brimstone witch 11 - grotesque murder

by April Fernsby

  Quinn said to him, “There’s no need to spell that word out, Stanley. I can spell, you know.”

  Stanley rounded on him. “Aha! You admit it! You’ve put the whole town under your evil spell. Cassia, arrest him!”

  Quinn held his hands up in defence. “I didn’t mean a magic kind of spell.”

  Blythe stepped forward and picked Stanley up. “You’re talking nonsense, Stanley. We’re pleased to see Quinn, that’s all. We look forward to his visits. If we had been under a spell, don’t you think I’d know? Hmm?”

  Stanley turned his perplexed face to me and said, “Cassia, I don’t want to answer that.”

  “We’ll discuss your ridiculous accusations later, Stanley.” Blythe handed him to me. “Esther, we need to protect this town. If a warlock is on his way, we need to be ready. We’ll need strong spells for this. Perhaps even spells from the special book.” She cast a quick look at me and then turned her head back to Gran. “Yes, we’ll need that book. It contains spells on how to get rid of golems too.”

  “What special book?” I asked.

  Gran pulled at her cardigan sleeve. “You’re not experienced enough yet to learn about the special book. You get on with your investigation, and we’ll get on with our work.”

  Quinn Ocean held his arms out. “Is there anything I can do to help? I’ve come across warlocks before. I may be of use.”

  My response to Quinn would have been no, but Gran and Blythe had other ideas.

  Gran’s smile looked too flirtatious for my liking as she replied, “Of course you can help us, Quinn.”

  Blythe tutted as she spotted something across the square. “That silly guardian almost fell to his death then. I can see his legs shaking from here.” She aimed her fingers Luca’s way and waggled them at him.

  Luca rose from the roof and floated towards us. There was a mixture of panic and relief on his face as Blythe made him land at my side. Stanley jumped out of my arms and leaned against Luca’s legs and let out a purr. I noticed Luca’s legs sagging and put my arm out to steady him.

  Blythe said to him, “Cassia’s brought us up to speed with what’s been happening. Have you anything new to report?”

  Luca shook his head. “Everyone is accounted for up on the roofs. Every gargoyle and every grotesque. There haven’t been any sightings of anyone looking suspicious.”

  Blythe said, “Good. Esther, Quinn and I have got work to do. We’re going to need you and the other guardians to be on full alert. Cassia has got some information she needs to share with you.”

  She turned on her heel and walked away. Gran and Quinn walked at either side of her.

  Stanley said, “Why are they taking Quinn with them? Are they going to let him look at that special book of theirs? Why can’t they let us have a look at it?”

  “I don’t know, Stanley.” I kept my eyes on the departing trio. “I think they’re under his spell still. He could even be the warlock who he’s warning us about. It could be a double bluff.”

  “Warlock?” Luca exclaimed.

  I quickly told him about the possible warlock, and then added the information about the golems.

  Luca ran a hand across the back of his neck. “A warlock heading to Brimstone. It isn’t possible.”

  Stanley said, “As Cassia pointed out, he could already be here. It could be Quinn Ocean.”

  Luca rubbed his neck some more as if to calm himself. “No, that isn’t possible. Blythe would know. Esther would know. I have to warn the other guardians. We have to be prepared.” He stopped rubbing his neck. “Cassia, do you need my help with your case?”

  “No. We can manage on our own. What are you going to do?”

  “I’ll speak to the guardians first, then I’ll talk to Blythe and see what she wants us to do. A warlock here in Brimstone? This is terrible news.” He gave me a quick kiss on the cheek before walking away.

  Stanley shook his head at Luca’s departure. “Why won’t anyone listen to us about Quinn and his evil ways?”

  “It might be because Quinn is a convincing actor. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was a harmless storyteller too. Come on, Stanley, let’s go and see Dr Morgan. At least she hasn’t fallen for his wicked charms.”

  Stanley groaned. “What if she has? We’ve been gone for a few hours. We don’t know what Quinn has been up to. What will we do if Dr Morgan has turned all silly and mushy?”

