Thankfully, the wood floors had a long carpet down the hallway to mask my footsteps. I peered into the bathroom, the first room that appeared on my right.
There was nothing remarkable about it. In fact, it looked as though it was barely used. My eyes wandered down to the floor, where every inch - 0even the edges where the floor met the walls - was spotless. A single toothbrush with perfectly straight bristles sat in a perfectly clean up, there wasn’t a spot of mildew on the walls or the ceiling; you could have told me this was a staged house someone was trying to sell and I would have believed it.
I checked to make sure Xander was still talking, then went a little further down the hall to where another door was cracked. I pushed it open very slowly, squinting my eyes at the hinges as if willing them not to squeak, and they politely obliged.
It was the master bedroom, clearly. Once again, there was nothing remarkable about it, except for the fact that it was just so pristine.
I was starting to feel self-conscious about the tidiness of my own B&B. The bed was so perfectly made that I could have bounced a coin off it. The dresser and mirror across from the bed were immaculate, with not a speck of dust to be seen anywhere, and a few more of those crystals decorated the top of it, along with a jewelry box and a pair of gloves. The only sign that someone had actually used the bedroom recently was a pair of extra slippers half-tucked under the bed.
Moving on from there, I went to the last door in the hallway. It was closed. I pursed my lips and put an ear to it. No sound from within. Glancing back down the hallway, I slowly turned the knob, careful not to make a sound, then stuck my head inside.
My heart jumped up to my throat at what I saw. I had about twenty seconds to drink it all in with widening eyes before a voice made me nearly jump out of my skin.
“Artemis?” I heard Xander call. Biting my lip, I closed the door quietly and hurried down the hallway again.
“Sorry!” I said, appearing in the kitchen door with a bright smile. “I just got a call from my sister that I had to take real quick. No update on the case, sorry,” I added hurriedly, in case my lie gave either one of them false hope. Francine’s shoulders slumped slightly at my words.
“Thank you again for your cooperation. We’ll be in touch,” Xander said before finishing off his tea.
“Please do,” Francine replied, a hint of an edge to her voice. “I know I’m not legally her guardian, but she means the world to me, you must understand that.”
“Believe me, I do,” Xander said, giving her one last nod. He then motioned for me to head out in front of him, and we made our way out the door. “Stay safe, ma’am.”
When the door closed behind us, Xander and I walked back to the road before we said a word to each other. As soon as we got far enough away that we wouldn’t be overheard, the two of us immediately began speaking over one another.
“So what did you-”
“You’ll never believe what-”
The two of us stopped, a small smile creeping up on my lips.
“You first,” Xander said slowly, motioning for me to try again.
“Let’s get moving, first,” I said, glancing back to the house. He nodded, we mounted our brooms, and the next second, we were off.
“The last room in the hallway,” I said after about a block, looking over at Xander with wide eyes.
“I figured you went snooping,” he said with a sigh. “But then again, I guess that’s why I brought you along.”
“That’s right, you did,” I said, a little too smugly, and I winced when he gave me a warning look. “Anyway, this is insane - that last room down the hallway? Xander, it’s a little kid’s room.”
Xander’s expression went from blank to concerned, and he raised an eyebrow at me. “A child’s room?”
“Yeah! Like, there’s a child sized bed in there, a little dollhouse playset, some kids’ books on a shelf, the works. Looks nicer than the room I had as a kid.”
“Did you see anything in there that indicated Tina might have been living there?” he asked. “Some recently used clothes? Backpack? Coloring book? Anything?”
“That’s the thing,” I said, so frustrated and excited at once that my broom moved up and down as I rode it. “It didn’t, but her whole house looks like nobody lives there. I saw the master bedroom, the bathroom, and the creepy kid’s room - each one looked like some kind of IKEA model room, like she staged everything.”
Xander’s face told me I was losing him.
“Before you start poking holes in this,” I said quickly, “ask yourself who has a perfectly-kept kid’s room in their house if they don’t have a kid.”
