CHAPTER 17

C HAPTER 17

A bigail had just finished making a quiche and was putting it in the oven the next morning when Mia came into the kitchen. She poured herself a cup of coffee, then sat down at the table. Abigail joined her. "Trent told me you ran into Elly Sellers."

"How could everyone leave Melody in a situation like that? Didn't the school question it?" Mia hadn't gotten a lot of sleep last night. Melody had come back just in time for her practice slot, but then had disappeared back home to check on her grandmother. The stress of living that way must be horrible.

"Elly didn't really show signs of dementia until last year, then it seemed to get worse by the day. She was president of the PTA up until Melody went to high school. And even then, she ran fundraisers for band trips and instruments for the music program. Melody had a great childhood. After her mother died, Elly and her husband raised Melody as their own. Then Jake died five years ago. Elly was heartbroken. But she'd be furious if she knew who she was now. The women from the coven come over while Melody's at school. She's well taken care of."

"Elly is, but what about Melody? She should be going to Juilliard or someplace like that next year, that's how talented she is at piano. But she says she doesn't know if she can go to any college if she doesn't win the competition. She should be on a scholarship."

"Melody's been less than excited to leave her grandmother. One, she knows if she does, Elly will need full-time care. Care at home, that's expensive. Going off to start a new life somewhere like New York, that's a step she may not be ready to take." Abigail sipped her coffee. "Do you understand now?"

"It's too bad about Melody's mother. If she was still alive, Melody wouldn't have to worry about who was going to take care of Elly."

"Wishes and horses, wishes and horses." Abigail refilled her cup. "Anyway, the coven has been considering setting up a fund so Elly can stay at home. She and Melody are the last in a family line who founded the Magic Springs coven. She should get something out of that, right?"

Mia nodded, but even she knew that college applications started being approved in the fall. Melody should have already applied for the schools she wanted to attend, especially since she needed financial aid.

Maybe she'd pull her aside during the contest and offer to help her with the college application process. Melody didn't have to pretend that her grandmother was able to help with the process since Mia had already witnessed an episode.

"I see you thinking over there." Abigail pulled out her notebook. "Just make sure you talk to your grandmother before you make any plans. She has some information you'll need. Now, shall we talk about today's event?"

"Please tell me it's Thursday. I don't know how much longer I can worry about this pageant."

Abigail smiled. "Yes, it's Thursday. And it's dress rehearsal day. So Bambi will want to go over all the sections of the event at least twice. We are responsible for drinks and treats, and I have a list of what needs to be made. It's not a lot, so we should be done cooking by noon."

"Good, because I got a text from James. He needs me to go to the Lodge sometime today. He left a schedule on my desk that I need to review for the food trucks this weekend. I love how even though I'm on vacation, I still have responsibilities."

"You're just too good at your job." Abigail shrugged. "I get it. I'm that way too. Why don't you go this morning? Christina can help me cook, and you can fill in when you get back if we get behind."

"So, because I'm there instead of Mia, we're going to fall behind?" Christina walked into the room and went straight to the coffeemaker. "Challenge accepted."

"I knew you were standing back there all along." Abigail crossed Mia's name off a page and put Christina's on the top instead. Then she ripped out the page and handed it to her. "Here's your list."

"I hate making cream puffs." Christina sat down and reviewed the list. Then she leaned over and read Abigail's. "We need to switch these over to my list."

"Not on your life." Abigail pressed the notebook to her chest. "You're the one who claims to be as good as Mia. Show it."

Christina looked at Mia, who just shrugged.

"I hate both of you." Christina focused on her coffee.

A dog barked at the apartment door. Mia stood and looked back at the women at the table. "Who's here? And how did they get past the security feed? Or in the school, for that matter?"

"No clue. Should we call Mark?"

Mia pushed her emotions outward to the door and didn't feel any hostility. And she thought she recognized the bark, even though it was a little louder than normal. She opened the door to find Trent juggling a bag of groceries and Cerby on a leash.

"Thank the Goddess you heard us. I was about to drop these." Trent moved past Mia and into the apartment. He dropped the bag off on the table. "Here's what you ordered."

Abigail stood and started unpacking the bags. "Thanks. You didn't have to bring them personally. And most of these could go to the kitchen downstairs."

