Witch Silenced in Westerham

by Dionne Lister

  “I guess we’re wasting our time taking any photos out here. I’m going to have to go into the rooms. Will the no-notice spell be good enough? It’s not like we’re walking past in a public space where there are a lot of other people.”

  “It should be fine, unless we come across another witch, and then we may have some explaining to do, but if that happens, leave it to me. Okay?”

  I nodded, nerves I didn’t have much of before multiplying. I had to force myself to walk through the first door into a room containing four patients. I swallowed against the dryness in my mouth and pushed the door wider. Just inside the door, I shuffled to the side—I didn’t have to go right in, but I didn’t want to block the door. If anyone walked in, they’d crash into me, and I was pretty sure they would notice that. I tensed, waiting for one of the four patients to notice me. A nurse was taking someone’s blood pressure. Phew. None of them looked my way.

  I held my phone up, brought an image of the old lady at the care home into my mind, and whispered, “Show me Penny.”

  I started. She appeared right in front of me, on her way out of the room. One patient was in the bed nearest the door, to my right, but the other bed, closest to the window, had the curtain pulled. The other two beds were vacant. From the looks of Penny, it would have been at least ten years ago, probably more. She looked about sixty and walked with a straight back—nothing elderly about her here.

  Okay, so I knew she’d definitely worked in this ward. It might have been tricky if they’d ever renovated and changed ward locations. We may have had to go through the whole hospital before finding where she’d been. I got in and out of the phone app to clear the screen. If she had killed patients, would she have put the curtain around the bed, or did she single out people in private rooms?

  The more I thought about this, the more complicated it became. Wasn’t that always the way? Why couldn’t things just be straightforward for a change?

  Hoping I wouldn’t have to walk further into the room—to get on the other side of any closed curtains—I whispered, “Show me Penny killing someone.”

  In the bed closest to the window, but on the left-hand side, Penny stood with her back to me. I tiptoed closer to get a better look. The man in the bed clutched both hands to his chest. His face was contorted, his eyes scrunched shut, pain etched into his features. I took picture after picture as I neared. I reached the side of the bed and looked over the top of my phone—it wouldn’t do to walk into the closed curtain. I edged carefully around it. There was a patient in the bed in real time.

  Please don’t see me. Please don’t see me.

  When I looked at my phone again, Penny’s face was right in front of me. She looked even younger than in the last photo. Was this roughly the time she’d started working here?

  She was looking down at the man, a satisfied smile on her face, her palms raised slightly facing him. Had she been performing a spell? Unfortunately, my talent didn’t include picking up magic. But it was obvious he was in distress, and as a nurse, the least she should have done was help him, call someone, do something. But instead, she watched gleefully. I snapped the last of the photos, including one of the man’s chart and the sign above his bed with his name, doctor, and procedure written on it, and lowered my camera.

  The current occupant of the bed was eating his dinner and looking up at the TV screen mounted from the ceiling. Phew. He hadn’t noticed me.

  Ignoring the prickles on the back of my neck because I was exposed to everyone, I stood in the middle of the room. Again, I put in my request. I slowly turned in a circle, pointing my phone at each bed. And there, to my right near the window, she was again. Her greying hair was pulled back in a severe bun, and she grimaced, holding the slight old man down. Her palm pressed into his chest to stop him, it was clear he was attempting to sit up. Terror spewed from his eyes, no doubt giving Penny her fix. I shuddered. That poor man. I had no idea how she’d killed him, but I took the photos anyway and included a shot of his chart and of the whiteboard above his bed. Maybe Olivia could pull this patient’s records, and we could piece together how she’d done it.

  Will had quietly stepped into the room. He stared at me, his eyebrow raised. I pointed to the door, indicating we should go outside. I was pretty sure it was time to move into the next room. If we couldn’t find anything there, we could come back here, and I’d ask that terrible question again. Goosebumps flamed across my arms at the thought of so many deaths in this small space. I mean, I knew people died in hospitals all the time, and that was creepy enough, but if your soul was dragged kicking and screaming to the afterlife, it was way worse.

