Spell by Midnight (Witch of Mintwood Book 3) Page 2

  While Greer rolled her eyes, Charlie beamed at the bedazzled animal. “I do try to look well put together,” she said. “It’s true that we don’t have a case, but I miss our late night adventures. I also miss solving cases.”

  “If there’s one thing I know about ghosts, it’s that they don’t stay idle for long,” said Paws.

  “Things have been idle for a while now. Maybe Mintwood isn’t as exciting as you think,” I said.

  “I bet it’s exactly as exciting as I think,” Paws sniffed.

  “Fine, but enough of this. You aren’t coming. Get off the hood of my car,” I said. I stomped to the driver’s side door and got inside without waiting for a response.

  In truth, I could have just driven away with the cat still sitting there, but I thought it would be better if I didn’t. All of the tea ladies were watching, and they already thought I was horrible. Driving away while Paws was sitting on my hood would only reinforce their ridiculous opinions.

  And it wasn’t only the tea ladies. “You didn’t have to be so rude,” said Charlie, climbing into the back seat.

  Unusually, I didn’t see a single ghost on our way to the barn. Not one wisp of the colored light that outlined a ghostly body could be seen in the fading evening light.

  Not that I minded ghosts NOT flying in front of me on the road, an occurrence that had once almost caused me to get into an accident. But still, it was unusual not to see any ghosts at all.

  Once we arrived at our destination, I quickly put the mystery out of my mind. Tonight’s outing was purely for fun and good times. I wasn’t working, and my spine was tingling in anticipation of a lovely evening.

  We were ushered into one of the new parking spots behind the barn, where Jasper had paved a parking area and lined it with trees so that it didn’t look too sterile. It fit nicely with the lake and the grassy slope that led gently to the water’s edge, as well as the nearby woods.

  The parking lot was large, and nearly full. Having left the house half an hour late, we had arrived right before dinner was due to start. In fact, I admitted to myself, we were lucky to have arrived before dinner was over.

  People were streaming inside, and I could hear music and laughter. The barn looked festive and nicely decorated for a party.

  “Who do you think he has doing the interior design?” Charlie wondered.

  “I think it’s Moody and Marble,” said Greer.

  “They’re the best design firm around,” said Charlie.

  “Only the best for the barn,” said Greer.

  A warmth rushed through my limbs and into my cheeks. I told myself that it was just the excitement from the party, but I knew it was more than that. Jasper really was working to make the barn amazing, just as he had promised he would. Now if I could only stop those darn dreams.

  Before we went inside the vast space, I glanced at the perfectly still lake. Not long ago I had met Kayla Caldwell there, and she had become my second case. I worked hard to solve the mystery of her disappearance and murder, and when I finally succeeded, she – or rather, her ghost – went away to Florida to be near her sister. But every time I saw the lake I was reminded of her.

  Inside, the barn gleamed. There were tables set up along the walls and an open space in the middle where even longer tables were piled high with food.

  The smells of dinner nearly overwhelmed me, and my stomach started to rumble. I hadn’t noticed how hungry I was until I smelled the food. Searching for familiar faces, I picked out both the mayor and Detective Cutter, both of whom I had met during my cases. Most of the owners of the downtown stores were also there, with Andre ensconced at one end of the barn and Keith at the other. Andre owned the Artist Art Gallery and Keith owned Mintwood Mucking. Although their stores were right next to each other, they were sworn adversaries.

  This party was a Who’s Who of Mintwood, including everyone who was anyone, which one way or another basically amounted to the whole town. The construction had been a constant topic of conversation, and if you didn’t show up for the party, what would you have to gossip about tomorrow?

  Every move of Jasper’s, every decision, from color choices to the type of wood he used, would be dissected over coffee, across hedges, and in grocery aisles. What fun! Now the only problem was finding something for everybody to talk about next week!

  “This is beautiful,” Charlie beamed. “I’m glad I convinced Lena to let me write an article about tonight. Jasper asked me to produce some buzz for the fundraising, and I think an event like this is just the ticket.”

