by Adele Abbott
“Quick, Mikey. Climb down.”
As I joined him on the stalk, I could feel the clouds vibrating, and in the distance, I saw the giant headed our way. He would be on us in a matter of seconds.
“Do you need any help?” The squeaky voice belonged to another Fly-Me-Up; this one was yellow.
“Yes, please. Can you fly us down?”
“That’s what we Fly-Me-Downs do.”
“I thought you were called Fly-Me-Ups?”
“They’re our cousins. It will cost one hundred pounds for the two of you.”
“I thought it was forty pounds per person?”
“That’s what our cousins charge. Our service is slightly more expensive.”
“Whatever.” I took the cash from my pocket and handed it to him. “Just get us out of here!”
Less than a minute later, they put us down in Kathy’s back garden.
“Is the giant coming to get us, Auntie Jill?” Mikey was looking up at the top of the beanstalk.
“No, you’re safe now.”
I quickly cast the ‘thunderbolt’ spell, which cut through the base of the beanstalk, and sent it crashing to the ground. Next, I cast the ‘forget’ spell on Mikey and then led him into the house.
“Where’s Mum?” he said, clearly still a little disorientated.
“She’s gone to collect your sister from school. They should be back in a minute.”
In fact, Kathy’s car had just pulled onto the drive, so I went out to meet her.
“Have you found him, Jill?” She had obviously been crying.
“Yes, he’s in the house. He’s okay.”
“Where was he?”
“He was in the garden all the time.”
“But I looked everywhere.”
“There’s a lot of thick foliage down the bottom end. He was hiding in there.”
“Is he okay?”
“Yeah, he’s fine.”
“Thank goodness.” She broke down in tears.
“Why’s Mummy crying, Auntie Jill?” Lizzie looked very concerned.
“She’s okay. She’s just happy.”
“Why do grown-ups cry when they’re happy?”
“Grown-ups are a bit weird. Why don’t you come inside, and I’ll get us all a drink?”
The kids had gone upstairs; Kathy and I were in the lounge, enjoying a well-deserved cup of tea.
“Hi, you two.” Peter popped his head around the door.
“You’re home early.” Kathy stood up and gave him a kiss.
“I’d finished the job I was working on, so I thought I’d call it a day. Besides, I want to try and do some work in the garden.”
“Peter, do you have any of those seeds left?” I said.
“No, I’ve used them all, but I’m beginning to think I may have been conned. I’m not sure anything will ever grow from them. Why do you ask?”
“No reason.”
“I’ve got something to show you, Jill.” Kathy led the way through to the dining room. “Ta da!”
Mounted on the wall was a huge framed photograph of the whole family.
“That’s lovely. How did you talk Mikey into doing it?”
“We simply sat him down and reasoned with him. He soon came around once he realised how important it was to me.”
“I must say, it’s a beautiful photo.”
When it was almost time for me to leave, Mikey came rushing down the stairs. “Auntie Jill, come and see my new racing car track.”
“I didn’t know you liked racing cars?”
“Yes, I do. They’re great.”
“When did you get the racing track? I didn’t miss your birthday, did I?”
“No. Mummy bought it for me for being in the family photo.”
“Did she now?” I looked at Kathy who at least had the good grace to blush.
Chapter 21
“An actual beanstalk?” Jack was staring at me, open-mouthed. Fortunately, he’d already finished eating his muesli.
“Yes.”
“An actual giant?”
“That’s right.”
“That’s so cool.”
“There was nothing cool about it. Mikey and I came this close to being his dinner.”
“It’s a good job your grandmother gave you that sneezing powder. You owe her one big time.”
“I know, and if she ever finds out, she’ll never let me forget about it.”
“You get to do all the exciting stuff while I’m stuck doing paperwork most of the day. Isn’t there some way for you to give me magical powers? Then I could go on adventures with you.”
“Why didn’t you say before? I’ll just nip to the corner shop and buy a jar of Turn-Me-Into-A-Wizard.”
“You don’t realise how lucky you are, Jill. Most people would kill to have your life.”
“I do realise, but it isn’t all fun and games. It’s hard work a lot of the time too.”
“Would you prefer to have my job?”
“I—err—”
“That’s what I thought. Take today for example. I have to attend a seminar on The Impact of Social Media on Today’s Police Force.” He yawned.
“It could be interesting.”
“Not as interesting as climbing a beanstalk and visiting a giant’s castle.”
Jack was right.
And yes, I do realise that’s not something I say very often, but on this occasion, he was spot on. Since I’d discovered I was a witch, my life had become so much more exciting. Sometimes I wondered how I used to fill my time B.W. (Before Witch). Life was certainly much simpler back then, but would I choose to go back to those days if I could?
Not likely. I was having way too much fun.
***
“We’ve got it, Jill.” Mrs V was practically dancing around the outer office—she was so excited.
“The house? They accepted your offer, then?”
“Yes, we heard last night. I know I had my doubts, but now I’m really looking forward to moving in.”
