CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER TWO

Mia clutched her robe tightly, staring at her surprise guests as the green tea mask cracked across her face like the Sahara Desert. She wanted to curl up and disappear.

How could this be happening?

“I—I thought you were coming tomorrow,” Mia managed to say. Standing in the hallway was Mia’s entire family: her stepfather, Daniel Middleton, dressed in a soft tweed jacket, deerstalker hat, and travel pants; Mia’s mother, Madison Monroe Middleton, who wore a stylish car coat and scarf tied around her frosted blonde updo; and her stepsister, Brynn, dressed in a plaid Chanel jacket, designer jeans, and kicky heels with brass buckles. Finally, Daniel had brought his assistant, Reynolds, who stood off to one side, dressed in a plaid shirt and khakis and wearing wire-rimmed glasses.

“Oh! Good gracious, Mimi!” Brynn said, covering her mouth to stifle a laugh. “Is that you?”

Mia nodded helplessly. Then it struck her that her apartment looked like a zoo, one where the animals had all escaped and gone on a rampage.

“Maybe I could meet you later—” Mia said, trying to block the view of her apartment.

“—Nonsense! We’ve come to take you to breakfast,” Daniel said and barged through the door. Mia stepped back as the herd of Middletons marched inside. Brynn called Tandy over and patted him.

“Boo boo baby? How’ve you been, boy?” Tandy wagged his tail, happy to see her. Then she saw Rose. “Ohhhhhh! Who is this?” she said and scooped the small cat up in the crook of her arm. Rose reached her pink nose up to nuzzle Brynn.

“Rose,” Mia said, overwhelmed. “My kitten.”

“Well, she is adorable!” Brynn said and walked close to Mia. “I guess we took you by surprise,” she whispered.

“A little heads-up would have been nice, Brynn,” Mia whispered back, her throat tightening. “You could have texted.” Underneath the green mask her face was bright red from embarrassment.

Reynolds, Daniel’s assistant, looked down at his feet, mortified as he realized Mia had just been caught, not just by surprise, but in flagrante delicto.

“Sorry, Mia,” Reynolds whispered anxiously.

Madison stepped inside the apartment and took in the mess as if she were the lady of the manor.

“Oh dear,” she said imperiously. “Do you always keep your apartment like this?”

“Of course not, Mom!” Mia said. “I’m working on a project.”

“What kind of project?” Daniel said. He walked over to the map on the coffee table and squinted at it curiously. “The Jersey Devil and Mothman?”

“I’m scouting locations,” Mia said. “You know, sightings.”

“I see, you’re hunting things that don’t actually exist? I’m not sure that’s the best use of your time,” Daniel said, scanning the living room with distaste, noting the muddy paw prints everywhere. “I certainly hope you aren’t always this messy,” he said. “Reynolds? Let’s look into getting Mia some cleaning help.”

“Yes sir,” Reynolds said.

“I don’t need help,” Mia said lamely. “I’m just researching. I went to a swamp yesterday and I’ve been busy going through my findings.”

“A swamp? That doesn’t sound very ladylike,” Madison said.

“The Devil’s Swamp?” Daniel said, peering at the map. “Hmmmm.”

“That’s all right, dear,” Madison said, slipping her arm through Mia’s sleeve. “I can see you need a moment. I’ll make some coffee while you get dressed.”

Mia gazed at her maps covered with stickies and sighed wistfully. Her plans to do more research had just gone up in smoke.

Brynn raised her eyebrows and made a brushing sign to Mia to go get herself cleaned up and dressed.

“I

know

, Brynn,” Mia said. “I’ll be right back.”

She disappeared into the bathroom and quickly splashed water on her face until the mask dissolved and the water ran green. As Mia pulled on some jeans and a T-shirt and brushed her long wavy dark hair, her mind was already in full freak-out mode. The Middleton clan was off to a rousing start. She couldn’t believe how badly things were going. Daniel clearly disapproved of her job, her place was a mess, and now she was going to have to wing it at the production meeting. Could this situation get any worse? She walked back into the living room to shut down her computer. The whole family was in the kitchen. Mia ran around the room tidying up the piles and picking up stray glasses and cups. When she walked in the kitchen, she found all the Middletons jammed together. Reynolds leaned on the counter while Daniel sat stiffly in one of the kitchen chairs, like a king presiding over his court. Brynn was texting on her phone, while Madison had started doing dishes.

“Mom! Stop,” Mia said.

“It’ll just take a second, dear,” she said and glanced down at the tile covered in paw prints before releasing a sigh.

“What are you doing here?” Mia said. “Weren’t you supposed to arrive tomorrow afternoon?”

“Daniel got an opportunity to upgrade to first class,” Madison said.

“I had Reynolds send you a copy of the itinerary,” Daniel said.

“Last week?” Mia said.

“The

updated

itinerary. Yesterday afternoon.” He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and unfolded it. Then he tapped the first slot on the section marked today. “Do you see here? Morning. Breakfast.”

Mia stared at the itinerary and realized she was trapped. Once Daniel committed something to his itinerary it was set in stone. He must have changed everything while she and Tandy were wandering through the swamp. She’d been so exhausted when she got home, she fell asleep early without checking her email. So much for another day to finish up her research.

There was another knock at the door.

What now?

Mia thought. This time Tandy ran over and wagged his tail. Sylvie walked in wearing tartan trousers, a black top with crisscross straps, a cropped leather jacket, and Doc Marten boots painted with flying pigs.

