Spells A La Carte (Mystic Cafe Series Book 3) Read online

  “Wow, I guess he’s not happy,” Tom said. I detected a hint of amusement in his voice.

  “This isn’t funny,” I said.

  He held his hands up. “I didn’t say that it was.”

  “Now what do we do?” I asked.

  “We’ll have to walk to my car. Too bad Rory couldn’t have given us a ride.”

  I glared at him.

  “Sorry.” Tom motioned for me to follow him. “We should start walking. We need to speak with Meredith as soon as possible.”

  I would have called Mary Jane to come and get us, but it wasn’t a long walk and by the time she got there we would have already made it to his car.

  I watched the streets for any sign of Rory’s truck, but of course I didn’t see him. I’d be lucky if I ever saw him again. How had he know that I was at the hotel with Tom? It couldn’t have been a coincidence. Finally, we made it to Tom’s car. We climbed in and took off toward Meredith’s house.

  “Do you think she’ll let us in?” I asked.

  Tom watched the road ahead. “About that… maybe you should let me talk to her alone. You’re not her favorite person and she might talk more if you’re not there.”

  I would have complained, but I knew that he was right. “Okay, but she had better let you in.”

  I felt like I should add an ‘or else to the end of that sentence, but honestly I didn’t know what I’d do if she didn’t let Tom in. I supposed that was for him to decide.

  I dialed Rory’s phone, but he didn’t answer. I hadn’t expected him to. Tom seemed a bit uncomfortable as I left a voice mail explaining what had happened. I’d told Rory that it was understandable for him to be upset and it wasn’t what it looked like. Now I just hoped that he believed me.

  We pulled up in front of her house. I wouldn’t deny that I was nervous. Since I had no idea what she was up to, I didn’t know what to expect from her.

  “I’ll be back soon.” Tom climbed out of the car.

  “Good luck,” I called after him.

  I tapped my fingers against the seat and watched as he walked up the driveway toward the front door. I couldn’t stand the anxiety. I had to know what was going on, so I opened the door and got out. As I neared the front door, Tom turned around and spotted me.

  “Elly, I said wait for me. You are so hard-headed. Why won’t you listen?”

  I quirked an eyebrow. “Because you need me to come with you, that’s why. And don’t give me any attitude either,” I snapped.

  “It doesn’t matter anyway. She’s not there.” Tom stepped down from the front porch.

  “You mean she’s not home? I kind of worried about that since I didn’t see her car.” I motioned over my shoulder.

  “No, I mean she’s moved out,” he said. “And apparently she left no forwarding address.”

  My mouth dropped. “You’re kidding? Are you sure?”

  “Look for yourself. All the furniture is gone,” Tom said.

  “I’d rather not even see. Now what do we do?” I asked.

  “We eat breakfast,” Tom said as he started down the driveway toward the car. “We’ll go to the café. I refuse to eat at that other place in town. ”

  “I guess since you won’t let me cook then you’ll have to do it.” I slipped into the car.

  Tom got behind the wheel. “I make excellent French toast.”

  “I’ll be the judge of that,” I said.

  Tom pulled away from the house. I looked back one last time. I wasn’t sure what I thought I’d see. Maybe Meredith’s car would magically appear like Rory’s truck had disappeared. No such luck. The driveway was empty and I knew she wasn’t coming back. As we drove down the street my phone rang.

  “It’s Mary Jane,” I said.

  “Where are you now?” Mary Jane asked in a frazzled voice. “Did you have a conversation with Tom about what happened?”

  I glanced over at Tom. Obviously nothing had happened between us, so there was no need to ask him. “Not exactly. I’m heading back to town.”

  “Well, it’s a good thing. I need you to come to the café,” she said.

  “What are you doing there?” I asked.

  “I drove through town and saw that everything seemed a bit crazy. Just hurry up and get here and you’ll see.”

  “I’m on my way,” I said and hung up the phone.

  Now she had me on the verge of a severe panic attack.

  We made it back to town as quickly as possible.

  “Did she say what was wrong?” Tom asked.

  I shook my head. “No. Just that I needed to come to the café. She sounded like it was serious. I don’t know how much more can handle.”

  “Don’t worry, Elly, I won’t let anything else bad happen.”

  He gave me a sweet smile and I melted a little. As soon as the café came into view, I spotted people standing outside the door.

  I motioned. “It looks like I have a few people waiting for me.”

  “Maybe they don’t know you’re closed today,” Tom said.

  “I have a sign on the door that’s hard to miss.”

  “It looks like you’ll have to talk to them,” Tom said as we pulled up to the curb.

  I got out and walked up to the door. As soon as the people saw me, they gathered around. Tom rushed up beside me.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked a woman closest to me. I recognized her from the clothing shop down the street.

  “We have a problem, Elly,” she said. “There is no magic in town.” She had a panicked expression on her face.

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “I mean all the spellbooks have been taken.”

  My stomach sank. I looked at Tom. His expression was more upset than I’d ever seen. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and stepped away. I figured he was calling someone with the Organization. In the meantime, I had to talk with the people looking at me for answers. Why did they think I would know what to do?

  “Do you have your spellbook?” she asked.

