Curses and Candy Canes: A Paranormal Mystery Christmas Anthology

by Tegan Maher

  I smiled. “I just moved here, so I’m glad for the job.”

  The walkie-talkie on Collin’s hip squawked, and he picked it up. “This is Collin, go ahead.”

  “It’s Troy down in stocking. We got a problem, boss.”

  Collin sighed. “What now?”

  More static…then, “Truck just pulled out. No Tickle My Tummys.”

  Collin cursed. “They promised me a shipment today! Okay, I’ll call and see what’s going on. Thanks for the update.”

  Collin shoved his walkie-talkie back on his hip and stood. “Do you think you can handle this on your own, Lexi?” he asked. “I have to make a few calls about a doll.”

  “You bet.”

  Chapter Seven

  Fifteen minutes later, I wanted to kick myself. I was six customers deep by the time Trixie sauntered up from the breakroom. I could tell by the smile on her face she was thrilled with my frustration.

  The afternoon dragged on, and by the time I was able to leave, my anxiety level was high. I’d tried to ask Trixie a couple questions about Stewart, but she ignored me. As in she wouldn’t even acknowledge I was speaking. Never had I wanted to hex someone more than I wanted to hex her.

  Our replacements came up to let us go, and Trixie and I walked silently to the breakroom. We clocked out and stood next to each other in front of our lockers. I had to think of something to get her to talk to me, so as she yanked her purse out of her locker, I used my magic and made the locker door slam shut on her purse strap. The purse jerked out of her hands and some of the contents spilled out onto the floor.

  And I gasped. There on the floor was a stun gun. Was that why the killer was never caught? The police detective in charge probably had no idea Trixie had a stun gun. Why would he? She bent down and snatched it up off the floor and shoved it back inside her purse.

  “You have a stun gun?” I asked.

  She scowled. “Yeah. It’s New York City in the nineties. Do you know how many muggings we have? Geez. How about you mind your own business?”

  She turned and stormed out of the breakroom. I grabbed my backpack, slammed my locker shut, and ran after her. I caught a glimpse of her heading down to the basement storeroom. Quickly following after her, I descended the stairs and emptied out to a massive room filled with rows and rows of boxes on shelves. Overhead signs labeled games, stuffed animals, seasonal, and numerous other departments hung from the ceiling.

  Not sure where Trixie went, I quickly scanned the first few aisles. It wasn’t until I hit electronics that I found her. She was standing a few inches from Ralph, hissing something I couldn’t hear, and gesturing wildly.

  Rex chose that moment to pop out from behind a box, nearly scaring me to death. I quickly filled him in on the stun gun.

  “What does this mean?” I whispered. “Trixie and Ralph went to Stewart’s house, Trixie stunned him, and Ralph pushed him? It wouldn’t have taken much, Stewart was obviously drunk as a skunk.”

  “I’ve never seen a skunk drunk. Have you?” Rex asked.

  “Not now,” I whispered. “We need to figure this out.”

  “Ask them! Ask them!”

  I must have made an inadvertent sound, because they both turned and stared at me. Shoving Trixie aside, Ralph stalked my way. I was tempted to shove a couple boxes overhead on him, but I didn’t think I could do it without raising suspicion. And if there’s one thing the Academy hates to do, it’s give “suggestions” to people who may have witnessed powers that didn’t have to be used.

  “Whatcha want?” Ralph demanded. “You can’t be down here.”

  I looked pointedly at Trixie before turning my eyes back on him. “I just want to ask you a couple questions.”

  “Why?” Ralph asked.

  “I heard you were the man to see about getting certain items for workers,” I said.

  Ralph snorted. “Yeah, well you heard wrong. Now go on, get out of here. Management finds you down here and they’ll fire you.”

  “I just wanted to see if you could find—”

  He didn’t let me finish, instead he backed me up against one of the floor-to-ceiling shelves. My whole body was tingling, and I could feel the electricity in my hands yearning to come out and give this guy a zap of my magical powers.

  “Let me at him! Let me at him! I’ll rip his eyes out!” Rex exclaimed.

  Ralph leaned down until he was inches from my face. His breath smelled of salami and cigarettes. I nearly vomited. “You some sort of narc?”

