Batter and Spells

by Zoe Arden

  "That's right," Trixie chimed in. "Especially not when people are finding Band-Aids in your cupcakes!" She nodded her head to emphasize her point.

  "That wasn't my fault!" Wilma cried. "How was I supposed to know that cake batter was contaminated? I paid a fortune for—" She stopped, slapping her hand over her mouth.

  Eleanor and Trixie looked at each other.

  "Paid a fortune for what?" Eleanor asked.

  "Don't tell us you don't make your own cake batter," Trixie said, looking like she'd been punched in the gut.

  "I bet she doesn't even make her own frosting or mood extracts,” I said. "Do you?"

  Wilma attempted to speak confidently, but her voice was shaking almost as much as her body. "The items I sell are imported from the finest online shops."

  Trixie started to laugh. "Oh, my roses, and to think that when you first opened your shop, we were so worried. You're not even a real baker."

  "What about your phone call last night?" I asked suddenly. "You told the person on the other line that 'they'd never know what hit them.' Were you talking about us?"

  "I was talking to Polly, if you must know. She's allowed phone calls even in prison. I am simply keeping her apprised of the situation."

  "Were you actually robbed?" I demanded. "Or did you lie about that, too, just to get into our house? What were you looking for? Something you could use against us? Blackmail?"

  She looked offended but I didn't fail to notice that she didn't contradict me.

  "I'd like to know that myself," said Sheriff Knoxx. "Did you fake the robbery?" He was giving her that look he was so good at, the one he'd developed over years of practice. The one that said, "Tell me now or you'll be in some real trouble."

  "I, uh..." Wilma looked around the room, her eyes misting over, her cheeks a deep purple now. She made a wild run for it. I dashed after her.

  "Oh, let her go," Eleanor said as she opened the front door.

  "Let her go?" I asked. "But she's a liar. Don't you want to arrest her?" I asked Sheriff Knoxx.

  He looked at Eleanor.

  "There's no law against robbing your own place," Sheriff Knoxx said. "I could get her on filing a false police report, but I'm not sure it's worth it."

  Eleanor was beaming. "You know what? I'm going to do something I've never done before. I'm going to call Lottie Mudget and tell her the news. I think the truth is punishment enough for Wilma Trueheart."

  "By this time tomorrow, Wilma won't have a bakery left," Trixie said, smiling.

  "To think, I actually felt bad for her last night," my dad said, shaking his head.

  "I'm gonna find Lincoln and Colt," Sheriff Knoxx said. "I need to let them know Wilma's break-in has nothing to do with anything. It was a red herring."

  We all followed him outside. It was bright and sunny and a little fresh air felt good.

  Sheriff Knoxx stopped suddenly on the front lawn, drawing his gun. He turned back to us, his eyes wild. "Back in the house," he yelled. "Back in the house now!"

  "What—" Eleanor started to say.

  "Just do it!" Sheriff Knoxx yelled.

  We all saw it at the same time. Two people dressed all in black, approaching from opposite angles. One of them was the spitting image of Tazzie Singer. The other looked just like me.

  "Two assassins," I muttered as my father dragged me back inside and slammed the door.

  * * *

  CHAPTER

  TWENTY-SIX

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  Colt, Lincoln, and Sheriff Knoxx paced our living room. None of them would let us leave.

  "You're being ridiculous," Eleanor said. "We need to open the bakery."

  It was nine a.m. now and people were undoubtedly lining up outside our doors expecting muffins and cookies.

  "No one's going anywhere until we know what's going on," Lincoln said.

  Sheriff Knoxx's brow was sweating. He'd chased one of the assassins all the way to Beggars Forest before losing him. Or her. We still had no idea. Their disguises had been near perfect, helped along no doubt with some very clever magic.

  "Well, we know that Tazzie couldn't have been here," Sheriff Knoxx said. "She was sitting in a jail cell. And Ava... well, she was right beside me. So where does that leave us? Two assassins. Who were they here for? Ava?"

  "Could be," Colt said. "One of them tried to push her off those rocks at Mistmoor Beach, don't forget." He looked at me. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you when you told me that."

  "It's okay," I told him, though I had to admit it felt good to be right.

