Potions and Puzzles

by Agnes Lester Brown

  “This looks impressive,” Nick said, surveying the papers and files spread out on the table as he sat down. Lori gave him the daily menus Hazel would be serving during the tournament to read through. “Mmm, this is going to be delicious. I’m starving already,” he said and rubbed his tummy.

  “You ain’t seen nothing yet.” Lori turned the laptop screen for him to look at. “This will blow you away.”

  For the next twenty minutes, Lori continued showing Nick what she’d accomplished. He kept nodding his head as Lori carried on, but she sensed he wasn’t at ease.

  “Anything bothering you, Nick?” Lori asked as she finished up and closed the laptop.

  “This is all fantastic, Lori, and I’m more than happy with what you’ve done. I’m just a little worried that we’ve maybe bitten off more than we can chew. Kermit’s terribly demanding, and I’m already getting phone calls from the contestants with all sorts of requests and demands. I’ll be doing my best to keep them away from you, but—”

  “Nick, hold it right there.” Lori put her hand on his arm. “This will be a success. Remember how enthusiastic you were when we first spoke and you told me about the tournament? Well, nothing’s changed. The mayor’s got the whole town all fired up about this. He’s even building a new bridge over the Driftwood River for the occasion. Can you imagine that?”

  Nick sipped his coffee as he listened to her. He didn’t look convinced.

  “There’s something I think you should know. Yesterday I found out Kermit’s a suspected murderer.”

  Lori thought she’d misheard Nick over the hubbub of voices around them in the coffee shop.

  “Did I hear you correctly? Kermit, a suspected killer?”

  Nick nodded. “My accountant knows someone who knew Kermit a long time ago. Apparently he was suspected of murdering his wife after finding out she was cheating on him. He was never found guilty, though, and the killer was never apprehended. His wife was from a very rich family, and he inherited a substantial amount. He used the money to start the World Champion Crossword Tournament and built it up into a sort of crossword empire. He may have gotten off and may well be innocent, but it still makes one uneasy.”

  “Wow.”

  Lori wasn’t sure what else to say. Kermit might have an inflated ego and a brash attitude, but he certainly didn’t look like a murderer. His behavior thus far had convinced her Kermit was more bark than bite. A showman.

  “I’m sure it’s all going to work out fine, Nick,” Lori said, although the new information had put a damper on her enthusiasm. “We’ve done everything we can to make this thing work out great.” She changed the topic. “When are the contestants arriving?”

  “First ones should be here by tomorrow afternoon,” Nick said.

  Lori cracked a joke to lighten Nick’s mood. “I’m sure we’ll find them in the brain gym, working out for the competition.” She was relieved to hear Nick’s hearty laugh once again.

  As they walked out onto the street, Lori saw a shiny black Bentley with an out-of-state license plate parked in front of the Misty Hills Inn. There was no one inside the car, but a freckled guy with an orange mop of hair and wearing a chauffeur’s uniform was leaning against the car, looking bored.

  “Who’s that?” Lori asked Nick, who shrugged.

  “Could be the first of the competitors arriving,” he ventured.

  After they’d said goodbye, Lori decided to take the scenic route back home. It was a perfect summer’s day with a cloudless sky and a warm sun, and she’d rather be enjoying the good weather than be indoors. Taking her time, she ambled to the edge of town, passing the old cemetery where Grandfather Randolph lay buried. Soon she branched off on a short footpath through an open field covered in brightly colored wildflowers.

  Enjoying the colorful landscape made Lori want to see if any progress had been made at Emerald Forest. As she turned onto the footpath that would take her up the hillside to the forest, she saw a jogging figure in the distance, coming toward her on the path. She shaded her eyes from the sun in an effort to identify the runner, but it was no one she knew.

  She paused, waiting for the runner to come closer and pass her on the footpath. It was an athletically built blonde girl in running shorts and a pair of fancy sneakers.

  The girl slowed down as she passed Lori.

  “Hi, enjoying Fennelmoore’s fresh air?” Lori said in greeting. She wondered how far the girl had run, because she was hardly out of breath.

