by Adele Abbott
“She’s worse. So, do you have anything suitable?”
“Your Dorothy might be in luck. I took one in on part-exchange yesterday. It’s a good little motor and should fit the bill nicely.”
“Great. Can she come over today to see it?”
“I’m sure she will.”
“I’ll look forward to meeting her.”
“Neil, come on.” Charlie tapped his watch. “We’re going to miss Amelia.”
Despite Charlie’s protestations, Neil stopped at Tilly’s apartment on their way past.
“It’s Neil!” Tilly called to Dorothy.
“What does he want?”
“Why don’t you come and ask him yourself?”
Dorothy came to the door with a cup of coffee in her hand. “What now?”
“I was going to tell you about a van I’ve found, but if you’re not interested?”
“Hold on, Neil.” Tilly intervened. “Take no notice of grouchy. We’re definitely interested, aren’t we, Dorothy?”
“Yeah.” And then, begrudgingly, she added, “Sorry.”
He told them about the van that Ted had available.
“When can we see it?” Dorothy said.
“He said you can go down there this morning if you want to.” Neil took a card from his pocket. “This is his place.”
“Neil, come on!” Charlie grabbed him by the hand. “We need to go now!”
“Sorry, ladies. I’m in great demand this morning, as you can see.”
“What are those two up to?” Tilly said after they’d disappeared down the corridor.
“I don’t know, but I suspect it involves a cat.”
“Are you ready, Charlie?” Neil said.
“Are you sure this is safe?”
“Yes. Do you want me to cast the spell or not?”
“Will it hurt?”
“Charlie!”
“Okay, okay. Go for it.” Charlie closed his eyes and said a silent prayer. Moments later, he felt the weirdest sensation. “Have you done it yet?”
“Hi there, little guy.” The giant Neil said in a voice so loud it felt as though it would burst Charlie’s eardrums. The spell had obviously worked because he was as tiny as tiny could be.
“I’m going to hide around the corner until you’re inside,” Neil said.
“Okay.” Charlie had to yell to be heard.
“Be careful when she comes out of the door.”
Charlie didn’t need telling twice. It wasn’t just that Amelia might step on him inadvertently, he was worried that if she spotted him, she might do it deliberately. He hurried over to the wall, and crouched next to the skirting board.
Two minutes later, the giant door opened, and two giant shapely legs appeared. The high heels she was wearing looked lethal. Seeing them made Charlie crouch even lower to the ground. Only once Amelia was out of the door, did he make a run for it. He would have to be quick before she closed it again.
He’d badly underestimated how long it would take his tiny legs to cover the ground. It was going to be touch and go because the door was almost closed.
When he was close enough, he flung himself through the gap.
Phew! He’d made it, but only just. The door slammed shut behind him. His heart was pounding so hard he thought it might burst.
“Charlie? Are you okay?” It was Neil.
“Yeah, just about.”
“Charlie? I can’t hear you.”
“I’m okay!” He shouted as loud as he could.
“I can’t hear you, but I’m going to go ahead and reverse the spell, anyway. Here goes.”
Charlie felt the same weird sensation as he was returned to his normal size.
“Neil?”
“Are you okay?”
“Just about.”
“Thank goodness. You had me worried there for a minute. I’m going back downstairs now. Good luck.”
Chapter 13
When Neil got back to the apartment, he found Socky, pacing up and down the bedroom.
“Morning, Tobias.”
“There is nothing good about this particular morning.”
“What’s wrong? I thought you’d be full of the joys of spring now that you have Bella back.”
“It’s Lady Markham to you. I too thought that the return of my one true love would raise my mood, but I fear there are dark clouds on the horizon for Tobias Fotheringham.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m not sure I should share my secrets with the likes of you.”
“With the likes of me? Didn’t I prove my loyalty by helping you to get Bel—I mean, Lady Markham back?”
“That much is true. I suppose it wouldn’t do any harm to confide in you provided that you promise not to breathe a word of this to another soul.”
“I promise.”
“Living or dead.”
“You have my word.”
“When we returned from the stocks yesterday, Bella and I spent an enjoyable few minutes getting reacquainted.”
“A few minutes?”
“As you grow older, you’ll come to realise that quality surpasses quantity every time.”
“O—kay. So what happened, after you’d become reacquainted, to spoil your mood?”
“When I fell asleep, my darling Bella was by my side, but when I woke, she had gone.”
“Don’t tell me she’s left you again already?”
“Of course not. She returned some time later.”
“So what’s the problem?”
“This is all rather difficult for me.”
“Go on. You may as well tell me now.”
“I worry that she may have gone to another man while I slept.”
“Another man? Surely not.”
“I fear it may be true, and I know who that cad is.”
“You do?” Neil started to edge slowly away.
“Of course. It’s that rat, Getmore. He still has his claws into her.”
“Are you sure?”
“Who else could it be?”
“Maybe she went back there to tell him it was all over.”
“Do you really think so?”
“I’m sure of it. She’s back with you now, isn’t she?”
