by Katie Penryn
“We’ll be back tomorrow morning,” I promised.
“We’ll blow your socks off,” said Felix. “Just you wait and see.”
*
I was dropping off to sleep later that night when one of the dogs scratched and whined at my door. I called out, “Go back to bed. Bed!” but the scratching continued. I knew whoever it was would give up in time but I didn’t want to repaint the door, so I climbed out of bed and opened the door.
Zag gave me his paw. I shook it and asked him what was wrong.
He gazed at me with sorrowful eyes pleading to be allowed into my room.
“All right, in you come,” I said, “but this had better be quick. I’m dead on my feet.”
I sat down on my bed and stroked his head. He licked my hand and told me his tale of woe.
“Penzi, Zig is keeping us all awake in the kitchen. Every time she falls asleep she wakes up from a terrible nightmare, and while she’s asleep, she mewls and whines as if she’s being chased by demons.”
“Oh, poor girl. What’s upset her? Do you know?”
“It’s the bees. You left them on the kitchen table and she can hear them buzzing. A swarm of bees attacked her when she was a puppy. She had over a dozen stings. Please would you come downstairs and move them out of the kitchen?”
“Of course,” I said putting my slippers on and making for the door. “Why didn’t you tell me when I was down there?”
“We couldn’t. Audrey was there, and she’s not a witch, is she? And I thought Zig would calm down.”
“You were quite right to keep quiet in front of Audrey.”
When we reached the kitchen, I picked up the two boxes of bees and took them through to the study. Zig was still cowering in her basket when I returned.
“Don’t worry, Penzi,” said Piffle. “I’ll cheer her up.”
He climbed into her basket and cuddled up to her, his little body fitting perfectly between her front and hind legs.
“Sorry, to be such a wimp,” Zig said as she gave Piffle a lick of thanks.
“We’ll have to get you some aversion therapy,” I told her. “We can’t have you scared of bees going about their everyday business when we have two hives in the garden.”
“Okay,” she said as her head sank down into the cushion.
“Night,” I said winking at Zag before closing the door softly behind me and dragging myself back to my bed thinking of the work we had to do the next day.
How many more people were we going to offend in our search for the truth? We had yet another local resident to interview the next day — Kiki.
*
Although we’d been living in Les Dragons for a few weeks, the old house hadn’t lost a certain spookiness engendered by the centuries of life that had gone before us. As I climbed up the stairs shadows flickered and the ancient oak beams above my head creaked from time to time as the wood adapted to the change in temperature from day tonight. I gave myself a shake and checked my apricot semper tuens aura. Stupid me. There it was shimmering around me in a ten foot circle. I crossed the landing thinking we should change at least one of the sixty watt bulbs for an a hundred and fifty and to hell with the cost.
As I pushed my door, open a mighty hissing greeted me. The hair on the back of my neck rose and my aura shook. I put out my hand and switched on the light scared of what I might see.
Coiled up on the foot of my bed, the light shining off its conker brown scales, lay a giant snake. Even as I ran through the snakes indigenous to France: adders and harmless grass and house snakes, it reared up on its tail and spread its hood. Hood? A cobra.
I took a step back as it began to sway ready to attack its prey — me. I knew at once it was an African cobra, sent by the witchdoctor of the Wazini to attack me. Its eyes glittered evilly as it stared back at me. Any moment now it would strike. Like the prey of snakes all over the world I couldn’t move. It jerked its head back a couple of inches then spat, sending its jet of highly toxic venom on a trajectory aimed straight for my eyes.
I still couldn’t move and my breath had stopped.
The venom hit my aura and slid down to the floor in viscous gobbets. The aura had held as strong as titanium. Frustrated, the serpent flung itself at the unexpected barrier, stunned itself and fell to the floor in a mass of writhing coils. My aura shook. The cobra picked itself up and threw itself at the barrier again. This time although it didn’t get through to me it dented my protective shield.