  I shook my head. “No, I don’t.”

  “Did it disappear?” a man at the back asked.

  “Not exactly… well, I guess it did.”

  It sounded as if I didn’t know what I was talking about, but I didn’t want to explain what had happened.

  Chapter 21

  Apparently the Mystic Café book wasn’t the only one missing. Books from other businesses across town were missing too. I had a feeling I knew where the books had gone.

  Tom said he had work to do to find the books, but I had a few things planned too. He just didn’t know about them. First, I wanted to track down Rory, not only to explain, but to find out all I could about his connection with his cousin Meredith and Ron, the man with him at the park. I figured they were working together to get the books.

  After the people left the café, Tom suggested he take me back to check on my car. I was glad there was no time for breakfast. Even though Tom said he made great French toast, I had lost my appetite when I saw Rory at the hotel.

  We pulled up behind my car, which was still in the same spot where I’d left it last night. Tom and I got out of the car and up to my car.

  “Why don’t you pop the hood and I’ll have a look under the hood?”

  Did Tom know anything about cars? I unlocked the car and got behind the wheel. I shoved the keys into the ignition and then opened the hood. I waited while Tom poked around under there.

  “Start the car and see what happens,” Tom said.

  Yeah, I was guessing he didn’t know what he was doing. The car started with no problems. No warning lights appeared and no smoke from under the hood.

  Tom peeked around the hood. “Nothing seems to be wrong with it.”

  I shook my head. “It doesn’t make sense. Last night it seemed like it had major problems.”

  “How about I follow you home and we can see if it happens again.” Tom shut the hood on the car.

  I had planned on calling Mary Jane once I got home so she coul
d give me a ride, but if my car was working I wouldn’t have to disturb her. I’d agree to let Tom follow me home, and then I’d go to Rory’s.

  Tom followed me back to my house. My car was still fine. I couldn’t explain what had happened last night, but then again a lot of things had happened that I couldn’t explain so it was no surprise. I got out of the car so that Tom would think that I was staying.

  “I’ll call you soon,” Tom said.

  I nodded. “Talk to you soon.”

  He stared for a long moment and then backed out of the driveway. I knew he had been thinking about our time together and it was on my mind too.

  I wasn’t even going inside to talk with Grandma Imelda right now. It would only worry her. I slipped back into the car and dialed Rory again. I figured he wouldn’t answer, but I’d give it a try anyway. I didn’t leave a message this time. Instead I pulled out onto the street and headed straight for his house. I pulled up to Rory’s place but didn’t see his truck. I figured I wouldn’t find him at home, but I thought I’d give it a shot anyway. I parked in the driveway and walked up to the front porch.

  I knocked on the door but as I suspected, he didn’t answer. Noise came from inside the house so I paused to listen. It was probably just his dog Beau, but why hadn’t Beau barked? He always barked anytime someone knocked on the door. Actually, he barked at anything. A leaf, a squirrel, he just liked to bark. Rory must have taken the dog with him. So what was the noise that I’d heard?

  A noise came again from inside the house. I had to figure out where it was coming from and what it was. I was sure someone was in the house.

  Could it be Rory and he just didn’t want to talk with me? I stepped down from the porch and over to the window. I hoped Rory didn’t see me peeking into his window. He was already mad enough at me and I didn’t need to add being a stalker to his list of reasons to hate me. But I felt as if something was wrong. I made my way through the bushes and up to the window. I pressed my face close to the glass so that I could see.

  I hoped the neighbors didn’t see me and call the police. The room looked normal with nothing out of place. But there was no sign of Rory or his dog. I guessed my mind had been playing tricks on me and I hadn’t heard anything from the house after all.

  I was about to step away when Meredith came from the back where the kitchen was into the living room. So far she hadn’t seen me, so I hunched down so that she wouldn’t notice me. What was she doing?

  She had books in her arms and I knew right away that they were spellbooks. She placed the books down on the coffee table and then went back into the kitchen. Rory had no right to be mad at me when he was hiding something like this behind my back. He had been lying to me. It was obvious that he’d known what Meredith was up to from the beginning. I’d never thought he would betray me like this. I was ready to confront Meredith. I didn’t know what I would do, but I had to think of something quickly.

  As I stood there at the window watching Meredith returned with more books in her arms. She dropped one and I immediately recognized that it was the Mystic Café book. This made me furious and I wanted to run in there and snatch my book back. But I knew that would only cause more problems. I had to come up with a plan. A plan that would actually get my book back. I had to make the Organization realize that she had the books. She was really good at tricking people. They would never believe if I told them.

  The rumble of a vehicle sounded from behind me and I whipped around. Rory’s truck was coming down the street. A wave of relief fell over me. Now I would be able to tell Rory what had happened and I hoped convince him that helping Meredith wasn’t a good idea. I was sure she had lied to him in order to get him to help her. I didn’t want Rory to see me spying at the window though so I hurried over to the side of the house to hide. My heart thumped in my chest at the thought of getting caught.

  When a car drew close, I slipped over and peeked around the side of the house. My stomach sank when I saw that it wasn’t Rory. Ron, the guy from the park and the one who had smashed up the café, was walking up to the front door as if he owned the place. Rory was nowhere in sight.

