Spells A La Carte (Mystic Cafe Series Book 3) (7 page)

The next morning, I headed in to work. Grandma Imelda had a few errands, so I wanted to get to the café as quickly as possible and make sure another book hadn’t appeared. I was still trying to find a way to prove to Tom that the books were really inside that building. Of course if I were to sneak inside again the police would probably take me to jail this time. I wondered if there was a way to get inside while Meredith was actually in the building. Sure I could just walk in the front door, but I didn’t want her to know I was there. If I could sneak in while she was there, then it technically wouldn’t be as if I’d done anything illegal.

As I walked down the sidewalk, I watched the building across the street. I’d almost made it to the café when someone said, “Whoa, darlin’, watch where you’re going.”

I stopped and realized I’d almost run into Henry. He described himself as the town drunk, but lately I hadn’t seen him take a sip of anything other than coffee or water. Henry’s clothing was even clean today. His tan pants had been ironed and his blue shirt didn’t have a single stain. He’d even combed his thinning gray hair. 

“I’m sorry, Henry. I guess I was a little distracted.”

He chuckled. “You’re lucky I wasn’t a pole or you would have lost a couple teeth and met with the pavement. Are you looking for Mr. Rory?”

“Um, no, why do you ask?”

Henry gestured toward the building across the street. “I just saw the young man earlier. He was over there with that new woman in town.” Henry acted as if he didn’t like to gossip, but I knew that he did. “She isn’t very friendly, is she?”

“No, I suppose she’s not,” I said. Why had Rory been over there so early? “Was anyone else with him other than the shop owner?”

Henry nervously glanced over at the building as if he was afraid Meredith might be watching us. “No, it was just the two of them. 

“Well, thanks for telling me, Henry. I guess I’d better get to work.” I pointed toward the café.

“Don’t you want to know what they were doing?” He stared at me.

“I assumed they were just talking.”

He waved his hands. “No, it was much more than that.”

I was almost afraid to hear what he had to say. “What were they doing?”

“They were moving books.”

I froze. For a moment I didn’t know what to say. “Books? What kind of books?”

“They just looked like books,” he said.

Of course he wouldn’t know what kind. He couldn’t see the covers from all the way over there on the sidewalk.

“Where did they move them to?” I asked.

“From that building right there into Rory’s truck.”

So that was why he had been there so early. Rory had to know what was going on and he was purposely keeping this from me. I wanted to know what Meredith was up to and Rory owed me an explanation. Of course nothing had happened to me other than the book appearing in my café. But it seemed that she had put the book in my café on purpose so that I would get in trouble. Did she want me to get in trouble with the Organization?

“Well, I need to get moving,” Henry said.

“Thanks, Henry,” I said.

“See you later.” He waved as he walked away.

For a moment, I stood there staring at the buildings. Of course, that wasn’t going to make me understand what was going on over there. Now it would be pointless to take Tom over there to find the books. Meredith had clearly known that she had to get the books out of there. Where had she gotten the books and why was she hiding them? I had to find out and the number one person I wanted to talk with at the moment was Rory.

I stepped closer to the café door. I wasn’t even going to wait to get inside before I called him. I pulled out my phone and dialed his number. After several rings, it went to his voice mail. Had he suspected that I would find out? He had to tell me what was going on eventually. He couldn’t hide it forever. Why had he never mentioned his cousin before she showed up in town? Especially since she had lived here before. I left a voice mail, trying to sound calm. Next, I needed to call Tom. I hated to admit it, but apparently his suspicions were right.

I leaned against the side of the café as I dialed Tom’s number. After several rings, he didn’t answer either. I needed to tell someone about what had happened. Maybe I wanted them to tell me there was a logical explanation for what Henry had seen. Were they really books? Maybe it had just been boxes with other supplies. No, I knew that Henry knew the difference between a box and a book. Plus, he had no reason to make up a story like that. At the moment, I felt completely lost, like everything I thought I knew was a complete lie.

I left a message for Tom to call me right away. As I turned to open the café door, someone touched my arm. “Are you looking for me?”

I jumped and dropped my purse on the ground. I clutched my chest. “Don’t sneak up on me like that.”

Tom was standing next to me with a concerned look on his face.

“I just left you a message. Where did you come from?” I looked around. “I don’t see your car.”

“I was walking,” he said. Of course he offered no further explanation for his actions. I had to tell him what had happened.

After sharing Henry’s account of what had happened, I wasn’t prepared for what Tom did next. He reached out and hugged me. At first I resisted because his actions had taken me so off guard.

When he released me, I asked, “Why did you do that?”

“You looked like you needed it.”

I guessed he was right. I was sad and disappointed about what I had just discovered. I hadn’t thought Tom was the type to hug though. Not that I hadn’t enjoyed it. What would happen now? I knew that Tom would want to confront Rory. I wasn’t sure I wanted to be around for that.

After opening the door and entering, I turned to face Tom. “So you didn’t tell me why you’re here. Did you come for breakfast?”

“That’s not a bad idea, but no, that’s not why I came here,” he said.

I didn’t like the sound of his voice. It was the tone I’d gotten every time he was giving me bad news. I walked over to the counter. “Maybe I should go ahead and have a seat now.” I plopped down on one of the stools.

He gave me a pitying smile that said good idea.

I released a deep breath and then said, “You might as well give me the news.”  

Tom moved behind the counter, grabbed a glass and poured water. I assumed he was getting himself a glass of water, but instead he placed the glass in front of me.

“The news is that bad, huh?” I asked.

He leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “No, you just looked like you might need a drink.”

