Spells A La Carte (Mystic Cafe Series Book 3) (17 page)

After the long walk we reached the end of the wooded area. The sun brightened the area and I stepped out into the sunshine. The car was still parked in the same spot in front of the house.

“Where are Grandma Imelda and Mary Jane?” I asked, feeling a bit of panic when I didn’t see them right away.

“They were here when we left,” Tom said.

We walked around the car and I spotted them sitting on the porch steps of the old house. Our eyes met at the same time. They jumped up and ran toward us. It felt so good to be back here at the house with Grandma and Mary Jane.

Grandma grabbed me in a hug. “I’m so glad to see you. I knew Tom would find you.”

Rory looked a little sad when she didn’t mention his name.

She noticed his expression. “I’m glad Rory and Tom found you.”

“What happened?” Mary Jane asked as she eyed Ron.

He was still acting as if he just wanted to go home. Meredith had gotten the best of him. I wanted all this to be over too.

“What about the book?” Grandma Imelda asked.

We gave her a glum look.

“Meredith got away with the book.”

“Ron said she is meeting someone with a car who is picking her up at the road. Maybe if we hurry we can catch them.”

“Let’s go.” Grandma Imelda motioned toward the car.

We looked at each other.

“Are we all going?” I asked.

“Rory and I can drive over there and check it out,” Tom said.

I shook my head. “I don’t want to stay alone here with him.” I gestured toward Ron.

He shrugged as if to say he couldn’t blame me.

“Okay, we can take him with us,” Tom said.

“That’s probably best anyway. He can tell us exactly where Meredith was going,” Rory said.

“I really don’t want to stay here anymore.” Mary Jane looked as if she was ready to have a panic attack. “This place gives me the creeps.”

“Okay, let’s all get in the car.” I opened the back door.

“I’m driving.” Grandma Imelda waved the keys.

Tom and Rory exchanged a look. There was no point trying to convince her otherwise. She wouldn’t let anyone else drive. I was trying to figure out how we would all fit in the car. 

“Ron should sit in the middle,” Tom said. “That way he can’t jump out.”

Ron looked at him. “You think I’m going to jump from a moving car?”

“Anything is possible,” Tom said.

“I’ll get on one side and you get on the other with this guy in the middle.” Rory gestured.

That left Grandma Imelda behind the wheel.

“What about Mary Jane and me?” I asked.

“We can share the front seat,” Mary Jane said.

We filed into the car with Mary Jane and I squeezed into the front seat. Grandma Imelda cranked the engine and turned the car around in the drive.

“Any recent traffic violations, Grandma Imelda?” Tom asked.

“Nothing other than being pulled over for driving one hundred in a thirty-five speed limit zone.” She looked at him in the rear-view mirror.

By his smile he knew that she was teasing. No one should ever question Grandma Imelda’s ability to drive or bake.

When we reached the end of the driveway, Grandma Imelda asked, “Which way do I go?”

We all looked at Ron for an answer.

“Turn to the left.”

He had better not be playing games with us. She pulled the car out onto the road.

We drove a little way down the road.

“I don’t see her,” I said. “Are you sure this is where she was going?”

“This is what she told me.”

“Maybe she’s already met up with the people,” Rory said.

That was what I was afraid of. If we didn’t find her here I had no idea what we would do next.

“There she is.” Mary Jane pointed up ahead.

“Where? I don’t see her,” I said.

“She’s hiding over by that tree.”

“I see her.” Grandma Imelda sped up.

“I hope she doesn’t hear the car and run,” I said.

Grandma Imelda pulled the car over a little ahead of where Meredith stood so that maybe she wouldn’t notice we’d found her. We all got out of the car. She still hadn’t noticed us. She was busy looking the other direction.

“The car coming to pick her up must be coming from that direction,” Rory said.

If she saw all of us she would probably run back into the woods. I definitely didn’t want to go back in there and chase her. Just then I heard a car.

“It’s the Organization members,” Tom said.

I doubted she was planning on them showing up.

The car pulled up to the side of the road. Surprisingly, Meredith didn’t run when she saw the car.

“What do you think she’s doing?” Mary Jane asked.

