Witch Charm

by Sonia Parin

  “I didn’t know how to get your attention.”

  “That’s it, I’m taking the ladder away. If you want food, I’ll throw it over the wall.”

  Lexie looked up, her eyebrows narrowed.

  Lindsay took a step back.

  I think she’s scared of you.

  What do you mean?

  She probably thinks you can do stuff, like turn her into a donkey. Little does she know you can only land in closets.

  Lindsay reached for a basket and put it on the table. “There. That’s everything you asked for. You... you should leave now.”

  “Do you have any chocolate?”

  “It’s all in there.”

  Deciding she wouldn’t get any sense out of Lindsay, Lexie grabbed Luna and rose to her feet. “All right. Nice doing business with you.” Putting Luna on her shoulder, she grabbed the basket and before she could think better of it, she clicked her heels. She didn’t know if it would work—

  You really need to stop doing that.

  What? Landing in the closet?

  Clicking your heels. Mirabelle doesn’t approve. She says it makes a mockery of the craft.

  Lexie pushed the closet door open. “We’re in luck. It worked and this is our bedchamber.” She crawled out and rubbed her butt.

  “The lunch gong,” Luna exclaimed. “After the breakfast they served, I’m not the least bit interested to find out if lunch is any better. Please don’t make me go down there.”

  “You’re complaining about the Lauriston Academy?”

  Luna averted her gaze. “Only about the food.”

  “I don’t get this. Catherine said we’d be fed well.”

  “Clearly something changed. In my time, there were veritable banquets served.”

  “I guess the cooks lost their touch.”

  Lexie groaned. She didn’t need the mystery to deepen. They already had to deal with a killer and a bunch of renegade pupils set on relieving their boredom. Then again, the sooner she sorted this out, the sooner she’d be able to ditch her puffy sleeves. “I should ask Jake to look into the academy’s finances. I think we need to dig deeper here. Speaking of which...” She dug into the basket and grabbed one of the roast beef sandwiches.

  “Are you going to share or do I have to beg again?”

  “Apart from the contraband, what do you think is going on between the girls and the neighbor?” Lexie asked as she broke off a piece of her sandwich and gave it to Luna.

  “Isn’t it obvious?”

  “That’s the sort of answer you give when you want to pretend you know the answer.” If Lindsay provided the girls with contraband food, did she do it for money or did the girls have something hanging over her head?

  What exactly had Lindsay said...

  “I’ve held up my end of the bargain...”

  “What bargain?” Luna asked.

  “I’m talking out loud. When I meet Jake later on, I’ll need to give him something substantial to follow up on. Lindsay has been gaining access to the academy at night.” Had she been the dark figure Lexie had seen coming out of one of the bedchambers the night before?

  Lexie rose to her feet and strode around her room.

  “Are you going to give the others this food? I don’t think you should.”

  “What do you propose we do with it? Store it in the bathroom?”

  “Store it? I’m all for eating it right now.”

  “What’s come over? You’re supposed to be acting like a true Lauristonian. In fact, I’m surprised you haven’t had your tail starched to match my puffy sleeves.”

  “That cardboard breakfast changed everything for me. I feel let down.”

  “Enough to rebel?”

  “Rebellion comes from discontent... so... Yes.”

  “That was a swift change of heart,” Lexie said conversationally. “What happened to the Lauristonian code of conduct?”

  “Nothing is as is used to be,” Luna muttered.

  Out of curiosity, she clicked her heels but nothing happened. “So much for that theory. I thought I might have been excluded from the embargo on magic, but clearly I’m not.” Yet she’d been able to get them back from the neighbor’s house... Which actually made sense. Her powers worked outside the walls... but not inside.

  Mirabelle! Mayday. Mayday.

  No answer. So much for her safety net. They really were on their own...

  Luna moaned.

  “What’s wrong with you?”

  “I think I ate too much, too quickly.” Luna rolled around and moaned again. “Oh, I definitely ate too much.”