“I’ll probably need a drink, but it would need to be stronger than water.”

Tom chuckled.

“Okay, just give me the news. Let’s get it over with,” I said.

He looked right at me and said, “The man I kicked out of here has been damaging other places in town.”

“Wow, I can’t say that I’m surprised. But I was expecting much worse news.”

His expression changed.

“There’s more, isn’t there?” I asked.

Tom nodded. “He claims that his behavior is because of you. He said you gave him a spell in the food he got here.”

I snorted. My stomach twisted into a knot. “How did he know? I mean, what makes him think I gave him a spell?”

Tom quirked a brow.

“Oh, come on, Tom, it’s not a surprise that I’d give someone a spell, but I didn’t give him a bad one.”

“I have to investigate his claim.”

I frowned. “Well, that’s no surprise. Where is this man now? Has he been arrested?”

I wanted to ask Tom if he had been caught with Rory. I hadn’t wanted to believe that I’d seen him get in Rory’s truck, but after what Henry had told me I couldn’t deny that it had likely been Rory’s truck.

Tom didn’t take his eyes off me. “He vanished.”

My eyes widened. “What do you mean?”

“He vanished just like Reagan.”

“Are you sure he didn’t just leave town?” I asked.

“He left his belongings behind too,” Tom said.

I couldn’t even wrap my mind around what was happening.

“I can only give you one more warning,” Tom said.

“What does that mean?” I asked.

“The Organization is very suspicious of you since he disappeared after being in here and maybe getting a bad spell.”

“They think I am giving people bad spells on purpose? If I ever give anyone something bad it is purely by accident,” I said.

“Just please be careful.” Tom walked from around the counter.

He stepped closer and placed his hand on my arm. For a moment, I wondered if he wanted to kiss me. But that would be strictly against the Organization’s rules.

He stared into my eyes for a moment and then stepped back. “I’ll be back later. Remember, don’t get into any trouble until I get back.”

I looked into his gorgeous eyes and nodded. “I’ll try my best.”

It seemed as if trouble found me, so it was kind of hard to stay out of it. Tom walked out of the café and a noise sounded from the kitchen. I raced over and stormed through the door.

Grandma Imelda dropped the bags she’d been holding. She clutched her chest. “Dear, I am entirely too old to scare like that.”

I ran over and grabbed her arms. “Sorry, Grandma. Are you okay?”

She waved off my concern. “I’m fine. Just help me with the bags.”

I picked the bags from the floor and placed them on the counter. “I was worried that someone was breaking in to leave another book.”

“Did I see Tom leaving?” she asked.

Now I had to tell her about what had happened.

***

Later that morning, we’d finished the rush of customers. That was when a woman walked in. I went right over to her table to get her order. She’d been limping when she walked in. 

She blew the hair out of her eyes. “I think I strained my ankle on the way in here.” She rubbed her ankle.

Tom’s words ran through my mind. I knew I shouldn’t do a spell, but if it could ease her pain… What could go wrong with a spell for a sprained ankle? Of course I hadn’t thought anything would go wrong with the happy spell either. I still didn’t think that was my fault.

She placed an order for soup and a sandwich. The whole time I was walking back to the kitchen I told myself that I wouldn’t do any magic. The next thing I knew I was adding a spell to her food. I told myself that everything would be fine. After all, Tom hadn’t said not to do any magic, just not to do any bad magic. I certainly had no plans of that. I placed the food in front of the woman and walked away.

I tried not to watch her too much so she wouldn’t think I was bonkers. So far everything seemed to be fine. She’d even stopped rubbing her ankle. But not a few minutes later when I glanced over at her, she met my gaze. The look in her eyes said it all.

I’d seen the look before. It was the same look in her eyes as the man last night. This was bad. Epic proportions bad. I had no idea what to do now. I watched her to see what she would do next. So far she hadn’t broken the table or any chairs. I couldn’t afford for many more customers to get that mad. I wouldn’t have any furniture left.

She stomped her way over to the register. At least her ankle seemed to be better. Why was my magic having such an effect on people? It had never happened before.

She crossed her arms in front of her chest and stared at me. “I’m not paying for the food.” At least she was the only customer at the moment because I knew I was going to have a scene. “The food was bad.” She smirked. Obviously it wasn’t a good idea to argue with her.

“Fine. I’m sorry the food was bad.”

Grandma Imelda stepped out from the kitchen. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I think the customer was just leaving.”

The woman reached out and knocked the sugar container off the counter onto the floor. She stared me straight in the eyes as if she dared me to say anything.

“Apparently she didn’t like the food,” I said to Grandma Imelda. We watched the woman, waiting for her to make the next move. I had a feeling she was going to start smashing chairs soon.

Just then she reached for the chair behind her. With the chair in her hands, she hoisted it high in the air. She was just about to smash it to the ground when Tom walked through the door. “Put the chair down now.”

She paused with the chair still in the air. Tom stared at her. Finally she lowered the chair to the ground. 

Thank goodness she had spared another piece of my furniture. Tom crossed the floor and to the woman. He grabbed her by the arm and escorted her to the door. Grandma Imelda and I raced over to the door. Tom took her outside. Grandma Imelda and I pressed our faces up next to the glass to watch what happened next.

Tom led the woman over to a car. A few seconds of conversation passed and then the woman stomped over to the driver side of the car and got in. Tom waited on the sidewalk as the woman drove away.

I released a sigh of relief. Thank goodness she was gone. But what had happened was definitely not good. I knew that this was my final warning. Did that mean I still had one more shot? Or was the final warning really the final warning? I was about to find out.