by Olivia Swift
“So, we do tomorrow night, have Sunday night at home and pick up our Irish friends on Monday.” He pulled her to her feet. “Come on, Missus Barnes. We need to get some sleep.”
The café opened up as usual and Rula was singing as she started up the machines.
“Well, Missus Happy, are you buying it?” Magda asked.
“Oh yes. Aren’t I married to just the most wonderful man? He called her last night and asked what sort of price she wanted, and we agreed on a deal.”
Magda and Katie both squealed and ran to throw their arms around Rula.
“When you three can find the time, hot chocolate would be good,” Mikey said from the other side of the counter. They laughed and Rula went to make him a drink. Magda started the trains running, lit up the flickering fire and put on some Christmas music. Customers began to come in and there was a definite feeling about the season.
Three Christmas elves came in chattering to each other and ordered hot drinks. They said they were giving out leaflets and were absolutely frozen.
“Elves are everywhere this year,” Magda observed.
“Be better as Santas because we could put warm clothes under the suit. These elf costumes are pretty but not warm.”
“Can you not add a green jacket over the costume?” Rula suggested.
“Stops us from looking like elves according to the boss,” one of the girls said. They drank their hot chocolate with hands wrapped around the mugs and laughed when two more elves arrived.
“We are an elf convention venue,” Magda laughed. The two elves were men and had the oddest addition to their costumes because they had on crash helmets as well. They unfastened their helmets and revealed another elf underneath. The suits they had to wear were stretched from head to toe and covered them in a Spiderman type suit, but they did have warm green jackets.
“Hiya girls,” one of them said.
“You are lucky things. You have jackets,” one of the girls replied. The whole group of them fell to complaining about the trials of wearing elf suits to do jobs.
“Motorcycles are cold anyway. I’ve got thermals on under this silly suit,” one of the men said and accepted his sandwiches. Despite the grumbles they were a cheerful group and added to the Christmas feel in the café.
“Good Lord, have you booked this lot to be Christmas customers?” Bart joked as he came in and then asked if he could take a few shots of them for the paper.
“Spiderman elves on wheels,” a delivery elf suggested.
“The editor always wants Christmas bits and pieces this time of the year.” He took their names and found his usual stool. “Found the grave,” he said to Magda. She finished wrapping up the goods that one lady was buying and then came over to the tablet. “Went to the cemetery and the man there traced the name on their records and then opened a screen which had all of the graves. Very easy to find. It does have a headstone that simply says Eliza Deronda. No loving wife of or anything like that. Just a name.”
10
“Poor woman. How bad must she have felt. It’s such a sad story.”
“Maybe we can give her a happy ending,” Katie suggested. Bart said that he and Gina would take a look the next day.
“You two are on lookout throughout the night so need to catch up on sleep,” he said to Magda.
“If we wait until Tuesday evening, Branna and Jonno can come as well,” Magda said. “After that we are starting the readings here in the café.”
“I’ve written a couple,” Bart told her.
“I am making a list in between times,” she answered. “I am guessing that Gina is coming back for the Christmas dance at the ranch.”
“Her dad as well. Alison is apparently decking the house out like a Christmas store. She also wants everyone to have an evening there.”
“I knew that she wanted to do that. It is a sort of house-warming as well,” Magda agreed.
The elves all put on gloves and picked up their leaflets. The crash helmets went on over the elf headgear and they waved goodbye.
“Those girls are really cold out there in those little suits,” Rula said.
“Those covered-over suits and the crash helmets are not Christmassy,” Katie said. “They are a bit sinister.”
The lunchtime rush started which kept them very busy. Bart went back to his own job. It was well into the afternoon when the girls managed to grab a bite to eat themselves. Jeff appeared and took over Bart’s stool at the counter.
“Well?” Magda asked. The man grinned.
“Knew I didn’t like him. Nothing criminal of course, but the other workers on the security units do not like him at all. I couldn’t find one person that had a good word for Burton.”
“That figures,” Rula said. “Anyway, we are buying the house and he can go whistle for it.”
“There was nothing more last night apparently. No noises or anything according to a text from Jemima,” Magda added. “Sam and I are watching tonight, and Bart is checking out the graveyard tomorrow.”
“Somebody was making the noise though and I bet he has some sort of hand in it,” Jeff remarked. There was nothing more that could be said. Jeff had a little bit of fun playing with the trains. Magda had written a few notes on the times when Christmas poetry and stories could be heard, and she started to hand them out as customers paid for their drinks and truffles.
“The Christmas sales are doing well,” Katie observed. “We will have to replace the best sellers.”
In fact, they did make some more batches of centers and filled the fridge before closing down for the night.
“Enjoy your spooky night watch - ooooo!” Rula joked. “Wrap yourself in a duvet.”
Sam and Magda ate, fed the cats and then wrapped themselves up in warm clothes. They parked a little way from the house but where they could still observe anyone prowling around. Magda made a quick call to Jemima to tell her they were outside. Then they sat together in the dark and talked very quietly.
