A Charming Spell (Magical Cures Mystery Series) (16 page)

I darted off in the direction of Ever After Books. Now that I had Madame Torres back, I was happy and I wanted Oscar to be happy. I had to get Ophelia to help me rectify the situation we just caused with Oscar and Annie.

“But I have to tell you about…” I heard Gus shouting into the night.

I couldn’t make out what he was saying, but it had to wait. Oscar was my main concern.

“I’ll come find you tomorrow!” I screamed back into the night and hugged Madame Torres tight to me.

“She’s going to figure it out,” I heard a woman whisper as I approached Ever After Books.

“Shh…” Madame Torres warned me to be careful and quiet. I slowly nodded my head and tiptoed around the side of the bookstore.

“I know she’s going to figure it out, so let her.”

I peeked around the corner and saw Colton talking to Ophelia. They were in a heated discussion about someone.

“We aren’t on June’s radar.” Ophelia confirmed that I was so totally consumed with Oscar that I didn’t realize Whispering Falls was crumbling right in front of me, even though I said it wouldn’t.

“She could figure it out any minute.” Colton warned her.

“So what do you suggest we do? Kill her?” Ophelia had a half-joking, half-not joking grin on her face before Colton grabbed her and laid a kiss on her that she would probably never forget.

I rubbed my neck to loosen the tense muscles.

“Is she going to strangle me?” I asked Madame Torres. I rubbed harder trying to get out the knot that had settled there. The tension traveled to my stomach and then fell all the way to my toes. “Wait.”

I brought Madame Torres closer to my face. She stared at me. I didn’t like the look in her eyes.

“Are they,” I gulped, “the killers?”

Madame Torres swirled and twirled in her globe until she shut off. Everything played in my head. All the times Colton had come to my house, he was probably prepping me. Was he the one who broke into my house? After all, he was the only one who knew I was gone because I was dumb enough to ask him to watch my house.

I had confided in him. I told him everything about the “Mysteries and Magical Spells” book. If he and Ophelia didn’t have it, who did? Did Ophelia and Colton believe that I had the book and tear up my house? Did they hurt my sweet…okay, sweet was a far stretch… my
trustworthy
Madame Torres?

Alexelrod.

Did he know something about Ophelia? Enough for her to kill him, or did Colton kill him for trying to tell the truth about Ophelia, or did Alexelrod know something about Colton?

All sorts of scenarios played out in my head. There was only one person who could answer my questions. Isadora Solstice.

It was time to see her, whether she wanted company or not.

With Madame Torres safely under my arm, I tiptoed my way to Mystic Lights where it was dark, except for a faint glow coming from the back of the shop. I jiggled the door handle, but it was locked.

I covered my eyes as though I was shielding the bright moon. I wanted to get a good look inside. There were two lights glowing and they begged me to come in.

I jiggled the handle one more time to confirm it was locked. There was no time to dilly-dally. The only way to get in – rather, break in – would be to go around the back where no one could see me.

I used my hand to wipe off the muck and mess that was plastered on the back window. Using the hard bottom of Madame Torres to break a hole in the glass window on the back door, so I could slip my hand in and unlock the door, caused the entire glass to crash into tiny little pieces.

“That was easy.” I unlocked the door, opened it, and stepped over the bulk of the mess with little crackles of glass breaking under my shoes.

“Izzy?” I asked in a husky whisper. “Izzy?”

The glow I had seen from the window was getting brighter as I approached. There were two crystal balls next to each other, one trying to outshine the other. I took Madame Torres from under my arm and sat her on the counter next to them so I could hold each one to get a better look at them.

“Oh no!” Madame Torres threw her head back. Her eyes bulged from her sockets, blood-shot veins ran rampant through her eyeballs. She glowed green. Electricity shot between Madame Torres and the other two globes, connecting them into a triangle.

“I wanted you to know that a new sheriff has been hired and will be announced at June Heal’s first village meeting as the newly elected president.” One of the globes showed Izzy talking to someone.

Izzy, where are you?
I bent down to get a better look. She looked healthy.

The other globe lit up.

“I think I would like to stay on. Especially since those new animals have surfaced.” Gandolf stood with his hand planted on his holster.

