He was quite cute when he looked excited, that much Mona would admit. “Really?” he asked hopefully. “That would be really great. Tell you what, how about I buy us dinner? I’d love to get to know Monica’s sister.”

  “Yes, try to improve upon that first impression?” Mona asked.

  Brian again broke eye contact. “Yeah… That would be nice.”

  Mona nodded in agreement. “Very well. Will you be able to meet me here at the shop at closing time?”

  “Yeah, that should be no problem,” he said, smiling widely at her. “I appreciate it, Mona.” He checked his phone. “I better get going. Don’t want to get back on Chief Toller’s bad side.”

  “Yes, from what Monica tells me, he is quite a troll,” Mona said.

  Brian nodded. “You have no idea,” he said on his way out the door.

  “I really do,” Mona said, smirking as the door closed. She turned to face Lenore, who was still perched on the counter. “I think that went fairly well for one of my first interactions with a mortal.”

  “I think he believes you were trying to poison him with your awful coffee,” Lenore said. “Do you really think it is a good idea to go out and about Bankstown with that mortal?”

  “I don’t see why not,” Mona said. “Monica does it all the time. And I would like to get to know him a little better if my sister is going to keep dating him. He needs to get the twin sister’s stamp of approval, you know.”

  “Yes, yes,” Lenore groaned. “But I really don’t know how I feel about spending any more time in Bankstown than I have to.”

  “Agreed, but I think I can make an exception for Officer Brian,” Mona said. “It’s very difficult for mystics to be with mortals. Monica is going to want my opinion. She values my opinion just as I value hers. I want to be able to give an honest opinion on the man, and I can’t do that if I don’t go out and see him in his natural habitat.”

  “He’s not a gorilla, Mona,” Lenore said. “He’s a person much like yourself… He’s just a mortal one.”

  “Yes, yes, I know,” Mona said, turning to face the front door. “But he’s one that is very interested in my sister, and I need to make sure he’s worthy.”

  “How honorable of you,” Lenore said.

  Mona waved her had. “Hush, I think I see people peeking in the window.”

  The front door opened, and a handful of mortals entered the shop. They spread out, all looking around and browsing. One of the women approached Mona with a big smile on her face. “Morning,” she said.

  “Yes, it is,” Mona said, and she could hear Lenore sigh at her response. “May I help you?” Mona said, forcing on a big smile.

  “I’m looking for a copy of To Kill a Mockingbird,” she said.

  Mona nodded. “Yes, I do believe I can help you with that.” She started to reach to the inside of her robe, but she quickly stopped herself and walked around the counter to Monica’s computer. She typed slowly, one key at a time, the title of the book the woman was looking for. How she was going to get through the day of not being able to simply summon books off their shelves, she wasn’t so sure.

  3

  “You can really fit this much stuff into this one little purse?” Holly exclaimed as she continued throwing items into Monica’s bag. “It’s like you’re Mary Poppins!”

  “Who?” Monica asked.

  “That’s another movie we’re going to have to watch, I see,” Holly said.

  They were still at Monica’s house, finishing with their packing. Monica had already put Holly’s belongings into the small purse and was now stuffing her own belongings inside for their little weekend trip to the North Pole. “Okay, your turn, little guy,” Monica said to the elf that was currently inside his crate, biting at the metal.

  “He sure is an angry little fellow,” Holly said.

  “I think I’ve packed enough cookies to hold him over until we can get him home,” Monica said. “But the cookies aren’t holding him for as long as they were before. We’ve got to get him up north before he causes any more trouble. Okay, all packed and ready to go.”

  Abigail hissed from where she sat in the floor. Monica laughed to see her walking around bow-legged in her little kitty-cat booties, oversized knitted sweater, and hat. “Aww, come on, Abigail, you look cute,” Holly insisted. “We’re going to the North Pole, for crying out loud. It’s going to be cold.”

  Abigail merely hissed in response.

  “So, are we really going to be able to fly your broom all the way up to the North Pole?” Abigail asked as they made their way outside.

  Monica locked up her cottage, still holding her beloved shapeshifting broom in her hands. “Oh, I had Mona hook me up by expanding the shapeshifting spell on the broom,” Monica said.

  “What, are we doing a two-seated bike now?” Holly asked.

  “Something like that,” Monica said and gripped the broomstick tight. “Cycle,” she said and rather than turning into the cute little purple bike they had seen it do a million times before, the broom transformed into a jet black Kawaski ninja motorcycle with purple fenders and a purple and black sidecar.

  “Oh my…” Holly said, her eyes wide in excitement.

  “I know, right?” Monica exclaimed, clapping her hands together as the motorcycle rolled toward them, ready to go.

