by Adele Abbott
“I’m afraid we won’t be changing the name if that’s what you’re going to ask.”
“I understand that. Have you ordered your permanent sign yet?”
“Not yet. We’ll need to get onto that today.”
“Would you consider using a company called It’s A Sign? The guy there is a Mr Sid Song.”
“Is that the company that made your sign?” Kimmy said.
“Yes. They’re very good. Extremely efficient,” I lied. “You could explain to him that you’d like your sign to be installed at the same time as my second one. And this is the important thing: Tell him he must use a different font and colour for yours, and that he should leave a gap between my signs and yours, so that no one thinks they’re connected.”
“I don’t see why we shouldn’t at least give him a call,” Jimmy said. “Particularly as you’ve recommended him so highly.”
“Don’t be put off by his—err—voice.”
“How do you mean?”
“He has a tendency to sing all the time.”
“Is that some kind of gimmick?”
“More of an affliction, I’d say. And you’ll remember to tell him about the font, colour and positioning of the signs?”
“Of course. None of us wants to cause any confusion, do we?”
Result!
Mrs V looked puzzled.
“I’m puzzled, Jill.”
See, what did I tell you?
“Why’s that?”
“A few minutes ago, two men came to collect lots of small packages from your office. When they first arrived, I told them they must have got the wrong address, but then when I looked inside your office, there they were: Piles of parcels. What was in them, Jill?”
“Marketing stuff—promotional bits and bobs.”
“That must have cost a pretty penny?”
“You know what they say: You have to speculate to accumulate. Anyway, I’d better crack on. I’m expecting Nancy Crane at ten o’clock. When she arrives, show her straight in would you, Mrs V? If she asks where Henry Tyler is, tell her he called to say he’d be delayed.”
“Will do, dear. Shall I make drinks for you both?”
“Not unless I come through and ask for them. You won’t forget what I told you about contacting Susan Shay, will you?”
“Don’t worry. I have it all in hand.”
“Make sure she understands not to get here early.”
“I’ll tell her.”
“Winky! Come here!”
“If it isn’t Clueless the Clown.” He sniggered.
“What were you playing at?”
“I suppose you’re talking about the parcels containing the cat clocks.”
“Yes. What were you thinking?”
“They were supposed to be collected before the old bag lady arrived for work, but the driver got lost—GPS on the blink or something.”
“You can’t let it happen again. I don’t like having to lie to Mrs V.”
“You lie to everyone else. Why is she so special?”
“Just make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
“Don’t worry. I’ve decided to give up the cat clock business.”
“How come? I thought you were coining it?”
“I am, but it’s too much like hard work. There are much easier ways to make my fortune.”
“Such as?”
“If I told you that, I’d be forced to kill you.”
***
Nancy Crane looked a little apprehensive. “Your receptionist said that Henry has been delayed.”
“That’s right. He shouldn’t be long. Can I get you a drink?”
“No, thanks.”
“We may as well make a start. I’ll bring Henry up to speed when he gets here.”
“Okay.”
“There are lots of things about this case that bother me. First and foremost, why was no ransom ever requested? If it wasn’t about money, what was the motive? Some kind of personal vendetta? I’ve spoken to Brian Reed and Billy Hawksworth, either of whom might have had reason to hold a grudge against Theo, but I’m satisfied neither was involved. It was after I’d spoken to them that I asked myself some fundamental questions.”
I paused and watched Nancy’s reaction. I hoped the silence might encourage her to open up, but she remained silent, just shuffling in her seat.
I continued, “Questions like why did it take Theo eight weeks to escape from that room? I paid a visit to the basement where he was supposedly being held, and frankly, that door frame was rotten. My young nephew could have got out of there in less than a day, and he’s only nine years old.”
“What are you saying? That he wasn’t being held there? Where was he being held, then?”
“That’s the wrong question. The correct question is: Was he being held captive at all?”
“You’re surely not suggesting that Theo faked his own kidnapping?”
“As I said, I went to look at that basement; it was pretty grim. If I’d been confined there for nine weeks, I’d have been in a lot worse shape than Theo was when he ‘escaped’. Then there’s the question of why he was on the road where he was snatched.”
“He was on his way to the golf club. He goes there every Friday.”
“That’s certainly what he told everyone, but in fact, he hadn’t been to the golf club for eight months. Which begs the question: where had he been going every Friday? Do you have any idea?”
“How would I know?”
“Because I believe the two of you spent Fridays together. You are lovers, aren’t you?”
“That’s complete nonsense!” She stood up.
“Is it? I believe you go to Pilates every Friday?”
“So what?”
“Maybe you’d like to talk me through your favourite five moves?”
“I don’t have to answer your stupid questions.”
“That’s true, but you’ll have to answer the police’s questions. They should be here in about five minutes.”
Stunned, she slumped back into the chair. “You can’t prove any of this.”
