by Adele Abbott
“We didn’t.” Pearl glared at Aunt Lucy. “Someone else did.”
“I’m not keeping your secrets,” Aunt Lucy said. “And besides, it’s just as well I did tell you because at least now you know you’ve come up with the same name for a girl. One of you will have to have a rethink.”
“If you both have a girl, one of you could call her Jill,” I suggested.
The twins looked at me, and said in perfect harmony, “Nah.”
“What’s wrong with Jill?”
“Nothing’s wrong with it,” Pearl said. “I just prefer Lil.”
“William and I came up with Lil first.” Amber glared at her sister.
“No, you didn’t. Alan and I did, and we’re not changing it.”
“Neither are we.”
“Come on, you two.” Aunt Lucy stepped in. “You have to be sensible. If you both have girls, they can’t both be called Lil.”
“She’d better come up with another name, then.” Amber pointed at her sister.
“No chance. You’ll have to change yours.”
The argument was set to run and run, so Aunt Lucy and I collared one of the other assistants to take our order.
“You’ve started something there,” I said, once we were seated by the window.
“I had to say something. Fool that I am, I assumed one of them would be happy to go for another name.”
“You really don’t know your own daughters, do you?”
“Apparently not. And it seems that neither you nor I know your grandmother as well as we thought we did.”
“She’s up to something.”
“You’re not being very fair, Jill.”
“Come on. Do you honestly believe she’s changed?”
“Stranger things have happened.”
“Name one.”
“Okay, I agree that it’s totally out of character, but I for one am glad for her new persona, even if it’s only short lived.”
Just then, the strangest thing happened: Our cups and plates slid off the table and dropped to the floor. The same thing happened on every other table. Even weirder was the fact that none of the cups or plates smashed. Instead they seemed to bounce.
“What’s going on?” Aunt Lucy began to sway back and forth on her chair.
I was swaying too; so was everyone else.
The reason for these unusual happenings soon became apparent. The furniture and the floor had all changed texture. It was as if everything was made from rubber.
The other customers began to panic, and started to head for the door, which wasn’t easy because their feet sank into the floor with every step. Eventually, the only people left in the shop were me, Aunt Lucy and the twins.
“We thought of Lil first!” Amber yelled.
“No, you didn’t. We did!” Pearl shouted back.
Unbelievable! They were still arguing about baby names, and hadn’t even noticed what had happened.
“Hey! You two!” I shouted.
“Where is everyone?” Pearl glanced around.
“Why are all the pots on the floor?” Amber said.
“Look.” I pushed the table, which wobbled back and forth.
“What’s happened?” Pearl looked horrified.
“The floor’s the same.” Amber took a few unsteady steps out from behind the counter.
“This must be magic of some kind,” Aunt Lucy said. “It looks very like the ‘softer’ spell, but it can’t be because I’ve just tried to reverse it, and nothing happened. Why don’t you try, Jill?”
I did, but it had no effect.
“Why would someone do this to us?” Pearl said.
“We need to find your grandmother.” Aunt Lucy began to walk rather unsteadily towards the door. “She’ll know what to do.”
Pearl and Amber had forgotten their squabble, and both now looked very worried.
“It’s going to be alright.” I made my way slowly over to the wobbly counter.
“What if it’s not?” Pearl was close to tears. “This shop is our livelihood.”
“It’ll be okay, Pearl.” Amber put her arm around her sister.
It never failed to amaze me how one minute they could be at each other’s throat, and then the next, they had each other’s back.
A few minutes later, Aunt Lucy returned with Grandma by her side.
“Grandma, you have to help us,” Amber said.
Grandma quickly barked out her orders, “You all need to get out of here right now.”
“But Grandma—” Pearl began.
“I said get out. Now!”
“Do you want me to stay?” I asked.
“Which part of all of you don’t you understand?”
Aunt Lucy, the twins and I made our way out of the shop. All we could do now was watch and wait.
Chapter 13
It was obvious that Grandma was trying to reverse the spell, but it was equally obvious that she was having zero success because the furniture was still wobbling back and forth. Eventually, she gave up and walked unsteadily to the door.
“Jill, get in here!”
“Can you sort it out, Grandma?” Amber shouted.
Grandma didn’t even acknowledge her question; she just waited until I was inside, and then closed the door.
“Lucy was right. This is the ‘softer’ spell.”
“I saw you trying to reverse it.”
“It should have worked. I don’t understand why it didn’t. I’ve brought you in here, so we can mount a co-ordinated effort. Between us, we’ll have more than enough power. Are you ready?”
“Yeah, just say the word.”
“On three. One, two, three.”
We both applied maximum focus, but still the spell refused to be reversed.
“What’s going on, Grandma? I’ve never come across a spell that I couldn’t reverse before. At least not for a long time.”
“That makes two of us. I can’t begin to imagine who could have cast a spell that would resist our combined power.”
“What are we going to do?”
“First, we have to get the spell reversed, and then we need to find out who or what is behind it.”
“What’s the plan?”
