Skull Screw Up: A Halloween Helper's Cozy Mystery Read online

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  About the Author

  Copyright

  Chapter One

  The warm kitchen was a welcome place to be after Vinnie and Diggy woke up in cold, cold bedrooms. The magical fire in the bedroom fireplaces didn't put out much heat which was great in the summer when they still looked really pretty, but not as great when it actually got cold outside.

  If Lavender was here, she would be able to change that, but she was still being held captive somewhere. Vinnie tried not to think about it as she cracked some eggs into a bowl and scrambled them up. The memory of Norhand making Vinnie's twin vanish danced in her mind. It had been their first day on the job as Halloween Helpers, so the disappearance of Lavender was even more of a hindrance.

  Vinnie's thoughts floated to being a Halloween Helper. They had just finished solving their first case two days ago. It had been a murder case which was not what Vinnie had been expecting. Usually Halloween Helpers helped with misplaced objects, family disputes, or that sort of thing. It had been much higher stakes when the leader of the Sisters of the Beating Heart Coven had turned up dead without naming a successor. But they had gotten through it somehow, which had not been easy considering that out of the pair of witches, one was non-magical and one was still in training.

  Glancing over at her niece, Vinnie smiled. Diggy was stirring up some batter for pancakes, but her eyes only seemed to be half open. Her wavy brown hair stuck out in every direction and she looked like she had been electrocuted. Vinnie was sure that her own blonde hair didn't look spectacular, but Diggy's hair seemed to fit her wild personality. It was quite the look when paired with the girl's black nightgown that she had insisted Vinnie make for her.

  Diggy was a fully magical witch and she loved it. She also loved to look the part, dressing in a completely stereotypical way that Vinnie sometimes wondered if she would eventually grow out of. But first the fifteen year old would have to become a full-fledged witch which couldn't happen until her mother came back.

  It was a touch more complicated than that. Lavender couldn't just come back, Diggy and Vinnie would have to solve the clues to bring her back. They had managed to solve the first clue that their "boss," Norhand had given them and now they were just waiting on the second one.

  Vinnie poured the eggs into a pan, scrambling them up with a bit of spinach which would make Diggy roll her eyes, but which would also give them just a touch more nutrition in their diet. Being the non-magical twin, Vinnie took her household duties very seriously. That meant cooking nutritious meals, keeping their old ramshackle house as clean and tidy as possible, and settling more into chores like sewing and knitting. Those things had always been Vinnie's way of escaping into the mortal world which seemed better suited for someone with her lack of abilities.

  Diggy was flipping pancakes in a pan. The first time Diggy had helped Vinnie cook, she had grumbled about not using magic. She had insisted that she could just use magic to do all of it and then she would not even have to get up out of her chair. But Vinnie said she should learn how to cook no matter what. And as it turned out, Diggy actually sort of enjoyed it.

  Outside the window in the kitchen, Vinnie had been a bit dismayed to see a layer of frost on the grass. She wasn't surprised as they lived in Minnesota and October was a perfectly normal time to wake up to frost. But to her, it was a sign that the month of October was progressing and they only had until Halloween to solve the four puzzles and get Lavender back. Vinnie wasn't sure what the hold-up was on getting the next clue, but she got the feeling that Norhand, the Overseer of Witch Relations and the man who had taken Lavender, was being purposefully unhelpful.

  The eggs were done and put into a bowl and Vinnie set the table for breakfast. She bustled around gathering things as her flannel nightgown swirled around her legs. The first night it got cold was always a treat for Vinnie. She relished in adding extra quilts to her bed and wearing the warm nightgown she had made. It was lacy and had a big floral pattern on it and each time she saw it, she just wanted to wear it. It got her through the cold Minnesota winter and along with a pair of warm slippers, made her comfortable to work in the kitchens in the morning after she woke up.

  Each spot at the table was laid with a heavy, ceramic plate with brown edging and some yellow and orange flowers in the middle. It was the sort of thing Vinnie liked to pick up from the second hand store in the mortal town of Danner just down the road. It was called the New to You Boutique and it was full of the kitschy sort of things that Vinnie couldn't get enough of.

  She poured them each a glass of milk and moved the pot of coffee over to sit on the table next to a small pitcher of creamer. To all of this she added a plate of bacon that she had fried up before the eggs and a small jug of real maple syrup.

  Vinnie stood back to look at the spread, happy to see that it all looked much more delicious than what had become their normal breakfast of cold cereal for Diggy and oatmeal for Vinnie. She had been trying to make more of an effort for the girl ever since Lavender had disappeared. Obviously they couldn't forget about her, but maybe for just a little while, a big, delicious breakfast would push the disappearance to the back of their minds.

  As they began to eat their breakfasts, the only sound was a record of old big band songs that Vinnie had put on the record player. Vinnie hadn't even been born when most of the records she owned came out, but there was something so appealing about listening to old records that she couldn't resist them at the New to You Boutique. Diggy rolled her eyes every time Vinnie wanted to put one on, but then she couldn't resist dancing around and tapping her toe to the catchy songs as they drifted through the kitchen.