  “You must have a small stomach. I only gave you a small portion.”

  “Yes, well...”

  Lexie peered inside the basket. “You ate all the roast beef and left the bread?”

  “Oh... please don’t mention roast beef.”

  Lexie threw her hands up. “You ate all the roast beef. I don’t know what’s worse. That you ate all the roast beef or that you didn’t leave me any... What am I going to tell the others?”

  “Please, I’m dying here. I can barely move.”

  “They’re all expecting me to bring food.”

  “You don’t know that. In fact, they don’t know you went over the wall and brought back food. Notice how I managed to avoid using specific terms?”

  “They’ll find out!”

  Luna rolled over to her side and moaned again. “Then you’ll have to put on your incoming High Chair hat and talk down to them. Remember, they are all beneath you.”

  “Beneath me. Beneath me? What are we going to do for breakfast tomorrow? They’ll find out about me going over the wall and then... then we’ll be blackballed. You’ll be eating cardboard kibble until I find the killer.”

  “Please, who can think of eating now?”

  “You say that now, wait until tomorrow morning.” Lexie sprung upright just as the mantle clock struck the hour. Both she and Luna groaned. “How many cookies could a good cook cook if a good cook could cook cookies? A good cook could cook as much cookies as a good cook who could cook cookies.”

  “Enough with the cookies,” Luna wailed.

  * * *

  “We missed you at luncheon. Where were you?” Claudette asked. “Actually, you missed elocution class too. I’m surprised Ms Penelope hasn’t come chasing after you.”

  Lexie shrugged. “Let her try.” Her remark earned her a few looks filled with surprise and intrigue. Yes, she was a rebel... a force to be reckoned with, so watch out.

  “Walk with me,” Claudette invited.

  Carry me. I can’t possibly walk another step. This is torture. I have a good mind to report you for abuse...

  Lexie scooped Luna up.

  “We’re about to put in a request. Do you have anything you particularly want to get?” Claudette asked.

  “A request?”

  “For food.”

  Okay. This could pose a problem. Assuming Claudette had to approach Lindsay, it could be a matter of minutes or, with any luck, hours before Lexie was exposed as a roast beef thief. She needed to fix this or risk failing at her first official investigation...

  I can’t believe I just thought that. How did I ever let myself be dragged into this mess?

  “If you live on contraband food, what do you actually do during meal times?” Lexie asked.

  “We find ways to dispose of it.”

  “So what did you get rid of today?”

  “Tuna casserole. The others got rid of it during luncheon by taking several toilet breaks. I used Sasha. She’ll eat anything.”

  “Wouldn’t it be easier to demand better food?”

  “Making a fuss would be unladylike.”

  But throwing food away wasn’t?

  “I suppose you’ll want more donuts. I’ll add those to the list. I believe we are getting roast beef.”

  Luna groaned.

  Lexie tried to remember if she’d actually introduced herself to the neighbor. Even if she hadn’t, surely Lindsay Leon
ard would be able to describe her. The clock was definitely ticking. She needed to come up with an explanation for the missing roast beef.

  “Is something wrong with your feline companion?” Claudette asked.

  “I tried the remedy you suggested. It’s given her a hangover.”

  Claudette nodded. “The trick is to keep giving it to her.”

  As incoming High Chair she had a good mind to impose stringent rules about care of feline companions. In fact, she would make that a priority and demand her mom take action straightaway.

  Meanwhile, she had to shake Claudette off so she could have her rendezvous with Jake.

  Lexie looked around. “I hear there’s a splendid arboretum on the grounds.”

  “Yes, on the south side.”

  Annoyingly, Claudette didn’t point to it.

  I could really do with a belly rub.

  “You’ll spoil her,” Claudette warned. “In fact, has she put on weight? Her belly looks huge.”

  “Fur ball,” Lexie murmured as she rubbed Luna’s belly.

  Claudette shrugged. “I’ll put you down for donuts. If you’ll excuse me, I must make the rounds and take orders.”