I had to do something. If it went on like that it might succeed in wearing a tunnel through to me. I concentrated hard and managed to move my head. What I saw almost sent me back into a state of paralysis. Out of the corner of my eye through the dim lighting of the landing I could make out the figure of the witchdoctor of the Wazini. He was standing on one leg leaning against the corner of the wall. This time he was dressed as Felix had described the Leopardmen to me. He wore a leopard skin with the hollowed out head covering his own, the great fangs grazing his forehead and the leopard’s claws fastened to his hands. He couldn’t reach me yet, but he scared me half to death. He was testing my protection and finding it wanting. How long would it hold out?
I screamed, “Felix!” at the top of my voice. “He’s back.”
Chapter 23
Felix
Penzi’s cry for help tore through my dreams of the African jungle. I leapt out of bed. Instinct told me to shift and fast, but I had to check first. I cracked open my door and peered out. Penzi stood frozen in the doorway of her room, her semper tuens aura was shuddering as if under repeated attack from something inside her room.
A cackle of demented laughter drew my attention to the end of the landing where Sir Archibald’s arch enemy leaned nonchalantly against the wall. A leopard skin covered the foul creature. He mimed clawing at me and cackled some more. My heart turned over when I recognized my mother’s markings. The witchdoctor wore the very pelt he had cut so rudely from my mother’s body while she lay dying in the hot sun on the grasslands of Africa.
No punishment was too severe for such a loathsome excuse for a man. I drew in a deep breath and shifted, pumping life-giving oxygen round my muscles. Penzi’s aura of protection was holding for the moment, and so in three bounds I was on him, but no matter how much power I summoned, I couldn’t reach him with my claws. He backed along the wall, blew a blast of foul breath in my face and disappeared. His magic had proved too strong for me.
I swung round and made for Penzi. I brushed against her as I pushed past her in the doorway. That jolted her back to life. She stepped backwards giving me space to size up what had frightened her so much. A huge brown cobra with its hood fully spread rocked on its lower coils. I had no way of knowing if it was real or a magic illusion. I couldn’t take the risk. Keeping eye contact with it I dropped into a stalking position and inched into the room giving it as wide a berth as possible. It followed me with its eyes trying to decide whether to attack me or not. I didn’t give it the time. As soon as I was level with it I gathered my hind legs into a spring and took off flying straight for it. I skewered it with my long pointed fangs and shook it savagely until it grew limp. I tossed it away across the room and turned to find Penzi.
“Look,” she said pointing at the wall where I’d thrown the snake.
It had vanished. It had been a magic trick after all.
“Can magic illusions harm you?” I asked her.
She shook her head. “I have no idea, but I’m glad I didn’t have to find out.”
I shifted back into Felix the man and put my arms around her. Her skin felt cold and clammy. I let go of her to pull a throw off her bed. I wrapped it around her shoulders and led her back to the stairs.
“You need a hot drink, my girl. And I don’t want to leave you up here on your own. You’re in shock.”
She tried to shrug me off. “I know that, Felix. I’m scared not stupid.”
“I’m here now. Come along. We’ll talk things over down in the kitchen.”
I coaxed
her to walk with me down the stairs. Of course, we woke the dogs up.
“What’s going on?” asked Zag, opening one eye. “It’s the middle of the night and we’re all trying to sleep down here.”
That was before he’d had a good look at Penzi.
“Gosh, what’s wrong with you, Penzi?” he now asked as he jumped out of his basket and came over to snuffle her hand.
“She’s had a shock,” I told him. “A reptilian shock. There was one in her bedroom.”
“That’s the worst kind all right,” he said. “I hate snakes, nasty slithering things. But how did a snake find its way into her room, it’s two flights up? There was no snake there when I went up to see her a short while ago.”
I pulled out a chair for Penzi and put the kettle on for a cup of tea and a hot water bottle. Middle of the summer or not, Penzi was shaking and needed the warmth.