  "When do you think we are going to get the next clue from Norhand?" Diggy asked.

  "I would hope soon," Vinnie said. "I was actually hoping we would get it as soon as we solved the first clue, but for some reason Norhand said no."

  "I wonder when we will get our next case," Diggy said. "Are Halloween Helpers usually super busy?"

  Vinnie didn't actually know the answer to that. As the non-magical twin of the family, she had mostly tried to ignore magic once it had been proven to her that she would never be able to produce anything magical herself. Her aunt Jemima had been the Halloween Helper, but once she moved on to the Magical Universe, the job had been passed down to them as they were the next in line.

  "I'm not sure how busy we are supposed to be," Vinnie said.

  Vinnie started to say something else, but the ringing Halloween Helper phone interrupted her. Dashing out of the kitchen and into the entryway, Vinnie plopped into the leather rolling chair behind the big, out of place desk and pick
ed up the old-fashioned telephone. When they had become the Halloween Helpers, the desk had appeared and the only place there was any space for it without magically extending their house was in the entryway.

  "Hello, Halloween Helpers at your service," Vinnie said into the phone.

  "Our ceremonial skull is missing," a sophisticated voice on the other end said. "We need you to come as soon as possible to help us find it."

  "Yes sir, but can I take down your name please?" Vinnie asked.

  "My name is Bram," the voice said. "I'm sending you a travel orb with my location. How fast will you be able to come?"

  "Less than an hour," Vinnie said. "In fact, probably less than a half hour."

  "Good," Bram said.

  There was a click and Vinnie realized that Bram had hung up on her. What a charmer he was. Vinnie just hoped that he would be a bit more pleasant in person. She hung up the telephone receiver and went to finish her breakfast and give the news to Diggy.

  Chapter Two

  Vinnie waited impatiently in the entryway for Diggy to come down the stairs. She had been able to dress herself in about three minutes, but Diggy always took a bit longer to put together an outfit that had the witchy vibes she was going for. Vinnie, on the other hand, typically threw on a homemade dress and braided her blonde hair, foregoing most makeup.

  She had learned her lesson last time when she showed up to the coven headquarters in a floral skirt and colorful cardigan and felt like a total amateur. This time, she was wearing a dark blue dress with a small floral pattern on it and over it she was wearing a gray cardigan that she had knitted. Vinnie hoped that this time she looked a little more professional. If not, then the magical world would just have to get used to her type of professional dress.

  Some click clack noises on the stone stairs drew Vinnie's attention. Diggy was slowly making her way down, dressed in a long flowy black skirt and a dark maroon shirt that had big bell sleeves. Over the top she was wearing a black vest that Vinnie had crocheted for her. It hung almost all the way down to the floor, sliding down each step as Diggy walked down. Her hair still looked just as wild as it had during breakfast, but Vinnie knew that Diggy had taken the time to tame it down and then ratted it back up. Diggy's face was pale, which was natural, but her eyes were ringed with black eyeliner making her look both beautiful and spooky at the same time.

  "Are you ready?" Vinnie asked anxiously. "I told Bram that it would be less than an hour and maybe even less than half an hour. It's already been twenty minutes. I was sort of hoping we would get some sort of instructions like we did last time, but so far nothing has appeared."

  "Yes I'm ready," Diggy said. "So this time we just have to help find some skull or something?"

  Vinnie could sense the disappointment in her voice. The murder they had solved last time had been fast-paced and exciting, but helping some old guy find something he misplaced sounded like a boring way to start her day.

  "I'm sort of hoping we go and it'll be in some super obvious spot and then we can come home," Vinnie said. "After all, our first case was really difficult. It would be nice if this one was really simple."

  Diggy just shrugged her shoulders and looked away. Vinnie picked up the backpack she had packed and slung it over her shoulder. It was full of essential items both magical and non-magical. There were gloves and bags to collect any evidence they might find. There were also magical items that Lavender had invented. Even though Vinnie was not magical, she could use these objects because Lavender had infused them with her own magic and Vinnie's witchy lineage was able to access that. They had come in handy during the first case and Vinnie had vowed not to leave home for another case without them.

  "Are you ready?" Vinnie asked.

  Then, thinking better of it, she shoved the bag at Diggy before putting her hand on the glowing orb that was hovering in the entryway. She was not adept at traveling by orb, so the backpack would be much safer in Diggy's hands. Diggy slung it over her shoulder and touched the orb, saying the magic words to transport them.

  Travel orb, powerful and strong

  Take me away to where I belong

  Vinnie hated traveling by travel orb. It felt like someone stuck a straw into her hands from the orb and sucked her in from her head down to her feet. Her stomach always felt woozy and she had to shut her eyes so that she wouldn't vomit. But the worst part was when they landed.

  Once they got to the other side, the travel orb set them down. Well, it set Diggy down, but somehow travel orbs would sense they were carrying a non-magical person and spit Vinnie out the other side. She landed firmly on her side on a very expensive looking rug. It felt more like she had been thrown against a brick wall.

