Witch is How To Lose Big

by Adele Abbott

  “I definitely do. It’s not like we have any other leads. Blaze and I will get over there as soon as we can.”

  “Will you let me know how you get on?”

  “Of course I will. Thanks for the tip-off, Jill.”

  I’d no sooner finished on the call to Daze than my phone rang again. This time it was my darling husband.

  “Do you have some news for me on the hotel case, Jack?”

  “Yeah. It’s good news and bad news, I’m afraid.”

  “Give me the good news.”

  “We now know who the mysterious bank account belongs to; the one where the quarter of a million pound payments were sent. It’s a company called Restart. Apparently, they specialise in helping people to disappear.”

  “Disappear? What does that mean, exactly?”

  “They give them a new identity and relocate them. It’s not cheap, though. It comes with a hefty price tag. A quarter of a million pounds to be precise.”

  “What’s the bad news?”

  “I’m afraid your client isn’t one of Restart’s customers.”

  “How can you be so sure?”

  “Our people have been through their books with a fine-tooth comb, and they can account for every one of the quarter of a million pound transfers. None of them came from your guy.”

  “That’s a bit of a blow. What’s going to happen to the Restart people?”

  “Nothing, probably. We may not like what they do, but it’s not actually illegal. It’s not like they’ve relocated anyone who’s on the run from the law. From what I can make out, most of the people who have availed themselves of the service did so to avoid expensive divorces. I’m sorry I don’t have better news for you.”

  “That’s okay. I’ll see you tonight.”

  That bombshell meant I was now well and truly back to square one. I’d been hoping Jack would confirm that Eddie Broom was one of Restart’s clients. But then, according to both Lorraine and Sandra, Eddie didn’t have that kind of money, so it shouldn’t have come as too much of a surprise.

  Behind the screen, Winky and Freddy were still playing cards.

  “Are you sure you don’t want me to deal you in, Jill?” Winky shouted. “It sounds like you could do with cheering up.”

  “No thanks. I’ve got a ton of work to do.”

  I had no choice but to go right back to the beginning, and reread all my notes again, in the hope that I’d spot something I’d missed the first time.

  Two hours later, I was still doing just that.

  Everything seemed to hinge on the last time that Eddie Broom had been seen. That was when Sylvia Long had stormed out on him, after an argument. They’d gone out for a meal in a bar near to the hotel. What was the bar called? I quickly located her interview and confirmed it was the Lakeside Tavern. They’d gone there because the menu at the budget hotel wasn’t up to much. Why did that name ring a bell? Where had I heard it before?

  Then I remembered.

  It was in the headline I’d seen when I’d first looked for articles on Eddie’s disappearance. I went online and brought up the newspaper article in question. It was from the day after Eddie had vanished, and was about some kind of disruption that had taken place at the Lakeside Tavern. Could that be a coincidence? Had something happened to Eddie after Sylvia had left? There was only one way to find out, so I magicked myself over there.

  ***

  “Hello, love.” The man behind the bar had a ginger beard to match his wild, curly hair. “You’ve timed it just right. Happy hour has just started.”

  “Isn’t three o’clock a little early for happy hour?”

  “Not really. It goes on until six.”

  “Doesn’t that make it happy three hours?”

  “I suppose so, but that doesn’t really have the same ring to it. Can I get you a drink?”

  “No, thanks. I was hoping to talk to the manager.”

  “You’re in luck, then because that’s me. I shouldn’t really be out front, but my waste of space barman hasn’t turned up yet. When he does get here, he’ll get my boot up his backside. Are you sure you don’t want a drink? You look like you could do with one.”

  “No, I’m good, thanks.”

  “I’m Graham. How can I help you?”

  “Jill. I realise that this is something of a long shot, but I wondered if you might remember a disturbance that took place here about two years ago. It must have been quite a big deal at the time because it ended up on the front page of The Bugle.”

  “Remember it? I’m hardly likely to forget it. It was an absolute nightmare. The publicity did us no good at all. Takings were down for the next two months, so yes, you could say that I remember it. What’s your interest in it?”

  “I’m a private investigator. I’m working on a missing person case, and as far as I can make out, the man who went missing was last seen here on the night of the disturbance. He’d come here with his lady friend for a meal, but they had some kind of falling out, and she left early. That was the last anyone saw of him. What can you tell me about the disturbance that took place that night?”

  “The strange thing is that it was all caused by just one man. Needless to say, he was drunk. He started by hurling abuse at the staff, then he began to pick fights with the other guests. It all escalated from there. We do get the occasional disturbance in here; it kind of goes with the territory. Normally, it peters out, or my security men put a stop to it. This was different, though. The man was like someone possessed.”

  “Can you describe him to me?”

  “I can do better than that. I still have the CCTV footage.”

  “Do you normally keep it for so long?”

  “No, but we had to make several copies for the police. Would you like to see it?”

  “Yes, please.”

  “You’ll have to wait until someone can take over—oh, hang on—here he comes now.”

  I glanced over at the door where a young man wearing jeans and a denim shirt had just walked in. He looked hungover.

  “Good of you to show up, Jimmy.”

