magical cures 06.5 - a charming christmas (8 page)

Bella’s Baubles was the furthest shop from me, so I would start there and work my way down.

“What are you doing?” Bella asked from her shop door.

I was squatting on my knees, looking around for anything. I had no idea what I was looking for, but my gut told me to keep going.

“I thought my intuition was ablaze about Oscar, but I was wrong.” I stood up and dusted my hands off. “Something tells me I have to get to the bottom of whomever the thief is.”

“I hope you do.” She shook her head. “I’m sick over it. Do you think it’s a tourist?”

“Like Petunia says, the holidays bring out stress in people. And stress makes people do funny things.” My eyes zeroed in on something shiny. “Misery loves company, and if they don’t enjoy Christmas, they don’t want to see others happy.”

We moved out of the way of a group of women shoppers going in her shop.

“Let me know what you find out.” Bella walked back inside.

I glanced around me, making sure no one saw me pick up the shiny object.

“Jingle bell,” I groaned, noticing it was different than the other ones I had collected. This one was larger and only one hole in the top. Not like the regular jingle bells.

That wasn’t much of a clue. Everyone had jingle bells on around here, including my fairy-god cat. I looked down the street toward Magical Moments and Ever After Books. I was missing something but what?

My intuition nagged.

I hurried my way down the street to Magical Moments. Arabella wasn’t going to notice me snooping around. She was too busy picketing with Patience in front of the police station. A small crowd had gathered, watching the two Looney birds. 

It didn’t take long for me to find a jingle bell that matched the one from Bella’s Baubles in the mess the thief had left behind. I held it in my grip. I knew if I found the owner of the jingle bell, I would find the thief. But I had to find some evidence across the street at Ever After Books in order to take my accusations to Oscar. He had to have hard evidence; at least that was what he said. I believed in my intuition. And my intuition told me these two jingle bells weren’t yet enough evidence.

I ran across the street and stood in front of Ever After Books, taking a nice long look up and down the steps where the carolers had stood and the garland was ripped off. Exactly like I expected. There was a large jingle bell with one hole on the top among the melting snow.

I grabbed it, placing it in my hand with the other two, hoping to get any reading off of them.

Madame Torres!
A light bulb went off in my head.

“I’m not talking about him,”
I vividly remember her saying in the midnight hour after my shop decorations had been robbed. She might not have been talking about Oscar; she was talking about rule number one. I couldn’t use her to read other spiritualists. Did she think I was going to ask her to show me who stole the decorations? All the decorations?

I scurried behind the cottage of Bella’s Baubles and pulled my trusty old crystal ball out of my bag.

“Madame Torres.” She didn’t appear. Only a snowstorm scene with whipping winds swirled in her ball. “The other night when I asked you to show me something. I meant Oscar. You thought I meant to read another spiritualist. The thief is one of us?”

The funnel cloud of snow stopped. Her ball calmed.

“Does this mean I’m right?” I asked waiting for her to answer me.  “Are you telling me that someone in our village who owns a shop has been stealing the decorations?” I bit my lip waiting for her answer. My intuition told me I was right.

But who?

My decorations were gone. The decorations at Ever After Books, Bella’s Baubles, and Magical Moments were gone; which meant that Bella, Ophelia, and Arabella weren’t suspects.

The only shops that weren’t vandalized were Two Sisters and a Funeral, Wicked Good, A Cleansing Spirit Spa, Full Moon Treesort, The Gathering Grove Tea Shoppe, Mystic Lights, and Glorybee Pet Shop.

My gut told me one of them was involved but whom?

“I’m not saying it’s a spiritualist because I don’t know.” Her tone was not a happy-to-hear-from-me tone.

“Are you mad at me?” I really didn’t have time to stroke her ego. I had to find the thief and make this right before the tree lighting and I was losing daylight.

Plus I still had to smudge the tree.

“I’m not mad. I just see where I rank in the familiar department.” She appeared. She no longer had on the creamy festive face. She was back to her red-and-purple-makeup, kinda crazy look. “I mean, you didn’t check on me once after the wreck.”

