Summoning all the magic I could, I tried once more. I felt a slight, prickly sensation on my fingertips. Whatever small magic was there must have worked because the door opened a fraction.
Making sure no one was watching us, I pushed the door open and we stepped into Mowibela’s house. I called out her name, but there was no response.
I picked Stanley up and we began to explore the house. We walked into the living room and had a good look around. Then we went into the other downstairs rooms, and finally, the upstairs ones.
We came back to our starting position and I looked at Stanley. “Are you seeing what I’m seeing? Or rather, are you seeing what I’m not seeing?”
Stanley gave me an unsure meow.
I continued, “There’s no evidence of Oddec anywhere. No clothes or belongings. No slippers. And certainly no pictures. The only pictures I’ve seen are of Mowibela. She said she’d left everything as it was, waiting for Oddec’s return. She said she even had his slippers ready by the fire.”
Stanley nodded.
“You know what this means, don’t you?”
Stanley nodded again.
“She lied to us. She wasn’t expecting Oddec to come back at all. She knew he wasn’t going to return.”
Someone gave a polite cough behind us.
Chapter 25
Jackreth Hammerhands stood there. He had a bewildered look on his face. He said, “Who are you? What are you doing in my sister-in-law’s house?”
“I’m Cassia Winter. I spoke to you yesterday – twice. About your brother’s death?”
Jackreth shook his head. “I don’t remember any of that. Are you an invited guest or have you broken into Mowibela’s house? Where is she?”
Hurriedly, I told him about the curse which was now obviously working on him. I reminded him of our conversations the previous day and that I was a justice witch. I could tell he didn’t believe me, but he reluctantly accepted my involvement in Oddec’s murder investigation.
Jackreth said, “Do you know where Mowibela is? I’ve just been to see her sister up the road, and she told me she hasn’t seen Mowibela in over a week. I need to speak to her urgently about Oddec’s will.”
“Oh? Is the mine still going to you? Are you going to split the profit of any sale with Mowibela?”
He shook his head. “There isn’t going to be a profit for me. I’ve been told Oddec changed his will a few days before he went missing. The mine hasn’t been left to me after all.”
I held my hand up and said, “You’re going to tell me the mine has been left to Mowibela.”
Jackreth’s eyes widened. “That’s right. How did you know that?”
I lowered my hand. “This might come as a shock to you, but I suspect Mowibela is the one who killed Oddec. She told me she’d kept Oddec’s belongings in this house waiting for his return. Stanley and I have had a good look around, but we can’t find anything belonging to Oddec. There aren’t even any photographs of him.”
Jackreth frowned. “Why would Mowibela kill Oddec?”
“I don’t know if you’re aware, but your brother was having an affair with Lexi Lavabuckle. She works at The Crypt nightclub. Have you heard of her?”
Jackreth let out a low whistle. “Yes, I’ve heard of Lexi. I’ve seen her too. Wow. What was she doing with my brother? She could have done much better than him. I suppose there’s no accounting for taste. I had no idea they were having an affair.” He tilted his head. “Do you think Mowibela found out about the affair?”
“It’s possible.”
“If she had, she would have been furious about it. Mowibela was the jealous kind. She wouldn’t even let Oddec talk to their female employees. Would she have been jealous enough to kill him?”
I nodded. “Beings commit murders for many reasons, including jealousy. We spoke to Lexi yesterday and we found the bracelet and earrings which matched that necklace I showed you. Do you remember the necklace?”
He narrowed his eyes and gave me a slow nod. “Yes, I do remember that. Did you show it to me? I really can’t remember you coming into the shop.”
“Don’t worry about that, it’s not important. It just the curse working. Jackreth, do you know anything about a mirror potion?”
He shook his head.
“Do you recognise any of these plants?” I’d taken a photo of the list I’d given to Luca. I took my phone from my pocket and read out the names.