“An unstable mother who’s desperately trying to clean up her act so she can see her kid more often,” he replied matter-of-factly, and I felt my heart sinking. He had a point. A good point, too. “But, from talking to her, all of that is starting to make sense.”
“How so?”
“She’s a nervous wreck,” he said, shaking his head. “Even before the incident, it sounds like she just has way too much time on her hands, more than she ever thought she would at her age, after becoming a mother.”
“That explains the cleaning, I guess,” I said disappointedly.
Xander nodded. “People like that can get obsessive about little things. But speaking of obsessive, it was clear to me that she’s obsessed with her child after losing her.”
“Can’t blame her there,” I said with a deep sigh. “Talk about a rough spot to wind up in. Torn from the one thing you care most about, and then having her kidnapped? That’s a lot for one person to handle, no matter how stable their life is.”
“It is,” Xander agreed. “So much so that I think she could be liable to do something drastic.”
“Like trying to take her daughter back by force?” I breathed. “Should we turn around and go back for her?”
“We can’t,” Xander said. “Keeping a shrine-room like that isn’t enough for probable cause. It’s reasonable for her to expect to be able to see Tina in the future and have her over, and we don’t want to push someone in that state of mind unless we have harder proof. Besides, she can’t try and take her daughter back by force without knowing where her daughter is, and as far as I can tell, she has no idea.”
I frowned, unconvinced, but Xander spoke again. “We can agree that she’s at the top of the suspect list for now, though.”
“I’ll take that,” I said with a slow nod.
And no sooner had I said it than I ran smack into a snow golem.
I went toppling off my broomstick with a yelp, as a belated, “watch out, lady!” came from one of the teenagers who’d controlled the now-smashed snow-beast. I was still disoriented when I felt Xander’s strong hand grip mine and pull me to my feet.
“You okay?” Xander asked as I wobbled, and I blinked at the pile of enchanted snow that was now trying to pull itself back together.
“Uh... yeah,” I mumbled, realizing I was still holding his hand, and I pulled it away to brush myself off. “Wait, where’s my-”
I looked at the golem as it picked up its snowy head off the ground, and I saw the rectangular shape of my phone sticking out of its eye.
“Whoops, excuse me,” I said, grinning sheepishly at it and plucking the phone out.
And to my surprise, as soon as I did, the phone vibrated in my hand as the screen lit up, telling me I had an incoming call.
Chapter 5
I slid the screen open and pressed the phone to my ear, shuffling away from the snow golem - snowlem? - to answer the call. Xander’s eyes followed me, with a quizzical look on his face for a second before he scooted over to me, then glared over at the teens.
“Be careful where you build this stuff,” he told them with a note of authority. The kids all nodded and sighed in that huffy way teens often responded to a tough guy in uniform.
“Hello?” I said into the phone.
“Hey, Arti!” a bright, musical voice replied. I smiled at the sound of my new roommate’s voice.
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“Oh, hi Lara. What’s up?” I asked.
“Well, nothing too serious, but your guest here at the bed and breakfast is kind of stuck.”
“Stuck?”
“Yes. You know how Daphne here was trying to leave town this morning after breakfast?” she continued.
I grimaced, closing my eyes tightly as I realized where this was heading. “Uh-huh.”
“Well, she loaded up her broom basket with all her luggage just after breakfast and started heading out of town, then came back half an hour later saying she couldn’t get past the outskirts and didn’t know what to do.”
“That’s the quarantine spell,” I sighed.
“I heard about that. Unfortunately, she got grandfathered in and now she has no place to go,” Lara said.
“Well, of course we won’t kick her out. Nobody can come in and nobody can come out, so it’s not like my guest room is going to get used otherwise. So tell Daphne that she can stay at the house free of charge until this is all over.”
“Okay. Will do. Anything else?” Lara chirped.
“Oh! And tell her that if she has any issues regarding the quarantine, she can direct all complaints to the police station: specifically, Chief Xander Forsetti,” I added, trying to stifle a laugh as I caught the wide-eyed, exasperated look on Xander’s face. He rolled his eyes and sardonically mouthed ‘thanks for that’ at me.