  “Hello,” the girl responded and came to a halt. “It’s wonderful out here, yes. Pity I couldn’t run further than the foot bridge over the river. It looks like they’re working on it. I’ll be sure to return once they’re finished.”

  Lori was happy to hear the mayor was making good on his promise, but she was also curious. She’d never seen the girl around before.

  “I’m Lori. Are you new around here?”

  “Well, sort of. My boss is in town for a few days, and I’m accompanying her. She’s taking part in a crossword competition. By the way, I’m Sophie. Nice to meet you, Lori.”

  Lori’s ears pricked up. “Really? Is that the World Champion Crossword Tournament? I’m one of the organizers. Small world, isn’t it? What do you do for your, uh, boss?”

  Sophie took a sip from her water bottle. “My boss is Brenda Paisley, runner-up at last year’s competition, and I’m her personal assistant. We were due in tomorrow, but she wanted to arrive a little early to settle in.”

  The black Bentley she’d seen parked at the inn now made sense to Lori.

  “Does she drive a big black car with a chauffeur?”

  Sophie nodded. “Yes, that’s us. Maybe you saw Clay, the guy with the red hair. He’s Brenda’s chauffeur.”

  Goodness me! This is going to be a lot more like Hollywood than I thought.

  “Well, nice meeting you, Sophie,” Lori said. “I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other during the course of the next few days.” With that, Sophie resumed her run and Lori walked on to go see how repairs were progressing at the bridge.

  When she arrived, two trucks and a crane were parked near the old wooden bridge, or rather, what remained of it. It had been stripped to just a skeleton, and half a dozen workmen were busy putting in place a steel frame for what would become the new bridge. The mayor really was going to town on this. She’d expected someone to just hammer a few new planks into place on the old bridge, not build a whole new fancy one. It wasn’t like the Driftwood River was an imposing river; in fact, it was little more than a bubbling little brook meandering among the rocks. She stood watching the men work for a few minutes before one of them approached her.

  “This looks like a big job,” Lori said. She looked at the label on one of the trucks. “Is your name Maintenance Division?”

  The man wiped his brow and laughed. “Yes, ma’am. I’m George King. And, yes, it’s a big job. Heaven knows where the mayor gets the money for this sort of thing.”

  Lori felt a little guilty hearing this. She’d have to make sure the mayor was suitably impressed by the tournament, to prove his investment worthwhile.

  George looked at Lori as if he recognized her. “Didn’t I see you at the mayor’s office the other day?”

  “Probably, yes. My cousin Jasmine works for the mayor. She’s his public relations officer.”

  George nodded and looked at the sun. “Better get going, we want to finish this by lunchtime.” And with that, he walked back to where the others were welding a section of the bridge into place.

  When Lori pushed open the front door of Whitewood Manor, she heard Aunt Hazel in the dining room, in conversation with a male voice she didn’t recognize. “Let me call Lori, she’s just arrived. I’m sure she’d love to meet you,” she heard Hazel say just before she peeked around the corner and beckoned to Lori. It must be an important guest, because Aunt Hazel was wearing lipstick and makeup and missing her ubiquitous apron, Lori thought as she followed Hazel into the dining room.

  The man Lori
saw getting up to greet her hardly looked like anyone of any consequence. She estimated him to be more or less the same age as Hazel. He was wearing a short-sleeved checked shirt and khakis. A floppy hat covered his gray, thinning hair. In short, he looked like a fishing enthusiast on vacation.

  “Lori, I want you to meet Flynn,” Hazel said, smiling broadly. “You’ll never guess what he’s in town for.”

  Lori couldn’t help noticing Fae’s conspicuous absence. Perhaps Hazel had sent her off to her room, lest she scare Flynn off.

  “Your aunt and I were just talking about the last time we saw each other, at a previous World Champion Crossword Tournament,” Flynn said after he’d greeted Lori. “I promised myself that one day I’d make the grade and participate, and here I am.”

  “Congratulations,” Lori said. “I’ve heard qualifying for the tournament is quite an achievement.” It struck her that Flynn didn’t fit into the tournament’s colorful spectacle. “I hope you take home first prize,” she added.