Jackreth listened with a frown on his face. When I got to the last plant, he said, “The Bristly Sneezeweed? Yes, I know where that grows. It flourishes in the caves at the Hammerhands Mines. As far as I know, it doesn’t grow in many other places. Why are you asking me about these plants? And what’s this about a mirror potion?”
I quickly explained how the mirror spell could have been used on Oddec. I said, “Before I confront Mowibela, I need to see if she has the mirror potion. When I was looking for Oddec’s belongings, I did have a look for that too. But I can’t find it anywhere. Do you know where Mowibela would keep such a potion?”
Jackreth nodded. “There used to be a safe in the office in the mine. Mowibela could have hidden a potion in there.” He shook his head sadly. “Do you really think she killed Oddec and pretended he’s been missing for all these years?”
Stanley let out a couple of meows.
I said, “I think Stanley is trying to say you should never cross a scorned woman, or a dwarf in this case. We’ll go to the office and see if we can locate that potion. Do you want to come with us?”
He gave me a firm nod. “I certainly do. If Mowibela did kill my brother, I want to see her face when you confront her.” He paused. “If we find Mowibela, that is. What will you do if she’s made a run for it?”
I sighed. “One problem at a time.”
Chapter 26
Someone was waiting in the office at the Hammerhands Mine. It wasn’t Mowibela.
I looked at Keftan Gubler who was sitting in the chair behind the desk and said, “What are you doing here? Have you seen Mowibela?”
He gave me a confused look and said, “Who are you?”
I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. This curse business was really getting on my nerves now. I quickly told Keftan about the curse and who I was.
Jackreth added, “I didn’t believe her at first either, but I think she’s telling the truth. What are you doing in Mowibela’s office? Have you got a meeting with her? You might want to rethink your business dealings with her when Cassia tells you what she’s found out.”
Keftan’s perfect eyebrows rose. “What do you mean by that?”
I said, “I’ll tell you in a moment. What are you doing here?”
I noticed Stanley walking around the office, his whiskers twitching furiously. Was he picking up on something?
Keftan flexed his fingers and then rested them on his stomach. He gave us a smug smile and proclaimed, “I’m the owner of this mine now. Mowibela sold it to me late last night. She drove a hard bargain, but I paid her what she wanted.”
“You did what?” Jackreth exploded. “But Mowibela is a murderer! She murdered my brother! Isn’t that right, Cassia?”
“I’m not entirely sure yet, but it does look that way.” I looked at Keftan and continued, “Why did Mowibela sell the mine to you? She’s resisted doing so for years.”
“She said now that Oddec wasn’t coming back, she couldn’t bear to spend another minute in the mine. That seemed reasonable to me, and I wasn’t going to argue with her.” His brow puckered. “Did you say she murdered Oddec? How do you know that?”
I said, “I’m still gathering evidence. Do you know where Mowibela went after you saw her last night?”
Keftan shook his head. “She said she was going to get as far away from Brimstone and its painful memories as quickly as possible. She has plenty of money now to do so.”
I sank into the nearest chair. “She could be miles away now. How are we going to find her?”
Jackreth said, “Don’t you have othe
r witches who can help you? Can’t you use your magical powers to find her?”
Stanley wound his tail around my legs and nudged his head into my knee. He must have felt as disappointed as me about Mowibela disappearing.
I said to Jackreth, “I’ve lost most of my magical powers. The curse will come into full effect soon. If I don’t arrest Mowibela before that, then I won’t be a witch anymore.” I gave him a hopeful look. “Do you have any idea where Mowibela could have gone? Does she have any relatives she would visit?”
Jackreth shook his head sadly.
Stanley began to howl and he tapped his paw on my leg in an insistent manner. I looked down at him and said, “Yes, I know it’s a hopeless situation.”
Stanley tapped his paw three times on my leg, looked up at me, and then tapped his paw three times again. He ran over to the door as if to leave and tapped his paw against the frame three times.
Keftan said, “What’s wrong with your cat? Does he want to go to the toilet?”
I stared at Stanley. “What is it? What are you trying to tell us?”