“That is true.”
“There you are, then. There’s nothing to worry about.”
“I may have misjudged you, young man. You have greater wisdom than I gave you credit for. I shall waste no more time on such foolish thoughts. My darling Bella deserves better than that.”
After Socky had disappeared, Neil breathed a huge sigh of relief. He’d got away with it this time, but if Bella insisted on pursuing him, it would only be a matter of time before Socky realised who the other man really was.
***
Since Neil had reversed the spell and brought him back to full size, Charlie had not moved from the spot. He was terrified that if he did, someone would hear him. But who? He’d just seen Amelia leave, and there was no one else in the apartment. This was ridiculous. He’d come this far, so he should at least take a look around the place.
“Pretty? Are you in here, Pretty?”
There was no response. Surely, if she was there, she’d have come running to him? But what if Amelia had her locked inside a cage? He wouldn’t put anything past that evil witch. He had to find out once and for all, or he’d never rest easy again.
“Pretty!”
The layout of the apartment was nothing like the one he shared. It was much smaller, and instead of a large combined living/kitchen area, there were separate rooms. He decided to start with the kitchen, but immediately wished he hadn’t. The room was disgusting—there was no other word for it. Before Susan had moved in, their apartment had been a mess, but it was nothing compared to this scene of devastation. The sink was hidden below a mountain of dirty dishes—some of which looked like they’d been there for weeks. On the table was what appeared to be the remnants of that morning’s breakfast. But it was the smell that really got to him. For all of her ou
tward appearance of glamour, Amelia really was a slob.
One thing was for sure, if Pretty had been locked inside that apartment, she wouldn’t have gone hungry because there were any number of pizza boxes scattered around the living room—many of them with half eaten pizzas inside.
Charlie had deliberately left the bedroom until last. He was more nervous about going in there than in any of the other rooms, but it had to be done. Before he left, he needed to be one-hundred percent sure that Pretty wasn’t trapped in a cage somewhere.
He took a deep breath, and pushed open the door, which was already slightly ajar. Unlike the other rooms, the bedroom was spotlessly clean. After taking only a few steps into the room, Charlie stopped dead in his tracks.
It wasn’t the whip hanging from the wall that had taken his breath away. Or even the pink furry handcuffs hanging from the bedpost. It was the cat on the bedside table.
The stuffed cat.
“Pretty! No!”
It took him several minutes to summon up the courage to touch the cat, and when he did, the coldness of its body caused him to flinch and pull away.
Evil wasn’t a strong enough word. How could anyone do this to such a beautiful creature? How could anyone be so cruel?
He would not leave Pretty in this evil place; she deserved better than to be a sick trophy for such a warped mind. He picked up the stuffed cat, and made his way out of the apartment.
***
Susan had always lived and worked in cities, and she’d always considered herself allergic to the countryside. That made it all the more surprising that she fell in love with Middle Tweaking as soon as she drove into the village.
The Masons lived in one of the larger properties, which was located on the southern edge of the village. Susan put Stephen and Lorraine Mason in their mid to late forties. They were both wearing tracksuits, and looked as though they’d just come back from a run.
“You must be Susan.” Stephen offered his hand. “Pleased to meet you.”
“Do come in.” Lorraine led the way inside. “We were worried we might miss you. We got delayed on the way back. Bob Lomas was moving his sheep to the top meadow.”
“Do you go running often?”
“Every day if we can manage it. Can I get you something to drink?”
Susan opted for a coffee. Once they all had their drinks, they convened around the kitchen table.
“We were rather surprised when your assistant contacted us,” Stephen said.
“It’s four years since the incident, I believe?”
“That’s right. The Bugle ran an article at the time, but they made it sound like we were nutters. I hope you don’t intend to do that again.”
“You have my word that won’t happen. I’ve read the article you mentioned—in fact, it was that article that put me onto you. There was precious little detail in that piece, so I was hoping you could tell me exactly what happened that day.”
“It was a Friday night, wasn’t it Stephen?”
“Yes. We’re both early risers so we tend to be in bed by eleven. We hadn’t been asleep for very long when something woke Lorraine.”
“I’m a much lighter sleeper than Stephen. I had to nudge him awake, didn’t I?”
“I’d probably sleep through an earthquake.” He smiled. “There were strange noises coming from the outbuilding.” He stood up and walked over to the window. “Out there.”
Susan went over to see. “What do you keep in there?”
“Mostly tools.”
“And a lot of rubbish,” Lorraine came over to join them.
“Any food?”
“That’s what the police assumed at the time—that a fox had come looking for food, but we’ve never kept anything edible in there.”
“A fox must be a possibility,” Susan said.
“If we hadn’t seen the creature with our own eyes, we might have thought so too, but this was no fox.”
“Did you get a good look at it?”
“Stephen wanted to go and investigate.” Lorraine took hold of his hand. “But I wouldn’t let him.”
“With hindsight, I’m glad she stopped me.” He squeezed his wife’s hand. “Goodness knows what that beast might have done to me.”
“But you saw it?”
