by January Bain
“Charm, oh, Charm,” Old Charlie shouted out, waving his arms over the crowd. He elbowed and pushed his way through the assembled people, Tom in tow.
“Morning, Charlie,” I said.
“How’s it going, Charm?” Tom chimed in.
“Good, thanks. Happy to see you both getting along better. Maybe my spell took, eh?” I teased. “What’s next? A spell to make you both forget what caused all the trouble in the first place?”
“And did you also know that Miss McCall’s power only stays intact if she remains a virgin?” a voice called out from the back of the crowd. “You might want to make sure she stays away from temptation. Just sayin’.”
Oh. My. Goddess.
The bottom fell out of my world. I swallowed, my pulse racing. Sweat trickled down my neck and underarms.
Charlie and Tom looked confused, then turned their heads toward the source of the voice. The crowd parted to reveal the culprit. My nemesis, Jennifer Morgan.
She strolled right up to the table, her expression smug and ever so sweet. “It’s true, isn’t it, Charm, you have to stay a virgin to keep your gifts? I’d bet the town would hate to lose the one where you can find just about anything gone missing.”
I searched for my voice in the maelstrom of emotions invading my body. “That’s not exactly correct,” I hedged, clearing my throat. “Who told you such a thing?”
“Why, Constable Collins of course.”
I pressed my lips together. Betrayed. Suckered. Devasted. Those words were not even close to how upset the admission made me.
“Can I get you anything? Some food, or maybe some manners?” Rosalie asked her. She stepped in front of me, nudging me away from the table. She spoke over her shoulder at me. “We need more water. Could you go and get a case?”
I stumbled between the piled cases and boxes of foodstuffs, beyond grateful for any excuse to just walk away from prying eyes, my soul laid bare.
A sudden squawking of electronics sent a high-pitched sound zinging through the air waves. People covered their ears. I recognized the voice amplified by a bullhorn calling for people to assemble at Johansson’s meadow. My stomach pitched. Why had he told her, of all people, my most private affairs?
Tears prickled behind my eyelids and it took all my willpower and strength to make my legs carry me out to the parking lot where sanctuary waited. I climbed into Thor’s cocoon, slumping back in the seat. I didn’t hear the passenger door open until Tulip was sitting next to me. She didn’t say anything, just took me in her arms and held me tight.
The tears that had been threatening fell, and sobs shook my body. I let out the pain while my sister held me. A few minutes later and the avalanche of emotions eased, letting some sense of normality return.
“Why would he do that? Tell that woman such personal stuff?” I turned my watery gaze on Tulip who looked nearly as upset as me.
She handed me a bundle of tissues and I mopped up.
“I don’t know. Maybe to make her feel better after being dumped by her boyfriend?”
“Well, that just sucks. How can I trust him now?”
She shrugged. “Maybe ask him about it? She doesn’t seem to be one with your best interests at heart, you know. She wants Constable Collins all to herself.”
“When will men learn that certain women will say anything to get rid of a rival? He probably swore her to secrecy. And she couldn’t wait to tell me. But, Tulip, why did she have to tell the whole town?” My voice broke from the strain. “That’s the worst part. I could live with just a few close people knowing. But now—well, guess what happens next. This will spread like wildfire.”
“I know, I know. Don’t worry, we’ll deal with what comes. Like we always do.”
I wiped a few bittersweet tears from my eyes.
“Do you want to go back to the café? I can look after things here. Maybe you should have a talk with Granny? She’ll understand and probably have a lot better advice to give than me.”
Do I want to do that? That was not the image I had of myself. Not the Charm McCall who was a wiz at martial arts and could throw anyone to the mat. I prided myself on teaching a woman’s defense course once a week. Oh shoot, Constable Collins was scheduled to visit the group to offer some new moves next Monday.
I shook my head. “No. Absolutely not. Why should I let that woman upset me? I’m going back in fighting. Those two missing men need all the help they can get.”
“Great,” Tulip said, giving me a thumbs-up. “Too bad the poppets haven’t worked, eh?”
