Will grabbed my hand and gently squeezed it. “She can take care of herself. Don’t worry.”
“I know, but I still do. And, crazy as it sounds, I miss her.”
Millicent cocked her head to one side, her face sympathetic. “Me too. She’s a hard taskmaster, but she’s the best boss I’ve ever had. She asks a lot of us, but she asks even more of herself.”
James nodded. “She does. Anyway, we need to focus on what we’re doing. I guarantee that whatever she’s doing, she’s looking out for us at the same time. We’ll hear from her if she thinks we need to. Now, I want to start with you.” He turned a stern gaze on me.
I swallowed. “Um… what did I do?” It could’ve been for today’s effort at the meeting, but then again, I might have done something else I wasn’t aware of. I was special like that.
“Stop stirring up the hornet’s nest. Why do you have to goad Chad every time you see him?”
I shrugged. “It’s impossible not to. I try. I really do, but he’s just so stupid and arrogant. And every time I see him there, I know it’s because they pushed Angelica out for no good reason. In doing that, they’ve put all of you in danger. He’s incompetent, and that’s the nicest thing I have to say about him.” As much as I was getting a small lecture, no one disagreed with my assessment.
James shook his head. “It’s easier to beat your enemies if they don’t see you coming. You’re running at him, screaming and waving a red rag. Try subtlety, Lily. You might be surprised.”
I laughed. “Yes, James, because my ability to be subtle is almost as good as my poker face.”
Will chuckled. “She has you there, mate. I think we just need to keep Lily as far away from headquarters as possible, as often as possible.”
I smiled at Will. “I’d like that. Thanks.” I raised my brow at James. “See, Will gets me.”
James stared at the ceiling and shook his head. When he recovered his patience, he gave me one final look, then turned his attention to Millicent. “You said you and Lily have come up with a plan?”
She smiled. “We have, indeed.”
I sat up straight and raised my hand. “James, I have to ask you something.” If I didn’t ask now, I’d forget again. My brain was like a dog in a ball shop. No sooner had it seen one ball and picked it up, than another appeared that looked bouncier, chewier. It didn’t hold onto any ball too long before it was dropped, drool-laden and forgotten on the floor.
He stared at me. “Okay, ask.”
“That postcard Mum sent. Did Will show you the picture?”
“No. I vaguely remember it—I have it with some of their stuff—but I haven’t looked at it for a long time.”
Will looked at James. “Here’s a refresher.” He pulled his phone out, brought the photo up, and slid the phone to James.
James read it out so everyone could hear. “Well, that’s a riddle,” said Imani.
I nodded. “Yep. I’m sure it’s a clue; otherwise, why would my magic show it to me? Mum was covering all her bases for the future, or maybe she thought things would come to a head earlier, and the clue would be needed before she and Dad disappeared.” I looked at James. “So, who’s Tilly?”
His forehead wrinkled as he thought. He drummed his fingers on the table; then his forehead smoothed over. “Our next-door neighbours, the Browns, had two guinea pigs. One was called Tilly; the other one was Gabriel. We used to feed them when the Browns went away.”
“So,” said Millicent, “that’s the name we need to focus on. What has Gabriel got to do with the saint? And which saint are we talking about?”
Beren shook his head. “There are so many. Unless we took it in context of where they were—Mont Saint-Michel. The two must be linked somehow.”
James magicked a large screen onto the wall behind him. Unlike this afternoon, however, there would be no dead bodies on there. “Will, do you want to link your phone pics to it?”
Will gave a nod, and his magic prickled my scalp. The first photo I’d taken at the hotel appeared on the screen. James gasped. I blinked tears away. Mum was incredibly beautiful and Dad so handsome. Both young and vibrant. Too young to die and leave two children alone in the world. Damned RP. Your time is coming.
As each photo came up, Will explained to everyone what they were. When it was over, James cleared his throat. “Two scenes in one photo, Lily. That’s never happened before, has it?”
“No. Will thinks it’s because of the river of power being close to the surface there. I have no idea if they’re connected incidents.”