  Chapter 14

  Thankfully, Dr Morgan hadn’t turned all silly and mushy. She was her normal efficient self. She welcomed us into her office and insisted on making me a cup of coffee from her fancy coffee machine. She had some cream in her fridge which she poured out for Stanley. He purred in thanks.

  Once we were settled with drinks and seated in front of the doctor, she began to tell us what she’d found.

  “Cyanide,” she said. “I found traces of cyanide on both grotesques. If we were dealing with a human, the amount of cyanide I found would have been enough to kill them. The problem is that I don’t know how cyanide would have affected Nitoth and Budomm when they were alive. There are no records on how gargoyles and grotesques die, if they do actually die that is, so I can only make assumptions at this point.”

  I nodded, took a sip of the delicious coffee and said, “And what are you assuming?”

  “I think someone took the life force from these two creatures and then reduced them to sand using a combination of cyanide and something else. Cyanide on its own wouldn’t have been enough.” She pressed her lips together and studied the papers in front of her. “Or the cyanide could have been used to subdue them before their life force was taken. I really don’t know. Other poisons or substances could have been used to cause them to lose their shapes. And those substances could have evaporated into thin air. I’ve never come across anything like this. Sorry, Cassia, this isn’t much use to you.”

  “Every bit of information helps,” I said. “At least we know to look out for cyanide now.”

  She gave me a grim smile. “I doubt the killer will be walking around with a bottle of cyanide in their hands. Tell me how you got on with Yolanda. I imagine you’ve discovered other things concerning your investigation too. Tell me everything.” She picked her cup up and settled back in her chair.

  I began with our visit to Yolanda. I noticed Dr Morgan’s lips pursing and she glanced towards her papers again.

  “What is it?” I asked. “Some thought has just come to you when I was talking about Yolanda.”

  Dr Morgan said, “Yolanda gives life to these stone creatures. She can just as easily take it away. She’s familiar with the material which makes them, so I imagine she’d know how to destroy a creature’s shape too, using a form of cyanide perhaps?”

  “Why would she do that?” I asked.

  “I don’t know. Tell me what happened when you left Yolanda.”

  I told her about finding the golems in the cave.

  Dr Morgan took a sharp intake of breath. “Have you considered Yolanda as the one who created the golems? She has enough raw material in Bronze Hollow to do that, and she has the knowledge.”

  I shook my head. “She seemed genuinely shocked when I told her about the golems.”

  Stanley piped up, “Cassia, she could be lying. Creatures lie to us all the time. You know that.”

  I gave him a sad smile. “I know. But why would Yolanda have made the golems?”

  Stanley suggested, “Maybe she’s working with the warlock. Maybe he forced her to make them for his evil purposes.”

  Dr Morgan put her cup down and sat up straight. “Warlock? Stanley, did you just say warlock?”

  Stanley nodded. He explained about Quinn Ocean’s theory concerning the warlock. He also told the doctor about Gran and Blythe changing back into their former selves. He added, “They’re going to use spells from a special spell book to stop the warlock and the golems.”

  “This is troubling news about a warlock,” Dr Morgan said. “I’m glad Esther and Blythe have come to their senses,
though. I’m not sure they should be keeping Quinn Ocean so close to them.”

  “That’s what I think,” Stanley said. “For all we know, he could be working with the warlock too. But Blythe and Esther can’t see that. They’re blinded by love.” He sighed sadly. “Love has got a lot to answer for. That’s why I keep well away from it.”

  Dr Morgan smiled at him. “I don’t think we’re dealing with love here, just silly infatuation. But it is affecting their judgement. If a warlock is involved in the deaths of Nitoth and his brother, then black magic could have been used. But why would a warlock kill them?”

  “I’ve been thinking about that,” I said. “I think Budomm could have seen something that he shouldn’t have. We were told he used to leave Bronze Hollow often and go to other towns. He could have seen something in one of those towns which worried him. Being on the roof would have enabled him to listen to conversations and to observe private meetings.”

  Stanley said, “Perhaps he saw another army of golems. Budomm told that fairy about seeing a black monster with a big shadow. That could have been the evil warlock.”