  Not that I believed in any of that, but still….

  Back in the hallway, I inhaled deeply, as if I hadn’t had a proper breath in hours. The constant fear of being discovered was like being held underwater, waiting for the wave to pass as you held your breath. Floating to the top and popping through the water to draw that first huge gulp of oxygen brought sweet, sweet relief.

  “Are you okay?” Will’s brows did that adorable wrinkly thing they did when he was concerned about me.

  I gave him a small smile. “Yeah. I’ll be fine. I just keep waiting for someone to see me. It’s horrible. It’s also icky and sad watching someone experience their last terrifying moments on earth. How can people get joy from killing someone? It’s just… just….” I sighed.

  He pulled me in for a hug and kissed the top of my head. “I know, Lily. But just think: because of you, we should be able to solve the murders of so many people. Not that it will bring them back, and I don’t know if we can even punish someone with dementia, but maybe there’s someone out there who needed answers to be at peace.”

  “But can we tell anyone? I mean, we can’t show humans my photos. Maybe we could tell them our suspicions so they can begin an investigation, but are they going to rush to do it when it could mean millions in compensation to patients’ families?”

  He shrugged. “Let’s not worry about it now. We need to save Angelica first.”

  “Good idea.” I reluctantly stepped away from him and approached the next door. Stupid, evil witch. If it weren’t for her, Angelica wouldn’t be in danger, and Will’s grandmother would be alive. This time, the door was wide open, revealing another room with four beds. Three were occupied by women—two looked to be in their fifties, and one was fairly young, maybe about thirty. That was way too young to have heart problems. The things people had to face that they shouldn’t have to. I counted my blessings as I quietly walked into the room.

  I whispered, “Show me Penny killing someone.” I panned around the room, and there she was, again at the far end of the room near the window, at the bed on the right. This time, the patient looked to be asleep as she injected a syringe into his neck. Had she magicked him asleep? My heart thrummed a gazillion miles an hour as I approached the bed that was occupied in real time too.

  I risked getting close so I could take all the necessary shots, including one of the extreme concentration on Penny’s face. Even her tongue was sticking out in the universal sign of super focus. James came to mind. When we were young and we played video games, he would have his tongue sticking out half the time without realizing it. Normally, that memory would have made me smile, but not today.

  When I was done, I went back to the door to make my new request. I didn’t want to be close to anyone while I was whispering, if I could help it, because they’d likely hear me.

  “Show me the last time Penny killed someone in this room.” My eyes widened, and my mouth dropped open. This… this was something I hadn’t expected to see.

  Oh my God.

  There were three sleeping patients, oblivious to the murder happening in the middle of the room. Penny stood, her back to me. She faced another nurse, a young, slim woman, maybe in her thirties, with a straight dark fringe which settled above her distressed brown eyes. She clutched her chest, and as I clicked and walked to get a view from the side, it was apparent Penny was the cause of
her distress.

  Penny held her hands towards the nurse’s chest. Her hands were in claw-like positions facing each other—it looked as if she was squeezing something. Something heart-sized. I kept pressing the button, taking as many shots as I could, until I lowered the phone and asked my magic to show me what happened five minutes after this scene. I’d never done that before, and I wasn’t sure if it would work.

  But it did.

  The nurse lay on the floor on her back. Penny knelt on the floor next to her, along with another nurse and doctor who looked to be performing CPR, but I would imagine they were too late. The nurse’s name tag was in my photos. I leaned over the scene: Rose. We’d have to check that out too, find out who she was.

  I straightened. Again, I asked my magic to show me who else she’d killed in here, and when I was done, I’d move to the next room, and the next. All these people needed to have their stories heard.

  By the time Will took me home, it was after ten, and I was too exhausted to eat. “Now that we’re pretty sure it’s her, is someone going to tell Angelica to be extra careful around her?”

