by HANNA, H. Y.
But there had been one other recent new arrival to the village—someone that everyone had overlooked. After all, no one was interested in some boring salesman who was just going around doing his job. They probably didn’t even notice or remember him turning up randomly at various houses, knocking on doors, or hovering in the background, because that’s what they expected him to do.
And the night he had visited Stan Matthews and had coffee with him, the gamekeeper had ended up dead a few hours later. Caitlyn was willing to bet that David Allan had brought some poisoned chocolates and offered them to Stan. But where had he got the poison?
Then Caitlyn remembered. That day when David Allan had dropped his briefcase, she had watched Pomona help him pick up the scattered contents. Amongst the stationery and sweets and hand sanitisers was a bottle of eye drops. Yes, eye drops. One of the key sources of atropine. And so easy, so innocuous to carry around. So handy for squirting a few drops onto things or… into a cup of hot chocolate.
Caitlyn drew a sharp breath. She remembered something else now. The day Rob Wiggins had been in the chocolate shop, he had been sitting on the window seat next to David Allan. In fact, David had overheard everything the reporter had said to her—in particular, when Wiggins had bragged about knowing the identity of the murderer. The poor guy had probably just been bluffing, but it had sealed his own fate. David couldn’t take the chance. So when Angela’s drama had caused such a distraction with the chocolate warts, he had taken the opportunity to lean over and squirt a few drops of his deadly eye drop solution into Wiggins’s cup of hot chocolate.
And now Pomona was out there, alone, with him.
Caitlyn felt a surge of panic fill her as she realised just why David had asked her cousin out on a date. He believed Pomona’s silly story of seeing a vision of Stan Matthews and the murderer. He couldn’t risk her revealing his secret—so he was going to silence her, just like he had silenced Rob Wiggins.
“Caitlyn?” Evie was staring at her, starting to look worried now. “Are you okay? Is something the matter?”
“Yes!” Caitlyn took a shuddering breath. “Yes, Pomona’s life may be in danger! I think… I think David Allan is the murderer. I don’t have time to explain now,” she added as she saw Evie’s eyes widen and the other girl open her mouth to ask questions. “The important thing is to find Pomona as quickly as possible!”
“My Grandma would know how,” said Evie. “She could use magic to find them.”
“Can you call her and your mother? Get them to come back?”
“Mum doesn’t have a mobile phone. She won’t use one—she doesn’t like any sort of technology. And Grandma wouldn’t have one either.” Evie brightened. “But I could try and ring the physiotherapist’s place. I’ll have to go back home to look for the number but I could try to reach them there or leave a message for them.”
“Go! Quick!” Caitlyn shoved her towards the door. “In the meantime, I’ll try to get hold of the police.”
“There’s no police station in Tillyhenge,” said Evie. “The nearest one is in the next town and that’s miles away. We don’t even have a village constable. Mostly, people just go to Lord Fitzroy if there are any problems.”
“Okay, I’ll… I’ll think of something,” said Caitlyn. “Just go, quickly!”
The girl took off and Caitlyn was left alone in the chocolate shop. She paced in a circle, her thoughts fluttering like a trapped bird in a cage. What could she do? How could she find them? They were somewhere in the forest—but the forest was vast and twilight was falling. She couldn’t just wander around in the dark looking for them. She needed a way to see in the dark, a way to—
“Viktor!” she whispered.
Whirling, Caitlyn ran through the cottage and out the back door. She hurried along the path until she reached the edge of the forest.
“Viktor!” she called. “Viktor, are you there?”
Caitlyn strained her ears. Was that a sleepy squeak somewhere? She peered up through the foliage. Yes! There! She could see a fuzzy brown lump hanging from one of the lower branches. She ran over and reached up gently to grab one of the leathery folded wings.
“Viktor! Viktor, wake up!”
The fruit bat woke with a start, squeaking and flapping its wings clumsily, then it lost its grip on the branch and fell to the ground with a thump. Caitlyn stepped back and, the next moment, there was an old man in a black suit sitting up in the leaf litter and rubbing his head, whilst looking at her reproachfully.
