That was priceless. I sure as snowflakes wasn’t ready to leave any of this behind.
I straightened up. Time to end this pity party and do whatever I could to make things right. I wasn’t a quitter and I wasn’t going down without a fight. I couldn’t put off telling my father any longer. Whatever happened, happened.
Even if that meant my dad came to Nocturne Falls.
“Absolutely.” Greyson hung up.
I looked at him. “Well?”
“The Ellinghams are all aware of what’s going on and they’ve reached out to all the resources they have. Which are substantial.”
But it still probably wouldn’t help. Call it a hunch, but that’s what my gut told me. I just nodded and said, “Great. I really need to get home and call my dad. And you really need to get back to the station and head to Lucien’s with Sheriff Merrow. I can walk the rest of the way on my own.”
His brow wrinkled. “Are you ditching me again?”
I smiled as brightly as I could manage. “Try not to take it personally.”
He didn’t. At least it didn’t seem like it when he kissed me goodbye.
If not for my sensible heels (which really weren’t that sensible, seeing as how they were still heels), I would have run back to the warehouse. All I could think about was getting this call with my dad over. Getting that weight off my shoulders, no matter what the outcome, would be one less thing for me to worry about.
I went into the shop first to check on Kip and Juniper. They seemed to be doing all right, and thankfully, it was a little on the slow side. “I’ll be in my office but I don’t want to be disturbed for a bit. I have to check in with my father.”
The looks on their faces told me they understood and sympathized.
I walked back to my office, trying to find the right words to tell him what had happened. I closed my door, sat down at my desk, and pulled out the container of eggnog fudge from the bottom drawer.
I ate two pieces while I thought, but the sugar wasn’t helping as much as I’d hoped.
This was going to be a rip-the-bandage-off kind of situation. I would need to just come out with it.
I took a breath, picked up the globe, and gave it a shake.
He answered in record time. Or maybe it just felt like that.
I forced a smile I didn’t feel. “Hi, Dad.”
“Hi, honey.” He was in his office. Probably calculating how many more copies of Hush, Little Baby to print for Christmas. “How did it go this morning? No complications with Sanders’ departure, I hope.”
I inhaled and exhaled before answering, reminding myself that there was no point in dragging this out. “About that…there’s been some trouble. Sanders and Olive are missing. And we think Luna Nyx has kidnapped them. In fact, she’s probably already in control of his hourglass based on some of the sleep-related nonsense that’s been going on here.”
My father sat dead still, staring at me. For a minute, I thought the globe had frozen up, then I realized he was processing the fabulous news I’d just delivered. Finally he blinked. “Missing? Kidnapped? Back up and start from the beginning.”
No yelling. Maybe he was in shock. Well, hearing the whole story ought to snap him out of that.
I laid the whole thing out just as I’d done for the police. Then I shrugged. “And that’s it. We’re doing what we can, but with the town knocked out while all of this went down, Luna could have taken them anywhere by now.”
A sudden thought occurred to me. “You know, I’m not sure Luna bargained on Olive. I mean, kidnapping Sanders? That might have been planned. Or maybe not. But I don’t think she would have willingly taken Olive too. They’re not exactly best friends.”
Wisps of icy vapor swirled off my father, a sure sign of his unhappiness (as were his arched brows and frown). I felt bad for the northern areas of the world. Someone was getting a blizzard tonight. Some freezing rain, at the very least. He pounded his fist on the desk in front of him. “How in the hell did this happen?”
That was more of the reaction I’d been expecting. A strange sense of relief swept through me. “I don’t know. I’m sorry, Dad. I really am. Olive said Luna was bad news, but I didn’t do anything about it. Not much, anyway. She came to visit Sanders at the second signing and I let her. I’m not sure what I could have done differently, but I probably could have come up with something if I’d just given it more thought. I know I’ve disappointed you and Uncle Kris. Whatever you decide to do, I’m not going to argue. Even if it means I get fired.”
