by Adele Abbott
“You have no worries on that score,” the first elf assured me.
By now, it was clear that the third elf was taking a back seat in this conversation because he’d said nothing beyond his initial greeting.
“That’s good to hear. So, for example, if a company, which was using your services, was acting illegally, you would be prepared to give up their real identity and whereabouts.”
“Absolutely,” the second elf said without hesitation.
“Great. In that case, I’d like to know who is behind Reptile Holdings.”
The elves all fell silent for a moment, and then the second one said, “Are you here to purchase one of our services or not?”
“No, I’m here to find out who Reptile Holdings are. Those scumbags are ruining people’s lives, and they may even be guilty of murder.”
“Sorry, we can’t help you, lady.”
“You just said that if one of the companies using your services was acting illegally, you would give up their real identity.”
“To the authorities, and only then if they have a court order. We’re not going to give that information to any Tom, Dick or Harriet who walks through the door.”
“These people have been responsible for closing down a community centre, a children’s nursery, and they’re about to do the same to the lido. And I’m pretty sure they’ve already murdered two people who tried to expose them.”
“Really?” The second elf appeared moved by that revelation.
Or maybe not. Because he and the first elf began to laugh.
“Get out of here,” the first elf snapped. “You’re wasting our time.”
I was so enraged that it took all my willpower not to do something unspeakable to those two elves. Instead, I let them know what I thought about them and the way they conducted their business, and then stormed out of the office.
I was fuming, so I decided to take a stroll around the park, to try to calm down before magicking myself back to the human world. Those elves at AnonFront were clearly only interested in making money; they didn’t give a monkey’s if innocent people were being hurt by the companies whose ID they were protecting.
“Excuse me.” Someone tugged at my leg.
I looked down to see the third elf standing there.
“What do you want? I don’t have time to hang around listening to your lame excuses for not doing the decent thing.”
He passed me a slip of paper. “This is what you’re after.”
“G&D Enterprises?”
“They’re the people behind Reptile Holdings.”
“Oh, right. Thanks.”
“The others don’t know I’m doing this, and I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell them.”
“Sure. What brought on the change of heart?”
“I’ve used the lido ever since I was a kid. I adore that place. The thought of these people tearing it down makes my blood boil. Do you think you’ll be able to stop them?”
“I don’t know, but I have a much better chance now that I know who they are. Thanks for this.”
“No problem. I’m Alf, by the way.”
“Jill.”
“I’d better get back before the others miss me. See you, Jill.”
***
Feeling a little more optimistic, but rather peckish, I magicked myself back to Washbridge. Animal of the day at Coffee Animal was a caterpillar (did a caterpillar even count as an animal?). I’d need to be sure not to tell Florence, or she would want to know why I hadn’t taken her with me.
“Hi, Jill.” Dot had a beauty spot on both cheeks. One day, I really would have to ask her how she did that. “Your usual?”
“Actually, I’m quite peckish. What sandwiches do you have?”
“Cheese. Ham. And cheese and ham.”
“Is that all?”
“We have toasties too.”
“What do you have in toasties?”
“Cheese. Ham. And cheese and ham.”
“Right. I’ll have a cheese and ham, please.”
“Plain or toasted?”
“Just a plain sandwich, please.”
She put the coffee and sandwich on a tray, and handed me a small plastic cage with a caterpillar inside.
As I looked around for a free table, I spotted Mad, so decided to go and join her. Before I had the chance to sit down, she’d pulled her scarf up over her mouth, and stood up.
“Sorry, Jill, I can’t stay. Err—Brad just called to say he needs me back at the shop straight away.”
“Are you okay?” I gestured to the scarf.
“Err, yeah, I’ve just been to the dentist. Sorry, got to go.” And with that, she shot off.
“Do you always have that effect on people?” the caterpillar said.
“What do you mean?”
“As soon as you turned up, she legged it.”
“Do you think I could have a bit of peace and quiet while I eat my sandwich?”
“What about a bit of lettuce for me?”
“I don’t have any, sorry.”
“Typical. No one cares about the lowly caterpillar.”
“That’s not true. In fact, my daughter and I have been looking after two caterpillars at home—they’re red with yellow spots. They’re in the chrysalis stage at the moment and we’re waiting for them to turn into butterflies.”
“Now I know you’re lying. There isn’t such a thing as a red caterpillar with yellow spots.”
Chapter 22
The first thing I noticed when I arrived at the Wash-on-Wheels workshop was that Killer’s bike had gone.
“Hey, Andy, what happened to the bike?”
“Killer’s brother came to pick it up yesterday.”
“I’d like to speak to him. Do you have his number by any chance?”
“Yeah, he gave it to me in case anything else belonging to Killer turned up. Tools, that sort of thing.”
“How’s the tooth?”
“Sore. The dentist had to extract it. Want to see?”
“I’m good, thanks.”
“Did you talk to Slugger?”
“Yeah, I did.”