  I nodded. “Maybe Budomm knew the warlock and golems were planning on coming to Brimstone and he came here to warn his brother.”

  Dr Morgan interjected, “But the warlock got to Budomm first. Or perhaps Budomm spoke to Nitoth and was then on his way back to Bronze Hollow. You found Budomm on the path leading away from the town.”

  “That makes sense,” I noted. “Budomm must have told Nitoth and then headed out of town. But Nitoth never got the chance to tell anyone because he was killed.”

  We looked towards the silent stone creatures at the side of the room.

  Stanley said, “Dr Morgan, do you think they can be brought back to life? Could we ask Yolanda to do that?” He let out a little sigh. “Oh, we can’t do that, can we? She’s a suspect now. What can we do about Nitoth and Budomm? Are they gone forever?”

  “I don’t know, Stanley,” Dr Morgan said, “I can make some enquiries with other Life Givers. But I wouldn’t want our grotesques to come back to life before you find the murderer. We don’t want to put them in danger again.”

  Stanley said, “That’s true. We don’t want them to die twice. Once is enough.”

  Dr Morgan looked away from the stone beings and said, “What else have you found out?”

  I told her about our visit to Ekon the troll, and our subsequent conversations with the vampire and Quinn Ocean.

  Dr Morgan frowned. “That is strange. What happened to Ekon? Or rather, who happened to Ekon? Someone’s wiped the memories from his mind. Do you think it’s all related to our murders here?”

  “I do. And I think Quinn Ocean is the key to it all. I just have to find the evidence that links him.”

  “And we have to find out what he’s up to,” Stanley said. “We need to know what his evil plan is so we can stop it.”

  Dr Morgan noted, “That isn’t going to be easy without the support of Esther and Blythe. And the rest of the town are in awe of him too. Cassia, have you used any magic on Quinn to see if he’s cast a spell on the town?”

  “I haven’t. Yet. I might have to sneak up on him to do that.” I finished the rest of my coffee and stood up. “Thanks for your help. If you find out anything else, please let me know.”

  “Of course I will. The same goes for you. I know you usually talk to Esther and Blythe about your cases, but seeing as you’re not able to do that at the moment, feel free to talk to me.”

  Stanley gave the doctor a curious look. “Why haven’t you been affected by Quinn?”

  Dr Morgan shrugged. “Perhaps I’m too cynical to fall for his charms. Or too human.” She paused and gave me a look of understanding. “That could be it. I’m too human. Cassia, that could be why you’re not falling for his smooth-talking act too. And you, Stanley, you’ve spent most of your life in the human world. This could be working in your favour.”

  “I hope so,” I said. “We need all the luck we can get. It’s hard to go after a murder suspect when the whole town is in love with him.”

  Dr Morgan held up a finger. “Infatuation, not love. There’s a difference.”

  We said goodbye to Dr Morgan and left her office.

  My heart sank right down to my toes when I saw what was happening in Brimstone town centre. Quinn Ocean was back in position in front of the gazebo. His butterflies were fluttering behind him as he related another tale. Gran and Blythe had changed back into their young, giggling selves.

  Stanley shook his head sadly. “It looks like it’s me and you against the world.” He looked up at me and grinned. “We can do this.”

  “We can.” I gave him a firm nod. “I’m not sure how, but we will.”

  I jumped as something alighted on my shoulder. I looked that way and saw Cherry Dustjewel sitting there. Even though she was little, the stone weight of her caused my shoulder to drop.

  She twisted her hands together anxiously and said, “Oh, Cassia! Something terrible has happened.”

  Chapter 15

  With the heavy fairy perched on my shoulder, I quickly walked along the street and down an alley. I didn’t want Quinn Ocean to see Cherry talking to us. Stanley trotted after me.

  I checked over my fairy-free shoulder and said, “There’s no one here but us. You can talk now.”

  Cherry flew off my shoulder and fluttered in front of me. Her tiny face was etched with worry. She said, “I heard you talking to Yolanda about the golems. Did you really destroy them?”