“That is why you are mad?” I asked. “I knew you were safe in my bag because I was safe. Mr. Prince Charming isn’t able to stay close to me like you.” I knew I had to butter her up a bit to keep her happy. “I could feel you were safe. I love you.”

“Really?” Her eyes magnified to the edge of the ball.

“Really.” With my free hand, I made a crisscross over my heart.

Her ball went back to singing music and her face went back to the festive creamy white.

“Now, let’s get down to business. Is a spiritualist the thief?” I asked.

“I’m not sure. Someone in our presence is, but because you are not in full danger, I’m not able to clue in on it.” She twirled in her ball, her eyes darted out into space as if she was trying to see something. “Yes.” Her face took up the entire ball and she looked at me. “Someone with jingle bells.”

I gulped, trying to swallow. My mouth felt like a sand dune. My gut wrenched thinking about Mr. Prince Charming, Patience, Petunia, and. . .Tiffany.

Chapter Ten

Mr. Prince Charming, Patience, and Petunia were last on my list. Even though Petunia was upset about the village council, there was no way she’d take it out on the village. But Tiffany was a different story. I had read her. The holiday was definitely not her favorite. In fact, she had made everyone in her path feel the wrath of her anger toward the festivities.

I didn’t bother walking the street to get to Full Moon Treesort, I continued on behind the shops and headed up the hill toward my cottage. The treesort was deep in the woods behind the village.

Full Moon Treesort was the only bed and breakfast in Whispering Falls and it was nothing short of amazing. The treesort was different log cabins built way up in the trees of the woods. Tourists could rent a treesort and pick which one they wanted from the different amenities Amethyst Plum had to offer.

I climbed the double-decker set of steps to the A-frame wooden structure, seeing nothing but a wall full of windows that was decorated with all sorts of Christmas cheer. The Whispering Falls Grinch hadn’t touched the treesort. 

The smell of the crackling fire was pleasantly met by the smell of homemade soup when I walked inside the resort, which reminded me of the interior of a ski lodge. The fire in the stone fireplace in the middle of the large open room was roaring, warming the customers of the Treesort. I had to stop and catch my breath when I looked out the floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the most spectacular views of Whispering Falls. Our village was truly a winter wonderland.

“June!” Amethyst called from the open kitchen. She was standing over the stove stirring the pot of yumminess. A few of her resort customers were sitting along the counter on the stools; Tiffany was one of them along with Eloise. “Come on over and grab a bowl of soup.”

I was happy to see the fresh chopped-up veggies from Eloise’s garden.

“It’s good for the soul.” Tiffany raised a spoon.

On my way over to the kitchen, I noticed the coat tree stand where Tiffany’s pink, fur-hooded jumpsuit with the missing jingle bell was hung up. The jingle bells I had picked up at the crime scenes were still in my grasp.

“I’ll be right there,” I called. “I’m going to hang up my cape.”

It was a perfect excuse to get a closer look at Tiffany’s fur hood. She had grabbed her jingle bell so fast from the snow this morning, I didn’t get a good look at it.

I unbuttoned my cape and swung it off my body, knocking the coat tree on purpose, sending the snowsuit off the hook. Of course I profusely apologized and assured them I would pick them all up, grabbing the suit by the fur hood.

I eyed the jingle bells. A pit settled in my stomach, almost making me sick. The one person I truly thought was the Whispering Falls Grinch—Tiffany—was not. Her bells were big, but not the same design.

“On second thought.” I swung my cape back over my shoulders. “I’ve got to go. I think Faith needs me at the shop.”

I didn’t wait around for anyone to question me, especially Eloise. I bolted down the steps and ran as fast as I could out of the woods. Oscar needed to know what I had found because maybe he could tap into his own spirituality and get a good reading. I was close. I could feel it.

“Hey! June!” Arabella stuck a sign in my face when I pushed back the two-person picket line on my way into the police station.  “Don’t you move!” she ordered Patience to stay in front of the police station door.

Patience stood up ramrod straight like the nutcrackers on the steps of Ever After Books that weren’t stolen, like a good soldier in Arabella’s army.

“Listen,” I planted my hands on my hips. “I know Oscar and Colton are working hard on trying to figure out who has done all of this. So it really is best that you go back to your shop, open it up and help the economy.”