“We really do appreciate all of your work, but there has already been a new hire from a village in the west.” Izzy turned and it showed her leaving the police station.

The globes played like a movie or as though they were having a conversation and Madame Torres controlled the remote.

Izzy appeared in what seemed to be a new conversation.

“Since Colton is here, it’s time for you to leave.” Izzy stood next to Gandolf’s desk.

“I’m going to help him figure out the solutions to the animals and Alexelrod’s murder.” Gandolf didn’t budge.

“No, you are leaving now.” Izzy tugged on his arm. Gandolf jerked, sending Izzy to the ground.

“I told you that I wasn’t leaving until the murder is solved.” He stood over her with his fist shaking in the air. “You won’t tell June Heal anything. Do you understand?”

“There is no way Whispering Falls’s budget will work out with two sheriff’s salaries.” Izzy put her arms in the air to shield herself from him. “I said you are leaving!”

“And I told you I wasn’t.” Gandolf raised back his hand in the air and sent it flying down, hitting Izzy in the face knocking her out cold.

I watched in horror as the ball showed Gandolf in the middle of all sorts of animals. I leaned in. My eyes squinted. I blinked. I blinked harder.

All of the animals that were strays were standing around Gandolf as he gave them a speech.

“I’m going to free your souls!” He stood like a proud soldier leading a battle. “Whispering Falls is an open community. They are weak and have a new Village President coming into office. We will take over and make it a Dark-Sider community! You will be free from the bondage!”

The animals stomped and brayed, throwing their heads in the air with the good news.

The globe acted as though it had changed a channel.

“Is he inside A Charming Cure?” I gasped, bringing my hand to my mouth. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Gandolf had broken into my shop. He was the one who took the potion and the book. Suddenly it showed him breaking into Glorybee and feeding the strays the potion.

No wonder they were acting crazy. They took the power potion and couldn’t handle it since their bad souls were stuck in the animals and going nuts on poor Petunia.

Petunia.
I prayed she was okay, but I had to find out where Gandolf was keeping Izzy.

“Let me go!” Izzy screamed. She looked like she was bound at the feet and her hands were tied behind her back. Gandolf was holding her somewhere, but where?

The next scene showed Gandolf hovered over a woman I didn’t recognize. She was stuffing darts with something.

“
Poison,”
Shock and awe ran through me.

“I’m working as fast as I can.” The woman sobbed. Gandolf was holding his gun to her side, jabbing it deeper and deeper. She flinched but kept working on the darts.

I tried to get a better look at her, but I didn’t recognize her.

I grabbed Madame Torres and threw her under my arm, breaking the connection.

“I’ve seen enough.” I rushed out of the back door and didn’t worry about who saw me.

“Gandolf, you think I’m weak,” I said through gritted teeth. “I’ll show you weak shortly!”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

The streets were dark, but I was sure my anger was shining strong as I stomped my way down to the police station. I didn’t know what I was going to do, but I did know that Izzy was somewhere in there. My gut told me so.

The police station door was open as always and I marched right on in. There wasn’t a light on and Gandolf wasn’t at his desk.

Walking lightly, just in case he was in the building with Izzy and the other woman, I made my way over to his desk. I knew the station well since I had spent a lot of time there with Oscar.

Right on top of the stack of files was Gandolf’s application file. I opened it and used Madame Torres as my flashlight.

“Turn the page,” Madame Torres coaxed me. “Hurry, June. I don’t have a good feeling.”

“Now you tell me.” I flipped the page and saw an arrest sheet where Gandolf had been stripped of his spiritual powers for killing another spiritualist officer. The statement said that Gandolf claimed he did it out of self-defense but the jury found him guilty.

I ran my finger down the page to see what his punishment was. It said that he not only had been stripped of his duties, but he also had been sentenced to life in prison. A mortal prison.

Right under the punishment there was a big red stamp that said “Wanted.” Gandolf was on the run and he was planning on taking over Whispering Falls with the “Mysteries and Magical Spells” book – and he was nearing his goal.

“What do I do?” I asked Madame Torres.

“You should have asked that question before now.” Gandolf stood behind me.