  “Sorry, boss. The bus was late.”

  “Of course it was. Get yourself behind this bar. This lady and I have some business in the back. Come with me, Jill.”

  He led the way into a small office. “Grab a seat. I’ll bring up the recording for you.”

  A couple of minutes later, I was watching the footage from that night.

  “See that?” Graham pointed. “That’s the guy. Watch him.”

  Just as Graham had described, it had all started slowly. The man was clearly drunk, and he was picking an argument with anyone who came near him. He started pushing people around, and soon a fight broke out. Before long, tables and chairs were flying all over the place.

  “Did you see that, Jill? I don’t know how he did it. Every time they got close to him, he sent my security guys flying across the room. I’ve never seen strength like it.”

  “I see what you mean.”

  “Is that your guy?”

  “No, that’s not him, I’m afraid.”

  “Oh, well. Worth a try, I guess.” He stopped the footage.

  “I’m sorry to have taken up your time, Graham.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I hope you find him.”

  “Just out of interest, what happened to the guy who caused all the trouble?”

  “The police turned up: a man and a woman. They managed to subdue him and took him away.”

  “Were they in uniform?”

  “Err, no, I don’t think they were.”

  “How did you know they were the police?”

  “They said they were. Who else would they have been?”

  “Right. Is that on CCTV too?”

  “No. That was really weird. The camera stopped working just before they arrived.”

  “How did they manage to overpower him when your security men couldn’t?”

  “I don’t know. I thought he’d make mincemeat of them, but they had him restrained in
no time at all. It was quite impressive.”

  Now, at least, I knew what had happened to Eddie Broom. He was the man on the CCTV footage, but I couldn’t tell Graham that. What I’d just been watching was not a man possessed, but a man using the ‘power’ spell.

  Eddie Broom was a wizard. And what’s more, I had a good idea who the ‘police’ who took him away really were.

  I made a quick call to Loraine Cross.

  “It’s Jill. I just have a quick question. Was Eddie adopted by any chance?”

  “Yes, he was. Why? Is it relevant?”

  “Probably not.”

  “Why do you—”

  “Sorry, Lorraine, I have a call on the other line. I’ll get back to you as soon as I know anything.”

  Bingo!

  Chapter 24

  I was just about to give Daze a call when she phoned me.

  “Jill, I wanted to let you know that your friend’s neighbours turned out to be the guys we’ve been looking for.”

  “Really? That’s brilliant.”

  “It’s a good job we acted when we did because it’s quite obvious that they’d intended to cause mayhem tonight; there would have been a bloodbath. I know your friend doesn’t want you to give out her name, but please tell her from me that she did the right thing, and I’d really like to thank her in person. Of course, I’ll understand if she’d rather not.”

  “Where are her neighbours now?”

  “Where they should be: Behind bars. And, this time, they’ll be there for a very long time. If or when they ever get out, I will personally supervise their tagging to ensure there’s no repeat of this debacle. Anyway, thanks again for the tip-off, Jill.”

  “Before you go, Daze, I was just about to call you. I wonder if I might ask a favour?”

  “After what you’ve just done? Absolutely. Ask away. What can I do for you?”

  “This relates to something that dates back a couple of years. There was a disturbance in a bar called The Lakeside Tavern here in Washbridge. I’ve just been watching footage of it and—”

  “Let me stop you there, Jill. I remember that particular case. Blaze and I were called out to a wizard who’d gone crazy. From what I remember, he was smashed out of his head, and he was using magic to throw things around, and to resist the security men. Is that the guy you’re talking about?”

  “Yeah, that’s him. His name is Eddie Broom.”

  “What’s your interest in him?”

  “I was recently hired by his sister to try and find him. He’s been missing for two years and the police have pretty much given up on the case. I’d more or less reached a dead end, but then I made a breakthrough. The last place that Eddie was seen was at the Lakeside Tavern; he and his lady friend had dinner there. Then, I remembered a headline I’d seen in The Bugle when I’d been looking at newspapers published around the date of the disappearance. There had been a serious disturbance there on the night that Eddie went missing. On the strength of that, I went to see the manager of the Lakeside Tavern who still had the CCTV footage from that night. As soon as I saw it, I realised that Eddie was a wizard. The manager said the police had taken Eddie away, but my guess is, that it was you guys.”

  “You’re right. It was Blaze and me. I remember it well.”

  “You wouldn’t happen to know where Eddie is now, would you?”

  “I know exactly where he is. He’s behind bars in Candlefield.”

  “I should have realised. How long does he have left to serve?”

  “I’m not sure. Another year or two, I’d guess.”

  “Is there any chance that I could talk to him?”

  “Normally, I’d say no, but give me a few minutes, and I’ll make a couple of phone calls.”

  “Okay, thanks.”

  “I’ll get back to you as soon as I know one way or the other.”

  ***

  While I was waiting to hear back from Daze, I decided to pop into Kathy’s shop.

  “Whoa, what’s going on with you, Jill?” Kathy said. “I don’t see you in here for weeks on end and then you come in twice in as many days.”

  “I was just passing.”

