Jingle Spells Page 17

  “We think the same man who got Mildred got him too.”

  “How did that happen?” she asked.

  “I don’t know. That’s what we’re trying to find out.”

  “Do you think he’s here?” She gestured.

  “Maybe,” I said. “Have you noticed anything?”

  “No, nothing at all. Just an empty old house,” she said.

  “Have you looked upstairs?” I asked.

  “Yes, I did. I went there first.”

  “It’s probably dangerous for you to be here. You’re lucky that you’re safe. You shouldn’t do that. Not alone,” I said.

  “You’re probably right,” she said.

  “Oh, this is Conrad, the detective. He’s helping me try to track down Tom. We’re kind of at a dead end now. We don’t know why the man had this address.”

  “The man had his address?” she said.

  We were still standing in the door by the kitchen. The only light was the glow from our phones. It was giving off a glow on Laura’s face, making her kind of creepy-looking. I wouldn’t tell her that though.

  “Well, we found this paper. It was another spell that was written out the same as the one I found at the cottage. And underneath that was an impression on the paper where I saw an address. It was for this house,” I said.

  “How clever of you,” she said.

  It was an odd comment. She sounded as if she was unhappy about it and kind of condescending. I was tired though and probably imagining things.

  “Well, I suppose since there’s nothing here we should get out of here. Did you walk?” I asked.

  “Yeah, I walked here,” she said.

  “It’s a long walk, isn’t it?”

  “Well, I had a ride, but he left.”

  “So did you walk here or not?” I asked.

  This was getting weirder by the minute.

  “I did walk here but only halfway though,” she said.

  It was almost as if she was making this up as she went.

  “And the person dropped me off down the street. They decided they didn’t want to come.”

  “Oh, well, I guess that makes sense. Can I give you a ride home?” I asked.

  “Yeah, that would be great. I was worried about walking home in the dark, you know.”

  “Plus, it’s really cold,” I said.

  “Yeah, well, my coat is really insulated and I have these boots.” She pointed at her feet.

  “Yes, that does help,” I said. “Well, we can go.’

  I motioned for her to follow us. We headed across the room over to the door. I stepped out into the cold night here.

  “So who is the friend who didn’t want to come with you?” I asked as we neared the car.

  Headlights came down the gravel drive. Conrad came over to me, stepping in front of us. We were blinded by the light and couldn’t see who was driving.

  “Just stay behind me.” He motioned.

  I must admit I was extremely scared of the situation. The car finally pulled to a stop behind Tom’s. Laura stepped out from behind us and started walking toward the car.

  “Where are you going, Laura? Is that ride here for you?”

  When she reached the car she stopped in front of the headlights. She turned and looked at us. In front of the lights she still had that creepy look on her face. I was getting a bad vibe from all of this.

  “The headlights are blinding me. Can you tell that person to turn the headlights off?” I said, shielding my eyes.

  Before Laura had a chance to say a word the headlights flickered off. I couldn’t exactly see who was behind the wheel. But unless I was imagining things, it kind of looked like Kris Kringle. Balding hair and small beady eyes. The car door opened and the man stepped out from behind the wheel. It was definitely Kris Kringle. I was in a complete panic.

  “Laura, get away from that car. That’s the man who kidnapped Mildred.” I motioned for her to come over to me.

  Conrad pointed at the man, but he didn’t seem fazed at all by the action.

  “I know who he is,” Laura said with a smile.

  Oh, my gosh. She was in on this. I would have said that was the last thing I’d expected, but the thought had come to mind.

  “What have you done with Mildred and Tom?” I asked.

  “What makes you think I’ve done anything to them?” she asked.

  “This is not funny,” I said. “You’re with Kris Kringle and he took Mildred and Tom.”

  “It didn’t exactly work like that,” she said. “He didn’t actually ‘take them.’”

  She used air quotes.

  “They went willingly supposedly, right?” I asked.

  “In the video it didn’t look like they were being harmed. They did go willingly,” she said. “Because of the spells they were acting the complete opposite. And I wasn’t responsible for that.”

