Moggies, Magic and Murder

by Pearl Goodfellow

  “Shields. Goddess, I bet he’s torturing David. Just toying with him enough to make him less capable.” My stomach clenched in a wave of nausea. I’d read somewhere that rage could make you physically ill, and I felt the punch of that fact right at this moment. “Well, I can’t confirm it, yet, but that’s the way it’s looking, yes. I need to keep a close eye on him. And, perhaps you could help too by letting me know of any other peculiar developments with the man.”

  I waved my head in agreement, thankful that I had an ally in all this.

  David’s cell phone went off, and I watched my friend speak into the microphone.

  “Yeah, okay, Spinefield, good man,” he said. “What’s that? No, no, just keep looking. I’m wrapping up something right now, and I’ll be there shortly to join in the search. Yeah, okay, see you soon.” The chief turned toward me. “They haven’t found the drifter yet. They’re out by the Mwyrden cliffs; I said I’d go out and help.”

  “Of course,” I said, grabbing my bag. “Guys?” My cats, reluctantly dropped from Hinrika’s dress, slicing new track marks in the violet taffeta as they came to rest on the ground.

  We said our goodbyes and walked to the front of Gaunt Manor for our brooms.

  “Hat, I think it’s a good idea if we split up,” David suggested as we reached the porch. “You and the kitties, can you go pay Zinnie Kramp another visit? I think it makes sense if you knock that one off the list while I try and find Typhon, what do you say?”

  “I think you’re right,” I said. “But, are you sure you don’t want to take at least nearly all of my cats?” I ribbed.

  “I’m pretty sure I’ll manage,” he said, grinning. “Call you later? We can see how far we’ve come with everything then?”

  “Sounds like a plan, Stan.” I grabbed my broom and loaded my kitties. “C’mon guys, we’re going to Cathedral,” I said to my furry passengers. They settled down on the stick and looked ahead with a focus I rarely see them exhibit. Maybe, except for Onyx, that is. That kitty was the epitome of concentration.

  Me and my cats took to the storm-darkened skies to see Zinnie Kramp; to see if the widow could explain why she had neglected to give us some pretty relevant information.

  CHAPTER 12

  We landed in front of the tall, electrified gates of the Kramp estate just as the sun broke through the clouds. Full-spectrum light beams chased away the sky’s stormy intentions.

  As soon as I dismounted, Shade and Eclipse stood off to the right.

  “What are you doing?” I asked. “We’re going in.”

  “We think we should scope out the outside of the estate,” Eclipse said. “Just in case Zinnie doesn’t offer you the tour, if you know what I mean?”

  “No. I don’t know what you mean,” I said. “Why do you want to check out the gardens? We need all eyes on Zinnie right now. One of us should be able to detect if she’s lying about anything.”

  “Uh, boss?” Shade said, still not moving from his place beyond the security cameras sight line. “‘Clipsy’s got it right. We should check out Ulrich Darkmore’s story about the hematite delivery. See if Zinnie’s using the stone in her garden as Darkmore said.”

  They were right. I wasn’t thinking.

  “Okay, guys. Good idea,” I said. “Follow this wall around to the side street there. I think I saw a recess of some kind on our way in. You might find an entry there.”

  “Lady, we’re cats. We could get into Fort Knox if we decided we’d like the adventure.” ‘Clipsy said.

  I shrugged, shooed them both away, and joined my other cats at the gate.

  The door, a black painted iron, stood at least twelve feet in height before us. I pressed a button on the intercom mounted to a small post next to the entranceway.

  “Hattie Jenkins to see Mrs. Kramp,” I spoke into the microphone. Silence on the other end. Ten seconds passed. Gloom huffed, sprung her claws on her right paw and inspected them carefully.

  I was about to press the button again, when a mechanical whirring sound brought the gates into motion. They slid across to the opposite side of one another, and me and my six kitties walked the sweeping gravel driveway to Zinnie Kramp’s front door.

  “Hopefully, she’s more open this time than how you said she was last time,” Carbon whispered while we waited for the door to open.

  “You guys just keep quiet, okay? You’re my eyes here, nothing else. Got it?”

  I looked down to make sure their furry heads were nodding, and the door swung inward.

