Miss Frost Ices The Imp: A Nocturne Falls Mystery (Jayne Frost Book 2) (16 page)

“I hope you’re right. And again, I’m sorry about your dresses.”

Her smile was patient and kind. “A new order came in last night. I’ll make do with those until this is all sorted out. It’s just life in Nocturne Falls.”

We said good-bye, then Birdie walked as far with me as the police station, where she thanked me again for breakfast and made me promise to keep her updated, which I did.

From the sheriff’s department, I went straight to my office. I was fifteen minutes late as it was. I hung the tote bag on the coat rack and tossed my purse in a drawer. I was about to head into the store to let Juniper and Kip know I was in when I noticed the snow globe on my desk had a full-on raging blizzard inside it.

I sat down at my desk, picked up the globe, and pushed the button to accept the call. My dad’s face appeared. His dark blue brows were knit together in an unhappy expression.

“Hi, Dad.”

“What’s going on? Are you all right? I’ve been trying to reach you for hours. It’s times like this the inability to use electronics in the North Pole really irks me. Has something happened?” Wisps of icy vapor curled up around him, further evidence of his mood. He wasn’t always the most patient of people.

“I’m fine, Dad. I’m sorry I’ve been out of touch, but…” I hadn’t wanted to tell him about the imp, but I sort of had to now. “There’s been a little development.” I spilled the whole miserable story, making sure to bring him up to date so that he knew progress was being made toward fixing things.

His expression shifted to one of concern. “Sorry to hear that, Jay, but it wasn’t your fault, and it sounds like you’ve got a good group of people helping you out. Is there anything I can do?”

“I don’t think so. If Corette can work up a spell to make the imp visible, that will help a lot.”

He looked unconvinced. “Maybe I should come down there when she does. I could freeze the whole town, then we could send out a troop of elves to search for the imp. Once we find it, we can just chip it free from wherever it’s frozen and contain it.”

“I appreciate the offer, but I don’t think the Ellinghams would be too keen on that kind of climate change in August. A deep freeze like that could really hurt the tourist industry.”

He hmphed. “I suppose so. But if you change your mind, let me know.”

“I will.” But that was not going to happen. The last thing I wanted to do was give the Ellinghams another reason to dislike me. “So…what were you trying to reach me about?”

“Hmm? Oh, yes. I just wanted to let you know there’s a new shipment of toys coming to you today, and in some very exciting news, your uncle and I have decided that your store would be the perfect place to debut a new thing we have in the works. Won’t be for a couple months, but we’re going to make a big splash.”

“Really? That’s pretty cool.” Especially considering that they’d almost shut down the Nocturne Falls location after so many employees had gone missing. They’d changed their minds after that mystery had been solved and I’d insisted on taking this store over, but this felt like a major vote of confidence. “What’s the new toy?”

He winked at me. “This is all still in the final stages of development, but we’re working with Sanders to come up with something incredible.”

I stared at him. “Wow. That is big.” Tempus Sanders, aka the Sandman, worked with my uncle Kris on Christmas Eve to assure that children across the world stayed asleep so that he could leave their presents undetected. Yes, I’m talking about
the
Sandman. The guy in charge of sleep. The Dream Maker. The King of Slumber. The Night Manager. The—well, you get the idea. “What’s the toy?”

My dad’s eyes twinkled. “Here’s the thing. It’s not a toy. It’s a book. And it’s unlike any book ever written. When a parent reads the book to their child, it guarantees the child will fall asleep before the end and they’ll sleep peacefully the whole night. It’s revolutionary. And it will only be available at our stores. At least initially.”

“Revolutionary is right. That’s going to create a huge buzz.” I could only imagine how many parents were going to want a book like that.

“I’m glad you think so, because we’re sending Sanders to Nocturne Falls for the week of the launch. He’ll do signings and readings in the store.”

“Oh.” I swallowed. That was more than I could instantly process. I mean, Sanders
here
? At my store? With me in charge? That was huge.

A little of the joy melted off my father’s face. “We just thought if anything
unusual
happened, Nocturne Falls would be the perfect town to handle it. After all, they have that bespelled water that keeps humans from noticing odd things.” He shrugged. “Seemed like a good idea.”

“No, it’s a great idea. You’re absolutely right.” So long as that bespelled water wasn’t still Dr Pepper in a couple months. “The store will be crazy busy when word about that book gets out.”

“We think so too, which is why we’ve already discussed sending you extra help for that week. In fact, we’re probably going to pull a few top employees from other locations. That way you won’t have to train anyone new and those employees will get the reward of being part of the launch. And he’ll have his assistant with him most likely, so you’re not going to have to cater to him. It’s a win-win.”

I nodded. It was also a lot of responsibility. The Sandman was kind of a rock star in the elf world. Not as big as my dad or my uncle, but a close second, definitely. And even with an assistant to help him, I had no doubt it was going to be an intense week. “It’ll be great.”

“I’ll let you know more details as we get closer, honey.”

“Thanks.”

“I hope you catch the imp soon.”

I sighed as his words brought me back to my immediate problem. “Me too.”

We hung up. I put the globe back on the desk corner, then pulled out the container of snickerdoodle toffee cookies my mother had sent and powered down three of them. Okay, maybe it was five, but let’s not get hung up on numbers. Buoyed by the sugar, I put the cookies away, my dad’s news behind me, and headed into the shop.

Kip was at the register, and Juniper was fixing a display of Magic Eight Balls by the door.

