Secrets of the Specter

As evening approached, our customers came fewer and farther in-between.

“I’m heading out,” Kim said when we managed to make it a full fifteen minutes without anyone new dropping in. “See you next week!”

I closed the shop soon after and moseyed on home, grabbing some fried chicken for dinner on the way. My night was calm and uneventful. I researched the Culper spy ring online and followed various bunny trails whenever anything interesting popped up. I had no phantom or feline visitors that night, meaning I was surprisingly well-rested the next morning.

The shop was only open for four hours on Sundays, and that was when I generally replenished stock and shot my videos.

This Sunday started off no different, except that I went in a bit early to refill stock and reorganize the storefront displays following the extremely good day we’d had yesterday.

Although we were technically open, I kept the front lights dim to discourage people from entering and withdrew to the studio space in back. The was where the magic really happened.

The demonstrations I did for the customers out front were small time. Back here in my private workspace I went all out, constantly trying to top myself with bigger and more elaborate designs.

I flipped on a playlist I’d prepared earlier that week, then sang and bopped my way through dipping candles of all shapes, sizes, and colors, filming tons of content for my channels. I always set the videos to music that was trending at the moment, so I didn’t use the audio from the filming… unless I was doing an ASMR video, which meant I needed total silence in the room while I worked. Not today, thanks.

When I ran out of pre-molded candle bases, I switched tasks with ease. Having been born and raised in the candle business, I’d put in thousands of hours over the course of my life. Still, it never got old.

I easily lost myself in the task, deriving a therapeutic sense of pleasure from being able to create something so beautiful and useful all in one tidy package.

For each new base, I dipped the specially prepared wick into a vat of hot colored wax, then a tub of cold water, back and forth, back and forth. The cold water allowed each new layer to harden.

I finished working with white, then switched over to a bright red shade of wax to create a contrasting top layer.

Once I was satisfied with the thickness, I used a hand tool to pull down segments of the warm pliable red wax, peeling it gently down and rotating each piece, before attaching them again to the body of the candle, allowing the white underlayer to peek out from beneath the red. The two thick layers twisted and twined to create a beautiful whole. This one would be perfect for a holiday display.

By the time I shut everything down and cleaned up, the cat, ghost, and spy ring, while still on my mind, weren’t worrying me quite as much. It would all get figured out eventually.

I probably had some sort of crazy fever that made me hallucinate the ghost and the cat. It’s not like either had reappeared after that one night.

Maybe it had been an illusion of a poor, overworked mind, or maybe I’d done whatever they needed me to do, and I was now officially off the hook.

Either way, nothing to stress over. Especially after the soothing day I’d just completed.

“Hey, Mags,” Lacey called from down the Row as I locked the shop door before me.

I glanced up at her with a smile. That is, until she spoke.

“I saw that cat a little while ago,” she said with a grimace. “He was sitting in front of the door. I knocked.”

I looked around for Mr. Cat but came up short, so I shrugged. “I’m sorry, Lace,” I said. “I had my music up.”

“I figured as much. I went to get a box to put him in, but when I came back, he’d vanished again.

I sucked air in through my teeth. “Yeah, sounds about right.”

“If I see him again, I’ll let you know. I have a feeling he’ll be back. He seems to have taken a shine to you.”

“You’re probably right,” I said, just as a chill raced down my spine. If the cat was back, the ghost would be, too.

Crud.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Somehow the entire weekend passed without me making it into the store for some coffee pods. Yes, I’d been shaken up by the whole spectral mystery thing, but I could have at least tried to keep my other priorities straight.

Thank goodness for Jitterbug. I was back again, bright and early Monday morning.

“Hey, Laura,” I said when she had a lull in the conversation with the man at the counter. He wore a police uniform—and wore it very well at that—but even with it being such a small town, I didn’t know his name.

I’d seen him around a few times, however. Maybe he was a recent transplant from the big city. We were getting more and more of those in Larkhaven as of late.

When Laura finished with his coffee, he touched the brim of his hat, smiled, and walked out the door with an easy swagger.