Beren looked at me. “I think, based on the past behaviour of your talent, that they are related, although what long-dead monks have to do with what’s going on today, I couldn’t tell you.”
Imani folded her hands together in front of her on the table and leaned on her forearms. “Maybe RP have a connection to the monks? Or maybe this has been going on way longer than we’ve been alive?”
I thought of the photo where my parents were obviously looking for something to take away with them. “Maybe the monks hid something at the abbey that everyone wants?”
“It’s possible,” said Will. “Or maybe something is hidden there that RP already owns and doesn’t want anyone else to have?”
Hmm…. “That makes sense. Otherwise, why try and stop my parents? I’m pretty sure that’s what the guy was doing with my father in a headlock at the abbey. Unless they managed to take whatever it was they were after?”
James shook his head. “I don’t think so. There’s no record of them having handed anything in at headquarters that I know of.” He looked at Liv. “Can you check that tomorrow? Go over all my mother’s assignments for that year. Find out everything you can. If anyone figures out you’re researching her and asks, just tell them you’re doing me a favour because I want to know more about my parents.”
“Okay. Consider it done.” Liv smiled.
“Thanks. Once Liv does that, whether or not she finds anything, I think we need to look closer at the abbey and what might be there. RP obviously doesn’t want us snooping around.” Snooping was such a cute word. I felt like I was in an episode of Scooby-Doo, but instead of a trusty canine, we had rats, and we got around in a Range Rover instead of the blue-and-green Mystery Machine. Okay, so that was a weird visual. Maybe it was nothing like being in Scooby-Doo at all. “Which brings me to the plan Lily and Millicent have come up with.”
Millicent gave James a smile. “Thanks. Okay, so Lily and I brainstormed this afternoon. It was Lily’s idea to look at events in her mother’s diary just prior and just after they were at Mont Saint-Michel. A week before, they’d been at an event or party held at a chateau. The address is about an hour and forty-five minutes’ drive northeast of Mont Saint-Michel.” She pressed her lips together. “Hang on. We only did half our homework.” Her magic tingled my scalp, and a laptop appeared in front of her. She opened it and typed. After a minute, she looked up from the screen, excitement shining from her eyes. “Well, isn’t that interesting.” Gah, she was going for suspense. Just what I needed. It was like those stupid ad breaks in reality shows when there was going to be a big reveal.
I gave her a mock-angry look. “Get on with it! Haven’t I suffered enough to get to this point?”
She chuckled. “Sorry, just having some fun with it.” She winked. “The owner of the chateau is none other than a Gabriel Toussaint. He has links to a far-right political party in France, and he has a lot of money, according to the file we have on him.” She looked at me. “I bet he’s the Gabriel she cryptically referred to in her postcard. His last name, Toussaint, has a saint in it as well. Maybe your mother was researching him? It doesn’t look like anything has been added to this file for quite a few years.” She cast another spell, and his picture appeared on the screen that James put up.
Well, that was even more interesting. “It’s him, the man my parents had in their room.” And now it all made sense.
“The same man your mother pulled a gun on,” said Wi
ll.
Imani sat back. “This plot is thicker than my mother’s barley soup.”
Millicent looked back at her screen and typed something else. After a minute, she looked up. “Seems he has properties all over Europe, including a three-bedroom apartment in Paris. If we’re lucky, he won’t be anywhere near the chateau for a while. He might use it as a weekender. We want to get in there as quickly as possible so Lily can take photos and move this investigation along.”
James looked at Will. “You and Imani are off to France tomorrow. While you’re there, make some noise, be obvious.” I wanted to jump up and tell James he was crazy—I didn’t want them in any more danger than what they already were, but their course was set, thanks to Chad. I frowned but kept my mouth closed for a change. “Hopefully, RP will be watching you and ignoring the fact that we might be somewhere else too. Beren and I can stake out Gabriel’s apartment, get a read on whether he’s there at the moment.” He directed his gaze back to Millicent. “Does he own a company or work?”
She looked at her screen and scrolled. “Yes. And why am I not surprised. It’s Arsenal Toussaint. They have a government contract and supply the armed forces. They’re likely to have private contracts too. Have we got a guy we can trust who can hack into their systems? Chances are, he has an electronic diary, or his secretary manages one for him. I’d prefer that to ringing them with a story. It might raise suspicions, especially with what happened in Manchester.”