Stanley tapped on the door frame again and gave me a shrill meow.
I said, “The mine-knockers? Do you want us to talk to the mine-knockers now?”
He ran back to me and shook his head. He stared at me expectantly.
I tried again, “Do you want us to go to the cave where we saw the mine knockers?”
He punched his paw in the air and nodded vigorously. He turned around and ran towards the door.
Jackreth said, “What’s the rush?”
A terrible thought came to my mind. I said to Keftan, “When you spoke to Mowibela last night, did she say if she was coming back here for anything?”
Keftan nodded. “She said she wanted to collect her belongings. Why?”
I got to my feet. “My friend, Luca, has been missing since yesterday. He was trying to find out where a plant called Bristly Sneezeweed came from. If he discovered it came from this mine, he could have come back here to look for it. He could have met Mowibela here too. He might have worked out she’s the killer. Jackreth, where’s the safe you told me about?”
Jackreth swiftly moved to the rear of the office, lifted a picture off the wall and unlocked a safe which was behind the picture. I went over to him and looked at the items inside.
Jackreth said, “There’s a small bottle in here. It looks like a potion bottle to me.” He reached towards it.
I warned, “Don’t touch it.” I peered closer at the bottle and saw a small amount of liquid on the outside of it. “It looks like it’s been used recently.”
Stanley began to howl more insistently and hopped from foot to foot.
I looked at him and said, “Is it Luca? Has he been in this office? Can you smell him?”
Stanley nodded and ran out of the office.
I ran after Stanley, and Jackreth and Keftan ran after me. We all squeezed into the carriage and headed towards the disused cave.
Jackreth voiced the thought I was trying not to think. “Do you think Mowibela has used the same mirror potion on your friend? Do you think she’s killed him?”
I turned my head away from Jackreth’s face. I didn’t want to answer those questions.
We arrived at the disused cave and Keftan produced a torch from his pocket. I told him where to aim the beam, and as he did so, my heart missed more than one beat.
Jackreth asked, “Is that a pair of legs hanging from the ceiling?”
I gave him a small nod.
He went on, “Do those legs belong to your friend?”
Another nod.
“Where’s the top part of your friend?” Jackreth asked.
I forced my shaking legs to move out of the carriage and up the spiral steps. I moved swiftly along the smaller cave using the light on my phone to help me. I braced myself and hoped we weren’t too late.
Chapter 27
I heard Luca’s voice before I saw him. I aimed my light at the area in front of me and it settled on Luca’s top half. His face was covered in dirt and he was mumbling something.
Stanley raced over to Luca and rubbed his face against Luca’s arm. Luca muttered, “Stanley, my friend. You found me.”
I was at Luca’s side in a second. I dropped to my knees and put my hand on his arm. I was too relieved to say anything and just smiled at Luca as tears escaped from my eyes.
Luca panted, “Cassia, it’s Mowibela. She killed Oddec. She confessed to me. That plant. Sneezeweed. Grows here.” His eyes began to close.
I shook his arm. “Luca, don’t go to sleep. Are you in pain?”
His eyes opened and he gave a small shake of his head.
I looked over my shoulder and shouted to Jackreth, “Get Blythe! And Dr Morgan too. As quickly as you can.”
Jackreth said, “Can’t you use magic on him? Don’t you have any left? You can’t leave him like that.”
I tried sending magic to my fingers. Nothing happened. “I don’t have enough magic left to lift him. Please, hurry.”
I heard the sound of feet running away and then felt someone kneeling at my side. It was Keftan. He put his hands under Luca’s armpits and said, “I can try to pull him out. We can’t leave him like this for much longer. He looks like he’s struggling to breathe.”
“I’ll help you.” I went around to the back of Luca and put my hands around his chest. Stanley joined in too and put his paws around Luca’s arm.
Using all the strength we had, we attempted to pull Luca free from the ground. It was like a hideous version of The Great Big Enormous Turnip story. And just like the turnip, Luca didn’t budge an inch.