  A stern faced Butler swung his arm behind him, but said nothing. No greeting, no smile, just a cold draft. He turned away from us abruptly and walked in a tight and fussy stride down a richly carpeted corridor. He turned every few steps to give us an impatient wave. I just cantered alongside my kitties and obediently followed the inhospitable man. Finally the butler stopped in front of a large cherry wood door and knocked.

  “Enter,” a female voice from the other side of the portal.

  Mr. Unfriendly pushed into the room, and dipping his head, announced: “M’lady, the … guests are here.” The butler looked us up and down, his mouth set in a lemon-sucking scowl.

  “Thank you, Hopkins, that will be all,” Zinnie Kramp said, rising from her seat on the chaise. She smoothed down her mourning dress and turned to face us.

  “I’d say this was a pleasant surprise, Ms. Jenkins, but the fact is, it is merely a surprise,” she said, waving her hand to the brocade sofa in front of her. I took the unfriendly cue and sat down.

  “Likewise, Zinnie,” I said, playing dumb at her cutting remark. Her eyes darkened at my sunny disposition.

  My cats, sensing the woman’s brittle nature, sat wordlessly on the carpet at my feet. I mentally thanked them all for not jumping up on the sofa, as I don’t think Zinnie Kramp would have been able to handle such a thing.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “There were just a few things we wanted to clear up, if that’s okay?” I said, inching toward the front of the sofa.

  “I have very little time, today, Ms. Jenkins, so, please let’s just make this fast.”

  “Yes, of course.” I leaned forward. “Mrs. Kramp, can you please tell me why you didn’t share with us that Ulrich Darkmore is your brother?”

  Zinnie Kramp recoiled. “You didn’t directly ask if Ulrich was my brother.”

  “We asked you what your relationship was with Mr. Darkmore, I see that as the same thing.”

  “The question wasn’t pertinent then, and it’s still entirely irrelevant now.”

  Goddess, this woman was an ice queen. I bet even Carbon couldn’t melt this berg.

  “But, you don’t deny it?”

  “It’s irrelevant.”

  “We found out from your brother that the business transaction you conducted at the courthouse was for a shipment of garden variety hematite. Why didn’t you tell us this? Why would you want to conceal something as seemingly trivial as garden ornamentation?”

  “How is the aesthetics of my garden of any importance to anything at all, Ms. Jenkins? It’s exactly as you said: ‘trivial.’”

  Damn. Kinda shot myself in the foot there. “I’m … I’m merely wondering why you’d --”

  “Hematite is a status symbol. Nothing more. I am, as your snooping has no doubt told you, from a family with status. As was my husband. If I wish to represent my families, my flesh and blood, by way of garden ornamentation, then that is my prerogative.”

  “Yes, absolutely. And, I meant no harm in asking. So, you and Ulrich … you’re both from the Bloodstag family?”

  “What of it?”

  “A very powerful family. Perhaps more so than the Kramp’s, even. Certainly up there with the Shields’ kin though, right?”

  “Do you have a point, Ms. Jenkins?”

  Interesting question. Did I have a point?

  Well, I did as it happened, but I couldn’t very well wade in with: ‘a powerful enough family to know about the possible movement of large qua
ntities of Warlock munitions?’ That would be a rude question, no?

  I changed course. “Could you tell me why you didn’t visit your husband for his last two days at GIPPD before he stood trial?”

  Zinnie glared at me.

  “My husband’s behavior became intolerable, and I could no longer stomach his endless complaining.”

  “Complaining? What was Mr. Kramp complaining about?”

  “Oh, everything. The cell was too small, the wifi was weak, the warden was stealing from him.”

  “The warden? Do you mean Eve Fernacre? The woman who cared for Barnabus while he stayed?”

  “Yes. As I said: The warden,” Zinnie sniped. “Barney said she was stealing from him.”

  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing here.

  “Eve? What did she steal? Or what did Barney say she stole?”

  “Everything. Money, food, his medication. Even, if you believe it, his underwear.”

  “His medication?” I said.

  “That’s what Barney said,” Zinnie replied, her lips pressed together. She was running out of patience.

  “Did you believe him? That Eve was stealing from him?”

