brimstone witch 10 - deal with the grim reaper

by April Fernsby

  She looked as if she was going to withhold that information, but like most creatures, she couldn’t resist Stanley’s cute face. She gave him the directions and even smiled at him.

  As we left the mine in the steel carriage, I checked my watch and saw the hours and minutes were speeding away from us.

  Stanley said, “Don’t worry, Cassia. We’re getting closer to the killer every minute. I’m sure we’ll have this case tied up soon.”

  “I hope you’re right. My stomach is in constant knots and I’m finding it hard to think straight.”

  He leant his body against mine and said, “You don’t need to think straight all the time. At times like this, you’ve got me to think for you.”

  Chapter 17

  It was hard to keep my mind on the murder of Oddec Hammerhands as I was so worried about Gran. Where was she? And why had her belongings disappeared from her apartment like that? The sensible side of me told me I’d have to give this murder investigation my full attention if I was going to break the curse. As difficult as it was, I pushed all thoughts of Gran to the back of my mind.

  The Crypt nightclub was on the outskirts of Brimstone. The light was fading ever so slightly from the sky as we headed that way.

  The Crypt was actually a real crypt and it was situated at the rear of a graveyard. A troll in a suit and bow tie stood at the entrance of the square building and watched us approach. When I gave him my name, he gave me a nod of acknowledgement before pushing open the large, wooden door in front of us. Stanley and I went through and came to a set of stone steps leading downwards. A smell of damp earth wafted towards us.

  As we descended, we saw posters on the walls which gave details of the acts appearing at The Crypt. We stopped in front of one of them which had Lexi Lavabuckle on it. I picked Stanley up so he could have a good look at the poster too.

  Stanley said, “She doesn’t look very much like a dwarf, does she? She looks almost human with her long, straight hair. I don’t mean to be rude about the other dwarves we’ve met, but Lexi is much slimmer than them and less hairy around the face. She’s quite beautiful, isn’t she? Almost mesmerising with those amber eyes of hers.”

  I gave Stanley a smile. “Is she casting a spell on you? Are you falling in love with her?”

  He chuckled. “No, but I can see how other creatures would. I can’t wait to meet her.”

  We carried on down the steps and the smell of earth became stronger. Despite it being early evening, there were many creatures lounging against the stone walls at the bottom of the steps. If we were in the human world, I would think these creatures were wearing fancy dress costumes. But seeing as we were in Brimstone, I knew that the waving tentacles, double heads, fangs and sharp claws were real. Many of the lounging creatures turned hungry eyes towards Stanley and me as we scuttled along the hallway and towards the large room at the end.

  As we entered the room, I wasn’t shocked to see the tables were in the shape of coffins. Stone stools were dotted around the tables and all of them were occupied by creatures of many colours. There was an atmosphere of anticipation as the creatures kept glancing towards the curtain-covered-stage at the front.

  There was nowhere to sit, so I found a quiet corner for Stanley and me to stand in. He was still tucked under one of my arms and I kept him there. My other hand was holding tightly onto Mum’s broomstick in case we needed to leave swiftly. I did not care for how certain creatures were looking at us and licking their lips.

  The curtain was suddenly pulled back and the crowd erupted into applause. Lexi Lavabuckle stood in the middle of the stage wearing a red, sparkly dress and glittering high heels. Her smooth, long hair flowed over one shoulder.

  The room fell silent and everyone seemed to be holding their breaths as they waited for Lexi to move. Lexi lifted her eyes and gave her audience a benevolent smile. Without any words of introduction, she began to sing. Her audience let out a collective sigh of appreciation and I could feel the love in the air.

  I couldn’t help but stare at Lexi too. She was incredibly beautiful and her voice was low and haunting. As Stanley said about her poster image earlier, she was quite mesmerising. I was aware of her singing more than one song, but it was like she had me in her spell and I wasn’t conscious of time passing.

  All too soon, Lexi bowed her head and the curtains closed. I blinked and looked down at Stanley. I said, “She’s amazing. I’ve never heard anyone sing like that before.”