  "Where's Otis?" Sheriff Knoxx suddenly barked. He seemed extra irritated now that the threat against us had doubled.

  "Right here, uh, Sheriff Knoxx, sir," Otis said, coming down our hallway. Tadpole sat perched on his shoulder like a parrot. Sheriff Knoxx had called him and Elwin as he'd chased assassin number one, the Tazzie lookalike. Elwin was still at the station, holding down the fort, as Sheriff Knoxx had said.

  "Where have you been?" the sheriff snapped.

  "I had to, uh, make a quick phone call," Otis said, casting his eyes downward. "Sorry, Sheriff Knoxx, sir."

  "I thought you told me this crazy idea of yours wasn't going to affect your job as deputy."

  "Oh, it won't, Sheriff Knoxx. Uh, unless Tadpole and I win," he said, smiling sheepishly. "But I'll make sure to give you plenty of notice if we do."

  "What are you talking about?" I asked Otis. "You're not running for mayor, are you?"

  "Mayor of Sweetland Cove," Otis corrected me. "Not Mayor of Mistmoor Point, because Tadpole and I don't live in Mistmoor Point. We live in Sweetland Cove. See?"

  "Well," I murmured, looking at Eleanor. No wonder Sheriff Knoxx was so irritated with Otis. I was sure that there was no way that Otis would win, but if he did, it meant the sheriff would lose his number one deputy. Though with the amount of yelling Sheriff Knoxx did at him, I wasn't sure that would be such a bad thing.

  "I'm running, too, Otis," Eleanor said, smiling at him.

  "You are?" Otis asked, beaming back at her. "Well, I didn't know that. Sheriff Knoxx never said anything."

  "That's because I just found out this morning," Sheriff Knoxx muttered grumpily.

  Eleanor cast him an annoyed look. Otis walked over to her and shook her hand. "Well, howdy, fellow mayoral candidate. I'm happy to be running against someone as nice as you are. You're sure to win."

  "Oh, I don't know, Otis," Eleanor said. "We'll have to see what happens, I think."

  "Oh, no, you're a lot smarter than me. You'll win. Although I do have some good ideas on things to do with this town."

  "Like what, Otis?" I asked, interested and hoping to steer the conversation away from the assassins for a minute. It was putting everyone on edge. Colt had barely left my side since he'd arrived. He was clinging to me like I might float away.

  "Oh, well," Otis said, scratching his head, "like the town garbage dump. If we just got a new incinerator and added a speed charm to it along with a cleaning enchantment, I think we could get rid of the garbage at twice the rate and keep the air real clean. Tadpole likes clean air."

  My jaw dropped slightly. "That's actually a really good idea," I said, looking at Eleanor to see what she thought. She looked impressed. Trixie and my father were both nodding.

  "Ava's right, Otis, that is a good idea," said Eleanor. She almost looked sorry she hadn't thought of it herself.

  "And Whisper Crossing," Otis said, on a roll now. "It's the halfway point between us and Mistmoor, and the border, too. Well, if we really want to improve relations between our towns, I thought we could make one long super-speed train from here to Mistmoor, stopping in Whisper Crossing. I bet people would like that. Make it real easy for them to get Fluffernutter root and stuff you can only get there."

  Sheriff Knoxx had been staring at the ground, shaking his head. He looked up now, mystified. "Otis... those are great ideas." I c
ould hear the surprise in his voice.

  "Thanks, Sheriff Knoxx."

  "How did you come up with those ideas?" Sheriff Knoxx asked.

  Otis shrugged. "They just sorta came to me is all."

  "Actually," said Lincoln, "I think that Mistmoor would like the train idea, too. That really is a good idea."

  We all looked around at each other, silently contemplating Mayor Otis Winken, then shook it off. Otis was a great guy, but a mayor? Maybe he could join the city council, though. That might be a good forum to get his voice heard without being placed in charge of everything. Maybe I would mention that to him once the election was over.

  The phone rang. Eleanor went to answer it. When she returned, her face was red. "Trixie, can you put on the radio? Turn it to the Mistmoor news, please."

  "Why?" Trixie asked, turning the dial as the radio powered on.

