Wonder Wand Way (Witch of Mintwood Book 10) Page 9

  Honey chatted as she gathered supplies for tea. “You said in your message that you’ve been asked to clean out Bright Lights Cinema?”

  “Yes. I guess they’ve been trying to figure out what to do with the space for years. It has several generations’ worth of storage in it, so, first things first, we have to clear it out,” I explained. “Mrs. Cook figured we might as well get started even though they still don’t know what they’ll do afterwards. The place has to be cleaned up no matter what they decide to do with it in the end.”

  Honey nodded her head. “That doesn’t surprise me. I would have expected the place to open after Mr. Curtain died. It was incredibly popular around town. But that didn’t happen.

  “In fact, it was never opened again. My sister and I argued for one last show to take place there, but it wasn’t to be. The town was bitterly divided over the whole thing. The mayor at the time didn’t think Corey would have wanted any shows there without him,” she said.

  “You thought he would?” I asked.

  Honey chuckled. “Of course. Corey thought that every occasion was a good occasion to watch a movie. That was his most fervently held belief. I think he would’ve believed it even in death. He always thought coming to the pictures would cheer people up.

  “Of all the times we’d need to be cheered up, that would have been the most urgent. He really was a pillar of the community. On top of that, he was a very good-hearted man. I miss him desperately. I never would have expected what happened after he died,” she said.

  “You mean the cinema closing?” Charlie clarified.

  Honey nodded soberly. “It’s just that I imagined that the cinema would always be there. I knew Corey wouldn’t, but I felt certain he’d be around long enough so that when he passed away somebody else would take it over. Like I said, he was a pillar of the community. The cinema was as well. It was the first big draw downtown. Of course now the downtown has other draws. But they’re all there in the first place because of Bright Lights.”

  “Can you tell us exactly what happened before Corey Curtain passed away? What was the lead-up in the days before the festival?” I asked.

  Honey finished gathering supplies and came to join us at the table. She had a pot of hot water and handed us each a little basket with individual tea bags in it. It was as if we were at a restaurant. I loved it. I picked peppermint while Charlie picked licorice root. Honey herself went for vanilla.

  “That’s something I can honestly tell you I haven’t thought as much about. I was surprised right after he passed away. I spent the next few weeks waiting to hear what had happened to him.

  “I felt certain that someone had done him in. But there hadn’t been a murder in town for decades, and nobody believed he’d been murdered either. He was simply buried with his parents, and that was that.

  “But yes, let me go back. It was summer. We were heading into August. The theater was always a bit quieter in the summer months, but still bustling. Everyone liked to come to the pictures at least once a week. We tried to get new films as regularly as possible. It wasn’t always easy way up where we are. Sometimes Corey would have to go to great lengths to get us the right picture, but he always managed it. He was always so happy to see people coming. I remember that summer he was particularly happy.”

  “Do you remember why?” Charlie asked.

  “I don’t,” said Honey. “He didn’t really say. I do remember that my sister and I commented on it a couple of times. He’d had someone lined up as an heir, a cousin who would inherit the cinema, but that hadn’t worked out. I think he said something about finding somebody new. He had an alternative option for when he passed away. I remember just laughing at him. I was young. I didn’t think he would ever pass away. I couldn’t imagine the cinema without him.”

  “Was that the first summer you worked for him?” I asked.

  She shook her head. “It was the second. My sister was older and had worked there longer. My mom worked at a fancy house, cleaning for the family. My dad had already passed away. Mr. Curtain was just giving us a shot at gainful employment. He knew we needed the money. I’m not certain he always needed the help, to tell you the truth. I also like to think he noticed we were pleasant girls. People liked coming to the pictures and seeing us and Mr. Curtain. You know, we became part of their routines.

  “As he got older, though, I suppose our help was appreciated. Also, I know we were useful to him on especially busy nights. It was such fun working there. I was so sad when it closed,” she sighed.