“Can’t I? When I realised that Theo hadn’t been held in that basement, I asked myself where he’d been for all those weeks. That’s when I remembered that there had been a sighting of him at a motel in Sheffield. The police didn’t follow up on it because Theo turned up on the same day. Quite a coincidence, wouldn’t you say?”
“I wouldn’t know anything about it.”
“I went over to the motel to view the CCTV, and there’s no doubt it’s him. Theo had no idea the motel was having cameras installed, so when he saw the camera in the car park, he panicked and drove away. That forced him to bring forward his ‘escape’; he hoped his reappearance would avoid the possibility of the police checking the CCTV and putting two and two together.”
“Even if what you said about Theo is true, I had nothing to do with it.”
“While I was at the motel, I spoke to the bar staff. One of them was able to describe the woman who occasionally accompanied Graham Day to the bar, and he was confident he’d be able to pick her out of a line-up.” The colour drained from her face. “Aren’t you going to ask me who Graham Day is? Of course you aren’t because you already know. The thing I don’t understand is why you didn’t simply ask Jude for a divorce?”
“The kidnapping wasn’t my idea. I didn’t want to do it, but Theo is a dangerous man. I was scared of what he’d do to me if I didn’t go along with it. Please don’t let them send me to prison.”
“I can’t see any way for you to avoid some jail time, but if you’re willing to tell the police everything you know, that will go in your favour. Why did he do it?”
“Money. It was always about the money with Theo. He wanted to sell the business to Brian Reed, but Jude wouldn’t hear of it. Theo reckoned that once Jude was locked up, he’d have to agree to sell because I’d need the money.”
“And after the business was sold, you and Theo would live happily ever after?”
&
nbsp; “It was Theo’s plan. It was all Theo. I know I should have said something to Jude, but I was too scared.”
Right on cue, Mrs V came through to my office and announced that Sue Shay was here with another police officer.
“I understand this is to do with the recent kidnapping, Gooder?” Shay said.
“It’s Maxwell.”
“I don’t care. What do you have for me?”
“This lady is Nancy Crane, the wife of Jude Crane who you arrested for his brother’s kidnapping. There’s something she’d like to tell you.”
“We’re not doing this here. We’ll go down to the station. You’ll have to come too, Good—err, Maxwell.”
“My pleasure.”
I spent the next four hours at Washbridge police station, running through everything I knew about the Crane kidnapping. Meanwhile, in another interview room, Nancy was no doubt working out some kind of plea bargain that would see her receive a reduced sentence in return for condemning Theo to a lengthy stretch inside.
When I was eventually allowed to leave, I was escorted out of the building by a young policewoman. As we walked along the corridor, I passed by Nancy Crane who was being escorted in the opposite direction. Much to my surprise, when she saw me, she smiled, winked and said, “Thanks, Jill.”
Chapter 28
Thank goodness it was Saturday; it had been one heck of a week.
“What do you think is going to happen today?” Jack said, in-between mouthfuls of muesli (which is definitely nothing like porridge).
“At the surfing extravaganza? I have no idea, but I don’t see Grandma climbing down.”
“Even if it means she’ll get banished to Candlefield?”
“You know what she’s like. She does whatever she wants. I’ve never known anyone as obstinate.”
“I have.” He grinned. “Are you sure you want to be there to witness it? We could always give it a miss and go to the cinema or something.”
“I don’t want to be there, but I have to go. I want to arrive early so that I can have one last attempt at talking her out of it.”
“At least you got the Crane case tied up.”
“Hmm.”
“What’s wrong? I thought you’d be chuffed?”
“I would have been if I hadn’t bumped into Nancy Crane on the way out of the police station. She should have been in pieces, but she was smiling.”
“She was probably in shock.”
“I don’t think so. She winked at me and said thank you.”
“What do you make of that?”
“I have a horrible feeling that I might have got it badly wrong.”
“What do you mean?”
“I assumed that Theo was the brains behind the whole thing, and that Nancy had been intimidated into going along with it. Now, I’m beginning to wonder if she was the driving force all along. Maybe she was the one after the cash, and she talked Theo into it. I’m almost certain that someone had paved the way for a sale to Reed as soon as Jude was out of the way. That would explain why Brian Reed was so confident about extending his current premises.”
“Do you think Reed knew who was behind the kidnapping?”
“I don’t know. Probably not.”
“What will happen to Nancy now?”
“She realised the game was up, so she decided to sing like a bird, to save her own neck.”
“What are you going to do about it?”
“There’s nothing I can do. Even if Nancy was the brains behind it, I doubt Theo will say anything. He’s besotted with her.”
“She’ll still do jail time.”
“I know, and that’s my only consolation.”
“What about the fact that Jude Crane is now a free man again? That must give you some satisfaction?”
“Of course it does, but I doubt he’s feeling on top of the world. He’s just discovered that his wife and his brother have been having an affair, and that they both conspired to get him sent away for a long, long time.”
***
The crowd outside of Ever stretched all the way down the high street.
“How will all these people get in?” Jack said.