  I blinked in surprise. “Excuse me?”

  “A narc,” he said again. “Like the store hired you to see who was pocketing from the store?”

  “No, I’m not a narc.”

  He snorted again. “Sure you ain’t. You’re just some random girl who happened to fall into this job by accident, right?”

  I shrugged. He wasn’t too far off from the truth.

  “Nice try,” he said. “But no. Now go run along somewhere else. You aren’t wanted down here.”

  “Think fast! Think fast!” Rex said.

  I thought about the clues I had so far. I knew Trixie had a stun gun and Ralph had gotten into a physical altercation with Stewart just a few days ago. I needed a catalyst to get the ball rolling. Obviously one of them knew something the police never figured out because the murder went unsolved. It was time to play the cards I’d been dealt

  “Look, I have something you might be interested in,” I said.

  He looked me up and down lewdly. “Oh, no doubt about it. You sure do.”

  He went to touch my hair, and I slapped his hand away. “I meant a toy. A doll more specifically.”

  I could tell he was mad I’d slapped his hand, but I could also see he was intrigued. “Whatcha got?”

  “What’re you two talking about over there?” Trixie whined.

  “Nothing,” Ralph barked, his eyes never leaving mine. “Go on home. I’ll stop by later tonight.”

  Trixie gasped in indignation, but Ralph didn’t care.

  “I said leave,” Ralph said.

  “Don’t you bother stopping by, Ralph Damari,” Trixie hollered. “I won’t be home!”

  Ralph didn’t even blink as Trixie stomped and cursed back up the stairs.

  “Let’s see it,” Ralph demanded.

  I slowly slid the backpack off my shoulders and unzipped it…giving him just the hint of the Tickle My Tummy inside.

  Ralph gasped. “Is that a—”

  “Yep. Tickle My Tummy.”

  “How’d you get it?” he demanded. “No one can get their hands on one this close to Christmas.”

  “Do you wanna deal?” I asked, ignoring his question.

  He looked around behind him, then leaned in close to my ear. “I wanna deal. But not here. Too many prying eyes. Meet me in the back alley around eight. Everyone should be gone by then.”

  I nodded once and zipped the backpack back up.

  “Don’t be late,” I said. “I have other buyers.”

  “You just deliver the goods,” he said snidely. “Otherwise…” he made a slicing motion over his own throat.

  “Charming!” Rex said. “He must fight the ladies off with a bat.”

  I snorted softly. Ralph narrowed his eyes.

  “Sorry,” I said. “Dust down here is doing a number on my allergies.”

  He pushed off me and continued to walk backward down the aisle, never taking his eyes off me. I was about to laugh when out of nowhere, Rex came flying through the air from above and landed on Ralph’s head.

  Ralph’s eyes went wide, and he let out a high-pitched scream, all the while batting at his head. Rex did a quick tap dance on Ralph’s skull then jumped onto a shelf.

  “Did you see that?” Ralph shrieked.

  I blinked, my face never giving anything away. “See what?”

  “A huge rat just jumped on my head!”

  I shook my head. “Nope. I didn’t see anything.”

  Chapter Eight

  “You sure about this,
Lexi?” Rex asked for the third time in five minutes. “Usually we have more before we move.”

  “I’m pretty sure,” I said. “It has to be one of them. Obviously this Tickle My Tummy is what I’m supposed to use to get this case solved. Trixie and Ralph have to know something that the police never figured out. And the Tickle My Tummy has to come into play because the Academy gave it to me to use here.”

  At eight, I put on my multi-colored jacket, picked up my backpack, and motioned for Rex to follow me outside and down the steps. I saw Ralph standing in the shadows, away from the glow of the street light, blowing on his hands to keep warm. I had this weird feeling it wasn’t just us, and I paused on the bottom step. Closing my eyes, I put out my feelers. If there was another person around, I’d be able to sense them.

  And I felt someone.

  “Who else is here?” I asked.

  Ralph snapped his head up and scowled. “Ain’t no one else here. Now let’s go. It’s cold and it’s supposed to start snowing again any minute now.”

