Wonder Never (The Fairytale Diaries #2) (9 page)

Chapter 16

G
isèle Pettigrew lay on her stomach, sprawled across her bed under a sunny window, reading a book. She'd managed to escape into the pages of a horror novel and completely phase out her busy body sisters.

Two girls from their high school had disappeared within forty eight hours of each other. The Pettigrew girls were familiar with them both. One was a possible runaway, but suspicious circumstances surrounded the other. Gisèle wasn't close with either of the girls, but she worried about them and dearly hoped for their safe return.

Because of the mounting alarm, their father, Ernest, was in high gear freak out mode. As a single father of three teenaged girls, Chloé (fifteen), Gisèle (seventeen), and Reginé (eighteen), he was extraordinarily overprotective in the best of circumstance. So, since an actual threat had become apparent, Mr. Pettigrew had the girls on lockdown. Unable to get out socializing with friends, or enjoying the summer sun, Gisèle could see her sisters going stir crazy.

She wasn't particularly enjoying the imprisonment herself, but she could always survive if there was a bookshelf over flowing nearby. Her sisters, on the other hand, tended to never be satisfied.

Gisèle had been up early to kiss her dad's cheek before he left for work. He was an artist, and a rather eccentric one at that. She was his only daughter he truly shared a kindred spirit with. He was spending the day at a street fair attempting to sell his wares. Her sisters had slept late into the afternoon but once they rose, the peace turned to chaos.

Chloé wandered into Gisèle's room. She said nothing but began nosily poking about Gisèle's belongings. Gisèle continued to read hoping her sister would just go away.

But instead of leaving, she flopped unceremoniously onto the bed near Gisèle with a theatric sigh. After Gisèle's last ditch effort to ignore her, Chloé smacked her book, sending into her face.

Gisèle gave an irked look. "Ouch," she said sardonically.

"Gone Girl?" Chloé mocked. "You're reading Gone Girl? You're so weird."

"Why? Why is that weird?"

"You've always got your nose buried in some freaky book that's way too old for you. Why don't you act your age?"

Gisèle smirked. "Oh you mean shiftless and lazy doing nothing but whining and complaining, day in and day out? No thanks."

Chloé frowned darkly. After a moment of evil pondering, she snatched Gisèle's book and tossed it right out the open window.

"HEY!" Gisèle roared. Chloé fled the room with a wicked peal of laughter.

***

Gisèle went out to retrieve her book then opted to find a spot outside to read. Her sisters rarely abided the summer heat, or the possibility of encountering bugs and lizards. The outdoors afforded her a better chance of avoiding them.

She couldn't imagine how she'd ended up with such utterly horrid siblings. All three Pettigrew girls shared similar looks with their shining brown ponytails, rosy cheeked smiles, and wide sparkling brown eyes. But that was where the similarities ended. Gisèle was just like their father; intelligent, artistic, and interested in the world around them. Her sisters were about as deep as a tear drop and possessed mean streaks a mile wide, but they could feign sweetness when their father was present. She had no memory of her mother since the woman had left them when she was small and Mr. Pettigrew never spoke of her. She could only assume Chloé and Reginé inherited their nasty personalities from their absent mother.

When dinner time approached, Gisèle went inside where she fixed them all something to eat. Laziness was another one of her sisters' many flaws. If she didn't feed them, they'd complain far more than they would surely fuss over whatever she prepared.

Two hours after dinner passed and her father did not arrive home. It wasn't terribly uncommon for the events Mr. Pettigrew worked to run later than expected. All the same, Gisèle found her eyes drawn back to the clock on the wall of her room again and again.

When another hour went by, the sound of the clock's ticking seemed to grow louder. It seemed like every other sound on earth diminished and that tick tick tick roared thunderously in her head. How strange for her father not to call. She mentally chided herself for being a worry wart. But she picked up the phone to dial him.

He did not answer.

By the time another hour passed, Gisèle was close to tears. Dusk gave way to nightfall and they still hadn't heard from their dad. Between her sisters' incessant wailing, terrible speculations, and repeated calls to him that went to voicemail, Gisèle was on the verge of a breakdown. It was time to call the police.

A knock soon came at the door just as the last light of sunset bled from the horizon. Some sense of relief calmed her racing heart when she opened the door to Chief Darling.

Her sisters shoved around her to over enthusiastically welcome inside the Pettigrew home. Amid their shrill fast chatter, he had trouble discerning just what the problem was.

Gisèle gave a frustrated sigh. "ENOUGH!" she yelled, bring abrupt silence to the room. She gave each of her sisters and evil glare, wondering if they truly cared their father was missing, or if they were secretly enjoying the drama.