  “I damaged them,” I admitted. “I don’t know if I destroyed them.”

  “I hope you did,” Cherry said. “When you left Bronze Hollow, I saw Yolanda talking to some of the gargoyles. They waited until you’d gone and then jumped off the roof to speak to her.”

  “What did they say?”

  Cherry looked nervously towards the front of the alley. “More grotesques have gone missing in other towns. Gargoyles too. They talk to each other, you see. Gargoyles send whispers on the breeze to each other. They keep in touch with gargoyle news from other towns.”

  “What did they say exactly? And when did other gargoyles go missing?”

  Cherry answered, “It started a few months ago or so they think. The gargoyles in Bronze Hollow didn’t think anything was odd as some gargoyles move on to other towns and don’t always tell the others where they’re going. But when they heard you talking to Yolanda about Nitoth and Budomm, they knew it couldn’t be a coincidence.”

  “I wish they’d have spoken to me when I was there. Sorry, I’m interrupting. What did Yolanda say to them?”

  Another worried look passed over the fairy’s face. “She said she would deal with it. And she told the gargoyles to keep quiet about this. One of them asked if she was going to let you know. But Yolanda said again that she’d deal with it.” Cherry flew closer. “I thought you should know as you’re dealing with Budomm’s death. Did I do the right thing by coming here?”

  “You did. Thank you.” I didn’t want to tell her about my suspicions concerning Yolanda, but I didn’t want her to be in danger either. “Cherry, do you have to go back to Bronze Hollow straight away?”

  “Not really.” Her little shoulders dropped. “I don’t want to go back there just yet. There’s a weird atmosphere. And I don’t want to be near those golems if they come back.”

  “Why don’t you stay here for a while?” I suggested. “There’s plenty of room on the roofs for you. In fact, there’s a lovely building just over there.” I walked to the end of the alley and pointed to the building where Relloc was perched. He was watching us. I waved to him. He gave me a half-wave in return.

  Cherry fluttered at my side. “I don’t know. I can’t just barge onto someone else’s roof. It’s not polite.”

  “That gargoyle in the middle is called Relloc. Tell him you’re my guest and that he has to look after you. If he gives you any trouble at all, you come back to me and I’ll sort him out.”

  Cherry gave me an u
ncertain smile. “Are you sure? I would love to stay here for a while. I’ve always wanted to visit Brimstone.” She looked out onto the square. “Why is everyone staring at that grey man like that? Is he a wizard?”

  “I’ll tell you about him later. But you can keep an eye on him for us. Let us know what he says and does.”

  Stanley called up to her, “You can be part of our investigation team.”

  Cherry lifted her chin. “I can? Really? I’ve never been part of any team before.” She put her hands on her hips and gave Quinn Ocean a narrow-eyed look. “I’ll watch his every move.”

  “Before you do that, can you tell us the names of the places where the gargoyles have gone missing?” I asked.

  She looked back at me. “Yes, of course. They’re called Marbled White and Speckled Wood.” She told us where we could find the towns.

  I said to Stanley, “Those names sound familiar.”

  He nodded. “Quinn told us stories about creatures from those towns. This can’t be a coincidence. Cherry, be careful out there. Don’t get too close to Quinn. He’s the grey man.”

  “I’ll be careful.” A determined look came into the fairy’s eyes and she flew away.

  We watched her go and then Stanley said, “She’s a suspect too, isn’t she?”

  “Yes. But it’s better to have her close. We need to get over to those towns and find out more about the missing creatures.”

  I stepped out of the alley and bumped into Luca.

  He said, “Why are you hiding in an alley?”

  Stanley tapped his nose with his paw. “It’s business, Luca. We’re gathering information.”

  Luca smiled at him. “I understand. Where are you going now?”

  I told him about our chat with Cherry and pointed the fairy out to Luca as she hovered discreetly above the gazebo.

  Luca said, “I’ll keep an eye on Cherry while she keeps an eye on Quinn. Cassia, I’m not happy with how your gran and Blythe are acting. I can’t get any sense out of them.”