  Honey clearly liked talking about Bright Lights. We stayed for a while longer, but we didn’t want to keep her from the rest of her day, and we weren’t really finding out anything that seemed to clear up the mystery. Finally I thanked her for her time and we left.

  I wanted to stop in and see Josephine next. We had already come all the way to Pennwood, and I hadn’t seen her since the night of the séance. So we drove to Caedmon and parked.

  Caedmon was a bigger town than Mintwood, with more shops and restaurants, and Josephine was the proprietor of one of them. We got out of the car and made for Mystic Vapors, only to see the “Closed” sign on the door.

  “It’s the middle of the day,” said Charlie indignantly.

  “She’s the only one here to operate the place. She did say she keeps strange hours. It makes sense, I guess. If she knows she isn’t going to have customers, it doesn’t make a lot of sense for her to sit here waiting for them,” I said.

  Charlie loved schedules and order. Her face said she didn’t agree with me but was too polite to say so.

  We kept walking, passing several gift shops and a few clothing stores. I knew we were heading in the direction of a café, but before we reached it I realized that two women who were walking toward us were actually familiar, and not strangers as I had thought at first.

  Meredith Munn’s face soured. The blond she was walking with looked familiar too, but she wasn’t a witch I had ever spoken to.

  Munn’s walk slowed, then she tossed her head, thrust her chin forward, and stormed past me, her heels clicked along the sidewalk as she hurried away.

  Charlie looked surprised. The blond merely smirked at me.

  “That could have been worse,” I said.

  “You mean if she’d talked to us?” Charlie asked.

  “Yes.”

  But as we made our way to the car I felt worse than ever. I had slunk away as if I had done something wrong, and I didn’t like it.

  Since when had it become so wrong to stand up for my own town!

  Without Mintwood I’d have nothing!

  The day was turning into one upsetting encounter after another, but once we were in the Beetle I tried to turn my thoughts back to the investigation.

  We drove back to Mintwood in relative silence, swinging by the farmhouse to pick up Greer. It was well on into the afternoon, so she was awake. We agreed that we’d drop Charlie back off at work, and Greer and I would head to the library to do some more research.

  I was still unsettled from my run-in with other witches, but I was trying not to let it bother me too much. Once again Mr. Curtain’s situation saved me from spiraling into a funk.

  “There’s still no proof that he was murdered,” said Charlie as we drove into town. “An autopsy wasn’t done. I’m sure the records are long gone by now, and we’d have a hard time getting our hands on any police records even if they still existed.”

  “That seems awfully convenient,” said Greer, looking disgruntled. Usually she told Charlie to stop grasping at straws, but in this case she was the one who wasn’t satisfied.

  “It was a long time ago. Do you think the property records would help?” Charlie wondered.

  “You just want an excuse to snoop into property ownership,” said Greer.

  Charlie didn’t bother to deny it. “So what if I do? The most powerful person in Mintwood should be known!”

  “What if it’s Mr. Wolf?” I asked quietly.

  “That would be t
errible,” Charlie gasped.

  “I wouldn’t be surprised,” Greer shrugged. “He’s rich enough.”

  “He doesn’t strike me as the type to do stuff under the radar, though,” I said.

  “Jasper has disappeared from your life for reasons he won’t tell you.”

  As soon as the words were out, Charlie clapped her hand over her mouth and turned big eyes on me. “I’m so sorry, Lemmi. Me and my big mouth. I should just shut it.”

  “You have a point, though. I’m not going to pretend that it doesn’t hurt,” I said.

  “Stupid gala. I’m not even going to go,” said Greer from the back seat.

  “What are you talking about?” I asked.

  Greer coughed. “The gala at the Babbling Brook Barn. I think it would be best if I didn’t go with Deacon,” she offered.

  “Of course you have to go! Who’s supposed to keep an eye on Jasper if you don’t!” Charlie was beyond indignant.

  “True. Spoiled rich girl, turned bartender, turned spy. The progression makes perfect sense,” said Greer dryly.

  “You were not spoiled,” Charlie argued.

  “Rotten. I was spoiled rotten,” Greer amended.