It was true. The more she protested the longer her shop was closed. As for Patience, well, I wasn’t sure how busy the funeral business was and it gave me the creeps to even think about it, but she had Constance to hold down the death fort.

“Sounds good to me. I’m hungry.” Patience took a step away from the door and quickly took the step back after Arabella shot her a look of death.

There was no way they were going to let me through to talk to Oscar. I leaned up against the carriage light in front of the station, next to Patience’s ostrich, who was tied up to it. I reached in my bag and pulled out my June’s Gem.

The taste of the chocolaty treat would be exactly what I needed to figure out how to break the picket line and not get knocked down. I could already taste the deliciousness before I could even get a taste.

In a New York minute, the ostrich grabbed my Gem with his sharp beak.

“Give me that!” I jumped in the air trying to grab the treat from the beak jutting high in the sky, his long neck extended just above my reach. “Give it to me!”

Patience and Arabella cackled, neither helping me.

“Really?” I gave them the death stare and grabbed the neck of the darn bird to pull him down a little.

My engagement ring got caught on something and I pulled it away. Out of the corner of my eye, something fell off the bird into what was left of a snow pile next to the light post. I bent down to get it but not before stepping on a slippery piece of icy snow. My arms twirled around and around, trying to reach for anything I could grab. Unfortunately it was the lead of the ostrich that kept the unruly bird tied to the light post, unleashing the bird.

“My baby!” Patience threw the sign on the ground and ran in the direction of the crazy critter.

“Great! Now there is only one person who cares about catching this thief.” Arabella groaned putting a hand out to help me up.

Before I took her gesture, I reached over in the snow pile and grabbed the big jingle bell that had fallen off the ostrich’s collar.

“No.” I shook my head and squeezed my hand around the bell. “I care about catching the Whispering Falls Grinch.”

I didn’t bother telling Arabella what I had just found out, nor did I let her help me up. Quicker than a jackrabbit, I was running after Patience and her feathery bird deep into the woods.

Finally I found Patience trying to corner the bird up against a wall of trees that was too thick to run through. He was cornered, but angry. His beady black eyes watched her every move, his neck darted forward at Patience, trying to peck her.

“This is where he comes every time he gets loose. Which is a lot.” Patience’s arms were out to her sides like she was creating a fortress around her in case the bird darted out.

There was a shiny ribbon sticking out from underneath the roots of the large trees.

“You said he comes here a lot?” I asked putting two and two together.

“Yes. I’m not sure why.” She crept forward, finally braving the pecks she was receiving and grabbing his collar. “Bad, bad birdie,” she said in a sweet voice and kissed it on the beak.

“Can you hold him still?” I asked and tiptoed to the underbrush of the trees. I put my hand in and pulled out all the ribbons and decorations, minus the greenery. I held it up in the air. “I guess I know who is the Whispering Falls Grinch and why he comes here.”

“Oh my God.” Patience broke out into tears. “You!” She rubbed her hand down the bird. “You stole all this stuff?”

“I think he ate all the stuff.” I giggled. “I guess we can’t be too mad at him.” I gathered the rest of the items in my arms. “We better get back to town and let everyone know who ate all the decorations.”

Chapter Eleven

Patience, the ostrich, and I stopped into each shop the bird had stolen the garland and flowers from and returned all the ornaments and ribbons he hadn’t bothered eating. Patience was so sweet, apologizing to everyone and promising to keep a better grip on the bird.

Even Arabella laughed and happily helped restore the decorations that had been destroyed. Even my window boxes and wisteria vine was back to being festive.

Faith had done a fabulous job of keeping the shop running, as I knew she would.

“Thank you so much.” I hung my cape up on the hook inside the shop, happy to see she had turned the sign to closed.

“You are welcome and I heard through the grapevine that you figured out who stole all the decorations.” There was a twinkle of laughter in her eyes.

“Can you believe it?” I shook my head and grabbed a bottle with the economy potion in it. It was going to be the perfect ingredient needed for the smudging of the tree.

“Yes. Actually I can. See you soon.” She waved ’bye before heading out the door.