02 Pies and Potions - Mystic Cafe

by Rose Pressey

  “I sure will.” She winked.

  I almost tripped over my own feet as I hurried out.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  An idea had sparked in my mind on the way back to Mystic Café. I knew I’d recognized the scarf beside Mr. Wibble’s body. Maybe it had belonged to the killer. Just because my visits around town hadn’t produced any solid leads didn’t mean I’d give up easily.

  After hurrying back through town as if I was in a race, I made it back to the café. In addition to needing to use my laptop, I needed to check on Mary Jane. I was still on a sleuthing high. No way could I stop without a little more searching.

  I turned on my computer and did a search for the designer of the scarf. Within a few clicks, I’d found what I was looking for. I picked up my cell phone and dialed, praying that my friend, Alexia Rogers, would answer. After a few rings, she picked up.

  “Am I ever glad to hear your voice,” I said.

  “Elly, how are you?” Alexia asked. We’d met in my short time in New York City, and instantly bonded over our lousy ex-boyfriends. “What’s wrong?”

  “I need your help. Your friend Max who owns Bliss, do you think they keep any records of customers who buy the Penelope scarves?”

  “Maybe. I’m not sure. I’ll definitely ask for you. She probably won’t be able to provide a name, but maybe a description of the person would help.”

  “Anything would help at this point. Thank you so much.”

  “What kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into? I didn’t think it was possible to get into trouble in such a small town.” She chuckled.

  I snorted. “You’d be surprised. But it’s a long story. I’ll call you as soon as I can fill you in.”

  That was a lie. I wouldn’t be able to share the magic with her. I’d have to think of another story. I hated lying, but I had no choice.

  “I expect a visit from you to New York soon.”

  “You got it,” I said.

  She laughed lightly again. “Okay, I’ll call you as soon as I find out.”

  I tapped my fingers against the table, contemplating what I wanted to do next. Part of me wanted to let it go, but the other part was stronger and won over. I dialed Tom’s number, but he didn’t answer. I wanted to share with him the information I’d found. Okay, I really wanted to know if he’d left me on my own. How could he do such a thing? Regardless, I’d make it through this.

  Once I clicked off the phone, Mary Jane practically skipped through the door. Didn’t she remember that we were closing the entire town soon? Why was she so happy?

  “I did a Google search and found out that the scarf was sold exclusively at a boutique in New York,” I said when she neared.

  “Don’t you think the police have checked that already?” Mary Jane asked.

  I shrugged. “I assume nothing now. Anyway, I’m relying on you for my information from the police.” I wiggled my eyebrows.

  She gave a devilish grin. “I’ll see what I can do.”

  “Anyway, they don’t have a secret weapon like me. A friend from New York lives and breathes fashion. She knows a lot of people and has a lot of connections in Manhattan. She knows this woman, Maxine, who owns a boutique that sells the scarves exclusively and may be able to tell me for sure who the scarf belonged to.”

  “Good luck… speaking of New York. There’s only one person who’s from New York City around here.”

  I frowned. “Well, not technically. Tom was in New York when this happened. I came back from New York recently and Mr. Smith from the bank told me he travels with his wife to the city frequently. Not to mention, Sydney Whiteman was in New York with Tom. So does that mean we’re all suspects?”

  She shrugged. “If it was as clear-cut as that, I guess the police would have figured it out by now.”

  “So tell me, what did Sheriff Jasper mentioned about the case? Doesn’t he ever talk in his sleep?”

  She blushed. “No, he hasn’t said anything yet. He was tightlipped about everything with the investigation throughout lunch.” Mary Jane was slipping in her gossip abilities. She turned to mush around Sheriff Jasper. “Anyway, I’ll make sure to let you know if he mentions any details. Should I try to slip a tape recorder into the room?”

  “Well… if you don’t mind. Okay, no, no, I wouldn’t want to get you into trouble.” I smiled. “Besides, I don’t want to accidentally hear anything that goes on before y’all fall asleep.” I shivered at the thought.