  “I don’t like this,” Rex said. “I sense a trap, Lexi. I sense a trap!”

  “So do I,” I whispered.

  “What?” Ralph said. “I can’t hear you. Come over here and let’s get this over with.”

  “What’s your hurry?” I stepped down off the last step, searching the shadows of the darkness for another person.

  “I just told you,” he barked. “It’s cold and it’s gonna snow again.” He held out his hand. “Lemme see it.”

  I snorted but came to a stop in front of him. “Not on your life. How about you answer a few questions first?”

  “Like what?” he asked.

  “Like who killed Stewart? Was it you or Trixie?”

  Surprise flashed in his eyes. I wasn’t sure if it was because I’d guessed correctly or because he was truly surprised and didn’t know.

  “Wasn’t me,” he said. “Now hand me the little bugger and I’ll be off.”

  “So you’re saying it was Trixie?” I prodded.

  “Lexi, trouble ahead,” Rex said.

  “I ain’t saying nothin’ except hand me the dang doll.” Ralph’s voice rose a little at the end, and I wasn’t totally surprised to hear the click of a gun behind me.

  “You heard him,” Trixie said. “Hand it over.”

  “I’ll take her. You take him.” Before I could bring my arms up to zap Ralph, I heard Trixie scream.

  “What the—”

  But Ralph didn’t get to finish. I’d been practicing my power over the last few months. It used to be I could only move objects up to six feet, but now I was getting to where I could almost levitate another person. Right now, I had enough power to make a person move without them meaning to.

  Ignoring Trixie’s scream, I lifted my arms and mentally pushed Ralph off his feet. He was hollering, trying to regain his balance, when I came at him again. This time I implemented one of the moves both Nuala and Vee had taught me, but I hadn’t used it since the insane asylum assignment…I jumped on my right leg, lifted my left leg high in the air, and threw a front snap kick straight at Ralph’s chin. His head snapped back and he cried out in pain.

  The sound of a gunshot echoing in the cold night air made my blood run cold. Terrified Trixie had shot Rex, I spun and threw an energy ball at her. It hit her in the gut, lifted her off her feet, and propelled her across the alley and into another building. She slumped down to the ground and didn’t move.

  “Rex!” I screamed.

  Pain shot through me as Ralph latched on to my hair and spun me around. Lifting his hand in the air, he backhanded me before I could defend myself. Knowing I had to get my head in the fight or I’d come out the loser, I closed my eyes and built up more energy. I felt Ralph reach around to yank the backpack off me, and I’d just lifted my hands to push the energy into his body, when the back door of Toyland and Treasures banged open, and a wide-eyed Jessie stood in the doorway.

  “What’s going on?” she cried.

  Chapter Nine

  “What’s going on,” I said between gritted teeth as I surreptitiously gave Ralph a little zap so he’d loosen his grip, “is Ralph and Trixie attacked me.”

  Ralph’s eyes went wide and he grunted, falling back on the ground.

  “I’m here! I’m here!” Rex cried. “But I think she shot some fur off me!”

  I almost wept with joy.

  “Attacked you?” Jessie picked up a rock and wedged it so the door wouldn’t close. “Are you sure?”

  I gave her a steely stare.

  “I’m sorry, Lexi. That was a dumb question. Of course you’re sure. I can see for myself they tried to attack you.”

  Ralph was on the ground moaning, while Trixie was still unconscious. We needed to wrap this up quick. I was ready to get home and see Shawn.

  “You’re gonna have to call the cops,” I said. “Not only did they attack me, but I think they also killed Stewart.”

  Jessie’s mouth dropped open. “Are you sure? I’m sorry. I mean, why do you think that?”

  I thought fast. I couldn’t tell her I knew Stewart had been stunned with a stun gun and Trixie had one…because the autopsy report wasn’t back yet. “I overheard the detective say it looked like Stewart had been tased before he was killed. There were two prong marks found on his body.”

  Jessie blinked in surprise. “Really? I hadn’t heard that.”

  I nodded. “Yeah. And today at work, I saw Trixie carrying a taser. And now they’ve tried to attack me.”

  Jessie nodded slowly. “I can see why you’d think that. Wow. I can’t believe it.”