  “Already done. Beren’s been keeping her up to date with our investigation.”

  I wasn’t sure why, but I wasn’t as relieved as I should’ve been. Angelica couldn’t sleep with her eyes open, but at least Penny didn’t have access to her magic.

  Will gave me a squishy cuddle and a passionate kiss goodbye. I’d have to say that had been the highlight of my day, and I was reluctant to let go so he could leave. If only he could stay the night, but we were taking things slow. There was no way I was going to suggest it. I didn’t want to look too desperate. Stupid dating conventions.

  When I fell into bed, it was with a bruised heart and a head full of murder victims.

  Now we just had to prove Penny was the care-home killer.

  But nothing is ever that easy.

  Chapter 11

  I slept in until eleven the next day. Will and I had an evening shift in the van. Before that, we were going into the PIB to have a meeting with James, Millicent, Olivia, Imani, Agent Cardinal, and Beren. It was funny; Agent Cardinal hadn’t given me permission to use his first name, so I even thought of him as Agent Cardinal. Who knew I was so polite?

  When I went down to make a coffee, there was a double-chocolate muffin on the table with a red ribbon around it. A note lay on the table next to it. To my gorgeous Aussie witch. Thanks for all your hard work yesterday. I know it’s not easy to see what comes through your lens, but it’s appreciated. Will xx.

  Be still, my beating heart. I put my palm over said organ. Will was so considerate. What a sweetie. How had I ever thought he was just a cranky meanie? Oh, that’s right: because he had been. I chuckled. What a difference a few months made.

  I magicked up a cappuccino and sat down to enjoy my brunch muffin. I sniffed the treat once before digging in. “Mmm.” Heaven. I hadn’t been to Costa for ages. When did life get so busy? It used to be that I wasn’t allowed because I was in danger, and now I was still in danger, but I could look after myself a bit more. When I first got here, I was looking for things to do, but now time to relax and wander around had disappeared, like the muffin just had. I pouted. One muffin was never enough but not wanting to put on twenty kilos meant it was all I was having.

  I dressed, grabbed my bag, and went to the PIB.

  The reception-room door opened. “Hey, Gus, how have you been?” My shoulders tensed, waiting for a mention of poo or vomit.

  “Very well, Miss Lily. Very well, thank you. How have you been?”

  Phew! “Good, thanks. How’s work going?” That should be a safe question. Not much gross stuff happened at work, and he wasn’t allowed to bring his dog.

  “Same old, same old. Oh! Except yesterday. The lads brought someone in—arrested some witch for making drugs and selling them to humans. They happened to arrest him when he was home, but he was only home and vulnerable because he had food poisoning. When I opened the reception-room door, oh my, the smell! He was covered in his own vomit, and so were two of the agents. I almost retched meself, I did.”

  I gagged and looked back the way I’d come, wondering if I should stop asking Gus questions altogether. There didn’t seem to be a safe topic of conversation. He had a real knack for turning anything down the gross path. “In that reception room?”

  “Ah no, we have another one, closer to the cells. Mainly used for bringing in the crims. When we’re busy, they bring ’em up here. Anyway, you should’ve seen it! There were even carrot chunks.” He shook his head and laughed.

  Yeah, very funny.

  “Oh, look, Gus. We’re here already.” I turned to him and smiled. “Have a wonderful day!”

  He smiled. “You too, Miss Lily.” He opened the conference-room door and stepped back to tip his hat at me. I hurried through.

  As usual, I was the last to arrive. If this kept happening, I’d end up with a major case of paranoia. I checked the time on my phone—I was actually four minutes early. James sat at the head of the table. A pendulum of pride and worry swung inside me. He was doing an awesome job, but Angelica was in danger.

  Beren sat on James’s left, then Olivia next to him, and Will. Millicent sat on his right, then Imani, and Agent Cardinal. I took the other head of the table near Will.

  “Hi, Lily.” Imani waved as I passed.