  "That was Lottie Mudget. She told me something... but I just can't believe it's true."

  Trixie found the station Eleanor asked for. Hadley Miner's voice rang out. She was clearly making a speech.

  "And I think that with this new threat against both Mistmoor Point and Sweetland Cove, we should be in this together."

  The crowd cheered.

  "What's she talking about?" Colt asked. "What new threat?" He was quickly shushed by us as Hadley resumed speaking.

  "We cannot allow anyone to decide who should or should not be our mayor. Assassins have no place on Heavenly Haven and no place in our lives." There were more cheers, so loud it sounded like a dozen lions all roaring at once into a microphone. The entire town must have been there.

  "I was attacked by one of these assassins and defended myself. I can defend Heavenly Haven, too!" It seemed like the crowd would never stop cheering.

  "Now that these assassins have threatened to blow up Heavenly Haven, a home both Mistmoor Point and Sweetland Cove share, we must work together. If we cannot work together, then we must work as one. Mayor Thomas was right when he said there should be one mayor for all of our island. The Mayor-for-All Rule is an old one, but it is a good one. I suggest we take this to you, the people, and ask what you think. Do you want one mayor for both towns?"

  There was a deafening cheer.

  "Do you want one mayor to set things right?"

  There was another deafening cheer.

  "Do you want ME to be that mayor?"

  The cheer that erupted was like nothing I'd ever heard before. I could hardly hear myself think. We all stood around, looking at each other. The doorbell rang, and Eleanor went to answer it.

  "Is Hadley Miner really proposing the Mayor-for-All Rule?" Trixie asked. "The same rule that Mistmoor almost went to war with Sweetland over?" No one could believe it. "What's all this talk about blowing up Heavenly Haven? Is that a real threat?"

  "I haven't heard anything about it," said Sheriff Knoxx. "It sounds as if she's got the whole of Mistmoor behind her, though. Real or not."

  I had no idea what to think. How could Hadley believe in this idea? One mayor for both towns? Yes, it made sense on paper, but in reality, our towns were different in so many ways. Eleanor returned holding a manila envelope. Her face was pale.

  "What's wrong?" asked Sheriff Knoxx, alarmed.

  "I don't think it's just Ava the assassins are targeting now," she said. She handed Sheriff Knoxx the envelope. Inside was an eight-by-ten photo of Eleanor... kissing my dad! Along with it was a note in black block letters. DROP OUT OR THIS GOES PUBLIC.

  "I swear this photo's not real," Eleanor said.

  "Definitely not," said my dad. They were both looking at Sheriff Knoxx with worried expressions. He put the photo down.

  "Please believe me," Eleanor said, looking near tears.

  "Eleanor, Eli, I don't doubt either of you," Sheriff Knoxx said gently. He took Eleanor's hand and kissed it tenderly.

  "All this photo represents is the same assassins in different disguises," he said. "This must have been what they did with that photo of Tazzie Singer and Mayor Thomas. The assassins simply dressed up like Tazzie and Quinn and had someone snap a picture." Eleanor sighed with relief. "But this means that someone thinks they can manipulate you into dropping out of the election. And I'm not going to let that happen. My fiancée will not be intimidated."

  * * *

  CHAPTER

  TWENTY-SEVEN

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  "He's back!" Lottie Mudget announced, strolling into our bakery the next day.

  Sheriff Knoxx and the others had finally relented and agreed to let us open it, though it had been shut down the whole of yesterday. It had taken much badgering and cajoling on Eleanor's part to get Sheriff Knoxx to agree to let us open it today. He had only agreed when Trixie told him that Melbourne would be here as well. A vampire, sullen or not, had the strength of five men and could easily protect us if the assassin showed up. At least, that's what Eleanor had argued.

  "Who's back?" asked Eleanor and Trixie.

  "Mayor Thomas, who else?" she said as though she couldn't believe we didn't already know. "He's getting the town square ready for his big speech."

  "Mayor Thomas? I thought he was in hiding," I said. The entire town had been furious with him, suspecting him of everything from murder to blackmail to kidnapping. I was shocked he'd dare to show his face right now.