With Meredith I had no idea.

“Why didn’t she run when she saw their car?” Grandma Imelda asked.

The group walked over to the side of the road and Meredith came out from behind the tree. She still had the book. She held it up in the air to show them.

“Why isn’t she running now that they’ve gotten out of the car?” I asked. “And why did she just show them the book?”

“I can tell you why,” Ron said.

I glanced over at him. “Why?”

“Because they are all together. Those people aren’t here to help you.”

“What do you mean?” Tom asked. Obviously this was all a surprise to him. And to the rest of us too.

“You mean the Organization was behind this all along?” I asked.

“They’re not with the Organization,” Ron said.

Tom looked defeated. I couldn’t believe that they had tricked him all this time. Did that mean I was never supposed to get an award after all? I should have known that was too good to be true.

Meredith raced up to the side of the road and met with the men and women whom I’d thought were a part of the Organization. Who were they?

Tom yelled out to them. “Stop. Don’t make another move.”

They froze and looked over at us. Now what would we do? It looked as if they weren’t going to listen to Tom’s command because they started walking toward the car again.

“It looks as if we will have to get the book from them,” Tom said.

This wasn’t going to end well. I had hoped we’d be able to avoid a fight.

Why had they done this? What made them want the spellbooks? I looked to Ron. “Why are they doing this?”

“They didn’t tell me why,” he said.

I frowned. I didn’t believe him. “They will have to tell us because they’re not going to get away with the books.”

He shrugged. “I wouldn’t be so sure. They’re good.”

“Not as good as us,” Grandma Imelda said.

She looked as if she hadn’t been listening, but I knew from experience that Grandma Imelda heard just about everything. Tom and Rory took off running toward the car. I wasn’t sure what to do next.

Meredith didn’t wait for the group to help her or to get in the car. She took off back into the woods. I didn’t think that was such a great idea. Did she really think she would find her way out on the other side? The group yelled after her but she didn’t stop.

“We should go talk to the group,” I said.

Grandma Imelda shook her head. “We had better wait until Rory and Tom return.”

I didn’t want them to fight with the people though. By the looks on their faces they looked as if they were ready for a brawl too.

Rory broke off from Tom and went into the woods after Meredith. I really didn’t want him in there alone, but I guessed he knew what he was doing. Tom approached the group and I knew that I had to go over there too.

“He doesn’t need to confront them alone,” I said.

Grandma Imelda didn’t stop me as I hurried toward the car. Rory still hadn’t emerged out of the woods yet. I was torn on whether to stay up here or go back into the woods and try to help Rory. Grandma Imelda would be unhappy if I went back into the woods again.

“I want to know who you are,” Tom said as I approached.

“You need to back away from the car,” one of the men said.

With their hands flexed into fists and legs spread in a confrontational stance, it looked as if the punches would start soon. That was something I would try to keep from happening, although I didn’t know how.

“I’m not doing anything you ask,” Tom said defiantly.

The men stepped from the side of the car toward the front, closer to Tom. I moved closer, but I didn’t know what I would do if they started to fight. I looked to the woods to see if I could spot Rory. 

Just then I spotted Rory coming out of the woods. He had the book under his arm and a smile on his face. Meredith was nowhere in sight. Tom and I backed away from the car.

“Where is Meredith?” one of the women asked.

“Guess you’ll have to figure that out for yourself,” Tom said.

We reached back to the car and met Rory.

“Where is Meredith?” I asked.

“When I left her she was just standing there in the woods. She was shocked that I took the book from her. I caught up with her and then snatched the book from her arms.” He laughed. “I guess she didn’t see that one coming.”

“Come on.” Grandma Imelda waved her arms. “We have to get that book back to town and away from them.”

“Yeah, but what about the other books?” Mary Jane asked.

“We will get them back now that we have this one. But we need to get this book back to town so that they can’t take it again,” Tom said.

We all got back into the car, leaving the group standing there staring. They started to go into the woods, but when they saw that we were leaving they stopped.

Grandma Imelda backed the car up and turned around to leave. Meredith still hadn’t come out of the woods. It looked as if they were going to leave her there too because they all raced toward the car.

