by Tess Lake
I sat back in my chair and took another gulp of cold water. Somewhere down in the street behind the sound of the tourists and slow-moving traffic jam, I heard John Smith shout out something.
Although I’d come from Aunt Cass’s where she’d concocted a plan for us to go monster hunting in the middle of the night, I considered it still possible that there could be both a monster and also someone faking that there was a monster and an attack. Now that I’d seen the police report, which seemed to suggest that Rufus and Dawn had been setting up a trap, it gave greater weight to the hypothesis that they may have been connected to the attack in some way.
“I did discover that Rufus and Dawn had been involved in some vandalism in the past,” I told Carter. I briefly took him through what Red had told me, leaving out the source of information and making it seem as though I’d discovered it myself. Carter grew more animated as we spoke and started writing down notes. By the time I was finished, he was grinning.
“This is amazing, both of us can investigate and I think we can nail them! So what do you say, do you want to work together?” he asked.
I was kind of getting excited myself but I managed to stop from blurting out yes.
“How about this? I’ll pass you any information that I find and you do the same. Once we have a bit more, then we can talk about what to do,” I said.
I think Carter must’ve expected I would bluntly say no because he looked quite joyous at my noncommittal answer. He held out his hand and I shook it without thinking. “It’s a deal,” he said.
I suddenly remembered that I only had a two hours break. When I checked the time, I saw I only had fifteen minutes before I was due back to meet Red.
“Okay, I have to go back to work now,” I said, hurriedly. I rushed Carter out of my office and locked it behind me after grabbing the bunch of twenties off the desk, and then followed him down the stairs. We’d hit the bottom when the door to Jonas’s office opened and Sylvester Coldwell, real estate developer and general all-around sleazy bad guy, came striding out. Jonas was behind him, his face flat and displaying no emotion. Coldwell turned and looked at me and Carter, his eyes traveling up and down.
“The two of you wrestling in the dirt up there, were you?” he said. I looked down at my clothes and saw they were covered in dust from my office. Carter was the same. It was all over his clothes and his bag, and his hands too. Given how sweaty and disheveled we both looked it did in fact appear as though we’d been wrestling up in my office. I knew however that Coldwell hadn’t said this as an accurate guess, but rather as an insult to both of us.
“I found that council member who’s renting off you for a fifty percent discount. That’s not going to slide,” Carter said coldly.
Coldwell ignored him and looked at me. “You need to use your office three days out of five or you lose it. I think I need to talk to the council about what you’ve been doing.” With that he turned on his heel, said goodbye to Jonas, and marched out the door. The three of us watched him go, Carter and I wearing identical scowls.
“Goddess, I hate him,” I said, gritting my teeth. Jonas looked at me and then Carter, appeared as though he was about to speak but then merely nodded and closed his door.
“Are they working together?” Carter asked.
“I have no idea,” I said, rushing out the door away from Carter and his questions and down the busy street.
Chapter Eleven
“But I don’t want to go monster hunting at Goddess knows what hour,” Molly complained, waving her arms around dramatically.
“I didn’t say you were going monster hunting. I said we were looking for where the magic might be a bit gritty that might coincidentally be a monster,” I said.
It was the night of the ridiculously big family dinner and all three of us were slightly on edge. The two boyfriends and now one fiancé were late and the heat hadn’t done anything to improve anyone’s mood. Yesterday after I’d left my office and Carter behind and gone back to meet Red, the rest of the day had been a blur of exhausting work. Although at first it seemed that being an assistant wasn’t that difficult, there was quite a lot of organization to do. I was taking names of students and people that she was talking to, arranging materials to be sent out to them, collecting lists of email addresses, and other things. Red had dropped me off back at the mansion last night and after a quick dinner and a shower, I’d gone to bed early. I hadn’t heard Molly and Luce come home and in the morning they’d left before I’d gotten up, a note on the kitchen bench saying they had to meet an air conditioning repair man early at Traveler. Today had been another blur of work helping Red out and in the flood of it all I think I’d honestly forgotten that a man had been attacked or that there was some magical mystery going on. I’d forgotten all about the Mysterious Mysteries people and had to focus on my job.
Today, Red had had a full day with only two breaks of one hour each in which we both hastily ate and talked through what materials she needed for the next few days. I hadn’t mentioned to her what she or the other writers were doing and neither had she. I think maybe there was even some part of my mind that was hoping that after a few days of investigation, they’d all let it go and were too busy to follow up on anything.
The day ended at about five in the afternoon and Red had dropped me off before promising she would return soon. Molly and Luce were already home, having shut Traveler early, and after fighting for who got to go in the shower first we’d finally gathered in the lounge. It was the first chance I’d had to talk to them in two days. Kira was currently in the shower, having lost out on that particular argument and having to go last.
“I don’t like to be tired but I don’t know, it could be fun,” Luce said.
“You think walking around the streets of Harlot Bay at night with Aunt Cass looking for a monster is fun?” Molly said.
“It could be,” she said. She was fiddling with her engagement ring again, a habit she’d picked up now that she had one to play with.