  “You switched the spells on me. Why did you do that?”

  She just stared at me, not offering an explanation. I supposed I would have to figure it out on my own if I wanted answers. But more importantly, I just wanted Mildred and Tom back and I didn’t care why she’d done this. How would I get her to take me to Tom and Mildred?

  “I’ll make you a deal,” Laura said with an evil smile. “If you can find out where they’re hidden, then I’ll let them go with you… no harm will come to them.”

  Well, I assumed there was a catch to that offer. I wasn’t even sure I wanted to know what the catch was.

  “I have no idea why you took them in the first place,” I said. “Maybe if I knew that I would better be able to find them.”

  “You don’t think I’m actually going to help you find them?” She sighed. “Oh, all right… I suppose I can give you some clues. This could be like a fun little scavenger hunt.”

  Obviously, she was getting much amusement out of my pain. If I was going to find, Mildred and Tom, I had to get away from Laura and Kris Kringle or whatever his name real name was. But with Kris Kringle’s car blocking mine, I wasn’t sure it was possible to get out of the driveway. Conrad and I were basically powerless at the moment. I wouldn’t give up that easily.

  Chapter 23

  Conrad and I exchanged a look. Somehow it was as if we had read each other’s minds. We had to run. Without another moment’s hesitation we sprinted to the left. I had no idea where we were headed, but anything beat standing there so that Laura and Kris Kringle could possibly kill us. Though running wouldn’t help us find Tom or Mildred.

  After running a short distance Conrad and I were in the wooded area. How would we run underneath the canopy of dense trees? Vision was limited as I ran, trying to avoid hitting a tree. I had no idea if Laura and Kris Kringle had followed us. Sounds of breaking brush under the pounding of feet echoed around me. Was that just Conrad running behind me or the evil duo?

  “Are you all right?” Conrad asked from somewhere behind me.

  “I’m okay, but I don’t know where we’re going,” I said breathlessly. “I’m not sure how long I can keep this up.”

  “I see faint lights up ahead. Can you make it that far?” he asked.

  “I hope so. I guess we’ll see.”

  Conrad and I kept up the pace until we reached a clearing. We broke free from the trees and a house sat in front of us. A small brick house out in the middle of nowhere. Who lived here? I hoped it wasn’t Kris Kringle’s house.

  “Who’s out there?” the woman asked as the porch light flooded the area.

  “We’re lost and need help,” I called out.

  I hoped this woman wasn’t a serial killer.

  “Elly Blair, is that you?” she asked.

  I shielded my eyes, trying to see the woman’s face as she stood on the front porch. “Who are you? Do I know you?”

  She stepped closer and the light shone across her face.

  “Mrs. Evans?” I said in shock.

  “Are you all right, dear? Why don’t you come inside and get warm? You and your friend will freeze
to death out there.”

  It was good to see that the spell hadn’t worn off. She was still sweet Mrs. Evans. I hoped she didn’t turn to cantankerous Mrs. Evans the moment we stepped into her house.

  “You know her?” Conrad asked as we moved up the porch steps.

  “Yes, but be careful. She’s under the influence of a nice spell. She could switch at any moment.”

  “Thanks for the warning,” he said.

  Conrad and I walked into her warm home. A fire flickered in the fireplace and a giant Christmas tree blinking with lights in the corner of the room. Mrs. Evans had decorations? I was surprised to see that. Actually, I was shocked that she had been put in charge of the holiday festival. I imagined her house to be dark with no Christmas lights whatsoever, no decorations, and devoid of any Christmas spirit. What had changed? Oh yeah, the spell.

  “Did you recently add the decorations?” I asked as I peered around the room at the gingerbread men decorations on the windows and the Santa Claus statue in the corner of the room.

  “Why, yes. I had nothing here at all. Then I thought, why should I have such a blah house when I should be celebrating the holiday? I wanted to make everything as perfect as possible. To be honest, I didn’t feel that way when they first put me in charge of the festival. I felt like it was punishment, but now I’m happy they did.”

