“Miss Santos, you’ve got a visitor.”
Sandra sat up from the cot against the wall. Her white star-shaped earrings were tangled in her long, frizzy hair. When she realized who had come to see her, she covered her face and shook her head. “Leila,” she murmured through her fingers, “go home. This is no place for a girl like you.”
“A girl like me? And what kind of girl is that?” Leila said, her voice steady and strong, though inside she knew it was about to crack. “I’m more than just a smiling face and a supportive friend. I’m more than what people think they see.”
Sandra glanced at the deputy and nodded. He turned and left them alone.
“I’ve come for answers,” said Leila. “And I don’t mean any psychic mumbo jumbo—where you make me look inside myself and realize the stuff I already know. I’m talking facts.”
Sandra sighed. “What facts do you wish to know?”
“Promise you’ll tell me the truth?”
“I’ll do my best.”
“Why did you do it? Why did you come here?”
“I thought I explained all that to you yesterday.”
“Right. That Kalagan person… and my dad’s book.” Leila squinted, trying to read Sandra. The woman seemed lost today. Defeated. And not just by the Magic Misfits… There was something else going on in her mind. Something… deeper. Locked and chained down. It was the secret that Leila had come to discover. “You said that Kalagan is a mesmerist. He’s good at making people do stuff they don’t want to do. I guess that means you wouldn’t have returned to Mineral Wells if not for him?”
Sandra’s eyes went cold. “No. I don’t suppose I ever would have.” She was hiding something. Something she didn’t want to face.
“So then, he hypnotized you?”
“Could have.” Her voice shrank to a croak.
“I don’t believe that,” said Leila. “I think you’ve wanted to come back to Mineral Wells for a very long time.” Sandra didn’t answer. “I think there was something here that you wanted to see for yourself… something that had nothing to do with Kalagan or the old Emerald Ring.” Now Sandra turned away, hanging her head and hugging herself. “I know that you never wanted to hurt anyone, Sandra. But especially not me. For all the scheming and all the planning, I believe that I matter to you. I could see it in your eyes the moment we met. And you tried to pass along clues that at first I didn’t understand. Things you were trying to tell me but couldn’t flat-out say—the biggest one being your ‘prediction’ at dinner about how important my key would be in the coming days. You knew I might need it to get out through the tunnels.” Leila tried to gulp down the dryness in her throat. “The big question is how you knew that I had the key to begin with.”
Sandra answered without looking up. “I’m psychic, remember?”
“Psychic or not… I think there’s another reason you knew about it.” Trembling, Leila lifted the string from around her neck and let it dangle in front of the bars of the cell. “And I think the reason is that you’re the one who gave it to me in the first place.” Sandra stiffened. Turning her head slowly, she met Leila’s gaze. Her eyes were red and watery. Leila bit her bottom lip to keep it from quivering. She refused to cry about this. Not now. Not ever. “You’re my birth mother. Aren’t you?”
Sandra didn’t speak for almost a minute.
For Leila, it felt like eternity.
Finally, Sandra nodded. She stood and came over to the cage door. She reached out for Leila’s hand, but Leila didn’t give it to her, and Sandra quickly withdrew.
“You knew I was here all along? With the Vernons?” Leila asked.
“I got word that Dante had adopted you. It was… everything I could have wished for.”
“Why did you leave me at Mother Margaret’s? Didn’t you want me?”
“Oh, I did want you, child. But it wasn’t possible.… You see, Kalagan…”
“Kalagan what?!” Leila found herself suddenly shouting. “He hypnotized you back then too?”
Sandra was shaking now. “Remember the story Mrs. Varalika told on stage during the show? I made her practice those lines over and over. Because the story belongs to me.”
“I—I don’t know what to think.”
“Back then,” Sandra went on, “I couldn’t afford to give you what you needed. Someone I trusted—”
“Kalagan,” Leila whispered.