My father’s mouth opened and I braced myself for the bad news. “Fire you? Yes, this is awful, terrible, disappointing news, and we have to do everything possible to find Tempus and Olive, but it’s certainly not your fault.”
My brows lifted. “You’re not mad at me? Not even a little bit?”
He shook his head. “Was there really anything you could have done to stop this from happening?”
I shrugged. “Maybe, I don’t know. I could have…done…something.”
“Jayne, what would you have done? Stop beating yourself up. I know you want everything to be perfect at the shop, but things happen.” He scrubbed a hand over his face and sighed. “Granted, not usually things that put the whole world at risk.”
I wasn’t getting fired, but I wasn’t exactly filled with glee. Sanders and Olive were still in danger. “There are tons of people working on this, Dad. And tons of resources.”
“I would expect nothing less from the Ellinghams. But I’m coming down there. This is a company problem to some extent and I need to be there.”
My phone buzzed. It was a text from Corette. I didn’t want to ignore her, but I wasn’t about to hang up on my dad either.
I glanced at it, reading it quickly.
Call me soon. Important.
I looked back up at my dad. “I expected you to say that. You can stay with me. I’ll sleep on the couch.”
He made an odd face. “That’s nice, but the company suite will have more room.”
“I don’t think you can use that apartment until the sheriff gives the all clear. Technically, it’s part of an ongoing investigation.”
My father rubbed his forehead. “Right.” Then he smiled tightly. “It will be nice to see you. These aren’t the circumstances under which I’d hoped to be visiting, but it will be nice, nonetheless.”
“Will Mom come with you? Or Uncle Kris?”
“No. You don’t have the room for us and bringing your uncle would only create more havoc, I’m sure.”
“Yeah, probably.” Having Santa Claus suddenly show up in town wasn’t going to help things. “Thanks for understanding and not being mad. I really am sorry.”
“I know. And I’m sorry you have to deal with this. See you tomorrow night. Love you.”
“Tomorrow. Love you.”
The snow stilled. I whipped out my phone and punched up Corette’s shop number.
“Ever After Bridal Boutique, Corette speaking.”
“Corette, it’s Jayne. I got your text.”
“Good, good. I may have something that could help you. Well, help your situation. Can you come by the shop?”
“I can be there in fifteen minutes. Maybe less.”
“Perfect.”
I tucked my phone into my purse, slung it across my body, then locked up my office. In the warehouse, I grabbed one of the shop bikes kept for employee use, wheeled it outside and hit the road.
Thirteen minutes later, I was walking into Ever After. A little sweatier than I would have liked, but this wasn’t the time to be picky about such things.
Corette greeted me at the door and ushered me back to her office.
As soon as she shut the door, I had to ask, “What’s up?”
She sat at her desk, her expression tentative. “After my daughters and I did the spell for you against nightmares, we had a long talk about…the possibilities. Our talk led to us to believe that there was potentially more at stake than we’d originally realized. Marigo
ld scryed into the future—now, that’s not an exact magic and it’s very draining for her, but she’s very good at it—anyway, what she saw was grim, to say the least.”
“Death?” My voice was hoarse with nerves. “Because that’s what Jacque Baptiste saw.”
“I’ve never known him to be wrong.” Her smile was thin and didn’t reach her eyes.
“Are you saying Marigold saw death too?”
“Yes.”
I groaned and covered my face with my hands. This was horrible news. “Sanders is dead, isn’t he?”
“I don’t know. I certainly hope not, but that’s not what I called you here to tell you.”
I dropped my hands. “It’s not?”
“No. When my daughters and I realized what might happen, we decided to take action.”
“You did? What kind of action?” That was a dumb question. Obviously it was something witchy. What else?
“We called in all the witches we trusted and cast the largest spell we’ve ever cast.”
I was right. Something witchy. A bright spark lit inside me, the same feeling I got when I saw the first snowfall of the year. I was almost breathless with anticipation. “What kind of spell? Who did you cast it on?”
