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always there. I gestured to Oscar. “Come on.”
    Mr. Prince
Charming jumped out of the car and run up the steps, ignoring the family of
possums that had taken residency under them.
    “Really?” Oscar
shook his head, referring to the cat. “What good is he?”
    “Mr. Prince
Charming doesn’t have killer instincts like most cats.” Holding the screen door
open with my foot, I unlocked the front door.
    Mr. Prince
Charming ran ahead of us. I turned on all the lights as we walked down the old
hallway into the kitchen. There was still confusion about everything that had
happened today. Mostly I was upset because of the way I had talked to Ann. It
didn’t help matters that the snow globe made me feel crazy. And Ding Dong’s
made me feel better.
    I grabbed a
couple of extra ones out of the box, one for Mr. Prince Charming and one for
Oscar.
    “Thanks.” Oscar
peeled back the foil wrapper, and shoved the entire chocolaty delight into his
mouth. “Mmmm.”
    He was still the
same old Oscar as he was when we were ten years old. He introduced me to Ding
Dongs. Oscar’s uncle always had the best junk food, where Darla refused to
bring the “poison” chemicals into the house, much less our bodies.
    I’d sneak out
and meet Oscar under the big oak tree on the side of his house, out of view of
Darla in case she got up and looked outside, and we’d eat an entire box. Or I
guess I should clarify, I’d eat an entire box while Oscar laughed.
    “I don’t know
about moving to Whispering Falls. Even your uncle doesn’t think it’s a good
idea.” I bit a small piece off, ran my finger along the cream filling and
licked it off. “There is something strange going on in that town.”
    “I’m a cop. I’ve
checked it out and everything is fine. There hasn’t been a crime committed
there in years.” Oscar helped himself to a glass of milk. “Uncle Jordan is just
watching out for us because we are like. . .family. We’ve got to stick
together.”
    Oscar was right.
We didn’t really have any family, and I didn’t consider Mr. McGurtle family,
even though he seemed to put his nose in my business.
    “It’s just so
weird there.” It was hard to concentrate on any conversation with the Ding Dong
in my hand. I savored every bite. “Granted, I don’t make a lot of money at the flea
market, but it pays for what I need.”
    Thank God, Darla
had the house paid off. I have no clue how she made ends meet. I always had
everything I wanted and she rarely said no, unless it was unhealthy or harmed someone.
Plus most of her cures didn’t work. Or that’s what I found out after she died.
That was when I vowed to take over and make her remedies better.
    “Who is going to
buy my remedies, and how in the world will I ever afford one of those shops?” I
shrugged. Did Darla still own the shop? Or did I now own it?
    That was
definitely something I hadn’t thought about.
    My thoughts were
interrupted by a knock at the door.
    Puzzled, Oscar
and I looked at each other. No one ever knocks in Locust Grove, especially with
the screen door open. Everyone from Locust Grove knew you yell into the house,
not knock.
    Meow, meow. Mr. Prince
Charming greeted the unfamiliar man at the door. His round brimmed hat shaded
his face, but I could tell he meant business by his long black overcoat and the
briefcase he clutched.
    “Hello, can I
help you?” I asked the gentleman. Oscar stood behind me. Oscar looked funny in
his uniform. Sort of all grown-up. Regardless, I was glad he was there and was
wearing it.
    “I’m Alexelrod
Primrose, a realtor from out of town.” He coughed, and flashed his business
card. I opened the screen door to take it. “And I have clients moving to the
area. This is exactly the house the type of house they are looking for.” He
curled his nose while looking around. “I wanted to know if you’d be interested
in selling.”
    He held up a
sheet of paper with a checklist.
    I wanted to ask
him if she smelled something funny,