“Ouch! Must you wake one up in this abrupt manner? I could have—”
“Viktor! You have to help me!” cried Caitlyn, kneeling down next to him. “My cousin, Pomona—she’s out there in the forest with a man called David Allan and she’s in danger. You’ve got to help me find her!” She gripped his shoulder desperately. “Bats can see in the dark, right? You can use that echolocation thing and find them for me, can’t you?”
“Well, actually, megabats have lost the ability to use echolocation in the course of their evolution,” Viktor started to explain pedantically. Then he puffed his chest out. “But never fear. I still have my vampire eyesight. I shall find your cousin for you!”
He stood up, swaying slightly, and made as if to charge into the forest. Instead, however, he charged straight into the nearest tree trunk. Thunk!
Caitlyn groaned as she realised the truth. She remembered the way the fruit bat had crashed into tree after tree as it tried to follow her through the forest.
“You’re pretty blind, aren’t you?” she asked as the old man finally picked himself up again.
“I am a little vision-impaired,” said Viktor huffily. “But I’m certainly not blind!”
“Argh!” Caitlyn clenched her hands in frustration. This wasn’t going to work. She needed another way. Another way to find Pomona. Another way to see where her cousin was.
Another way to see…
Caitlyn gasped. Of course! She turned and ran back into the cottage.
“Wait… Where are you going?” asked Viktor, shuffling after her.
Caitlyn hurried into the kitchen and up to the hearth, where the enormous cauldron still sat. The ladle was no longer stirring it, but the deep, dark pool of satiny chocolate was still there, swirling gently.
She stepped up to the cauldron, feeling slightly self-conscious and silly. Okay, here goes nothing, she thought. She took a deep breath and leaned over, peering into the gleaming pool of dark chocolate. The surface rippled slightly, but remained opaque. Caitlyn tilted her head this way and that, straining her eyes, struggling to see something, anything, in the swirling chocolate. But no matter what she did, she couldn’t make the chocolate transform into that deep pool which reflected visions like a “dark mirror”.
“Why isn’t it working?” she cried out loud, giving the cauldron a frustrated shake.
“Because you don’t really believe.”
Caitlyn jerked around. The old vampire had come into the kitchen and was standing watching her, an expression of great sadness on his face.
She frowned at him. “What do you mean?”
Viktor made a curious gesture with his hands—a movement filled with wisdom and timeless grace—and for the first time, Caitlyn saw him not as a decrepit, comical old man, but as a dignified ancient guardian.
“Magic can’t be treated like a disposable tool. You can’t ignore it and ridicule it, and then expect to conjure it up to fulfil your needs at a whim. It doesn’t work like that. It needs something from you in return too: sincerity and faith.” He shook his head at her. “You say you want to see the vision but you don’t really believe it can happen. I can feel your scepticism even from here.” He looked her straight in the eye. “Until you really believe in magic—and believe that you are a witch—you will never be able to access the power that’s latent within you.”
Caitlyn stared at him for a long moment. Then she turned back to the cauldron. She took a deep breath and leaned over once more. This time, however, she closed her eyes for a moment
, calmed her breathing, and then opened her eyes slowly and looked—really looked—not just with her eyes but also with her heart.
She saw the swirls of chocolate spin and melt together, then gradually start to transform, the ripples flattening out until the gleaming chocolate became a deep, dark pool.
And suddenly, she saw Pomona.
Her cousin was sitting on a blanket spread out on a grassy knoll… she was holding a champagne glass and laughing at something her companion was saying… and in the background, glowing in an indigo sky thick with stars, a huge ivory moon was rising…
The chocolate swirled again and then the vision was gone. Caitlyn took a ragged breath as she stepped back from the cauldron. She saw the old vampire looking at her expectantly.
“I saw Pomona.” She swallowed. “I think I know where they are…”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Caitlyn ran down the darkened lane through the village. There was no time to wait for Evie, no time to wait for the Widow Mags and Bertha to come back. She had to try to find Pomona first. But she hesitated to call the police station. Even if she asked to speak to Inspector Walsh—assuming that he was on duty—she would still have to explain the whole thing to him and get past his scepticism.
