“Nope, but he smelled like smoke. Just like that night. Remember it clear as day. Has to be the same guy who killed that kid and left me in the shape I’m in.”
“And you still can’t remember what happened that night…?”
“Not a blankety-blank thing, honey. I’m sorry. I wish I could help,” he said groggily. “I heard they brought that girl in here tonight. They’re saying she escaped him. Tough little cookie, that one is.”
The moment he mentioned Kerry Carver, my heart sped up with worry, even though I knew she was safe because the officer had assured me she and her room were heavily guarded.
Right now, I didn’t want to talk about anything other than him getting his rest. “How about you don’t worry about anything other than getting better so you can come see all the amazing things I’ve done at the house.”
“Can I go to the bathroom inside now?”
I barked a laugh then covered my mouth. The house had needed some updates, for sure, but not that many.
“You stop, or I’m going to have to accuse you of hanging around Uncle Darling and his flair for thespianism.” Leaning in, I gave him a kiss on his cheek. “Now, you sleep, and Darling will be here in the morning. I love you, Uncle Monty.”
But his eyes were already closing, his chest rising and falling peacefully.
I tucked the blanket under his chin and tiptoed out to find the officer in charge of looking after my uncle.
He was sitting on the chair again, the hallway no longer filled with debris, stoically watching his surroundings.
“Hi there. I’m Monty Danvers’s niece. Is there anything I can get you? A hot cup of coffee, maybe?”
Blowing out a breath, he shook his head. “No, ma’am. I’m just sitting here feeling really bad that guy got in there in the first place. I’m sure sorry.”
But I held up a hand as I read his name tag. “No apology necessary, Officer Little. You can’t be expected to know all the staff.”
“I wish that made me feel better, but you can bet I’m going to keep an eagle eye on him now. Promise you that.”
“I know you will.”
“I can’t believe they didn’t catch him, or maybe I can…” He shook his head in disbelief.
I felt like he needed to vent, so I asked, “What do you mean, maybe you can?”
“He fought like some kind of amped-up ninja—like an expert in something. Never seen anything like it. He was slippery as an eel. Got away from me and never looked back.”
“Did you get a good look at him?”
Officer Little gave me a sheepish glance. “I think you know I can’t give you that information, Miss Valentine. But I’ll be honest when I say I didn’t see much. He had on a surgical mask and a cap and he was like some trained attack dog.”
I gave him a sympathetic look and shook his hand after thanking him again for looking out for my uncle, realizing there wasn’t much he could tell me without creating trouble for himself.
But when I walked down that hall, my stomach was somewhere around my feet. Someone wanted to kill my uncle.
Kill him.
And I had jack squat.
Cigarette smoke, a pink lipstick and an amped-up ninja. What did these three things all have in common?
Nothing.
Absolutely nothing at all.
Covering my mouth as I sneezed, I trudged into the barn where Nana Karen slept peacefully, trying not to wake her. It was still early, but after getting back from the hospital and visiting my Uncle Monty, I figured there was no point in going back to bed.
It was chilly inside, the bales of hay stacked high in the corner, the floor creaking as I looked at the wide-open space with bleary eyes. I’d put a Christmas tree in here for Nana. In fact, we’d decorated it together.
She’d said it was silly, but I reminded her about how it was one of her favorite activities during the holidays, and I missed sharing it with her. She acquiesced, and we’d made a small tree in the corner together one night, while I sipped hot chocolate and let her have one of her beloved candy canes.
It twinkled in the early morning light, soft and white, with some of the decorations I’d made when I was little.
I crept in farther, fighting a sniffle just as the sun was beginning to rise, hoping to get in and out without waking her.
But that wasn’t to be. “Mornin’, honey,” she said groggily, rising to her full height on sleepy legs. “Why you up so early?”
Plopping down on a bale of hay, I rasped a sigh, exhaustion setting in. “It’s just been a long night. But I promise to come back later and get you out for some sunshine while it lasts, okay?”
She sniffed the air and honked. “Won’t last long, that’s for sure. I can smell more snow. How’s Monty feeling?”
“Well, he was doing better until this morning, when someone tried to kill him.”
Nana gasped and stomped her hooves. “What? Explain yourself, young lady!”
I told her about the prior evening’s events with Kerry Carver and Uncle Monty as I turned on the heater and warmed my hands by it while the rising sun slowly crept into the windows of the loft.
“Holy hassenpfeffer,” she murmured. “Jiminy, kiddo. I’m sorry you’re going through this alone. I wish I could help, but the only magic I had died with me, and as much as you know I love my Andy, he’s no kinda support in a time like this. He’s too emotional to carry the weight when the problem’s his.”
I sneezed again, pulling a fresh tissue from my jacket pocket. “But I think you know he’s always been there for me. Especially since Mom died. I know he’s dramatic and flamboyant and downright over the top, but if the roles were reversed…”
“He’d turn whomever did this into a gooey blobfish,” I heard Atticus say as he buzzed into the barn and landed on the railing of Nana’s stall. “And she’s not at all alone, Karen. She has me. She will always have me. Speaking of having me, I hear a cold coming on. You should be inside, in a warm bed, with tea and honey, Poppet.”
I chuckled and rose to give my familiar a kiss on top of his head. “I’m fine. Just the sniffles. Now, morning, Atticus. How did you sleep?”
“I didn’t, Poppet. Once you left, I paced the floors a new hole you’ll have to replace. How did the rest of your evening fare?”
I winced. “Not great.”
“Not great is right. Somebody tried to kill Monty, Atti. What’s Marshmallow Hollow coming to?”
Atti didn’t even gasp at Nana’s words. Instead, he flew to my shoulder and rested his head on my cheek. “Oh, my beautiful girl. Had I known it was so bad, I would have gone with you, mortals be hanged.”
Rubbing Nana’s soft head, I clucked my tongue. “A bad apple in Marshmallow Hollow doesn’t make the entire town bad, Nana. Stop with the doom and gloom. It’s just a rough patch.”
Now Atti twittered his agreement. “Indeed, Karen. Must you be so gloomy?”
Nana snorted. “This from the gloomiest of ’em all? Hah!” Nuzzling my hand, she asked, “You wanna talk about it, or do you want to just enjoy the peace of this morning before you have to tell Andy what’s happened?”