  "He was in hiding, but now he's back." Lottie rolled her eyes. "Doesn't anyone in this bakery pay attention to what's going on in town? What would you all do without me?"

  I tried not to chuckle. Lottie had her good points and her bad ones. It was true that she kept herself well informed, but sometimes she took things a little too far. Since her sister's death, Lottie had definitely become more of a permanent fixture at the Mystic Cupcake than she had been before. Every day, it seemed as though she lingered here a little longer, talked a little louder, told us a little more.

  "So why is he back?" Trixie asked, moving the conversation forward. True to Trixie's word, Melbourne was at the bakery again today, helping out. He was sulking only slightly as he worked. It had been much worse when he'd first arrived this morning. His head had been hanging so low it almost touched the ground. He had only perked up when Trixie gave him a batch of her famous—to him—blood pudding cakes.

  "O-negative! My favorite!" Melbourne had cried, devouring them almost in one bite. I was just relieved she'd only made enough to feed Melbourne. For a while, when she'd thought he was dead, she'd tried to fill the bakery with all types of blood cookies, cupcakes, and puddings. It had been a difficult thing making her understand that customers didn't want those types of goodies. Especially not the tourists, who were almost always human and had no interest in vampire food. They didn't even know that vampires existed.

  "The mayor is back now," Lottie said, "because he thinks he has nothing to hide. He may be right, as it turns out. Now that word has spread that there are two assassins dressing up like people in Mistmoor Point and Sweetland Cove, no one thinks Mayor Thomas is behind anything."

  "Why not?" I asked.

  "He's not clever enough." Lottie shoved a granola granny smith bar into her mouth. "Thish ish delishoush," she muttered with her mouth still full.

  Eleanor smiled and offered her another.

  When Lottie swallowed, she continued,

  "No one in town believes for one second that Mayor Thomas knows enough about disguises to pull off dressing up like Tazzie or Ava or anyone else. And he's definitely not smart enough to hire more than one assassin."

  "You think hiring two assassins was a smart idea?" I asked, surprised.

  "Not two. Three."

  "Three?" I asked, looking at Eleanor.

  "Yes. You're forgetting the one who washed up on Mistmoor Beach. Sheriff Knoxx's lookalike."

  She was right, I was forgetting that one. At the time, we hadn't been completely sure that he was an assassin.

  "And, of course, it's worked, hasn't it?"
Lottie continued. "I mean, the elections have gotten all messed up on both sides of the island. Sweetland wasn't even supposed to be holding an election right now and look what's happened."

  "So, Mayor Thomas isn't worried about the recall elections?" I asked. "I mean, if he's making a speech in town square today, he must have gotten some of his confidence back."

  "He has. He wants to be a part of the new election. He's claiming that he's confident the people will vote for him again, despite everything that's happened."

  "When does his speech in town square start?" I asked.

  "Any minute now," Lottie said.

  We looked outside and saw groups of people all heading toward the town square. Eleanor and Trixie exchanged a look.

  "You go ahead," Trixie said. "I'll stay here. I don't care much what Mayor Thomas says. It's not the various accusations against him that lost him my vote; it's the way he tried to pin everything on Tazzie when he was arrested just because he thought she'd be easy pickings." Trixie paused, frowning. "How is Tazzie, anyway?"

  "Out of jail and at home with Kayla," Lottie said. She had an answer for everything.

  Melbourne lingered in the background, only mildly interested in what was happening outside.

  "So, if Tazzie's out of jail, who's running in the Mistmoor Point election then?" I asked. "Tazzie or Kayla?"

  "Both," said Lottie, a twinkle in her eye. "Like mother, like daughter, I always say."

  I was surprised to hear that, but maybe I shouldn't have been. Kayla had been helping her mom with her campaign all along. Between her dad, who used to be mayor, and her mother and boyfriend, who were both running for mayor, it only made sense that the political bug would have rubbed off on Kayla somewhere along the way.

  Eleanor and I left my dad, Melbourne, and Trixie to keep an eye on the bakery. Lottie came along with us, eager to hear what Mayor Thomas had to say. We could see the crowd around the stage when we were still fifty feet away. The mayor had wasted no time in getting started.