What was she going to say? That she knew David Allan was the murderer because of a vision she’d seen in a pot of chocolate? They would think that she was nuts. Even if she did manage to eventually convince the police to help her search for Pomona, it would waste precious time.
No, she couldn’t go to the police. But there was someone else who was closer—who might be willing to help her…
She arrived panting at Amy’s cottage and knocked frantically on the front door.
“Caitlyn?” Amy frowned when she opened the door and saw her standing there. “Is something wrong?”
James’s dark head loomed up behind her, his eyes widening in surprise.
“James!” gasped Caitlyn. “Please—I need your help. He’s got Pomona! We need to find her!”
“Who? What are you talking about?” he asked, stepping out and catching hold of her shoulders gently.
The solid weight of his hands was reassuring and Caitlyn felt the panic lessen slightly. She took a shuddering breath and said, “David Allan. He’s… he’s the murderer. And Pomona’s with him.”
James’s lips tightened. “Where?” he barked.
Caitlyn wanted to cry with relief that he hadn’t asked her for explanations. “They’re somewhere in the woods. I… I think I know where but I need your help getting there. You’re more familiar with the forest. I’ve got my car parked at the village green. Or maybe we can go in your Range Rover?”
“If you want to move swiftly through the forest, the best way is on horseback,” said James. “There are no tracks wide enough for cars and the terrain can become very rough. I’ve come on Arion—he needed exercise so I rode from the Manor—he’s tethered by the pub. Come on.”
He grabbed her hand and started for the village green, pulling her with him. Caitlyn had to run to keep up with his long legs. They reached the open space in the centre of the village and she saw a magnificent grey stallion standing by one of the trees. The horse lifted its great head and snorted as it saw them.
“Can you ride?” asked James as he released the horse from its tether.
Caitlyn eyed the big, powerful stallion warily. It looked absolutely enormous—far bigger than any horse she had seen before. “Um… I’ve been on pony rides a few times.”
“You’ll have to hold on a lot tighter,” said James with a smile, coming close to her.
Caitlyn stared up at him, her heart pounding. He placed his hands around her waist and lifted her easily into the saddle, then swung himself up behind her. His arms came around her as he grasped the reins, then he kicked the horse into action. Caitlyn caught her breath as she felt the powerful muscles of the stallion bunch and move beneath her. This was so totally different to those sleepy pony rides!
The big stallion snorted and tossed his mane, breaking into an effortless trot as James directed him to the edge of the village. Then, as they entered the open ground near the forest, Arion lurched suddenly into a canter. Caitlyn gasped as she felt herself thrown forwards and gripped the saddle pommel frantically.
“Don’t worry—I’ve got you,” came James’s deep voice beside her ear.
Caitlyn felt one of his arms encircle her waist and pull her closer to him. The feel of his body against hers was almost as distracting as the horse’s movements. It took all of her concentration to focus on staying in the saddle and not think about the man astride behind her.
They had entered the forest now and James reined the horse in. He looked at Caitlyn with a frown. “You said you know where they are?”
Caitlyn nodded, hoping he wouldn’t ask her how. She didn’t quite know herself. She pointed to their right. “That way.”
James seemed about to say something, then changed his mind and picked up the reins again, urging the stallion forwards. Arion broke into a trot, picking his way confidently through the trees. They had to duck several times to avoid low-hanging branches, although Caitlyn wasn’t always quick enough to escape the twigs and leaves scraping at her face. The moon had come out now and its silver light filtered down through the canopy, casting deeper shadows among the trees.
Somewhere an owl hooted, followed by the sharp bark of a fox, but otherwise all Caitlyn could hear was the steady clop-clop-clop of the horse’s hooves and the soft murmuring of the wind through the trees. She wondered how long they had been riding—shouldn’t they have reached Pomona by now? What if she was wrong? What if this instinct—this magical sense she was trusting—was nothing more than a figment of her imagination?