  Stanley’s eyes were wide. “I take back my earlier words. I think I am in love with Lexi Lavabuckle.”

  I gave him a small smile. “I think I’m half in love with her too. Come on, Stanley, we need to have a talk with Lexi. Bear in mind that if she was in a relationship with Oddec, she could have been the one who killed him.”

  Stanley chuckled. “If she did, I’ve already forgiven her.”

  Lexi Lavabuckle was even more beautiful when we got up close to her. She was happy to talk to us about Oddec and welcomed us into her dressing room. She was now wearing a pink dressing gown over a thin dress. The dressing gown floated in the air behind her as she sashayed towards her make-up mirror. She invited us to take a seat on the small sofa at her side and explained she needed to touch up her face.

  Stanley blurted out, “You don’t need make-up! You’re perfect as you are.”

  Lexi let out a low chuckle and said, “You are too kind.”

  I sat down on the sofa and settled Stanley on my lap. We watched in silence as Lexi applied a small amount of lipstick to her already perfect mouth. She was absolutely flawless and I was finding it hard to think about Oddec’s murder.

  Lexi completed her touch-up and then turned to us. “You said you wanted to talk to me about Oddec Hammerhands? Has he turned up yet? I know he’s been missing for years.”

  I forced myself out of my Lexi-induced trance and said, “Yes, we did find him earlier on today. He’s been murdered.”

  The colour drained from Lexi’s perfect cheeks. “Murdered? How terrible. Absolutely terrible. What happened to him?”

  I showed her the necklace and I could have sworn I saw a look of recognition in her eyes, but that look swiftly vanished.

  I explained to her, “This was found in his throat. We suspect he might have choked to death. Do you recognise this necklace or the gemstones?”

  Her eyes narrowed as she looked closer at the necklace. “I’ve never seen it before. It is beautiful, though. Are those real gemstones? They must be. Alas, I can’t afford jewellery like that and make do with imitation gems.” She gave us a coy smile. “However, the kind creatures who come to see me often give me jewellery, but I do return it to them. It doesn’t seem right to accept such gifts.”

  I don’t know whether it was the look in her eyes or the way she suddenly turned back to the mirror, but I knew she was lying. I shared a quick look with Stanley and raised my eyebrows at him. I hoped he’d pick up on my mental message to study Lexi’s body language. Stanley and I had a close connection, but he didn’t always work out what I was trying to convey.

  Fortunately, he appeared to do so this time. He abruptly leapt out of my lap, padded over to the table and jumped onto it. He landed inches away from Lexi. He purred and said, “You are the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen. How do you get your skin to look so perfect? Do you use special products?”

  Lexi let out a little giggle and put her hands on her cheeks. “Oh, I can’t give you my secrets. You are such a kind cat.”

  Stanley looked with surprise at the table beneath his paws and said, “Sorry, I’m standing too close to you. I’d hate to get any fur on your beautiful hair or clothes.”

  He suddenly backed up and knocked into a box behind him. I noticed his rear leg shoot out and he gave the box a swift kick. The box clattered to the floor and jewellery fell out.

  I tried not to smile at my clever cat. I hadn’t even noticed that jewellery box on the table.

  Lexi sprang to her feet, gasped with horror and then dropped to h
er knees and reached out for the scattered jewellery.

  Stanley got there before her. He nudged a couple of items to one side and called over to me, “Cassia, these earrings and bracelet match that necklace exactly.”

  “Really?” I went over to Stanley and knelt at his side. I picked up the earrings and bracelet. They did match the necklace. I said to Lexi, “Would you like to explain these?”

  Lexi’s shoulders dropped and she sat back on her heels. She said quietly, “I lied about not recognising that necklace. Well, it was only half a lie. I’ve never seen that necklace before, but I knew it matched my bracelet and earrings. Oddec gave those items to me. I saw them in a shop in Adonis Blue and fell in love with them. I’m sorry, I should have told you that immediately, but I panicked.”

  I said, “Why did Oddec give these to you?”