“Branna will ask when we are traveling over to convert the cottage in Ireland,” Magda said.
“I thought we could wait until March because of the winter weather,” Sam said. “We will take basic tools that we use all the time, but we can hire bigger machines and Jonno knows where we can get the materials.”
“Branna says they already have people asking about bookings for the summer.” It was good to have time to talk about the cottage in Ireland and make plans for the next year as the evening wore on. Only one person walked past the car and never looked at them. The street was very quiet except for one or two vehicles.
“I guess we might have frightened off whoever had the camera, and we told him that the house was sold,” Magda observed. Sam nudged her. He gestured toward the house where a dark figure was moving down the side. They both sat up and stared.
“It looks like a man,” Magda whispered.
“What is he doing?” Sam said.
“Trying the door. It’s locked.” The figure gave up on the door and went toward the back yard behind the house.
“Call Jemima and Zak. I am going to walk down there.”
“Oh, be careful, Sam.” Magda suddenly found watching in the dark was not so exciting. She called the number and told them what Sam was doing. Zak said he would come out of the front door and join Sam. Magda climbed out of the car and closed the door very gently. Then she started down the path to the front door. Zak and Jemima both came out and the three of them stepped carefully around to the side of the house and looked to see where Sam had gone.
He loomed up beside them and gave Magda a start.
“Have you got some sort of building back there?” he whispered to Jemima.
“There’s an old barn that is in the trees. Never use it for anything. I think it was used for horses when the house was new.”
“The man has gone down there.”
“Let’s see what he says when four people turn up,” Zak said and set off in the direction of the barn. The wood made everything very dar
k and hard to walk. It slowed them down, but they reached the building and stopped to listen outside the double doors.
“There’s a side door,” Jemima whispered and showed them which way to go. They rounded the corner of the building and saw two horses. One of them had a rider and the other had some bags. Sam turned on the flashlight.
“What the hell are you doing in my garden?” Jemima shouted and the four of them started forward.
“Let’s go.” The man already on the horse swung the beast around and set off into the countryside. The second man flung the bags he was carrying over the horse’s neck and scrambled onto the saddle even as the horse started to move. Sam swung the light all around to see if there was anyone else but there was just an open side door to the barn. They moved on.
When they were inside, Jemima said there was a storm lantern and she moved by the light of her cell phone to the other door and found the lamp. It was battery driven but gave a bright light and they gazed around.
The place was pretty empty because she only kept the odd garden equipment in there, and in winter there was no need to use them.
“Do you think they were just using it to keep stuff?” Magda asked.
“Maybe stolen stuff or even drugs,” Jemima added. Sam bent and picked up a piece of paper.
“Money wrapper from the bank.”
“And they were using the camera to check that nobody found it. It wasn’t to spy on you at all,” Magda said.
“Well, that is a relief anyway.”
“He tried the door to the basement before coming down here,” Sam told them. “Maybe he was going to take the speaker.”
“Well, it certainly wasn’t ghostly,” Zak pointed out. “If I am not mistaken, they were in some sort of fancy dress.”
“Elf suits,” Magda replied. “I have seen loads of them today.”
They closed up the barn and took the wrapper from the money into the house.
“I think maybe I should call Detective Southern. Don’t suppose he’ll thank me for that in the middle of the night,” Sam said but made the call anyway. They sat with hot drinks until the detectives arrived and then told them what had happened.
“You did say if anything unusual happened to let you know,” Magda said.
“And the bank wrapper seemed like a bit of a connection,” Sam added.
“Have you got the camera that you took from the post?” the other detective asked, and Zak retrieved it from the kitchen.
“The speaker that somebody has been trying to frighten Jemima with is still in the basement,” Sam said, and they all went into the basement to show the police where it was.
“He tried this door. That was how we saw him, or we would not have known they were in the barn,” Magda told them.
Southern called for a tech expert to come and retrieve the speaker.
“One other thing,” Sam said. “They were dressed as elves.”
“Oh Lord!” the detective said. “We’ve been inundated with reports of crimes committed by folk dressed in Christmas gear.”
“I guess now that they have taken whatever it was they had in the barn, that will be the end of it. The noises will stop,” Zak remarked. The detective nodded and agreed.
“Still, keep your doors locked. Better safe than sorry,” the detective said and told them he would see them tomorrow if he had any more questions. Sam and Magda left Zak and Jemima holding onto each other but definitely more relieved now that it seemed to be over and the police were in charge.
“Thank goodness that we can sort of see why they were wanting to frighten her and keep her indoors. The noises were definitely human.”
“And we will see a lot more of that house when Rula and Mikey move in,” Magda added.
Getting back home they climbed into bed although it was almost early morning. The cats climbed on as well and since it was Sunday, they all granted themselves a lazy morning.
They were enjoying a late breakfast when the phone rang and Bart said that he was sending them a picture.
“Found the grave. On its own and really sad. No flowers or ornaments or anything else.”
