by C. Fennessy
Chapter Ten
Kacey's alarm went off at 8:00 a.m. the next morning. She peered at the clock with blood-red, tired eyes and tossed her covers back to allow the cool, morning air to wake her up. In a couple of minutes, she was able to tiptoe out of the bedroom without waking up Brittany, who was sound asleep in the bed next to hers.
Aunt Mary was already awake and making breakfast when Kacey came downstairs.
"Good morning!" Aunt Mary beamed as she studied Kacey's tired face.
"What time did you girls come in last night?"
Kacey poured herself a cup of steaming, hot coffee and replied, "It was more like four o'clock this morning."
"What!" Aunt Mary exclaimed in disapproval.
"But we rescued Brittany and got Garth arrested! The castle is now yours!"
Aunt Mary's mouth dropped open and her eyes went wide.
"How did you do that?"
Kacey told her the whole story during breakfast. When she finished, Aunt Mary hugged her and exclaimed, "My goodness! I can't believe that you girls did all that last night!"
"Well, we couldn't have done it without the guys."
"Oh, my goodness! How can I ever thank you?"
Kacey smiled, "We're glad to help. And just to let you know, Brittany is asleep upstairs in my room. Ava and Emma are in the bedroom next door, and the guys took the big bedroom with the fold-out couch. They all plan on sleeping in this morning, but I plan to go to church. Would you like to go with me?"
"Oh, yes! I'd love to! I haven't been able to attend since my surgery."
"Well, let's do up the dishes and get ready," Kacey suggested.
When they returned home from church, the rest of the group was just having breakfast. Ava reported that Officer Benson just called to let her know that Garth Simms was also wanted on an outstanding arrest for fraud in Boston. He had tried to swindle some other people by making fake property deeds.
"So he's done this before!" Aunt Mary declared.
"Yeah," Ava replied, "And he's got two major charges against him now for kidnapping and fraud. He's going away for a very long time. I don't think you'll have any problem proving his deed is fake."
Aunt Mary grinned from ear to ear.
"And it's all because of you!" she said to the group, "Thank you, from the bottom of my heart!" She clasped her hands to her chest, smiling with tears in her eyes.
Kacey asked, "Did Officer Benson mention anything about Hannah?"
Ava nodded, "Yeah. She regained consciousness. She has a concussion and some bruises, but she'll be well enough to stand trial in a few weeks as an accessory to kidnapping and fraud. She'll probably get a long sentence, too."
"Serves her right," Dave said.
"Well, I'm just happy it's all over with so life can get back to normal," Emma declared.
"Yeah," Ava agreed, "Whatever 'normal' is!"
After breakfast, the gang cleaned up the kitchen and headed upstairs to pack. On the way up, Kacey took Brittany aside and said,
"Brittany, I spoke to my dad on the phone this morning, and he said you're welcome to come and stay with us as long as you like. If you want to go back to school, I can help you find an art school that you'd like. Aunt Mary also said you could stay with her a little while until you decide what your next step will be."
Brittany gave Kacey a hug and replied, "Thanks. I appreciate everything you've done for me, Kacey. All of you have been so great to me. I'd probably be on my way to Shanghai right now if it weren't for you. Honestly, I think I'm going to go home to Westfield just to straighten out my head. I talked with my mom on the phone this morning while you were at church, and we understand each other better now. I plan to stay with my mom for a while until I get accepted into an art school. I also need some time to get my art portfolio ready to apply to some schools."
"I can help you with that. I'm majoring in art and music, so I know just what you need to do. Call me next week and I'll give you a hand," Kacey suggested.
Brittany smiled, "Thanks! I'd like that!"
An hour later, the group said their goodbyes to Aunt Mary. Kacey hugged her aunt, who kissed her cheek again and thanked her and her friends for their help.
"You're very welcome, Aunt Mary. I'm really glad we were able to help you to get the castle back."
Brittany added, "And you helped me see the truth about magic and my so-called 'friends', Hannah and Garth."
Kacey smiled, "I'm just glad you got out of it before it did any real harm. Really it's like the message in the séance: The truth shall be known."
Brittany laughed, "Yeah! I bet Garth wishes he'd never said that!"
They all waved goodbye as the guys pulled out of the driveway and the girls followed in Kacey's BMW.
As they sped onto the turnpike headed for home, Joshua remarked,
"Well, just another adventure in the lives of Kacey and her friends!"
Rick asked, "You mean the girls have gotten into dangerous situations before?"
Joshua laughed, "Yeah, like all the time! And we usually find ourselves in the middle of it all. I can't wait to see what they get into next!"
The End.
For more adventures featuring Kacey and Friends, look for
Camp Wildwood by C. Metzinger
Other titles by C. Metzinger are:
Snow Angels
A Cup of Water
Playing to Win
