“Okay, fine,” I say as I give a quick glance around. “We’ll have to talk in-depth about it. But not here. In the meantime, I want you to try to remember every detail about last night.”
“Name the time and the place. I’ll sing like a bird. I can come to work late if that helps.”
“Perfect. Meet me at the inn tomorrow morning at nine.” That way, Jasper will be safely in Seaview.
“Tomorrow at nine.” She takes a deep breath. I feel better already. And as much as I can’t bring myself to say it out loud, I mean it. She nods my way with the thought.
I give a little wink her way before collecting my menagerie and my slightly disheveled bestie and heading back to Cider Cove.
That night Jasper picks up dinner just like he said, and I offer up myself as dessert as promised. No sooner do we make our way into the bedroom and flick on the lights than a scream works its way up my throat.
Good news and bad news.
The good news? Annabeth is no longer missing.
The bad news? She’s sitting in the middle of my bed, hugging my very own Raggedy Ann doll.
“There’s a note,” Jasper says as we both lean in to view the tiny white square of parchment on Annabeth’s dress.
It reads, Stay out of it, or you’re next, Busy.
Chapter 6
The Country Cottage Inn is bustling, especially after experiencing another night flooded with monsters on the prowl at the frightmare attraction. But lucky for me, this morning seems to be filled with throngs of mothers, all of which have adorable costumed toddlers in tow as they head to the beach to pick out the perfect pumpkin to call their own.
Camila darkens my doorway right at nine on the button, and I leave the front desk in the capable hands of my co-workers, Grady and Nessa, a couple of recent college grads that help run this place.
“Where to?” Camila asks as I head around the counter. “The café to nosh on the calorie dense offerings?”
And don’t think I missed the sarcasm in her voice.
“No, I think I’ll spare you the clogged arteries and sugar high. Instead, I’ll take you to the ballroom where I’ll clog your mind with enough scary porcelain faces to ensure many a nightmare in your near future.”
“Please”—she grunts—“that grisly scene the other night already promised to do just that.”
We head for the ballroom, and both Sherlock and Sprinkles run off before us. Fish is fast asleep on the reception counter and I don’t dare wake her. She’s not exactly a morning kitty. Once she has her breakfast, she gets right back to the most important part of her day, sleeping. I know they say it’s a dog’s life, but I’m pretty sure it’s a cat’s life, too.
We meet up with Jordy at the roped off entry, and his eyes widen at the sight of Camila. Jordy and Camila dated off and on, but I’m not entirely sure what came of it. But I’m one hundred percent sure I don’t want to know the dirty details.
“Well, look who’s here.” He sheds a dimpled grin her way. The exact person my bed has been missing. “Six bucks each,” he flatlines. I don’t appreciate not having my calls returned.
There’s that tidbit I didn’t want to know about.
“Jordy.” Camila gives a tight smile. “How about you let us in for free and I’ll have coffee with you later?”
I roll my eyes.
As if Jordy is dumb enough to fall for that.
“You bet.” He quickly opens the red velvet rope, and before I know it, Camila and I are on the other side.
She chuckles as we drift away from him.
“Works every time.” She lifts a prideful shoulder my way. “Don’t give me that look, Bizzy. I’m not going to stab his ego to death—just like I didn’t stab Blair.”
“That’s still up for debate.”
Something in the room catches my attention.
“Hold onto that thought,” I say as I observe twice as many tables as there were yesterday. The dolls have all been moved to the right of the room with Annabeth safely back in her glass case and tucked in the middle of the haunted melee. And in through the side door, men in black with the words Madame Tarantula’s written in orange across their chests hoist in new glass boxes and set them out on the spare tables.
Georgie and Juni are up front wearing matching witch’s hats, and they seem to be directing traffic to this curio circus.
“Come on, Camila. I have a bit of business to tend to first.”
We speed our way over, and to my horror the new glass cases are brimming with spiders of every shape and size, the biggest and hairiest of which is the size of my fist.
“What in the world?” I hold my breath to keep from screaming. “For the love of my sanity, Georgie, make it stop.”
Georgie chuckles. “You’re not the first person who’s said that to me. Be original, would you?”
Juni snorts. “I’ve heard those words a time or two myself—mostly in the bedroom.”
A groan springs from my throat. “Do not extrapolate. And what’s with testing the limits of my arachnophobia? Are you kidding with the spiders? I really wish you would have opted for something a little less intimidating.”
“Like guillotines?” Camila offers.
“I was thinking more along the line of quilts.”
Georgie taps her chin with her finger. “For a newlywed, you really are a bit high-strung.”
Camila’s chest pumps with a dry laugh. “Maybe they haven’t done the deed yet?”
Georgie holds up a finger. “This is Bizzy we’re talking about. It’s certainly not outside the realm of possibility.”
Juni laughs like a fiend. “Some people wait until they