  “Very funny.” She tossed a sugar packet at me.

  I still didn’t know much more than I had before my whole day of sleuthing, so I had no choice but to open the café again. Even if no customers came in. I had to at least give it a try. Closing up now would only be admitting defeat.

  With a loud swoosh of the door, Sydney Whitman walked in. Mary Jane and I fell silent as we stared at her.

  “Elly, I’m sorry I don’t have good news. The Organization wants to close the café and all of Mystic Hollow immediately. I think they feel strongly that Tom is responsible for the bad potion and…” Her face grew colder. “That he murdered Mr. Wibble.”

  I knew this time would come, but it didn’t make it any easier.

  “I don’t understand this whole mess,” I said.

  As much anger as I knew Mary Jane would have toward Sydney, oddly enough, she had a huge smile on her face. She was freaking me out.

  “So tell me, Sydney, what proof do you have that I did anything wrong? That Tom did anything wrong? Aren’t we innocent until proven guilty?”

  I was feeling spunky, but what did I have to lose? Could things get any worse? I thought not.

  “You may be innocent until proven guilty, but that doesn’t mean I can continue to allow you do things wrong while I figure out if the first charge is true. I have to keep you from doing any more harm. And since Tom took off, that leaves you.”

  “So your way of solving this is to shut the whole town down while you figure out who did this? And if you never figure it out, well, the heck with Mystic Hollow? Is that the way it is? This town means everything to a lot of people. I know you don’t care, but they sure do. It’s their home. You just come in here all willy-nilly throwing your magical weight around.”

  “I can understand that this is hard on you. I really do, but I have to do my job.”

  Yeah, well, I had to do my job too, but that didn’t seem of any concern to her.

  “I’ve been delaying this, Elly, I’m not sure how much longer I can do that. Especially now that Mr. Wibble is gone.” She looked down, then finally acknowledged my stare. “Look, I’ll see what I can do, but I can’t make any promises.”

  She stepped closer and slid the paper over toward me. “We have laid out plans for Mystic Café. All businesses will stop all magic immediately.” She stared at me, waiting for an answer.

  What did she expect me to say? I couldn’t exactly tell her no way, not happening. Did she expect me to jump for joy and say oh, goody gum drops? I would have loved to tell her to get the heck out of the café and not come back. Oh, and not to let the door hit her where the good Lord, well, you know the rest.

  The few clues I’d found didn’t instill much confidence. I needed to solve this or Mystic Hollow would be no more. I could deal with the café being closed (okay, I couldn’t), but I wouldn’t let the rest of the town be affected by this. She grabbed her bag and draped it over her shoulder.

  When she reached the door, she turned to face me. “I’m sorry.”

  “Yeah, thanks.” I nodded and watched as she hurried out the door.

  ***

  The static rattled across the line. “Grandma Imelda, can you hear me?”

  Her words were garbled, but I recognized her voice. “I can barely hear you, honey. Is everything all right? How’s the café?”

  She probably thought I was calling to tell her that the café had burned to the ground. In reality, it was much worse than that.

  “It’s Mr. Wibble.”

  “Mr. Wibble?�
� She sounded confused. “Did a magic spell go wrong?”

  Yeah, you could say that, but I wouldn’t add to her stress. I’d keep that part of the dilemma a secret. “Mr. Wibble is dead.” The words came out as if I’d ripped off a bandage.

  “Oh, dear.” Her voice shook. “Are you okay, honey?”

  “I’m fine.” My voice began to shake in spite of how hard I’d tried to keep myself together.

  “I’ll be home as soon as I can,” she said.

  “No, don’t cut your vacation short. I’ll call you as soon as I find out anything. There’s nothing you can do right now.”

  “Just be careful, dear, people aren’t always who they seem. How did it happen?” Her words were jumbled again.

  “I don’t know.” It was the truth. I didn’t have answers for her. “I love you, Grandma.”

  “I love you too, Elly.”

