Toil and Trouble: (A Geeks and Things Cozy Mystery Short Story) (Geeks and Things Cozy Mysteries Book 0) by Sarah Biglow Page A

the walkway leading to the start of the maze. A bored-looking college kid sat at a table beside the walkway, staring at his phone. Kalina had to clear her throat twice to get his attention.
    “Two tickets for the maze,” she said.
    “Adult or kid?”
    “Adult.”
    “Twenty bucks,” he said and held out his hand.
    Kalina dug out a twenty dollar bill from her purse and handed it over. He tossed the bill into a metal box and held out a stamp.
    “Left hand.”
    She did as instructed and he pressed the stamp to her skin, leaving the blurry outline of a witch riding a broomstick in red. He did the same to AJ and then went back to whatever was so fascinating on his phone. Kalina and AJ walked up the path to the start of the maze. The rows of hay rose up to about shoulder height. Stray pieces floated on the breeze and Kalina wrapped her jacket a little tighter. A figure in an ankle-length dress and bonnet waited for them at the entrance to the maze. As they got closer, the tiny voice in the back of Kalina’s brain warned that something was wrong with the mannequin in front of them. When they were a few steps away, the torch closest to the entrance flickered and light washed over the figure’s face. The girl was pale but there was something off about the way her body hung on the fence posts.
    “Wow, they go really life-like,” AJ said.
    Kalina reached out a hand and pressed her trembling fingers to the side of the girl’s neck. Her throat went dry and her stomach clinched uncomfortably. Her fingers came away sticky and wet. The torchlight glinted off the angry red color of blood. “This isn’t a mannequin. This girl’s alive. Barely. You need to call the police. Right now!”

 
    CHAPTER TWO
     
    AJ turned back the way they’d come and sprinted back to the guy selling tickets. She watched him try—and fail—to get the guy’s attention before snatching the phone from his fingers.
    “Hey, what the hell are you doing, kid?”
    “It’s an emergency,” AJ answered and stepped out of reach of the frat boy.
    Kalina turned her attention back to the girl. She checked for a pulse a second time just to be sure she’d felt right. It was faint but definitely there. She fought the urge to untie her wrists and try to get more color in her cheeks. This was a crime scene now. That didn’t mean she couldn’t do a little looking before the police and paramedics arrived. Her love of superheroes and the fantastical had always roused her innate curiosity. When she came across a puzzle, she had to solve it.
    She took a step back and turned on her phone’s flashlight app to get a better look at the girl. Her brown hair was shoved up under a bonnet but Kalina could see where the blood was coming from. Someone had cut a pentagram into her chest that was still oozing blood. So the wound was probably fresh. Her wrists were bound to the fence posts behind her, bearing her weight awkwardly. Something silver on the girl’s right wrist caught the light and Kalina leaned in close. It was a charm bracelet with three letters :   .
    Snapping a picture for later, she listened as her nephew frantically tried to fill in the operator on the other end of the 911 call.
    “I’m at the Witch’s Maze,” he said. “In Salem. Where else would I be?”
    Kalina marched off and motioned for AJ to hand her the phone. He offered it up without a word. The frat boy at the table sat glaring at them.
    “I’m sorry, my nephew is a little upset. We have a young woman who needs medical attention. There aren’t any street signs in view where we are,” she said as calmly as possible.
    She heard the telltale sound of keys clicking on a keyboard over the connection.
    “Ma’am, we have your location. We’re sending officers to you now. Please stay on the line until they arrive.”
    “Thank you.”
    Kalina set the phone down on the table and glared at the frat boy. “Leave it alone until the cops get here.”
    “What are you talking about? You