  All the proceeds from the event would be donated to a local food bank. Jasper was making good on his promise to make the barn useful to the community in as many ways as possible.

  “The place looks finished,” I said. “I can’t believe how much progress he’s made so quickly.”

  “Do you see Jasper or Deacon?” said Charlie.

  “No, but it could be because I’m walking with my eyes closed,” said Greer.

  “I don’t see why you avoid Deacon. He loves you,” said Charlie.

  “Speaking of,” said Greer through gritted teeth.

  She was pointing up the middle of the long aisle toward the barn doors at the other end of the enormous space. There stood Jasper in a perfectly tailored suit and tie, his hands tucked into his pockets. Next to him was Deacon, who looked equally dapper in a dark blue suit with a thin tie of the same color. Somehow it worked on him.

  Deacon’s dark blond hair was pulled back into a bun and his blue eyes sparkled. For my part, I didn’t think Deacon was as attractive as Jasper, but he sure was attractive.

  The two of them were talking to two beautiful women, the kind of women you pass on the street and know are too good for you, and know that they know they’re too good for you.

  There were very few of those wealthy and entitled women in Mintwood, but all of them could be found living on the lake or in Gracie Coswell’s neighborhood.

  “Who are they?” I asked, instantly bristling with a possessiveness I didn’t have any right to.

  “I’m pretty sure that’s Moody and Marble. We’ve featured their work in the Gazette,” said Charlie. “Their designs for parties make great pictures in the newspaper.”

  Both women had long cascading blonde hair and were wearing shiny dresses, with high heels that perfectly accented their shapely legs. As we watched, Deacon threw back his head and laughed at something one of them had said.

  “All right, that’s it. Let’s go say hi,” said Greer, marching ahead without even bothering to see if Charlie and I were following her.

  Charlie whispered, “Under no circumstances would I want Greer wearing that face and walking toward me.”

  “I don’t think Deacon will notice,” I said.

  “I think the women will, though. I’m hoping for it,” said Charlie with a gleeful glint in her eye. For a well-put-together newspaper reporter, Charlie had an evil streak. I loved it.

  “Greer, hi,” said Deacon, turning to her with a grin as she came near.

  “Thanks for coming,” said Jasper, stepping sideways so that we were included in the group. The women pivoted so they could see us, but their smiles were all too obviously fixed in place. I had the distinct impression that they would have preferred that we stay at the other end of the barn from them, which was exactly why Greer hadn’t.

  “The place is amazing,” said Charlie, with a smile in Jasper’s direction.

  “We’ve done a lot of work,” said Jasper. “And a lot of credit goes to Moody and Marble for putting all the finishing touches on this party.”

  We looked around in polite appreciation while the blonds simpered.

  Jasper had said party and not barn, so I told myself that maybe they were just involved for tonight, and my heart fluttered with hope. The way the blonde on the right was looking at Jasper was making my jealousy dragon rise, but really, who was I kidding? Moody and Marble were both blond and they were both looking at Jasper as if he was their next husband. My
dragon was sprouting a second head. This one breathed fire.

  “It looks great,” I said. “Thanks for having us.”

  “Charlie, Greer, Lemmi, this is Macy and this is Mildred, of Moody and Marble. They did a lot of the work on the barn over the past couple of weeks to get it sparkling and decorated for the fundraiser.”

  Macy was shorter, with brown eyes, while Mildred was tall and willowy with gray eyes.

  “Nice to meet you,” they both murmured.

  Introductions over, we returned to the barn as the safest topic of conversation.

  “Of course, all of Mintwood should be here right now,” said Deacon.

  “I think they are,” said Greer. “This party has been the talk of the town since it was announced.”

  “How do you know that?” asked Macy, as if Greer couldn’t possibly know a thing about Mintwood. You know how you can tell when a porcupine is bristling? Well, whether you can or not, that’s how Greer looked. Prickly.