  Why was this guy driving Rory’s truck and where was Rory? Now I was really worried for Rory’s safety. Was Rory inside the house with Meredith? I hoped they hadn’t done anything to Rory or his dog Beau.

  The guy walked into the house without even knocking. Even I didn’t do that and I’d known Rory for some time now. I had to know what was going on in there, so I made my way back over to the window. I inched my way up so that I could see. My stomach flipped just thinking about if I was caught. I couldn’t see either Ron or Meredith. I stood on my tiptoes so that I could possibly get a look around the corner. I lost my balance and tumbled into the bushes. A branch was poking me in the face.

  I managed to heave myself up from the bushes. Before I made it back up to look into the window my phone rang. I scrambled to get it out of my pocket before anyone inside heard it ringing. I wasn’t sure if they could hear it, but I didn’t want to take any chances.

  When I saw the number on the screen I knew that I was in trouble. I also knew that I had to answer the call because Tom would just keep trying until I picked up. “Hello,” I said, trying to sound casual, as if I wasn’t peeking in someone’s window.

  “What are you doing? Get away from that window.” Tom’s voice was full of panic.

  I looked around but didn’t see Tom. “Where are you? Are you spying on me again?”

  “No, I am not spying on you. I’m across the street behind the white van.”

  I scanned the area until I spotted him. He motioned for me to come across the street. I still wanted to see what Ron and Meredith were doing, but I didn’t want Tom to flip out on me either. I found my way out of the shrubbery and hurried across the street. We stepped behind the van.

  “What were you thinking?” he asked.

  “That Ron guy has Rory’s truck and Meredith is in there with all the spellbooks. Including the one from Mystic Café. You’re lucky I didn’t march right in there and take it back.” I placed my hands on my hips.

  “No, you’re lucky you didn’t march in there and take it back,” he said. “You don’t know what those two are capable of.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “Well, maybe they don’t know what I’m capable of.”

  He bit back a smile.

  “Don’t laugh at me.”

  “In all seriousness, Elly, you can’t go in there.” I saw the concern in his eyes.

  I blew the hair out of my eyes. I peeked around the van to see if there was any activity at the house. All was quiet.

  “I know I can’t, but it just makes me so mad to know that she has my grandmother’s book. Even worse, I want to know what they’ve done to Rory,” I said.

  “What makes you think that they’ve done anything to him?” Tom asked.

  I knew that he believed Rory was involved in this somehow, but I thought otherwise.

  “Ron was driving his truck and Rory is nowhere in sight.” I watched his face for an expression.

  “We can’t stay here right now. We should go and make a plan.”

  I threw my hands up. “Can’t you just match in there and take the books back? You’ll give her a chance to get away with them again if you don’t.”

  “I need to talk with the Organization first,” Tom said.

  I sighed. “I’m kind of sick of the Organization.”

  Tom looked kind of hurt that I’d said that.

  “Well, I don’t mean I’m sick of you.”

  He turned away and headed toward his car that was parked in front of the van. “Let’s get out of here.”

  “I left my car back there.” I pointed.

  “It’ll be okay. I’m sure you’ll be back over here anyway.”

  What was that supposed to mean? I slid into the passenger seat and we sped away from Rory’s house.

  “Where are we meeting them?” I asked.

  Tom handed me his phone. “Dial the number f
or Rebecca Jackman and tell her to meet us at the café.”

  I did as he asked and she agreed to meet us there. I wouldn’t lie and say that I wasn’t a little nervous about meeting the Organization. I wasn’t happy with the way that they had handled things. I doubted they would change now, but I would listen to what they had to say.

  Chapter 22

  The town looked almost deserted with little traffic and no people walking along the sidewalks. What was going on? Was it because of the missing spellbooks and the fact that spells couldn’t be performed? It seemed as if it was something more than that.

  Tom and I arrived at the café. We got out of the car and I unlocked the door for us.

  “You’re fidgeting,” Tom said when we stepped inside.

  “Yeah, well, I’m nervous about meeting with the Organization.” I straightened my shirt and smoothed down my hair. I hoped I looked okay.

  “There’s no need to be nervous. They won’t bite you.”

  I shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t think they like me much.”

  Tom didn’t deny it. “They’re just doing their job,” he said as I paced. Tom pulled out a chair and sat down. Then he motioned to me. “Why don’t you have a seat and relax?”

  I whipped around and looked at him.

  “Okay, then why don’t you have a seat?”

  Before I could answer the bell above the door jingled. They had arrived. I was pretty sure I’d been holding my breath. The same two men and women who had taken the book and searched the kitchen stepped inside. I figured I’d let Tom handle everything since I had no idea what to say. I studied Carol and James. They looked like Janice and Greg from high school, but it had been years since high school. Obviously Carol and James were older now. There was no way they could really be Janice and Greg, right? I would feel foolish even asking the question.

  “Please have a seat.” Tom gestured toward the chairs around the table.

  I sat next to him.

  “Thanks for coming so quickly,” Tom said.

  “What is the problem?” the man asked.

  Tom explained about the missing books that I’d seen at Rory’s.