“How’s it going? Any fires to put out?” I really hoped the answer to that last question was no.

Kip shook his head. “Easy day so far. But then, we haven’t been open that long.”

“Right.” I looked at Juniper.

She shrugged. “Nothing to report here either.” Then her eyes narrowed. “You okay? You look…stressed.”

“Can’t imagine why.” I laughed. A little hysterically. “No, I’m good. It’s just this whole imp thing.”

“Imp?” Juniper’s eyes widened. “Is that what was in the box?”

“Yes. Crazy right?”

Kip made a face. “I’m not even sure what an imp is.”

“I wasn’t either until this happened. It’s a kind of mischievous magical creature, sentient magic, I’ve been told. Anyway, it’s what’s causing all the weird stuff happening in town.”

He nodded. “Like the fountain in the center of town? Or was that a store promotion?”

My stomach dropped. “What happened to the fountain?”

“It’s spraying snow instead of water. I went down to the Hallowed Bean to get coffees for Juniper and me before work this morning and walked right past it. The gargoyle on duty didn’t seem too happy about it, but the tourists were loving it. Especially the kids!”

Sure they were. Because who wouldn’t like a little snow in the middle of summer in Georgia? At least this prank wasn’t so bad. But just like with the falls turning into Dr Pepper, this trick definitely looked connected to me. I was surprised I hadn’t had a call from Hugh Ellingham yet. “I’ll be in my office if anyone needs me.”

I started to leave, then stopped and turned around. “Forgot to mention, we’re getting a shipment of toys today. I haven’t looked to see if they’re in yet so they could be. They’ll need to be checked in and put on display.”

“I’m all over it,” Juniper said. “And I’ll show Kip the process, because we haven’t done that yet.”

“Except you can’t both be in the warehouse at the same time. That’ll leave the store empty.” I really needed that fifth employee. I should have reminded my dad about that. “Tell you what, I’ll see if the toys are here. If they are, I’ll watch the store and you guys can handle the new inventory.”

“You sure, boss?” Kip asked. “I can always learn the system on the next batch.”

“No, this’ll be fine.” Honestly, working in the shop would be a great distraction. “I’ll be right back.”

I retreated into the warehouse. Maybe it was odd, but I really liked the big, dim space with its racks of inventory. It was cool and quiet and strangely tranquil. I stood there for a moment, in between my office and the vestibule that led to the street door, and just took a few deep breaths. My plate wasn’t just full, it was overflowing, but I was the Winter Princess. I could handle this.

Besides being the Winter Princess, I was also the manager of this shop. So really, it was my job to handle all of this. And if my parents and my aunt and uncle believed I was equipped to be in this position, then I was.

The little pep talk did me some good. I walked the rest of the way to the Santa’s Bag, but I could already tell it was empty. I returned to the shop and stuck my head in. “Nothing yet. I’ll check again in a bit, but I’m taking a quick fifteen in case you need me.”

Kip gave me the thumbs-up.

I went back to my office and did what I should have done when I first got in. I took the box upstairs to my apartment.

I pulled it out of the tote bag and yanked the lid off. I set both pieces on the table, then walked into the kitchen and took a Dr Pepper out of the magically replenished stock in the fridge. After a few long drinks, I left the bottle on the counter but took the cap to the box. It fit inside easily.

I filled it with sugar from the bowl on the table, careful not to spill any in the box. Then I cracked the window about an inch.

Spider had yet to come see me, so I walked back into the bedroom to find him. He was sprawled on the bed, a catnip mouse next to him. The little druggie.

I gave his belly a rub. “Spider, wake up. It’s just me this time.”

He blinked a few times, then yawned and finally looked at me. “Sleepy.”

“Yes, I know I’m interrupting your very important eleventh nap of the day, but listen. I have the window in the living room open a bit and the box the imp came out of is on the table. Inside the box is a soda cap full of sugar. Don’t spill it, don’t knock it over, don’t play with it. Don’t touch it. Understand? It’s supposed to draw the imp, and if it returns and I can catch it, then all the town’s troubles will be solved.”

He stuck his paws in the air and made biscuits in response to my continued belly rubs, which was cute, but really called into question whether or not he’d been paying attention. “Spider, did you hear what I was saying?”

“No touch sugar.”

Close enough. “Very good. Go back to sleep now.” I kissed his silky little head and went downstairs to my office. Still nothing in the Santa’s Bag. Even so, I went into the store, grabbed a green apron and went to work. Mostly I cleaned shelves, dusted and straightened stock. It was a good way to lose myself for a few hours.

It also allowed Juniper and Kip to take lunch without any trouble. And I was happy to be in the store. I really enjoyed it. Seeing the kids’ faces light up at the sight of all the toys was always a treat.

But that activity wasn’t enough to make me forget the other oddness that had popped up today. The text from Lark. As I worked, I wondered if it was possible that the text was another of the imp’s jokes. Had she really texted me? Because if I texted back out of the blue, that could start a conversation between us, and I really didn’t feel ready for that.

What did you say to the woman you’d once considered your best—and maybe only—friend but had actually turned out to be the reason you and the love of your life broke up? I mean, she’d deliberately made Cooper and I believe lies about each other. And all with the intention of ending our relationship (job done) so that she could have Cooper for herself (job not done). If I went the rest of my life without talking to her, I’d be okay. Sad. But okay.

The only way I could know if Lark’s text was the real deal was to talk to Cooper. Kip and Juniper were both back from lunch, so I said I was going to check the Santa’s Bag again, then slipped into the warehouse.