“And?”
“And I’m not convinced that he had anything to do with Killer’s death.”
“Turned the charm offensive on, did he? I should have known.” Andy sneered. “He’s always been able to wrap women around his little finger.”
“Not this woman. Anyway, the more I think about it, the more I come to the conclusion that the person who had the most to gain from Killer’s death was you.”
“And how do you work that out, little miss detective?”
“You had your nose put out when Chains brought Killer in. Until then, you’d been numero uno. That can’t have been an easy pill for you to swallow.”
“I told you last time, I wasn’t thrilled, but I just got on with it.”
“Are you sure you weren’t angry? Maybe a little bit?”
“Not even a little bit. I showed you the blood print on the bike’s tank. Why would Killer have done that if it wasn’t to let us know that Slugger was the one who attacked him?”
“We can’t be certain he was the one who put the print on there, though, can we?”
“What do you mean?”
“You could have done it, to point the finger of blame at Slugger.”
“I’ve had enough of this. You can think what you like, but I had nothing to do with Killer’s death. Why don’t you sling your hook?”
“I’m just saying that—”
“I don’t care what you have to say. Just get lost, will you?”
***
Chains’ second in command, Sid, had freely admitted that he had failed to repay a loan to Killer, but he insisted he’d given him a gold ring in full settlement. Was that true? There was one way to find out. I called the number that Andy had given me for Killer’s brother.
“Hi. Is that Cecil Cole’s brother?”
“Who wants to know?”
“My name is Jill Maxwell. I�
�m a P.I.”
“I heard that they’d brought in some kind of investigator. I didn’t realise it was a woman, though. Have you come up with anything yet?”
“Nothing so far, but I’d really like to talk to you if that’s possible?”
“Sure, if it’s going to help bring Cecil’s killer to justice.”
“I could pop over now if that’s alright?”
“Okay. I’ve just come off duty. I should be home in about twenty minutes, traffic permitting.”
“Are you a policeman?”
“No, a paramedic.”
“Right. If you give me your address, I’ll meet you there.”
I knocked on the door at the address Killer’s brother had given me, but there was no reply. The exterior of the terraced house was well-kept, unlike its immediate neighbours. I took a seat on the low wall in front of the house, and a few minutes later, a motor scooter pulled up in front of me.
The man took off his helmet. “Jill?”
“That’s me. I’m sorry, I don’t know your name.”
“It’s Richard, but everyone calls me Dick.” He pulled the scooter up onto the pavement. “I’ll just put this in the shed. If I leave it out here, some toerag will nick it.”
Once he’d locked the scooter in the shed, he led the way around the back of the house and let us into the small kitchen.
“I’m going to make myself a brew. Would you like one?”
“Yes, please.”
Once we had our drinks, we went through to the lounge. “Sorry for the mess. The missus left me three years ago, and I don’t have much time for housework. Grab a pew.”
“Were you and Kill—I mean Cecil, close?”
“It’s okay, you can call him Killer.” He smiled. “Everyone did except for me. And I only called him Cecil because I knew it wound him up. Were we close? As kids, yes, but when we got older and he got into bikes, we drifted apart. I was always much more interested in sport. We argued all the time, but we always had each other’s back.”
“Andy told me that you’d collected your brother’s bike.”
“I kept putting it off, but then I figured I’d have to do it sooner or later. There’s barely enough room for my little scooter in the shed now.”
“What will you do with it?”
“I honestly don’t know. Sell it eventually, I suppose. Not yet, though. It just wouldn’t feel right.”
“I have to ask you something which is a little delicate.”
“Fire away.”
“Were you given all of your brother’s personal effects?”
“What few there were, yeah.”
“Would you happen to know if there was a gold ring amongst them?”
“To be honest, they gave them to me in a small plastic bag, and I haven’t been able to bring myself to go through them yet. Why do you ask?”
“Do you know Sid from Wash-on-Wheels?”
“No. The only people I know over there are Chains, and Andy the mechanic.”
“Sid is Chains’ second in command. Apparently, Killer loaned him some cash that he couldn’t pay back. According to Sid, he gave your brother a gold ring in full settlement of the debt. I just wanted to check if he’s telling the truth.”
“I’ll go and get them.”
“Don’t do it if it’s going to be too painful for you.”
“It’s okay. I won’t be a minute.”
When he returned, he was holding a small, blue plastic bag.
“Are you sure you’re okay to do this?” I said.
“It’s fine.” He emptied the contents onto the coffee table.
I spotted it immediately. The gold ring was lying next to a watch. “May I?”
“Help yourself.”
I picked it up to take a closer look, and sure enough, it was in the shape of a skull.
Dick and I chatted for a while longer. Or at least, he talked, and I listened. Although the two siblings had drifted apart, it was clear he’d been badly affected by his brother’s untimely demise. On my way out, he thanked me for my efforts to bring his brother’s killer to justice, and I promised to keep him posted.