“Do you think they’re going to come after us?” Mary Jane asked.

I looked back out the rear window. “It looks like they are.”

They had gotten into the car.

“They can come after us all they want, but they’re not getting the book back,” Tom said.

I was still worried about getting the rest of the books. That seemed like it would be impossible.

The car sped up behind us. I couldn’t believe that Grandma Imelda was now in a car chase.

“Grandma, are you sure you can handle this?” I asked.

“Just sit back and make sure your seatbelt is on, dear.”

I leaned back in the seat and did as I was told. Thank goodness there weren’t a lot of twists and turns on the road back to town. The car sped up and went into the other lane so they could ride along beside us. The man drove over into our lane, but Grandma Imelda swerved. Mary Jane screamed, but we were still alive.

Tom pulled out his phone and placed a call. I just hoped that he called the right people this time. I had to ask him who these people were. I was almost sure he was the one who had called them to help investigate the disappearance of Reagan. And speaking of Reagan, where was she? Obviously she hadn’t been at the house with Tom and Rory like I had thought.

The man swerved his car in our direction again, but Grandma Imelda kept her cool and the car on the road without causing an accident. But when another car came down the road, the fake Organization members swerved and ended up in the ditch on the other side of the road.

We made it back to the café, but now I had no idea what would happen next. We still had to find the books.

Tom pulled Ron into the café and shoved him down into a chair. “Now tell me what she did with the books.”

“I told you, man, I don’t know what she did with them this time. She kept moving them around so that no one would find them. Once she got the last book she was going to leave town.”

Tom didn’t look as if he was buying Ron’s story, but I kind of believed him. Maybe I was just being too trusting. But how would we find where the other books were kept if Ron had no clue? I stepped closer to the table and touched Tom’s arm. He whipped around. Once he saw that it was me, he relaxed.

“Ron, do you have an idea where she might have put the books?”

“She was just keeping them in her house before, but maybe she had another location to stash them.”

“Think hard, okay?” I tried to be nice so that maybe he would want to help more.

Ron shook his head. It looked as if this would be pointless. He wasn’t going to offer any help.

The screech of tires caught our attention. The car with the group had just pulled up in front of the café. This wasn’t going to be a good scene.

“Elly, why don’t you take Grandma Imelda to the kitchen with the book?” Tom asked.

“I can take care of myself,” Grandma said. “I am not afraid of them.”

I knew trying to get Grandma to the kitchen would be like trying to give a cat a bath. I’d end up wet with a lot of scratches and she’d be totally dry. I shook my head. “She won’t go.”

Tom marched toward the door. I didn’t know what he had planned. Did he think he would fight them alone? Rory raced over to Tom. At least he had Rory’s help.

Just then a black sedan with dark tinted windows pulled up. A blonde woman and a tall man with dark hair got out. The fake Organization group had climbed out of their wrecked car and was headed toward Mystic Café. The man and woman who had just arrived stepped in front of them, blocking their path to the café.

“That’s the main boss,” Tom said as he ran out the door.

“Is that the real Organization?” I asked Grandma Imelda.  

She nodded. “I’ve seen that man before.”

Relief washed over me. At least Tom and Rory wouldn’t have to handle this alone. I watched from the door as they talked with the group. So far no punches had been thrown. Another black car pulled up and then another. It looked as if we had more than enough support. But would they be able to recover the books?

As I watched from the door, I spotted Meredith across the street. No one seemed to notice her. I wasn’t about to let her get away. I ran out the door without saying a word to anyone.

Grandma Imelda yelled out to me, but I didn’t answer. There was no time. Meredith had already turned down the alleyway. Where did she think she was going? She had leaves in her hair and she looked as if she’d fallen in the mud.

I followed her down the alley, trying to stay back so that she didn’t see me or sense my presence. We reached a parking lot and she hurried across. She weaved around a couple cars. That was when I spotted where she was headed. She was about to get away and I couldn’t let that happen.