I grimaced when I felt the barrel of a gun jab in my ribs.

“Come on. Just leave Whispering Falls and I won’t tell anyone anything.” I was weak. Being brave was overrated. “I swear!”

“I don’t think so.” Gandolf let out a roar of evil laughter. The deeper he laughed, the deeper the gun went into my skin. “Walk.”

Without a word, I walked forward into the back of the station where the Sheriff’s apartment was. Oscar had lived there for a short time, so I was a little familiar with it.

Izzy and the other woman were bound and gagged to the right of the door. Izzy’s eyes were deep set with fear. She dropped her head when she saw it was me. Disappointment replaced the fright. Instantly, I knew she had been holding out hope that I would figure out what was going on.

“Now I’m going to have to kill all three of you.” Gandolf’s lip curled on one side. He plucked a cigar from his front pocket and used a lighter to light it.

“What are you, some mob boss?” He looked like he belonged in a movie as he puffed smoke rings in the air.

“Darling, you have no idea what I’m capable of.” He winked and motioned for me to sit next to Izzy.

You don’t know what I’m capable of
. I glared at him, trying to figure out what I was capable of. He grabbed a rope.

“So if you are going to kill us, why? Why did you kill Alexelrod? What did he ever do to you?” I at least wanted to know the reasons if I was going to die, and try to stall him until something, anything came into my head.

“He was all gung ho for Ophelia Biblio to come to town when I told him about her.” He moved the cigar to the other side. He took a puff and blew smoke rings in the air. “You see,” he pointed at the woman. “Ophelia was never going to leave Colton. And I needed her to make my power potion to release the souls of my friends who had all been banned to live a life of silence as animals.”

“You brought the animals here.” I wanted to confirm what I had seen in the globes at Mystic Lights.

“Yes. I sent them here after I found out Izzy was looking for an interim sheriff.” He spoke with the cigar stuck between his front teeth. “Only she didn’t know that I had sent Colton a little message about the position. That way Ophelia would come here and they would bring his mother.” He pointed to the woman again.

“You are Colton’s mom?” Everything was becoming very clear. “You needed his mom, because she is a Curist, to make you the potion. Then when she made the transition for them, you were planning on taking Whispering Falls over and making it an evil Dark-Sider community?”

“I underestimated you, June Heal.” He tapped his temple. “But you didn’t figure it out in time. We are one step away from the final cure. Thanks to your little tip about the book.” He nodded over to the coffee table where the “Mysteries and Magical Spells” book lay.

Madame Torres’s glow from the other room was so intense, Gandolf raised his hands to shield the brightness, dropping the rope.

I grabbed before it landed on the ground and started wrapping it around his ankles. Izzy shoved her bound feet forward and knocked Gandolf on his butt. He flailed his arms trying to get free.

“Hold it right there!” Oscar’s voice rang out along with the sound of a shot.

Silence took over, colliding with the smoke of the bullet and the smell of gunpowder.

I must be dead
. There was no other way I could have heard Oscar’s voice.

“Don’t move!”

I opened my eyes. Colton and Oscar were standing there, legs apart, arms stretched out and guns pointed at Gandolf.

Gandolf had stopped flailing when Oscar shot his gun into the air. I was relieved to see that I wasn’t dead and that he truly was there.

“Are they okay?” Ophelia ran in and rushed over to Colton’s mom. She threw her arms around her before she took the gag out of her mouth.

“I’m fine. Help Izzy,” his mom nodded toward us. I sat there in shock.

“I will.” I jumped to my feet and reached over to take Izzy’s gag off and then untied her hands from behind her back.

“Thank you June.” Izzy rotated her wrists a few times before she leaned over and untied her feet. “If it weren’t for you, Alise and I would probably be dead.”

“Yes, thank you.” Alise, Colton’s mom, held her hands to her heart. “I didn’t want to hurt the community. Colton and Ophelia were so looking forward to moving here.”

“So you two are a couple?” Oscar questioned as he handcuffed Gandolf.

“We are.” Ophelia hugged Colton, but Colton moved away so he could help Oscar hoist Gandolf to his feet. “But we understand that there can’t be two spiritualists in a relationship with separate businesses. Is that right?”