  Vinnie picked herself up from the floor and dusted herself off, suddenly noticing that a snooty looking man was watching their arrival. His face was turned up in the slightest sneer, which wrinkled his nose just enough to let Vinnie know that he had already lost most of his faith in them.

  "Bram, I presume?" Vinnie asked, sticking out her hand to shake the man's hand.

  "Yes," Bram said.

  He stared at her hand a moment before gingerly sticking out his own and giving it a quick shake. Bram was tall and handsome, his black hair slicked back and styled. He was wearing a well-tailored suit, but Vinnie couldn't tell how old he was. He appeared to be in his late twenties, but he gave off the air of someone much older.

  If he lived in the house they were standing in, he either had to come from some sort of money or be much older because it was an old, stately mansion. The entry hall had a two story ceiling and a large, sweeping staircase that went up and split in two to reach the second floor, which had a walkway wrapping around the entire hall. The ceiling had a glass dome, but wherever they were in North America, it was not sunny out. The house was sort of like the house that Vinnie lived in only triple the size and it had been well-taken care of from the start, so it didn't have the ramshackle quality that Vinnie's house had. That also meant that it didn't feel as cozy, but more like it was a hotel.

  "Please tell me about your missing artifact," Vinnie said, trying to sound as professional as possible to put Bram at ease. It didn't seem to work.

  "The ceremonial skull that we use for our ritual is missing," Bram said.

  As he spoke, two pointy teeth gleamed. Even with a lack of sunlight, Bram seemed to be able to look his best. Diggy gasped and her hand flew to her mouth, which did nothing to cover her surprise.

  "You're a vampire," she said.

  Bram shifted his eyes to look at the teenager, looking not at all pleased with the girl. The disdain on his face was palpable and he waited for a moment to see what she would do.

  "Yes, I am," Bram finally said. "I have been a vampire for centuries now and I am getting the sense that you are into a certain book series so just let me tell you that no, I do not sparkle in the sun."

  A sheepish look passed over Diggy's face as she looked at the floor. She did look like she had gotten her question answered though which between that and the uncomfortable feeling Vinnie had being in a giant house full of vampires, Vinnie almost burst out into hysterical giggles. She managed to get herself under control and looking around, realized that a few more people had managed to silently entered the room. Vampires could move around in complete silence.

  "You must be the Halloween Helpers?" A tall, beautiful woman asked. "My name is Francine and Bram is my paramour. I'm so glad someone came to help because while Bram says it is lost, I have a sneaking suspicion that he has hidden the skull from me. He doesn't want me to use it anymore."

  Francine cast a glare at Bram, her nose wrinkled in disgust. She seemed like the type of woman who is beautiful to look at, with long flowing white-blonde hair and a movie star good looks, but on the inside she was probably rotten to the core.

  "I did no such thing," Bram protested. "I would never use the ceremonial skull to play childish games like that."

  "I think you might be right Francine," a small man piped up. "L
et me introduce myself, my name is Wayne."

  This man was definitely not as handsome as the other vampire men. He looked liked he would be described as "rat-like" if he didn't have the small boost that being a vampire tended to give their looks. He was a head shorter than all of the rest and looked very plain in the face, like someone who would blend into the background of the supermarket. Vinnie definitely wouldn't have called Wayne ugly, but he was nowhere near the the beauty of any of the other vampires in the room so in contrast, he did seem ugly. And while most of the other vampire men were dressed in sleekly tailored suits, Wayne was wearing khakis, a plaid shirt, and a long black cape with a big metal clasp.

  "Why do you think Francine is right?" asked Vinnie.

  "Bram here likes to be in total control of everything that happens around here," Wayne said.

  "He is the leader," Diggy pointed out.

  "True, but that doesn't mean that his control needs to extend to things like the ceremonial skull that we are all entitled to," Wayne said.

  "I'd have to agree with you there," said another man who bore a striking resemblance to Bram. He had the same dark hair and twinkling eyes as Bram. There was no way that they weren't related somehow. "I've told you all before that if I was the leader, I would allow everyone to have more freedom."

  Bram turned around and glared at the man. The other man glared right back and for a moment, Vinnie wondered if they were going to start throwing punches or do something else. Vinnie wasn't really sure how vampires fought. Vampires were more civilized than that and soon enough, Bram broke the tension.

  "That rude character who can't even manage a proper introduction is my brother, Tucker," Bram said. "He is always upset that I became the leader of our group and not him, so every chance he gets, he tries to upstage me. Obviously that hasn't worked so far, but it won't stop him from trying."

  A sinking feeling hit Vinnie in the gut as she looked around at all of the vampires. They were all glaring at each other, even as Bram was finishing up the introductions of the last few men and women in the room. A few of them were wearing capes like Wayne, but theirs somehow seemed more sophisticated than Wayne's. As they were all introduced, Vinnie had a bad feeling that this was going to be a lot more complicated than she had hoped.