  She shot a deathly look at me. “Certainly not!” She said, her cheeks flushed with indignation. “The woman likely didn’t steal a damned thing. Barnabus was an adept when it came to paranoia. He’d accused many people of many things in the past, and not one of his accusations turned out to be true.” Mrs. Kramp rubbed her arms. “Anyway, I can’t stand him when he gets like that. Blaming, afraid, not in his right mind. So, yes, I stayed away.”

  My shoulders fell in relief. Eve’s promotion was still possible, at least.

  Zinnie interrupted my thoughts. “If that’s all, I think I’d like to call this impromptu interrogation to an end.”

  “I’m sorry you feel like you’re being interrogated. Seriously, not my intention,” I said, raising my hands again. “If I could just ask you one more thing, and then we’ll be on our way?” The cats nodded, but I don’t think Zinnie noticed.

  Zinnie scraped her nose in the air. The constricted woman’s ‘go-ahead.’

  “Do you happen to know what city or town Deevy Greenfield lived in before she took her life?”

  Zinnie stared at me, then sighed. “I'm not sure if it was the last city she lived in, but I do know that she and Summer used to live in the shanties of Galedoom.”

  Fraidy shuddered against my ankle.

  The shanties of Galedoom were a collection of depressingly hostile slums on the outskirts of North Illwind’s capital. My heart ached instantly, as I pictured the mother and daughter trying to eke out a living there, among the crime, thuggery, and eye-watering poverty.

  “Mrs. Kramp thanks so much for your time,” I said, extending a hand to my host. “You’ve been most helpful.”

  Zinnie stared at my outstretched hand. “Good day to you, Ms. Jenkins,” she said and walked past me to attend to affairs of the house.

  “G-galedoom? Uh huh, no way I’m g-going there,” Fraidy huffed as we walked out of the estate. “Well, sweetie, nobody’s making you do anything you don’t want,” I said, smiling down at my spooked kitty.

  “Thought you’d made an oath, bro. That you’d protect Hattie wherever she goes?” Carbon said.

  “Yeah, b-but, not to places with names like ‘doom’ in their title. I specifically remember saying that. You remember, right, Hattie?” He looked up at me, his small black face pleading.

  “Buddy, we’re going to drop you off at The Angel, don’t worry. Now, I wonder if your brothers are done snooping the grounds?” I asked, scanning the area as we stepped through the mighty gates to the street.

  Shade and Eclipse trotted toward me, hugging the wall all the way. I walked over to them, my broom in hand. “Come on guys, tell me what you found while we ride. We’re going back to The Angel to drop Fraidy off, and then to North Illwind. Who’s in?” I asked mounting my chariot.

  “Boss, ‘Clipsy and I were thinking that a trip to Phlange might be in order first,” Shade said.

  “Phlange? What for?”

  Eclipse elbowed his brother out of the way. “Ulrich Darkmore’s on his way here, to see Zinnie. This presents an excellent opportunity to snoop around Shadow Supplies while the boss is out, know what I mean?”

  “I don’t imagine it would be terribly difficult to locate the man’s ledgers,” Onyx said stepping forward. “And, I’m confident that if we asked Ulrich to his face, he wouldn’t let us see those accounts,” my sage cat concluded.

  “True,” I said, warming to the idea. Ulrich definitely wouldn’t let us look at his business affairs if we just asked, so perhaps this was the time to drop in on Shadow Supplies and see if we could find out how things were run there.

  Without Ulrich around, maybe we could find something linking weapons sales and Ulrich’s hematite trade?

  “Let’s do it,” I said, coming to a decision. North Illwind was a ‘backstory’ right now, and the history of Deevie and Summer, no matter how heartbreaking, could wait one more day. “As long as Fraidy doesn’t count the word ‘Shadow’ as one of the banned titles he won’t travel to,” Gloom said, shaking her head at Fraidy as she mounted the broom.

  “It’s borderline,” Fraidy grumbled, taking his position between Gloom and Onyx.

  “We all on?” I said, casting a glance back at my furry crew. My cat detectives.

  The Infiniti were all present and ready for action, so we began our flight to Phlange, to break into, and possibly steal from, Ulrich Darkmore’s Shadow Supplies.