  “I work at the bar in town and all my regulars have been talking about it. Most of them are here now, in fact. The bar closed early so that some of the staff could be here to serve drinks,” said Greer.

  “Basically we got the best, most ungettable bartenders in town because Greer has connections,” said Deacon with another grin. He met Greer’s eyes in the obvious hope that she’d smile in return, but when she was still too busy being prickly, his shoulders drooped. He was clearly disappointed.

  “You’re a bartender?” said Macy.

  “Yes,” said Greer.

  “She can make absolutely anything and everything delicious,” said Deacon.

  “Do you work private events and functions?” asked Macy.

  “No,” said Greer.

  “Is interior design and decorating for a party fundraiser something you usually do?” said Charlie, saving the day.

  “Usually we decorate houses and large private offices, but we do the occasional party. The client has to be special,” said Mildred. Her eyes slid to Jasper, who didn’t appear to notice.

  I glanced at her hands and saw that her nails were painted a blood red that reminded me of talons. The veins on the backs of her hands were prominent, suggesting that she was older than her face implied.

  All of which made me feel better, so sue me.

  “It’s almost dinnertime,” said Deacon during a pause. “Should we take our places?”

  “Sure, is there assigned seating?” said Charlie.

  “Not really,” said Deacon. “We have to sit at the head table, but you can sit wherever you want.” He sounded disappointed as he glanced at Greer. She gave him a smile and told him we’d find them after the meal. Then we went to enjoy the evening.

  Chapter Three

  The three of us wandered off to pick up our plates and find Liam, who had promised to be there. “You think I’m going to miss free food? And a good cause? Not on your life,” he had said.

  We found our shop owner friend at one of the back tables, waving frantically in our direction. He had a good view of the entire barn, a vantage point that I knew was intentional. Liam loved people-watching almost as much as he loved gossip. In that we were very similar.

  We enjoyed the dinner, graced as it was with good food and laughter among friends.

  Deacon came to find us after the meal, but Jasper was busy for a long time talking to party guests. Eventually, meaning after I’d eaten three cookies, he joined us as well. We had just begun to chat when we were interrupted by the arrival of Macy and Mildred, who strolled up to our table carrying glasses of champagne not five minutes after Jasper sat down.

  “I’m going to mingle,” said Liam, waving us off and trotting away to talk to Mrs. Barnett.

  “Jasper, you simply must give us a silo tour,” said Macy.

  “Haven’t you seen the whole place already? You’ve been here decorating for weeks,” said Charlie.

  “Everything but the silos. Jasper keeps putting us off. He says they’re not finished, but given how gorgeous the rest of the barn is I can’t imagine what the silos must look like,” said Macy.

  “I imagine she doesn’t have much of an imagination in any case,” Greer whispered to me out of the side of her mouth.

  “The silos really aren’t done, in fact they aren’t even started,” said Jasper. “We’ve been so busy trying to get everything else ready for this fundraiser that we’ve had no time to get going on them. You’d just be looking into darkness.”

  “Yeah, I’ve barely had a chance to look at them myself,” said Deacon.

  “There really isn’t much to see at this point,” said Jasper, trying to drive home his point.

  “We’d just love to see what’s there,” insisted Mildred, not one to take a hint.

  “The truth is, we haven’t even had time to examine the insides for structural integrity. They could be dangerous,” said Deacon.

  “But I’ve always wanted to see inside a silo,” said Macy again, as if she hadn’t heard him. “I’m sure everyone else would like to see inside as well,” she added, glancing around the table with an inviting smile.

  When no one said a word in response, her irritation was clear.

  “I guess we could show you around,” said Jasper, giving us a pleading look. “You three are welcome to come.”

  Before I could say no, Charlie told him we were in.

  Despite her invitation, which I now realized had been merely for form’s sake and to put pressure on Jasper, Macy’s face sank into displeasure. My desire to go, of course, then increased tenfold. The fact that Jasper looked relieved only hardened my resolve.