“I’m going to tell Aunt Cass I’m not doing it. I think if you get set on fire going under the house that you should be given a pass on any future adventures,” Molly said. Kira emerged from the bathroom with wet hair and rosy cheeks. She was wearing a somewhat skimpy sundress with two small stitched pockets on the front, and as soon as I saw her I remembered the clothing that I’d discovered in my office.
“Have you been going up into my office? Did you leave a miniskirt and a top there?” I blurted out.
Kira frowned, looking puzzled. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said. She reached to pull out her phone.
“No, no, no, no, no, that’s not gonna work,” Luce tutted.
“What?” Kira said.
“The correct answer is ‘No, I haven’t been to your office’. Then ask follow-up questions about what clothing, like a normal person would,” Luce said.
“Rookie mistake,” Molly said, crossing her arms and shaking her head.
“What do you mean rookie mistake? That was the perfect lie,” Kira said.
“Aha! So it was you who left the miniskirt and the top in my office,” I said, pointing my finger at her.
Kira looked at the three of us and then poked her tongue out at us. “Okay, you got me you bunch of sneaky witches,” she said.
“Going there for romance?” Molly teased.
“We were using it as a place to get changed. Someone must’ve left their clothes behind or gone back later,” Kira said.
“Great, so my office has become a teenage changing room.” I said.
“Better than what we used to have to do. I hated that old water pipe,” Luce said.
When we were teenagers intent on sneaking out and getting up to no good, we had an old unused storm water pipe outlet that we would go to. It was a short detour on the way from school so what we would usually do was sneak our clothes out in a bag, hide it in the drain, and then that night when we went out we would go there to get changed. Then, usually we’d head out
to one of the parties out on Truer Island or at someone’s house around town. Before we would return home we would have to go to the storm water drain again and get changed back into our old clothes. I had to admit it that Kira had come up with a better solution than we had. Even back when we were teenagers, there were plenty of abandoned shops and empty houses around the town. Given that sometimes teenagers would hold parties in abandoned houses I couldn’t quite understand why we’d never thought to use one as our changing room.
“Try not to get caught,” I said. “I think the council is going to be having a close look at that office building soon and you don’t want to get caught there.” I briefly explained about bumping into Coldwell and his threat.
After that, the conversation went off in a few directions as we waited for the boyfriends and everyone else to arrive. We were chatting about whether I would take a job with Carter once Writerpalooza was over (I was thinking not but perhaps there would be some way I could work with him without having to murder the man), when finally some headlights splashed across the front of the mansion. A whole lot of cars pulled up in quick succession and before we could walk out there Mom came bursting through the front door. She was moving so fast it was like she was a film that was running at high speed.
“Okay everyone take a guest, go up into the forest, there’s a chair for everyone. We’re going to be bringing some bottles of wine so you need to carry those and we might need some help with some of the food as well,” she said all in one breath.
“How many guests are there?” Luce muttered. We wandered outside to find that this dinner was going to break a record. Jack and Jonas were there with their parents, Jon and Jas, as well as Peta. There was also Will and Ollie, Mom’s boyfriend Varrius, the banker, Freya’s boyfriend Boris Dubois of the Dubois Cheese Company, and Aunt Cass’s boyfriend Artemis who ran Fogg’s Island Tour Company.
There was also Aunt Cass, our moms, the three of us, Kira, and then a moment later two more cars pulled up. One was Sheriff Hardy and the other one was Red.
“My this is going to be a big dinner,” Red called out as she stepped out of the luxurious sports car.
“Everyone up into the forest and then we’ll do the introductions,” Mom said, sounding somewhat manic.
I grabbed Jack by the hand, kissed him on the cheek and then said hello to his parents.
“No hangover or throwing a glass of water at us this time,” Jon said with a chuckle.
“Not tonight,” I quipped. I saw Mom shoot me a look. She’d overheard what he’d said and I knew she would ask me about it later. I waved Red over and despite Mom’s instructions gave her an introduction to Jack and his parents, and also Jonas and Peta. Molly and Luce had already grabbed Will and Ollie and had led them away along the path, going up into the forest. It had only been a few months ago that Aunt Ro and Sheriff Hardy were married up here. We’d set up tables in the forest for the wedding, which we then had left in place.
There were glimmering fairy lights in the trees, and although our non-magical guests wouldn’t know it, there were spells on the area to keep out any bugs and other insects that might disrupt the meal. Aunt Freya and Aunt Ro followed behind with Sheriff Hardy, each of them carrying a cooler that I’m sure was filled with wine. The large group soon reached the clearing and everyone found their seats.
Normally when we were eating inside Aunt Cass sat at the head of the table, but out here the tables were so long the head was somewhere off in the distance. Aunt Cass sat in the middle and looked over each of the guests in turn. As she did, Aunt Freya and Aunt Ro opened up the coolers and began pulling out bottles of tequila and other ingredients.
“Tequila? This is going to be good,” Jack whispered to me.
As the alcohol came out onto the table I got the impression this was going to be a Mexican themed night. It looked like the moms had grabbed all the ingredients for margaritas, including two large buckets of crushed ice that Sheriff Hardy pulled out of a cooler and put onto the table.