  CHAPTER 13

  We set the broom down behind a row of unhealthy looking shrubs bordering the parking lot of Shadow Supplies massive hangar. Crouched down behind the hedgerow, we watched the building for any sign of life. We had fully expected the garage to be hopping with regular trade, and busy workers, but the place looked empty. There were no cars in the lot, the steel roll-doors were closed shut, and there wasn’t a Shadow Supplies employee in sight. I glanced at my watch. Three p.m. Weird. Not the regular closing time for most businesses on a Thursday afternoon.

  I looked down at Shade and Eclipse. “So, you guys gonna tell us what you found while you were patrolling around Zinnie’s gardens?” The kitties had been too busy bickering on the ride over for ‘Clipsy and Shade to share their adventure.

  “Something that makes our visit here relevant,” Eclipse said.

  “Expand, ‘Clipsy.”

  “Well, Lady Kramp’s flower beds are filled with hematite, that’s the first thing,” he said.

  I nodded. “Okay, so Darkmore’s and Zinnie’s stories about what the stones were for checks out then. What else?” One look at Shade’s face told me there was something else.

  “There was a factory or something. A small warehouse, tucked behind the trees at the back of the Kramp property,” Eclipse said. “The place was locked down like a bank vault, and there were loads of dudes in overalls, writing things on clipboards and using dollies to load unmarked boxes on and stuff like that.”

  “Yeah,” Shade confirmed. “There was lots of ‘stuff’ going on.”

  “Did anyone see you?” I hissed.

  “No, boss, we were careful,” Shade replied. “So we mosey into this factory, or whatever, and--”

  “I thought you said you were careful? You moseyed in?”

  “Yeah, well we kept a low profile, and we just kinda weaved in between all the ankles and, like, got in,” he said, his face asking the question: ‘what’s the big deal?’

  I rolled my eyes. “Go on.”

  “So, it’s pretty big, this place. Like, I wanna say, the size of Dilwyn’s barn,” Shade said. “Anyway, ‘Clipsy took the left, and I took the right. The walls were lined with metal shelves full of these unmarked boxes. A small office; all glass walls and door lay at the end of the shelves. We couldn’t really open any of the boxes to have a peek, because, well, they was all sealed, you know?”

  Eclipse cleared his throat, and Sha
de dipped his head in respect, and my mind-wiping cat took up the story. “So as Shade said, he took right, I took left. We were trying to get to the office, to see if we could find any incriminating paperwork, when one of the over-all guys comes into the room. I was prepared to wipe his memory if he spotted us, but luckily we were fast enough to hide.”

  “Yeah, so this coverall dude pulls out a black-light doohickey thing, and points it at a row of them unmarked containers,” Shade said.

  “The ultraviolet light that beamed from this gadget showed the hidden markings on the sides of the boxes.” Eclipse looked at me over an errant branch. “Numbers, and names,” he concluded.

  “Wow,” I said. “Did you make it into the office? Did you find anything to correspond with the numbers or names?”

  “No, we didn’t make it into the office, boss,” Shade confessed. “Because we knew you were leaving and we didn’t want you to be waitin’ and worryin’. But, we did get a hold of one of those black-light thingies. One of the overall’s left it on a box.”

  Eclipse butted in then. “Once the coast was clear we scanned all the boxes. They were all inscribed in a similar fashion to the one that overall’s targeted … all names and numbers.”

  I gasped. “What names did you see?”

  “All powerful Warlock family names,” Shade said, his voice grave.

  Fraidy groaned beside me.

  “Krakplain, Beastell, Whitekill, Snothatch--”

  “Shields?”

  Shade shook his head. “Didn’t see him, boss-lady. We looked too.”

  Another groan, bordering a wail, escaped Fraidy’s throat.

  “Anything else? What about the numbers?”

  “Every box had a different number. It looked sequential, going from low to high along the shelves. But, there were three letters that appeared on all of the boxes we looked at. H.E.M.” Eclipse said.

  “Hem. Hematite,” I said, slapping my thigh. “Not terribly clever, but interesting.”

  “I know, right?” Shade chuckled. “Kinda fascinating that Zinnie has a warehouse of the stones all labeled, military style, all sitting on row upon row of shelves. A little curious that she’d have enough hematite to build a small city, even though she claims she wanted it only for her rose gardens.”