I, for one, could not look away. Maybe I needed to take a page from Aunt Linda’s book and jump back on the dating scene. By now, most of the relatives had given up and declared me a spinster for life. But thirty was the new twenty, and frankly I wasn’t ready to start a family. I liked my solitary life and the freedom it afforded me.

Didn’t mean I couldn’t appreciate a handsome face, though.

And Laura had a nice rotation of attractive men coming in. The Brit yesterday, and now Officer Swagger. Lucky her.

“What’ll it be?” she asked with a half-smile that suggested she knew exactly what was on my mind. “A regular, or do you need another double?” She waggled her eyebrows suggestively.

I chuckled and shook my head in protest. “No, no. No double today. I slept like an angel on a cloud, thank you very much.”

She laughed, too, and began preparing my latte. “Like an angel, huh? Any tips for the rest of us?”

“Don’t drink so much coffee,” I teased and stuck my tongue out playfully.

A companionable silence fell between us. Luckily, I knew just how to break it.

“No hot Brit this morning?” I asked in as casual of a voice as I could muster.

“Oh, I got to see him. But he opens his practice early, so it’s rare you two would be in at the same time.”

“Clearly I miss a lot by sleeping in,” I quipped.

“Yeah. It’s almost worth waking up at a decent hour.”

“Not a chance,” I shot back.

Laura generally opened at six every day, but it was a snowy day in you-know-where if I ever shuffled over before eight-forty-five.

Once I had my hot latte in hand, I headed down the Row and into my family’s shop. I still had plenty of time to put out yesterday’s fresh batch of creations before our first customers started trickling in.

Mondays were always slow like that.

“Morning,” Kim called as she sailed in just before noon.

I looked up from the novel I was reading on my phone app and waved hello.

“We’ve got a visitor,” she informed me with an odd look. “He’s waiting at the door.”

A hearty “meow” rose up behind Kim.

She turned her head to look at him. “Not very patient, are we?”

“Oh, good,” I said with a chuckle, half happy to see the feline and half mortified.

“He’s been hanging around me,” I quickly explained to Kim and the one customer who was currently picking her way through our shop. “But I hadn’t seen him for a couple days and was beginning to worry about the little fella. When you clock in, could you watch the shop on your own for a little while?”

“Looks like he’s adopted you,” the customer said, abandoning the various candles she’d collected and coming over to inspect Mr. Cat. She bent down and scratched his head, earning his immediate approval along with a delighted meow.

“Okay, I’m clocked in,” Kim said a few minutes later, coming to stand beside me at the counter. “I can take it from here.”

“Thanks.” I scooped up Mr. Cat and grabbed a ball of yarn from the knitting bag Aunt Linda kept next to her desk to keep her occupied on quieter days.

“I’m making you a temporary collar,” I informed my furry friend as we moved into the back room.

As soon as his paws touched the ground, he set to exploring, sneezing loud and fast when he stuck his dainty nose into one of the many scented vats of wax.

Meanwhile, I braided some yarn, creating a long leash so that Mr. Cat couldn’t disappear on me again. I tied it off in four places, then cut into the braid and took the smaller length to create a snug collar. It was less than ideal, but I only planned on using it long enough to get him seen by a vet. I figured he’d prefer this to being shut into a box with air holes poked across the top.

Perhaps I should’ve gone and gotten a cat carrier, but as he hadn’t stuck around long enough for me to even name him properly, I just hadn’t made it a priority.

He was here, and I needed to take this opportunity to at least make sure he was medically all right.

Rather than fight against his new restraint, Mr. Cat sat serenely in my arms with his dark purple yarn leash wrapped around my arm as I walked us to the car. Once we were both seated inside, I kept glancing at the passenger seat, still half-expecting him to make a break for it. Who knew? Maybe he would vanish into thin air right before my eyes.

I was also worried he might tangle himself in the seat belt or try to take cover beneath my feet—a dangerous proposition for both of us.

It turned out my fears were unfounded, however; he was the picture of a perfect puddy.