“Okay. Got it!” Lara said.
“Wait, wait,” I said suddenly. “Before I forget, can I ask you to do me a huge favor?”
“Of course.”
“Could you, I don’t know, entertain her a little? Somehow? Just talk to her and make sure she’s comfortable waiting around there? I know she’s probably not particularly pleased with the fact that she’s stuck here and I want her stay to be as accommodating and painless as possible,” I explained to Lara.
“Alright! We’ve already been chatting quite a bit. She’s very spirited,” Lara added in an undertone. I smiled. That was definitely code for she never stops talking.
“Perfect. Thanks, Lara. How are the kitties doing?”
“I don’t want to jinx it, but they’re all cuddly on the couch again,” she giggled.
“Aww. I love it. Text me a picture if you can?”
“Ooh. Good idea. Blackmail!” she laughed.
“Yes, exactly,” I agreed fiendishly, imagining how pissed off Luna would be if I had photo documentation of her blossoming friendship with Lucy. “Oh, and I’ll come home in a bit to cook lunch for everybody. Can you ask Daphne if she has any preferences?”
“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Lara insisted. “I can cook us lunch! You’re busy.”
“Are you sure?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. I didn’t want to call Lara out on her less-than-comfortable demeanor in the kitchen, but, well, her cooking skills were definitely more along the lines of what you’d expect from someone who had lived most of her life in Los Angeles and apparently ate take-out constantly.
“Yeah, yeah. Of course. I’ve got this. I can handle lunch,” Lara said confidently.
“Well, alright then. Tell Daphne I said hi and I’m sorry for the inconvenience. See you in a bit.”
“Will do! See you later, Arti.”
I hung up the phone and tucked it into my pocket, then turned back to Xander with a sigh. “Sorry. Day job problems,” I said sheepishly.
“My apologies for getting your guest stuck in the quagmire here,” he replied with a half-smile. “Now, I think it might be best for us to split up.”
Instantly, my heart sank a little. “What?”
His eyes went wide as he realized the unintended implications of his phrasing. “I mean officially. For the case, just for now. I just mean that if we split up, we can cover more ground that way,” he said hastily.
I laughed nervously, relief washing over me. Of course my reaction was stupid, what else would he mean? “Oh. Okay. Yeah, sure. Where are you going and what would you like me to do next, partner?”
He grinned. “I’ve got a few ideas in mind, but do you think you could handle interviewing your sister?”
I tilted my head to one side. “Diana?”
“Yes. I know she’s a very involved headmistress, and I have no doubt that she knows all of her students quite well. It might be productive for you to see what all she can tell us about Tina Frost. Maybe there’s something she noticed, someone hanging around after class or something,” he suggested. I gave him a nod and a faux-salute.
“Got it. I’m on it.” Xander beamed at me and hopped on his broom.
“Keep in touch, okay?” he said as he zoomed off.
I sighed as I watched his cute butt disappear around the corner, then mounted my own broom and took off toward the Academy again. Lately it felt like I was spending more time there than I did when I was a student. Rocketing across town, I took in the blustery wind and the pristine white snow blanketing the streets and buildings. It was beautiful, of course, and my insulation spell was keeping me warm and toasty, but I couldn’t help but long for the season to end. I was ready to see all the little flowers peeking their faces out again, smell the herbs and fruit trees in bloom. Springtime was a magical time here. My parents’ garden yielded basket after basket of glorious, shiny produce for me to use in the kitchen. The air constantly smelled sweet. Everyone seemed to be dancing on tip-toes, smiling and giddy about the feeling of turning over a new leaf. I wondered if perhaps springtime would bring calmer, more peaceful days. Moonlight Cove had been a little too exciting for my tastes as of late, and I was ready for everything to go back to normal.