“Well, give them time. It’s early days yet.” Hmm. Maybe if I added a new one? I shook the thought away. Not going to stoop to her level. “I need to get Bryce Stanford alone to get a reading. You see him, give a shout out, okay?”
“Sure. I’ll leave you to powder your nose.” She opened the passenger door and climbed out. “Don’t rush. We got lots of help.”
“Thanks, Tulip. I feel better.”
She blushed and ducked her head down. “You’re always trying to help us. We don’t thank you enough for that.”
My heart gave a monumental rush of sensation. The good kind this time.
We grinned at each other and she departed, taking off in a jog across the lot.
I checked in the overhead mirror and groaned. Crying doesn’t improve what nature gives you. I dug in my purse for my makeup bag. Pulling out some concealer, mascara and peach lip gloss, I set to work.
Chapter Twenty
Five minutes later I was presentable. I tucked my magic kit away in my purse and slipped it under the seat. Stepping out of the driver’s side, I set my resolve to firm.
Back at the catering center, I gave my crew a bright smile. The crowd, including Jennifer Morgan, Charlie and Tom, had vanished since I’d been gone. Everyone must have answered the call to assemble for the search.
Tulip moved to my side, whispering in my ear, “Glad you’re here. I just saw that Bryce guy over by that trailer.” She pointed it out. I nodded.
“Thanks, I’ll head over there.”
I took a quick walk toward the area she’d indicated, keeping a sharp lookout. But even after a lot of up-and-down strolls between the trailers, I couldn’t catch sight of the culprit. Darn it, he must have gone inside one of the RVs.
The camp was nearly deserted, every able body out searching, no doubt. Then I caught sight of Felicity scurrying between two trailers and made the quick decision to follow her. She headed out of camp while I kept at enough of a distance from her to avoid her catching a glimpse of me, I hoped. But she seemed unaware of anything or anyone around her. She walked with determination at a half-run, taking a shortcut across a grassy field, heading straight for Spirit Springs.
At the mineral waters, she continued, skirting the steaming ponds that gave off a sulfurous odor which cleansed my sinuses in one quick sniff. I stifled a sneeze, my eyes watering. A few minutes later, she headed for Skull Cave. Oh no. Please, please don’t go inside, I begged. I had a terrible fear of caves. Claustrophobia. A largely unchallenged condition because I was wise enough not to go anywhere near a small enclosed space.
I stood undecided while her slight figure vanished inside the dark mouth. But what if Felicity knew something about the men’s disappearance? I didn’t want to follow her in there. No way. No how. I wanted to bask in the summer sunshine, let the cares of this inglorious day fade. Going inside had to be the worst idea ever.
My feet began moving of their own volition toward the looming abyss. I followed her right inside, feeling like the sacrificial heroine in a horror movie. Because what else was there to do? I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I didn’t do all I could to help find the missing men.
I shivered in the dank moistness of the oppressive landform pressing down on my tormented brain, listening to the drip, drip of acidic water forming the sharp stalactites pointing down from the vaulted ceiling. My life suddenly felt very, very brief. I mean, one of those huge chunks could fall on my head at any give
n second. Add the weird sheets of calcite flowing down the walls, distorting and creating odd shapes, twisty helictites creating their own brand of horror going off in odd directions, and it was not a sight to instill confidence. Caving, potholing, spelunking or whatever one called cave exploration—I was still going to demote Felicity onto my ‘least favorite person of the year’ list. Just above Jennifer Morgan. Where did that leave Constable Collins? I had no idea and I refused to go there right now.
Skull Cave did have one thing in its favor—newly installed pot lighting for the movie. I prayed the lights went as deep as Felicity was preparing to descend. While I tiptoed down the awkward and sometimes steep decline toward the bowels of Hades, sweating and mentally cursing my way after my new nemesis, I kept my mind sane by thinking about cave facts. True caves are of the exogene variety, meaning they are deeper than they are wide, and this one snaked through miles underground in the Canadian Shield. It had taken thousands of years for water to dissolve the natural gypsum to create this current monstrosity. The world’s longest known cave was Mammoth Cave in Brownsville, Kentucky—four hundred and five miles of scary splendor. Never checking that sucker out.