“You’re a pretty good boy, aren’t you?” I asked, reaching over to scratch his head as we sat stopped at the single light that led out of town.

He studied me with those brilliant, mismatched eyes of his, squinting against the sunlight. And I felt myself fall in love just a little bit.

Not too much, mind you. It’s not like I would be keeping him.

Today’s journey to the veterinary clinic proved completely different from last week’s. The sky was sunny and clear, luxuriating in one of the last warm days before autumn fully set in. No wayward ghosts appeared to chase me off the road, and Mr. Cat didn’t even protest in the slightest.

Yup, everything was coming up Mags. When I parked the car in the Larkhaven Animal Hospital’s parking lot, it was with a relieved smile on my face.

“Hey, Mags,” Annie said from behind the check-in desk. I’d known her since high school. We’d graduated together. “I didn’t know you had pets.”

“I still don’t.” I held Mr. Cat up over the tall counter so she could see him more clearly. “He’s a stray that keeps coming round my shop. And house,” I added under my breath.”

“Oh, what a pretty kitty,” she cooed.

“My cousin told me I should have his microchip scanned to help find his owner. Can Dr. Baker squeeze us in really quick?” I begged.

Annie pressed her lips together and shook her head. “He retired last year and moved to Boca. The new doc is Dr. Wes.”

Hmm. That name rang a bell. “Well, can Dr. Wes help us out then?”

Annie’s grin widened as she handed me a clipboard. “Of course.”

“Thanks, Annie.” I smiled warmly at her and took the clipboard. “I owe you one.”

“Shout out the clinic in one of your videos, and we’ll call it square,” she called after me as I went to find a seat.

“Deal.” I sat down with the yarn leash looped around my wrist and let Mr. Cat roam the empty waiting area. Yowls and barks from deeper inside the clinic revealed that even though nobody was out here, the exam rooms were probably quite busy.

“You ready?” Annie reached down and scooped Mr. Cat up. “I’ve got a room for you.”

I dotted the i in my signature and hopped to my feet. “Yup, let’s do this.”

She traded me Mr. Cat for the clipboard and deposited us in a room that held only two chairs and a stainless-steel exam table, with a sink and bare counter flush against the wall.

Stark, but clean. I dug it.

“Doc Wes will be right in,” Annie said before shutting the door gently behind her.

Now that we were sealed in, I let Mr. Cat off his yarn leash.

He showed his appreciation by exploring the room with gusto. Ultimately, he chose to hunker down in the sink with only his eyes and ears stuck up over the edge. What a cutie pie.

I chuckled and snuck a pic. Something to remember him by when all was said and done, and he’d been happily reunited with his owner.

“Hello,” a rich masculine voice floated in as the door opened inward.

I’d thought I recognized the name, but I knew I recognized the voice. It belonged to none other than the British hunk from Laura’s coffee shop.

“Hi,” I choked out, heat rushing to my cheeks.

“Are you Mags and Mr. Cat?” he asked, then chuckled and raised his eyes to meet mine. “I dig the name.”

Yup, I was definitely blushing. “His or mine? No, I mean. Yes. That’s us.”

“How long has Mr. Cat been with you?” Wes pulled up the other chair and took a seat. He was, no doubt, trying to appear casual and approachable, but his nearness only made me more nervous.

“He keeps coming and going. I first saw him last Friday, I think. You know when we had that big storm? Yeah, so anyway…” My words drifted off as I tried to remember why I’d come.

“Annie says you wanted to have him scanned for a chip,” the good vet provided.

“Yes, yes! Please! I mean, do you mind? He’s over there,” I finished lamely, pointing toward the sink.

His whole face lit up as he smiled. “Ah yes. That is quite the popular spot. Most cats give it at least four out of five stars.”

Dr. Wes stood and crossed the room, peering down at Mr. Cat with smile. “Let’s give you a once over.”

The white kitty started purring.

“He likes you,” I said with a cackling laugh. My cat had better game than I did.

“She, actually,” Dr. Wes corrected kindly, showing off those big dimples of his. “This is a Ms. Cat.”

