by Adele Abbott
“You’re right. I’m sorry. You’ll have to have a rethink about the rooms upstairs. Maybe you need to go a bit more upmarket? More highbrow. That way you won’t have to bite your nails worrying about what might happen.”
If looks could kill.
The twins were still blanking me half an hour later when Lester and his ‘buddy’, Monica, came into Cuppy C. Monica joined me at the window table while Lester went to get the drinks.
“How is Lester doing?” I asked.
“Really well. He’s a natural.”
A natural grim reaper? Somehow that didn’t sound like a good thing.
“I’m glad my faux pas didn’t set him back.”
“Not at all, but we are having another problem.”
“What’s that?”
“Hi, Jill.” Lester joined us.
“I was just telling Jill,” Monica said. “About our ‘problem’.”
“It’s terrible.” Lester took a bite of his cupcake.
“Body snatchers!” Monica said.
“Really? I didn’t realise there were such things.”
“Fortunately, they don’t make an appearance very often. According to my bosses, the last time was over a century ago.”
“Trust them to pick now to come back,” Lester said. “Right in the middle of my training.”
“Why exactly do they snatch the bodies?” I asked, but wasn’t sure I really wanted to know.
“Have you seen the movie Frankenstein?” Monica said in a hushed voice.
“Yes.”
“Well then, you have your answer.”
***
After I’d magicked myself back to Washbridge, I was still shuddering at the thought of the body snatchers. Still, I’d soon have something to take my mind off them. I was really looking forward to seeing the sculpture that Susan Bestwick had dropped off at my office.
“Hi, Mrs V.”
She looked up, and tutted. What was wrong now?
“Has anyone left a delivery for me?”
“You may well ask.” She tutted again. “It’s on your desk. I thought better of you, Jill.”
Huh? What was wrong with her? Maybe she’d fallen out with Armi. I didn’t have time to worry about it now because I wanted to see my sculpture.
When I went through to my office, Winky was sitting on my desk, with his back to me.
“What are you doing on there?” I demanded.
“Looking at your bust,” he said without turning around.
“What do you think of it? Is it a good likeness?” I couldn’t see the sculpture because he was blocking my view.
“Hard to say.”
“You’ve seen me often enough. You should know. Move out of the way—let the dog see the—. What? Oh no!”
Susan had captured my face perfectly, but it wasn’t my face I was worried about. The sculpture was of my head, shoulders and chest. And, I was naked!
I took off my jacket, and threw it over the sculpture.
“You shouldn’t have been looking at that!” I screamed at Winky.
“I didn’t realise you were such a free spirit.” He grinned.
“I’m not. I was fully clothed when I posed for that.”
“Are you sure? There’s no need to be bashful. You can tell me.”
“There’s nothing to tell. No one must ever see this.” I cast the ‘shatter’ spell, and the sculpture disintegrated under my jacket.
“Why did you do that?” Winky looked shocked.
“Just forget you ever saw it.”
“That isn’t going to be easy. It’s etched forever on my mind. Plus, I captured it on here.” He held up his phone.
“Give me that!”
“What’s it worth?”
“How about I don’t report you to the taxman.”
“What are you talking about?”
“They might be interested in a certain WTC Holdings.”
His smug expression suddenly changed. “Who’s that?”
“Don’t play dumb. As you well know, it’s the company you set up to siphon off all the profits from your other ventures. That’s why, on paper at least, you made so little profit from your woolly jumper venture, and why my cut was so measly. You had your ‘dummy’ company, WTC Holdings, charge for ‘miscellaneous’ services.”
Winky was dumbstruck. Almost. “How did you know?”
“Because, not only am I a super-sleuth, I’m also a forensic accountant.”
“No, seriously, how did you work it out?”
“I asked Luther, my accountant, to look over the P&L report you gave me. Once he’d spotted the discrepancy, it wasn’t difficult to work out that WTC stood for Winky The Cat.”
“Okay, it’s a fair cop.” He held up his paws. “I’ll delete the photo.”
“And, I’ll expect the rest of my money from the woolly jumper sales by the end of the week.”
Snigger.
***
Jack and I had finished dinner, and were in the lounge.
“When will you be bringing your sculpture home?” he said.
What did he know? Who had told him?
“Who have you been talking to?”
“No one. Why?”
“Have there been any cats around here?”
“Cats? What on earth are you talking about?”
“Nothing. I won’t be bringing the sculpture home. I dropped it, and it smashed into a thousand pieces.”
“That’s very disappointing. It would have made a great conversation piece.”
It certainly would.
More mystery, magic and mayhem from Jill Gooder and a cast of thousands (okay, tens) in the next book:
Witch Is Why The Wolf Howled
(Witch P.I. Mysteries #18)
ALSO FROM ADELE ABBOTT:
The Susan Hall Mysteries
This new series from Adele Abbott is set in the same world as the Witch P.I. Mysteries (Washbridge/Candlefield)
Investigative reporter, Susan Hall, is out to make her mark in her new job at The Bugle. If she is to succeed, she is going to have to bring in the big stories.
Whoops! Our New Flatmate Is A Human
(Susan Hall Mysteries #1)
Charlie (a werewolf), Dorothy (a vampire) and Neil (a wizard) have a new flatmate. The bad news is, she’s a human. The even worse news is, she’s an investigative reporter.
Web Site: http:www.AdeleAbbott.com
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