  She gave me a soft smile. “Because he loved me. And despite his many, many faults, I loved him too. There was just something about him. I first fell for him when I worked at his mine. I knew he was married, but I couldn’t stop the attraction. The only way to stop it was to leave the mine and come to work here. But Oddec followed me. The attraction between us was too strong.”

  “When did Oddec give you these?” I asked her.

  Her eyes glistened. “It was on the night he went missing. He’d had a business meeting with Keftan Gubler and he came here afterwards. I’d been begging him for years to leave his wife, but Oddec said he couldn’t as Mowibela was part of his life. Something must have happened to make him change his mind because Oddec was different that night. He gave me the bracelet and earrings and said it was time to make changes. He was going to sell his mine at long last.”

  I asked, “Did he say who he was going to sell it to?”

  “He told me he’d discussed it with Keftan Gubler, but Oddec wanted to get the best price for his mine. He said he was going to meet other mine owners in the morning to discuss the sale. He was sure he’d get more money than what Keftan was offering him.” Worry crossed her face. “I told him to be careful around Keftan Gubler. If he knew Oddec was planning to sell his mine to someone else, he wouldn’t take it lightly. Keftan has a reputation for using violent methods during his business dealings. Oddec laughed at my concerns and said he could handle Keftan. I remember my last words to him. I told him to be careful and to remember that I love him. I never saw him again after that night.”

  “Was Oddec finally going to leave his wife for you?” I enquired.

  She shook her head. “He didn’t say he was and I knew in my heart he would never do that. Part of me was pleased as I’d always liked Mowibela, and I didn’t want to cause her any harm. Oddec said once the mine had been sold, he would buy a little house for us somewhere. He didn’t say how many times he would visit me there, and I didn’t ask. A bit of affection and attention from Oddec a few times a week was better than nothing.”

  I clasped my lips together to stop myself from giving her my opinion. It wasn’t my place to tell creatures how to live their lives.

  I couldn’t think of any further questions for Lexi, so Stanley and I left her dressing room and headed out of The Crypt. The moon was already in the sky as we exited.

  I said to Stanley, “I think Keftan Gubler might have found out Oddec was planning to sell his mine to someone else. He’s not the kind to take that in his stride. He could have killed Oddec in a fit of rage and then hidden his body in that cave hoping he’d be found soon.”

  Stanley nodded. “Even though Lexi bewitched me with her looks, I think she could be a suspect too. No matter what she says about Mowibela and liking her, she could have ordered Oddec to leave his wife. Lexi used to work at the Hammerhead Mines and she probably knew about that disused cave. She could have organised a meeting there with Oddec and he could have presented her with that necklace in the hope of softening her up about never leaving his wife. She might have shoved that necklace down his throat in a rage. Isn’t that what scorned women do? I’ve seen it on the television, on that programme about those wives who live near the beach. Do you think the same thing applies to scorned dwarves too?”

  “Possibly. That’s a well-thought-out theory, thank you. Stanley, if that’s the case, it still doesn’t explain how Oddec became trapped in the ground like that. Do you remember what the mine-knockers told us? They said magic had been used on Oddec to trap him in the ground. If we find out what kind of magic was used, we could trace it back to the murderer.” I glanced again at the darkening sky. “Let’s go back to Dr Morgan and see if she’s found anything else. Let’s hurry.”

  Chapter 18

  As soon as we entered Dr Morgan’s office, she said, “I was just about to send a message to you. I’ve been chipping away at Oddec and I found different pieces of stone around his middle which weren’t part of his original body and attire. They must have come from the ground where you found him. I’ve put them in a machine and broken them down into their individual components. I’ve made a list of them. I found something very interesting.” She walked over to her desk, picked up a sheet of paper and handed it to me.

  I looked at the list of plants and said, “I’ve heard of some of them, but not all of them.”

  Dr Morgan nodded. “I’ve heard of some of them too. We’ve both come across them before in previous murder cases. These plants have magical properties. This confirms what those mine-knockers told you. Magic was used to trap Oddec in place. It’s impossible to say if he became trapped first, and then the necklace was put down his throat, or if it was the other way around. Either way, we are definitely looking at magic. Now that we have a list of these plants, would you be able to find out which spells could have been used?”