  “Thank you. I have no chance of doing that,” Flynn said. “The top players are all way too good for me to even have a remote chance at winning.” He counted down on his fingers. “Alvin Parkinson is unbeatable, Brenda Paisley is much too intimidating, and Camelia Ashbury is simply just too fast for me. I’m just here to have fun.”

  “Never underestimate yourself,” Lori said, offering to bring Hazel and Flynn a drink before disappearing into the kitchen.

  Lori found Granny Fae sitting at the kitchen table, looking glum. “Hazel says I’m not allowed in the dining room,” she complained. “She doesn’t want me scaring off Flynn like I did in Houston.”

  Lori giggled and winked. “You’ll make a terrible mother-in-law, Granny.”

  Fae put on an innocent look. “All I was doing was having a little fun.”

  “There’s a preliminary round of the tournament happening tomorrow at the inn, and I don’t want you there, okay?” Lori said, putting on a stern face. “There’s a lot at stake, and the last thing I need is a rambunctious witch throwing random spells and potions around and getting everyone’s panties in a twist. And be nice to Flynn, please.”

  Fae muttered under her breath and stamped her walking stick on the floor. Then she took Lori’s hand in hers. “Be careful around those nutjobs, Lori. Don’t let their funny business get to you.”

  “I won’t, but thanks for the warning, Granny,” Lori said as she took the tray with coffee and cookies to the dining room.

  Chapter Six

  It was still half-dark when the Whitewoods—with the exception of Granny Fae, who remained behind looking forlorn on the manor’s veranda—piled into their powder-blue van and drove the short distance to the Misty Hills Inn for the first day of the World Champion Crossword Tournament. They’d already set up the computers, registration desks, and food tables the day before. The previous night, they’d gone to bed late after dressing up the conference room where the competition would run exactly as per Nick’s instructions. All arrangements had been cross-checked, and checked again. This morning they’d be ready and waiting for the contestants, spectators and television crews to arrive. The whole tournament would air on live television, and according to Kermit, millions of people all over the world would watch. Nothing could be left to chance, and there was no room for error.

  As Lori walked around the conference venue inside the inn, making last-minute checks, she felt proud and satisfied that all arrangements were going according to plan. She’d gone over the project checklist many times with Nick and had made adjustments until he was fully satisfied. He’d liaised with Kermit, who’d signed off on all arrangements the day before.

  She carefully counted the number of chairs for the audience in the room. There were exactly three hundred chairs, enough for the expected number of spectators. She walked onto the stage, where three blank square whiteboards were placed a few feet apart from each other on easels. This was where the crosswords would be mounted for the three contestants to complete. A small wooden table with a pair of large black noise-canceling headphones stood next to each whiteboard. Lori picked each pair up in turn, switched them on and made sure the batteries were fully charged. These would be worn by the contestants as they completed their crosswords, to prevent them from hearing anything from the audience. It all seemed so simple, Lori thought as she surveyed the stage setup. Who’d imagine there was five million dollars at stake here?

  She walked to the front of the stage and stood behind the microphone, looking out over the sea of empty seats. In a few days’ time, Kermit would stand here as he handed over that large check to the winner, just as she’d seen in the photograph Nick had shown her.

  In the lobby, she caught the mouthwatering aroma of the snacks Hazel was preparing in the kitchen. She couldn’t resist sneaking one of the pastries from a tray a staff member carried past her, and she finished it in one bite. As expected, it was deliciously sweet and tasty.

  Still tasting the delicious pastry in her mouth, she passed the registration desk, where Rosie and Jasmine were handing out name tags to the first contestants, who had arrived early. Rosie was helping a leggy brunette wearing stilettos, patterned black stockings and a tight-fitting dress. She looked more like a runway model than a top crossword contestant. For a few minutes, Lori stood by and watched, intrigued by the colorful eccentrics lining up to register. Two of them, a middle-aged couple, wore identical oversized orange overalls and had their hair dyed platinum blond. Behind them stood an elderly gentleman wearing a pinstripe suit and a bowler hat with a large carnation in his lapel. When he turned his back to Lori, she noticed he had a silver ponytail sticking out from under the bowler hat that snaked all the way down his back and ended at the bottom of his jacket. A sweet-looking girl dressed like Mary Poppins chatted to a short, squat lady wearing a white T-shirt with “Word Nerd” written in large capital letters on the back. Hopefully Lori would have time to meet most of them during the competition. They looked like an interesting, fascinating bunch of people, each with a story to tell.

