The Curse (Seacliff High Mystery Book 2) (4 page)

The trip back into town didn’t take as long as they’d expected; a lot of water had receded while they were looking around the barn and unloading the decorations. They agreed the occult shop would probably be closed already, though, so they went straight to Alyson’s for some well-deserved nourishment.

“Your mom’s a goddess,” Trevor said as he took a bite of the thick, creamy chowder. “I thought you said she hasn’t been cooking much so we’d have to wait until after the opening to get a dinner invite. You haven’t been bogarting your mom’s cooking, have you?”

Alyson shrugged. “She just decided to make clam chowder last night. It was simmering on the stove when I got home. And she made the ham on Saturday. When she found out I wasn’t going to be home she decided to have Blake over.”

“Blake’s been in the picture a lot since the football game a few weeks ago,” Mac observed. “Do you think there’s something romantic going on?”

“She says no, but maybe.” Alyson took a bite of her sandwich and thought about Mac’s question. “I know Mom gets lonely. She says they’re just friends, though. They share an interest in art, and Blake’s been helping out a lot at the museum. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.”

“You don’t think our open invitation to dinner will dry up if they hook up, do you?” Trevor asked.

“No.” Alyson laughed. “Mom loves to cook. I’m sure she has room in her kitchen for all her men.”

The rest of the meal flew by as the gang discussed plans for the following day. Alyson and Devon would go to the occult shop after she got out of school. Eli and Trevor were sure football practice would resume the following day, so they’d be busy. Caleb had to start working on the replacement decorations, which they all had offered to help with at lunch. Mac was going to try to use the computer lab after school to look up what she could about the occult on the Web. They all agreed to meet at the library at four thirty, after football practice let out, to discuss their findings.

The next day, Alyson, Mac, Trevor, and Chelsea walked straight over to the drama department after fourth period. Caleb was already there, giving instructions to a group of students who were assembling scarecrows and skeletons from materials that had been stacked on long tables. Alyson noted that although he was trying to put on a smile for the benefit of the other members of the drama club, he looked tired and defeated.

“Hi, guys,” he greeted them when he’d finished talking to the others. “I really appreciate your helping out this way.”

“What do you want us to do?” Trevor jumped right in.

“Do you know if Eli and Devon are coming?” Caleb asked.

“Eli will be here for sure,” Trevor told him. “I saw him earlier and he said he would. I’m not sure about Devon, although he did say he’d stick around to help out when we were talking about it yesterday.”

“Trevor, why don’t you head over to the woodshop to cut out tombstones? If Eli shows up I’ll send him over to help you.”

“What about us?” Alyson asked.

“You three can paint epitaphs on the tombstones that have already been cut out. I have a list of possible names and sayings to use, like ‘Here lies Jordy, who was buried with his boots on.’”

“You mean Jordy Roberts?” Mac asked. “He always wears cowboy boots. Summer, winter, formal, or casual, it doesn’t matter.”

“That’s the idea. We’re using real students’ names with appropriate epitaphs. You can use the ones on the list or make up your own. They just shouldn’t be mean or inappropriate. Oh, and first names only. Most people will get who we’re talking about, but we want to avoid anything that may seem too personal.”

Alyson picked up the list and started looking it over. “Sounds like fun.”

“If Devon shows up, send him next door. I’ll be over there working on the hydraulics and electronics for the mechanical props that’ll be used on the hayride.”

“Will do.” Mac waved to Caleb as he walked into the next room. “Wow, Caleb really has a lot to get done before the hayride on Saturday,” she added after he’d gone.

Alyson looked around the room at the piles of unpainted tombstones, unassembled skeletons, and unstuffed sheets. There were at least a dozen students working as quickly as they could, but based on the raw material that had been laid out, it was going to take a miracle for everything to get done on time.

“It was totally rude of Spyder and V to take off with all that stuff,” Chelsea complained. “I mean, if they wanted to pull a whole disappearing act that’s their business, but they shouldn’t have stolen all the decorations and stuff. I’ve had my costume for months. A totally hot costume, I might add, that cost me two months’ allowance. If their little prank ruins the party there’ll be hell to pay.”

“Caleb doesn’t think they ran away,” Mac explained, “and I’m starting to agree. He thinks there might be foul play at work.”

