“Henry,” I said, looking at my brother. “There’s something I need to do for our case. Would you mind if I left?”
“To be honest, I’d rather have Daniel here. You get so distracted shopping you’re almost useless. It was worth dealing with for ring shopping, but I only asked you to join me so Daniel would come. He’s good at stuff like this.”
There it was. My brother’s honesty, something he was well known for. I turned to Daniel, not offended because I was used to my brother’s directness, and saw Daniel grinning. He didn’t mind shopping with my brother, and he probably loved me getting called out for my meandering while shopping.
“Will you guys be okay without me?”
Daniel very obviously swallowed down a smile. “We’ll survive.”
He was going to pay for that later. For now, I needed to put my investigator hat back on and plug back into the case. Deva needed our help.
Someone honked outside. I turned to see Beth and Carol pulled up out front, Beth’s gaze narrowed. Beth was in her investigator mode too, which was sometimes a little scary. I better hurry.
"Bye, Daniel. Bye, Henry," I called and rushed from the store, the door jingling behind me as it closed. The sun kissed my skin, and I squinted against the glare. I hopped into Beth's car with all the grace of a baby giraffe, trying not to bang my head on the frame.
"Ready for our little adventure?" Beth asked, her eyes sparkling with mischief. Carol nodded enthusiastically from the backseat.
"Let's do this." I pulled the seatbelt across my chest and clicked it into place. Beth pulled out of the store's parking lot and crossed the street to park at the ice cream parlor. I'd been watching and Katie hadn't reappeared.
"Time to get incognito," Beth announced, pulling out an assortment of hats, glasses, and scarves from a large tote bag. We giggled like schoolgirls as we donned our disguises, looking more like bumbling caricatures than undercover spies.
"Perfect. No one will ever recognize us now," I deadpanned, adjusting my oversized sunglasses, which threatened to slide down my nose at any moment.
"Shh, there she is," Carol hissed, pointing out the window as Katie emerged from the ice cream parlor, a cone in hand. We watched her take a few steps, then scrambled out of the car to follow her from a safe distance.
"Is it just me, or does she look even more suspicious than usual?" I mused as we trailed her through town. The scent of flowers from a nearby shop tickled my nose, but I resisted the urge to sneeze, lest I blow our cover.
"Maybe she's caught on to our top-notch detective skills," Carol replied, sarcasm dripping from her words like syrup.
"Or maybe she's just really enjoying that ice cream," Beth suggested, eyeing Katie's cone. My stomach grumbled in agreement, but I pushed away thoughts of food and focused on the task at hand.
Operation Stealth was in full swing, which is to say it was a complete disaster. As Beth, Carol, and I continued our pursuit of Katie, we tried our best to blend into the scenery. But honestly, we were about as inconspicuous as a hot pink elephant at a funeral.
"Emma, stop jingling your keys," Carol hissed under her breath, giving me a pointed look.
"Sorry." I tucked them deep into my pocket. "Force of habit."
"Maybe if you didn't have so many keychains, they wouldn't make so much noise," Beth added, stifling a laugh.
"Hey, don't knock Mr. Jingles," I defended, referring to the obnoxious stuffed unicorn that lived on my keyring. "He's saved me from countless lockouts."
"Shh, She's coming out of the store," Carol warned, her eyes widening as she spotted Katie heading our way.
We scurried behind a nearby potted plant, which was hardly big enough to hide even one of us, let alone all three in our ridiculous getup.
"Seriously, who thought this would work?" I whispered, adjusting my oversized sunglasses and trying not to sneeze from the pollen-laden foliage.
"Okay, new plan." Beth peered around the plant like a secret agent. "We'll each take turns following her, so we don't draw attention to ourselves."
"Great idea," Carol agreed, nodding enthusiastically. "I'll go first!"
"Wait," I started, but it was too late – Carol had already darted out from our hiding spot, nearly crashing into an unsuspecting pedestrian.
"Careful," the man snapped, glaring daggers at Carol.
"Sorry," she squeaked, attempting a casual stroll after Katie. The poor woman must have felt like she was being followed by a three-woman circus.