  The hubbub in the room ceased as Nick entered the room accompanied by two persons. Lori recognized the first as Alvin Parkinson. He had a pained expression on his face, as if he hated being there. The other person walked with a swagger, wearing heavy makeup and dripping expensive looking jewelry. Her eyes were hidden behind a pair of stylish dark glasses. Sophie, the girl Lori had met on the footpath, followed close behind. No doubt the woman in front of her was Brenda Paisley.

  Everyone in the room moved over as Nick pushed through the line of people right to the front and introduced the two contestants to Jasmine. She tapped on her computer and handed each of the two a folder, a name tag and the key card to their hotel room.

  Brenda looked at her key card and handed it back to Jasmine.

  “This is the wrong key,” she said curtly. “I’m booked into Suite 101, the one with the view over the valley.”

  Jasmine checked again. “Sorry, Miss Paisley, you are booked into Suite 102, and Mr. Alvin Parkinson is in Suite 101. Those are the instructions we received from Mr. Greenstone.” She smiled at Brenda. “The room has a garden view and all the amenities you’ll need. You’ll be impressed, I assure you.”

  “That’s not good enough. I know what I asked for, and I demand to have it.” Brenda’s icy reply rang through the room as she raised her voice. She held her hand out to Alvin. “Give me my key, Alvin.”

  “I’m the world champion. Of course I have to be in 101,” Alvin said cockily and held the key card to his chest. The other contestants were now gathering in a circle around them, as if they were watching a boxing match.

  Brenda looked around. “Where in heaven’s name is Kermit?” she shouted with irritation. “He promised me the corner suite. He must come straighten out this mess.”

  “Kermit will be here in a minute. In the meantime—” Nick started.

  “I demand to speak to Kermit—now! Unless this is fixed right now, I’ll…” Brenda shouted at the top of
her voice, her face twisted into an angry grimace. Clearly moving into tantrum mode, she swung around and grabbed for the key card Alvin was holding.

  “Gimme that! It’s mine!”

  Alvin gave a mocking laugh and held the key card up above his head, beyond her reach, and the two broke into a scuffle.

  Nick stood by helplessly, and a frightened Jasmine, close to tears, stepped back to avoid getting in the fray. Lori realized that if she didn’t act quickly, this would become ugly.

  She rushed forward and managed to separate Alvin and Brenda for a moment.

  “Please listen to me,” she spoke quickly, expecting them to tackle each other again at any moment. “I think I have a solution here. I know of a lovely garden cottage in town with fantastic views, a huge swimming pool and everything your heart will desire. It’s just as nice the corner suite here at the inn. Brenda, I know you’ll like it, so please let me take you there.”

  Lori couldn’t believe what she was saying. There was only one swimming pool in town, and that was the municipal swimming pool, where she’d learned to swim while in school.

  Brenda stopped for a moment and looked at Lori with derision.

  “And who are you? Some sort of travel agent? I want what I was promised and nothing less! I demand Suite 101, and, no, I’m not staying in a bed and breakfast!” She tried to grab hold of Alvin again.

  Lori looked at Alvin with pleading eyes. He still had the cocky demeanor of moments ago, but Lori could see he was wavering.

  “I’ll go,” he said unexpectedly, throwing his key card in Brenda’s direction. He picked up his bag and started walking towards the front door. “This place is a dump, anyway.”

  Lori followed in Alvin’s footsteps, thanking her lucky stars and breathing a silent sigh of relief. Brenda looked confused, not quite sure what had happened, while Sophie picked up the key card from the floor and handed it to her while the spectators slowly dispersed.

  Once outside Lori guided Alvin to the van. “I’m Lori Whitewood, by the way,” she introduced herself. “I helped organize the tournament, although my job is running the town’s health shop. Sorry about the car, it’s not exactly a limousine.”