Then suddenly, ahead of them, the ground sloped upwards and the trees thinned. The darkness around them lifted as the stallion began climbing the incline, arching his neck, blowing through his nostrils.
They came out suddenly into the moonlight and found themselves on an open grassy knoll. Caitlyn immediately saw the two figures on the other side of the slope, one standing, one lying on the ground, next to the remains of a picnic.
“Pomona!” she gasped, jerking in the saddle.
The stallion neighed sharply and wheeled, side-stepping and pinning his ears back.
“Whoa!” James steadied the horse, then brought him to a stop and jumped down.
Caitlyn barely waited for him to lift her out of the saddle. She hit the ground running and rushed across the open space to where her cousin was lying.
“Pomona!” she cried, dropping down next to the unconscious girl. She shook her cousin’s unresponsive shoulders, then turned angrily to David Allan. “What have you done to her?”
The young man was barely recognisable. His mild brown eyes were dilated, the pupils black and huge in his bloodless face, and Caitlyn drew back from the darkness she saw in there.
She screamed as David Allan lunged suddenly towards her, but before he could reach her, someone slammed into him, tackling him to the ground. It was James, his own face set and grim as he wrestled the other man onto his stomach and pinned David’s arms behind his back. He whipped off his tie and used it to bind David Allan’s hands behind his back, then he knotted the other man’s shoelaces together.
Caitlyn sagged with relief. She looked back down at Pomona and felt an even bigger wave of relief as she saw her cousin start to stir. The girl groaned and her eyelids fluttered.
“Pomona? Can you hear me?” She bent over her cousin.
“Is she all right?” asked James, coming over.
“I don’t know… I hope so,” said Caitlyn, gently trying to prop Pomona up. Her cousin’s head lolled back. “It’s like… she can’t wake up.”
“She’s probably been drugged,” said James.
Caitlyn gasped. “You mean—she might have been poisoned?”
“Not necessarily,” said James quickly. “She doesn’t seem to be exhibiting the symptoms of belladonna or
atropine poisoning.”
“Yes, but he might have given her something else!” said Caitlyn urgently. “We need to ask David—” She looked behind James’s back, then froze. “Where is he?”
James jerked around. They both stared at the empty space on the ground where David Allan had been, then at the empty expanse of grass around them.
“Did you tie him up properly?” demanded Caitlyn.
“Of course I did!” said James, running a distracted hand through his hair. “I know how to restrain a man. It’s not the first time I’ve had to do it. There was no way he could have got out of those knots. Besides, even if he had managed to loosen his hands, it would have taken him much longer to untie the knots in his laces—and without doing that, he couldn’t have hobbled far in the short time we’d turned our backs. We would have seen him.”
He was right. Besides, Caitlyn could see the tangle of silk tie left behind, the knots still in place. They hadn’t been untied. It was almost as if the young salesman had literally shrunk and disappeared within his bindings. By witchcraft. By magic.
Caitlyn shivered. It just couldn’t be! And yet there seemed to be no other explanation.
Then, as she stood staring, she saw a movement come from beneath the discarded tie. She peered closer, then recoiled slightly as she realised what it was. A lizard. A small brown lizard with big black eyes that stared unblinkingly at her for a long moment. She shivered again. There was something familiar about those black depths…
Then the lizard turned and scuttled away, disappearing into the undergrowth.
Caitlyn glanced at James. He hadn’t seen the lizard and she wondered whether to mention it. She wasn’t sure what she had seen. A random reptile that had happened to be slinking past? Or…?
“We can’t worry about David Allan now,” said James, turning back to Pomona. “The police can put out a search for him. The important thing is to get your cousin to medical care first.” Then, as he saw the worry in her eyes, he gave Caitlyn a reassuring smile. “Relax. I really don’t think she’s in any real danger. Her colour’s good and her breathing is even. She’s probably just been given a strong sedative. It would still be good to get her examined, of course, but I’m sure she’ll be fine. She’ll probably just have a long sleep.”