“I was talked into giving you away. I didn’t want to, but I was made to believe it was what was best for you. It was the biggest mistake of my life.”
Leila sniffed. “Is all that the truth or is it a lie? Are you still playing games with me, just like you used to play with the Emerald Ring?”
“Decisions we make as we get older aren’t so black and white, Leila. Sometimes, there is smoke and mirrors. It’s easy to get confused. And some people, like Kalagan, are good at using that confusion for their own benefit. I… I’ve wondered about you every day.” Her eyes grew wide and her lip trembled. “I left that key in your bassinet in the hope that you would eventually wonder about me too.”
Leila stepped backward. “I don’t know if I can believe anything you say.”
“I understand. I’ve lied to you. Belief takes trust. It takes faith. If I ever get out of here”—she indicated the dank cell—“I hope I can make you believe me.”
“Are you in lots of trouble?” Leila asked. Sandra nodded. “With the police… or with Kalagan?”
“That’s my smart girl: looking at all the different angles. It’s what we used to practice during Emerald Ring meetings. There are so many ways to read an audience and to gauge risk and to prepare for the unexpected.”
Leila couldn’t help smiling. “You didn’t answer my question.”
Sandra blinked slowly. “I’m in lots of trouble. But that’s not anything you should worry about.”
“Is Kalagan here in Mineral Wells?” Leila asked. “Do we need to look out for him?”
Then Sandra did something strange. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. She stared at Leila as if she were surprised. “I’m sorry.… I can’t…”
Whether it was the mesmerist’s power over Sandra’s mind or Sandra’s own fear that was tying her tongue down, on that day, Leila would not learn who Kalagan really was.
(And, my curious friends, I’m sorry to say that neither will you… not now anyway.)
“Good-bye, Sandra,” Leila whispered. “I wish that we…” Leila’s voice faded. She knew the woman was still under someone’s control. Until that control was broken, Leila understood that they could never really know each other.
The skeleton key swung from Leila’s clenched fist. Back and forth, back and forth. A mesmerist’s pendulum. Leila kept her voice low when she said, “My dad told me that your father was the locksmith for the whole town.” Sandra nodded. “That means he probably built this very jail cell.”
Sandra smiled at the thought of her father. “It’s very likely that he did.”
Leila lowered the key into Sandra’s hand.
“Then it may unlock your cell. Do what you think is right,” Leila whispered, backing away. “But please… just wait until I’m gone.”
TWENTY-NINE
Leila found Mr. Vernon waiting for her just around the corner from the cell. She asked him, “Did you hear everything?” The way he squeezed her hand told her the answer was yes.
On the way home, they talked about real things, no longer shackled by secrets and fear.
“Was it bad that I gave her my skeleton key?” Leila asked.
Mr. Vernon thought for half a second. “It was hers to begin with. Let her do with it what she will.”
“Unlike Bosso,” Leila added, “Sandra has a conscience. I don’t think we have anything to worry about.”
“Not from Sandra anyway,” Vernon added, though under his breath. They walked in silence for a few seconds. Then, for the first time ever, Leila heard him stammer. “I—I know what you’re thinking.”
&nb
sp; Feeling nervous, Leila teased to lighten the mood. “Please don’t tell me you’re psychic now too!”
“Hardly.” He paused and then smiled down at her. “At least, I hope I’m not. Knowing the future doesn’t appear to be the most useful skill for a magician.” He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a black wand with white tips. As he moved his hands apart, the wand began to float between them. “Not like levitation.” He clapped his hands together. The wand became a thick black billy club, which he clutched in his fist. “Or transformation.” He blew into the end of the club, and before Leila could blink, it had disappeared. “Or vanishing.” He held his empty hand out to her.
“Or escape!” Leila added with a skip and a playful twirl away from him. “So tell me, Dad. What am I thinking?”
“Ah yes,” he said, holding up a finger. “You are wondering if I knew who you were when I first met you at Mother Margaret’s.”