  Holly climbed into the sidecar with Abigail in her lap while Monica hopped on. “Get ready, we’re headed to the North Pole in style, ladies,” Monica said and pulled back on handlebar, causing it to rev up. They sped through the trees and blasted off into the sky.

  Their game of “I Spy” came to an end eventually as there was nothing left to spy but ice, snow, and sleet. A slight storm had crept up around them as they had drawn nearer their destination. “Ugh, Holly, grab me a blanket out of that purse, would you?” Monica requested, and Holly obliged, handing a blanket up to Monica.

  Monica wrapped the blanket around her shoulders tightly before continuing their flight through the air on the back of her broom that was currently still in its motorcycle form. “This is way more miserable than I thought it was going to be,” Holly groaned. “I wish I could stretch my legs out a bit.”

  “We’ll be there before
you know it,” Monica assured her. “But I have to admit that this is starting to feel like we bit off more than we could chew. How is Abigail holding up?”

  “A lot better now that she’s hiding out in the purse,” Holly said, laughing. “How long have we been flying?”

  “About twelve hours,” Monica said, and Holly groaned loudly. “Hey, it’s better than if we had been sitting on a little broomstick the whole way.”

  “Good point,” Holly said. “Good thing I finished all my Christmas shopping. We’re going to be cutting it close getting back.”

  “I still haven’t gotten Brian anything,” Monica said with a sigh.

  “What were you thinking of getting him?” Holly asked, the wind picking up to where they had to shout to communicate with one another.

  “Well, I was thinking about this medal he has. He got it after being shot, and I could tell he was super proud of it,” Monica began. “I was thinking it would be nice for him to have a display case for it, and I’ve been looking everywhere for a nice shadowbox, but I haven’t found one I really like just yet.”

  “That’s actually a really great and super thoughtful idea,” Holly said. “I didn’t know Brian had been shot.”

  “It was a while back, but he really proud showing the medal to me,” Monica said. “I think he should have a place he can display it in his apartment. I just hope I can find something. It’s really nice looking, and I haven’t really found something that is suiting for it. I found one display case that I kind of liked, but it was just too cheap-looking for something as nice as a gold medal.”

  “Well, I’m sure you’ll find something,” Holly said, the bike shaking a bit in the wind. “That’s a really great idea for him, though. Very thoughtful. I think you should stick to it and try to find something.”

  “Me too. It’s just that—”

  A large gust of wind cut Monica off short. The bike spun around, and Monica and Holly both screamed in shock. The motorcycle jerked back and forth, and its engine cut off as they began to fall. “We’re going to die!” Holly cried.

  Monica gripped the handle bars tight. “Broom!” she shrieked at the top of her lungs, and suddenly, she was sitting on a broom rather than a motorcycle. Problem was, the broom didn’t have a sidecar, and Holly and the purse holding the elf and Abigail began their descent. Monica now thankfully had much more control, and she began to nosedive after the screaming and flailing Holly.

  With everything around them being a pure white, it was hard to tell how close to the ground they were, so Monica could only hope and pray that she was able to pull up in time. She snatched Holly, who had thankfully not let go of the purse, just in time and pulled up. Her boots skidded across the ice, and the two of them wound up going over the front of the broom and landing in a soft, fresh pile of snow.

  Poor Holly was head first, and when Monica sat upright, she could see the woman’s feet flailing about. Monica reached and grabbed the woman’s legs, pulling her out. “Cold! Cold! Cold!” Holly wailed, rubbing her arms and face still covered in snow. The wind continued to whip around them, ice slapping their faces.

  “Where’s the purse?” Monica asked.

  “I dropped it!” Holly shrieked.

  They began looking around, and after a moment, they could hear a faint sound of Abigail screaming and swearing at them. They had to dig around in the snow for a bit, but they eventually found the purse with Abigail’s head sticking out. “What did you two do? I fall asleep for five minutes, and the next thing I know, I’m falling out of the purse in a head full of ice!” Abigail shouted.

  “Just go back to sleep,” Monica huffed.

  “With pleasure!” Abigail hissed. “At least it’s warm in here!” And just like that, she disappeared inside the purse again.

  “Now we just got to find my broom,” Monica said.

  “I see it!” Holly said, taking a few slippery steps across the icy ground. She picked up the broom and handed it to Monica, who was thankful that it didn’t receive any damage from the fall. “Good save, by the way,” Holly said. “Thought I was about to land flat on the ice. Any chance we’re almost there?”

  “Good chance, actually,” Monica said, pointing toward what look like ice cold water.

  “Please tell me we’re not about to dive underwater to get to Santa’s workshop?” Holly asked, and Monica laughed.