Beth nudged me forward. "Your turn."
Taking a deep breath, I stepped out from behind the plant and tried to act natural. But as luck would have it, I managed to trip on my own scarf, tumbling right into an elderly couple who had been enjoying their afternoon walk.
"Hey," the woman exclaimed, nearly losing her balance.
"Are you okay, dear?" her husband asked, steadying both of us.
"Uh, yeah, so sorry," I stammered, wanting to crawl into a hole and die from embarrassment. "I'm just, erm, really clumsy today."
"Clearly," he replied, raising an eyebrow. The couple continued on their way, casting wary glances back at me.
"Smooth." Beth walked up beside me.
"Shut up," I grumbled, trying to regain my composure. "Let's just focus on Katie before we lose her."
"Right." Beth scanned the area for any sign of our elusive target.
We spotted Carol across the street, still doing her best impression of a spy, which was about as convincing as a penguin trying to fly. With a resigned sigh, we continued our pursuit, hoping against hope that our clumsy antics would somehow lead us to the truth.
The scent of fresh-baked bread and cinnamon wafted from a nearby bakery, momentarily distracting me from our mission. My stomach growled in protest. Man, I was freaking hungry. "Focus, Emma," I muttered under my breath, forcing myself to ignore the tantalizing aroma.
"Watch out," Beth hissed, grabbing my arm and yanking me back just as I nearly collided with a streetlamp while looking across the street at Katie and Carol. Smooth, real smooth. My cheeks flushed with embarrassment, but at least I had managed to avoid yet another public spectacle, thanks to Beth.
"Thanks," I mumbled, too mortified to meet her gaze. "I think I need glasses or something."
"Or maybe you just need to pay attention." Beth smirked at me from behind her ridiculous oversized sunglasses. "You're not exactly blending in, you know."
"Neither are you," I shot back, glaring at her getup. She looked like she'd raided Audrey Hepburn's wardrobe and decided to wear all of it at once. "We're supposed to be inconspicuous, remember?"
"And we're doing such a great job so far," Beth deadpanned, adjusting her equally absurd floppy sun hat.
"Okay, okay," I sighed, scanning the crowded sidewalk for Katie and Carol. "Let's just keep moving before we lose her completely."
We continued weaving through the throngs of shoppers and tourists, trying our best to stay on Katie's trail without drawing too much attention to ourselves. It was a delicate balancing act—one that we were clearly ill-equipped to handle.
"Ow!" I cried out, rubbing my shin after accidentally walking into a low-lying bench. Beth stifled her laughter behind me, but she was kind enough not to comment on my latest blunder as we caught up with Carol.
"Katie went down that alley," Carol whispered, pointing to a narrow passageway between two brick buildings. "We need to follow her but be careful not to let her see us."
I squinted into the dimly lit corridor. "This shouldn't be too difficult in these ridiculous disguises."
Beth pressed a finger to her lips as we crept forward.
Despite our many setbacks, and my own personal clumsiness, we managed to make it through the alley without incident.
"We need a new plan," Carol said once we emerged on the other side. "We're never going to find out what's going on with Katie if we keep tripping over ourselves like this."
"Maybe we just need to be more subtle," I suggested, wincing as my stomach growled again. "And also maybe get something to eat."
"There she is." Beth pointed across the street again.
Geez, this woman got around and quickly.
Perspiration began to form on my forehead as we trailed Katie into a chic clothing store. The store was brightly lit and filled with racks of colorful clothes. It smelled like a mixture of new fabric and some overpowering floral perfume. I glanced around nervously, trying to figure out how to blend in while keeping an eye on her.
"Emma, here," Beth whispered, thrusting something into my hand. I looked down and saw that it was a glove—not an ordinary glove, though. It had a strange shimmer to it, like it was made of some kind of magical material. It was Beth's interrogation glove.
"Uh, what am I supposed to do with this?" I asked, furrowing my brow.
"Put it on and follow her into the dressing room," Beth instructed, nodding toward where Katie had just disappeared behind a curtain.
"Are you serious?" I hissed. "That's insane."