“Oh, please.” Chelsea set the tombstone she had been working on aside. “If there was ever a candidate for a teen disappearing act it’s V. She was in my class through most of elementary school. During the first through third grades she was just Vanessa. A little strange—always wore the same faded dresses and scuffed shoes—but basically okay. Then, in the fourth grade, she came back from summer vacation as V. She was all dark and moody and always wore black. Never really talked to anyone. She used to stare into space like she could see something the rest of us couldn’t. Every once in a while she’d get this crooked little smile while she was staring at nothing. It was creepy.”

“Fourth grade,” Mac responded. “That must have been right around the time her mother died. I’m sure that must have been really hard on her.”

“Well, yeah, but still. She didn’t have to go all mistress of darkness on everyone. A lot of people have to deal with stuff and they don’t get all dark and moody. Besides, with her coloring black is definitely not a good choice. Makes her look all pale and washed out.”

“Don’t you think you’re being a little hard on her?” Alyson defended her. “It seems like her life has been really difficult. Maybe she has a reason to be dark and moody.”

“Whatever. The point is, I think it’s perfectly logical that she split. Caleb is wasting his time trying to make anything more out of it.”

“Did you ever notice V with a lot of bruises when she was younger?” Alyson asked Chelsea.

“Sure, all the time. Everyone knew her loser of a father used to beat on her and her mother. Most people think her mother killed herself to escape his constant abuse. Personally, I think the guy killed her.”

“Was there an investigation into her mother’s death?” Alyson asked.

Chelsea shrugged. “Not that I remember. Of course I was only eight. I didn’t exactly follow the local news.”

“What about after the fourth grade?” Alyson persisted. “Did you have V in your class for fifth and sixth?”

“No. Halfway through the fourth grade she got in a fight with Lindsey Taylor and broke Lindsey’s nose. The school board decided to bump her up to the fifth grade. She always got good grades, and I think they figured her classmates would be bigger than she was so maybe she wouldn’t pick on them. Anyway, that’s why she’s a senior now, even though she’s our age.”

“Hey, guys.” Devon walked up behind them. “Sorry I’m late.”

“No problem,” Mac greeted him. “Caleb say’s he could use your help next door with some electronic stuff.”

“Cool.” He turned and looked at Alyson. “You wanna meet up after you get out of class?”

“Sure.”

“So, you and Devon are becoming quite the couple,” Chelsea observed after Devon walked away.

“No, we’re just friends. Mostly. I mean, I like him and everything. It’s just . . . complicated.”

“Why complicated? You like him. He likes you. You seem to get along okay. I say go for it. People always try to make things way more complicated than they need to be. Life is really pretty simple; why muck it up?”

“You might have a point,” Alyson agreed. “People do tend to make things more difficult than they need to be.”

“Seriously.” Chelsea groaned. “Like the whole thing with my car. I may have turned a little too sharply while I was backing up and scraped the car next to me. I was totally traumatized, but the self-involved teachers’ aide whose car I hit tried to make it all about her. What is up with the total lack of empathy that seems to be going around these days? Like the stupid dent in her door can even compare to the pain I suffered.”

“Pain? Were you injured?” Alyson asked.

“Not that kind of pain. The pain that comes from having my driver’s license taken away for a week when my dad got the bill for the repair. Like the stupid accident was even my fault.”

“It wasn’t your fault?” Alyson asked.

“Duh. I’m a new driver. People should expect to have damage to their cars if they park next to me. The stupid aide should know to park in staff parking. Is it my fault staff parking was full?”

“You know your argument makes no sense,” Mac said.

“Whatever.” Chelsea rolled her eyes.

After school Alyson and Devon headed over to the occult shop, armed with Caleb’s drawing of the symbol in the barn and the spell book they’d found in the loft. It was a long shot that the proprietor could help them, but so far the book and the symbol were the only leads they had.

“Did you get a chance to look through the book at all?” Alyson asked.

“A little. There are a bunch of different spells in it. I have no idea which one they were doing. I’m hoping the guy at the shop can match the symbol with the spell.”

“Do you think the spells in the book really work?” Alyson wondered.

Devon shrugged. “Probably not. I think dabbling in this type of thing has become trendy. On the other hand, stranger things have happened lately, so who knows?”

“I have to admit I’m worried about the blood we found.”

“Yeah, me too. Although Caleb thought the amount was very small, so it could be nothing.”

