by Adele Abbott
“I can’t say.”
“I’m not leaving until you do.”
He could see I meant what I said, so we found a quiet little coffee shop where he told me everything.
Miles had moved back in with his parents. He’d lived and worked for many years in the human world, but according to the twins, had grown tired of that life so had moved back to Candlefield. Just as the twins had said, he lived on a small cul-de-sac, but I didn’t know which house was his, so I asked the young witch who was tending to her garden.
“Excuse me. I’m looking for Miles Best.”
“What do you want him for?” she said, abruptly. “Are you his girlfriend?”
“No. Nothing like that. Do you know him?”
“I should do. I’ve lived here all my life. This used to be my parents’ house. They’re both dead now.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Miles and I grew up together. We played together and went to school together. I always thought—” She seemed to drift off—lost in her own thoughts for a few seconds.
“I didn’t catch your name,” I said.
“It’s Mindy. Mindy Lowe.”
It didn’t take a private investigator to see that Mindy Lowe had a thing for Miles.
“I understand he came back recently. Has he changed much?”
“Not to me. He might look a little different, I guess, but don’t we all?” She laughed nervously.
“Have you seen much of him since he moved back to Candlefield?”
She shook her head. “We’ve said hello. That’s all.”
“Which is his house?”
She pointed. “Tell him I said ‘hi’ would you?”
“Sure.”
Miles answered the door. “It’s you, again. I saw you in Cuppy C with Amber and Pearl.”
“That’s right. Are your parents in?”
“No, they’ve gone shopping. Why?”
“I’d like a word with you. Can I come in?” I didn’t wait for an answer.
“I thought the twins liked me,” Miles said.
I felt like I’d just kicked a puppy.
“They do like you, Miles,” I lied. “But they’re both engaged now. How would it look if they were to be seen with you? I’m sure you understand. And besides, their fiancés are big guys. Very big.”
“Really?”
“You wouldn’t want to upset them.”
“No. I don’t want to do that. I had no idea.”
“Oh, and by the way, Mindy says ‘hi’.”
“She did?” He smiled. “Mindy and I have been friends forever.”
“You do realise she’d like to be more than just friends, don’t you?”
“Mindy? No. She doesn’t think of me like that.”
Were all men this stupid? On the evidence so far, I’d have to say yes.
“You’re wrong. Trust me on this one. Why don’t you invite her over for a cup of tea and a chat?” I grinned. “I’m sure she’ll say yes.”
“Really? You’re sure?”
“One hundred percent.”
I let the twins know that they were off the hook with Miles, but declined their offer of a free blueberry muffin. My jeans were already pinching a little. En route to Aunt Lucy’s I made a phone call to Annie Christy.
“Annie? It’s Jill. You know you said I should call if I ever needed a favour? Well—”
***
Aunt Lucy cried when I explained the situation.
“The stupid idiot.”
“He was afraid to tell you.”
“Why?”
“Men are stupid. He thought you’d think less of him because he’d lost his magic powers.”
“I couldn’t care less about that.”
“I know that, and you know that. But Lester—well—Lester is a man.”
“I have to go and talk to him.”
“Before you do—I took the liberty of speaking to Annie Christy, Beryl’s daughter. She works for SupAid, a charity which works with sups who have lost their powers. She said that she’d be happy to put Lester in touch with the right people. According to her, the problem often turns out to be only a temporary one, so his powers may yet return. But if they don’t, there is support available.”
“Thanks, Jill. I’ll make sure he contacts her.” She opened her arms. “Come here, and give me a hug.”
I left Aunt Lucy’s and started to walk towards the town square. It was market day, and I thought I’d spend an hour looking around. My phone rang.
“Jill? It’s Jack Maxwell.”
“Hello, Detective Maxwell.”
“Detective?” He laughed. “I guess I deserve that. Look, I have some news I thought you’d like to hear.”
“About the Tregar case?”
“No, I think you know all there is to know about that. I just wanted you to know that Susan Shay has gone back to her old post. Things didn’t work out for her down here.”
“That is a shame. Just when me and Sushi were beginning to hit it off.”
“She’s a good detective.”
“Yeah, so you said.”
“Anyway, I just thought you would want to know.”
“Thanks.”
“Okay.”
“Okay.”
“Bye, then.”
“Bye, Jack.”
Yes! So long, Sushi! Now that she was out of the picture maybe Jack and me could give it another go. Whatever ‘it’ was. It’s not like I had the added complication of Drake to worry about.
“Are you Jill Gooder?” The scruffy looking wizard stepped out of a doorway in front of me.
“Who are you? What do you want?” I was on my guard—ready with the ‘lightning bolt’ spell if I needed it.
“I’m Raven, Drake’s brother.”
“Drake? Did he send you to see me?”
“No. He doesn’t know I’m here.”
“Is he okay?”
“Yes, well sort of. He’s not happy that you dumped him. You found out about his record, didn’t you? Did Daze tell you?”
“I—err”
“Never mind. I know it was her. There’s more to it than she knows.”
“What do you mean?”
“Drake did nothing wrong. He took the blame and the fall for me. He should never have been arrested or convicted. I wanted to say something at the time, but he wouldn’t let me. Whatever you think he did, he didn’t. He’s a good man, and a fantastic brother. If it wasn’t for him, I’d probably be dead by now. I just thought you should know.”
With that, he turned and left.
Oh bum! What had I done? I’d treated Drake badly, and hadn’t even given him a chance to put his side of the story. What was I supposed to do now? There was only one thing I could do at a time like this.
***
“Thanks.” I took three custard creams from the newly opened packet.
“Are you sure you’ve got enough there?” Kathy said.
“Go on then. I’ll have one more.”
She snatched the packet away before I had the chance.
“I really needed this.” I took a bite of custard cream nirvana. “I’ve had one heck of a day.”
“You think you’ve had a bad day. You should have been here this morning.”
“Why what happened?”
“Lizzie was inconsolable. I didn’t think I was going to get her to school.”
“Is she under the weather?”
“No, nothing like that. Do you remember that scrawny old soft toy?”
“She has so many.”
“The singing rabbit.”
“Oh yeah. What did you call it? Things?”
“Yeah. Well, we had no choice but to throw him out.”
“Why?”
“Things fell apart.”
“Can’t you mend him?”
“I’ve tried, but the whole thing has perished. There’s nothing left to fix. Pete’s going to have a look around town after work to see if he can find anything similar. I’m not sure it
will make any difference even if he does. It still won’t be ‘Things’.”
Poor Lizzie.
***
There was a white envelope waiting for me back at my flat.
On my coffee table!
How had it got there? I checked every room and the garden, but there was no sign of anyone. The doors were still locked, and there was no sign of forced entry through a window. I hated this—the thought that someone could have gained entry to the one place where I should feel secure.
The envelope had not been addressed, it simply bore my name. Inside was a card with a single word on the front: ‘Congratulations’. It wasn’t signed, but inside someone had written: ‘Congratulations on your level two win’.
Below those words was a hand-drawn picture of a bird—a magpie. The bird was standing in a pool of blood.
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More mystery, magic and custard creams to be found in:
Witch Is When The Bubble Burst
(Witch P.I. Mysteries #5)
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Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27