“Not on a person. The town. We cast a spell over the entire vicinity of Nocturne Falls. And it wasn’t a spell so much as a preventative incantation, really.”
“What does this incantation prevent?”
“Anyone with evil in their heart or who has committed an evil deed from leaving the boundaries of Nocturne Falls. Nor will it allow their black magic to penetrate beyond the town’s borders.”
Nervous energy pushed me to my feet. I paced to the back wall and returned as I translated what she’d said. “Are you telling me that Luna is trapped in Nocturne Falls? That she’s somewhere in town with Tempus and Olive unable to leave?”
Corette smiled much more brightly this time. “That’s exactly what I’m telling you. I’m sorry I didn’t contact you earlier, but I only just heard what had happened.”
“Is this also why only those of us in town were affected by the strange sleep issues?”
“Most likely. If Luna was doing that deliberately, it was with evil intent. So our spell would have contained it to town.”
New hope sprang up inside me. “Oh, this is excellent. It’s amazing. It’s perfect. Thank you. I owe you big time, big, huge. Anything you want or need or—do you want to become a baroness? I think I can arrange that. It would be linked to a barony in the North Pole, but it’s still a royal title and—”
She laughed. “None of that is necessary, but there’s one more thing I have to tell you. The spell only lasts a day. And because it’s such strong magic, Luna can probably feel its ebb and flow. Which means…” She glanced at the delicate gold-and-diamond timepiece on her wrist and her smile disappeared. “In two hours, Luna Nyx will be free to leave. And she knows it.”
Juggling my phone while pushing the bike down the sidewalk wasn’t easy, but I managed. Adrenalin, probably.
Birdie answered two rings in. “Hello?”
I was almost out of breath with the excitement of it all but I had to get things moving, so I’d called the one person I could rely on to spread the news to everyone who needed to know. “Birdie, listen, this is very important.”
“I’m all ears. That’s a werewolf joke. Sorry, this is serious. Listening.”
I rolled my eyes but only briefly as I didn’t want to accidentally run the bike into a lamp post. “Long story short. Luna is still in town. The witches cast a spell to keep her here but it’s only going to last two more hours and Corette thinks there’s a good chance Luna can feel the spell’s power waning, so you’ve got to get everyone organized and searching immediately.”
“For real? Well, shut my mouth. How about that. I’ll get right on it.”
“Great, thank you. I’m headed back to the shop, but I’ll be available to help as soon as I make sure everything’s all right there.”
“Maybe you ought to stay there, Princess. I mean, Luna’s a tough customer, being a reaper and all, and we wouldn’t want you to—”
“Don’t even try it, Birdie. I’m helping. Did Greyson and the sheriff go see Lucien?”
“They left for his place about five minutes ago. I imagine they’re just about arriving.”
“Okay, I’ll text Greyson and let him know and you text the sheriff, then maybe they can talk Lucien into being a little more cooperative.”
She snorted. “I doubt that.”
So did I. “Where’s Cooper?”
She sighed. “The kitchen fire turned out to be a false alarm. Someone left a tray of biscuits in the oven so it was a lot of smoke but not much else. However, right after that call, they got another one. A tourist drove their car into the lake. I imagine Cooper will be there a while until they get that poor sap out of the drink.”
“I suppose so. Well, I’ll text him too.”
“All right, I’ll get on the horn and let the rest of the crew know.”
“Thanks, Birdie.”
“You betcha.”
I hung up and did something I’d never done before: I group texted Cooper and Greyson. I wasn’t sure how they were going to feel about that, but time was everything right now.
Witches cast a spell to keep Luna here. Search parties forming. Headed to the shop then I’ll be searching too. No need to respond I know you’re busy.
I slipped the phone in my purse and jumped back on the bike, pedaling like mad to get home. I wheeled it into the warehouse, propped it on the stand with the rest, and went into the store. Juniper and Kip were both leaning on the counter looking half-dead.
Normally, the leaning thing would have earned them a very boss-like look of reproach, but today they got a pass.
