“The owner retired and gave it to his daughter, who continued the business until she mysteriously disappeared in ’94,” Taran continued.
“Is that who’s haunting the place?”
“The Realtor, her name is Penny, said she thinks so because once the restaurant was sold and converted into a used bookstore, strange things started happening.”
“Like what?”
“She wasn’t sure, but heard it was mostly noises, moving objects, and a vague sense of unease.”
“That doesn’t sound bad. Did they do a sage burn and cast out?”
“I didn’t ask. She was wearing a Christian cross, so I didn’t bring up witch stuff. She just told me this place has a higher-than-normal turnover.”
“I remember this being a sandwich shop a few months ago, and a bakery before that.”
“It’s also been a clothes boutique, a candy store, and an art gallery. Nothing seems to last longer than a yearlong lease.”
“And now they want to sell?”
“Yup.”
“This is too good to be true.”
“Most people don’t like ghosts,” Taran offered.
“True.”
“But we’re witches who know ghosts can’t hurt you,” he boasted.
“Theymostlycan’t hurt you,” Eilonwy corrected.
“If it were of the Faefolk, we would already know.”
Eilonwy frowned. “Don’t say the f-word or you’ll attract their attention, call them ‘fox’ or ‘foxen.’ ”
“Right, sorry, this was more your and Mom’s thing rather than mine.”
Eilonwy was quiet for a moment. “It’s been nearly two years since she died. I still miss her.”
“I miss her too…and Dad.”
Eilonwy didn’t say anything; she didn’t trust herself to keep the secret about their father’s whereabouts.
“Do you think he’ll be able to come back soon?” Taran finally asked.
“I don’t want to think about that right now, we should stay focused. What’s upstairs?”
Taran put a smile on his face. “Let’s find out.”
They walked past a row of window booths, the kitchen, and a handicap-accessible bathroom to the staircase on the back wall. There was a side exit door directly across from the staircase that led out to the sidewalk.
“I like the downstairs layout,” Eilonwy said as she climbed behind Taran.
He stopped at the top, where a café table, resting on its side, blocked the landing. “Hang on, I need to move this.” He lifted it upright and pushed it aside.
Eilonwy came up behind him and found the light switches by a door with a pebbled glass window andBathroomspainted on the glass in gold lettering.
“Wait, don’t turn them on all at once. Penny said you can only turn on two at most, or the circuit breaks, then you have to reset the fuse.”