  And I have to figure out how to solve this murder before Claudette catches on to the fact you ate all the roast beef.

  I’m thirsty.

  Tough. I have to meet Jake.

  You’re going the wrong way.

  You know where south is?

  Of course. I got a medal for orienteering.

  Making sure she didn’t attract any unnecessary attention, she strode off in the direction Luna had pointed. She spotted Jake standing behind an oak tree.

  “I was beginning to think you weren’t coming,” he said.

  “I need you to do something for me.”

  “Mirabelle already told me.” He handed her a bag full of chocolate.

  Please keep that away from me.

  “What’s wrong with her?” Jake asked.

  “She has a severe case of gluttony. This is great, but I actually need you to get me some roast beef sandwiches. Preferably within the next hour.”

  “How am I going to give it to you?”

  “I don’t know. Find a way. I just need it today, or my cover will be blown.”

  Jake shook his head. “It’s a strange request.”

  “Yeah, long story. I climbed over the wall and met the next door neighbor.” Lexie filled him in and told him about her suspicions and about Lindsay Leonard supplying the pupils with food. “I’m not one hundred percent positive, but I suspect Lindsay Leonard dressed up in black last night and broke into the school. She might also have been responsible for messing up Penny’s room. It looked as if a tornado had hit.”

  “You didn’t mention that before.”

  “Sorry. Slipped my mind.”

  “You should get one of these. They can be handy,” he said and flipped his notebook open, “If she’s running contraband for the girls, why would she mess up the bedroom?”

  “Maybe the girls put her up to it. Or maybe Lindsay used the opportunity to look for something. Whatever arrangement they have going, she sounds fed up with it. Maybe she was looking for something incriminating to get herself off the hook.”

  Jake frowned at Luna. “Are you sure she’s all right?”

  “Yes, yes. She’s fine.” She looked around to make sure no one had followed her. “You need to find out if there’s any link between Lindsay Leonard’s family and the school. Perhaps a long standing dispute or... I don’t know. Anything that might give them an excuse to commit murder. The girls here have something on Lindsay Leonard. I just didn’t know how to get the information out of her.”

  “That’s not a problem. I dug something up.”

  “Really?”

  “It’s a long shot but worth thinking about. The grounds and the academy building used to belong to the Leonard family. This is going back hundreds of years. At the time, it was owned by a single woman of means and rumor has it she was beguiled into leaving the land and the building to Ms Gertrude Lauriston, the founder of the school.”

  “Let me guess, Gertie belonged to a coven.”

  “Yes.”

  Lexie paced around the tree. “You’re right about getting a notebook. There was something I’d planned on mentioning... but I can’t think what it was...” She came to a stop. “Okay. Let’s brainstorm this. The Leonard’s ancestor...”

  “Yes?”

  “Was beguiled... tricked into naming... what was her name...”

  “Gertrude Lauriston.”

  “Gertie as the heir. Let’s assume this didn’t raise any questions at the time. But now...” She tapped her chin. “Look into the Leonard’s finances. It makes sense now that you’ve told me about the inheritance. They might feel their ancestor was forced into giving up valuable land. If they feel hard done by, or if they’re strapped for cash, they might have decided to take matters into their own hands.”

  “What do you think they’d achieve by killing Lillian Somers?” Jake asked.

  “That might have been a warning. Hand over the land and holdings or we’ll kill you all one by one.” She made a slashing gesture and nearly dropped Luna. Lexie frowned. “This business is making me entertain macabre thoughts.”

  “A warning sounds plausible.”

  “Remember Eloise and Penny are mainly concerned with avoiding scandal.” She stabbed her white shoe in the ground but it came away as white as ever. “Here’s another idea. Maybe Lindsay is the only Leonard involved. She seemed to be in a panic about her parents returning from vacation and finding out she’d been liaising with the people from the academy.”