“I guess I was wondering that,” said Leila. “And?”
“The answer is… no. And yes.”
Confused, Leila shook her head.
“During our magic tour all those years ago, when I performed the charity show for the children at Mother Margaret’s, your enthusiasm caught my attention from the back of the room. And afterward, when we spoke, your sparkly eyes made me think of an old friend.”
“Sandra?” Leila swung his hand as they crossed the street.
He nodded. “I’d been traveling far and wide, learning new magic skills, making friends, performing wherever I could while discovering the good in the world. By that time, I’d lost touch with Sandra, so I’d never learned that she’d given birth to a baby girl. And I certainly had no clue that she’d left that baby girl in the care of others. So when I met you, it was my memory of Sandra that made me curious to know more, but it was your spirit—my tough and clever girl—your spirit that captured your poppa’s and my hearts. I cherish the memory of the day we brought you home. I wouldn’t trade it for the biggest slice of pie in Mineral Wells.”
Leila raised an eyebrow. “Not even lemon meringue?”
“Not even lemon meringue.”
“Mmm,” said Leila. “Pie sounds really good right now.”
And with that, they decided to stop at the Main Street Diner for a sweet treat.
When they were nearly back at the magic shop, Leila was surprised to find Carter crouched on the sidewalk, holding on to one end of a white string. The other end was looped around the body of a little blond monkey. Carter was handing the creature stacks of shortbread cookies that he was producing from thin air. The monkey seemed happy to oblige, shoving each shortbread into his wide mouth.
Leila raced across the street, being sure to check for traffic, then skidded to a halt and dropped to her knees. “Where did you find him?!”
“Creeping around under the gazebo in the town green,” Carter answered. “I lured him out with these treats and managed to slip your harness around him.”
“Oh, he’s sooo cute!” Leila squeaked. Seeing the monkey was almost enough to make her forget about her awful morning.
Mr. Vernon held his palms against his forehead. “I don’t suppose you’ve called animal control, have you, Carter?”
“Aw, Dad, can’t we keep him?” Leila begged.
Mr. Vernon closed his eyes and sighed. He seemed to know how this would end.
Carter chimed in, making his blue eyes big and innocent. “Bosso’s locked up along with the frown clowns and the rest of the circus crew. The monkey is an orphan.”
“Just like we used to be,” said Leila. “How could we send him away? Doesn’t he deserve love like the rest of us?” Mr. Vernon was listening, and Leila sensed he was about to break. “Besides! Imagine how much more foot traffic a real-live monkey would bring into the store!”
Mr. Vernon sighed. “I’ll have to check with Poppa. But maybe we can give the little beast a trial run.”
“Brilliant!” Carter cried. “I’ve already thought of the perfect name.”
“Oh really?” asked Leila. “What were you thinking?”
“Well, you already have a parrot named Presto. It would only be fitting if she had a monkey sibling named Change-O.” At that, the monkey glanced up at all three of them and shook its head as if in opposition to the name. Carter laughed, before remembering his friend. “How did everything go?” he asked Leila.
“Come inside, and I’ll tell you.”
THIRTY
A week later, the Magic Misfits met once again at the magic shop. Mr. Vernon watched over them from his spot behind the counter.
Presto sat on her perch, while Change-O, the monkey, was busy snacking from a bowl of seeds and nuts that the Other Mr. Vernon had put together. The monkey had settled down significantly since Carter had first brought him into the building. Change-O had even gotten used to his new harness and leash, and Carter was trying to teach him the concept of palming shortbread cookies.
Of course, Change-O kept eating them.
“It’s so nice to have everyone together again,” said Leila.
Carter added, “Especially without a gang of clowns trying to beat us up.”
“Even our parents couldn’t keep us away,” said Ridley.
“What would Mineral Wells do without the Magic Misfits?” asked Theo.
“Izzy and I had to come back!” said Olly.