"Chief Darling," she began, giving the kind man an earnest look. "Our dad didn't come home from work. He's not answering my calls."

Chief Darling frowned. "Oh? And how late is he?"

"I'm not sure exactly, he was showing art at the festival over in Caperstown. But, I expected him home hours ago."

He nodded. "I see. Well, if he didn't say exactly when he got off work, then how can you know he is late?"

Tears bloomed in Gisèle's eyes. "I just… I just know how it works when he does art shows. He closes around dinner time. Even if he did decide to stay late, I know he'd call. The whole festival is probably closed by now! He should be home!" She drew a deep shuddering breath and began to weep.

Chief Darling laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. "There there, Gisèle, don't cry!" Chloé and Reginé began to wail as well as if cued by Gisèle. Chief Darling looked uncomfortable amidst all the feminine hysteria. "Normally, a person isn't considered missing for twenty-four hours. But, I've known your dad for years. I agree it's unlike him. I'll start looking, alright?"

Gisèle nodded, smiling gratefully. He took a small note pad from his breast pocket, asked her a few questions, and promised to be in touch shortly.

***

Midnight found Gisèle sitting at the living room window, unable to pull her eyes from the driveway or the lane. A sparkling full moon hung high in the sky, and the shadows mottling its surface seemed like a face jeering down at her. She'd heard from neither her father nor Chief Darling.

But moments past the twelve chimes of the grandfather clock, a cruiser swung into the driveway. The crunch of its tires on the gravel was an ominous sound that sparked more anxiety in her sorrowful heart. She watched Chief Darling hop out and walk briskly to the door.

Despite the fact they'd slept most of the day, Gisèle's sisters were already back in bed. So, it was Gisèle alone who let him inside. He asked if they could have a seat at the kitchen table.

Seconds later, she was seated across from him, her nerves in tatters. "So?" she said anxiously. "What did you find?"

Chief Darling shifted nervously in his seat, not seeming at all eager to have this conversation with Gisèle.

"Well, you were right; the festival was already closed for the day. I had to track down the city's chamber of commerce president, which took a little time. And then she was able to put me in contact with the person in charge of the festival's vendors."

"OK. And?" Gisèle prodded, staring at him with teary eyes.

Chief Darling sighed. "Well, Gisèle, he said your dad never showed up this morning."

Gisèle gasped and shoved back from the table. She began pacing the floor, swiping at tears as they fell.

"Any idea where he might have gone instead of the festival?"

"No!" she cried. "Maybe, maybe there was an accident!"

"That was my thought too. Here's the thing though. I decided to make the drive to Caperstown, the way he would've probably gone. Thought maybe there was an accident that hadn't been discovered. But a few minutes into the drive, dispatch called me back. A patrolman found his car."

"They did? Then why'd you ask where else he might have gone? Where is he?"

"It's parked outside Java Enchantica. I woke up the owner who said he was working this morning. He never saw your dad. Then, he called the evening shift guy. He also doesn't recall seeing him."

Gisèle shook her head sadly. "So what now?"

Chief Darling gave her a sympathetic look. "Until we hear from him, or we talk to someone who saw him… We're kind of at a stalemate, kiddo."

She dropped back into her seat at the table, plunked her face onto her folded arms, and wept. The chief stood and circled the table where he comfortingly patted her shoulder.

"Try not to worry, Gisèle. We will leave no stone unturned. In the morning, the search is on," he promised.

Chapter 17

G
isèle spent a sleepless night tossing and turning. She reached for her cell phone at least a dozen times to try her father again. There in the lonely small hours of the morning, she tried to keep her mind from wondering what life without a mother or a father would mean.

Despite her fatigue, she rose again before the sun. She prepared a pot of coffee and promptly began to funnel it.

Gisèle was on a mission.

As soon as it had reached a decent hour, she began making some phone calls. She wanted to do some detective work of her own. The Pettigrews had no family to speak of. But she called several people she knew to be his friend. There were also a couple old girlfriends of his she reached. Everybody she spoke to was shocked to learn of his disappearance. None of them had any theories, but they each told her to keep them posted.

When all those possibilities were exhausted, Gisèle dressed, put on her sandals, and burst out the door and into a dismal, drizzling day. She walked briskly through the rain, so lost in her thoughts; she didn't even notice the droplets soaking her. In moments, she was on Forest Way, in front of Java Enchantica, circling her father's car.

She didn't have keys to open it, but she peered inside the windows for any hint of something amiss. The front seat was littered with her father's customary chaotic clutter. In the back seat were various art works he'd been taking to the festival. She sighed and went inside where she took a seat in the remotest corner of the little place, wanting some time alone with her thoughts.