“Oh!” I cocked my head at the cat. “Sorry, girl. Why didn’t you tell me?”

She kept purring and twitching the tip of her tail as the vet checked her ears, looked at her teeth, and felt along her ribcage.

“She seems to be in good shape,” he informed me once he’d completed his exam. “And I love the eyes. It’s called heterochromia iridium when they have different colored eyes, you know. Fun fact for the day.”

He took out a wand and passed it over the back of her neck, down both sides, and even on her legs. “No chip.”

After scribbling on a clipboard, he sat back down, urging me to do the same. “We’ll give her the first round of shots. Would you like to chip her? If you’re not keeping her, I can point you in the direction of a few great rescue groups based out of the city.”

I cocked my head at the pretty kitty and found myself shaking my head. “No need to bring in a rescue. I kind of feel like she chose me, and I’d hate to send her away. Go ahead and chip her with my information. If we eventually find an owner, we can have the info changed later.”

Wes nodded and tapped his pen on the clipboard. “We’ll be right back.”

The two departed, leaving me on my own and contemplating as to whether I should rename her. Well, I had to change it, anyway. Couldn’t very well keep referring to her as a Mr. Maybe something even better would come along if I gave it some time.

A few minutes later, the tall, dark, and British vet returned. “Ms. Cat is chipped. I also took a bit of blood to run some lab work, just to make sure we cover all our bases. I’ll be in touch if something comes up, but maybe next time we run into each other at Jitterbug, you can give me an informal update on our girl.”

I gulped down my surprise. He did remember me.

I’d assumed since he hadn’t said anything before, that he’d believed we were meeting for the first time.

“Sure,” I managed to sputter ungracefully. “I’d like that.”

Oh my gosh, now I sounded like an old-fashioned movie heroine. And it’s not like Wes had asked me out on a date, yet here I was fumbling everything.

“Take good care of Ms. Cat,” Wes said, crossing the room to open the door for me.

I nodded mutely and trudged out of the exam room, settled the bill with Annie, and took my new kitty to the car.

I wouldn’t be buying coffee pods tonight, either. Even more reason to stop in at Jitterbug.

Bright and early.

And single and ready to m—

Yeesh, I was so bad at this!

CHAPTER EIGHT

Before I could peel out of the parking lot, Annie rushed through the clinic door, waving a plastic box at me.

“I almost forgot to give you this,” she cried when I rolled down my window.

Now that she was closer, I saw that the box was, in fact, a small cat carrier.

“Somehow we’ve managed to accumulate an obscene number of these things,” she explained. “Take that sad yarn leash off your kitty and use this instead. It’s a free gift.”

Yeah, free with a check-up fee plus bloodwork, I thought, but was still happy to accept the carrier all the same. I thanked Annie profusely as I accepted her offering through my car door.

As soon as I set the open carrier on the passenger seat, Ms. Cat lifted her tail and walked into the carrier like a queen stepping onto her dais.

“What a good girl,” I cooed, reaching a finger through the wire after I shut the door. “Now let’s go get some supplies. Bye, Annie!”

From there, I drove straight to the pet store. Larkhaven didn’t have any of those big chain places, but of course, I knew the owner of our small mom and pop shop, Scales and Fur. She’d graduated a couple of years behind me and inherited her family’s business after she finished a quick two-year degree.

“Hey, Emily,” I called as I drifted in, carrier in hand.

“Hi, Mags!” She came around the counter and reached her hands forward. “Oh, who is this?”

She cooed into the cage, then opened it and gently pulled my new pet out. “Oh, my goodness, your eyes are amazing,” she cried. Pressing her face to Ms. Cat’s, she let out a happy squeal. “Would you look at those eyes?”

“This is Ms. Cat.” I cocked my head. “Well, at least for now.”

Emily chuckled. “Used up all your creativity making your videos, did you?”

I shrugged and shook my head playfully. “We just came back from the vet. She adopted me in the street, and well, I need everything.” I dropped my voice to a whisper “Help meeeee.”

Emily nodded once, then took off decisively toward the rear of the store. “Follow me.”