  Maybe the spell mix-up wasn’t such a bad thing after all. I mean, she was finding her Christmas spirit and that a good thing, right?

  “Let me make you some hot cocoa to warm you up,” Mrs. Evans said.

  “Thanks, Mrs. Evans,” I said as I raced over to the front window.

  “Do you think they followed us here?” Conrad asked as he joined me by the window.

  “I hope not. If they did then they’re hiding out there waiting to get us when we come out. What do we do now?”

  “Here’s your hot cocoa,” Mrs. Evans said with a huge smile as she carried the mugs in her hands. “What brings you two out here this late at night?”

  A pounding sounded against the front door. Mrs. Evans jumped and the hot cocoa-filled mugs flew through the air. Thank goodness the hot liquid missed Mrs. Evans, but not her sparkling clean hardwood floor.

  “We know you’re in there,” Laura yelled from the other side of the door.

  “Who is that?” Mrs. Evans asked in a panic.

  “No time to explain right now. Do you have a back door? Can we get to your car?” I asked.

  “Yes, I suppose,” she said in a shaky voice.

  Conrad took Mrs. Evans by the arm and rushed her through the house to the back door. I grabbed the keys from the table.

  “What is going on here?” she asked as we rushed out into the cold night air.

  Snow had started to fall again. This wouldn’t help my driving. We rushed into her Buick just as Laura and Kris Kringle appeared at the side of the house. With Mrs. Evans and Conrad both in front with me, I cranked the engine and shoved it into reverse. Jingle Bells blasted from the speakers.

  “That man and woman want to kill us,” I said.

  “Oh, I knew you were a bit annoying, but I didn’t know someone wanted to kill you,” Mrs. Evans said.

  Uh-oh. The spell must be wearing off.

  I had no idea where I was going either. The back of the car slid a bit as I pulled out onto the road.

  “Will you please be careful… dear?” Mrs. Evans said.

  Yes, the spell was slipping and now I’d have to deal with her crabbiness on top of the potential killers chasing us.

  “Are they behind us?” I asked.

  Conrad looked back. “Not yet.”

  “I have to find Tom and Mildred,” I said. “How though? We have no clue what they’ve done with them.”

  “Maybe they left a clue in their car,” Conrad said. “After all, they’re still back at Mrs. Evans’ house. We could go back to the other place and check before they get back.”

  “That’s a good idea,” I said. “I’ll turn around.”

  I pulled onto a side road and backed out. The tires spun a bit trying to get traction before taking off again.

  “Not too fast, dear,” Mrs. Evans said through gritted teeth.

  We passed her drive again but there was no sign of Laura or Kris Kringle. I hoped they hadn’t somehow gotten back to the car yet.

  We pulled down the drive of the abandoned house again. The cars were still there. I parked right behind Kris’ car.

  “Stay here, Mrs. Evans, we’ll be right back,” I said as I opened the car door.

  “You’d better,” she snapped.

  “Do you think she’ll drive off without us?” Conrad asked as he rushed toward the car with me.

  “Possibly,” I said. “Maybe I can get Tom’s car out if she does.”

  Conrad and I hurried into Kris’ car. Thank goodness it was unlocked.

  “Do you see anything?” I asked as I rummaged through the center console.

  Conrad was looking in the glove compartment. “Nothing yet.”

  I glanced into the backseat and spotted a tote bag. “Maybe this has something.”

  I reached over the seat and pulled it up to the front. I was almost afraid to stick my hand in there. However, I had to do it. I pulled out a scarf and gloves. A wallet.

  “Check this.” I handed it to Conrad.

  I continued searching through the bag. My hand touched what felt like a book. I pulled it out. The pink-bound book had ‘journal’ written across the front. I flipped open the cover and started reading.

  “It’s Laura’s wallet,” Conrad said. “Has her driver’s license.”

  “Anything else?” I asked.

  “Credit cards,” he said.

  “This is her journal. It has her name on the inside cover.”