The presence of the gold ring amongst the personal effects seemed to corroborate Sid’s story, and remove any motive he might have had for wanting to get rid of Killer. I’d already eliminated Fi as a suspect because she’d been in Halifax on the day Killer was murdered. I was beginning to think that maybe I’d ruled out Slugger too quickly. He’d told me that he’d agreed to Killer returning to Loose Chippings, and that everything between them was hunky dory. Was that true? Slugger had mentioned that his mechanic, Billy, had overheard that particular conversation, and that he would be able to confirm that Killer had indeed been accepted back into the fold. Unfortunately, Billy and I weren’t exactly what you’d call bosom buddies.
If I was going to get him to open up to me, I’d have to turn on the old Jill Maxwell charm offensive.
What do you mean, good luck with that?
***
Mrs V looked puzzled.
“I’m puzzled, Jill.”
Uncanny or what?
“Why are you puzzled?”
“Why would you order so many sofas?”
“What do you mean?”
“There’s been a steady stream of deliveries all morning. They’re all in your office.”
She wasn’t exaggerating.
My office was full of sofas of all shapes and sizes. Winky was jumping from one to another, seemingly oblivious to my arrival.
“What’s going on, Winky?”
“I’m trying them out.”
“There must be ten of them.”
“Don’t exaggerate. There’s only eight.”
“That’s okay then. Why are they all in here?”
“I took on board what you said about shopping around, and I figured the best way to decide would be to try them first.”
“Don’t you normally do that sort of thing in the shop?”
“As a two-legged, you might be able to do that, but how am I supposed to?”
“Point taken, but I still don’t understand how you got them to bring them here for you to try out.”
“I didn’t actually tell them that I was testing them. I bought them all online.”
“You actually bought them? All of them?”
“Don’t panic. I’ll pick the one I like best, and return the others for a refund. Genius, eh?”
“And what am I supposed to do in the meantime? I can’t even get to my desk.”
“You can step from one to another, but you’ll have to take your shoes off first.”
“It doesn’t look like I have much choice, does it?” I slipped off my shoes and stepped from one sofa to the next until I reached my desk.
“Which one do you like best?” Winky was lying on a green and yellow striped sofa.
“I don’t care. Just pick one and get the others sent back.”
“I quite like this one, but I don’t want to rush my decision.”
Mrs V popped her head around the door, took one look at the sofas and gave a huge sigh. “Your brother is here, Jill. Can you spare him a few minutes?”
“Of course. Send him through, would you?”
I’d been trying to contact Martin ever since I’d retrieved the first compass stone, but I’d had no joy. I’d begun to fear something might have happened to him.
He took one step into the office, then stopped dead in his tracks, with a puzzled look on his face.
“Why do you have so many sofas in here, Jill?”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
“I’m not sure I can get all the way over there.”
“Why don’t you just sit on the sofa closest to you?”
“Okay. I wanted to check if you’d made any progress with the first compass stone?”
“Yeah, I’ve got it.”
“You have? That’s brilliant.”
“I’ve tried to call you a thousand times to tell you, but y
our phone just rang out.”
“Sorry. Things have been rather hectic. Did you have any problem getting it?”
“Nothing I couldn’t handle. Do you know the name of the guardian of the second stone?”
“Not yet, but I’m getting close. Hopefully, I’ll have something for you in the next few days. What have you done with the first stone? It’s somewhere safe, I hope.”
“Of course. There’s no need for you to worry on that score. Just get the name of the second guardian to me as soon as possible.”
“Will do.”
“Do you want a drink?”
“No, thanks. I can’t stay. I just wanted to see how things were going. Whatever you do, make sure you keep that stone safe.”
“Don’t worry. It’s somewhere no one will ever find it.”
***
“Look what I found, Mummy.” Florence had the compass stone in her hand.
“Where did you get that?”
“It was in a box in your wardrobe.”
“Why were you looking in my wardrobe?”
“I wanted a box for my beetles.”
“What beetles?”
“Jen and Ben.”
“I thought you liked caterpillars.”
“I do, but Angie and Archie are still asleep. Daddy said I could only keep the beetles in the house if I put them in a box.”
“Did he now?”
“He said you had some boxes in your wardrobe. That’s when I found the stone. Why was it in the shoe box, Mummy?”
“I put it there to keep it safe. Give it to me, please.”
“But, Mummy—”
“Now, Florence.”
“Okay.” Somewhat reluctantly, she handed it over. “Can I keep the box for Jen and Ben.”
“I guess so.”
“Yay!” She went charging outside.
Moments later, Jack came through to the kitchen.
“What are you doing with that?” He gestured towards the stone.
“Florence had it.”
“Why?”
“Because someone told her to look for a box in my wardrobe.”
“Whoops. Sorry. Did she tell you that she’s collecting beetles now?”
“She did. I don’t understand her obsession with insects. She certainly doesn’t get it from me.”