“Yes. I opened the window and yelled at it. That did the trick because it came charging out from the side of the building.”
“I don’t see a door on this side.”
“There isn’t one. It broke through the wall.”
“Sorry, I don’t know what you mean.”
“I must have really spooked it, otherwise it would have gone back out of the same door it used to get in.”
“Are you saying that it knocked down part of the wall? What kind of creature could do that?”
“If you’d seen it, you wouldn’t be quite so shocked. It was enormous.”
“And wolf-like?”
“Kind of, but it was able to walk on its hind legs.”
“How good a look did you get at it? Are there any lights outside?”
“No, but there was a full moon that night, so we got a pretty good view.”
“It was the most terrifying thing I’ve ever seen,” Lorraine said.
Susan took out her phone and showed them the same photo she’d shown to the Hares.
“That’s it,” Stephen said.
“You’re sure about that?”
They both were.
***
“Is this the place?” Tilly pointed to the sign. “Ted Topp Motors?”
“It must be. I hope his motors are better than his spelling and punctuation.”
The car lot was squeezed in-between a fish and chip shop and a pawnbroker. And ‘squeezed’ was definitely the right word.
“How does he ever get any of these out of here?” Tilly led the way through the cars, which were jammed nose to tail in the lot.
“Beats me. He’s a wizard, so maybe he levitates them out.”
“Morning, girls! What brings you two beautiful ladies here today? Are you after a motor, or were you looking for a date?”
The man wasn’t the typical car salesman that Dorothy had been expecting. There were no flashy suits or cigars. Instead, the young man was dressed in overalls, which were covered in oil—so was much of his face.
“We’re looking for Ted,” Dorothy said.
“Look no further. Ted Topp at your service.”
“Neil rang you to say we’d be coming over this morning to look at a van, I believe.”
“He did. Which one of you is Dorothy?”
“That would be me.”
“You aren’t nearly as scary as Neil said you were.” He grinned.
“And I’m Tilly.”
“It’s nice to meet you both. Do you want to come around the back and take a look at the van?”
“How on earth do you get the cars from the centre of the lot out of here?” Dorothy said, as they followed him.
“I wait until it’s dark and there’s no one around, and then use a little magic.”
“Isn’t that dangerous?”
“I haven’t dropped one yet.”
“I was thinking more about the rogue retrievers.”
“I don’t give them much thought. They never come around these parts unless they’re going to the chippy, but that’s long closed by the time I do my thing.” He stopped and pointed. “There she is. Only came in a couple of days ago. Low mileage and full service history. You won’t do better for the money.”
“Are you having a laugh?” Tilly looked horrified.
“What’s wrong? That there is a great little motor.”
“It might be, but have you seen what’s sign-printed on the side? Lovely Lumps?”
“The previous owner runs a baby shop.”
“I think it’s okay.” Dorothy had opened the front door of the van. “It’s very clean.”
“That’s easy for you to say.” Tilly sat in the driver’s seat. “You won’t be the one dri
ving the Lovely Lumps van.”
“We can get that changed.”
“I guess so.”
“Do we have a deal, then, ladies?” Ted offered his hand.
“We do.” Dorothy waved away the handshake. “But I’m not shaking that greasy thing.”
Chapter 14
Charlie flew down the stairs, with the stuffed cat under his arm. There were tears of sadness in his eyes, but his overriding emotion was one of anger. He knew Amelia was a nasty piece of work, but he would never have believed she could be capable of something like this.
“What’s that ugly thing you’ve got there?” Neil was practising his new magic act.
“It’s Pretty!” Charlie screamed at him. “That witch did this.”
Neil walked over for a closer look. “Oh no. I’m so sorry. I didn’t realise.”
“How could she do something like this?”
“That woman is seriously warped.”
“I’m going to kill her.”
“Steady on, Charlie. You don’t want to do anything stupid. Don’t forget we’ve got a rogue retriever living upstairs.”
“I don’t care. If I get sent back to Candlefield, so be it. I’m not going to let her get away with killing Pretty.”
“Can I take a proper look?” Neil held out his hands.
“Don’t drop her.”
“I’ll be careful. I promise.” He took the cat over to the living area, and placed her gently on the coffee table. “Interesting.”
“What do you mean?”
“I may be completely off the mark, but I don’t think she’s dead.”
“Are you blind? Of course she’s dead. Amelia has had her stuffed.”
“It looks that way, I grant you, but if my hunch is correct, this is not a stuffed cat. It’s a cat that has been frozen by a magic spell.”
“Are you sure? Can you reverse it?”
“I wouldn’t even know where to start. This isn’t a spell I’ve ever seen before.”
“But you’re certain she’s not dead?”
“Almost, but I wouldn’t want to get your hopes up.”
“How can we find out for sure?”
“I’ll need to speak to some of my contacts.”
“Thanks, Neil. Would you do me another big favour? Can you give me a lift into work? I’ve already missed most of the morning, and unless Andy has managed to cover for me again, I’m probably going to get the bullet.”