I shuddered. That had not been the best day. Imani and I had been ridiculously fortunate to not get killed. If what that note I received ages ago said was right, part of RP wanted me alive, and it was probably due to them that I hadn’t died. I knew Dana wanted me D.E.A.D. But she didn’t always get what she wanted, and she’d never get that particular wish if I had anything to do with it.
Beren nodded. “Good thinking, Mill.”
She smiled. “Thanks. In any case, we’ll get that information, and in the meantime, you can pay his apartment an early morning visit, see what happens.”
Beren gave her a thumbs up, and James nodded. “And what was your plan regarding the chateau?”
Millicent closed her laptop. “We’ll need Will on security detail—taking out cameras, alarms, etcetera. It’s also essential that we find out if any witches work there, or even if they have staff there when Gabriel isn’t at home. With a bit of luck, we’ll have the house all to ourselves. Once we know that, we can move ahead. If they do have staff, we’ll have to get in there at night, when everyone’s left, which also won’t be too hard. If there’s one or two people living on-site, they probably live in a separate cottage. We’ve snuck into harder places. Lily can get in and take the photos and get out again. While she’s there, Will and Imani, you two can look for any obvious evidence of a link with Mont Saint-Michel or Lily’s parents. It’s a long shot—he has so many places, who knows where he keeps his most secret papers—but at least we’ll have Lily’s photos of that party.”
Imani nodded. “It is what it is. If we can’t work much out from that, we can always go back to Mont Saint-Michel. That sounds like a real hotspot.”
Will shook his head. “Unless they’ve already moved what we were looking for.”
James looked at Will. “They might be keeping whatever it is there because they can harness the stronger magic as a barrier. Moving it could be risky for them—we might not be the only people looking for whatever it is.”
“The girl with the butterfly tattoo.” Now that would be a whole other movie. I was glad it wasn’t the tough chick with the dragon tattoo I’d come across. I dare say she wouldn’t have run.
“Exactly, Lily,” said James.
“Hmm.” Will folded his arms. “I know who we can trust with the hacking.”
James leaned forward. “Spill.”
Will’s smile was smug. “Agent… ahem, ex-agent Cardinal. He was one of our best. He’s working internet security at another government agency, but his heart is still with the PIB. As soon as Ma’am’s back, she’ll offer him his old job, and he knows it.” Clever man. Cardinal and I had never been best friends, but he’d always been helpful, was good at his job, and he was definitely on our side.
As much as I was okay with that, I didn’t know if I wanted him to be a party to my secret talent. “We’re not bringing him into this group, though, are we?”
James and Will shared a quick look. James moved his gaze to me. “No. We can swear him to secrecy without having to make him swear on the book. We’ll only tell him about this one person we’re investigating. He won’t even ask about the how or why.”
Some of the tension in my shoulders faded. “Thanks.”
James looked around the table. “Right, so we all have our jobs. Does anyone have any questions?”
I didn’t actually have a job for tomorrow, so I put up my hand. “Um, is there anything I can do tomorrow to help?”
“Maybe brush up on some spells?” James suggested. “We have no idea what we’re going to come up against in the next few weeks, and knowledge is power. Even if you find yourself fighting someone who has a return to sender up, hammer them enough with specific spells, and they might drop it, well, they will if you’re stronger—all you have to do is outlast them. Find something that won’t hurt you if it bounces back. Keep your fitness up, too, Lily.” He looked at Will. “Teach her some pressure points.”
“Okay. I’ll go over them with her tonight.”
James gave a nod. “Will, you guys check in with me tomorrow afternoon. We’ll meet again as soon as we have more information on Toussaint’s movements. Once we have Cardinal on board, we’ll get him to delve into the bank accounts too. Any link we can find to RP and Dana’s father is what we’re after. Okay, folks. We’re done.”
Imani and I stood, and I faced her, the scritch of uneasiness in my gut like cockroach claws against skin. “Good luck tomorrow. Please be careful. I mean, I know you always are, but they’ll be waiting. Look what happened to those French agents.”