  Ever since I was a small girl I knew I wanted to own Mystic Café. Imelda mesmerized me with her abilities at baking magic. Now that dream will finally come true. Even though Chris has been a lousy brother, he finally made it up to me by helping with my plan. If only the detective hadn’t brought that stupid teenager to Mystic Café this would have happened sooner. Elly didn’t deserve the place. Christmas time is perfect for this to happen too. Since as kids we never got to celebrate, I’ll add some much-needed holiday cheer to the place. Especially dazzling Christmas lights. The few that Elly added just aren’t enough. When Grandma Imelda left the café and her granddaughter took it over I knew that the place was as good as mine. I would be able to work my way in just fine.

  She was the one who had stalked Grandma Imelda. And I fell for her act. I needed to be suspicious and savvy like Grandma Imelda. I would have to be more cautious in the future, looking out for anyone who had bad intentions. But how would I know? Laura had seemed so nice and perfect for the job.

  “What does it say?” Conrad asked.

  “Read for yourself.” I handed him the book.

  “Wow, that’s crazy,” Conrad said when he’d finished.

  “That explains why, but now we still have to find Tom and Mildred.”

  “We’d better get out of here before they get back,” Conrad said.

  “I think I know where they might be,” I said as if a Christmas lightbulb went off in my head.

  “Where?” Conrad asked.

  “Someone added Christmas lights to the old school. I bet it was Laura. She might be keeping Mildred and Tom there.”

  “It’s worth a look,” Conrad said.

  The horn from the Buick blasted. Oh, no. Conrad and I scrambled out of the car, running back to the Buick. The last thing I needed was for her to draw attention to our location.

  “The spell is fading fast,” I said. “I wish I had another one of those cookies for her.”

  Thank goodness we got back in the car before being caught. There was still no sign of Laura or Kris Kringle. I assumed his name was really Chris.

  “Where are you taking me now?” Mrs. Evans fumed as I hurried back out onto the road. “I should call the police.”

  �
�You really should,” I said. “We may need backup.”

  “You know, it’s not nice to snoop in people’s things,” Mrs. Evans said with a warning wave of her index finger.

  “What can I say? The situation was life or death. I think it’s a chance I had to take on being rude.” My hands tightly clutched the steering wheel.

  “People don’t like rude people,” she said.

  I liked Mrs. Evans better when she was cranky.

  “Everything is too tense in this car,” Mrs. Evan said.

  I cast a glance at Conrad.

  “Well, it is a bit of a stressful situation. We have possible kidnappers or killers stalking us,” I said.

  “How about we ease the mood by singing some Christmas carols?” She flipped on the radio again. “Grandma got run over by a reindeer.” Mrs. Evans sang loudly and offkey. “You’re not singing,” she said in a singsong voice.

  I looked at Conrad.

  He started singing along. “You can say there’s no such thing as Santa.”

  After releasing a sigh, I chimed in. "But as for me and grandpa we believe.”

  I couldn’t believe the three of us were sitting in the front seat of a Buick, trying to get to the location of missing people while singing a Christmas novelty song. Could my life get any more bizarre? I supposed if this kept Mrs. Evans happy before that cookie spell faded then it was a small price to pay. Normally, I loved singing Christmas songs, but right now I was a bit frazzled.

  Thank goodness we arrived at the old school. I slid into the parking lot as the snow had really started to come down now. Christmas lights dazzled against the freshly fallen snow. Conrad and I jumped out of the car and raced toward the doors.

  “You can’t just leave me out here,” Mrs. Evans yelled. “I’ll leave a bad review for the café.”

  The doors were surprisingly unlocked as Conrad and I burst through. A long hallway stretched out in front of us. Doors lined on each side.

  “Where do we start?” I asked.

  “I guess we’ll have to check each one.” Conrad said.

  We went from door to door, but so far no luck with finding Mildred or Tom. My hope was slipping fast. A muffled sound came from the end of the hallway.

  “Do you hear that?” I asked.