When I reached the Academy, I was a little surprised to see that everyone was back in class, and everything seemed to be moving smoothly again. I supposed that should not have surprised me, considering the fact that Diana was known for her efficiency and her ability to calm down a crowd. In fact, it was her biggest asset as a witch: her innate ability to induce calmness and peace in other people. She could take a shouting match and shrink it down to a civil discussion. She could reduce a fist fight to a fist bump. It was part of what made her such an effective headmistress: Di just knew how to make people chill out and get along with each other. Of course, the downside was that she was incapable of using her powers on herself, so while she was surrounded often by chilled-out, beatific people, she herself was a constant swirling maelstrom of anxiety and high-strung energy. She was like a shot of espresso turned into a person, and there wasn’t much she could do to change it. Luckily, she was also highly motivated and organized, so she was usually able to channel that frenetic intensity into her work. Usually.
I strolled through the quiet halls, listening to my footsteps echoing slightly off the walls. It was always slightly surreal coming back to the Academy on business, because it instantly made me feel like a dumb kid again. I was an adult until I stepped through those massive double doors, and as I walked down a hall of shiny metal lockers, I was transported back in time, to when I was an angsty teenager watching the clock, just waiting for the bell to ring so I could burst out of here like a bat out of hell. It wasn’t that I had hated school, exactly, I was just more interested in wandering around town looking for mischief and entertainment.
I reached Diana’s office door and shook myself out of my reverie as I gave it a knock. Within a second, the door swung open to reveal my sister standing there with round eyes and a worried expression. Her face softened when she saw it was just me. She sighed.
“Oh. It’s you,” she mumbled.
“Wow, thanks for the enthusiastic greeting.”
“Sorry, Arti. I’m just a little high-strung right now. I’ve been sitting behind my desk twiddling my thumbs, feeling totally useless about this Tina Frost fiasco. I feel terrible. I wish there was something else I could do to help,” she groaned as she walked back over to lean on her desk. I shut the door behind me and plopped down in the chair.
“Well, incidentally, I have been sent here to ask you some questions,” I said.
&n
bsp; She looked petrified again. “Me? Questions? Oh no. Why?”
I chuckled and patted her on the arm reassuringly. “Don’t worry. You’re not in trouble, Di. Of course not. You’re not a suspect or anything, I promise.”
“Phew. You scared me for a second, Artemis. I know you’re playing deputy with Chief Blue-Eyes and I thought he’d sent you here to arrest me or something,” she admitted.
I laughed outright. “No! My moon, of course not! Diana, nobody in their right mind would ever suspect you had anything to do with this case, okay? I just came here to ask you in person if you had any other information that might be pertinent to the case.”
She wracked her brain, biting her lip as she thought it over. I could tell she was desperate to tell me something useful, but she was coming up empty. “I’m sorry. I can’t think of anything at all,” she confessed sadly.
“Can you think of anyone outside the school who might want to hurt a child? A former student who was a troublemaker? A parent whose behavior seemed out of line? A weirdo hanging around the schoolyard watching the kids play at recess or anything?” I suggested.
She paled and shook her head. “Oh goodness, no. You know I would have shut that kind of thing down immediately if it ever happened, but I can’t recall anything like that.”
“Hmm. Okay,” I said, feeling put-out. “Well, then, how are you holding up?”
She shrugged. “Eh, I’m alright. Just sad, really. Tina is a fantastic student. A truly lovely little girl with a good head on her shoulders. She’s only six, but she’s always been such a big personality around here. I’m sure her classmates are gutted to have to be in class without her today. I know her teachers miss her already. She’s just a bright spot of sunshine.”
“That’s what everyone has told me,” I agreed gently. “I hope we find her.”
“Me, too,” Diana said, looking totally downtrodden.
“But hey,” I said, standing up and giving her a quick hug. “You hang in there and do what you do. Make sure all the other students feel safe. And if you can, keep a close watch on them whenever they’re let out for recess and whatnot, okay? Just in case this perpetrator has been emboldened by the first kidnapping, you know?”
A Perfect Spell Page 4