“I’ll get in touch with a few level six witches who owe me a favour. We’ll all meet here tomorrow morning. Let’s say ten-thirty.”
“I’ll be here. What are you going to tell the twins?”
“I’m not going to tell them anything—that’s your job. I have a lot of phone calls to make.”
Grandma led the way out of Cuppy C, leaving me to face the twins.
“What’s happening, Jill?” Pearl asked.
“Grandma’s going to recruit some more level six witches, so we can try again to reverse the spell tomorrow morning.”
“What if it doesn’t work?” Amber looked worried.
“It will. No spell will be able to resist the power of several level six witches.”
“What shall we do now?”
“You might as well lock up the shop and go home. There’s nothing else you can do.”
The twins had no sooner left than my phone rang. It was the photographer who worked with the Pooch First Model Agency. He’d had a cancellation and wondered if there was any chance that I could take Barry for his photoshoot in an hour’s time. The sooner Barry was on the agency’s books, the sooner he would start earning his keep, so I told them we’d be there.
“I take it that was about Barry?” Aunt Lucy said, after I’d finished on the call.
“Yeah. I’ll walk back with you, and then take Barry over to the photographer’s.”
“Do you really think that all of you will be able to reverse the ‘softer’ spell tomorrow, or were you just saying that to stop the twins from worrying?”
“To be perfectly honest, I don’t know what will happen. By rights, Grandma and I should have been able to reverse the spell easily. Whoever cast it must be extremely powerful.”
“Who could be powerful enough to do some
thing like this?”
“I don’t know. Unless—no, it couldn’t be.”
“What were you going to say, Jill?”
“From what I’ve heard, Braxmore had incredible powers.”
“Do you think it might be him?”
“I’m not sure. No one is even sure if he’s still alive. But right now, I’m struggling to come up with any other explanation.”
***
“Jill! Can we go for a walk?” Barry came charging over, and almost knocked me flat. “I love to go for walks.”
“Not now.”
“Aww, please.”
“You have to have your photos taken for the modelling agency.”
“Take my photos? Right now?”
“Yeah, they’ve had a cancellation.”
“Do I look good, Jill?”
“You look as handsome as ever.”
“Give me strength,” Hamlet said, without even looking up from his book.
Barry ran across to the cage. “I’m going to be a supermodel, Hamlet.”
“I’m very pleased for you, I’m sure. Now, if you wouldn’t mind, Dickens awaits.”
“Come on, Barry. We’d better be making tracks.” I put on his lead, and he practically dragged me all the way across town to the photographer’s studio, which turned out to be above a millinery shop called Top Hats. If only Mrs V had been able to travel to Candlefield, she would definitely have approved.
The studio was called Len’s Lens. Len, the photographer, was a pleasant middle-aged wizard with a penchant for tartan.
“This must be Barry. I’ve heard good things about you, boy.”
“I’m going to be a supermodel,” Barry barked out.
“Confidence is no bad thing in this line of work. Still, first things first. Let’s take some photographs for your portfolio.” Len turned to me. “I find it works best if the owners wait in reception while I take the photos. It’s one less thing to distract him. Would you mind?”
“Not at all.”
Barry happily followed Len into the studio while I helped myself to a drink, of what tasted like dishwater, from the vending machine. Hanging around in reception gave me the chance to mull over the ‘floppy’ issue at Cuppy C. I was much more worried than I’d let on to Aunt Lucy. Only an extremely powerful wizard or witch could have cast a spell so strong that the combined efforts of Grandma and I couldn’t reverse it. I knew of no such witch, but from what I’d heard, Braxmore might have been powerful enough to do it. But why would he waste his time on an attack on Cuppy C?
Just then, my phone rang.
“Jill. It’s Harry from Spooky Wooky.”
“Hi, Harry.”
“I’m calling because we wanted to thank you for helping with the Spookberry potion.”
“Has the colonel been to see you?”
“Yes. He and Priscilla were in here just now. He’s going to let us have some Spookberry so we can attend the grand opening of the bakery.”
“That’s great news.”
“Thanks again for your help, Jill. The blueberry muffins are on us for the rest of the month.”
“That really isn’t necessary, but if you insist.”
Free muffins for a month—what a result! Now I needed to fulfil my part of the bargain with the colonel, by putting Homer Range out of business. I’d had an idea how to do it, but I would need to speak to Constance Bowler before I could put my plan into action.
“All done.” Len appeared with Barry by his side.
“How did it go?” I asked. “Did he behave himself?”
“He was as good as gold. Would you like to see the shots?”
“Yes, please.”
Barry was incredibly photogenic. The big, soft lummox looked almost regal in the pictures Len had taken.
“He should do very well,” Len said.
“Do you really think so?”
“Definitely. I see a lot of dogs, as you can imagine. Barry is one of the best.”
“Did you hear that, Jill?” Barry’s tail was going ten to the dozen. “I’m one of the best!”
“I did. Well done you.” I turned to Len. “What happens now?”
