Page 33 of Dragon Charmed

“I’m thinking that we’re not going to need the navigation on my phone to find Evelyn’s house.”

“I think you’re right,” Ben said. “There are a couple of streets and that’s it.” They turned right at the second cross street and stopped in front of a small bungalow. The yard was overgrown, and the window boxes were empty.

Tessa’s stomach dropped. “It looks vacant. I hope she still lives here.”

They got out and walked up to the door and rang the bell. No one came to the door after several attempts.

The curtains were drawn so they couldn’t see if there was any furniture. As they headed back to the truck, Tessa caught some movement on the porch across the street. A very old man sat in a rocking chair watching them.

She motioned to Ben, who followed her across the street. “Excuse me, sir. Does anyone live in that house?”

“Nope.”

Okay. She was hoping he would give them a little more, but no. “Evelyn Turner used to live there, right?”

“Don’t know.”

“You didn’t know Evelyn?” Tessa asked.

“Nope.”

“Have you lived here long?” Ben asked.

“Nope.”

Tessa smiled when she wanted to roll her eyes at the old man, half expecting his nose to grow as he kept spinning his tall tales. “Do you know anyone who might know where Evelyn moved?”

“Nope.” He stood and headed into his house, shutting the door with a definitive thud.

They walked back across the street and around to the back to try and see into the house. Unfortunately, all the windows had curtains blocking the view.

“That man is as old as Methuselah, and I would bet my secondhand Prada handbag that he daggone well has been living there for decades.”

“Don’t bet your handbag. I agree with you. What do you want to do next?”

“I’m going to text my friend, who is good with computers, and have him dig further into Evelyn to see if he can find a new address for her.” She sent Jonas a quick note and then turned to Ben.

Ben motioned to the truck. “I think we should go to the market and talk to the person there. I’m sure everyone in town knows everyone else. Maybe they’ll be a bit more forthcoming.”

Tessa climbed in. “That sounds like a plan. It makes me wonder why Mr. Grump was so closemouthed about Evelyn.”

Ben backed out of the driveway and turned back onto Main Street. The hair on Tessa’s arms stood up. All the people, including the kids who were outside a few minutes ago, were gone. “Are you getting a horror-movie vibe right now?”

“Yeah. Where did everyone go?” Ben asked as he pulled into one of the empty parking spaces in front of the small market.

A closed sign hung in the door’s window even though the market had been open when they drove by a few minutes ago.

Tessa turned to Ben. “Why does this feel like the entire town is avoiding us?”

He nodded. “Makes me think they have something to hide.”

“Or someone?” Her phone dinged. “My friend doesn’t see any other addresses for her, but he’ll keep searching.”

“So what do we do if no one will talk to us?” he asked.

She looked up and down the street for a moment before answering him. “I’m thinking there is one place that won’t turn us away. Let’s go to church.”

Chapter 12