But the single most scary thing about this cave system I was traipsing through was that it ended under the sea, which was covered in ice during the winter. Some brave souls from town even went down there through ax-hewn ice-holes to pluck oysters from the ocean bottom while the tide was out. Now tell me any sane person wouldn’t find that worrying? I wiped away the trickles of sweat sliding down my forehead with the back of my hand and licked the salty residue off my upper lip, praying for salvation. Like Felicity instantly deciding to abort her mission. No such luck. I pressed my lips together to avoid screaming and continued my progress.
The slight sounds of rubble being disturbed by Felicity’s feet kept me on track for direction, though so far there was just one way to go—deeper and deeper into purgatory. Hellfire, the bottomless pit, netherworld, whatever one called it, I just wished the nightmare would end. My spirit animal wanted to fly free, not creep through nasty caves that smelled of dank sulfur and bat dung. I slipped and fell against one side where the channel narrowed, my hands pushing against the rough, chilly denseness of the rock to right myself, scraping my palms. I rubbed my hands against my upper arms and swallowed the sharp pain.
The pot lighting ended abruptly, signaling I was in even deeper do-do. To continue following Felicity, I would have to get closer to her fleeing figure moving like a wraith ahead of me. Then she switched on a powerful flashlight. A brilliant move in hindsight. Ha, another rhyme. Maybe there was hope for my song-writing skills to blossom in the future. Or not. But if she turned that sucker of illumination toward me, I’d be a deer caught in the headlights.
Should I turn back? The dilemma didn’t stop my feet from moving forward. They seemed divorced from my thinking, because any sane person would have given up this mission. I wanted nothing more than to exit this cave for the great known. Right. Freakin.’ Now.
Then it got even better. The cave forked. I hesitated while Felicity trekked down the smaller alley, her flashlight eerily announcing her progress and making the ancient landform demons grin at me with evil intentions. Chills swept up and down my spine. Bony hands looked to reach out, pull me against them and never let go. I let out a shaky breath, trying to stay focused on the need to find the men, but, oh boy, spooky was not something I did well.
Then the light vanished and my whole body shuddered.
Where had she gone? I couldn’t see a darn thing ahead of me. I waited, afraid of falling in the darkness and alerting her to my presence.
Ah. There. A faint glow pooled near the floor. She must have stepped into an opening off one side of the main tunnel. Was this a Mexican standoff? Was she waiting for me in the darkness? Crap. If she had been involved with Howard’s murder in some way, I had just caged myself in with a killer.
I made myself take one small step, then another. I crept up to the spot I had last seen her, pretty certain I was certifiable. I leaned forward just enough to see around the corner. There. She was in an alcove that went about forty feet back into the rockface, talking to a man in the darkness. A darkness that did not hinder me now, my eyes having had time to adjust.
He slipped something into his pants pocket. He was tall and didn’t fit the description of either of the missing men. Who was he? I hadn’t seen him around the set before and he wasn’t dressed like a local.
“I’ll call if things change. But right now, we can’t chance it. Too many eyes watching,” Felicity said in a crisp tone, the acoustics good enough for me to hear her every word.
What was different about her? Yes. She wasn’t stuttering.
I stayed in place, excusing my eavesdropping by the larger needs of the missing men.
He gave a mock salute. “Okay, but give some warning, babe. I can’t pull this stuff out of thin air. Gotta give my guys some notice.”
She gave him a quick glance then turned and began to walk out of the indent in the rockface that had created the small room.
Okay. I had to get out of here.
I stumbled over something and caught myself. I picked up an object in the shape of a hat. Holding the item, I hurried away as fast as my two feet could carry me back in the direction of the entrance. There was no way to avoid her spotting me, now that she was behind me with a flashlight. No time to waste.
Suddenly wolf howls resounded.