When a waiter came to see if she wanted a cup of coffee, she recognized him as the owner. "Oh hey," said Mr. Fontaine. "You're Ernest Pettigrew's daughter, aren't you?"

Gisèle gave nothing but a sad nod in response.

"Have you heard anything from him yet, honey?"

Another slow shake of the head, with a pitiful frown.

Mr. Fontaine shook his head. "Such a shame," he remarked. "Three disappearances in as many days. One of them Julienne Peabody, girl that disappeared last? Well she worked for me. Just a dang shame. Something sure don't add up."

Gisèle's jaw dropped. She couldn't believe she hadn't even thought of the missing girls. Could her father's disappearance be related? She slid back from the table and leapt up. "Uh, I'm sorry, I have to go. I need to speak to the chief."

"Oh, alright then. Good luck!" he called to Gisèle as she flew out the door.

***

"Gisèle! Gisèle Pettigrew!"

She'd barely taken three strides back toward downtown when a timid female voice called her name. Stopping, Gisèle turned slowly, only to find a pale blonde girl in an outdated blue dress and a white haired fellow running toward her.

"Gisèle!" the girl said again, as if to keep her in her place until she reached her. "That's your name, isn't it?"

Gisèle frowned deeply at the pair as they closed in on her. The girl's demure voice and everything about the two of them was utterly foreign to Gisèle. How did they know her name? Having formed a possible connection between her father and the other people missing from Enchantica placed her on high alert. Not to mention her frayed nerves.

"Who are you? How do you know my name?" Gisèle demanded in a tone that lacked her usual politeness.

The trees tossed against the bleak grey sky in the background as she came face to face with the pair of strangers. She felt chilled to the bone.

"I think I know where your father is," the blonde girl said, blatantly ignoring her question.

Gisèle's heart skipped a beat. Her eyes grew wide and instantly filled with tears. Mention of her father erased any apprehension she had over the strange situation.

"Where? Where is he?" she asked enthusiastically.

"We can take you to him," the girl soothed.

"He's safe? He's OK? Where is he?" she asked again.

"You must come with us now, and we will take you to your father," the white haired man said in a shrill, clipped manner. She studied his face and noticed he seemed far too young to have the white hair.

"Yes, yes!" Gisèle agreed without hesitation. "Let's go!"

The two strangers exchanged a small smile then turned without another word and walked back the way they'd come. Gisèle followed.

"Wait, we're going into the forest?" she said as they reached the mouth of the woods. Her new companions simply nodded and proceeded, their pace quickening once inside the shroud of trees and foliage.

"But why? Where is my father?" Gisèle asked. They did not answer, just moved progressively faster. Gisèle practically ran, stumbling along to keep up. She ratted off a few more questions but the strangers seemed to ignore her completely. All she could think of was her father's beloved face. Since they knew who she was, she believed they really were leading her to him. Nothing else mattered.

She followed blindly along.

***

"You must eat this, and then drink this," the man said matter of factly, shoving the goodies toward Gisèle.

She eyed the candy and bottle suspiciously. She'd followed them for at least a mile through muck and mire and under the boughs of the strangest silvery tree she'd ever seen. This was the first thing either of them had said to her.

"What are they? Why are they here?" she asked skeptically.

He thrust them at her again. "If you want to see your father again, you'll do as I say," he said crossly. His fast, harsh way of speaking unnerved her.

The blonde girl nudged the little man and gave Gisèle a reassuring smile. "Please," she said kindly. "It's necessary. You'll understand shortly, I promise."

A brand of stark terror Gisèle had never known before began inching up inside her. It made her cold and worked its way up to grip her throat like a clawed hand strangling her. She fleetingly thought of all those horror novels she loved so much that earned her such ridicule from her sisters. This fear was so far worse than that.

But she had to find her father. She took a deep breath, and then did as she was told.

***

It was too much, simply too much. She followed them down a checkered path, skirted by flowers and forest. Somehow she'd found herself in the most beautiful, magical, and dreamlike place shed' ever imagined. But since she wasn't imagining it, and after the outrageous manner in which shed' arrived… After the darkness and the colors, the spinning and the falling, the river did not make her wet. The whole thing was simply too much to fathom. She felt her sanity crumbling.

She continued to follow them because she had no choice, but she wept bitterly as she did. They seemed not to notice as they led her on and on.

They eventually came upon a fork in the road. To the left, she saw a village in the distance. To the right was a path leading into the misty forest.

Finally the pair paused and turned to her.

"We are going into the woods," the man snapped. "Do not step off the path."