Easy Bake Coven: Book One of the Vivienne Finch Magical Mysteries (23 page)

 
She was out the door and on the road in her
newly vandalized car before eight. Her first stop, at Harrison Insurance, would
prove brief as Matt Harrison was always open well before his posted business
hours. She found a prime parking space on Main Street and stepped into the
nicely furnished office where his receptionist was busy watering the dish
gardens lining the front windows.

After
a brief description of her troubles last night, Matt put in her claim and
informed her to get two estimates of repair. She was back in the Sweet Dreams
kitchen by quarter to nine, armed with a slew of recipe cards and dry
ingredients. She went about organizing the baked goods according to baking
times and started the mixers.

The
morning sunlight streamed into the front windows, which had fogged up from the
ovens going at full blast. She found that the work definitely helped to take
her mind off the events of last night. She lost herself in busy work such as
measuring flour and whisking egg whites. There were so many steps to each
process and one little screw up could easily spell disaster.

 
The events of last night had drained much of
her energy and she began to question the sanity of trying to run a business
solo.

As
she popped the first of six dozen peanut butter cookies into the oven, she
suddenly had a burst of insight. Stephanie Bridgeman. The sweet girl did her
best as a waitress, but it was only a matter of time before all her mistakes
caught up and Clara’s patience wore thin. Despite her performance waiting
tables, she proved with the deli spirals that she had a knack for detail and
that was just what Vivienne needed.

She
was certain that offered the chance to do something creative, Stephanie would
accept the position without hesitation. The only problem would be approaching
Clara. Much like her Mother Nora, she usually wasn’t all that attached to
something until someone else expressed an interest.

 
Vivienne recalled so many spring cleaning
adventures of the past as she helped to clear out the spare bedroom in her old
home, only to have her hands tied up when she tried to throw anything away. Who
did latch hook anymore? Nora decided she would get around to opening that
package with the sad clown picture from the late seventies eventually. Sequined
blouses with shoulder pads? Nora insisted that they’d be gracing the cover of
Vogue magazine any month now. Oddball kitchen gadgets from late night
infomercials? They worked nicely for forgotten birthday gifts.

She
would have to approach Clara with the same psychology she used with Nora.
Convince her that the entire thing was her brilliant idea and offer to help put
their plan into action. It wasn’t going to be easy. Given the amount of work
needed to run her business, Vivienne would have to act fast.

The
cell phone in her purse blasted its annoying basic ring and she saw Nora’s
number appear on the screen. “Mother, I was just thinking about you.”

Nora’s
voice was shaky. “I’m afraid I have some bad news dear. It’s about Nana Mary.”

Vivienne
went numb inside. “What’s happened?”

“She’s
missing.” Nora replied, her voice nearly cutting off as she choked back tears.

“Missing?
I don’t understand.”

There
was a pause as Nora blew her nose. “I received a phone call from
Whispering Oaks
this morning. They’ve
had the police out all night searching for her.”

Vivienne’s
mind whirled around with possible scenarios. “Maybe she went to visit a friend
and forgot to tell them?”

“The
housekeeping staff found her apartment in disarray.” Nora explained. “Her bed
wasn’t slept in, her microwave dinner was still sitting on the counter, pills
all over the kitchen, and there were books scattered everywhere. They think she
may have had a ‘sundowner’ incident.”

Vivienne
had heard of that terrible affliction. It was usually related to patients who
were suffering with Alzheimer’s disease. She had read an article that explained
a theory that all of the sensory stimulation during the day overwhelmed and
caused confusion and stress in the evening. Those afflicted could become angry,
depressed, even hallucinate all through the night until morning when the
symptoms mysteriously disappeared. “But Nana Mary doesn’t have dementia.”

“She
is declining.” Nora replied. “As much as it pains me to admit it, she’s been
having more and more moments of confusion.”

“So
where is she? Where have they checked so far?” Vivienne felt the need to jump
into her car and start looking.

Nora
blew her nose again. “I don’t know. I’m just a wreck sitting here not knowing
what’s going on.”

“I’m
going to call Joshua and find out.” Vivienne went over to the ovens and turned
them off. “You stay home and call me if you hear anything.”

“I
will.” Nora ended the call.

Vivienne
reached behind her waist and untied the apron that was stained with peanut
butter and flour. She dialed Joshua’s cell number but only got his voicemail.
“Nana Mary is missing from her apartment and I’m going to look for her. Call me
as soon as you get this.” She was about to end the call when she stopped
herself. “I love you.” She added.

As
she drove along the streets of Cayuga Cove, she was haunted by the memory of
her attack, the dream of Mona, and now the disappearance of Nana Mary. It was
all just too much to deal with. She held tight to the wheel as she drove a
little too fast with no particular destination in mind.

She
had always thought of her hometown as a particularly dull place where change
came gradually if at all. No one was ever in a hurry to jump onto the latest
fad. Chain restaurants and super retail stores didn’t bother to expand into the
sleepy hamlet. It had been an ideal place to live and work, where you could
still sit on your front porch swing and watch the world go by. Now, she felt as
if she had taken it all for granted. There was a darker side to Cayuga Cove and
lately it seemed to be getting bolder in showing itself.

Without
thinking, she came to a dead end at the park located at the end of Lakeshore
Drive. She pulled into the deserted parking lot and stepped out from the car
into the morning sunshine.

 
The lake sparkled as gentle waves lapped at
the shoreline. It was the deep blue color she had always known, but now it
seemed colder and darker than her memory recalled. What secrets lay at the
bottom? Rotting wrecks of sunken ferries that used to transport salt mined from
under the lake? Jewelry and coins dropped from speedboat passengers out on a
joyride? Perhaps, even a few skeletons from murdered souls who were still
listed as missing.