“Yeah,” said Izzy. “We needed to find our mice.” The twins pulled their pets from their vest pockets and held them next to each other. “And they already know a new trick!”
“Oh really?” asked Ridley, sounding unconvinced. “Which one?”
“They read each other’s minds!”
The Misfits chuckled, but the twins continued. “You can do it, Ozzy!”
“Concentrate, Illy!”
The mice stared at each other, sniffed at the air, and squeaked.
“They’re getting really good,” Olly concluded. “If only we knew what they were saying to each other!”
“We heard that Sandra disappeared from the jailhouse,” Theo said to Leila. “Are you scared that she’ll return?”
Leila glanced at Mr. Vernon for help. She wasn’t ready to share what she’d figured out about Sandra. Carter looked at Leila, his knowing eyes hinting that he was in on the secret too. She smiled, and after a moment he nodded, sensitive enough to understand that the secret belonged to her. And only her. None of the others seemed to notice. Leila simply smiled and said, “No. I’m not scared anymore.”
“If there’s one thing that the showdown with the frown clowns was good for,” said Ridley, “it was practicing our tricks!”
“What I want to know,” said Theo, “is what was in the book that Sandra needed so badly?”
“And where was it hidden?” asked Izzy.
Mr. Vernon grinned. “I find that the best hiding spots are in plain sight.”
“Plain Sight?” Olly repeated. “Isn’t that a town up north?” Izzy elbowed his side and shushed him.
Mr. Vernon shook his head and then reached behind the counter. He pulled out one of his business ledgers. It looked like the same book the Misfits had tossed around the shop during the brawl with the frown clowns. The marbleized cover was made of flimsy cardboard. It didn’t look important at all—it certainly didn’t seem like something that a criminal organization would desperately want to get their hands on. He opened the cover and flipped through the pages. The item descriptions and prices and dates of sales—all written in many columns with mind-numbing precision—were the same as the first time he’d shown the notebook to Leila and Carter, on the night Change-O had tried to steal it.
“What is it?” asked Carter.
Mr. Vernon backed away from the counter, giving the Misfits space to crowd around the book. “Look closer. Do you really need me to say that things aren’t always as they seem?”
“Another code,” Ridley said. Mr. Vernon tipped his top hat at her.
“What does it mean?” asked Theo.
“Sandra
was right,” Mr. Vernon went on. “My little book here hides a list of names. Names that Kalagan would do most anything to learn.”
“Whose names?” Carter asked. “Your family?”
“Not far off. More like… a club.”
“You’re in another secret club?” asked Izzy. “Tell us!”
Mr. Vernon laughed, tearing a sheet out from the back of the notebook. “It’s an organization for modern magicians. And just like your club, its members use magic for only benevolent purposes, never for malicious self-gain. However, I’ve learned recently how extremely important it is that their names remain secret.” He tore the page in half, once, twice, three times. Then he crumpled the page in his fist. “Because another club is out there, hiding in the shadows of small towns all around this country, a bad club, who use magic to benefit only themselves. This bad club wants to get their hands on those names, so that they can make the good magicians change their minds.”
“Kalagan is part of the bad club?” asked Leila. “The true leader?”
He nodded, and then added more seriously, “In time I’ll expound on the topic. But for now…” He blinked and then cleared his throat. “For now, I’d suggest that you all keep practicing. Magic should be used to make people smile. But you never know when you might need those skills for… something else.”
“To help people,” said Carter.
“To help people,” Mr. Vernon echoed, sounding a bit like Presto. He opened his fist and removed the crumpled pieces of ledger paper. But when he smoothed them out on the counter, the paper had become whole again. Olly and Izzy nearly fell down in shock.
Leila whispered in her dad’s ear, “Thank you for telling us all that. It means a lot to me.”
“You’re welcome, Leila.”
The Other Mr. Vernon appeared on the balcony wearing his chef uniform. He called out, “I’m late for work,” before quickly descending the stairs.
The Magic Misfits: The Second Story Page 16