No. I froze.
They called from somewhere deeper in the cave. Maybe. Sound was hard to pinpoint underground. Cold sweat poured from me and my throat tightened.
More ancient calls followed the first. Echoes penetrated my brain until it was roiling with fear. My worst nightmare. Wolves.
Move—now.
My feet finally got the command and my legs began working again, sending me careening down the narrow corridor.
I scrambled out of the entrance of Skull Cave, never once turning around to check if any person or creature was close. I’d seen enough movies to know that was a trap. Trip and it’s all over.
And a flashlight would make a useful weapon in a pinch, if Felicity harbored any ill-will toward me for spying. I just kept moving in the direction of camp, my legs pumping, my eyes squinting against the sudden shock of bright sunlight. Of course, I had my karate moves if it came to that. I could take her down if need be. Unless she was a black belt too? But wolves, that was an entirely different matter.
I didn’t stop my forward propulsion until I was back at the catering station. Thank goodness Tulip was still in evidence, busy refilling the trays of goodies. Safety in numbers.
She gave me a close look. “What have you been up to? You look odd. All sweaty and everything.”
“Nothing.” I let out a deep breath. I looked down to inspect the object I held in my hands that I had ignored until now. I excused the oversight—I’d had a few things on my mind.
“Look at this, Tulip! It’s a New York Rangers hat.”
She gave the obligatory Bronx raspberry. I automatically joined in—we had our traditions to uphold. Then, eyes closed in concentration, I gave my full attention to finding any vibrations on the ballcap.
Yes. A clear image of the man who it belonged to came into my mind. I opened my eyes. “The two men are in Skull Cave. We need to alert the authorities. Right now!”
“You went into Skull Cave?” Her voice rose to a high pitch. She was fully aware of my and Star’s condition, a legacy left over from childhood. Add to that getting lost in the actual cave overnight just months after coming to Snowy Lake, and I was pretty much a basket case in confined spaces. Until today. I had gone inside, faced my fears and I now held proof in my hands. Goddess, please let their lives be spared, I prayed.
“Yeah, I was following a suspect I thought might lead me to the missing men. You coming with me? We need to find Captain Duffy.”
“He took out a search party. They’ll be miles away by now. But I saw Ace a few minutes
ago.”
I winced. The last person I wanted to see. Put on your big-girl panties, Charm McCall. The two men come first.
“Yeah, I know, it sucks after what that piece of work Jennifer went on about.” Tulip’s mouth formed into a straight line while her eyes got a steely gleam that didn’t bode well for the geologist. It might mean more than poppets this time.
“Where did you see him?” I asked, ignoring her words. I didn’t want to discuss what had happened earlier.
“I’ll show you. People can help themselves to what they need.”
We set off at a trot. I kept a sharp watch around, expecting Felicity to confront me over my spying at any second. She hadn’t been far behind me.
“Who were you following that made you go into the cave?” Tulip’s blue eyes rounded with interest while we ran side by side. “I still can’t believe you did that.” She shook her head in disbelief.
“Well, turns out Felicity doesn’t stutter all the time.” Maybe she only got stressed around her mother? And that made her stutter?
“Felicity Higgins? What does she have to do with it?”
“She was the one I followed into Skull Cave.”
“Really? What was she doing there?”
We had made the parking lot. I could see the police cars lined up, with a few people milling about. Ace was one of them. Not hard to find with that darn spotlight thing going on around him. Reminder to self—ask Tulip if that’s how she began seeing auras? One at a time?
“Felicity?” I asked, my mind blanking.
“Yeah, who else we talking about? You okay, sis?” She gave me a concerned look.
“Yeah, just peachy.” I clutched the hat in my hands and made myself march right up to the small group.
“You might want to look at this. It belongs to one of the victims. It’s a New York Rangers ballcap.” I thrust it at him.
Everyone except for our constable gave a Bronx raspberry.
“What’s this? An episode of Corner Gas?” he asked with a quirk of his lips. Clever man. Most of us had the grace to look chastised.