By this time Zig and Piffle had woken up from their joint cocoon. Piffle leapt up onto Penzi’s lap and cuddled up to her to give her comfort. We would miss him when he went to live with Audrey at The Union Jack.
Zig tugged her blanket out of her basket, dragged it over to Penzi and wrapped it around her feet.
“To answer your question, Zag, it was a magic illusion. Penzi’s been under attack from an African witchdoctor.”
“Why didn’t you tell us? We should be guarding her room at night.”
“That’s not necessary. Penzi has magic protection which you can’t see. However, it was sorely tried tonight. Why do you think that was, boss?”
Penzi gave me a weak smile. “I’ve been thinking about that while you’ve all been talking. It has to be something to do with my morale or my state of mind, I think.”
“What do you mean?” I asked putting a mug of hot sweet tea down in front of her.
“Magic takes energy, even for an aura of protection. It’s been a horrible day.”
“Drink your tea,” I said pushing the mug closer to her.
“Don’t fuss. It’s too hot. Let me tell you what I feel.”
“Sorry,” I said tucking the throw more tightly round her shoulders. “Please go on.”
“First of all, there’s Dubois’s ridiculous suspicions about Sam. I’m sure he won’t jump the gun again, but it’s worrying all the same. We aren’t getting anywhere with our investigation. All we’re doing is losing the friends we’ve made. The mayor will hardly speak to us. Madame Desert’s good will is important to us if we want her to extend the lease for The Union Jack at the end of the year, and we offended her today.”
“They understand what you’re trying to do even if they appear to be annoyed.”
“That’s just it. Trying. And not succeeding. This time I don’t have the mental energy for detection and deduction. The spark’s gone. I’m like a flat battery. And I told you I’m too close. I couldn’t be closer. My own brother is a suspect.”
“So you want to give up? That doesn’t sound like the Mpenzi Munro I know.”
She blew on her tea and drank a couple of mouthfuls.
“I never give up,” she said at last, “but I’m warning you sometimes no matter how hard one tries one doesn’t win through. And this witchdoctor business is getting on my nerves. I thought we had him sorted and now here he’s back again.”
“We have to ask the High Council of the Guild of White Witches for help, boss.”
“They’ll think I’m a wuss; that I can’t cope.”
“No they won’t. We must schedule a visit to them as soon as we can. Meanwhile, I’ll sleep on the end of your bed.”
Zag held up his paw. “We could do that. You know it’s part of our job description to look after the family.”
Penzi smiled and patted his head. “Thanks, but Felix the leopard is more scary than you two.”
“Right then,” I said. “Plans in place. I guard you at night. The dogs keep an eye on you during the day if I’m not in the same room as you. We go to bed early and eat lots of healthy food to keep our energy levels up. And tomorrow we crack on with the case. I have every faith in you. You’re not your father’s daughter for nothing.”
Penzi finished her tea, and I refilled the hot water bottle. When we reached her bedroom, I morphed into Felix the leopard and curled myself up at the foot of her bed.
She stroked my ears saying, “Thank you for being such a good friend,” lay down and went straight to sleep.
Chapter 24
Much as I dreaded having to spend my Sunday on the Jonny Sauvage case as soon as I woke up I resolved to phone Kiki and arrange to see him and his wife that day if possible. I phoned him while I waited for Gwinny to cook our traditional Sunday full English breakfast. He said he and his wife attended mass on Sundays at 10.30 a.m. They wouldn’t be home until nearly noon.
“Why don’t you and your friend come for lunch?” he suggested. “We can talk then. I know Marie wants to show you around her garden. And I’m sure she’d like the chance to talk to someone who misses Jonny as much as she does.”
“Why, thank you,” I said.
We arranged a time and Kiki went over the directions with me. I’d been there in the bus with the band on the way to the Blues Festival, but the landmarks are never as remarkable as a passenger.
Felix and I discussed whether we had time to do the bee magic before we went out. The answer was no, and so we had to disappoint Jimbo who’d been looking forward to the expedition. Audrey offered to take the children for a picnic as we’d be out and Sam planned to spend the day with Emmanuelle.