  “Would you like a drink?”

  “Not for me, thanks.”

  “Are you sure you’re all right? That’s twice now you’ve refused a drink.”

  “I’m fine. I’m busy, that’s all. I just wanted to check if Lizzie was okay.”

  “Why do you keep asking about Lizzie? I told you, she’s absolutely fine.”

  “She’s not been acting weird again, then?”

  “No. That was something and nothing anyway. I’ve moved past that. I don’t know why you haven’t.”

  “What about Mikey? Is he still having those nightmares about Lizzie?”

  “No, he’s fine too. Honestly, they’re both okay. There’s really nothing for you to worry about.”

  “You’re right. I’m just being an over-anxious auntie. Anyway, I’d better get going.”

  “Are you sure you’re okay, Jill? You’re the only one who’s been acting weird recently.”

  “Of course I am. I’ll catch you later.”

  Although I was pleased that Lizzie was back to her old self, I had no idea if Martin had played any part in her recovery or not. I gave him another call, not really expecting him to pick up.

  He did; on the first ring. “Hi, Jill.”

  “Martin. I’ve been trying to get hold of you for ages.”

  “Sorry, I’ve been really busy.”

  “What happened with this red grave thing?”

  “Lizzie should be okay now. She is, isn’t she?”

  “Yeah, Kathy says she’s back to her old self.”

  “That’s good. I thought she would be.”

  “Yes, but what exactly did you do?”

  “It’s complicated.”

  “Then we should get together so you can explain it to me.”

  “You’re right. We should, but, honestly, I can’t do it just now, I’m extremely busy. Sorry, but I really do have to go.”

  “Hold on—” It was too late. He’d already hung up. I called him straight back but there was no reply. What was it with this man? First, I couldn’t get rid of him, and now, he didn’t have time for me. And what was all that red grave mumbo jumbo? Was he really in the ‘other’ Candlefield? Was there even such a place? All of this was doing my head in.

  On my way back up the high street, I bumped into Norman.

  “Hi, young man, how goes it?”

  “Hello, Jill. I’m okay, thanks.”

  “How was Hawaii? You’ve come back with a good tan.”

  “It was really hot. I had to wear a hat and flip-flops.”

  “How about Tonya? Did she enjoy herself?”

  “Yeah, she did.”

  “Is she back at the shop?”

  “No, she’s still in Hawaii.”

  “How come?”

  “While we were there, we decided we’d try our hand at surfing, so we booked a course of lessons. I wasn’t very good at it; I kept falling off the board, so I didn’t bother again after the first day. Tonya really enjoyed it, though, so she kept up the lessons all week.”

  “I still don’t understand why she’s back in Hawaii. Did she fall off the board and hurt herself or something?”

  “No, nothing like that. She became rather friendly with the surfing instructor. In fact, they had a bit of a fling. His name is Corey. He has blonde hair and abs. On our last day there, she told me that she didn’t love me anymore, and that she was going to stay in Hawaii with Corey.”

  “I’m really sorry to hear that, Norman.”

  “That’s okay. I still have my bottle tops.”

  Poor guy.

  ***

  I was just about to go into the office building when my phone rang.

  “Wow, Daze, that was quick.”

  “These things don’t take long when you know who to speak to. I’ve had a word with the powers-that-be and it’s okay for you to talk
to Edward Broom.”

  “That’s great. How quickly can it be arranged?”

  “You can see him right now if you pop over straight away.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, I’ll meet you outside the gates at Candlefield Prison.”

  “Okay, I’m on my way.”

  I was gobsmacked to find Daze wearing a dress.

  “Well, look at you.” I grinned.

  “Don’t you start. I’ve had enough of Blaze taking the mickey.”

  “Where are you off to dressed like that?”

  “If you must know, I have a date.”

  “Who with?”

  “None of your business. Do you want to talk to this guy or not?”

  “Sorry, yeah.”

  “Come on, then.” She flashed her ID at the guard, which got us through the gates in double-quick time.

  “Are you coming in with me?” I asked.

  “No. I’m just going to make sure you get in without any problems, then I’ll shoot off.”

  In the main reception, Daze spoke to the guard behind the desk, who then made a quick phone call. “That’s all been cleared. Mrs Maxwell can go through and see Mr Broom, but only for fifteen minutes.”

  “That’s fine,” I said. “That’ll be more than enough time.”

  “Okay, Jill,” Daze started for the exit. “I’m going to leave you to it.”

  “Enjoy your date. And I expect all the gory details.”

  “No chance.”

  Compared to the CCTV footage I’d watched, Edward Broom seemed to have aged ten years. And, if I wasn’t mistaken, he’d lost quite a bit of weight too.

  “Hello, Mr Broom. Is it all right if I call you Eddie?”

  “Sure. I don’t have any idea what this is all about. Someone came to see me a few minutes ago and said I had a visitor. I never get visitors.”

  “My name is Jill Maxwell.”

  “Should I know you?”

  “No. I work in the human world as a private investigator. I was hired by your sister to try and trace you.”

  He suddenly became much more animated. “Lorraine’s been looking for me?”