  The line went dead. I was lucky that I’d gotten to speak with her for that long. As soon as I’d put my cell phone away, I regretted calling her. I’d ruined her vacation. There was no reason I should have called her. She could have enjoyed her time and then found out when she’d returned. Sometimes I was completely clueless. When would I learn? But her message about people not being who they seemed was true to her usual enigmatic style. I sat there for a minute trying to get my thoughts together. Not an easy feat as of late. Just when I thought one problem was over two more would pop up.

  There was no other choice but to close the café. I’d find Rory for support. He always knew the right words to say to make me feel better. It would be tough to find any good in this situation.

  As I made my way to the car, someone tapped me on the shoulder and I almost jumped out of my skin. I clutched my chest.

  “Sorry to scare you,” Tom said.

  “It’s no problem,” I choked out. “I swallowed my Tic Tac, but it’s all good.”

  “Where are you headed?”

  “Well, I know Sydney told you that Mystic Café is no longer able to perform magic, or any other place in town. It’s for the best, I guess, because I know I couldn’t keep the café open without the magic. The food would be lousy. I can’t help anyone—why would they want to come to the café?”

  “You don’t believe that.”

  “Don’t tell me that. I do the magic. I cook the food with the magic. That’s the only way. If Mystic Hollow is gone, I don’t know what I’ll do.”

  “You cook the food and then add the magic. You don’t make it any better because of the magic. But Mystic Hollow isn’t shutting down if I can help it. Come on. I have somewhere I think we should go.”

  “Where are we going?” I asked.

  “I have a hunch about the magic trail and who killed Mr. Wibble,” Tom said.

  “You think you know where the magic came from?” I asked.

  “I have some idea,” he said.

  “Sydney said you’d left for good,” I said softly.

  His eyes narrowed. “I would never do that to you. I thought I could solve this without causing more problems, but I didn’t leave. I had to visit someone in Lexington to confirm my suspicions. I don’t know why Sydney told you that. I wanted to convince the Organization that I was responsible for the spell so that they wouldn’t close the town.”

  “You can’t do that. I won’t allow it.”

  He grinned. “Try and stop me.”

  “Be serious,” I said, then paused. “Do you know Nancy Richards?”

  His face turned white. “Why didn’t I think of that before?”

  Tom explained how he knew Nancy Richards and the pieces of the puzzle all came together.

  As we walked toward the car, my phone rang.

  “I have the information you wanted. You are so lucky, do you know that?” Alexia asked around a chuckle.

  “You could have fooled me. What makes you say that?”

  “My friend sold only one of those scarves and she remembers a lot about the woman who bought it.”

  I sucked in a breath. When I looked at Tom, he mouthed, “What? Is it good news?”

  It only confirmed the news that Tom had just shared with me.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  When Tom neared the park, we spotted Sydney’s car parked next to the curb. My anxiety had reached an all-time high.

  “She must be here somewhere,” Tom said as he hopped out of his car.

  I followed his lead as he moved across the park. It was eerily silent. Picnic tables sat empty and no children played on the playground equipment. Someone cleared their throat from behind us and Tom and I spun around at the same time.

  “Sydney. Um, how are you?” I eyed her up and down.

  Her normally neat hair was disheveled and her face fire-red. Her eyebrows lowered, a line forming between them. She looked as if she’d break me like a twig if I made one wrong move.

  “Your magic days are over.” She stepped closer.

  “What is the problem, Sydney? Tell me what’s wrong and we can solve this,” Tom said in a calm tone.

  “You know exactly what the problem is.” She glared at him and waved her hand in his direction.

  Her other hand remained hidden behind her back. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know what she concealed back there. We were at a standoff. If I moved, she might lunge for us. Although I doubted Tom would allow her to do that.

  “Why don’t you tell us what you’re talking about?” Tom asked.

  Sydney pulled a gun from behind her back. Her eyes were vacant as she pointed it toward us. My eyes widened with alarm and my face must have drained of color. My heart thumped until I thought it would pop out of my chest. How did I get myself into these situations?

  Sydney stepped a few feet forward. “So, Tom, we’re together again, but this time I’m in charge.”