“There’ll be plenty of room, you’ll see.”
“Magic?”
“Yeah.”
Just then, I spotted Grandma inside the shop, so I waved my arms around until I caught her attention.
“Wait there,” I said to Jack. “I’m going to have a word with her.”
“Good luck.”
“I’ll need it.”
Grandma opened the door just long enough to let me inside. “What is it? I’ve got a thousand things to do.”
“I wanted to ask you one last time not to go through with this fiasco. The rogue retrievers are here. I saw Daze a couple of minutes ago.”
“Is that all? I thought you had something important to tell me.”
“This is important, Grandma. You could end up back in Candlefield. Forever.”
“So you said.” She ushered me back out of the door. “Now, let me get on, will you?”
Kathy, Peter and the kids had joined Jack.
Jack raised his eyebrows at me, and I knew he wanted to know how I’d got on with Grandma. I shook my head.
“Are you excited, Auntie Jill?” Lizzie grabbed my hand.
“Yeah. Very.”
“Do you think we’ll be able to surf, Dad?” Mikey asked Peter.
“I don’t think so. I think we’ll only be able to watch.”
“I still don’t understand how this is going to work,” Kathy said. “Do you know, Jill?”
“I’ve no idea. It’s a complete mystery to me.”
Ten minutes later, we were all allowed upstairs onto the terrace where the floor was completely covered in sand. Dozens of deck chairs and sun loungers faced a large yellow screen, which had been erected along one side of the roof.
“What’s behind that screen?” Jack whispered.
“Your guess is as good as mine.”
“Jill!” Daze called me over. “Did you have a word with your grandmother?”
“I did, but it didn’t do any good.”
“I’m really sorry to hear that. You realise we’ll have to act as soon as we see anything untoward.”
“I know. It isn’t your fault. That cantankerous old woman only has herself to blame.”
Just then, a loud drum roll sounded through the enormous speakers. The crowd immediately fell silent, and Grandma stepped forward, in front of the yellow screen.
“Ladies, gentlemen and children, welcome to Ever’s first surfing extravaganza. Are you all excited?”
The crowd shouted, “Yes!”
“I can’t hear you.”
This time, they shouted much louder.
The woman certainly knew how to work a crowd.
“Are you ready?”
“Yes!”
“Okay. On three. One, two.” I glanced at Daze who was standing with Blaze and two other rogue retrievers; all of them were poised for action. “Three.”
The yellow screen dropped to the floor, and for a moment nothing seemed to happen, but then, a huge movie screen began to rise. In front of it was a row of machines that resembled treadmills, but which had surfboards where the walk platform would normally have been. When the movie screen had reached its full height, the display was filled with images of a beautiful beach and enormous waves.
“Okay, children,” Grandma said. “You can take turns surfing on these machines. A maximum of ten minutes each, please.”
The children rushed forward and the machines were soon full.
“Is this actually magic?” Jack whispered.
“I don’t think so. That’s a conventional cinema screen, and I’m pretty sure I’ve seen machines like those on TV.”
“I thought you said she was going to use magic?”
“I assumed she was.”
“Jill!” Daze called me over again. “What’s going on?”
“Beats me.”
> “Hello, Daisy.” Grandma appeared next to us. “Are you all having fun? Do help yourself to drinks.” And with that, she disappeared back into the crowd.
“She’s done it again.” I couldn’t help but smile. “She had us all fooled.”
“Do you think this is what she intended all along?” Blaze said.
“I don’t know. Maybe. Or maybe she changed her plans once she knew you were onto her. Either way, it seems she’s had the last laugh again.”
I went to find Jack.
“Is that offer to take me to the cinema still open?” I said.
“Don’t you want to stay here?”
“Not now I know Grandma’s going to be okay.”
“I’m definitely up for the movies. As long as I can have popcorn and a slush.”
“You can if I can share.”
“Deal.”
We said our goodbyes and made our way back outside. We’d just started up the high street when someone called my name. It was Ma Chivers.
“What does she want?” Jack said.
“I don’t know. You stay here. I won’t be long.”
“That husband of yours gets better looking every time I see him.” Ma Chivers cackled. “Pity he’s a human.”
“What do you want, Ma?”
“I wanted to say I was looking forward to the Elite Competition next week. I hope you’ve put in plenty of preparation.”
“Enough to beat you.”
“I admire your confidence, Jill, even if it is misplaced. Be sure you make the most of your time with that man of yours this weekend because I don’t just intend to win next week. I intend to end you.”
More mystery and magic await Jill Maxwell in the next book:
Witch Is How The Drought Ended
(Witch P.I. Mysteries #29)
ALSO FROM ADELE ABBOTT:
Whoops! Our New Flatmate Is A Human
Susan Hall Investigates Book #1
Take a shy werewolf, a wizard who fancies himself as a ladies’ man, and a vampire dying for her first taste of human blood. Then add a human for good measure.
Web site: AdeleAbbott.com