“I’m surprised the mayor hasn’t barred him from the house after our visit,” said Felix.
“Bonhomie’s a nice guy. He wouldn’t hold my insensitive questioning against Sam and, anyway, Sam saved Emmanuelle from Jonny Sauvage.”
“You’ll have to use a more delicate touch in your interviews from now on, boss.”
“We’re at such a disadvantage compared to the police. Dubois can call anyone in and ask them anything,” I said.
“And search houses, offices, computer records.”
“That’s why we used magic to help us solve the other two murders. I was careful to call on my special powers as a white witch only when we needed information that would have been available to Dubois if he’d asked the right questions.”
*
What a perfect day for lunch with friends. If only Felix and I hadn’t had an ulterior motive for accepting Kiki’s invitation, I could have relaxed and enjoyed myself. Bees buzzed around the flowers in Marie’s garden dodging the many butterflies who competed with them for the nectar. I would have to ask her which flowers she suggested I plant in our garden to keep our bees happy.
Kiki came out to greet us as we pulled up in front of the house.
“Marie’s finishing up in the kitchen. Mass took longer than usual today with several children attending for the first time.”
“How’s Father Pedro?” I asked as I shook hands with Kiki.
“He’s fine. He’s a good priest. Come along around behind the house. Marie has set the table in the shade of the apple trees. We should take advantage of the summer before it’s over.”
“What a lovely place to live,” Felix said as he took my arm to help me over the uneven crazy paving.
Kiki turned back to us and pulled a face. “It’s neat and tidy now, but it was a field full of nettles and rocks when we bought it.”
“When was that?” I asked.
“Over ten years ago. Marie and I were high school sweethearts. We couldn’t wait to get married and set up home.”
“But no children?”
He fell silent as he showed us to our seats and didn’t answer my question. I’d been tactless again.
He left us to fetch the aperitifs.
The balmy air wafted the scent of roses over us, their perfume strong enough to withstand the noonday heat. Honeysuckle and jasmine climbed the walls of the house and the fence surrounding the orchard. It would be a heavenly place to chill out in the evening when they in their
turn sent out their fragrance to attract the moths.
“We must plant honeysuckle,” I said to Felix. “I’d like it to climb up to my bedroom window so I can smell it when I lie in bed at night.”
Felix grinned. “Anything you say, boss.”
I was saved from rebuking him for the hundredth time by Marie and Kiki bearing a champagne bucket and a tray of what the French call amuse-gueules, little tit-bits to tantalize one’s taste buds. Kiki poured us each a kir royale.
He handed the glasses round. “Let us stand and toast absent friends, particularly our good friend, Jonny Sauvage!”
“To Jonny,” we said as one and clinked our glasses.
I turned aside to wipe away a tear and found myself facing Marie who was doing the same thing. We both laughed nervously.
“It’s so sad,” she said as she sat down again.
A shiver ran through me. A cold chill in the middle of a hot summer’s day. Ever since Jonny had died, even before we knew he’d been murdered, I’d been battling the repetition running through my mind of the phrase from the Book of Common Prayer: In the midst of life, we are in death. As if to underline my thoughts a bat suddenly flew out from under the eaves of the house, swooped around our heads and flew off across the neighboring fields.
“Odd that,” said Kiki. “It’s unusual to see a bat at this time of day.”
I hoped it wasn’t a portent of more evil to come.
Felix must have sensed my unease for he leaned over and whispered, “It’s just a bat, boss. Got out of the wrong side of his bed.”
That made me laugh and the atmosphere warmed up again.
Marie served us a delicious lunch, not too heavy. We had a chilled cucumber soup, followed by freshly caught sole which Marie said they’d bought on their way home from church. This was accompanied by pommes duchesses and a purée d’oseille, sorrel puree.
“This puree is to die for, Marie,” I said as I tried it with the fish.
It had just the right element of tartness to complement the sole.