"I already dropped two bags in front of the business kitchen. These are for the apartment. I nabbed Mia's shopping list last night after the talent contest. Man, was Melody amazing or what?" Trent took out milk and orange juice and put them in the fridge.

"She's accomplished, that's for sure. But I think her true gift is taking care of her grandmother with dementia, going to school full-time, and practicing the piano. She's got to be a strong multitasker." Mia stood. "Let me put away the groceries, at least."

"We've got it. It's a new service I'm thinking about implementing at the store. We'll drop off your groceries and put them away at no extra cost to you, the customer."

Mia leaned down, picked Cerby up, and put him on her lap. "Sounds labor-intensive. Besides, sometimes I don't know where I want something. How would you or your staff? Never mind, that's a rhetorical question. I'm going to work today for a few hours. Do you have time to have breakfast with us, or are you needed back at the store?"

"I'm good until eleven, but then a truck is due in, so I'll need to go unload it." He glanced into the empty sack, then folded it. "So yes, I can stay for breakfast. Besides, I wanted to drop Cerby off for the day. I don't like him in the office when we're unloading a truck. Last time I found him levitating a box off the truck."

"I would think you'd like a little help." Mia rubbed Cerby's chin.

Trent went over and poured himself coffee. "Not when the truck driver is there and watching the little freak do it. I had to wipe the man's mind of those few seconds."

"Hey, weird question, did you drive here?" Mia asked, looking up at the monitor showing the parking lot.

"You think I walked with four bags of groceries and Cerby?" Trent followed her gaze and stared at the monitor. "Where's my truck?"

"Good question. Second question, how did you get in the school?"

Trent walked over and looked out the kitchen window that overlooked the parking lot. "The truck is right where I parked it." He pointed to an empty slot on the screen next to Mia's car.

"And you got in how?" Mia started to get a bad feeling.

"The door was open. Something weird is going on." Trent got closer to the monitor. "Your screen froze about an hour ago."

"How do you know that? Is there a time stamp?" Mia walked over and peered at the image. A time clock ran underneath the video. She checked her watch. "It's running and matches the current time."

"There's a spell on your system. You need to get your grandmother over here to end it. Someone doesn't want their comings and goings to be recorded," Trent said.

"And someone was in the house—again." Mia looked around the room. "Where's Cerby?"

They all looked around the kitchen, but he was nowhere to be found. The front door to the apartment was open. Trent moved toward the door. "Mom, check the apartment. Mia, the third floor. Christina, the second floor, and I'll go straight down to the first floor. The kitchen is locked. I checked when I dropped off the groceries."

Mia grabbed three sets of keys out of a basket. "Everyone, take keys for your floor, just in case Mr. Darcy and Dorian are playing tricks on the little guy. And take your cells. Call if you find him."

Looking for Cerby had become an almost daily event but today it seemed even more urgent. Maybe because of the spell on the video. Or the open front door, where Trent had gained entrance. It should have been locked. Mia had locked it last night herself after making sure the bottom floor was cleared of people and the doors all locked. She didn't need a repeat of what had happened to Carla or Marnie. Not again. She had two more days to get through this mess of hosting the queen contest. She could do it.

Now someone just needed to tell her heart to stop beating so fast. She was going to hyperventilate.

She pushed a button and got her grandmother's voice mail. "This is a nine-one-one. You need to come over here, secret project or not. Something's wrong with my security system."

Mia could hear the answer from her now. " I'm not a techie ."

She went to the large storage room to the left of the apartment first. Unlocking the door, she stepped inside and turned on the light. She closed the door, so in case Cerby was in there, he couldn't escape while her back was turned. It didn't take long to search, and he wasn't in the closet. Then she slowly walked the whole hallway on the third floor. There were only three doors. The storage room, which she had checked. The apartment, where Abigail was checking, and the library. The door she now stood in front of. She tried the door, but it was locked. But then again, Cerby was a magical thing. As a hellhound, Mia didn't know what all his powers were, and they could include walking through walls. She knew he could make portals. Or Mr. Darcy could have opened and closed the door for him.

Sometimes living with familiars with magical powers made life interesting and fun. This was not one of those times.

The library was one of those rooms that Mia wanted to love. But it still had a problem. A ghost, or a few, haunted the room and didn't seem to be interested in leaving the school anytime soon. For a while, the wards that kept the school standing had been set to keep them here. Mia had ended that, and several ghosts had gone on to whatever destination was next.