  “I’ll see what I can find out about their finances. Sometimes the ones who stand to inherit less are the ones most affected by past grievances. You said the parents are on vacation?”

  Lexie nodded.

  “There’s a trend with parents spending their hard-earned money and leaving less to their kids. Maybe Lindsay is feeling the pinch.”

  Lexie looked over her shoulder. They were a safe distance away from the girls on their promenade but she didn’t trust them. “She might be colluding with the pupils here. They don’t seem to care about the academy as much as past graduates.” Lexie told him about them being responsible for stealing the items and putting them in the tutors’ bedchambers. “I think it’s more than just a prank. If Lindsay had anything to do with Lillian’s death, I’m thinking she had inside help. And now I’m thinking there might be more people in line to benefit from all this mischief.”

  “Why would the pupils want Lillian Somers dead?”

  Lexie shrugged. “It might help to know more about Lillian’s background. Did you manage to dig anything up on her? She could be connected to one of the pupils.”

  Jake checked his notebook. “Like all the tutors, she was born in Salem and her family tree dates back to the early days.”

  “Hang on. What about the pupils? Are they all from around here?”

  “Some are, but I haven’t been able to look into all of them. Some of these families tend to be secretive about their heritage.”

  Lexie set Luna down.

  Hey. I’m still recovering.

  Walk it off. It’ll help your digestion.

  “What are you thinking?” Jake asked.

  “I’m thinking about connections. Did Gertrude ever marry?”

  “I’ll find out. Are you suggesting there might be a pupil related to Gertrude?”

  “I’m thinking someone is connected to the school founder... or to Lillian.” Perhaps a pupil about to come into her trust fund. Claudette had mentioned she’d been about to inherit. Would the funds be enough for her to claim her independence? “Hypothetically... and this is way out there... let’s say Lillian Somers is... was related to Gertrude Lauriston. I know, she should share the surname, but we’re being hypothetical, also female heiresses marry and take on their husband’s names so the Lauriston name might have been lost along the way. Anyhow, let’s
also assume there is a student related to Gertrude. Someone is in line to inherit here.”

  Jake frowned. “You’re right. This is way out there. But I see where you’re going. You’re actually suggesting a pupil got rid of the competition.”

  No, she hadn’t been. She’d only been rambling. “Yes. We need dots and we need to connect them. Also... see if you can find out more about this beguiling business. We need to establish some tangible facts.”

  If a spell had been used...

  In the past, Mirabelle and Catherine had intervened, but Lexie had no way of contacting them.

  If forced into action... She’d have to climb over the wall.

  Chapter Ten

  “It’s cruel of you to force me to walk.”

  “Quit your grumbling and get a move on. I feel we’re onto to something. I wonder if we can gain access to the pupil’s records? What if I’m right and there’s a link between Gertrude Lauriston and one of the pupils?”

  “I think you’ll find Ms Gertrude remained a spinster.”

  “How do you know that?”

  Luna sighed. “Can’t we do all this after a nap? I’m a cat. Not having a nap goes against my nature. In fact, not having a nap is highly uncivilized.”

  “You can sleep all you like when we get home.”

  “And when’s that likely to be?”

  At this rate? Never. In fact, they’d be lucky to scrape through unscathed. If anyone found out what they were up to... Well, Lexie had no idea how they’d respond. She could hope they’d see the humor in it.

  “There you are.” Millicent rushed up to her, her expression showing surprise.

  Then Lexie remembered Millicent Rogers always looked surprised.

  “Where were you?”

  “Out and about. Looking for a way out of this place.”

  “There isn’t one. We already looked.”

  “What have I missed?” Lexie stopped in her tracks. Great time to remember what she’d wanted to ask Jake. How had Claudette known there’d been nothing left of Lillian Somers but her feet? Had Jake even questioned the pupils? Jake was right. She needed a notebook. Or... an assistant. But wait, she already had one of those, except that her wonderful cousin had plunged her into this impossible situation and she couldn’t contact Octavia...