space with bleary eyes. I’d put a Christmas tree in here for Nana. In fact, we’d decorated it together.
She’d said it was silly, but I reminded her about how it was one of her favorite activities during the holidays, and I missed sharing it with her. She acquiesced, and we’d made a small tree in the corner together one night, while I sipped hot chocolate and let her have one of her beloved candy canes.
It twinkled in the early morning light, soft and white, with some of the decorations I’d made when I was little.
I crept in farther, fighting a sniffle just as the sun was beginning to rise, hoping to get in and out without waking her.
But that wasn’t to be. “Mornin’, honey,” she said groggily, rising to her full height on sleepy legs. “Why you up so early?”
Plopping down on a bale of hay, I rasped a sigh, exhaustion setting in. “It’s just been a long night. But I promise to come back later and get you out for some sunshine while it lasts, okay?”
She sniffed the air and honked. “Won’t last long, that’s for sure. I can smell more snow. How’s Monty feeling?”
“Well, he was doing better until this morning, when someone tried to kill him.”
Nana gasped and stomped her hooves. “What? Explain yourself, young lady!”
I told her about the prior evening’s events with Kerry Carver and Uncle Monty as I turned on the heater and warmed my hands by it while the rising sun slowly crept into the windows of the loft.
“Holy hassenpfeffer,” she murmured. “Jiminy, kiddo. I’m sorry you’re going through this alone. I wish I could help, but the only magic I had died with me, and as much as you know I love my Andy, he’s no kinda support in a time like this. He’s too emotional to carry the weight when the problem’s his.”
I sneezed again, pulling a fresh tissue from my jacket pocket. “But I think you know he’s always been there for me. Especially since Mom died. I know he’s dramatic and flamboyant and downright over the top, but if the roles were reversed…”
“He’d turn whomever did this into a gooey blobfish,” I heard Atticus say as he buzzed into the barn and landed on the railing of Nana’s stall. “And she’s not at all alone, Karen. She has me. She will always have me. Speaking of having me, I hear a cold coming on. You should be inside, in a warm bed, with tea and honey, Poppet.”
I chuckled and rose to give my familiar a kiss on top of his head. “I’m fine. Just the sniffles. Now, morning, Atticus. How did you sleep?”
“I didn’t, Poppet. Once you left, I paced the floors a new hole you’ll have to replace. How did the rest of your evening fare?”
I winced. “Not great.”
“Not great is right. Somebody tried to kill Monty, Atti. What’s Marshmallow Hollow coming to?”
Atti didn’t even gasp at Nana’s words. Instead, he flew to my shoulder and rested his head on my cheek. “Oh, my beautiful girl. Had I known it was so bad, I would have gone with you, mortals be hanged.”
Rubbing Nana’s soft head, I clucked my tongue. “A bad apple in Marshmallow Hollow doesn’t make the entire town bad, Nana. Stop with the doom and gloom. It’s just a rough patch.”
Now Atti twittered his agreement. “Indeed, Karen. Must you be so gloomy?”
Nana snorted. “This from the gloomiest of ’em all? Hah!” Nuzzling my hand, she asked, “You wanna talk about it, or do you want to just enjoy the peace of this morning before you have to tell Andy what’s happened?”
“I wish there were more to tell, Nana. I mean, I have diddly squat in the way of suspects or even evidence, and same for the police. We have a pink lipstick with Kerry Carver’s fingerprints on it. A busted taillight from a newer-model car with her DNA, and Uncle Darling’s memory that the killer had a nice crease in his pants.”
That information made my nana chuckle. “Only my nutty Andy, honey. Only he would remember something so blippin’ frivolous.”
I rolled my eyes in agreement. “Tell me about it. He also remembers smelling cigarette smoke, and so does Uncle Monty, and so do I because of my vision. Other than that, I’ve searched Facebook pages and the Twitter accounts of the girls and come up with nothing that would lead me to anyone suspicious, let alone a killer. Yet, I’m sure the person who abducted those