If only more days could be filled with simple pleasures like this, instead of magic and mayhem.
Naturally, that’s when my phone rang.
“Don’t answer it,” Jack said. “Let’s pretend we lost our phones. Down a deep well. In Siberia.”
“It might be Shelley, though.” I reached for the phone. “No, but it’s Lizzie. I feel like I have to answer it.”
He sighed but nodded, carefully lifting Lou off his head and sitting up.
“Lizzie, you’re on speaker. Jack’s here.”
“Hey, Tess. Jack. I know it’s early, but I heard you were closed today, and I wondered if you wanted me to stop by Susan’s and try to sniff her godfather’s van this morning.” She paused and then laughed. “Wow. I just heard myself say that and I still can’t believe those words came out of my mouth. I’m turning into a real Dead Ender, and I’m not even official until Monday.”
“You accepted the job?”
“I did! I’m so excited.”
“Congratulations! We’re thrilled to have you. Let me know if you need any help with finding a place or moving in or anything. We’ll throw you a housewarming party.”
“I’m going to stay with Andy’s mom, still, while I look for a place, but thanks! I’ll take you up on it. Now, about the van. Go over there now, or no?”
I glanced up at Jack, who nodded.
“Yes, we may as well. Thanks, Lizzie. We’ll see you there in half an hour?”
“Perfect.”
When we arrived at Susan’s in my car, though, the van was gone. Lizzie was leaning against her car, so we got out of the truck to talk to her.
“I texted Susan and said I wanted to ask her about the case, not that I’m going to make a habit of lying to my new boss. She said they’re out at Super Target buying groceries and should be back in half an hour.”
“Should we wait, or—”
“Shh!” Jack held up a hand for silence, his head whipping around to face the house. “Do you hear that?”
“Nope,” Lizzie said.
“Hear what?” I asked.
Jack started running. “It’s hard to tell with the screaming, but I think that’s Aloysius Phleabottom calling for help from inside the house!”
Lizzie and I ran after him. Once we opened the front door, we could hear Ish screaming, too. We caught up to Jack just outside the library, where he’d skidded to a stop and stood, staring in disbelief at something in the room.
I bumped into Jack’s shoulder when I stopped running, and Lizzie bumped into me from behind, and then all three of us said some variation of:
“Whoa.”
It was Ish, all right. And he was yelling at us to help him. He must have been trying to steal the treasure, or at least part of it, while Susan was out of the house, because we could see stuff piled haphazardly into open boxes around the room.
But that wasn’t the surprising part.
What was surprising—shocking, even—was that he was holding onto the dagger with both hands while itpulled him around the room.
“Help me, Tess!” he shouted, and the knife jerked him forward and made him trip over a box. But he didn’t fall; the knife wouldn’t let him. Of its own volition, the knife appeared to be flying around the room and dragging Aloysius along behind it.
“This is déjà vu all over again,” I said. “The dagger version of the plant monster.”
“I love this town,” Lizzie said.