The occult shop, located in the oldest section of downtown Cutter’s Cove, appeared to be harmless enough from the street. White curtains framed a large picture window that had the words
palm reading
written on it. Devon parked in front of the shop and put a quarter in the meter.

The bell on top of the door jingled as they walked in. The store was quite large inside. One wall was completely covered with shelves of books that reached to the ceiling. There was a counter to the right with a cash register and a glass case that must hold some of the shop’s more valuable items. The center of the store was lined with shelves bearing glass jars filled with all sorts of strange-looking things.

“Are these lizard eyes?” Alyson asked Devon, holding up a jar of small eyeballs.

“Maybe.” Devon took the jar from her. “I’ve seen movies where they use eye of newt in spells. Could be that.”

Devon set the jar back on the shelf and looked around for the shopkeeper. The place appeared to be deserted. “Hello,” he called, walking toward the counter.

A small Asian man leaned over the railing of the loft above. “I’ll be right down. I didn’t hear anyone come in. My hearings not what it used to be,” he explained as he climbed down the ladder.

“My name is Chan. How can I help you?” the little man asked when he stood beside them.

Alyson liked him immediately. His smile reached his eyes in a way few people’s ever seemed to. He struck her as approachable, sort of pure and serene.

Devon took the drawing of the symbol from his backpack. “We were wondering if you could identify this for us, Mr. Chan.”

“Just Chan.” The man took the paper from Devon, put on a pair of wire-rimmed glasses, and studied the drawing. “Where did you get this?” he asked.

Devon and Alyson looked at each other. They really hadn’t discussed exactly what they were and weren’t going to tell the shopkeeper.

Alyson made a quick decision to trust the friendly man. “We think some friends of ours drew it on the floor of an old barn.” She often had a sense about people, and now her senses told her Chan could be trusted. “We don’t know why they drew it, but they’re missing now and we thought the symbol might be a clue to help us find them.”

“The symbol is used to summon something or someone. It’s often used in a gift spell—someone summoning something for someone else. It’s hard to say exactly what they might be summoning. Was there any blood on the symbol?”

“Yeah, some drops around the circle,” Devon confirmed.

“It could be a protection spell.”

“We also found this spell book.” Devon offered it to the man. “It was near the symbol, along with a knife with blood on it.”

“It looks familiar.” The shopkeeper opened the book and turned some of the pages. “Is your friend tall and skinny with dark, spiked hair?”

“Yes, that’s him.” Alyson leaned forward on the countertop. “Have you seen him?”

“He was in a couple of weeks ago, looking for a protection spell for a friend of his. I sold him this book and told him to try this spell.” He handed it back to Devon. “This spell wouldn’t have made him disappear, though. It takes a lot stronger magic than anything contained in this book for something like that.”

“We don’t think he literally disappeared,” Alyson explained. “We think something happened to him. The police think he ran away with his girlfriend. I don’t think they’re doing much at all to find them. They were both sort of . . . colorful individuals who had had brushes with the law. We think maybe there was foul play involved.”

“The boy who came to see me seemed genuinely concerned about his friend. He said he was afraid her life was in danger. Do you have a personal item of his?”

“A personal item?” Alyson asked.

“Sometimes I can get a vision from holding something that belonged to someone; a piece of clothing, or maybe a comb. It doesn’t always work, but I’ve been successful in helping the police in a few other missing persons cases. I’d be glad to try.”

“We don’t have anything with us, but we could get something. We can come back tomorrow.”

“The more personal the item the better. A comb would work better than, say, a textbook that may have had many owners.”

“We’ll be back. Thanks for your help.” Alyson reached out to shake his hand. The man held on to her hand and looked deep into her eyes. Alyson felt goose bumps run down her arm as Chan continued to hold her hand.

“Sometimes shadows do not provide all the protection that is needed. Beware of visitors from afar who can see that which no longer exists.”

Alyson pulled her hand away. He knew. Somehow he knew. Was that a warning? Was she in danger? Of course not. There was no way he could know. No one knew. It was just some kind of a trick.

“Thanks for your time,” Devon said to the man, taking Alyson by the arm and leading her out of the shop. “Are you okay?” he asked her as they walked out of the dark shop into the sunlight. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“I’m fine.” Alyson took a deep breath and smiled. “Really. I have no idea what all that mumbo jumbo was about. He was obviously confused. He’s probably just some sort of a quack, but I guess it wouldn’t hurt to try to get something belonging to Spyder to see what he comes up with.”