  I shrugged. “You just don’t know some people, I guess. Right?”

  “Right. I’m glad I stayed after tonight,” Jessie said. “I was going over inventory.”

  “Can you help me get them inside?” I asked. “Trixie has a gun somewhere out here, and I need to find it.”

  Jessie gasped. “Oh my gosh. A real gun? This just keeps getting crazier and crazier.”

  I gave her a tight smile and had her help me lift Ralph off the ground. He was roused enough I thought he was going to try something, so I gave him another jolt of my own inner stun gun and he went limp again. Witch energy power is far superior to any stun gun.

  After we deposited Ralph inside, I told Jessie to watch over him and I’d go get Trixie.

  “Gun’s over here!” Rex shouted.

  I ran over to him and almost bent to pick it up, but realized I’d be leaving fingerprints behind. I was stuck. I’d have to think of something else.

  “Do you want me to try and carry it?” Rex offered.

  “No.” I looked behind him and smiled. “Look over there.”

  Rex turned to stare and then laughed. “Great idea!” He ran over and picked up a discarded Chinese takeout box. As luck would have it, there was a chopstick stuck through the middle.

  I yanked out the stick and carefully picked up the gun with the thin piece of wood and then deposited it in the carryout box. Setting it on the steps, I then went to check on Trixie. She was moaning by the time I got to her. Crouching down, I none-to-gently hauled her to her feet.

  “You’re going down,” I said. “I caught you red handed. Not only do you have a stun gun you used on Stewart, but you also tried to use a real gun on me. You’re going away for a long time.”

  “No,” she mumbled. “It wasn’t me.”

  “Save it,” I said. “I don’t care if it was you or Ralph. I really don’t. The police can figure out what to do with you from here.”

  I shoved her forward, then grabbed the box off the step. “Let’s go. Move it.”

  Weeping now, Trixie stumbled inside, blubbering about how she didn’t kill anyone. Rolling my eyes at Jessie, I set the gun on the counter, then pushed her down on the ground.

  “Did you call the police yet?” I asked.

  “I did. The 911 service isn’t as quick as it should be. They said it would be about thirty minutes.”

  “What?” I nearly sh
outed. “That’s ridiculous!”

  Jessie chuckled. “You realize you moved to New York City, right? This is like the crime capital of the United States. Muggings and murders are commonplace.”

  It was so odd to hear that. When I think of New York in my time, it’s nothing like that today.

  “Well, what should we do with them?” I asked.

  “Let’s—”

  “I didn’t do anything!” Trixie shouted.

  Jumping up, she took off for the door. Without missing a beat, I leaped onto her back and took her down. I heard the breath leave her body and knew she wouldn’t be getting up any time soon.

  “Is there a closet we can lock them in?” I asked.

  Jessie nodded. “Yeah. We have a janitor’s closet next to the breakroom. Want to take them there?”

  “Yep.”

  “I got the keys,” she said. “Let’s move them.”

  We dragged them to the janitor’s closet and locked them inside, giving each other a high-five as we did so. As we made our way back to the front of the store to wait for the police, I suddenly had a brilliant idea.

  “Hey Jessie,” I said as I walked toward my backpack. “How about I give you something as a token of my appreciation. A thank you for saving my life tonight.”

  She jumped up and down and clapped. “You know I love gifts. It’s almost Christmas you know!”

  Laughing, I unzipped the backpack and pulled out the Tickle My Tummy. Instead of joy and excitement on her face, Jessie scowled and her face turned red. Picking up the gun off the counter, she leveled it at my head.

  “Once again we’ve been surprised,” Rex deadpanned.

  Chapter Ten

  “Well, I didn’t see this coming,” I said. “I thought for sure it was Trixie. She had a stun gun.”

  “Geez, again, this is New York City in the nineties. Everyone carries a stun gun. And a real gun. And knives, too, if they’re smart.”

  “Good to know,” I murmured.

  “How long?” she asked.

  “What?”

  Her whole body shook and she stomped her foot on the ground, causing the gun to shake precariously in her hand. “How looonng!” Spittle flew out of her mouth, and I was seriously disturbed.