  “Hi, Imani.” I smiled. She was so nice. Warmth shot through my chest at the thought that I might have actually found another person here who I really liked.

  “Hey, Lily.” Olivia smiled. I returned her greeting, then said hello to everyone else.

  “Okay, that’s everyone,” said James. “I’m calling this meeting to order. First on the agenda, Agent Cardinal starts his first shift tonight watching the security cameras.”

  Beren nodded. “Nice work.”

  James continued, “Second on the agenda: Agent DuPree had a quick chat with Ma’am this afternoon. She said the most likely suspect is Penny, but she’s not ready to call it yet. She’s not convinced Penny has the steady hand it would have taken to administer the needle that killed Agent Blakesley’s grandmother. Third on the agenda is our review of the video footage. Penny wandered the hallway last night until she was caught by one of the staff and put back to bed. According to the records, most murders have happened at night, which is a prime time for Penny to sneak around.” He clasped his hands on the table in front of him. “I’m in no way calling this investigation early, but together with other evidence we’ve found linking Penny to several unexpected hospital deaths a few years ago, it’s looking like she’s our main suspect. But we have to catch her in the act.” Thankfully he didn’t mention how they got that evidence. But how long would it be before my secret got out?

  I put up my hand.

  “Yes, Lily?”

  “Can’t we just leave our cameras in there and get Ma’am out?”

  James shook his head and gave me a firm look. “We’ve been through this, Lily. There is no other way. We can’t get cameras in other people’s rooms without risking being caught. Ma’am has the only cameras that make it into a room. I’m afraid we’ll need to keep her in there till we catch the culprit.”

  Millicent looked at me, a sympathetic expression on her face, but she didn’t say anything. As an agent, she knew whatever James decided, went. Besides, once James or Ma’am made up their mind on something, that was the end of discussion. James had been like that growing up too. Especially if he thought it was for the best, there was never any way to influence him.

  “Fourth, we’re crossing one of our suspects off the list. The manager was only on-site when two of the assumed murders were committed. Most deaths have occurred at night or early in the morning. His hours are from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. All employees use an electronic system to clock in and out, so it’s easy to prove. I also don’t think he has motive. The care home doesn’t benefit financially from having a higher turnover. Unless he’s a psychopath who enjoys the kill, there’s no re
ason he would want his residents dead.”

  James had a good point, and to be honest, after all the photos I’d just taken at the hospital, he was pretty much off the hook. I mean, what were the chances of more than one serial killer being at the same care home? Oh, crap. “Um, James.”

  “Yes, Lily?”

  “What if we’re dealing with a team… like more than one killer? It’s probably unlikely two serial killers are there together, but it’s possible.”

  Millicent and James looked at each other, and everyone else looked at me, surprised faces slowly relaxing to thinking. Beren said, “Hmm, that’s a possibility. But who would you peg for the other killer? Also, it’s not really a crime that needs an accomplice.” He scrunched his nose and shook his head. “Nah, I’m not really seeing it. It was a good suggestion though, and I guess we could keep our options open in that regard.”

  James looked at me. “I agree with Agent DuPree. I think it’s unlikely, but it’s not impossible, and who knows; maybe you’re right, Lily.”

  “Don’t worry. It was just a suggestion. You didn’t have to agree.” I shrugged. I really wasn’t worried. It just popped into my head, and I was the queen of saying random stuff that just popped into my head, usually and unfortunately without thinking whether it was appropriate or not. If only my magic worked in the care home, all our problems would be solved. Although, they wouldn’t really. I mean, we’d know who it was, but we wouldn’t have proof as to how we knew, which meant we’d still have to wait for the culprit—probably Penny—to try to kill someone so we could catch them at it.

  James shifted his gaze to Will. “Do you need an extra agent in the van to replace Agent Cardinal?”

  “No. We’re fine. The three of us have good concentration, and then you have the extra eyes that go through the videos later. Imani has enough tech knowledge to solve any issues we might have as well.” Will gave her a nod, and she smiled.