  I gave her a nod. “I’ll look at Gran’s spell books. She didn’t keep all of them on the bookshelves in her apartment.”

  Dr Morgan gave me a quizzical look. “Your gran? I didn’t know you had a gran. What’s she like? Is she a witch too?”

  I stared at her and couldn’t speak for a moment.

  Stanley cried out, “Dr Morgan, don’t say that! You must remember Cassia’s gran. Esther Winter? You’ve been friends since you were at school. Please, say you remember her.”

  Dr Morgan’s frown increased. “Esther Winter? I don’t think I’ve ever known anyone with that name.”

  I put the sheet of paper down, grabbed my phone and swiped onto a photograph of Gran and me. I thrust it in Dr Morgan’s face and said, “This is Gran. You must recognise her. You must! You can’t have forgotten about her too.”

  Dr Morgan narrowed her eyes at the image. Comprehension dawned on her face. “Of course I remember her. How could I forget Esther? Blimey, I don’t know what happened to me just then. I must be tired. I haven’t had a rest all day, not since you brought Oddec in. I can’t rest until we get to the bottom of how Oddec died.” She put a hand on my phone which was still in her face and lowered it. “Cassia, sorry about that. Of course I remember your gran. I didn’t mean to give you a scare.”

  The rock of unease in my stomach was now turning into a boulder. I was finding it harder than ever to think straight. Had Dr Morgan’s memory lapse really been a result of her tiredness? Or was it the curse working? Was she going to forget about Gran entirely soon? One thing was certain, I didn’t have any time to waste.

  I retrieved the sheet of paper and said, “I’ll get over to Gran’s apartment immediately. She keeps some of the stronger spell books under a floorboard in the bedroom. I was in too much of a rush last time to look properly.”

  Dr Morgan placed a hand on my shoulder and looked into my eyes. “Cassia, when did you last have something to eat or drink?”

  “I’m too worried to eat or drink anything. I’m okay. Honestly.”

  “I disagree, and that’s my medical opinion. I can understand why you’ve lost your appetite, but you’re not going to be any use at all if you suddenly collapse from exhaustion. I’ve got a short-term solution.” She walked over to her desk drawer, opened it and took out a can and a wra
pped bar. She gave them to me and said, “I’ve brought these from the human world as we don’t have anything like this in Brimstone. They’ll give you a boost of energy. You’re not leaving this office until you’ve consumed them.”

  I did as I was told, and I quickly downed the energy drink and gobbled up the protein bar. I could have attempted to use magic on myself to give me energy, but I couldn’t think of a single spell to use.

  Dr Morgan had something for Stanley too and insisted that he have a dish of cream and a portion of fish pie which she’d bought from Mooncrest Café earlier.

  Stanley said to her, “This is my favourite pie. How did you know?”

  “Gilda at the café told me,” Dr Morgan said. “Knowing how hard you two were working, I called in there earlier and bought some supplies for you. I’ve got more pie in the fridge if you need it, Stanley.”

  Stanley replied, “Like Cassia, I haven’t got much of an appetite, but I think I can manage this portion.”

  As soon as Stanley finished his pie, we said goodbye to Dr Morgan and left her office. I took the list of plants with me.

  We jogged over to Gran’s apartment. Sweat broke out on my forehead as a clock struck nine in the distance. I’d never known a day to go so quickly.

  Stanley jogged at my side and said, “As soon as we find out which spell was used in that cave, we can find out who supplied the spell. Then we’ll find out who ordered the spell. Cassia, we’re near the end of this investigation. I know it. We just have to keep going for a bit longer. The end is in sight.”

  I wished I could have shared his confidence, but I was worried about finding Gran’s other spell books. If her hidden spell books had disappeared too, what was I supposed to do then? Would I have to use the door in Dr Morgan’s office to return to Gran’s house and look for her there? If so, would Dr Morgan’s door stay in position as the curse continued to work its evil magic? Or would it disappear forever once I walked through it?