Rory’s big red truck was parked right there in the parking lot. I raced over so that I could catch her before she left. Meredith opened the truck’s door and attempted to get in. On the first try she stumbled back. Apparently she was just going to get in and drive away. She was probably going to get the other books. Why she was still set on having them I didn’t know. Her collection wouldn’t be complete without the one back at the café and she wasn’t about to get that one away from Grandma Imelda. Plus she wouldn’t get past the Organization.

She climbed up into the truck and started the engine. I knew I had to do something quick. I ran over and climbed onto the back of the truck. So far she still hadn’t seen me. I ducked down and lay flat in the back of the truck. I would ride with her wherever she went. What I would do next I didn’t know, but I would just have to figure it out as I went.

She backed the truck up and I held on tight. I hoped that I didn’t get motion sickness from being back there.

I hung on as we drove over bumps. It seemed as if she had been driving forever, but it had probably only been a couple minutes. The truck slowed down and then came to a stop. I held my breath wondering what would happen next. I was worried that she knew I was back there. I didn’t want her to catch me lying in the back of the truck and get the upper hand on me.

The truck door opened and then slammed shut. I heard footsteps and then silence. With my luck she was just waiting beside the truck for me to poke my head up.

I slowly eased up from the back of the truck. When I looked around I realized that I was back at the old house. So this was where she had the books. Meredith must have gone inside, so now I had to get over there and see what she was up to.

I climbed over and jumped down from the truck. I was sure it was just my anxiety, but it felt like eyes were watching me. I hoped she wasn’t watching me from inside the house. I glanced up but didn’t see her face in any of the windows.

I made my way across the rocky uneven path, up the steps and to the old wooden front door. The paint had peeled off ages ago. The porch’s loose floorboards squeaked under my feet. I just knew that she’d heard me from inside the house.

I raised my hand to knock, but caught myself and remembered where I was. There was no need to knock. I grabbed the doorknob and twisted. The door easily opened and I peeked inside. It was dark and Meredith could be hiding anywhere. I wouldn’t be able to see her.

I stepped inside. From what I could see there was nothing in the house but a couple of old broken chairs. Wallpaper was peeling from the walls. I eased across the old floors, hoping that she couldn’t hear the little squeaks that the loose boards were making. Oddly, I didn’t hear her walking. That made this even spookier, because I figured she was standing somewhere waiting for the chance to jump out at me.

I didn’t know where to go first. I couldn’t turn about and walk out no matter how badly I wanted to. I would have to be strong and hope I didn’t see a rat or spider.

The house was large, which meant there were a lot of places for me to look, but this also meant that there were a lot of places she could hide. I really didn’t want to go upstairs, but unless I found her, I would have to go and at least look. I moved through the front room and toward the back of the house. I assumed that this was where the kitchen was, but there was really nothing left other than a couple of old cabinets.

The back door was swinging open. Had she gone out the back door? I looked out but didn’t see her anywhere in the back yard. Although there were so many trees that it would have been easy for her to hide or slip away. I turned around and headed back to the front of the house. It looked as if I would have to go upstairs and check, as much as I didn’t want to. Maybe Meredith had left and not taken the books with her. That was wishful thinking though. She’d come this far, why would she leave without the books now?

I made it to the staircase. I paused at the bottom and released a deep breath. 

I tiptoed up the stairs, hoping that I wouldn’t fall through. There were pieces of the wood missing in spots and I had to watch closely to keep from putting my foot through. It was hard to see too because what windows were left were dirty, or trees shaded them so much that they blocked out most of the light.

I finally made it to the top. I inched forward even though my apprehension told me to go back downstairs and get out of there. But if I didn’t try to stop Meredith, who would? It would be too late for the Organization to find her.

After checking all the rooms, even the closets, I decided she wasn’t here. I had truly expected for her to jump out and grab me. I eased back down the stairs. That was when I heard what sounded like a door closing.

I ran over to the door as fast as I could without falling. When I opened the door, I spotted Meredith by the truck. She was by the back, as if she had just loaded something. I bet she had put the books in the back of the truck. 