"Emma, we need to see if she's cursed, remember? This glove will help you do that," Beth said, her cheeks flushed with determination.
"Fine." I slid the glove onto my hand and a tingle ran up my arm. I took a deep breath and tried to channel my inner stealthiness as I tiptoed toward the dressing room area.
I managed to weave through the maze of clothing racks without knocking anything over. As I approached the dressing room, I heard the rustle of fabric and Katie humming softly to herself.
I could see the edge of Katie's curtain now, just a few steps away.
"Go, go, go," Beth hissed, shoving me forward. Unfortunately, she pushed me a little too hard, and I stumbled. Arms flailing wildly, I crashed through the curtain into Katie's dressing room, landing in an undignified heap at her feet.
"You again?" Katie screeched, clutching her half-naked body in shock. Her blue eyes widened as she took in my disheveled appearance, clearly questioning my sanity. And honestly, who could blame her?
"Uh, hi," I stammered, grabbing hold of her hand with my gloved one in a desperate attempt to bring myself to my feet. It was awkward holding her hand and coming face-to-face with her, but then there was a moment where I felt magic flow through me… and then, nothing. I didn’t even need to ask Beth to know Katie wasn’t responsible for the curse. "Sorry for, um, this."
"What on earth are you doing?" she demanded, her voice reaching a pitch that would've made any dog within a mile radius whimper in pain.
"Long story," I muttered, not daring to look her in the eye. Instead, my gaze was drawn to the black smoky creature who had materialized around Katie. Its tendrils snaked through the air, twisting and writhing like some kind of demented ballet performance.
"Katie," I whispered, unable to tear my eyes away from the terrifying spectacle. "Can you see that?"
"See what?" she yelled, still more focused on her own partial nudity than the supernatural phenomenon occurring just inches away from her.
"Never mind," I muttered, realizing that the bizarre entity was visible only to me and likely Beth and Carol as well. The creature continued its eerie dance, and I shuddered at the implications. Was this thing responsible for cursing Deva? And if so, why couldn't Katie see it?
"Get out!" Katie yelled, her face turning a furious shade of.
"Fine, yeah, I'm going. Sorry, I just tripped," I muttered, releasing her hand and scrambling back to my feet. My knees wobbled, and my head swam with questions, but there was no time for contemplation now. We had made our grand entrance, and it was time for an equally dramatic exit.
As I stumbled back out into the store, I caught sight of Carol's wide-eyed expression and Beth's poorly concealed smirk. They had seen it all, the black smoke, the weird air-dance, and Katie's understandable indignation.
"Tell me you have a plan," I whispered desperately, hoping against hope that they had figured out some way to save us from this madness.
"Of course," Beth said confidently, adjusting her ridiculous scarf. "We always do."
We slunk out of the clothing store, leaving behind the chaos we had inadvertently created. The scent of freshly brewed coffee from a nearby coffee cart mixed with the smell of rain-soaked pavement as we hurried along the sidewalk. I felt like an amateur detective in some absurd comedy, and all I wanted was to shake off the embarrassment and figure out what the hell was going on.
"Okay," I said, attempting to regain my composure. "Well, now we know who cursed Deva, even though the glove didn’t work the way I thought."
"Uh, no, but you're close," Beth said kindly. "Katie's been cursed herself."
"Wait, what?" I stopped dead in my tracks, causing Carol to bump into me from behind. "How do you know that?"
"Call it intuition," Beth replied, adjusting her ridiculous hat and trying to look nonchalant. "Or, you know, the black smoke monster surrounding her. That's kind of a giveaway."
"Right," I muttered, my face heating up at the memory. "So, what do we do now? Do we try to help her, or...?"
"Help her?" Carol scoffed. "She's awful. I say we let her deal with her own problems."
"I'm not exactly thrilled about getting up close and personal with her either, but we can't just leave her like this. It's not her fault she got cursed. Probably,” Beth said. “Even though Deva is still the priority.”
"Fine." Carol sighed dramatically. "But if we're going to play good samaritans, we better come up with a plan. And fast."