  “Come on, then,” he said, with a spring in his step.

  “Just don’t get spooked,” Deacon grinned.

  I nearly laughed out loud. Charlie, Greer, and I could all see ghosts. I had originally given Charlie and Greer permission to see ghosts only on my property. That much was necessary if they were going to live there, because the ghosts created enough of a disturbance that my friends would have noticed that something was going on even if I hadn’t told them. Better to tell them the truth, I thought, than to let them imagine even worse things.

  Then they had become part of my investigations, all two of them. I’d been forced to find my grandmother’s old jewelry so I could spell a spell on it that allowed my friends to see ghosts any time they were wearing the gems.

  “You can peek inside, but you have to be careful,” insisted Jasper. “Like we said, it could be dangerous.” His eyes flicked to me and then away.

  “I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t be giving us a tour if you weren’t standing here,” muttered Charlie as we started to trail after the others.

  “Don’t be silly. She’s never seen a silo before,” I grumbled. Charlie grinned and we all went upstairs.

  “Does the upstairs look different?” whispered Greer so that only I could hear. “You know, since you’re not seeing it in the darkness while you’re breaking and entering again?”

  I rolled my eyes and felt my face flush again. The only other time I had been to the loft was when I came to see the two ghosts who lived there before Jasper started renovating. They were the ones who wanted me to save the barn, plus there was the fact that it was a historic landmark, also a very important consideration.

  I had done my best, but that night I’d had to tell the ghosts that maybe the barn as they knew it wasn’t savable after all. While I was there, an evil marauder, who turned out to be Jasper, showed up and scared the living daylights out of me. I hid in the loft and he caught me trying to escape, running away like a madwoman. To say I was embarrassed would be an epic understatement.

  I handled it by yelling at him. Not my finest moment.

  “What do you plan to do with the silos once you remodel them?” Mildred asked, bringing my thoughts back to the present. She’d been stumping along in her heels, clearly not comfortable with the height, while Macy walked alongside Jasper and kept his attention away from the rest of us.

  “We h
aven’t decided yet,” said Jasper, stopping in front of a door that was smaller than the other barn doors, but still large enough so that any of us could have fit through it. It was no more than five feet tall and not terribly wide.

  “This is the silo door,” he said. “Everyone can take turns looking, but I must insist again that you be careful. The silos are empty, so you can just look down, but obviously don’t step forward. Almost no one has even been down there yet. The building inspector looked around when we bought the place over a year ago, and he must have checked it out, and I think Corey went down a few months ago. Since we haven’t had time to work on it, he hasn’t bothered to go back.”

  Corey was one of Jasper’s employees. I’d seen him around when I visited the barn before, and he was six feet six if he was anything.

  The door had a small lock on it, and Jasper drew it back. Macy, of course, was the first to look inside; she made a show of bravely stepping forward. As she leaned toward the little door, she was so close to Jasper’s elbow that she was practically touching it.

  As soon the door opened I felt a draft and heard a strange sound, sort of like a whooshing, as if air was being pulled through the door fast. Frowning in puzzlement, I nevertheless stayed back and waited my turn.

  “Oh, it’s so dark down there! It’s not what I imagined at all! It also smells awful,” Macy cried. She stepped back, her lip pressed outward in a pout. Clearly, she was disappointed.

  “What did you expect? He told you it wasn’t finished yet,” said Mildred, openly chiding her companion. She was next in line, and she gave the inside of the old silo the briefest of glances before stepping back and wrinkling her nose. She obviously didn’t think the silo smelled very good either. “Looks like an untended silo to me.”

  Deacon stepped forward next and glanced down. “There’s nothing to see, just as we said. But there’s definitely a rancid smell.”

  “I don’t know that I need to see that, or smell it,” said Greer. No one argued with her, and she stepped back so that Charlie and I could have our turn. I knew everyone else was looking on as we walked up to the dark hole of a doorway, but by this time the smell was making its way into the loft itself, and I wanted to gag.