The Disappearance of Emily: Destiny Falls Mystery & Magic Series Book 2 by Elizabeth Pantley (best books under 200 pages .txt) 📗

Undeliverable: Message has failed to be delivered to this recipient.

I slumped over and banged my head on the desk. Argh! Had her frightened response severed our connection? Could I get it back? I would try every day until I made it happen. And I absolutely would not give up until I made it happen.

20

The Witch

The witch braided and twisted her long blond hair into the I Dream of Jeannie hairdo and plunked the ridiculous red and pink cap on top of her head. She loved having such thick, youthful hair again, but she missed her wash-and-wear style. She hadn’t been creating this updo lately, opting instead for an easy ponytail. But today was special. Today she had guests coming. She applied a slick of pink lipstick and glued on the stupid long eyelashes. She tidied up her bottle-inspired décor and fluffed the many pointless throw pillows. At last, she was ready.

The witch sat near her doorway and listened. She could hear the three bumbling men making their way up the mountain. Oh, fiddlesticks. By the sound of their grunting and arguing, it appeared she’d hired another batch of nincompoops. Well, even nincompoops could get a job done if they had the right management, and it seems she may have gotten that part correct, since they’d already completed part one. It was time to meet these clowns in person and send a message to their bosses to put part two into play. Such clandestine nonsense. But necessary to cover their tracks.

She tapped her foot and clicked her pink nails on the arm of the wooden rocker. They were taking their sweet old time getting up here.

Finally, she heard a ruckus at the entrance to her cave. “About dang time,” she muttered.

The witch got her first look at the three men from her Ring doorbell video camera. She checked them out as they walked up to the cave and rang the bell.

“Who dares to approach my doorway?” she bellowed in her ominous witch voice. Then she covered her mouth and snickered as they all jumped back and hovered together.

“We are the representatives for Lazarus and the Commander,” one guy answered.

“Enter!” she roared as she pushed the button that caused the door to groan open. Cripes, she missed having her full powers. Having to push a button and watch a video screen was so, so, ummm. Human! She cringed at the word.

The three men walked in through the oversized wooden door and entered the cave. Their jaws dropped and they were shocked speechless. The inside of the cave was a replica of Jeannie’s magic bottle, and the woman standing before them looked like Jeannie herself, harem costume and all.

They were standing there staring at her, so she crossed her arms, nodded her head, and blinked. A light flurry of snowflakes came down on their heads. Oh, it would cost her a bit of magic, but the looks on their faces made it all worth it.

In an instant, her mood soured. “Enough play time,” she roared in her witchy voice, batting away a few flakes that drifted her way. “Have you brought the items from my list?”

One man spoke up, “You can make it snow, but you can’t get your own groceries?”

His companion whispered, “Be quiet,” but not soon enough.

The witch glared at him and pointed an oddly boney finger for such a young woman. “You know nothing of my magic and how it works!” He coughed, and his partners backed away as his tongue grew five times its size.

She would never say it out loud, but she had no idea how her magic worked now either. Since she’d been banished to this dreadful cave, her magic was frustratingly limited and inconsistent. If she could get these idiots to do her bidding, she might finally get out of this prison and on with her life.

“The list!” she roared.

The men put their bags in front of her, including the now quiet one whose tongue had shrunk back to normal size, but who was now wise enough to stay quiet.

The Jeannie-ized witch came forward and unpacked the bags, nodding her approval. The men watched as she gleefully sorted through mundane groceries. Ramen noodles, Keebler cookies, a six-pack of light beer, a huge brick of cheddar cheese, several boxes of crackers, and a super-sized bag of gummy worms.

She stepped over her loot and stood in front of them.

“Well done on taking care of the boat lady.” She nodded at them. She had learned that compliments would keep people on track. She was clumsy at it, but it still seemed to work. They looked proud. Ridiculous men.

“Have Lazarus and the Commander taken control of the operation?”

The three looked at each other, but no one spoke.

“Do. Not. Make. Me. Repeat. Myself.” She loved to use that angry mother’s voice. It always worked.

“Not yet,” said the same guy as before. “But the transfer of power is in process. The investigation into the captain’s death is still ongoing. We’ve planted the rumor about her affair, and we bribed her estranged husband into staying hidden in Gladstone. The next step is to . . .”

“Stop!” The witch put her hand to her ear. “Someone is outside listening.” She tilted her head to concentrate.

“You fools!” she screeched. “How did you let someone follow you here?”

She flipped on her Ring doorbell camera screen. A hiker was standing right outside the door, listening.

“Go!” She pointed to the door as she pressed the button to open it.

An Asian man in full hiking gear was standing beside her cave. He was obviously eavesdropping. Too bad he was so handsome. It was a shame to dispose of him.

“Get rid of the witness!” she thundered in her most menacing voice.

The men scrambled to do her bidding.

21

Three men were loitering in front of the Observer office when I arrived. One guy was sitting on the bench, the other two standing nearby. They