“Ready? What the—” she said and stopped, taking in the fact that the entire Middleton clan was wedged into the tiny space.

“Um, surprise,” Mia said and inclined her head in the direction of the kitchen. Sylvie’s eyebrow went up in surprise, but she recovered on the fly and went into diplomacy mode.

“You must be—don’t tell me,” Sylvie said and extended her hand. “Brynn? I recognize you from your phone avatar. Mr. And Mrs. Middleton? Can I call you Daniel and Madison? Love the car coat, Maddy. And this must be Reynolds?” They all nodded, happy to be recognized.

Mia was amazed at the way Sylvie handled her family. She felt so grateful that she had such a wonderful best friend.

“You’re Sylvie Payne?” Daniel said. “Mia’s next-door neighbor?”

“And sidekick.” She grinned and shook their hands. “I know a great little French cafe. Shall we?”

Mia shook her head, trying to dissuade Sylvie from taking her family to Café Noir. After Mia’s first date with Hugh, she was trying to figure out his interest level and her own feelings. She wasn’t sure she wanted to subject him to the entire Middleton clan! Not just yet, anyway. Sylvie saw the look on Mia’s face and signaled back that everything would be fine.

Mia decided to trust her and pulled on a jacket. They all walked down the narrow steps and out front where Tom Hatter was sweeping. He was wearing a checkered shirt and a shop apron emblazoned with

Hatter’s Emporium

across the front. His gray hair was tucked under a newsboy’s cap.

“I see your people found you, Mia,” Tom said and jangled his keys. “If you folks need any more maps or historic information, stop by the shop.”

“I might take you up on that, Mr. Hatter,” Daniel said. “Thank you for your time and the guidebook.”

“My pleasure,” Tom said.

“Er, thanks,” Mia said.

So that was how they got upstairs!

As they started down the street, Daniel turned to Mia and added, “Lovely man, knows his history.”

The Essex Street mall was busy with tourists and street performers. The Middleton party passed a Wicked Witch of the East and a group of costumed time travelers congregating on the corner.

Mia tossed some coins in the hat as her stepfather sniffed in disdain.

“You shouldn’t encourage the riffraff, Mia,” Daniel said.

“You know how Daddy feels about street performers,” Brynn said, rolling her eyes.

“Well, I think the town center is quite charming,” Reynolds said, casting a sympathetic glance at Mia. If anyone knew what a handful Daniel Middleton could be, it was his long-suffering assistant.

“I certainly don’t think a town with this kind of history should cheapen itself with such vulgar displays,” Daniel said in a huff.

“It’s all in good fun, Dad,” Brynn said. “Anyway, you know Mimi loves this kind of stuff, don’t you? All the witches and ghouls and ghosts?”

Mia was about to open her mouth and explain that her real interest lay in exploring the truth behind paranormal phenomena. After all she had equipment that measured electromagnetic activity, EVP recorders, night vision cameras, and other technical gizmos to measure haunted places. She was about to explain all this, but Sylvie grabbed her arm.

“It’s not worth it,” she whispered in a low voice. “Just humor them.”

“So, how’s your hotel?” Mia said, trying to distract them.

Across the street was Charnel Tours, which would drum up some bad memories. The company had briefly shut down after the owner turned out to be a murderer, but had reopened with a new owner, former employee Albee Abernathy.

The local reporter Suzy Sharpe had badgered Mia’s family with phone calls and updates on the case. The last thing she needed was to open up that particular can of worms.

Albee Abernathy stood outside the storefront dressed in a Victorian waistcoat and tall hat. He spotted Mia and Sylvie and waved.

“Who’s that?” Daniel said.

“The local warlock,” Sylvie said. “Er, I mean tour guide.”

“I see,” Daniel said. “ Does everyone know you around here from your show?”

“Not really,” Mia said. “Up until a month ago,

Bell, Book, and Candle

was just podcast.”

“And now?” Daniel said.

Mia’s stomach twisted into a knot. She had avoided telling her mom and stepdad about the cable show. Daniel had made his feelings very clear about the acting profession, and while being a co-host of a televised program might not be considered acting, technically, it was still a no-no in her stepfather’s book.

“A cable network is interested in us,” Mia said.

“A television performer?” Daniel said, but before he could get too concerned, Madison interrupted him.

“Oh, Daniel!” Madison said. “Look at the soaps. They have flower petals inside.” Madison had stopped at a street vendor’s table. Daniel stepped up to gallantly pay for his wife’s packet of soaps. The vendor was a stout man, with tattoos and bowler cap on his head.

“Do you know my daughter here?” Daniel said, inclining his head toward Mia. For the second time in a day, Mia’s cheeks blazed bright red. Were they going to embarrass her the whole time they were here? she wondered.

The storekeeper looked Mia up and down, his lip protruded.

“I can’t say that I do.” He swiped Daniel’s credit card. “Should I?”

“Well, according to her she’s the star of a cable show,” Daniel said.

“

Bell, Book, and Candle

,” Mia said, trying not to die of embarrassment.

“You mean the show with Johnny Astor?” the man said.

Of course, Mia thought. Everyone knew Johnny Astor, while she was chopped liver, apparently.

“That’s the one,” Sylvie said, trying to help. “There it is, our very own French café.”

Mia shuddered at the thought of her family meeting Hugh Wolfe, the guy she was kind of, almost dating. She guessed that now would be a test of her budding new relationship. She closed her eyes and steeled herself as the group walked into Café Noir.