We all chuckled, but at least Ollie quit touching the crystal ball. Prism, however, was edging closer. She put her hands on the sides of the ball and murmured a few words too quietly for me to hear.
“Wait! I don’t think that’s a good idea—”
But it was too late. She had her hands firmly on the ball now, and the familiar mist swirled inside again.
“It’s an Eeyore ball,” I mumbled. “Not a good idea at all.”
But nobody was listening to me, because we were all watching a tiny Prism inside the ball get hit by a tiny red truck. She gasped, and then words started forming on the inside of the ball again. But this time, they read:
You
will
die
IF
YOU
GO
TO
Iowa
Jack and Ollie both had confused looks on their faces, and I was just about to ask who was going to Iowa, but we’d all seen the mini-Prism get hit by that truck.
Prism’s face drained of color, and she burst into tears. “I didn’t even have time to tell you yet!”
Ollie took her hands in his. “What? Sweetheart, what?”
“I have to go home to Iowa, and my horrible brother has a red truck!”
After that, there were tears and hugs and wailing (Ollie and Prism, not me and Jack), and the two of them headed for the door, forgetting their plant in the chaos.
“Wait! Ollie, you forgot your zucchini!” I picked it up to carry to him, but he just waved a hand. “Consider it a gift. Happy New Year!”
Then theywere gone. It wasn’t even nine-thirty yet, and I’d had two encounters of the weird variety. Plus, we still hadn’t finished talking about Jack’s trip.
Before I could ask him, though, my cell phone rang.
“It’s Susan,” I told Jack, surprised, and put it on speaker.
“Hey, Sheriff, what’s up? Jack’s here, you’re on speaker.”
“Have you heard from anybody who’s seen my grandmother? She’s disappeared! Tess, my cousin said Grandma G’s bed hasn’t been slept in!” She sounded frantic with worry.
Susan’s need to protect and take care of her family extended to all her relatives in Dead End, but she had a special relationship with her wonderful, more-and-more-forgetful grandma.
“I’m sorry, Susan. I haven’t seen anybody but Ollie and his new girlfriend since you left. Do you need help to look?”
“Where does she like to go?” Jack’s deep, lovely voice was soothing. “We’ll find her. Don’t worry.”
“I have no idea. She keeps telling me that grandpa—who has been dead for a very long time—is taking her to the prom. She’s getting more and more out of touch with present-day reality. I never should have let her out of my sight.”
“It’s going to be okay,” I said. “Did you activate the town’s text loop?”
“I should do that.” Her voice was distracted, and I heard someone in the background talking to her. A few seconds later, she was back, exhaling a long breath. “Tess, Andy saw her in a car outside the bakery.”