I ran out the door. Meredith looked up and spotted me. I could tell that she’d had no idea that I was in the house by the shocked look on her face. I raced across the porch, stumbled, and then righted myself and ran down the steps. Meredith opened the truck door and attempted to jump in. I raced over and grabbed her shirt, pulling as hard as I could. She was a lot stronger than she looked. I pulled hard but she didn’t budge. The fabric slipped out of my hand and I fell back onto the dirt. She laughed as she jumped up into the truck. She slammed the door and I knew there was no way I would be able to get her out of that truck.

There was only one thing for me to do. I ran to the back of the truck and jumped up onto the bumper. At this point Meredith had already started the truck. It roared as she put it into reverse. I climbed over the truck’s tailgate and into the bed. Just as I thought, the boxes of books were back there. Meredith punched the gas and I fell backward, hitting my head on one of the books. 

I managed to get up as Meredith punched the gas and headed down the driveway and toward the road. This truck was definitely a bumpy ride. Now that I was with the books, I didn’t know what to do. How far would Meredith drive? She didn’t have all the books like she wanted, but would it be enough for her to have most of them?

We’d almost made it to the end of the driveway when she slammed on the brakes. I fell backward and this time my body landed on the boxes. At least that eased the fall a little. Tires screeched. What was going on? I fumbled my way up. Two of the black cars had pulled in and were blocking the end of the driveway.

Meredith opened the truck’s door and jumped out. She ran toward the wooded area again, but this time a woman jumped out of one of the black cars and ran after her. She caught up with Meredith before she even got to the first tree. She tackled Meredith and they fell to the ground. When I looked over, Tom and Rory had gotten out of one of the cars. They ran over to me.

“Are you okay, Elly?” Rory and Tom asked at the same time.

I grabbed a couple of books from the boxes and held them up. “I got the books.”

They laughed.

“Why don’t you get down from there?” Rory asked.

Before getting out of the truck, I wanted to find the Mystic Café book. I had to know that it was okay. I would be heartbroken if it wasn’t there or if Meredith had done something to destroy it. I rummaged through the boxes of books. I’d almost given up on finding it when in the last box at the bottom, there it was.

“I found it,” I yelled, unable to hide my excitement. I grabbed the book, clutched it in my arms, and then climbed out of the truck.

“Do you want me to hold that for you?” Rory stretched out his hand.

I held the book a little tighter. “No offense, but I am not letting this go for a long time.”

A couple of the Organization members brought Meredith back over. She glared at me as she walked by. I hated to taunt her with the fact that I’d gotten the book back, but… oh, who was I kidding? I totally didn’t hate to taunt her. I waved the book in the air and smirked. They placed her in the car and then walked over to where we stood.

“You did a great job finding the books, Elly,” the woman said.

The man stuck out his hand. “Yes, fantastic.”

“Thank you,” I said, blushing just a little. “What happens to Meredith now?”

“She’ll come back with us. She’ll be charged with stealing the books and kidnapping Rory and Tom.”

I hoped that meant she wouldn’t be able to do this to anyone else.

They motioned toward the car. “Well, thanks again. We’d better go.”

I nodded. “Thank you all for showing up when you did.” 

They smiled and then turned to walk away.

“What about the other group? What will happen to them?” I asked.

“I believe they will be facing the same charges,” Tom said.

“And Reagan?” I asked. “Did you find her?”

Tom nodded. “They found her in Nashville. She was staying with some friends, hiding from Meredith. When she failed to get the book from you, she ran away. Meredith had confronted her in the park.”

“So that was why we found her wallet there and she asked me to bring the spellbook. I guess Reagan knew what Meredith might do to her. Do you know who tried to break into the café that night,” I said.

“It was Ron. He was trying to get the book, but he isn’t a wise man.”

“I can’t believe that they tried to deceive me with a fake award. Why did they leave the other books in the café for me to find? Why didn’t they take the Mystic Café book then?”

“The spellbooks were sent there with magic. But the magic couldn’t be used to take the Mystic Café book from the café. It just doesn’t work that way. Meredith was setting you up to look like a thief. She got Ron and the other woman to pretend that you had given them bad spells so that her fake Organization buddies could confiscate all the spellbooks.”

“That’s actually pretty devious and an impressive plan,” I said.

Tom gestured toward the group. “I just need to talk with the Organization real quick. I’ll be right back.”