  We said our goodbyes as we reached Charlie’s office, but she wouldn’t get out of the car until we promised to keep her up to date on our findings.

  “You’d think she was taking cues from Charger Bear and digging her heels in,” Greer muttered.

  “She’s not as stubborn as your dog,” I said. Greer only scowled.

  We got to the library and went straight for the old newspapers. Mrs. Snicks was working and waved merrily at us.

  I reminded myself that we’d have to stop and say hi on the way out. Staying on good terms with Mrs. Snicks was a must.

  “What are we looking for?” Greer asked.

  “Anything about the cinema. Any controversy. Films that were rejected. I don’t know,” I said.

  We sat there for the next two hours, busy finding nothing.

  I was going cross-eyed and my stomach was protesting audibly by the time we decided to call it quits for the day. Charlie would be home soon, and we could update her on the news, such as it was. Plus, I was excited to get see Paws. For once I had something informative to tell him.

  We were walking past the librarian when she called us over. I had forgotten my promise to myself to greet her, but I needn’t have worried; she wasn’t going to let us go by without saying hello.

  “I take it you’ve both heard about the gala and you’re both going,” said Mrs. Snicks from her perch behind the librarian’s desk. Her cardigan was in disarray and she had a book open in front of her.

  Greer shrank away a bit. News of this gala I wasn’t invited to was everywhere.

  “Yes, it’s quite the to-do,” Mrs. Snicks went on with a smile, oblivious to our discomfort. “Obviously folks like me aren’t invited. Protesting folks, you understand. Lemmi has a pass on invitations now that she’s dating handsome.” Mrs. Snicks fawned over Jasper just as much as the rest of town.

  There was no way I wanted it to get around town that I didn’t know the status of my relationship with my boyfriend, so I just nodded my head. Part of me wanted her to keep talking. Another part of me dreaded it.

  Luckily, I didn’t have to worry about. She was only too happy to keep chattering away.

  “I can’t believe they’re having a party to celebrate the ruination of the old way of life anyway. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, since the Wolf Corporation is involved. Sorry, Lemmi. I don’t think it’s your Jasper’s doing. More like that terrible grandfather of his.” Mrs. Snicks rolled her eyes at the very thought.

  “Yeah, um, ruination? What do you mean?” Both Greer and I were very confused.

  “You heard about the development, didn’t you? The one over at the old mall?” she asked.

  I frowned at her some more. No, I hadn’t heard about it. I’d been a bit busy eating all the ice cream in the county, thank you very much.

  Hopefully another shipment of ice cream would come in soon. Other people should get to have some at some point.

  “The mall was bought by the Wolf Corporation. They’ve been going through all these planning problems, but they finally have permission,” sighed Mrs. Snicks. “Of course, I’ll be protesting, just as soon as they decide to break ground, as well as at the gala. This is going to be the biggest protest yet! Lemonia, I know you have divided loyalties now, but I do hope you’ll join us. In any event, in the meantime they’re having a gala fundraising party to celebrate the successful approval of their terrible plans.”

  “Do you know what plans are being approved? I mean, once the old mall is ripped up, do you know what’s going there in its place?” I asked.

  “Does it matter? No, I can’t say that I actually know. I’m sure we’ll hear soon enough and I’m sure it’ll be just as terrible as all the rest of it. Probably condominiums. Ugly, modern things. Anyway, I don’t mean to keep you . . . .” She waved us off.

  Greer and I hurried away. This was news to me, and from the shocked look on Greer’s face she hadn’t known it either.

  Apparently Deacon had asked her to go to a gala but hadn’t mentioned what exactly it was for.

  Celebrating the ruination of our county, apparently.

  Hopefully the hors d’oeuvres would be delicious.

  Chapter Fifteen

  After that we went straight home. We needed to change, eat, and head back to downtown Mintwood. We had an important evening in front of us. Charlie, Greer, and I needed to find Mr. Curtain and ask him some questions.