They straightened when they saw me anyway.
I stopped in front of the counter. “Hey, how’s it going? Kind of slow, huh? Which is good.”
They both nodded. Kip barely stifled a yawn and started moving toward the shelves. “I’ll go do a walk through.”
“Thanks,” Juniper said. Then she looked at me. “How are you doing?”
“A little better.” I told her about Corette’s news.
That woke her up. “That’s great.”
“It is.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Change and figure out where to start looking.”
She smiled. “Then get moving. And good luck.”
“Thanks.” I raced upstairs to my apartment. I shucked my work clothes in favor of jeans, T-shirt, and hoodie (and ditched the sensible heels for truly sensible ballet flats), and was about to return to the warehouse when I saw the snow in the globe on my side table going at full tilt.
I closed my eyes for a minute. This couldn’t be good. I steeled myself for whatever was about to happen and pressed the button to answer.
My dad’s face appeared, and before he could speak, I launched a pre-emptive strike. “I’m glad you called back, I have great news. Luna is still in town.” I explained what the witches had done. It seemed to catch him off guard. “So what did you call about?”
“I was going to tell you that your uncle had decided to come after all, but in the light of this news…maybe that won’t be necessary.”
“Whatever you think.” I didn’t want to tell my dad that neither of them needed to come, but that would be the simplest outcome. For me, anyway. Having either of them here would make things substantially more complicated and when this was over, my staff and I were going to need a couple of easy days so we could catch our breath. And catch up on our sleep. “If you want to see what happens today, I can call you the minute she’s found. Or not.”
He nodded slowly. “All right. Let’s do that. I’ll tell your uncle to cool his jets. Literally. He had the sleigh fired up.”
Wow, talk about the nick of time. No pun intended. “Any advice on where Luna might have hidden away? Seeing as how you’re part elemental and all
.”
He snorted. “But I’m not a reaper. That’s a mindset I don’t really relate to. I’m sure she’ll turn up, though. Nocturne Falls isn’t exactly New York City. There are only so many places to hide.”
“Right.” I thought for a second. “Where would you hide if you were on the run?”
A soft laugh trailed out of him. “That’s easy. Somewhere cold. An ice house, a deep freeze, cold storage—anywhere I’d be comfortable but those chasing me wouldn’t be.”
“Makes sense.” I smiled and meant it. “Thanks, Dad. Talk to you soon.”
“Very soon. And Jayne, be careful.” Then he winked at me and was gone.
I put the globe back on the side table, gave Spider a little scratch on the head (he was zonked out on the couch, the lucky duck), and returned to the warehouse, my phone tucked in my back pocket.
By now, I was sure the rest of the deputies and the Ellinghams and whoever else had joined the search were probably well on their way. I guess that left me as a search party of one. At least until Greyson or Cooper responded, which they hadn’t yet. I sauntered out of the warehouse and stood on the sidewalk. I was filled with determination and hope. I didn’t want to waste that. So if I had to be on my own for a few minutes, that was fine. I just had to figure out which way to go.
Deputy Lafitte said he’d seen Sanders and Olive headed toward the Black Rose. That was as good a place to start as anywhere else. I walked in that direction, paying attention to everything around me. There could be a clue anywhere.
Okay, maybe not, but anything was possible, right? I had great faith in Olive. Not only was she the kind of person to leave a trail if possible, but that belief gave me something to cling to. Especially with time ticking away.
As I approached the Black Rose, I slowed. This was sort of the end of my run. I picked my way around the inn, looking at everything as I went. But I found nothing. Disappointment started to set in.
What if this wasn’t where they’d stopped? What if their final destination was in this direction, but not here?
I started walking again, eyes open and mind receptive. But the neighborhood was pretty quiet and there was nothing along the way to make me think Olive had been able to leave any breadcrumbs behind. If she and Sanders had actually continued this way.
Miss Frost Saves The Sandman: A Nocturne Falls Mystery (Jayne Frost Book 3) Page 17