“I’ll get the photos over to Pooch First, and they’ll no doubt get the ball rolling. I doubt he’ll be waiting long for his first assignment.”
***
By the time I’d dropped Barry back at Aunt Lucy’s, I was feeling a little peckish. What better way to satisfy my hunger than with a blueberry muffin? And better still: a free one.
I magicked myself over to Spooky Wooky in GT.
Harry and Larry were both behind the counter. Larry in particular looked pleased to see me. He turned to Harry, “I win, I believe.”
Harry shook his head, took out his wallet, and handed over a couple of bank notes.
“Thanks for this, Jill.” Larry waved the cash.
“What do you mean?”
“We had a wager on how long it would take you to claim your first free muffin. I said you’d be in within a couple of hours. Harry said it would take you at least four.”
“What if I hadn’t shown up for a week?”
For some reason, they both laughed at that.
I’d no sooner taken a seat than Constance Bowler walked in.
“Constance! Could I have a word?”
“Sure. I’ll be with you as soon as I’ve got my drink.”
“Is that all you’re having?” I said when she joined me.
“Yeah, I just needed a coffee. I try not to eat between meals.”
“Me too.”
She glanced at the muffin, and raised her eyebrows.
“I thought I’d make an exception today.”
“Right. Do you make many exceptions?”
“Not many. Anyway, I’m glad I’ve caught you. I wanted to talk to you about the Spookberry situation.”
“Did you manage to sort anything out for Harry and Larry?”
“Yes. The colonel came through for me, but he’s asked a favour in return. His business is being badly hit by a black marketeer by the name of Homer Range, so I’ve promised to see what I can do about it. He tells me that the police won’t get involved with licensing issues. Is that right?”
“He’s right and wrong. We don’t have the resources to check that everyone using Spookberry has a licence, but that doesn’t mean we’ll turn a blind eye to anyone peddling it on an industrial scale.”
“That’s reassuring because I’m planning to go after Homer Range, but there’s little point in my doing that unless you’re prepared to take action against him.”
“If you can get proof that he’s selling large quantities of Spookberry, then we’ll arrest him.”
“That’s great. In that case, expect a call from me in the not too distant future.”
Constance and I chatted for almost half-an-hour before she was called away. It was only then that I spotted Blodwyn and Alberto seated at the back of the tea room. They must have come in while I was deep in conversation.
“Hello, you two.”
“Hi, Jill.” Blodwyn looked as though she’d just finished sucking on a lemon.
“Hello, Jill.” Alberto didn’t look much happier. “We didn’t come and join you earlier because we could see you were talking.”
“Where’s Mum and Dad?”
“No idea.” Blodwyn shook her head.
“Darlene’s back at the house,” Alberto said.
“Is everything okay? You two don’t look very happy.”
“Is there any wonder?” Blodwyn snapped. “Those parents of yours are making both of our lives a misery.”
“Take no notice of us,” Alberto said. “We’re just crying on one another’s shoulders.”
“What exactly have my parents done?”
“You’ve seen what they’re like,” Blodwyn said. “They’re at each other’s throats all the time. It’s driving me and Alberto crazy.”
“Have either of you confronted them?”
“I’ve tried to,” Alb
erto said. “But you know what your mother is like. She’s not known for her listening skills.”
“Josh is even worse. It’s like talking to a brick wall.” Blodwyn hesitated. “I tell you, Jill. If things don’t change soon, I’m off.”
“The way they’re acting is beyond ridiculous,” I said. “Those two are as bad as one another. Do you mind if I make a suggestion?”
“Knock yourself out.” Blodwyn shrugged. “We’re all out of ideas.”
“Why don’t you let me speak to them both.”
“I’m not sure it will do any good,” Alberto said.
“I’d like to try. With your permission.”
They both nodded their agreement.
As soon as I’d left the tea room, I made a call to Constance Bowler.
“Jill? When you said you’d call, I didn’t think you meant quite so soon.”
“This isn’t about the Spookberry. I’m hoping you might be able to recommend a restaurant here in GT. I need somewhere a little upmarket.”
“Are you celebrating something?”
“Not exactly. It needs to be somewhere you have to be on your best behaviour. Somewhere they won’t tolerate raised voices or unseemly behaviour.”
“Poltergeist Nouveau sounds like the kind of place you’re looking for. It’s quite expensive, but worth every penny. They won’t put up with any nonsense that might upset their other customers.”
“That sounds just the ticket. Thanks, Constance.”
***
When I arrived home, Clare was taking her grocery shopping into the house. I hoped I might avoid her, but she spotted me, and came over.
“I just wanted to apologise for yesterday, Jill.”
“There’s no need.”
“Yes, there is. I should have waited until we were back home before laying into Tony like that.”
“How are things now?”
“Not good. I take it you realised that the runner bean was an old flame of Tony’s.”
“Yeah. I assumed so.”
“He still denies that he arranged to meet her, but I’m not sure I believe him.”
“Where is he now?”
“I haven’t thrown him out if that’s what you mean. He’s at work. I don’t want to do anything rash.”