She
walked over to one of the small pavilions in the picnic area and sat down at a
table. There were initials and hearts carved into the wood. Some were from this
year, others from years past. There were anniversary dates, summer flings, and
even some phones numbers begging to be called for a good time. Without warning,
tears began to cloud her vision and she took a moment to have a good cry.

As
the tears streamed down her cheeks, she thought of her last visit with Nana
Mary. Why didn’t she take the time to visit more often? Why didn’t she ask more
questions about her life, her loves, and even her magic? She regretted not
being able to ever have these answered. They would forever remain a mystery.

“What
are you crying about honey?” A feminine voice asked from behind her.

She
jumped up in surprise to see a young blond woman wearing a blue scarf over her
head and a pair of over-sized sunglasses. Dressed in a pair of faded denim
jeans and a simple white shirt, she seemed oddly familiar. “I’m sorry. I
thought I was the only one here.”

The
woman tipped her sunglasses down the bridge of her nose and smiled. “It’s too
nice of a day to be crying on the lakeshore by yourself.”

Vivienne
wiped the tears from her damp face and nodded. “It is a nice day.”

“So
what has you so rattled?” The woman sat down across the table from her and
removed her eyewear.

“Someone
I love is missing and I don’t think it’s going to end well.” She choked up a
bit but managed to keep the tears from flowing again. “Everything in my life
just seems to be falling apart lately.”

“I’m
so sorry. Have you checked with Joshua?” The woman asked.

“My
call went to his voicemail and I haven’t…” Vivienne paused. “What did you say?”

“Your
boyfriend is named Joshua and your name is Vivienne Finch. Am I right?” The
woman interrupted.

“Yes.”
Vivienne sniffled. “Have we met before?”

“Yes,
too many times to count. You could even call it magical.” The stranger replied.

Vivienne
squinted as the visage of the woman began to blur and changed into that of Nana
Mary. “It can’t be.”

“It’s
me, darling granddaughter.” Nana Mary smiled back. “I’m sorry to scare you like
that but I didn’t have a choice.”

“How
did you?” Vivienne was at a loss for words. Instead, she jumped up from the
table and hugged her. “I thought you were dead.”

“It’s
called a glamour spell.” Nana Mary waved her hands around like a model showing
off a prize on a game show.

“How
is it I can see you as you really are?” Vivienne asked.

“Mortal
senses are all easy to fool if you know how to. But a witch’s senses are more
highly tuned. Your eyes and ears are fooled for a short time, but then your
second sight takes over and you can see through the magic. It’s all in the
grimoire
.”

“It’s
gone.” Vivienne confessed. “It was stolen from my car last night.”

“Before
you were attacked?”

“Yes.”
Vivienne nodded. “You know about that too?”

“These
are dark times indeed. We have to be extra careful or we’ll both end up dead.”

Vivienne
sat down next to Nana Mary and took hold of her hands. “I’m so confused with
what’s going on. None of it makes sense.”

“You
weren’t the only one attacked last night, my dear.” Nana Mary continued. “Last
night, as I was getting ready to have my dinner, I was interrupted by one of
the care staff who looked like Sandy Cumberland from the front reception desk.
Only, it wasn’t her. She had gone home at five like she always does.”

“What
happened?”

“Well,
this stranger told me that Doctor Mayfield had left some new medication with
her and that I was supposed to take two pills with dinner each night.” Nana
Mary shook her head. “As if I were some stupid child who would never question
that.”

“Were
they poison?” Vivienne wondered aloud.

“I
have no idea. I no sooner had grabbed the bottle when I saw through the glamour
spell. I couldn’t make out their face because they were using another glamour
spell underneath the first that obscured their real features. Whoever it was,
was working some powerful magic.”

Vivienne’s
eyes widened. “So it was another witch?”

“There’s
no doubt about that. This is the work of dark magic, my dear. It’s evil and
it’s powerful.” Nana Mary did her best to boil down the details. “Whoever it
was must have sensed my alarm because they tried to grab me and force the pills
down my throat. We struggled and I managed to knock the bottle to the floor and
they flew everywhere.”

“That
explains the pills on the floor.” Vivienne nodded.

“So
I grabbed one of my heavy hard-bound cookbooks off the counter and I smacked
them with it as hard as I could. They fell back against the cabinets and I beat
feet it out of there as fast as I could.”

“Why
didn’t you tell security?” Vivienne asked.

Nana
Mary grimaced. “What could they do against a dark witch? No, my only option was
to get out and disappear.”

“Mother
mentioned that your apartment was trashed. Were they looking for something?”

“I’m
sure it was the
grimoire
.” Nana Mary sighed. “Which
probably explains why they came looking for you last night.”

“They
figured out you had transferred the power to me.” Vivienne pondered. “Why not Mother?”

“Because
whoever it is knows how the power works and can wield magic. They are crafty
and dangerous and now it sounds like they have the
grimoire
in their possession too.”

“I’m
so sorry about all of this.” Vivienne shook her head. “I’ve really screwed
things up.”

“No,
my darling granddaughter, you haven’t.” Nana Mary reached out and pulled her
into a hug. “It’s not supposed to be like this. Besides, that
grimoire
is rightfully yours. Eventually, it will come back
to you. You’re both bound by blood.”

“I’m
just so glad that you’re alive. Where are you going to go?”

“I’ve
got a few powerful friends to visit.” Nana Mary patted Vivienne on the back.
“This is going to require a conclave to fix.”

“What’s
a conclave?”

“It’s
a gathering of the elder witches in the regional covens. It usually only meets
during blue moons, but when a crisis occurs, it can be convened as required. We
address problems and dispense justice to those who break the natural laws of
magic or practice the dark craft.”