  “Sydney, you can’t get away with this,” Tom said calmly, as if he’d been in this exact situation a million times before. My suspicions about Sydney had been correct. It figured, the one time my instincts had been correct, it was bad news. For once, I’d like to have a gut feeling about something good happening.

  “You had to bring Ms. Blair as your backup?” She scoffed. “What a joke. I really don’t think she’ll be able to help you out of this situation."

  “You’d be surprised.” Tom’s voice was full of ice and steel.

  “I’m not really concerned. Seeing you hit rock bottom has been most pleasant for me,” Sydney snapped.

  She was so damn confident in her abilities. I’d love to take her down. The first opportunity I got, I’d sure give it my best shot. I remained quiet, trying to think of a way to get the gun away from her. It was better if I let Tom attempt to talk to this crazy woman.

  “What made you think you had to get me out of the picture? You were already on your way to being an investigator,” Tom said.

  “You don’t get it, do you? I never wanted your job. I want you out of the Organization for good.”

  “What’s wrong, was I too much competition for you?”

  “Hardly.” She snorted. “I want to get rid of anyone who misuses their power in the Organization.”

  “Misuse of power? Care to explain what you’re talking about?” Tom replied. “I’ve never used my magic for personal gain. I follow the rules, clearly not something that you’re doing at the moment. Why did you kill Mr. Wibble?”

  She fixed her evil glare on Tom. “He was in my way to get to you.”

  “So this is all about me?” Tom stood taller, not backing down.

  What had Tom done to make her so angry?

  “I never intended on following any ridiculous rules that the incompetent Organization implemented.”

  “I guessed that by the murder and the gun currently in your hand,” Tom said dryly. “Do you plan on telling us why you’re pointing that gun, or do we have to guess? I have some place I need to be in an hour.” He glanced at his watch.

  Sydney’s face turned an even darker shade of red if that was possible. Her hand shook, but she steadied h
er aim. Her cell rang and she pulled it out of her pocket with one hand while holding the gun with the other. Why was she answering a call at a time like this?

  I took advantage of the time she was on the phone to talk with Tom. “Why didn’t you recognize Nancy Richards before? She was right here in Mystic Hollow and we spoke with her.”

  “She’s changed. She had brown hair back then and she weighed a lot more. But I thought I recognized her eyes as soon as I looked into them. Not to mention she’s using a different name now.”

  “Isn’t there some form of magic we can use to stop Sydney?” I whispered to Tom.

  Energy hummed through my body and it felt as if my hair was standing on end. Magic vibrated through the air, bouncing and weaving around us. I didn’t know if it was from Tom or Sydney. I prayed it was the former. I didn’t want to be hit by any magic spell she might have flying around.

  “I performed a protection spell earlier. I’m sure that’s what you’re feeling now.”

  “Is Sydney using anything?” I whispered.

  “Probably. I feel the pull from it.”

  “So what do we do?” I asked.

  “I don’t know,” he whispered. “My cell phone isn’t working. We need to distract her. How about if I step out in front of her?”

  “I’m pretty sure she’d shoot you.”

  “Yeah, you’re right. Okay. What I need to do is slip around behind her,” Tom said.

  “Yeah, I guess that could work.” I didn’t want to let Tom do this, but something about the look in his eyes told me that he wouldn’t listen if I told him not to. He was as stubborn as me.

  “I’m going to move around to the other side.”

  There wasn’t much that I could offer to do. I felt helpless. Sydney had us right where she wanted us. It was hard to fight off a crazed woman with a gun. Her behavior was beyond unreasonable.

  Sydney didn’t give us time to implement our plan. “You two stop your chitchatting. There’s no plan you can come up with to save yourselves now.”

  All of a sudden, we were in some kind of weird magical battle. I felt magic traveling from Sydney to Tom, then back to Sydney as Tom shielded her spells. I had no idea how they did it, but that was a question for another day. The feeling moving between them was more of a magic showdown than anything, no spectacular magical fireworks, and no sound. Something told me the gun would win this magical battle.