“We’ll be extra careful, love. I promise. Will and I know RP well—those other agents didn’t go in there fully informed. We’ll come home tomorrow night alive and well.”
I wasn’t a hugger, but I gave her one anyway. “You’d better.” I said no more. She knew what I’d lost in my life. Going on about it wasn’t going to make my point any clearer.
Will put his hand on my shoulder. “Come on, Lily. Let’s go. I have to teach you about pressure points.”
I turned and smiled. “Pressure points, hey? Is that what you’re calling it these days?”
Beren laughed. “The best pressure points are where the sun doesn’t reach… the more protected parts of the anatomy.”
Liv smacked him. “Stop it!”
Will laughed. “Beren’s actually right, and the sooner we get home, the sooner I can show you.”
Well, I wasn’t turning down that invitation. I hurriedly said goodbye to everyone, made my doorway, and left. It was time to learn about pressure points. Who knew? Maybe one day it would actually save my life, and in the meantime, I had Will all to myself. I’d call that a win any day of the week, even the day before he walked into danger.
I pushed that out of my head as I unlocked the reception-room door and Will arrived. Let the pressure-point lesson begin.
Chapter 10
Darkness claimed the day. It was just after six, but my time of looking out the window at the squirrels was well and truly over. Will and Imani had met with the ex-captive’s wife with no dramas, which seemed like a miracle. I hadn’t heard from anyone after the mid-afternoon update and had no idea what was going on with James’s stake-out. It was time to continue the distraction with television. The news was on, and after that, I was going to watch Escape to the Chateau. Man, I loved that show.
Abby was ensconced on my lap, strangely enough, watching TV, too, as in paying attention. I supposed she could understand human speak, so why not? Out of nowhere, she growled, then stood and hissed at the televisi
on. “What’s wrong, pussy cat?”
The screen blacked out for a second. When it came back on, my mouth dropped open. Abby yowled, leapt down, and ran to the TV. She sprung up and smacked it with her paw… right in the middle of Piranha’s face, which took up most of the screen. The evil woman smiled. “Hello, Lily. Welcome to my evening news report, a special one, just for you.”
I jumped to my feet. I opened my portal to the river of magic and donned a return to sender.
She laughed. “Oh, you’re so funny. Surprised you, did I?” Her face twisted into hatred so powerful, I could feel the toxic waves. “Your death day is coming, you pathetic excuse for a witch. I have a message for you to convey to that man of mine.”
I managed to get my crap together and wrestle my breathing under control. My heart rate was another matter. But as long as Piranha couldn’t see how scared I was, it was all good. “You mean Will?”
“No, I mean Santa Claus. Idiot.”
“Just making sure because, as you know, he hates you almost as much as I do. He’s not anything but your ex. I guess you hadn’t heard.” I grinned and held up my engagement ring for her to eyeball. I waved it around and admired it, then gestured to it with my other hand as if I were a model on a game show.
Her eyes widened slightly before she reined herself in and became her hateful self once more. “Well, this is a development. I’ll enjoy watching you suffer when I kill him. Tit for tat, as they say. But I’m getting off track. Make sure you let everyone at my favourite organisation know what I’m about to show you.” The camera panned back, revealing Piranha standing in a nondescript room, which had a small Jesus on a cross hanging on the wall behind her. A woman sat at a red 1960s Formica table. “This is what happens to the families of everyone Will and his associates interview from now on.” She lifted her arms and called down lightning, striking the woman.
I didn’t want her to see how it affected me, but my hand slammed over my mouth, and tears scorched my eyes. She was the most horrible witch. And if you replaced the w with a b, you’d get my drift. A gale of fury spun within me. “The only one of us who’s going to die next time we meet is you.” I bared my teeth in a corrupted smile that promised so much. “When I’m done with you, people won’t call Karma down on their enemies; they’ll be invoking my name.” I grabbed the remote control, and before she could say anything else, I turned the TV off with shaking hands, then unplugged it, walked out, and shut the door.
Witch War in Westerham Page 7