“Introductions and drinks,” Aunt Cass commanded and then pointed her finger directly at Jon.
“I’m Jon. I am Jack and Jonas’s dad, and this is my wife Jas. She used to be a schoolteacher and also a musician,” he said. As we went around the table Aunt Ro expertly began mixing up margaritas at high speed and passing them around. Mom had gone back to the mansion, disappearing into the dark. With so many guests it took a while to go around to meet everyone. Red, who was sitting directly across from Aunt Cass, introduced herself and I saw that shy look on Aunt Cass’s face again.
“I love your books,” Jas said and smiled at Red.
“Thank you so much, and I brought something for you,” Red said, talking to Aunt Cass. She reached under the table into her bag and brought out a copy of one of her books which she passed across the table to Aunt Cass.
Aunt Cass opened the cover where it had been inscribed “To Cassandra Torrent” and then signed by Red Forrest.
“Thank you, I will treasure it,” Aunt Cass said in a somewhat small voice.
It must’ve been something quite extraordinary to see Aunt Cass momentarily silenced because practically everyone around the table who knew her well took a big gulp of their margaritas. We all started chatting away as the moms vanished and then all three of them returned, bringing with them covered platters of food. My earlier guess had been right: the evening was Mexican themed. Soon there were a variety of nachos on the table, some with bacon and cheese, others with beef and chorizo. There were cheesy chicken enchiladas, and black bean and sweet potato chimichangas. Me, Molly and Luce were forced to leave the table momentarily to go to the kitchen, passing through the main dining room of chattering guests. In the kitchen there were two women there that I didn’t recognize. Mom explained to us in an undertone that they had hired them for the night to help out with the guests so we could have our family dinner in the forest.
We grabbed more platters of food and carried them out to the dark. It was still stifling hot up near the mansion, but we were all feeling good, our stomachs full of food–and the margaritas were certainly helping too. We returned to the tables, setting out the platters which turned out to be a variety of tacos. I took one and bit into it. It was a prawn taco with black bean salad and creamy avocado dressing. I groaned in pleasure and then took another bite before washing it all down with a mouthful of delicious lemon and lime margarita.
I’d been hoping to get the chance to talk to Jack’s parents tonight but without a proper seating plan they were over the other side and too far away to have a conversation. I didn’t mind though. Jack had arranged for me, Jack, Peta and Jonas to go out with his parents to Valhalla Viking. Jack had even booked a booth, so although the place would be busy we would be able to have a conversation at least.
In all the talking and eating I overheard that Jon had been a builder in his life, mostly houses and then moving to smaller renovations that he did every now and then. Jas had been a teacher, first in secondary schools and then moving to primary schools, and she’d even been a musician working in piano bars for a time.
We were all eating and laughing, the conversation flowing all over the place, when I felt the magic push against me like a gentle wave. It was enough for me to notice it but thanks to my third margarita I ignored the feeling.
“Hey, Jonas what are you doing meeting with Coldwell?” I called out to him across the table.
I hadn’t intended to bring it up in front of everyone, perhaps the alcohol in my drink was loosening my tongue, but everyone else continued their conversations and didn’t appear to be listening in.
“I’m was making sure everything is okay for the Governor’s mansion restoration,” Jonas said. He gave me a significant look that I didn’t quite catch the meaning of until I looked to Peta next to him. She mouthed we’ll talk later and I nodded back at her.
“So we’ve had one proposal and acceptance. When are the other two happening,” Aunt Cass called out.
Suddenly, all the co
nversations came to a grinding halt.
“They’ll happen when they happen,” Molly said.
“There’s no rush,” I said and waved my margarita happily.
“Marriage is wonderful,” Aunt Ro said and put her arm around Sheriff Hardy before kissing him on the cheek.
I was about to say something else when the magic surged again and this time every witch at the table felt it. It pushed harder this time and then felt gritty, as though it was muddy water.
“Eat up everyone, you know there are wild animals out here so we don’t want to stay for too long,” Aunt Cass said, coming up with a lie on the spot.
“Wild animals? What do they have here?” Jon said.
I’m sure Aunt Cass was about to come up with another lie, but in that perfect moment of silence somewhere in the forest there was a cracking sound and then we all heard a tree snap and topple, crashing to the ground.
“What the hell was that?” Art said, peering into the darkness.
“Some of the old trees have been rotting and they fall over from time to time,” Aunt Cass replied.
“Maybe we should finish this dinner down your end of the mansion, inside” Mom said, looking at me, Molly and Luce.
There was another crash in the darkness. This time it sounded as though something large had hit a tree. A moment later, there was a snapping sound as the tree fell and crashed down.
“It sounds like there’s an animal out there. Are there wild pigs here?” Jon said. Jack looked at me and I nodded. I understood his question well: Is this something magical?
Before any more lies could be told, there came a piercing howl from the darkness that sounded like a animal in great pain. Aunt Cass shot up from her chair so fast she knocked over her drink.
“That sounds like a wolf to me,” Red said. By now everyone was on their feet, peering into the dark.