“Do you have any idea when that will be?”
“It shouldn’t be too long. The new house is vacant, and ours is going on the market later today. The estate agent reckons we’ll have no problem selling it.”
“I’m really pleased for you. It seems like everyone is moving house at the moment.” Except for me.
“I meant to ask. How are Kathy and the family settling into their new place?”
“Very well, thanks.” Apart from the whole beanstalk/giant incident, that is. “They seem to like it. Mrs V, do you think you could make me a cup of tea before I shoot off?”
“Of course. Will you be gone long?”
“Probably. I’m going to pay another visit to the Cliffs Caravan Park.”
“Morning, Winky.”
He stared at me for a moment and then, without a word, turned his back to me.
“I said, good morning.”
All I got in return this time was a grunt.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“Do you know what day it is?”
“Wednesday.”
He turned around. “I mean what day it is.”
“It’s too early for your cryptic—oh, wait a minute. Are you referring to Love Your Cat day?”
“Of course.”
“You’re not sulking because I didn’t get you a card?”
“I’m not sulking, but I am very disappointed, and a little hurt.”
“Don’t give me that load of old cobblers. First of all, Love Your Cat day isn’t a thing. Or at least it wasn’t until you invented it. And, secondly, you’ve made a small fortune off the back of this little scam, so if you’re expecting me to feel bad, then you, my friend, are going to be very disappointed.”
“I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again, you’ve become very hard.”
***
I was more or less sure that Mary Chase had driven the Bells’ car and caravan back to their house on that fateful night, so she must know what had happened to th
em. And if she knew, I was pretty sure that her husband did too. The challenge was to get them to divulge that information.
After a leisurely drive to the coast, I parked a quarter of a mile from the caravan park, and made my way from there on foot. As I approached the entrance to the park, a car was just coming through the gates. It was Mary Bell. She was too busy focussing on the road to notice me, so I waited until she’d driven away, and then made my way in. Judging by the number of vacant pitches, I estimated that the caravan park couldn’t have been more than fifty percent occupied. For that time of year, that struck me as rather poor.
As I approached the Chases’ office/living quarters, the door opened, and Norman Chase stepped out. I considered confronting him there and then, but what exactly would I have said? That some random man at a petrol station reckoned he’d seen Mary Chase driving the Bells’ car? He’d just laugh in my face. I was going to need much more than that. Maybe I’d find something in their office.
Chase headed off in the opposite direction, and as soon as he was out of sight, I hurried over to the office. To my surprise, it wasn’t locked, so I slipped inside. So far, so good, but what exactly was I looking for? Something that belonged to the Bells, maybe?
Inside, there were two desks—his and hers, I assumed. I started with the one closest to the door and began to go through the drawers. Fifteen minutes later, I’d finished with the first desk, but I’d found precisely nothing. I was just about to start on the second one when I heard the door open.
Oh bum!
“Mary? Why are you crying?” Norman Chase said.
As you’re no doubt already aware, I’m a think-on-my-feet kind of person, so in the split second between my hearing Chase at the door, and him walking into the office, I’d been able to come up with yet another cunning plan.
Although he was staring straight at me, he was actually seeing his wife, Mary, in floods of tears. All courtesy of the ‘doppelganger’ spell.
“That horrible Maxwell woman has been here again,” I said, in my best Mary-like voice.
“Where is she?”
“She’s gone, but I think she might be onto us.”
“Why, what did she say?”
“Something about knowing that I was the one who drove the Bells’ car back to their house.”
“She can’t possibly know that.”
“That’s what she said. She reckons someone saw me.”
“She’s bluffing. She doesn’t have anything.”
“I’m scared, Norman.”
“Don’t be silly.” He came over and gave me a hug, which was pretty gross, but I had to play along with it. “They can’t do anything without the bodies.”
I very nearly reacted to that awful revelation and gave the game away. Bodies? That could mean only one thing: the Bells were dead.
“What if they find them?” I said through fake tears.
“They won’t.”
“You can’t know that. Maybe Maxwell has already found them.”
“Don’t be silly.”
“I’m not. I’m just scared, Norman.”
“There’s no need to be.” He took my hand. “Come on. I’ll show you.”
He led the way out of the office, and through the caravan park. Based on what Norman had said so far, I wasn’t sure if Mary knew the location of the Bells’ bodies or not. Had he disposed of them alone or had she been with him?
After leaving the caravan park, we walked along the cliff top for another ten minutes. There were very few people around—just the occasional jogger and dog walker. Eventually, we came to the top of a set of wooden steps, which led down onto the beach.
“What if someone sees us?” I said, as we made our way down the steps.
“They won’t. I promise.”
Once on the beach, we continued to walk along the sand. After about half a mile, the beach became pebbles, and the going was much more difficult. Norman checked that there was no one else around, and then started towards the foot of the cliffs. When we got closer, I spotted a small cave opening, which was barely visible behind thick shrubbery.