Luca was mumbling something else. I put my ear next to his mouth and heard him saying how much he loved me.
I said, “I know you do. Don’t you dare die on me, Luca. You’ve done that before, and I didn’t appreciate it.” I brushed dirt from his face. “Did Mowibela say where she was going?”
“No,” he croaked. “Cassia, it was Mowibela. The voice. My name. It was her.” He closed his eyes.
Stanley patted Luca’s arms and howled in distress.
I heard a commotion behind us. A voice full of authority said, “Move out of the way. I’ll deal with this.”
Blythe came to my side and gently pushed me to one side. She sent magic towards Luca and uttered some words. Luca shifted in the ground and then began to rise. His eyes were still closed. Blythe continue to mutter as she moved Luca fully out of the ground and towards herself.
Jackreth came to my side and said, “I told Blythe what you’d found out about Mowibela. She doesn’t remember you either. I don’t understand that because she’s a witch. Why wouldn’t she know you? I told her about the curse and everything. When I mentioned Luca, she quickly transported us here. Is your friend going to be alright?”
I looked at Luca as he hovered in the air and said, “I hope so.”
Blythe looked at me and said, “I don’t know if what Jackreth told me is true about you and this curse business, but we can talk about that later. My priority is Luca. I’m taking him to Dr Morgan’s office. You may visit him later.”
I said, “Before you go, do you know where Mowibela Hammerhands could be? I suspect she’s the one who killed Oddec. From what Luca told me just now, she confessed to him. But Mowibela has gone missing. I can’t arrest her until I find her. Could you help me find her?”
Blythe replied, “All in good time. I’ll put the word out, and we’ll find her in the next day or two. I must get Luca to the doctor immediately.”
Before I could say I didn’t have a day or two, Blythe vanished taking Luca with her.
Keftan Gubler cleared his throat. “I know you think Mowibela is a killer, but I’m still the legal owner of this mine. I’d like you to leave my property now.”
A small part of me was indignant at his words and I couldn’t help saying, “This is still a crime scene. Don’t touch anything here or in Mowibela’s office.”
He gave me a defiant look. “You
can’t tell me what to do.”
I checked the time on my watch and answered, “For the next hour, I’m still a justice witch. Please, do as I ask.”
Jackreth glowered at Keftan. “Have some respect. My brother died in this cave. My sister-in-law is a murderer. And Cassia here is going to stop being a witch soon. Don’t you have any compassion?”
“I don’t have time for compassion when I’ve got a business to run. Nonetheless, I’ll leave the mine as it is for now.” He stalked away and towards the stairs.
I picked Stanley up and left the cave.
Stanley snuggled into me as we settled into the carriage and I said to him, “What’s going to happen to us now? Have we solved the murder in time? We haven’t arrested Mowibela, so does this count? Stanley, I’m so worried.”
He snuggled closer to me and I knew he was worried too.
We quickly made our way back to Brimstone town centre.
The Grim Reaper was waiting for us next to the gazebo. For want of a better word, he looked grim.
Chapter 28
I marched over to Andy. I didn’t give him the chance to speak and yelled, “I solved the murder! I found out who killed Oddec! I know I haven’t arrested anyone, but Mowibela Hammerhands confessed to Luca. Isn’t that enough to break the curse?”
Andy gave me a solemn look. “I know you solved this murder, Cassia. And I know Blythe has already put things in motion to locate Mowibela. But the curse hasn’t been broken. There’s something else going on here.”
I threw my hands up in frustration. “What now? Why hasn’t the curse been broken? And where’s Gran? You can’t have taken her life, you just can’t. Why hasn’t everything returned to normal?”
Stanley stamped his paws angrily and meowed in protest.
My voice rose even more. “I want an explanation! Why hasn’t the curse been broken? What’s going on? You told me I had to solve the murder, and that’s what I’ve done.” Tears of frustration came to my eyes and I dashed them away. “You promised. You said when the curse had been broken everything would go back to normal.”
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