  “No, nothing like that,” Monica said, trudging forward in the snow with the purse on one arm and her free hand carrying the broom. “Well, sort of,” she said.

  They arrived at a sign that seemed almost in the middle of nowhere that read simply North Pole Entrance. Holly looked around. “I expected to see a candy cane pole,” she admitted.

  “Well, the North Pole is in the middle of the Arctic Ocean,” Monica said. “The waters are usually covered by shifting sea ice, so there’s not actually a pole up on the mortal side up north. Just a portal.”

  “Wait… We are about to jump in that water, aren’t we?” Holly asked hesitantly.

  “I’ve been told it’s actually quite a pleasant experience,” Monica said. “Though I’ve never gone through this particular portal before.”

  “So how many portals to the mystic world are there, exactly?” Holly asked.

  “Quite a few, I’m not sure exactly how many,” Monica said. “But they’re all over the place. This one, however, should take us right to the mystic side of the North Pole.”

  “This is going to be so cold,” Holly complained.

  “It shouldn’t be any colder than standing here in this blizzard,” Monica said. Without giving it a second thought, she jumped into the water.

  There was an initial cold shock that Monica hadn’t been expected, but it evaporated rather quickly. There was a magical flash of light, and the storm seemed to all but cease. When she opened her eyes, she was perfectly dry and standing next to a large candy cane-colored pole. “Holly?” Monica called, looking up and around for the woman. Clearly, Holly was having a hard time trying to decide whether or not to come through the portal. Another minute ticked by, and she looked up in time to see Holly swirling out of the sky surrounded by icy water. She landed, the ice around her seemed to shatter in a flash of light, and she stood there just as dry as Monica with a much more troubled look.

  “That was cold!” Holly shrieked, but then her face fell on the town in the distance.

  The skies were blue and charming. It was cold, but it certainly wasn’t a blizzard. The wind was fairly minimal, and the sun was shining. There was beautiful, white fluffy snow all around. About a mile off, they could see a small village. “Is that what I think it is?” Holly asked excitedly.

  “That, Holly, is the North Pole,” Monica said, clasping her hands together excitedly. “I haven’t been here since I was a little girl. This is going to be so fun!”

  Abigail was attempting to squirm her way out of the purse. She jumped out, landing on the ground. “Okay, I think it’s warm enough for me to at least remove the booties, please. I can’t walk in these things.”

  Monica laughed and helped Abigail out. They began walking across the flat, white plains that were the mystical side of the North Pole. Holly was jumping up and down as they walked. “I can’t wait!” she kept saying.

  Just as she said this, a group of reindeer zoomed overhead, and Holly practically screamed in delight to watch the creatures zip past them and toward the town. “No way! No way!”

  Monica smirked, glad that her friend was having so much fun. “First things first, Holly,” Monica said. “We have to find out where to take our little elf friend. I’m not sure where the infirmary is, but he’s definitely going to need a sugar transfusion after his little adventure in Bankstown.”

  4

  Mona was very quickly regretting her decision to go out with Brian that evening. Lenore had stayed behind as Mona realized that ravens were not typical pets for mortals and had not wished to draw attention to herself, so that left her alone with this mortal for the evening. They h
ad gotten dinner, and Mona had found the hamburgers they had eaten to have a rather peculiar taste, and to think that this was something Monica had highly recommended. Then they spent a considerable amount of time walking from store to store.

  Brian’s indecisiveness about a gift for Monica was enough to drive Mona absolutely insane. The man was quite worried about finding the perfect gift, and while Mona could appreciate a bit of romance, the gushiness of Brian’s behavior was enough to make her stomach churn. They turned a corner onto Main Street where the bookshop was located, though it looked quite different than it had before their meal. The lights. Mona had to shield her eyes for a moment in surprise at all the color and brightness they were suddenly confronted with.

  She could see Brian looking around with amusement at all the decorations. “I love the Christmas lights. The town does a great job of decorating Main Street. All the shop owners pitch in. I can see your sister got her lights up and ready, too. She must have it set on a timer, because I didn’t notice they were on when I came to pick you up.”

  Mona cringed at the gawdy lights her sister had decorated the shop with—mostly white and red lights that made the whole front of the building look like one giant candy cane. “My sister does have quite the flair for color,” Mona said, frowning.

  “You two are pretty different for identical twins,” Brian asked. “You dye your hair, right?”

  “Um, no?” Mona hissed, and he stared blankly.

  “Oh… Does Monica?” he asked.

  “No,” Mona said.

  “I’ve never seen identical twins whose hair color are as different as yours and your sisters,” Brian said.