Once inside the cave, he took out his phone, and switched on the flashlight app. Only then did it occur to me that this might be a trap. Had Norman somehow realised I wasn’t Mary? No, that simply wasn’t possible. Another sup might have seen through my spell, but not a human.
The cave was much deeper than I’d expected it to be, and we’d been walking for almost a minute when he stopped.
“See!” He pointed to an area of ground that had recently been disturbed. “Maxwell will never find them here. No one will.” He gave me another creepy hug. “Will you stop worrying now?”
“Sorry.”
“It’s okay. We just have to keep our nerve, and it will all blow over. The police have already given up on it, and that Maxwell woman will too. You’ll see.”
The climb back up the wooden steps was exhausting, but at least I had some of the answers I’d been seeking. I now knew that the Bells were dead and where they’d been buried, but I still had no idea why or how they’d been killed. That would be something for the police to determine.
I had a more pressing problem: what to do about the Chases. When the ‘real’ Mary returned, Norman would soon realise that he’d somehow been conned into revealing the location of the Bells’ bodies. Once that happened, he might try to move them, or he and Mary might do a runner.
We were almost back at the caravan park when I pulled up.
“Mary? What’s wrong now?”
“Nothing. I’m fine.” I quickly cast the ‘forget’ spell, reversed the ‘doppelganger’ spell, and then left, leaving Norman confused and somewhat disorientated.
If everything worked according to plan, he would remember nothing about the ‘fake’ Mary or his trip down to the cave.
***
I really wasn’t looking forward to this next part.
“Is Susan Shay in, please?” I was at Washbridge police station.
I could have reported my findings to the local police in Filey, but I figured it would take longer for me to explain to them who I was, and why I was involved with the case. Much as I disliked Sushi, I could at least cut to the chase with her.
“Is she expecting you?” The sergeant behind the desk had a streaming cold.
“No, but if you could tell her that it’s Jill Maxwell, and that I know where the Bells are.”
“Which bells?”
“Walter and Jean Bell. They went missing over a year ago.”
“You’d better take a seat.”
A few minutes later, Sushi greeted me with her customary scowl.
“My sergeant tells me you know the whereabouts of the Bells?”
“That’s correct. I’m afraid they’re dead.”
“Are you sure?”
“I haven’t actually seen their bodies, but yeah, I’m pretty sure.”
“You’d better come with me.”
Needless to say, Sushi was the perfect hostess, offering me a choice of drinks and snacks.
What? Of course I’m joking. I got absolutely nothing from her. Zilch. Nada.
After telling her everything I knew, she said, “And the bodies are buried in a cave near the caravan park?”
“It’s a fair walk from the park, but yes.”
“How did you find them?”
That was a good question. I could hardly tell her that I’d transformed myself into Mary Chase.
“I—err—followed Norman Chase.”
“And he just happened to lead you to where the bodies were buried.”
“Yeah. I got lucky, I guess.”
“That seems to happen to you a lot, doesn’t it, Maxwell? Getting lucky, I mean?”
“What can I say? I avoid black cats, never walk under ladders and I’ve never broken a mirror.”
“If what you say is true, then the implications are that one or both of the Chases killed them. But why?”
“I reckon that’s for you to find out. I’
ve done my bit.” I stood up. “Now, unless there’s anything else you need from me, I should get going.”
“Okay, but if this turns out to be a wild goose chase, you’ll be very sorry.”
“Once again, no thanks are necessary.”
***
Despite Sushi’s warning that I shouldn’t contact the Bells’ children, that was the first thing I did once I was out of the police station. The news would be devastating for them, but I figured it would be better coming from me.
“Katie, it’s Jill Maxwell. I’m afraid I have bad news for you.”
“Oh no.” She burst into tears. “They’re dead, aren’t they?”
“I believe so. You and Adam must prepare yourselves for the worst.”
“What happened to them?”
I told her as much as I could. As much as I knew.
“How did they die?” She managed through her sobs. “Were they murdered?”
“I don’t know, but the fact that the Chases hid their bodies suggests there must have been foul play of some kind. I expect the police will be in touch with you soon. They’ll no doubt be questioning the Chases.”
“Thank you for calling, Jill. And for finding them.”
“No problem. I’m just sorry it didn’t turn out differently.”
I’d no sooner finished talking to Katie Bell than I got a call from the colonel.
“Jill, I thought you’d want to know that two of our people were snatched from the streets of GT last night.”
“Does Mad know?”
“Yes, she’s tracking them now.”
“They’re in the human world, I take it?”
“That’s right. Mad is waiting for the signals to stop moving around before she makes her move.”
“Okay. Ask her to contact me before she goes after them, would you? I’d like to be involved.”
“Will do.”
“Thanks, Colonel.”
Chapter 22
Although the end-result wasn’t exactly what I’d been hoping for, at least I could mark the Bell case closed. To reward myself, I popped into Coffee Games.