Sleigh Spells by Bella Falls

Author:Bella Falls [Falls, Bella]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Evermore Press
Published: 2020-11-11T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

Wyatt had been right when he said I didn’t need to figure out who stole the sleigh alone. I held a meeting at the Break Room with all of my friends and a few new ones to ask for their help.

“Let me get this straight.” Amos slammed his drink down on the table. “You think you saw Santa’s wife and that she asked you to find out what happened to his sleigh?”

“We didn’t think we saw her. We talked to her and everything,” I insisted.

Vale worked on opening a peanut shell from the bowlful sitting in front of my roommate. “Oh, Ms. Clara is definitely real and was there at the jailhouse. Mama called her as soon as that unpleasant security elf tried to arrest Rory.”

I had yet to thank Vale and her family for their immediate support since I wanted to come up with something special and hadn’t thought of anything yet.

“Putting aside whether or not you believe Mrs. Claus wants me to solve things,” I said, addressing the rest of the people sitting around. “I’ve been pondering things, and I think Clara’s right. Because of my status as an outsider, I might be able to observe more than those who are already a part of the community. And since many of you are kind of on the outside, too, I thought maybe you could help out.”

A rock troll, appropriately named Rocky, spoke up, his voice grating like gravel. “Most everybody ignores me when I’m around, so it’ll be easy for me to listen in on conversations. Count me in.”

Vale popped one lone peanut in her mouth and passed the other two in the shell to my roommate. “You know you don’t even have to ask. And my parents will pass on anything they overhear at the Gingerbread General.”

Nutty stopped stuffing his face long enough to utter his usual, “Yeah, yeah, I’m in.”

“Do you even need to ask?” Wyatt winked at me, and the eternal butterflies that kept flapping to life in my stomach ever since our snowmobile ride together flew back to life.

Amos leaned back in his chair. “Well, I typically would keep my nose out of things. But since our debauched night out that landed us in jail—”

“But not charged with anything,” I quickly clarified.

“Right. Since that time,” the old man continued, “I have decided that it’s way more fun getting into trouble than staying home alone. And besides, it might be a hoot playing the role of a spy.” He stood up and tipped his finger at the top of his head like he was wearing a hat. “Call me Pine. Amos Pine.”

Wyatt snapped a towel at him. “You know, it might be helpful if you opened up your store on a more regular basis. That way, you can listen in on the customers.”

Amos stuck his tongue out at his friend. “Only if you bring in more of your carvings.”

His statement got my full attention. “What carvings?”

“You know those two big bears that stand outside the front of the store?” Amos pointed at Wyatt.

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