  It was high time we got an explanation for what was going on at the Cinema, but even more importantly, what had gone on in the past. We needed to hear all about it, and as soon as possible.

  Oh, and Paws was coming along to help.

  “Should we get all the ghosts to come with us?” Greer wondered, meaning Tank and the others.

  We were in the kitchen waiting for Charlie to come home. In the meantime, Greer was cooking up a feast and I was washing dishes. We had turned on a couple of lamps instead of the overhead light, making a pleasant glow throughout the room as darkness fell outside.

  “I don’t think there’s enough spelled jewelry for that many ghosts,” I said. “Besides, it might frighten Mr. Curtain away. I could ask Paws to track down Honolulu, though. The way he’s grumbling, I think he might want to bring her with him anyway.”

  “He always wants to bring her,” Greer chuckled. “Cat love.”

  “True, but I think she might actually be able to help us. She isn’t rough around the edges like some ghost cats I know,” I murmured.

  We glanced through the living room to make sure Paws couldn’t hear me, but there was no sign of the cat. I was safe for now.

  Laughing softly, Greer got her broccoli cheddar soup off the stove. The smell of cheese was literally driving me mad. I loved it so much I wanted to go over to her and drink the soup straight out of the pan. Given that it was really hot, that would have been a bad idea.

  It was the first time in a few days that I felt like something would be comforting other than ice cream.

  “What did you think about Mrs. Snicks planning to go protest at the gala as well as the groundbreaking?” Greer asked.

  I froze. This was bound to come up, but I still didn’t know what to say. Greer saw some of my dilemma and patted me sympathetically.

  “I don’t know,” I said. “We don’t know a lot about the gala, or the reasons behind any of it. I told her I’d try to go . . . but I need to think about it.”

  “It was different when you didn’t have a personal connection with Jasper,” Greer said softly.

  “That, but he also isn’t the developer I originally thought. Some developers deserve to be protested. Especially the ones who ruin the beauty of a small town. Jasper was never just that, though. I didn’t realize that at first, but now I do,” I explained.

  “His work has some heart behind it. The problem i
s that his grandfather’s doesn’t,” said Greer.

  “Given that I haven’t seen much of Mr. Wolf since he asked me to stay away from Jasper, I allowed myself to think that he no longer cared,” I murmured.

  “You think he cares a lot,” said Greer.

  I nodded. “He did this thing with Jasper. I don’t know how, but I’m sure his grandfather is behind it.”

  “Because he comes from a family of Witch Hunters?” she asked.

  “Maybe. Charlie looking into the Witch Hunters makes me nervous, but it’s necessary,” I sighed.

  There was the sound of a car driving up, and a couple of minutes later Charlie bustled in carrying a stack of boxes, stumbling from side to side under their sheer weight and her inability to see around them.

  Greer and I rushed to help her. Another second and the boxes would have tumbled out of her hands and spilled all over the floor.

  Charlie breathed a sigh of relief as we relieved her of her load.

  “Where are these from?” Greer frowned.

  “They’re copies of every property deed in Mintwood that I could possibly find. There’s some interesting stuff,” she said.

  “Like what?” I asked.

  “Like Mrs. Barnett was given her space on Main Street. She didn’t buy it,” said Charlie. She sighed and fluffed her blond hair. “I need to shower and change and then I’ll tell you everything. Is that dinner I smell?”

  “Should be ready in ten,” said Greer.

  “I’ll shower fast,” said Charlie as she darted away.

  She returned wearing an old sweater and jeans, her wet, stringy hair loose around her shoulders.

  Greer and I had just finished getting the meal ready. Greer had taken the boxes and put them in Charlie’s room.

  “Now, tell us what you learned about the deeds,” I said.

  “You aren’t going to like it,” sighed Charlie.

  “Try me,” I said through gritted teeth.

  “The person who gave Mrs. Barnett her space isn’t named in any of the paperwork. Just like the person who owns most of the street isn’t named. There’s some evidence that it’s different owners, but it’s not conclusive, so it might be the same person,” said Charlie.