Gina leaned over his shoulder.
“But there was an orb. Very small and I could have been mistaken but I don’t think so.”
“Thanks guys,” Sam said. “We can go there Tuesday evening and see if we can find her. Merle and Branston are really busy until then. Magda and I had an adventure though.” He repeated the story of the intruder and smiled as he could almost hear Bart’s reporter brain working away.
“Be good to have everything sorted before Rula and Mikey buy the house.”
“We had better let Merle know that there might be something to find on Tuesday,” Magda said.
“And tell them about the horses and robbers from last night,” Sam added. Magda called her cousin and repeated the story. She heard Branston call to Merle.
“Last night there were two people dressed as elves getting stuff from the garden at Jemima’s and guess what - they were on horseback.”
“Did you see what sort of horses?” Merle’s voice came over. “My friend had two stolen.”
“One was an Arabian, I think. It looked like a mare. The other was dark colored,” Magda said.
“I’ll call her and she can tell the police. Thanks, Magda.”
They hung up.
“The thieves didn’t own the horses. Maybe the detectives will find a clue at the stable,” Sam said.
“Wheels within wheels. The cats are still showing us Christmas elves, and the little ghost dog was worried about Jemima. I just feel that it’s all connected somehow.”
“Take a day off and relax,” Sam told her.
“Do you think that in the spring, we could have an outdoor train traveling around?”
“Oh, Lord!” Sam groaned.
11
Magda opened up early on Monday morning with Sam helping while he left Declan to carry on with their current job. Customers came and went. Detective Southern came in to ask one or two other questions.
“We are trying to trace where the speaker and the camera were bought and the bank wrapper is being looked at in the lab to check for prints or clues to which bank.”
Magda and Sam left for the airport and stood around looking at the arrival board. The weather was cold but not anything that would cause concern and the flight was only twenty minutes late. In the midst of the crowds of people pouring out of Arrivals, they spotted Branna and Jonno and waved wildly. Branna and Magda hugged each other and jumped around in excitement. They collected all of the bags and made for the car.
“Oh, it is so exciting to actually be in America,” Branna said and gazed out of the window at everything as they set off for Alison’s house.
Pulling into the driveway, Alison had been watching from the window, rushed out and just opened her arms and Branna and Jonno both clasped her in a gigantic hug.
“We have missed you so much in Ireland,” Jonno told her.
“But we are looking after the house,” Branna added.
“Coming over in March to do the renovation,” Sam said. “Can we reserve places to stay at your camping park?”
“Easy peasy,” Jonno said. “I’ve seen suppliers and machinery to hire and you should be able to find everything else you need.”
“But what is happening here?” She turned around in a circle. “Is this Magda’s old house? It looks wonderful.” Then she spotted Jezebelle. “Jezebelle, are you saying hello?” The cat walked up and rubbed against her legs.
“She remembers you,” Magda said.
“I have lunch ready,” Alison called out. “Sit yourselves down and we can catch up on everything.”
After the story of the Christmas model railway and the way that it had drawn them into Jemima’s problems, Branna was almost speechless.
“A séance? At the grave? Tomorrow night? Oh my! This is going to be a wonderful visit. I am absolutely dying to see the café especially as it’s decorated for Christmas.” The
y sat drinking coffee after the meal for a bit, then Alison told them to go to the café.
“Enjoy yourselves taking it all in!”
“No snow, thank goodness,” Magda said. “I know it is pretty and everything, but it does make life harder.”
“Mikey likes it because it brings the snowboarders and skiers out,” Sam added as he found a parking spot and they all climbed out. Sam pointed. “That is Mikey’s store and the café is down the side.”
Magda loved to show people the café for the first time and took Branna’s hand as they walked down the alley under the colored Christmas lights. It opened out into the outdoor area with the huge Christmas tree that was shining like a beacon with all of the lights. The fantastic double doors were open and inside you could glimpse the shining interior.
“Ta Da!” Magda said and pulled Branna over the threshold. The place was full of customers, Christmas music, decorations, and the glass window to the new shop extension invited you to come and browse. The fire flickered in the corner and two customers were taking advantage of the soft seats. The two lovely Christmas trains ran smoothly along the railways above their heads.
“It’s …” Branna looked around, “... it’s heavenly, Magda. You are a genius.” They moved into the enormous kitchen and met Rula and Katie.
“Have a seat,” Rula said. “Take it easy. You are on holiday.”
“And you need congratulations,” Branna said in her lovely Irish accent. “You and Mikey are married.”
“Snap!” Rula said. “You two are engaged, right? That is what Magda told us.”
“Rula and Mikey are buying this house that has the little girl spirit,” Magda said as she noticed Declan had arrived as well. Sam did the introductions and Jonno said that it was a grand Irish name to have. The conversation wandered off to where Declan’s family had originated.
“So, tomorrow are you game for a séance?” Magda asked and saw enthusiastic heads nodding from both of the visitors. “We can show you our house and then go and see the ranch as well.”