Even after that, more than one ghost still remained. The guardian was their leader, and he had several friends who'd chosen to stay with him. Mia needed to find the time to research the library and figure out what the ghost wanted. Today was not the day. She shut the door behind her. "Cerby, are you in here? Come here, baby. Cerby?"

She rounded the corner, and a little girl stood there, holding a ghost cat. "Hello."

"Hello. Have you seen a small white dog?" Mia asked the ghost child as she leaned down to meet her gaze.

The child shook her head. "The hellhound doesn't come in here. The guardian doesn't like it."

"What's your name?" Mia didn't move.

"Annabelle. But the guardian doesn't like me talking to the living. You need to go. Peaches wants to nap in the sunshine, and I'm going to read The Wizard of Oz ." She pointed to the door.

"You're sure the dog isn't in here?" Mia tried one more time.

"Nope. Just me and Peaches. Thanks for coming by." And the girl disappeared from Mia's view. She wondered if she and Peaches were still sitting on the floor, reading.

"Thanks for talking to me." Mia thought she could trust the girl's word, but she glanced around the room too, just to be safe. No Cerby. As she walked toward the door, a book fell off the shelf and landed in front of her. She picked it up. It was a nonfiction book: The Care of Magical Creatures . But instead of the book falling open to the chapter on hellhounds, it was at the golem chapter. She tucked it under her arm and left the library, locking the door as she went.

Mia met Abigail in front of her apartment. "No Cerby up here."

"Trent found him downstairs. I'm surprised you didn't get the text."

Mia's phone finally beeped announcing a text. "I was in the library. Something probably blocked it. Anyway, I'd better get going if I'm going to be back from the Lodge by the time dress rehearsals start."

"No breakfast?" Abigail followed her into the apartment, where Mia put the book down and grabbed her tote and keys.

"Not now. Keep an eye out for Grans, will you? I left her a message, but who knows when she'll pick it up. I'll call on my way home and see if she's here yet." Mia felt her left eye twitch. She was stressed and running on empty. But she didn't have time to eat. She'd eat at the Lodge while she worked with James.

She met Trent on the stairs with Cerby in hand. She rubbed the dog's head. "I'm glad you found him. Anyway, I've got to go. I'll see you tonight?"

"Christina has offered to watch Cerby, with Mom's help. I think she's preparing for when Levi gets his own familiar. Oh, to be an innocent in the witch world."

"Sometimes it's not as fun as you all think it is. Go eat with your mom. I'll talk with you tonight." As Mia kissed him goodbye, she thought about telling him about the book, but no one had time to read it now. Maybe this weekend, once the event was over.

She hurried outside, making sure the door closed and locked behind her. When she got to the car, she looked up at the camera that watched the parking lot. It looked normal. But then again, what did a bewitched camera look like anyway? Not a question she had time to answer. Hopefully, between her grandmother and Abigail, the system would be fixed by the time she got home.

And everyone would be safe.

Mia knew that just having a security system didn't mean bad things couldn't happen, but if you knew you were being watched, you'd be on your best behavior. At least she could hope.

Driving to work, she saw a person walking down the road. Coming closer, she realized it was Melody. She came up beside her and slowed, rolling the passenger window down. "Hey, do you need a ride?"

Melody frowned at the offer, but before she responded, she saw it was Mia. "Oh, hey. I'm fine walking. I like being outside, and soon it's going to be too cold to walk."

"Are you sure?" Mia saw a car coming up behind her. The road was too narrow, and she couldn't pull off onto the shoulder. "Where are you heading?"

"Home. Don't worry about me." Melody saw the car and waved at the driver. "I'll see you tonight at the rehearsal."

"Okay, then." Mia got back up to speed as she rolled up the window. Melody's house was near the hospital, just a few miles past the turnoff to the Lodge. As she pulled into the parking lot, she wondered where Melody had been coming from. If she liked to hike, there were several trailheads sprinkled between the Lodge parking lot and the hospital. No need to be walking on the road where there wasn't even a bike lane. Or she could have been on the greenbelt, which ran behind the road and behind the school. There weren't any nearby businesses she could have been visiting.

Of course, Melody was a teenager, and sometimes they did things that didn't make sense. And maybe there was a boy who lived out here.

Mia needed to leave it alone. The girl was eighteen according to Trent, and she could make her own decision about where to walk.